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Copyrights and Credits

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Episode 6: The Lost Sanctuary of Forgetting and the Cycle of Death and Rebirth

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Intermission: Welcome to the Demon Lord’s Castle

Intermission:
Welcome to the Demon Lord’s Castle

 

A FEW DAYS BEFORE Flum drove Mother backto the royal capital, Sara was taken by Neigass to Selayde, the stronghold of the demon race. Though it was called a city, it wasn’t as bustling as the royal capital, demons being fewer in number than humans. Many of the buildings that lined the streets were crude and lacked ornamentation, perhaps because they’d been constructed with Earth magic.

The northern part of the continent was snowbound. The skies were gray and the ground was blanketed with white snow, making the cityscape rather plain for a place called a stronghold. Sara, clad in fluffy, bulging defensive gear, clung tightly to Neigass’s arm, as though she were hugging her. But even so, she didn’t cover up her face.

“Sniff…Th-this place is colder than I thought it’d be…”

“I’m sorry, Sara. Just endure it a little longer.”

Neigass protected Sara from the cold with a wall of wind, before flying through the air and arriving at the entrance of Selayde. While Sara was freezing, her nose red, Neigass was as lightly dressed as ever.

“Neigass, are you really okay dressed like that…?”

“I’m a demon.”

Neigass said that as though it were obvious. In fact, the other demons were also dressed lightly for the cold. Maybe their blue skin is their way of adapting to this cold environment?

As that thought ran through Sara’s mind, she turned her gaze toward their destination. An eerie black castle, at the far recesses of the city—the Demon Lord’s castle. Sara had been taught by the church that it was the evilest place in this world. It certainly looked evil from the outside, and even just viewing it from a distance gave you an oppressive feeling. But Sara wasn’t frightened. Thanks to Neigass, who was with her now, she knew what demons were really like.

Sara had been with Neigass ever since she was rescued from the eyeballs that had been pursuing her. Their relationship had developed to the point where, before she realized it, she found herself cracking jokes with Neigass. She might even go so far as to say she trusted Neigass completely.

This was also why she was hugging Neigass’s arm this tightly. While it was partly because of the cold, it helped relieve the nervousness of being in an unfamiliar place. Sara looked up at Neigass’s side profile through the gap in her hood.

She’s so incredibly beautiful when she doesn’t talk…

Then, perhaps because she could feel Sara’s gaze, Neigass looked at her and smiled warmly.

“What’s the matter? Were you gazing at me in captivation?”

“Of course not!”

“Oh my. Your face is unusually red, though.”

“That’s ’cause of the cold!”

Neigass had easily and quickly seen through Sara. Sara’s face was completely red, even her ears. Neigass giggled softly at the sight, but her own cheeks were slightly red too.

I wonder if…Neigass would be happy if I were gazing at her in captivation?

Neigass didn’t hide her fondness for Sara, but Sara couldn’t tell where the line between earnestness and poking fun lay, and she didn’t know how to react. If Neigass were serious about all of it…would she be able to accept that? The thought made her anxious.

Thinking about this stuff makes me feel all depressed and confused inside, like my heart’s lost in fog.

Sara was sure that those feelings, which were akin to anguish, would probably fade if she were separated from Neigass. But, strangely enough, she didn’t feel like letting go of her arm.

At that moment, Neigass stopped.

“We’ve arrived.”

When Sara looked up, she saw the Demon Lord’s castle, which had seemed so far away just moments ago. As one would expect, Sara started to get nervous after getting this close.

“Scared?” Neigass asked.

Sara shook her head from side to side.

“I know that demons aren’t scary. But the thought of meeting a king makes me nervous.”

“Don’t get your hopes up too much, or you might be disappointed. Okay?”

“Are you sure it’s okay to say that sort of thing about a king…?”

“I told you before we came here, didn’t I? We’re childhood friends.”

“You did, but still…”

Even though she’d already come this far, Sara was now growing anxious about the gazes of the demons living in Selayde. She’d thought that she could hide herself from view with her thick clothes…but since the demons were lightly dressed despite the cold, her garb had the opposite effect, making her stand out.

“Everyone does seem to be immensely curious, don’t they?”

“Some demons were hurt by the war between humans and demons. I’m sure not everyone is fond of humans.”

“You are exactly right about that, Sara. Let’s go inside before there’s any unnecessary fuss.” At Neigass’s urging, the two of them entered the Demon Lord’s castle.

***

“I’m home!” Neigass’s carefree voice echoed throughout the entrance hall of the Demon Lord’s castle. With a “Pl-please pardon the intrusion,” Sara followed after her.

Just then, a door at the back opened and a young demon girl holding a broom appeared. She stared intently at Sara, who had taken off her hood now that she was indoors, and approached her slowly with small steps.

