Future Diary Survival Game-Chapter 57 : Addiction - 2

Chapter 57: Addiction - 2
Something was on the tip of my mind, about to surface.
…….
Ah. No, this was impossible.
I couldn’t focus on anything anymore.
“Let’s think about it again once the symptoms of this addiction have subsided.”
“Mm.”
“Aina, can you put us back to sleep again?”
Instead of answering, Aina’s trembling hands fumbled for the vial.
But then, with a startled gasp, she dropped it.
Clang.
The vial shattered on the floor, spilling its liquid.
“It—it’s fine. I have a spare.”
“No, it’s fine. I did ask you earlier, but now that I think about it, it’s meaningless. I don’t think I can fall asleep anyway.”
“But—”
“In the first place, we already woke up from sleep. Our bodies are shaking because we can’t stop thinking about bread.”
Everyone clenched their teeth.
I exhaled a long sigh and spoke.
“Let’s tie our bodies together. I have some rope in my bag.”
“……?”
“If at least one of us manages to stay sane, that person must resist with all their might against going down to the first floor.”
“You think it’ll be that easy? I’d rather…”
Berseum started to say something.
I was startled and cut him off.
“Sir, don’t even think about it.”
“……”
“You were going to lock us in this room, seal it with magic, and then plan to hand out bread yourself, weren’t you?”
“Didn’t you say that’s what happens in the future? You’re the one who saw it.”
“If it’s a future I can’t change, then knowing it beforehand means nothing. I intend to stop that future where you sacrifice yourself.”
The others nodded firmly.
Berseum was momentarily speechless, staring blankly before letting out a warm smile.
“Heh. Alright then. I won’t say such things anymore.”
“You made the right choice.”
“Clicking his tongue, he muttered, “Tch. I just wanted to look a little cool in front of you young ones.”
At that, faint laughter spread around.
It meant we still had enough room left to laugh.
If the addiction didn’t get worse than this, maybe—just maybe—we could make it through the night.
With that hope in mind, I took out the rope.
“Alright. Let’s tie ourselves up.”
Until noon, it was still bearable.
Even as our bodies trembled, we forced out jokes to ease each other’s minds.
By evening, no one could joke anymore.
Aina sat with her knees pulled up.
She buried her face and muttered incoherently.
Armelia, surprisingly, was biting her nails.
Was it a habit from her childhood resurfacing?
As the night deepened, heat began to rise in our bodies.
Berseum, half-asleep and delirious, kept murmuring the names of his son and daughter.
Sienne suddenly got up and began crawling under the bed, groping as she went.
I didn’t even have the strength to ask what she was doing.
By the time dawn approached, I began to hallucinate.
Six loaves of Magireta’s bread were circling around me.
They tempted me, saying we should go over there to dance together.
As if possessed, I followed the bread…
“Huh?—Ack.”
Something yanked me backward and I fell flat on my back.
“W-what?”
“Where are you going?”
Sienne’s voice came from under the bed.
In that instant, my mind snapped awake.
Smack!
I slapped myself hard across the cheek, and the illusion vanished for a brief moment.
Then, from beneath the bed, Sienne spoke again.
“You lasted the longest, at least.”
“Miss Sienne? Wait… you crawled under the bed because…”
“I thought if one of us tried to move, they’d get caught on the bed thanks to me being down here. Good thing we tied ourselves beforehand.”
“…I’m sorry. Were the others the same?”
“Yes. But they, too, came to their senses after collapsing once, like you did.”
I looked around at my companions.
All of them had their heads buried, muttering to themselves.
Their nails had dug into their arms and legs, leaving bloody marks.
“Thank you, truly. If it weren’t for you, Miss Sienne, it could’ve been disastrous.”
“It’s nothing. Then, could I ask you a favor instead?”
“Anything.”
“Pull me out, please.”
“……”
“Hurry. I don’t have any strength left, I really can’t move.”
I didn’t answer.
Her voice grew desperate.
“Please… hurry. Please, just pull me out.”
“……”
“Pull me out now!”
I swallowed hard.
And said quietly,
“I’m sorry.”
“Ugh… n-no, it’s fine. I lost control for a second.”
I chose silence instead of replying recklessly.
Then, the nightmare continued.
Aina and Armelia both tried to rush out of the room several times.
Each time, Berseum and I, who were still somewhat sane, blocked them with our bodies.
Truthfully, they could’ve just cut the ropes and run out, but perhaps their minds were too cornered to think that far.
It must have been around three in the morning.
While I was still caught in those damned hallucinations again, I heard a faint rustling.
Through my blurry vision, I saw Berseum pulling something out.
It was a piece of paper covered in a complex pattern.
My mind instantly cleared.
It was the very same magic circle Berseum had used to cast the confinement spell in the Future Diary.
I thanked the heavens that I regained my senses at this moment.
“Sir, what are you doing?”
“……! You’re awake.”
“I thought we already agreed on this. I won’t let you sacrifice yourself.”
“Do you even know what Her Highness did just before you came to your senses?”
“I don’t.”
“She tried to harm herself.”
I inhaled sharply.
I hurriedly looked toward Armelia.
She was lying face down on the floor, groaning faintly.
“I barely managed to snatch the dagger away. Instead of thinking to cut the rope with it, she was about to hurt herself.”
