The Broken Possessors of the Infinite Regression Academy - Chapter 173



Chapter 173 – Masin – 4

What Aria said didn’t even register in my head. All my senses were focused on the divine power blooming in that hand.

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It was a light that was not inferior at all to that of Rosaria, who had been chosen as a saint by the goddess herself, and who would have made ordinary priests and nuns like candles in front of the sun.

“how……?”

“I just told you. This is our destiny.”

Aria smiled brightly.

“I gained it when the divine power that had disappeared along with the saint’s miracle returned. I had no choice but to hide it from you until now. Sorry, but even from Leona. I didn’t know why I awakened my divine power. But as soon as I heard that Mira was leaving for the realm of the demons, I realized. I gained the power to help Mira. Because that’s how we are. It’s our fate.”

When the divine power that had disappeared returned, it was after a miracle was created for Rosaria through the medium of the light window to prevent chaos.

We still don’t know why the other priests regained their powers, but Aria also awakened her divine powers? And a divine power that could rival or even surpass Rosaria’s?

‘why?’

The current Aria is living an extremely ordinary academy life compared to the original. Thanks to Leona, she has completed her awakening and is actively working as a warrior, but Aria is not like that.

Most of the events that should have happened in the original were handled by me ahead of time, so Bellium Academy wasn’t destroyed and Laura wasn’t killed.

Crucially, since Rosaria took a completely different path from the original, the goddess didn’t even consider Aria as the next saint. So how?

‘Because I’m the main character?’

Is it because Aria is the protagonist of the novel that is the foundation of this world, and because she was born with that kind of ‘fate’?

“You look so surprised, Mira.”

Aria, who had come right up to me, smiled brightly.

“I understand. I was also very surprised when I first used my divine powers. But not anymore. I won’t be surprised anymore, and I won’t hesitate anymore. Because I’ve realized what I have to do.”

With one step, the already close distance became narrower once again.

“Helping Mira. That’s what I’m going to do.”

Eyes filled with the blue sky stared at me.

“So, you’ll take me with you?”

“I appreciate the offer, but if you have divine powers, you should help others instead.”

“That is the job of the saint.”

Aria gave me a very firm look and flatly rejected what I said.

“I’ll do it later, of course. But I want to use this power to help Mira-san first. I want to use it for Mira-san first. It’ll definitely help. I won’t let you down. Okay?”

A strong will burned in her gaze toward me. I had never seen Aria wish for something so strongly. It seemed as if she would never tolerate rejection, no matter what she did.

“……okay.”

After a very long period of thought, I nodded heavily.

If Aria really was just the protagonist of a novel who had awakened her divine powers, then taking her along would have been helpful, not a hindrance. I was planning to keep her by my side and watch over her since that was what she wanted.

“Thank you, Mira!”

Aria’s face broke into the brightest and most beautiful smile she had ever seen.

“You’re going to defeat the demon… … Yes. If it’s a child, it might really be possible. You defeated that Mahbat, too. It’s not an answer I’m particularly fond of, but I don’t think the child will listen to me even if I stop him. Instead, I have something to tell you. Do you remember when you said you’d listen to anything last time? I’m going to use that right now. You must come back alive. I don’t want to have to go through parting with the child twice.”

“I won’t stop you since it’s your decision, Master. It’s okay. If you’re wrong, I can follow you. I don’t plan on eating any other energy besides yours. I’ve never heard of a queen starving to death, and I don’t know how long it will take, but after all, queens are cyclical beings, right? Just think of it as starting that cycle a little faster. Go ahead. I’ll be waiting. Until you return, Master.”

After saying hello to the chairman and Nika and returning, Aria cautiously observed me and opened her mouth.

“I… Ms. Mira. If it’s okay with you, can I ask you one thing?”

“It’s okay. What is it?”

“Is it okay if I don’t tell my family or Beatrice? Beatrice in particular seems to really care about Mira… … .”

“Don’t do it. I’m not going to die or anything. I’ll be back anyway, so what’s the point of telling them? You’re just making them worry unnecessarily. I told you that Chairman Nikana is someone who’s hard to fool by simply saying that he’s fine, and I told you that he’s fine at home, so it’s okay.”

In the end, I would have lied to my parents and Beatrice, but since I’ve already lied to so many things, adding one more wouldn’t be a big deal. After all, the fact that I’m a possessed person is already a secret.

“You really don’t need to contact Leona?”

“I’m okay too. For similar reasons to Mira. I think we’re similar in this regard. I guess it’s fate.”

The bright smile returned. The look of concern that had been there just a moment ago was nowhere to be found.

“… … Are you ready?”

I wanted to tell her not to talk nonsense like fate, but this time I couldn’t. I felt like it would only end up holding me back.

“Yes. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m ready. I will never bother Mira.”

Aria clenched her fist.

Could it really be fate that made him follow me like that? Since he had awakened to divine power, I couldn’t openly distrust him, so I felt somewhat frustrated inside.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

I took out the strange object that Masin had given me. I drew my arm in the air according to the instructions flowing into my head. A red line appeared in the air, and the line began to slowly spread out to both sides.

