Chapter 88: Discovery (2)
Aina nodded.
“Co to think of it, that guy participated in the ga five tis.”
“Yeah.”
“But isn’t the possibility slim? There are too many participants in the ga.”
“No. He must’ve t him.”
He must’ve t him — that’s why the search function showed that information.
And Edgar once said he’d kept an eye on at least one person from each generation.
If that, too, was a hint—
“The Doppelgänger must’ve been soone Edgar paid attention to.”
“How on earth do you know that? What you’re saying sounds a bit too strange to call foresight.”
“As you know, I’m a mysterious person.”
“I didn’t think you’d actually say that yourself.”
“Anyway, let’s go see Edgar.”
Benjamin asked,
“That man is dead, isn’t he? He was completely lted into Mason’s blood.”
“He’s alive. Maybe he realized that Aina could see souls and sohow managed to hide his own. That’s Edgar’s talent, after all.”
“Hmm. Let’s say that’s true—what do you plan to do when you find him? You know he’s not the type to answer questions obediently.”
“We’ll have to add a bit of intimidation.”
I sighed and stretched out my arm toward Aina.
“Let’s draw blood one more ti.”
After drawing blood twice in a row, I was genuinely dizzy now.
At tis like this, I missed Arlia’s ability.
After taking a short rest and regaining a bit of clarity, we moved to where Edgar was.
For the record, I had Her Highness the Princess on my back.
I carefully stepped closer to Edgar.
If the compass hadn’t confird it, I would’ve doubted it was really him.
“This is… Edgar?”
It felt like I was being forced to study anatomy.
Maybe there was still so of my blood’s influence left, but beneath his peeled skin, I could see veins and muscles.
His heart thumped beneath his ribs, his eyes were hollow, and so unidentifiable fluid oozed all over his body.
And surprisingly—
“Oh? Everyone.”
Even in that condition, he could still talk to us.
I forced myself to stay calm.
“Long ti no see.”
“Hmm. If it’s not sothing important, could you please leave? I’m a bit busy resurrecting right now.”
“It’s important.”
“Even so, please leave.”
“I just have a few questions to ask.”
I gently laid Her Highness on the ground.
Then I sat down beside Edgar.
Edgar twisted what was left of his lips into a crooked smile.
“Well, that’s a relief. So you only ca to ask questions.”
“……”
“For a second, I thought you ca to pour your blood on again.”
“If you don’t answer, that’s exactly what’ll happen.”
“……”
“First, I’ll explain the situation. You might as well know—it’s information that’ll benefit you too.”
I told him that a monster called a Doppelgänger had co for us.
That it had kidnapped and put Arlia to sleep, and that it had perished by my hand—or more precisely, in my blood.
Edgar listened with interest before asking,
“So what’s your question?”
“The Doppelgänger is dead, but Her Highness still hasn’t awakened.”
“And?”
“But originally, Doppelgängers don’t have sleep-inducing abilities. The one that ca for us was a special case. I want to learn more about that particular one.”
“Then just find out.”
“To do that, I need its real na.”
At that, Edgar finally nodded and chuckled.
“I’d say monsters don’t have real nas… but it seems you’ve already figured that part out.”
“……”
“That monsters were once human. And that you know about the Rematch for the Defeated, too.”
So he knew as well.
Edgar struggled to lift his head and looked toward the sky as he continued,
“You’re right. The Doppelgänger was probably one of the participants I t in the past.”
“Judging from how you talk, you already have soone in mind.”
“Yes. To be honest, we went through the Frozen Season Quest together. Though I was dead most of the ti, so we only spoke near the end.”
“Who is it? Say the na.”
“His na is Hayward Pyson.”
I imdiately activated the encyclopedia function.
Disgusting content.
Disgusting, but irrelevant.
I punched Edgar in the face.
Thud!
“Gah! That hurts. Why has my face beco everyone’s punching bag lately?”
“That’s not the na I wanted.”
“Heh. You figured that out right away. You really are sothing.”
“Say the na of the past participant you suspect beca the Doppelgänger!”
“Then what will you do for in return?”
“I’ll let you live—for now.”
I tilted the bucket beside toward Edgar.
He moved only his eyes to glance at my blood and laughed.
