Chapter 105

Iris’ Past (Final) - The Girl Does Not Wish to be Reborn
It has been a week since Iris escaped from the research facility, and the world has been in a fair bit of chaos.

As a countermeasure to the government's and the facility's secret attempts to capture Iris, Momoniku II leaked evidence of Iris' disappearance onto the network.

It became a reasonably big news story under the headline of a "Genius Girl's Disappearance." However, there was no recent footage of Iris for the past several years. Momoniku II had meticulously erased all records of her. Additionally, Iris' extreme dislike of the media and her refusal to appear before the press also played a part in this.

"... I'm bored."

Somewhere in town, Iris found herself in a place that still held onto the vibe of Japan's Heisei era. She had no place to return to, but she had plenty of money. As part of her research, she had opened hidden bank accounts across various countries, so it would be hard to track her through that. She didn't have any credit cards—mostly because she had never needed to use them.

Her identification was minimal, but Iris now possessed a forged ID. It was crafted with such precision that it was indistinguishable from a real one. Even if checked, the data had been altered, making it impossible to trace. You could say she had essentially made it herself. Without it, she would likely be taken into custody.

Iris had turned 18 but still looked much the same as before—honestly, she appeared younger, almost like a child. Years of research in isolation had left her skin pale, and dark circles had formed under her eyes, making her look suspicious.

"Master, it seems that a police officer is heading your way. Turn right at the next corner and take a path between the buildings."

Momoniku II, who had intercepted the police radio, was guiding Iris' escape.

Her pursuers were just police officers, and she wasn't exactly trying to hide her face. Iris didn't really care about their commands. She wasn't escaping out of any particular desire to resist; rather, she was doing so simply because she felt it was what her parents would have wanted her to do.

Her hollow eyes reflected nothing. All that remained within her was the overwhelming despair of having lost everything and a fierce sense of regret.

(I can't go back to Takuto after what I've done. Maybe I should find a quiet place to live. But knowing them, they'd probably track me down, even in Africa.)

Iris had no vision of the future. Even with the incredible inventions of Momoniku II helping her, she was still the one on the run. For now, they were misleading the authorities by feeding false information over the airwaves, but Japan's police force wasn't so easily fooled. Eventually, they would see through the trick and come up with countermeasures. Even though she had money, she lacked the necessary equipment. Without so much as a laptop, all she could do was run. And carrying a laptop while on the run would be cumbersome anyway. She would be caught eventually. Until then, she might as well keep running.

As she walked, she saw a young girl—probably no older than ten—bouncing a ball on the pavement.

It made her feel a bit nostalgic, she felt like crying. But this was too dangerous. She thought to herself that she should at least tell the girl to be careful and head to a park or something.

"Ah, my ball..."

A small gust of wind caused the girl to lose her grip on the ball, and it rolled toward the road. The girl chased after it, stepping onto the street, and what followed was a familiar scene. A car would soon hit the girl, who had darted out unexpectedly.

There was no reason for Iris to save her. The girl was a stranger. She wasn't part of Iris' world.

And yet, her body moved. Despite having done no physical activity for years, her body screamed in protest, but Iris couldn’t stop herself. She saw it in her mind—the grieving parents, experiencing the same pain she had known. She couldn’t let that happen.

"No!!"

With a strong shove, Iris pushed the girl out of the way, saving her from the incoming car. Her life should have ended there... or so she thought.

"Where am I?"

Iris was furious. Her death had been inevitable. She remembered everything—the moment of impact, the crash. There was no way she could have survived... And yet, here she was, back in her childhood body, from a time when she had still been happy. Although, admittedly, she hadn’t grown much since then.

Iris didn’t believe in an afterlife. She didn’t believe in gods. For her, death was the end—an absolute truth. That’s why she had gone to such extreme lengths in her research to recreate her parents. Yet now, her very existence after death mocked everything she had believed in and worked for.

"Hey~ it’s really inconvenient when someone dies on their own, you know?"

"Ssh!!"

Reacting instinctively, Iris swung a backhand at the voice behind her. She didn’t know what it was, but whoever had shown her this ridiculous reality was surely an enemy. However, her punch was blocked.

"Whoa, whoa, why the sudden hostility? You’re not usually the violent type, are you?"

"Shut up!! Just let me die already. Why are you doing this to me!?"

