Beyond that purple door, a different world of pure white awaited me.
First of all, I shrank back from the too strong cold wind and squinted my eyes. However, there is no strain on my body that much. It was because the heavy pressure of the 'curse' of the example had disappeared more than the effect of the 《Level Up》.
Fearfully, I stepped through the soft white earth-like substance with my shoes, bathed in the white powder that was falling lazily.
It was very quiet. All I could hear was the soft footsteps of me and Lady Legacy.
Slowly, my narrowed eyes widen, and the world that was originally called the World of Stone is projected into my vision.
The stone towers that were linked together like a mountain range around them were all frozen. Stone roads were also laid underfoot, but they were all frozen. Perhaps because they were covered with pure white frost instead of transparent ice, I felt as if I had wandered into a pure white, colorless painting cloth.
'What is this ......?'
Even his own breath was frozen, and he was surprised to see white smoke coming out of his mouth.
It really was all white.
What was whiter than anything else was the clouds that covered the heavens.
The color of that counterpart to the dark clouds of our world made me nearly fall over, dazzled.
Next I turn both palms up to the heavens and try to pick up the falling white powder-like substance.
But the moment I pick it up, it loses its shape and becomes water. At first I thought it was the 'Rain of Magic Power (Tear Ray)', but it turns out to be something else entirely.
"Snow, apparently. Didn't you see it in the 'Northern League'?
'I haven't seen ....... I turned back around around the Vyisian country, so ......
I know about snow and snowfields from literature.
But I didn't expect it to be this white. The temperature of the blood inside me rises at the fresh sight I see for the first time. But the out-of-place excitement is soon tempered by the otherworldly cold air.
I found a cluster of white 'threads' that swayed like wolf smoke on the other side of the crisp snowfall.
I understand that this is also a battlefield, and I re-gather information about my surroundings.
The swarm of ice statues in the surrounding towers really stand out.
I just described them as towers, but they were very different in construction from the ones in Hoozeyer's. They were not cylinders, but square columns. They were all shaped like square columns instead of cylinders, and the material they were made of could not simply be lumped in with stone. It was only because I had recently dabbled in blacksmithing that I knew it was a different thing, similar to stone.
The ice sculptures in that unknown tower are just too many.
The towers are as dense as Hoozeyards Castle, sometimes in a row, sometimes built high in the sky.
'Um, Lady Legacy ....... Is this the site of some castle ......?
No, it's not a rare part of town in our world. That's a 'building' and where we're standing now is a 'motorway', apparently. ...... but you don't have to remember that. What's important right now is that way.
Lady Legacy stepped over the snow field - or rather, over the snow-covered 'motorway' - and approached the small ice statue.
I followed behind it to see what was inside.
It contained a boy clad in a strange outfit I hadn't seen before.
Somehow, I understand that this boy is also a 'gentile', as his clothes are similar to the clothes he wore when I first met my master.
Then I don't just focus on the large ice statue, but also on the smaller ice statues scattered around.
There were some oddly shaped iron blocks among them, but most of them were human ice statues.
A lot of 'gentiles', both young and old, were frozen. If you look closely, you can see that there is always a single white 'thread' extending from the ice statue with the person in it to the sky.
As you can see. Before we left for this world, Yangtaki froze all the creatures.''
...... It's Sister Yotaki's 'Ice Power'.
"To be precise, the Lord says it's not frozen, but 'still'. Everything in this world, including the worldly laws of time, is 'still' by Yangtaki.
I thought it was a joke.
However, the mere mention of the person's name, Sister Yotaki, did not elicit any rebuttal from me. I was closer to that evil sign than anyone else, so I nodded back lightly, ''I see,'' and quickly confirmed the next piece of information.
''There's a 'thread' of Sister Yotaki coming out of the ice statue. That's the sky over there--
As I followed the wavering "threads" with my eyes, I found a huge hole floating on the distant horizon. All the white 'threads' were gathered there, so it was like a white vortex in the sky.
'Ah. That's the 'slit' you know so well.
The question was answered immediately.
But I couldn't nod my head easily at the answer.
I had always felt a gaze in the 'slice' I knew so well.
The owner of that gaze I tentatively called the "world": ...... There is no sign of that at the end of the whirlpool I'm looking at now. But although I don't feel the 'world', that doesn't mean there is no one there.
I see. In other words, that 'break' is--
The smell is familiar.
