Chapter 176………………………………………
“Terence?”
I blinked, unable to believe that the person I had longed for so desperately was suddenly standing right before me.
“Idel, Idel!”
Terence, eyes fixed on me, called my name repeatedly before embracing me tightly.
The familiar arms. The familiar voice. The familiar scent.
It was Terence. Hard to believe, yet the person holding me now was undeniably him.
My chest tightened for some reason. I opened my trembling lips to speak.
“Ho-how…?”
Before I could ask if he had come here, someone’s excited commotion drowned out my words.
“We did it!”
With a flurry of wings, a parrot flew above Terence.
“Oh my goodness. This is a miracle. I can’t believe this is actually possible.”
I recognized the talking parrot, muttering to itself.
“…Kais?”
It was the familiar magical inventor, Kais, in the form of his parrot avatar.
“Ah! Hello, Count Lucibius. It’s been quite a while. Or maybe not that long?”
The parrot, visibly excited, rambled in greetings.
“Yes, it’s been a long time. But what succeeded?”
“Of course, it was His Highness the Prince’s teleportation! Achieved through a half-completed Warp Gate—a true miracle!”
“W-what…?”
“When His Highness suddenly appeared and commanded us to move him straight into the Beasts’ Domain, we were completely at a loss.”
I listened dumbfounded as Kais continued.
“No matter how much we explained that Warp Gates don’t work that way, he wouldn’t listen. ‘You’ll find a way!’—encouragement disguised as terrifying pressure…”
“Wait a second.”
I cut him off, voicing a question that seemed only natural.
“How is that possible? The Warp Gate isn’t complete. And there’s no gate here either.”
A Warp Gate was originally an invention, a magical portal connecting two physically distant locations.
Naturally, there had to be a gate at both the departure and arrival points.
It was unsurprising that a gate existed at Terence’s starting point. As an inventor, Kais’ lab surely had a prototype.
But even with careful scrutiny, nothing resembling a gate existed here at the destination—and logically, it shouldn’t.
“Oh, that,” Kais replied kindly to my question.
“Actually, even without a gate at the destination, the travel itself is possible. The problem is the failure rate—it’s astronomical.”
“Excuse me?”
“To put it simply, a Warp Gate creates a shortcut through space. Ideally, gates exist at both ends. But even if only the arrival side has one, you can still enter the shortcut. Entering, that is.”
I roughly understood what he meant.
“And exiting that shortcut?”
“Exactly. Exiting is the problem. That’s why His Highness had to tear through space to get out.”
“T-tear through?”
“You can’t exit normally through the gate, so you have to destroy the wall.”
He said it as if it were obvious.
“To help with that, we modified His Highness’ sword so it could interact with the Warp Gate pathway. By the way, we determined the destination coordinates using this.”
Kais pointed at the pocket watch lying on the floor—one I had been holding until Terence suddenly appeared and startled me, dropping it.
“The watch His Highness carries and this one are magically connected. Through His Highness’ watch, we could pinpoint your location.”
“So that’s why the hands of the watch spun wildly earlier…?”
“Yes. Because of the teleportation.”
“I see. That makes sense. But one thing—I want to ask,” I said.
“Yes?”
“What happens if someone fails during this kind of teleportation?”
“You die.”
A very simple, clear answer.
“I’ve never seen it happen myself, but in theory, death is inevitable.”
“…Then what were Terence’s chances of failing?”
“Even conservatively, about seventy percent.”
“….”
I stared at Terence with wide eyes.
Since arriving here, he had kept me trapped in his arms.
“Why would you do something so reckless?!”
I tried to pry myself away, but he was immovable.
Thus, I had no choice but to continue my somewhat embarrassing conversation with Kais.
“Terence?”
“…”
“Um, Terence? Step back for a moment.”
After a long silence with his face buried in my neck, Terence spoke.
“No.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m not listening to you for a while. You didn’t listen to me when I told you to take my hand back then either.”
Surely he meant when I pushed Terence away using my Divine Beast while he chased me in the air as I fled with Liena from the palace.
