Basilio couldn't say anything. Plimene was shedding tears. It was just a single drop, but it created a great ripple in his heart.
He wished she wouldn't cry. He hoped she wouldn't be sad. But reality was too cruel.
Basilio knew as well. What choice he was trying to make right now. Though he said it was for everyone's sake, this was something that would leave an indelible wound in Plimene’s heart.
'I am...'
He didn't want to die. He too wanted to live long. But the peaceful life he truly desired wasn't what he had intended to achieve by becoming such a lich.
"Julius. Please don't do that. Surely, there must be some way."
"......"
Basilio looked at Plimene. The person he loved. It was so before, it is so now, and it will be so in the future.
Beyond Plimene, he could see Martinez and Malina confronting Red Eternity. Black chains wrapped around their bodies and golden flames swept over that being.
But Red Eternity was far too intact. Rather, the two people were being pushed back rapidly.There wasn't much time left. He had to make a decision here.
"I'm sorry."
"......!"
Plimene knew what intention Basilio had when he said those words. The moment she moved her lips to say something, her body was drawn away as if pulled by something and flew far away.
"Julius!"
In her receding vision, Plimene saw Julius creating a sharp stake with his right hand. Julius held it in his hand and aimed it toward his wide-open vessel.
A life vessel is a lich's heart. As long as this remains intact, a lich will never die no matter how much their skeletal body crumbles.
But Basilio had no awareness of being a lich. He still thought he was human and wanted to live as such.
The reason he openly carried his heart in his body, unlike other liches, was for that reason.
Red Eternity was strong. Even though it was just a fraction of the power it possessed, their party had been swept away without being able to do anything.
'I have to admit it. That being is strong. No matter how many like me there are, we could never win.'
Can an ant face an elephant? It cannot. Moreover, the gap between himself and Red Eternity was far greater than that.
Red Eternity wanted him. If he couldn't win by fighting it, if he couldn't inflict any wound on that being.
'At least, I'll screw you over in the best way I can!'
Basilio stabbed the red stake he held in his hand into his heart.
Since it was a stake made with his own power, destroying the vessel should be entirely possible.
-Flinch!
The moment the tip of the stake was about to touch his heart, the stake stopped 1cm away in midair. Basilio wondered if he had unconsciously stopped due to fear of death, so he gritted his teeth again and tried to thrust the stake in with force.
But that wasn't it. No matter how much force he applied, the stake didn't budge as if it were fixed in midair.
Basilio turned his gaze away from his heart and stared straight ahead and faced the bright yellow pupils looking at him from close range.
Before he knew it, Red Eternity was standing within arm's reach of him. Over its shoulder, he could see Malina and Martinez collapsed.
-Clang.
The stake fell from his weakened hand. Red Eternity extended its hand toward Basilio. Its long, thin index finger touched his heart.
-Tap.
And Basilio's consciousness disappeared as if being sucked into something.
Basilio woke up from a dream. He looked around and could see his room, which was equipped with necessary items.
"What was I doing?"
A young boy's voice echoed. Basilio realized he had become younger, then suddenly recognized that his memories had become confused.
'Right. I definitely fell asleep late yesterday while solving assignments.'
This place where he stayed was the dormitory of a school that taught magic. Basilio, no, Julius was staying here receiving teachings.
"Julius. Are you awake? You must have been very tired yesterday."
A dormmate and friend from the school opened the door and entered. Julius looked back at him.
The first thing that entered were shoes identical to his own and robes and uniforms bearing the school's symbolic crest.
And the person wearing them was a red mass of flesh with a completely crushed face. No facial features were visible, only a twisted spiral form in the center that flickered as a breathing hole. And yellowish pus was flowing through the gaps.
It was such a shocking sight that just looking at it was breathtaking, but Julius thought it was familiar. Even seeing the appearance of this flesh monster dormmate, he didn't think it was strange at all.
"As if that would be the case. I was just being lazy."
"Then it can't be helped. Anyway, we're going out to drink today, so you're coming too, right?"
"Me? I'll just..."
He was about to say it was bothersome, but since he had nothing else to do, he said he would go.
Julius left the dormitory with his dormmate. Every time they walked down the corridor, they could encounter the school's magicians.
Their appearances were also miserable. Someone's head had transformed into tentacles that swayed like sea anemones, and someone's face was split left and right like a clam with eyes densely embedded.
Julius gazed out the window. Part of Tirna's cityscape was visible. Beyond the city's silhouette that had changed after encountering the industrial revolution, he could see massive red tentacles writhing. Eyeballs hanging from streetlights rolled around looking down at people. Tentacles writhed here and there from the brass gas pipes.
"What are you looking at so intently?"
"No, just. The scenery looks different today somehow."
"Haha. What, are you really not fully awake? It's the same scenery we always see. It's so identical that I'm getting sick of it now."
Julius, who was about to question that remark, thought about it and nodded, agreeing that it was right.
"Right. That's true. It's the scenery we always see."
"You know too, well, they say the city is rapidly developing and changing, but that doesn't reach our eyes."
"That's true. This area was already fully developed anyway."
"Right. This is all thanks to Red Eternity's grace."
"Yes. Red Eternity's...what?"
Julius asked. But his dormmate didn't seem to hear the question and led the way, calling him.
"What are you doing? Come quickly. If you're late, you're buying the drinks."
Julius followed his dormmate, unable to shake off a subtle uneasiness.
Julius joined the other school members who greeted him warmly. Naturally, every one of them was a monster wearing magician's clothes.
They entered a tavern. It wasn't a place they frequented often, but one they entered because it looked decent as they were passing by.
"This place is..."
Julius felt that this shop was somehow familiar. Why was that? This feeling that made his heart race. Julius entered the shop and examined the interior. Employees were moving around among the people who had come earlier to eat.
Julius particularly observed the employees' appearances closely.
-Swoosh.
An employee whose head writhed and moved as a single tentacle brushed past him. When Julius saw that sight, his dormmate tapped his arm.
"What's with you? Are you interested in that person?"
"No, just..."
"You're a magician. A promising talent at that. Do you need to show interest in just some employee like that?"
Julius didn't give any particular answer to those words. He felt stuffy as if a stone was placed on his chest, and somehow distressed.
Even though he hadn't drunk alcohol, he felt dizzy as if drunk, and even though he was awake, it felt like he was dreaming.
That day, Julius drank heavily with his friends and returned to the dormitory.
After that, similar days always continued. He received teachings, researched school magic, and repeated practice. When he had time, he hung out with dormmates and friends to relieve stress.
Julius thought his life was very desirable. Even if not for the entire city, at least in this district, his life might be the most fulfilling.
"An errand?"
"Yes. Why, don't you want to?"
His teacher, full of mischief, asked. Julius quietly stared at his teacher. Unlike other people, his teacher still retained human form. Though his face was somewhat twisted, he was still human-like. But he didn't find this strange or feel anything about it.
"It's just that you're asking me to buy flowers."
"For life science research, studying plants is particularly good. Since elves are exclusive and don't teach us such techniques, shouldn't we at least learn on our own?"
The teacher's words were reasonable, so Julius couldn't retort. He still didn't understand why it had to be him, but he decided to let it go.
For some reason he didn't know, just meeting with his teacher and having such conversations made him feel good.
'Am I going crazy? What's so good about that bald old man that I'm acting like this?'
Julius thought he must be very tired and left the school building for his errand. As he walked around the streets, he found a suitable flower shop.
"This place is."
Julius unconsciously stopped walking. It was a small flower shop. It didn't seem to have all the flowers he was looking for.
It was a place he could have just passed by, but strangely his interest was drawn to it.
Julius lingered in front of the flower shop for a while, then tried to go inside. Then there was a hand that grabbed his shoulder.
"Julius. What are you doing here?"
"Huh? Oh what. It was you."
"You were loitering nearby so I thought you were a suspicious person. The guards might misunderstand."
"No, just, at the flower shop..."
"Flower shop? I had no idea you were such a girly person."
"It's not like that. My damn teacher said he needed it, so I'm running an errand."
"Really? Then you don't need to go to such a small shop. There's a big flower shop near the station. Let's go there. They'll have everything you need there."
"I..."
Julius hesitated for a moment. His gaze was directed toward the flower shop. He didn't know why. He just felt like he should go to that place.
"...No. Let's just go."
Just as he was about to move according to his dormmate's words.
-Please. Julius.
Suddenly he heard someone calling him. Julius's steps stopped.
"Julius? What's wrong?"
His dormmate, who had been walking ahead, turned around. A creepy mass of flesh with only twisted spiral holes like a whirlpool. Julius didn't answer.
-Promise me. That you'll definitely come back.
The voice continued to be heard. Even though it was definitely a voice he was hearing for the first time, it was strangely familiar. Every time he heard this voice, one side of his chest felt like it was being squeezed and torn apart. He didn't know the reason. It was strange even thinking logically. But he felt like he should enter that flower shop.
"No. That's just an auditory hallucination."
His dormmate in front of him said. An auditory hallucination? Did I say I heard some sound? Strange scenes appeared in Julius' mind. He saw some woman grieving. He saw himself suffering. He also saw himself swept up in anger, mercilessly seeking and killing heretics.
The image of a skull reflected in a puddle. The cityscape with white smog rising. The special people he encountered within it.
"Julius. Pull yourself together. It's all hallucinations. Did you forget? We've been like this from the beginning."
"Right. I..."
Julius tried to recall the past. He was an orphan. He didn't know his parents' faces. However, he was exceptionally talented in magic and by chance caught his teacher's eye, so he was able to enter the school.
The appearances of all the people he had encountered were all horribly twisted masses of flesh. That was natural. All the scenery he had seen was like that.
-Julius!
The cry faded away like an echo. New whispers replaced the empty space.
-Do not doubt.
-Accept the flow.
-Submit to me.
Countless whispers rustled like bugs, eating away at his memory and mind. Julius staggered and sat down on the spot. With one hand holding his face, he raised his head and looked directly at his dormmate.
"...I was fighting right now."
Basilio slowly stood up from his spot. Before he knew it, a black mask was covering his face. The laughter that had been felt from his dormmate was completely erased.
"Right. This was an illusion you showed me."
"No. This is the truth. A predetermined future."
"Predetermined future? If you know so well, why couldn't you handle me alone, and why did you go through such troublesome and bothersome acts?"
The city's scenery crumbled. The melting scenery transformed into a red and terrible landscape reminiscent of hell. People screamed and terrible cries overflowed everywhere. Countless masses of flesh tangled together without distinction between friend and foe writhed, and rivers of blood red like magma flowed through the gaps.
Basilio looked at Red Eternity facing him in that world.
An eyeball protruded from the center of the black whirlpool-like face and stared directly at him.
-Resistance is useless. The predetermined future cannot be changed.
Basilio let out a groan. It was fine that he had escaped the hallucination that being had created, but the situation still hadn't changed.
Red Eternity approached and Basilio couldn't resist. Red, withered tree-like fingers approached toward his forehead. The moment the tip of the index finger touched the mask, just like before.
-Whoosh!
Pure white flames erupted and engulfed Red Eternity's hand.