“Is something the matter…?”

Sara was bewildered by being stared at by a beautiful girl she didn’t know. The girl then turned her attention to Neigass and glared at her with scornful eyes.

“Neigass! If you’re going to bring a human to the Demon Lord’s castle, at least give us some advance notice!”

“There was nothing I could’ve done about that! My return wasn’t something I planned on.”

“Okay, before we get to that, why are you with a human? I haven’t received any reports about this!”

“A lot of things have happened. Don’t be angry, Sheitoom.”

Sara gazed at the girl while saying her name aloud. “Sheitoom…?” When she did so, Sheitoom smiled sweetly.

“Ahem…Correct. I am the Demon Lord Sheitoom. And your name is?”

“It’s Sara, but, um… You’re the Demon Lord?”

“I rescued her when she was being targeted by the church,” said Neigass. “We’ve been together ever since.”

“If that’s true, Neigass, she can’t have been in any real danger. How did she come to be targeted?”

“She is a former nun and a friend of Flum Apricot.”

“Um, excuse me, but…could I ask a question?” Sara timidly raised her hand and interrupted the conversation. Sheitoom paused to inhale, exhaled, and then turned to face Sara with a gentle look on her face.

“Yes. Please ask me anything.”

“You’re the Demon Lord?”

“Yes, I am the Demon Lord.”

“But it’s just, no matter how I look at you, you look like you’re a girl the same age as me…”

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“Demons stop growing once they reach a certain age. So even though I may look like this, I am actually an adult.”

“But I mean, the Demon Lord, wearing an apron and cleaning with a broom in hand, it’s…”

“This is our home. It’s only natural that we keep it clean.”

“Yes, that makes sense… It makes sense, but still! The Demon Lord should look bigger, stronger, and badder, right? That’s the kind of vibe they should have, right?! How can the Demon Lord be so cute?!”

Neigass watched the perplexed Sara with a satisfied smile on her face. Upon seeing this, Sheitoom realized something.

“Neigass. You deliberately refrained from telling her about my physical appearance, didn’t you?”

“My instincts were screaming at me, telling me, ‘I want to see Sara all flustered and making a commotion!’”

For some reason, Neigass puffed out her chest proudly at that and didn’t even bother trying to give justification. Both Sheitoom and Sara shot Neigass scornful glares for being so irresponsible and behaving with such freewheeling abandon. Then they both raised their voices to shout in unison.

“NEIGASS!”

Neigass, being glared at by beautiful girls to her left and right, looked truly happy.

 

***

 

About an hour later, they were in the dining hall of the Demon Lord’s castle. Sara sat respectfully and attentively upright in her chair, looking small and quiet, like a doll. Next to her sat Neigass. The Demon Lord Sheitoom sat across the table, next to Tsyon, who was like an older brother to her. The chairs were on the tall side, so neither Sheitoom nor Sara’s feet reached the floor.

Dhiza, one of the Three Demon Generals, brought dishes from the kitchen one after another, with no wasted movements. Tsyon smiled, showing his teeth, and called out to Sara.

“I guess even if I told ya not to be nervous, that’d be pointless. I mean, a nun coming to the Demon Lord’s castle? There’s no way you’d be able to relax.”

“I know that the purpose of this meeting is to deliver a report, but…I never imagined that I’d be greeted with such kindness and hospitality.”

Sheitoom smiled warmly at Sara’s polite and respectful answer. “This is a welcome party, too. To thank you for helping Neigass.”

“Oh no, no. If anything, I was the one being helped by her…”

“If Sara is nearby, I can work harder than ever!” insisted Neigass, giving Sara a tight hug. Sara was embarrassed to be embraced in public, but she remained silent with a look on her face that suggested that she wasn’t wholly displeased by it. Upon seeing this, Sheitoom and Tsyon exchanged glances.

“Now, how should I describe this…”

“Looks like you two are in love, eh.”

“That’s a good thing though, is it not?”

Having finished serving the meal, Dhiza opened his mouth to speak for the first time.

“It is rare to find someone like Sara, who can calmly hold a conversation with demons. A human like her may be the catalyst we need to change our situation for the better.”

“Yes, you’re right. It is as you say, Dhiza. It is far better that we get along.”

“Well, yeah, but, uh…” Tsyon stared at Neigass with a look of dumbfounded amazement on his face.

“Mmm. I knew it! The feeling of Sara’s hugs is just the best thing ever. She smells nice, and she’s soft, and she’s cute! Sara is the best thing ever!”

“I’m getting hot, Neigass…”

When Neigass nuzzled her cheek against Sara’s, Sara showed some pretense of discomfort but offered little resistance.

“Isn’t this goin’ a bit too far, though?”

