Chapter 243
The next morning. Deculein and Idnik were walking side by side across the island’s forest.
“It is dangerous even for me to wander around for more than twelve hours.”
The erosion limit was twelve hours. After that, they would slowly forget. For anyone, including Idnik.
“If possible, move. We don’t know what will happen.”
“How many hours did the previous me last?”
“It was created at four o’clock in the afternoon and disappeared at six in the morning, so only fourteen hours.”
Idnik left out that Sylvia had destroyed him. Deculein nodded.
“Okay. It is right to move in the enemy territory like a dune.”
“What… a dune?”
“Like the dunes in the desert that move without anyone noticing.”
“Don’t pretend you fucking know what you’re talking about.”
Rustle— Rustle—
Deculein walked silently. Idnik, watching him, had a question come to mind.
“Can I ask you one thing?”
“Feel free.”
“…Don’t you have to meet your ex-fiancée?”
The wind blew past them, causing the branches above to sway. Deculein shook his head.
“I should meet her.”
“Oho. What are you going to do when-“
“I have to kill her.”
“…”
Swooosh-
A greater wind pushed through the trees, sending leaves raining down. Idnik scratched the back of her neck.
“Can you kill her so easily?”
Deculein nodded.
“It’s a fake anyway. It’s no different than killing a demon.”
“…Even if it looks just like the person you loved?”
“I’m going to kill it because I love her.”
At that, Idnik’s eyes opened a bit wider. Deculein brushed off the fallen leaves from his shoulders.
“She’s the one whom my soul loves the most.”
“…”
Just that. With just that, Idnik knew his love. She understood the great emotion under the surface.
“It’s a demon that imitates such a person.”
His blue eyes flashed murderous intent.
“There is no way I cannot kill it.”
A truly angry voice resonated through the forest, echoing. Idnik frowned.
“…Then, follow me. Let’s go to Zukaken.”
“Zukaken. Is he still here?”
“Yeah. That poor bastard. He’s trapped. Have you met Zukaken too?”
“Pretty often. He had even asked me a favor.”
Zukaken, the leader of the Six Snakes. He was the one who gave Deculein the quest to kill Sierra and Yuli.
* * *
—…She’s the one whom my soul loves the most.
In the center of the island stood an elongated lighthouse guarding all directions. Deculein’s words through the magic wind reached the owner of that place’s ears, Sylvia. She closed her eyes and whispered.
“She’s the one whom my soul loves the most.”
‘I wish it were me. I wish it were me.’
Sylvia was desperately hoping for it. To fully embody Deculein, this island also grew more real so that she could live anew. With Deculein, sharing her love with him…
“Sylvia!”
Sierra tapped her shoulder. Sylvia was startled.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing.”
Sierra smiled broadly and offered her apples cut like rabbits. Sylvia smiled.
“Thank you.”
“Yeah. Study hard.”
Sierra left again, and Sylvia looked at the spellbook atop her desk. She took up the pen with a slightly sour face. She wanted to see Deculein for a longer time, but she still needed to study. To perfect this island and draw a new Deculein, a more certain magic theory was needed. The current Deculein would melt away soon anyway.
Scratch- Scratch-
As Sylvia wrote down complicated formulas on a blank magic paper, she felt the happiness that filled the corner of her heart. Deculein was here. Sierra was also here. The two people she loved were with her. Just that fact alone made her emotions overflow…
* * *
“It’s a shantytown.”
That was the best way to describe it.
“Right. I told you. No one lives like me.”
Idnik responded. This was the outskirts of the island where the remaining adventurers gathered. Most of them slept on the ground like homeless people or in buildings made of several boards.
“Still, there is no erosion here. The soil and the town are real… hey, Zukaken.”
Idnik kicked someone among those on the floor. He leaned back and looked up at us.
“What now….”
It was Zukaken. I remembered he used to be quite handsome, but now his beard had grown long and dirty, and his face was covered with bits of dried soup.
