“Ex, calm down first.”
He couldn’t calm down.
“Get a grip on yourself.”
He couldn’t do that either.
“Then at least stop and think for a second!”
Ex, who had collapsed onto the floor, finally forced his trembling legs to still.
But not because he’d managed to calm down enough to think clearly.
“Circe. I can’t calm down or think rationally right now. Lola might be in danger because I got complacent. How am I supposed to stay calm after that?”
His words and tone were composed, but his mind was in complete chaos.
He was desperately combing through every scrap of knowledge he possessed, searching for a way to get Lola back.
But his knowledge of the ‘Discarded Setting’ was riddled with holes, and that uncertainty kept dragging him down.
‘I got complacent…!’
Only now did he realize it.
‘You fucking idiot. You got way too fucking complacent…!’
Ex clutched his head, tearing into himself.
This situation had clearly been caused by his own complacency.
‘You knew a tiny bit more than everyone else and started acting like you had everything figured out…!’
Ex’s legs began trembling again.
The anxiety consuming his mind spread through his entire body.
‘There’s no way to find her…! If Lola didn’t use the magic device…! If she was attacked before she even had the chance…!!’
The skeleton that had been slumped in the corner of the room.
Lola’s corpse overlapped with it in his mind.
‘If Lola’s dead, then I…!!!’
Just as he reached the point where he couldn’t see any way forward.
“Snap out of it!!”
Bzzzzzzzzzt-!!
“Guuuuugghhh-!!!”
Electrical agony seared through every pain receptor in his body.
It was the torture-oriented lightning magic Circe used so often.
Circe shouted at Ex while he convulsed in pain.
“Think about this more rationally! The room that kid was in disappeared and I showed up instead. That means the rooms were switched!”
“Switched… You mean they were switched?”
“Yes! Just like I ended up joining you, the kid probably joined Leon’s party! The worst-case scenario you’re imagining probably never happened!”
That was far too convenient an assumption.
For all they knew, Circe had simply gotten unlucky and been sent here.
As if she had read Ex’s thoughts, Circe immediately shot that idea down.
“Look at the number on the room I came from!”
Ex shifted his gaze toward the number written on Circe’s room.
“…53. A prime number… So it was a trap…”
“Prime number? I don’t know why that matters, but that number is exactly the same as the room I stepped into because I wanted to take a quick look around. The whole room moved.”
“…So Lola moved together with her room?”
“Yes. And even if she didn’t end up with Leon’s party, she shouldn’t be in immediate danger. You prepared some way for her to escape this place, didn’t you?”
“…You have an oddly specific amount of faith in me.”
“Am I wrong?”
“…No. I gave her a teleportation magic device.”
“See? Then she’ll be fine.”
Once that possibility finally sank in, the chaos in Ex’s mind began to cool.
“Haaaaaaaaaah…”
His ragged breathing gradually steadied, and his trembling legs finally stopped shaking. The rigid tension throughout his body slowly loosened as well.
Only after several deep breaths did he manage to organize his thoughts.
The anxiety was still there, but he could at least think clearly again.
“I’m sorry you had to see me like that. And… thank you.”
If Circe hadn’t been beside him, he might have drowned in those horrific thoughts and never managed to pull himself back out.
Seeing that Ex had regained his composure, Circe relaxed as well.
“I didn’t know you were capable of looking that vulnerable.”
Circe’s surprise was understandable, given Ex’s current condition.
‘My Talents and Titles are still sealed…’
The Plausibility Penalty from his confrontation with Darius still hadn’t worn off.
The sealing of his Titles in particular made it difficult for him to control his emotions.
‘I’ve always had this kind of personality, but seeing it come out like this is pretty pathetic.’
There were about twelve hours left on the seal.
By the time this exploration of the Ancient Ruins was over, it should be lifted as well.
Until then, lying to Circe would be difficult.
‘I need to be careful for a while.’
Ex finished sorting through his thoughts and answered with a sigh.
“I’m human too. I’m not some emotionless monster.”
“You’re joking around again, so I guess you really are okay.”
“That wasn’t a joke…”
Once Ex had calmed down, an awkward silence settled between them.
That was only natural.
They had already drawn a line between themselves and agreed not to acknowledge one another.
Worse still, Ex was now in a position where he needed to clear the ruins as quickly as possible.
Circe’s cooperation was more important than anything else.
“Circe.”
So Ex bowed his head to her.
“W-What? What’s with you all of a sudden…?”
“I know I have no right to ask this, but please. Help me.”
Circe was visibly confused when Ex bowed.
The Ex she knew would have tried to manipulate her with that infuriatingly slick tongue of his.
Instead, he simply bowed his head and asked for help without a single lie.
As though he had absolutely no room left for pride.
‘I don’t understand.’
