༺ S2. Resentment Grazing The Stars – 3 ༻
Struggling to lift heavy eyelids, the nightmare etched onto his retina sticks gooily between his lashes. A hazy state felt somewhere between the boundary of dream and reality. Was he seeing a dream or was it reality? It was difficult to distinguish exactly which one it was.
The three of them managed to shake off their sleepiness in their own ways.
For Tara, this chilly place, devoid of her family’s warmth, was reality.
For Niolle, this place, where the screams of those she couldn’t save and her own mistakes lingered, was reality.
And for Bennett, this place, with unresolved endings and clear objectives, was reality.
The troubled Black Wizard drew his sword. On one side of the blade flashed the faces of the lives he had taken so far, and on the other, the image of the younger sister he needed to save.
He had not properly heard the life stories of Tara and Niolle, but if there was a difference between them and him, it must be the sliver of hope. Because he could harbor hope at every moment, despite the slim chances of success, Bennett was able to move forward.
Then, what if he were to lose his goal?
What if the 『Corpse Flower that Consumes Fear』 didn’t keep the promise and he could never reunite with his little sister? Would he have to crumble, lose hope, and then go awry?How was he supposed to live afterward?
Since there were tools for weapon maintenance in the secret hideout, Bennett wiped his beloved sword with an oil-soaked cloth. His own face reflected on the carefully cleaned blade.
At the very least, it wasn’t the time to think and conclude about this now. The tattoo on his wrist was urging them on. It was time to navigate through this terrible world, shadowed by an evil god.
“Get up. There is not much time remaining until we return. It is time to…… finish up the day.”
Hearing Bennett’s words, Tara sluggishly rose while grumbling. Deep fatigue lingered in her eyes and a part of her soul seemed to still reside at a table of the past.
After all, until just yesterday, she had been asking Abraham about breakfast options like this.
“……What’s for breakfast?”
“Canned tomatoes.”
“Are you going to cook for us?”
“Just eat it. There are no facilities nor time to cook. Just think of it as getting nutrients.”
“……If it was Abraham, he would have cooked for us.”
Tara, looking at the can filled with nothing but tomatoes, reminisced about tomato spaghetti and pizza. And of course, the wonderful dinners that came with such fancy dishes.
Bennett clicked his tongue and said in passing, only half-serious.
“I will cook…… for you when we get out.”
“……So you’re saying you will, huh.”
A strange feeling.
Tara felt an indescribable, odd emotion. If asked whether it was good or bad, it seemed good. Her mood had improved, after all. But she couldn’t quite grasp what this emotion was, so right as she tried to add a few more words to Bennett…
“Niolle, snap out of it. Don’t doze off.”
[Ia mawa ke]
“Your handwriting is all over the place. Wake up and eat a bit. Here.”
[Thhhaa noyou]
Niolle, half-asleep, scooped up the spoon, but barely any made it to her mouth. The rest was generously offered to the floor of the hideout.
“……You’re spilling half of it. Give me the spoon. And open your mouth.”
“Ahhhhh.”
Bennett spoon-fed crushed tomatoes to Niolle. Her face scrunched up at the sour taste, but she ate obediently when fed.
Tara expressed her annoyance from the side.
“It’s not like Niolle is a kid……. Can’t you just let her eat by herself?”
Bennett pointed at the pitiful tomatoes that had dropped on the floor.
“Can’t you see that? She’s still half asleep and spilling everything.”
“I’m half asleep too.”
“Then, what? Are you saying you want to be fed too?”
“Eung.”
Tara nodded, then after a moment of thought, realized she had said ‘Yes’ and jumped up. While blushing red with embarrassment, she wagged her finger at Bennett.
“…….No, no! Don’t say anything weird!”
“I see. Clearly, you’re also not fully awake…….”
Because it had not been long since they had awakened from their dreams, the traces of it lingered. Was that perhaps why? The time spent preparing for their journey while in a trance-like state was quite harmonious. In a form that was slightly different from family, with a scent of roses.
===============================================================
“Tara, don’t run off on your own!”
“Don’t worry too much! It’s just one fanatic!”
Crack.
As Tara punched, the fanatic’s head twisted at an odd angle and fell. Bennett quickly followed, covering the rear.
“And if the enemy is threatening in attack but utterly useless in defense, it’s right to deal with them quickly!”
“I agree, but there is no particular need for you to step up and do it yourself……!”
“There is!”
After smashing the nearby wall, Tara grabbed a piece of broken brick and threw it at a fanatic around the corner. The brick missed its target, grazing the fanatic’s ear and instead shattered an innocent window.
