245 Diary [1]

It took me a while to piece together my memories completely. Remembering the time when I had lost all my memories was relatively easy to digest.

On the other hand, recalling the events after I emerged from the Dragon Will was much more challenging.

The memories were fragmented, and they weren't exactly pleasant.

But gradually, they too started to make sense.

"Ah, I see..."

I turned my head in a specific direction.

There, I met two pairs of eyes. They stared back at me with complex expressions, and I shrugged.

"I didn't expect things to turn out like this."

Glancing at my status window, I switched to the quest log.

[ Main Quest Activated: Survive the cultist.]

: Character Progression + 385%

: Game Progression + 11%

Failure

: Calamity 1 + 7%

: Calamity 2 + 9%

: Calamity 3 + 13

Indeed, the quest was still active. I vividly remembered receiving it right after entering the strange fog.

My memories of that time were still somewhat hazy, but I recalled receiving the quest and the vision that accompanied it.

...In that vision, I saw everyone seated rows as the Archbishop prepared for the blood ritual.

It was a suffocating sight, where I felt helpless watching everyone perish before my eyes.

It was also in that vision that I noticed someone standing beside the Archbishop.

It was Kaelion.

Yes, he had betrayed everyone, just as he was doing now.

I was merely speaking nonsense when I said what I said he did well.

...He had indeed betrayed everyone, and I was ensnaring him.

'I am now holding onto your weakness.'

If I could use someone, I intended to do so. Like Owl-Mighty, I planned to employ anyone who could aid my cause.

So what if they had tried to kill me at one point... If they proved useful to me, it didn't matter.

It made things simpler for me.

...It meant I didn't have to form attachments.

"Hey, you bastard!"

A voice interrupted my thoughts. Turning back, I locked eyes with someone.

Her expression seemed a mix of emotions, but anger was definitely present.

"...I won't ask you anything now, but this hurts. Would you mind?"

"Oh, right."

Looking around, I saw everyone nailed to their seats and scratched the back of my head.

"...I almost forgot."

Turning to Kaelion, who obediently nodded, I moved to help the other cadets. They glared at him, but their intensity had faded to confusion.

"Damn, it hurts."

Kiera groaned as I removed the nails holding her in place. She winced but otherwise didn't seem overly bothered.

"There."

Blood stained the floor where I removed the nails. Kiera quickly channeled her mana to stem any further bleeding, but she would need professional care.

There were also some cadets with missing limbs. I couldn't help in that regard, and the only way was through some really expensive medicine that the Empire was probably going to provide as compensation for the situation.

Or at least, I hoped that would be the case.

I wasn't quite sure whether they'd actually do that.

"Ugh, go help the others."

Kiera said, rubbing her neck while muttering to herself, 'Damn, this hurts more than I thought.'

Seeing that I was still looking at her, she raised her head and waved her hand dismissively.

"I'll ask later."

"....."

I nodded without saying a word and went on to help the others. I started with the people that I deemed were in the most critical condition. Those with missing limbs or who were on the verge of dying.

The blood had all been taken by the Archbishop, and thus I couldn't find a way to help them.

"Here, get some rest."

Helping a cadet from the Aurora Empire down, I shifted my attention towards Aoife.

"....."

She didn't say anything as I helped her take off the nails that bound her.

"Tell me if it hurts."

She nodded silently as I assisted her in removing the nails. She didn't even flinch throughout the entire process which was a little surprising.

'I guess she must have a high pain tolerance.'

"As a princess, I've been trained since childhood to endure this level of pain. It's so that if I'm ever tortured, I won't reveal anything."

"Oh."

That made sense.

She was indeed the cadet who scored highest in the pain tolerance test.

That explained it.

"...You were gone for quite a while."

"So I was."

Finishing with her left hand, she spoke again. This time, her words were a lot softer. It was almost as if she was scared of my reaction.

"In the time you were gone, I became the Black Star."

Her words made me pause. Raising my head, our eyes met.

"You finally noticed."

Aoife spoke, her gaze piercing.

"You act like you don't care, but you do care about the title, don't you?"

"...A little."

It made things a lot easier for me.

I regretted losing the title, but it was understandable. I had been absent for almost half a year.

Someone had to fill the role while I was away.

Besides, her strength seemed to have increased significantly.

She wasn't a bad Black Star.

But what about Leon? Did he decline the role?

I wouldn't be surprised if he had.

It seemed typical of him.

"Do you want the title back?"

Aoife's unexpected question caught me off guard. As I paused, our eyes met again.

"If you want it, I can give it back to you. I didn't earn the role, so you can have it. I'll retrieve it. Yeah, I'll get it back. Don't overthink it. I'll be fine."

'...Your tone suggests otherwise.'

