MTLNOVEL Chapter 218: Chapter 55:Crystal Girl
--Subaru was so mesmerized at the sight of the girl trapped inside the crystal that he forgot to breathe.
The scene before his eyes was so terrifyingly beautiful that it shook his heart.
A girl is trapped inside the transparent, slightly bluish crystal, sitting with her knees bent.
"Frozen" may be a good description, but unlike ice, which is released when it melts, crystal is eternal unless shattered.
And shattering this crystal would undoubtedly mean shattering the body of the girl trapped inside as well.
"Why... did something like this happen?"
There was a hint of resentment in the words that slipped out of his mouth.
Subaru was quietly, but surely, angry.
The girl trapped in the crystal will never be released safely, no matter what happens. I don't know what the intentions of the person who did this are, or what their relationship with the girl is. I don't know, but it's very emotional.
"Lewes-san... isn't that right?"
I entered the room. --Unlike my previous memory, there was no large hole in the floor of the room, and instead, a crystal was placed in the spot where the hole should have been.
The long, vertical crystal was supported by an iron base, and it seemed as if this device had never been neglected, as it shone as if it were new, despite the facility being practically abandoned.
In front of Crystal, there were several desks lined up, and I realized that these too were things that should have been destroyed and lying in the corner of the room in the previous world.
As before, the unlit room was covered in thick moss that emitted a faint light from the walls, ensuring a certain degree of visibility.
The tools and medical equipment scattered along the wall were still there, and while searching for differences from his memory, Subaru came to one conclusion.
"This place will be destroyed between now and six days from now, and everything that's been going on here will become unknown."
There are some people who would find it inconvenient if others knew about this place.
That entity plans to destroy and destroy important parts of this facility and bury it in darkness within the next few days until the Great Rabbit attacks the Sanctuary.
This time, Subaru has managed to get there ahead of the pack.
"The most likely candidate is... Garfiel, after all."
Subaru's search this time was sparked by a feeling of incongruity about Garfiel's suspicious behavior.
Garfiel, who is determined to protect the Sanctuary and whose affection for Lewes is hard to hide, might do so because of a fact Subaru doesn't know.
Simply put, the destruction of that facility would be extremely difficult for anyone other than someone as skilled as Garfiel.
If there was another problem――
"I have no idea what this facility is for."
Luckily, the room hadn't been destroyed, so Subaru was searching the room, but so far he hadn't found anything notable. Apart from the crystal that imprisoned the girl who looked just like Lew's, which was still fixed in place in the room, there was nothing else that stood out as particularly worrisome.
Looking towards the back of the room, on the wall beyond the row of desks, he could see the exhaust duct that Subaru had crawled through earlier. If he went further, he should emerge into the waiting room he came in through.
"...I know it's a little late to say this, but isn't the layout of the room strange? This big room and a waiting room is just too much, no matter how you look at it."
The size of the facility as inferred from the outside does not match the layout of the rooms inside.
Subaru traced the map and exterior of the facility he had in mind, and vaguely sensed something was off. --An entire room, with enough space to hide somewhere.
Crossing the room, Subaru stood in front of the wall with the opening door for the duct, feeling the texture of the wall. The moss-covered surface felt more like animal fur than grass.
It seems that it also has other uses besides lighting, such as the fact that the sound does not echo when you knock on it. Judging from its location, if there is a mysterious space, it is on the other side of this wall.
"Considering how far I crawled, there should be a room about half the size of this one. Unless the wall is revolving, I don't think I can get in from this side…"
In that case, the most likely place would be the waiting room.
Last time, Subaru hadn't had the mental capacity to thoroughly search every nook and cranny of each room. There was no way he'd have the energy to search for traces of a hidden room in the small waiting room.
Though worried about the girl inside the crystal, Subaru decided he must first check the waiting room—and turned around.
"――――"
Immediately afterwards, Subaru turned around and his eyes met with the person who had entered the room.
"...ah?"
"――――"
Meeting her emotionless eyes, Subaru couldn't help but let out a cry.
