Chapter 119

Anomalies vs. an Oddball (2)

On the way back to the palace guest suites, I sank into thought.

'I've figured out their entire plan.'

I had seen through everything Queen Marceline was plotting. She was in the palm of my hand.

What remained was simple. I would dismantle her plans one by one and completely overturn the intended out—

◆Successor's Will[EX] resists the fragmentation of your awareness!!

◆101 Sanity has been accumulated.

Messages appeared before my eyes. My fragmented awareness returned to normal, and Sanity accumulated.

'It really is different.'

The Forgotten Social Gathering (The Vanished Social Club).

It was different from the Infinite Labyrinth, but there were similarities. For one, it was a separate space detached from reality. And it had [Rules], much like the Infinite Labyrinth's [Rulebook].

The Inexplicable Terror of the Unknown, the Sovereign of the Abyss.

The Being of Observational Uncertainty, the Sovereign of Darkness.

Was it because both existed beyond comprehension and perception?

'Nothing they do is ever normal.'

That just made it better for me, though.

When I arrived back at the palace guest suites—

"No!"

Seraphia was shouting into thin air. There was no need to go through all this again.

◆Activating Bond Skill, Mental Empathy[E]!

I immediately used Mental Empathy[E]. Seraphia's body gave a start.

"I have to save Brother—! Huh? Ah...?"

A strange expression crossed her face.

"W-what's going on here?!"

Apparently her memories had already returned, because she shouted at me.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"W-well..."

She hesitated, unable to continue. Then her face suddenly went pale, and she answered in a badly trembling voice.

"Y-you b-beat some noble to death, Brother, and started... trampling the Royal Knights indiscriminately. That's the last thing I remember..."

Fortunately, she remembered everything. In other words, we shared the same memories.

"But what's happening now...? Why am I here...?"

Her voice trembled, as if she was still confused, but—

"Get ready."

She would soon get used to it on the way to 9,999.

* * *

Soft morning sunlight bathed the royal garden. The tea party was lively, each guest exuding their own charm and fragrance.

Hidden behind a wall, Seraphia carefully surveyed every part of the venue.

... Nothing looked particularly strange.

"It's the same this time, too," she said quietly.

But there was no answer.

"Brother...?"

She looked around for Adrian, but he was nowhere to be seen. He had been right beside her just a moment ago.

"B-Brother...!"

She called out, but still received no answer.

In the end, she had no choice but to leave the wall. Steadying her trembling hands, she searched for him.

Fortunately, she soon found him. With a sigh of relief, she hurried over.

"Brother!"

But—

The closer she got, the harder it became to shake the feeling that something was wrong.

For one thing... he didn't seem like Adrian.

Black hair, a solid silhouette, a familiar build. He looked like Adrian, but didn't feel like him.

Yet it was hard to imagine him being one of the nobles attending the tea party, either. Of course, she didn't remember every face there, but he wasn't wearing elaborate formal attire.

There was something unnatural about his movements.

Her running steps stopped of their own accord.

At that moment—

"Keeheeheeheehee."

A grotesque laugh reached her ears.

Seraphia froze, hardly able to breathe. Cold sweat ran down her back, and an inexplicable tension enveloped her entire body.

Then the being slowly turned its head.

A grotesque figure.

It was grinning at her.

"Hyaaaaaaaaah!!!"

She was so startled that she actually leaped into the air.

"U-uaaah...!! Hwaaaah!!"

Eyes formed, and lips parted. Its shape grew more and more grotesque.

It rolled its eyes wide open—

"Eeheeheeheeheehee!!"

Then it charged at Seraphia like a thing possessed.

Just then.

KABOOOOM!!!

An explosive sound rang out, sending vibrations through the air. Her vision shook for a moment.

Through her blurred sight, she saw Adrian.

With his nails sharpened, he slashed at the charging monstrosity without a moment's hesitation.

CRUNCH!

Its form was torn apart in an instant, and it let out a terrible scream, as if in pain.

Adrian didn't so much as blink. Never taking his eyes off the grotesque figure, he swung his hand again, utterly undaunted by fear or terror.

Finally, it dispersed into a dark crimson haze and vanished.

He steadied his breathing and slowly turned around. He looked as though nothing could shake him, and his voice was firm.

"Use your power at times like this. A mere banshee is nothing against your abilities."

"Brotherrr...!!"

