The Wood Golem made of wood—no, Nidbolg—said,
– Regression magic is essentially no different from spatial magic. As long as you can set precise coordinates, that is.
Eugene nodded.
“You mean the theory that time and space cannot be considered separately.”
– Correct.
Bella frowned.
“……Is this a class now?”
How had the conversation, which had begun with a question about why the version of him from this point in time had died and ended up in that state, come this far?
Bella shook her head as if it hurt.
“Time, space, what are you even talking about……?”
“It’s fine. You don’t need to force yourself to understand.”
For once, Eugene soothed Bella gently. But when she heard that coaxing tone, Bella instead rebelled.
“Do I look that stupid to you?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. This is difficult to begin with. Just think of it simply. Moving through space from here to there and moving through time from today to yesterday are roughly similar in principle.”
“So I’m asking how that’s similar.”
“There’s no end if you try to understand that. It’s no different from asking why I exist or how this world was created. Just accept it. Most people can’t understand it anyway. I’m the same. Or do you want to spend decades studying in this tower too?”
“…….”
Only then did Bella stop asking. Judging by how her lips were sticking out a foot, her pride seemed to have been wounded. Given her personality, which could not stand losing, it was understandable.
Eugene thought it was rather fortunate that Bella had stopped here.
The Nidbolg golem, who had been watching the two of them, continued explaining.
– Spatial transfer and time travel are effectively no different. But unlike spatial coordinates, which can be perceived through the five senses, temporal coordinates cannot be perceived. That is why time travel has been impossible until now.
– It is like how a blind man cannot distinguish between a red apple and a blue apple to eat.
By that point, Eugene could tell what Nidbolg wanted to say.
Through regression magic, Nidbolg had actually sent Eugene and Bella back into the past.
Which meant…….
“Archmage, are you saying you discovered a way to perceive time?”
– Yes. I learned that method.
In simple terms, it meant Nidbolg had become able to look into the past and future.
“……So that’s how you were able to use foresight. You only had to find and look at the future or past you needed.”
– Correct. Though it is not as easy as you make it sound.
Kkkk, Nidbolg laughed.
– The problem was that once I became able to perceive the past and future, confusion set in. I no longer knew which was the real me—the me of the present, the me of the past. Or the me of the future.
– I do not even remember now. At what point in time did I acquire this ability? I came to exist in every timeline in which I could exist.
“Does that mean…… the you who sent us back to this time and the you who existed in this timeline were essentially the same person?”
– It will be easier to understand it that way. Especially because my consciousness was perfectly connected with the ‘me’ of this timeline, which became the relay point for the Regression Magic Circle.
Bella’s expression grew increasingly lost. Eugene also shook his head as if his head hurt.
Nidbolg continued.
– In any case…… becoming that was not a good thing. I did become able to use foresight and move between timelines to some extent, but only briefly.
– The sensation of existing in every timeline was not a confusion a single being could endure, and in the end, I went mad. More accurately, it would be better to say that I escaped the frame of being a person and transformed into another existence.
“…….”
– Because of that, I was completely excluded from this world.
“Excluded?”
– It means I died. What is speaking with you now is nothing more than a diary I left behind before going mad, stored in the form of a golem.
Silence flowed.
Bella swallowed a groan, and Eugene looked at Nidbolg with a grave expression.
After a moment, Eugene sighed and said,
“Well, fine. Let’s say for now that the Archmage of this time died as a side effect of regression magic. Then what should we do now? If we’re going to stop the Voidnir invasion, wouldn’t it be better to inform the commander of this right away, persuade the emperor, and prepare?”
Bella was startled by those words.
“Report it to the emperor? Then what about us?”
“Even if we’re Twinstella, we’re ultimately individuals. There’s a world of difference between individuals moving and a nation moving. We just need to accurately deliver the information we know. We can handle the rest afterward.”
Eugene spoke coldly. While Bella was choosing a question to refute him, Nidbolg opened his mouth first.
