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...How did it come to this?
Was it really my fault, just as Stieg said?
Was it because I sought companions?
Was everyone killed just because I joined the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky?
—"Listen, Orun. You will always regret decisions made after wavering. Whether you join the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky or not, you will likely feel regret in some form someday. That is exactly why it is important to make a choice that your future self—the one living with that regret—can at least find a way to accept."
Why... why am I remembering Grandpa’s words at a time like this?
Was this the regret waiting for me at the end of my choice to join them?
What is that even supposed to mean?
How could this—
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—Tsutrail: Near the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky Headquarters—
"Aaaaaaah—!!"
As if responding to Orun’s visceral cry, a torrent of jet-black mana surged upward, causing the very fabric of space to splinter and crack.
"...As expected, the world can't take much more of this. You’ve surely tasted enough despair by now. It’s time for you to die."
Orun had finally fallen silent. He stared into the void with hollow eyes that reflected nothing, looking as though his very soul had been excised.
Even so, the jet-black mana continued to rampage of its own accord, and the fissures in the air multiplied.
Stieg, sensing that the situation was becoming unstable, approached Orun. He stood at the center of the surging black mana, looking down at the boy who seemed more dead than alive.
Stieg aligned his fingers into a blade-like hand-sword and concentrated his mana into his palm.
"What an anticlimactic end. We... expected a bit more from you."
Sighing with disappointment, Stieg swung his hand toward the unresponsive Orun.
"Well then, goodbye."
Just before the thin, razor-sharp edge of mana could reach Orun's throat, a figure suddenly materialized between them.
"—!?"
A massive shockwave erupted, blasting Stieg backward.
His eyes widened in shock as he was hurled nearly a dozen meters. He dug his heels into the dirt, sliding across the ground to kill his momentum.
He immediately snapped his gaze back to where he had been standing.
Blocking his path was an old man with a long, white beard—Cavadele Evans.
Cavadele leveled his staff toward his opponent. In an instant, chains of a blue so pale they were almost white snaked out from the void toward Stieg.
The chains coiled around Stieg’s body, pinning his limbs.
Then, a cubic, box-like cage of the same pale light materialized, sealing Stieg inside.
Having neutralized the immediate threat, Cavadele turned around.
The moment he saw Orun, a profound sadness flickered in his eyes.
"Though it was necessary, I am sorry for putting you through such a painful experience, Orun. ...But first, we must do something about this mana."
After a quiet apology, Cavadele began to remotely manipulate the storage magic tool on Orun's wrist.
Slowly, the jet-black mana rampaging around Orun was drawn into the device. The dark pillar that had been piercing the heavens finally vanished.
"............Grandpa...?"
Orun, who had been catatonic for minutes, finally registered Cavadele's presence.
"It has been a long time, Orun."
Approaching with a gentle voice, the old man reached out and lightly touched Orun's right arm.
"It hurts, doesn't it? I’ll fix it right away. Just bear with it for a moment longer."
Cavadele gazed at the stump of Orun's right arm—the ragged wound where Stieg had severed it and from which blood was still flowing. He activated his Ability.
In the blink of an eye, Orun's right hand was restored to its original state.
In exchange, Cavadele's own right arm vanished into the void.
"Ho ho ho. To think it would only cost me a right arm."
"...Wh-why..."
In contrast to Orun's bewildered, trembling voice, Cavadele chuckled brightly.
"What a strange thing to ask. You know my Ability is [Equivalent Exchange], don't you, Orun? Restoring the dominant hand of a promising youth like you in exchange for one old man's arm... it was a bargain."
"I... I never wanted this. I have to die! If I don't, more people will die. It's all because of... me..."
Orun’s voice broke as he spoke.
"Grandpa, you taught me... you told me I'd always regret decisions made after wavering. You told me to make a choice my future self could accept. I should have thought about it more! I should have known!"
Orun’s words tumbled out like a frantic confession.
