Chapter 280 |
『Side Story』 Pursuing the Butterfly (7)
TL: TangSanFan
ED/PR: Tanthus
In a sizable courtyard in front of the hut lay a significant piece of demon engineering equipment.
Zellan remarked that upon inspection of the internal structure, there was a high probability that this device was the ‘Observation Device’ created by Gluckt.
Around it stood Zellan, Wilhelm, and Lucy with Ed, all silent.
“Anyway, there’s little chance of anything going terribly wrong in theory. There are hardly ever problems caused by merely observing another world,” Ed Rothtaylor said gravely to Lucy.
Lucy knew how to handle the celestial mana but couldn’t draw upon it immediately.
Therefore, they had to utilize Ed Rothtaylor’s celestial mana for the time being.
There was none born with a better sense of mana than Lucy.
“Mana is an interactive concept by nature. Unless there’s a way to affect the other world, things shouldn’t go wrong,” agreed Zellan.
However, she was concerned about the amount of celestial mana needed.
“If it feels like too much mana is being drawn during the process, stop immediately. I don’t want to continue at the cost of your sacrifices,” Zellan said seriously.
Ed and Lucy nodded in response, standing straight before the large magical device.
A contraption half the size of a person, filled with gears and clockwork.
With his hand on what seemed to be a mana junction plate, Ed drew forth a crimson celestial mana.
“Th… that’s celestial magic…”
For Wilhelm, who was wide-eyed at the first sight of celestial magic, it was rare to witness.
The celestial mana surged from Ed, wrapping around the vicinity. Ed’s celestial mana, steadily researched and trained since the Bellbrook campaign, was now vast enough to trivialize intermediate spells.
Ed focused once more with a stern look, and the dispersed celestial mana condensed into a single point.
Lucy, clinging to his sleeve, extended her opposite hand to receive and weave the mana.
Holding Ed’s mana tenderly, Lucy concentrated above the junction, channeling the tremendous energy into the internal circuits.
Lucy rapidly discerned the device’s intricate workings, effortlessly creating the desired flow.
Gradually… the central crystal bead of the Observation Device started to glow.
―Thud, whoosh…
―A rush of wind…
A myriad of worlds, the countless possibilities that could have occurred.
An instrument of demon engineering, floating in the sea of endless potential, capable of observing any chosen point.
Created by the genius Gluckt Eldervain, the ‘World Observator.’
Suddenly… a burst of crimson mana erupted, shrouding the environment in darkness.
“Kh, uhk!”
“What… is this?”
You cannot observe every world, only those within the mana’s reach.
Among those worlds… is there one that Zellan desires?
It’s a given that if you can’t observe it, you can’t reach it. Ed and Lucy faintly realized that.
Zellan’s desired world, one without the slaughtering of the Ains, was unlikely to exist.
Even if it did, the branching point would be far too distant in the past.
Without the mastery of celestial magic like Sylvania or infinite mana reserves, it would be impossible to observe beyond that divergence.
Nevertheless, to leave no regret for Zellan’s last wish…
That was why the two had accepted his appeal.
In the darkness, Lucy and Ed, their hands tightly clasped, opened their eyes.
And… a landscape that only Sylvania and Gluckt could have observed unfolds, spanning all worlds and eras.
A sense of floating in the space of darkness.
Yet what lay before them was… a succession of worlds, like a line.
The full scope remains unseen.
Only the sage Sylvania can discern the entirety of the flows.
Like a procession of sprawling branches or a river with dozens of tributaries.
Surely, they are only witnessing a minor portion of a vast panorama.
The observable worlds are numerous. It would take a lifetime to observe them all, but even that’s just a fraction.
The potential of worlds diverges eternally from countless crossroads of choice.
Suddenly, a far-off future seems to stretch out.
The ‘cliff point’… is not visible…
Whether that means all potentiality ends and disappears here, or if it has successfully leaped beyond that cliff, is uncertain…
“Let’s go back and tell Zellan that his world doesn’t exist.”
At that moment, Lucy’s whisper reached Ed’s ears.
Not a single world had been observed yet, but Lucy spoke with certainty.
“I think that’s best for the old mage.”
Ed felt he now understood why Lucy had readily accepted Zellan’s request.
What’s lost remains lost.
You must embrace the new and leave behind what’s lost, such is the essence of life.
Lucy knew this all too well, remembering an old professor who had thrown away his life engrossed in the pain of loss.
If Zellan’s desired world had been observable, he would’ve given up his life to reach it.
