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Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 15 - Chapter 24.5




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Chapter From the Past: What is Untouchable, What Shouldn’t be Touched

5XX years ago

Deep under the ruins of the industrial city, there was a cavern even larger than the shelter.

Its ceiling easily surpassed a hundred metels in height.

And yet, there was something large enough to take up the majority of this vast space.

Possessing both humanoid and beastial features...it seemed to be a corpse of some kind.

However, through its fossil-like exterior, a pulse could be sensed.

These pulses carried enough energy that it almost seemed as though the corpse might stand up at any moment and wreak havoc upon the world — but then it suddenly stopped. Everything became deathly still.

“...Con...firmed. On the surface...the current...The Evil...died. That made...The Demise...The GAME OVER...go dormant...”

“Good grief... I guess this trouble’s finally dealt with, eeh...?”

The gloomy-looking woman received a response from a youth with a cat perched on his head.

The other people there with them looked up at the thing.

Perhaps “people” wasn’t the right word. Many of them had a human appearance, but there were a few who did not.

“This is the first time we’ve found the true body, and I suppose this thing works similarly to Jabberwock...Evolution,” said the entity made up of four floating orbs, which from some angles looked somewhat like a caterpillar.

“The Evil that the Sacred King and his brethren defeated must be this thing’s brain-frame. This time, the brain-frame died before this combat-frame, preventing it from waking up. Or perhaps our activities have made it so it lacks the Resources required for activation.”

“Based on the measured valuuues, we were preeetty close to the limit!” A pair of twins — a spectacled boy and a girl with headphones — gave their analysis.

“If the retrieved texts are correct, the last time it was activated was before we arrived. Back then, the forces were adequate. We had difficulty subduing just The Evil this time, but they didn’t have much of a problem even with this.”

“Hmm... That means it was weaker last tiiime! I mean, we eeaasily wiped out the ‘adequate’ forces they used! This time, it was probably stronger than each of uuus! Ohh, Bandersnatch is an exception, of coouurse!”

“Does that mean that it spent the last millennium — and more — reconstructing itself and growing stronger?” asked a slender, fussy-looking youth.

“Likely. Now, Red King...attack it with your Space Fracture.”

“Understood.” The slender youth quickly used his power on the fossil-like object.

A moment later, the world was split in two along a straight line, and a colorless void peered out from beyond it.

A few seconds later, it closed, splitting everything in its path...except for the fossil-like object.

It was right in the center of this immense destructive power...and it wasn’t affected whatsoever.

“...Same as it was with The Evil, huh?” said the youth with a cat on his head and distress on his face. “If not even Space Fracture can hurt it... This is baaad.”

“Indeed. Space Fracture destroys objects and phenomena regardless of toughness, yet it did nothing here.”

“Ah ha haaa! It’s sooo bad! Should we try calling Bandersnatch?”

“Let’s not... In the worst-case scenario, everything we’ve done so far might go to waaaste,” the youth rejected the headphone-wearing girl’s suggestion.

“So those who defeated it last time had offensive powers greater than Red King’s Space Fracture? Maybe it would be possible with the Sacred King’s blade...” said the caterpillar.

“No, this is a matter of fundamental mechanics. As those who came from the outside, we cannot affect this thing in any way. It’s the same as with The Evil. This is probably a safety function of this world’s system itself,” said the spectacled boy.

“...So this thing can only be harmed by tians, eeeh?” said the youth with a cat on his head. “What about UBMs?”

“They probably couldn’t harm it either. In fact, I doubt any monster actually could. Queen gave them all the item transformation function.”

“Ah ha haaa! We reeeally messed up there!” the headphone girl laughed, but no one else found it funny.

“Wait. The Evil was defeated by the Sacred King, right? Isn’t The Primeval Blade an Irregularity? As in, a UBM?”

“When it comes to the phenomenon of ‘severance,’ that thing can do anything, no matter how ridiculous. It probably negates even The Evil’s defensive functions. It also shows just how absurd something needs to be to get past them... From the looks of it, even the Masters we will eventually welcome will be powerless against it.”

“That much is obvious. There is nothing we or any other Embryos can do against it.”

“What do we do now? What will become of our plans if something like this remains here...?”

“We can only hope that by the time it activates again, our goals will already be achieved,” said the caterpillar. It seemed as though all of them were truly troubled by the difficult problem before them.

“Why...does this...exist...anyway?” asked the gloomy woman.

“It’s a trial,” said the four-legged beast that had been silent until just now.

“Dormouse...”