– If you do that, you will die. And all the information you reveal will be buried.
“What?”
“Pardon?”
The two were flustered by the unexpected words.
In that instant, Eugene asked as if he had realized something shocking.
“Surely…… you’re not saying the emperor is in league with the Voidnir, are you?”
– I do not know that.
“……?”
He was saying more and more incomprehensible things. Eugene frowned.
‘Is this damn golem broken?’
Just as Eugene, suspecting a malfunction, was about to try hitting the golem’s head, Nidbolg’s golem spoke.
– The Voidnir are not merely mindless monsters.
That was something they already knew. Eugene and Bella nodded.
“We know. Only the lower entities lack intelligence. The higher entities are cunning bastards that form strategies and command others.”
– It goes beyond that. They have already entered human society.
“What?”
Bella stared at Nidbolg as if the idea were absurd. Eugene also looked bewildered and dumbfounded.
“What do you mean? Those monsters?”
– There are some among them capable of mimicking humans. I do not know when they entered. But even in this point in time, they should have infiltrated quite deeply.
In fact, did they not succeed in assassinating the emperor even in the timeline you experienced?
“The emperor’s assassination incident……! That was their scheme?”
It was a shocking statement.
In the timeline before Eugene and Bella returned, the emperor had been assassinated by a mysterious being, and because of that, the Dragon Empire lost its central pillar and fell into civil war.
That was why they had been unable to respond effectively to the Voidnir invasion that followed.
“Why are you only saying that now? If you had told us in advance before……!”
– I did not know either. I learned it only after accessing other timelines.
Eugene pressed a hand to his forehead.
“We’re completely screwed.”
“Why? Now that we know they’re hiding among humans, can’t we find them immediately and crush them?”
“And how do we know who they are?”
“That is…….”
Bella hesitated to answer. Eugene spoke with a serious expression.
“Now we can’t open our mouths carelessly. Unless we know which bastards are Voidnir, we can’t share this information with anyone. If they learn we came from the future, they’ll try desperately to kill us. They’re bastards who could even assassinate the emperor, so we wouldn’t be able to sleep properly.”
“I will not be assassinated.”
Bella muttered sharply.
“Well, now I’m curious whether you’d survive if someone fired Taranis at you from far away while you were asleep.”
Taranis was a sniping spell used by high-ranking mages.
It was a technique that could kill even a dragon if it struck without any particular defense.
When one was sleeping, detecting an attack through things like killing intent was difficult as well. Realizing the reality Eugene was talking about, Bella clenched her teeth.
Eugene sighed.
“For now, we have no choice but to move on our own.”
“On our own?”
“Yeah. We need to somehow catch a loose thread on those bastards and expose their true nature publicly. Then the Dragon Empire will move. We know what they are, so somehow, it should be possible.”
“Did you not say that if we drew their attention, we would be assassinated?”
“Yeah. But that’s risky for them too. If they have definite proof that we came from the future, then they’ll accept that level of risk, but if not, they won’t be able to act so easily. Not if they’re meticulous enough to target the emperor.”
As Eugene said that, he looked at Nidbolg as if seeking agreement.
Nidbolg smiled.
– I am not that clever. I am merely a common man who devoted centuries to studying magic. In that regard, your judgment will be far more accurate.
Was that really something for the Archmage who had become humanity’s last hope in the life before regression to say?
That thought crossed Eugene’s mind, but Nidbolg merely smiled calmly.
He continued.
– In truth, even after I obtained the power to handle time, I could not stop the Voidnir. I was so overwhelmed by the fact that I had realized a new truth that I had little interest in what the monsters did or how they did it.
“…….”
– But even if I was fine with it, watching everyone else disappear seemed somewhat wrong. The problem was that by the time I realized that, I was already on the verge of losing my humanity. That is why I found you.
Nidbolg’s eyes turned toward Eugene.
