Come on over.
　Nacht lowered the girl off her back and sat her down in a way that made her hold the woman's hand.
　The rest was up to the two of them, and all Nacht could do was prepare to leave this place.

'Well, sorry to keep you waiting. Now it's your turn.
　When Nacht was about to slice through his prison with his claws.

Oh, here it is!
　What an echo of Aisha's words, but unfortunately, after her hand had moved.
　The iron bars that confine the adventurers are made of demonic steel, and the strength of the iron that absorbed the magic power is said to be ten or twenty times stronger than normal iron.
　But the result is exactly the same as before. Since it was sliced like butter, Garen and the others could not help but be stunned and speechless.

''Ah, Nacht-sama!　I tried to find the key, but...
　No, that's not the point of the plunge.
　Galen, Sasha, and Al's plunge was in perfect agreement.

　Nacht's hand reaches out to the three of them who are stunned.

''Kook!'' Huh? Wha...?
　They couldn't say anything to the current situation where the thick demonic steel was being sliced up with just a flash of crimson claws.
　The three of them were free in the blink of an eye.

　Nacht looked at the last remaining beauty princess. Her slender physique looked beautiful just because she was in her underwear. Several materialistic chains were tied to such beautiful skin, and she was bound under a magic circle with a collar, so she was much more sensational than the s*x slaves who were naked.
　Her ice-clear blue hair and narrow eyes had an intimidating atmosphere to them. His entire expression was lightly colored with emotion, and he seemed to feel no shame even now that he was tied up in his near-naked form.

''Well, the rest is the beautiful woman over here--what's the magic circle below...?''
　Nacht was about to step into that magic circle without any warning.

''No, that's not a good idea if you go in with restraint magic!
　Sasha panicked, but Krista, who had a deeper understanding of magic, didn't say anything.
　She had intuited from the beginning that that was exactly how Nacht had appeared here, defeating Duran unharmed from the moment he appeared here. That was why she was convinced that perhaps the magic the bandit had set up would not be able to restrain him.
　And he was right.
　As Nacht stepped in, there was a bang and the magic circle disappeared.
　The high magic resistance of the legendary-grade (Legendary) armor Nacht wears, the Embrace of Night of Breath, was unbearable and the formation dissipated.

''What?　Not only did nothing happen, but it's gone, okay?
　There was no way for Nacht to know that.
　But for some reason, all he could think of was that the magic circle had disappeared.

'Well, it saved me a lot of trouble. Next is the magic circle of the collar - the domination of the demon user (tamer) system, more like servitude.
　There were no items that could bind people in the Real World Online.
　There was magic that could temporarily control people, making them unable to act or in a state of so-called friendly fire, but the only complete slavery system was that of a demon opponent.

''It's a demon sealer's crest. The magic power is suppressed. If it's your magic power, if you pour it in, I'm sure it will break the crest by itself--
　Without hearing the last of Krista's words, Nacht gently touched her neck.

''Hn--''
　Krista's inchoate voice leaked out.
　Nacht tried to gently channel the magic into the rugged accessory--

'Hey!　Hmm--!　Ah--!　Well, let's just take it a little slower.

Hmm?　That's what I've been told, but you'll have to put up with it because it will break soon.
　Krista's cheeks flushed slightly and her teeth were clenched together, and Nacht's eyes looked as if she was enduring pain.
　But in reality, it wasn't.
　Other people's magic power is a mass of discomfort. It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

''What!　Hmmm, hmmm!　Whew!　----!　----!
　Nacht's magic power was enormous, and his momentum was also incomparable to that of an ordinary person.
　After a short period of agony, the collar cracked with a crackling sound.

I'm not going to be able to get the manacles off.
　Nacht tried to remove the last remaining manacle, but Krista controlled it with her hand.
　Then, expressionless and somewhat angry, she tugged on the manacles in a messy manner.
　A creaking metal scream could be heard, and with her bare hands, Krista tore off the magic steel.


　I heard a voice that was not too filled with gratitude.
　Nacht, who was not quite sure what to do, but Krista kept her back to him.

'Krista!
　Sasha hugged Krista.
　Krista wiped Sasha's tears from her eyes with her hand.

''I'm sorry, it's all my fault. But for now, we need to get out of here--'
　Nacht's quiet voice interrupted Krista's words.

'Well, wait--there's no threat already. Besides, there are still kids out there fighting.

What did you do to it?
　Krista says, looking at the small child and the strange woman huddled together.

'I've connected them, souls - I'm sure they're arguing with each other right now, like a father and son fight.
　Nacht's eyes, looking at the girl with her shoulders on top of each other, were gentler than ever.



◇



　Rana was just a villager.
　She was born in a relatively old pioneer village out of the unknown number of pioneer villages, and that's all she was, with a little bit of good looks.
　Since she was born a mere villager, she had a set way of life.
　I would help at home, and when I was fourteen or fifteen, I would marry someone in the village and work at home again. That's all.
　It's not that I was unhappy with it. I even thought I was happy enough to eat.

