By Zephyria 
Do not doubt ‘System’.
“I’ll explain it in an easy-to-understand way.”
‘System’ loves you.
“‘This body’ and Lennox spending their childhood together is a kind of Setting value that has never actually happened in this world.”
System and Allen’s words alternated one after another. As if to completely deceive me, who was in confusion. I still couldn’t smooth out my crumpled eyes and gritted my teeth to endure. The intense pain that felt like it would break me had lessened from before, but my head was still throbbing. It was clear that I was straining myself to forcibly digest something huge that I couldn’t possibly contain.
Still, it was pain worth enduring. As the headache gradually subsided, the memories beneath the surface, which I had forgotten that I had even forgotten, began to slowly surface above my consciousness.
The fragments of memories that surfaced were very diverse. From being shocked and at a loss after seeing Allen’s form crumble, to trivial thoughts that suddenly came to mind while reading a book. There seemed to be no public interest in terms of the importance or length of the memories, but surprisingly, the criteria were clear. Whenever I ‘doubted’ the System, even in the slightest, the memory had to be erased without exception.
The most recently forgotten memory was the day I celebrated my birthday in my room with the System. Allen suddenly came and acted suspiciously when he saw me eating a cream cake. Allen, who had only smiled brightly, saying that he wanted to share something so sweet with me, was suspicious. I had never told anyone, not even Nicole. As if he knew that day was my birthday, which I was celebrating alone.
“Usually, I tend to plant memories at the right timing… This time, things have gotten a bit complicated.”
When I reached that thought, I suddenly had the suspicion that Allen and the System had some kind of relationship. Come to think of it, even if it wasn’t just the matter in the North, it was strange that Allen wasn’t very surprised when dealing with events that hadn’t happened in the previous Iteration. But the moment I had that suspicion, an irresistibly strong drowsiness came over me, and I fell asleep as it was. Of course, not even a speck of doubt remained after I woke up. Until just before this moment, all along.
“But if you rummage through the empty parts so mercilessly, how can there not be an error? Other characters are one thing, but this guy is particularly sensitive, so he can’t help but react more sensitively.”
Allen muttered in a low voice that I couldn’t tell whether he was talking to himself or trying to inform me. The sight of his red lips moving slowly stuck to my retina like a hallucination. I lifted my head in that state, still clutching my head. It might be more accurate to say that it was lifted. Because I couldn’t help but lift my head the moment I heard Allen’s clear laughter.
“Haha, you still haven’t noticed?”
His clear laughter seemed to mock me mercilessly.
“No. There’s no way you wouldn’t have noticed. You just don’t want to notice.”
‘System’ reaches out to you.
The outstretched hand fell on my head with terrible physical force. Thump. It was just that the soft palm touched my hair. But to me, it felt like the world was collapsing with enormous gravity.
It was the System that reached out, but it was Allen’s hand that touched my head.
I couldn’t dare to turn away any longer. Allen didn’t just have some kind of relationship with the System that I didn’t know about. Allen was…
“Oh dear… You’re trembling. Poor thing.”
The System itself.
The only absolute being in this world who enjoys deceiving me or playing with me as a noble hobby.
I didn’t feel betrayed. However, I was just so sad that I couldn’t control my emotions. No matter what anyone said, I had relied on the System a lot, so now I couldn’t help but suspect that even the sadness I felt right now, and all the bonds I had built up so far, were the result of his manipulated mockery. Nevertheless. Very simply and clearly.
“…”
At this moment, I was just sad.
It wasn’t as surprising as I thought. From the moment he slowly untied the blindfold over my eyes, everything was so naturally understood.
Betrayal? Emptiness? I couldn’t possibly express the depth of the emotions I was feeling with just those words. Even if he wasn’t someone I could unconditionally trust, the fact that the existence I had believed would at least, at least always be by my side had been hiding such a dagger all along.