“The environment we are creating is meant to nurture Superior Embryos, and to that end, Jabberwock is gathering SUBMs. If this land was meant to nurture strength through jobs, this might be intended to fill a similar role — a powerful force to test them.”

“But...something like this...would destroy...the world...”

“‘Surpass this trial or be destroyed.’ That might’ve been the idea behind it.”

“...Such short-tempered...creators...”

“Is that conjecture, Dormouse?” asked the spectacled boy.

“It is. This is a conclusion I reached by using all of my processing power... Though, it incorporates some of my intuition.”

“Animalistic intuition is something we do not have. The idea is worth considering,” the spectacled boy — one of the twins who had the greatest machine-like calculating power among everyone present — said in agreement.

“Based on the data we’ve gathered so far, it seems that the brain-frame’s rebirth happens not far from the main body. The Evil who was just defeated was also born in the city right above us.”

“So it’s likely that the next one will be here too?”

“We should keep an eye on it, then, and when The Evil appears, we should just deleeete it! Like we did the previous tiiimes!” said the headphone girl.

The beings present knew of The Evil and The Demise — this fossil-like object — from the writings of the pre-ancient civilization. They had decided that these creatures would surely ruin their plans, and thus had made an effort to prevent The Demise from appearing by defeating The Evil every time.

Having discovered The Demise this time made them all the more certain that they had done the right thing.

“But this is the last time we can use our previous method... Employing tians, I mean,” said Dormouse, looking sour.

“...Yeaaah. We overused the makeshift solution,” said the youth with a cat on his head and a bitter expression on his face.

“So far, we’ve managed to lead tians into beating The Evil after discovering it early...” Since their own attacks wouldn’t work on The Evil, they hired or otherwise enlisted powerful tians to defeat it on their behalf; however, this was the last time that would work for them.

“The Evil returns stronger every time. This one was so powerful that even as a child, he was able to automatically counter the Superior Job we sent after him. As an adult, we led the most powerful tians we could find against him...and it was still a Pyrrhic victory.”

“...It won’t work at all next time.” The Evil that would come after this would be too strong for any tian to kill.

In fact, careless contact with it would only accelerate its functions.

After all, the deaths caused by The Evil or the monsters it created — monsters called “dependants” — gave it more Resources than any other deaths, accelerating its leveling and the arrival of The Demise.

“We will change our approach,” said Dormouse.

“What do you mean?”

“From now on, when we find The Evil, I will stay by its side and absorb the Resources meant for it. At the same time, I will slow down their activation by protecting them and keeping them away from danger.”

“We have no data supporting this idea, so I cannot say much about it... But if it works well, there is the possibility that The Evil will die a natural death before The Demise is activated.”

“But what if it happens after we welcome the Earth’s Masters? There will no doubt be a great deal of turmoil, and the amount of Resources flowing to The Evil will increase dramatically. Not even you can absorb that much, can you?” asked the caterpillar.

Dormouse thought about it for a few moments before saying, “...We can only pray that we achieve our goal before that happens.”

The words made the rest of them grin wryly.

“‘Pray,’ huh? I find it hard to comment on that.”

“...The ones who destroyed religion in this world are now clinging to a divine hope to protect the world from a doom mentioned by those veeeeery same religions. It’s so ironic that it’s not even funny.”

Despite the comments, they all knew that this was the only hope they had.

“Very well. That will be our approach. No one objects, I assume...?” the spectacled boy asked, and the others all nodded. “So we now have the approval of myself, Dee, Red King, Caterpillar, Duchess, Dormouse, Cheshire...and Alice — she just gave it to me through the avatar. That is a majority, so it’s decided.”

“Well, it’s not like those who aren’t here would say nooo... If you ignore the big tin can, anyway,” said the youth with the cat on his head — Cheshire.

“...Bandersnatch is very stubborn, after all. If there are enemies, crushing them is the only option for him. That’s the only job he can do too, since he can’t even have an avatar,” said the fussy-looking youth — Red King.

Their massive, mighty, and mad colleague always had to be taken into account.

“Now, we need to conceal not just The Evil itself, but this thing too. Caterpillar, place a save point somewhere on this land and begin adjusting the environment,” ordered the spectacled boy — Tweedledum.

“A save point? As in, an environment maintenance marker? But I’ve already removed them from this area once,” said the gathering of orbs — Caterpillar.

“I am aware. I will have you make the arrangements, Cheshire. Needless to say, Dee and I will also help by using DIN to spread info.”

