Chapter 31 - A Place to Belong [5]
—Vroom… Vroom…!
"...Hey, are you sure riding a motorcycle is safe in a place like this?" I asked, wrapping my arms around Camila.
I was hesitant to embrace her from behind at first, but Camila insisted, saying I might fall off and that something might happen.
I wanted to trust her, but the way she smiled gave me second thoughts...
Well, as long as she's happy about it. I guess.
"It'll be fine, trust me. Eldians only start to roam around near sunset, which is why we woke up early today." Camila revved the engine to emphasize her point and sped up.
During this time, she enjoyed the breeze blowing through her hair as she cruised through the sunrise.
Now that I was travelling not on foot but on a motorcycle, I could see the condition of the buildings around me.
Nothing had changed; just like before, when I arrived, there was nothing but lush moss and overgrown grass everywhere.
It felt strange to realize how much time had passed.
The 2nd Cardinal Sky descended two years ago, which meant that Camila had been stuck here for the same duration as well.
Under normal circumstances, a city should remain relatively intact after just two years; however, it looked as though a decade had passed.
Unlike a typical Pylon, which is a pillar of malice that drains life itself, this particular one had the opposite effect: it spread life abundantly.
As I stared at Camila from behind, I noticed how youthful she looked for her age.
If she were an Arcadia student before, equivalent to a high school graduate, she would now be 23 years old.
“…What are you staring at me for?” She asked, slightly embarrassed by my intense gaze.
Truly curious, I posed a question off her.
“You aren’t wearing your cosplay today?” I observed her clothes, noting she was dressed in casual clothes instead of the heavy costume she wore when we first met.
“W-What? I-It’s not a cosplay! I’m wearing it in case suspicious people come after me! You, for example!”
“Oh, so now it’s my fault? Who was the one who decided to watch me while I was changing then, you pervert.”
“W-Wait…! That was just!” Camila struggled to come up with an excuse, but the redness in her ears was already a dead giveaway.
“Uuuu… shut up! Shut up!” She denied my words and acted as if it had never happened.
Although we kept bickering on the way to our destination, we managed to pass enough time to reach the halfway point.
From here, I could finally see Arcadia up close. Its towering presence floating in the air filled me with awe and curiosity, despite its perilous state.
“Are we close?"
"We’re almost there.”
Arcadia had never felt so near. In fact, it was so close that we might be hovering just above it.
"...That’s great," I answered. I couldn’t say anything else as I gazed at it.
...
...
...
“Hey, Camila,”
“Yeah?”
“You did great.”
I whispered behind her back. I didn’t feel the need to say anything more than that.
Camila remained silent for a moment.
She can be aloof at times, and I knew she bottled up her feelings to appear friendly to someone she could confide in.
It felt distant, something foreign, as though she had created a barrier to protect herself from being hurt after being alone for so long.
I hoped that by recognizing her efforts, I could ease her pain, even if just a little.
"..."
"..."
The two of us didn’t speak shortly after that, silently appreciating everything we had left.
Camila and I, two people who had lost everything, even our sense of purpose, cherished each other’s presence.
All she needed to realize was that she felt calmer than ever, her conviction stronger than before.
“Hey, we’re here. Get up already,” Camila said as she shook me.
“Hwah…? Sorry...” I yawned loudly like a cat. I felt like I had just experienced the greatest nap of my life.
“It’s fine; you’re probably still recovering from that day,” she replied, shaking her head as she parked her motorcycle in a safe spot.
As for how I ended up on the floor, she probably used <Telekinesis> to gently set me down as comfortably as possible. How convenient.
“How long did I sleep?”
“30 minutes.”
—Fwip!
While talking to me, she placed a cloth over the motorcycle to hide it.
“That long? Weren’t we really close to Arcadia back then?” I scratched my head in confusion.
Upon hearing this, Camila tilted her head, clearly not expecting that response from me.
“You don’t know? I thought you were an Arcadia student.”
“An Arcadia student? I didn’t say I was one, though?”
