jdhmnovel Chapter 239: Choose Your Path
Chapter 239: Choose Your Path
The quarantine proved to be ineffective. Two more students vanished under the dead of night, both from the same room. Of course, their disappearance was discovered immediately, but that didn’t help with the fact that they were gone.In an attempt to bring order to the situation, it was announced that it was possible they’d simply snuck out in the dead of night, and that they were looking for them. While this had a positive effect, the truth was that they really had gone missing.
“Prota,” Sofya said quietly, sitting in the girl’s dorm. “I know you said you need time, but at this rate, we might end up losing too many students. You said you were unaware of Hikari's motives this time around, did you not?”
“Nn.”
“Then… do you know if those students are safe?”
Prota froze. She didn’t.
She hadn’t even thought of that.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t really been responsible for anyone’s death. She’d seen a lot of people dying in the Town of Beginnings, but none of those were something she could have stopped. Every other person who’d lost their life was typically an enemy. Aside from Sofya, she had yet to really be hit by a friend’s passing.
But now, things were different. She didn’t have John to [Reset] or revive people using [Deus Ex Machina], and while she hypothetically could use the power to revive someone, she didn’t have that power to spare.
Still, as much as she realized there were lives at stake, she strangely had a hard time feeling an equal sense of urgency. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about them. It was just that the cost of saving them now and guaranteeing they were safe wasn’t entirely worth the potential penalty she might incur.
“I see,” Sofya sighed. “Very well, then. I just thought I would ask. But please, do hurry.”
Prota nodded, and the headmaster left the room.
For a moment, she considered saving the students. It wasn’t like she hadn’t used [Deus Ex Machina] to mess with the [Plot] before. She’d used some to save the citizens of the Town of Beginnings, even when there was effectively no point. This was arguably a more important scenario, too, because in a sense, their lives were on her hands. She’d had no obligation to save hundreds of civilians she didn’t know, but she was aware of what was happening to these students.
At the end of the day, though, it just wasn’t getting to her. She couldn’t find it in her to make it matter.
“Prota,” she heard from a device on her table.
It was a communication device made by Danjo. He’d given it to her, partially to test its capabilities, but also to let her know when her favour was done. She snuck out of her room, making her way back to Destiny’s room. Knocking twice, the door swung open far more calmly than it had the last time.
“You’re here,” Destiny sighed. “Alright.”
She walked in to see a rather messy pile of junk on Danjo’s side of the room, but on his desk was a small device.
“A tracking emblem,” Danjo said proudly. “Even if you don’t pour mana in, anyone should be able to follow this signal to your location. It, um… it doesn’t show where you are, but this…”
He pulled out a strange box with a display, showing the number “02” on it.
“It shows how close you are,” Danjo finished. “So, theoretically, if you were to put this on someone, you’d be able to find them as long as they aren’t moving too fast.”
Prota nodded. It was perfect.
John hadn’t managed to use this in his last life. Prota didn’t have plans to use it right away.
But given how John had vanished, it would probably be better to have it than not have it.
“Just… if you don’t mind, what do you plan on doing with this?” Danjo asked, handing it over.
“Put it on me,” Prota said. “Just in case. Emergency.”
At that, Danjo flinched. “Wait, what do you mean, emergency?”
“I go missing. You find me.”
The room went silent.
“Prota, you… what are you thinking?” Destiny asked carefully.
“Not yet,” Prota said, shaking her head. “Not stupid. But… backup plan. Safer. Right?”
“Hm… well, you’re not wrong,” Destiny sighed. “It’s not a bad backup plan.”
“If something goes wrong, ask headmaster,” Prota explained. “She knows.”
“She does?” Danjo exclaimed. “But- then- well, you know. Why doesn’t she do something about it?”
“Told her not to.”
“Why not?!”
Prota just sighed and looked at Destiny desperately.
“Can’t Anta explain?” the hero asked.
“Tired,” Prota explained. “Doesn’t want to.”