"Well, like I said, you dying on your own causes problems. And you, of all people, were supposed to leave that girl behind. Normally, you wouldn’t care about strangers dying. Why did you suddenly decide to be a hero? I should be the one complaining about your impulsiveness."

He was right. Iris' world was extremely narrow. Even if there were a mass shooting happening nearby, she would hum a tune and continue her shopping, indifferent to the chaos. As long as her own people were safe, the rest of the world could perish for all she cared... or so she thought.

Iris couldn’t argue with him. She didn’t know why she had acted the way she did, either.

The figure introduced itself as Teth. It claimed to be the creator and overseer of worlds, guiding their self-sufficiency. Iris tried to punch it again. This thing had to be God. It was the source of all her problems. But once more, she was restrained by some unknown force.

Teth made her a proposal. It wanted her to move to a new world—a peaceful world that she had longed for. There, she would find a new family and receive great power.

But Iris wasn’t Alicetia. Her answer was a firm no. Her parents were only two people. Her family consisted of them and Lim—just the four of them. She would never accept any others. These strangers weren’t her family.

"Come on, it’s a fresh start, a new life! Sure, they’re not your parents, but you’ve been longing for family, haven’t you? Granted, it’s impossible to bring your real parents back, given the structure of that world. Why not just give up and enjoy this new life? In exchange, I’ll—"

The conversation ended abruptly when Iris, having freed herself from the restraints through sheer willpower, delivered a stronger punch to Teth’s face.

"Die."

"Sorry, but I don’t have a concept of death. I mean, there’s probably a way to kill me, but no individual can do it. Not even heroes, Demon Lords, or other powerful figures across multiple worlds could take me down solo. I’m a concept, after all. I’m everywhere—next to you, above you, and nowhere at the same time. You can’t kill what doesn’t exist... Ow! That hurts, though. Stop hitting me!!"

"Hmph."

Once again, Iris was bound by chains that emerged from Teth’s palm, wrapping her tightly in place.

"Owow, this isn't a situation where we can talk at all, I see. There's no helping it. I feel bad for you, but I'll send you over there on my own. Things on that side are a bit dangerous too. If things stay as they are, that world will stagnate or destroy itself. I really do feel bad, but I need you to be the stone that creates ripples. This will be the last time I interfere with that world. Also, I'll give you knowledge from over there. Yes, let's make it magic. That sounds good."

Judging that persuasion was impossible, the Evil God Teth sent arcane knowledge into Iris's mind and disappeared without hesitation. For Iris, Teth was an extremely bothersome existence.

"But I'll tell you just this. I knew about the deaths of your parents, but I wasn't the one who decided it. There are things I can and can't do, and that's clearly separated. Reviving you was really something I wasn't supposed to do... but if you have even the slightest chance, we may meet again. So please don't give up."

Teth continued to speak as he disappeared, but since Iris's consciousness was already fading as soon as Teth began to vanish, she couldn't hear the last part.

When Iris awoke again, she was alone... No, there was a second presence. She found herself within the new life described by the knowledge Teth had given her. In other words, Iris was in a pre-birth state.

And beside Iris was a mummified soul, likely having wandered in due to some factor.

Moreover, this situation wasn't what Teth intended. It was supposed to be a period for Iris to cool her head before being born, but she had become aware of the existence of the soul. And, additionally, there was magic. Magic is a technology. And technology can become Iris's hands and feet. In other words, she could die right here. But she judged that to be pointless. This world circulates souls. Iris had a vague understanding of this. The reason Teth sent her to this space and gave her knowledge was likely because suicide was not an option.

However, Teth hadn't seen everything about Iris. So, he couldn't understand what Iris was thinking. It's likely that Teth quickly fled because he judged that words wouldn't get through to the confused Iris.

"Then, if I combine my soul with that garbage soul over there, I should be able to create a new soul."

Iris smiled with a touch of madness. Suicide was impossible. But if souls existed, then they must have a structure. If she could analyze that, she could disassemble and recombine two souls.

Rather than killing herself, she would remake herself—at the soul level. Unbeknownst to Iris, what she was attempting had never been done, even in the world she was about to be sent to. But Iris did it.