The owner of that smell is no doubt--
Yeah. That's leading to 'Aikawa Yotaki'. In other words, you could say it's connected to our world now.
............
He answered immediately again.
I puff out my cheeks a little.
Although I don't have the pleasure of answering him compared to sister Youtaki, I will continue to listen to him seriously now.
''First, 'Apostle' Diprakra diagnosed Youtaki as having a 'constitution that draws too much magic power' when he saw her. But that wasn't accurate. The main reason for the illness is that the entire time he was in our world, he was sucking the magical power of this other world's creatures. I guess one of the reasons is that I was using that gained magical power to mass produce even more white 'threads'.
This is another thing I wanted to answer, but Lady Legacy would go ahead and explain one after another.
It was a bit unsatisfying, as if she was telling me spoilers for the book I was reading.
''There's one reason why Yotaki has more white 'threads'. I suppose it's to make our world look the same as it does here. However, next time, he should connect the 'thread' to Vortex Wave, not himself. I'm going to make my brother eat one of the worlds just like me to make him an 'equal' - thanks to what you've told me. The Lord was terribly grateful to you.
Hi. ......
Feeling a bit grumpy, I return the words curtly. Legacie-sama looks dubious, but she quickly resolidifies her expression and starts walking again.
'Come here. It's easier to talk in the basement.'
He then led me to a gate, which appeared to be a doorway leading to the basement.
There was a hole in the ground just barely big enough for one cart to pass through, and there was a neatly maintained underground staircase.
There was a little snow on the ground, but it wasn't frozen over. If we were careful with our feet, we would be able to go down inside.
I glanced at the sign attached to the top of the gate before I followed Lady Legacy down the stairs. It was written in what appeared to be the Japanese language, but I couldn't read it because it was white with frost.
I followed Lady Legacy ahead of me down the stairs, trying not to slip.
A few minutes later, what awaited me at the end of the stairs was a huge underground space that defied my expectations.
It was so vast yet complex that it seemed as if the castle had been built upside down with the ground as its boundary.
I looked around the underground space with my eyes shining.
It wasn't just big, but everything I saw was fresh. I was just a little disappointed that all of them were white with frost.
He busily moved his gaze around to see if there was anything that wasn't frozen somehow.
Along the way, he felt uncomfortable with the ice statues of people scattered all over the place. It's no surprise that it's not snowing underground, but there was one other difference from the ground.
...... Huh? I don't see a "string"? I mean, this place is--
'It's one of the few weaknesses of The Thread. Under a continent, the 'thread' can't hold its shape. The reason for this is because of the ...... different dimensions.
After a sufficient pause in the middle, Lady Legacy spoke the words she had once heard.
He sensed the omission of explanation there and furrowed his brow.
'...... Another dimension, right? Isn't that word too convenient?
Don't tell me. It's just a message from the Lord.
Lady Legacy says the problem is not with her, but with the Lord, who entrusts her with a message.
I don't think he's lying. His face was serious - he just looked somewhat dumbfounded. When I try to read the circumstances behind it, Legacy-sama starts walking again.
I follow behind him, making several turns in the road, passing by several frosty pillars and descending further underground stairs.
It was too quiet on the road, so I threw in a few topics of conversation.
'It's like a maze, isn't it? There are many blind spots to hide soldiers. Are they thinking of defending this place from the outside world?
'Maybe. A bit like Daryl's Labyrinthine Castle in the Northern League, which prevented numerous invasions from the south.
...... Surprisingly, you've been to a lot of places. I have yet to visit the city of Darryl.
'I've been traveling as much as you have, so I've been traveling as much as you have: ....... I love to travel. I haven't dazzled you with my whereabouts too many times in Datu.
The conversation is more lively than I expected.
As I've felt before, Lady Legacy and I are somewhat like each other.
Just because we love to travel, we can talk and laugh in our own way.
However, although we were supposed to be talking about our hobbies, Legacy-sama's face was not good. The reason can be read from his monologue before he was brought here.
If the reason for his love of travel was set up for the convenience of his spawn, 'Since Apostle Legacy is an insurance policy, he should be outside of the story,' then the entire banter would be empty.
Realizing this, I stopped the conversation and continued to walk behind Lady Legacy in silence. Finally, after a few minutes of moving, he stopped.
''Is it enough for you to come this far?''
He seems to be quite wary of his Yangtaki sister's 'thread', and after looking around several times, he took out the magical stone from his pocket again.