"Because I made such an easy choice, everyone in the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky was murdered. I can't accept this! I can't! I never should have joined them! I should have stayed alone!!"
He broke down, shouting through his tears.
"I suppose you're right. If you hadn't joined the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky, the outcome would have been different. However, I also told you this: 'Whether you join or not, you will regret it in some form.'"
"But anything would have been better than this... this is too much..."
"No one can ever know the outcome of a path not taken. That is why—"
Cavadele was cut short by the high-pitched, crystalline sound of shattering glass nearby.
"—He's out already."
Cavadele muttered as he turned toward the site of the cage.
Stieg stood there, having smashed his way out of the box.
"To think there was a Transcendent we hadn't accounted for. Tell me, were you the one who tampered with the Guild's teleportation circles?"
"Correct."
"I see. A hostile Transcendent is nothing but a nuisance. I suppose I'll kill you right along with Orun Doura."
"Ho ho ho. There is no need to trouble yourself. I am destined to vanish from existence regardless of what you do."
"...What do you mean by—!"
Before Stieg could press for an explanation, the pale blue chains struck again.
Having anticipated the move, Stieg kicked off the ground to dodge. But as he repositioned himself away from the chains, a glowing magic circle appeared beneath his feet.
"Tch! A teleportation circle!? You baited my movement... impressive. —Come, Water Dragons!"
Stieg made his final move just as he was warped away.
Several holes tore open in the red barrier surrounding the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky headquarters, and Water Dragons poured out from the gaps.
As the beasts lunged at Cavadele, Stieg vanished from the battlefield.
"I don't have time for this. Out of my way. —[Absolute Zero]."
Cavadele invoked his magic, flash-freezing the Water Dragons into statues in an instant.
"—Orun. In this world, no experience is truly wasted. I believe that you will take even this tragedy and turn it into nourishment for your soul. Listen closely to the voice of your heart. Your answer is waiting there."
As he spoke, Cavadele activated his Ability once more.
Titania-colored mana began to swirl around him in a brilliant aura.
As if cherishing the final seconds before "that event," Cavadele turned a warm smile toward Orun.
"Grandpa...?"
Orun sensed the finality in his grandfather's tone, and his voice filled with dread.
"My life has been a series of regrets. But if I can use this life for the sake of my grandson at the very end, I will die content. This is the last thing I can do for you, Orun. Please, accept it."
"What do you mean, 'the end'?! I don't want you to go too! Grandpa, please!!"
"Rest easy. I am the only one who will be gone. ...Orun, you will surely face many more hardships and sorrows. But I believe it is precisely because of those hardships that we can truly feel happiness. I know you can overcome them."
Cavadele spoke with a gentle, serene voice.
He needed his precious grandson to be able to look forward and walk again.
"—It's alright. You are my grandson, and you are my greatest pride. I sincerely pray that you spend the rest of your life with a smile on your face."
With those final words, Cavadele's presence vanished from the world.
"——————"
At the loss of his grandfather, Orun let out a silent, broken cry.
Cavadele had pushed his Ability, [Equivalent Exchange], to its absolute limit.
The Ability granted a wish in exchange for a price. The more impossible the wish, the more devastating the cost.
The price Cavadele offered this time was everything: the entire existence of Cavadele Evans, combined with the vast majority of the mana that made up Titania, the Fairy Queen.
It was a price beyond measure.
And for that price, the world granted his wish.
—The clock of the world began to rewind.
Thank you for reading.
I decided to incorporate a time leap here. Based on the current plan, this is expected to be the first and only time leap in the story. Some might find it a bit of a "reset," but this development has been part of the core concept since the beginning. I believe this event is necessary not just for the future of the story, but to give weight to everything that has happened so far.
The next chapter will be from Shion's perspective.
One announcement: The 10th volume of the manga adaptation is on sale today! The main focus of this volume is the First Unit vs. the Black Dragon. Yonezou-sensei’s battle scenes are incredibly powerful and definitely worth a look!
Thank you for your continued support!