When Tsyon asked that question, Dhiza smiled warmly but silently, while Sheitoom’s cheeks stiffened into a grimace.

“W-well, anyway, now that dinner is ready…let’s eat, shall we?”

The meal began shortly afterward, when Neigass released Sara and Dhiza took his seat. The first thing that drew Sara’s attention was the main dish, a buffalo meat stew.

“What big pieces of meat… Wow, it falls apart at the touch of a fork. It’s so incredibly tender! There’s no unpleasant smell, either. This is the kind of indulgence I’d never get to eat back home. And the smell is sinfully good!”

Upon seeing Sara’s excited reaction, Dhiza smiled contentedly. “This is Helheim buffalo stew,” he explained.

“Helheim…?”

“It is a monster with an A-Class status that inhabits the northern parts of demon territory.”

“Is it a pretty strong monster?”

“Well, if you can take one down in a hunt, it’s a pretty big deal. It’s a big catch,” said Tsyon proudly.

Sheitoom let out a little chuckle and added some extra information. “My brother and his friends went out hunting a few days ago.”

“And Helheim buffalo are huge, so chopping ’em up is hard work.”

“The meat is of very high quality, so I feel rewarded in having cooked it, too.”

“So you didn’t prepare it to welcome me and Sara, then.”

“If you had contacted me ahead of time, Neigass, I could have prepared for you.” Once again, Sheitoom glared at Neigass with scornful eyes. Despite being glared at, Neigass was smiling happily.

During this back-and-forth, Sara brought a spoonful of stew to her mouth. Instantly, her expression melted into one of bliss.

“Mmmmm! It’sh sho yummy!”

“Ha ha ha,well, isn’t that a happy face? Go on, eat up! There’s plenty of meat.”

Tsyon was pleased with Sara’s reaction. Sheitoom cut in without a moment’s delay.

“Dhiza was the one who cooked it, Brother.”

“I have seconds prepared, so whenever you wish to have more, please let me know.”

“That’s right. Don’t be shy, Sara!”

“Now hold on a minute here. Tsyon, are you trying to fatten up my Sara? Wait, a fat Sara… Actually, no, that’s great. Okay, Sara, eat a lot more! I’ve discovered a new fantasy!”

And so, a boisterous welcome party had begun. Recently, it had become routine for Sara to investigate the ruins of the church’s research facility together with Neigass. And even though it was never a quiet experience when the two of them were together at the dinner table because Neigass was so noisy…it had been a long time since Sara had spent time surrounded by the happy, cheerful voices of so many people. Like this.

“Dhiza, more stew, please!”

“Brother, you’re devouring your food too greedily. Look, Dhiza wants you to eat more calmly too. Don’t you?”

“To me, seeing someone enjoy the meal I have prepared is the greatest happiness.”

“Ah, in that case, might I have some more, too?”

“You too, Neigass?!”

Suddenly, Sara couldn’t help but remember those dearly missed days.

“Go on and eat your fill, Sara. The more you eat, the bigger you’ll get.”

“Johnny, are you trying to make Sara fat like you?”

“Hey, I’m just stocking up in case of an emergency. Didn’t you say that kids who eat well grow up nice and strong, Elune? Besides, look at Maria. She eats so much.”

“Huh? Oh…um, I need to eat in order to recover my magic power, so…”

“Ed, don’t you think you’re being insensitive to the lady?”

“Come on, don’t be pretentious, Johnny. Besides, what ‘lady’? Maria’s family!”

“It’s precisely because she’s family that we gotta be considerate of each other!”

Ed and Johnny, joking around, ended up dragging Maria and Sara into it. In the end, Elune scolded them, telling them to “shut up and eat.” That had been her life. A peace so commonplace that she never doubted it would be there tomorrow.

Multiplying heads. Limbs. Swollen bodies. Eyes that were about to burst. Meaningless words being spewed out. Sara would never get back the things she had lost.

“Sara?”

Neigass peered at Sara’s face, worried. Without realizing it, Sara had stopped moving, still clutching a piece of bread in her hand. She was crying.

Sheitoom and Tsyon also spoke to her with concern.

“Are you okay? Does your stomach hurt or something?”

“Do you…have some issues with demons, after all?”

Just then, Neigass stood up without a word and gently embraced Sara, holding her to her chest.

“Oh…Neigass…”

“Sheitoom, your worries are unfounded. She remembered something painful.”

“I’m sorry. You were all having so much fun, and I…ruined it.”

“No one is bothered by that.”

“Can I…stay like this for a little while?”

“Of course.”

Sara wrapped her arms around Neigass’s back and, with her face buried in Neigass’s chest, cried for a while.

 

***

 

“The church’s weapon robbed you of your family…?”

