Maze

tl: deepl & diced

It's foolish to be ignorant.

This world was filled with things that are better off left unknown.

Surely this was one of those kinds of things.

Even a clown dancing on stage being laughed at by people wouldn't feel hurt by it if he didn't know the truth.

"What is it, Thea?"

As Gadio got up from bed, Thea who was standing at the windowsill asked a question.

She was dressed only in a thin sheet, with the lines of her body showing through the tightly stretched fabric.

On the other hand, Gadio's upper half was naked.

Obviously his lower half was hidden -- it would be rude to ask what had happened last night.

"Um, it's nothing."

Responding like that, Thea stayed in front of the window.

Her gaze reflected the church.

Gadio looked to his wife like a goddess shining in the morning sun.

It was like a dream.

Up until Thea had died, we thought we would someday have a child and build a warm family.

That is to say now, before Gadio's eyes was a dream that he had lost.

Naturally what he had deeply wanted, Thea wanted it too, these two were tied together.

The reaction she had to being touched, the feel of her skin, the warmth of her body, the sound of her voice, the love she had for him, nothing had changed since that time.

No -- the further away away he got from the time he lost her, the more this feeling intensified.

Hugging her with both arms, he found it was unmistakably Thea.

It was unmistakably Thea.

Lacking doubt and discomfort, it was truly was the girl from that time unaltered -- if that was the case, why was Gadio feeling overwhelming unease looking at her?

"Thea, come over here."

"What is it Gadio-kun, do you want to be spoiled?"

Thea smiled while turning around.

Her sheet shaking as she approached, she sat down on the edge of the bed.

As she rested slender fingertips on Gadio's face, she repeatedly kissed his face, touching his face and neck.

Ignorance is truly bliss.

Knowledge is restraint, wisdom and freedom are incompatible.

Even when he knew this, Gadio hoped it was real.

Suddenly Thea's kisses stopped, and she looked out of the window.

"Thea?"

"Nnn ..... What's the matter, Gadio-kun."

She responded with an unchanged tone of voice.

However, the thing she said was "What's the matter".

There was no special sound.

No one passed by outside, and there was no indication of anyone.

If that was the case, what was she looking outside in reaction to?

"Hey, Thea"

Calling out to her again.

"What's the matter?"

Again, she responded in the same way while staring outside.

Gadio's right eyelid twitched and quivered.

Driven by anxiety, he forcefully turned her around and hugged Thea.

She let out a voice of "Kya!?" showing a surprised expression to Gadio.

"Come on, Gadio-kun, haven't you been acting strange since some time ago? Did you have a scary dream?"

-- The one who is weird is Thea.

Gadio really wanted to say that, but he skillfully stopped his words in his throat from coming out.

If he said it, all of this would come to an end.

His sparse dots of anxiety would soon connect in a line.

Gadio strongly wished in his mind:

Please, at least for a little bit longer, don't answer me.

Let me dream of passing time with Thea.

◇◇◇

Flamm drew her sword against something that was Rukou as she approached.

But her hand was trembling.

She was once a human being, and a one-year-old baby at that.

Flamm had not lost her humanity to the point where she could slash at someone without question.

Fortunately, her speed of movement was very slow, so it is easy for her to escape.

"Behind you, Master!"

Flamm turned around at the sound of Milkit's voice.

There stood three men and women dressed in white.

They were standing erect and not showing any signs of attempting to attack her, but they were clearly blocking his escape route.

Their gazes were fixed on Flamm, and she felt the same creepiness that she had felt yesterday.

She had to kill the three of them or kill Rukou, who had turned strange and disfigured.

Her body was now even more warped in the ongoing process, her human body stretched and crushed and bound in an almost circular shape, so much so that it was now doubtful that she was even human to begin with.

However, a slight trace of her face remained in her twitching fingers, her drooling mouth, and most of all, in the eyeballs that stared at Flamm.

It was this that made it difficult for her to make up her mind.

-- Don't hesistate, there should be only one thing to protect here and now.

Flamm told herself.

Milkit's trembling hand gripped her clothes.

There was warmth, there was breath, there was a voice -- no matter who the enemy was, there wasn't anything more important than her life.

"Haa......aaaahhhh!"

Dotch!

A sword swung down and cut Rukou in half.

Blood splattered, and a sludgy red and yellow semi-solid substance flowed from within.

But her body still did not stop pulsating.

It twisted and turned, spurting out blood as if it were being wrung out of a cloth.

"Uu ......"

Flamm frowned at the sight, the smell, and the unpleasant sensation in her palm.

