jdhmnovel Chapter 242: The Journey Ahead
Chapter 242: The Journey Ahead
The next day, Prota heard a knocking at her door. She looked up. No one was expected to stop by, especially not after the prior day’s events. Then again, there wasn’t anyone she couldn’t confront. Slowly, she opened the door.“...Destiny,” she said quietly as she saw the one standing in the doorway.
“Ah. Hey, Prota,” he said awkwardly. “Is, um… I just thought I’d check up on you.”
“Nn.”
“Well. Are… are you ok?” he stammered. “Just, you know, with everything that-”
“I’m ok.”
“Oh, I, uh- that’s great,” the hero said with a nervous smile. “Hey. I just wanted to say… I’m sorry.”
Prota tilted her head, confused by the sudden apology. It wasn’t like he’d done anything particularly wrong as of recently.
“I… I should’ve known what was going on,” he said, his voice cracking a little. “Just… with everything we’ve done, everything we’ve seen, I forgot that your whole point was to save the world. This whole time, you’ve been carrying-”
“Why sorry?”
Prota was genuinely confused. She vaguely understood his point, but she didn’t understand what the apology was for.
“I- I should’ve been more understanding. If I had just seen the signs sooner, I-”
“Why is that your fault?”
That question shut the hero right up.
“Destiny,” Prota said quietly. “Everything… No one made me save the world. Goal isn’t to save the world. I said I would do this. So it’s not one’s fault. Ok?”
Her statements weren’t entirely true. There was someone she could blame. She wasn’t exactly sure if she could call that being “someone,” but in a sense, there was “something” to blame.
“So… you’re really ok?” Destiny said, seeming to cheer up a little.
“Nn.”
“Hm… alright. I’ll believe you. Then what’s the next step? What now?”
Prota turned, a small smile on her face. There was only one thing left for her to do. But that one thing wasn’t a big deal, and she had time.
Knowing what was coming next, she wanted to see things. Do things. She understood what everyone had always meant when they’d told her to live.
It had taken her a while to get it. To truly understand what her direction was. All the hints, all the lessons, all the experiences, they’d always been there, but it had taken her a final push for it all to come together.
The world was hers to explore. Although she’d met John once, she had time to confront him.
After all, she needed him.
And he needed her.
And at the moment, she knew it. John didn’t.
So until she decided she wanted to face him, she would bide her time. Do the things she wanted to do. See the things she wanted to see.
Live a life she wanted to live.
And by the end of it, perhaps she’d have a new outlook. A new opinion. Just like it had taken John an entire journey to begin caring for [Characters], perhaps it would take her an entire journey to realize that what she did was not controlled by others.
“School,” Prota said simply. “Not done, right?”
“But Hikari-”
“It’s ok. Sofya can teach. Leora teach Magic Circles. Sofya teach Casting. Simple.”
She wanted to see what it would be like to see school through until the end. Hang out with friends without worrying about bratty nobles or cultists tearing everything down.
“Help Kit sometime too. She needs it.”
“Oh yeah, you said something like that, right? But those are Mystics… I thought you wanted to preserve your powers,” Destiny frowned. “Is that really something-”
He was interrupted as he saw a small, sly smile on Prota’s lips. That was enough to shut him up. He’d never seen her look so mischievous. Such an expression was common with Anta, but Prota almost eternally held a bored, tired look. For her to look like this wasn’t necessarily a good sign.
“...hey, don’t tell me-”
“It’s ok. Kit is also there, right?” Prota gave him a thumbs up. “Fighting Mystics. Not that hard.”
“You-”
“You too. Fight Mystics.”
“Haa… you know what? Fine,” Destiny sighed, but he, too, was beginning to smile.
Prota was truly fine. She knew what she wanted. She might have moments she would like to fix. She might have moments she’d try to repair. But she’d learned something.
The life she’d lived was hers. [Resets] were truly a curse, because going back and fixing everything on your own meant you weren’t really living; you were just optimizing something that was never meant to be optimized. Life threw curves in the journey, and learning how to navigate those was just part of the path.
Of course, having the ability to never lose a fight was nice. But she understood why John had never used [Resets] on anything other than fighting.
