Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

"Huh? I... I don't remember the way. What should I do? I think I'm lost in the forest."

"Ugh, how would I know about that?! My head is killing me!"

I was having a conversation with the Dragon King, who was far away in the Principality, in the depths of my consciousness, seeking her help. However, it seems that she has encountered some trouble and is very troubled... I feel the same way; I am also very anxious because I am lost.

It's getting dark... It's really scary to walk alone at night... Especially since I don't even know where I am right now.

"Wait a moment, I'll go ask Ning."

Please, hurry up.

After a while, another person's voice came through.

"...Did you hear that, you stupid box?"

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?!"

That person was Ning, of course. She's a cute slime girl with a rather strange temper. Just when I started to have a slightly better opinion of her because things had improved recently, she started teasing me again, just like before.

"Stupid box" refers not only to me as the Mimic, but also to me as the Dragon King. It sounds strange, doesn't it... Anyway, I have a problem with her calling me that. It's one thing to criticize me in her speech, but to say it to my face as the Dragon King is another.

"So...aren't you stupid enough that you don't even know the way?" Ning added insult to injury in her telepathic message, "Did I really have to remind you that you could have solved it with your Mystic Eyes?"

It seems... that's indeed the case...

The Magic Eye seems to be able to help me solve this problem... How could I have forgotten about that?

I activated my Demon Eye, and my vision was tinged with gold by the golden flames. I still haven't figured out what these golden flames are.

Well, how should I put it? I'm now a monster shrouded in mystery... uh? Should I say a Dragon King? Dragon Kings are mysterious to humans, aren't they?

Under the effect of the magic eye, something resembling a game interface UI appeared in my field of vision, and I could interact with these things according to my will.

"Hmm...it seems like it's still not resolved."

Imagine a map, like the mini-map feature in games on Earth.

Following Ning's instructions, I imagined a mini-map, a feature I'd seen many times before when Brother ■■ played games. As a result, the map appeared in the upper right corner of my view.

"Wow!? Is that even possible?!"

"Aren't you the holder of the Mystic Eyes...? Why are you asking me something like this...? Honestly. Anyway, that's all for now. We have a lot to take care of here. We just planted Perseus, and there's still a lot to do. You'll have to figure out the rest yourself."

Ning complained a few times, told me I'd have to figure it out myself, and then unilaterally cut off the conversation. Saying thank you… well, never mind, lest she accuse me of being dramatic.

I feel much more at ease now that I have a map. Let me take a look...

The map scaled up and down according to my will, and I now realize that I'm on the border of the kingdom... Forget about the kingdom's main city, I've strayed so far off course, getting further and further away.

This place happens to be on the border, right at the border between the kingdom and the demon king's territory. There must be a fierce battle taking place there right now.

Should we go take a look...?

I came here to check on the kingdom, but I never expected to end up at the border so inexplicably. I guess I'll go take a look... and find out about the Demon King's territory while I'm at it.

My impression of the Demon King is limited to his usual tropes.

You see, the Demon King must have some evil grand plan. He kidnapped the beautiful princess and is trying to destroy humanity or something.

Moreover, the image of the Demon King is mostly that of a guy with a pair of very... uh? unruly horns, wearing a black outfit or armor, and then wearing a cloak. He suddenly appears when humans and demons are fighting, and then laughs loudly as he crushes the humans.

Ah... I always have a bad feeling about this world. It seems to always be working against me.

With this bad feeling, I found the place I needed to go and the shortest route on the map, and then followed the navigation...

This isn't a magic eye, it's a smartphone!

Ah... I'm too lazy to say anything more.

I gradually approached the most intense battlefield in the world, and I could already hear the sounds of swords clashing, the roars of battle, and the tragic cries of agony.

This kind of world... made me stop in my tracks.

I don't know what I'll see when I get there, but I'm somewhat prepared. She still hasn't forgotten the scene she saw on the day the maze collapsed.

Massacre; that's the only word to describe it.

The monsters weren't wrong, but their very existence was a mistake. Rielfa wasn't wrong either, but her mistake lay in being too powerful, making people wary and ultimately leading to the desire to destroy her.

This world, this other world, did not meet my expectations. No matter the world, reality is cruel, and what we are about to see will likely be just as illogical.

