My Measurement: The Villain Desires a Satisfying Payback

The instant he glimpsed Truth's incomprehensible answer, Cipher's head throbbed with a more excruciating pain than anything he had experienced.

"Kgh...!"

"Cee! No, what's wrong?!"

Clutching his head, it was impossible to register the cries of escalating concern from Ruti and the surrounding Professors.

His brain felt like it was being repeatedly smashed with a sledgehammer, causing his body to reflexively tremble every other second.

Then, heat rose from the pit of his stomach and enveloped his heart tightly, as if squeezing.

"Cough, cough...!"

Abruptly, he covered his mouth as he began to cough; but it wasn't the constricting sensation of his heart, nor the indescribable pain of his lungs that felt like they were getting shot every time they contracted that was the most worrying part.

"Cough-- Kaghk-!"

Ominous black blood spurted from his mouth, staining his hand and dripping over his lips as he panted.

Not giving him time to rest, whatever this sudden affliction was, the boy felt his body from the waist down turn cold; a piercing chill to the bone like a bare-naked person in the arctic began to dominate his legs internally, exacerbating his shivers.

All of this stacked on top of the other was too much, but no matter how agonising the pain, no matter the torment, his mind felt impossibly clear.

'Why...?'

He asked in desperation, but no answer came.

Cipher's vision was still blurry even though Truth's answer from before had already disappeared, and soon, it warped.

Beginning to resemble a kaleidoscope, he felt dizzy no matter where he looked, but his mind stayed persistently, bizarrely crystal clear despite the ongoings.

'What's going on...?'

There was no time to answer even the simplest question as the scene around him appeared to distort and change before his eyes.

And then.

Not in the form of golden calligraphy words before his eyes, but the real deal.

He saw it.

The truth of the question he asked.

"..."

"C-Cee...?"

All of a sudden, contrary to the random chaos that occurred just a second ago, Marcus Lynton's office was quiet.

Ruti, the Professors―completely startled by what had happened out of the blue, they were stunned into silence.

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Just now, Cipher, the one they knew as the Concept of Truth had fallen to his knees, grabbed his head, and began coughing up black blood.

And, just as it started, it was over in the time one could snap their fingers.

Just like that.

Ruti, heavily distressed by the situation, trepidatiously touched her best friend's back, her hands subtly trembling.

"Cee, are you okay? Say something..."

Her eyes began to shake and glistened with a reflective sheen, fearing the worst.

In the next moment, however, she flinched as the boy's body moved without warning.

"Cee!"

"..."

Wordlessly, Cipher wiped his mouth and returned to his previous seated position as if nothing had happened.

He didn't speak, and he looked at no one, but everyone else who observed his face noticed something strange.

He saw something.

His eyes, his expression―they belonged to a person who had seen something indescribable.

What he presented was the blank look of a person with no emotions, but it was impossible to tell what lay beneath such a hardened exterior.

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Slowly, the boy moved his gaze up towards the person directly in front of him.

Towards the recently-established Head Professor, Professor Marcus Lynton.

And, even more leisurely, he opened his mouth.

"...You asked me... Something..."

It was a quiet voice, a mutter as if he was talking to himself, but one everyone could audibly hear nevertheless.

And, they saw...

"...!?"

For the first time in their lives, Cipher―the Concept of Truth's lips curled into a smile.

Everyone's eyes had widened except for the Head Professor's, and even Ruti was beginning to feel like something was off as she gazed at him.

"So? Do you have an answer for me?"

Seemingly unconcerned with everything that happened before, Marcus Lynton spoke with an indifferent tone.

Cipher, his smile starting to feel more sinister by the second, responded simply.

"I do."

At that, the Head Professor's words pricked up.

"Then, what--"

"Ahhhh..."

Just as he was about to ask, the boy cut him off with an uncharacteristic, loud groan whose tone rose in a crescendo. Lynton's brows furrowed, but as if ignoring that, Cipher began to laugh.

"Aha, hahahaha..."

"..."

No one had even seen the boy smile before, let alone laugh, but all of a sudden, he was doing just that.

They weren't sure what at all to think of the bizarre situation, but for some reason, the Professors felt unsettled.

"Hahahahaha...!"

The only sound in the room was the extraordinarily normal-sounding, cheerful laughter of a young boy; it should've been a warm atmosphere, but somehow, it felt the exact opposite.

"..."

Eventually, the laughter stopped, and the room was bathed in momentary silence once more.

"Did you know, Professor?"

Cipher looked at Professor Lynton and said in a strange tone like that of an ordinary boy.

Marcus Lynton gulped, his eyes watching the Concept of Truth's mouth and his ears listening to his every word.

His lips parted as if in slow motion, but his words carried the weight of a thousand suns.

"――Our world isn't real."

And at that moment―

"Kyaaaah...!? Cee! H-help m--"

―Everything was destroyed.

❖─────❖─────❖

My mind slightly hazy, it felt as if I had just woken up from a long slumber.

Gradually, my vision cleared, and I found myself back in Michael Guff's extravagant living room, the clinician whom I requested to uncover my missing memories.

