Lily Bloodfallen? She's just joking, right? How could I possibly talk to such a powerful creature hahaha ....
[The fact that you're talking to me right now.]
T-this is for real? No, no, no I hope something hits my head so that I can wake up from this dream.
Krank! Suddenly a crow crashed into the glass right next to me until it shattered and hit my head.
"Ahhh!"
I was shocked because the crow hit my head so hard that it died with a broken neck.
"T-this is real...?" I couldn't believe what was happening.
"Geez, are you okay Arthur?" Alice asked.
"Y-yes! I'm fine professor, maybe this is just a coincidence ahaha ...." I replied.
"It seems like bad luck is happening to you." Alice said.
Some of the students in my class chuckled including Kai. I could only hold my head while laughing embarrassed.
"Then I'll continue the lesson." Alice said.
With that, the lesson resumed and I was still trapped in confusion mixed with fear that I was indeed talking to the demon king who eliminated all life five thousand years ago.
[Classic story huh?]
"So you really are Lily Bloodfallen...?" I asked.
[Should I hit your head with a flying dragon first?]
"N-no, no, no... thank you." I replied.
I still couldn't believe that this was the truth!
"S-so mistress Lily-"
[Lilith.]
"Eh?"
[My real name is Lilith. They changed my name to Lily on purpose. I don't even know what they were thinking by changing my name.]
"Oh... okay."
So they changed her name to Lily all this time? Well, who doesn't know the story of the tyrannical demon king in this world but strangely why did they change her name?
"T-then can I ask you a question?"
[Sure. What's your question?]
"Why can I talk to you now? I can't see you here and can only hear your voice in my head."
[Oh? Isn't that obvious? I'm inside you.]
Ok wait a minute this is a little disturbing to my mind and body.
"Can you repeat that one more time?"
[I'm inside you.]
It's... just a joke isn't it? I mean, seriously? But how can she be inside me when I've never met her in person?
[We met last night.]
What? Last night? Are you saying you're the creepy white-haired woman I met in the old castle in the middle of the forest?
[The word 'creepy' hurts my heart and it's true that I'm the woman you met in the forest abyss.]
Okay this is giving me goosebumps. What are you in my body for!?
[Oh? Isn't it obvious to escape from that forest? That bastard Yakahagi was lucky to seal me in that place.]
Yakahagi? Was that the name of the king of the gods at the time? The name of the king of the gods is so mysterious that even now no one knows except the gods.
There is a law that in order for the gods not to divulge information about the king of gods is to make their mouths unable to speak or lose their voices when they want to mention information about the king of gods.
[Hmph, yes. What a ridiculous law.]
So how come you can say his name? Shouldn't you not be able to talk about him?
[Me? Bound by that ridiculous law? Hah! Don't lump me in with weaklings like you.]
Wait, what? I don't understand what you mean at all.
[I am a being who stands at the top. There is not a single law in this universe created by 'him' that binds me.]
Him? What do you mean by "him"?
[Oh? I forgot that you don't know about the existence of a being who is behind the scenes of all events that happen in the universe and is also the mastermind behind the creation of the universe and its contents.]
This woman is confusing me with her knowledge. I mean, isn't the one who created everything in this universe the king of the gods?
[You are very wrong, kid.]
My head just couldn't take in the information he was giving me. So there is "something" that is much higher than the king of gods?
[That's right.]
Then what is his name?
[His name is-]
Hello? Are you still there? Hello? Umm Mrs. Lilith? Something is not right. When Lilith wanted to tell the name of the "creature" suddenly her voice just disappeared.
Does this mean that the "creature" really exists? But no one knows about it? This world still holds many mysteries.
I kept thinking about this until the class time changed to recess. All the students went to the cafeteria and I was the only one left in class.
"You didn't go buy food, Arthur?"
There was only one person who was still there and that was Professor Alice.
"Ah! I forgot about that. Thank you professor Alice." I said.
I left the classroom and walked to the cafeteria. As I was walking for some reason I felt like everyone was looking at me.
"Uh is that the man without mana?"
"Why did his face change?"
