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Souffle’s Memory Episode.
It was an episode that left a lasting impression in many ways. No, it had to leave an impression.
The great war in the myth three hundred years ago.
The last survivor sent to the future by the tribe anticipating their own extinction.
However, even for the youngest in the tribe, Souffle, erasing all existing memories was necessary to put her to sleep for hundreds of years.
Therefore, all the elders of the tribe gathered.
Erasing memories of the tribe, even if she would later awaken and forget that she was of the Ice Witch tribe, they believed it was much better to completely erase the pain of war for Souffle.
Everyone agreed, but only Souffle, the party concerned, did not agree.
But apart from not erasing her memories, there was no way for her to enter dormancy.
Just before entering dormancy, she fled alone, went to the altar where she was “born,” and separated her memories and personality, sealing them by combining her magic.
And.
“After the war ended, the altar was discovered by Repelheit and Salenias, who were handling the aftermath. Later, the first Salenias Emperor said, ‘In preparation for Souffle, the last survivor of our allies, the Ice Witch tribe, regaining her memories, I will move this altar in its entirety to the academy she will attend in the future.'”
Such a backstory exists. I distinctly remember reading it in the setting book. It was on page 335, maybe the fourth line.
“The memories I sealed away…”
“Senior, you mentioned earlier that ‘memories’ clearly act on their own will, could that possibly be…”
“Hmm.”
As soon as I finished speaking.
Accompanied by the sound of chains scraping, a girl raised her head from the center of the altar.
Hair and eyes reminiscent of ice that had been frozen for hundreds of years.
She looked exactly like Souffle standing under the altar, but unlike the neat Souffle, the girl had disheveled hair, was covered in wounds, wore a tattered rag, and her eyes staring at this side were endlessly sharp.
Then, slowly, her mouth opened.
[I thought you would come. To regain ‘me’? Me.]
A dry voice devoid of any emotion.
“Yes, I’ve come.”
Saying so, Souffle reached out her hand.
The ice dagger conjured from thin air swiftly cut the chain binding the ‘memories.’
The chain that only one person could break fell to the ground.
Slowly, the figure rose from the altar.
Yes, what comes next, I probably remember…
That’s it.
“Souffle, Milige, immediately conjure a ‘wall’ in front of me. With magic.”
This is a dungeon.
And in dungeons, there is always a ‘boss.’
**Translation of the Novel Excerpt:**
The dungeon without a boss is not a dungeon.
As I said, Sufle moved first.
“【Intermediate Ice Elemental Magic: Ice Wall】!”
Following her gesture, a large wall of ice rose from the ground, blocking my path.
At the same time.
“【Low-level Earth Elemental Magic: Ground Rock】.”
Behind the ice wall, a large rock wall also rose.
Like a thick double defense wall reminiscent of a castle.
“Sir, this is…”
“Both of you, be careful of falling rocks.”
However.
Kwaaah!
Two defense walls burst open like a scroll.
In the middle, a petite girl with a small build walked in.
At the fingertips of such a girl, a large sword made only of pure ice floats.
Eyes surrounded by frost gaze this way.
【What face woke me up and came to find me.】
“Sir.”
“Hmm.”
There is one fact that is not spoken.
‘Memory’.
【Live without remembering anything! Now that I’ve appeared!】
“I hate you, Sufle.”
“Yeah. I can feel it. …The memory wants to kill me.”
The memory of a brutal war.
The deaths of comrades, always a hindrance when young.
The helplessness of not being able to do anything.
All of these, sealed for a long time and merged with magic, finally made even the ‘owner’ hate.
【Disappear!】
The guy rushed in, raising a large ice from the surroundings.
“Sir! Come this way!”
“Stay behind me, Sufle, Milije.”
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They are mages.
As the only dealer in this raid party, I have to block the way for this guy.
Holding the staff of the elemental tree, I stepped forward.
【Disappear! Disappear!】
“Unfortunately, that seems impossible.”
An immense chill envelops me.
In the brief moment facing the guy, not only my uniform but also my face was covered in frost.
The movement of ‘memory’ checking my face momentarily paused.
Note: The translation has been faithfully rendered to maintain the original atmosphere and tone of the excerpt.
【You, are you Repelheight? That can’t be. Why would Repelheight be here…】
“I’m sorry, but you’re wrong. I am a descendant of Repelheight.”
【I see, then step aside, or I’ll have no choice but to kill you.】
Was this the nature of Supple three hundred years ago, or did the original nature change, swallowed up by negative emotions?
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. There are things I must protect behind me.”
Without a word, the opponent attacked again, and I also swung the staff of the spirit tree.
This opponent’s pattern is simple.
First, he swings the large ice greatsword indiscriminately.
Second, he shoots ice until his magic is depleted due to sheer malice.
One must endure until no one is killed and all his magic is exhausted to move on to the next stage.
A truly bothersome system.
“I have to try, don’t I?”
