Chapter 35

“How far are we from the capital?” Elerina asked. They gathered underneath a cave, sitting in a circle with a campfire at the center. Since they couldn’t use magic, the lighter I gave to Elerina came in clutch, allowing them to light up fire without doing it the cavemen way.

“Based on the distance and our speed, it should take about a month to reach the continent’s northern beaches.”

The area is accessible through waters, and people did pass by before. The dark magic’s effect didn’t extend into the waters. That said, the beach itself was as dangerous as the rest of the area, and since there’s no other continent north of this one, people rarely travel there.

“That's assuming we take a straight line north, though.”

That was our assumption because we didn't know the exact location where the empire's former capital lay. We just knew that it's somewhere near its northern regions.

“I really, really hope the dark magic infestation isn't as intense up there.”

“Same.”

Trekking through the desert is already troublesome on its own, add to that the fact that we couldn't touch those black patches made things even more difficult. That said, the most surprising thing is the sheer silentness of the desert.

There's not a single monster. And we're not talking about just monsters. No birds, no insects, no plants, nothing of the sort. It's a completely lifeless desert.

“Could the dark magic here kill all the monsters?”

“No, probably not. Many of the monsters we faced in the frontlines aren’t common sightings before. The dark magic probably drove them there, either that or it's from the demonic magic. Although that does open up several mysteries…”

Angen went into a thinking pose while munching on the grilled fish I bought for her.

“Still... That demonic magic… why did it appear now of all times? Not a decade ago? The spell you said they use…”

She turned to Elerina. Elerina must have noticed as she answered immediately.

“The theory is that the spell works by undoing life itself. It shouldn’t have a time limit. That spell they used to stop dark magic probably had nothing to do with this.”

So it wasn’t like a seal that would break after a few hundred years.

“Besides, that suggests that dark magic is living, and even then, it couldn’t undo the effects completely.”

“That said, it did work considerably in the following years.”

There was more brown than black when I looked from above. The ratio was around sixty-forty. Enough for the black patches to be a hindrance, but it didn’t stop us from safely passing. Compared to my vision, on the other hand, the difference was massive. There was hardly any surviving color in my dreams.

“But yeah, if it isn’t a seal, then why wait so long before starting its attack? What does ‘it’ even want in the first place?”

“Would it be possible for someone or something to control everything?”

“Maybe? It was the goal back then, to control it. Considering that it controls people, controlling monsters probably isn't difficult.”

Even then, surely not every single monster in existence was thrown into the front lines, right?

“Couldn’t the monsters resist it?”

“Probably not.” Memorus smiled wryly. “All living beings should possess mana, hence they would be weak to this magic.”

Angen turned toward Elerina. “Ellen’s a unique case.”

“She’s right,” Memorus said. “Not all monsters can use magic, but that’s because their brains aren’t capable of forming attacks and calling for spells. It had nothing to do with whether or not they have mana.”

“That said… Ellen did manage to resist the effect, so maybe she really doesn’t have any mana.”

“Which shouldn’t be possible. My mother could.”

“Your father?”

It’s honestly impressive how Angen could bring up such a sensitive topic without batting an eye. Maybe these two share a lot in common with each other.

“I… I’m not sure.”

She had yet to recover from discovering that her memories weren’t as reliable as she expected. Elerina had yet to actually believe that everything’s a lie. I didn’t fully believe that either, though. There’s of course a possibility that I’m the one planted with fake knowledge in order to bait me to do whatever this magic wanted.

That said, she kept on pushing forward. She’s willing to confront her possibly mistaken memories, if it meant closer to knowing the truth. Knowing why she’s unable to use magic, and finding a way to transfer over to Earth.

“Speaking of magic, how’s our guard duty for the night?” Memorus asked in an attempt to change the topic.

“How about you go to sleep first, Ellen? I’ll wake you up later.”

“I have no problem with that.”

Back when Angen and Memorus were capable of using magic, they could detect incoming threats through sensing their mana. Before I bought her the motion detector, Elerina slept in short naps throughout the night. She’s also able to detect incoming threats, albeit through the sound and vibrations of enemies. They tend to sleep in buildings, so any threats would be noticeable from the sounds of enemies breaking inside.

Without their magic, Angen and Memorus weren’t as confident with their ability to detect monsters, so we made a deal to have half of us wake up during any given time. Apparently, me and Elerina were the first ones to sleep.

“Alright, let’s get the motion detectors running.”

