ebonymovies Chapter 169 : Malfunction - 1
Chapter 169 : Malfunction - 1
The First Memory Fragment.The vision shown by that fragment abruptly ended with the words, "How about we play a game?"
When I asked the Diary Book if that was all, it replied:
[Yes. That's all. If you would like to learn more, please unlock the Second Memory Fragment.]
“……”
[More importantly, Mason. I have a piece of advice for you.]
The Diary Book's voice suddenly turned serious.
I instinctively tensed up and held my breath.
'What is it, all of a sudden?'
[It's possible that Magireta has also regained a portion of her memories.]
'...Huh?'
[That's all.]
'No, wait a second. What exactly do you mean? Are you saying Magireta lost her memories too?'
[I'd like to answer, "Who knows..." but I'll be honest this time.]
The Diary Book continued.
[Yes. There should be gaps in Magireta's memories as well. Although she herself won't be aware of them.]
'……!'
[And by absorbing the Memory Fragment, there's a chance that Magireta may also recover some of her lost memories. Of course, I expect they'll manifest somewhat differently than they do for you.]
'I don't understand any of this.'
[I'm sorry. This is all I can tell you for now.]
I decided not to press any further.
It wasn't as if the Diary Book was hiding the truth out of malice.
Taking a calm, deep breath, I said,
'Fine. Once I obtain the Second Memory Fragment, things should become clearer.'
[That's right.]
'For now, at least I know that at some point in the past, Magireta played a game with someone unknown.'
The vision I'd witnessed was probably Magireta's "first game."
She had proposed a game to someone...
For the very first time.
And the two of them must have played that game.
I had no idea what happened afterward that eventually twisted it into the hellish Quests we experienced now.
But I'd gradually learn that through the Diary Book's future Memory Fragments.
'Let's not think too deeply about it for now.'
With that, I organized my thoughts.
Afterward, as though nothing had happened, I spent peaceful days in Drod's palace.
Several days passed.
An invitation from a Monster of Hell.
Judging by the words alone, it sounded eerie and terrifying, but Drod treated us in an incredibly "human" manner.
At mealtimes, he served carefully prepared dishes made with premium ingredients that could only be found in the Human World.
He also acted as our guide, showing us around every corner of the palace where we were staying.
On top of that, he even brought out the dazzling gold and treasures he had collected during his days as a Dragon.
The hospitality was so overwhelming that it left me speechless.
And then...
“Where do you want to go today?”
For some reason, Beat had been hovering around me for the past two days.
Standing with her hands behind her back, she wore a mischievous smile.
I answered flatly.
“Home.”
“Great. You mean the garden, right?”
“I said home. More importantly, why do you keep sticking to me?”
At that moment, Drod's voice came from behind us.
“It seems Beat has taken a liking to you. You did bring her mother back to her, after all. That's only natural.”
Turning around, I saw Drod and Lenia standing together affectionately.
Beat blushed and protested.
“D-Dad! It's not like that!”
“For the past two days, you've talked about nothing except Mason. And you're still saying it isn't?”
“Ugh... That's...”
Just then, Armelia let out a dry laugh.
“Hahaha.”
“Your Highness? Why are you laughing?”
“Beat is putting in such futile effort. It's painful to watch.”
“Whatever do you mean...?”
“I understand how you feel. But one should know where they belong before stretching out their legs. Isn't that right, Mason?”
“……”
“Answer me.”
Seriously, I had no idea what she was talking about.
Just then, Karin let out a long yawn.
“As Mason said earlier, how about we head back now?”
“That sounds good. We should also stop by Eris soon.”
“I really liked the food here, so it's a bit disappointing.”
“Why don't we ask them to pack some for us before we leave?”
Benjamin suggested.
“Asking them to pack food from Hell... Every time I think about it, this situation gets more ridiculous.”
Listening to everyone's chatter, I finally spoke.
“Lord Drod... No, Mr. Drod. I think it's time for us to head back.”
“That's unfortunate.”
“We have the Teleportation Orb, so we can visit whenever we want. If anything happens, just call for us.”
“Unfortunately, unlike that Odline fellow, I can't manipulate space. I'd have to descend into the world myself, and Lady Magireta wouldn't approve of that.”
“If anything happens, we'll come to you first.”
“Nothing is likely to happen. And even if it did, how would you know to come?”
Because Beat still had the Listening Device's Transmitter attached to her body.
Of course, saying that out loud would ruin the pleasant atmosphere.
I'd better choose my words carefully.
“I'm a rather special person, aren't I?”
“Heh. That's true. I can't deny that.”
“Then we'll be going—”
As I spoke, I took out the Teleportation Orb.
At that moment—
“Ah! Look over there!”
Aina suddenly pointed out the window.
Everyone's eyes followed her finger.
Beyond it stretched Hell's purple sky.
And hanging there...
Was a brilliant white sun.
...A sun?
“What is that? Ever since the Extreme Cold Quest, I've never seen anything like that in Hell's sky.”
“Isn't it the sun?”
“It isn't dazzling at all. I don't know what it is, but it certainly isn't the sun.”
Everyone tilted their heads in confusion.
Even Drod, Lenia, and Beat reacted the same way.
Apparently, it was a sight even the residents of Hell had never seen before.
Then Karin waved her hand.
“I sent the spirits to go check it out. Just wait a moment.”
Honestly, whether a sun rose in Hell or a moon...
Well, this place was already the moon, so another moon couldn't exactly rise.
Anyway, whatever it was had nothing to do with us.
But human curiosity rooted us to the spot.
After waiting for a while, Karin suddenly perked up her ears.
She began conversing with the invisible spirits.
“Mhm. Yeah. What? What are you talking about? Did you eat something weird?”
“Says the one who probably ate something weird.”
