"Senior" and "Junior"

# Chapter 26 "Senior" and "Junior"

"Boom... boom boom..."

As the blaze grew, more and more stones fell from the ceiling, as if it were about to collapse, causing the entire control room to shake and erupt with explosions.

Luo Zhen and Mashu stared blankly at the sealed door before them, falling into silence.

Luo Zhen understood.

Neither he nor Mashu could escape from here.

The control room door was specially made, with excellent anti-magic measures. Even the highest-ranking mages couldn't break it with brute force. Even with physical means, breaking through a door that was many times stronger than steel was incredibly difficult.

Unless he could summon a high-level Familiar, it would be worth a try.

Otherwise, Luo Zhen couldn't escape from here in his current state.

And if they couldn't escape, the consequences were obvious.

Not only would Mashu not be saved, but Luo Zhen himself would be engulfed in flames, losing this hard-won life.

That was the situation.

For a moment, Luo Zhen didn't know how to react.

As for Mashu, her voice sounded softly.

"I'm sorry... Senior... it's all because of me..."

That fragile voice, as if it could disappear at any moment, and the guilt contained within, were heartbreaking.

But for some reason, hearing that voice, Luo Zhen felt at peace.

Even though he was about to die, his mood was unbelievably calm.

And his thoughts were even more straightforward.

"Well, it can't be helped."

Luo Zhen's voice returned to its usual casual tone, and he smiled as if relieved.

This caused all the words in Mashu's heart to dissipate, turning into a weak but exceptionally beautiful smile.

"Senior... you really are Senior..."

That was all Mashu could think.

The fire grew again, engulfing Luo Zhen and Mashu's escape route.

Luo Zhen held Mashu and sat in front of the sealed door, gazing at the sea of fire before them.

"Senior..."

After an unknown amount of time, Mashu's weak voice sounded again.

"Do you... remember the first time we met?"

Those words immediately pulled Luo Zhen's memories back to the past.

It was two years ago.

At that time, Luo Zhen had been in Chaldea for a year.

As the person currently recorded as having the most excellent Master aptitude, Luo Zhen was welcomed by many when he first arrived at Chaldea. However, in that year, Luo Zhen's lack of cooperation with Chaldea had gradually worn down their patience, causing his interpersonal relationships in Chaldea to reach their lowest point.

To put it bluntly, apart from Roman, Luo Zhen couldn't find anyone else to approach him at that time.

For Luo Zhen at the time, this was exactly what he wanted.

"Rather than waste time with these guys who are secretly conducting some inhuman magical experiments, I'd rather play games."

Luo Zhen sincerely held these thoughts, and also held a rejection of Chaldea, living alone.

Sometimes he would train his magic in places where others didn't know.

Sometimes he would play games alone in his room.

Except for Roman personally coming to get Luo Zhen to go out and cooperate with some check-ups, Luo Zhen hadn't taken a step out of his room.

That was Luo Zhen's life in Chaldea two years ago.

A completely solitary life.

Until one day...

"Her name is Mashu Kyrielight. She will be living in Chaldea with you from now on. You two must get along."

Roman suddenly brought a girl of similar age to Luo Zhen and introduced the girl standing next to him to Luo Zhen.

Luo Zhen still remembered Mashu at that time.

The same shoulder-length hair as now.

The same delicate face as now.

The same strange atmosphere as now.

The same intellectual appearance as now.

The only difference was her slightly immature appearance, and the unusually calm look that surfaced in her pair of pure eyes.

Luo Zhen knew that look.

It was exactly the same as the look in his own eyes when he was two years old, before he had obtained the Miracle.

Thus, Luo Zhen understood.

The girl before him was the same as he had been in the past.

Both of them had succumbed to their fate and accepted it.

Therefore, even though Luo Zhen didn't know what had happened to Mashu at that time, Luo Zhen knew that the girl before him was walking the path he had once walked, and didn't regard cruelty as cruelty.

It was at the moment he understood this that Luo Zhen could no longer remain alone.

Just like his initial acceptance of Roman, Luo Zhen, who had always rejected others, readily accepted the girl before him.

At the same time, Mashu also accepted the boy before her.

Only because, at that time, Luo Zhen had said one sentence to Mashu.

"In that case, I am your senior."

With just this one sentence, he pried open Mashu's heart.

This was the scene of the boy and girl's first meeting.

"Even now... I haven't forgotten that sentence, Senior..."

In the raging fire, only Mashu's weak but peaceful voice, as if possessing a bit of warmth, clearly entered Luo Zhen's ears.

"For me at that time... Senior... was really dazzling..."

Aren't people like this?

Towards someone who is the same as themselves, but has achieved what they haven't yet, people will harbor a kind of longing.

Luo Zhen, in Mashu's heart, was such a person.

Their pasts were similar, and in the eyes of others, they were so cruel.

However, Luo Zhen obtained the Miracle and escaped this fate.

Therefore, it was only natural that Mashu, as a girl who had not yet obtained the Miracle, felt that this "Senior" was very dazzling.

It was because of this that Mashu could tell anyone from the bottom of her heart.

"I'm so glad I met Senior..."

The girl's frank words made Luo Zhen's heart become extremely complicated.

The words he spoke were like this.

"I'm just luckier than you."

This was the truth.

Luo Zhen was just luckier than Mashu.

Even though the Miracle happened, it was not something Luo Zhen had strived for himself, but a gift that appeared on him out of thin air.

If this wasn't luck, what was?

But…

"Thanks to that, I was also able to meet Mashu."

In other words…

"I'm also glad I could meet you."

Luo Zhen's words, carrying a hint of a smile, completely relaxed Mashu's heart.

"Senior…"

Mashu couldn't help but use her last bit of strength to grasp Luo Zhen's hand.

Luo Zhen immediately returned the grip, as if tightly holding it in his hand, and kept exerting force.

The fire, in this situation, engulfed the entire control room.

However, at that moment, a mechanical system sound also rang out.

"System experiment detected in progress, manual operation stopped, please resume operation within three seconds."

"3…"

"2…"

"1…"

"No operation resumed, switching from manual operation to automatic operation."

"Experiment continues, searching for Master."

"Master in <Coffin> detected in abnormal state, only Master list is Suitability Number 1, setting Suitability Number 1 as the main target of the experiment."

"Anti-Summoning System, start."

"Spiritron Transfer, start."