Chapter 367 One Of Us Must Die!
'Even if this place resembles where we were, the rich magical energy that dominates this place makes all the difference. I feel like I'm on a planet of the same rank as Alzania's, or even more; maybe even this earth is as rich in magical energy as a rank two planet!' He murmured to himself in his contemplation.
"Of course~, it's not an easy task. But now that you are with me, I will surely achieve this goal in the next millennium."
Upon hearing her strange words, Alvine had the impression of being treated like a laboratory rat, or even worse, just by seeing the glow with which the woman looked at him.
*...Reha, on a scale of zero to ten, what are my chances of killing this psychopath?!*
*...It's a bad idea. She is stronger than you.*
*Just answer my question.*
*...Sigh, your insignificant power is not qualified to measure hers.*
*...*
*If you insist; I would say 2/10.*
*...Sigh, so she's so powerful compared to me?*
*No, the two-tenth is the number that represents me compared to her, even if I face her with all my power!*
*?!*
*This madwoman is not only one of the elders of the supreme order but also one of the tops and the most twisted among them; her name is Feyre, the learned madwoman--
"HEY! I hate this nickname!" She suddenly interrupts their little discussions when she hears Reha touch a sensitive point.
"..."
Hearing her words, the two did not need to ask themselves whether she heard them or not, hence their dull silences and the sudden electrifying atmosphere that reigned between the two.
"Well, well~, now that you have made all this way to me, I would therefore give you time to rest; while waiting for the tensions to subside, I ask you to follow my henchman in the restroom." She exclaimed while applauding slightly.
"Well, thank you for your hospitality." Reha monotonously retorted as she looked at the man in costume behind them who had brought them to this place.
"..."
Seeing Alvine silent, her smile grows on her lips as she slams her hand, followed by the appearance of a massive golden portal.
As a result of her actions, the two followed the bodyguard through the portals without the slightest complaint.
At the same time, Alvine could conclude his hypothesis by seeing people's indifference to the sudden appearance of the portal.
---
'Sigh, the earth would surely look like a world like this if it had inherited enough mana.' He whispered to himself, looking through the window of an imposing building that he had just landed after crossing the golden gate that closed behind them.
Unlike the land he knew, this place and its civilization were at a level almost at the top of fantasy. People had not abandoned their cultures or policies. But the only difference was that they used mystical energy in their daily lives, which had the consequence of creating a society based on both science and magic.
"I'll be behind the door in case you need something." Their escort calmly and soberly pronounced these words by closing the door behind him.
"..."
"..."
Sitting face to face in a contemporary Victorian living room, neither of them placed a word to approach the other; they were there like two strangers in the living room.
"How do you do it?" Alvine asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.
"??"
"I'm talking about your silence and your-- how do you manage to be so calm?"
"It's not like I'm involved in your problems. It's you who are targeted, not me." She casually made this reminder.
"...A cat, huh?"
"A cat? You say this because you don't know what the members of the order are capable of. They are both judges and leaders; the supreme authority judges the threats called 'zeros' and condemns the worst criminals to eternal isolation or permanent death. Their powers and influences are everywhere; no one or nothing escapes their surveillance." She briefly explained when she heard Alvine treat her as a cat that wags her tail to please her master.
"And what do I have to do with their stories? Sigh, it's the worst."
"Yes, I grant it to you. You should be careful if you don't want to end up in a--
"No, the worst thing is that to reach me, bastards like them do not come directly to attack me but indirectly by using my loved ones as a shield. You can believe in what you want, but for my part, anyone who does not confront me directly does not deserve to be treated as an enemy but a fucking target to exterminate." He growled these words vehemently as he stared at the void with a distant look.
"..."
"But one thing intrigues me in this parallel world story." He suddenly focused on Reha and realized the latter was also staring at him.
"What intrigues you?"
"!" His eyes widen when he sees Reha not acting as usual.
'Normally, she would have just ignored me until I asked her the question.' He whispered, frowning.
"You say that each universe created by any transcendents is automatically copied by these members of the interstellar order or something like that?"
-Nod
"In this case, does this mean that the planet Alzania and Fraydja are also--
"No, it's not that simple. To be precise, there is a limit to this mysterious phenomenon that we transcendents do not understand either." She interrupts him by guessing the rest of his words.
"..."
"Even if we don't know how they do it, strange phenomena have been observed for millennia with them, like the absence of divine or primordial mages in these pale copies. By this, I mean that no matter this power, they cannot influence divine mages or above. On top of that, planets of divine rank or above will not appear in the copies they have with them."
"Hm? ...Sigh, what you say is contradictory. We saw two people with them. Even if I admit that I have nothing to do with the other Alvine, the second one that is sealed a look like to me; even if I could not study it in depth, I noticed a similarity with inexplicable with him, making me ten percent sure that he could be my identical look-alike."
"...This is the only mystery I can't explain myself. Remember, I had never said that the man hanging on the two pillars could be your other self who lives in this world. It's probably an imitation or something that we will soon know. To understand what I'm talking about, take a closer look at the people of this world. Although they may be in a world where mana is abundant, they have not been able to reach the divine rank, a detail that confirms my hypotheses."
