Tosho Meikyuu:Volume1 Chapter3

630 Pages until Memory Loss

◇◇◇630 Pages until Memory Loss

As you may imagine from your classroom number being over a thousand, the lecture tower of the ‘Apothecary’ has countless classes, and therefore, lots and lots of students.

All the students will leave the classroom at the same time, and start to migrate toward the cafeteria. Thus, you can imagine how crowded it is during lunch break.

"Tch…we’re late. Who knows how long it’ll take for us to get through the crowd …?"

The murderer walking before you mutters in disdain. The spiral staircases connecting to each floor of the lecture tower is filled with a dense crowd of black-haired people (there are people of other hair colors like blond and brown, at least half of them anyway). The mass migration of people is why the ‘Apothecary’ has a lunch break lasting an hour and a half.

(A-As expected from the famous ‘Apothecary’, just the number of students is amazing enough…)

"There may be several hundred people within sight.it will be impossible for this true ancestor to appear and fight."

(No, it’s probably unlikely that we’ll fight here. Since she didn’t expose the vampire (me), this murderer probably wants to interrogate me or torture me into submission.)

During the argument in the classroom, the murderer did not reveal your true identity. In that case, she probably has a reason for keeping you alive. In that case, even if she, who has much better magic than you, probably won’t use magic that would kill the interrogation target (you) instantly.

(…And besides, I have the immortality of the High Daylight Walker and the absolute protection magic in my talisman. I may miss an opportunity to win, but I won’t lose and die…!)

You gently lay your hand on your chest, feeling the talisman crystal.

To protect his beloved son, the Doctor Magna gathered all his skills to create this magical tool.

This one and only relic sealed in this ‘Apothecary’, the absolute protection magic of Okutsuki—the most powerful mage of the ‘Apothecary’.

(…Despite that, this protective charm only works once. Father’s magic is truly a last resort.)

"Umu. Given the risk of your identity as a vampire being exposed, I shall appear to fight if push comes to shove. I swear in the name of High Daylight Walker and I shall not let any harm befall my dearest!"

(…I don't need a vampire’s help. I’m the one fighting.)

In response to the ultrasonically whispered confession of love, you reply with a soft sounding rejection. Even you, who may not be truly familiar with the concept of love, are not so foolish as to trust the love a vampire speaks of.

You and the vampire have a common agreement, that both of you are antagonistic towards the murderer…but this is merely a fragile partnership based on mutual interests. You do not think the love spoken of by the High Daylight Walker is true, and It is also dangerous to rely too heavily on Arteria's fighting skills.

(…I don’t think the High Daylight Walker is likely to save humans for no reason. Vampires are a natural enemy to humanity, and it’s possible she’s trying to use it…I can’t rely on her power.)

A High Daylight Walker is a natural enemy species of mankind, and also the most powerful monster in Library Labyrinth. You do not know how why she granted immortality to a human…but in any case, you cannot expect on her assistance. You should abandon the optimism that the vampire will help you, and fight the murderer seriously.

"…Oi, murderer, how much further do you plan to walk?"

"Can a vampire not be so friendly towards me? My ears will rot."

"Hmph, it’s better if its those bullhorns that rot instead of those ears. Maybe you can look more like a human…eek!"

You try to gauge the Murderer’s reaction, and the moment you speak to her, your right index finger suddenly disappears. There are many around you, but the savagery of the murderer remains merciless.

"D-Did she just attack you in a public place…?"

(Damnit, I was stupid to expect common sense from a murderer!)

You hide your right hand in your pocket, waiting for the severed fingertip to regenerate. The amount of blood smoke is higher than when you were stabbed in your flank, since part of your flesh is missing.

(…This is bad. Let’s hope nobody around us notice my aura …)

You remain alert to your surroundings so as to avoid being suspected of being vampirized.

"…Did you see that? That transfer student’s giving off that red aura again…"

"I-I see it too! I can’t believe it materializes to something so thick…!"

"Oh yeah they’re going to do it. He said it comes out when he's emotional."

"D-Do it, as in, erm, that thing!?"

"No doubt about it!"

