Two hours before I, disguised as a prince, was to be abducted. I was engaged in my first battle.
"... This seems far too dangerous."
At the mansion in the capital. Dersia shook her head with a languid expression. Not understanding, I added a further explanation.
"There is only one mass there right now. To me, this looks like a heaven-sent opportunity."
"Are you certain of that?"
"I am about half-certain."
After finding the mass, I used Rahyan to search everyone in the palace. There was nothing. At least, no world large enough for Rahyan to detect.
If that's the case, then the conclusion is clear.
"If we capture the mass now, we can learn a great many things. Even more so if you help, Dersia."
She her expression became one of contemplation. It was indeed a golden opportunity. As I was wondering why she was hesitating, Dersia explained the reason for her concern.
"First, Jern, it's not your fault—but the plan has likely been exposed."
"What?"
"It means that as soon as the mass reports, the Red Lotus will order it to escape with the prince. Now that the banquet is over, they will likely start making their move."
"No, would they really react that strongly?"
Using Karos and even my experiences from Earth, I was confident that I had perfectly recreated the image of an incompetent envoy. In this situation, no matter how extreme the Red Lotus's response, they weren't the type of organization to act so cautiously as to immediately choose to flee; they would stop at something like, 'Something's suspicious, look into it.'
To my confusion, Dersia calmly explained.
"Your judgment was near perfect, but there was a slight problem with the mask you wore."
"You mean being an Imperial Envoy?"
"To be precise, the fact that you were the princess's envoy."
"This is a list of missions secretly carried out by the princess's direct escort unit."
"How did you get this?"
Dersia did not answer. I glanced sideways at her as I scanned the dense list, then frowned.
"... What we've been seeing was just the tip of the iceberg."
"Yes. The Red Lotus has been far more active than we thought."
The actions Suirak mentioned, meant to make their name known in the Empire before going underground. They had been greatly downplayed. Originally, there were ten times as many incidents.
But the fact that all of them were downgraded to non-events was entirely thanks to the princess.
[Discovered and liberated modified children in Corral.]
[Discovered 34 areas in the Blood-stained Range coated with flammable materials. Dismantled.]
[Patients granted mad blood at the capital's mental asylum attacked doctors with blades. Covered up.]
From every single word, I could feel the princess's tearful efforts. Along with the Red Lotus's tears of blood.
"Within the Red Lotus, their risk assessment of Sharmia is likely at the highest level, perhaps even higher than me. They've probably figured out the extent of her abilities to some degree as well."
"Then from the start..."
"Yes. Whether you searched thoroughly or acted lazy, as long as the position you hold is that of the princess's person, they were bound to react more strongly than necessary. Our worst-case scenario is them attempting a 'cover-up', but their worst-case scenario is the mass being abducted."
"... I understand."
So, because the princess is so competent, even if I, her tool, acted like a kitchen knife, I would be seen as a greatsword? I wonder if the princess anticipated this situation. It was an interesting topic, but now was not the time to think about other things.
If what Dersia said was true, the situation was urgent.
"Of course, I intend to help. Even if it reports to the Red Lotus, there will be some time before that, so capturing the mass should also be possible."
"Then..."
"The problem is that the opponent is the mass."
Dersia slightly narrowed her eyes.
"That being will likely commit suicide the moment it falls into my hands. If that happens, all we'll be left with is a dead body, and it will only have given away various pieces of information about our objectives."
True.
"Capturing other Red Lotus officers who come as reinforcements wouldn't be bad, but they too will probably have their own means of escape. And the biggest problem is the declaration of a heart-realm by those who possess the Great System."
"A heart-realm?"
"Yes, having a burden transferred to me in their heart-realm is something even I, a 9-Star, cannot avoid. If I encounter a new opponent and have a burden transferred to me, it could become extremely troublesome depending on what it is. I might not be able to get to you in time to save you."
Transferring a burden. After a moment of thought, I asked a question.
"Is it possible to make it so the mass cannot escape by dying?"
"It might be possible if it's brought to me unconscious. But it has already crossed blades with me before. The moment it sees me, it will immediately choose to escape on its own terms."
"Then how about this."
I explained my idea. After listening for a moment, Dersia's expression soured.
"Are you... serious? That goes beyond dangerous."
"I am serious. I think there are plenty of countermeasures, and it's on the safer side."
"Ciel."