"..." Alvine remained silent while checking Reha's words with his magical perception.
But after a minute of inspecting every corner of the planet, he realized she was not wrong.
'If that's the case, then it would make things a little easier for me. If this guy who looks like me turns out not to be me of this world, then it will also mean that neither my loved ones nor my citizens will be in danger. And when I would have this confirmation, this bitch will understand her mistake.
-Now that the mysteries of the prediction of my arrival on Earth are solved. And that the oracle and Inspector Alice, who hold some of my powers and who were not supposed to exist on earth...have now turned out to be subjects of experimentation of this slut; all I would have to do is know precisely how and when to act.
-Even if I don't like to admit it, I'm currently too weak to measure myself against her; but I have an asset besides the tattoo on my chest.' While sorting his thoughts, he noticed the suspicious look of the only person with him in the living room.
"If you have something to tell me, it's not by looking at me like that that I could know." His dull voice resonated in the living room as the two stared at each other.
"...I hadn't noticed it before, but now it's becoming clear." Reha nonchalantly replied.
"What?"
"How do you manage to use your skills even though your three cores, which even define a mage, are sealed?" She asks with strange and suspicious eyes.
"...I stole this technique from Linn while helping her heal from a deadly poison. Even if I initially thought it was impossible, I changed my global view on using magic. Seeing her being able to use at least thirty percent of her powers despite having sealed her lower core, I also put this ingenious trick into practice."
"How do you put this into practice?!"
"...By sealing the three cores that I thought were essential to use magical energy, I discovered other ways. You already know that for an ordinary mage to influence natural laws and bend them to his will, he will need mana. But not only that, collection, channeling, and remodeling are essential processes to cast a spell.
-But by sealing my cores, I was at first only able to use my shadow energy which is omnipresent throughout my body and soul, to cast spells related only to this affinity. But as I got used to staying in this state, after sixty years passing in the Renia galaxy, I made another interesting discovery."
He stopped, noticing the attention with which Reha was showing.
"What discovery did you make?!"
"..."
"We are in a situation where it would be better to say we are a pair. Even if we are not allies, the current situation obliges us to be," She retorted when she saw Alvine's hesitation.
"It's true, as the saying goes, my enemy's enemy is my friend. But except that there is a problem. By revealing this information to you, it would probably turn against me when I recover my memories, and you still consider me an enemy." He retorted with dark and septic eyes.
"...The harm is already done. Our confrontation would be inevitable; the only way out will be the death of one of us!"
"!! - It can be said that I had underestimated your hatred towards me." He murmured with dark eyes when he saw Reha's twisted expression, which testified to her hatred towards him.
"You will understand why one of us should die when the time comes." She retorted with another expression that Alvine did not understand.
'Why do I have the impression that this saddens her? Sigh, I'm probably getting ideas.' He murmured to himself with more confused eyes.
"...I guess you're not going--
"No, I don't care if you are my enemy in the future. Compared to my current situation, you are not an overpowered enemy to make me lose the horizon while I have a twisted slut on my ass who can defeat you." He stopped her, talking about the order.
"...So what do you want in exchange?"
"The resurrection!"
"What?! No, not to mention me, even this woman could not resurrect you after your--
"Don't bury me too quickly with your mouth! Death is not even in my mind! I'm talking about resurrecting a person I care about; my grandfather."
"...I didn't know you had a grandfather."
"You are not omniscient; I point it out to you!" He retorted when he saw Reha become more shocked than when she had misinterpreted his first words.
'Why do I feel like she didn't understand me yet?' He whispered to himself as he continued to look at her with suspicious eyes.
"Your...grandfather?! If such a being had existed in the past, then I am surprised why this world continues to exist." She retorted, holding her breath.
"??" Alvine frowns when he sees and hears her expression and words.
'I thought at first that she didn't know how to express her feelings, but apparently, I was wrong.'
"A being who gave birth to the father or mother of the being who had almost-- no, it is impossible that such people can--! But at the same time, it would seem logical; Everything has a beginning, after all. But it's not as if the supreme beings walk in any streets, right?!" She murmured, with difficulty supporting her head as if she could no longer bear the weight of her hypotheses.
'What exactly is she talking about?!' The more Alvine listened to her, the more sure he became that she had misunderstood his words. But the problem was that he was not convinced to convince her otherwise.
"Hey! Stop wandering. I don't--
-BAM!!
"You're kidding me, right?!" Before Alvine finishes his sentence, Reha slams the table between them with a loud noise.
"Huh??"
"How dare you ask me to resurrect not you but your grandfather?! Already, it was too much to support you from the beginning with your fake expressions and your ways of imitating those who have emotions. But now you're asking me to resurrect your grandfather?! Why not your grandmother while I'm there?!"
"??"
"I would never do it even if I had the abilities! It's like asking me to resurrect all demons to accelerate the destruction and annihilation of all life in the endless sea!"
"??!"
"..."
But at that moment, she stopped after finally noticing the pitiful look that Alvine had thrown at her.
Even if he did not express himself with words, his look gave Reha the impression of being treated like an idiot.
"If you are calm now, let me give you explanations." He finally spoke when he saw the silence of his interlocutor.
'This situation is not even funny anymore.'