Alice in the Land of Steam

Dusk has arrived.

"They're here." In the corridor of Blackfire Fortress, Cheryl looked up at the dark horizon, her gaze sharpening slightly as she sensed an undisguised, powerful aura rapidly approaching. Instinctively, she placed one hand on the hilt of the fairy sword Hydras, while raising her other hand to gently place the guardian beast that had been lazily leaning on her shoulder to the ground. She whispered, "Sephis, you hold the fortress for now. I'll take care of the witch."

The small, cat-and-lion-like creature let out a disgruntled cry, seemingly protesting the decision, but Cheryl smiled at it and reassured it, "Don't worry, I'm very careful. If I really need help, I'll call you."

Serphismon reluctantly believed her promise. Indeed, compared to the previous two owners of the Fairy Sword, Cheryl was excessively cautious. She lacked the effortless confidence of a one-winged hero slaying a dragon with ease, and also lacked the unwavering courage of a rebel leader. But perhaps this was a good thing. Sometimes, when facing an invincible enemy, thorough consideration and careful choices can help you persevere longer.

At least, hold on until the time Miss O'Viola promised.

One night.

Everything will change in just one night.

Cheryl took a deep breath, then slowly drew her fairy sword, Hydras, from its sheath. Its blade was as cold as moonlight, and the crimson jewel on its hilt reflected the dim, night-like sky, casting a resolute gleam into the girl's eyes. This sword had last been drawn twenty years ago, when a large number of the core members of the Holy War Army who had followed their brother in the uprising died of old age or illness, and the new generation had not yet grown up. The Empire launched a massive invasion, intending to seize this opportunity to eliminate future threats. But in that battle, Cheryl, wielding the fairy sword, faced three demigods of the Empire alone, slaying one and driving away two, thus bringing the war to a close.

She thus became one of the very few powerful beings on this continent with the feat of slaying a demigod. Once a being transcends the demigod level, their life level undergoes a transformation, which is known as transcendence. They acquire more extraordinary abilities or magic, including various mysterious and bizarre racial talents. Therefore, although battles between demigods occur frequently, few are truly fatal. In recent years, the most devastating casualties among demigod powerhouses have occurred on the battlefield against the Western Continent.

Furthermore, a counterintuitive fact is that there are very few cases of death among demigods, but the number of recorded deaths among Sequence 2 and even Sequence 1 true gods is more than twice that. This is because battles between true gods mostly involve the struggle for faith. They do not easily resort to violence, and once they do, the only outcome is a fight to the death.

Hopefully, this result will give me some confidence.

Cheryl thought to herself, but not much. After all, if we were to talk about the casualties of demigods and even true gods, the most tragic place was not the barbaric, primitive continent of East Tivant, which even had backward systems such as human blood sacrifice, but the continent of Sigria, which was known as a prosperous, powerful, modern civilization and steam technology, across the sea.

The reason for this is also related to the opponent they are about to fight.

Thinking about this, the third leader of the Holy War Army seemed to find it quite interesting, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

……

Pereike also saw the steel fortress that stood majestically in the gloom.

The enemy is there.

The closer she got, the stronger her sense of mission became, and at the same time, a profound loneliness welled up within her. The former stemmed from emotion; before her departure, she had promised Tentis that she would carry out her plan to the very end, even if it meant going against her own will. The latter came from memory; on this long journey that spanned two continents and an ocean, yet felt as brief as returning from a dream to reality, Perec sensed that she was about to reach the end of her life. She had wandered through this labyrinth, searching for a way out, but had never realized that what truly trapped a person was only their past self.

Faced with the familiar scene, a series of familiar images flashed before her eyes: being seen as a witch of calamity by others, relentlessly pursuing and hunting; yearning for a peaceful and tranquil life, yet finding it elusive; being saved by the suddenly appearing High Priestess Moria in a moment of crisis; accepting the new name he gave her and resolving to repay his expectations with hard work; standing before the experimental table, facing the dying Wood Elf boy, at a loss for what to do; failing her teacher's expectations and seemingly losing his trust; having nowhere to go, nowhere to turn, yet choosing to stay, watching helplessly as her teacher, under the guise of experiments, harmed innocent lives, without the courage to stop him; being misunderstood by her teacher, who saw her silence as another form of self-protection, yet unable to defend herself…

In those suffocating years, what was the meaning of her existence? If a person is neither indifferent to the sacrifices unfolding before her eyes nor brave enough to step forward to save a group of complete strangers, then she is undoubtedly contradictory. Her teacher was the only one willing to define this contradictory mentality. Unfortunately, Perec always felt that his self-definition was wrong. She never considered her power a gift, nor did she endorse the overly radical theories of evolution and elimination. Sometimes she would fantasize that if she gave her teacher more time, if she spent a little more time with him, would he realize his true self and change his original views? However, such fantasies were unverifiable, because neither she nor her teacher were allowed that much time.

The eighty-eighth Moriah, Metatron, escaped the curse of fate by hiding his identity. He once tried to glimpse the truth of how the world works and changes, but ultimately died at the hands of a witch.

Not a witch of plague, but... a witch of reality.

Both Perec and her teacher Metatron were fully aware of how taboo and blasphemous their experiments were, even on this primitive and savage continent, they were among the most unforgivable. Therefore, their eventual self-destruction seemed inevitable. However, neither Perec nor her teacher Metatron realized that this end would come so suddenly, accompanied by an incomprehensible absurdity.