Souls cannot be created by humans. There's no technology in the human realm to generate them. Perhaps higher beings than humans exist, or perhaps they are born from the world itself. Iris didn't think about such things. She merely took the soul apart like dismantling a bike, leaving only the consciousness intact. The garbage soul beside her too. Then, she constructed a new soul from the pieces.

(I want the new child to be kind, someone who can think of others and protect those around them. I'll give this child all of my knowledge. But no soul magic. This child shouldn't do the same things I did. I'm a bad person, so I will disappear. After all, a child who can't call their father ‘Papa’ is unnecessary, right? It's unfortunate for the parents not to be recognized by their child. So... so…)

Iris prayed as she assembled the new soul, hoping it would be so. She no longer intended to find happiness herself. She was utterly exhausted. She had lost her purpose. Without a purpose, she was an empty doll, capable of nothing. So she wished for the next version of herself to be happy.

Then, with the remaining soul fragments, she created a mock soul. Naturally, there were leftover parts. Furthermore, after constructing the new soul, she realized that a mysterious magical force had mixed in. It once tried to absorb Iris, but the current Iris was like a mass of curses and repelled it.

This was because she used everything except the part of herself that cursed the world for the sake of 'her.' In this space, willpower can repel things. That's how her punch had reached Teth. But once she's born, it's likely that 'she' will go berserk. That's why Iris used what she had left, along with the mock soul she'd made as a reserve, to seal it.

The mock soul wouldn't be contaminated. It had no emotions and was only a mere imitation, so even with Iris's weakened power, it would be fine.

"I made a bit of a mistake, but this much should be okay. A little thrill in life is necessary, don't you think? How things turn out is up to you. And if it doesn't go well, I'll help you."

By the time everything was over, Iris was no longer Iris. Like Teth, her form was blurred, leaving only a shadow of a girl.

Iris hadn't known that the soul she used was that of the previous Demon King. To Iris, it was an impurity that had gotten mixed into the soul of her... new child. Out of mercy, she left only its will intact, but its soul had deteriorated so much that it was only murmuring warnings. It was annoying, so she dragged it to the boundary of this world.

"What, what, what?! What are you doing?! How are you able to interfere with souls?"

By the time everything was finished, Teth appeared once again. He had come thinking things had calmed down, ready to try to persuade her. But what he saw was a new soul and Iris, reduced to nothing but a will. Teth was shocked. Even he hadn't expected Iris to interfere with souls and create a new one.

"Oh, if it isn't the Evil God. What am I doing? Well, I never said I was going to obey you, did I? This child should be fine, right? I made it using most of myself."

"But how... how are you able to do something like this?! This kind of thing can only be done by beings of demi-god level... do you understand what this means? You have the potential to become a god!"

Teth was furious. Iris had the potential to reach his domain, yet she treated it like trash. Her will drifted as if she were looking at a roadside pebble.

"So, what now? Like I said, I'm never going to listen to what you say. Also, why don't you die already? Just die."

"You say such cruel things so casually. If I could swap places, I'd ask you to. Why can't anything go smoothly for me? Fine, this child will do. But I can't let you come to the surface. No world allows humans to tamper with souls. You seem to have realized it, but it can't be allowed to happen in the other world. If altered souls started circulating, it would be a disaster. Even I can't interfere with the world too much. There are rules that even I, as a manager, must follow... So, this child will have to go."

Iris grinned. She had hidden the assistant she had named "Momoniku III" within the soul so well that Teth wouldn't notice unless he looked very carefully.

And because the entire situation had deviated so much from his original plan, Teth, in his confusion, hadn't thoroughly investigated.

"You'll have to blend into this child. I'll take care of the rest... ha... I thought I might have found a kindred spirit, but I guess not. I won't bother hoping anymore; I can handle everything myself."

"Fine by me. As long as it's for this child's sake. But like I said, I won't do what you want."

"Fine. Just make sure you don't teach this child that magic. It's really dangerous; it could remake the world.

I'll ask this child for help. I won't tell her about you... Well, goodbye for now. I'll come back if I get bored."

"I'm not about to get chummy with an Evil God."

Iris coldly cut him off. It seemed she truly hated him.

Teth trudged away. The soul he had discarded in the corner apparently wasn't important enough to mention.

And so, Iris became Alicetia. The past and all the curses were taken on by Iris, and she entrusted her prayers to the soul of the newly born.