After they ate, Sara told Sheitoom and the others how she came to be with Neigass. They listened to her with warm and tender concern, as though what she was saying was their own business. Tsyon clenched his fist in anger.

“An indiscriminate attack on ordinary folks who only had information?!”

“If the seal on Origin is broken, humanity will be destroyed. I suppose the church doesn’t care who dies in the process.” Dhiza’s words were cold, but they accurately described the reality of the church. He then turned his suspicions on Sara. “However, there is one thing that concerns me. Namely, that you are someone close to Maria Afenjuns.”

“Dhiza, do you doubt Sara?”

“If no one else is going to ask questions, then I should be the one to do the job. Maria is called a saint. And she is the one member of the hero’s party with the strongest ties to the church. If she were to become a follower, then…”

“I don’t have anything to clear away those suspicions.” Sara hung her head low, eyes cast down—then immediately looked back up, her words full of determination. “But I wasn’t really in the church because I believe in Origin. Since I can use magic to heal wounds, I became a nun with the hope that I could help even just one person in trouble. That wish hasn’t changed. I think stopping the church will help save a lot of people—so that’s why I’m helping Neigass! Please, believe me… That’s all that I can say!”

Neigass nodded repeatedly in both support and deep admiration of Sara’s words. Sheitoom and Tsyon also turned to Dhiza with looks that seemed to say, “It’s okay to trust her.”

“Well, you got me. Now I look like the bad guy here.”

“We understand why you took on that thankless role, Dhiza.”

“Sara’s life has been threatened by the church. I think that we can rule out the possibility that she’s a spy.”

“If the Great Demon Lord says so, then I agree.” Dhiza, having deliberately addressed Sheitoom as the “Great Demon Lord,” backed off. The exchange like that was likely a formality—with the implication that the Demon Lord had given Sara permission to stay. Sara found it understandable that she would be under suspicion.

“The church has done all of that stuff, but…it’s not like everyone is bad. There are way more people who just genuinely want to help others. If only the people in power weren’t so selfish…”

“They created those Chimera things, and they’re planning something evil.”

“It sounds like you have some idea of what they’re up to,” Sheitoom said.

Neigass responded with a nod. Meanwhile, Dhiza stood in one corner of the room, silently watching things unfold. Having done his part, he seemed to have no intention of jumping back into the conversation.

“Thanks to the information Sara gave me, we found a research laboratory that had been in operation until relatively recently.”

“We found evidence of an even newer laboratory there, too. I think that if we keep investigating, we’ll eventually find a lab that’s still active right now.”

“Things really worked out well, huh? There was a town exactly north of the royal capital, smack in the middle of the border between the royal capital and our nation, but the whole place had become some kind of massive research facility…or rather, a factory.”

“Talk about unsettling. What was being mass produced there?”

“In the middle of the border between the royal capital and our nation…” Sheitoom murmured to herself. She seemed to have had an idea. “Perhaps it’s a black quartz mining site?”

“Well, actually, Neigass has brought back information like that before. She said that there was a town where someone was digging for a large number of crystals that could be used as material to make Origin cores.”

“Black quartz is mined there and immediately processed into Origin cores. Those cores are then used to mass-produce biological weapons called Chimera. I suppose they do all of that in one place to increase efficiency.”

A grim look appeared on Dhiza’s face when he heard Neigass’s information. “If you say ‘mass-produce,’ then that must mean there are quite a few.”

“There were hundreds of them, just from what Neigass and I saw. And probably way more if you go further in…”

“I understand that there are a lot of them. But before we get to that, what kind of a monster is a Chimera, exactly?”

“The church is exploring all sorts of ways to use Origin cores. One such approach is dissecting the bodies of various demons and joining them together to artificially create a ‘body more suited to the Origin core.’”

One of the major drawbacks of the Origin core was that if it was simply implanted in the body, its power would go out of control and it couldn’t properly be put to use as a weapon. By implanting a core in place of the heart of their subjects from a very early age, the Children group had been attempting to create bodies more suited for the Origin cores and trying to gain greater power by using multiple cores at the same time. The Necromancy group was attempting to raise the dead, while still having them maintain their reason, by using a huge core—called a central core—to control them. The Chimera group tried controlling the unruly Origin energy in another way as well.

“Cobbled-together patchworks of demons, huh. That’s so vulgar.”

“But it seems like they’re succeeding. They’ve reached a level of practicality as a weapon, so they’ve been mass-producing them.”

“Where are these mass-produced monsters being taken? To the areas surrounding the border of demon territory, I suppose.” If Sheitoom was right about that, and the church was planning to revive Origin, then they would be plotting to invade demon territory. And if the Chimera were gathering forces for that purpose…it was only natural that they would gather their troops near the border.