“…Because she no longer has any reason left.”
“I think the opposite. It’s because she still has reason left. Instead of cutting the rope and running downstairs, she chose to harm herself first.”
“……”
“Mason,” he said heavily.
“Maybe it’s because of my son and daughter, but… it pains me to see young people suffer like this.”
“Sir Berseum.”
“I’m sixty-two. Haven’t I lived long enough?”
“……”
“If sacrificing myself means all of you can survive safely, then that’s a fair trade.”
For a moment, I was struck speechless.
“The me you said you saw in the future must’ve thought the same way, and acted upon it.”
“What about Miss Eris, then! And your son, the one you said was dragged into hell—what about him?”
“Right. That’s why I plan to entrust them both to you.”
“I refuse.”
“If you refuse, then there’s nothing I can do.”
Berseum gave a faint laugh and rose to his feet.
In that instant, my head—so clouded with thoughts of bread—cleared for the first time.
My mind began spinning at incredible speed.
Did we truly have no choice but to sacrifice him?
Was there no other method, one that I hadn’t yet discovered in the Future Diary?
‘No. There is!’
I dashed toward Berseum and grabbed his arm.
“Don’t do this. This isn’t the best way.”
“No. There’s one more.”
“What?”
Instead of answering, I pulled out the dagger.
Then I brought it to my own arm.
Berseum frowned deeply.
“Are you saying you’ll harm yourself too?”
“It’s similar, but a little different.”
“Don’t play word games.”
“I’m going to cut the tendons in my limbs.”
Berseum’s eyes widened.
“And I’ll cut everyone else’s as well. That way, none of us can physically approach the bread.”
“……!”
“If we do this, we won’t need your confinement magic, will we? You won’t have to sacrifice yourself.”
“W-wait a moment.”
“The addiction symptoms will fade eventually. Once that happens, Her Highness can heal our severed tendons with her power.”
Berseum shook his head vigorously.
“Get a hold of yourself. That’s far too extreme.”
“The extreme one is you, Sir. Do you really think we’ll carry on smiling and laughing through the next quests after losing you?”
“……”
“Even losing one member will crush our spirit and leave us in despair. How long do you think we’d last like that?”
“Mason.”
“I’m not doing this for you. Ultimately, I’m doing this because it’s the way I can survive longer.”
An indescribable emotion flickered across Berseum’s face.
But again, he shook his head.
“No. Even if you’re the leader, you can’t just mutilate your party members’ bodies at will.”
“You’re right. That’s why I’ll do it.”
Then Aina’s voice came.
She was leaning weakly against the wall, smiling faintly.
“And the tendons aren’t there. Don’t go cutting the arteries and dying by mistake.”
“Aina.”
“I think Mason’s method makes sense. It’s about keeping us physically away from the bread until the addiction passes.”
“But…”
“Hey, Your Highness. You’re fine with it too, right?”
Aina smack!—slapped Armelia across the face.
Armelia mumbled faintly.
“W-what? I just got slapped by bread?”
“Wake up. It’s me.”
“Ugh… What time is it? What was I even doing?”
Aina quickly explained the situation.
Armelia, clinging desperately to the last thread of her reason, nodded weakly.
“I agree. Aina, I’ll leave it to you.”
“That was the plan. I’ll make it hurt as little as possible. Next is Miss Sienne.”
Then Sienne’s voice came.
“I’m fine…”
“You were listening? No, you don’t get to opt out.”
“I don’t think I can crawl out from under the bed without help anyway.”
“Do you even know what state you’re in—ah, right, I can’t see you.”
Sienne had already crawled out from beneath the bed.
Normally, she could’ve smashed it with ease, but the addiction had dulled her strength.
Still, she had somehow dragged herself across the floor—completely worn out.
We all looked like a complete mess.
But at least—
All five of us had regained our sanity at the same time.
“Isn’t this a miracle, Sir?”
“Mason.”
“All of us being sane at once—this is our last chance. A final opportunity that didn’t exist in the future, or maybe one we simply missed.”
“……”
“Once our tendons are cut, you can indulge in as many illusions as you like. When the addiction fades, we’ll meet again.”
The others gave faint, weary smiles.
Berseum’s eyes reddened as he said,
“Thank you, everyone.”
“……”
“I really… didn’t want to die.”
“Hah. Of course not. And I don’t want to see you die either, old man.”
Aina approached me, dagger in hand.
“My hands are shaking too much—I might cut a bit off.”
“No, don’t—”
Before I could finish saying that, my body collapsed.
In a flash, Aina had severed the tendons in my legs.
Then, after cutting both my arm tendons, she said,
“Sorry. Did that hurt?”
Not at all.
My body had long since lost all feeling from the addiction.
Perhaps that was a small mercy in this misery.
“Don’t worry. I’m fine.”
“Good. I figured as much. I can’t feel anything either.”
“But what about you, after cutting everyone else? You can’t cut the last tendon yourself.”
“I’ll bite through it. Don’t worry.”
My consciousness began to fade.
I faintly heard Aina’s voice.
“I’ll make sure to stop the bleeding properly, but this is still a dangerous gamble… please, don’t die.”
I wanted to say you too, but I blacked out before I could.
Or maybe I did say it. I honestly couldn’t remember.
All I knew was—
I wanted bread.