It simply wasn’t a good thing to do.
“And then… can’t tell you,” Prota shrugged.
“You can’t tell me?”
“Secret.”
Destiny frowned, but in the end, he simply shook his head. It didn’t matter.
“Alright. Thank you, Prota.”
“...why?”
For a moment, Destiny didn’t know what to say. Then, suddenly, he burst out laughing, a tear streaming down his face. He sniffled, wiping the tear away, looking at Prota with kind eyes.
“So you still don’t think of yourself as a hero, huh?” He shook his head. “In the end… this is all for you, isn’t it?”
“Nn.”
She looked at him, trying to find the right words to say. Would he take this the wrong way? Was it worth saying? In the end, Prota could only trust that he was a good friend. That he would understand what she meant.
“Destiny. Maybe… I might not save the world.”
“...what makes you say that?”
He didn’t ask if it was because she doubted herself. Her tone was too apologetic for that. And yet, he didn’t blame her, either. It was simply a question.
“I promised John,” Prota explained. “I would come back for him. This world is-”
“Prota.” Anta suddenly interrupted, popping out with a panicked expression. “You… you can’t. You can’t tell him.”
Destiny frowned. “Tell me what?”
“I-”
“You can’t!” Anta exclaimed. “Destiny, you’re not part of this. You’ll ruin him, Prota. You’ll break him.”
“...how do you know?” Prota challenged. “Until we try-”
“Because Kit found out in our last life,” Anta said sadly. “And she almost broke. Thankfully, Mystics have the ability to suppress memories, so she was able to mostly forget, but…”
Prota flinched. That was bad. She’d almost broken her friend.
“I’m sorry,” she said, bowing to Destiny. “But… well, John is… special. He knows something we don’t. And… it’s enough. It’s not a bad reason.”
“Enough to what? Kill us all?” Destiny said quietly. “Look. It’s your quest. It’s your decision. I want… I want to say something, but in the end, it’s not up to me. But at least explain.”
“This world… think of John like a god,” Prota offered. “This world is just a toy to him. Just… just a random world. Destiny. The power you saw. Weak. I’m weak. Killing Hikari, easy. John didn’t need that power to kill Hikari.”
Destiny’s eyes shot wide open. The implications were absurd. The ability to easily kill a Mystic who’d fended off two other Mystics and a dragon without some external power… what could he possibly be capable of?
“I could try to kill him,” Prota offered. “Small chance. Maybe. But… John saved me. Helped me. John is… my brother. So I want to give him a choice, too.”
“Wait, he doesn’t remember his past life either? Only you?” Destiny exclaimed. “Then-”
“Too hard to explain. Just understand. John was your friend, too. So I want him to choose.”
Destiny opened his mouth, but no words came out.
“Ha… fine. I see how it is. And what do you think he’ll do?”
“...I don’t know. That’s why it’s a choice,” Prota said quietly. “I just have to trust.”
Destiny grinned. “Trust in his character, huh? Was he at least a good guy?”
Prota closed her eyes, memories flowing through her mind. She didn’t know the answer. If asked personally, she wouldn’t know how to respond. But Destiny, at least, had given the answer himself. So she could tell him what he had once thought of John in the past.
“You said he was a good person.”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Then that’s enough for me.”
~~~
The following day, Prota met up with the professors and Sofya. Their discussion was a little awkward, but Prota assured them it was fine. Lupin apologized again, truly sorry for what he’d said and done.
They confirmed the students were all alive, although in critical condition. Hikari had planned to use their blood as a summoning ritual to bring one of the Demon Generals over earlier, and it was a good thing they’d stopped him. Thankfully, Yelena was personally managing their recovery, so they had a high chance of living.
In the end, though, the professors’ question was the same as Destiny’s.
“What now?”
Prota’s answer, in the end, was the same. This time, however, she didn’t go into nearly as much detail, mainly because she knew these people wouldn’t be nearly as understanding as Destiny. The hero was someone who understood taking care of loved ones. Understood sacrifice and questionable decisions in an effort to do the best one could.
These beings, no matter what, would only see the greater picture.
Unfortunately for them, a picture was all they could see.
They would never see “reality.” To do so would break them.
