Chapter 98
'...It doesn't matter. This bitch was always like this.'
I had only confirmed it one more time.
Knowing what she looked like would help me avoid her more reliably, but if she was close enough for me to identify her appearance with the naked eye, she would have already noticed me. All I had really done was confirm once again that this bitch was completely insane.
In one of the worst forms possible.
[Alice's adversary... the Queen of Hearts... So that's what she is.]
'...The doppelgänger has peculiar tastes, I suppose.'
[If Alice had really been duplicated and had to fight another Alice, I imagine this is what it would have looked like. Since superior doppelgängers apparently copy even the consciousness, it makes sense.]
I didn't particularly want it to make sense. I was the one imitating her.
My mind wasn't exactly sound... but following a mentally ill person with a relatively normal mind was enough to make me go crazy, too.
Momo and Black Rose had already seen me lose my composure and break character several times while living in the Abyss, so they probably wouldn't find it strange if I slipped a little. Even so, I couldn't help worrying about it.
'...Let's find it first. I mustn't forget the objective.'
I had briefly been distracted by the sight of Alice... or rather, the Queen of Hearts, but I pulled myself together.
The reason I had come to this Hunting Castle was to learn how Abyssal Ones 'hunted'—in other words, how to travel to an outside dimension.
If I got distracted and failed to accomplish that objective, there would have been no point in infiltrating the place. And I had no idea how long my infiltration skills would continue to let me wander freely around the Garden.
'...I need to keep an escape route open at all times.'
I put down the photograph Momo had shown me and resumed exploring the castle.
Even if it looked like I was exploring with relative ease, the castle's defensive system was not something I could simply ignore.
Both Momo and I scanned our surroundings with magic as much as possible, avoiding traps and alarms. Sometimes we even came across spaces that were impossible for a human body to enter without the structure of a card soldier.
Whenever that happened, Stellar Shift kept us safe by doing its job properly.
'...Maybe I should prepare an upgrade. I think I could do it if things go well.'
Until now, I hadn't felt the need. I had to use Alice's techniques for most things anyway, if only to maintain the act, and Stellar Shift had been fulfilling its role perfectly well as support.
But now, with its potential blooming to the fullest... perhaps I could try something new. Something built on magic I had created myself, rather than magic copied from Alice.
You never knew what might happen in the Abyss. Preparing as many options as possible was necessary...
-Whine...
'...Ah, shit.'
[Are you all right? That was a signal that fatigue was accumulating.]
'I'm fine. Today... let's just check this room and head back.'
I hadn't expected to find a way to escape after exploring for one day in this enormous Abyss in the first place.
Still, when I put together the information I had gained today, I could at least see a meaningful outline of the situation.
I had confirmed that the castle stored the roses used to open portals, and that it also had equipment for opening them.
I had located the rose storage. If I could just learn where the portal device was and how to use it...
-Click
-Whiiiiir!!!!
'What?!'
[Oh no. We must have missed a trap. We need to get away as quickly as possible. If they realize we've infiltrated the castle, Miss Black Rose will be in danger, too. Hurry to the hideout, escape the Garden...]
My throbbing head began to spin rapidly.
Running away now... would be meaningless.
If I fled like this, word would spread throughout the Garden—especially that an intruder had appeared in the Hunting Castle. Then card soldiers would be stationed everywhere we went, and no matter how well we managed to run, we would eventually be caught.
After that... the ending was obvious without even having to think about it.
-Gulp
...Damn. I didn't like gambling.
It was a gamble—a gamble that wagered our escape time on the sliver of possibility we had left.
If it failed, this attempt would be worse than not trying at all... but whether I ran now or the gamble failed, it was only a matter of time. The ending would be more or less the same.
If so, this gamble was worth attempting.
"...Miss Momo. Turn on the amplification magic. Make it loud enough to echo throughout the entire castle."
[I don't know what you're trying to do, but I will support you.]
"...Phew."
An icon shaped like a megaphone appeared beside Momo. That meant it was on now, I supposed.
'...Think.'
It went without saying, but she and I looked alike.
Not just our appearances, but our voices, too. If we deliberately imitated each other, we were similar enough that either one of us could pass for the other. We had been born that way—born into the world as essentially the same person, differing only in gender.
'I can do this. There's no reason it won't work.'
-Bang! Bang!
Even now, I could hear the card soldiers who had figured out what was happening rushing over. This was my only chance—before they found me.
I had to use, as much as possible, the voice and manner of speaking that she imagined a 'queen' would have.
As if I had lived that way for eight years. This time, too.
"Well, everyone. Did I surprise you all? This alarm is my gift. I find it amusing to give those who are too tense a little relaxation, and those who have grown too relaxed a little tension."
-Freeze
The instant my voice spread throughout the castle, every footstep echoing through it came to a halt.
I didn't know whether it had worked. This really was a gamble in the truest sense of the word.
