144. Jaca Ancilla (1)
What comes to mind when I close my eyes is a terrible memory.
Memories of the most precious person appearing in front of you as a monster.
-“……I didn’t want this.”
She was covered in blood before her eyes.
She is soaked in the black blood from which many lives have been taken and she is rusted, and parts of her body that have been consumed by many battles are severed.
To be called a human being, he was burdened with a huge amount of sin and barely had any humanity left.
To be called a monster, she had no arms or legs, and her body was almost gone.
I can still remember it clearly.
-“Please.”
-“…Kill me, Jika.”
She was always self-righteous and the only favor she left for herself was her request.
That was the beginning of everything.
“…You’re here.”
In her silence, Jay Carr opened her eyes.
If you turn your back slightly, you can see the faces that have been waiting for you.
Lucius, Tia, Ron, Rose, Lapisca.
“Senior Jayka…, How did this happen?”
“…….”
Jay Carr drew her sword.
Then comes her cry in her head.
──Kill all humans in front of you.
──Don’t you hate the living? You guys have changed like this.
──I can’t go back anymore.
──Kill it.
“…Noisy.”
Mumbling in her hoarse voice, Jay Carr rushed over.
She slashes her sword at Lucius’ throat.
– Ting!
Metal colliding with metal creates a frictional sound,
Lucius makes a surprised expression in front of his eyes.
“Senior Jayka…?”
“Please, Lucius.”
Says Jayka.
“Kill me.”
It’s about that day that doesn’t exist anymore.
Jaca met Elpis Bamir.
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“…Elpis Bamir.”
“It’s been a while, Ms. Jaca Ancilla. I never expected to see you in this form.”
Jay Carr drew her sword and aimed it.
I already know what kind of existence she is. That she is a monster in skin.
I have no intention of giving myself any leeway. She immediately strikes the sword down.
Then,
“The welcome is rough. Why don’t you have a more moderate conversation with your fellow sentients?”
Elpis grabbed the sword that Jayka had wielded.
She tried to push it with force, but the sword stopped as if nailed to the spot.
“…Same intelligence? What is the monster wearing leather talking about?”
“Still, wouldn’t it be better than the non-intelligent monsters out there? Let’s get along. Let’s talk about the few intelligent survivors now.”
Elpis swings her arm to deflect Jay Carr’s sword.
Jay Carr was greatly taken aback, and she hurriedly took her defensive stance,
Elpis is just watching to see if she really has no intention of attacking.
“……What are you thinking?”
“It’s just like I said. I have no particular intention of fighting Miss Jayka. Rather, I want to get your cooperation.”
“Cooperation? Cooperation? Do you think I will cooperate with monsters?”
“Isn’t that the only way to do it? Humanity is half destroyed, and we monsters are also on the verge of extinction.”
After saying that, Elpis Bamir looked out the window.
The outside of the building is full of monsters from the abyss.
In between, monsters that were once human were also mixed in.
“I didn’t expect the saintess’ power to be this powerful. I thought the ‘infection’ would eat not only humans, but also us monsters. Thanks to that, all of my comrades died or became like that, so now I’m alone. Left.”
“A saint’s power…? Do you know about this infection?”
“I know. Miss Jayka probably noticed to some extent, right? That this incident started in the catacombs dungeon of Countess Findelnerca.”
“…….”
Jay Carr nodded her head.
It was during vacation. She said that some of the student knights would go to the Catacombs Dungeon to camp together.
-“Do you want to come with me, Vice-captain?”
Evans, one of the camp organizers, asked that.
Jayka refused. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go with her, because she said Claire wouldn’t go.
-“There’s something I’d like to find out.”
For that reason, Claire remembers remaining on the floating island. What was it that you were looking for? Could she have been thinking about doing some research in the library?
Whatever it is, it is difficult for Jayca to leave the floating island as long as Claire says she will stay. Because the Ansilla family had various friendships with the Marquis of Entirus.
So, Jay Kardo, she was left on the floating island.
-“The dungeon the members failed to clear.”
-“Should I go too?”
As soon as the new semester started, Andy left the floating island and headed for County of Findelnerca.
And after a while, news came that Andy had conquered the catacombs dungeons of Count Findelnerca,
Again, as time passed, infections broke out everywhere.
“…What the hell is there in the Catacombs dungeon?”
“The fallen saintess is asleep….Well, we haven’t seen it with our own eyes, so we’re not sure if that’s true.”
“The Fallen Saint…?”
“Even if I try to explain it, you won’t understand. We monsters are only guessing, and we don’t know if the fallen saint is really sleeping in the catacombs dungeon.”
Meanwhile, Elpis Bamir…… No, the monster pretending to be Elpis Bamir simply explained.
At the end of the Catacombs Dungeon, there will be a ‘fallen saint’, and she says that it is the culprit.
Andy Parfum, who conquered the catacombs dungeon, unintentionally woke up the ‘fallen saint’, and the ‘fallen saint’ must have scattered this disaster in return for disturbing her sound sleep.
“It means that she should not come to her own bed. Since Andy Parfum allowed her to invade once, wouldn’t someone be able to reach the end of the Catacombs dungeon again?”
“To make sure no one comes to the dungeon anymore… You mean the human race was destroyed?”
“I’m guessing so. I don’t think it’s a normal way of thinking either… But considering the purpose of the fallen saint, should I say it’s not something I can’t understand?”
Elpis chuckled.
That’s why it is said that this disaster will not stop.
People with strong faith and will have some resistance to infections, but they are not immune.
