Chapter 34 - Arcadia, The Land of Magic [3]
—Tap... tap... tap...
In the dark corridors that stretched as far as we could see, Camila and I walked side by side, feeling a bit less tense now that we had acclimated to this place.
It was an eerie environment, but since we hadn’t encountered anything threatening, it wasn't too bad.
From what I gathered, that stray seemed to be someone Camila knew.
Protocol Stray was designed in mind to eliminate any doubts by taking out threats on sight before anything could go wrong. However, coming across someone still alive in a domain was exceedingly rare.
If Camila and I were to meet strays—ones that weren't resisting but were truly out for our blood—would we be able to kill them?
I'm not sure. But in a world as chaotic as this, moral considerations don’t seem to matter.
It's either kill or be killed; that's all there is to it.
“Hey, did you get what you wanted, by the way? I forgot to ask,” I said to her, hoping to lighten the mood a little.
Camila remained silent and refused to answer my question.
'...Awkward.’ My face twitched, and I felt the urge to rip out my hair, frustrated that the already tense atmosphere seemed worse than before.
I cringed at myself for trying to break the ice. I felt like a middle schooler attempting to start a conversation, only to be met with blank stares as if I were a weirdo.
The problem was that we hadn't spoken for what felt like hours, unable to initiate a conversation in the grim atmosphere and dreadful environment.
"...Yes, I got what I wanted,” Camila responded, slowing her pace so I could catch up.
"Oh? What is it?" I quickened my pace, curious about what she had obtained.
"Ah, never mind. You don't have to tell me." I decided not to pry any further and shook my head. I didn't want to darken her mood too much.
When people grabbed belongings they were willing to risk their lives for, it usually fell into one of two categories: something practical or something useless but held significant value to them.
Judging from Camila's reaction, it seemed to be the latter.
—Grab...
"Huh?" I turned around and saw Camila tugging at my sleeve.
"We've known each other long enough. Only seems fair for me to show you, right?" She smiled and adamantly insisted otherwise.
Camila's eyes softened as she held it. It was clear that this item held high significance for her.
Her recovery gave me a sense of reassurance after what had happened before.
“…Heh. Alright then, what is it?”
“It’s nothing important; it’s just a trinket I was given a long time ago.”
"I see..."
In her hands, she held a familiar black choker adorned with a blue petal in the center, still pulsing with mana.
As I recognized the trinket myself, I decided to tell her I knew what it was.
“Is that an azure blossom?”
“Huh? You know what this is?”
“Of course I do. They’re my favourite.”
"...!"
Merely liking them is an understatement; I have always loved cherry blossoms.
The blue cherry blossoms, known as azure blossoms in this world, were something I frequently thought of during my time writing the novel.
Almost a decade ago, I had the opportunity to visit an eastern nation called Tide as a member of the Historia family.
While there were still ordinary cherry blossoms in this world, azure blossoms were rare and considered sacred in Tide.
If possible, I would love to return there, that is, if they are still around.
“Hehe, I really hope this is a coincidence…” Camila said, and as if in a daze, gently caressed my cheeks.
“H-Huh? W-What are you doing?!” My face turned red as I struggled to process why she was doing this.
“You know, you really remind me of my older brother.”
"...Not older sister?"
"Yeah, older brother."
When she said that, I felt something inside twist, as if I had just remembered that I used to be a guy.
“Mmm, not only you like azure blossoms, but you both have terrible personalities.”
“Hey, don’t act like I’m the weird one. Look in the mirror yourself.”
"See what I mean?"
"That's me."
I didn’t argue against her statement, and in the end, I agreed, proving Camila’s point without hesitation.
“Well, I guess it’s my fault that all of this happened. Perhaps this is my punishment for what I did to him.”
"..."
Camila chuckled but looked sad. Still, she knew that moping around wouldn’t solve anything, so she stood up.
This was the final push she needed.
