Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 378 The power of choice

"The time to make a choice has come, Wayne."

With time running out, Ritas's voice slowly rang out.

Viyn raised her head and looked at her "brother" standing in front of her.

The several memories that had been surfacing finally merged completely.

For a moment, she didn't know what expression to make.

Anger? Embarrassment? Gratitude? Guilt? Despair? Or something else entirely.
Although it was all a facade, likely orchestrated by Ritas or Sophia, she did indeed experience a brief period of ordinary life in that "usurped" area. She also learned what a true "mother" should be like.

However, no matter how much she liked this part of her life, it was ultimately something created to deceive her.

Even with the excuse of being a "wanderer," she still managed to drag innocent people like Ritas into this world.

Now, many things are clear.

Her real mother, Dolores, was "obsessed" with Ritas, but this was nothing more than an escape and delusion of a woman who had already gone mad and was unwilling to face reality.

But even that kind of mother was, for Wayne, her "only" and "everything" in the real world.

Therefore, after her mother's death, she became an empty shell. Only when she was building a new body in the midst of collapse would she inherit that ridiculous, pathetic escapism and delusion as the "core" of her new self.

Perhaps, even without someone like Dolores, her life would still be filled with something called "failure".

Therefore, she seemed to have no right to show any emotion.
"I"

Ritas waited patiently for a moment, intending to try to persuade her based on her response. However, after saying just one word, Vayne became conflicted and silent again.

"As you have seen before, no matter what I am now or in the future, the past me was just a helpless and powerless figure. I cannot change my own life, nor can I change other people's."

Ritas spoke slowly.

The bath goddess, who had actually been present the whole time, simply hummed in response.

Could it be that in this world where memories fly by, Wayne and the others saw Ritas's past?

I really want to see it.
Even if I can't see it, I still want to ask for the specific details!
The goddess of bathing was filled with restless desire. However, she also knew that now was not the time to make a scene.

"Humans, or rather almost all living beings, are born vulnerable and helpless. Therefore, protecting this vulnerability is like a natural instinct that everyone should have for the sake of the survival and prosperity of the species. However, there is no doubt that the coercive power of this protection is very weak, and there is no standard answer. On the other hand, we have basically no choice in the people we encounter in our childhood. Even if we encounter 'wrong' people, we can only let the mistakes continue, without being able to correct them or do it again."

Ritas looked at Wayne with "sincere" eyes.

"So, I created that illusion. I just wanted to give you another option during your most vulnerable time, when you had no other choice. To give you some power of choice. And now, although that illusion can no longer continue, you no longer need to walk down a dead end with no forks."

Hearing Ritas's words, the goddess of bathing couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.

Although she wasn't quite sure what Ritas had done to Wayne, nor did she know what kind of response Ritas was expecting from Wayne.

But intuitively, she felt something was "wrong." Ritas might not be doing the right thing.

"I don't blame you for altering my memories, nor do I have the right to complain."

Vivian shook her head.

"But... I'm so sorry. Although I also cherished the time you gave me, and I love you all very much... Dolores is truly my mother. If even I forget her, then she really is..."

"."

Ritas frowned deeply.

Sure enough, if it weren't for creating a special environment where there was absolutely no choice, Wayne would still have chosen her real mother.

The fact that her perception could be distorted to such an extent that the dolls she created genuinely believed that Ritas was her biological brother is enough to prove how deeply Dolores had left her mark.

That's why, to some extent, the script of the "fairy tale world" is like this.

The protagonist needs to defeat the regional leaders of four areas, collect the fragments of his sister's soul, and then take her back from the witch.

Whether the younger sister wanted to be rescued or taken back was completely irrelevant.

Due to the forced activation of the "Wanderer," Wayne's state was actually exceptionally distorted.

In reality, there are two "Wayne". One is a blonde, Dolores's daughter who hears all sorts of stories about her "brother" Ritas, but who actually knows everything in her heart. The other is a doll-like Wayne created from that Wayne, with black hair, resembling Ritas, lacking past painful memories, and only possessing an obsession with her brother Ritas.

In other words, although the entire fairy tale world is constructed and unfolds with Ritas as the central figure, the real Wayne does not actually consider Ritas to be her brother.
Just as Ritas was quickly thinking about what words to use to obtain the last remaining power of this world from the confused, wavering, twisted, and weak creator in front of him...

He suddenly felt someone tapping on his chest.

There was undoubtedly only one person present who would do such a thing.

"."

What are you doing?
Ritas glared at the goddess of the bath. The goddess of the bath simply gave a soft "humph" and continued knocking without replying.

He naturally had no time to get angry about the goddess of bathing's strange behavior, and he also knew that the goddess of bathing was hinting at something.

Ritas has always believed that his moral standards are actually quite flexible. Or rather, rather than flexible, he can interpret that "morality" in many ways.

Therefore, whenever necessary, he can easily break the balance in his heart.

But now, Ritas has realized something.

It was precisely because he felt he was capable of anything if necessary that he could take shortcuts, which, aside from being somewhat dark, were indeed very convenient.

That's why we overlook it and are unaware of it.

Sometimes, what he perceives as uncertain and futile broad roads are actually the real shortcuts.

"Vayne, would you like to sign a vow with me?"

After closing his eyes slightly, Ritas opened them again and asked this question.

the other side.

Cortrienne slowly walked into the last remaining section of the entire fairy tale world.

Suddenly, one after another, clear and transparent ice crystal spikes, as sharp as crystals, pierced out from the ground.

However, none of these spikes formed from ice crystals struck Corteline directly. Instead, they blocked her path and surrounded her.

"It's in the way."