The infection level continues to accumulate just by looking at the monsters, and within a few years all living things will be transformed into monsters in the abyss.
Because it is not a virus, there is no way to have an antibody, so the destruction of all living things is now certain.
It would be different if we defeated the culprit, the fallen saint,
“It’s impossible. It’s only possible with the power of a hero… Unfortunately, there are no more people with the power of a hero. All of them have become people of the past.”
“Then there’s no way…”
It is the same story as saying that the fallen saint must be killed to solve all the problems, but there is no means to do that.
In a truly hopeless situation,
“There is a way to bet on a miracle.”
Elpis says.
“Have you heard of the time-returning sword, Miss Jayka?”
From that day on, Jaika acted like Elpis Bamir.
“Have you heard of dragons, Ms. Jaika? In ancient times, there was a dragon who grumbled against the gods. It is said that the dragon made and gathered various weapons to kill the gods someday.”
One of them is said to be a sword that turns back time.
Its origins are uncertain. Did the dragon make the sword himself, or did the dragon bring the sword from somewhere?
As a sword that appears in mythology, we can only guess that it has powerful performance.
“…Is it really real? It’s a sword that only appears in old stories.”
“It’s a situation where you have to bet on uncertainty. Rather than sitting still and dying, shouldn’t you stare at an absurd miracle?”
“…….”
“Anyway, it’s a lot of money, so believe me, Jayka. Even if it looks like this, I have a reputation among my colleagues for being smart.”
Colleagues must mean monsters.
Well, other than that, Elpis was definitely smart. Like the fact that I played Elpis Bamir throughout my time at the academy, and I also achieved excellent test scores at the same time. She
She was in the same grade, so she had some interaction with her. That’s why I know. With a shrewd yet mysterious aura, she was a well-informed student.
“Let’s gather as much information as possible. Folk tales are fine, so please collect legends about dragons.”
That’s how Elpis and the two of her traveled here and there.
She went to the most famous library in the empire, and somehow managed to activate a broken warp gate to search for libraries in other countries.
She went into a ruined old library, excavated books, and dug up information from survivors.
She seems to have acted with Elpis during the five years she did that.
The trip may not have been pointless, but it is said that the bottom of the lamp is dark.
“…I found it. It’s a transaction record.”
She entered the trading building, which was filled with monsters instead of people, and found the transaction records.
According to this five-year investigation, the sword that turns back time existed. It is said to have sunk beneath an oasis in a desert.
However, when Jayca and Elpis went there, nothing was there, and instead, only traces of people who had been there before were left.
Someone took the time-returning sword, and it was sold and moved from person to person.
And the last whereabouts,
“……Quillas Mansion?”
In an unexpected place, Jay Carr opened her eyes wide.
“Oh, that’s a name I miss. My faction once completely attacked it.”
“…Is it really Quillas Manor? If it was really there, wouldn’t it have been discovered when your faction took over?”
“Maybe there was a secret space that I didn’t even know about.”
“…….”
“Don’t doubt the results in front of you too much, Ms. Jayka. The purchase of the sword must be the name of the professor who built the Quilas Mansion, and even if it isn’t in the Quilas Mansion, it’s certain that there is something there. .”
Elpis said so.
She was always in this mood. Would you say you accept it as it is without being surprised by any situation? Is it because she is a monster, not a human?
“But the Quillas Mansion means you have to go to the Floating Island… The Warp Gate on the Floating Island is already broken.”
On the day the apocalypse occurred, students and professors evacuated out of the floating island through the warp gate. Then, measures were taken to prevent the floating island’s warp gate from opening again.
Without even thinking that there would be an apocalypse outside the floating island.
“Don’t worry. I’d rather have it because it’s a floating island. I have means of transportation.”
“…Is there a means of transportation?”
“No matter how I look like this, I’m a monster that has infiltrated Philea Academy. There are at least one or two means in case of emergency.”
With that said, Elpis took them to a cave in a mountain.
There is a warp gate magic circle that seems to have been made hastily.
“It’s a one-time warp magic. It’s connected to the Floating Island.”
“…You mean you were planning to break into Philea Academy again?”
“Yeah, I was thinking of that. But it worked out because of it? Maybe it could bring the world back to normal.”
“……”
“Let’s do the fight between humans and monsters after turning back time, Miss Jayka.”
Elpis activated her magic circle.
Cracks form in the air, and a warp gate appears.
“I wish I could change my destiny with this.”
“……hahahaha, that doesn’t make sense.”
In front of my eyes is Elpis Bamir torn to pieces.
Even if she’s not human… She’s bleeding all over her body…. Now she will soon die.
Near her, Andy Parfum is lying dead.
“…Somehow, you killed Andy Parfume. You killed Andy Parfum, the first infected person… Now there’s no more dangerous risk.”
“…….”
“Haa… To leave the fate of our monsters to humans.”
Elpis raised her body.
Drooling her blood, she takes her steps.
“…Go ahead, Miss Jayka. Now I have no choice but to bet everything on you.”
Elpis goes to the entrance of her mansion in Quillas.
There, she pours all her magical energy and creates sparks.
So that other monsters can no longer approach. So that Jayka can find the sword that can turn back time.
It wasn’t something I did specifically for Jayka.
Turning back time would also make her own death a thing of the past, so Jay Carr understands that she just bet on it.
With a sigh, Jay Carr takes her steps.
I couldn’t let the opportunity I had created go to waste.
I couldn’t be her friend until the end, but I still have a sense of camaraderie with her.
“Vice-captain, Miss Claire Entirus has come to see you.”