The Broken Possessors of the Infinite Regression Academy - Chapter 198



Chapter 198 – Sacrifice

Aria’s soul-filled, divinely created body was lifted into a princess-like position. Aria was held quietly, with both arms and legs hanging limply.

It’s a body with only the bare minimum of functions, so it’ll probably be quite nauseous. Your head’s going to hurt like it’s going to burst. There’s not much time to make it properly, and it just needs to hold out until the soul is transferred, so it was an inevitable choice.

Even though Aria was hanging on to me half naked in a princess-like embrace, the four possessed men remained silent. There was no way they could do that to someone who had chosen this path of her own free will.

“I’ll go and come back.”

“Be careful, Mira. You really have to be careful.”

“That’s right. If I don’t come back, you’ll die with me, so I have to do that no matter what.”

“There wouldn’t be just one person. If you don’t want to make me go through all the trouble, you’d better come back safe and sound.”

“okay.”

I got up, half-threatening and half-encouraging. The rest of us couldn’t follow even if we wanted to. We had to guard the dimensional gate that we had opened with the help of the two gods.

Even though they’ve shown all sorts of sloppy behavior so far, they’re both gods. While I was wandering around unable to find the coordinates to return to the original world, they found the coordinates very easily and fixed them.

Even so, I was the one who created the dimensional gate, which was somewhat awkward.

“You guys, stay here and stay safe. I need a place to return to, too.”

“Whenever you come back, the door will be wide open, so worry about yourself first.”

There was a reason why the dimensional gate had to be opened in advance. Later, when the flow of time started to speed up, it would become impossible to connect the coordinates themselves even with the power of God.

The goddess and the demon who found it will also have absorbed themselves into time.

-Now that the greetings are over, let’s go.

-I have to go now.

Finally, I made eye contact once more and turned around. Longing gazes were fixed on the back of my head.

As we approached the center of time, the golden light became brighter and brighter. Now, it was impossible to tell the difference between the top and bottom. Since we could just step on it and walk, we could only guess that it was the ground.

“Miss Mira… … .”

Aria, who had been lying there limply, opened her mouth in a voice that seemed to be squeezing out. Her closed eyes opened, and her unfocused pupils turned to me.

“I’m listening.”

“I also want to say sorry to Mira… … I’m sorry… … really… … .”

“You don’t have to. If you’re going to apologize, you already did. Latina said you were truly reflecting on your actions, so that’s enough.”

“… …Is that so?”

With those words, the conversation ended. Aria closed her eyes, panting heavily. But her lips continued to move as if she wanted to say something.

“It’s amazing when I think about it.”

I decided to continue. If you go in there, you don’t know when you’ll be able to come out, or if you’ll even be able to come out. So at least for now, I wanted to let you speak freely.

Aria opened her closed eyes again.

“What… … do you mean?”

“I remember how persistent you were, how tenacious you were, and yet you changed like this just because you talked to Latina. Latina isn’t a woman who’s been called a saint for nothing, but it’s still so strange.”

Aria, who had been looking up at me weakly, answered with eyes full of regret. Slowly, very slowly.

“… … Me, Mira-san. I thought there was no one in the world who could understand me. That’s why I wanted to be with Mira-san. I thought that without Mira-san, there would be no one left on the same level as me. I thought Mira-san was the only person who could stand by my side.”

It took a long time just to say this. Aria was panting for a long time before she could continue.

“But… … It was the first time. Someone who just said they would be by my side. Ms. Latina said she would be with me when I confessed my sins, and even after. Since our souls were together, I knew it wasn’t a lie, right? It was only after I faced Ms. Latina, who spoke with sincerity, that I realized. What I really wanted wasn’t something grand like changing the world or creating something… … .”

Likewise, Aria, who had taken a long time to finish speaking, coughed hard. Sweat was dripping down her skin. When she poured divinity into her, her symptoms subsided a little.

“… … Just that he was someone I could open my heart to.”

A person I can open my heart to.

Leona, who had developed a romantic relationship in the original, would have been unable to take on that role. I know very well how Aria, who was trapped in time, viewed this world.

“I really just needed one person to open my heart to… … I didn’t even know that and I was going to change the world… … I was also… … bullying and being mean to Mira… … I’m sorry… … I know you told me not to, but I’m still sorry… … .”

Aria couldn’t continue speaking. Her expression became distorted and her body shook weakly.

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It was a body that was made with only the bare minimum functions, so it stopped at this level. If it had been a normal body, it would have burst into tears without a doubt.

“I understand your motive. Why you became like that, why you were so obsessed with the word fate. I can understand it all.”

It’s been like that ever since I heard what happened in the past. I could understand why Aria was obsessed with me, why she was obsessed with the word fate, and why she became so twisted.

Didn’t everyone spend over a thousand years alone, watching, hearing, and feeling everything alone in a time that had stopped? It was a time that was not only enough to ruin a single person, but was also so overwhelming that it was enough to drive them crazy.

“I think the method is wrong.”