“What are you planning?”

“We will create a narrative that the death of The Evil at the hands of the Sacred King has blessed this land. People will flock to build a city here. The more people we have close to this thing, the higher the chances that The Evil will be born here, making them easier to observe. Also, the save point here will be given a resource absorption function.”

“I see. That would help,” said Dormouse.

“Additionally, Red King, I will have you reconstruct the space here to keep people away from this thing,” Tweedledum said as he pointed at The Demise.

“How?”

“Create multiple layers of extra dimensions, making it impossible to arrive at this place by simply digging down. In fact, let us make an entire created dungeon. It will seem unnatural if it’s just a reconstructed space. We will use DIN to spread the idea that this phenomenon was caused by the death of The Evil. You help too, Duchess; I will be counting on you to convince Queen.”

“Very...well...” said the gloomy woman — Duchess.

“A created dungeon... We only have the Overlord job change dungeons left behind by the previous manageerrs. This’ll be our first time making ooone.”

“This one will be more difficult than the others. I will talk to Jabberwock about that. We will use the UBMs he retrieved as guard dogs — Extinction Dragon King and the like will do just fine.”

“I seeee! Oh yeah! What about the dungeon’s naaame?” asked the headphone girl — Tweedledee.

Tweedledum looked up at The Demise — those fossil-like divine remains — and said, “The dungeon will be called...the ‘Tomb Labyrinth.’”

Following this, the Royal Capital, Altea, was constructed, along with the created dungeon known as the Tomb Labyrinth.

Various myths and legends sprung up about it, but most of them were eventually lost or forgotten. The truth behind it remained hidden, even as the city and dungeon both stood for centuries, surviving even into the present day.

◇◆◇

About her...

She has been lying since the day she was born.

Theresia C. Altar was the third princess of the kingdom.

She’d lost her mother soon after birth, and she herself was born sickly.

Likely because of those tragedies, her father and sisters had showered Theresia with love for her entire life.

Even if all of that hadn’t been the case, then the doctor’s statement that she wouldn’t live into adulthood would’ve been more than enough reason for them to cherish her.

Within her cradle, surrounded by love and sadness, Theresia thought, So this is the life I was born into this time.

Even back as an infant, she already had a functional mind and an awareness of the world.

It was as though the brain inside her head wasn’t the only thing that stored her thoughts and memories.

In fact, there actually was a vessel that fulfilled that function — the Special Superior Job, The Evil.

This job served to prime, rouse, and stimulate The Demise — the other half of the world-ending god.

It was part of The System left behind by the previous observers, who’d created it to test this world.

Because of this, The Evil was equipped with functions that made it truly unique among jobs — a whole five of these functions, in fact.

First, The Evil possessed the memories of the job’s previous holders, and the job itself served the role of the user’s brain in producing thoughts.

Second, The Evil automatically leveled up by absorbing Resources from dead people all over the world.

Third, the information regarding the job was completely hidden until The Evil reached a certain level.

Fourth, The Evil was completely immune to all “outsiders” that didn’t exist within the realm of The System.

Fifth, the newest The Evil had greater stats and stronger skills than the one that had come before.

I was just born, but I already feel tired of life. For Theresia, the greatest problem was the first point — the memories she had. The Evils didn’t inherit the natures of the previous ones, so her personality was her own, but memory and personality weren’t completely separate.

Because she possessed the memories of every previous person who had held the job, Theresia already had a great deal of knowledge as a mere baby. This had forced her to mature mentally far past her actual age. If the memories and capabilities she had as The Evil didn’t come with a mental safeguard, her mind would’ve shattered moments after she was born.

Still, having multiple memories of her own death made her mentally exhausted.

But at the same, she understood that The Evil was an entity that would eventually have to die.

If The Evil lived, The Demise would arrive, likely causing the end of the world.

The problem with that was that The Evils couldn’t kill or hurt themselves, and if exposed to danger, their job skills would automatically react to it.

By merely existing and maturing, Theresia would bring harm to the world, so she would eventually be killed.

Among The Evils of the past, there were those who had just silently awaited their end, as well as those who had bared their fangs at the world. Her ancestor had killed one of the latter kind; she herself was the former.

In spite of their similar memories, their approach was different, which must’ve been due to the difference between their souls.

Theresia understood that she would eventually be exposed and killed. Having just been born, she decided to simply wait for the end.

But until she was exposed...she chose to lie.

◇◆

When Theresia was about a year old, she had an understanding of her surroundings.