In a world like this, there was no such thing as compassion or promises, only tragedy and bloodshed.
“In truth, I liked cherry blossoms more, but because I was such a clingy sister, I gave him mine. Want to know what happened next?” She continued talking without waiting for my response.
“He gave me his and promised that we’d be together forever. Cute, right?” Camila smiled, as if she truly treasured those moments.
At the same time, memories flooded my mind—ones I thought I had long forgotten, overshadowed by the terrible one I endured in the Historia household.
Let’s be honest here. Deep down, I already knew who this person was.
It was as if I were looking at a younger version of someone I knew—so timid and reckless before numerous incidents drove us apart.
Her identity was clear as day.
Camila, no, her true name is…
—Ding! Ding! Ding!
The lights came on abruptly, one by one, revealing what appeared to be an enormous room instead of the usual long hallways.
“Let’s talk about this later.”
"...Let's do that.”
We both returned to our normal demeanour, focusing on the situation at hand.
Although we were able to converse like that, it didn’t mean we should let our guard down. In a Pylon's domain, a mistake could mean death due to their unpredictable behaviour.
Now that the lights were back on, we had a clear view of our surroundings and the state of the area.
Everything felt out of place. It was a location that sparked nostalgia yet also felt sinister.
As we walked toward the source of the light, we exchanged determined glances, ready to see this through to the end.
—Tap… Tap… Tap.
Camila stopped walking and stood in the middle of the room, looking around as if she recognized something.
“This is... the main building of the dormitory?"
"Main building? What do you mean by that?"
"I've been here many times before, but I don't recall it being this big..."
Camila walked around, examining the space from top to bottom.
Arcadia was intended to be a grand place, considering it’s the most popular academy in the world, but this felt... excessive.
"Do you think you can remember where each corridor leads?"
“I don’t think so. Even if I could recognize this place, everything is distorted enough that it’s impossible to tell.”
Countless hallways stretched out before us, some brightly lit and others completely dark. It seemed like an endless maze leading nowhere.
“Sigh… what a dilemma,” I said. Judging by usual standards, there was no way we were getting out of here unless something unexpected happened.
Is this perhaps the fourth time I’ve regretted letting my imagination run wild while creating this? I don’t know—it’s probably more than I can count at this point.
—Thump...
While I was deep in thought, I heard footsteps slowly approaching from one of the hallways.
Now that we understood what was lurking here with us, Camila and I didn’t flinch.
We prepared ourselves for the inevitable combat we anticipated ever since we fell into this place.
—Tap... Tap...!
The footsteps continued to echo in the hallways. Eventually, we could hear them resonating from all directions.
We were surrounded.
"KIEEEK!!!" the strays screamed in unison once they spotted us.
The reason the strays were trapped in the Pylons wasn't due to the Eldians, but rather the environment within them.
The Pylons fed on human malice and were influenced by malevolence, turning their domains into purgatories for those who remained.
Domains could take the form of an inescapable land surrounded by lava, an ever-expanding labyrinth, or even something like the backrooms—I mean, a liminal space. The possibilities were endless.
The only exception was that, no matter how hard they tried, ordinary citizens could not escape, even if they wanted to.
Since domains cannot be destroyed without cutting off their power source, the Pylon, people eventually went insane, and the rest became history.
That’s why those who never escaped transformed into monsters, losing their minds and becoming strays—
“Z-Zombies!” Camila screamed in fear as they surrounded us, her gauntlets clenched tightly.
...Hmm?
"...Camila, they're called strays—"
"What do we do about these zombies!?"
"...Zombies."
I sighed, realizing she wasn’t listening. The sheer number of... zombies approaching from all directions was overwhelming.
Yet, despite such formidable adversaries, we didn’t despair—well, excluding Camila, whose eyes were sparkling with excitement instead.
“Camila, do you think you can handle this?” I asked, pointing at the looming horde from a distance.