But Neigass rejected that notion with a troubled look on her face, saying, “I’m afraid that’s not right.”

Sara also looked puzzled as she began to explain what she saw. “The Chimera that they made were put onto wagons and carted to a village near the royal capital.”

“They weren’t taken to the border, but near the royal capital? Isn’t that the opposite direction?”

“There was a mysterious cave in the village. That’s where they were being taken to.”

“Hey now, come on. ‘Mysterious’? This ain’t the kind of conversation where you need to put on airs, y’know.”

“Well, I said mysterious because it’s mysterious! That’s just how it is.”

“Neigass, you said that your return to the Demon Lord’s castle was unforeseen. Did something happen?”

“The church found us. We were chased so intensely that I had no choice but to return to demon territory.”

Neigass, now disgruntled, seemed to think that had been a major blunder on her part. Sara, who had been with her, did not agree. “Even with Neigass’s speed, it was hard to shake them. I thought we were going to die…”

“Are these Chimera really that fast?”

“There are individual differences between them. There are small Chimera created from werewolves, medium Chimera created from Anzu, and large Chimera created from wyverns. I was chased by large Chimera.”

“You couldn’t defeat them?” When Sheitoom asked, Neigass slowly shook her head from side to side.

“They were strong, like beasts.”

“Even the weakest Chimera, the small ones, have stats that add up to thirty thousand in total…”

“You’re joking right? And you’re saying that there are tons of those things out there?!” Tsyon shouted, unthinkingly shooting upright. Sheitoom’s face clouded over as well.

Neigass followed up with more information.

“Perhaps more disturbing is the fact that the small Chimera have the ability to transform themselves into human beings.”

“I don’t really wanna remember it…but they’d peel the skin off of human faces and paste it on their own to pretend to be human. When Neigass thought one was a human and approached it, she realized it was a Chimera.”

“I never imagined the coach driving a wagon would’ve been replaced by a monster.”

“What a nasty, troublesome foe… Sheitoom, if we don’t prepare for these things, we’ll be in trouble.”

“Yes, you’re right. It may be necessary for us to gather our forces in Selayde.” Sheitoom’s switch had been completely flipped. Her expression changed to a majestic, commanding look befitting a Demon Lord. Looking at her face, Sara felt that Sheitoom really was older than she was. “Moreover, the church isn’t gathering their forces near the border, but taking them elsewhere… It’s almost as if what they’re doing is a surer method than just invading us outright.”

“By pulling in the wind currents, I was able to make it as far as the huge structure at the end of the cave.”

“Are you saying they can move all the Chimera through that building underground?”

Tsyon couldn’t even imagine what kind of means the church would use to invade him. He went silent for a short while as he thought it through, but he couldn’t come up with a solution. It was obvious that this was an opponent that couldn’t be dealt with through discussion at this point in the game. If that was the case, they had no other choice but to fight and win—and to do so, they would have to do whatever it took.

Sheitoom gazed intently at Neigass, as though she had made up her mind about something.

“Neigass, when do you plan to depart from Selayde next?”

“I plan to leave tomorrow. I wanted to do some investigating to see what’s going on, even if only a little, before we’re invaded.”

“In that case, I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Your orders are absolute, Great Demon Lord. I am at your command.”

“I want you to recruit Flum Apricot and her allies to our side.”

Tsyon, next to her, wore an openly dissatisfied look upon hearing Sheitoom’s bold proposal.

“Hey, come on, Sheitoom. Her and us, we’ve been trying to kill one another. It’s not like we’ll be able to talk so eas—”

“She and her allies are the only ones who are openly opposing the church at present. Flum Apricot has the power to destroy Origin cores. That may be the trump card that can counter the Chimera horde.”

“Can we trust them, though? They may be called heroes, but it ain’t like they’re all capable people, if you know what I mean.”

“You’re the one who’s clashed with them the most, Tsyon. I understand your apprehension. But if we come to blows with the Chimera, we demons cannot deal with them alone. At least, that’s what Sheitoom thinks. Right?”

“Yes, because demons are not as numerous as humans…”

“To put it simply, this is a situation where we need all the help that we can get. And Sheitoom sees hope in my relationship with Sara. The hope being that maybe we can come together after all.”

“But even if, hypothetically, we can bring them over to our side, from what you’ve told me…it’s just about three people. Flum Apricot, Eterna Rinebow, and Gadhio Lathcutt. Right?”

“The heroes are gathering under Flum, after she’s been cast out of the party. If that’s the case, there might be more with her now. If we can get everyone in the hero party, we’ll have a chance to win.”

“You don’t mean to say you plan to even brave the hero over here, do you?”

“Depending on how things go, maybe.”

“No matter how much of an asset they might be, they still have the power to break the seal. You understand that, right?”

