The Broken Possessors of the Infinite Regression Academy - Chapter 138



Chapter 138 – The Elder Lich, King of the Undead – 6

There was an elder lich sitting on the bed, blankly. No, not blankly, he was no different from a doll. His eyes were unfocused and didn’t blink at all, and he didn’t respond even when the chairman poked him.

“It’s been like this ever since I brought it here. It still has the Life Vessel, but it doesn’t respond to any external stimuli. What happened, kid?”

After a moment of hesitation about how much I should say, I left out my past and only told him about the magic the Elder Lich had used. Everything from the purpose of the magic being developed to how it worked.

The reason it was possible was because I had misunderstood the magic slightly, and the memories were not one-way, but two-way. While the memories were being shared, the Elder Lich’s thoughts also flowed into me.

“A magic developed solely for the purpose of destroying the Sword… … I never would have thought of that.”

“I guess he thought that as long as he didn’t have a black soul, the rest of the humans were nothing special.”

“The child endured that magic, interpreted it, and returned it back to him?”

“Yes. He didn’t know what was coming to him, so he couldn’t hold out for long. They said that if you lose your mind inside, you can never come back, so I think that’s why he ended up like that because his mind was completely dead.”

At least there was no lie in what I just said. It is true that the Elder Lich could not bear the memory of death, and it is also true that he did not know that he would suffer. It is because the memory of death was mine.

“I see…….”

Suddenly, the chairman hugged me tightly with tears in his eyes.

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“Ah, child… … Memories of the undead… … How painful it must have been… … How painful it must have been… … It’s okay. You can let go of everything in my arms. So lean on me as much as you want… … .”

It was a shocking experience in a completely different sense than being painful or distressing, but I couldn’t bring it up here, and even if I said it was okay, I knew what her reaction would be, so I just hugged her and remained quiet.

Even if I tell her that I’ll be fine in a hundred days, she’ll probably think that I’m pretending to be strong and able to endure it so that she won’t worry.

‘I don’t particularly hate it.’

The chairman held me in his arms for almost an hour, patting and comforting me before he let go. Warm heat rose from his face, which had been buried between his chests for a long time.

“Can I ask what to do with that? It’s something the child caught, so do with it however you want.”

A long finger pointed at the Elder Lich.

“What happened to the undead that were on the front lines?”

“They still charge at humans, but they don’t rise from the ground like they used to, nor do they move in an intelligent and organized manner. They just walk slowly like corpses, just like the undead used to. The number of Death Knights has also decreased significantly.”

It seemed that it was because there was no Elder Lich left to give orders. If their organization had weakened, Leona could breathe a sigh of relief.

“What if I just kill it?”

“Hmm… … I’m not sure. It won’t collapse and disappear, but it’ll either run wild or be no different than it is now. I’m not sure either, since this is my first time experiencing something like this.”

“Then, for now, I’ll consider going berserk. Let’s leave it as is for now and think about it later and come to a conclusion. Since the undead move slowly anyway, it won’t make much of a difference whether we kill them now or later.”

The first thing to keep in mind is that I have absolutely no intention of letting that guy live. It was just a question of whether to kill him now or later, and there was never any option to let him live in the first place.

If he had acted like a Dullahan, I would have hesitated for a moment, but the Elder Lich wasn’t even like that, so there was no reason to hesitate.

‘I wonder what happened to Durahan.’

The number of undead wielding the magic sword is not infinite, and if so, then at some point the relationship between demons and humans will have to return to the way it was before. A relationship that ends when one person dies.

Nika is a truly special case, as there was a 100% chance that Dullahan would rather fight to the death than surrender to humans. Wasn’t he the one who committed such an outrageous act solely out of loyalty to the Demon King?

“I… … a child?”

As I was absentmindedly thinking about what to do next, the chairman, who had been fidgeting ever since the conversation ended, cautiously approached me and grabbed my hand.

“Is there anything else you need? The child can just lie still. There might still be more injuries… … If you need to take care of him, I’ll be right there by his side… … .”

He had been talking for a long time, but his message was simple: Lie down, and he would take care of you.

“What is it that you want to do for me?”

“S, it’s not that I want to do it… … I’m just worried because the child woke up after being under a spell… … W, of course it doesn’t mean I don’t want to do it! It’s always like that… … But… … .”

Every word is dripping with desire, but it’s not.