“Ah, shut up for a second. Sorry, say that again. Some rude little brat interrupted.”
“You're practically the same height as me...”
While Aina grumbled, Karin's expression suddenly changed.
Seeing her serious face, everyone fell silent.
Then Karin spoke.
“That's not the sun.”
“I already said that. If it isn't the sun, then what is it?”
“They said it's maggots.”
“Maggots?”
“Odline's maggots! They're gathered together into a giant sphere in the sky!”
We were all stunned.
Magireta had disappeared to deal with Odline.
I had briefly wondered how she intended to eliminate the countless Odlines that made up his colony.
Of course, I'd quickly dismissed the thought, figuring she'd handle it somehow.
'I never imagined she'd deal with them like that.'
Armelia spoke.
“So Magireta is gathering all the Odlines into one place?”
“That's right.”
Suddenly, Magireta's voice echoed through the room.
Whoosh.
Everyone turned toward the sound.
As always, Magireta acted as though she'd been standing there from the very beginning.
Click. Click.
She walked over to us and looked out the window.
“I've been wondering how I should dispose of that trash so everyone would praise me for doing a good job.”
“……”
“Do you know how many Monsters Odline implanted with maggots?”
“How would I know?”
“My. So there are things little brother doesn't know.”
Magireta smiled brightly.
“About 240 million.”
“……! That's a number beyond imagination.”
“And if you include the maggots hidden beneath his underground base, there are over 300 million. Even I didn't realize Odline had multiplied himself that much.”
“So, Sister...”
“Mhm. Hunting them down one by one and burning them all would be troublesome. So I decided to gather them all in one place and deal with the entire 'mass of maggots' at once.”
I understood the reasoning.
But that couldn't have been the only reason.
Magireta had said it would be troublesome to find them individually.
She hadn't said it was impossible.
What could possibly be impossible for this Devil?
If she truly wanted to, she could have exterminated them one by one without any difficulty.
Yet she had deliberately chosen this method...
“It's a warning.”
“……”
“You wanted the other MVPs to see the fate of any MVP who angers you or defies you.”
“Little brother.”
“Until now, you couldn't kill MVPs. But now you can. You're announcing that fact to the entire world by publicly executing that 'mass of maggots.'”
Magireta glanced sideways at Drod before answering.
Drod's face had become stiff.
Then she spoke.
“Honestly, little brother, you're far too perceptive.”
“So that mass of maggots really is a warning directed at me, Lady Magireta?”
“To some extent. Not just you—the First MVP as well.”
“You worry unnecessarily. Although I was disappointed in Lady Magireta this time, that alone isn't enough to erase my loyalty—”
“That's exactly it, Drod.”
“Yes?”
Magireta's smile deepened.
“You said you were disappointed. That's the problem.”
“What?”
“I'm disappointed that you were capable of being disappointed in me.”
“……”
“The very fact that those feelings appeared leaves a bad taste in my mouth. So watch carefully. Witness the end of an insolent, filthy MVP.”
Snap.
Magireta flicked her fingers.
A massive display board appeared before us.
“This is...”
“It was too far away to see clearly, so I enlarged it.”
She was right.
The mass of maggots we'd mistaken for the sun...
Its enormous surface writhed with countless maggots.
Beat covered her mouth.
“Ugh... Mom.”
“Are you alright? Is your stomach upset?”
“No... It just looks incredibly delicious.”
“……”
“I wonder if I could have just one bite.”
“No. You got sick after eating those before, remember?”
In any case, I carefully observed the display.
It wasn't showing only the giant mass.
It also displayed maggots flying toward it from every corner of Hell.
The massive display even transmitted their voices.
—Lady Magireta!
—You can't do this! You can't treat me like this!
—What exactly did I do wrong? No, how can you even kill an MVP like me?!
—Well... if loving you too deeply is a crime, then I suppose I deserve the death penalty.
—Who the hell is still failing to read the room at a time like this?!
—Then at least give me a farewell kiss! Please!
Listening to their cries, I felt what little sympathy I never had disappear even faster.
“All the maggots that were inside the Monsters' stomachs are gathering there too. I made every one of them throw them up.”
“I see.”
“You said before, didn't you, little brother? That you wanted to hear the story of how I defeated Odline.”
“……”
“No need for a story. Let's watch it together in real time. You hate those maggots just as much as I do.”
Instead of answering, I simply kept my eyes fixed on the display.
How much time passed?
The number of maggots flying toward the mass noticeably decreased.
From thousands every second...
To hundreds.
From hundreds...
To dozens.
From dozens...
To five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
……
No more maggots flew toward the giant mass.
Magireta patiently waited several more minutes.
Then, with an excited hum, she said,
“Mmm. Looks like they've all gathered.”
Just then, Odline's voice came from the display.
—Lady Magireta! If a kiss is too much, then at least give me a hug!
“Is that your last wish?”
—Huh? I can leave last words? Then just a moment. Let me think...
“You really are annoying right to the very end.”
Magireta stretched out her hand toward the mass floating in the sky.
Then...
She slowly clenched her fist.
Crunch.
The massive sphere twisted and crumpled from every direction before compressing into something tiny.
The gigantic object we'd mistaken for the sun shrank until it was no larger than a peanut.
Then black blood gushed endlessly from the compressed mass.
“A waterfall of blood...”
Armelia muttered in a horrified voice.
—Ghk... Squeak...
—Aaaaah! S-save me!
—Please save us, Lady Magireta!
The maggots' screams echoed from the display.
But only briefly.
Slowly...
Magireta opened her clenched fist.
There was nothing left in it.
There was nothing left in the sky either.
Every single maggot had been crushed to death.
“……”
For a while, we alternated our gazes between the display and Magireta.
She casually dusted off her hands and said with a refreshed smile,
“Ah. That felt amazing.”