What she wanted to know most was why he was lowering his head in the first place.
“Is this because of that kid?”
“…”
“I already told you. There’s a good chance she joined Leon’s party. You don’t need to rush around like someone’s chasing you. Besides, the two of us probably can’t clear these ruins by ourselves anyway.”
“I know how to clear them. I’ll tell you everything. So please, just this once. Help me.”
“Ugh…”
Faced with that desperate expression, Circe eventually let out a sigh.
“…Fine. Now get up. So how do we clear this place?”
Ex explained the method involving prime numbers.
After hearing him out, Circe stared at him in disbelief.
“You’re telling me that’s all it takes?”
“It’s still difficult even if you know the method.”
“What’s difficult about it? You can tell just by looking.”
Circe looked at the numbers on the doors other than the one she had entered through. The door on the right was 765749, and the one on the left was 972723.
The moment she saw them, Circe casually answered.
“Right is a trap. Left is safe.”
“…The left one isn’t prime?”
“It’s divisible by 3.”
Circe opened the left door and walked in without a second thought.
Ex flinched and nearly shouted for her to stop, but nothing happened.
“What are you doing? I thought we were in a hurry.”
“…You can calculate that instantly?”
“If I couldn’t, I’d have to quit being a mage.”
“…”
“That wasn’t aimed at you.”
And so began Ex and Circe’s awkward journey together.
***
Circe tore through the ruins without hesitation.
Ex had thought clearing fifty rooms in an hour with Lola’s sensitive mana detection was fast, but Circe surpassed even that, clearing more than eighty.
She could distinguish prime numbers the instant she saw them, so choosing which room to enter actually took longer than checking whether the numbers were safe.
But even after three hours, they still hadn’t reached the final room.
“Are you sure this is actually the right way to clear this place?”
“It is. The numbers are gradually getting smaller.”
When Ex had first joined up with Circe, the doors had displayed seven-digit numbers.
Now they were mostly six or five digits.
The steadily decreasing numbers were proof that they were making progress.
“Even if we’re doing fine, what about Leon’s party?”
“Lola knows how to clear it too. Their numbers should be smaller than ours, so it’ll probably be easier for them.”
“Hmm.”
Circe and Ex fell silent again.
Natural conversation between them was difficult.
Ex was too preoccupied to feel like talking, and Circe found it difficult to decide what she could safely bring up.
Whenever that awkwardness became unbearable, it was always Circe who spoke first.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
The conversation went no further.
The reason was obvious.
They were both being careful.
The moment either of them learned something they hadn’t known before, there was no telling what kind of future it might create.
In a situation like this, the safest option was simply to keep their mouths shut.
“Hey.”
Of course, knowing that didn’t mean human emotions would obediently follow reason.
“Hey-!!!”
Ex jumped and spun around.
Circe was glaring at him, furious.
“Would anything really change just because I know the prophecy?!!”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden…?”
“Why the hell do I have to walk on eggshells around you!!!”
Circe hated this.
There were things she could learn, yet she wasn’t allowed to learn them.
That restriction had been tormenting her constantly as a sage.
“Circe, please calm…”
“Calm down?! You’ve got something seriously wrong here. You know as well as I do that we made it our mission to save the world whenever it faced a crisis! That hasn’t changed just because we were reincarnated!”
Circe jabbed a finger repeatedly into Ex’s chest.
“And now there’s some bastard standing right in front of me who knows a mountain of things, but all he ever says is, ‘I can’t tell you because knowing would be dangerous’! Do you have any idea what it feels like to know that and be forced to sit around doing nothing?!”
“But that was something we both agreed…”
“You’re constantly right in front of me! You keep causing one disaster after another while making your presence so ridiculously obvious. How am I supposed to ignore you?!”
Circe pointed at herself and shouted.
“I’m a hero too! I’m the ‘Sage Aerial’ later generations decided to call me! We were the ones who killed that goddamn Demon King a hundred years ago! Us! Not you! So can’t you just…! Just…!! Haaah…”
Circe’s surging anger slowly deflated.
Only after letting all that boiling rage spill out did her real feelings finally emerge.
“Can’t you just trust me?”
A dry silence descended between them.
She knew she shouldn’t be doing this.
That was why she had ignored Ex whenever she saw him at the academy.
At least if he wasn’t nearby, she wouldn’t have to think about him.
But inside these ruins, they had been forcibly stuck together.
And because of that, the thought had been gnawing at Circe without pause.
“…I can’t.”
Ex felt the same way.
“It’s already dangerous enough! Things have twisted so far out of control that I can’t even keep track of them anymore…! If I take one wrong step, I might never be able to put things back the way they were!”
If he could, Ex would have told her everything.
Circe was one of the people he should have been able to tell everything to.
At the same time, she was also one of the people he absolutely could not tell anything.