As a human, Rin lacked the confidence to fight humans head-on. Her battles with humans in the labyrinth were only out of necessity; she had no intention of killing or harboring any malice towards the hero.

But now, she may have to face the malice of other humans. At that point, will she still be able to uphold her principles?

Chapter 45

I could already smell the strong rusty scent; I knew it was the smell of blood. The forest was gradually coming to an end, and every now and then a chill would drift over, making me shiver.

I remember that chill; it was the chill emanating from Zhou Tai's sword. That chill was extremely cold and wouldn't dissipate for a long time. There was another person who possessed that same chill…

I can more or less guess who was there...

Brave.

Ning told me that part of the reason Zhou Tai is incomplete is because of his sword, which is called "Great Xia Dragon Sparrow". The "Great Xia Dragon Sparrow" that Zhou Tai possesses is only a part of the original sword, and only the "intention" of the sword exists.

The weapon used by the hero Xia Que is also the "Great Xia Dragon Sparrow". The "Great Xia Dragon Sparrow" she holds is the "blade" part. Ning speculates that it is the hero's "holy sword".

The "Holy Sword" is not limited to the form of a sword, but can take on various forms. It is worth mentioning that there are records of a "Holy Sword" in the form of a hoe in the literature, but usually no one looks into it.

Is Ning really that free? She actually goes to read a book... I'm so busy I can barely get out of bed...

Because the 'Holy Sword' is incomplete, the two wielders must kill each other to reclaim the complete 'Holy Sword'. In other words, Zhou Tai had no chance of winning from the start.

He was used as a sacrifice, a trial for the hero.

Zhou Tai is neither a hero nor a normal person, but a living dead like Nao. His life is sustained by Perseus; without Perseus, he wouldn't live much longer.

There is something called 'fate,' a very mysterious thing. Ning has clearly stated that he can understand it, but cannot interfere with it. Fate tends to favor those with strong luck.

The hero is undoubtedly one of the luckiest people in the world, and Zhou Tai, as a living dead, is left with only the mission of protecting the Tree of Perseus.

Even if Zhou Tai used all his luck, he couldn't defeat the hero; fate was on the hero's side...

unacceptable……

This is the first time I've ever felt such disgust for a hero. If it were before, I would probably have associated him with a brave prince on a white horse or something like that.

It won't happen now, and I don't think it will ever happen again.

Following the chill, I found my way there. I no longer needed to look at the map; the air around me was getting colder and colder, and the trees were beginning to frost over. Gradually, I could no longer smell the scent of blood.

As we got closer to the heart of the cold, there was more and more ice, and I saw the last thing I wanted to see.

Corpses, human corpses, and some demon corpses, along with scattered limbs and organs, were all frozen in blood-red ice, devoid of any life. This place had become a cold, icy world.

——!?

The intense discomfort made me want to vomit, but I guess the Dragon King's version of me vomited for me. I only felt a strong sense of discomfort and nausea.

These are corpses... people or demons killed after being defeated in battle. I can't walk anymore, I don't want to go any further. Isn't this absurd? Why would I go to a place like that?

I know the reasons myself, but I resist it because I know what it will be like there.

"...Reason, can you hear me?"

"……rather."

Ning is calling out to me, and perhaps she's also trying to comfort me on the other side. Seeing this scene, the main consciousness that shares information and memories with me must have such a strong reaction.

I think I was hiding in my room when Ning came looking for me and forced her way in.

"Ha... I can tell from your expression that you saw one of those things." Ning seemed to have sat down over there. "You were scared, weren't you?"

I nodded without saying a word. She was in the same boat as me, completely exhausted and unable to speak. A nod in response was probably the best she could manage.

"...These are things you'll have to face sooner or later; you'll encounter these things eventually," Ning patiently comforted me. "This isn't Earth; it's another world where several people die easily. Dead people aren't rare in this world. Let's go. Staying in one place isn't your style; if Rielfa sees you, she'll probably kick you."

That's really not funny.

When Lelfa kicks me, it's mostly because she's trying to trick me. I've encountered this several times before, so it's nothing new to me.

"Isn't it possible to talk now?" Ning teased me.

"Ugh... Can you stay with me... just for a little while?" I struggled for a moment before making this request.

Although she's by my side, the Dragon King, I think it makes no difference. I want Ning to be with me; I want to step into that world. I can't just stay stuck in that place, not me.