“If you flip that around, they also have the power to reapply the seal. I think we’ll need her power to seal whatever of Origin has leaked out.”

“Oh, for the love of… You trust humans too much.”

“I’m sure the hero doesn’t want humanity to become extinct.”

“Fine, fine, I get it. You do your thing, and I’ll do my thing. I’ll work on gathering our forces here.”

While Neigass and Tsyon had opposing viewpoints, they agreed that they were lacking in terms of strength. Neigass’s next objective was to make contact with Flum Apricot. This meant Sara would be returning to the royal capital.

I’m finally gonna go back to that city, huh. I sure hope that Flum and everybody else are okay…

Chapter 1: The Never-Ending Battle

Chapter 1:
The Never-Ending Battle

 

IN THE UNDERGROUND LABORATORY owned by Satuhkie, Flum and her companions were receiving medical treatment in the sleeping quarters. The battle against Mother had been extremely intense. Flum and her companions had managed to emerge victorious somehow, but they were drained, their bodies covered in wounds. Even Gadhio and Eterna, for all their strength, were left battered and bloodied.

A monk serving under Satuhkie had appeared before them, saying, “I will take you to a safe place and give you medical treatment.” They’d had no reason to refuse.

The impression they got of the underground laboratory was that it was a cold, inorganic place. Its architectural style, using stone and metal, was reminiscent of the underground laboratory where they had fought the Spiral ogre…but Flum, who knew about that laboratory, was still unconscious, having used up all of her strength in the battle with Mother. Cyrill was similarly laid up in bed. She had managed to walk all the way here with Flum in her arms but was now comatose from the backlash of Brave. Based on how this had gone in the past, she likely wouldn’t wake up for at least a full day.

The remaining two beds were occupied by Maria and Eterna, while Gadhio and Linus lay covered by blankets on the floor, receiving treatment from the monk. Just then, they heard the sound of footsteps approaching the sleeping quarters.

“Master!”

“How is Eterna?!”

“Gadhio, are you all right?!”

“Daddy!”

It was Milkit, Ink, Kleyna, and Hallom, who had been protected in this facility earlier. Milkit ran straight for Flum, while Kleyna and Hallom ran toward Gadhio in similar fashion. Ink was guided by Eterna’s voice, drawing closer to where she heard her say “Over here.”

“Master! Master!” Milkit clutched Flum’s hand tightly with both hands and called out to her in desperation.

The monk nearby spoke to her in a gentle voice. “She’s just fainted from exhaustion. She has no external injuries. She will wake before long.”

“Truly?! I’m so glad! Thank goodness…” Milkit brought Flum’s hand to her cheek and felt its warmth. She loved Flum with all her heart. Anyone who witnessed the gesture would be able to sense her deep affection for Flum.

Meanwhile, Hallom was hugging Gadhio tightly, while Kleyna patted her chest in relief to see that he was still alive. He was patting Hallom’s little back softly, with a gentle pomf pomf.

“You had us evacuate to keep us from getting involved, but we ended up getting caught up in it anyway.”

“Daddy, I was scared, but that lady Ottilie protected me.”

“I see. She did, huh…”

“If I were just a little stronger myself, I could have fought the church knights that came and attacked us.”

“As long as you and Hallom are safe and sound, that’s all that matters.”

“I feel the same. As long as you’re alive, Gadhio, that’s enough for me.” Kleyna smiled warmly, but the look on her face was somewhat lonely. Ink, on the other hand, was being patted on the head by a still-reclined Eterna.

“What about…Nekt?”

In the battle with Mother, Nekt had done something reckless: She used four Origin cores at the same time. Although she had completely lost her human form, she might have built up some resistance, thanks to having an Origin core in her body for so many years, because she managed to defy Mother without losing her human mind. Finally, thanks to the wills of Mute, Luke, and Fwiss, who had seeped into the Origin core, Nekt had escaped death. She should have been brought to this laboratory.

“They say that she’s receiving treatment in a laboratory of some kind right now. Satuhkie said that, with a Reversal core, she’ll be able to return to human form, like me.”

“Reversal core…” Eterna ruminated on this, shifting her gaze over toward Maria.

With the Origin core implanted in her body, Maria’s face was swirled around, just like those other monsters. She was wearing a mask now, so Eterna couldn’t see anything, but she could occasionally hear sticky, watery sounds. Schlup. On the wrist of the monk treating her was a bracelet inlaid with a white sphere.

“Now, we will remove the Origin core. There will be no prognostic symptoms because it has been embedded in your body for a short period of time, but there will be some degree of pain. I’m terribly sorry to do this to a saint such as yourself, but—”

“It is all right. I do not mind. I am the one to blame. Please do it.”

