Chapter 123
Two Regressors – Part 3
『 Translator – Divinity 』
The atmosphere was so tense that it felt like they would stab each other at any moment.
Ruth Spero was holding Dark Sword, and adult Chloe was gathering her mana at her fingertips.
It wasn’t strange that these two were hostile towards each other. After all, if they weren’t, her future self wouldn’t have been killed by Ruth.
But for these two to clash here…
“Wait, hold on! Are you both crazy!?”
“…Chloe Piste.”
“My future self’s magic and Cassandra’s magic are mixed up, and we’ve been transported to this place. And this is the elven forest…”
“………”
“We don’t even know how to get back to the academy, it’s too early to be fighting! We should grasp the situation first.”
“This isn’t teleportation.”
“…What?”
“It’s more like the magic worked too well. Originally, only Adam’s thoughts should have been awakened, but we’ve come to the very scene of his death.”
“Uh…?”
“So this isn’t reality. It’s closer to a mental world. It’s just a reenactment of the past, of history that has already happened.”
At adult Chloe’s words, Chloe finally noticed the dissonance.
It wasn’t the dissonance of this elven forest, which was a mental world, but of adult Chloe herself.
Adult Chloe, who should be a mental entity, had materialized and was even hostile towards Ruth Spero.
It was because this place was closer to a mental world that adult Chloe, a mental entity, could have a physical body and materialize.
And Ruth was staring intently at Chloe.
“As expected.”
“W-what? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s different from what I expected, but… you also regressed. You said you were a lingering thought? Did the thought clinging to Dark Sword awaken?”
“Why, are you happy that your guess was right? Don’t tell me this is the first time you’ve been right after regressing? As expected of the eternal last-place student.”
“…That sharp tongue of yours is still the same, witch.”
“I haven’t had much use for it since my head was blown off by you.”
“…!!”
Chloe, who had been momentarily distracted by her shock, was belatedly horrified that her existence as adult Chloe had been revealed.
Adult Chloe was a being who helped Chloe greatly without revealing her existence. But she had been discovered by the one person she shouldn’t have been discovered by.
Ruth Spero was looking back and forth between Chloe and adult Chloe.
“You’re clinging to Dark Sword like a stain and regressed with it. And now you’re clinging to Chloe.”
“I didn’t expect things to turn out this way either. I didn’t even know you could regress.”
“…So that’s why the future I knew was being distorted. That’s why your actions were so different.”
“Are you trying to mock me? If you hadn’t brought Dark Sword to the current me, my thoughts wouldn’t have awakened. I would still be chasing after Adam.”
“Dark Sword, touched you?”
“That seems to be the trigger. But even without that, just the existence of Dark Sword was influencing me. It’s probably the same for others.”
“………”
“You wouldn’t know, would you? Of course not. Who would have regressed with Dark Sword?”
Despite adult Chloe’s mockery, Ruth remained frozen.
Lingering thoughts in Dark Sword. That’s why the current Chloe and adult Chloe were coexisting.
Ruth couldn’t hide her shock at this unstable regression caused by her. As adult Chloe said, it was something she had never imagined.
Don’t tell me, if that’s the case…
“Adam too…?”
“Are you serious? If it were the future Adam, he would have grabbed his dagger before anything else. He would be running around killing traitors. Like the self-proclaimed Pope, for example?”
“Milia.”
“But she’s currently on a leave of absence and helping with the Finance Department work. The fact that she’s alive is proof that Adam doesn’t have any memories of the future, isn’t it?”
“…Then you must have awakened after the incident in the forest.”
“Correct. Any praise for me?”
“W-wait! If you provoke her too much…!!”
“This was an everyday occurrence for her and me. It wasn’t just once or twice that I had to block her instead of Adam, who was a Rank 1, while we were on the run.”
Adult Chloe, scoffing, approached Chloe protectively. She could materialize because this place was similar to a mental world, but her existence itself was thanks to Chloe, so it was a natural action.
More importantly, the current Ruth Spero wasn’t the Rank 6 she knew, but a Rank 7.
