“Wh-What should I do…? The professor said they’d be here….”
Hela with her arms full of what looked like documents fidgeted anxiously as she glanced around.
However, the owner of the lab she was searching for was nowhere to be found.
…Professor? Does she mean Professor Hallen?
Only then did I realize why she was acting differently from the game.
The professor in charge of the magical tool class she was taking had changed to Professor Hallen Einers.
It seemed she had come to deliver those documents on behalf of the professor.
With her timid personality, Hela probably couldn’t bring herself to refuse the request.
I understood the situation and let out a sigh of relief.
For a moment, I had been worried that some unknown variable had appeared again.
I should stay quiet until Hela leaves.
I carefully moved behind the gate magical tool and steadied my breath.
My invisibility spell was still active. It was completely erasing both my presence and appearance, but I still felt uneasy about running into her.
From beyond the magical tool, I watched her movements.
After scanning her surroundings for a moment—
“…Wow.”
She placed the documents down briefly and stepped closer to the scattered magical tools.
As someone who couldn’t resist anything related to magical engineering, her eyes sparkled with pure fascination as she examined them.
Seriously… Some things never change, no matter the time or place.
Her unchanged demeanor brought a smile to my face.
Watching her from a distance, old memories began to resurface.
Even on the day we first met, when I was assigned as the imperial princess’s escort, Hela had worn that same expression.
The memories of that day were undeniably warm.
But whenever I found myself lost in such warmth, it always led to recalling the unfortunate end as well.
…This is why I hate reminiscing about the past.
The pleasant feelings I had just moments ago crashed straight into the ground.
I clicked my tongue inwardly, lamenting my fate. Meanwhile, Hela who had been admiring the magical tool unknowingly stepped closer to my hiding spot.
When she finally stopped right in front of the spatial transportation magical tool, I found myself holding my breath. Even though there was no real need to.
She let out another exclamation of awe as she inspected the gate. She was clearly excited.
Since it was far rarer than the other magical tools around, her reaction was even more intense.
It looked as if stars might burst from her eyes at any moment.
Yeah, just admire it for a bit and then hurry back.
—Or so I thought.
That was when it happened.
Woooooong—!!
A sudden, ominous sensation spread from within my possession.
Reaching into my coat, I pulled out the source. It was one of the books I always carried with me.
Unlike usual, it was radiating an eerie black glow.
Oh, for fuc— Why now—
Crackle!
A burst of light suddenly engulfed the magical gate between Hela and me.
A thick, blackish-purple mist flooded the entrance of the gate.
The ominous energy signaled that the magical tool had been activated.
Only then did I realize what was happening and quickly turned my gaze toward the magic circle.
What I saw was entirely different from the one I had examined earlier.
There, hidden behind the original, was an entirely separate spell formation with a different structure.
A cleverly concealed secondary magic circle.
A double-layered spell formation… Which bastard did this?!
I cursed inwardly and reached out to undo it.
But unfortunately, I was already too late.
Bzzzzzt———Boom!!
A deafening roar erupted as a blinding light swallowed us whole.
.
.
.
.
.
“…Ugh.”
A floating sensation washed over me before a sharp impact hit my back.
As the blinding light faded from my vision, a dense forest unfolded before me.
If there was anything unusual, it was the fact that the trees were withered and twisted, tinged with a pale purple color.
Even so, the leaves grew plentifully and covered the sky, making it look very foreign.
But that wasn’t the real problem.
The real problem was how disturbingly familiar this place felt.
I had seen it countless times before in the game. To the point of exhaustion.
…The Magical Tool Overload Incident. The setting of the imperial princess’s kidnapping.
A place commonly known as the Demon Realm.
More precisely, the border where the demon and human worlds met.
Positioned in this ambiguous in-between space, everything about it felt unnatural.
But right now, that didn’t matter.
Why was I transported here? And where is Hela?
I scanned my surroundings, but there was no sign of her.
It seemed we had been separated during the transfer.
I looked down at the book in my hands.
A soft black glow emanated from it, and there was only one thing that could mean.
The trigger has been activated. …But why?
The trigger.
In simple terms, it was the “condition that set fate into motion”.
Fate had to unfold, no matter what.
On the day fate was predetermined to occur, events would inevitably follow their course.
There was no way to delay it.
The Magical Tool Overload Incident that was scheduled to happen next week was one such predetermined event.
That was why I had been preparing for it.
But now, the event had been moved forward.
And it had happened at the most unexpected moment. When only the imperial princess and I were present.
