Chapter 173: Cage (2)

Chapter 173: Cage (2)

Aizel went to the inn room where Zetto was staying late at night and saw Zetto standing near the open window.

He wasn’t asleep.

Not only because his bracelet of origin prevented him from feeling any physical fatigue, so he didn’t need to sleep, but also because his senses alerted him to Aizel’s approach.

Aizel approached the window.

“Zetto.”

“...Miss Aizel.”

“You said you were looking for me.”

Aizel, who no longer used honorifics even when they were alone, stepped lightly over the window sill and into the room.

“I was, but more than that, my being here...”

“There’s a way.”

“...Even that, I suppose?”

Zetto asked, knowing but Aizel shrugged it off.

Entering the room, Aizel scanned the interior with a grim face.

Zetto, still wearing his coat, asked.

“...You’re not going back?”

Not going back to the academy?

It was just a formal question for the sake of naturalness.

“What if I can’t go back?”

“Then I have no choice.”

“Zetto, go back.”

Aizel decided to try to talk him out of it.

If he gave up now it wouldn’t hurt either of them more.

“...Is that what you want?”

“When it’s all over, I’ll go back.”

“When it’s all over?”

“Something like that.”

Aizel was saying please go back.

“......”

Zetto was silent since there was no way he could do that so he decided to play his hand first.

“Maybe we should just run away together, leave everything behind.”

With Zetto’s voice in her ear, Aizel thought.

Again.

That’s the way to go.

He really hasn’t changed.

His words had sounded so sweet then and it was the same now.

By following him, nothing really happened, and Aizel would not be killed by the demons. She could survive.

Well, it was all a lie, concocted by Zetto.

There was no way she could have gotten away from them so easily... Back then, Aizel had been lost in a sweet dream, unable to wake up.

But this time was different, she knows what he’s going to do next so Aizel decided to take out her hand.

“...I wonder.”

Aizel pretended to be tempted by him.

“Is there somewhere you’d like to go? The sea, for example.”

“I’d love to go to the sea, but...”

She smiled widely as she stepped closer to Zetto.

Hoping that smile would rub off on him.

Hopefully, when this was all over, it wouldn’t contain a single falsehood.

With a bright smile, Aizel continued.

“There’s a place I’ve always wanted to visit.”

“If that’s where you’re going, Miss Aizel...”

Zetto smiles back.

“...I’ll follow you anywhere.”

***

We were on our way to the “cage” for Zetto.

I thought over and over again and restraining him by force seemed unfortunately impossible.

I had to give up relying on sleeping pills and other medications. After all, Zetto had used those methods on me before, would they work on him?

I’m sure he would doubt it and deal with it so I decided not to choose such a method, but...

...but a place.

I needed a safe place where I could keep Zetto for at least a few days.

“...What kind of place is the Demonic Chasm?”

Zetto asked me.

The Demonic Chasms was a strange terrain between the kingdoms of Terracia in the center of the continent and the Holy Land in the west.

A cliff of unknown depths cut into the plain, and many monsters were known to lurk beneath.

Once called the Cliff of Asceticism, it became a place to test the skills of adventurers who specialized in slaying monsters.

It is said that you can become a platinum-ranked adventurer by harvesting a special ore that only grows in demonic chasm.

There is a separate entrance and exit, and we headed for the entrance.

Strangely enough, monsters can’t get in or out thanks to the seams near the entrance and exit, so there’s no backflow of monsters from the Demonic Chasm.

“It sounds like an interesting place.”

Zetto smiled faintly as he listened to my explanation.

“Do you happen to know about Kurden of Flashes?”

“Oh, I’ve heard of him. He’s definitely one of the Knights of the Round Table, right?”

“Yes. Kurden once entered the Demonic Chasm and set a record for being the fastest to get out.”

“How many days did it take?”

“Normally, it’s supposed to take about a week to two weeks...Kurden got out in just two days.”

“That’s amazing. Are we going to go in there and try to set a record?”

Zetto’s answer was a little different from the last time I told him I was being chased by demons.

There were many things I wanted to ask him.

I wanted to ask him if he had memories of the previous round.

Had he really regressed like me?

How did he end up with such a terrible curse?

If he loved me enough to risk his life to save me.

But I decided to keep my mouth shut.

One more day.

In a day, it would all be over and it wouldn’t be too late to ask him then.

Just this once...Zetto won’t die.

And so it was that I drew nearer and nearer to the Demon Chasm, and the time for the final battle approached.

Fear was bubbling up inside of me, but I tried to overcome it by holding Zetto’s face in my eyes.

To save him and have a future with him I had to get through this.

Hadn’t he shown me that before?

The way he’d crushed my fate.

Then we arrived.

“The Demonic Chasm...”

The Demonic Chasm, which looked like a giant pit, was a depression in the ground, and despite the bright moonlight, it was so deep that it was dark and endless below.

“...Is there really a place called the Demon Chasm?”

“Well, it’s just a name people gave it, so I don’t know if the Demon Chasm really exists.”

“Hmm...So monsters are down here, huh? It’s a strange place. I don’t even feel anything...How deep is it?”

Zetto peers down into the demonic chasm.

He shouldn’t be able to see, but thanks to his senses, he’s curiously aware of the boundaries, and he’s standing in a fairly safe position.

“This is the entrance.”

“This is it? If we fall, won’t we die...?”

Zetto trailed off, his voice trembling.

“Not really, there’s a strong wind blowing to absorb the impact of the fall.”

I said, shaking my head.

“Hmm... I’m starting to feel a bit like Ms. Lucia.”

“The monsters down there won’t even feel that strong to Zetto, they’re only challenged by gold- or platinum-ranked adventurers at most.”

I continued to explain the Demonic Chasm.

“So let’s really set the record straight, did you say two days?”

“......”

I hope he doesn’t set that record.

It’s not going to happen anyway, and even if it did, it would take a day but that was enough to keep him in for a while.

“You know...Zetto.”

I slowly prepared myself.

“Yes, I’m listening.”

He turns his head from the pit and gives me a gentle smile.

“You know, you said you liked me before...”

“...”

Zetto’s lips close immediately.

It wasn’t the best thing to say right now but I had to tell him now.

I didn’t want him to misunderstand what I was about to do.

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer you then.”

I hung my head low, unable to bring myself to face him.

“...Me too...”

I approached Zetto, who was standing at the edge of the cliff.

Emotions welled up in me, but I didn’t want to show my tears.

This was not the end, but the beginning.

“...I really like you too, Zetto.”

I smiled as brightly as I could.

I smiled at the blind man, wondering if that would hide my feelings.

Then I touched his chest.

I felt a faint but ominous aura and knew that Zetto’s curse was still gnawing at him.

But if I could just get through this, I could fix everything and everyone would be happy.

I had no doubt.

“So...”

I trailed off, pushing Zetto off the cliff.

“......”

Zetto remained silent, offering no resistance, and plummeted into an unknown abyss.

...Forgive me.

This is all for Zetto’s sake.

When this night is over, I will have finished everything, and I will be waiting for him.

Soon, the darkness that poured from the demonic chasm swallowed him whole.

“...”

I wiped the moisture from my eyes and turned away.

The blind bird was trapped in a cage.

He will try to escape, but I hope he doesn’t try too hard.

‘All that’s left is...’

Murka.

Sooner or later, he will come for me so I can only prepare myself accordingly.

***

The man’s mouth opens and his black hair flutters as he falls through the chasm of the demonic chasm.

“...Kerung?”

Then his form dissolves, and he disappears, caught by the shadows that leap from the wall.