The Broken Possessors of the Infinite Regression Academy - Chapter 197



Chapter 197 – Collapse – 4

“What is it?”

-… … Aren’t you surprised?

“I had a feeling that would be the case.”

-That’s really fortunate.

Masin’s voice became slightly hoarse.

The fact that he thought it would happen means that he had anticipated to some extent that a problem like this would arise, and that also means that he had no confidence in his own abilities.

“I’m joking. People who should be somewhere else are all gathered here, so there’s no way that nothing will happen. The flow of time a little while ago was also unusual.”

-Does this mean the aftereffects have already spread outside? … The situation is getting worse much faster than expected.

“If it’s getting worse, we need to fix it. So, what’s the situation really like?”

I don’t know the details, but in any case, since both the goddess’s tone and content were unusual, everyone stopped murmuring and looked this way with a tense look.

In particular, Leona’s face was pale, as if she thought that the current situation had arisen because she had just increased the output of the Holy Sword to its maximum.

I don’t think that’s necessarily the case. If problems were going to arise just because I used the Holy Sword, something would have happened a long time ago.

-The damage was too severe. It was far beyond what we could repair. This was all we could do to buy some time.

– Recovery itself is not impossible, but… … In the end, what I said became necessary.

“Sacrifice, you mean?”

-… … Yes.

“Then it’s fine. It’s not like it can’t be fixed at all.”

It’s not like recovery is completely impossible. It wasn’t as serious as I thought. It was just something I had to use as a countermeasure.

“Now, wait a minute! What do you mean by sacrifice? Who is sacrificing what?”

But that was something that was limited to the goddess, the drinker, and me. The others who had not heard anything all had shocked expressions on their faces.

Laura grabbed my collar urgently and asked.

“It’s true. In order to repair time perfectly, we need a medium to hold it, but right now, even that medium has been damaged. We need a replacement.”

“If you’re going to replace me—”

“What else can I do but hit it with my body?”

“that……!”

It was literal. Instead of a damaged medium, he fixed time himself and made it flow normally.

From noble mtl dot com

You will feel every moment as time passes by endlessly, and even if the pain reaches the limit of what you can endure, you will not have the option of passing out or losing your mind. That is what it means to be buried in time.

“It’s not like only one person is going in. The goddess and the demon are going in together. They’ll hand over their divinity and disappear, so in reality, it’s just one person.”

– It is a natural measure, since the entire concept of time cannot be fixed in a single human body.

-We are the gods of this world, and we must take responsibility for it. We are prepared.

Of course, being annihilated doesn’t mean you’re completely dead. It’s said that you can be resurrected if your divinity is restored to how it was before, but it’s not certain whether your current personality and memories will remain.

In other words, it is called resurrection, but it is just the same as the current god and goddess dying and a new god being born. So there was no reason to belittle their determination.

-Crack!

While everyone was silent, the time that had been swirling in the sky split apart with a creepy and ominous sound. Fragments of the past began to literally pour down from within.

-You must hurry before it becomes irreversible. I am truly sorry that this has become like this to you, a special human being… … .

“I can’t help it. It’s not your fault either.”

“… … ?”

As if they sensed something odd in the conversation just now, all the eyes that were preparing to fight turned towards me. Leona, in particular, looked so surprised that her eyes looked like they were going to pop out at any moment.

“Hey, wait a minute. Mira, what did you just say? Why did you say something like that?”

“You’re not planning on sacrificing yourself, are you? Are you… … ?”

Rosaria and Priscilla asked urgently. When I didn’t answer, their eyes lit up. The two of them approached me with brisk strides. The rest of them seemed to have sensed the situation and surrounded me.

“Hey! Are you crazy?! Where the hell are you going!”

“No! No way! If you go, I have to go with you! Or you have to kill me before you go!”

“You, have you finally gone mad? Where is that now—”

“Do you know what you are trying to do right now?”

“Master, I’d rather do it myself. I can do it, right? Yes?”

“Hey, do you even know what that means now?!”

“I didn’t think you’d do something like that here, Mira.”

I was surrounded by reprimands from all sides. Priscilla, in particular, began to hold onto me with her body, hugging my thighs, and the chairman also seemed ready to bury me in his chest at any moment.

“Mira, you… … are you going to do that… … .”

Leona was literally frozen. She seemed to realize why I had been vague and unyielding when the word sacrifice was mentioned.

-Crack! Crack!

The sound of something being cut echoed again. A waterfall of flesh poured down from the crack, now much larger, and struck the barrier.