Through the gap, a pitch-black space was visible. It was a dimensional gate connecting to the realm of the demon. After exchanging glances with Aria, he stepped through the solid line.

Beyond that, another space spread out, different from the Demon Realm. It looked somewhat similar to the Heavenly Realm, but the dark sky gave off a completely different atmosphere.

As I was looking around, a bright golden light burst out from behind me, illuminating the surroundings. Aria smiled brightly and stood right next to me. Only then did I properly see the scenery.

Vast grasslands and vast expanses of land. Except for the dark sky, it was truly a place no different from heaven. In fact, it was so similar that I was surprised.

“Be careful, you never know what might happen. I’ll use a detection spell, but you never know.”

“Yes, Mira. I’ll keep that in mind.”

As soon as I picked up the device, the dimensional gate closed. Now, it was impossible to escape right away. I pulled out Eternity, cast a wide detection spell on the area, and moved my legs, ready to pull out the light spear at any moment.

There were no enemies, no traps, no demons around. Unlike the heavens where you could see houses that looked like a rural village and where the goddess’s avatar came out to greet you, all you could see was endless grass and trees.

Even the magic was barely felt. Heaven was a place where every blade of grass felt sacred.

Aria, who was following along, muttered softly.

“It’s so quiet.”

“I know.”

You said you would welcome me as soon as I came, but what on earth does it mean that you don’t even show up, let alone have a welcoming ceremony?

‘Surely you didn’t go back because you were upset at that time, did you?’

It can’t be for such a childish reason.

maybe.

“… … Let’s just keep wandering around. We can’t just turn back after coming this far and not seeing anything.”

So I took Aria and traveled all over the realm of the demon, but no matter where I went, I only saw similar scenery and I couldn’t even see the demon’s face.

I looked down at the object in my hand. At this point, I was starting to have an ominous feeling that this world itself might be a trap.

“Miss Mira, look over there!”

Just as I was thinking that I should at least test to see if it was working properly, I heard Aria’s urgent voice. I turned my head.

A building that hadn’t been there until just a moment ago appeared in the distance. It looked like something I’d seen somewhere before.

‘Why is that here?’

It was almost like the temple where the goddess was imprisoned that I had seen when I went to Heaven, except that it was black instead of gray-white overall.

“I was looking around just in case, and then it suddenly appeared. It wasn’t there a moment ago… … .”

“There was probably a barrier that could only be seen if you entered a certain area. But the conditions here seem to be different.”

I wasn’t surprised, since I had already experienced the temple being revealed and hidden with just a step in the sky.

After calming Aria down for a moment, I walked to the temple. Strangely, the more I walked, the more uneasy I felt. It was because it was strangely similar to the temple I had seen in heaven.

The door opened too easily. I carefully stepped inside, hiding Aria behind me.

“……uh?”

And then they found the body of a woman chained to a throne with a hole in her chest and dead.

“No, what is this… … .”

A sense of bewilderment came over me. It hadn’t been long since I had sent my clone to come here. And in the meantime, he had died? And he had the exact same appearance as the goddess?

“Oh, what happened? Is that Mashin?”

Aria’s voice was shaking. It seemed like this was a completely unexpected situation.

“… … I don’t know either. I have to find out from now on.”

I approached the corpse tied to the throne. Chains bound the woman sitting on the throne to the throne, and the ends of the chains stretched out to the ceiling, walls, and floor, securing them in place.

Just as the goddess said.

The blood that had leaked out of the hole had already hardened. I cast a detection spell. I couldn’t detect any signs of the thing that had come out through my chest. I left the spell as is and observed the corpse.

‘Is this what you call alcohol?’

The more I looked at it, the more suspicious I became. It was so different from the appearance of the clone in my memories.

First of all, he was quite tall. I can’t be certain because he died sitting on the chair, but he seemed to be tall and thin, so his eye level was at least similar to mine.

‘I remember the guy who appeared in front of me wasn’t that big.’

Even if I were to be generous, he was only about a head taller than me. I began to doubt whether he was really the same person as the clone.

It is possible that the appearance of the clone was different from the main body, but it was questionable whether there was a reason to do so. Even for goddesses, didn’t the main body and clone look exactly the same?

‘How tall was that guy?’

I tried to guess his height in my head. I couldn’t tell because of the loose robe, but I was sure-

“What’s wrong, Mira?”

I think it was around Aria. Aria tilted her head as she caught my gaze.

“No, it’s nothing. Just… … Be careful. If this is really the corpse of the demon, then there might be someone nearby who made the demon look like this.”

“Yes, that’s right-”

Before Aria could finish her sentence, footsteps were heard outside the temple. The detection spell was indicating that someone was approaching.

He frowned. The fact that he suddenly appeared right in front of me despite having cast his magic quite far means that he either intentionally showed himself on the other side or used teleportation.

It was clear that either way, it wasn’t a very good sign.

“Prepare to fight, Aria.”

Right next to me, golden and blue lights flared up at the same time. The door that had naturally closed as we entered opened again. Someone was walking in.

“… … .”

However, the appearance was very different from what I expected.