Chapter 104
The fact that I had been able to inherit Alice's contract, pretend to be her, and use Alice's magic was a phenomenon akin to a bug.
It was a case that even mascots who had made contracts with magical girls across countless dimensions could never have predicted.
The original magical girl had been sucked into the Abyss, and her identical twin of the opposite sex had conspired with the mascot to inherit the contract, then perfectly played the original Alice with such a high level of fidelity that nobody noticed. That was the bug.
'...Will it work? No. I have to believe it will.'
The possibility of failure? I would exclude it.
If that happened, it would already be over, so wasting my thoughts on it was pointless.
For now, I would focus all my attention on succeeding.
The staff in my hand was unmistakably Han Serin's. Alice's staff.
It was common knowledge that a staff could only be used by the magical girl herself. Neither on Earth nor anywhere in the networks of countless mascots had there ever been a recorded miracle of someone using a fallen companion's staff to defeat Abyssal Ones.
I had been doing something that violated that common knowledge for the past eight years.
Tokkaengi and I both treated 'me' as a bug, but if that bug had functioned without issue for nearly ten years—not just a day or two, or even a few months—and nobody had even noticed that it existed, then it was no longer merely a bug.
That was enough to conclude that there was something more.
-Ssss...
Don't remember the sensation.
As naturally as breathing. Just as I had always done it.
-Click
Think of this staff as mine.
Simply. Normally. Like everyday life.
"Hooo..."
Someone—no. I raise the staff made to fit my hand perfectly, aim at the target, and place my finger on the trigger.
Magic is the power to deceive the world.
I deceive myself, deceive others, and deceive the world.
Just as I had done countless times before.
-Bang!
* * *
-Ting!
'...An unusual weapon.'
At first, it had been too small and fast, giving him an opening, but once he knew it existed, dealing with it was not particularly difficult.
It was shaped like metal, but its essence was a mass of magical power. It had even tried to remain embedded in his body, but he had easily stopped that trick.
It was commendable that she had inserted the small fragment into one of the narrow gaps in his armor, but how would she fare once she realized that her opponent had seen through it?
'King or Alice. It makes no difference what name you bear.'
Judging from Her Majesty's personality and the opponent's reactions, it was easy to infer that the relationship between them had not been a peaceful one.
But it did not matter.
Everything in the Abyss operated according to the law of strength. Whatever inhumane thing had happened between them, if Her Majesty was vastly stronger than that person, then that person had no choice.
The rights shouted by the powerless were heard by no one. Perhaps it was different in other dimensions, but not in the Abyss.
<Showing a new technique is interesting, but... you know as well as I do that at this level, it is only a matter of time.>
Now, show me, King. Alice.
If you are the one Her Majesty has been waiting for all this time, then show me what you can do.
-Whoooosh!!!
Her Majesty's staff came flying toward him again, leaving behind the same dark-red afterimages as before. He had already confirmed that those dark-red afterimages were not mere afterimages, but possessed physical force.
The only reason he had been unable to knock them away easily before was that it had been a technique he had never seen. The technique's power itself was...!
-Kagagagang!!!
<...Hah!>
Had she grown in the meantime? As expected, Her Majesty's blood truly did run in her veins.
Could that monstrous talent exist here as well—the talent that had been more adept at the Abyss's magic than he, despite claiming to have only just crossed into the Abyss after he had spent decades there?
-Bang!!!
-Crrrunch!
A mass of magical power struck while the staff distracted him. This, too, was an improved form compared to moments ago. The previous version had seemed suited to unleashing a continuous barrage, but this one was larger and heavier, giving each individual blow considerably more impact.
He did not know what method she had used, but it appeared she had learned a new technique and was now adapting it to her own body.
The enjoyable exchange continued for quite some time.
It was still difficult to determine where the attacks were coming from. Whatever method she was using, her position changed whenever an attack came flying. An attack would seem to be coming from behind, only for another to arrive from the front before it reached him, followed by the staff plunging down from overhead.
He had fought Abyssal Ones who used all sorts of bizarre methods, but this was the first time he had seen a contractor with such an unusual fighting style.
Wasn't it as if two different contractors had merged into one?
Yet it was a disappointing battle.
The techniques that frequently displayed dark-red energy, positioned opposite to Her Majesty's techniques, were... far too feeble.
She was clearly trying to force different elements together to create a new technique, but that problem had not been resolved yet.
'A battle with a contractor who uses several kinds of weapons is interesting, but...'
<...This much hospitality should be enough.>
He acknowledged it. She was not some powerless sovereign destined to do nothing but hide behind Her Majesty's skirts.
Even so, that was no reason for him to neglect his duties.
-Vrrrrrr!!
<If you can dodge, then try dodging. But I recommend blocking.>
[Royal Straight-Slash]
<A sword that has lost its original name because of your blood relative.>
He raised the sword in both hands and slashed diagonally.
-Rumble!!!
And with that.
"...Ghk. Hngh. Hic."
<As expected, was it a technique that consumed a great deal of strength? Even if I had not bothered to expend my strength, the fight would have ended soon enough.>
The 'Alice' who had been hiding for so long finally revealed herself.
"Shut... the fuck up, you son of a bitch..."
