#114

‘…Is he an idiot?’

That was my first thought the moment I heard the suicide threat.

What exactly about this is supposed to be threatening?

‘Does the Dark Realm have a law against assisting suicide or something?’

Of course, watching someone die isn’t a pleasant experience.

However, I was certain that Athanas would never actually ‘commit suicide.’

‘There’s no way he’d die.’

It’s just a tantrum. “I’ll just die!” “I’m dying!” “I’m jumping off here!” and so on.

Ridiculous.

Did he really think that would work on me?

‘Then go ahead and die….’

I wouldn’t care if Athanas died, unlike anyone else.

Athanas is the protagonist of the game.

No matter how many times he dies, he comes back to life.

I’ve seen him die so many times I’m sick of it.

“Athanas….”

I wasn’t nervous at all.

I was calm.

Since this is a dream anyway.

The sound of my heart pounding in my ears is nothing more than a sound effect.

Just because a character in a horror game is panting frantically doesn’t mean I’m out of breath, right?

‘This is a dream.’

But even if it’s fake, I don’t actually want to see someone die.

Blood splashing in a game isn’t hot.

Because that’s just graphics.

But actually being covered in blood is a disgusting experience.

‘I have never been covered in blood.’

Was that true?

Regardless, I hate it.

I’ll surely have a terrible nightmare.

‘This is a dream.’

I closed my eyes.

‘This is a dream.’

The letters are vivid.

‘This is a dream.’

If it’s a dream, that means I can wake up.

How do I wake up?

I want to wake up before I see something horrific.

‘This is a dream.’

I get it, so just tell me how to get out of the dream.

I’m telling you, I don’t want to see Athanas die.

‘This is a dream.’

I don’t want to see it even in a dream.

Are you listening?

‘This is a dream.’

…Right, how am I supposed to win an argument with a macro-bot.

I accepted it.

Because if I didn’t, my head would hurt.

“Don’t do it.”

I warned the Athanas in the dream.

But Athanas ignored me.

“I told you not to do it.”

The sword slowly drew closer, and a thin red line was etched across my neck.

“Please, Athanas….”

‘Just leave it. It’s a dream anyway.’

But my body ignored the options and reached out on its own.

As I gripped the blade, blood dripped from my hand.

My body screamed in agony.

Feeling irritated, I wrote a new sentence.

‘Because this was all a dream, it didn’t hurt in the slightest.’

Pain is not real.

It’s merely an ‘interpretation’ processed by the brain.

The sound of panting grew fainter.

“Athanas, Athanas, Athanas….”

The sword fell to the floor.

Athanas pulled my body into an embrace.

‘I feel unpleasant.’

“Athanas, please….”

‘I push Athanas away.’

But the command

(command)

did not register.

‘The one hugging you right now is not Athanas, but a fake. The real one is still searching for you. You must find the real one.’

Only then did I push Athanas away.

When in a state of madness, commands sometimes don’t work properly.

It’s a common occurrence in games.

‘I have to wake up from the dream.’

“Dream, I have to wake up from the dream.”

I drew an arrow. To make it easy to recognize.

‘If I’m stabbed by the sword, I can wake up from the dream.’

…There is a sword on the floor.

Concentration lines flashed around it like in a manga.

It meant this was an item that must be selected.

Doors that needed to be opened flashed like that too.

Is it telling me to pick that up?

‘Since it’s a dream, it won’t hurt.’

The letters speak the truth.

Even now, I felt no pain.

Despite the blood dripping.

This is proof that it’s a dream!

I quickly became calm.

‘I realize that if I stab my neck with that sword, I can wake up from the dream immediately.’

Yes, that’s right.

I must wake up from the dream.

“Fabio.”

‘Shit.’

But Fabio was such a trash unit that his speed was too slow.

Before I could grab the hilt, Athanas kicked the sword away. The sword slid far off.

“Shit.”

Athanas was hugging me from behind, so I couldn’t get close to the sword.

The emphasis effect was useless.

“Fabio, look at me.”

I turned my head to the side.

I saw deep blue eyes.

Eyes that make one choke up just by looking at them.

‘Because of you….’

Because of you

Because of you

Because of you

Because of you…!

My vision turned pitch black with rage.

My head felt like it was splitting open.

[

SYSTEM

: Due to the effect of ‘Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Reign Supreme,’ the ‘Blessing of Consolation’ is nullified.]

“Ah, that Sacred Relic is a laboratory fixture!”

“When did they raid the lab storage?”

“A Holy Knight who serves Order stealing… the Lord must be truly pleased.”

“But is it okay for us to just watch this?”

“Shh, just wait a bit longer. I think I know what’s happening….”

‘Doing something useless.’

Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Reign Supreme ensures that only ‘I’ can influence my own mind.

No one but the ‘I’ that I accept as myself can persuade me.

“…Fabio.”

‘It would be better to do nothing at all.’

Athanas is not stupid.

He might deduce my existence.

He might try to separate me.

I shouldn’t have snapped back so harshly when he was spouting bullshit about loving me….

‘I do not give any answer.’

I closed my eyes.

‘I do not give any answer.’

The letters do not disappear.

They didn’t blur in the slightest, even as tears overflowed.

“Ah….”

I couldn’t finish the sentence.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.

Status Window.

As I muttered it internally, my traits appeared.

Unique Traits: [Miracle of the Silver Tongue], [Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Reign Supreme], [???], [System User], [■■ ■■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■]

There were black smudges.

No matter how much I moved my eyes, I couldn’t see beyond the smudges.

This trait was engraved on my retina.