Before even considering if it’s possible or not. Zellan would certainly do so.
Like a stray cat chasing a butterfly aimlessly, always floating in pursuit of an unattainable goal.
So, Lucy had planned to close off all potentiality.
To allow Zellan to find a new purpose in this world and struggle for it.
Lucy had never intended to observe other worlds from the beginning.
“…….”
Against Lucy’s decision… Ed found it tough to object.
One could negotiate well and obtain Zellan’s research findings. After all, she planned to rise within the lawless Coherthon region.
Thus, the priority should be to find a new purpose for her, slowly settling towards the bottom.
Ed nodded.
“I Agree with your opinion….”
Floating in that sensation, Ed silently affirmed Lucy’s words.
“Let’s wrap this up.”
At that moment…
―Whoosh!
It happened in an instant.
Worlds cannot interfere with one another. That’s the law of nature, based on the interactive nature of mana.
Yet from one of the countless branches, an odd mana gushed forth.
The pale blue mana emanating from an unidentified possible world formed a giant hand that stretched towards Lucy and Ed.
It was almost within 1-2 seconds.
Ed swiftly wrapped Lucy in his arms and quickly gathered all the celestial mana.
But the encircling hand was faster.
What was happening, what phenomenon was occurring, was unknowable.
Nevertheless, Lucy rose instantaneously, casting a small shock spell to push Ed away.
―Impact!
Unclear of the situation, but believing Ed would cope, she braced herself against the unknown force.
Catapulted aside, Ed gritted his teeth, then pulled something from his pocket and threw it toward Lucy with incredible reflexes.
Catching Ed’s hurled object, Lucy was immediately wrapped in the immense force of the mana hand.
“Make sure to keep that with you! Always hold on to that…”
“Lucy! Lucy!”
Ed’s voice rang out urgently, reaching Lucy’s ears. Feeling as if being pulled by something, Lucy’s consciousness slipped away.
– Whooosh!
– Crashing boom!
When Ed opened his eyes, all he could see was a yard in complete disarray.
It seemed to be the result of the shock created by the operation of the observational device. In a corner of the yard, he could see Zellan and Wilhelm gathering themselves up, having been swept up in the aftermath.
Ed stood up from the center of the chaos, surveying the surroundings, and then… he frowned silently.
Lucy Mayrill was… not here…
“This… this is…”
Zellan uttered in a wide-eyed stupor.
Quickly shaking his head, Ed spoke in a serious tone.
“… Prepare the demonic engineering equipment again. We need to find and retrieve Lucy quickly before it’s too late.”
* * *
Drip, drip.
The sound of water droplets.
At that sound, Lucy Mayrill opened her eyes. The cold chill of brick ran down her back.
Pressing down firmly on her witch hat, she shook her head vigorously to regain her senses.
It seemed she was uninjured. Slowly rising, Lucy surveyed her surroundings.
She was inside a half-destroyed building.
However… the structure was uncannily familiar. It was as if she had visited it many times before.
“……”
As Lucy’s half-open eyes took in the situation, she became aware of the severity of the events.
Theoretically, it was impossible to traverse between cut-off worlds because magic is inherently interactive.
Yet, a foreboding feeling crept up Lucy’s spine.
Upon re-examining the building’s interior… her bad premonition came true.
This was the core facility of Sylvania Academy, known as the Triss Hall.
But it was completely demolished.
It looked like it had been left in that shattered state for years. Weeds were growing near the broken marble floor, and old frames were rusting.
In the history of Sylvania, Trix Hall had only been destroyed to this extent once.
When the Sacred Dragon Bellvbrook… descended on the sea in front of this Acken Isle.
By now, the scars from that time would have been all restored, and all the buildings of the Sylvania Academy should have been functioning…
To Lucy’s eyes, this building seemed to have remained in ruins unchanged for years.
In the branching paths of endless possibilities, countless worlds…
What place had she reached now?
Amidst the situation filled only with unknowns, as she was organizing her chaotic thoughts…
“Lucy… Mayrill…!”
A voice she seemed to have not heard in a long while pierced through her ears.
A girl stood silhouetted against the moonlight beyond the broken wall.
She was not a girl Lucy knew well, but she hadn’t forgotten her.
She was the girl who had once fought with all her might against Lucy and was defeated.
Sylvania Academy’s Alchemy Department Head, Elvira Eniston.
“You… why are you here…!”
“……”
Lucy turned her dazed, half-open eyes to look at Elvira.