I realized that another unknown 'spell' was going to be activated and I braced myself. Then Legacy-sama tells me the details of the power ahead of time.
"From now on, I'll make you see one past that was in this other world. There is no danger.
Can you see past? How on earth did you manage to get to ......?
It's ...... simply put, it's about seeing a different dimension.
Again? You just flipped the 'different dimension' earlier.
I finally revealed my irritation at the appropriate explanation that followed.
After a generous pause, Lady Legacy heard my complaint and shook her head in dismay.
'............. The ...... Lord is frightened. Take it from me. I hope you'll let him off the hook for his poor explanations of the Lord.
'What ......? Yeah. ......
I groaned at the surrender of the explanation, which I didn't expect.
In other words, it seems that the reason I kept repeating "different dimensions" over and over again was just because the Lord was not a good talker.
The image I had always held of a higher being who had managed the 'world' for thousands of years was falling apart. It's not exactly the spawn of the three 'apostles' who are unfamiliar with her feelings, it seems.
''Anyway, let's begin. We will now 'see past' the reason why Yangtaki is immortal.
However, I can't stay upset about the collapse of that image forever.
I regain my composure in the face of the main purpose of moving to this other world.
And little by little, the brilliance of the stone Legacy-sama's possession increases.
In tandem with that, the landscape of the snowfield on the ground where we were just a moment ago overlaps with the vision I'm seeing now.
If it's as Legacie-sama said, it's the landscape of the 'past'.
The events that happened in this other world before Yotaki sister did to our world are now reflected in my eyes.
''............?!''
When I saw that scene, I gasped for breath.
The reason is that what I am seeing now is the figure of Yotaki's sister lying on the snowfield, bleeding.
Moreover, the right half of her head was blown off by some kind of attack. Nearby, there was a person who was clothed in a kind of black armor all over her body, holding a heavy black iron lump in both hands.
--Is this the moment Aikawa Yotaki died from the enemy's attack?
However, the scene that followed overturned the speculation.
Sister Yotaki stood up unperturbed with her head missing the right half of her head.
At her feet, the 'thread' of the example continued to swirl around. Naturally, the person in black armor who was confronting her screamed - in the next moment, her entire body was covered in white frost, and she turned into an ice statue.
In the meantime, Sister Youtaki's head had also been restored.
If I'm not mistaken, the 'threads' underneath her feet had gathered at the damaged spot, imitating her head as if she was going to knit it, and was converted into bloody flesh.
That's where the 'past vision' ended.
The overlapping vision completely disappeared and all I could see was Legacy-sama talking in the underground space. I wanted to complain about the too-short 'past vision', but when I saw his pale face and profuse sweating, I swallowed my words.
'Hah, hah, hah ......! On that day, one of the heroes from this other world destroyed Yangtaki's head in a coincidence that was like passing a needle hole. But it was in vain. Yotaki gathered magic power from the tip of the "thread" and reconstructed the head just before it was destroyed. Even if it was a sudden death, it was automatic. --This is what the Lord says is immortal.
Having explained that much, Lady Legacy takes a deep breath and catches her breath.
On the other hand, I, without even taking a breath, organize the current information.
The Lord seems to have judged the current scene to be immortal, but my view is different.
In fact, I was even more hopeful about the current vision of the past. You can't even touch the Youtaki sister with your "body art", but it was a bright spot that her head could be blown off if the conditions were right. The healing process is not that unreasonable either.
To me, who silently pondered this, Legacy-sama waved her next story at me.
''And the Lord says you can kill this Yangtaki, you can kill it,''
'What ......, I've said so far that I'm immortal ....... Me?
Apparently, that's where the story comes in.
In short, this is probably a solicitation to say, "I'm going to be a pawn like the 'Apostle'.
I don't understand it either. But it seems you have a good chance. He says that he can see the scene of you alone beating Yangtaki in the infinitely branching future. That's a chance that doesn't even reach one percent, and although the odds are so slight that even a number like 0.000000 can't track it, there is indeed a victory, the Lord--
How useful I am to sister Yotaki, Legacie-sama speaks coldly and without hesitation. It's similar to what Master is proposing to quantify, and I wrinkle my brows.
And in the middle of the story, Legacy-sama - stopped.
I look at Legasy-sama's expression, wondering if he took the time to explain again.
But there was a different expression on his face than I had expected.
He was staring at his palm with a self-mocking smile on his face. Then, after shaking his head repeatedly in small increments, he muttered in a muffled voice.