Clink-! Thwack-!
A stone thrown by Bennett hit the fanatic right between the eyes. Tara grumbled as she watched her brick fly off course.
“It’s fine to miss once, you know……”
“You…….. Hoo. We’ll talk after this is all over.”
Bennett swallowed the words that had risen to his throat as he surveyed the surroundings. The battle had begun when they passed through the gates of Miskatonic University. As if they were lying in wait for them, fanatics from the Order of the Silver Twilight had launched an ambush.
Bennett’s goal was to break through to the library, occupy it while retrieving Abraham’s research materials, and then make an escape. Currently, they were in a standoff with the fanatics a block away from the library.
The ivy-covered walls of Miskatonic University, which held its deep history, were now punctured and broken in places. Almost as if suggesting the institution’s decline.
Ordinary university students, caught off-guard by the sudden abnormal phenomenon, screamed and ran away or hid inside buildings and trembled in fear. Despite their repeated calls to the police, no help had arrived even after a significant amount of time had passed.
And the fanatics, after capturing these ordinary people…
“Euh, EUAHHHHHHHHH!!”
Crunch, Crack.
Sacrificed them to cast powerful magic.
A civilian who was caught by a fanatic inflated like a balloon and then exploded. And from the mist of blood emerged a monster with bat wings. It lacked any sort of facial features but possessed a pair of horns, somewhat resembling a human form.
The monster flapped its wings, charging at Bennett, and lashed out with its thorny tail.
“……..Heup!”
Crrrrack, Slash!
While dodging and cutting through the middle of the tail… Bennett furrowed his brows. The hardness transmitted to his hand was unusual. So tough, in fact, that he had to infuse his blade with a considerable amount of mana to cut through.
Though not an unbeatable foe, the issue was one of attrition. With the university filled with ordinary people, using them all to summon this monster would lead to his demise.
Cwuak! Screeeeech…….
As Bennett was parrying the monster’s clawed attacks with his longsword, positioning it like a shield, and engaged in a stand-off…
“sir’k⋯⋯ A’stra.”
Niolle muttered an incantation with a wheeze. Beneath the monster’s feet, the shadow bubbled and boiled until a large tentacle emerged, wrapping around the monster and sucking it in. The monster struggled before being completely submerged.
Where the monster swallowed by its own shadow once stood, only an unidentified black slime remained.
“……Thank you, Niolle.”
Niolle, after sensing something trickling, wiped her nose with the back of her hand, yet still smiled brightly. Blood smeared across her hand and face.
As if to imply it was actually a good thing, Niolle used the nosebleed to complete her next spell. After drawing a magic circle and offering blood, a bright red slime about a meter in diameter was summoned as it wriggled.
[That will block the entrance for you!]
“……Understood. Tara! Don’t rush out and come inside quietly!”
“I could have killed……. One more!”
Whooosh-!
Irritated, Tara threw a nearby candelabra like a javelin. The candelabra pierced through the abdomen of a fanatic, anchoring itself into the ground. Tara smirked at the sight of the fanatic convulsing in pain and then entered the library.
After Niolle and Bennett also entered, the bright red slime clung to the door and spread along the exterior wall. It would protect the building and buy them time.
===============================================================
There were people inside the library. The sight of three blood-drenched individuals brandishing swords caused panic. Some tried to break the windows to escape, but the red slime blocked their way.
[We mean no harm! Stay hidden somewhere!]
“……We have no business with you! Stay hidden quietly in a corner!”
After Bennet shouted once loudly upon seeing Niolle hold up a whiteboard… The group led by Bennett entered the Forbidden Stacks.
Various books and Abraham’s safe were visible. The safe was bulky, sturdy, and large. As such, it seemed difficult to move without a truck.
“……It is impractical to move it. It seems like we will have to take only what is inside. 『Key of Fin Borei』.”
Bennett grabbed the safe’s lock and cast a spell. It was a lock-picking magic with a deep history, said to have been developed and passed down by a thief who lived long ago.
However, no clicking sound followed. Even after trying to open it with the handle, the safe remained immovable.
“The magic didn’t work……?”
[It seems the structure is different here. Since this world has such advanced machines, like cars……..perhaps the locks are more complex?]
“Any guesses for the password?”
“……Couldn’t it be that Isaac or Isak or whatever’s birthday?”
“Someone we know……is obviously unlikely.”
The party was out of clues. They didn’t know the safe’s combination, nor could they move it. If so, they had to force it open. Thus, Bennett infused his longsword with all the mana he could muster. The blade shimmered with a pale blue light, becoming a beacon of sharpness.