– Have confidence. You are intelligent.
He looked at Bella.
– You are brave.
He took the two of them by the hands.
– And since the two of you are bound by the connection called Twinstella…… you will be able to reach a far better result than I did.
Nidbolg brought Eugene and Bella’s hands together.
– So there is no need to worry.
Eugene and Bella said nothing. It was because they felt as though they were receiving encouragement from their parents.
The Archmage was certainly an Archmage. Even though what stood before them was merely a doll containing only fragments, it felt as though his presence would not be forgotten.
The light in the golem’s eyes flickered. The prepared mana had begun to drain away.
Nidbolg rose.
– There is no time. Since you have come this far, I will give you gifts.
He approached the desk in the center of the laboratory, searched through a drawer, and took out a box from within.
He set the box down in front of Eugene and Bella.
– Open it.
Bella nodded and opened the box. Inside were two necklaces and one bracelet.
A pair consisting of a golden necklace with a sun emblem and a silver necklace with a moon emblem.
And a rough bracelet made of diamond-shaped chain links, with a blue jewel set in the middle.
Eugene and Bella naturally each picked up the golden necklace and the silver necklace.
– Those are necklaces that can detect nearby Voidnir. If a Voidnir approaches within about twenty meters, they will signal you.
“Do they work on Voidnir mimicking humans as well?”
– Yes. They would be unnecessary on a battlefield, but I made them because I thought they would be quite useful to you now.
That was exactly right.
With these necklaces, at the very least, it seemed they would not be ambushed and killed by a human-shaped Voidnir.
And then there was the remaining bracelet.
Nidbolg took the bracelet out himself and handed it to Eugene.
– I will give this to you. It was originally something I used, but I no longer need it. It will help you improve your magic.
“……This is an item of a type I have never seen before.”
It did not seem to be some famous relic or anything of that sort.
But the moment the mana flowing through the bracelet touched his fingers, he felt it.
This was truly no ordinary object.
Meanwhile, Nidbolg turned to Bella.
– Unfortunately, I am a mere scrap of a mage, so I have nothing in particular to give you.
“That is all right.”
– But you should know. You do not need my gift.
“…….”
Bella fell silent at those meaningful words.
As if he had finished his task, Nidbolg stepped back from the two of them. The golem’s eyes were flickering as if they would go out at any moment.
It was time to say goodbye.
Realizing that, Eugene reached out.
“Wait. There’s one last thing I want to ask.”
– Ask.
“What happens to us from now on? You have foresight, don’t you? Then shouldn’t you know how things will be resolved going forward?”
Nidbolg laughed.
– You ask me something like that? You already know everything anyway. Then, farewell.
With those words, the light went out.
Rattle. The golem turned into a block of wood and collapsed.
Bella poked Eugene in the side.
“You know…… What exactly do you know?”
“What do I know? I just know that no one knows what will happen from now on. This world is chaos.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
“It’s just a thing. Let it go.”
Eugene scratched his head roughly. Bella crossed her arms and sank into recollection, as if turning over the words Nidbolg and Eugene had exchanged.
But the two shared the same impression of what had just happened.
Bella murmured,
“I am stunned. Was what I just saw real?”
“I feel the same. It’s like we just entered a fairy palace from some story and came back out.”
As Eugene said that, he looked at the necklace and bracelet left in his hands.
“As for the necklace, I can just wear this. And the bracelet…… I guess I just put it on?”
The more powerful a magic item was, the harder it was to handle. Some magic items even exploded on their own if handled incorrectly.
Knowing that well, Eugene hesitated for a moment, then carefully undid the bracelet’s clasp.
It had been given to him to use anyway. He did not want to waste time analyzing it just to figure out how to use it.
He placed the bracelet on his wrist and fastened the loosened clasp.
At that moment.
RATTLECLACK!
The jewel set in the bracelet emitted light, and the chain-linked metal body began tightening around Eugene’s wrist as if it were alive.