Altimia is the Sacred Princess. While my level is still low, she could easily lop off my head.

She looked back through the memories of The Evils’ previous deaths and came to that conclusion.

The Primeval Blade was now a UBM, but despite having been mixed with some foreign substances, it had still been able to cut through The Evil’s impenetrable defenses.

In fact, the sword was exactly like The Evil in one key way — it had been specially prepared by the creators of this world. If they had made it to cut through anything, then that quality would remain even if its very nature was tampered with.

This much was evident from the picture book read to her in the cradle — Altar’s most famous legend.

The bearers must not abandon the god’s remains... Azurite knew that The Evil would reincarnate here and said that so that the bearer of The Primeval Blade would quickly kill them. Though, I can’t imagine that he expected The Evil to be his own descendant.

The god’s remains... In other words, the main body of The Demise lay dormant underneath the capital.

It was unknown if the Sacred King of that era knew that The Evil would be born close to The Demise, but he had still happened upon the correct approach.

The most effective way to deal with The Evil was to use The Primeval Blade to lop off their head while they were still young.

The more they matured, the more defensive potential their skills provided. Eventually, there could come a point where even the current bearer of The Primeval Blade would have to struggle as much as, if not more than, the first Azurite to defeat their opponent.

The level growth is...slow. Leveling for Theresia was harder now than it used to be when she was born.

The reason for that was the sterilization barrier that had been placed on the castle for her sake.

Though it wasn’t created with the purpose of blocking the Resources coming to her from all over the world, it did protect against curse-type status effects, which effectively shut out most of the Resources she should have been absorbing.

That isn’t a problem, since the Resources just return to nature instead... Well, actually, my leveling speed was slower than for the previous The Evils even before the barrier came up — which I guess is obvious, given that this isn’t an age of war.

Theresia had no way of knowing this, but Altea’s save point was also equipped with the function of absorbing stray Resources. The control AI had built it that way to counter The Evil, and it was slowing down her leveling speed.

...Not that I mind it. It will all be over when my level rises too high, so the slowness is welcome...even if it doesn’t change much in the end.

The Evils of the past were all put in mortal danger before turning five, activating their safety measures and forcing them to undergo their first awakening. If this ever happened to Theresia, it would become obvious that she was The Evil even if that fact had been hidden from skills like Reveal. When that happened, she would be killed.

Since that’s the way things are, I think I’ll just enjoy this lavish life, she thought with nothing but sincerity.

Though Theresia knew that Altimia would kill her one day, she still loved her, as well as their father and Elizabeth.

None of The Evils that had existed in the past had been as blessed as her.

This reminds me that the last one was from a poor family. Born in the ruined ex-capital of Adrasta, Theresia’s predecessor was from a household that had been forced to sell their children in order to survive through the winter. He’d had siblings, but they were sold off and he never saw them again and...

...Wait, is that really how it was? Theresia had almost remembered something, but couldn’t quite grasp it.

Though this wasn’t true for all of The Evils, the memories they had of their past lives tended to become more hazy as they aged. Perhaps this was just how the job handled the memories of The Evils who became insane enough to break the limits of their mental safeguard.

Regardless, The Evils who had a happy life were few and far between. At best, they simply understood their nature and eventually accepted their death.

That was why, in her unnaturally mature mind, Theresia had decided to enjoy life as a princess until her time came — to maintain the lie that she was nothing but a sickly young girl.

I’ll be exposed in a few years, anyway...

◇◆

Nearly four years had passed since then. Almost five years old now, Theresia looked at the scenery outside and whispered, “...I’m too blessed.”

As a princess — a sickly one, at that — she was given perhaps the warmest upbringing possible in this world. The concept of danger was almost alien to her.

“I didn’t expect this...” She thought that she would have certainly been revealed as The Evil by now.

Normally, that happened when The Evil was exposed to things like monster attacks or war, activating their safety measures and unlocking parts of their power. For most of The Evils so far, that had occurred in their early years, leading to their death soon after.

However, Theresia was a princess who was kept inside all the time, shielding her from any danger that would activate those safety measures and expose her true nature.

No one in this world — not even those actively looking for The Evil — had any inkling that she was the one.

I can’t hurt or kill myself, and no one would believe me if I told them... They wouldn’t even listen to me, actually.

Theresia’s status as The Evil was not only hidden from skills like Reveal, but censored when she tried to say it herself. “The Evil” would come out as some different word or gibberish — and given her age, it would just be written off as childish baby talk.

