ตอน 48: Chapter 48: Spirit Arena
Words: 2,199
...
I stayed lying on the bed for the first time while feeling what it's like to be beaten to death.
There were still six and a half hours left until the meeting at LuthorCorp.
It seems I missed some live streams in the chat.
Rias Gremory: Martial arts? I train my Destruction more. But what you showed looked impressive.
Erina Nakiri: I'm just learning for now. Grandpa found a sensei for me, but now he's leaving on his own journey soon.
Shinoa Hiragi: Your aura really helps you, as I can see.
Erina Nakiri: Did you decide to communicate normally without any perverted comments? Did something happen while I was away? By the way, I was rewarded for broadcasting our little sparring with the sensei.
Hermione Granger: You shouldn't have brought up that topic...
Hermione Granger: But I think she's just holding it all up until Tony arrives in her world.
Erina Nakiri: Hm?
Erina Nakiri: Why does Tony-kun need to go to her world?
Anthony (Administrator): I have business in her world.
Erina Nakiri: ...suspicious.
Shinoa Hiragi: Erina is suspecting something? That sounds interesting. The Administrator-kun just wants to ravage this poor, poor girl...
Hermione Granger: And here we go again. Anthony noted about needing souls...
Hermione Granger: Frankly, it sounds very ominous.
Winter Schnee: I agree.
Rias Gremory: Even for me, and I'm a devil.
Anthony (Administrator): Don't make me a villain... too obvious. I recently fought a damn god and lost miserably, but that's not why I'm going to Shinoa's world. There are a bunch of vampires there to kill them.
Hermione Granger: If I didn't know you and we hadn't met in person, I would have thought you were a dark wizard.
Shinoa Hiragi: The Administrator-kun is hard to understand.
Rias Gremory: With a god⁈ Anthony, are you okay⁈
Anthony (Administrator): Thanks for worrying; I'm somewhat okay, but it hurt my pride.
Rias Gremory: Winter, you don't say much. Are you often busy?
Winter Schnee: Yes.
I took a deep breath and took my sword out of the ring.
It was only when I used it to fight a god that I almost instantly lost. I couldn't even scratch him.
However, the sword did surprise him, so I believe it is possible to hurt or even kill him with my sword.
The only question is whether it will work since he won't just stand still.
"And yet there are beings more powerful."
I exhaled and decided to check out the Spirit Arena after all.
I wouldn't say I like it, but there's no point in backing out, and I still have enough time.
I picked the Spirit Arena I needed when I was in a dark place again.
"Well, at least no one is attacking,"
I said while looking around... I was in my room. The same one where I woke up in this world.
"This is not the Battle Arena, so no one will physically attack me."
I heard an annoyingly familiar voice.
I noticed another Anthony sitting at the table when I turned my attention to the voice.
"You didn't expect that?"
"You know, now I understand what the spirit has to do with it. Is this the Mind Arena?"
I asked.
"Spirit."
Anthony corrected me.
"Great..."
I approached the window and noticed the bustling city.
"Is all this an illusion?"
"A good question that is not worth answering. I know all your fears, your thoughts... Do you think the DC world is real?"
"I won't fall for this childish trick."
I replied.
"Oh, I'm not trying to deceive or confuse you. I'm just bringing out your deepest fears."
Anthony waved with a slight smile on his face.
He looked like me when I first woke up, and he was slightly less muscular and shorter.
"The world of comics, the DC universe, but many people want to go despite what actually happens in this universe. Get the cheat abilities and enjoy life, crush enemies, kill gods... It's all just simple, and I would say it's boring."
"Yeah, there's that. But..."
"... I want to become stronger because I have a family?"
Anthony sneered while looking at me with some irony in his eyes.
"Lena, the sister...is not yours."
He chuckled.
"You deceived her, Anthony. She doesn't know that her real brother vanished—that her real brother disappeared because of you."
"Your lies don't work."
I shook my head while examining the room, not finding any differences from reality.
"The original Anthony and I became a new person, and his somewhat apathetic 'self' merged with me. We are one and the same person. I have already ensured that I am the body's original owner, so... we simply became one."
I said.
"And you believe that? That entity just tossed out poor original Anthony... and now this sister, there is a werewolf in Anthony's body. This werewolf seduced her. You're just like a demon."
Anthony continued speaking.
"You draw out my fears and manipulate them to suit your purposes... to test my beliefs and willpower?"
I speculated.
"No-no, I don't manipulate, I'm just telling you, you get me?"
Anthony flashed his pearly white teeth.
"Trying to get stronger so as not to feel like a bug in this vast universe. The excuses you want to be strong because the world is dangerous and you want to keep your sister safe."
"Not excuses, but a perfectly logical reason. There's Darkseid wanting to take over the Earth, other Kryptonians, and many others."
I replied.
"Hmm, your luck... How did we get so lucky?"
Anthony suddenly said it aloud.
"Who is 'HE,' to whom the Will of the Universe referred? And why us? Why did you end up in the Abyss? Why were we given the opportunity to spin the wheel of fate, and how lucky were we to get an SSS-rank item? This doesn't all seem like an incredible coincidence, as if..."
"...someone helped me."
I finished his thought that I had pondered many times.
"There's no point in thinking about what you can't understand. I was given a new chance at life. I have a loving sister and power. Magic, alchemy..."
"And you're still afraid to kill."
Anthony chuckled while approaching me closely and looking into my eyes.
"You are afraid to get blood on your hands even though you say it's necessary. You trample on the 'Justice' of heroes, but you yourself fear the path you intend to take. Laws are made for the weak, and you've already realized that, right? There are no laws for people like you, Zatanna, Clark, or Bruce, but they have their own principles that bind them."
"I've already gotten my hand dirty."