But at the same time, it made her feel a little better.

She was now completely convinced that that thing was not human at all.

A lump of human-like flesh born of a human-like creature - that was the true identity of the babies in this village.

Perhaps Milkit's prediction was spot on.

A body without a soul could never give birth to a new life with a soul.

So it must imitate.

And the closer they got to Flamm, the stronger 「Origin's Will」 became and so the more the ...... human form broke down and turned into a monster.

Flamm, herself ddid not know why the 「Origin」 was so obsessed with her.

Perhaps it was because of Jean's selfishness that its plans had gone awry?

To get it back on track, it wanted Flamm.

She didn't have any obligation to go along with this creepy, stalker-like obsession.

"Let's go, Milkit."

Flamm grabbed Milkit's hand and started to run.

She passed by Rukou and moved forward, but it was the opposite of the exit this way.

"Where are you going?"

"That way is blocked, and I think I'll go see Dafiz-san for now."

"You think he going to be okay? ......"

"I don't know, but I don't think he's been fooling us. Perhaps even Dafiz-san, himself, didn't know."

Flamm and Milkit ran down the hallway.

Then a door right next to them suddenly opened and a man appeared from inside.

The man reached out his hand to Flamm as he passed in front of him, and his palm touches her arm for a moment.

Bam!

A dull thud and a heavy thud hit Flamm.

"Gah, a......- !"

Her arm bent in an unexpected direction, as if a second joint had formed.

Her upper arm bone was completely broken and turned outward, and the pain was so intense that Flamm broke out in cold sweat all over her body.

She lost his balance, but she did not stop.

"Master, are you all right?"

"Th-, this m-much ...... its fine, it will heal!"

In fact, her bones had already begun to join together with the regenerative ability.

The man kept staring at Flamm's back with the same emotionless eyes.

He should be able to catch up with us now that she has Milkit with her, so why wasn't he pursuing them - there was one possibility that Flamm could think of.

Because there wasn't a no need to.

As she turned the corner, about five men and women stand in front of her.

"Master, those people!"

The fact that they were inside the institute meant that they were probably related to the revival researchers.

They were living together in a residential space in the facility.

If one's own partner, without saying why, reacted to Flamm's approach and walked out of the room--

"Hey, what's wrong with you guys, suddenly going outside?"

Of course, the other half left in the room would think of it as strange and chase after them.

The living man's hand came out of the room and touched the shoulder of a revived woman.

"Oh ...... ah?　Whats ......... going....... on...... aga,gia,gyu,...... giaaaaaaahhh!"

His outstretched right hand twisted, and more power spread throughout his body.

Destroyed as all the blood was squeezed out of him, the man died before he could even comprehend the situation.

In a sense, he may be happy.

He was able to pass away without realizing that he had been killed by the man he loved.

At the sight of this scene, Flamm's hesitation disappeared.

Even if the body was human, even if there was someone who wanted a replica, this was still wrong.

"Milkit, follow a little behind me."

"Y-yes!"

Flamm's voice was low and sharp.

Her mindset shifted to a state where she was fully prepared to engage the enemy.

As soon as their hands are separated, Flamm runs low down the corridor and leaped at the woman who had just killed her lover.

A black blade was drawn from subspace and sliced through her chest, including her hand, which is extended toward Flamm.

A hard click - a hard feeling in her hand.

The moment the blade made contact with the abominable crystal embedded in the place where the heart should have been...

"Reversal!"

Flamm poured magic power from the palm of her hand into the sword and reversed the spiral that was whirling inside.

Unable to withstand the negative energy generated, the black translucent crystal cracked and shattered.

The woman's body collapsed, having lost the source of her life.

Without looking at her, Flamm sets her sights on her next target.

Two men approached.

She lightly swiped at the four arms that are extended to cover her and blew them away.

Their wounds - they didn't not close.

They didn't twist into a spiral like the ogre and Rukou, but instead dripped blood as if they were normal human beings.

Maybe this was the result of the control Dafiz was talking about.

At least, it seemed that his face didn't become a vortex of flesh like a large intestine stuffed into a pot, as was the case with 「Children's」.

-- so he wasn't not lying, at least he wasn't not lying.

He believed that he could revive Susie, so he earnestly continued his research.

What was more evil than anything else was 「Origin」, who used that belief as a stepping stone to achieve its own ends.

"Haaaaah!"

Flamm took advantage of the recoil and spun around once.

She then poured prana into the men who had lost their arms, and without stopping fired a second blow at them.