The piercing sadness was truly bone-deep. It was even painful. I wanted to beat my chest and resent him, asking what I had done wrong and why he was giving me this pain. Hiding my unsightly appearance with all my might was the last bit of pride I had left.
“Don’t cry. If you cry like that, I’m going to get weak again.”
“…”
Allen lowered his waist and lowered his posture in front of me, who had collapsed. He matched my eye level and clicked his tongue as if he was sorry, looking at me who was just shedding tears without even being able to make a sound. He’s a skilled liar. His blue eyes were shining brightly with excitement and joy that didn’t even seem to be trying to hide.
“Huh? That’s right. It’s a lie. Your face crying because of me is quite ecstatic. You know me well after all. Well, we’ve been together for quite a long time.”
……. So, what should I do now? I just felt dazed and empty. All the struggles I had made to escape this damned fate seemed foolish. What could I possibly do, thrashing about in the clutches of a god I couldn’t even escape with death?
“Don’t worry. The solution is simple. Isn’t it too painful? Don’t you just want to give up everything?”
“…….”
“Then strangle me to death with your own two hands.”
“…What?”
Is he out of his mind? No, of course, he’s not sane, but what on earth is this charade…!
“A charade? I’m hurt. I’m serious. If you’re a little hesitant to strangle me, you can stab my heart directly with a sharp blade.”
You can’t get someone else to do it, as much as you hate me, with all your heart… Kill this body with your own hands. Corrupt your noble soul. Kill me, mutilate me. You can scatter blood like a boast. You hate this body, don’t you? Isn’t it unbearably disgusting? Everything that has tormented you so far is because of me, so if you want to escape me, kill me directly. Abandon all pride as a human and pollute your soul. Your fingers tearing apart my lungs will be the most wonderful experience of all…”
A dreamy, hazy voice, like a spell, secretly took over my ears and brain. If he was trying to brainwash me, he could simply manipulate my mind as he always had, so I don’t know why he’s going to all this trouble. But as Allen’s lips curled up at an increasingly grotesque angle, and as his murmurs begging for death, or urging murder, grew faster and faster, I wanted to run away. Anywhere, as long as it was somewhere I could escape his eyes.
“I promise. Really, once is enough. Just kill me once. Once, just once is enough…, huh? Just get your hands dirty once, and then everything will be peaceful.”
I mustn’t be fooled by that cunning voice, like trying to trick a child. I must never grant his request. I don’t know why, but I instinctively felt that way. I swallowed my breath and tried to back away somehow. Stumbling, awkwardly trying to move my butt backward… Suddenly, our eyes met. With red eyes, furrowed in anger.
“Ah, this is a problem. I was already worried about the many formidable competitors, but it seems the most difficult one to deal with has appeared.”
“Ugh…!”
“Lennox!”
As Lennox, frowning deeply, slowly rose from his seat, Allen’s body, conversely, began to crumble like a sandcastle.
“You, dare…, how, how…!”
“I thought there was a strange power around my Benefactor from the beginning, but I never imagined that the source of that power would be here…”
If I hadn’t prepared in advance, I would have been in big trouble too? Lennox sneered, feigning composure. A familiar noise began to appear on Allen’s face. The beautiful, well-defined features collapsed without form and split into dozens of pieces. Those pieces desperately tried to come together above his neck, but just as they were about to unite, they scattered again.
Warning.
You cannot leave this area.
War□□□.
The System’s messages, which had been mocking me with a relaxed attitude, also became increasingly difficult to read. Lennox approached me, who was looking back and forth between him, Allen, and the empty air somewhere with a confused expression, politely extended his hand, and then asked in a calm voice.
“Well, then, first of all…”
“…….”
“Would you agree to let me steal you away, even temporarily? If you don’t, I’ll have to kidnap you.”
Instead of answering, I placed my hand on his palm, and the next moment, my vision brightened.
W□RNING!
W□□□□N□!!
□□□□□□□!!!
With the System’s loud warnings as the last thing I heard, I heard a hallucination as if a mirror was shattering somewhere.