Future Diary Survival Game

Chapter 27: The Light of Despair - 1

We were practically thrown out.

Aina muttered under her breath, wearing a troubled expression.

“Everything’s such a struggle because of Father—here, there, everywhere.”

“Are you talking about your family?”

“……”

“My apologies. Pretend you didn’t hear that.”

Armelia turned her head toward me.

“What should we do now, Mason?”

“Let’s put Berseum… no, Mr. Bake aside for now. We should prepare for the Monopolizer to come find us.”

“Hmm. But how exactly are we supposed to prepare for that?”

That was precisely what I was about to find out.

‘Diary Book.’

[Yes. Using the search function, I will retrieve how Edgar Tyler killed Armelia and Aina.]

[Cost: 100 points]

[Remaining points: 203]

It was a damned day.

Up until morning, it had been a perfectly ordinary one.

Today, just like yesterday, I decided to visit Berseum again—alone this time.

It was my suggestion that Armelia sit this one out.

Berseum seemed to harbor some resentment toward the Imperial Family.

Aina said she would step back first instead.

She seemed to have grown quite emotionally attached to Berseum’s daughter, Eris. She said that if she met Berseum now, she’d probably end up throwing needles.

And as a result, both of them died.

Around 4 p.m.

Just as I failed to convince Berseum and was about to step out of his house—

The sky flashed.

And with a deafening roar, as if the entire world was being overturned, everything began to vanish.

The massive mountain visible in the distance.

The surrounding buildings, trees, the garden.

Undoubtedly, the people too.

When I came to my senses, the first thing I saw was Berseum, blood dripping from his nose.

He said he had saved me from the enormous explosion using his magic.

But he couldn’t save his wife and daughter, who were in the main house. The range of his defensive spell was limited.

Berseum calmly wiped his nosebleed and, in his dazed state, wished me safety in the remaining quests before ending his own life—without giving me a chance to stop him.

……

……

I wandered the Deut Territory like a madman.

But truthfully, this place was no longer a territory.

It was despair itself.

Nothing remained.

It was as if a giant boulder had crushed the entire land in a single sweep.

Armelia and Aina must have surely been killed too.

What was that explosion?

Who did it?

Why was I the only one who survived?

Truly, what a damned, damned day.>

After reading the diary to the end, I blinked several times.

Then, without meaning to, words slipped from my mouth.

“Uh… what the hell is this.”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“What? What is it?”

“No, hold on. Both of you.”

I pressed my fingers to my forehead as a headache began to build.

Then, trying to collect my thoughts, I spoke to the Diary Book.

‘You must have a bug or something.’

[I am always perfect and refreshing.]

‘“Refreshing” isn’t exactly the word that fits right now.’

[Do you have a problem with that?]

‘The explosion. The explosion!’

A massive explosion.

In the diary entry dated March 23rd, the me of that time had no idea what it was or who caused it.

Of course, back in March 23rd, I wouldn’t have known it was Edgar’s doing. The me from Year 327 knows.

‘Edgar Tyler.’

That bastard must have asked Magireta to send him to the place where “the one who ranked first in the Third Quest” was located.

But he wouldn’t have known who the winner actually was.

Magireta hadn’t told us who the Monopolizer was, after all.

She had a strangely fair personality, so she wouldn’t have revealed to the other side what she had kept secret from us.

“So he just wiped everything out completely. An entire territory.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“……The one we’re dealing with might be genuinely insane.”

Even as I said it, chills ran down my spine.

I rubbed my goosebump-covered arm and continued.

“Unlike yesterday, today I saw a much clearer glimpse of the future.”

“Tell us.”

“The Monopolizer’s name is Edgar Tyler. He’s going to completely obliterate the territory with a massive explosion to kill us.”

No one questioned how I had learned such a specific name through astrology.

The latter part of what I said must have been too shocking to focus on that.

Armelia swallowed dryly and asked,

“An explosion? You mean he’ll use gunpowder weapons? Those are supposed to be under Imperial control.”

“No. It doesn’t feel like that. Like I said, it’s an explosion that wipes out an entire territory.”

“How could that be possible? Edgar isn’t Magireta.”

“Right. But he’s the one who got his hands on Magireta’s goods.”

A silence fell between us.

Aina asked cautiously,

“Could it be… a prize from a past first place?”

“Without a doubt. I don’t know if it’s from the First or Second Quest, but one of the first-place prizes must’ve been that massive explosion.”

“Giving an explosion as a prize? That makes no sense.”

“It could. Maybe they gave something like a ‘Right to Use Explosion’ ticket, and when you tear it—boom. That kind of explanation.”

Aina was breaking out in a cold sweat.

While she hesitated in silence, Armelia finally spoke.

“Mason, if what you’re saying is true, then the people of the territory…”

“They’ll be annihilated.”

“H-he’d really do something like that? If he wanted to kill us, wouldn’t an assassination or a duel be more reasonable?”

“He doesn’t know our faces or names—just as we don’t know his. Magireta wouldn’t have told him. That’s why he plans to wipe out the entire territory.”

“……”

“Of course, the fact that he doesn’t care about slaughtering tens of thousands of people… yes, I agree, it’s utterly insane. That’s the kind of lunatic we’re dealing with.”

At my calm explanation, the two seemed to feel the reality of it settle into their skin.