Even using the word 'I' had required me to wrack my brain, imagining how she might be acting and living now.
She had called herself Alice when she was Alice. At least as Han Serin, she had never spoken in a way that sounded like, 'Serin does~.' That concept had been limited to Alice.
"Oh, you there, the one who just moved. Don't move. You mustn't move while I'm speaking, you know? That's your penalty. Put down your weapon and raise your hands."
I couldn't see the card soldiers. I could barely sense their presence, even with my perception.
But I had calculated that at least one of them must have moved, and even if none of them had, that line would keep them from moving.
"I clearly told you not to move, but someone is still moving, aren't they? Hmm~ This is troublesome. All right. Let's play a simple game."
Acting as the Queen required me to raise my pitch a little higher than when I normally acted as Alice, and my throat was beginning to hurt.
Even considering that my natural voice was somewhat androgynous, it was difficult to keep it up for long. I had to make my decisive move before my voice cracked.
"Everyone, return to your original positions and remain perfectly still. If even one of you moves during the next ten minutes, we start over from the beginning. I'll be leaving now, but I trust you'll keep your promise on your own, all right? Now, begin."
-Ruuumble!
...It worked. Absurd as it was, it worked.
'...Turn it off.'
-Beep
"...Haaaaa."
I let out a sigh and sank down where I stood.
It had really been a gamble, and I couldn't believe it had succeeded.
[...You succeeded. Impressive, Alice.]
"Ugh... I don't know how I managed it, either."
Honestly, I might have gotten the manner of speaking wrong. Maybe I had simply forced my way through with the power of my voice.
Still, this meant they probably wouldn't discover the intruder for quite some time—unless they cross-checked it with the Queen.
"By the way, what is this room? Why does it have such a discreet security system? It's more advanced than any device we've seen so far."
[There could be a portal inside.]
"That would be nice..."
-Creeeak...
I couldn't say I had no expectations at all, but the thing inside wasn't a portal device after all. We had assumed the portal device was located deeper inside, so this room probably wasn't it.
But...
"...Oh-ho."
I could say that putting on that bizarre act had been worth it.
* * *
"Miss Black Rose~ We're ba... Miss Black Rose?!"
"Sen...ior..."
"A-are you all right?! What's wrong?! Stay with me!"
My steps had grown considerably lighter as I returned to the hideout carrying a significant haul.
That lightness vanished and my heart plummeted the moment I entered the hideout.
"W-what's wrong?! Where does it hurt?! Your stomach? Your head? Somewhere else? Your heart? T-tell me quickly! Miss Momo can somehow..."
"I... can't maintain my transformation any longer. It already... feels like I'm breathing at the bottom of the sea..."
"......Transformation..."
This was a problem that had been approaching all along. Since we didn't know what would happen if we de-transformed in the Abyss, we had decided not to deactivate our transformations.
That was also why Black Rose had been waiting in the hideout. Unlike me, who only felt somewhat unwell even after maintaining my transformation indefinitely, Black Rose had been complaining of increasing fatigue with every passing day.
"M-Miss Momo, what do we do? We can't deactivate our transformations in the Abyss, can we?"
[Of course... Since the Abyss's magic permeates everything, including the air, it is best to avoid deactivating your transformation as much as possible. A magical girl's transformation acts as a filter that purifies the Abyss's energy while also increasing her resistance to it. But if Miss Black Rose is in this state... her transformation will be forcibly undone before long.]
"...Forced deactivation..."
It was a phenomenon that occurred when a magical girl lost consciousness, exhausted her magic, and became incapable of fighting all at once. Quite literally, it was the worst of the worst—a forced de-transformation because she could no longer maintain it.
And if her transformation were forcibly undone in her current state... even with a body strengthened by a magical-girl contract, she would end up in the Abyss with a body close to that of an ordinary person.
Really... I had no idea what would happen.
If she was extremely lucky, nothing might happen at all. But in the worst case, there was no small chance she would mutate into an Abyssal One. There were already beings from other dimensions who had mutated into Abyssal Ones, after all.
"Haa... haa..."
[She really is at her limit. At most, she has about thirty minutes left.]
"W-what do we do, Miss Momo? Even if we run now, we won't be able to get her to another dimension in time, will we?"
[...There is a way.]
"W-what is it?"
My junior was on the verge of becoming an Abyssal One right before my eyes. Resolving the situation was more important than anything else.
[I will isolate the space with a barrier to prevent the outside energy from entering... while Alice protects Miss Black Rose. As I said before, a magical girl's transformation basically purifies the Abyss's energy.]
"...How do I protect her?"
[By making complete physical contact. To put it more clearly, you embrace each other tightly. That way, while Miss Black Rose recovers, she will breathe only air purified by Alice.]
".............................................."
"What?"
It took a long time for the information to sink into my mind.