“...I’m not going to question that.” Destiny turned to Danjo. “You know, with Prota, I’ve learned it’s better not to question some things. I’m sure she’s already thought of having the headmaster help us. If she hasn’t done so already, there’s probably a pretty good reason.”
“I… I guess,” Danjo sighed. “It’s just… isn’t that a lot safer? Leaving things to the adults?”
“You didn’t leave things to the adults at the cabin.”
“Th-that’s different!”
Destiny just laughed. “See? Just trust her.”
Prota nodded thankfully, then turned to leave, slipping the device into her cloak pocket. She hoped she wouldn’t have to use it.
But then again, John hadn’t expected a lot of things. Prota didn’t like scheming, but at the end of the day, she was a little more reasonable than her brother. Just because she didn’t like complicated plans didn’t mean she hated plans entirely.
“...Destiny,” she said quietly.
“Huh? What’s up?”
“Am… am I a bad person?”
“What?” Destiny laughed. “Why in the world would you say that?”
“...those students. I could have saved them. I didn’t.”
“Hm… but why didn’t you save them? Is it because you don’t want to?”
Prota remained silent.
“I don’t… well, I don’t really know what to tell you,” Destiny said quietly. “Prota. You’ve been doing a lot. I know I’m not fully in the loop of what’s going on. I don’t think anyone does. Not that, you know, you have to tell us. But… well, at least answer this. Are you refusing to save them because you want them to die?”
“...no.”
“Is it because it’s too much work?”
“No.”
“Then I don’t think it’s something you need to be worried about. At the end of the day, people can say a lot about you, but I don’t think you’re really the type of person to be worried about that. If you’re going to make a choice, then that’s the choice you’ve made. Isn’t that what you’ve been doing with us?”
Prota felt her chest grow a little lighter. Right. In a sense, leading her friends into battle wasn’t a good thing, nor was it necessarily a bad thing. Ultimately, she’d made a decision, and she’d followed through with it.
“You know, Prota, I don’t know if my commander was a good or bad person.”
She looked up, tilting her head. Was Destiny really alright with speaking of his past, with Danjo present? And what did he mean by that?
“We did a lot of questionable things. The camp itself was pretty shady. But I don’t know if I can say the camp itself was bad. Because maybe we did things that saved people. We went out on a lot of missions. But the leaders… they followed us, too. They risked their own lives with us. They took responsibility. So what I guess I’m trying to say, is… just make sure that, at the end of the day, you’re sure about what you want to do.”
Prota nodded, feeling a little more confident.
She’d known this. Both John and Anta had told her this message multiple times.
But maybe she’d just needed to hear it from someone else.
“Nn. Thank you.”
~~~
The next day, four more students went missing. This was no small deal. The school was immediately thrown into chaos, the teachers struggling to maintain order. Of course, this included Sofya, who immediately went to Prota’s room to try and gain some form of reassurance.
Unfortunately, the girl wasn’t there.
“What?” she muttered.
A frown.
The girl was too intelligent to have let her guard down. Then, there were only two possible outcomes that could have occurred:
She’d let herself get kidnapped.
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Or she’d gone after Hikari herself.
Of the two options, she was definitely leaning toward the first. For all her talk of causality, it would be incredibly reckless for her to have just gone off on her own. Letting herself get kidnapped might allow her to gain more information, more time, and solve the issue faster.
“Just be careful,” Sofya whispered as she picked up her pace, walking back to her office.
Immediately, she called Lupin and Leora in. All the Mystics were busy searching the island and nearby islands they were allowed access to, so it took them a little while to return.
In the meantime, she began to scan the records. The reported students who were missing seemed to have no connection to each other. Those who had vanished in pairs were roommates, which was completely logical. It wouldn’t make sense to take one student and risk being seen by the other.
But why had Prota gone this time? Why not earlier? Was it because the number of students who had vanished suddenly doubled a second time?
Quickly, Sofya went to the records.
“Hm… Brooks Sienna… Allen Ishanu… Ryan Rose… Lili-”
Sofya froze.
“Ah.”
Suddenly, a deep, terrible feeling began to sink into her heart.
