༺ An Unexpected Encounter (3) ༻
A moment passed that was painful for some and relieving for others.
As for the conclusion… Annalise never opened her mouth in the end. Just what the hell did she know that she hid it so tightly? No matter how much they tried to appease, threaten, and persuade her, Annalise just kept her mouth shut.
There was even talk of torturing her soul, but it was rejected.
It was because Jenny, who had the right to control the soul, had to intervene directly in order to do that, and Renee believed that it was not right to ask a young girl to do such a thing.
The next day, Vera left a message for Hodrick saying that sparring would be impossible for a while, and went to see Annalise again.
This time, it was a meeting place without Renee and after sending Jenny outside.
[…Yesterday you frowned so much, but don’t you look pretty bright today? Why? Did your master pet your hair?]
Of course, Annalise provoked Vera with words that were truly characteristic of her, and Vera responded as if it were insignificant.
“Stop talking nonsense. You and I aren’t people who would be swayed by provocations like this, right?”
[…Scum-like bastard.]
What returned were words that could be considered a declaration of surrender.
Vera calmly continued his thoughts as he looked at the doll where Annalise had been sealed.
‘It’s not possible to cloud her reason with provocation like last time.’
The emotional appearance she showed during the battle in Aurillac… It was accurate to say that was a result of Alaysia’s serum being injected into her body, causing her reasoning to be partially clouded. Therefore, he had to approach her from a different angle this time.
‘Threats are also out of the question.’
They even tried threatening to destroy her soul, but she only responded with an attitude that challenged them to try it. It was an unexpectedly aggressive response, considering the extent of her attachment that remained within her.
Torturing her soul would have been the most convenient approach, but… This was a method that must be withheld for now as Renee did not allow it.
If there were truly no other options, Vera would have to resort to it. However, he didn’t want to burden Jenny by taking the easy way out without exhausting all other possibilities.
A long series of worries plagued him.
At the end of it all, Vera opted for a straightforward approach.
“…Ardain. Tell me what you know.”
It was an expression with the intention of saying ‘I’m not someone who knows nothing.’
Fortunately, the silent Annalise reacted this time.
[Wasn’t it the Demon King last time?]
Vera’s eyes glistened. Annalise snorted and made a sarcastic remark.
[Well, it seems you didn’t waste your time playing around. You used your head quite a bit, considering who you are.]
Then she closed her mouth again.
Vera continued his thoughts while tapping his knee.
‘She’s not entirely unwilling to talk.’
He was convinced that he could figure out something if he brought up a topic appealing enough to open her mouth.
His thoughts continued.
Information that could shake Annalise’s mind, information that she didn’t possess but only he did.
Words that would shake the common sense she knew, causing that prideful stubbornness to yield down.
Still lost in his thoughts, Vera voiced a guess he had previously suppressed because he couldn’t find an immediate answer.
“…Did you know that Alaysia interfered with time?”
It was a question that he hadn’t thoroughly explored because it was an uncertain assumption, literally a mere guess.
The reason he chose to voice it was simple.
Because the biggest reason why he made this guess was right in front of him. It was Annalise.
No matter how he thought about it, the only explanation for Annalise, who didn’t move in the previous life, to make a move in this life was Alaysia.
It was an anomaly that originated from Alaysia’s serum, so it was hard to call it a butterfly effect, considering that the records related to Alaysia’s serum had already existed even before he actively started altering events.
As he continued to ponder like that, he reached the conclusion that Alaysia had somehow discovered what had happened in the previous round.
Such a conclusion was inevitable when considering the differences between the previous lapse and the current one.
After a brief silence, a more certain feedback returned this time.
[You’ve figured out that far…]
Vera’s fists clenched.
It was a spontaneous reaction to the fact that one of the things that he had put aside as doubt had been transformed into certainty.
In the meantime, Annalise turned her only movable neck and looked at Vera as she uttered such words.
[How did you know…? I really don’t understand.]
She murmured, and the atmosphere grew even more intense.
In the tense atmosphere, Vera made a calculation inwardly.
‘What should be revealed and what should be hidden.’
The repercussions of the divulged information, and the benefits that would come back with it.
In this place, the tiresome negotiations in the trade market that he had endured countless times before were being reproduced. Vera savored the delightful feeling rising from within as he became certain of his victory.
Psychological warfare at the negotiating table was one of Vera’s most confident skills.
Vera’s lips moved slowly.
“Because Orgus chose me.”
It was one of the biggest secrets and, at the same time, the most tempting bait to lure Annalise.
Vera couldn’t properly observe Annalise’s reaction because she was in the form of a doll, but he was convinced nonetheless.
This would be something that even she hadn’t expected.
[…What?]
She had a surprised reaction, as he expected. In response, Vera pushed her with a more aggressive attitude.
“There was a future that Orgus showed me. It was a future in which the Ancient Species ran rampant, and a future in which Ardain returned. But, you know, you were nowhere to be seen in that future.”
After saying that, Vera paused for a moment, then spoke again.
“If you think about it a little deeper, you’ll come to realize that this world can be viewed as the past, not the future. More precisely, the future before the regression, the world as it existed before the timeline rewound. The reason why Alaysia used a different move compared to the previous round… In the process, it would be correct to assume that she somehow discovered what happened in the past timeline.”
Annalise’s mouth closed tightly at the words that skillfully blended truth and lies.
‘Think about it.’
Vera knew that the more thoughtful and calculating people were, the easier it was for them to fall into their own illusions.