The arc of the sword cut deeply into their abdomens.

Blood poured out of the open wounds and the intestines overflowed.

However, they did not show any signs of pain or suffering, only staggering a bit.

No longer trying to appear human, they attacked Flamm with only their 「Origin's Will」 exposed.

Bam!

-A moment later, the upper halves of the men were blown away.

The prana poured into the inside of the enemy, not the outside, and exploded - prana (spirit) sword blast.

Flamm didn't know its formal name.

It was one of the techniques she had naturally acquired in her daily training - a blow with the highest killing power, if only she could get it right.

An 「Origin Core」 fell to the floor with a thud, mixed with the scattered contents.

Flamm approached it and looked sadly at some of the scattered corpses.

Then she shook her head.

No time to be sentimental.

She applied the tip of her sword and activated the reversal magic, and the core was destroyed.

Milkit suddenly clung to her back.

"Milkit, it's dangerous, you should stay away--"

"They're coming from behind me, too."

Behind her, expressionless humans walked up to her.

They were good-mannered people who weren't in a hurry, so they were not immediately cornered - but they were trying to crush the two of them by sheer force of numbers.

There were even more dead people than they thought, as they noticed more coming from in front of them.

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The cries coming from the distance were probably those of the researcher who was killed, just like the man who was just killed.

"You call yourself God, but don't you know the difference between God and yourself, Origin?"

If you are decieving, deceive.

If you are going to kill, do it on a large scale.

Flamm was getting tired of the low degree of care it was taking in killing people with its half-hearted, half-hearted acts, using only sneaky, stealthy methods to play with other people's hearts.

Or perhaps the main body was in another place and could not handle power as well as it would like when it tried to interfere at a distance.

But it was not happy to resort to such a cowardly move, because it was very human, even for a god.

Flamm stared resolutely ahead.

Then she lowered the tip of his sword backward and reared it sideways on the spot.

Her released prana stood still on the spot.

Next, she quickly swung straight down vertically, and the spirit blade formed a cross.

Then, using the cross-shaped system as a backbone, the invisible force spread thinly and formed a membrane, floating in front of Flamm in the shape of a shield.

Now, even in this state, it could be used for the purpose of preventing attacks from the opponent, but what was needed now was the art of wiping out the puppets swarming ahead.

After she confirmed that the living were not in the line of fire, Flamm places the tip of her soul-eater, held in both hands, at the main point of intersection.

Then - as she exhaled a "fu-" - she poured in additional prana.

It was propulsion.

Zgagaaagh!

The "wall" of prana filled the corridor with no escape, crushing the floor and walls - and even the bodies of the dead it touched - as it moves forward.

The debris engulfed the wall, only increasing its deadly force, and any obstacle that stood in Flamm's way was reduced to meat and obliterated.

Finally, it hit a wall at the end of the road and came to a halt with a huge hole in it.

"In the blink of an eye, that number of ......"

It was only because this was a small place that we were able to wipe them out.

The most important thing to remember was that the best way to get the most out of your money is to be prepared to pay for it.

Milkit was admiring her Master, who had grown and became much stronger than when they first met.

Flamm immediately pulled Milkit's hand and started running again.

◇◇◇

Afterwards, Flamm progressed while crushing the dead that stood in her way, and arrived at Dafiz's laboratory.

It was a different place from the residential room that she lived with Susie and Rukou in.

She stowed her soul-eater sword and hurriedly slid her body through the gap in the door and slammed it shut.　and closed it with all her might.

Then, after locking the door, she breathed a sigh of relief...

"Kyaaaah!"

Hearing Milkit's voice, she immediately returned to her nervous state.

'Da, Dafiz-san ...... this ......'

She saw the body of a man lying on the ground.

His limbs were broken in several places and pointing in impossible directions.

His torso also showed signs of having been subjected to the force of the spiral...... and the blood staining his chest from his mouth suggests that his internal organs had been destroyed and he had died.

"...... This guy was Goan Forgan. He was a friend of mine from my school days. And he was a member of the team when it was first launched. He lost his wife to illness in the middle of his research. He was a talented person to begin with, but since then he had devoted himself to research with the sole intention of bringing her back to life, and he had achieved a number of great results. Without him, our research would have been abandoned long ago."

He sat in his chair, his back to Flamm and Milkit, and his voice took on a somber tone.

"It was just a year ago that his wife was revived. After that, he was happier than I, his friend, had ever seen him. His wife was in her fifth month of pregnancy, and he was going to be a father soon. He looked really, really happy and ...... there was still time, but he was frantically thinking of names for the child, reading books on child rearing because he was worried about raising a child, and going to talk to older people about child rearing--oh, my God. Until today, I guess I never worried about the future at all."

