NOVEL WEB Chapter 203
203. The Other One
“Phew, with this much, they shouldn’t be able to move for a while…”
I teleported down from the building and walked over to Laura.
“Laura, are your injuries healed?”
“Yeah, they’ve been fine for a while now… but you, when did you get so strong?”
Now that I think about it, it’s been a month since I started training after going to Laura and Lloyd’s place. I’ve grown stronger than I ever imagined. And all of that—,
“I’ve been training with Mira-san. I owe everything I’ve achieved to her.”
“That witch, huh? I could tell at a glance she wasn’t ordinary… but I didn’t know she had the skill to train Arx to this extent.”
“Yeah. She’s really amazing. To me, she’s my first—master.”
“You’ve got a good master there. Once this mess is over, I’d love to have her train me too.”
Once this mess is over, huh? But Raize has already defeated that guy Mark, and I’ve stopped Lloyd. The incident is pretty much coming to an end.
All that’s left is to defeat the mastermind, that woman Shirayuki.
But that’ll be soon too. Right now, Mira-san should be fighting Shirayuki in another dimension.
With how strong Mira-san is, there’s no way she’d lose—,
“Hey, Arx. Is that girl an acquaintance of yours? She’s been watching us for a while now…”
While I was lost in thought, Laura pointed in a certain direction.
Looking over, I noticed a girl peeking out from behind a pile of rubble, staring blankly in our direction.
“…Who’s that!?”
I couldn’t believe my eyes. The person standing there shouldn’t be there.
“…Noah?”
Staring at us from the pile of rubble was Noah.
“Hey, Laura… this is reality, right?”
“What are you talking about? Of course it is. Want me to pinch your cheek?”
“Laura’s pinches hurt, so I’ll pass… but this can’t be.”
Noah should be inside my mind. We cleared the trials together, but that was all in my mind.
There’s no way she could appear in the real world.
“Noah? Is that you? Answer me!”
Her hair, as gentle and fantastical as moonlight, silver. Her eyes, as vast as the blue sky.
Both were exactly the Noah I knew.
But there was a reason I doubted her existence.
First, her clothes. She always wears a white dress, but the Noah in front of me now is wearing something like a black dress.
If she’s real, when did she get that outfit? That question filled me with a strong sense of unease.
“Arx! I’m running ahead!”
As I was lost in thought, Noah turned her back to us and started running.
I hurriedly chased after her.
“Laura, keep an eye on Lloyd! I’m going after Noah!”
Damn it, why aren’t there any slimes nearby!? I can’t teleport like this!
No—is Noah avoiding the slimes?
Whatever the case, I need to talk to her!
I turned the corner and ran. This game of tag with Noah lasted for dozens of seconds.
This is weird. She’s way too fast. I’m running at full speed, but I can’t catch up at all!
“Whoa!”
As I turned another corner, I bumped into someone.
“Ouch… hey, watch where you’re going!”
Sitting on the ground, having fallen on her butt—was Raize.
“Raize!?”
“Hey, Arx! I’ve been talking to the slime for a while now, when are you going to respond!”
That’s right, I was so focused on Noah that I didn’t notice.
Raize looked really flustered, and I could tell something serious was going on.
Raize quickly stood up and pointed behind her, shouting.
“Mira-san!!”
At those words, my consciousness shifted as if swept away by a wave. The word “Noah” disappeared in an instant.
And—when I looked in the direction she was pointing, I felt as if my heart had been crushed.
“Haah, haah… hey! Hurry up and die, you damn amateur!!”
There were two people there. A white-haired woman in tattered kimono, panting heavily. That must be Shirayuki.
Her arms were as white and delicate as powdered snow, as the name suggests, and as flexible as tree branches. And those arms—,
Were piercing through Mira-san’s abdomen, stained bright red with blood.
“Let go! What kind of trick did you pull!? You’re on the verge of death, stop messing around!”
Shirayuki was hurling insults at Mira-san that were hard to imagine coming from such a beautiful face, desperately trying to pull her arm free.
“Give up! You’re already—going to die!!”
The word “die” pierced through my eardrums.
Die? You’re kidding, right?
There’s no way Mira-san would lose. I mean, it’s Mira-san we’re talking about. Mira-san is strong, she can do anything—,
My rationality told me the reality before my eyes was a lie.
But at the same time, I intuitively believed in Mira-san’s death.
And before I knew it, I had closed the distance to Shirayuki and punched her in the face.
“You… how dare you hurt Mira-san!!”
The next moment, I was screaming like a beast.