I held back those words and focused on removing the remaining nails.

"Why aren't you answering?"

Despite her persistent questioning, I continued to ignore her. She wasn't in the right state of mind; emotions were clouding her judgment.

I couldn't blame her.

But deep down, I knew there was truth in much of what she said.

"Let's discuss it later."

After removing the final nail, I wiped my hands and prepared to move on.

"Hey, wait."

But just before I could leave, Aoife stopped me. Turning to her, I met her gaze.

She hesitated, opening and closing her mouth several times. The word that she wanted to say never truly left her mouth as her mouth continued to open and close like a fish out of the water. It would've been funny had my camera been here.

But it wasn't.

Frowning, I waited.

"If you don't have anything to say, I'm leaving."

"Ah..."

A sound escaped her lips, followed by words.

"...It's good to see you back."

Taken aback I looked at her for a brief moment. Then, registering the words that came out of her mouth, I let out a short breath before turning around.

"Hmm."

I nodded slightly, a small smile forming on my lips.

"Thank you."

It was good to be back.

Not just in terms of memories, but for my sanity.

My issues...

They had all been resolved. The voices had ceased, and my mind felt clear. It was an unfamiliar sensation, one I hoped would endure.

It was this feeling that truly made me realize that I was back to normal.

....It felt really liberating.

But of course, now was not the time to think about it.

'I should stop wasting time.'

After assisting Aoife, I moved on to aid the remaining cadets. Finally, I reached Leon, who appeared somewhat disgruntled.

Stopping before him, we exchanged glances.

Despite the gag in his mouth, his eyes conveyed his thoughts.

'What took you so long?'

His expression seemed to say.

"...I don't play favorites."

'Ha! You helped everyone else before me! If you don't have favorites, you have an undesired advantage!'

"You're imagining things."

'Yes, you're probably right.'

'No, that's not what I said.'

"Tsk."

I clicked my tongue.

He was adept at reading my mind, too.

Shaking my head, I began removing his nails. It was a quick process, and soon he was free. He was in a pretty sorry state, more so than the others, but unlike them, he didn't seem to care about his body as he started to massage his muscles.

"Ukh."

He groaned in pain several times before raising his head to look at me. There seemed to be a lot of things that he wanted to say to me.

"Spit it out."

It was only after I urged him to speak that he finally spoke.

"You've been here all along. Why didn't you say anything? If I had known, I wouldn't have..."

Leon paused, his face twitching.

"Betrayed me?"

I finished his sentence, and he pursed his lips.

"I was just"

"No, it's fine. I don't hold a grudge."

I cut him off before he could make excuses.

I definitely didn't hold a grudge for what he did back then when he exposed 'me' in front of everyone.

"I wasn't in the right state of mind anyway. What you saw was me, but not me at the same time. You're fine."

"Ah, now I get it."

Suddenly, realization dawned on Leon.

"You left me for last because you hold a grudge."

"You're overthinking."

That wasn't it, but unfortunately, Leon seemed convinced of his analysis.

"It is, isn't it!"

"No, it's not."

"....I didn't know you were this type of person."

"Then what did you think I was?"

"Hmmm."

Leon frowned before eventually, his face twisted.

"No, you're right. You're like this."

"....."

Shaking my head, I turned away from him and approached the Archbishop's body.

"What are you doing?"

Leon called from behind. I glanced at him before answering.

"Hmm, just checking something."

Approaching, I studied the transformed body for a moment. It looked nothing like before, almost monstrous.

There were many questions I wanted answers to. Without hesitation, I pressed my hand against its body and activated my skill.

<nulli>'Let's uncover your secrets.'

"..."

I stood with my hand on the Archbishop's body, waiting for a response. But to my surprise, my skill didn't work.

"Uh?"

Confused, I checked my arm, but the tattoo was still there. It was confusing, and I struggled to hide my surprise. I could feel the curious glances from those behind me, whispering among themselves.

<nulli>'Why isn't it working? Is something preventing me... Ah.'

Suddenly, realization struck as I glanced at one of the vials on the ground.

"The blood."

My heart raced with sudden insight.

'Could the blood be blocking me from reading his memories? Wait, could it also be the reason why I lost my memories?'

Pursing my lips, I glanced around before quickly searching the Archbishop's body. I patted it all over in search for something.

"Julien?"

Turning, I felt all eyes on me. I opened my mouth, pausing briefly before saying,

"Stay here and rest. I need to investigate something."

"Huh? Where are you...?"

"Rest. I'll be back soon. I can't promise it's safe out there."

Without waiting for objections, I left. As I walked, my heart quickened.

For some reason, I had a strong feeling that I was about to uncover a clue related to my sudden arrival in this world.

The Seven Gods.

It had to be connected somehow.