Staring intently at Subaru with round eyes was a figure - a girl with long, pale red hair, wearing only a loose piece of white cloth wrapped around her body.
She looks just like Ryuzu, but there's a different vibe to her than the woman I'm familiar with. No, there's no aura that comes across.
It just stands there like air.
"Ah, Mr. Lewes..."
The word "clone" crossed his mind, and Subaru hesitated on what to call the girl before him. "Clone" was merely a name in Subaru's imagination, to begin with. In fact, calling her that, given that the girl's background had not yet been revealed, made him feel guilty.
"But still..."
He also didn't know what to call the girl and stammered.
And so, as Subaru was at a loss for words, the girl stood there silently in her field of vision. Her expression was motionless, and it was doubtful whether she was even breathing.
Subaru hesitates to speak to her, and the doll waits for him to speak to her.
--Seeing the girl standing there looking like that, Subaru steeled himself and spoke.
"You... no, you? Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"――――"
"What's your name? What are you here for? And what exactly is this place?"
"――――"
"...'Sanctuary', Garfiel, Lewes. Do any of these words sound familiar?"
"――――"
Three questions, three silences.
I was hoping that one of the questions would cause her facial expression to change, but no matter what I asked, the girl's expression didn't move an inch. It was as if her facial muscles themselves weren't functioning.
Subaru is at a loss as to what to do.
As Subaru roughly scratched his head and sighed, the girl suddenly made a movement in front of him.
"...?"
I instinctively braced myself, but the girl's steps were gentle as she began to move.
The girl came through the same door on the waiting room side that Subaru had used, stepped into the room, and walked leisurely to the center of the room - in front of Crystal.
The girl trapped inside the crystal and the girl approaching are indeed spitting images.
In front of the girl in an unawakening sleep, the free girl bends down and reaches out to the bottom of the base supporting the crystal.
"――――"
Subaru's eyes widened as part of the base was removed with a loud noise. It seemed that the bottom of the base was an opening and closing door, and something was being stored inside the cavity.
Subaru cranes his neck, unable to see inside the girl's body as she crouches down to work. Changing position, he steps forward to see what's inside the base,
"--Ugh!"
Subaru recoiled, clutching his face at the intense stench that suddenly pierced his nostrils.
The pungent smell invaded the mucous membranes of his nose, and what he sensed was more like pain than irritation. His eyes watered and he vomited, and the pressure in his stomach rose up and made Subaru tremble.
The stench――the one he remembered smelling was the exact same putrid stench that had previously filled the interior of this facility. It was the kind of smell that made one suspect the presence of substances harmful to the human body, like chemicals had been spilled everywhere.
I thought that it was floating from the basement of this collapsed room,
"In reality, it was from within that foundation... in other words, from the environment around the crystal."
Subaru puts his hand to his nose and comes to a conclusion, before moving off with tears in his eyes.
I was in awe of the girl who continued working without changing her expression in the midst of the smell that almost stung my eyes. Then, I quietly peeked at her hands from the side and opened my eyes wide.
--What the girl's hands were fiddling around inside the base were the interior parts engraved with mysterious patterns, and the magic stones attached in various places.
The magic stones glow faintly as they expel the mana stored within, but some have lost their glow, likely due to their contents being depleted. The girl carefully removes them and replaces them with new magic stones from the stock inside the base.
Looking at the intricate pattern, Subaru recalled that he had witnessed it inside this facility during the previous loop.
Magic circles are a common and standard technology in fantasy stories set in other worlds, but it's something I've never seen in this world before. That's why they left such an impression on me, and I wondered what effect they had.
"Looking at how it's connected to the magic ore... it makes me think of a machine or some kind of circuit. If you think of the magic square as the mechanical part and the magic ore as the energy part, like a battery..."
When I try to imagine it like that, it's strange because it seems like that's the only way it can be seen.
Perhaps this technology should be called magical science, or even demonic science.
As Subaru tilted his head in confusion, the girl seemed to finish her work, took out the used magic ore, and closed the door.
Then, after a few seconds, Subaru became aware of a buzzing sensation on his skin.