Memories of an unnamed researcher.

Looking at the corpse, one could almost guess how he died.

He must have stopped his wife from leaving the room after Flamm.

Then he touched her body, getting twisted and seriously wounded.

But he didn't die, he crawled desperately to this room, as if he had one last word to tell Dafiz.

And then he died.

The way Dafiz spoke, he was more like a "best friend" than just "friend".

His voice was a little trembling, and he didn't look back at me, probably because he didn't want me to see his crying face.

"He's dead. I've been briefed on it, and I kind of understand what's going on."

Still, Flamm could not tell him that he had cut down Rukou.

Shee was the one whose life was threatened.

So there was no need for her to feel awkward, but for some reason a sense of guilt nagged at her.

"Whose fault do you think it is, Flamm-san?"

The question is not one of blaming Flamm.

It is a question from the bottom of Dafiz's heart.

"I think it's 「Origin」's."

Flamm answered without hesitation.

She, too, could not blame Dafiz.

"You are as kind as I have thought you were. Just as strong as well. I can feel the heart in your words."

"No, I am not. I am weak. I am weak. I can only strong because Milkit is next to me. I think you're the same as me, Dafiz.　It was because of Susie's presence that you were able to continue your research until today, isn't it?"

"Yes, it was. I was weak, frail, and not very good looking. My parents and Susie were the only people who loved the me who was like that. So, it's just as you said, my strength came from Susie."

"So, I think the 「Origin」 who took advantage of those pure feelings is the worst."

Hearing these words, Dafiz fell silent.

Staring at the blank wall, ten seconds passed without him saying anything.

Then he let out a deep breath, leaned back in his chair, and looked up to the heavens.

"It was late yesterday afternoon when Goan reported the numerical abnormality."

"Numerical abnormalities?""

"We perform timed tests on our subjects to gather mental and vital status. The values showed a strange state in which only the mind was in a state of excitement, but there was no change at all in the body."

Generally, if there's an abnormality in one's mental state, there will be a change in the physical body as well.

It is difficult for a living person to create a state in which the mind and body are completely disconnected.

"Obviously, the change was caused by the arrival of Flamm-san."

"If that's the case, why didn't you inform Master or take action yesterday?"

Dafiz smiled bitterly at Milkit's words.

"You being here has caused an anomaly in the subject, so please leave. Would you be satisfied if I told you that? It'd be like admitting that our research has failed."

"It's too late."

"I know, I know. The consequences came faster than I thought they would. Its funny, what was my confidence until yesterday? Ah, really...... The 「Children's」 members had warned me, but I never thought it would be this much. Fufu, ahahaha, ha...... hah, the time I've spent until now, what was any of it for?"

"........ To boast about having complete control over it, wouldn't you have some kind of device to stop it from functioning?"

Flamm did not answer, ignoring the flow of the question to him.

She didn't know the answer to his question.

She couldn't speak thoughtlessly, and didn't have a duty to do so.

"Over there you see a door at the back of the room. Go beyond it. There is a device in place to emergency shut down the 「cores」 controlled by the 「Necromancy」 within Sheol Village."

It was a privilege granted to Dafiz, who was in charge.

Because he understood the danger of 「Necromancy」, he had to be prepared to stop it at any time in case it gets out of control.

But once used, it would take an enormous amount of time to bring the dead back to life again.

Flamm did as she was told, and approached the door without hesitation stepping into the room where the device was located.

Milkit stopped in front of the room, anxiously placing her hand on her chest while she listened to her Master in the room.

"Incredible, so this is ......."

Flamm looked around the room and exclaimed in admiration.

Translucent crystal wire was strung throughout the room, and even more huge gemstones were embedded in parts of the room.

The multicolored crystals shimmered magically as they reflected the light streaming in through the open door.

And in the center of the room, there was a crystal ball that looked like an activation device - only the area around it had been destroyed.

Nearby, a chair identical to the one in Dafiz's room was lying on the floor.

That guy, had he destroyed it with his own hands?

"Nooooo!"

At that moment, Milkit's scream echoed.

Flamm looked toward the door and saw Dafiz, who had her pinned under his wings and was laughing with a knife to her neck.

His eyes were red and bloodshot, and numerous teardrops were streaming down his cheeks.

The expression on his face wasn't a joyful one -- truthfully it was more of a mixture of complex feelings -- but if I had to guess, I would say it was one of despair.