And so Prota could never reveal what she truly planned.
Ultimately, she left, leaving the matter concluded. The school covered Hikari’s absence as a matter of the Mystic needing to return to his homeland, and just like in her past life, Sofya covered for the Casting class while Leora taught the Magic Circle class.
Then, for the first time ever, Prota went through her fourth year of Scholaris.
It was largely the same as all the other years. The academics were a little more complex, but the writing and mathematics John had taught her still remained superior to what the school taught. Once again, she was reminded of the fact that he’d come from a world with no magic, supplementing it with technology instead. Just how advanced had that civilization come?
The last year, interestingly enough, was filled with no incidents. Not a single one. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. There were minor squabbles with nobles, and some matters involving their juniors, but ultimately, nothing more than that. No cultists. No rogue Mystics. No bandits, no criminals, nothing.
Just a regular school life.
It was almost as if the [Author] hadn’t been prepared to throw obstacles in Prota’s way. As if their next set of traps was exclusively for Kit’s homeland.
And that, by all means, was more than good enough for Prota.
She was able to spend more time with her friends and live life the way she wanted. And, for the first time, she felt truly free.
Shopping for clothes, visiting restaurants, playing on the beach, sitting by campfires late at night, skipping classes to have fun… they weren’t actions that were much different from what she’d done before.
But at the same time, there was meaning to them. She could enjoy them because she understood what it was she wanted. She could live her life to the fullest because she understood what her life was. In the future, she might make another discovery that changed everything.
The difference was that she was now aware of that fact.
Life was a journey. A winding path, full of twists and turns, full of unexpected moments. Prota didn’t know if “reality” was different. But the world she knew, the life she’d lived, was an exhilarating thing. Perhaps fighting and adventuring were thrilling things, exciting beyond measure.
But that wasn’t everything to her story.
These quiet times, these happy moments, were just as equally vital. And although they weren’t good, the rough moments made these joyous moments all the better.
She was starting to understand something.
Just like people, it was impossible to simply assign something as “good” or “bad” in her life. She hated the life she’d lived before she met John, but at the same time, she couldn’t curse it entirely, because without it, she never would’ve met him. She hated the pain she’d felt when thinking she wasn’t good enough, but at the same time, it had driven her to a place she couldn’t imagine living without. It had given her a power she would’ve never had otherwise.
When she looked back, she could only feel that her life was one she had lived. Nothing more, nothing less.
But life, in itself, was beautiful.
And so when she graduated properly, standing on a stage, wearing a cap and gown, standing among a group of cheering students as Destiny delivered a speech, she felt pride. Not because graduating was impressive. No, she’d done infinitely more impressive things than this.
No, it was because this was proof that she’d “lived.”
It was also around this time that Celestia had rediscovered that she was Four. Neither Anta nor Prota knew why this was the case, but they could only deduce that this was how things were meant to be without John’s interference. After all, he’d messed the last bits of the [Story] up pretty badly, and there was no knowing what would change now.
“Prota, did you know?” Celestia said as they rode back to the Elven castle.
Similar to her previous life, she was still the same cheerful girl as before, but in hindsight, that wasn’t surprising. Based on Destiny’s story, Four and Celestia were quite similar in nature to begin with.
“Nn,” Prota nodded, munching on a piece of jerky.
“Meanie,” the princess pouted. “You should’ve told me.”
“Not good. Risky. And… personal, to you. Would be wrong to force it on you.”
“Hm… but if it’s me, then isn’t it better for me to find out sooner?”
Prota shrugged. “How do I make you remember? Can only tell you who you were.”
“I… well, that’s not too bad of an excuse, I suppose,” Celestia said, but she couldn’t hide the smile on her face. “Thanks, Prota.”
If anything, she seemed a lot more mature than before. Well, that had been the case in her previous life… but no, she’d also grown much older than she currently was. There was at least a five year gap between the time of revelation in this life and the last.
Destiny and Celestia continued to engage in small talk while Prota continued to stare out the window, watching the towering castle grow larger the closer they got. Soon, everyone was to go their separate ways. Destiny went back home to greet his family, while Celestia was to return to the palace.