“Do you understand? It’s not because I don’t trust you! We’re in a situation where I’m not allowed to trust you! And the reason is precisely because you’re the Reincarnated Sage Aerial!”
“What are you talking about? Why would that be the reason?”
And of all times, Ex currently couldn’t control his emotions properly.
If his Titles hadn’t been sealed, he would have smoothly talked his way around this.
“You’re one of Hero Leon’s companions! That’s exactly why you can’t know anything! So please, just stop asking me questions…!”
“Why does that matter?!”
And so, in the end, he said what he absolutely should not have said.
“Because Leon is the protagonist!!!”
The moment the words left his mouth, Ex realized what he had done.
“C-Circe, that was a slip of the tongue…”
“Leon is the protagonist?”
What Ex had just said.
What he had said before.
The trials and hardships they had endured, almost as though someone had deliberately arranged them.
Every piece of information pointed Circe toward a single conclusion.
“Are you saying this world is some kind of ‘story’?”
The sage had found the correct answer.
“Tell me.”
Circe raised the Book of Eibon.
“Was my entire life nothing more than someone else’s ‘story’?”
“Circe, let me explain first…”
“Answer with ‘yes or no’!!”
Ex clenched his teeth and shut his eyes.
The Talents that might have allowed him to turn the situation around were sealed.
He couldn’t bring himself to meet Circe’s eyes.
“…No.”
If, by some miracle, she believed him, there was still a chance.
That single hope was the only reason he answered ‘no.’
“Liar…”
But no miracle came.
***
Crackle— Crackle-
A burnt log collapsed into the campfire.
After a long while, the two of them finally stopped to rest.
They had walked for too long, and learned far too much.
Their bodies, minds, and hearts all needed a break.
They spread out their sleeping bags on opposite sides of the campfire.
“So what happens from here?”
Lying in her sleeping bag, Circe murmured while staring into the flames.
“If we don’t stop it, everything is destroyed.”
Sitting near the fire, Ex answered as he added another piece of wood.
“Demons… Demonkin… Humans and demi-humans too, for that matter…”
“You’re not lying, right?”
“If you keep using the Book of Eibon, you’ll help destroy the world too.”
“…I know. I know it’s a dangerous artifact.”
Circe recklessly using the Book of Eibon was dangerous in its own right.
She had only put the Book of Eibon away after Ex swore that he wouldn’t lie to her anymore.
“It’s not like I have a choice. I don’t know where my weapon, the ‘Eye of Akasha,’ is.”
“I don’t know that either. All I know is that it was sealed somewhere in a desert ruin in the Demon Realm…”
Circe rolled onto her side and grumbled.
“What a joke. It’s like this world was born just so it could be destroyed.”
“…”
“And Leon is the only one destined to survive.”
“…”
“The Demon King comes back to life and eventually drops ‘that thing.’”
“…”
Ex didn’t tell her that he was the one who had made the world that way.
Yet somehow, every word she said felt as though it were aimed straight at him.
“Were you really planning to stop all of this by yourself?”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“I know. There’s a restriction on you. I know now that my memories were sealed because of the same kind of restriction.”
He had eventually told her about that too.
If he wanted to explain why he hadn’t shared his knowledge of the future with anyone, there was no avoiding that subject.
“And the reason you still didn’t tell anyone after the restriction was lifted…”
“Because the future couldn’t be allowed to change. Yes, I understand.”
Circe let out a long sigh.
“But there’s still one thing I don’t understand.”
“…What is it?”
“What’s with that kid?”
At the question, Ex looked toward Circe’s back.
Circe was peering at him through half-lidded eyes.
If anything, Ex was the one who didn’t understand the question.
“You mean Lola?”
“Does she have something to do with the destruction of the world too?”
“No. Not particularly.”
“Then why do you treat her like that?”
“I’m not sure what you mean…”
“Why do you treat her like she’s someone special?”
Ex’s hand suddenly stopped.
Circe continued grumbling.
“I heard the reason you challenged me to a duel before was because I attacked her and you were trying to protect her. I don’t remember it, but…”
“That was…”
“And it was the same last time. Same thing today. No matter how I look at it, you’re ridiculously overprotective of her. What, is she some family member you lost in your past life?”
Ex couldn’t answer.
Circe had only asked out of curiosity.
But her question came surprisingly close to the heart of the matter.
“…Maybe she is.”
After that, Ex said nothing more.
He had no energy left to speak.
No energy left to think.
Now that Circe knew everything, she would act in ways he could never predict.
No matter what Ex did from this point on, Leon would stray from the original story.
The world would spiral off in whatever direction it pleased and fall into some unforeseen destruction.
That was what he thought.
“It doesn’t have to be just once.”
“…What?”
Circe, now fully turned away from him, murmured quietly.