"I'm sorry, Flamm-san, I ...... I'm forced to do this."

"Dafiz-san, please let go of Milkit!"

"Sure, the 「Origin」 is a dangerous force, and we may never be able to fully control it."

"Please let go of me!"

"But, even if that's how it is, there's no way we can abandon our dreams once we have them, is there?

"Shit ....... I told you to let go of her!"

Flamm pulled out her soul eater with both hands.

Dafiz then tightened his arms even more around Milkit's body and warned her.

"Are you sure, you really think I'm gonna kill her?"

"You can't kill her."

"No, I can kill her. Even if I can't kill her for myself, I can do anything for Susie and Rukou."

As he said this, the blade of the knife is pressed even harder against Milkit's neck.

She was tragically frightened, "Hi, ah ......."

Flamm's frustration grew.

"Rukou didn't exist, it was just a monster!"

"Don't talk to me like you know me! Rukou is my and Suzy's lovely daughter, the fruits of our love."

"She became a monster..."

"I'm sure of it, it was caused by you, wasn't it? It was indeed me who welcomed you, so if you want to laugh, you can laugh at me. I don't care how if they make fun of me. But as a matter of fact, if you were gone, all the problems wouldn't have happened, right? Then I will just keep on trying it, right?

Sure, that may be true.

For a while, the rampage of the dead would calm down.

But so what?

The fundamental problem would not be solved.

"That's just delaying the inevitable! Susie won't come back to life, she won't have children, and nothing will change that reality!"

"What's the point of reality? Not a single person would choose a miserable life over a blissful dream."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I don't care."

He seemed to have made up his mind in a bad way.

Once he destroyed the controls in that room, he could no longer turn back.

Flamm's flimsy view of life and death, in which she has never lost anyone, didn't not resonate with him.

"If that's the case, what am I supposed to do? What can I do to make you let go of Milkit?"

"....... well"

Dafiz smiled a broken smile, then suddenly turned expressionless and told Flamm:

"Why don't you get out of this room and die."

His emotionless voice reverberated through the small room.

There was a moment of silence.

After a pause, it was Milkit who spoke first.

"No, you can't do that! I would rather die than let my Master suffer like that!"

She began to struggle and lash out.

He warned her quietly with his voice running cold.

"Be quiet, or I'll really stab you."

"Go ahead, stab me, but at that point, you'll be finished, too. As long as you lose the hostage, there is no need for my Master to listen to you!"

"Milkit, calm down."

"I can't calm down! Because this man told Master to die!"

It was difficult for Flamm to rescue Milkit here and now.

But on the other hand, she thought that as long as she met his demands, Milkit's safety would be assured.

Knowing the weight of human life, it was hard to believe that he would kill someone for nothing.

Flamm put away her weapon and approached them with her hands raised.

Dafiz senses her intentions and retreats to clear the way.

"Master ......"

"Don't cry, it's not like I'm going to die right now. Also, don't get desperate when I'm gone. If Milkit got hurt, I would die of grief."

After Flamm said this, she walked out of the control room, passed by them, and headed for the exit of the room.

"You're sure this is what you want?"

There was no answer.

But the silence was taken as an affirmation.

Outside, the dead people were waiting impatiently for Flamm to come out.

Whether they really intended to kill her or hurt her just enough so that she didn't die and then take her somewhere else, it's unknown.

But the moment she came out, it was inevitable that a battle would start.

Injuries would be unavoidable.

Flamm stopped at the door and takes a deep breath.

At that moment, Dafiz seemed calm at first glance, but in reality he must have been in a state of confusion.

Otherwise, he would not have used the brainless method of taking hostages.

But as long as the cause, Flamm, was around, his brain would never cool down.

In other words, he needed time to cool down without her.

Once she went out there, he'd buy himself some time and come back.

That's what Flamm needed to do.

The question is whether she will survive until then.

If she was going to leave, couldn't she do it quickly?

"Master, you can't leave after all!"

Finally, turning back to Milkit and smiling gently, as if to say, "I'll be fine," Flamm left the room.

At the same time, the gaze of the dead surrounding her pierced her.

Arms outstretched.

Touch, touch, touch - fingertips touched every part of her body, and the power of the spiral was poured into her.

Twisted parts, the feeling of bones breaking that echoed heavily inside her body andthe sound of flesh being stirred came into her ears.

"Ga ...... ah, haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

-- But even so, she was going to make it through this.

With determination, Flamm howled and drew her large sword, even while enduring the pain so severe fading away her conciousness.

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