And for some reason, the stories regarding The Evil were extremely simplified, with large gaps in the information they conveyed, so as a result it was likely that anyone she explained it to wouldn’t understand anyway.

It’s not impossible that The Evil will actually reach its final state like this... But at my current leveling rate, that would probably take decades.

Theresia could actually feel her level.

Since the time of The Evil several generations before her, the world had begun displaying detail and stat windows. Before then, people had to rely on particular skills and intuition, but now, everyone was able to bring them up at will.

However, her status as The Evil as well as her true stats were hidden even from her, forcing her to figure out her true level using her own sense of it.

And based on that feeling, she believed that she wasn’t even level 30 yet.

Her leveling speed might’ve actually been the slowest among all The Evils that had ever existed. It wasn’t out of the question that she would actually die of old age or disease before she became complete.

Imagining that scenario filled her heart and cheeks with warmth, for that would no doubt be the best death she could hope for.

“Is anything the matter, Your Highness?” asked the maid by her side.

“No. I’m just a bit warm,” she replied with a lie.

“It has been rather sunny recently.” As the person tasked to accompany Theresia, the maid actually had Truth Discernment, but she didn’t realize that the princess was lying.

This was also because of her status as The Evil.

Just like she was protected from Reveal, she was immune to the effects of Truth Discernment.

In a world where lies were limited by skills, Theresia could lie with complete freedom.

The lie she had told just now, though, did not even begin to compare to the one that had existed since her very birth.

“I want to go to my room and nap,” she said.

“As you wish,” the maid replied before helping Theresia into her sizable carriage and pushing it to her room.

Since she was believed to be frail — which wasn’t true due to her stats as The Evil — she was advised against traveling any longer distance on foot.

That was one of her few complaints in life. Despite actually being less than five years old, with her immense knowledge and long memory, the girl couldn’t help but wonder if there was a more dignified way for her to travel.

“If you need me, I will be in the neighboring room.”

“Thank you.”

Following that exchange, Theresia was left in her chambers alone.

The room was as fancy as one might expect for a princess, but was also noticeably clean and hygienic.

In the canopy bed, there were the adorable plush toys she’d received from her sisters.

Next to the bed, there was a bell she could use to call the maid in the other room.

Among all the things of note, Theresia was focused on...the space between her and the bed.

She opened her mouth...

“Who are you?”

...and spoke to the empty space.

However...

“I did not expect to be addressed before I addressed you.”

...the empty space replied in an unfamiliar, masculine voice.


A moment later, a green cloak appeared in the empty space.

The person wearing it took it off without a sound before giving Theresia a bow.

“My name is Sechs Würfel,” the black-haired, plain-looking man introduced himself. “I am here to take you away,” he added, in the tone of an actor on stage.

“What a wonderful line. I would love to hear it when I’m ten years older,” Theresia replied, unfazed by the potential kidnapper in front of her.

Sechs was at a loss for words and his eyes opened wide in surprise — a sight which would no doubt shock those who would come to know him.

After observing her for a good few moments, he said, “Pardon this question, but are you truly the third princess of Altar?”

“I am. Why are you asking?”

“Because you just made me feel like I’m looking at some sort of aberration.”

“...What a dreadful thing to say to a lady.”

“That is true. My apologies.”

Though Theresia’s replies were calm, her heart was beating faster than ever before in her life so far.

Does he know I’m The Evil? How? Who is this man, anyway...? She looked him over to figure out what she was dealing with and noticed a crest on the back of his left hand.

It was a symbol in the shape of a droplet — a simple thing, signifying water and its ability to change into anything.

“Are you a Master?”

“Yes. I started last month.”

Theresia was aware that since about a month ago, more and more Masters had begun to appear.

She saw these beings somewhat differently than other tians.

So he’s like The Lynx... One of her predecessors had fought a Master bearing that job. The Lynx fought using an Embryo that allowed him to multiply, but The Evil remained undamaged no matter how many of his doubles attacked.

Theresia knew that was due to one of The Evil’s characteristics — immunity to anything foreign.

Masters are foreign to The System. They can’t hurt me no matter what. Why would one of them establish contact with The Evil?

The situation was so strange that Theresia couldn’t help talking to him to get more information.

“Was that your Embryo you were just wearing?”

“No. It was an MVP special reward. Originally, it was an Epic chameleon named...‘The False Tone, Soundcolorless,’ I believe. I don’t know for sure, because our encounter was sudden and began with a devouring.”

The smile on the man’s face as he casually mentioned being killed and eaten by a monster gave Theresia the feeling that he wasn’t exactly normal.

