The Goddess Is Obsessed With Me

"Marika is nowhere to be seen... Could she have been kidnapped by the Order?!"

As Marika's whereabouts became mysterious, Aris couldn't hide her dismay as she frantically looked around for her unseen friend.

"Calm down, Aris, although Marika isn't here, it's not certain that she's been captured by them, so try to relax."

She tried to present the most positive outlook to somewhat calm her increasingly distracted friend.

"But Harold...! What if, by one chance in a thousand, she really has been taken by them...?"

I couldn't give Aris a clear answer to her question and ultimately fell silent.

Honestly, her worry was perhaps natural; given Marika's capabilities, the likelihood of her being chosen as a sacrifice was very high.

She had been kidnapped once before, and it was only thanks to a mysterious phenomenon that we were able to help her. If not for that, a terrible disaster could have occurred.

What were those memories that surfaced at that time...?

It felt like forgotten memories were resurfacing, a strange sensation for some reason... We didn't know why or how these memories came to mind, but it was like a trick of fate that they came to us at a critical moment, allowing us to save her just in time.

If I recall the situation at that time, Marika was probably moments away from being sacrificed... It was an exquisitely critical moment, as if all futures had been calculated, and we were able to appear dramatically. If we had recalled a bit later or had not hurried, Marika might have been offered as a sacrifice.

"Indeed, it would ease my mind to find her... but I'm at a loss without any idea of her whereabouts..."

Mumbling to myself, I, too, touched my chin with a troubled expresshion, similar to Aris.

Considering various scenarios and places where Marika could be, nothing came to mind.

Her favorite places, where she might be in the academy on a normal day... However, even that was unpredictable today due to the exceptional situation of the event.

"If you're worried, I'll help you."

As if to solve our dilemma, Arsia offered her help with a confident look in her eyes, and then she took out a scroll from her desk and handed it to me.

"What is this?"

In response to my question, she smiled faintly and explained about the paper.

"The Order members, like parasites, have set up various secret facilities within the academy, and this is a map and manual that details the locations, purposes, and even the scale of those facilities."

I couldn't help but be astonished by how useful the item was, and my mouth formed an 'O' of amazement.

"Oh... Thank you! This should do it!"

"Then I'll start investigating right away."

With those words, I was about to leave the chaotic principal's office when...

"Wait! Let me come with you...!"

Arsia suddenly stopped me, asking to accompany me.

"Me?"

"I've received your help, and I want to give back. If we confront the heretics, combat will be inevitable... I will surely be of help."

Arsia had suffered, sacrificing herself forcibly and enduring unfair treatment for Aris's sake.

"And... their goal is the resurrection of the ancient god, Lucifia, which could be considered my original form... In a way, this started because of me, and I want to end it."

It seemed she wanted to take revenge on them and at the same time fulfill her duty.

"Understood, but... we can't predict what might happen, so I might move ahead quickly given my swift pace."

There was no reason to refuse the increase in strength.

However, another of my specialties, my unusual speed, could be problematic. I had been rated as having the speed of a first-class swordsman, even though I'm a mage, which might make it difficult for them to keep up.

The question of why I had to go first did cross my mind, but...

Thump... thump... thump...

For some reason, my heart had been racing since a while ago, filling me with anxiety.

I couldn't tell why, but my heart was growing increasingly urgent... There was no certainty, but my instinct was screaming that if I didn't hurry now, it would be too late. "Okay, then I will follow you. Please go ahead and check the situation... may I ask this of you?"

To that question, I nod with a confident smile.

"Yes, I will go ahead."

Leaving those words behind, I dash off at full speed.

The girls begin to fade from my sight quickly, and I accelerate even more, kicking off the ground and sprinting.

Thump... Thump...

It could be because of the vigorous exercise, but along with my wildly beating heart, I also begin to feel a sense of fear.

Is it the tenshion stemming from emotional anxiety...? I was at the point of wanting to ask someone why I felt this way.

I have a feeling that I need to find Marika quickly...

With that thought, I now cross the quiet corridor.

| In an unnamed underground space of uncertain location, a girl was kneeling silently in the middle of a wide room.

Clank...

Because even a slight movement would...

"Ugh..! Uh...!!"

The black chains wrapped around her arms provide a painful experience.

"The time has almost come."

"Uh..."

A dispasshionate man within her field of vishion looks at her with a cold gaze and takes out a lavender-colored crystal from his embrace.

"Marika."

It was none other than the crown prince who had prepared everything to sacrifice his own sister, and despite sharing blood, the feelings directed at each other were too one-sided.

"Brother, please stop."

While one side was desperately pleading...

"Weak..."

The other was filled with utter contempt and loathing.

"Your nature is too weak... Not even a hint of anger, let alone a shred of hostility, towards someone trying to kill you right now..."

He clicked his tongue in contempt at the sight of her, the lowest in the line of royal successhion, pushed aside by her siblings, pitifully lacking in talent compared to her lineage.

"The instinct of the inherently weak is not to pull down those who unjustly oppress them from above, but to grovel weakly beneath them, a fragile nature..."

As if reminiscing about the past, he closes his eyes and tilts his head slightly, the distortion in his expresshion amplifying Marika's anxiety.

"The more I reflect, the weaker you seem to be, and I very much dislike that type."

Then he places the lavender-colored crystal on the altar and opens an old book.

"Still, I'm thankful that you have a body that's useful compared to common folk."

While still looking at her with a merciless gaze, he reveals his cruel true intentions as a final gift.

"Our ancestors seized power through strength alone, historically strong nations ruled over the weak."