Considering Annalise’s self-righteous tendencies throughout, as well as the facts known only to her, this was a gamble worth taking.
[Huh, I see. So, it’s like that…]
Vera was pleased with the response once again.
However, Annalise was not foolish enough to be unaware of Vera’s intentions.
[Fine, I admit. You didn’t just act without thinking. But…]
Annalise paused for a moment, then uttered a very sarcastic remark.
[…what’s the point in revealing it? What does it matter to me? I don’t care how the world turns out. I’m already dead, anyways.]
Her words clearly showed that she would not play along as Vera intended, which only fueled his irritation.
“Weren’t you so confident that you were acting for the sake of a great cause? I guess your cause was superficial, something that would crumble if you died.”
[Think whatever you want.]
“You used to call others scum, but now the most scum-like person is right in front of me. I didn’t know that the truth behind the cause you always cried out for, even after killing thousands, would be in such a disgusting form.”
Those were… not words he let out because he couldn’t stand the rising irritation. On the contrary, they could be perceived as words with good intentions, all the while maintaining his composure.
Vera’s words were meant to pierce her natural human instinct so she would defend herself.
[Didn’t I tell you? Those thousands were sacrifices for a greater purpose.]
“And that so-called purpose is your life?”
[Yes, the number of variables that can be prevented increases infinitely just with me being alive. Because there are more things I can protect.]
“Such arrogance.”
[It was an indifferent analysis.]
“Fine, let’s hear it. What the hell is that greater purpose? Your life? The preservation of wizards? Or the young man you bit and sucked on?”
The words were laced with sarcasm. It must have touched a nerve, because Annalise responded with a shout.
[The lives of all intelligent beings living on this continent!]
She spoke as she slammed the doll’s head onto the floor with a loud thud.
Annalise continued, expressing her frustration.
[You saw the future, right? Then you know better than anyone. If we continue like this, not a single creature will be left on this continent! This twisted plan will end that way!]
New information continued to pour out.
Vera, who was internally delighted with that, felt his head go blank at the words that followed.
[Thousands? Whopping thousands? No. You scum-like brat. It was ‘barely’ thousands. Millions, tens of millions of intelligent beings living on this continent are placed on one side of the scale, and thousands are placed on the other side. That’s right, it’s a scale that balances only when you add the Saint to it…]
Crash—!
As her words continued, Vera’s hand suddenly reached out. He grabbed the head of the doll that sealed Annalise and crushed it.
It was a reflexive reaction that came out the moment Annalise said something about sacrificing Renee. Vera’s expression as he looked at Annalise became more hostile than ever.
Even in that moment, he miraculously refrained from asking, ‘What are you talking about?’ It was a remarkable display of his remaining rationality.
The doll’s head was shaking. A giggling laugh echoed through the room.
[Why? Are you so sickened that your master should die? But what can be done? The Saint is here for that purpose. It is that bitch’s role to forcibly twist and postpone an error that cannot be corrected. If you saw the future, you should know. No matter which future is chosen to prevent the apocalypse, that bitch can’t survive.]
Confusion and shock. Only those began to fill Vera’s insides.
The meaning behind Annalise’s lively words was incomprehensible.
The gap between the information she was conveying and the information he knew was too wide, so Vera couldn’t understand the motive behind those words.
However, there was something that came to mind even in the midst of that.
If what Annalise was saying now was not a mere speculation but the truth, then adding up the implications of that information would vaguely reveal what Renee’s purpose was in the first lapse.
Why did the first round fail?
Why did Renee hide in the slums and faked her death with such an appearance?
What was the real purpose she wanted to achieve by resurrecting him, distorting his perception, and rewinding time?
Just by adding one key phrase, ‘the apocalypse that could be avoided with Renee’s death’, everything became interconnected.
‘…No.’
Over Vera’s confused mind, the thought beginning to take hold was that what Renee had wished for in the previous round might have been ‘her own proper death.’
***
Walking down the corridor with heavy steps, all Vera did was deny the assumptions he had made.
That couldn’t be true.
That Renee of the previous round couldn’t have been such a cruel person.
That this was nothing more than him floundering around in an illusion he had created by himself.
That he was being misled by the false information that Annalise skillfully leaked.
Repeating them over and over again, Vera headed towards where Renee was.
The closer he got to the destination, the more his steps became rushed, filled with anxiety.
After walking for such a long time, Vera arrived in front of Renee’s door and halted in the middle of reaching for the doorknob.
He hadn’t considered what he should do once he entered.
His reasoning belatedly returned, and he slandered himself for coming here without thinking and due to fear.
‘Crazy bastard…’
Vera wiped his face and let out a long breath, trying to control his still racing heart.
He needed to think clearly.
What he had come up with was just an assumption, and wasn’t there a way to confirm it?
First, there was Hodrick.
As an Apostle of the previous era, he might know the meaning of being the Apostle of the Lord.
It didn’t matter even if he didn’t know.
‘…A month. A month has passed.’
Since the grace period to pull out himself from the previous lapse had passed, this time it was simply a matter of grabbing a more certain timeline and bringing it out.
All he had to do was find out the truth by grabbing a timeline that was certainly distorted.
It was certain that he and the Saint had met in the previous round, so he only needed to bring up the memory of that point.
“Huff…”
After taking a deep breath, Vera managed to regain control of his emotions and slowly raised his hand towards the door. Then, he knocked gently.
“Saint, may I enter?”
He quickly feigned composure, realizing that he couldn’t just walk away since she might have heard him walking this way from inside.
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