Chapter 129. Review (4)
“…”
The sight of Persona dangling from the Sword Saint’s grip.
I was speechless, staring at the shocking scene.
No experience I’d had prepared me for this.
The Sword Saint said calmly.
“No need for introductions. You know this black mage better than I do.”
His nonchalant tone ignored Persona, yet he seemed to grasp her identity.
“What’s going on?”
“I sensed another mana presence here besides mine. Curious, I found her.”
His cryptic explanation offered no clarity.
I couldn’t fathom how he’d tracked and dragged her here.
But recalling I’d inherited my “Sense of Mana” from him, I dropped further speculation.
No need to know.
He glanced at me.
“You should know this. She’d been hiding here, suppressing her mana.”
“Suppressing her mana…”
I’d never sensed Persona’s mana in the World of Impermanence.
Whether my mana sense was inferior to his or something else, my head spun.
I took a short breath.
One thing at a time.
“Just to be sure,” I asked, glancing at Persona.
“Is this a phantom created with the place, since it’s where I met her?”
“No, not that.”
“Then?”
“Half a guess, but she’s an independent entity here, like me. Not a phantom.”
Dismissing my theory, he looked at Persona, adding.
“Separate from you recreating this memory’s space, she exists here normally.”
“What are you two doing, holding me like this?”
Persona snapped sharply.
From her perspective, this situation’s meaning was unclear, but I was equally serious.
She’d struggled desperately but remained trapped in his arm.
“Ugh, let me…”
“No use squirming.”
I had no intention of stopping him. As I pondered how to handle this, Persona raised her head, spitting curtly.
“Direct descendant, you need info on me, right?”
“…”
“I’ll tell you what I know. I promise, so can’t we talk without this?”
Glaring from his grip, she added.
“Honestly, this treatment isn’t pleasant.”
Despite her icy retort, I replied indifferently.
“You’ve got the mind to complain about treatment.”
“…Unfortunately.”
Her resigned tone prompted me to think, then turn to the Sword Saint.
“Let’s hear her out. If she has useful info, we can use it.”
I stepped before her.
“But one thing.”
Glaring coldly, I opened my right hand, ready to manifest a sword.
I hadn’t forgotten how she’d cornered me before.
My blue-black eyes met hers as I said calmly.
“I’ve seen your tricks. Try anything similar, and…”
“I won’t.”
She sighed openly.
“It’s pointless now anyway.”
Unlike before, she seemed deflated.
That should be fine for now.
I signaled the Sword Saint.
Glancing at her, he set her down with a thud.
“Ugh.”
Persona grimaced, stumbling.
She quickly adjusted her clothes, glancing at me as if nothing happened.
“Hm, well… So…”
“…”
“…Long time no see, Enoch Elsyde.”
Embarrassed by the reunion, she turned aside, her sharp eyes and cheeks flushed.
I didn’t blink, asking.
“First, explain what you’re doing here.”
A former enemy existing in my Inner World demanded scrutiny. If needed, elimination was obvious.
My trials hadn’t been lenient enough to hesitate.
“Don’t be so uptight. I’ll keep my promise.”
Despite my edge, she just shrugged, resigned.
“You asked who I am? Honestly, that old man here probably knows better.”
I turned to the Sword Saint.
“She says so. What is she?”
“…Calling me ‘this’ is rude.”
Ignoring her quip, I tilted my head expressionlessly.
“If you don’t know her identity, I’ll have to ‘experiment’ myself.”
My hand reached out, ready to manifest a sword. Persona’s face paled.
But the Sword Saint shook his head, dismissing the need.
“I’ll answer. Simply, she’s closer to an entity like me than a phantom.”
“Like you? So…”
I muttered blankly.
“Persona’s embedded in the World of Impermanence?”
“Probably the closest answer.”
Hearing my guess confirmed made my head spin. I hadn’t imagined this.
“Since when…?”
As I voiced the question, a faint realization hit.
No. There’d been signs.
Like puzzle pieces, past facts aligned.
“Could it be… because of the absorbed gear?”
> —Your mana is your record.
Persona’s explanation via Revelation Amplification. It shed light on her current state.
“Looks like you’re catching on, direct descendant.”
She glared, replying.
“Mana is a record, and my gear held much of my mana.”
She flipped her hand, examining it.
“Thanks to that mana’s trace, I exist here as a record.”
As expected of a Rank 10 black mage, her calm analysis of her existence was striking.
It explained her resigned demeanor.
Her presence here wasn’t her choice. When I absorbed her gear, her mana-bound memories fused into the World of Impermanence.
In short…
“Half-kidnapped, huh?”
“Who’d expect this? Your Inner World reacting with my gear like this?”
She smiled wryly, agreeing.
Likely why I’d never sensed her before.
As the glass shard gear’s owner, her presence melded indistinguishably into the Inner World.
“But you seem different from before.”
I asked her.
Like the Last Sword Saint, she appeared altered here. Why?
She shrugged casually.
“I lost to you and died. I’m aware of that. Becoming a memory-like entity changed my perspective.”
“Changed how?”
“It’s over. Like an actor off a masquerade’s stage, I’ve shed my mask. It feels… indifferent.”
I asked quietly.
“Masquerade? Hard to grasp.”
“You wouldn’t understand unless you were me. Same for me with you.”
She glanced at me with olive eyes, shrugging.
“But we’re not clueless, right? You don’t fully understand yourself either.”
Her words struck, making me catch my breath.
Indeed. Despite the Inner World’s growth hinging on self-understanding, I’d made little progress.
Too caught up in missions and sword inheritances.
“…Fine, enough chit-chat.”
Persona sat on a poker table, lowering her head with a soft sigh.
“You didn’t drag me here for this. What do you want?”
“Surprisingly cooperative.”
“What’s the point of resisting? You control this Inner World. Look.”
She extended a hand, conjuring olive mana to form a white mask.
Crack!!
It shattered quickly.
She sighed deeply.
“See? My unique magic doesn’t last here. I’m outmatched from the start. Impressive.”
She glanced at me.
“And it feels sturdier than before. Your Inner World grew, didn’t it?”
I didn’t reply.
She didn’t seem to be lying.
My instincts confirmed it.
Even if she hid a scheme, she couldn’t deceive the Last Sword Saint here.
“Then, as you say, let’s get to it.”
I’d grown certain of one thing through this exchange.
The Sword Saint brought her here for a reason, I vaguely realized.
Beyond questioning him, Persona held vital knowledge no one else had.
It wasn’t guaranteed, but worth a shot.
“I heard Vendetta targets relic artifacts.”
Staring at the former Vendetta confidant, I asked softly.
“Do you know where the relics they’re after are?”