"Aiz Wallenstein."
The moment Aiz entered the Twilight Manor, we immediately heard a reprimanding voice. She called Aiz her complete name, signifying the severity of this matter.
In short, that happens whenever she is completely angry.
"Where are you going just now?"
"...Dungeon. But I changed my mind."
She pointed out to me who was still outside the gate.
Lady Riveria's emerald pupils showed surprise when our gazes met. She easily regained her composure after that.
"You decided to visit after a long time. How did it go?"
Before I abruptly left, I recorded a message about the circumstance inside the singularity and the need for me to go to another world. One of the people who knew that is Lady Riveria.
"I faced some troubles here and there, but I was able to succeed." I paused before continuing, "You will be surprised at the strength of the opponents I fought. They are even more troublesome than the Black Dragon."
"...As expected, it was you."
She said before nodding.
Aiz looked at us with a confused look.
Lady Riveria and I looked at each other to decide how to handle this. I am long aware of Aiz's hatred towards the Black Dragon. If I am not mistaken, her father should be the same Mercenary King who turned it into the One-eyed Black Dragon of today.
Aiz Wallenstein and Albert Waldstein don't sound too far away from each other. Given her strong nature as a spirit and the fact that Albert Waldstein's wife is a Great Spirit, it soon became obvious enough.
"What about the Black Dragon, Nobu?"
"It's better to talk it out inside."
"Indeed."
Lady Riveria supported my suggestion.
While we were walking inside the manor, I came across several Loki Familia members. I recognized some of them as they were present during the fight with the Black Dragon—on the ninth iteration, that is.
I could feel their examining gaze as well as their vague admiration towards me.
'Strange… It feels something different.'
"It's just what Bete-san said…"
"Losing a battle against him must've been painful."
"But they do look good together…"
'Ah..?'
It feels like a deja vu.
Yes, I experienced this exact same scene once—with the Artemis Familia.
'No way…'
I realized one thing.
Popular figures are often prone to gossip. They are the subjects that many people use as a topic during leisure time. I already experienced this kind of treatment back when I revolutionized the unbreakable magic swords.
This time, however, it seems that these gossips occurred for a different reason.
"I remember hearing an incident about Loki-sama. She screamed on top of her lungs during a certain time when she was drunk."
"What did she say about that time?"
"Ahem… 'Sirius will collect every female within this familia! I won't let him!'... or something like that."
My five senses are sharpened to the extreme as a Magister. Walls no longer served as boundaries during these talks if I wanted to.
Still…
My mouth twitched upon hearing these words.
'It's too exaggerated…'
Lady Riveria must've noticed my weird look and followed the direction where I briefly glanced.
Realizing something, she wore a smile on her face as if she found something funny.
"You can still act like that, I see."
"...I was surprised there is a kind of rumor here."
"Who asked you to be this popular? You reached the height of great heroes at your age."
'Considering the iterations and chances I used, I might be over four hundred years old already?'
Momentarily, I found the thought of being older than Lady Riveria a bit amusing.
Arriving inside the library, I saw several people reading books now and then. It used to be deserted, but perhaps due to the books I left did it gain more users.
We went inside silently enough that we did not disturb others.
I covered our radius with a silencing magicka which contained the soundwaves inside.
"About the black Dragon… Remember the phenomenon two days ago?" I asked.
"Two days… The pillar of light."
"That light… It was the decisive strike I used to kill the Black Dragon."
"..!"
Aiz stood up from her seat. Her eyes are trembling due to the sheer amount of shock she received.
Grasping her fists, she asked me once more.
"Nobu killed the Black Dragon?"
"Yes." I nodded to her words. "It was hiding deep within the Dragon Valley. The first thing I did when I came back was to kill it. I… Let's say it became far stronger due to an accident caused by my first arrival to this world. It fell into my responsibility to exterminate it."
""...""
The two girls fell into a moment of contemplation. Their thoughts went extremely deep, especially Aiz.
As someone who sought revenge on the Black Dragon—presumably for a thousand years—it was suddenly killed without her doing anything. Imagining myself to be on that side, I would feel extremely empty.
After all, the target of sharpening your blade suddenly disappeared.
"The Black Dragon inherited a cursed technique and turned into a half Demi-spirit. Its existence is akin to the Divine Bull, Gugalanna, that we faced back then."
"That strange spirit? If it's like that… I can't imagine the current strength of the Black Dragon."
"Yet Nobu was able to defeat it alone." Aiz added to Lady Riveria.
I could see the complex emotions that went through her. Aside from the five senses, my intuition became far stronger when I became a Magister. It is the reason why I am able to perceive the emotions of others more clearly.
I could see how Suimei was able to handle a harem. Of course, there are still things that we couldn't fathom when it comes to women.
Aiz released the grip she had over her skirt.
"I am not exactly alone. Someone helped me distract it once before I was able to catch it in one fell swoop. If you two would like… I could reconstruct the events with my magicka."
Unsurprisingly, Aiz nodded with seriousness. I could easily understand her current actions. It is definitely a rare scenario.
To put it simply, she is like Mashiro while expressing emotions. Even I wouldn't be able to see a scenario where they clearly express themselves, save for some rare moments like this.
I shifted my look to Lady Riveria who also nodded with understanding.
In one of our talks, she mentioned about Aiz's situation as well as her unrelenting revenge against the Black Dragon.
"Somnium verto veritas. Orbis terrarum revocetur quondam!" (Dreams turn into reality. The world shall be rewritten once more!)
