Chapter 92: The Clock Tower Trembles
It felt as though she had been thrown into a cold, deep sea. She couldn't breathe at all.
What did death feel like?
For the girl named Olga Marie, this was a question that had long since lost meaning a hundred years ago.
To her, death was not terrifying. What was truly terrifying was... continuing to consciously and endlessly live a life more horrifying than death itself.
Therefore, when ORT's destructive alien laws activated, she felt no fear — only an overwhelming sense of relief.
She accepted this assimilation and resolved to put an end to the tragic life of Olga Marie Animusphere.
Rumble!
However, just as she quietly closed her eyes and waited for her soul to be shattered, a streak of red light brushed past in front of her.
She furrowed her brows slightly and opened her eyes in surprise.
In the center of Chaldeas' terrifying gravity field — a place where even light was distorted — a young man was approaching her.
As a stellar calculator, Chaldeas' most proud ability was its power to manipulate gravity and attraction.
Yet, for some reason, these so-called gravitational forces were easily nullified the moment they touched him.
"Magic Sword: True World" — it was a work that perfectly embodied the concept of the Moon King.
Aside from the "Moon" that symbolized celestial gravity, there was no one more skilled at manipulating gravity and attraction than her.
"Who... are you?"
The silver-haired girl blankly looked up at the young man right beside her. A faint light finally appeared in her unfocused eyes as she unconsciously muttered, "Matou Yuu? Why... are you here...?"
"First, let's get out of here together!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Matou Yuu extended his hand toward her.
Almost simultaneously, ORT's death crystals — symbolizing "Crystal Valley" — violently surged upward, submerging the girl's slender neck and beginning to erode her pale, beautiful cheeks.
An instinctive survival drive flashed in Olga Marie's eyes. She unconsciously tried to raise her hand, but just before her fingertips touched the young man, she pulled it back as if she had been electrocuted.
"Don't touch me... ORT's Crystal Valley is a conceptual, indiscriminate assimilation! If you touch me now, you'll become the same——"
Before she could finish her trembling warning, her wrist was suddenly gripped tightly.
A warm hand mercilessly tore through ORT's alien laws and firmly grasped her already half-crystallized hand.
Matou Yuu exerted all his strength and dragged her out of the collapsing core.
"Enough with the pointless talk. Let's go!"
On both sides lay desolate ruins completely swallowed by "Crystal Valley."
However, the blue crystals that should have mercilessly frozen everything in the world retreated obediently to the side the moment they touched Matou Yuu, as if they had encountered someone familiar.
Olga Marie stumbled after him. Her mind was still completely blank. She blankly raised her face, and all that entered her vision was the back of the young man in the black robe. Under the eerie blue light cast by Crystal Valley, his shadow stretched long and far.
Finally, she could no longer suppress the doubt lurking deep in her heart.
She walked barefoot across the floor tiles illuminated by the strange light, exhaled a faint breath, and moved her pale lips slightly as she said, "Why... why did you save me?"
Without turning around, Matou Yuu pulled her forward and said, "It's too unfair that someone who hasn't done anything wrong has to bear all the responsibility in the end."
"The one who committed crimes worthy of the death penalty is Marisbury, not you. So if anyone has to pay the price, that bastard should atone with his life."
The moment she heard that name, Olga Marie's face — which had been numb for a hundred years — violently spasmed. Unconcealable pain and hatred flashed through her eyes for an instant.
However, she soon lowered her head deeply and was enveloped in a deathly silence.
Noticing the girl's silence behind him, Matou Yuu's heart stirred slightly, and a strong curiosity spread through his chest.
He knew the general outline of Olga Marie's tragic past, but he had no idea about the deeper details — how she had survived for a hundred years inside this black hole, and how she had been transformed into an Alien God.
Just as his thirst for knowledge began to rise...
Buzz—!
Before the two of them could even take a step out of the crystallized domain, the long-dormant blue crystals around them suddenly began to shimmer, as if breathing.
Immediately after, a deep blue light surged toward Matou Yuu like a tide.
Startled by the sudden blinding light, Matou Yuu unconsciously narrowed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, he was shocked to find that all the collapsed walls and ruins around him had disappeared.
He was now in a strange, fantastical world.
The silver-haired girl whose hand he had been holding had long since vanished.
Where is this...?
"This is the power of ORT."
Deep within the spiritual sea, Crimson Moon — who had been responsible for cutting through gravity with the magic sword — returned to her languid observer's tone and said, "That colossal spider can completely freeze an entire planet and devour all its energy and concepts without leaving a trace."
"In other words, the hallucination you're seeing right now... should all be the memories of the girl that monster just devoured."