SCREEEEEEEECH-!
Sparks flew as the safe began to slowly cut open.
“How long will it take?”
“It might damage the contents, so I am trying to stay careful. It’ll take about 10 minutes, I think.”
“Niolle’s weird magic has blocked the entrance, right? Then, 10 minutes is nothing…….”
[⋯⋯⋯⋯!]
Flinch. Niolle suddenly shivered, before turning towards the library’s entrance. Tara murmured with a look of incredulity, as if she did not want to believe what had occurred.
“…….There’s no way, right?”
[They broke through just now. Like space itself was carved out……]
“10 minutes, right? I’ll buy us some time, Bennett. Keep cutting!”
[Wait, Tara!]
Tara left Bennett and Niolle behind, stepping out of the Forbidden Stacks.
The library entrance appeared as if something had gnawed its way through, leaving a gaping hole. Through it, a man adorned with numerous necklaces, leading a group of fanatics, approached.
The fanatics looked ecstatic, as if accompanying him was the honor of a lifetime. Amidst their rapture, the man’s indifferent expression made his presence even more pronounced.
A man wearing necklaces. They had read about him in the report. He was the Cult Leader of Order of the Silver Twilight.
The Cult Leader approached them leisurely.
“Who might you be? And why come to this venerable institution and cause such a disturbance?”
“…….Are you the Cult Leader?”
“That is right. Since I have so graciously answered, may I expect a reply in kind?”
“Why did you kill Abraham? WHY?!”
“I asked and even kindly responded. Yet, you reply with baseless resentment, huh…… It seems you have no interest in dialogue.”
The Cult Leader pulled from his robe a bizarrely shaped……. jewel. A crudely cut, blood-red trapezohedron. This must be the Shining Trapezohedron that was said to be their goal.
Tara prepared her defense spell with heightened alertness. 『Three Dogs Guarding the Goddess』. A divine shield capable of resisting any magical attribute. While drawing the image in her mind and channeling the divine power bestowed by the Goddess…
“……Uh, eh?”
The mana bestowed by the Goddess. The Divine Power barely responded. When trying to force it somehow, some way, it only yielded about half the usual strength.
She was utterly lost, veritably startled. The power almost seemed to creak. The absence of the usually abundant Divine Power was chillingly apparent. A feeling of complete emptiness. A biting cold and chill. A void that could not be ignored.
Tara’s face turned deathly pale.
How. How can this be…….
Was it because I… doubted?
The Cult Leader lightly extended his hand; five nearby fanatics shriveled up instantly. The surviving fanatics looked on in ecstasy, as if witnessing finding them blessed and honored.
“I have seen the future. The scene of you all thwarting our grand plans. As this is blasphemy, accept your death with grace.”
As space warped, something hurtled towards her.
A shapeless fist. This strike, both invisible and unavoidable, struck Tara with a flash of blue light.
THWACK-!
Tara was sent flying by this applied physical force, smashing through the door of the Forbidden Stacks. And then, she bounced off the floor once and was embedded into a bookshelf. Tara, whose hips were bent at an impossible angle, convulsed momentarily… before the light in her eyes faded.
Then, books cascaded down upon her.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯!!”
Niolle let out a silent scream.
At that moment, Tara’s body, enveloped in blue light, vanished as if erased. While Niolle was paralyzed in panic… Bennett ceased his attempt to open the safe and calmly assessed the situation.
“…….The safety mechanism was activated. The blue light just a moment ago must have taken her back to our original world.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
“It seems we do not have much time left.”
Bennett glanced at the watch tattoo on his wrist. It was nearly at zero. They’d be returning soon anyway.
“Stay here, Niolle. We will be returning soon.”
Niolle grabbed Bennett’s sleeve as he attempted to leave the Forbidden Stacks. Her hand was trembling. Just now, Tara’s dead body was……horrific. Even if there was a safety mechanism, it was something she never wanted to witness again.
And if it was Bennett, it was even more so the case.
After all, if they were going back soon anyway, they could just wait it out. Holding onto Bennett’s sleeve, she pleaded silently. However, as Bennett gently removed her hand…
“……It is an opponent we will have to confront eventually. The object he is holding looks like the Shining Trapezohedron. So.”
It’s not that I’m attacking him out of anger for what happened to Tara. I’m going at him because it is a necessity.
While repeating this to himself over and over, Bennett stepped out of the Forbidden Stacks. He had read the report on the Cult Leader multiple times. The man was said to have a magical barrier. It was worth testing if it could be breached.