While raising a human, she developed maternal love, but since she had no place to express it, she just built it up for 130 years. When she met someone she could properly express it with, it seemed that her instincts took precedence over reason.

“Okay, let’s take a break. It’s the right time.”

Nika was back to being a maid, and the Elder Lich was basically finished, so there wasn’t much to do until Dullahan asked to talk to me first. There was still some time left until the final exams I was supposed to take.

If you don’t rest now, when will you rest?

“Is that true?!”

The chairman’s face brightened.

“Thank you, Beatrice. I now know how well you have taken care of me. I think I know what it means for a person to lose their dignity. If I hadn’t stopped you, I would have been in big trouble.”

“… … What are you saying all of a sudden, Young Master?”

The Elder Lich affair was settled, but there was one last thing that had to be resolved: my past that had emerged during the process of sharing memories with him.

To be honest, it was something I also wondered about. Is there something that happened in the first world that I can’t remember?

I thought it was a memory created by that guy, but then I couldn’t help but think it wasn’t true because then the absurd conclusion would come out that the Elder Lich would feel fear from the memory he created and lose his mind.

“… … So. I want to ask you guys. If it’s true that I sealed my memories, why did I do that? Why did I seal only some of them and not all of them?”

Fortunately, I didn’t have to suffer alone with these worries as a person who was possessed. Priscilla, Rosaria, Laura, and Elisier, who heard my question, each fell into their own worries.

“Maybe he didn’t want to shock himself too much.”

Regarding the seal of memory, Laura, who had experience, was the first to speak.

“Think about it. You still don’t want to remember the past very much. If you had to seal all your memories, it would have been even worse than it is now. What if a trigger were to activate and you suddenly regain all your memories? How would you feel, my dear? Can you guarantee that you wouldn’t fall apart?”

“That… I don’t know.”

“Have you seen it? It’s something you yourself aren’t sure about. That’s why I divided up some of my memories and sealed them away. I’ve found the memories of who I am, but I haven’t yet recovered the memories of the 1700th return.”

“Or maybe it wasn’t your will, Mira.”

Elisier suddenly interrupted. Laura glared at Elisier for a moment, but then gave up her seat without saying anything, as if she had finished what she wanted to say.

“It wasn’t my will?”

“The person I watched was someone who suffered from the past but did not avoid it. Except for one thing. But was there really a need to divide and seal a memory that was not particularly painful? That is why it is possible that someone else’s will intervened.”

That’s true. The memories that Elder Lich had seen weren’t particularly more painful or anything. There were quite a few questions about what the criteria were.

“Or maybe someone tried to seal all of your memories, but you resisted, so only some of them were closed. Who, why, and for what purpose will we gradually find out. When I listen to your explanation, it seems like you are no different from a god who descended to Earth. How could someone be so easy to seal your memories?”

“Wow, then what the hell kind of crazy guy is he?”

Rosaria stuck out her tongue. Elisier finished speaking calmly.

“Nothing has been confirmed, so just think of it as this kind of opinion. What do you think, Rosaria?”

“Hmm… … I think I’m on your side, Elysier? I saw the look on Mira’s face when she recalled her old memories. If she was going to bury her memories, I think she would’ve buried them all. Priscilla, what about you?”

“Laura’s side. I don’t think there’s anyone stronger than the old Mira. Or maybe the idea that the bone came up with was a seal, so it might not be that, but something else.”

“If you start to doubt like that, there’s no end to it. However, like Priscilla said, you need to take it with a grain of salt. As she said, it’s just her thoughts.”

The three of them exchanged serious opinions. It seemed that they were more concerned about me because it was related to them.

“… … .”

Except for Laura, who was lost in thought.

“what’s the matter?”

“I feel like there’s something familiar about the worries you mentioned. But I don’t know exactly why.”

“Didn’t you do that last time too?”

“That’s what happened when I spoke about the Mana Breathing Method. I guess it’s because our situations are similar. I’m also in a situation where I sealed my own memories.”

“Maybe so.”

“It’s not that it might be so, it’s that it has to be so. If not, then there’s another secret hidden between you and me. My head is already going to burst just by what’s there now.”

I stared at Laura, who was sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed. Laura looked at me as if asking why.

“If you say that, why are you stealing my shirt and wearing it?”

“I can’t help it. I’ll give you the shirt I was wearing, so you can do whatever you want with it. If you want, I can throw in a garter belt and stockings as well.”

“… … .”