“And that’s why he’s now my special reward.”

“Hm...?”

“I have a question for you, as well... How did you know I was here?”

Theresia said nothing at first. Given that he had been hidden by a special reward, it was only natural that she would spot him.

What Sechs’s reward did was make him blend into the surroundings to both the eye and ear. Its effectiveness was proven by the fact that he’d snuck into her room completely unnoticed. Of course, there were security elements that could sense him in other ways, but he must’ve dealt with them, as well.

Regardless, as potent as the special reward was, it was an item derived from a UBM — creatures with powers considered foreign — meaning that The Evil, Theresia, was immune to its effects.

She’d actually seen Sechs standing in her room as if he wasn’t camouflaged at all.

“That’s because...” she said before losing herself in thought for a moment, “...I am ■■■ ■■■■.”

“Hm?”

Theresia had revealed what she was, but the words didn’t reach him.

So it works against Masters too. Then why did he call me an aberration? Not just that — if he doesn’t even know that I’m The Evil, why is he here in the first place...?

One of her questions had been answered, leaving even more behind.

That was why she went ahead and just asked, “Why are you kidnapping me?”

In response...

“Because it’s one of the greatest crimes you can commit in this country.”

...Sechs readily revealed his motive, if it could even be called that.

“...Huh?”

“I am committing grievous crimes to become a villain, and one of the most grievous ones I could think of was kidnapping you. That is why I am here.”

To become a sinner, he would commit a crime. If Sechs truly meant what he said, his goals and the means to achieve it were one and the same — he wanted to commit crimes, with no expectation of reward, to become a criminal.

Neither Theresia nor any of her predecessors had ever met someone as strange as him.

Perhaps this is just how Masters are... Odd as he was, however, he was still someone who’d made it past the castle’s tight security and arrived in her room, meaning that he couldn’t be taken lightly.

Masters are foreign. They can’t hurt or kill me. But still, I...

She couldn’t just ignore him, but if she were to raise her voice, the maid would rush in from the neighboring room, and Sechs would most likely kill her.

As she wondered how to go about this...

...she heard Sechs’s voice from right behind her, and a wet cloth was pressed against her mouth.

“Huh...?” After a single breath, her consciousness began to fade.

Before she completely fell unconscious, Theresia saw the Sechs she had been talking to until this very moment...as well as the one who put the cloth on her mouth.

The man was in two places at once.

◇◆

“Ah...!” Theresia woke up about two hours after she had lost consciousness.

Moments after she recovered, she realized that she’d been put to sleep by some drug.

She was now somewhere she didn’t recognize.

It looked like a wooden cabin, and she could see the forest outside. As a princess who had lived her whole life in a castle, Theresia had never seen something like this before, but the memories of her predecessors made her assume that this must be a lumberjack’s cabin.

She realized that after she’d been put to sleep, she had been taken to this cabin and locked inside it, and that she was likely in the Noz Forest near the capital.

Theresia wondered how she — The Evil — had been put to sleep by a Master, but she quickly realized what had happened.

...Ohh. There was that one exception, she thought.

As a rule, what was foreign couldn’t harm The Evil, but there were three ways to get around this.

The first way was using things like The Primeval Blade, which bent the laws governing The Evil’s existence.

The second way was to gain influence over the very system in which The Evil’s foundations lay...to take control over the entire world, basically.

The third and the simplest one...was to use consumables made by tians.

The drug Sechs used to put Theresia to sleep, offensive magic Gems, anything like that...as long as it had been created by tians, even Masters could use such consumables to harm The Evil.

Due to the monster-loot transformation system, this didn’t work if the consumables were made using items or materials gained from monsters, but the drug that Sechs used happened to be made entirely from natural ingredients.

It probably wouldn’t have worked if my level as The Evil was higher, but since it’s so low and I don’t have any safety measures unlocked... It makes sense that it put me to sleep.

Another notable thing was that the safety measures had remained locked.

Her body was unharmed, making it clear that, at the very least, her kidnapper hadn’t hurt her.

Sechs was nowhere in sight. Perhaps he, like a proper criminal, had gone to the castle to declare the kidnapping and make his demands.

Theresia also had a question regarding him.

She wanted to know why she’d seen two of Sechs before losing consciousness.

Multiples of the same person... If it wasn’t an identical twin, it could only be the effect of some skill he has. The fact that I saw it means that the other person was real, not an illusion. I guess it was either the effect of his Embryo or a skill like Art of Shadow Clones. I mean, it’s not like he just split himself in two like a slime...