All the tension in Seraphia's body collapsed at once. As indescribable relief welled up from deep in her chest—

"Hic...!"

A hiccup suddenly escaped her.

"Hic...!"

And another.

A moment of silence passed. Adrian pressed his fingers to both temples and sighed.

He looked at her as though she were pathetic: cold, curt, barely even sparing her a glance, and brusque. His usual self.

For some reason, that reassured her all over again.

"Hic...! Hic...!"

On the verge of tears, Seraphia kept hiccupping.

* * *

Luseria, the Enchantress of Lust, was utterly bewildered.

And with good reason, given what she could see through the crystal ball.

"Huh? Aaaah...?!"

"Have your memories returned?"

"What? Oh, yes!"

... That same scene had already repeated ten times.

"Ten times...?"

Was that even possible?

After ten repetitions, their memories and souls should have been devoured long ago. No being could resist the Authority of Oblivion.

Yet somehow, Adrian was perfectly fine. More than that, even the Anomalies couldn't faze him.

She could understand the Gremlins. But how could he do the same with a banshee?

Banshees were high-ranking demons that wielded the concepts of fear and death. Even high-ranking priests of the Holy Kingdom had their life force crushed and their minds worn away when they encountered one.

Hadn't that happened to Seraphia herself?

But Adrian?

He hadn't been affected at all. A mere wastrel had overcome the terror a banshee unleashed.

"Overcome...?"

No, he hadn't "overcome" the fear. He had overwhelmed the banshee as though he were a being who had transcended fear itself.

As a result, none of her other demonic minions could do anything to him, either. He hadn't allowed Luseria a single opportunity to penetrate Seraphia's mind.

And that wasn't all.

At the banquet, the gathering's second event, Adrian invariably beat Alex to death and reset the gathering.

Just look at him now.

"How dare yuh...! How dare yuh...!"

"The same routine every time."

CRUNCH!

The sound of flesh being crushed signaled the start of the eleventh gathering...

"No!"

"Get ready right away."

"Eek!!"

... He wasn't even surprised anymore.

Like a worker doing a repetitive job, Adrian was now cycling through the gathering in the most efficient way possible.

Her demonic minions were being wiped out as a result.

If this continued?

Luseria would no longer be able to create Anomalies.

The Authority of Oblivion was infinite. Luseria's power was not.

Subjugating demonic minions required considerable resources to begin with. Her heart nearly broke when she remembered the months of sheer hell she'd gone through to subjugate that banshee.

At this rate, there would be no more Anomalies. And without Anomalies, reaching the ball would be easy.

In other words, it was only a matter of time before Adrian escaped the Forgotten Social Gathering, but...

"With that lowborn bitch, Iliana—"

THWAAACK!!

... Somehow, he didn't seem interested in doing that.

Whether there were Anomalies or not, Adrian seemed to have absolutely no intention of reaching the final day.

A wastrel stranger than the Anomalies themselves.

What was she supposed to do about him?

"Come to think of it, would it have been better to capture the banshee and tie it up?"

... She truly hadn't the faintest idea.

* * *

After that, the gathering repeated more than fifty times.

As a result, I learned a great deal about how Berserk[?] worked.

For starters, the Sanity required for each level of Berserk[?]' s power was as follows:

[B-] = 100 or more

[B] = 200 or more

[B+] = 400 or more

[A-] = 1,600 or more

[A] = 3,200 or more

Each increase in [Step] required twice as much Sanity as the previous one. Each increase in [Rank] required four times as much.

That was why, over fifty repetitions, I had only been able to verify the requirements up to Berserk[A].

But if the pattern continued, I could estimate the following:

[A+] = 6,400 or more

[S-] = 25,600 or more

[S] = 51,200 or more

[S+] = 102,400 or more

Of course, everything from [A+] onward was strictly an estimate. I hadn't actually verified it.

But if this trend held, I could estimate the Sanity required to transcend Predation[S+] as follows:

[??] = 409,600 or more

Assuming I accumulated 5 Sanity per monster, I would have to devour a whopping 81,920 monsters with Predation[S+] to reach that number.

'I'd eat until my stomach burst.'

But with the Authority of Oblivion on my side?

I could build it up without much trouble.

'I can't even imagine what that'll be like.'

Considering the performance of Berserk[A-] and Berserk[A], it was truly absurd.

