Chapter 130 : Awakening – 2
Chapter 130: Awakening – 2
Snap.
As if trying to imitate Magireta, Kaid snapped his fingers.
I hurried back to the Coffin.
And I checked the appearance of the one remaining Doll inside.
‘As expected.’
The Doll inside the Coffin.
When the Quest had first begun, I had looked at the Dolls inside the Coffin and thought this:
– An androgynous appearance, impossible to distinguish between male and female.
– All of them had identical brown hair and eyebrows.
– It was like looking at thirty identical twins.
But the real Dolls did not look like that.
Kaid had merely altered their outward appearance.
The true appearance of the Doll was…….
“Hmm? That’s…… me?”
Armelia muttered blankly.
The last remaining Doll bore Armelia’s appearance.
“What is this? Why is Her Highness the Princess lying there?”
“It definitely didn’t look like that just a moment ago.”
“What exactly is going on?”
I calmly explained to my flustered Companions.
“That was the true appearance of the Dolls.”
“Huh? Then why did they have completely different faces until now? Did Magireta change their appearance?”
“I will explain that later. There is something more important right now.”
I lightly cleared my throat to draw their attention.
“At first, there were thirty Dolls. And there were also thirty participants in this Quest.”
“…….”
“And just as Her Highness the Princess’s Doll is now inside the Coffin, originally there were thirty Dolls inside it, each bearing the faces of the thirty participants.”
“Hmm.”
“This was the true Third Hint.”
However, that explanation alone did not seem to be enough.
The participants, including my Companions, only tilted their heads in confusion.
Carefully, I chose my next words.
“Do you perhaps remember? When we first opened the Coffin, Aina examined the Dolls one by one.”
“Ah, yes. I remember.”
“At that time, Aina pressed the cheek of one of the Dolls. And…… yes, you there.”
I pointed at one of the Ordinary participants.
“Me?”
“Yes. At that moment, you suddenly slapped your cheek. And what did you say?”
“Uh……. I said I thought there was a mosquito.”
“Why did you think there was a mosquito?”
“My cheek suddenly felt itchy.”
That was it.
I shook my head and said,
“There was no mosquito.”
“……?”
“The Doll whose cheek Aina pressed was connected to you. That is why your cheek felt itchy, and that is why you mistook it for a mosquito.”
Now that I thought about it, at that moment we had witnessed the decisive Third Hint right before our eyes.
We simply failed to recognize it despite seeing it with our own two eyes.
I continued.
“When the Thief struck the Coffin just now, the impact was quite severe. The Dolls inside must have taken the blow as well.”
“…….”
“At that time, some of you collapsed to the ground or coughed up blood. Her Highness the Princess also staggered then.”
“Th-that’s true. There was too much chaos at the time, so I dismissed it as nothing serious.”
“Do you not understand what that means?”
Thud.
I pointed at Armelia inside the Coffin.
“That Doll is connected to Her Highness the Princess. The thirty Dolls inside the Coffin were each connected to their respective participants.”
“Connected……? What does that mean?”
“The damage the Dolls received was transmitted to all of you without exception. Why do you think that is? Perhaps the Dolls and you are the same existence.”
The Doll inside the Coffin was the participants’ physical body.
It was never some mere Doll that Magireta had created for the Game.
That was why, when the ones inside the Coffin were struck, some of the participants received the same shock.
“You and that Doll are one.”
“One…….”
“And finally.”
I pointed at the Doll.
No, I pointed at Armelia’s body.
The Doll Kaid had fashioned earlier was truly just a Doll.
Aina had even said it was absolutely not a person.
But now, no one could call this a Doll.
– Rustle. Rustle.
A faint, quiet sound of breathing.
Her chest rose and fell.
“Look. Her Highness the Princess here is now…….”
Just before I could say, she is asleep,
I saw Magireta.
She stood behind the participants, covering her lips with her index finger.
– If you say any more, you will be eliminated.
That was what she meant.
“……That is as far as I can explain.”