Prota had been invited to go with either, but she refused. Truth be told, at this point, she could likely go anywhere without anybody’s permission. She was just that strong. There were very few mortal mages who could contest with her power, and when combined with Anta, there were even less who could contest her. At least, that was what she’d been told. She had yet to actually meet these champions, but then again, she had no particular desire to do so.
She’d fought Mystics. From what she knew, no mortal aside from the hero was meant to contest them. If she could defeat Mystics, that was good enough for her.
With Mystics on the mind, Prota went to find Kit. She wandered into the forest where they usually trained and waited. Sure enough, in a few minutes, a familiar pink fox wandered into her area.
“Prota!” Kit exclaimed, turning back into her human form. “It’s been too long! Why didn’t you visit?”
“I did visit,” Prota pointed out. “Last summer.”
“No, no, other times! I know you guys skipped class. Destiny told me all about it. You could’ve come back, you know?”
“...here?”
Kit rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Hm… well, that’s a fair point. But, more than that! I heard you have some interesting things planned?”
Prota hesitated for a moment. On one hand, she did want to help Kit, but on the other hand, she was starting to realize that things were going to go very differently. To begin with, Kit had yet to bring up the fact that she was being called back to her homeland. In her last life, she’d missed her fourth year of Scholaris and had gone straight to the land of the Mystics.
However, there were some factors to consider. The first was that the [Author] had likely stepped into make the story flow better. The second, though, was that the prince of the Ninetails had access to [Deus Ex Machina] back then. It hadn’t been a lot, but it had been enough to give him control over Kit. Without that power, it was uncertain as to whether or not he could do the same thing a second time.
If that were the case, she had no clue what would result in her trip to said land.
Alternatively, that meant that she didn’t have to go immediately. At this point in time, following the [Plot] as dictated by her last life was no longer necessary.
“Prota?” Kit said, waving her hand in front of her face. “You good?”
“...nn. Kit,” Prota said quietly. “If you need help… tell me, ok?”
“Me? Need help?” Kit laughed. “Well, sure. It’s not like I’m questioning your strength or anything. But it’s not like I’m going to need anything like that anytime soon.”
“...ok.”
~~~
From that point on, Prota was somewhat lost. If she didn’t go help Kit, what would she do from this point on?
Anta had once given her a timeline, saying that there were two years left. Since one year had passed, theoretically, there was only one year remaining. But was that really the case? Now that they’d understood what the fight with John would look like, at least to some degree, would it really begin?
The [Plot] could be ignored. The events that had once put Prota into a spiral were no longer necessary. Destiny no longer had any pressing matters to attend to, and Celestia had recovered her memories a good number of years before she was meant to.
All that was fine. But there was one glaring problem that they had yet to really address. Neither girl was quite sure as to how they’d missed this vital detail.
“How… are we going to find Diaboli?”
Were they going to simply wait for the Demon War to start? Perhaps, if they hadn’t stopped Hikari, Diaboli might have done something. After all, Diaboli was Celeste. But now, given that the goddess cared for this world in her own way, she wouldn’t start something like that for no reason. Not if it wouldn’t draw out John, an entity she couldn’t find without help.
Then… perhaps, a Demon War wouldn’t start at all.
And without a Demon War, there was nothing.
In the end… would she have to fight John without collecting Diaboli’s [Deus Ex Machina]?
In the first place, had that ever been a reasonable goal?
“There you are.”
Prota almost jumped out of her skin. She hadn’t noticed Haze Windwalker approaching. Her footsteps on the lush summer grass were absolutely quiet, her presence nonexistent. Besides, Prota was in the middle of the forest in the dead of night. How had Haze even found her?
“Destiny said you might be here,” Haze continued, her voice betraying not a drop of emotion. “You could have joined us, you know.”
“...it’s ok. Don’t like parties.”
“Hm… I can’t say I don’t understand you. I heard much of your accomplishments. The king was going to ask you directly, but Destiny offered to explain in your stead. I heard you killed a Mystic?”
Prota nodded. She had no plans to hide anything anymore. Those she trusted would be informed of her accomplishments, because there was no reason to conceal her capabilities. She had already given Destiny full permission to tell anyone anything, although she trusted his judgement. At this point in time, the Butterfly Effect was no longer important.