~~~
Prota was sitting in the forest, gnawing on her staff. She felt incredibly uneasy.
On one hand, she desperately wanted to go and save her friends. It was enough of an emotion that she’d just left her room, unsure of what she was even going to do. She was somewhat aware that this made her a bit of a hypocrite, given that she was only acting once it became a matter of people close to her, but she didn’t care.
What was holding her back was the fear of losing everything. The idea was mainly rooted in the fact that Anta had warned her of the consequences. If she hadn’t known, she might have tried something, but that something was no longer viable.
Her two ideals were conflicting so strongly that she was nearly paralyzing herself. She just couldn’t process it.
Although she’d been momentarily reassured, the question she’d asked was coming back.
Was she a bad person?
If she tried something and it failed, wasn’t that responsibility on her?
“...you’re being stupid.”
Prota momentarily snapped out of her trance. It was useful to have Anta in moments like these.
“I didn’t tell you this because you were gonna do something if I did, but at this point… well, whatever. That’s just who you are, right?”
“What… what do you mean?”
“I mean, let’s go fight the cat,” Anta sighed. “Without anyone. Just me and you. No dragons. No Mystics. No heroes.”
“But-”
“Yeah, yeah. We’re not strong right now. But that’s right now. And we do have a way to kill a god at the moment, don’t we?”
Prota’s eyes widened.
[Deus Ex Machina].
She hadn’t even thought of that until Anta had vaguely suggested it.
“I didn’t want to tell you it was an option, but to be honest, it is a power we can use,” Anta sighed. “See, because it’s John’s power, he can kinda… get away with it. If you’ve noticed, the [Author] doesn’t typically punish him when he uses that power. In turn, it’s why it's a limited resource, unlike all of his other powers that just have a condition for activation.”
“Hm…”
“Don’t need to think about it too hard. The point is, if we want to use it, we can. You can. You’ve done it before, except we needed it at that moment. Right now, the only reason we’d use it is to make sure your friends stay alive. Using a power to kill is always a lot less costly than using a power to save.”
“...why?”
Prota didn’t get it. What was the difference?
“Isn’t it always harder to save a life? It’s easy for people like me and you to kill someone. We have power. We have magic. It’s not hard for us to take a life. But saving one… well, you actually know just how hard it is.”
“I do?”
“Think. When you’re fighting to protect John, compared to when you’re simply fighting to fight. Which is easier?”
Realization.
“Fighting with your friends. Making sure they’re safe. Protecting Ryan and Lilith. Saving Olivia. You know what that’s called? Being selfless. When you’re fighting to kill, you’re being selfish, because you’re fighting for yourself. But even if you’re fighting, as long as its to save another life, that’s always harder. Because you can never truly control everything. Why do you think John lacks a single protective or regenerative ability?”
Prota was so amazed she momentarily forgot her panic.
She’d never thought of it like that, but it was true. John lacked the ability to heal anyone or take a good hit for someone. All his abilities were purely concentrated on the ability to harm someone else.
“It’s easy to hurt others. Helping them… not so much. If it was easier to help, we wouldn’t have suffered so much.”
Prota clenched her fists. She wasn’t sure why, but she was feeling a sense of pride.
Perhaps she was beginning to realize that her actions were worth a lot more than she’d initially thought.
“Look, I got off track. The point is, we can do it. I only told you this to snap you out of your downward spiral, but it looks like… ah, who am I kidding. I knew this was gonna happen. And, you know? Who knows? Maybe we solve this without [DEM].”
Prota stood up, a new light in her eyes.
Maybe the [Author] had intended for her to take a different path from John. To learn the value of sacrifice. To let a friend die, especially considering that friend was meant to die in her last life. She’d been told so many times that saving [Deus Ex Machina] energy was key.
But she didn’t want that. She didn’t want to say that something was for the greater good, that everything was meant to work toward the greater picture. Perhaps that was how great people thought. Perhaps that was how John thought.
Prota wasn’t those types of people, though.