“…Deculein?!”
When he yelled my name, the eyes around us focused… actually; they didn’t. Most of the adventurers had already given up on life, so they were all sleeping or idle.
“How did you… oh. He’s fake, right?”
Zukaken looked at Idnik and asked. Idnik didn’t answer, but she mumbled.
“Hey, I heard that the crazy bitch’s skills at the lighthouse are getting better day by day. That psycho bitch finally painted such a high-quality Deculein…”
Idnik poked at his eyes while Zukaken looked me up and down.
“Ugh!”
Zukaken grabbed at his eyes. The way he was trembling was hilarious.
“Damn it, what are you doing! It hurts!”
“This guy is not fake. He’s real.”
“Shit, why did you come here all of a…”
Zukaken was interrupted. The red-eyed man cleared his ears and asked again.
“…What? W-What? Is it real or fake?”
“He’s real. This Deculein.”
“…”
Zukaken swallowed. He glanced around and asked me in a low voice.
—Is it real?
“Believe if you want. Put that dirty face away. It is hard work just looking at it.”
“It’s real!”
Zukaken’s hair stood up.
“Then, if you came, it means there’s a way out—”
“I came to make one.”
“…Nice!”
He clenched his fists tightly, then spun around as if dancing. That was a really weird movement.
“I knew that one day the sun would shine. I knew I could get off this crazy horror island.”
“I need someone I can use. Do you know someone?”
“Oh, of course! Follow me. There is a guild room!”
Zukaken ran ahead with a bright face. I watched his back, and Idnik shrugged.
“That’s how much he wants to get off this island, I guess.”
Five minutes later, we arrived at the Guild Room. It was also a shack. People must have lived like this when they were at their poorest right after the Korean War.
“Hey! Here’s the real Deculein! The Magic Professor! A genius in interpreting magic formulas! The spear of Yukline that will defeat the demon!”
There were only three people in the guild room. I looked at their faces. However, one of them stood out. He was so special that I couldn’t help but feel curious. Looking at that face, I tilted my head.
“…Professor Deculein! This is Arlos. It’s a little different from the Arlos you knew, but it’s for sure me. Please give him your full name right away.”
Fake name Arlos, real name Cynthia. It was her real body.
“Hey, everyone! Admire Deculein!”
Arlos’s jewel-like appearance, her characteristic, was perfect for my aesthetic sense. It was brilliant. Beautiful. My gaze kept moving towards her, and she looked at me too. But her face contorted terribly. She clenched her teeth and shook her head before speaking.
“This fucking idiot. Why are you bringing a fake here? Fuck, this fucking bastard. This dog food waste, I should have ripped his intestines out this time, fuck.”
“…”
I frowned. Zukaken reprimanded her.
“Whoa, whoa? Put it away, you fucking bastard, you don’t know who’s talking-“
“Quiet. Her personality was ruined by staying in a place like this for five years, I can understand.”
I shook my head and interrupted her.
“Why is your mouth so dirty?”
“…What?”
“Is that really your real body?”
For a moment, Arlos’s expression hardened. She looked between Idnik and me until Zukaken responded, fiddling with his earlobe.
“…I told you, he’s real. The real Deculein. He came here from the continent. To kill the Voice.”
“The real Deculein?”
“Right. This Deculein is real.”
Idnik affirmed. However, Arlos’s expression faltered.
“Then you shouldn’t be here even more. You should run-“
The moment Arlos shouted to run away, my head was cut off first. Round and round…
My sight was rolling as my head soared through the air. In that brief moment, I found the face of a certain man, and I smiled.
Gerek. One of the strongest and most pitiful candidates whose entire village was razed by Deculein. Our meeting, after a long time, was over in an instant.
* * *
“Did something like that happen?”
…That’s how I became the third Deculein. After the second Deculein’s death, Idnik, enraged, overturned the Guild Room and later explained my existence.
