The Broken Possessors of the Infinite Regression Academy - Chapter 195



Chapter 195 – Collapse – 2

“… … .”

A sticky and terrible silence came over me. Added to that was a cold and chilling atmosphere.

Most of the atmosphere that filled the club room was created by four people.

There are four people: Priscilla Agnes, Rosaria Leone de Michaela, Laura Ercarenziana Cresenne von Euferantis Bellium, and Elisier.

It was natural. To Erestica and Nika, Aria was nothing more than a dangerous enemy who was trying to destroy this world and then recreate it to suit her tastes.

There was no complicated backstory spanning hundreds of years or any ill-fated relationship from another world that led to their hostility.

But it was different for you.

Laura suffered endlessly because of Aria, eventually giving up her memories and living for hundreds of years as Laura, not as a possessed person, Priscilla was half-ruined, and Elisier was similar.

Rosaria also had a low absolute number of regressions, but she had never seen anything good while in the Starlight Church. So it was natural that all four of them were eager to kill.

“Your fate is good. How shameless must you be to greet me so calmly?”

“Ugh… … .”

Aria cringed at Elisier’s sharp reaction. If it had been the old Aria, this would have been an unimaginable reaction, but it was safe to say that the current Aria was a completely different person from before.

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Thanks to Latina’s persuasion, he had let go of his obsession with being special and his obsession with himself. He had no choice but to shrink back as he was forced to confront the sins he had committed in the past.

“So, what do you want to do with us?”

Laura asked coldly. Likewise, the day was full of sullen reactions. Aria looked around hesitantly and barely managed to say a word.

“I came to give you… an apology… .”

“An apology… an apology. How shameless of you to say such a thing. I’ll tell you in advance, the reason you’re still standing on your own two feet is because you didn’t come here just now to ask for forgiveness. Keep that in mind.”

At first glance, coming to apologize and coming to ask for forgiveness sound similar. However, there is a clear difference in their fundamental meaning.

The former focuses on the other person, while the latter focuses on the speaker himself. If I had sensed even the slightest hint of self-interest in what he just said, I would have dismissed him without even listening.

“Go ahead and do whatever you want. I’ll make sure to listen. But you should keep in mind that this isn’t because I’m going to forgive you, but because Mira sent you here.”

Laura crossed her legs after finishing her speech. The other three had similar reactions. Priscilla was the only one who was a little more docile, but that was only relative. The cold atmosphere was the same.

Aria knelt on the floor. Soon her head dropped low. She felt like she had gone low enough, but not so low that it touched the ground.

“… … Because of my greed and my recklessness… … I brought you into this world without permission and made you suffer… … I tormented you… … I treated you like parts… … I’m truly, truly sorry… … I don’t even ask for forgiveness… … I just… … I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“You don’t even expect forgiveness. Where did you get the idea? Even now, I can clearly see that you are trying to get forgiveness from us somehow and run to Mira.”

“Oh, no! Absolutely not… … That’s, not… … .”

Aria, who was trying to protest somehow, lowered her head again. It was because she felt the sharp gazes fixed on her. Her already shrunken body became even smaller.

Even Priscilla, who was one of the most mild-tempered, felt a sense of murder, so it was obvious what the other three would be like without even looking.

“… …Can we stay here?”

“I guess you don’t really know… … .”

Even Nika and Erestika, who weren’t the ones receiving the attention, were hesitantly looking around.

I had to hear what happened between those four and Aria. I had to hear it, and it made me feel even more like I didn’t belong there.

“I wish you would calm down a little.”

Eventually, Latina had to step forward. The atmosphere that seemed like someone would put Aria’s cheek up at any moment finally eased when Latina reappeared, her eyes turning gray.

Just a little bit.

It wasn’t because she was Latina, but because she was an important person to Mira that she felt more at ease. The moment I said even one wrong thing, she seemed like she would use that as an excuse to rip me apart, so it wasn’t like she had completely calmed down.

“What you said will never happen.”

“How can you be sure?”

“How could you not know when you are sharing one body?”

“There is no objective evidence. I can’t believe it.”

“If you can’t trust me, then how can you trust Mira’s once closest colleague?”

The four people who had been glaring at Latina as if they were going to devour her flinched together at the words, “Mira’s closest colleague.”

That’s right. Latina was someone who had caused Mira great trauma by being betrayed by a fellow human and dying, but on the other hand, she was also someone important enough to be the trigger for Mira to betray the human she had tried to protect.

The four who realized the hidden meaning in the words frowned slightly. If they say that they don’t trust Latina here, then it becomes an indirect claim that they don’t trust Mira’s eyes, who was the closest to Latina.

“… … You’re clever.”

Priscilla spoke first, a rare occurrence. Latina responded blandly.

“That’s because I come from a world where I can’t survive if I don’t do that. I would appreciate it if you could understand.”

“I heard you’re saying you’re going to side with that girl? Even if it’s Mira, not you, I’d still-”

“I am not trying to deny the sins this woman committed.”

Elisier, who was about to refute the voice full of determination, stopped talking.

“I am not trying to deny sin, but to make you face your sins instead of turning away from them. I am not trying to hide them, but to make you reveal them. You can reprimand me as much as you want. But wouldn’t you do it after confessing all your sins?”

“… … .”

“I understand that you accept. Thank you for listening to me.”