--The atmosphere is vibrating, tiny and detailed.
"This is... when you use magic."
It was a powerful spell - a feeling similar to the one he'd felt when he'd activated Julius's Nect in the battle with the White Whale, or against Petelgeuse.
It was likely that there had been some kind of interference with the mana in the atmosphere, and his body was keenly aware of the corresponding movement of mana.
In this case, there was no need to think about what Mana was reacting to.
Subaru saw the faint glow of the crystal suddenly grow brighter before his eyes.
Though it was a transparent blue, the dark crystal glowed brighter in the dimly lit room, and the body of the girl inside became even clearer.
The magic circle inside the base also appeared on the top part supporting the crystal, and a dazzling pale light lit up the room.
"... Save point."
Who inhabitant of the modern world could blame Subaru for accidentally muttering something like that?
A crystal was placed on top of the magic circle. It emitted a blue glow, illuminating the room brightly, and to Subaru it was exactly like the save points he saw in the games he was familiar with.
Despite the vividness of the presentation, the fact that it was all done in complete silence only seemed to add to the mystique, and Subaru, holding his breath, was unable to voice his thoughts.
However, as Subaru stood frozen in place before the overwhelming spectacle,
"――――"
The girl simply ignored him and headed out of the room after finishing exchanging the magic ores. The remaining magic ores that had been exchanged were then tossed somewhere nearby, as if they had been carelessly disposed of.
Noticing the sound of soft footsteps as he walked away, Subaru hastily reached out his hand to touch the person's shoulder.
"Hey, wait a second... I touched it."
"――――"
With such a weak sense of life and presence, Subaru had expected his outstretched hand to slip through, but fortunately his fingertips firmly gripped the girl's shoulder, successfully stopping her in her tracks.
For a moment, she remembered the time she'd faced the Witch of Jealousy, a girl like her who'd exploded from her touch, and her wariness rose up in her mind, but,
"――――"
The girl stared back at Subaru with a calm look in her eyes, and at the very least, there were no signs of her being snapped out of it.
Feeling relieved at this, Subaru stared straight back at the girl who had not vanished.
"Sorry to interrupt your work, but I'm going to continue asking you some questions. Please try not to ignore me this time. I'm also pretty busy right now."
"――――"
"What were you doing here? What made this crystal glow? Do you know the girl in here?"
"――――"
It's a daunting retake.
No matter how many times Subaru asked, all he received from the girl was silence and a look. It wasn't that she was refusing to answer, but rather that she didn't even seem to have a choice in the first place.
It is hard to deny that the impression one has of the girl is that of a "doll."
"If we could at least communicate with them to the extent that they would respond with a simple yes or no then there would be a way to do something..."
At present, even that is not possible.
Still holding onto the girl, who looked as if she would just walk away if he let go, Subaru turned his head and looked towards Crystal.
The crystal continued to emit a dazzling light, and the girl inside still looked the same, but now that it was brighter, one thing became clear.
Of course, there is no breathing, heartbeat, or blood circulation.
--The girl's body trapped inside the crystal has ceased all vital functions.
"...Is it too optimistic to say it's in a state of suspended animation?"
It's not as simple as just re-warming a frozen body and reviving it. In the case of this girl, her body has been crystallized.
Liberation is truly a dream.
"Am I powerless again...?"
Overwhelmed by an unbearable sense of powerlessness, Subaru touched the surface of the crystal with his fingers.
The cold sensation from her fingertips, the fact that it was constantly eating away at the girl, and her state of not even being able to feel it, she didn't know whether to feel relief or anger.
And then, that sentimental thought crossed my mind.
"--picture?"
The coldness that came from his fingertips suddenly turned into heat, running up Subaru's arm and throughout his entire body.
"--Oh, oh, ah!?"
What felt like warmth at first instantly turned into the heat of a flame, searing my entire body.
Subaru cried out in agony and writhed on the spot, as it felt as if the fingertips of fire were tracing the inside of his body.
The heat made it hard to breathe and screams echoed around the room.