I disagreed.
"Oh, you know yourself that it was... rather an effect of your appearance. You were slow to think but you still decided to kill your own brother. Yes, he was quite the bastard, but your blood flowed in him, and you killed him."
"And I did the right thing."
I sighed.
"Indeed."
Anthony unexpectedly agreed.
"And yet you're afraid to start killing for your plans."
"Yes, but I'll still do it. I'll go through it myself, but I'll do it."
I said this while turning away from Anthony's intense gaze.
"Hmm, you'll do it. Only a powerful person can make a difficult choice—a choice that can tarnish his soul. The weak won't make difficult choices like this. That's why Batman is weak, and that's why Superman is weak no matter how strong he is. They can't make the difficult decision when it's necessary."
"Yes, you're digging deeper than I expected."
I snorted unhappily.
"And what did you expect from an S-rank item? So, is our world real?"
Anthony asked again while approaching the window from which I asked about the illusion.
"What difference does it make?"
I said and resigned.
"This is our world, we live here, and it's real for me."
"Correct answer, Anthony."
After these words, everything began to blur, and I found myself in a dark room... and I felt a lightness.
A lightness of acceptance and understanding.
"I've had enough of this crap."
I said this when I returned to the bedroom and got out of bed.
First, they beat me up and trampled on my pride, and then they started messing with my mind.
It happened that I got some awful S-rank thing...
...
[3rd POV]
Winter had been thinking a lot these past few days.
The Dimensional Group Chat shook her belief in the world and its existence and the knowledge that there are other worlds, gods, demons, and others.
More importantly, she discovered why General Ironwood picked her for this position.
General Ironwood had planned for her to be the Winter Maiden from the start, and not just because she was a Schnee.
"Winter, you're lost in thought again."
Fria said while lying in front of her, interrupting Winter's thoughts.
Fria had a similar hair color and a certain pallor.
"The tea will get cold."
Fria said kindly.
"Oh, yes..."
Winter awkwardly smiled and shifted her gaze to the cup of tea in her hands.
General Ironwood's days had been bad since a very important prisoner escaped. Because of this, there was much more work and responsibility for her.
The Council of Atlas saw General Ironwood's merits, but the problems she caused, including those caused by Jacques Schnee made her look bad.
That includes her image.
"What are you pondering?"
Fria asked curiously.
"Just... about the world."
Winter replied.
"Oh, these thoughts rarely lead to anything good."
Fria said it knowingly.
Winter agreed.
She had already told General Ironwood about the Group Chat and about Anthony and his group of outsiders, but... it's hard to accept.
However, General Ironwood only nodded and asked for evidence, and Winter bought some items from the Dimensional Store.
She could simply bring them and put them back.
She often just stared at the Group Chat and read the conversations during this time. This is when she realizes how silly and naive they are.
Not all, of course... Anthony still remains a mystery, and Winter needs to understand exactly what he wants from her world.
Anthony wants to help her with Weiss against Jacques, and he often says negatively about the gods.
In Anthony's last message, he said that he fought with a god... Winter seems to guess what he wants.
She looked at Fria, who was drinking her tea calmly, and thought of a message she had wanted to send for a long time.
Anthony said about the world of Shinoa, about how people there are to blame for the apocalypse and that blind faith doesn't lead to good.
...
Winter Schnee: Anthony, you know about Fria, right?
Anthony (Administrator): She's the current Winter Maiden, if I'm not mistaken?
Winter Schnee: Yes. You know... is there a way to transfer this power without directly dying?
Anthony (Administrator): Theoretically, yes. But all of this will need to be tested in action... As I said, I want to go to your world. I have a couple of things to do there. But right now, I'm busy.
Shinoa Hiragi: Administrator-kun doesn't care about my message at all... he doesn't even hide the fact that he'll go into my world, play with my body, and then go to another with Winter...
Winter Schnee: I can assure you that we don't have a relationship like that.
Shinoa Hiragi: Not yet...
Hermione Granger: Winter, don't explain yourself to this pervert. You'll only provoke her more. Shinoa, are you sure you want to go on this mission?
Shinoa Hiragi: Yes. A parallel to your world sounds amusing. I wonder if there's a Hermione like you there?
Rias Gremory: Tony-kun, don't you want to go on Hermione's mission?
Anthony (Administrator): Honestly, not really... but you still have a few months to think about it. I can go to Hermione's world only if she needs my help.
Shinoa Hiragi: Oh-ho, Administrator-kun wants to give... her helping hand?
Hermione Granger: That's not what he meant, and you know it.
Rias Gremory: Winter, how did you become an Atlas Specialist anyway?
Winter Schnee: It's a long story.
Erina Nakiri: I'm curious too...
Erina Nakiri: By the way, hello everyone! I'm back from training with Ki. Now I can cook much faster! Let me show you now!
Shinoa Hiragi: Will you send us what you cook later? Otherwise, we might choke on our own saliva...
"Master Luthor, your sister is calling you."
Cortana's voice sounded.
"Hm?"
I turned away from the Phoenix Feather's readings in the flask.
It's a pretty energy-intensive item with interesting parameters, so I wasn't bored studying it.
"Yes, I'm listening."
I spoke out loud, and Lena's voice could be heard after a moment.
"You're in the engineering department, right?"
Lena said it with understanding.
"I'm just reminding you that there's a meeting in an hour."
"Yeah, okay. Don't worry, I'll be there soon. I won't leave you alone to be torn to pieces."
I smirked.
"Hmmm, alright... don't forget about the evening gift, you'll like it."
Lena said it playfully and hung up.
"You minx."
I chuckled.
"Cortana, please reanalyze the data we received and save it in the "Phoenix" folder."
"Understood."
Cortana responded.
...
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