Since the cave had a pretty small entrance, I put the detectors there. Any threat should be noticed. I just hope the elements outside don't interfere with it.

“Alright, we’ll get some rest.”

“That reminds me.”

Since there’s a chance they’ll be sleeping in the wild a lot, I bought them sleeping bags. They do have tents, but extra warmth should be a good thing in the coldness of the desert.

“How do I use this?”

“Like this.”

Since Elerina could see me, I showed her how to crawl into one. She mimicked me.

“That looks nice.”

“I got some for you two as well.”

I handed over two sleeping bags for Angen and Memorus.

“Wow, thanks a bunch.”

“These look comfortable.”

They began settling into their sleeping bags.

“Good night.”

“Night.”

“Good night, you two.”

Elerina disconnected the call and transferred the action camera back along with her smartphone. I charged them all up and then closed my eyes.

•••

“...”

I rubbed my eyes, still feeling the sleepiness grasping me. I forced myself to wake up. After opening my eyes, I noticed Elerina no longer beside me. I didn’t have a bad dream this time, so I didn’t panic. I calmly got out of my bed and went to where Elerina was standing. Her hair fluttered in the wind as she gazed up toward the sky.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I asked as I approached her from behind. From my point of view, she was standing in my apartment, inside a peaceful country. There’s no reason for her to stand guard this late in the night. But alas, I understood that wasn’t the case for her.

“You look so peaceful.” Elerina gave me a smile. Even in the darkness, she looked so fresh, so vibrant. Like a star shining in the night sky.

I closed in and gave her a little kiss. She was startled, but didn’t resist.

“... What was that for?”

“I just thought that you’re cute.”

“Is… Is that so?”

“Still, I agreed to this. It’s my responsibility to stay by your side.”

“... To be fair, even if you’re awake, it's not like you can help.”

That’s… true, to an extent. If I used the camera, then what I can see is limited to where Elerina’s head is facing. In the day, I might be able to recognize something she doesn’t, but as great as the camera is, it struggled with how little light came through the lense.

“I can at least accompany you.”

“Aren’t you tired, though?”

“I’ll force myself.”

I have classes tomorrow, and I could probably use the extra hours, but I couldn’t just let Elerina stand there all alone in the freezing desert.

“You’re making me worried.”

“Don’t worry, you trained me for this.”

“I trained your muscles, not your eyes.” Elerina snickered. “Want to take a midnight walk? Couldn’t go too far, though.”

The area immediately around the cave didn’t have a lot of black patches surrounding it, so we shouldn’t face any issues in that regard. Plus, our job is to watch over Angen and Memorus while they’re asleep. Going too far would defeat that purpose.

“Sure. You can see right?”

“Pretty sure the closest one is over there…” Elerina pointed toward the closest patch of black she could see. The brown sandy desert still reflected some of the lights from the stars above, so we could tell where the patches were based on how black one area is.

She began taking several steps out of the cave’s entrance. At that moment, I wished I could feel the breeze. It’s only AC air over here. Just then, I remembered about the coldness of the night and went to pick up a jacket. Elerina was wearing her armor. While thick, some parts of that armor was made out of metal, so I imagined some areas must have felt cold.

I put the jacket above her shoulders. It didn't fit smoothly, thanks to the armor’s large size, but it should at least help warm her up a bit.

“Thank you.” Elerina gave me a warm smile. I then went to the kitchen to make some hot drinks for ourselves.

“Do you want any caffeine?”

In her world, people used magic to keep themselves awake, but since none of them could use magic right now, caffeine is the next best thing.

“Sure.”

I put black coffee powder in a cup, then poured in some hot water and mixed it with milk. Elerina wasn’t a fan of artificial tastes, but she does like sweet stuff as long as it's natural, so I put in a bit of sugar to help with the bitterness. For myself, I decided to make some hot chocolate.

“Wouldn’t it be interesting if you can use magic?” Elerina murmured while watching me make the coffee. “What you’re doing right now sure looks like it.”

Elerina could see the process, as the cups and water heater were small enough to be transfered, thus it appeared in her world.

“I guess? I wonder if I need to use anti-magic medicine as well if I could.”

She shrugged. “Who knows. Maybe the magic wouldn’t affect you because you’re from a different world?”

Different worlds tend to have different magic systems, so if actual magic existed, like literally magic and not the science we have, then maybe dark magic wouldn’t be able to affect me.

“I would love to experience the ‘magic’ of your world,” Elerina said, gazing at the night sky.