Cortrienne, whose eyes still gleamed red but whose voice was now clear and articulate, commented as she casually swung her greatsword, carving a smooth path ahead.

With all the armor of the Iron Man dissipating in Little Ritas's "self-destruction," Cortriene was left with only one sword.

After the ice spikes in front of her were cleared away, Millie appeared in front of Cortelene with both hands gripping the hilt of her sword and a serious expression.

"Kocorline, you're now Teacher Kocorline, aren't you?" Millie asked, her voice slightly trembling, seemingly due to nervousness.

If we can get a positive response and avoid this battle, that would undoubtedly be the best outcome.

Unfortunately, Millie's answer was a sharp glint of light.

The heavy greatsword, in Cortrinet's hands, was wielded as lightly as a feather with a single hand. The surging wind blades that slashed through the air instantly and swiftly cleaved Millie, who stood in her way, in two.

"As expected... there was no way to avoid it."

Millie's voice drifted out softly.

She did not fall down even though she had been split in two.

A ghostly blue flame suddenly erupted from the severed spot on her body. The two flames touched and quickly merged into one, and Millie's body returned to normal.

"what do you?"

Cortrienne stopped and stared at Millie.

At that moment, she set her sights on Millie as her next opponent.

Millie, on the other hand, had absolutely no interest in arguing with Cortriene.

Even the slightest distraction could cost her her life.

Although it had nothing to do with the battle itself, Millie confirmed one thing at that moment.

That is, when Cortriene was not being controlled, the "Elsen-style" greatsword technique she displayed was quite similar to someone else's swordsmanship.

That person was "Alan". Or rather, the future Alan.

Therefore, judging from the timeline, the person who should have taught Aran swordsmanship in the future would most likely be Cortriene.

"call"

Millie banished all other thoughts and focused all her attention, causing a sharp ring of lightning to surround the "holy sword" in her hand.

Then, in the next instant, his figure transformed into lightning and charged directly towards Cortriene.

Facing Millie's direct attack, though it was truly a lightning-fast moment, Cortrienne was clearly able to accurately detect and react to it.

However, she did not swing her sword to try to knock down her opponent, because it was clear that her opponent's target was not herself.

After making a sharp right angle in mid-air, Millie, who had transformed into lightning, struck a single ice spike near Cortriene.

The moment Millie struck the ice spike, the lightning she transformed into refracted, deflecting towards another ice spike.

In just a few breaths, electric light ricocheted around Cortriene.

Dazzled by the sights, Cortriñe, seemingly trapped in a cage formed by countless bolts of lightning, had clearly lost sight of her target.

This is the time.

boom!
With a sound more like a firecracker than a sword strike, lightning struck Corteline's right shoulder.

At the moment of the attack, Cortrienne did not seem to waver in the slightest. She merely swayed her arm slightly before unleashing a sharp sword slash with her greatsword, a perfect blend of the contrasting styles of heaviness and swiftness.

The sword strike had a fan-shaped destructive force, and the aftershocks alone destroyed a large number of ice spikes.

But after landing her blow, Millie, not greedy for further attacks, managed to escape in time, narrowly avoiding Cortriene's counterattack.

efficient!

Continuing to transform into bolts of lightning, constantly bouncing between the ice spikes, Millie couldn't feel a heartbeat. Otherwise, she believed its beating would have been incredibly loud, loud enough to reveal her location.

Despite her nervousness, she also felt a surge of joy and excitement.

From the very first day she arrived in the fairytale world, she was mercilessly sliced ​​into pieces by the Tin Man. Now, she is finally able to barely touch this invincible opponent.

Of course, she was able to do all this with the help of the other two.

Under Sophia's command, although she was still full of complaints, Charlotte did not make any mistakes and continued to build one ice spike after another.

The ice spikes she created with magic would grow larger over time. Now, the first batch had already grown to the size of pillars.

According to Sofia, this was done to randomly change the angle of the ice spikes, making it difficult for opponents to find a pattern in the refraction.

But to be honest, Millie thinks that Cortrienne, who is more of a "feeling person," wouldn't have such advanced computing power to calculate things like refraction.

In a brief moment of thought, Cortelene managed to cut down several more clusters of ice spikes. But with Sophia's help, Charlotte's speed in regenerating ice spikes far exceeded Cortelene's cutting.

Looking at Cortriene's shoulder, where the obvious charred marks still didn't affect her sword-wielding, Millie realized once again what kind of monster her opponent was.

Even if, as Little Ritas said, Cortriene would be much weaker without the "Tin Man" part, that remaining part would still be beyond the reach of common sense.

It was another burst of high-speed rebounds and refractions.

Before she herself became dizzy and disoriented, Millie aimed at Cortelene and launched another attack.

Between lightning and stone.

Just as Millie was about to strike Cortelene again, she saw Cortelene's hand reach out to grab her.

"!"

In an instant, the sound of firecrackers rang out again.

Cortrienne had only caught a glimpse of Millie, or perhaps a clone. Her other arm had suffered a powerful impact.

how come?
Even though she landed a successful blow, Millie was still shaken.

The ability to split herself into two at the last moment was not due to her own power, but rather Sophia's magic.

In other words, after just that one encounter, Cortrienne had already found a way to accurately capture her?
"Be careful!"

As Millie continued to dash through the ice spikes like lightning without stopping, Sophia's voice suddenly boomed from the center of the formation.

At that moment, Millie, who was still flying at high speed, saw Cortelene, who had been standing just a second ago, lower her back and lunge forward, blocking her flight path as if she had teleported.

It happened so fast that there was no time to stop or change direction.

A devastating horizontal slash was unleashed.

The sharp light, seemingly capable of swallowing everything, pointed directly at Millie's brow.

(End of this chapter)