The atmosphere that had become awkward eventually had no choice but to become more calm. Upon confirming this, Latina’s eyes turned blue again.

The body that had changed hands was busy looking around, completely absent of the confident appearance it had just shown up to.

“Okay, I understand. I’ll believe you when you say you came to apologize. However, I won’t just believe you. Answer the questions. The results could change depending on your answers.”

“Yes, yes… … I understand. What is your question… … ?”

“What was the trigger?”

It was a short question that cut off everything, but if we were talking about it here, there was only one reason. The reason why he suddenly came to them to apologize.

Aria April is the one who treats the humans outside as parts, hurls verbal abuse at her childhood friend Leona, and endlessly criticizes herself while obsessing over Mira, calling it fate.

If it changed this dramatically, there must have been some trigger.

“That’s… thanks to Sister Latina.”

Aria told them everything she had been talking about between souls in the world of the mind, without leaving anything out. When she finished speaking, Elisier was the first to snicker.

“So she wasn’t called a saint for nothing?”

“I know.”

The laughter didn’t last long. Elisier, who had completely erased the laughter, glared at Aria. Aria’s body shrank as if it was going to burst through the floor.

“But that doesn’t mean we should forgive them for what they’ve been through.”

“Yes, yes… … That’s right… … .”

While Chairman Nika and the others stood back completely and watched the situation, the four of them put their heads together and thought about what to do with Aria.

I wanted to return it as I had received it. However, when I was about to return it as it was, I was concerned about Latina inside it. Whether Aria’s soul was there or not, it was still Latina’s body after all.

No matter how much healing magic there is, if something goes wrong, Latina will also suffer. As the four of them racked their brains to come up with a good solution, the necklace inside Elisier’s chest vibrated.

There was only one person connected to this necklace. Elisier quickly put it on. The tense atmosphere seemed to melt away, and everyone’s gaze turned to the necklace.

“Elissier, are you okay for a moment?”

“It’s okay. What brings you to my attention?”

“Did you hear that there was a problem with the timeline earlier? Leona explained it to you guys.”

“That’s right.”

“I did find a way to solve it, but I don’t think I can solve it without affecting you guys. Can you prepare to fight? Right now.”

“Are you ready to fight? It’s not like you can’t, but… … .”

Elisier tilted her head. Mira’s voice also became apologetic, as if she realized that there was a hint of doubt in her voice.

“I understand that this is a very important time… … but, it’s the same here.”

The question was soon answered. If things continued this way, the entire world would collapse soon, and to prevent that, it was something that could not be ignored any longer.

“I know they are imperfect… ….”

“We’ll try our best to eliminate it from our line. But still, it might leak out.”

“Leave it to me. No one will get hurt.”

“Thank you, everyone.”

“What? It’s something that should be done.”

With those words, the communication tool turned back into a normal necklace. Elisier looked around. Everyone was silently preparing to fight. Aria, who was trembling on the floor, also stood up with a smile.

My gaze sharpened for a moment at the uselessly cute aura, but I dispersed again when I confirmed that the pupils had turned gray. Instead, Rosaria approached them and held out her hand.

“Can you fight? If not, then stay with me.”

Although she did burn demons when performing miracles, she had never trained in that direction, and most of her activities as a saint were more for the purpose of boosting morale, so she never engaged in full-scale battles.

“If it were before, we would have fought, but since we can’t do that now, we will stay together.”

“Before?”

Latina made a V sign with both hands expressionlessly at Rosaria, who tilted her head.

“How do you think a frail and weak woman like me could spread faith in such a world?”

“Well, because it’s not normal?”

“… … .”

Rosaria laughed out loud as she saw Latina putting her hand away with a sullen face. Then she thought. I thought she would be a very reserved person because she was a saint from the other world, but she was actually more relaxed than I thought.

“It looks like it’s about to start.”

Erestica’s voice brightened the mood. As she said, the wind blowing through the open window stopped and the fluttering curtains began to ripple and slowly harden.

Soon all movement in the world stopped.

As the demon and goddess disappeared to stabilize time, Leona took her place next to me. The holy sword was shining brighter than ever.

I opened my mouth jokingly to lighten the mood.

“Are you ready, warrior?”

“Of course, Savior.”

“… … .”

When I made a strange expression because I couldn’t even find the principal in an instant, Leona giggled.

“Don’t make that face. I’m also really embarrassed to be called a warrior in front of you.”

“Okay, Leona.”

“Yes, Mira.”

Fortunately, the mood that had been dampened by the mention of the need for sacrifice seemed to have almost completely recovered. Even though it was meant as a joke.

‘I hope that doesn’t happen.’

Although the Goddess and the Demon God said they would do their best to prevent that from happening and then disappeared, one must always prepare for the worst.

If there really was a situation where someone had to be frozen in time and support it with their own body… … Honestly, I don’t know. If it was a really urgent moment, I think I would just jump in.

Besides the fact that I couldn’t do the same thing as Aria, there was another reason I had to stay here. I didn’t want to lose the relationships I had built here.

Given that, it wasn’t hard to predict what I would do. I really hope that it doesn’t happen.

“Mira. Something is coming.”

At Leona’s muttering, I also aimed for eternity. I could really see a fragment of the past approaching from far away.

“… … Something great is coming out from the start.”

It was the former succubus queen Astaroth, who crackled like an old video somewhere.