I could still vividly see his wide eyes staring at me.
“Terence, that was—”
“I know. I know that at that time, it was the best choice you could make.”
His low voice tickled my ear.
“And that’s why I’m angry at myself.”
He lifted his head and met my eyes.
“If I were stronger… if I could have broken through the barriers between us in one stroke, and defeated monsters, Liena, that one…”
His eyes shone with joy, yet a shadow of self-reproach lingered.
“You wouldn’t have made that decision.”
His calloused hand caressed my cheek.
Impulsively, I grabbed it.
“It’s not Terence’s fault.”
Words came out before I could think.
“As I wrote in my letter, Liena became the Apostle of the Evil God. I left that place because my mission is to defeat her. It’s not anyone’s fault…”
“Why should you bear that burden alone?”
Terence cut me off firmly.
He always listened to me patiently, so his interruption surprised me.
It meant his opinion was unwavering—absolutely immovable.
“Whether it’s the Monster Wave or the fate of the world, your happiness matters more to me.”
He pressed his forehead against mine.
“Damn it. Gods, whatever—I don’t care. Let them fight. Why drag innocent humans into this?”
The raw, rough words were unlike Terence, but I could feel his anger vividly.
“So Idel, don’t think it’s your duty. Honestly, you haven’t gained much from the Goddess—why should you sacrifice yourself?”
This time, his hands cupped my cheeks gently, voice soft.
“…But.”
I spoke, voice breaking.
“But if I don’t do it, the world will be destroyed. I’m not here because I want to be, either.”
Strangely, my throat tightened.
Only then did I realize that Terence’s words had stirred my emotions.
“Miela said the Evil God’s goal is to destroy the world.”
I recalled what the Goddess had told me after I faced her and Liena left.
“Honestly, the death of a few humans is nothing to me. Humanity going extinct isn’t a big deal either. Countless species have disappeared since life began on this planet. Some were wiped out by humans.”
The Goddess’ words were calm, yet terrifying.
“But even I can’t just erase all life. Without something to observe, how could I endure this eternal life?”
“All life erased?”
“In a world of only magi, nothing else survives. Monsters or demons strong in magi might last a century, but there’s a limit. Even for them, moderate magi makes life livable.”
“Then why do they still follow the Evil God?”
“Some don’t know. Some do.”
“And if they know, why follow?”
“More creatures than you think see dying together as salvation.”
But not me.
Life, not death, was my salvation.
I told Terence the conversation with the Goddess, tears threatening to spill.
“I’m scared too. Especially Liena—I don’t know what she’s thinking. I don’t want to be near her. I want to run away. And even if it’s Liena, I don’t want to kill anyone with my own hands.”
I spoke as my thoughts came, a chaotic mess, yet raw and honest.
“But what choice do I have? If I don’t, everyone—including me—will die.”
It was unfair.
The world’s destruction wasn’t Terence’s fault, yet I poured out my feelings at him like a torrent.
Thinking I shouldn’t act like a child, I continued.
“I hate it, but I have no choice. You just said my happiness matters, right? Honestly, I’m here not for duty or the world, but for my happiness. If the world ends, my happiness disappears too.”
Then, feeling the weight of Terence’s unwavering gaze, I glanced away.
“So don’t stop me. If you truly want my happiness.”
Terence gazed at me quietly, then whispered.
“Fine. I won’t stop you. But from now on, I’ll be with you.”
“No! This is my mission, and you have your own duty.”
“What is my duty?”
“Why, the Asterot Empire—”
“Idel, just as you move for your happiness, I will move for mine. What else is my happiness but to be happy with you?”
When his index finger brushed near my eyes, I felt moisture on his fingertip.
Tears were streaming down my face before I knew it.
“So don’t try to bear this alone.”
“Terence…”
“If it’s not a matter of duty but happiness, I have every reason to be by your side.”
Terence embraced me tightly again.
I hesitated, then draped my arms around his shoulders.
We shared a moment, feeling each other’s warmth.
A perceptive mage and the Divine Beast had long since cleared the space for us.