<They say that the smaller and weaker the animal, the more it clings to a façade of strength. Now that you have lost, clinging to your pride is not a pretty sight.>
'...She dodged. That wasn't an attack one could simply dodge.'
At a glance, it might look like a technique that merely infused a sword with magic and swung it diagonally, but the essence of his martial arts contained within the sword granted it the property of never missing its target.
Someone with martial arts beyond his own could easily counter it, but neither Abyssal Ones nor contractors showed any interest in martial arts. Until now, he had never seen anyone successfully evade this sword.
Even Her Majesty had been unable to dodge the attack the first time she saw it. Of course, being unable to dodge did not mean she had suffered a fatal injury.
-Tremble... tremble...
"What... the hell are you looking at, bastard... If you've won... kill me..."
'...No fatal injury.'
Since the attack had been aimed at her legs, if it had connected properly, both legs would have said farewell to their owner.
Yet they were still attached and perfectly intact. There were no major visible wounds, either.
Judging by the trembling and spasms, her nerves had not been severed.
'...She didn't block it. It didn't feel like that.'
If she had blocked it, a collision would inevitably have occurred. No matter how many times he replayed it, she had avoided the attack.
"Can't you hear me?! I said kill me!!!"
She shouted for him to kill her, veins bulging in her neck. He knew the reason.
She must have been terrified of Her Majesty. Rather than become Her Majesty's consort afterward, she would prefer to have him take her life...
'...I don't sense resignation?'
She did not have the staff, either. Had it not simply been sent flying by the attack?
Just as he sensed the danger and raised his sword again.
-Boom!!
-Crack!!
<...You set this up!>
"It's your fault for falling for it, asshole."
The ground began to collapse.
He had not known the ground was this weak...! No, had she deliberately hidden herself in a place like this...?
"Hey. You. You can't fly, can you?"
Alice's voice, which had come from the direction where she had been lying moments ago, now sounded from directly in front of him.
The staff in her hand was once again Her Majesty's. But that familiar dark-red energy now enveloped her entire body.
The staff was raised above her head in both hands.
"Please just stay buried for a while!!!!"
-Whoosh!
[Meteor Strike]
-KABOOOOOM!!!
An impact that seemed to have gathered every ounce of her strength slammed into his body.
His body held, but the ground did not.
-Rrrumble!!
-Boom!! Boom!!
<...Hah.>
Beneath the collapsing ground lay a pitch-black pit that stretched endlessly into the depths.
As he had said, he had no ability to fly. That was an ability he had never been granted.
'...Once I hit the bottom, I'll have to battle earthworms for a while.'
He would not die, but it would take quite some time to climb back up to the Garden.
[Your Majesty. How much should I hold back for this hospitality?]
[Hmm... Enough not to kill her? Ah, don't worry. I won't blame you even if you lose, Jaquir. Just play with Alice.]
...At the time, he had thought it was utterly ridiculous.
<I've never seen a contractor fight this dishonestly. Really.>
Despite looking so exactly like Her Majesty, was her temperament the complete opposite?
They really were a strange pair.
* * *
"...Hoo. Hooo..."
-Tremble, tremble...
My head was spinning.
The sky was the color of dirt, and the ground was blue.
'What... how did she...?'
As the adrenaline drained away, instinctive hormones for survival followed in its wake.
'...Did she trick me? What exactly? The magical girl? The staff?'
It was a desperate gamble.
I had been using Alice's techniques with Alice's staff all this time, so the idea that I could use Black Rose's techniques with Black Rose's staff seemed plausible at first. But the deeper I thought about it, the more it sounded like utterly forced bullshit.
It was like saying that because I had driven a car without a license, I could also fly a plane without a license. If anything, this had a higher chance of succeeding.
Alice and I were identical twins, so I could chalk it up to that. But Black Rose? We were complete strangers. Even if there were some secret about our births, our age difference made that impossible, too.
"...Ah. Black Rose."
My mind suddenly cleared.
I had to go.
Even though the sky was already spinning and moving one step at a time was difficult, I had to go.
If I had not remembered Momo's warning that the ground around here was weak and dangerous, this deception operation would have been impossible.
'She must be... worse off than me...'
"I have to... go..."
"It's okay. You don't have to."
.....................Ah.
Ah... ahhhhh...
Aaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!
"Han Serin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Yeah. Long time no see. I missed that affectionate cry of yours, Oppa. You were the only one who called me that."
"You, you!!!!!!!!!"
"I expected it. But you became such a wonderful Alice, Oppa. Even more perfect than I was. You became the very image of a hero who cares for everyone and saves everyone."
Her voice had blended in so naturally, but the moment I heard it, I felt as though the world were collapsing.
She had my voice and my appearance, but her outfit was completely different. She looked exactly like the portraits I had seen while wandering through the castle.
Even after eight years had passed, the embodiment of the nightmare that still appeared in my dreams revealed itself before my eyes.
She looked so peaceful, and so gentle.
It was sweet, like a younger sister calling out to the older brother she loved. Yet it was right before me—the sort of thing that melted stickily and ensnared the body at the slightest touch of the tongue.
And beside her...
"......I'm sorry, Sunbae. I couldn't do anything on my own..."
[...]
.........Ah.
As if to prove that it had been too much after all, Black Rose and Momo were there.