Lucy remembered Elvira, but the Elvira she knew looked different.
Her long hair was now neatly cut around the shoulders. And she seemed a bit more grown-up than before.
Her outfit, too… It was not the Sylvania uniform she always wore. She was dressed in a tight-fitting russet leather jacket and pants, with survival bags and pouches strapped all over her.
She looked like a warrior of the jungle who had survived the wilds time and time again.
Overwhelmed by the unnatural appearance and trying to gather her thoughts, Elvira spoke first.
“Don’t move…! Don’t do anything rash…!”
Elvira’s reaction was peculiar, as if she had seen a ghost.
“You… You’re…! Surely… surely 3 years ago…”
As Lucy completely turned to face Elvira, though showing no intention of combat, Elvira trembled and gripped her staff tightly.
“You… Youu…”
Elvira’s voice trembled at the end.
Lucy had many questions to ask, but… she felt she had to ask the most urgent one first.
Her small lips parted, releasing a name.
“Ed Rothtaylor.”
The name of the man who Lucy Mayrill had considered her reason to live.
She uttered his name in a low voice.
“Where is Ed Rothtaylor?”
Where was this world’s Ed?
The most important thing was to find him and explain the whole situation.
However, Elvira’s voice was still trembling.
“Lucy… you… you…”
Elvira was trembling incessantly.
Lucy, frustrated, shifted her gaze elsewhere. It was the view of Acken Isle beyond Elvira’s back.
That very moment, Lucy’s usually expressionless eyebrows furrowed intensely.
– Swipe.
Wrapping her feet in magic, she leaped out of the ruins.
Elvira, startled by Lucy’s sudden advance, fell flat on her behind.
Nonchalantly passing Elvira, Lucy emerged in front of Triss Hall.
Triss Hall is built upon a hill where the entire Sylvania Academy can be seen.
From here, the whole significant academy was in view.
After confirming the outside view, Lucy could not believe her own eyes.
––The Sylvania Academy was completely destroyed. Nothing but ruins, barely hinting at its original form, remained.
And the central part of Acken Isle… was split in two as if a massive breath had swept across… turning the once singular island into an archipelago of two large islands.
The sizable Mt. Orten on the northwest side of Acken had half of it blown away.
Seeing new vegetation occupying the blast marks, it seemed a long time had passed since the destruction.
And… the vast magic circle cloaking the sky above the islands, made of unsettling, dark-red magic, looked as if it had trapped the entirety of the islands.
Lucy had seen this eerie power before. It felt like an exceedingly distant past now, but back then, the magic circle was only large enough to barely cover the professorial buildings of the Sylvania Academy, and now it enveloped the whole Acken Archipelago.
This ominous magic circle was… from the high-ranking darkness spirit, Glascan.
“Elvira! If you don’t loosen up and start heading back to the hideout, the spirits are going to start stirring! If you’ve grabbed everything you need to…”
At that moment, a familiar voice echoed from above the ruins.
The figure of a man leaping down amidst the buildings was also familiar. He looked a little more mature than before but, Lucy precisely remembered how spirited he had been in his attack.
Swordmaster Clevius of the Nortonvale family.
The man landed down in the clearing and upon glimpsing Lucy, he unsheathed his sword with eyes wide open.
“Lu… Lucy Mayrill! Why… why are you here…! You are… you were definitely…!”
Lucy had no spare moment to respond to Clevius’s questions.
The current spectacle was unbelievable, and she needed to sort out her thoughts first.
Then, Elvira, who had barely managed to steady herself, shouted towards Clevius.
“Be careful, Clevius! If you make too much noise, the spirits will awaken!”
“Arggh…! But to face that person…!”
Quickly, Clevius leaped to Elvira’s side, positioning her behind him, sword in hand, staring down Lucy.
With just their movements, Clevius and Elvira had to steel themselves with gritted teeth amidst their terror.
In that tense moment… Lucy asked again.
“Ed Rothtaylor…”
Elvira furrowed her brows.
“Where is Ed Rothtaylor?”
“Come to your senses, Lucy Mayrill.”
She asserted with a voice strained with force, her jaw tensed.
“Ed Rothtaylor died 3 years ago while subduing the Sacred Dragon Bellbrook.”
It felt as though lightning had struck her in the pit of her stomach.
Upon hearing Elvira’s words, Lucy’s pupils began to quiver endlessly.
Though the words were heard by her own ears… she could not help but doubt them over and over again.