　However, it is a dream in its own way for a mere villager.
　I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.
　Of course I know it was a dream.
　In reality, she thought that nothing would change, and the only time it would change would be when she was in danger and dead.　

　Rana's turning point came out of nowhere.
　A dream is a dream, she had just given up on it when a man approached her.

It's love at first sight!　Marry me!

　He was never a good-looking man. I wasn't a good-looking man. Nor was he rugged. He was a little wealthy, but it was unfair to compare him to the nobility and royalty.
　He was not the man I had dreamed of, sweaty, passionate, and straightforward.
　His name was Fren.
　He was the son of the village chief of the pioneer village, had a bit of education, had trained under a merchant, and was now a peddler traveling around the pioneer village.
　Never in my wildest dreams did I dream that such a man, who was so far from my ideals and not my favorite to joke about, would suddenly propose to me when we first met.

'Please, I'll make you happy!　Absolutely, I want to live and breathe with you!
　Despite the fact that she had refused several times, it was Rana who broke off first after being told so persistently every time she visited the village.
　Perhaps Rana was unknowingly drawn to him because of his foolishly honest and backhanded smile.

　He was a man who was often away from home on a peddling trip, but when he came back, he was always screaming his love to the point of mayhem.
　Thinking back, Lana smiled that he had been that kind of man since the beginning.
　While they had a daughter and lived a reasonably happy life, Fren made a proposal one day.

'I think I'll set up home in a trading city. I'm a merchant myself. I'd like to have my own castle and let you and Nina live a happy life.
　Rana had decided to move from the village to the city to spend more time with her husband and daughter.
　It was a little like the form of happiness she had once wanted, and Rana was sure it must be happy.

　Until that day, that moment, that day, that moment, when her husband and her beloved daughter had been killed - she hadn't.

　About seven days away by carriage, that's the distance between Rana's hometown and the Free Trade City.
　The incident took place on the fourth night when it started to rain.
　For Rana, the time of that day that she would never forget happened in just a few minutes.
　The guards surrounding the carriage noticed the presence of bandits and the battle began, but Rana didn't know much about it. Because she was holding her little girl in her arms and shivering in the carriage.
　But the scene that still sticks in her memory and never leaves her--

"Gee-hooo... run, Rana. I'll take care of this...

　It was a blood-stained sword that shot out of her husband's abdomen.
　The filthy laughter and words of the thieves were the blades that cut through his chest.
　Her husband's fallen form was the blunt instrument that broke Rana's heart.
　And the tragedy accelerated.

　It may not have been because of the horrific scene, but Nina, who was still a small child, began to cry.
　Perhaps the young child crying out aloud was uncomfortable, the bandit mercilessly swung his sword in front of Rana----and Nina's head flew in the air.
　It must have been that moment. Something broke inside Rana--.

　I screamed.
　No matter what he was beaten, beaten, kicked, stabbed, raped, or otherwise, he just wailed.
　May the heavens and the earth reverberate a little with my vindictiveness.
　To God, to the dragon, to the dragon, to the gods, to the dragon's own hatred, may my hatred reach them even a little.
　I knew it was meaningless, I knew it was worthless, and yet I screamed for my life.
　He just kept cursing people, this world, until his voice crushed, his blood vomit spilled, his tears dried up and he was on the verge of death.

　When my throat was crushed and I couldn't speak, I almost forgot how to say the words anymore.
　Many times I thought of dying as I was thrown into prison and defiled every day by thieves who visited me on a whim.
　But if he died, it would end there.
　The hatred, the vindictiveness, the vengeance would be crushed there.
　That's why Rana wasn't ready to die until these filthy bandits had died out.
　That's why Rana, who was no longer responsive to the point of being ridiculed as a puppet, just clung to life.

　Then one day, a rare newcomer was brought in.
　A young, but beautiful, thin blonde girl.
　To such a girl, who would have been unhappy to live, Lana saw her former daughter growing up.
　Is that why?
　Rana, who had forgotten how to speak.

'Is that the kind of hobby you have with your poor daughter, boys?　I don't seem to have enough company?

　It must have been the reason why I spoke so naturally.
　I taught the empty girl, who was spilling tears, how to live here.
　I lent her my arm as she fell asleep at night.
　I taught her techniques to end the act quickly.

　I couldn't teach Nina these things, I thought, and I continued to support the girl's mind.
　Then the end came to the long, painful nightmare.
　It was a girl who appeared.
　A girl who would have knocked down, tossed and slaughtered everything in this place that even the top adventurers weren't suited to, and who would have saved everyone.
　The girl who couldn't use words was no exception.
　She was like a god.
　She seemed to understand everything without opening her mouth.

　Oh--

　Finally, I was able to see it through.

　Consequences--

　At least it seemed that God, or rather the world of man, was decent enough to give death to the wicked.

　So this is - this moment is the end of life that had stopped.

　Rana closed her eyes in front of the little god.

　And then--.　　

No, sis!

　The time of the end did not come.




◇




　It is the world of the soul.
　It is the foundation of living things, the place of beginning, which determines one's appearance, one's will.