To Supple and Milige, I instructed them to prepare the one joint magic that could definitively ‘restrain’ him.
Dodging the opponent’s attacks rushing with a shout, here we mix magic and appropriate physical attacks skillfully for defense.
Naturally, since he has not learned swordsmanship, his movements are too broad and full of flaws, easily readable.
And even in cases like magical ‘shooting’, the accuracy is terribly low.
Although he randomizes all thirty patterns during boss battles, unfortunately, I know all thirty patterns and every precursor.
Therefore, defend against all of them.
I am a no-hit.
Unless it’s a boss I don’t know the pattern of, or a boss with such a difference in specs that handling is impossible.
Within the limits of my ‘health’, I am invincible.
【Why, why! It’s not hitting! It’s not connecting!】
It seems like I’ve heard this line countless times.
I thrust my staff, piercing and pushing his shoulder.
I struck his leg, making one knee kneel, then retreated as he swung down the ice sword.
【Alright, if it’s not hitting…】
Is he coming?
“Milige, Supple, prepare your magic, and when I say shoot, fire immediately, can you do it?”
“Yes, senpai!”
“I’ll do my best, senpai.”
【Just smash everything!】
Kooooooom!
A storm of massive ice erupted from the opponent, pouring towards us as he stretched both hands forward.
But I advance.
I hit the ground with my staff, but I don’t retreat. Steadily stepping forward.
An intense cold seeps through my coat, and my stamina decreases rapidly.
“Senpai!”
“Stay strong, senpai!”
My vision blurs slightly. It feels like my stamina has dropped below 2.
Maybe, if I take 30 more seconds of this, I might really die.
However, I know.
Having cleared this dungeon hundreds, no, thousands of times…
I know.
[Why… Why… Why on earth…]
The reason for such rage, and the reason for not being able to kill the one blocking my path.
Remaining HP is 1 or below.
The snowstorm has stopped.
And my body, almost half frozen, is alive and breathing.
I cannot kill.
Clearly, even though I threw myself at him, the fiend stopped attacking me just before I died.
In the original boss battle, it was the same.
The reason is simple.
This fiend…
“To harbor such hatred and animosity towards someone, it’s because you’ve become too kind.”
[…]
“…You despised the owner of your memories as a way to ease your animosity, but you couldn’t truly hate the owner. That’s it.”
Though my frozen body moves slowly, I manage to walk up to face him.
“The emotions you, right now, are sick and tired of feeling, are all things your owner experienced one by one.”
Yes.
Let’s talk at this point.
“The grief of losing a beloved one. The anger, hatred towards demons. All those emotions, the very emotions that fueled you, until the moment of dormancy, were what your owner, the soufflé, felt every day, always.”
[You ran away! Abandoning me for three hundred years! You ran away without knowing anything yourself!]
“So, even now, you’ve come to find me properly.”
At my words,
‘Memory’ widened his eyes.
“I haven’t forgotten. But to come get you, the soufflé now is too weak. It might go berserk if misunderstood. In fact, it still might. However, because the soufflé hasn’t forgotten you, that’s why I’ve come to get you now.”
[Lies, all lies! Everything is a lie!]
At that moment, a dark energy swirled and rose from her in front of me.
And then.
“[Intermediate Ice Element Magic: Frozen Restraint].”
“[Intermediate Fire Element Magic: Flame Restraint].”
In an instant, two chains flew from behind, capturing the swirling dark energy.
From extracting and restraining ‘negative emotions’ to this point is from the original, Ergon, that is, my duty.
Now, it’s time to hand over the baton.
“My memory.”
The soufflé, passing by my side, approached ‘Memory’ and tightly held his hand.
Mireige stood beside me, simply watching the scene unfold.
“I’m sorry. It’s been painful all this time.”
[…]
“Thank you for preserving my memories. I’m truly grateful…”
“It took so long.”
Tears streamed down the girl’s eyes.
Supple wiped away her tears and held her cheeks.
“Yes, it took a long time. So now, I will remember.”
With a single word.
“As the last survivor, I will carry everything forward.”
Foreheads pressed together, she whispered.
“So…”
The girl’s figure gradually became transparent.
“You can leave now.”
Poof!
She transformed into light.
Everyone, including me, looked up at the particles of light soaring into the sky.
“Milizé.”
“Yes, Senpai. Should I go to Supple’s side now? Is that what I should do?”
I tried to answer, but he ran to Supple’s side without waiting for my response.
What was it like in the original?
Beside Supple, there was Erhan, who accepted memories.
In the confusing process of absorbing memories, Erhan was there for Supple’s route.
But…
“It’s okay, Supple.”
“Milizé…”
Now, Milizé took on that role instead of Erhan.
Memories turned into light and flowed into each other.
And when everything was over.
“Goodbye.”
In that spot.
“Supple, of the Ice Witch Tribe.”
With a bright smile.
There stood the true Ice Witch, with her slightly longer light blue hair.