The gate had suddenly gone into overload.
And with that, the conditions had been met.
The existence of the imperial princess and the archenemy. And the overload of the magical tool.
As the trigger of fate was pulled, the incident meant to take place next week had been brought forward to now.
Fate could never be delayed, but as long as the right conditions were met, it could always be set into motion sooner.
No, but why did the magical tool suddenly go into overload?
Normally, just being near the magical tool with the imperial princess wouldn’t have triggered anything.
There was no reason for an overload to occur yet. I hadn’t even tampered with the magic circle.
I recalled the dual-layered magic circle I had seen earlier.
A hidden formation, oozing with malicious intent.
This had to be its doing.
Who could it be?
Someone had clearly manipulated this on purpose.
As if they were trying to disrupt my plans.
Crack—!
As I ran, the twigs snapping underfoot irritated me more than usual.
Even as my mind swirled with questions about what had just happened, my feet carried me forward in haste.
But in truth, none of that mattered right now.
I have to find Hela.
Fate had been brought forward.
And that didn’t just mean the imperial princess would be kidnapped earlier than expected.
The final key event of the first episode’s fate… was the mercenary hired by the fourth prince to kill the princess.
Of course, I had already killed both the fourth prince and that mercenary.
But fate didn’t just disappear.
Since the event had been accelerated, there hadn’t been enough time to replace the “mercenary” element with something else.
That role had been left vacant.
So then… what would happen now?
…If the Demon King meant to oppose the Hero were to disappear, fate would create an entirely new one.
If there was no mercenary to attempt the princess’s assassination, fate would defy causality itself to bring such an existence into being.
It would create something from nothing.
“…Lilith!”
I clutched my chest and called out to her.
.
.
.
Thump!
The familiar pain stabbed at my heart in response to my summons.
And then, a captivating voice echoed in my mind.
[…Hmm. Child? Has it already been a week?]
“A variable has came up.”
[Judging by your expression, it seems the situation isn’t going well.]
“Please lend me your strength. Guide me to the nearest being with the strongest demonic power.”
[Understood.]
As I ran, demonic power surged from my body.
Suppressing the unsettling sensation, I forced myself to focus.
If I hesitated even for a moment, the princess would be in danger.
Please… be safe, Hela!
The moment I pinpointed the location, I sprinted forward at full speed.
***
“…Ugh… Huh? Wh-Where… am I?”
As Hela slowly reopened her tightly shut eyes, an unfamiliar landscape stretched before her. It was completely different from the research lab she had been in just moments ago.
She found herself standing alone in a place filled with nothing but trees, all dyed in an eerie shade of purple.
The realization that she had stepped into the unknown sent tremors through her body, making her shiver uncontrollably.
“U-Um…! Is anyone there…?!”
Fighting back her fear, she mustered the courage to call out.
But no answer came. Only her own voice echoed emptily through the silent forest.
Hic— A small sob escaped as she began to hiccup.
Wh-What do I do…? Am I really alone here…?
She had felt uneasy ever since the moment the gate had emitted that strange light.
But now that she fully grasped the reality of her situation, tears welled up in her eyes.
More than anything, she hated being alone. It terrified her. It made her feel utterly helpless.
And so, driven purely by instinct, she forced herself to move.
She hunched her shoulders, flinching at the sound of twigs snapping beneath her feet, and desperately called out as loudly as she could.
“Is… is anyone there?!”
“Please… s-someone, answer me…!”
“…Is there really no one here…?”
She raised her voice as much as she could. But still, no reply came.
With each unanswered call, her confidence wavered.
And in that moment, when despair sank in and when she realized that she had truly been left alone in this unknown place—
Rustle!
Step.
Step.
A presence stirred behind her.
“…! Who’s there—?!”
Fearing it might be a monster, she instinctively backed away from the sound. Yet, despite her fear, she turned her head while clinging to a sliver of hope.
But what approached her was not hope.
Step.
Step.
“…….!”
It was something unknown.
A being beyond anything she had ever seen or could possibly explain.
It walked on two legs and carried a sword at its waist….yet calling it human was unthinkable.
Thick, black liquid dripped from its body, and dark purple mist seeped out from beneath its helmet.
“A-ah…! Wh-Who are y—”
Slash—!
She never had the chance to finish her sentence.
In an instant, it closed the distance and swung its sword.
And then came the pain. Unlike anything she had ever experienced before.
“Kyahhh—!!”
All she could do was scream.
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