At this point, she had no way of knowing that this was, in fact, exactly the case.

As she continued to wonder how Sechs had accomplished that feat, she realized something.

“...It went up.”

Her senses told her that there had been a change in her true level. It had been stagnating for a good while now, but she realized that it had gone up while she was asleep.

This was only natural. She was not only outside the castle’s protective barrier, but the capital itself — away from the save point designed to absorb Resources.

Though close to the city, she was still out in nature, allowing her to gather the Resources of the dead just as The Evil normally would.

Every second she spent out here shaved more and more time off her limited life span.

Though, so far, leveling had only raised her stats. She still had no skills.

If she was exposed to danger now, the safety measures would be activated, unlocking her true power — her skills — as The Evil.

The first skill that would be unlocked was Dependent Transformation, which changed the nature of the surrounding matter. It responded to any apparent danger by automatically turning surrounding objects, such as rocks and trees, into monsters...her “dependents” that would leap to her defense.

When that happened, she would be exposed, and her death would quickly follow.

She wasn’t against that. In her mind, it was far better than the world being destroyed.

She had a faint hope of living out a full life, but if that turned out to be impossible, then there was no way around it.

The problem is that Altimia is studying in Dryfe right now. Can my automatic defenses be broken without The Primeval Blade...? Can they really kill me?

Worrying about whoever would have to kill her, Theresia let out a sigh of resignation.

It was likely that many people would die.

Right now, the best thing she could do to avoid that was merely staying in this cabin.

She was capable of destroying it even with her current stats, but she would not be able to return to the castle without encountering any danger.

Even ignoring Sechs himself, the area here was full of monsters ready to attack her on sight.

Though her stats and their status as outsiders made them harmless to her, they would still be recognized as a threat and activate the safety measures.

Sechs seemed to know nothing about Theresia’s situation, but this shabby cabin in the woods turned out to act as The Evil’s cage.

...If only there was someone who could escort me safely back to the castle, she thought before silently chuckling at herself. Someone that convenient wouldn’t just appear out of nowhere.

Suddenly, she noticed a faint sound.

“...Rain?”

It was the sound of rain droplets hitting the wooden roof. It grew in frequency and intensity, but stopped before becoming too intense.

She focused on listening to the sound.

“...I never thought much about the weather.” The sickly girl had always stayed inside the castle. That had been all she ever knew, and since she’d only inherited the memories of the outside world from her predecessors, she’d never truly cared about it.

That was why this was the first time she experienced rain so close at hand.

It’s noisy, but somehow a bit soothing too... I wonder why? She closed her eyes and strained her ears.

Did she stay like that for a minute? A few? Or perhaps longer?

An uncertain amount of time passed by, and then...

“...He’s here.”

...she heard footsteps mixed with the rain.

Sechs is back... I wonder what will happen now.

Would he exchange her for a ransom? Would he hand her over to some people outside her family? Or did he intend to kill her to add another grievous crime to his name?

If he’d kidnapped her just for the sake of committing any crime at all, Theresia believed that this lunatic might also kill her to make his transgression even worse.

Whether or not that was indeed his intention, based on Theresia’s impression of him, she wouldn’t be surprised if it was.

Sechs can’t kill me, but he can still activate the safety measures. I guess I only have minutes left until my life as a princess is over.

The lie that had lived with her since the moment she was born was now coming to an end.

After this, she would The Evil — nothing but a threat to the world.

Even if they wouldn’t be able to defeat her, it was impossible that she would be able to live as she had until now.

Still...I lived a better life than The Evils so far, she thought, as if to console herself.

However, despite her preparation and resignation...Sechs wasn’t entering the cabin.

In fact, he seemed to be struggling with something in front of the door. She heard metallic sounds that made her assume that he was trying to unlock the lock.

Sechs was the one who locked it. He should have the key. Did he drop it...?

As the sounds continued, she realized something.

Is this actually...? Before she could finish that thought...

“GRRRRR! I CAN’T BEAR IT ANY LONGER!”

...she heard the lock break, accompanied by a somewhat-comical, angry voice.

A moment later, the door opened with a creak, and a large silhouette walked in.

“I just wanted some shelter from the rain. Why’s it locked? The old lumberjack said that he doesn’t lock it since there’s nothin’ here worth gettin’ your paws on. What happened to tha— Hm?”

Silence. The person who had just entered was a man in a dog — or wolf — costume, who for some reason was using bear puns.