Yes... After sharply sensing Matou Yuu's "curiosity" toward Olga Marie, ORT had very considerately spat out the memory data it had just digested.
What slowly unfolded before Matou Yuu's eyes was the hundred-year-long corridor of Olga Marie's memories.
When the pale blue light completely disappeared, Matou Yuu unconsciously looked around.
Clearly, this was a very small cleanroom laboratory.
In the center of the laboratory's operating table lay a girl with long, flowing silver hair.
She was tightly strapped to a metal bed frame, surrounded by expressionless staff members in protective suits. They held scalpels in their hands and whispered to each other in a language completely unknown in human history.
Then, one of the staff members picked up a scalpel and precisely aimed the blade at the girl.
Matou Yuu's pupils contracted. He instinctively reached out to grab the knife, but his fingertips passed straight through the girl's body.
"No... it hurts so much! Please... let me go... Uwaaaaaah..."
The girl struggled desperately, her golden eyes filled with extreme terror and despair.
What happened afterward felt as though someone was tampering with the hands of a clock. Matou Yuu was forced to become a bystander. He could only sit in his seat and watch the hundred-year-long movie unfolding before his eyes.
Yes... Olga Marie had no memories of going anywhere outside this research institute.
On the first day of the experiment, Olga Marie lay on the table, struggling violently, screaming, shouting that she was human, and desperately trying to communicate with these "monsters."
On the second day of the experiment, she let out cries of agony... Even Matou Yuu, who was watching from the sidelines, felt his blood boil at those horrifying screams.
That day, through the magic mirror outside the laboratory, he was shocked to see a familiar figure — Marisbury.
The man stood there, coldly looking at his own daughter with an indifferent gaze, as if recording experimental data, then turned on his heel and left without looking back.
Day 3...
Day 4...
After this inhumane human experimentation continued for a full month, she no longer had the strength to scream and could only let out desperate sobs.
Half a year later, she could no longer produce any sound.
For a century, the girl was repeatedly vivisected, regenerated, and had her nerves extracted while still alive.
And under the system's forced settings, she was repeatedly healed and regenerated, preparing for the next day's dissection.
Over the past hundred years, the only time she showed an extremely fragile and almost gentle expression was when the group of old scientists who had been tormenting her retired...
In that extremely brief moment when she was strapped to the stage, the fleeting time she had spent fighting alongside Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others at Chaldea finally resurfaced in her mind.
That was the only "joy of being human" she had experienced in her long, tragic life.
This was the life of "Olga Marie."
This extremely heavy memory flashed violently before Matou Yuu's eyes like a projector playing at 100x speed.
Although the playback time wasn't long, that sensation... A century's worth of accumulated extreme despair and pain gave the bystander Matou Yuu an almost suffocating sense of oppression.
Even after the memory corridor completely closed and the surroundings returned to the crystal ruins, he remained unable to stay calm for a long time. He gripped his hands tightly and blankly stared at the silver-haired girl covered in wounds.
"...What's wrong?" Olga Marie noticed the trembling in her wrist and couldn't help but ask.
To Matou Yuu, it felt as though he had experienced a nightmare that lasted a hundred years. However, to the real-world Olga Marie, the young man had simply stopped in place for a few seconds.
She blankly stared at the black-haired young man. She couldn't understand why the gaze he directed at her had become so complicated.
It was sympathy... and also a terrifying rage that had been suppressed to its absolute limit.
"...I'm fine."
Matou Yuu took a deep breath of the cold air and forcibly suppressed the killing intent welling up in his chest.
He quietly shook his head, then gripped the girl's cold, small hand even tighter.
"Come on. I'll get you out of here."
Whether it was because Crimson Moon was currently in a "special possession" state or simply out of consideration for the tenant, ORT unusually did not stop them. On the contrary, it allowed Matou Yuu to leave Chaldeas' territory while carrying the "highest-grade soul crystal."
Boom!
With the complete removal of that "core," the already dying Chaldea finally met its end.
The next moment, the colossal stellar outer shell exploded, turning into countless crystalline fragments that rained down upon this desolate void like a sorrowful first snow.
Having lost the system's support, Olga Marie collapsed onto the cold floor the moment she crossed Chaldea's boundary. She looked like a puppet that had squeezed out its final strength.
"Director!"
Without caring about anything else, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash had already rushed forward.
The two girls supported the frail silver-haired girl from both sides, calling her name in tearful, anxious voices as tears streamed down their faces.
However, Olga Marie's mental burden had already reached its limit.
She barely managed to open her eyes and looked at the two familiar tear-streaked faces before her.
