Alright, let’s try to sort this out.
What’s the root cause of all this? How did things end up like this?
“Tillis.”
The one people called Saintess. Because she entered the Cradle, all sorts of groups, including Ex Machina, began to gather.
A revenge drama fueled by nothing but hatred, with no concern for gain or loss.
And as always, the students of the Cradle are the ones caught in the middle of it.
“If it’s someone like Ex Machina, their cost-benefit calculations would be meticulous… There’s no reason they’d take risks just to torment Cradle students. This has to be about revenge.”
In the first place, even last year, Ex Machina didn’t carry out any particularly aggressive acts of terrorism against the Cradle.
It felt more like they accidentally spilled an experiment subject while passing by.
Well, that’s a different kind of horror.
Anyway, Ex Machina used their technological skills as bait to shake up the Cradle and dragged political issues into the mix by tying together the Imperial Family and the Cradle.
With so many key figures gathered, things should have been more tightly secured, but the Cradle’s security depended on just one person. That was Olga Hermod.
It was obviously not enough.
That’s how the outsiders began to gather at the Cradle one by one.
And that’s when Emily, a high-ranking member of Ex Machina under Coran Lekias, spoke up.
She told me to go find Professor Georg.
Professor Georg had been analyzing the properties of a certain metal on behalf of the Imperial Research Department, and guess what?
The metal he identified turned out to be nothing special. It was just ordinary iron.
And that’s where the problem begins.
—Read the passage and identify the relationships between the elements. (10 points)
“Ah, crap.”
If this were an actual test question, my exam would be screwed.
Too many messy things are happening at once for me to piece it all together.
The only thing I know for sure right now is this:
The one who could solve my problem was a researcher from Ex Machina.
But I didn’t know who that researcher was.
I didn’t even have a clue.
However, if there was one thing I was certain of…
“…In the end, it’s Tillis.”
It was her the researcher from Ex Machina was targeting Tillis.
She was the eye of the storm. Everything in the end revolved around her.
The unease I had vaguely sensed ever since I became aware of her presence.
The line of irrational misfortune that started with Lobelia and Kult.
The world’s unjust malice directed at me.
“What did I even do wrong to deserve all these trials…?”
I was seriously exhausted…
***
I checked on Tillis’s condition.
Of course, I had no intention of spying like a thief. Even Yuna had nearly gotten caught just by being nearby. What would happen if I actually trailed her?
It would be nothing short of suicide.
Yuna had said that Tillis didn’t have particularly sharp senses, but that was by Yuna’s standards, wasn’t it?
So I decided to observe her through legal means.
“Shall we get started for today, then?”
That’s right. I had decided to attend the lecture hosted by Tillis.
But maybe the sight of someone like me who barely even paid attention in class voluntarily attending a special lecture after school had struck others as a bit strange?
“…Why are you here?”
Ariel asked with a look of utter disgust.
Seeing her glare at me like that, I was oddly relieved. She looked healthy.
May you live your whole life like that.
Makes it easier to lose affection and move on.
“My experiment hit a dead end, so I came by for a little change of pace.”
I gave an excuse, for now.
From Ariel’s perspective, it probably felt like discovering the person who had promised to make her a life-saving cure was suddenly goofing off at a baseball stadium.
I didn’t know if that’s how she really felt, but if it were me, I’d probably be a little disappointed.
And while it was technically an excuse, it wasn’t a lie either. The experiment really was at a standstill, and that’s exactly why I had come here.
The only one who could solve the problem I was struggling with was the researcher from Ex Machina. And that researcher was likely after Tillis.
In the end, I needed to keep an eye on Tillis and her surroundings.
“Sir Johan, if it’s too much, you can quit. I’m not interested in staying alive if it means grinding up someone else’s life to do it.”
What a load of crap.
Ariel said it with a bitter look in her eyes, suddenly sounding completely drained.
Had she lost her mind?
Now’s the time to be cheering me on, and she comes out with that?