　The all-white room is terribly dim.
　Shadows fall everywhere, and the ear piercing screams of the woody ghosts over and over again.
　An endless cycle of vindictiveness.
　Once the voice echoes, the curses swallow and continue to echo uninterruptedly, later and later. Eventually it hits the wall, swallowed, reverberates and repeats itself.

　The little visitor shouted the words that had stopped coming out in the back of his mind, drowning out even those voices.

No, sister!　Not if he's dead!　No, no, no, no, no, Emma is sad.
　This is not enough.
　Still not enough?
　Desperately, desperately, I rattled off the words.

''You ... you ... you could talk ...''
　Despite that, Emma almost slipped away from Rana's answer.
　In the first place, Lana should have heard Emma's voice, though it was a scream, but she should have heard it.

'Not so!　Why, why...　If Nacht-sama saved us, why do we have to die?　That's terrible!　You can't do this!　I could have been rescued by your sister........!
　The girl remembered the warmth in her chest that wrapped her body in the cold prison and held her like a treasure.

''Ha, Chimiko, you're so cheeky. But - I'm already done. The vindictiveness that I appealed to you to hold on to life has now been rewarded.
　So that's enough.
　This time a voice like that echoes back.

'Difficult words I don't understand.........'

You didn't have to come all this way. I've had enough of this. You'll never be happy, but, well, live long enough.　
　Lana called out to her, her eyes still closed as if to admonish her.
　But Emma looked into Lana's closed eyes and shook her head, spilling tears.

It's impossible........I'm already broken enough......it's impossible for me to live by myself.......
　It was only because of the warm palm beside her and the little compassion that Emma was able to barely hold on to her speechless, nearly vanished spirit.
　Lana's eyes, which had almost closed, reflected a small, sobbing Emma.

'I'm all alone now. Even if I get out of here, I will be alone. There is no way I can survive.　I'm alive because of you!　Your sister was like the mother you lost so you could live - and you didn't leave me alone!　Please ... I'll do whatever you want ... so don't leave me alone!

Emma...........................

'I know your misfortune. This place has taught me that you are unhappy. So I also know that you've settled your past, that what was your role is over, and that you have no reason to live in the present.
　So--

　--Why not me?

　Am I not a reason for you to live?　Isn't it worth it?　Can't I be your new daughter, not a replacement?
　A little desire that is childlike, and yet not childlike. It is the will to live.
　I can't speak with a dignity.
　My body has been smeared with filth.
　My mind is also not normal.
　But that's the way it is for both of us.
　That's why Emma needs Rana.　

'I haven't given anything back yet!　You've helped me so much, and I haven't been able to repay you in any way. And now you are trying to disappear from my presence. That's not possible........my life was saved by you.......
　Emma was going to use all the strength she had to help Lana.
　But right now, she could only expose the weakness in her heart.
　She couldn't stop the drops from pouring out of her eyes.

'Emma, dear,'

Can't I call you "mother"?
　Rana stared at the little girl.
　A girl with a crumpled face, a worried face, a pathetic face, and what was wrong with her, a girl of a few oddities who would say such things against the living dead.
　But it's all probably because Emma is right.

　Rana had just asked Emma to replace Nina.
　Whether it was the love she gave her, the kindness she felt, or the desire to help, she wanted a replacement for the daughter she lost that day. Such was the weakness of Rana's heart. Otherwise, she couldn't live without it. Nevertheless, when she was satisfied, she let go of it like a tool. It's a dirty, ugly ego.

　Rana has no reason to live. She has no will.
　There was, or should have been, no reason for her to live.
　There should have been no reason to live in this world without a family.
　And yet, Emma says she wants to catch this woman and become her daughter.
　It's shameful.
　What a pity.
　She ran away from the consequences of her own weakness, and afterwards she made this little child cry.


　It's the same reason as any other time.
　I just didn't want to see Emma cry, and that's the only reason my mouth was open on its own.

''Huh!　No, it's not!　Absolutely not!

You're about six years older than Nina. So Emma's a big sister to you, then?

Yes.........yes.......!

'I've spoiled Fren too much, and I'll raise him reasonably hard, okay?


　I was so drowning in tears that I couldn't get the words out of my throat.
　Instead, Emma shook her head vertically over and over again.

'Ogaazan!　Mother!　Emma's, Emma's mother!

Ha, what. That's a very spoiled little girl.
　Lana stroked the hair of the little girl crying in her arms.
　Before she knew it, the darkness cleared and a ray of light illuminated the room.
　Mixed in with the light, a drop spilled from Lana's eyes and gently fell to the ground.

　--I'm sorry, Fren, Nina. I had to get to work before I came by. So you'll just have to wait a little longer.

　I follow a ray of light, and my consciousness emerges from the deepest depths of the water.

　A small room, somewhere bright in the dimly lit prison.
　Even there, Emma was hugging Lana with a crumpled face.

'Ugh, oh, gah, zah, zah!

"-Okay, yes, you're a spoiled brat. My Emma.