"Okay." Ning smiled and gently hugged me. "I'll go with you wherever you go—kingdoms, duchies, Earth, other worlds, or even the ends of the earth. But really, do you want to go there? Once you go, you might never come back."

"Okay. I'm going over there. Come with me... just stay with me..."

I've recovered somewhat, but that doesn't mean I'm completely fine. That intense feeling of resistance and nausea still lingers in my mind; it's a feeling I can't forget. Now, I can move forward.

Ning over there took my hand, and I could feel her warmth. Ning... is actually very gentle, just a little sharp-tongued. She can probably change that a bit.

I tried to distract myself by thinking about these things, which led me past the corpses and deeper into the area. There were more and more corpses, some of them complete ice sculptures, frozen alive inside the ice.

These corpses are all demon corpses. The hero may have protected many people this time. We only saw human corpses on the outskirts. Should I be happy or unhappy...? I don't know myself.

Then I saw that the vast forest that had been flattened by the battle had turned into a jungle of ice crystals, and the corpses of the demons were pierced by the ice crystals and lifted into the air.

Blood flowed down the ice crystals and then froze, as if the ice crystals were covered with tiny blood vessels. But I knew it wasn't alive; it was one of the murder weapons.

Only one person dances in this jungle, only that one person—the 'Hero' Xia Que.

"■■■■！■■■■■！！！！！！！"

"■■■！■■■■■■！！！"

“■■■■■■……！■■■■■■■■■■!?”

The demons charged forward shouting in a language I couldn't understand. What I could hear were anger, sadness, rage, hatred, and all sorts of complex emotions. They were like warriors going to their deaths, relentlessly rushing forward.

They knew it was a reckless act, but they still charged forward. What were they fighting the hero for? The outcome was obvious: they died.

Clang——!

With a swift movement, all I saw was a flash of light in Xia Que's hand, a light that vanished in the blink of an eye, just like the lives of the demons... fleeting and ephemeral.

I felt an unprecedented sense of unease, something was wrong... There was something there, something I had to find out.

Chapter 46

Magic Eye – Categorization – Displaying Human Life – Marking on the Map.

I used my magic eye to mark human life on the map, and I only saw one point of light. That point of light is the only surviving human, the hero Xia Que.

Display demonic life – mark it on the map.

——.

Seeing the dots of light that almost filled the map, I wasn't too surprised. Of course I saw it—the dark mass of demons—but I just didn't want to believe what I was seeing.

One against many, and by "many" it's hard to count. Is the hero really going to fight so many demons all by himself? It's not funny at all.

This should be the front line of the battle against the demons, right? Why is the hero fighting alone here? Putting everything else aside, can the hero really hold out against this endless, relentless onslaught?

I've been watching here for so long, and the demons have never stopped attacking the hero. The hero just mechanically kills them and then quickly moves on to the next round of battle.

It's like a killing machine.

What happened during this time to turn her into this state? Why did humanity only send out one hero to fight?

I don't think I'll get any answers from here. I need to go over there and see what those people protecting the hero are doing. I don't intend to contact the current hero; she'd probably kill anything that isn't human.

Something's not right; that's the situation on the battlefield right now.

The heroine stood alone against the onslaught of the demon army, while none of the humans who should have come to her aid were to be seen. The heroine mechanically slaughtered the demons who challenged her; the scene was so lonely and sorrowful. The heroine had become unrecognizable, and the demons seemed more like warriors going to their deaths.

On this battlefield, I can no longer discern which side is truly just. Even though the battlefield itself is devoid of good and evil, where the victor reigns supreme and the vanquished are condemned.

I stopped looking at the scene and left, following the map, taking a detour to the rear of the battle line, to the only fortress that could serve as a foothold.

This place is quite a distance from the front lines. On the way to the fortress, I didn't see any signs of battle. It's like night and day compared to the front lines.

I could see faint lights, which were probably the campfires where the troops were resting. I could also see the huge fortress under the moonlight.

what happened……?

I saw a lot of points of light on the ground, all of them human life responses. There are so many people here, but not a single one went to the front line to help? Or is there some kind of plan?

No... even if that's the case, I can't think of any scheme that would do this. The treaty from the church is there, so why would it be like this?

Let's see for ourselves first... just seeing it doesn't prove anything.

I approached the human fortress and hid in the dense forest to observe.