“I’ve come this far. I have to see it through, even out of sheer stubbornness. So please don’t sap my motivation with pointless talk.”
“…Well, do whatever you want.”
That was an unnecessary bit of consideration.
Was she worried I might feel guilty if I failed to create the cure in time?
We were far past that point.
Even if Ariel were to die now, I couldn’t stop developing the cure.
This was already my own problem to solve.
“All right, let’s get started. Who wants to go first?”
While I had been exchanging that pointless conversation with Ariel, Tillis’s one-on-one private training session began.
Sparring. A real combat-focused instruction.
A brutal style of training that was hard to associate with someone bearing the title of Saintess.
Who in the world had decided to give a monster like Tillis the title of Saintess? There wasn’t a single thing about her that suited that name.
Clang!
A deafening noise rang out.
It was the sound of a giant hammer, swung by the student who had challenged Tillis, being stopped by a semi-transparent wall suspended in midair.
Tillis blocked the attack without even blinking an eye.
“You don’t need to hold back out of politeness. Even if you go all out, you won’t be able to leave so much as a scratch on me.”
It was provocation, meant to boost morale.
Tillis skillfully encouraged her opponent to give it his all.
Since she was fending off every attack without even countering, and doing it with ease, the student would have no choice but to go all in.
Any worry that something might go wrong would melt away like snow.
And so, as the booming clashes echoing through the air gradually became more and more threatening and too intense to ignore—
Only then did Tillis finally begin to strike back.
“Your strength is impressive. But the way you cover the openings when your attacks fail is still a bit sloppy.”
Whoosh!
A green glow seemed to trail from Tillis’s hand, and in the next instant, it knocked the charging opponent away.
Thud!
Right after pushing the student back, Tillis stomped her foot.
From the ground, thorny vines erupted and began to close in on her opponent.
“And your choice of weapon is too limited. I know blunt weapons are your specialty, but wouldn’t it be wise to carry at least one blade for situations like this?”
It was difficult to sweep away the writhing vines with a hammer.
The opponent kept trying to drive them back with gusts of wind from the hammer swings, but in the end, he was bound completely.
And then…
“Otherwise, this is what happens.”
Fwoosh!
The moment Tillis snapped her fingers, the thorny vines burst into flames all at once.
It was a power that changed freely without being bound by anything.
It was neither magic nor an awakened ability.
Upon closer inspection, something faint and translucent could be seen rising around Tillis.
The beings commonly referred to as spirits were manipulating a power that defied logic.
“Grahk!”
However, even as he was engulfed in flames during that sequence of events, the opponent did not retreat so easily.
…Was that really a student?
Pushing through the fire and immediately launching a counterattack…. could someone like that still be called just a student?
Thunk!
But this time, the opponent’s attack was blocked almost absurdly easily.
Not even a loud crash rang out. The hammer, which had been swinging at a tremendous speed, suddenly decelerated as if being embraced by something.
The hammer that got slowed so much that it no longer even carried inertia was swallowed by a pair of pure white wings floating in midair.
Something made entirely of wings.
At the sight, Ariel who was standing nearby frowned and spoke.
“That’s the technique that hit me. What even is that spirit?”
“I see.”
Something sacred.
What hovered in the air looked worthy of being called an angel.
Whoosh!
The wings embraced the large hammer, then spread wide and wrapped around the opponent.
“Urgh…”
The student collapsed to his knees as if all the strength had suddenly left his body.
Presumably, that mass of wings possessed the ability to unravel the very concept of strength itself.
The match was decided.
Tillis had completely overwhelmed and subdued her opponent from start to finish.
It was the natural outcome.
“I admired your unyielding will. Charging in without giving up until the end. That was impressive.”
Step, step. Like someone out for a casual stroll, Tillis walked toward her opponent.
A gentle smile played on her face, and her gestures were courteous.
“But what was the driving force behind that will? If I may speculate, wasn’t it rooted in hatred?”