The absolutely wrong conversation can be overheard a few meters away behind you. Your classmates have misunderstood your relationship with the murderer, and are tailing you to peep on your date.

However, you are unable to notice them due to the crowd and your wariness against the murderer.

"Now then, get ready to turn left. If you want to run, you can choose the right."

"If I turn right here, wouldn’t that mean that I’ll be in the air?"

"Oh my, don’t you understand that I’m telling you to jump from the stairwell and kill yourself?"

"I know! I mean I don't want to die!"

The main staircase of the 'Apothecary' connects the upper levels of the Labyrinth to the top of the tower, a distance of nearly a kilometer, so a fall into the central stairwell means a certain death.

Well, in your case, you will not die due to the fall, but will be tried in a vampire inquest for not dying, and will be submerged in a sulfuric acid bath and converted into black charcoal.

After walking for nearly 20 minutes in fear of your death, you eventually step out into the outermost shell of the tower. This is the place that protrudes outward from the center of the main lecture tower, similar to a terrace.

(…Somehow we ended up outside the lecture tower…?)

You squint in the fierce sunlight and scan your surroundings. Upon this terrace built from the advanced architectural techniques excavated from the Labyrinth, there are little aquaducts formed by sunbaked bricks.

The aquaducts are decorated with sculptures of angels, and the green roof is made of vines intertwined with the pillars. The young leaves of the planted trees sometimes rustle with the wind, and though they do manufacture the perfect atmosphere for a man and a woman to meet. …

(…It doesn’t feel like anyone else is around. Is she going to turn this place to a battlefield…!?)

As long as the murderer is next door, you shall never ever have a a peaceful lunch break.

(…It’s quite a large space, but there’s hardly any obstructions. It’ll be troublesome if she summons stone shapes or shoot stone spares at me like yesterday …!)

"Oh my, is the world of daylight that unusual for a vampire born in the darkness?"

The murderer asks as she walks to the center of the terrace and turns her head back. The Mediterranean sea breeze blows upstream the lecture tower from the city below, swaying the murderer's golden hair and causing it to sparkle.

"Phew. The fragrane of the sea sure is pleasant, though I imagine vampires prefer the smell of death and darkness."

"I-I usually prefer the fragrance of the tide too…though the sunlight does burn my skin a little."

You can feel a tingling warmth on your exposed face and the backs of your hands…fortunately however, there is no sign of turning into ash, as per a typical vampire.

"… And? You didn't bring me all the way down here just to fight, right?"

You wonder about your enemy's attitude, expecting spears to fly the moment you two are alone. Given her actions till this moment, you have assumed she is a lunatic who delights in murdering…

"…I’ll be honest, I want intel. Confess obediently, and I may spare your life, you know?"

How surprising, she offers to spare your life in exchange for information!

(That’s a lie!)

"That is a lie, no?"

It is a lie.

The cold murderous intent that glows deep within those blue eyes is telling you 'I'll kill you after squeezing out every last bit of information'.

""…But that means there is more doubt that she is involved with your sworn enemy."

(Yeah. If she’s just an ordinary berserker, she wouldn’t have said to her prey ‘I can spare you’ while alone…!)

Yes. Since the murderer is not attacking you like last night, it shows that she has some information she wants, for some reason.

And the information she wants is not her—but someone controlling her.

"…What will you do if I say I don’t want to answer."

You reach for your book binder and flank, getting ready to pull out a pencil and a grimoire.

"…Of course, I will pry your mouth with brute force."

The murderer too puts her hand on her left shoulder, getting ready to pull out a grimoire.

"Y-You! A Doctor Magna might notice if you battle at such an open place. I cannot appear and help you battle!"

(…I don’t need the power of a vampire. If I can’t defeat her, I can’t get information. It’s alright. As long as I have the memory tampering of the “Last Prayer’, I can counter the murderer’s magic! And I’m an immortal now. I definitely won’t die in battle!)

Well, you have a really powerful ally in the ‘book’ (me)

Due to the nature of magic that can only be exercised by chanting spells, you still have time to write memories before you are attacked. With the abilities of memory tampering and immortality, you probably won’t be mortally wounded easily.

