Chapter 7
There was an unforgettable memory.
A scene whose fresh fragrance remains intact even after a long time has passed.
"Always remember, Irene."
A hand gently stroking her head.
Master was smiling quietly.
Back then, I turned my head away saying I didn't like the nagging, but now even that has become a longed-for memory.
"As you live, there will come moments when you want to give up."
A voice gently coloring the air.
Beyond the old resonance lies the childhood of a certain fox.
"Irene."
"The world is a dawn where storms rage."
"No matter how desperately you try to run away, misfortune will find you someday."
Affection gathers in the wrinkled eyes.
The old man lying in the sickbed raises his body with difficulty and continues speaking.
"It will hurt. You'll be scared, sad, lonely... You might even want to sit down and give up."
"You might end up kneeling before the raging storm."
"That's what life is."
But, Irene.
"This master hopes that you won't surrender."
Become a person who doesn't bow down.
Become someone who can raise their head stiffly and swing their sword even in the face of raging storms.
"It's okay to be blocked by unreasonable existences."
"It's alright even if all of you is denied, and only a wretched trembling remains."
Just don't bend what you believe is right.
Rather than a reed bowing to the wind, become a pine tree that fiercely stands against it.
This is the sword I taught you.
"Swing your sword towards the storm."
"Leave behind cowardly comfort, and become the tree that breaks first."
This is the master's final lesson.
The most important things are invisible. You must always see with your heart.
Life continues even in the stormy dawn.
"Just as ancient sailors found their way by looking at the stars, life needs a direction to move towards."
"So, Irene."
That's what Master said.
His voice still remains intact in a corner of my memory.
It became a signpost on a path full of wandering, supporting my weak self.
"Find your star."
It was always like that.
I wanted to be like you.
***
It's quiet.
'......'
I can't hear anything.
In a world where only deathly silence has settled, the fox stands alone in the darkness.
A body that is literally in tatters.
Irene staggers.
Her legs had already lost strength, but she was barely maintaining balance.
Only exhaustion remains at her fingertips.
She desperately holds onto her consciousness that keeps fading away.
"Haa, haa......"
Breath rising to her chin.
As she breathes roughly, soon a voice breaks the silence.
"You look like you're struggling."
What appears in her blurry vision is the enemy.
An overwhelming, powerless enemy that seems to contain all the unreasonableness of the world.
Mischievous mockery whispers in her ear.
"You said you wanted to see this through just a moment ago... What will you do if you can't even lift your sword now?"
The shadow twists the corners of its mouth.
It was blatant ridicule, but Irene didn't show any particular reaction.
She didn't feel the need to.
It was a strange sensation.
Irene's heart was utterly peaceful.
Even at provocations that would normally have made her blood boil, only gentle ripples fall.
The girl simply breathes.
"......"
Is this the detachment that comes when facing death?
An indescribable coziness lingers.
The sound of a beating heart. A pulse that echoes particularly clearly.
Crack-.
She grips the sword she was using as a cane once again.
The palm wrapping around the hilt. For a moment, a tingling sensation spreads through her entire arm.
'What a strange feeling.'
Something seems almost within grasp.
Irene raises her powerless head, pushing back the vague idle thoughts stretching out.
There, fate awaits her.
'Death.'
For a moment, the girl's shoulders tremble.
She was still afraid after all. But there was a sufficient reason for her steps that didn't retreat despite this.
"This master hopes that you won't surrender."
The nagging remaining in her ear.
Irene smiled faintly.
To think these were the words that came to mind at a moment like this.
'Of all things.'
Words she hadn't understood and had dismissed at the time, but now she seemed to understand a little.
The most important things are invisible.
You must always see with your heart.
It's okay to be blocked by unreasonable storms. It's okay even if all your footsteps are denied.
"Just don't bend what you believe is right."
"Leave behind cowardly comfort, and become the tree that breaks first."
Life continues even at dawn.
If the star you've set in your heart doesn't waver, the world won't crumble.
You simply move forward with a handful of will.
"I am."
An unsightly courage.
Though it might look like wretched junk in others' eyes, for the girl, this was her only compass in life.
The only light sparkles.
"Still alive."
The moment of realization.
Crack-!
Sparks fly from her fingertips.
Following the tingling sensation coloring her, a faint radiance engulfs the sword.
The light gradually becomes clearer.
"Oho."
The watching snake lets out an exclamation.
A brilliantly blooming scene.
Before long, the radiance covers the rusted sword, brightly illuminating the surrounding darkness.
Fragments of pure white flutter.
What could this unfamiliar power be?
A sense of omnipotence held for the first time. It felt like she could cut through anything right now.
Awakening comes suddenly.
Whoosh-!
Amidst the roaring noise, the fox raised her sword.
Focusing solely on the sword.
She explodes all the energy in her body at full power.
With this final attack, she intended to pour out all her remaining strength.
"Find your star."
This was the star the girl had chosen.
Irene, determined for her final moment, spoke to the stranger standing before her.
"Come, to my star."
A short phrase rings out.
The girl who had quietly taken her stance immediately swings her sword. Right after, the entire corridor brightens.
It was a beautifully flashing strike.
Boom-!