The Doll and the participant were, in truth, one.
The same existence.
And the Doll was asleep.
Therefore, the participant was also in a sleeping state.
Yes.
The participants were dreaming!
‘This is the final hint.’
At that moment—
“Ahhh…….”
Armelia was the first to ‘realize’.
I hurriedly placed my hand on her right arm.
Tick.
The Mini Bulletin Board appeared.
On it was written:
– Pass.
Whew.
Letting out a breath, I said,
“Your Highness, have your memories returned?”
“Y-yes. Now that I understand it, it was such a simple Game. I should have realized it sooner.”
“It is all right. It is not too late.”
“What about the others?”
Soon after, Berseum realized it as well.
Aina and Benjamin, and even Sienne, all came to their realization.
When I brought up their Mini Bulletin Boards, each one read Pass.
“Ah, how embarrassing. Why did I only realize it now…….”
“Mason, you are truly remarkable. How did you notice so early?”
“Indeed. If I am not mistaken, you seemed to have already figured it out even before the Third Hint appeared.”
“Well, there is a reason he is our leader. Once again, we owe our lives to you, Mr. Mason. Thank you.”
As if they had made a promise, they all bowed their heads to me.
Embarrassed, I waved my hands dismissively.
Soon after, the other Ordinary participants also began to realize it one by one.
“Eheheh. So that’s how it was.”
“What a cunning Quest.”
“It almost makes me feel wronged for exhausting myself during Boundary Duty.”
“But we survived. We’re alive now!”
“Thank you. Truly, thank you, Mr. Mason.”
One after another, they realized that they were inside a dream.
Including our Companions, twenty-seven, twenty-eight.
Twenty-nine people realized it.
“……?”
I tilted my head.
Who was it.
The one who had come all this way and still hadn’t realized it.
At that moment, Aina suddenly kicked Karin in the calf.
Thud.
“Argh! You little bastard, seriously…….”
“Hey. What are you doing?”
“What do you mean what!”
“What do you mean what. You need to realize it already. We don’t know when the last Doll will be taken!”
Although it involved a bit of violence, Aina’s face was filled with anxiety.
The other Companions were the same.
Karin scratched her head roughly and answered.
“No, it’s like I almost get it, but not quite? So the Dolls were actually ourselves…… and the Dolls and we are connected.”
“Right, right. You’re almost there. And then?”
“…….”
“You frustrating idiot. How on earth did you pass the Third Quest “Pop Quiz”?”
“I, I barely scraped by. That Quest.”
I calmed Aina down first.
To begin with, if she hadn’t been the Princess, she would have been eliminated early in the Third Quest “Pop Quiz.”
“The more you rush her, the less she’ll be able to realize it. For something like this, you need a bit of composure.”
“Phew. I guess. I only realized it at the very last moment too, so I’m not really in a position to talk. I’m just worried.”
“You truly have such a kind heart. It’s like watching my own daughter.”
“So Aina sees Karin as a friend.”
“Mm. My little brother never had friends his age, after all.”
Aina shouted that it wasn’t true.
In the meantime, Karin had plopped down on the ground and crossed her arms.
“Ha, fuck. What is it?”
“…….”
“Guys. Let’s hear your opinions too. Hm? No, no. It’s not time to eat right now. Ah, you’re noisy, be quiet. Ah, right, I did say I’d listen to your opinions. Yeah.”
She was sprawled there talking to Spirits.
I whispered to Armelia Kerr Dneroum.
“As expected, Karin is the last one.”
“As expected? I thought it would be Aina.”
“No. Aina doesn’t lack intelligence; she just lacks study.”
“So Karin lacks intelligence, is that it?”
“I can hear you all, you know…….”
I was speaking in as light a tone as possible, but in truth, I was starting to grow a little anxious too.
The Time limit Magireta had set on her own.
When that time arrived, the last Thief would come.
Just how many minutes were left…….
“……! Karin, hurry!”
I shouted as I looked at Magireta.
She was slowly raising her arm.