Although she was acting relaxed, adult Chloe, as an experienced mage, had prepared various spells. So she could respond even if Ruth attacked first.
The standoff continued. Ruth, still confused, and the two Chloes, pretending to be relaxed but fully prepared.
But the silence didn’t last long.
“…You said your magic targeted Adam’s thoughts.”
“Yes.”
“[Death Rattle]. You even touched necromancy?”
“…This is the first time I’ve used it.”
“That’s understandable. You were probably planning to revive Adam if he died. You wouldn’t hesitate to use forbidden magic since you were already called a witch. But…”
As if she had finally regained her composure,
Ruth’s gaze towards adult Chloe was ice-cold.
“Would Adam have known about that?”
“………”
“Anyone would be disgusted to learn that the mage accompanying them learned necromancy to revive them if they died. In the first place, it’s not really reviving them, but creating a puppet that only obeys the mage’s commands.”
“…Shut up.”
“Why? Did you think Adam would forget about the Headmistress and only look at you if you did that? Well, that might be true. But it’s questionable whether you can call that revived thing ‘Adam.'”
“I don’t want to hear that from the one who killed Adam. You noble hero.”
Adult Chloe’s mocking words were a direct hit, piercing through her heart. Honestly, Chloe was also curious.
What did the future Adam do that made Ruth kill him and herself?
And how could Ruth Spero, who killed Adam, cling to him so shamelessly?
Chloe, protected by adult Chloe, slowly prepared [Chain Binding] and turned her gaze towards Ruth.
And then she saw it.
‘…Is she mocking me?’
Not anger, not sadness, not indifference.
But Ruth’s face, as if mocking her ignorance.
“It’s laughable for someone who knows nothing because she died first to say that.”
“What?”
“It’s obvious why you thought that way. Adam’s thoughts were also in Dark Sword. That’s right, Adam died by Dark Sword.”
“So what?”
“But… it wasn’t a death he wished for.”
“Wh-what?”
“…Follow me. You must have used necromancy to see this.”
Ruth, mocking the two Chloes, turned her back. She seemed unconcerned whether adult Chloe or Chloe attacked her.
The place where Ruth’s footsteps led was a small cave that had formed beneath the World Tree.
Chloe’s eyes widened as she saw the entrance.
“…Me?”
“To be precise, it’s me. It’s the time when Adam died… It’s only natural that I’m already dead.”
Adult Chloe, who was following behind Ruth while keeping a watchful eye on her, frowned. Anyone would react that way upon seeing their own beheaded corpse.
It wasn’t her first time seeing a corpse. But seeing the corpse of her future self was more repulsive and frightening than she expected.
While Chloe was retching, adult Chloe looked at her own corpse with a complex expression.
“I was foolish.”
“What…?”
“If I hadn’t let my guard down at the very end, I could have killed that last-place bitch and survived with Adam. But I was careless at the very end and ended up like this.”
“………”
“You be careful too. Don’t let your guard down when that bitch draws her sword.”
What she saw in adult Chloe’s expression wasn’t fear or disgust, but regret and remorse. Chloe didn’t understand at first, but she soon grasped her future self’s feelings.
Because she was careless here, adult Chloe died. Because she was careless here, adult Chloe couldn’t protect Adam. Because she was careless here, adult Chloe was left as a lingering thought, eternally chasing after Adam.
If she hadn’t been careless, Ruth Spero wouldn’t have regressed, she wouldn’t have died, and Adam wouldn’t have died.
“Let’s go.”
“…Okay.”
Chloe briefly watched adult Chloe enter the dark cave and then offered a silent prayer in front of the corpse, hoping that this wouldn’t be her end.
This past Chloe might have failed, but the current Chloe wouldn’t. With that resolve, Chloe followed adult Chloe into the cave.
“What is this cave, anyway?”
“It was a hideout Adam and I used. The elven forest… since the trees are all dead and burned, no one comes here. The magic that used to prevent outsiders from entering the forest is gone, but it was a good place to hide.”