Hearing Maria’s answer and seeing her resolve, the monk prefaced the operation by saying, “Very well,” before flipping up her upper-body garments and touching the Origin core, which was buried in her abdomen.

The procedure was simple. The monk grabbed the core with their hands and pulled it out.

“Ugh! Grk…Uhh…” Maria gasped in agony. Linus, who was receiving treatment for his back, gazed at Maria with worry.

The monk extracted the core with the bracelet-clad arm while healing Maria with the other arm. By doing it in this way, they could remove the core without leaving any marks.

Gadhio, looking sidelong at Maria, muttered, “That’s incredible.”

Upon hearing this, the monk smiled.

“This is something that Master Satuhkie devised. If we have this, we can resist Origin.”

Satuhkie. They had heard that he was an ally, but even so, he was still one of the cardinals—one of the leaders of the church. Gadhio and the other heroes couldn’t decide whether to trust him.

With Maria’s core now gone, she removed her mask. What lay behind it wasn’t a terrible spiral of meat but Maria’s original beautiful visage—her true face.

“Maria…you’ve come back.”

“Yes, I have come back. But…if I still haven’t faced judgment by the time Cyrill wakes, I’m sure there will be no forgiveness for me.”

“I’m sure Cyrill will understand if we just talk to her. Besides, you joined in the fight against Mother, right?”

“I…can only hope so.” Since it had resulted from her own choices, Maria couldn’t honestly be happy that the core had been removed.

Linus, unable to just sit there and watch her be sad without doing anything, shot upright and walked over to Maria, carrying a nearby chair in one hand. He settled down next to Maria’s bed and suddenly brought his face close to hers.

“Wh-what…is it? You are so…close…”

“I know you have a lot of things causing you worry. But when you’re happy, you should smile and say that you’re happy. Because it makes me happy, too, when I get to see the cute Maria like that.”

“L-like…this?” Maria tried to force herself to smile. Linus returned her smile with a dazzling smile of his own, flashing his teeth.

“Yeah, you’re ridiculously cute. I’m falling head over heels in love with you all over again.”

“Are…are you teasing me?”

“Nope. I mean every word.” Linus understood that it would be impossible for him to completely clear the fog in Maria’s heart right here and now. Which was why he did something to make her forget the unpleasantness, even if only for a moment. It must have worked, because Maria’s expression brightened a little.

At that moment, a low male voice echoed throughout the room.

“I am glad to see that you are doing better than expected. That is wonderful.”

A large, bearded man—Satuhkie—had appeared. The eyes of everyone in the room fell on him at once, and the air in the room suddenly grew tense.

“Please don’t look at me with such fear in your eyes. I suppose that is unfair of me to say, given that I am a cardinal, and what some might call the second-most powerful in the church. And the very entity which you need to defeat.”

“Why are you siding with us? I’m grateful to you for saving Kleyna and Hallom. But…”

When Gadhio voiced his doubts, Satuhkie let out a soft chuckle, before directing his gaze toward the sleeping Flum.

“To pay tribute to the human race.”

“Aren’t you a poet.”

Satuhkie didn’t contest what Linus said. “I became a cardinal in order to take this country back from the unknown entity called Origin. A nation exists for the sake of the people who live in it. And faith is there to sustain the hearts of the people. But the Church of Origin sacrifices people for their own ambition and seeks to destroy everything. That is unacceptable. The same is true for you, no? There are those who fight from the outside, and those who fight from the inside. We should be able to join forces and work hand in hand.”

“This sounds too good to be true.”

“Hm, you’re right, I’m sure this is hard to believe. What I’ve just stated are unmistakably my true feelings. Yet—”

“It’s understandable. After all, even I can’t trust you quite yet.” Ottilie, appearing from behind Satuhkie, had joined the conversation.

“I figured you would be here, Ottilie.”

Ottilie nodded in response to Eterna’s words. “Right before the Royal Army collapsed, I was ordered by my sister to go to Master Satuhkie’s side.”

“Henriette and I have been cooperating for some time now. However, Henriette personally requested me to look after you, Ottilie.”

“Mmm, I can feel Sister’s love… That being said, I don’t condone you speaking of her with such familiarity.” Ottilie went from a look of rapturous ecstasy to a cold and murderous gaze. Even Satuhkie could only force a strained chuckle at the stark change in Ottilie’s expressions.

She took a breath to calm her emotions before she continued speaking.

“It was Master Satuhkie who ordered me to stop the abduction of Milkit and the others carried out by the Church Knights. As far as the matter of fighting against Origin is concerned, I think that we can all trust him.”

Eterna looked at Ink and Milkit, who both nodded to her in approval. Apparently, it was all true. She felt like they couldn’t very well not trust him when he had saved these two girls.