The one who killed him was neither one of those alien races whose people had been plundered for experimental purposes, nor a rigid and intolerant fanatic who would not tolerate the rampant spread of heresy, but a woman who called herself Tentis. She possessed incredible power; even her teacher, a high priest of the Moria and a superhuman powerhouse comparable to a true god, was no match for her. Pereike didn't actually have a very deep impression of that battle, because when it happened, she was in her room as usual, and even though she heard the commotion outside, she didn't dare to go out to check, as if that would stir up some unpleasant memories deep in her mind.

But the battle ended quickly, so quickly that Perec's heartbeat hadn't even calmed down before the commotion subsided. A moment later, there was a knock on the door, and the girl asked tremblingly, "...Who is it?"

“You can call me, Tentis.” The person who entered was a girl with black hair and black eyes. She had a unique temperament, and at least in Perec’s memory, there was no one similar to her: “I’m here to see you, Perec.”

Does she know me? But I don't know who she is.

Pereira's lips trembled slightly, but she didn't respond. Instead, she asked, "Where's the teacher? How is he?"

"Teacher? So Metanzor was your teacher?" The girl named Tentis frowned slightly, seemingly taken aback by this situation. However, she made no attempt to hide anything: "That guy never mentioned it, but to tell you the truth, he's dead." "Dead...?" Perec was dazed. To her own surprise, upon hearing this news, she wasn't very angry, because she was certain her teacher didn't need her to be angry for him; nor was she very sad, because she was certain she hadn't shared any pleasant memories with the man she called her teacher. If she had to use one word to describe this empty, aimless feeling, it would probably be... emptiness?

She felt empty and speechless for a moment.

Tantis had a lot to say: "Actually, I have no grudge against that guy. Although his experiments don't quite match his status, what does that have to do with me? It's just that I wanted him to hand you over to me, but he refused, saying that you are an important experimental project and observation subject. I didn't like that answer, and given his firm attitude, I was certain I couldn't persuade him, so I had to resort to force. The great shaman of the Moria is indeed extraordinary, but unfortunately, he's too stubborn..."

“You came to see me,” Perec interrupted her, asking in a trembling voice, “What is it about?”

Or rather, what do you want to do?
What do you need me to do?
The answer to this question is very important to her.

Tentis looked at her thoughtfully, and after a while, he seemed to understand and smiled slightly: "I won't deceive you, Pereike. In essence, what I'm going to do is no different from what your teacher is doing. The only difference is that his path is wrong, while mine is right."

An unimaginable level of confidence, yet with a sense of entitlement.

Unfortunately, this was not the answer Perec wanted to hear.

In the end, did both the teacher and the girl named Tentis only see themselves as experimental subjects, objects of observation, or useful tools?
She lowered her head in disappointment: "...So, you can kill people too?"

“I’ve already killed someone,” Tentis said seriously. “And I will kill many more people in the future.”

“Then, I won’t go with you.” If the time and place were different, and Tentis were the first person to appear before her, Perec would probably agree to her request just as she had agreed to Metatron’s. But now, after a long period of loneliness, emptiness, and self-questioning, the girl, who had gained nothing, had only learned to refuse: “I… don’t want to kill anyone.”

Her final reason for refusing was barely audible, yet Tientis heard it clearly. She observed the girl before her with great interest, never expecting the reincarnation of the Plague King to be such a frail and timid girl—a far cry from the image of the "Lord of the Plague," "Guide to Evolution," or "Cosmic Calamity" circulated among mortals. However, perhaps this was a balancing mechanism; such an extremely dangerous and easily rampant power as the Plague King was indeed only suitable for the hands of such a person.

“You’re so weak, Perec,” she couldn’t help but remark.

The girl in front of her trembled slightly, but remained silent, seemingly acquiescing to her assessment.

“Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t mean to mock you. I just think… this is fine too.” Tentis smiled. “Who said I was going to ask you to kill someone? If you don’t want to kill, then go and save people.”

Pereira looked up in disbelief: "What...does that mean?"

A great demon king who is destined to kill many people, and who just killed his teacher, asks him to save people?

"It means exactly what it says. You can save people however you want—like the police maintaining order? Like adventurers helping those in need? Or like the church aiding the poor? It doesn't matter. I have some influence in the Western Continent and can provide you with support in various ways. I won't interfere with your choices. Of course, the only requirement is—"

She grinned and said, "Don't interfere with my choices."

After hearing Tentis's explanation, Perec became even more confused.

Does this mean that he can save people, but he can't stop her from killing? What's the point of such a contradiction? It's utterly absurd...

"What, you're not interested in my suggestion?" Seeing that she didn't answer for a long time, Tentis raised an eyebrow. He wasn't angry, but was just thinking about what other reasons he could use to persuade her.

In any case, it's impossible to let her continue to be alone. Metatron's theory doesn't suit her, and besides, this plague king doesn't seem like a person with his own opinions, and he's so sentimental. If you don't give someone something to do, it's easy for them to overthink things.

“No, I didn’t mean that, it’s just…” Pereira asked hesitantly, “Why would you do that?”

Why do something so contradictory?

Why should I be given the right to choose?
And why... do I receive such special treatment?
“Perhaps it’s because—” Tientis gave her a deep look, his tone intriguing: “You still have the right to choose what you do and what you don’t do, which is the luckiest thing in the world.”

"So... cherish it." (End of Chapter)