Dersia called to Ciel, who had been listening silently from behind. She looked at me with a troubled expression and scratched her cheek.
"After that one quarrel, have the two of you switched places?"
"What?"
"It seems Master is pursuing safety, while Sir Jern is taking the risks."
"But as a strategist, it doesn't sound all that bad to me. It's also a chance to capture a Red Lotus officer."
"Jern is not yet in a state to face a Red Lotus officer."
"It's not a strategy without potential, is it? And in a dilemma like this, it seems like an excellent solution."
One versus two. Seeing my resolute face, I took the opportunity while Dersia hesitated to press my point.
"Master. Please help me. I want to know my past."
"... Take this."
Dersia sighed and handed me a red pill.
"It's a pill made by modifying the pearl-type restorative pill they gave you."
"Oh, did you reduce the risk?"
"No. In fact, that pill is safer. The one I've given you is far more dangerous. After taking it, you will have to endure a much stronger burden."
"?"
"But for one hour before that, it will have the same effect as swallowing one pill every minute."
"You've made... something a bit strange?"
"Normally, it's a product I would have discarded, but I kept it, thinking a time like this might come. Because you are the kind of person who will undoubtedly walk into a deathtrap."
That's Dersia for you. She knows me too well. Glancing at the clock, she opened a book.
"I will explain a few other things. But before that, you must make me a promise."
"What is it?"
"If it gets dangerous, you must run."
"Of course. If I'm even slightly injured, I will retreat immediately."
I smiled gently to reassure her. In reality, it was more of a challenge. If I truly had to risk my life, it was something I would never do.
"Hah..."
Of course.
Though I was willing to give up an arm.
The desert, at dawn. For a moment, the mass stood motionless, its eyes trembling as it stared blankly at me. Surprise, shock, bewilderment.
Such unexpected emotions were conveyed without me even needing to use Tide Sense. It was a minute later that it spoke again.
"... I see."
The mass's tone was deeply subdued, lacking its usual liveliness.
"I knew about the Great System. Dersia is capable of creating something like that. It's not strange."
"The fact that you are of the Deep Sea and still alive is surprising, but if you received guidance from a 9-Star mage, I can accept that as well. I can dismiss it by thinking you used some method I'm unaware of..." -Thud.
It set down its sword. On its straight-lined lips, a feeling of unease lingered instead of a smile.
"But manifesting a heart-realm is a different matter. You cannot do that."
"Really? I don't think so."
I leisurely stroked a nearby jellyfish. As long as I had the Water Barrier, I could observe this world with more composure than I expected. Hearing my calm reply, the mass quietly shook its head.
"I misspoke. You should not do that."
"I see."
I nodded in agreement and said.
"Then try and stop me."
No reply came. But—its aura changed. I licked my dry lips.
To use a game analogy, it felt like the second phase of a raid. The next moment, the mass's condensed body shot forward like lightning.
"?"
I saw something very faint and blurry. I forced myself to ignore it and dodged, but suddenly its body twisted bizarrely.
"What..."
A waist turned 180 degrees. A rotation that would have killed a human, but it swung its blade as if completely unaffected. Horrified, I tried my best to evade, but the blade was already before my nose.
I couldn't allow the first blow. With all my strength, I used water pressure to grab the blade and slow it down. Even so, my cheek was lightly cut, and thick blood flowed.
The mass snorted as if unsatisfied and, without a moment's rest, charged with twin swords. I responded by manifesting Tide Sense to its fullest. The strongest knight it had ever met in its long life.
The sword strikes of a nameless hero rained down.
"_!"
It was my fault for allowing it to close the distance. I gathered Thunder Wind and watched the approaching blades intently. Three seconds, twenty-nine strikes.
The boy's small body and the fact that this knight was weaker than Brimdal were the only hopes keeping me alive. Of course, I couldn't perfectly control Thunder Wind in such a short time. The unstable, distorting wind swelled, wanting to be released.
Just what I wanted. I detonated the explosion between myself and the mass. -Boom! Instead of the largely unharmed mass, my small body was sent flying to the far side of the desert, tumbling over and over before crashing.
"Ptui, ptui..."
Spitting out blood-mixed sand, I immediately jumped back. The mass had no intention of giving me even the slightest opening. But it was strange.
Even though I'd put considerable distance between us, its speed was too fast. What was this? Looking at its lower body, it was different from the knight just now.
A lower body developed to the extreme, like that of a track athlete. It had attached them. The upper body of a knight and the lower body of speed.