"That's right, he became handsome!"
"Wow! It feels like a man from fiction!"
I could hear their voices from afar even though they were just whispering to each other. Is my face that handsome? W-well I think it's handsome anyway.
What's wrong with me!? I can feel my face starting to turn red, this is so embarrassing. I quickly walked while covering my face and got to the cafeteria.
There are a lot of stalls in this school cafeteria. Well I still chose the less expensive ones like udon noodles and green tea at the next stall over.
Without much thought I walked straight to the stall and ordered my favorites.
"Excuse me sir I would like to order a bowl of udon noodles and a glass of warm green tea."
After ordering I prepared the tray and after receiving my order, I would immediately go to find a seat.
"Hmm? Oh, you're new, aren't you?" The man asked while preparing my order.
"Eh? I'm the one who doesn't have the mana ...." I replied.
Damn this is so embarrassing to admit. Speaking of physical changes and all the strange things that happened to me today was because of Lilith, right?
I don't know whether to be grateful or scared to death because she said that she is now inside my body. By the way are you still there, Lilith?
I didn't hear her voice again after she tried to tell me the name of the person behind the scenes of the creation of the universe and its contents.
"Eh!? You're Arthur!? That Arthur Pendragon!?" The udon noodle vendor asked in a surprised tone.
"Y-yes...." I replied.
"Wow, you've changed a lot. Do you also have mana?" He asked.
"Not yet." I replied.
"Oh... that's okay. As long as you're still on the path of righteousness, people won't hate you." He said.
Heeee... "people won't hate me" he said. The truth is that the world looks down on me and you only want to talk to me because I'm your only buyer.
"Here's your order. Enjoy!" He gave me my order with a big smile on her face.
"Thank you." I said.
I walked away and found a seat to eat. As I walked the other students were staring at me while talking about my new look.
I looked around and couldn't find any empty seats.
"Everything has been filled ...." I said while looking right and left.
Should I just go to the roof of the school? Well that might be a very good idea. There was no one there and only me there. It felt like infinite peace.
I immediately rushed up the stairs and headed to the school roof. By the time I reached the school roof, there was no one there at all. There was only a calm wind blowing my hair and silence.
"Ahh... this feels like heaven." I said.
"Oh? Arthur? Have you finished eating?"
"Wahhh!?"
I was surprised to hear a female voice from behind and when I looked back I saw professor Alice standing in the corner looking at the scenery outside the school.
"P-professor Alice...? What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Hmm? Didn't I tell you during class earlier? I want to have a one-on-one talk with you here after you finish eating. Did you forget?" Alice said.
Eh! It's true that she had said that during class. Damn I forgot about this! Is my white hair a sign that I'm old? Definitely not stupid! My face is still very young.
"A-ah yes... I forgot about that." I said.
Alice turned to me while looking at me from my feet to the top of my head.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked.
"Oh? You want to hear it now?" Alice asked.
"Yes." I replied with a nod.
"Alright then." Alice said.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out an old-looking watch that was made of gold.
"Didn't you feel scared when I intimidated Kai earlier?" Alice asked.
I was a little surprised by what she asked.
"No, I didn't feel that fear." I replied.
Then Alice started to fully face me and looked into my eyes sharply.
"Not a bit?" Alice asked for confirmation.
"Yes." I said while nodding.
She paused for a moment while looking at me intently.
"W-what's up professor Alice?" I asked.
"Hey, you're Arthur Pendragon aren't you?" Alice asked.
"Eh? What do you mean? This is really me. Although a little changed ...." I replied.
Then suddenly she threw a spear created from golden-yellow lightning at me.
"What are you doing!?"
I was shocked while covering my face by crossing my arms. But after a while I didn't feel the spear scratch me in the slightest then I ventured to see what happened.
The same thing happened again. The spear was moving very slowly and not only the spear but Alice also seemed to be moving very slowly.
"It's happening again ...." I said in half surprise.
I immediately rushed away from the spear's path and after I moved away from there suddenly everything moved normally again.
The spear crashed into and damaged the iron fence that bordered the edge of the school roof. I could see Alice's expression who was surprised to see me able to avoid it.