Our surroundings changed immediately. Space was shifted as everything reshuffled into a brand new space. It could be said that we are still within our previous positions a second ago, yet we are not. It is akin to a lucid dream—you wouldn't clearly know what was going on.
It is the version of [Alice's Wonderland] which I learned from the encounter with Lord Nettesheim. It completely rewrote the physical world with one's fantasies, or dreams in my regard.
We are transported back into a dark and dreary place. The amount of overflowing cursed energy is simply enough to match Sukuna's presence with fifteen fingers.
Psshk-!
BAM-!
HUM-!
The events of the past were brought back once again. This time, I was the one watching from another perspective. I saw myself walk towards the edge of a cliff.
I bombarded the deepest part of the Dragon's Valley to lure out the Black Dragon. My King was there at my side to provide support at one time.
It didn't take long before the scene of it jumping to its own demise appeared. It was entangled by hundreds of thousands of nanites, each filled with a certain amount of mystery-distorting power. It isn't wrong to call my nanite army a Sacrament. It already reached the qualifications of one.
Just as it was about to be sealed inside, everything turned gray.
Tap-!
Tap-!
From nowhere, I walked out towards the Black Dragon. Lady Riveria and Aiz followed behind.
"With just three years…" The former mumbled. "You really are on another level."
"...Nobu. Can I see its death?"
Aiz spoke with an untold amount of coldness.
"You will see it later. For now…"
Soon, I reached the Black Dragon's side. The figure of myself and the Black Dragon was frozen still. My King wasn't included in it as she was too far away from the battle at this moment.
"Omnia ludus forte. Vicissim cursus scaturiens flumen. Historia redux." (Everything is a game of chance. Reverse the flowing river. History shall be brought back.)
Crack-!
The surrounding space showed cracks one after another. They are akin to a mirror showing one crack after another.
An invisible law prevented the completion of my magicka, but since everything here can be considered a "dream", it soon retreated.
Without any hindrances, history was brought back.
SHATTER-!
The Black Dragon regained its former color. Its confused pupils looked at the frozen version of myself before shifting towards the three of us who could move perfectly in this world.
"No, you won't."
I pointed my finger towards it. A dozen sets of golden chains appeared out of nowhere before firmly restraining the Black Dragon.
ROAR-!
Its single roar formed shockwaves, yet it didn't hold any real power.
"Sirius… Is this still an illusion?"
Lady Riveria asked with a sense of novelty. Her admiration for this level of magicka is apparent.
"Yes… and no. Its principle works similarly to Schrodinger's Cat which explains the Wave-Particle Theory. When viewed outside, it is still an illusion. However, to the people inside, it is the reality."
"...I see."
The magic system which I jokingly dubbed as 'Akasaka System' mixed both Modern Magic Theory and Science. They are two elements that are supposed to be dissonant towards each other, yet they blended perfectly with my existence.
"Who… are you..?!"
For the first time, the Black Dragon let out an extremely loud voice. It was similar to a middle-aged man filled with majesty. One would envision a Ruler with its voice, tone, and aura.
Hum-!
Swoosh-!
Suddenly, a part of this space shook. Aiz's spirit form was fully unleashed along with her [Mana Furnace]. Her status as a descendant of a Great Spirit showed itself.
A moment later, a green line went through the Black Dragon before dozens of wounds appeared on itself. The helpless dragon couldn't activate its magical power nor cursed energy within the presence of these chains.
Most importantly, it is inside my dream. The chains merely served as a reinforcement towards a concept of restraint.
"I will kill you."
Her voice was far different from before. Her aura of coldness reached its peak. It could easily match the malintent I showed towards the Ancient Dragon who made me suffer multiple times.
Soon, the viridescent winds turned dark black. The Telesma which surrounded her became more murky.
'Cursed energy… no.'
I recalled one of Aiz's ability, [Avenger]. It scaled off based on her hatred towards monsters. Facing the one responsible for her family's death, it is normal to unleash such unfiltered rage.
Pssshk-!
Swoosh-!
Bam-!
Splatter-!
…
Everything turned to silence after that. Only the sound of Aiz brutally butchering the chained Black Dragon was heard by Lady Riveria and I.
At one point, she even asked me to stop her.
"I…I believe it is for the better. If she cannot be liberated from it, she wouldn't be able to move forward."
"..."
A few minutes later, all that existed was a towering meat of flesh. Aiz's black winds continued to shred these scales and flesh, a testament of her growing hatred for it.
She walked back to the two of us in silence. Her face is stained with black blood. It was capable of melting one's skin without any protection—every part of the Black Dragon is as such. It is the reason why it released a poisonous miasma capable of killing dozens of Level Six to Seven Adventurers in one go.
Still, her [Mana Furnace] and high status protected her from it. Add to the fact that it is my dream, I could easily nullify its harm.
"Nobu. Can I face it one more time? This time, don't restrict its movements and magic power."
It seems like she wasn't satisfied yet.
If so…
"As you wish."
*****
A/N: Well, I'm still alive. I wouldn't deny that uni took a huge toll in my health, but I'm still standing. In fact, I already have an idea as to what would happen within the next arcs. After this one would be an important visit to another world and then facing off against his world's end. After that would be... well, this chapter title could be some sort of foreshadowing to it. A land of dreams, a world's end, and the desperate fight against it. I know I'd be a fool if I didn't include that world with these criteria.
Anyways, I do hope that my update rate could return to normal. It's just that a lot of things are happening in real life. Still, I wouldn't drop this fic, to say the least, so do look forward to the future chapters.
Happy Reading~!