The zombies, unlike traditional zombies, sprinted at speeds a normal human cannot outrun.
"Hmm..." She scratched her head, deep in thought.
These zombies—ugh, I mean strays—were creatures that had lost their minds to the eldritch, resulting in husks that seemed much stronger than the average person.
Strong enough to snap me in half like bamboo without any effort.
But seriously? In a messed-up world like this, where actual eldritch monsters roam around aimlessly, and humanity has advanced a hundred years into the future...
This is nothing.
"Not a problem!" Camila smirked, clearly excited to finally let loose.
—WHACK!!!
With those words, Camila immediately dashed toward one of the strays with a speed I could hardly track.
As a powerhouse whose limitations had been lifted, she could perform feats that only a superhuman could manage.
With a swing of her fists, she smashed through a Stray's head, completely obliterating it.
When a stray charged at her, she grabbed its head and crushed it in retaliation.
As she soared high into the air, dodging attacks from all directions, she utilized <Telekinesis> to her advantage.
—BLAM!
And used it on herself to accelerate, creating a shockwave that blasted them all away.
...
This damn woman... how was she even more reckless than Noah?
Camila continued to bash their skulls, pounding them into pulp and swinging them around like a maniac.
I'm starting to worry about her, especially since her tone shifted completely when these used to be regular humans.
Wanting to help her, I closed my eyes and gripped Libera, delving deep into my thoughts to remove every moral compass that hindered me.
The stray we first encountered in this place resisted until the very end, managing to remain human and ultimately dying as one.
Those who have succumbed and lost their humanity were no longer human but merely husks of their former selves.
Prioritizing our lives and striving to free the strays from their eternal torment, a fire ignites within me, giving me the conviction to take one step forward.
I opened my eyes to steady myself and aimed my Libera. Then, at that moment, I shouted:
"GET DOWN!!!"
—BOOM!!!
I fired into one of the hallways swarming with strays, creating an impact large enough to eliminate them all at once.
"Ugh, whenever I see that weapon, I can't imagine what would happen if that hit me..."
"Be glad you were under my mercy."
"...Nerd."
There's a stark difference between our situations when we fought each other.
On one hand, Camila's magic was being sapped in real-time, leaving her with only a fraction of her power due to the weird collar she was forced to wear.
On the other hand, I just hoped I wouldn't accidentally blast Camila off the orbit during that moment, which would be truly awful.
—BOOOM! BOOOM!
—SMACK!
Now that we weren't holding back, the two of us fought side by side, trying to fend off the relentless horde of strays.
If Camila and I were alone in this situation, we wouldn’t stand a chance.
The strays were too agile and strong for me to defend against; if I confronted two or three of them at once at close range, I would be overwhelmed.
Camila was strong enough to overpower the strays easily on her own, but she lacked the firepower to take them all down.
Camila focused on crowd control while I aimed to land the final blow.
Our synergy was perfect against a horde of enemies.
...
...
...
"I think we should run."
"I agree."
Both of us were confident that we could take them on... If only they didn't keep coming.
"How many are there?!" Camila gasped, her breath fading.
Time passed, and I began to lose count of how many we had killed.
The bullets I had stocked in my bag were running low; I had already used more than half of them.
Yet they kept coming, their numbers growing until Camila felt overwhelmed.
—SMACK!
"Aria! Do you know where to go from here?!" Camila shouted, desperately trying to fend them off and block any from getting near me.
—BOOM!!!
"I'm thinking about it!" I replied as I crouched in the middle of the hallway, continuing to shoot.
It felt like I was playing Wack-a-Mole, trying to fend off a literal flood of strays coming after us.
It seemed as if the entire population of the capital city of Demiurge was in here… wait.
“Camila! Do you know if most people evacuated when the Pylon fell from the sky?”
“I’m… I’m not sure! It happened so suddenly that… I think so?”
Ah, so it really was true.
"Fuck."
"A-Aria?!"