“Yes… … I’m really sorryㅡ”

“Well, there is one thing I can be sure of.”

Instead of answering, Aria looked up at me with eyes that said, “What is that?”

“You will be remembered as Aria April. Not as the Aria that was ruined in time, but as the Aria who is the main character of this world. You said earlier that you just need one person you can open your heart to, right? Since you said Latina was the first, I will be the second.”

At least Aria deserves it now.

“… … .”

Aria looked up at me with blank eyes for a while as if she had never expected me to say something like that, then smiled bitterly.

“As expected, Mira and that nun are a match made in heaven.”

“Me and Latina? Why all of a sudden?”

“That nun said something similar to me. She said I would continue to be Aria.”

“……okay?”

I was just saying what I thought, and Latina said the same thing.

“I guess that’s what true fate is… … .”

Aria closed her eyes again and let her body fall limply. She had told him that she still didn’t believe in fate, but he didn’t seem to hear her at all.

As I was walking awkwardly, I heard voices from both sides.

-This is it.

-Here it is.

I looked around. The place opposite where I was standing was literally surging like a golden wave. I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at the sight of the aurora filling the sky.

The problem is that all that golden light that looks like the Aurora is actually a torrent of time that can easily trip a person.

“Is that how time originally flowed?”

-Not at all. The fact that it was clumped together enough to be visible to the human eye means that it was very distorted.

– Shouldn’t time be something that is invisible to the eye? The act of seeing it with human eyes is wrong.

“Yeah, that’s true.”

While I was holding Aria and standing still, waiting for the signal, the goddess and the demon exchanged some words. Soon, the two goddesses I had seen in the realm of heaven and the demon appeared.

“Why does that suddenly appear… … ?”

“I told you, we will be resurrected when the Divine gathers, but we may not be able to regain our current personalities and memories.”

“I can’t just end this potentially last meeting with just a voice. And that too to the benefactor who saved our world.”

The goddess stood before me with a smiling face, and the demon followed her with an expressionless face that sounded exactly like her voice. It was the first time I had seen the goddess smile so brightly.

The delicate jade-like figure lifted the hem of her skirt, her left thigh went behind her right thigh, and their ankles crossed. As her head lowered toward me, her hair hung slightly.

“Thank you for protecting this world.”

“Thank you for protecting this world.”

Within moments, the bodies of the two gods were engulfed in time and disappeared. As the golden light containing the divine essence was absorbed, the flow of time became noticeably faster. The hems of their clothes and hair were even fluttering slightly.

“… … It’s my turn now.”

Aria stared blankly up at the golden Aurora. A murmur of “It’s pretty” escaped her lips.

“Miss Mira.”

“huh.”

“I know it sounds shameless, but… … can I ask you one last favor?”

“What favor?”

Aria carefully stood on the ground with her own two feet and held my hand. Her two hands were folded together in front of her chest. Her blue pupils filled with longing looked up at me.

“Just once is fine, even just for a little while is fine. Could you… … kiss me?”

“Your mouth?”

“yes…….”

Aria nodded her head reluctantly.

“You said that when you came here earlier. Mira-san, I will always be remembered as Aria April, the protagonist of this world. As all stories have an ending, my story will end here. So… … I want to end the work with the protagonist’s kiss, just like in the original.”

“… … .”

I looked down at Aria, who was shaking with anxiety even as she spoke. As I remained silent, the anxiety engraved in her blue jewel-like eyes began to grow little by little.

“ah…….”

Then, when I put my hand on her shoulder, she disappeared with a faint groan. Her eyes closed. Aria’s body rose slightly as if she was on tiptoe. I also bent down and brought my face to her.

A soft sensation touched my lips.

A few seconds passed, which felt ridiculously short, or like an eternity. I slowly pulled my lips away. Aria was looking up at me, shyly touching her lips.

“… … That’s what it felt like. A kiss. It was so long ago that I don’t even remember it.”

The long-ago events mentioned there are probably referring to the ending of the original work. It is said that there are kissing scenes here and there throughout the novel, but to Aria at the time, it would have felt like playing with dolls.

“It was good… … a lot, a lot.”

Aria, who had been touching her lips with a happy face, raised her head. There was a bitterness mixed in her smile toward me.

“It is time for you to go now.”

“That’s right.”

Her hair, which had been fluttering slightly, began to sway more and more violently. There wasn’t much time left.

Aria lightly pushed my chest.

“Go. Hurry up. You don’t have to be foolish. This is my decision. Just… … just remember this. Aria April’s story has a happy ending. She atoned for all her mistakes, repented, and sacrificed herself to save the world. That’s the kind of happy ending it is.”

Knock, knock. The force pushing against my chest grew stronger. Aria, who had been pushing me away with a face that looked like she might cry at any moment, gave me a final greeting with her hands that had lost all their strength, and showed me her last smile.

“Goodbye, Mira… … .”

As she spoke, Aria’s body slowly melted into the aurora. Golden colors burst out from where Aria had been just a moment ago. The sky flashed brilliantly.

I didn’t feel beautiful anymore.