He was all black with the exception of his back, which was red.

Needless to say, it wasn’t Sechs.

“What’s a little cub doin’ in a place like this?”

“...Who are you?” The fact that he spoke human language and had no name over his head made it clear that he wasn’t a monster. However, she still had no idea who or what he was.

In response...

“I’m Shu. A Master, thank you beary much... I mean, woof!”

...the Master introduced himself as “Shu” and finally seemed to realize that his bear puns didn’t make sense at the moment, switching instead to simple barking.

“Are you a dog? Or a bear?”

“A human. In a dog suit, as you can see. I used to rock a bear suit not long ago, and I still haven’t managed to kick the bear pun habit. I can’t bear to part with them... I mean, woof.”

“...Heh.” Theresia chuckled at the strange person before her and also at the realization that he was just a passerby who had nothing to do with Sechs.

“If it made you laugh, then mixing up my quirks was worth it. And what’s your name, li’l lady?”

“I’m...” Theresia said before thinking for a moment. “I’m Tee. I don’t know how I got here.”

She chose to give him a fake name.

If she’d used “Theresia,” he might’ve realized that she was a princess, and that might’ve negatively influenced his actions even if he had nothing to do with Sechs.

Giving a fake name seemed like the best option.

I’m The Evil. It’s not like he’ll realize I’m lying— “Hmm? And what’s your real name? It’s hard to contact your parents if I don’t have it. Woof.”

“Huh?” She was more shocked by those words than anything else she’d experienced since she was born. Not even facing Sechs had surprised her as much as this.

“Wh-Why...do you think...I’m lying? Truth Discernment should...”

“Don’t have that. Woof.”

“Then how...?” Not even the highest level Truth Discernment could see past The Evil’s lies.

Theresia was so perplexed that she couldn’t help but ask how he’d figured it out.

“It’s easy to tell that you have no attachment to that name. You glanced around and paused before saying it. Woof.”

“Ah...!”

It wasn’t even the effect of some skill.

It was actually a sense. Shu’s own power, born of his experience and intuition, had done what the most powerful Truth Discernment could not.

The lie of The Evil, which avoided all orthodox skills and was protected from everything the world had, was easily exposed by Shu’s perception.

“Well, I get that it ain’t easy to trust some guy in a costume you just met. You said you don’t know how you got here, and I want to take you back home. Woof.”

Silence. Theresia wondered how to process Shu’s words.

She didn’t have Truth Discernment herself, so she didn’t know whether he was being honest or not.

But ultimately, she...

“My... My real name is...Theresia.”

...chose to reveal the truth.

Shu had seen through her lie, so she decided to give him the truth this time.

“Theresia Celestite Altar.”

“That name...” That was enough for Shu to realize who she truly was.

“Mr. Costume...I have a request,” Theresia continued.

Her request was related to a path she’d given up on only moments ago — one that could let her continue to live life with her family as The Third Princess of Altar, Theresia.

The possibility of a hopeful conclusion.

“I’m listening.”

“I’m a princess...and it’s very dangerous to have me around...”

“Mhm...”

“Could you... Could you take me back home to the castle?”

“I’m not going back on what I said. I’ll bring you back home. You can beary much count on that.”

Shu’s reply came quickly and without any hesitation.

He understood that she was a princess and suspected that there was something more to it than that, but he still declared that he would take the girl back home.

[Quest Received: Escort — Theresia C. Altar, Difficulty 7.]

[Confirm the quest details in the quest window.]

Thus, a message announced the start of a quest.

◇◆◇

???

“...Odd.”

“What is it, Dormouse?”

“There’s something strange about the movement of Resources around Noz Forest.”

“Noz Forest? Speaking of which, I just had to set the difficulty for a strange quest over there.”

“A strange quest?”

“A quest to escort the kidnapped third princess to the castle. I set the difficulty to 7, since the kidnapper is still in the zone and a fierce UBM currently roams the area.”

“Hm...”

“Are you curious?”

“Mhm. I will check on it. Perhaps...I will find the one we are looking for.”

◇◆

That incident would come to be known as the Third Princess’s Kidnapping.

It was the first meeting between Theresia and those who would eventually learn her secret.

The kidnapper, who would later be dubbed King of Crime, Sechs Würfel.

The savior, who would come to be called King of Destruction, Shu Starling.

And the control AI who would be tasked to stay by her side and protect her, Dormouse.

This was the beginning of an important series of events that created a number of strange connections between people, some of them completely unrelated to The Evil at the center of it all.





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