“Oh… and I think it’s right not to lie. I lied because I was sorry. You are not even the third.”
I frowned at Idnik.
“What.”
“You’re the fifth. Gerek killed you twice more. I tried to stop him, but he said he couldn’t stand it.”
“…Where is that beast now?”
I just grew angry. Not once, but thrice. That bastard crossed the line. Arlos explained.
“Gerek is locked up.”
“But it doesn’t matter if you die or not, right? You are a fake who admits to being fake.”
I looked at Zukaken and nodded.
“Real or fake, I have work to do. To destroy this place, I need the help of worms like you too.”
I put the map on the desk. Through the third, fourth, and fifth Deculeins, the magic circle was completed by about 10%.
“You guys need to draw this magic circle underground.”
“Underground? How?”
To Zukaken’s question, I briefly explained.
“Like a mole digging a tunnel.”
“A tunnel… If so, it’s surprisingly easy. The vigilantes don’t go under the ground.”
“And Idnik, you watch Sylvia.”
Idnik shrugged.
“She doesn’t care what we do anyway. She just cares about making the perfect you.”
“Gosh~, what a crazy psychopath. Why is that crazy bitch so obsessed with a man?”
Idnik’s face contorted at Zukaken’s rant.
Ignoring the two of them arguing, I looked at Arlos.
“Arlos.”
“…Hey. Long time no see.”
“It’s pretty new to see you here.”
“Ha. I’m going crazy too, damn. The Voice is my natural enemy, coming to me regardless of puppet or real body. I was locked up for five years.”
Arlos shook her head.
“Gerek and you, it’s rather fortunate to meet you here.”
“…Indeed, you would feel that. If we had met outside, Gerek would have killed you already. Anyway, what is my role?”
“It’s simple. Escort me.”
“…Escort?”
“Right. You are my escort.”
I took off my gloves and held out my bare hand to her. I was suggesting to shake hands. Arlos glanced at me suspiciously.
“Why? What about Idnik?”
“The reason and a more detailed mission will probably be told by the next me. There’s no way I can do what I’m thinking now. Won’t you shake my hand?”
“…Forget it.”
Arlos became expressionless again. Looking at that face, I smiled. Arlos was startled and pulled her head back. On the other hand, I relaxed my posture rather gently.
“Professor, why are you laughing?”
“…Well.”
My voice naturally lowered. My eyes didn’t deviate an inch from her.
“You’re disgusting. Move.”
“…”
Now, Deculein’s personality was at work, like a switch turned on out of nowhere. This was a very rare example where this damn personality acted positively.
“Arlos.”
“…What?”
The appearance of Arlos now was the same as the setting and design. Rather, as the years passed, the present version, which had matured somewhat, was more perfect.
“Is this the first time I’ve seen your true form so bright and close? Or is it the first time we’ve met like this?”
“…It must have been a few times.”
Of course, Sylvia and Julie also were great beauties, but I wasn’t foolish enough to judge someone by their appearance in the first place. However, some humans in this world have an artistic appearance.
“I love art. I can be proud that my sense of beauty is superior to any nobles or royalty in the world.”
“…What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
I reached out and ran my hand through Arlos’s hair. In an instant, her whole body stiffened as she startled.
“…It is impeccable.”
Her fluttering hair was too clean. Maybe it was because of her characteristic?
“Uh…”
Her mouth was half-open. She didn’t even blink, as if she had never imagined this.
“I can assure you that I love and support art more than anyone else.”
The characteristic of Arlos recorded by the system, Human Art.
“Arlos.”
It doesn’t mean she was the most beautiful in this world. It wasn’t like love at first sight or something like that; it wasn’t an ignorant development. This surreal appearance just resembled the noble and mysterious art of this world.
“The noblest and most beautiful piece of art in the world, if something like that existed, you would be a little more beautiful.”
The artistic exterior of Arlos stimulated Deculein’s aesthetic sense stronger than anyone else…