“You can pour it if you want.”
“What?”
“Anyway, it’s been confird that your blood can’t kill . I an, just look at —here I am, working hard to resurrect again.”
“But if I pour my blood on you again, you won’t be able to participate properly in the next ga. The current quest was the Frozen Season—you could pass it without doing much. But who knows what the next one will be.”
“Then I’ll just be eliminated next ti.”
I gaped in disbelief.
It shocked how easily he accepted the idea of being eliminated.
“Are you really okay saying that?”
“There’s the Rematch for the Defeated, isn’t there? I don’t mind ending up in hell and turning into a monster. Now that I know there’s a ga even there, what’s there to fear?”
“You…”
“Besides, I’m confident I can win the Rematch for the Defeated. If I win, I can return to the human realm and enjoy the sa ga again, right?”
“……”
“Isn’t it wonderful? A ga that continues infinitely, whether I live or die. If I’d known this earlier, I wouldn’t have needed a wish for immortality. Still, I suppose I should be thankful—I got to et you because of it.”
This was bad.
Edgar no longer feared death.
No—he had never feared death to begin with.
What truly terrified him was being unable to enjoy the ga forever.
The existence of the Rematch for the Defeated gave him endless composure.
What do I do?
As I bit my lip, Edgar spoke again.
“…Though I said all that, to be honest, I don’t really like the idea of becoming a monster.”
“What?”
“That Doppelgänger fellow used to be a pretty good person when he was human. But once he beca a monster, his personality completely changed.”
“So you knew him well?”
“Knew him? She was my wife.”
For a mont, I thought I’d misheard.
Sienne’s trembling voice broke the silence.
“Wife? You had soone like that?”
“How rude. Do I look like soone who’s stayed single for 300 years? Romance isn’t sothing only you can have, Sienne.”
“……”
“She was a good person. Back then, I owned a tool shop. Every morning, we’d open the shop together, and every evening, we’d close it together.”
“……”
“I always ate the lunchbox she made for . Sotis we’d travel far away on holidays.”
I couldn’t bear to listen any longer.
I tried to stop him, but I was too late.
“Well… I eliminated her in the twelfth quest.”
“……!”
“We were separated often and did quests apart, so honestly, I didn’t expect her to survive that long. I thought she was just an ordinary woman, but she had surprising potential.”
“……”
“When we t again in the Twelfth Quest, she cried her heart out in my arms. She kept saying, ‘Don’t worry about anything, I’ll protect you. I’ll protect you…’ over and over.”
A heavy silence fell.
I ground my teeth and asked,
“Why did you eliminate her? You said she was your wife.”
“Why… was it again? I think it was just the nature of the ga, but I don’t quite rember. When she cried with that betrayed look at the end, I actually felt really bad… heh.”
I grabbed his neck and choked him to shut him up.
“That’s enough. Just say the na.”
“Heh. Right, I got sidetracked. My apologies.”
“The na!”
“Anyway, just like how my wife’s personality completely changed when she beca a Doppelgänger, I might change too if I turn into a monster. I don’t want that. I want to remain myself.”
“Staying as you are is the most horrific thing imaginable.”
Ignoring , he continued,
“I’ll tell you my wife’s na. In return, once your Arlia wakes up, please help restore my body.”
“……”
“I still owe too many deaths from that letter incident. I can’t keep dragging myself along under your blood’s influence forever.”
“I’ll speak to Her Highness. If she agrees, you’ll get your treatnt.”
“Well, that’s good enough for now.”
He smiled.
“Louise Danahan.”
I imdiately opened the encyclopedia.
……
It felt like my heart had stopped.
What was this?
I reread the encyclopedia carefully.
It was destroyed.
Not just 80%, but one hundred percent—completely annihilated.
She had lted entirely in my blood…
“Aah. Aaaah!”
“What’s wrong, Mason?”
“...It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing, is it? You got the info from her real na, right? What did it say?”
Aina’s voice sounded strange.
Behind stood my four companions.
I slowly rose to my feet, positioning myself with the real Arlia—still asleep—behind .
Then I picked up the bucket of blood.
Berseum asked,
“What’s going on? Why the grim face?”
Reviews
All reviews (0)