It can do things like that? I gritted my teeth and somehow suppressed it with water pressure. Thanks to the pill Dersia gave me, the Water Barrier was protecting me much more safely, but continuously using such strong water pressure was chipping away at it moment by moment.
During a very slight opening, as I desperately wiped away the flowing blood to keep it out of my eyes, the usually talkative mass muttered for the first time since the battle began.
"So you know about the Great System."
"... Roughly."
The fighting style of one who has manifested a heart-realm. I had heard about it from Dersia. I gave it a kind smile.
"It's shitty in here. Try to hold on."
In the first place, summoning a world is an action that only has disadvantages for a fallen one. The burden itself becomes much, absurdly stronger, and it multiplies every time a heart-realm ability is used. Even just standing still, you die.
Much faster.
But the same goes for the invited opponent. So, combat in a deployed heart-realm is simple.
Flee.
There's no need to fight. The world itself will designate the opponent as a foreign body and slowly begin to devour it. To watch the process of the opponent being digested by the world's stomach.
That terrifying act is the Great System's way of fighting, and a method only the Great System can achieve. The mass forcibly overcame the water pressure, repeatedly clenching and unclenching its fist.
"The heart-realm of the Three Calamities, the Deep Sea... wasn't it the Great Ocean?"
While muttering strange things, the creature stared intently at me.
"I must take you with me. I absolutely must."
I forced a smile. It was welcome news. If the mass's objective was capture rather than killing, my life would be spared for now.
And the biggest problem when deploying a heart-realm—the possibility that the mass would simply flee, causing a huge problem—had just disappeared. It thinks it has a chance. In fact, it's more than just a chance.
It would be child's play for it to catch me in the time it takes for the burden of the Deep Sea to consume it. It's like refusing to pick up gold lying on the ground. -Grind... As it twisted and overcame the water pressure with sheer strength, I stopped wasting the Water Barrier.
There was no point in blocking anymore. The burden I would accumulate from doing so would be greater than the burden devouring it.
"Kuk-!"
Barely dodging the sword strikes that stabbed at me again and again, I thanked Brimdal in my heart. If a knight like him hadn't taught me, I probably would have died from the first blow. Thanks to him, I was holding on. - The problem was this illusion.
Before it attacked, it kept tormenting me with a strange white illusion. Can it use something like that with a knight's body? Before it attacked, those illusions would appear first, blurring my vision.
As I clutched my aching head and dodged, it looked at me as if finding it strange.
"Is that also a power of the Deep Sea?"
"... Want me to tell you?"
Was it talking about Tide Sense? Instead of an answer, much fiercer attacks came flying. Dozens of illusions overlapped, and I could no longer rely on my sight.
Relying entirely on Tide Sense, I gritted my teeth and dodged the attacks. I was far past the point of danger. Because it was a first-rate knight, my Tide Sense would occasionally be cut off, just like with Brimdal.
Tide Sense was the only means I had to dodge the attacks of a much stronger opponent. If even the slightest flaw appeared in it—it was like standing before a dam with a crack. During combat, Tide Sense always had to be perfect.
But right now, it wasn't. "...
Tsk."
Did it possess a knight that strong? As I was thinking of my next move, it took a deep breath.
"Hup!"
At the same time. My Tide Sense was completely severed. It intended to finish me off as I kept dodging left and right.
In my blurred vision, a sword strike filled with killing intent began to trace an arc. I cannot predict the trajectory of this attack. In other words, I cannot dodge it.
First, I had to run. But I saw one more illusion.
'This is...?'
I wasn't used to the heart-realm yet, so I had glanced at it and moved on. But looking closely, it was a foam bubble. The trajectory of that foam bubble touched my neck.
"—!"
I dodged the foam bubble on an almost instinctual level. The next moment, that foam bubble became a living person. The mass, which had been a bubble just moments ago, clicked its tongue.
"A troublesome ability."
Watching that bubble soar into the sky, I momentarily forgot I was in a battle and tilted my head. Until now, I was so used to using Tide Sense to predict where an opponent's attack would land. So used to it that I didn't realize.
This foam bubble.
"It's not prediction, but premonition... Yes."
"?"
Hearing those vague words, while the mass raised its sword and I felt the bubbles on the nape of my neck, I realized. Within this heart-realm. I could feel in advance the trajectory of the foam bubble that would be created after the attack.