"You practiced your physique?" Alice asked.
"No-"
Suddenly Alice was already in front of me and her face was very close to me then she pushed me until I fell down then she immediately took off the buttons on my shirt one by one quickly.
"What are you doing!?" I asked.
Alice was silent and observed my body with a serious look.
"It turns out that you're really practicing your physique." Alice said.
Then Alice stepped away from me and stood still looking at me who was still lying on the floor.
"Wake up." Alice said.
I got up immediately and put on my clothes quickly.
"This is called harassment ...." I said while putting on my clothes.
"Is it? I just want to find out what I want to know." Alice said.
Then she brought her face closer to me again and said.
"Hey, you didn't make a pact with the devil did you?" Alice asked.
I was a little surprised to hear her question. Well even though I didn't make my deal with Lilith at all but... she was now inside my body. Can Alice sense her presence inside me?
"O-of course not! Ahaha... that's ridiculous!" I said.
Alice didn't say a word and just stared intently into my eyes.
"Alright then. Have a nice day." Alice said as she turned around and walked away.
"Ah, wait! I still have a few things to ask you!" I exclaimed.
"What is it?" Alice asked as she turned to face me again.
I started to walk closer to Alice then asked in a hesitant tone.
"Are you... are you able to tell me who Lilit- Ah! I mean Lily Bloodfallen!" I asked.
"Isn't it obvious that she's a cruel demon king from five thousand years ago?" Alice said.
"I understand about that-"
"Then why are you asking?" Alice interrupted me.
"I mean do you have any other information about him?" I asked.
"Other information?" Alice said as she tilted her head slightly.
I need to know about Lilith first and then I will find out the mysteries that this universe holds!
"There is." Alice replied.
"Can you tell me about it?" I asked.
"What are you suddenly asking about this for?" Alice asked back.
"I-I'm just curious!" I replied.
"Hmm... you look strange. Do you want to make a deal with her?" Alice asked.
"It's not like that! I just want to know about the ancient demon king!" I said.
Alice looked at me sharply again. This time I could feel that she was very confused by my behavior.
"Alright. I'll tell you about it." Alice said.
"Really!? Thank you very much!" I said.
"But promise to stay away from making contracts with demons, especially him!" Alice warned.
"What's wrong?" I asked curiously.
"A lot of people who are greedy for power tried to make a contract with him but ended up dying horribly." Alice replied.
"They died...?"
"Yes. They just died in an instant when they entered the abyss forest. It was all because of Lily's magic power that was still overflowing even though she was sealed. That bastard is very powerful." Alice said.
It was a little disturbing to my mind because I myself entered the forest and managed to meet her and even she was inside me.
"Do you know the origin of her?" I asked.
"Origin? Oh, Lily has no origin. She just appeared in this universe and her name is not even in the king of gods' book of life and death." Alice replied.
How can this person live when her name is not even in the book of life and death!?
"Is there any other information about Lily?" I asked.
"She is death taking the form of a woman." Alice replied.
"Huh? What do you mean...?" I was confused.
"She is death taking the form of a woman. To put it more simply, she is death itself." Alice replied.
"Death itself? You mean Lily is the concept of death itself?" I asked.
"That's right. She is the end of all endings, she can bring the end itself to this entire universe." Alice replied.
Alice's words made me even more confused. The end? What did she mean by "she is the end of all endings"?
"Can you explain it more simply to me? I honestly can't understand it yet." I asked.
"Let's take a book as an example. When the book is closed, it means the story is over, right? And what happens when the book is reopened?" Alice asked.
"The story repeats itself?" I answered hesitantly.
"That's right. Lily is an existence where she can bring an 'end' to everything and she can also bring a new 'beginning' to everything." Alice explained.
I couldn't get the words out after hearing how terrifying this person inside me was.
"Then... thank you for the information professor Alice." I said while bowing.
"Alright then. It's a pleasure talking to you." Alice said.
And with that Alice disappeared from my sight.
"Given how terrifying you are... what will happen to me next? What are you planning to do?"
Lilith.