“...”
Ah... wait, now I remember the reason why.
From what I recall, whenever Arcadia was in danger or was holding an annual event, it generated a gigantic magic circle around it, terraforming everything, both large and small.
In reality, there was no actual magic circle involved, but the result of a collaboration between Demiurge and Yorselania, two neighbouring countries.
Yorselania’s skill in manipulating Magitech—a fusion of technology and magic—was so exceptional that it led to the groundbreaking discovery of two Magic Arts: <Construction> and <Transport>.
This was only possible through cooperative efforts, but they are more than sufficient to keep Arcadia afloat.
With these two Magic Arts, along with the Pylon’s influence on an artifact deep within Arcadia, the city expanded erratically day by day without end.
The only issue is that I have never seen Arcadia… quite like this before.
If I were to compare it to events in the novel, this version of Arcadia was at least twice as large. It could easily be described as a floating sky island.
“Huh… so you really aren’t an Arcadia student?” Camila tilted her head in confusion before ultimately giving up on the idea.
“Never mind; you’re probably hiding more secrets than you can tell me if my assumptions are correct.”
“Can't say I deny it.”
I replied, not refuting her argument. There was really no point in hiding the truth.
“See, I knew it! Anyway, let's move on.” She clasped her hands together and wiped the sweat from her brow after covering her motorcycle.
Instead of just draping a cloth over it, she had even placed rocks around it to make the concealment look as natural as possible.
If Camila had asked me to find where it was hidden, I wouldn’t have been able to find it.
“That’s... quite impressive,” I said, clapping my hands in amazement.
“Fufu, it was one of the skills I learned when I was living alone. Cool, right?” She placed her hands on her hips, proudly sharing this rather sad detail about her life.
…I was about to ask how she remained so calm about everything, but then I remembered she had been stuck here for years without going truly insane yet.
As we finished erasing our traces and travelled on foot through the rubble around us, the sky grew darker with each step.
Here, the sun was no longer visible, and more ruins emerged as we moved forward, including sights I didn’t want to see—the remains of humans reduced to nothing but bones.
“So this is where they all are…” I had become accustomed to the stench of death and decay, but I had never seen so many like this before.
It made me nauseous, but I tried my best to hold it in. When I glanced at Camila, I noticed she had fallen silent too. It was clear that she felt the same utter dread and horror.
“…Let’s go.” She murmured after a moment. We both wanted to leave this dreadful place as soon as possible.
Yet the heavy feelings in our chests did not subside. Despite it being daytime, this was the origin of all the Eldians in the area—a place one should approach only with proper preparation.
Going to a Pylon with just the two of us was already a reckless choice; we might as well have been offering ourselves as fodder, facing a pointless death. Yet somehow, we had chosen to come here on our own volition anyway.
Before I met Camila, I thought I could go to Arcadia alone because I could fend for myself—that was my original intention in the first place, but now I know this isn't feasible.
If I had entered Arcadia alone, I would probably be dead by now.
Camila insisted that we go together, since I, as a variable, possess a weapon capable of penetrating the hard shells the Eldians have, and it's true.
With the right environment and against weak opponents, I stand a chance of winning.
But that’s unrealistic thinking, as I’m still human with hardly any real combat experience.
Hell, I got my ass beaten by Camila single-handedly in close combat without her breaking a sweat.
It was as if she transformed into a different person when in combat mode, resembling a strict military instructor.
Remembering the past couple of days made me shiver, going against a person who doesn't seem to remember what common sense was and pushing me to the edge, where I almost died a couple of times.
“Hey, Aria! We’re here!” She called out, stopping in her tracks and pointing ahead.
“I-I'm coming!” I yelled nervously. Her voice made me jump a little because of the image I had of her in my head.
“Hmm? Is something wrong?” She tilted her head, looking at me curiously.
“Ah, no, it’s nothing.” I shook my head vigorously, trying to dismiss any concern, “Anyways, is that the teleportation gate?” I attempted to change the topic in a flash.