Starting at [A-], you reached the limits of biological evolution. In other words, that was the rank where abilities became comparable to a dragon's.

First, there was the skill I had transcended using Berserk[A-]:

◆Nutrient Creation[A-]

: Your energy-conversion ability has transcended its limits, allowing you to go beyond simple synthesis/decomposition and exercise fine control over [Crystal Structures].

Through this, you can freely combine matter to [Create] [New Elements] and [New Materials] that have no chance of occurring in nature.

<This is a transcendent skill created by transcending Nutrient Synthesis[B].>

Nutrient Creation[A-], the transcended form of Nutrient Synthesis[B].

Its name had changed, too, now that its utility rivaled a dragon's abilities. Even at a glance, its effects were broken.

But it wasn't without limitations. It still relied on matter that already existed in nature.

So absolute creation—creating something from nothing—was impossible.

Even so, it was a good skill. No, a broken skill.

But it was nothing compared to the skill I had transcended into a full-fledged dragon ability with Berserk[A].

Beside that, Nutrient Creation[A-] was nothing.

◆Hyper Regeneration[A]

: By making highly efficient use of nutrients stored within your body, you can [Modify] [The Cells Themselves] during regeneration. This allows you to [Enhance] the [Structure and Durability] of somatic cells and [Reassemble] them into tissue stronger than before regeneration.

Additionally, when necessary, you can consume enormous quantities of nutrients to create [Non-Native Body Parts] (wings, protruding bones, etc.) that were not originally part of your body.

<This is a transcendent skill created by transcending Regeneration[B+].>

My eyes flew wide open. And with good reason.

'I can create non-native body parts?'

Regeneration[B+] could only restore my "original form." It could restore a severed arm to its original state, but it couldn't give me three arms.

By the same logic, it couldn't grow wings that hadn't been there before, make bones protrude outside my body, or create any other "non-native" part I hadn't originally possessed.

But Hyper Regeneration[A] could. I could create and use non-native parts like wings.

There were caveats: it consumed enormous quantities of nutrients, required enough Sanity to transcend to [A] rank, and only worked for as long as Berserk[A] remained active.

The conditions weren't merely demanding; they were a fucking nightmare. But "broken" didn't begin to describe the potential it unleashed when I fulfilled them.

This was what transcending Regeneration[B+] could do. What would happen if I transcended Dragon's Claw[A]?

Just as anticipation began to swell within me—

Something brushed lightly against my clothes.

I immediately looked down to find Seraphia pressed tight against my side.

... Here we go again.

When had this started? Probably after that encounter with the banshee.

She refused to leave my side. Clutching my clothes, she looked determined not to stray even a single step away.

I swallowed a sigh and spoke.

"Let go."

She flinched. But her hand remained where it was, refusing to release my clothes.

"You're getting in my way. Let go."

"... Yes."

Only then did she move away. Even so, her hand lingered hesitantly before slowly releasing its grip.

Having finally pried Seraphia off me, I returned to sorting out Berserk[?]' s mechanics.

To transcend Dragon's Claw[A], I needed at least Berserk[A+]. The estimated Sanity requirement was 6,400 or more.

'Around seventy resets should give me plenty.'

I leaped up on the spot and kicked Alex square in the face as he enjoyed the banquet.

"This dish tastes marv—"

THWAAACK!!

* * *

The tea party, in yet another repetition of the gathering.

Seraphia should have been used to it by now, but she trembled every time. The fear wasn't easy to shake.

Instinctively, she hid behind Adrian and clutched his sleeve—

"Stop grabbing me."

"A-ah...! I'm sorry..."

At his words, she hastily released his sleeve. It hurt a little, but...

'He didn't tell me to get lost.'

The thought brought an unbidden smile to her face.

Afraid he might notice, she quickly turned her head aside.

At that moment.

'Huh...?'

... She spotted someone strange?

More precisely, there was someone who hadn't been at the original tea party.

"B-Brother! There's someone strange over there!!"

She cried out loudly. At once, Adrian stepped in front of her.

She hastily hid behind his back, and a puzzled voice escaped him.

"Commander Leon...?"

Apparently, this was someone Adrian knew.

But Seraphia knew of only one person named Leon.

The First Prince, Leon Battenberg.

There was no one else.

She cautiously peeked out from behind him—

"W-what is this...? No, my memories...?"

And saw Prince Leon, his face a picture of confusion.