Her gaze drifted away when I asked that, but then she looked serious, like she’d made her decision. “Kanata…listen. If this continues as it is, Zero’s curse will soon be fully activated, and the world will be destroyed. I went through everything I know, but there was only one way to deal with Zero’s curse that could be implemented immediately.”
“And that one way is…?”
“Hit it with another powerful curse to cancel it out. Zero was created to dispose of powers that shouldn’t exist in Locklore, it’s like a rubbish bin filled with a mixed soup of curses. Some of it was canceled out when Zoras forced it to transfer, and some more has dissipated as it erupted out in the form of chaos dragons, but…even with that, it can’t be canceled out by an everyday curse.”
Once Lunaère explained that much, she brought a hand to her chest and said, “I have an unholy impurity that repulses the living…and…I’m one of the highest-level beings in this world. If I use my soul, I should be able to cast a curse that can rival Zero’s. I’ve thought it through many times, and there’s no other way.”
My mind went blank. “But… But there’s got to be some other way! Wait, that’s it! If we need something that’s high level, there’s the demons in the Cursed Mirror, or even the chaos dragons!”
She shook her head. “In order to have the curses completely cancel each other out, the curse itself must have a will. It must fight back as it collides with the resisting curse. And it must be finely tuned. Even if we pulled together some high-level demons and made a curse that way, we couldn’t use that to counter Zero’s curse.”
“But, but, there’s got to be another way!”
Intellectually, I got it. Lunaère was clever. In terms of level and magic knowledge, there were few that outclassed her in all of Locklore’s history. And she was saying there was no other way. We didn’t have any more time, anyway. I could brainstorm all day, but it wouldn’t matter. If Zero’s curse wiped out Locklore, Lunaère would die regardless.
So, intellectually, I understood. But I couldn’t accept it.
“Let’s ask Veranta-san! He can probably think of something from a different perspective! And there’s loads of high-level people in his tower! Let’s go now and ask them for their input!”
But as expected, Lunaère shook her head. “We don’t have time. Besides, I’m a lich. I know a lot about death magic. I can say with certainty there is no other way. I don’t think there’s anyone who knows more than me. This strategy will need a lot of fine-tuning anyway. I only have one chance at it, and…even then, the chance of it succeeding is about fifty-fifty. But this is the only way that has any chance of succeeding.”
“But… I just… I don’t want you to die here, and to die as a curse…”
Tears spilled from the corners of my eyes. The world was on the brink of destruction, and I couldn’t even say anything that looked remotely like a solution. It was just a clumsy, emotional argument.
Just then, I sensed someone behind me. Both Lunaère and I fell into fighting stances and whirled around.
And there was Zoras, covered in blood. He pressed down on the stab wound in his chest and glared at me.
“Kanata Kanbara! That strike from your heroic blade hurt…but you didn’t quite finish me off! You left me to go check up on Lunaère!” he said.
“You’re still alive?!”
He looked different from before. The whites of his eyes were now black, and the unholy impurity flowing from him felt even more powerful.
“Death Magic Level 23, Obsession… Uses a lot of mana, but it cancels out your death! Don’t assume you’re the only one with a fail-safe in place for their life! Though I doubt you’ll find another chance to use that piece of advice!”
I bit my lip and glared at him.
I’d dropped everything and run to check on Lunaère the moment I saw her, so I didn’t do a good job making sure Zoras was dead. I lost my cool and led Zoras here.
It did seem true that Zoras had almost no magic left in exchange for the forced resurrection, though. His wounds weren’t fully healed.
“You’re just struggling for no reason,” I said. “Do you really think you can win against the two of us in your state?”
“I didn’t heal my injuries so that I would have enough magic left to kill you both. And…I told you long before, didn’t I? You’re the ones who are struggling for no reason! Even if you kill me, you won’t stop Zero’s curse! And even if you stop the curse, the higher beings won’t let the world remain!”
Zoras grinned evilly as he went on, “I heard what you two were talking about. You were thinking of using your own soul to activate a curse and cancel out Zero’s curse, is that right? It won’t work! You said it was a fifty-fifty chance, but I estimate a 90 percent chance you die in vain!”
Ninety percent chance…of dying in vain…? I looked at Lunaère. Her face was filled with agony, and she wouldn’t look me in the eye.
If the chances of her death being pointless were that high, I couldn’t let her do it, even if it was the only way that had any hope of working. Lunaère had known the odds of success were low, and she hid it because she didn’t want me to stop her.
“Lich girl, not even I can hold back my laughter at your absolutist views! You died for the peace of the continent, then you became undead for your mother! Despite being betrayed, you sealed yourself away in the depths of the abyss to avoid hurting anyone! And even after all that, you choose to turn your soul into a curse and endure eternal suffering to save this world? Even goblins can learn, but a lich who’s lived longer than any human can’t?! I’ll never understand you!” Zoras’s normally logical and arrogant attitude was gone now. He opened his mouth wide, his tongue lolling out as he sneered at Lunaère. There was a mix of hostility and glee at the opportunity to ridicule her.
“Keep your mouth shut,” I said. I drew my sword and pointed it at him. “I won’t let you insult her.”
“…I finally understand why you come after me so persistently,” said Lunaère. “You think our pasts are similar. Which is why you can’t forgive me for having the exact opposite mindset from you. You only show that expression when talking about my past.”