“……”
“You’re fighting with the sole determination to get revenge on someone, aren’t you?”
“…Yes.”
The opponent bowed his head deeply.
Was what he felt self-loathing? Sadness? Or perhaps helplessness?
He was likely recalling the very moment that gave birth to the hatred he now carried.
There were many like that in the Cradle.
Melana and Jeff, for example, were also people marked by such wounds.
Those who survived in this place didn’t make it because they were strong.
They became strong because they had to survive.
“…Hatred can certainly be a powerful driving force.”
Tillis spoke as she placed a hand on the student’s shoulder. Her tone was full of concern.
“But what happens if you achieve your revenge while consumed by hatred? Hatred breeds more hatred. That cycle won’t ever break unless someone chooses to end it.”
What nonsense. Depending on the person, this was the kind of sugarcoated remark that deserves a punch to the face.
If someone who doesn’t understand runs their mouth like that, it’ll only make things worse.
But the words that followed were neither common nor cliché.
“Can you become strong enough to swallow even that chain of hatred whole? Could you wipe out even your target’s blood relatives, every last one of them?”
Tillis didn’t say anything about forgiving the enemy.
In fact, it was the opposite.
She urged him to become someone so thorough he could devour even the enemy’s hatred.
“If not, then maybe it’s better to get a better grip on your emotions. With half-baked resolve, you won’t accomplish anything.”
In other words, if not, give up.
She told him to fall completely into either black or white. No in-between.
Her nature showed through in those words.
“Negative emotions, and the helplessness that comes from not resolving them…”
In a way, it was almost laughable.
She, of all people, drags around a chain of hatred wherever she goes.
She was a monster. The title of “saintess” doesn’t suit her in the slightest.
“They can lead to something terrible. And once that happens, there’s no turning back.”
She doesn’t stop hatred. She creates more of it.
She swept through the gangs and crime syndicates that ruled the slums, yet always left behind a sliver of possibility.
She left survivors behind to wait for them to come for revenge.
She deliberately created chains of hatred, urging them to return and try to take her down. She was a mad, psychopathic killer.
That was the essence of Tillis.
“Hoo…”
The sparring match had just ended.
Sensing that it was finally a good time to speak, I rose from my seat.
The moment I took a step forward, Tillis’s gaze turned toward me. Just meeting her eyes made me want to retreat.
To hide that fear, I quickly bowed my head and began to introduce myself.
“Hello, Saintess. My name is Johan Damus.”
“Oh, weren’t you the one from last time…?”
“Yes, we ran into each other before. Things were chaotic back then, but even if it’s late, I wanted to thank you. Thank you for saving us.”
“Oh my, you’re that person? Now that I look, your girlfriend is with you too? Nice to see you again. Did everything turn out okay back then?”
“Yes, thanks to you. But Lady Ariel isn’t my girlfriend. I do have some taste, after all.”
Seriously, that’s just too much. How can someone say that to another person?
“Wait, if someone should feel wronged, shouldn’t it be me?!”
Ariel frowned and glared at me in response to my sudden outburst.
Look at that…so fierce.
“And since we’re on the topic, Sir Johan has, from way back—!”
“Ugh?!”
Flinch!
Ariel and I were just about to start trading jabs at each other, but that grand ambition was quickly cut short.
Tillis had closed the distance between us in an instant.
Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, Ariel clutched her hat and shrank back, while I was left staring into Tillis’s expressionless eyes.
“You.”
“Yes.”
“You’re loved by the spirits, aren’t you?”
“…Am I?”
“Yes, it’s a rare trait.”
I had known from the start that she would take an interest in me. That’s why I’d been avoiding contact with her.
But the situation had changed.
“If it’s not too much trouble, would it be alright if I asked for a sparring match today as well?”
So now, it was time to take the opposite approach.
While Tillis tried to figure out what kind of person I was, I would simply observe the malice gathering around her.
It was a hellish moment of mutual cooperation.
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