"It's a natural cycle... Weak ones like you are always sacrificed or barely survive through shallow flattery, and I've always despised such beings."

His ethical perspective may be twisted, perhaps a byproduct of being born with no deficiencies in any aspect.

"Today's gods who rule the world are the same... everything is full of flaws, they pretend to be at the pinnacle of the world with all their hypocrisy, but in truth, they fear the return of the truly powerful ancients..."

As he starts to murmur something, the pages of the book begin to turn rapidly, stopping on a particular page that emits an ominous light.

"With today's beginning, I will bring about the descent of them all... I will eliminate the weak who are nauseating even to look at from this world..."

With a malicious smile, he starts preparing the ritual, spouting strange words directed at someone unknown.

"I have heard the stories, I have come to meet you as your partner, please see the light of the world again..."

{ "Huff... Huff..."

The complex underground passages, so intricate that I can't even grasp my current location properly...

"I think I've checked almost everywhere..."

I have looked at every place specified on the map given to me by Arsia, but Marika was not to be found, and strangely, I hadn't encountered any members of the Order.

"Sigh..."

I wipe off the sweat from the repeated exertion and slowly try to understand the situation.

Having looked around this much without finding her, was it just needless worry... Maybe Marika is somewhere safe within the academy right now... Deep down, I wanted to conclude that Marika was safe, as I couldn't find her anywhere.

But...

"Why... do I still feel so anxious?"

On one hand, I'm so worried about Marika that it's driving me insane... It was confusing to have both denial and affirmation coexisting.

Why can't I shake off this concern... There's no confirmation that she is in danger...

"Why do I feel like Marika is in a moment of crisis... I've checked the entire facility, and if she's not here, she's probably not in danger..."

It was difficult to properly explain the feeling I was experiencing, a growing lump in my heart that constantly made me uncomfortable.

"Is this map not showing everything... Should I look for other paths..."

I barely calm my trembling heart and come up with the next plan.

Think... How can I shake off this discomfort tormenting me now...

"Ugh..."

However, I felt suffocated by the lack of any clear answer that came to mind despite my effort.

"Think... Think... There has to be another way..."

I was obsessing over the facility to an incomprehensible degree, yearning for Marika who might not even be here.

"Think... Do...."

"O...!!" Just as I was considering all possibilities to the point of getting a headache...!

Snap!

"?!!"

A stimulating current sweeps through my head.

"What?!?"

At the same time, strange memories start to form in my head...

It was an experience I had felt before.

Memories, foreign and vivid, suggesting future events and their solutions, once again imprint in my mind...

"Damn!!"

I begin to run crazily towards an unknown path I've just discovered.

Without a moment to understand the sudden phenomenon, a fragment of memory flashes by... I've seen it....

"Please... don't be too late...!!"

Is it really heaven helping me, or is it my instinct, showing me the clear path ahead, that makes me run with hope in a situation that might already be too late?

Not far from here... Marika must be bound somewhere there....

"Please!!"

I run madly without a moment to sort out my chaotic thoughts.

Because now...

"Marika!"

She was literally on the verge of losing her life...

"I have to go faster!!"

Any hesitation was a luxury I couldn't afford.

I force my body and cross the dark passage at a speed I've never exerted before.

A secret passage not on the map, step by step... I run faster than my limit.

".....!"

When I surrender to my instincts, a secretive door starts to come into view at the edge of my vishion...

I was certain that Marika was being subjected to something strange beyond that door.

Had I arrived too late... How should I confront the enemies beyond...

I couldn't shake the uneasiness, but...

"It will be okay...!"

In my memories, I saw myself rescuing Marika safely, which gave me a sense of relief.

Suddenly, I found myself right in front of the door.

Thud!!

I violently open the door and shout.

"Marika!!"

I call out her name and quickly scan the scene that unfolds before me.

"Harold?!?"

Marika calls my name with a voice mixed with surprise at my unexpected arrival.

"Ha.. Cough..! Goddess... why...!!"

But something was off...

"Marika...?"

The situation before me was ironically twisted... The crown prince, who should have been my enemy, lay bleeding and fallen, and Marika, who should have been bound in black chains, seemed free.

"Huh? Why are you calling?"

She tilts her head, not understanding my fearful demeanor.

Surely, her eyes should have been blue like a sapphire...

"What's the matter?"

Her eyes were now a shade of violet.

"Who are you...?"

Marika, emitting a chillingly malevolent aura, as if her entire being was pricking my skin with goosebumps...

Despite my heightened sense of alert, I take a step back...

"It would have been better if you had been a little later..."

Click!! "Ke... keuhuck...?!"

Suddenly, chains of darkness appear out of thin air... Marika, who seems to be smiling for some reason, makes a regretful noise as she approaches me.

"I wanted to surprise you a bit... but you arrived before I could even set things up?"

A leisurely step is taken towards me by an unidentified entity.

This was a situation not in my memory...

"It's been a while, our second encounter perhaps? Sorry, I didn't recognize you at first."

Snap!

The moment I try to resist the oppressive force... was it the chains reacting to my refusal to kneel submissively? They twist my bones to force my gaze downward.

Unbearable pain floods in... and as I nearly lose my breath from the agony and my mind spins...

"I've found you."

Unlike me, this suspicious being blushed with Marika's body and then fiercely pulled me into an embrace.

Based on the fragmented memories I had acquired, I instinctively knew who this figure was, sending twisted emotions my way.

"The day I reappear in this world... I will rule it with my consort.."

An ancient being murmurs in a somewhat dreamy voice, as if reciting a prophecy held close.

"Now it's our world!"

Luceria whispers to me.

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