There wasn’t much left to change, anyway.
“Hm… then, may I request one favour?”
Prota immediately felt her mood drop. Haze was going to ask for a fight. It wasn’t that she hated fighting, but Haze was a scary opponent. Prota didn’t think she would lose, but it was more that the woman in front of her didn’t take things lightly. No matter what, she always fought seriously, and that was someone you could never really let your guard down against.
“I see you have already anticipated my request. Worry not. I have nothing to offer, so if you refuse, I will take my leave.”
“...why?”
Haze raised her eyes in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“Why fight? What do you want?”
“Hm… well, perhaps it is just a matter of curiosity. I have several questions. What is it like to fight a Mystic? How strong is the pinnacle of this world? You see, as a bodyguard, I must often consider the types of threats that may approach my wards. Understanding what I might possibly be up against is part of the job, after all.”
Prota understood what she was saying. She wasn’t just talking about the king.
She was talking about her family.
This was a mother in the purest sense. She had strength. She would protect her family no matter what.
And that realization was what reminded Prota of just one thing.
“...nn. One more favour.”
“You have something in mind?” Haze said, surprised. “...very well. I owe it to you, considering the first has been left hanging for so long. What do you have in mind?”
“Two. First. Destiny… no matter what he says. Treat him well.”
Haze frowned. “Wait, what do you mean-”
“Second. If Destiny asks to go somewhere… trust him. Please. He is… Destiny is strong. You can trust him.”
For a moment, Haze froze. Even with her professional poker face, she seemed conflicted. In the end, though, she simply shook her head.
“Very well. If you, of all people, are asking that, then I suppose you have a good reason to do so.”
“Nn.”
“Then, I will make the first move.”
Haze blinked forward, this time holding two daggers. In the past, she might have caught Prota off guard. The attack might have landed. The king’s bodyguard was clearly taking this seriously. Well, she had already declared that she understood Prota’s strength. To do anything less would be suicide.
Unfortunately for Haze, Prota had grown in leaps and bounds since the last time they’d fought.
Immediately, she and Anta integrated, swiftly dodging the attack with ease. Haze wasted no time in redirecting her momentum, fully turning around using a gust of wind to launch yet another attack, but her moves were too easily read. Once again, her attack was evaded easily.
“It is unfair, you know. A Caster should not move like that… Although, I suppose you are no ordinary Caster.”
Haze attempted to redirect her movement once more, but it was too late.
Prota had already adapted to fighting against Fighters.
While their spells weren’t obvious, they were still present. Magic was still used in combat, even if it wasn’t obvious. Wind to redirect movement. Earth to bolster defense. All sorts of small things that impacted the way one fought.
And so, removing those spells that were cast instinctively would be like pulling a chair out from underneath one’s rear.
Prota immediately converted Haze’s next spell back into mana, causing the bodyguard to trip up and tumble. Of course, being the professional she was, Haze quickly recovered, but it was already too late.
The night forest, once dark, was illuminated in a flash as Prota summoned a giant fireball the size of a shed. Immediately, the tops of the trees caught fire from the heat, burning fiercely in the summer night.
“...I surrender,” Haze said, raising her hands.
In an instant, the spell was snuffed out, and a gust of wind put the fires out.
“I see. How terrifying,” she continued, dusting herself off. “Such power… to one such as yourself, ruling the world would be no problem at all. How fortunate we are that you are on our side.”
“...promise,” Prota said quietly, unfusing with Anta.
“Of course. Thank you, Prota.”
With that, Haze turned to leave as quickly as she’d come, leaving Prota alone with her thoughts.
The fight had been quick, but the conversation had allowed her to realize something.
“Anta,” she said quietly. “Do you know where?”
“Of course I do. Ready to go?”
“...Kit will be ok with Destiny. Don’t need my help. Probably. So no point in waiting.”
If they couldn’t go to Diaboli, Prota could just make Diaboli come to them. She wasn’t sure what the exact method would be. But she knew a multitude of ways to do it.
And all of them involved John.
“Alright, then,” Anta said quietly. “Let’s go. To the lab.”