Being great, being powerful, being the best, none of that mattered. From the moment she’d started on this journey, she’d only wanted two things:
To find her sister, and to protect John.
Along the way, she’d made friends, people she also wanted to protect, but she still remembered what she wanted. One of her goals had been achieved.
Now, there was only one goal left.
As long as she did what she wanted, she would be satisfied. At this moment, all the lessons she’d learned were starting to congregate into one source of identity. It wasn’t solid yet. It wasn’t perfect. But she was slowly beginning to understand the various psychologies of those around her.
Particularly, she understood what John meant when he always said he wasn’t a good person. Of course, she didn’t agree with his mindset of killing people and sacrificing others just because it was convenient. But “good” and “bad” were terms she was starting to no longer care for.
She wanted to be good. She wanted to help people. But at the same time, she wanted to act for herself first. She wanted to be selfish.
She had power. She would protect people if she could.
But there were other priorities that came first.
The [Author] wanted her to suffer. To grow. She wouldn’t accept that. Even if it meant things might get harder later, even if it meant she’d have to make another decision, then that’s what she would do.
She might freeze up at times.
But that’s what friends were for. To pick her back up and put her on the right path again.
And if she sacrificed those friends just because it was a smarter plan, then what was the point?
“Alright. Let’s go,” Anta said.
A fire had been lit in their hearts.
~~~
“She’s gone?”
The mood was tense in Sofya’s office. This was the first instance of a major emergency in the history of the school, and even worse was the fact that they had a walking bomb on the campus.
“She most definitely left of her own volition,” Sofya said nervously. “The problem is what might happen as a result.”
“What do you mean?” Leora frowned. “Sofya, please calm yourself. I understand this is an emergency, but-”
“No. It is not a matter of individual lives. You don’t understand.”
As best she could, she explained what Prota had told her. The other Mystics weren’t in the loop about the whole causality issue, but once Sofya told them what she knew, they, too, were nervous.
“The truth,” Lupin exhaled. “She… she understands something.”
“Indeed,” Sofya nodded. “That causality must be related to her understanding of this world’s existence.”
“And if she is breaking her own warning-”
“It makes sense for her to do so,” Sofya said, shaking her head. “As much as she is powerful, she is still a child. Given that her friends, close friends, were taken, it is entirely possible she’s gone to fight on her own.”
“But her opponent is-”
“A Mystic? And what do we know of her past?” Sofya questioned. “She’s fought Mystics before. She’s told us as much. Do you really think something as simple as that is what would deter her?”
Dread filled the room.
“Then what can we do?” Leora said, finally breaking the silence. “What…”
“We fight,” Sofya said, clenching her small fists. “If the world is going to burn, we may as well use the fire to our own will.”
The three godly beings looked at each other and nodded.
There was a penalty if they interfered with mortals. But Mystics fighting Mystics was something that had been going on for centuries. Not once had a Mystic gone to the side of the demons, but if such a case were to have occurred, then they surely would have been destroyed without hesitation.
“Very well.”
~~~
Despite all her big talk, Prota had no clue as to how to find Hikari. Thus, the only thing she could think of was to run around campus as an open target. She often used more hidden alleyways or shadowed, untouched parts of the land, hoping it would make her a good target.
Ultimately, none of it worked.
In the end, she found herself sitting in the stadium, looking down at the center field she’d used so many times.
“Clever girl.”
She almost jumped out of her seat as a smooth voice spoke from behind her. It was obvious who it was.
“So you knew, did nyou?” Hikari said.
They’d taken the form of a middle aged elf lady, one Prota had yet to see. Still, the ears and tail made it obvious as to who this was.
“No. Not sure.”
“But you thought.”
“Nn.”
“And what do you hope to accomplish now? To challenge me? What do you believe you are, some sort of hero? Please. The Demon War is nyot to start for a few more years at the very least, and the hero would have yet to reach maturity. Nyou may be powerful, but are you powerful enough to challenge me?”
Prota just turned around, standing up and glaring defiantly at the Mystic.