She wanted to stand up and scold them like before, but no strength came to her.
In the end, she could only manage a faint smile, as if she had finally reached safety.
Then, an overwhelming wave of fatigue assaulted her. She slowly closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Through the power of the crimson moon, Matou Yuu keenly sensed that an extremely faint final sign of life was still desperately clinging on inside this body that flickered like a candle in the wind.
He slowly stood up.
"Mash, Ritsuka. The two of you, don't take your eyes off her for a while."
The two girls instinctively looked toward the young man and hesitantly said, "Matou Yuu-san, you..."
"Don't worry about me. There's something I have to do."
Matou Yuu calmly looked around and asked, "Where's Marisbury?"
The group looked around, but were shocked to find that Marisbury, who should have been outside just a few minutes ago, had completely vanished without a trace.
"My, that important person is faster than a rabbit."
At that moment, Sajyou Manaka — who had been watching the show as a spectator — smiled and opened her mouth.
"While your attention was focused on Chaldeas, he used magic to slip away. He's probably already quite far by now?"
"Where?" Matou Yuu asked calmly.
Sajyou Manaka paused for a moment, but her smile remained. She simply extended her slender white fingers and casually pointed in the right direction.
"They went that way... However, I sensed a large number of very high-level magical reactions there."
She paused for a moment before looking up at the young man with a gentle gaze. "If my memory serves me right, those people are all residents of the Clock Tower's highest floors... Among them, there should be quite a few of that Lord's 'old acquaintances,' right?"
Without hesitation, Matou Yuu headed in that direction.
"Wait! Matou—!"
The moment he heard the words "Clock Tower," Waver's face instantly became serious and solemn. He said, "No matter what heinous crimes he committed, you should know that he is still the Lord of the Department of Astromancy. According to the rules, until he is brought to the Clock Tower for a joint trial by the Department of Law and the Department of Politics, no further discussion is possible."
Matou Yuu stopped.
"After returning to the Clock Tower... what then?"
Without turning around, Matou Yuu quietly asked, "Will he receive the punishment he deserves? Or will a hundred years of torture be easily erased as long as he pays enough money?"
"That's only natural. It's the law of the Department of Law..."
"What if he uses all of Chaldea's technology for political deals?" Matou Yuu asked again.
Waver's voice suddenly cut off.
He knew the people of the Mage's Association very well.
Those high-ranking Lords were not only magi, but also ruthless politicians who would devour people down to the bone without spitting them out.
In the eyes of politicians, there was no justice or mercy — only self-interest.
If Marisbury really discarded the massive piece of meat called Chaldea... the result was obvious.
Waver's silence had already replaced his answer.
Matou Yuu stopped speaking and walked toward Marisbury without hesitation.
El-Melloi II instinctively reached out to grab his disciple. He knew what the young man was trying to do, and if he carried it out, Matou Yuu would face the hostility of the entire Mage's Association.
However...
He stared at the back of the young man in the black robe slowly walking away with a sword in hand. His mouth opened, but in the end, he said nothing.
In the end, the teacher let out a long sigh and silently followed after him.
…
"Haa... haa... haa..."
In a dark alley at the edge of Snowfield City, rough and heavy breathing echoed.
Marisbury leaned against the wall and suddenly raised his head, staring at the people before him.
"It's truly surprising... I never imagined that the dignified Lord of Astronomy of the Clock Tower would fall to such a stray-dog appearance."
From the end of the alley, a man in a refined formal suit walked out with extremely elegant steps.
He looked at the disheveled Marisbury and gave him a bright smile. "It's been a while, Lord Marisbury."
Marisbury took two deep breaths and forcibly calmed his violently beating heart.
When he looked up at the man before him again, his gaze gradually softened.
"Are you... McDowell?"
McDonell Trambelio was the leader of the "Democratic Faction" among the Clock Tower's three factions.
Beside McDowell stood a tall woman with short hair. She exuded an aura that was somewhat unapproachable, like a polar glacier.
It was none other than Barthomeloi Lorelei, a candidate for the Clock Tower's master and the leader of the "Aristocratic Faction."
Behind her, dozens of fully armed elite magi quietly blocked all escape routes in and out of the street.
The "Queen of the Clock Tower" didn't even spare Marisbury a glance as she coldly declared, "Marisbury, Chaldea should have already filed your death certificate, shouldn't it? You faked your death and even caused such a huge commotion outside... It seems you've been hiding quite a lot from the Clock Tower for the past ten years."
She paused for a moment, then slightly furrowed her brows and quickly glanced toward the direction of the Crystal Hill Hotel. "What exactly happened over there?"