“I’m saying I don’t have to help you just this once.”
Circe pulled the sleeping bag over her head and muttered in a low voice.
“You bowed your head and begged me, so I’ll keep helping you from now on.”
That decision was something Ex had never expected.
***
The next day, during the coldest hour just before sunrise.
Two figures appeared before the main gate of the Ancient Ruins.
More precisely, one person and one demon.
“Gremory, hurry up. We’re late because of you.”
“Huff, huff… I-I’m not a martial artist, you know~”
Gremory had sweated so much that her entire body looked practically shriveled.
Crossing a mountain with such a pathetically weak body had been exhausting.
“Y-You could’ve just carried me~ It w-would’ve been much easier and faster~”
“Do you honestly think I’d do something that might let you steal my body?”
“Haaah… That’s too bad~”
Gremory finally caught her breath and looked ahead.
A main gate as enormous as a castle stood before them.
“That’s unbelievable~ There’s absolutely no way we can open that~”
“…Has the Goddess sent you any further message?”
For some reason, Elia still hadn’t received any message herself.
Elysia had delivered her instructions only through Gremory.
“According to the Goddess, there’s an entrance tucked away in a corner of the main gate~ Well, we could get through even without using it~”
Gremory dragged her hand downward as though she were clawing open the empty air.
Space split apart along the path of her hand, creating a narrow rift.
Another location could be seen through the opening.
“Being able to connect spaces like this really is convenient~ We even slipped out of the academy with it without anyone noticing~”
“…Just hurry up.”
They squeezed through the rift and emerged inside the Ancient Ruins.
Before long, a stone door blocked the path ahead.
The moment Gremory saw it, she declared in her usual gentle voice.
“Leave clearing the ruins to me from here on out~!”
Gremory opened the stone door and entered with Elia.
She knew there were no traps in the first room, so she walked in without hesitation.
“From this point on, the Goddess said we’re supposed to avoid ‘prime numbers’~ But~”
Gremory confidently looked around at the three numbers.
6577 straight ahead, 2113 to the right, and 4009 to the left.
After thinking very seriously for a long moment, she turned toward Elia.
“I don’t actually know how to tell which numbers are prime~ Do you?”
Gremory had no interest in human knowledge.
Even with the knowledge she had absorbed from Hilde, distinguishing prime numbers was difficult.
Naturally, Elia, whose Intelligence was low to begin with, had no idea either.
“Can’t you use your ability to check?”
“‘Space Linking’ takes a long time before I can use it again~”
With no other choice, Elia decided to use a different method.
“Step back.”
Elia stood in the center of the room, closed her eyes, and focused.
She spread ‘Heaven-Blessed Intuition’ across the entirety of the enormous Ancient Ruins.
There was no need to search for a safe route.
She only needed to locate the final destination.
Once she knew where it was, everything else was simple.
“…Found it.”
The final destination revealed by Heaven-Blessed Intuition lay directly ahead.
It was at the very center of the Ancient Ruins, in a location that did not move.
Elia raised her sword toward that direction and stopped in front of the wall.
“If it’s in the way…”
She settled into her stance, leveled her sword, and gathered her internal energy to its absolute limit.
An overwhelming force of destruction concentrated into Elia’s hands.
“Then I’ll just…!”
Boom-!!
Elia drove her foot into the ground with a powerful stomp.
Cracks spread across the Ancient Ruins’ solid stone floor as it sank beneath her.
“Destroy everything…!!”
Her sword shot forward faster than a flash of light.
Amid an explosion of radiance, the instant the tip of her blade touched the wall.
A devastating strike descended upon the earth.
KRAAAAAAAAAAASH-!!!!!
“Kyaaaaaaah-!!!”
The tremendous shockwave and deafening blast slammed into Gremory’s body.
Blood spilled from her mouth, as though her insides had been thoroughly rattled.
If she hadn’t been a demon, the impact alone would have killed her.
But even that paled compared to the sight before her.
“H-Haha… You actually blew through a wall that thick…?”
The wall struck by Elia’s attack had been utterly pulverized and collapsed into rubble.
Whether from the sheer impact or the massive amount of debris, even the traps had been destroyed.
“…”
Elia, the one responsible for that spectacle, merely stood there in silence.
Even after displaying power far beyond human limits, she didn’t seem the least bit winded.
At Elia’s level, an attack like this truly was nothing.
“…It hasn’t even been a week since then, Elia.”
Gremory stared at the aura blazing around Elia’s sword.
The shape of that aura unmistakably carried a ‘will of rage.’
In other words, Elia had succeeded in infusing her will into her aura.
There was only one reason she had pushed herself that far.
To kill the Ex she hated.
To save Lola, whom she believed was being deceived.
“You became a 6-Star martial artist way too fast.”
Elia had reached 6-Star.
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won't get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt