Well, I guess we better get back to Lara and the others.

After the ordeal by the 《Red Bird》 and 《Blue Bird》 was over.
　I muttered that and tried to turn on my heel (kibisu).

''Master, take care of yourself.''

　The two birds' voices overlap.

　But still...Still, I have a feeling there was something left?
　Flatteringly, it can't be said that I have yet to regain the power I had before my reincarnation. Before my reincarnation, I still had my power.
　What should I do now?

I'd like to have a look at the situation with Lara and the others before that.

　Aside from me, are Lara, Marise and Cynthia really able to slay the non-existent......contradictory creatures?
　I have used consciousness sharing magic on the three of them beforehand. With this, I can watch the three of them from a distance.

'It's fine to watch them slowly after we get back, but I want to see the progress of the three of us as soon as possible. Let's watch them for a bit.

　I focused my attention and shared my consciousness with the three of them.

　◆ ◆

Marise, you're in danger!
Yes, sir!　Thank you!
I still can't get the damage through...

　The three of them were in a vague picture in my mind.
　Lara, Marise, and Cynthia's figures were covered in dirt and were dirty in places.

''Ha, ha........''
You're not going to get anywhere with this.
I'm getting tired indeed...

　The three of them put their hands on their knees as they look at the contradictory creature.

　Hmm, they seem quite exhausted.
　On the other hand, the contradictory creature that exists while existing......................is pinging.
　The contradictory creature is looking at the three of you as if it were assessing your goods.

"I knew it........we can't defeat the contradictory creature with us, can we?

　Lara whimpers.

'That's not true. Kurt will always only put us through a level of testing that we can overcome.'

　Marise encourages.

'Yeah you're right we need to get at least one shot through to the contradictory creature. Kurt's going to be disappointed........

　Cynthia hasn't lost her will to fight, either.
　But.

"Hmmm, but I'm tired!　I can't move another step.

　Perhaps it was due to moving around for a long time, but Lara buzzed her hands around like a sluggish child.

''But just one shot... and if you think of it as just one shot...''
Lara!

　The contradiction creature attacks Lara, who is exhausted.
　Marise tries to cast a warding spell, but she is unable to do so in time.
　Lara is the most vanguard and moving role among the three of them. She must have accumulated more fatigue than the three of them.

　Do you want to help?

　No, this is.........

'It's tough.....'

　Lara looks at the contradictory creature coming towards her with empty eyes.
　She just watches in a daze, and her thoughts don't seem to be working.

　Still........Lara is also accumulating experience by working with me.
　Reflexively, I reached out my hand and let the Fire Spear fire.
　There would have been no wasted consciousness intervening there.

　The spear of fire extended to the contradictory creature and slipped through its body as before--


　Doggone it!


　--there was none.

　Splendidly, the Fire Spear hit the contradictory creature and made a loud explosion sound.

''What?　What do you mean?

　Lara rolled her eyes.
　When the black smoke disappeared, the contradictory creature had completely disappeared.

'Lara, what's going on!
"We've been hit by a creature of contradiction...

　Marise and Cynthia immediately run up to Lara and ask her about it.
　But she still seems confused.

Wow, I don't get it either. It's just that I was too tired to release my magic without thinking about it, and that's what happened.

　I said, fumbling.

'Don't think about it ... that's it!

　But hearing that, Marise seemed to flash something to her.

'Kurt said to see the contradictory creature in his mind's eye. Isn't that what Lara did?
What do you mean...?

　Cynthia nods her head.

'Perhaps, but we need to defeat the contradictory creature... otherwise we might get killed... or we might disappoint Kurt...' ...those evil thoughts and distractions are what hinder us. What if we get rid of them and release the magic with an honest heart...?
'Hmm!　I don't know what little Marise is saying!
It can't be helped. Because I don't really understand it either.

　Hmmm, you've finally arrived at an answer.
　Contradictory creatures are the very essence of the mind.
　It's going to be like a riddle quiz, but let's say, for example, I think of three people in my mind. But they are not actually in front of me.
　This is the logic of contradictory creatures.

　The way the mind is - in other words, in order to defeat him, you have to stand on that same stage.
　In that case, the 'evil thoughts' and 'miscellaneous thoughts' that Maryse mentioned would be a hindrance.
　How could you notice them in about two hours?

　But even if you do notice them, it's not easy to do so.

'Marise!　It's like they're mad at me!

　The contradictory creature attacked the three of them at once, as if they were upset that they had been hit by something on earth.

''Erase messy thoughts, erase messy thoughts.......Fire Spear!

　Lara held up her hand and unleashed her magic as before.
　However, the fire spear passed through the contradictory creature and could not do any damage.
　The very idea of erasing contradictory thoughts........ can be a contradiction itself.

''Mind's eye........''
Marise, you're not safe!

　The contradictory creature attacked Marise.
　But she didn't panic, she kept her eyes closed and placed her left hand on her chest.
　It was as if time stood still only around Marise.

'Fire Spear.'

　With a calm voice sound, Marise mutters a single word of her magic name (Mahouna).

　Then a spear of flame shot out and struck the contradictory creature. Just like Lara's, the contradictory creature disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

''Marise, amazing!''
How did you do it...?

　Lara and Cynthia spluttered.
　Marise, on the other hand, didn't dwell on it and didn't turn her gaze away from the contradictory creatures that still remained.

'I used to be made to do mental training when I was a child. I would sit upright on the ground and if I moved in the slightest, I would be beaten from behind. At the time I thought I was just being bullied, but I never thought I would be useful here.

　However, that is certainly what feeds Marise now.
　He was firmly able to catch the contradictory creature with his mind's eye and attack it.

''Is there a trick or something?
I want to know...

　Lara and Cynthia ducked attacks and prevented them with warding magic, while asking Marise.

''It's difficult. It's just important not to panic. It's a good thing that the attack power of the contradictory creature is not so great. It's a good idea to have your heart in the right place, even if you get attacked once, you won't die.
Mmm, it's not easy.
But if you don't try you won't get through this ordeal...

　Lara looks like she's shying away, but there's a definite motivation hidden in her eyes.

　Hmm, I wouldn't worry about it if this was the case.
　It won't take much more time to realize this much.
　I was relieved by that and blocked out the images floating in my head.

　◆ ◆

As I said, the three of you are growing up at a remarkable rate.

　I admire it.

　But right after that the ground suddenly starts to shake.

"Hmm........an earthquake? No, this is.........

　The shaking of the ground was so great that rocks were peeling away from the ceiling and ground.
　The cave is bound to collapse at this rate.

'Yes, I remember. You still have a lot of work to do, don't you?

　I remembered what happened a thousand years ago and looked at the Red Bird and the Blue Bird.

''The previous one was a prelude. Now is the real test.

　Totally, a thousand years ago, I was quite a gimmick.

　I didn't feel any fear of the ordeal that was about to come.
　On the contrary, I found myself feeling uplifted.