Aina had already taken out her teleportation bead.

“Let’s get out of here. Now.”

“The explosion happens tomorrow. No need to panic yet.”

“Oh, come on. Whether we run today or tomorrow, what’s the difference? You just don’t want to see the townspeople die, is that it?”

“That’s part of it, of course, but more than that—I can’t stand being dragged around by that bastard.”

“……”

“It’s probably not the so-called ‘mass explosion’ first-place prize being a Magireta summoning ticket. As long as we’re not facing that demon directly, we still have someone to rely on—the help of a magician.”

Armelia caught on immediately.

“Berseum.”

“Yes. Though he wouldn’t like being called that.”

“There’s no helping it. What we need now is not ‘Bake,’ but Berseum’s help.”

“Exactly. Let’s go to him right away.”

“Even though we just came from there… now’s not the time to worry about that.”

We turned on our heels and hurried toward Berseum’s house.

Aina grumbled along the way.

“Ugh, seriously. We could just run, but no, it’s all about pride with you guys.”

“Then why aren’t you running off yourself? You’ve got your own bead too.”

“...Because if I leave you two behind, you’ll probably haunt my dreams.”

What an insincere girl.

Berseum was just about to leave for his workplace—in other words, his old home, where he worked as a gardener.

When I saw him step outside, I ran up, panting.

“Good. You’re still here.”

“What’s the matter?”

“We’ve come to speak with you, Mr. Berseum.”

“I told you clearly…”

“Yes. I know what you’re going to say. But you are Berseum, not Mr. Bake.”

“Leave.”

Despite the sharp, blade-like tone, I opened my mouth firmly.

“Your daughter is in danger, sir.”

The effect was immediate!

He glared at me as though he would tear me apart.

Not just a glare—his hands came down hard on my shoulders, gripping tightly.

Crack.

Such strength—it was hard to believe he could exert that at his age.

“What do you mean? Explain yourself.”

“This isn’t something to talk about on the street. It’s about that woman.”

“...Come in.”

He regained his composure and opened the door.

Inside, he neither offered us seats nor tea—just stared at us, his eyes sharp.

I knew dragging this out would do no good, so I got straight to the point.

“So…”

I repeated what I’d told Armelia and Aina earlier.

Berseum looked uncertain, clearly torn between doubt and belief.

“I’m versed in astrology myself, but divining something so precise as someone’s name is impossible.”

“Think of it as half astrology, half magic.”

“Are you mocking me?”

“Not at all, sir.”

Swish.

That’s when Armelia stepped forward.

“Believe him, Berseum.”

“...Your Highness.”

“You saw it yourself during the First Quest. Mason saved my life. In the second, and in the third, it was the same.”

“……”

“He doesn’t speak nonsense. The fact that I’m still alive is proof enough.”

Berseum stroked his white mustache.

He furrowed his brow deeply, then murmured as if to himself,

“If the explosion you describe fits the magic I’m thinking of… I might have an idea.”

All of us perked up at once.

“So you really are a magician.”

“That part isn’t important right now. The spell is probably called Kanesella. In the ancient tongue, it means ‘Light of Despair.’ It begins with a blinding flash, then spreads its explosive range outward from the origin point in an instant.”

“……”

“Anything within that range will be disassembled completely—literally broken down to nothing. The victims wouldn’t even realize what hit them before dying.”

Even hearing it again sent shivers down my spine.

Aina asked gravely,

“Grandpa, can you stop it?”

“Absolutely impossible. I don’t have enough mana to shield an entire territory.”

“Mana…?”

“At best, I could protect this house. No, perhaps only half of it—and even then, I’d have to stake my life on it.”

Armelia’s face darkened.

I asked,

“Is there no other way?”

“It’s extremely unlikely, but… if we find the core and disable it before detonation, it might be possible.”

“The core?”

“Yes. For Kanesella to activate, it must gather a tremendous amount of energy from its surroundings. The object that collects that energy is the core.”

“……”

“Of course, the duration and power vary depending on the scale, but if it’s enough to obliterate the entire territory, it would take about two days to fully prepare.”

I swallowed hard.

Two days.

That explained why Edgar hadn’t caused the explosion immediately.

I had thought it strange that he followed us to the Deut Territory yet didn’t detonate right away—but it wasn’t strange at all.

He had triggered it immediately.

It’s just that the spell itself required two days to complete.

‘So there was not a shred of hesitation.’

Then Aina spoke, her face brightening slightly.

“At least there’s a way, then. We just have to find the core quickly.”

“The spell has that weakness—that it takes time—but naturally, such weaknesses are usually protected. Most Kanesella cores are safeguarded.”

“……”

“Still, I agree we must find it. Mason, you said the explosion happens tomorrow? Around what time, exactly?”

I truly wanted to thank the me who wrote that future diary entry.

Thank you—for noting down this vital detail.

“It should happen around 4 p.m.”

“Good. Then there’s hope.”

“What does the core usually look like?”

“Anything can serve as the core. Once the trigger is activated, mana gathers to a single point, and whatever object it concentrates on becomes the core. However, it’s usually located at the very center of the blast radius.”

“What’s at the center of the Deut Territory?”

“A park, a fountain, a fruit shop, a theater… and Eris’s house.”

After naming the last one, Berseum’s face turned deathly pale.