Strangely, even before such a powerful being, she felt no fear. She felt nervous, of course. But that was a sign she was alive. No, she simply felt no fear at the being before her, because she’d fought infinitely more powerful opponents in the past.
John had been the one to take care of this cat in the past. Prota had merely been a dead weight.
So if she wished to challenge him, she’d have to do at least this much.
“Strange power. Hand it over,” Prota said quietly, repeating the words Anta told her to say.
She didn’t quite get what was going on, but she trusted her soul.
“Strange power? What?”
“No point in hiding it.”
“I have nyo clue what you’re talking about.”
“...me, too. I have it. So show it. Or take me.”
“Hm… how particular. You wish to save your friends, is it?” Hikari laughed. “Trying to confuse me? How interesting! How very, very interesting. Of course. You’ve been an interesting child, haven’t nyou? This whole time. Very peculiar.”
Prota just stared, her heart thumping in her chest. She was sure Hikari could hear it, but they didn’t show any signs of glee. As long as Prota maintained her poker face, which was an easy enough task, the two would remain calm.
“Do you know about the goddess you worship, kid?” Hikari suddenly said. “That disgusting excuse of what we call a god?”
“...yes.”
“Of course you don’t- what?”
“I know,” Prota said quietly. “Everything.”
It was Hikari’s turn to freeze.
“You’re bluffing.”
“I’m sorry. Your child shouldn’t die. But we can’t change it now.”
“Then why are you trying to stop me?!” Hikari roared. “You know what I went through! You know what I suffered! If the goddess is truly powerful, then why didn’t she help me?! If you already knew, then don’t get in my way!”
In that moment, there were a lot of things Prota could have said. Reasons, all completely logical, flashed through her mind.
Hikari was a god. They didn’t save people. The case was the same for Hikari’s child and Celeste.
Alternatively, just because Hikari had been wronged didn’t mean they suddenly had an excuse to harm others. These children here had nothing to do with Hikari’s circumstances. They were innocent to their cause.
But none of that was what she wanted to say. Because to say that would make her someone who cared about “good” and “bad.” Prota did care about those things. But in the end, she couldn’t allow them to be the reason she made a choice. Ultimately, to place herself on a moral pedestal would be the sin that ended her.
The opponents she’d faced all believed they were justified. They’d all been so sure that what they were doing was right, and that they had a reason to do what they did.
Prota was afraid that someday, she’d be on that end of things. That someday, the choices she made would hurt others, and she’d believe she was fully justified in doing so. She didn’t want that to happen. She didn’t want to become a hypocrite, someone who judged others and killed them in the name of justice, only to have someone else come and do the same to her.
So she would only do what she could believe in. And the consequences would be the consequences.
All she could do was hope that she wouldn’t regret it later on.
“Well? Answer me!”
“...I want to save my friends,” Prota said calmly. “Because they matter to me. You and goddess… don’t care. I’m sorry. But my friends matter more.”
Right. At the end of the day, she might feel sorry for Hikari, but her friends were alive.
And right now, they mattered more.
“So, what? Do you believe you can defeat me?” Hikari laughed. “Do nyou think that, just because you want it badly, you’ll win? This isn’t a fairy tale, child. You don’t win just because you’re the good guy.”
Prota almost laughed.
Had Hikari said this in the past? That this life wasn’t just a story?
Had John told them just how wrong they were?
It didn’t matter.
“Fine! Let’s test it,” Hikari grinned, revealing a row of sharp teeth. “We’ll make a little bet. Here.”
They tossed a crumpled up piece of paper into the air and swatted it toward Prota with their tail.
“This is two things in one. It’s a teleportation circle that leads you back to Scholaris. It’s also co-ordinates to where the students are being kept. To be honest, they’ll die in a day. I’m not sure how you found me, or what you’re up to, but I’ll play into your little gambit. If you can beat me, then you’ll be free to give this to the professors, and they’ll take care of everything. But if you lose… well, I hope you’re ready.”
Prota grabbed her staff, glaring defiantly. With that, Hikari ripped another magic circle, and the two vanished in a flash of light.