Without even caring about the dirt on the ground, Subaru threw his limbs onto the floor and collapsed. His vision flickered as he convulsed―― And then,
"--Huh?"
Suddenly, the hellish time that seemed to never end came to an end.
The raging heat quickly died down, and Subaru's body was suddenly released from the storm of pain.
"...Wh, what on earth is that?"
Subaru murmured as he raised his body from where he had been lying, checking the condition of his limbs.
The pain I just experienced and its sudden end. Without knowing the cause, the process, or the outcome, all that remains are questions and memories of pain.
"Nothing, nothing. But if nothing, then what's the point?"
The pain came immediately after touching the crystal.
The cause was probably a magical scientific device centered around a crystal. It's possible that he had come into contact with the power source and received an electric shock, or something similar.
But, thinking that far, Subaru remembered that he had been so consumed by the pain that he had completely forgotten about the girl who resembled Lewes.
"Shit..."
"――――"
Subaru hurriedly tried to stand up, but when he looked up and saw the girl there, he felt a sense of relief and his tension eased.
"――――"
--I saw the girl kneel down and bow her head reverently.
※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※
Subaru was perplexed by the sight of the girl bowing her head and kneeling.
If he was not mistaken, her gestures and posture were an expression of respect and submission towards the Subaru before her.
"What are you planning all of a sudden?"
Up until now, the person had simply refused to listen to what Subaru had to say, but this sudden change in attitude made Subaru feel suspicious and wary rather than surprised.
The gulf between Subaru and the girl was so deep that he had to prepare himself like that. They hadn't even exchanged any details about themselves yet. So should he not be suspicious of this position?
"――――"
In front of the wary Subaru, the girl who had been on her knees rose to her feet.
She then turns her gaze slightly upwards, and looks beyond Subaru's head. She is drawn to look in that direction, but there is nothing in front of her.
It seemed that what he had just done was part of a routine where he was casually looking up at the sky to think. Subaru put his head back in place. Then,
"Whoa!?"
"――――"
The girl appeared once again, right in front of him, breathing distance away, and Subaru recoiled. However, as he recoiled, the girl reached out and took his arm,
"...? Follow me?"
"――――"
Without saying a word, the girl tugs at Subaru's sleeve and tries to lead him away.
In response to his question he silently nodded, and Subaru stood still, his expression deep in thought.
The fact that she was so adamantly refusing to speak suggested that perhaps the girl was unable to speak. Still, she seemed to have understood the meaning of Subaru's question. In other words, the fact that she was trying to take Subaru away suggested that she had some intention of negotiating with him in some way.
"You can't catch the cub unless you enter the tiger's den."
"――――"
"That's what I'm talking about. --Okay, show me the way. I'll follow you."
Subaru nodded in response, indicating his intention to follow the girl, and the girl, pulling his sleeve, began to walk. Following her footsteps, Subaru looked back at Crystal one last time.
--Unchanged, the girl remained asleep amidst the pale glow.
With his sleeve still pulling her, they left the room, walked through the facility's corridors and into the waiting room. The girl walked ahead of him, and tried to take Subaru out of the facility.
"Not inside? It's fine to go outside, but..."
If he were to show his face in the Sanctuary, it would be discovered that Subaru had sneaked into the facility. Of course, he could just say that he hadn't done anything worthy of being blamed, but given his relationship with Garfiel, that wasn't desirable this time.
As Subaru was agonizing over what to do if the girl began to head towards the Sanctuary,
"What's with that troubled look on your face, Su-bo?"
"...Hey hey, what timing?"
As I stepped outside the facility and was exposed to the outside air, someone called out to me.
Turning his eyes towards the voice, Subaru relaxed his lips at the person he saw. He didn't know if it was relief or some other reason, but...
"I'm sure there are many things I want to talk about, but I think we should change the location first."
"Yeah, let's do that. Seriously, we have too much to talk about."
Subaru shrugged in agreement.
How does such a Subaru appear to her?
--How could the image of Subaru standing next to a girl who looked exactly like him, with the moonlight shining on his back, look like the original Lew's?