Dead Nerds Society: What Do You Mean My Guild Was Also Isekaid?-Chapter 64: Penance of the Immortal

Aenoth’s right arm was stuck deep into Cecilia’s abdomen, going all the way through it. But that is not enough to kill Cecilia, and both know it.

Marya screamed in desperation, and Jules was shocked. But the other three were unfazed, as they were used to Cecilia’s capabilities and tactics.

"It’s okay, Marya. She always fought like that. It’s her normal way to do things."

Mina gently put her hand on the girl’s head, both as a way to comfort her and to stop her if she tries to run in.

She knows, as the others do, that running in would only hinder her Master.

:::

"You can’t guide them to the cycle because you are cut out from it. You are stuck in a self-filling loop, and you are dragging them inside."

The robe Cecilia wore was doing its thing, healing her even though the vampire’s claw was still inside her. The pain was almost unbearable, but she steeled herself through it.

((Aenoth is still in there. If the vampire self was in total control, it wouldn’t have stopped now.))

Cecilia opened a dashing smile and shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her free hand, in the gesture that triggers her technique, Kawaiikute. Under the game rules, it would be ineffective in combat. But this was not the game, and Aenoth’s condition was special.

For a brief instant, the crimson shine in Aenoth’s eyes waned, revealing the deep green color Cecilia took four hours to pick when she created the character. But it was just a fleeting instant before coming back.

But it was the proof Cecilia needed. Aenoth’s soul was still there, still lingering. She would have normally been obliterated, yet she was still there. Even after two hundred years.

She didn’t lose more of the precious time the inner struggle of the vampire bought her.

"Nythea phorael, vaerneth lythaen.

Ephemerys eireneth, anthyra phaneros."

("O Death’s journeying soul, release your binding.

Ephemery’s peace, rebirth shines.")

She points her staff’s tip towards Aenoth’s chest, channeling mana through it. The radiant light is directed to the dark loop in the vampire’s chest, like a razor, cutting the loop.

The vampire suddenly screams in agony, thrashing Cecilia’s body around until it manages to unstuck the claw from her, launching her hard against the cave’s walls.

:::

Aenoth keeps thrashing around aimlessly, convulsing in agony, while Cecilia stays limp in the corner, inside a pool of her own blood.

"Sensei..."

Marya’s faint murmur made everyone else want to rush to Cecilia, but the followers were bound by her command. Even now, in this world, they were unable to disobey anything she said.

And she had been clear and direct in her order. ’Stay out of this. Stay back!’. That was her unchallengeable order.

Jules was not bound by it, but he knew the rumors about the manically suicidal way Morielen soloed the hardest dungeons, and Mina’s words about it being her usual tactics, plus what he saw, made him believe it.

He was worried, of course, because the woman was still showing no signs of being awake. But it didn’t seem that the vampire was attacking her right now, and he could see the activation of healing magic by the robe.

:::

Cecilia was floating in a vast, dark void.

She could hear faint cries in the distance, and sometimes a part of the void would flicker with golden light, forming incredibly intricate circuit designs that lasted less than a heartbeat.

((Is this... the backstage of the world?))

The pain she was feeling moments ago was gone. In fact, she also couldn’t feel cold, heat, or anything else.

((Is this the afterlife? It doesn’t make sense, does it? I shouldn’t have died from that. I probably just fainted because of the intensity of the pain. So, why am I here?))

Some debug messages flickered in her vision, but too quickly for her to read anything.

"Main Screen."

She said the command in a firm voice. Well, in her head was a firm voice, but in truth there was no voice in that environment. As if there was really no air and no sound.

The general UI opened, but it was off. It didn’t have any texture and looked like a crude debug mode of the screen.

((But if there is no sound, how am I hearing those cries in the distance? Am I really hearing them?))

She then noticed something different in that UI. There was a ’Log Out’ button.

((I wonder what would happen if I clicked on it.))

Before she could dwell on the idea, she imploded in place, as if there was a drain in the gravitational center of her body that sucked her in.

:::

Cecilia woke up with a gasp. She was now on the floor of the cavern, and she could hear the still agonizing cries of the vampire.

She immediately stood up on her feet and checked the scene. The vampire was convulsing on the ground, while the others were still at the cave’s entrance. She saw that they were really relieved to see her stand up.

((So time enough passed that they would worry about me, but not that much that they would rush to me.))

She checked the amulet on her necklace, and it was still whole.

((So I didn’t die. It would’ve warded off my death, so that space was something else entirely. But let’s set that aside and focus on Aenoth.))

"Aennie. It’s okay. Your Master is back. I am here."

She said in a soothing tone, walking slowly towards the vampire. The technique for seeing lifelines was still active, so she was able to see that the vampire’s lifeline had been properly broken.

What was causing the agony was that the lifeline was trying to connect back to the cycle. She was able to see it visually, as if each tip of the line was a vine looking for the sun. A radiant sun that would burn the vampire’s own essence.

((That hunch paid off. Maybe I really can undo the curse? That lifeline looks so corrupted, though. It will take some time to cleanse, but if I try to intervene and do anything clumsy, I might destroy her instead.))

She approached the body of her agonizing follower, then knelt at her side.

Aenoth’s thrashing subsided, but she was still shaking violently.

Cecilia took the girl’s head and helped her to rest it on her lap, gently petting her head.

((If I can’t directly intervene, then I’ll at least soothe her. That might strengthen the will of the true Aenoth inside.))

She closed her eyes and started to sing an old hymn of rebirth and praise. It wasn’t a spell but a prayer hymn often sung in important rituals of the Church.

One she knew Aenoth was particularly fond of, when she was an NPC and the ’likes’ and ’dislikes’ were only flavor text.

It was a simple but emotional hymn that talked about the cycle of life and how people were fated to be reborn, but also about personal growth and overcoming the challenges in the path.

The ’rebirth in life’ that people who went through tough hardships in life often talked about.

After the third verse, another voice joined her. It was a soft, gentle voice. A very familiar one, for Cecilia.

She opened her eyes and looked down and saw Aenoth singing along. She had stopped convulsing. Her lifeline was still in need of cleansing, but she felt that the worst part was already surpassed.