There was no way she would take such a pose without meaning at a time like this.
“Hyung-nim. One more Defensive Spell…….”
The next moment.
My concentration rose to the extreme, making time feel slow.
Whoosh.
Magireta lowered her arm.
Berseum unleashed his magic with all his might.
A Defensive Spell was constructed.
But before it was even half complete, I saw the faint afterimage of the Thief.
The Thief reached toward Armelia inside the Coffin.
My tongue moved slowly.
“Do…….”
It was then.
Thud.
Someone suddenly grabbed the Thief’s arm!
Even when we had attacked with all kinds of weapons, the Thief had only passed through like a ghost—yet someone had grabbed its arm.
And time began to flow normally again.
“I told you, Mr. Mason.”
“Kaid?”
“I said that if you avoided my trap, I would take your hand.”
Right.
Kaid Bel blocked the Thief.
We could only gape in shock.
Sienne stammered.
“H-how? Our attacks didn’t work at all.”
“Well. I, too, become omnipotent under certain conditions.”
Those ‘certain conditions’ must mean the dream world.
Since Karin still hadn’t realized it, he was phrasing it indirectly like that.
Thud!
Suddenly, Kaid kicked the Thief in the abdomen.
The creature let out a roar and was sent flying dozens of meters away.
-Crack. Crack.
Kaid’s body changed.
The one who had looked utterly ordinary transformed into something grotesque.
His body grew to about three meters tall, and a large horn sprouted from his forehead.
Most striking of all were the iron-plated scales covering his entire body.
Scales so thick that ordinary attacks wouldn’t even scratch them.
“So that’s your true form?”
“That’s right. I fight better like this.”
“Fight? For us?”
“Since Mr. Mason splendidly saw through my trap, consider it a small service.”
He rolled his wrist and tried to approach the Thief.
At that moment, Magireta’s voice rang out.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Yes? As you can see, I was about to beat up the Thief.”
“You’re insane.”
She continued in an ice-cold voice.
“Sorry, but it’s time over. The ‘Real’ Eighth Quest is over.”
At those words, Kaid’s foot stopped abruptly.
Magireta looked at Karin and said,
“She’s eliminated. She failed to realize it until the end.”
The Companions trembled all over.
But soon they steadied themselves and, as one, stood with Karin behind them.
It looked as if they intended to protect her with their full strength.
Karin spoke in a trembling, tear-soaked voice.
“W-what are you all doing?”
“…….”
“It’s fine, I said. I’m just stupid and couldn’t realize it. You don’t need to protect me.”
“Shut up. If you’ve got time to say that, use your head.”
At Aina’s retort, Karin closed her mouth.
Soon, she clasped both hands together seriously and sank into thought.
Watching that, the corner of Magireta’s mouth twisted upward.
“How pathetic. No matter what you do, that woman’s elimination won’t change.”
“…….”
“Go to Hell and get along nicely with Helena. Of course, neither of you will recognize the other as a Monster.”
She raised her arm once more.
At that moment, I urgently cut in.
“It’s not over yet.”
“It is over. The time I set has already…….”
“Yes. That’s just the time you set, noona. We never agreed to it.”
“Little brother.”
“All the Quests so far have been like that. The only things that apply equally to both you and the Participants are the rules written on the Bulletin Board!”
What had been written on the Sleepwalking Quest Bulletin Board?
If you fail to realize that this is a dream before the Thief of the Fake Quest Boundary Duty in the dream steals all 30 Dolls, you will be eliminated.
I only moved my lips.
If I mentioned the rules of Sleepwalking with my own mouth while Karin still hadn’t realized it, that would mean elimination.
-The rule’s Time limit is until the Thief steals all 30 Dolls. Not some deadline you set on your own.
-Originally, all 30 Dolls would have been stolen earlier. I adjusted it that way.
-But in reality, that didn’t happen, did it? Looking at the result, there is still one Doll left on this side.
-…….
-Then the game isn’t over.
Magireta bit her lip.