In the distance, I saw a lone gate standing amidst the crumbling buildings.
It resembled a black monolith, towering over the remnants of civilization, serving as a symbolic marker of something significant.
However, I noticed visible cracks around it, which made me doubt.
“Wait, isn’t it already broken?” I said, my face betraying my skepticism. The teleportation gate had visible cracks.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary giant gate, but upon closer inspection, I sensed there was something strange about it.
The gate, which was supposed to deteriorate over the years, was surprisingly in good condition.
It was then that I realized why that was the case.
"...This isn't your first time here, is it?" I looked at her with a sympathetic gaze.
"Hehe, that's right. Was it that obvious?" She chuckled softly, scratching her head when I noticed.
"I come here to maintain this gate, telling myself over and over to take a step forward... but I can't."
With a face of longing, she gazed at what lay above us. Although we could see nothing but darkness up there, we both knew what she was trying to imply.
Camila was a student of Arcadia, coming to study with the intention of becoming a proper mage, but she got caught in a situation that must have felt suffocating.
It was a battle she couldn't win, right from the beginning.
"Haha, stupid, right? Hoping for someone to come and rescue me like a damsel in distress." She smiled bitterly and looked at me this time, trying to force a smile.
"But hey, it looks like that wish came true, I just wish they were good-looking."
“Say that again when you stop using me as your pillow."
"Can't be helped, Aria. You don't realize how charming you are."
"...I am beginning to notice that."
As I gazed at the solitary gate from a distance, I sat down for a moment and absorbed the scene before me.
If there exists a form of art that captures despair, it's this.
A lone gate stood resolutely amidst an endless landscape scarred by destruction. The shadows in this place were peculiar, creating a world that seemed to exist solely within this moment.
It was all thanks to the girl in front of me, who clung to hope, praying for someone to come and save her.
—Clench...!
The more I thought about it, the more the guilt that I buried away inside me grew.
The idea of remaining in Higher Aleph for even one more second terrified me, as it meant the fate of this girl could end tragically.
“Hey! When are you coming down?” Camila waved her hand, already near the gate, while I was lost in thought.
“Keep your voice down! What if an Eldian shows up?!” I whispered, feeling a chill run down my spine.
My past encounters with Eldians had left me with scars that would never fade.
“It’s fine! Really, there’s nothing to worry about.” With her playful antics behind her, she knelt and activated the teleporter as I slid down to join her.
As if she had done this a million times,
—Voom… NYOOOM!!
The gate opened slowly, and a blue glow radiated from the entrance, leading to a place I had always wished to visit.
"So it really is still working." I stood back in silence, mesmerized by its grand entrance.
Once again, I was reminded that I was in another world—a world I had shaped according to my desires.
“To think I’ll be back here again…” Camila gazed at the gate, its blue glow and peculiar spiral pattern feeling strangely alluring.
“Don’t get too excited.” I patted her on the shoulder, trying to act nonchalant.
“…” Expecting a laugh, I was taken aback when Camila remained silent; her intense gaze made me feel a bead of sweat trickle down my cheek.
“Uhm, was that too much?”
"Ah—no, it’s fine.”
Camila snapped back to reality after I patted her on the shoulder,
“It’s just… this reminds me of the past.” She fiddled nervously and stood up; her composure seemed to have faltered a moment ago.
‘Her past…?’ I thought about asking her about it, but decided to mind my own business.
“I see…” I sighed in relief. I wouldn’t want the only person alive who can understand me to hate me, would I?
—Fwip!
I held Libera steady, loading it with bullets and stabilizing it against my arm using Ichor. This time, the support to keep my arm steady while firing Libera was concealed beneath my jacket.
“Alright, you ready?” I nodded my head.
“…Mhmm.” She did the same. It was finally time to escape this nightmare.
—Thud, Thud, Thud…
With each step, we marched closer to the gates that led to a place that had once meant everything to me in both of my lives.
Arcadia, the Land of Magic.