From the beginning….

‘I do not give any answer.’

…A gesture does not count as an answer.

I pointed to my eye with my hand.

‘Damn it, listen to me.’

The letters changed.

‘I do not move.’

I remained still, pointing to my eye.

My body is resisting me!

Rage surged within me.

This is the best way to survive intact in this crazed world.

Why doesn’t he get it?

Stupid bastard….

I should have known from the moment he reacted strangely to the Athanas keyword.

‘Athanas deceived you! He is tricking you!’

Yeah, cut the crap.

More importantly, seeing as you call me ‘you,’ you’re treating me as a separate entity.

Then isn’t that meaning I’m no longer myself?

‘Hate Athanas! Hate him!’

[

SYSTEM

: Due to the effect of ‘Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Reign Supreme,’ ‘Forced Persuasion’ is nullified.]

The system window popped up.

Suddenly, it felt as if the fog in my head cleared.

‘Wow….’

My head spun.

‘How did I think of using Forced Persuasion on myself?’

Is this insane?

The logic is truly on another level.

Did the ‘me’ on the 24th floor get ‘contaminated’ after going down to the basement?

If not, I don’t think I could have put such a terrifying idea into action, even if I had thought of it….

‘No, that’s not me.’

I repeated it several times.

That is a separate entity.

It is no longer me.

Therefore….

“Ugh….”

Suddenly, pain surged through my hand.

Shit!

It hurts like hell!

‘I knew this wasn’t a dream!’

[Y-y-you crazy bastard….]

The ‘24th floor’ wrote something on my retina again.

The crazy bastard is you, not me.

Damn, what a massive fake-out.

Making me believe the Blessing was engraved on my arm when it was actually hidden in my eye.

[Do you even know how I felt doing that?]

I don’t.

Because I’m not you.

And this isn’t your body, so you just stay far away.

[That’s because you don’t know! You know nothing!]

Then tell me?

You didn’t even show me the really important number….

[…I can’t tell you where the starlight reaches. Please, you’ll regret this. This is the best way.]

“I’m sorry.”

As Athanas whispered softly, the letters began to tremble and convulse.

[Shit! Don’t apologize! Don’t apologize! With that kind of apology….]

The overflowing text was so dense I could barely see.

I no longer needed to force myself to read those letters, but the visual dizziness was unavoidable.

My eyes throbbed.

[Cancel it! Cancel it! Stop now! Tell him to stop!]

‘No, if I hadn’t crossed the line, I would have just used the trait.’

But damn, how could I let you lie to me?

Cells that replicate only for themselves rather than the whole body are usually called cancer cells, right?

Do you really think I should leave cancer cells alone?

I don’t want maggots in my eye sockets either, damn it.

[You ignorant brat!]

Yep, ignorance shall protect me.

You need memories to feel regret.

If I don’t know, I won’t regret it.

“Athanas.”

I pointed to my eye again.

“You asked me what you should do, right?”

I explained calmly.

Pluck out this eye, turn back time, and pluck it out once more.

Then ‘Fabio’ will no longer feel any sense of incongruity.

Of course, he’ll be horrified if you suddenly pluck out his eye, but when he opens his eyes again, he’ll think it was all a nightmare.

[…Please. I’ll help. Now that you perceive me as a different entity, you won’t be affected by Forced Persuasion anymore. Then you can just use me as a trait. I’ll be useful. I can write logs for you. I can even mosaic things you don’t want to see….]

No, your very existence is annoying.

Damn it, you’re blocking my vision right now.

It’s like I have real-time subtitles.

“Athanas, you are in a state where you didn’t come to find me today, you don’t know that you left the reliquary behind, and you don’t know that I came to the Main Hall.”

“…Do I have to do it twice?”

“Because you must remove it before using Regression, so that this fellow receives nothing.”

[I don’t want to disappear….]

Athanas grabbed my face with trembling hands.

The finger pushed into my mouth tasted of blood.

‘…Usually, don’t people put a handkerchief in to stop someone from biting their tongue?’

Why the hell use a finger….

But the thought didn’t last long.

A blinding white pain covered everything.

“……!!”

[

SYSTEM

: The trait ‘I record, therefore I exist’ has been removed.]

* * *

I opened my eyes with a deep gasp.

My heart was thumping.

‘A dream?’

Something….

I feel like I had a fucking terrible nightmare.

‘…….’

Eye.

My eye….

I felt around my left eye.

‘It’s fine.’

Was it a dream?

No, it must have been a dream.

“Are you conscious?”

‘…Callister?’

The one who cut off my arm….

‘Then how much of it was a dream?’

“Athanas….”

“Yes?”

“Wasn’t Athanas here? When you cut my arm….”

Callister tilted his head. His purple-tinted curly hair flowed downward.

“Athanas? My name is Columba.”

‘…….’

The Lab Director?

He looks exactly like Callister.

No, that’s not what’s important right now.

That man saw Athanas.

When Athanas said something, he understood, stepped back, and just watched.

He even pressed down on me firmly, claiming to help.

“Wasn’t someone else with you?”

“The only ones there were I, Columba, Aldo, and you, Fabio.”

“…Who is Aldo?”

“My hand-axe! I cut your arm with it!”

‘…….’

“Ah, I almost forgot. Palbio was there too!”

What the hell is that?

Is that the name of the handkerchief he put in my mouth?

The Lab Director pulled a bloodless, pale arm from his coat and waved it.

“This is Palbio. It was originally attached to your body!”

‘…….’

“Now it’s mine!”

‘This guy is fucking insane….’

Chapter 115