The Cult Leader, seeing Bennett approach, asked calmly once more.
“Since the soul of the lady before you has become His, I now ask you. Why have you entered this university and caused such a disturbance?”
“Why do you seek to make a god descend? From what I have heard, it only leads to the erasure of everything.”
“……As it is a pleasing question, I am happy to answer. The souls collected by Him will enjoy eternal life in His embrace until the universe ceases to exist. My wish is to bestow such grace upon every person on Earth.”
Power surged into the hand holding his longsword.
“I shall give you my answer too. The reason we came to this university is to kill you.”
Bennett poured as much mana as his muscles could withstand and leaped forward. With a Crack, the tiled floor fragmented and ricocheted everywhere. Then, his body shot forward like an arrow.
Nothing in the world could be perfect and there was always a gap to exploit.
Even if an attack was guaranteed to hit, it could not be used if the target could not be seen.
“『Fulson’s Black Smoke』, 『Eyes that Pierce the Darkness』!”
BOOM-!
Black smoke erupted, obscuring the view around him. However, thanks to the magic he cast consecutively, Bennett could see clearly through the smoke.
Within this darkness created by smoke, Bennett silenced his footsteps and sprinted forward, eventually reaching right in front of the Cult Leader.
An ever so close distance.
The Cult Leader’s gaze, previously fixed on something else, swished… And turned to Bennett. No, it was slightly different. The place where the Cult Leader was looking was…….. at the mana-infused longsword. And Bennett’s legs.
The Cult Leader’s eyes were a murky gray. It seemed as if he was almost blind. Yet, he had pinpointed Bennett’s location even through the black smoke. Thus, this meant that…
He was sensing mana in place of sight.
Bennett quickly dampened his mana, but it was too late. The space began to distort slowly. He crouched, adopting a defensive posture.
THWACK-!
Bennett was sent flying. Like Tara before him, he flew all the way to the Forbidden Stacks. Inside, Niolle saw Bennett, his arm twisted in an unnatural direction, being enveloped in blue light, before disappearing.
And right then, as time ran out… Niolle vanished from the world as well.
“……It seems there are no more presences. I shall take my leave now, so please, take care of the rest. My Brothers.”
The Cult Leader nodded once and slowly walked out of the library. Behind him, the screams of the common man dying to erase the evidence filled the air………
End of 1st Playthrough.
===============================================================
“…….Huhk.”
Bennett opened his eyes. He exerted his strength in an attempt to get up from the magic circle, but his body felt unusually heavy. Looking down, he saw Niolle clinging to him with a tearful face.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
“……I am…alright. Look, I am perfectly fine, aren’t I?”
Niolle had teardrops in the corner of her eyes, seemingly shocked by the ordeal. How long had it been since he had received such concern from another person? It felt strange.
Bennett gently stroked Niolle’s hair and stood up. When he looked around, he saw Tara, curled up and shaking.
Bennett asked in startlement.
“…..Tara, is…something wrong? Did the safety mechanism not work properly?”
“N-No. That’s not it. I’m…I’m fine too. Just…a bit shaken is all.”
Her reaction was more than just being startled; she was in a deep state of panic akin to a child who had lost something immensely important. Bennett thought of offering some words of reassurance…. But remained silent. After all, he was not used to saying such words.
Instead, he walked over to Tara and lightly tapped her on the head.
After all, it was a gesture of support he used to give his little sister when she was anxious. Bennet thought Tara would lose her temper, demanding him to remove his hand immediately. However, Tara didn’t react much, perhaps needing that reassurance. As such, Bennett continued to pat her head silently.
After all, they had been stranded in an unfamiliar world, faced brutal loss, and pushed to the brink of death.
It seemed to have taken a toll on both Tara and Niolle. While cuts could be stitched together, scars left by tearing and ripping were painful, sore, and hard to treat.
When reflecting, it was an utter failure.
All three people had not been able to fulfill their respective desires. Bennett had hoped for a glimmer of a clue to save his sister, yet could not obtain it, Tara had wished for a family, yet had lost it, and Niolle wanted to save people, yet had only increased the burden of her guilt.
Failure. However…
“……However, there is always a next time, isn’t there? So…”
Bennett wanted to say everything was going to be alright. Yet, feeling not entirely convinced himself, he chose silence.
In that quiet, they comforted each other in their own awkward ways.
By the time the instigator of this catastrophe, the Crazy Wizard, entered the room, it was 30 minutes after the session had ended.