It won’t last long. It has nothing to do with the durability of the shield. It has to block not only fragments of the past, but also time. It’s actually a miracle that it’s lasted this long.

“Are you going to sacrifice yourself again, Savior?”

The word savior came out of Latina’s mouth. She shook her head.

“It’s different than before. In the past, I had no choice, and I had to console myself by clinging to a shallow sense of duty while suffering endlessly and struggling. But not now. This is my choice. It’s the path I chose. I’m just doing what I have to do. Protecting the people who are precious to me.”

I could tell instinctively that if I opened a dimensional gate to return to the original world in this situation, it wouldn’t even work properly. Time was so distorted that it was affecting even space.

It would be fortunate if it just didn’t work, but since the coordinates were being disrupted in real time, there was a high chance that it would be dismantled into pieces if you entered it recklessly.

“But why so suddenly… …!”

“Suddenly is a bit strange to say. I’ve always been like this. Don’t you remember?”

It’s not like the spirit of sacrifice has been triggered just now or anything like that.

Even when I bit off my own fingers to manipulate the situation, even when I killed Mahbat and burned myself and melted and regenerated over and over again, I always did that.

Just do what you’ve always done.

The difference, if there is one, is that now there is a clear reason for doing it, not simply because it has to be done, but to protect the people who are precious to me. It was a very satisfying difference.

“And you can’t do it anyway. Even if you go, you won’t be sacrificed, but just die a dog’s death.”

“why!”

“Because the soul is of a low standard. In short, it cannot endure time.”

The rank of the soul, in the words of the goddess, could be said to be a measure of how much power the soul can handle.

The souls of others, except mine, could not endure time. The moment my fingertips touched them, they would not be able to sustain the world, but would be torn apart and disappear. It meant simply dying.

“… … .”

As the conclusion came that this was something only I could do, the mood quickly deteriorated. Priscilla, in particular, was on the verge of tears.

“Well, later on, when enough divinities are gathered and the two of you reappear, you say you’ll find a way to create a medium to replace me, so it won’t be like this forever. I guess I’ll be able to come out someday.”

“You call that comforting now?! That’s literally someday!”

Leona screamed. There was nothing she could say because it was true. It might take a hundred years or a thousand years for that ‘someday’ to come. Or it might never come.

In the worst case scenario, the personalities of the resurrected goddess and demon may change so much that they may not even think about saving me.

I looked down at Priscilla, who was clinging to me, wrapping her arms around my legs. It seemed like the others were trying to hold me back somehow. The goddess and the demon were looking at us anxiously.

“… … I’ll do it.”

A soft voice rang out clearly through the noisy atmosphere.

It was Aria, a Latina with blue eyes.

“… … Aria, you?”

“Yes, me.”

Aria stepped forward with a determined face. Everyone else made way for her with blank expressions, as if they had not expected something like this to happen. The strength in Priscilla’s hands also slightly left her.

“I can do it. I was once a soul that accepted Mira’s power. I even tried to recreate the world. I think I can endure it. No, even if I can’t endure it, I’ll make it happen.”

– I don’t think it’s impossible. I’d have to endure much more pain than you, though.

– As you said, your soul has been strengthened considerably. It must be thanks to accepting your power. It’s precarious, but I think it’s possible.

“Look at that. I told you you could do it.”

Aria became more confident. We were the ones who were embarrassed by this.

“… …Why all of a sudden?”

“It started because of me. It happened because of my greed. It’s the result of my own making. So, please let me finish it with my own hands.”

Blue eyes scanned Priscilla, Rosaria, Laura, and Elisier in turn.

“I told you that I didn’t expect forgiveness. That feeling hasn’t changed yet. You don’t have to forgive me. Just remember me as a bad girl for as long as you want. I don’t think that’s a proper atonement, but… … .”

Bow, Aria bowed her head deeply.

“Once again, I’m truly sorry.”

The head slowly rose. The pupils had already turned gray. Latina sighed.

“I read your emotions. I mean it. I don’t think it’ll work to stop you. Well… … I don’t think there’s anyone who can stop you, except for you, Mira.”

“……really?”

“Have you ever seen me lie about a person’s life?”

“no.”

He shook his head. Then he looked at Latina and asked urgently as a thought suddenly occurred to him.

“Wait a minute. If Aria sacrifices herself, what happens to you, Latina?”

“I have already prepared the method, so please calm down, Mira. I will create a temporary body with the divine power to transfer Aria’s soul and have my soul completely settle into this body. The soul is what matters, so the temporary body should be enough to hold out until then. Do you have any questions?”

Latina said blandly.

“It doesn’t seem to be there, so let’s proceed.”