“…You escaped here?”
“It was the place we arrived at after running and running and running. Originally, we were planning to treat Adam’s injuries here and then move again.”
“Injuries? Adam was hurt!?”
“We were running away from a certain Rank 8.”
“Rank 8?”
“Someone you know well. From this forest.”
“………”
Chloe, momentarily speechless at adult Chloe’s words,
Soon caught up with Ruth, who had gone ahead.
She was standing still at what seemed to be the end of this small cave.
And in front of her was…
“…Ruth Spero, and…”
“It’s Adam.”
“That’s… Adam? B-but…”
No matter how she looked at him, it wasn’t Adam. It wasn’t about his appearance or age.
Outwardly, he looked exactly like the Adam that Chloe knew. But crucially, his aura was different.
The Adam who was decisive yet gentle, who laughed often, who sighed a lot, who showed all sorts of human emotions…
…seeing him with lifeless eyes, his presence sunken and submerged, was unfamiliar.
“Then that Ruth standing in front of him is…”
“My past self. The one who killed you, the witch, and reached the end of the cave.”
There was another Ruth in front of Ruth. But this one looked different.
Her white hair was much drier, her eyes were lifeless like Adam’s, and a gloomy aura surrounded her. The only thing that remained unchanged was the black sword in her hand.
“The timing is perfect. Or were you waiting for us to come this far?”
“What are you talking about?”
“There might have been a change, but this is ultimately a space created by [Death Rattle]. And only when the caster stands before the target of the spell, Adam’s thoughts, can they hear his voice.”
“So you’re saying that witch had to come all the way here to see what Adam was like when he died.”
[We’re here, Adam.]
[………]
“He’s…”
As soon as Ruth finished speaking, the other Ruth opened her mouth. It felt strange that she suddenly started speaking after being silent until now, but it couldn’t be helped since this was a scene created by magic.
The somewhat awkward voice soon became clear. And then it was filled with emotion.
[Do you know what’s in front of you? It’s Chloe’s corpse. You can’t run anymore.]
[…Chloe.]
[The Empire is in chaos. You finally killed the Guardian Dragon who was protecting the western wasteland. Rank 8 monsters must be turning the Empire into a living hell.]
[It’s just revenge.]
[What about the people living in the Empire, the small kingdoms, or other places, unaware of anything? Are they also targets of your revenge?]
[I’ve already said this before.]
[………]
[Burning down the house to catch a bedbug is insane, but at least you can kill the bedbug for sure. That’s all.]
[You’re crazy, Adam. You’ve finally gone mad.]
Clang.
After that short conversation,
The past Ruth placed Dark Sword on Adam’s neck.
Chloe flinched unconsciously, but this was just a replay of the past. She couldn’t intervene now, and even if she did, nothing would change.
Even so, seeing Adam right before he was killed by Ruth Spero…
[Yes, that’s right. I’m crazy. I’ve been crazy ever since the day the academy burned down.]
[Adam.]
[You were wandering the continent then. I misjudged you. I needlessly cared about you being the protagonist or whatever. This world isn’t even a real game.]
[…You’ve gone mad.]
[And my revenge isn’t over yet.]
[What? But those who attacked the academy that day…]
[I killed them all. I burned down the house and killed all the bedbugs. But there’s still one left.]
Why? Chloe couldn’t stop the cold sweat.
Because she could vaguely imagine what would happen in the future from their conversation just now.
Because she could imagine her future self running away with Adam, who had gone on a revenge quest after the academy burned down.
Chloe…
[Those bastards who killed the Headmistress. I won’t forgive them even if I have to chew their flesh and crush their bones.]
[W-wait!]
[And that stupid, powerless bastard who was captured and made the Headmistress unable to resist.]
[Adam!!]
[That’s me.]
Thud.
Immediately after,
It wasn’t Dark Sword, but a sharp dagger that was deeply embedded in Adam’s heart.
It wasn’t Ruth who killed Adam. The truth was different.
Adam, Adam Keynes…
…committed suicide.