'Oh ......, no. This isn't that silly, this is much simpler. I know better than the Lord. This isn't about that ......!
Saying that, Lady Legacy looked up.
And this time, she sends me words that are not indifferent and cold, but with plenty of heat.
''--Tiara Fuzzyaz. If it's true, you were the 'hero'.
...... Huh?
It was an explanation that, like Sister Yotaki's, correctly understood my preferences.
It was too easy to understand and swallow. But it was something I could never tolerate.
'You know what I mean? You were the only one among the beings that were just made by someone else, and you were not made. You were born as a person. From the moment you met the Gentiles, you were the only one who was free. You are the only one who could save the world: ......!
I can't keep quiet on this one and I argue.
'Hey, what do you mean ......? Yes, that's the only difference! If there was a 'protagonist', it was a master ...... and not me ......!
''That was a 'fiction' prepared by Yotaki. You know that, don't you? It's not real.
However, the illusion that the master is the 'hero' of the 'ideal' is easily cut off and discarded. No refutation of this affirmation is immediately forthcoming from me.
I'm not sure if there is a real 'protagonist' in our world, it's just you. ...... I'm sure Yotaki sensed that before anyone else. I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world. ...... Hey, what did you think? What about the adventure of risking your life with your "ideal" hero? You didn't think you were the hero at all, did you? Wasn't it so fabulously fun that you almost forgot the original purpose? At least I always envied that I was having a lot of fun. Right?
It's .......
I've had a lot of fun, and as a result you lacked a sense of urgency, you couldn't be serious about becoming 'equal' to Yotaki. I was satisfied with the status quo and spent too much time on it. That's what I'm judging.
When he arrived here, Lady Legacy, who had seemed boring all the time, came alive.
But it's not just that he seems to be having fun. He kept poking at my weaknesses precisely by describing them in terms of my favorite books.
My chest suddenly feels painful and I feel like I'm going to stop breathing.
Up to this point, 'Humanity's first visit to another world', 'Sister Yotaki froze one world', 'It's okay if your head is blown off', 'Foul view of the past or the future' - it doesn't matter what I'm talking about, only the one word, 'protagonist', is the only thing that keeps me on the edge of my seat and Let's go.
I wasn't serious: ......?
I almost forgot the original purpose of ......?
''Wow, I was serious, was ....... Definitely, I'm serious, I'm serious about 'dueling' with Sister Yotaki ......
No. Yotaki, who continued to prepare on his own while you passed the present to Aikawa Uzumi, is much more serious.
I gave a small shake of my head, saying that such a thing was impossible, but Legacy-sama's pursuit of me continued relentlessly.
''If you were serious, you should have used the love interest directed at you by 'Aikawa Uzumi' without erasing it. You should have tricked and guided Aikawa Uzumi into hitting Aikawa Yotaki. On top of that, they should have betrayed us immature Apostles in cold blood. At the same time, we should have also exploited the gaps in the hearts of the poor reason-stealers, instigated them and disposed of them well.
This was also right on target.
At the very least, sister Yotaki was growing herself and sabotaging her opponent at the same time. But I didn't.
''You never once took yourself seriously. So, unfortunately, our world is almost over. The only 'hero' was just undeserving, by the hands of an invader from another world.
With those sarcastic words at the end, Lady Legacey finished her pursuit.
I had no words to return.
If there was, it was a different part of the pursuit.
'Hey, that ....... Are you sure that's what the Lord is saying ......?
His attitude has changed too much.
Clearly, he has abandoned his role as a messenger in the process.
However, Legacie-sama nodded hawkishly.
'Of course, this is a message. The message is the reason for my existence. There is no mistake about that. ...... But I independently decided that it would be useless to just pass on the Lord's "Hang in there, Tiara Hoozeyers" and "There's still hope for you to turn the tables" and "There's still hope for you to turn the tables," so I made a few adjustments along the way.
My guess was not wrong.
But at the same time, I was surprised.
The 'Apostle' Legacy-sama, who hadn't felt any fun at all until today, had acquired human-like emotions here.
The way he mocked the Lord with a phrase that suited my tastes - it was too much to break down the mental wall I was building against him.
Thanks to that, I could listen to Legacey without mercy.
'Really? If you're going to ......, I want to see the owner of the site. Let me see what's going on. If you can, I'd like to hear more about what you meant earlier about being in a different dimension.
'Unfortunately, I can't do that. Shamefully, the Lord is terrified of you, too.