And now... I had returned with said memories.

Memories that had been locked away a long time ago; and that involved parts of my life fundamental to who I am.

"...Ruti..."

Unconsciously grabbing my head with a hand, I muttered a name I had long forgotten.

Hah... I can't believe it...

There was someone... I had someone like this in my life...?

Strangely, it felt like there was something stuck at the back of my throat. Something immovable and that refused to budge. Swallowing down the saliva that was accumulating in my mouth, I tasted something sweet and with a tangy, metallic aftertaste.

...Blood.

At some point, it seems I somehow cut the inside of my mouth. It was annoying, but bearable.

Compared to the pain I had experienced on that day... This was nothing.

"..."

I couldn't get that one person out of my head... Ruti...

Whenever that name crossed my mind, my chest and head became hot; I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth.

The memories were undoubtedly mine, but I had forgotten them all this time, so they didn't feel like they belonged to me.

I shouldn't have known that bizarre, overly energetic girl, and yet... I feel something akin to regret when I think of her fate...

Hell, I could even recall memories unrelated to what I was shown, such as the reason for her initial admission to the Playground.

Her Measurement―capable of creating an extremely volatile and reactive substance similar in nature to nitroglycerin―caused an explosive incident at her home that burned the house down and resulted in the death of two of her three older siblings.

Not seeming to experience any regret from what she did, Ruti was thereafter diagnosed with some kind of mental illness and sent to the Playground for safety... Where she met me.

"...Fuck..."

I could only curse when considering the situation. And not only that...

As my mind cleared up even more, I remembered what happened at the end of the flashback.

Marcus Lynton's question.

Bypassing the restricted access of Truth.

The existence of God.

And the truth of the world.

I remembered it all.

And, the worst part is...

He was right.

At the school's Christmas festival, when he first said I would want to destroy the world after uncovering the truth, of course, I wouldn't believe him.

Even when I began to have doubts, and after I had Emir read my fortune, I didn't really believe that it would ever come true.

Why that damn Kiryuuin and Araceli regressor pair wanted to stop me.

But now...

I really can understand why they were so confident in their beliefs.

Because I don't think this world deserves to go on any longer.

"Ciphy...?"

"You're awake."

Ah...

Turning, I saw the twins approaching from what looked like the kitchen, judging by the snacks in their hands.

I had almost forgotten.

Looking back, it seemed as though Michael Guff was still unconscious in his chair. Because the two of us were looking at my memories simultaneously, we were both practically sleeping during the experience, so I suppose the twins went off and did their own thing.

Either way, because of all the sudden feelings I got from the memories that muddied the order of things in my mind, it felt like I hadn't seen the two in ages.

"...I'm back."

They nodded at my words and came up to me. Discarding their snacks like trash by the wayside, the girls wrapped their small arms around me.

"What are you...?"

I wondered what the problem was. As confirmed by Truth, no more than a couple of hours had passed, but they were like this.

Gazing down at them as they buried their heads into me, the ghostly visage of Ruti appeared to overlap with the twins.

"..."

It didn't seem like something I'd be able to forget for a while.

"Ciphy..."

"What did you see...?"

"Did you see your memories...?"

"Did you get what you wanted...?"

The twins suddenly turned their heads up at me and fired a barrage of questions, causing me to sigh internally.

"I'll tell you when we get back home."

There was no need to explain everything here, so I was just thinking of leaving a letter for Michael Guff and going since the money would be transferred to his account separately, but the girls raised their voices.

""No!!""

"...Pardon?"

My brows slightly furrowed as I looked down at them.

"Why do you oppose it? Is there a reason to say everything here?"

"Just tell us now..."

"It's not a big deal..."

They put on upset voices as if they were in a strop, making me speechless.

I really couldn't understand why they would be so stubborn about it, but it wasn't the first time something like this had happened, so I acquiesced to their persistence.

"Alright... Yes, I got my memories back. And... I suppose, yes, I got what I wanted."

Although it wasn't nearly as satisfying as I thought it would be, I certainly... Certainly got what I was aiming for.

"What will you do now?"

Glancing at Sana, who asked, I chewed on my words and ruminated for a moment.

The truth behind the reality of the world.

Finally, I have obtained the long-sought-after answer to that mystery.

But, now that things have come to this, what's next?

"I..."

Having seen what I saw.

Now knowing what I know.

My reply is simple.

"...I will end the world."

""...""

It is... the only thing I can do.

Not for anyone's sake except my own.

This world shouldn't be allowed to continue as it is.

Rolling my gaze, I slowly looked at everything around me.

The floor, walls, and ceiling of Michael Guff's house.

The cushioned sofa, expensive paintings, and other house embellishments.

Michael Guff himself, and even the twins beside me right now.

None of the people or the emotions and accomplishments they experience.

The world―as well as everything inside of it.

None of it is real.

And so.

Because it is all fake.

Because it doesn't even matter in the first place.

I will end it all.

And, more importantly, in doing so.

I will find a way to get out.

To escape this fake world.

And to ascend to a world that is truly 'real'.