"This is a long story..."
Marisbury straightened his suit's posture and spoke in a calm tone once more. "To put it simply, I'm currently in a bit of trouble and need to leave this city as soon as possible. If the two of you are willing to shelter me in the name of the Clock Tower, the Animusphere family will be eternally grateful."
This statement represented the tacit approval of the Department of Astromancy. The political influence behind it was undeniable to any faction.
"As colleagues, out of respect for Animusphere, we can certainly help. However..."
McDowell gave the silver-haired man a meaningful look. "You should know that expecting someone to help you based solely on past relationships is unrealistic..."
Marisbury was momentarily at a loss for words, then couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.
As expected, these greedy hyenas were always waiting for the perfect opportunity to devour carrion.
"McDowell, there's no need to beat around the bush. I know what you want."
"If I return to the Clock Tower... I can unconditionally disclose the foundational code of Chaldea and the core technology of 'Spiritron Transfer' to you."
The corners of McDowell's mouth twisted into a grin, and his eyes shone with unconcealable greed. "Very well! Then it's a deal. I'll use all the power of the Democratic Faction to escort Your Excellency to the Clock Tower... What do you say, Your Excellency?"
He smiled and turned his face toward Barthomeloi Lorelei standing beside him.
The arrogant "Queen of the Clock Tower" merely snorted coldly and showed her deep disgust, but in the end, she declared in a firm tone, "I have no interest whatsoever in your dirty deals. I don't know what Marisbury has been doing outside, but no matter what crimes he has committed, as a Lord of the Clock Tower, only the Supreme Court of the Department of Law and Politics can deliver the final judgment."
Upon hearing those words, the tension in Marisbury's body finally completely relaxed, and a faint smile reappeared on his face.
Although he had gone full circle and returned to the starting point, as long as he was alive, he wasn't worried about being unable to make a comeback.
Regarding the so-called "trial" at the Clock Tower...
Considering the connections he had built over the years at the Clock Tower and the technological legacy he possessed, the possibility of the judges in the Department of Law and Politics actually sentencing him to death was extremely low.
In the cold and twisted society of the magical world, trampling on human ethics or committing crimes against humanity was never considered a serious issue.
The only rule for survival in the magical world was to prove to the politicians an irreplaceable mystical value.
In the end... Chaldeas had been destroyed, and there was no way to verify anything.
Who would actually go all the way to the Clock Tower to list his crimes and settle this debt?
The corners of Marisbury's lips curved into a faint smile as he spoke in a gentle tone. "Then everyone, without further ado, let's depart from here——"
Tap, tap, tap.
However, the moment he finished speaking, Barthomeloi suddenly heard footsteps from outside.
Along with the footsteps came an indescribable, terrifying magic.
Barthomeloi immediately furrowed her brows and spun around, shouting toward the entrance of the alley, "Who's there!?"
Almost simultaneously, all the elite magi guarding the Clock Tower let out groans of pain and collapsed to the ground one after another.
McDowell and Barthomeloi exchanged glances. A strong sense of unease welled up between them as they hurriedly led the people behind them out of the alley.
The moment they saw the sight before them, the pupils of these two high-ranking Lords instantly contracted to their maximum.
On the street ahead, a young man in a black robe was charging forward with a sword in hand. Behind him, the elite magi — said to be the Clock Tower's strongest force — were collapsing one after another onto the cold floor.
At that moment, all the magi remaining on the scene were deeply shaken. An overwhelming sense of terror surged into their heads at once.
Notably, ever since the actual department head had gone into "semi-retirement," Queen Barthomeloi had effectively ruled the Mage's Association with an iron fist.
Who would dare to kill the people she wanted to protect right in front of her eyes?
These powerful figures — who usually disregarded human life — had their expressions dramatically change. Some were terrified, some were crushed by despair, and some openly displayed shock and anger at having their authority challenged.
However, the man in the black robe completely ignored them.
He single-handedly broke through the multiple barriers erected by the Mage's Association. Under the panicked and terrified gazes of the politicians, he raised his right hand and hurled the "Magic Sword: True World" — which symbolized the highest authority of the Moon's ultimate origin — toward Marisbury, who was being protected in the center of the crowd!
What followed was an angry, low growl.
"You bastard!"
Boom—!!!
The crimson sword light was like a Sword of Damocles piercing through the stars. The Clock Tower's composite magical barrier — said to be capable of withstanding even the treasures of the entire city — shattered into pieces like fragile glass the moment it touched that light.
The violent torrent of magical energy caused the ground of the entire street to collapse with a thunderous roar!
…
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