A golden line cuts through the pitch darkness.
A flash of light racing at high speed.
The snake seemed to try to dodge the attack in surprise, but the fox was a bit faster.
It finally reaches the boy.
'It reached.'
Such a thought flashes through her mind.
Just as she was about to cut down the opponent without a moment's hesitation...
"That's enough."
The snake moves his lips.
As if he had never been surprised, he gazes at the fox with a relaxed expression.
For a very brief moment, his slit eyes open.
"You pass."
White eyes bleached of color.
As the boy's and girl's gazes cross, a large crack appears in the perfectly fine space.
Crack, crackle-!
As if a mirror were breaking.
The background surrounding the two shatters into pieces. An utterly unbelievable scene.
Towards the girl who can't hide her shock, the boy whispers.
"It's time to wake up from the dream."
Snap-!
The inverted world returns.
***
Snap-!
When her blacked-out consciousness returned, Irene was standing in the corridor.
Her vision flickering on and off.
The girl blankly raises a question mark.
"...Huh?"
She doesn't seem to grasp the situation.
Seeing the fox's reaction thoroughly colored with confusion, I smiled faintly.
'It's understandable to be confused.'
Until just now, Irene had been trapped in a world fabricated with fiction.
She had been engaged in a fierce life-and-death struggle in an illusory magic I had arbitrarily created to seem like reality.
In other words, she had been deceived by a 'lie'.
I hadn't moved from the start.
More precisely, from the moment Irene shouted at the young foxes to run away and charged at me.
The girl had been trapped in a mental world.
"Did you enjoy your brief dream?"
I offer a fresh good morning greeting.
In fact, almost no time had passed in reality, so it was still dawn.
"What on earth is this...?"
The fox mutters while frozen in place.
It didn't take long for her to recognize the current situation and turn pale.
Black eyes stare this way.
"...Illusion magic?"
"Correct."
"That's impossible... I didn't feel any sense of dissonance at all."
"Haha, I'm a bit special, you see."
After all, I'm someone who can bring about world destruction single-handedly. Though that's based on the original work.
I leisurely examined the girl.
Pupils strangely out of focus.
It seemed the effects of hypnosis still lingered.
While waiting for Irene to gather her senses, I recalled the previous scene.
"Come, to my star."
The girl unleashing a sword strike after that simple line.
Watching the rapidly surging light, a thrilling sensation colors my entire body.
I couldn't hold back my laughter.
"I was impressed."
=Damn, shit. I'm dying here.
I ended up witnessing a precious scene beyond what I had expected.
To think I could glimpse fragments of awakening already.
It was a bit disappointing that it wasn't reality but a mental world... but still, it was a moment that made my chest swell with grandeur.
-Ding!
[The target's emotions fluctuate dramatically.]
(Despair -> Will)
[Due to the dramatic emotional change, a large amount of lies have been recovered.]
[Current remaining output: 100.0%]
Thanks to that, my output even hit max.
It's been quite a while since I've filled this up completely, it feels fresh.
That means it was that intense of an emotion.
As I was quietly standing and enjoying the lingering feelings, soon a sharp scream hits my ears.
"Ki-kids?! Wake up...!"
It seems she had discovered the young foxes behind her.
The children were sprawled on the floor, each having lost consciousness.
Irene is momentarily shaken. Then eyes soaked in anger fly and pierce this way.
"Fuck! What the hell did you do to the kids?!"
"My, please calm down."
"To go this far even with such young ones...!"
"They're merely asleep, that's all."
"......"
The girl hurriedly checked the foxes' condition.
Only after confirming that all ten children were safe did she remove the venom from her eyes.
Of course, wariness remained.
"...What do you want?"
Irene asks with a trembling voice.
Having judged that I didn't intend to kill them since I hadn't harmed the defenseless children, she had now even erased her killing intent.
I spoke with the kindest smile in the world.
"First, please put down your sword."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Hmm~ If a fight breaks out here, the young ones might get caught up in it, you know?"
"...Damn it."
Clang-!
Irene seemed to hesitate but eventually disarmed herself.
"Good. It seems we're ready for dialogue now."
"......"
"You don't need to be so tense. I actually harbor goodwill towards you."
"Goodwill...?"
"Yes, I promise I won't hurt you."
I showed both my hands.
It was a gesture offering peace, albeit timidly.
In fact, if I had intended to kill the foxes, I had the power to annihilate them all with a single gesture right now.
Irene had no choice.
"...What kind of conversation do you want to have?"
"A good question."
I gazed at the fox with lecherous eyes.
In my flickering vision, the image of her showing fragments of awakening still remained vivid.
The girl hadn't lost her nobility even at the edge of a cliff.
'How cool.'
An unbreakable sword of the heart.
A cliché and childish story.
These kinds of stories... I love them to death.
"Come, to my star."
A star, what a wonderful phrase.
It was even more so because the girl was the one who uttered it.
She was literally a person shining like a star.
Humans naturally develop a desire to possess when they see a light they don't have themselves.
I was no different.
"I will buy your star."
I decided to possess the girl.
"Won't you let yourself be tamed by me?"
A vague question. I extend my hand politely.
Like the little prince who first tamed the fox, I wore a pure smile.