(… I need to beat her. I need to protect myself, to test the power of this ‘Last Prayer’, and also , just maybe, to discover the truth five years ago that she might know of!)

"Let's go, murderer…!"

You pull out your grimoire, resolving yourself as you shout,

"-I'll finish you off in five pages!"

You give a declaration of war that echoes.

"Hmph, you sure can howl for a vampire! I’ll send you to the underworld as you wish!"

The murderer too pulls out her grimoire from the shoulder mail, flips a page, and casts a spell.

"Activate key Jc102k! O little king, Serpent Lord crowned with an eight-footed gecko!!"

"You, this is the chant of the ‘Stone Serpent Fang’. Stop her before she can cast her spell!"

(I don't need a vampire to tell me that! Rewrite…my memory!!)

As you hear the voice that chants, you write the following words in your memory/

"I am an expert at bare-handed combat."— 193pgs.

"Execute—Stone Serpent Fang!!!"

As soon as your pencil finishes this sentence, the bricks forming the balcony rise up. The magic that is the legacy of God twists reality, transforming the building materials into sharp spears that are fired away.

The moment you looked up from the page, the spearhead tip came at you with a fury—

"Dodge!"

"Zoooooooo!"

The robe that has just contained your head until a moment ago is pierced through along with the hood.

"Wh-what!?"

"I dodged it…I can dodge! I dodged the spell that killed my yesterday!"

Your body smoothly avoids the torrential downpour of stone spears that are fired at tremendous speed. Having mastered the fundamentals of combat, you can’t possibly fail to see through such attack.

The murderer has invoked a continuous spell that will continue to function until the Magitzkveins are deactivated. The firing rate of three to four shots per second is comparable to a master spearman, but once the murderer has set her sights on you, they can only fly in a straight line over a distance of nearly five meters.

(… That’s right. No matter how many magic spears she has, the one aiming is still human! Now if I can read the murderer’s aim…!)

"Such magic is no different from dealing with spearmen!"

Hence, by rewriting your memory, you can even evade these magic spears!

"My body’s moving on instinct...! This is the ‘gained experience’ through memory tampering!"

"Ku…you didn’t have such evasive ability during the battle yesterday.!"

The murderer probably intends to stop your movement at in a single hit, for she starts to look anxious. The spears are shot out from the raised floor one after another, but you continue to avoid them with all your might.

(The barrage’s not as dense as yesterday! I can still handle this!)

"Umu! She is limiting the Mana inserted into her Magitzkveins to capture you alive!"

The advantage of a continuous spell like ‘Stone Serpent Fang’ is that it does not have to be chanted again. However, Mana has to be continually inserted into the Magitzkveins for it to remain functional.

And since humans have only one main vein that can be used for chanting magic—this may cause a fatal opening.

"You! She cannot chant any other spells unless she stops firing! Grab a spear to strike back and defeat her!"

(I don't need a vampire to tell me that! You’re saying that I should attack her when her Magitzkveins is occupied, right!?)

It is currently a deadlock, but the murderer has to disarm the magic in the Magitzkveins to cast new spells, and she may expose her during this opening created by the tiltowait and the chanting.

On the other hand, you don’t have the remote, high-powered offensive speels, but you have a tireless, immortal body that allows you to continue evasive maneuvers while taking other actions.

You can’t afford not to take advantage of this tactical advantage resulting from the response difference!

"‘While controlling spells, the circuit can’t be used for other purposes’…it’s fine. I haven’t forgotten the basic principles of antimagic combat…" You duck through the rain of stone spears, thrusting your pencil beneath the hem of your robe, and pull out your right hand. You then time the trajectory of a flying stone spear and catch it in mid-air.

"Well done! You, throw the spear at her!"

"Woooaahhh!"

You step on the balcony bricks and swing your right arm in a wide arc to throw this stone spear.

The spear pierces the air and flies at the murderer in a sharp parabola—

"I-It’s useless!"

—Giiin!! The stone spear is deflected off a transparent wall, deviating from it’s original course.

"! A logic wall!?"