Our hands began to glow, and the Hero, or rather the scientist, let out a scream as he started to collapse to his knees. He desperately tried to pull away, but he couldn’t. As he reached for his sword with his free hand, I kicked it away.
“You fool!” he screeched. “What are you doing?”
“You said something that interested me. You’re just lore. You’re nothing but the memories of a man. You said that only you know. You may be right. We’ll find out in a moment, as I’ll be absorbing all of your memories!”
This wasn’t the first time I had harvested memories from another within a dungeon. It had only occurred to me as this guy was begging for his life. I knew that if I did what he wanted, it wouldn’t turn out in my favor. He was going to betray me one way or another. Therefore, I decided to betray him first.
His body started to break apart as he let out screams, but I held on tightly. As I absorbed his memories, I also tore them up. It made them more difficult to go through, but I didn’t want to accidentally invite him to try to manipulate me as well. I found that his memories were mostly of the dungeon. After all, the only lore of him the dungeon would possess was the lore that existed while he was a dungeon master. Thus, there was a lot of information about his experiments. It would take months, maybe even years to go through it all, and in reality, my mind couldn’t hold someone else’s memories, so it’d start fading almost the second it entered my mind, but I’d take what I could, specifically about this dungeon and Miki.
“This… isn’t… over…” He cried out.
“Sorry…” I lifted Alysia. “I’ve already dealt with a bastard that just wouldn’t die. This time, I’m not going to leave behind any baggage!”
I sliced down, even as I held onto him. His body broke into two and then disappeared into dust.
“Did you get what you need?” Alysia asked worriedly.
I hadn’t finished absorbing him but destroyed him with her blade in the middle. That was also to ensure his viral side didn’t show its ugly head.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“I don’t need his memories.” I shrugged. “I just absorbed him as a distraction. He couldn’t protect his soul while I was sucking it in.”
It was the equivalent of grabbing someone’s shield and pulling on it. While they were trying to hold back from losing their shield, they naturally couldn’t use it to block an attack from the side. I did want to know a bit of what happened, but my main concern was his swift death. Of course, there was another reason I absorbed a part of him. It was a small test. Now that I had seen it, I was certain what to do next.
I lunged toward the glowing Miki, and without anyone blocking me I chopped the chains holding her down. As soon as the chains broke, Alysia returned to my hand. Miki collapsed from the sky, falling into my arms. I immediately used some high-power spells on her, healing her damage and refreshing her mind.
Her eyes flickered open drowsily. “M-master?”
“Hello, Miki.”
“Master!” Her eyes popped open, and then she let out a cry.
She struggled in my arms, but her small form wasn’t able to break my hold in the slightest. She settled for covering her face with her hands.
I reached down and grabbed her wrists, pulling her hands from her face one at a time. She had tears running down her cheeks, and she was bright red. There was a look of embarrassment and shame on her face.
“Miki,” I repeated. “You should look at your Master when he’s talking to you.”
“Master… I’m sorry…” Miki responded weakly. “This is all my fault. Everything is my fault.”
I reached out and stroked the tears from her cheeks, although she continued to make more. “I don’t believe that, and even if it was, I wouldn’t care. I’m your Master. The fault is ultimately my own. I was responsible for all of you, and I failed you.”
“That’s not true!” Miki tried to protest. “I’m the one who didn’t believe in you. I’m the one who let him trick me into those experiments. I’m the one who allowed him to manipulate me.”
“So, you do understand.”
She looked down and bit her lip. “Y-yes… the lore… it’s all in my head.”
“Then, you understand that your mistake was not trusting in me.”
“I understand, wait… what?”
“Master always figures it out.” I flicked her forehead.
“Ahhh! M-master!”
“Since you understand, let me show you what your Master truly is capable of.”
“What do you mean?” Miki asked, rubbing her forehead.
“What is it that you wish right now, more than anything?”
“I wish…” She looked away. “I wish all of the people I killed… I wish I could set things right.”
I smiled. “Then, just watch. “
“I-it’s too late, the dungeon is breaking apart!”
Even this area was cracking apart. The walls were breaking down, and the floor was giving way to nothingness. We were standing in a dungeon that was falling apart at the seams, yet I was completely calm. I reached out and put my hand on Miki’s chest, where the glowing orb rested.
“Absorb.”