c41-c60 · 056-ch56

Chapter 56: Lacking

"The dungeon is a lawless zone where the light of society doesn't reach. They may be lying low now, but back in the day, we seriously had to deal with criminal clans alongside the monsters. Or rather, I should say we were forced to."

It was around the time when the intensity of the water falling in the rainforest began to show signs of subsiding.

"There were all sorts of people back then. The 'Hyakuikai' human trafficking organization that used the chaos of the early days and the nature of dungeons. The 'Six Emperors Capital' who gathered simply because they wanted to rampage without being bound by the Management Bureau after its establishment. And of course, other petty criminals were running wild as well."

The rain that falls on the 17th floor has a cycle. When you consider the period from one fluctuation to the next, for some reason, the rain stops completely right in the middle of that cycle. Only during that time, even in this oppressive place, I can't help but find it pleasant.

"But hardly any of today's explorers know those names. Can you guess why?"

People prefer dry ground. They want to walk lightly through corridors with a pleasant, crisp sound to their footsteps.

Nobody wants to walk while worrying about mud splattering on their hems.

But just because the rain stops, that doesn't mean the ground dries immediately.

So then, if we wanted to completely dry this ground, what would we do?

"The reason is simple. They disappeared."

To dry it, the only way is to stop the rain falling from the sky.

"But you see, the countless outlaws didn't all just disappear naturally. They were crushed one by one, carefully. Without looking away, without being swayed by the foolish sweet nothings that hunting the weak is natural selection."

We don't wait for the rain to stop. We don't pray for it to stop. We can't bring ourselves to tell people to get used to the rain by handing out umbrellas, no matter how much we might want to.

No matter how impossible it may seem, no matter how insurmountable the problem appears, in the end, there's no other way.

"That's why I exist. To suppress the likes of you leaks with these hands of mine."

I steady my breathing and slowly gaze at him. To ascertain what kind of eavesdropper that boy, with the same face as those around him, might be.

"I'll ask directly. Are you lot the criminals who've been killing people in Shinjuku Dungeon?"

In response to my question, he shows no strong emotions like surprise, delight, or anger. Instead, he makes an expression of confusion.

"That may be so, and it may not be,"

He muttered just that, softly.

I see.

I took that answer as proof of his power. As proof that he's confident they'll win no matter what.

"That's quite a relaxed answer, isn't it?"

"Aah, please don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to provoke you or anything.... We, we don't know ourselves as well as we think, we don't understand"

....

This must be the rambling of a criminal. That's probably what I should think.

But that's not it. He's purely telling the truth.

Facing each other like this, watching his every move is why I've reached that conclusion.

...Lacking?

Nothing but an inexplicable strangeness makes up his body.

"What on earth are you?"

To my next question, he lights a small light in his eyes. A light without malice, as if he's found a word he knows in a difficult dictionary.

"Do you know about the descendants of the Fool?"

"...Alcadia?"

Unfortunately, I have no memory of that word he spoke.

Is it a new criminal clan that's just appeared?

...What? For some reason, it's strangely stuck in the corner of my mind. I'm sure I should have never heard it before now, but for some reason.

"Yes, I'm Chiffon, Chiffon of the descendants of the Fool. Chiffon of Destruction."

He doesn't stop talking. Words overflow endlessly like a turbid current with a broken dam.

"Chiffon, a name the Professor gave me long ago, and then, um... my purpose is... that's right, my purpose is to delay Rose-san... no, this isn't mine. It's mine, no, it's hers... wait please, I want to answer, properly, really. So,"

"Whoa, that's enough for now"

Without a sound, without a presence, a man appears beside the confused him.

The man kneels on one knee, gently grasps both his shoulders, and without paying me any mind, speaks to him like a loving Holy Mother.

"Calm down, Chiffon, your ego is just shaking a bit. I had you bring medicine for times like this, didn't I?"

"No, I don't like it, I still don't want to die"

"Now listen, Chiffon. You all will never die. Just because you cut a fingernail, people don't suddenly die, right? You are both individuals and a group. Even if one of your cells disappears, your survival isn't threatened"

"No, this isn't my memory, this isn't mine either"

"Huh, strange behavior. To think that an individual with attachment to life would appear at this late stage. Well, it doesn't matter for now"

Saying that, the man suddenly stands up as if he's lost interest, turns toward me, and grins.

...I see, now that he mentions it, Alcadia does seem like the kind of word this guy would use.

I crush the bitter emotion welling up from deep in my chest with my back teeth.

"Hey, long time no see, Antares. I heard you made contact, so I flew over here"

I know this man.

One of the Genesis Light, a first-class magic user said to have obtained magical talent in exchange for his humanity.

The man who caused the worst incident seven years ago and suddenly vanished.

Linli of "The Innermost Depths of Magic."