The respectful words were completely removed, but Lady Legacy continued to receive them in a very light tone of voice, without wishing to.
'You're supporting me and you're scared?
What I'm rooting for is 'You-taki and Tiara's battle against each other'. Never, not you personally.
"...... Finally!
The fact that the Lord seems to have been hiding it from me was easily mentioned by Legacy.
It seems that he decided it was only a matter of time before I would see through it and prioritized trust by confessing his plans first.
Unlike when I was committed to the Lord's message, I could feel the bargaining between people there.
However, that meant that Lord-san was completely out of the mosquito net, and deliberately, Legacy shrugged his shoulders.
''--Oops. Apparently, this seems to be the end of the Lord's story. Perhaps it's because you spoke without regard to the Lord, you're teasing me a bit.
'Ah ......, that's a bit of a bad thing I did. I need to be reminded of that.
'Yeah, let's reflect on that. I've got to have more respect for the Lord.
It must have been a pretty rude conversation, but it still left me without any special contact from the Lord.
From that gentle response, my image of Lord-san was solidified as "a mother who is shocked by her stray son".
It's similar to the example of "The World".
I thought it would be easy to do.
When I had made up my mind that I would definitely go see him in person one day, Legacy suddenly threw a stone in my hand.
"By the way, this 'magic stone' is a gift from the Lord to you.
I hurriedly received it and checked the stone up close.
I immediately knew that it was the same type of 'magic stone' that the dead Helmina-san was dealing with.
I stare at it to analyze it further, but before I can do so, Legacy walks back the way I came.
'Now my part is over. I'm going to go back over there first and start looking for myself again, but ...... you'd better stay here a little longer. You can use that 'magic stone' to formulate a new strategy.
A valuable source of information is about to leave.
I didn't want to call off its back.
Even if I was in no hurry, Legacy would appear in front of me again. That too, this time not as an 'apostle', but as a mere Legacy, before me--
With that in mind, I left Legacy on a journey of self-discovery.
Thus, I stand alone in the pitch-black depths of the basement. Here, thanks to the absence of the influence of the 'curse', I can think long and hard.
A lot of things really happened in succession, so I decided that I needed to take a look at myself as well as Legacy.
''...... I like my master. Of course, I also like my sister Yotaki.
The first thing I said was the premise.
No matter what happens, this one thing will never change.
I am deeply grateful, longing and pining for the 'Gentiles' and the 'Apostles' who rescued me from my sickbed. They are my roots.
'But that Yotaki sister is trying to destroy our world.
It's a terrible thing.
But I don't have the righteousness to protect the world as the Lord has requested.
If there's a problem, it's that Master would be sad if the world was destroyed. I know that deep in Master's heart, he had a faint wish for 'everyone together'.
For the sake of Master's smile, I know that sister Yotaki wants to stop it.
However, in order to stop Sister Youtaki, who has already used one world as her magic source, it would be necessary to sacrifice at least one world to stop her.
If we tried to push it too far, it would result in 'Sister Yotaki and I fighting each other', just as the Lord intended.
No matter how it turns out, Master has been made to lose something important.
Then, when I asked myself if I have no choice but to give up on Master's wishes anymore - I remembered my own lines.
"--I'm going to change everything from now on. ...... I'll figure out all of the 'laws' of 'reason' and create a new law of magic. ...... I'll make the 'magic' that will make everyone happy that we set out to do together--
It was a spur-of-the-moment promise.
The words were uttered just to stop my master's outburst.
But in the back of my mind, it settled very neatly.
Of course, there is no such fairy tale 'magic'.
No matter how many times you repeat the skill 'reading', there is no such thing anywhere.
The 'magic' that makes everyone happy ....... The real 'magic', or .......
However, that's why that 'magic' is the only thing--.
I stared at the "magic stone" in my hand.
The magical stone the Lord gave me was the crystallization of all the power that included not only the power of the dimension, but also the power of blood. When I saw the "magic stone" as if it summed up all the pages from today, I began to develop my "magic" as usual.
No matter what you do, the ability to repel the 'curse' is essential.
I have yet to find the 'Last Page of Tiara Fuzzyards' that I am satisfied with. To be clear, I don't like both the last page that the world imposes on me and the last page prepared by my sister Yotaki.
So I start writing one page at a time, alone in another world (・・・・・・・)
--I believe that only that 'magic' is a 'miracle' to see 'Aikawa Yotaki's Last Page'.