“I wish to express my true thanks for that. However, it must also be true that you have found something to gain from using us.”

“I cannot deny that, no.”

“Your objective is to have us defeat the current king and have the boy known as Slowe succeed to the throne. Am I correct?”

Slowe Uradnehs. The blond boy who worked with Y’lla at the guild was, in truth, a result of the former king’s philandering.

Gadhio followed Eterna’s question with one of his own, asking Satuhkie about his true intentions. “Seeing as how Slowe is an ordinary layperson, I don’t think he can carry out the duties of a king. So it will be you who will wield the real power, won’t it?”

“There are no other solutions. We can’t very well leave the king and the pope to their devices, as their minds have been polluted by Origin. And only those with the blood of the royal family in their veins can inherit the throne.”

“I imagine that alone will not win the support of the people,” Maria said.

Satuhkie nodded in agreement. “You are exactly right.”

Linus let out a very deliberate-sounding sigh. “Which means you need someone to back you up, in other words. Say, for example, a hero who brought down an evil church, or something like that.”

“I won’t deny that, either. But think about this. If there were no church, there would be no god to believe in. Now that Originism has resorted to such violent methods, there will likely be those who feel an aversion to the very act of worshipping a god, in and of itself. When that happens, what will the people of the kingdom rely on for emotional and spiritual support?”

Satuhkie looked around the room and spread his arms wide. “Heroes and legends! Those who bravely risked their lives to save the world will become emotional pillars. Without them, the world will be an unstable place. No matter what I do, that will not change, because that is what the people want. If you survive the battles ahead and emerge victorious, that future will be inevitable.”

Not all of the “heroes” present were enthusiastic about this—but they could imagine such a future coming to pass. They had no obligation to consider the future of the kingdom after the collapse of Originism, but there was hope that they would. Regardless of what Satuhkie did or didn’t do.

“Besides, it is not as though everything is going as planned for me, either. Mother’s power was completely unexpected. If I had predicted it, I would have sheltered Slowe at this research facility early on.” Satuhkie hadn’t done so because he had been afraid that the church would discover the location of the research facility. He’d also thought that Slowe would’ve been safer being nearer the heroes than the research facility, which had little in the way of defenses.

“What about happened to Slowe…? Actually, not just him. What about Y’lla and Welcy too?”

Gadhio was worried about his allies and subordinates. The heroes had been targeted first by Mother, trapped inside of a cocoon of flesh. If they had been stabbed in the back by those tentacles and continued to be injected with that unknown substance, they would probably also have been transformed into something like the giant infant that Flum and the others had fought. If those three had suffered that same fate, would they have had the strength to resist, like the heroes?

“I currently have my subordinates en route to rescue them. However, the guild building seems to be intact. If multiple cocoons had appeared, the building likely would’ve collapsed. So I would like to think that…they are safe.” Satuhkie narrowed his eyes in apparent unease, though only slightly.

Ottilie looked at the heroes, who couldn’t determine whether to trust or doubt Satuhkie, and spoke up. “I can presume that, based on your motives and the look on your face, there is something you cannot say.”

“I’m used to being suspected, but I have to wonder why it looks that way to you.”

“It is because you give off such a suspicious aura, Master Satuhkie. Perhaps you should learn from my sister’s virtuous example.”

“That’ll be difficult, I think. I haven’t exactly lived my life in the same proud, lordly fashion as she has hers. To become a cardinal, I rod roughshod over others and got my hands dirty. I suppose doing those kinds of things has left an indelible mark on me.”

The way you lived your life would leave deeply ingrained traces on your face and body, whether you liked it or not. Several people here, aside from Satuhkie, understood what that was like.

“Well, there’s probably no point in thinking about what happens after the battle right now. Satuhkie is on our side, and we’re gonna smash the church together. That’s fine, isn’t it?” Linus said.

“Yes, I suppose so,” Maria said self-deprecatingly. “If I were the enemy, then I should be the very first to be eliminated. I am the one with the least reason to be saved, since I am close to the pope. Is that not right, Master Satuhkie?”

“If we were thinking in terms of the war, then yes, what you say is correct, Madam Saint. However, I very much approve of your current way of being.”

“My way of being…?”

“The feelings that people bring forth can sometimes surpass even the mighty strength of Origin. You saw it yourself, didn’t you? The miracle that the Children brought about, to save Nekt! That is the strength and nobility that humans possess…and you surely possess that as well, Madam Saint. That is precisely why you wore a mask to hide that spiral and opposed Mother!”

Maria recoiled a bit as she listened to this odd ranting, which came off almost like a speech. It made her a little uncomfortable.

“Oh, I seem to have gotten a little overexcited. I apologize if I offended you.”

“Sigh… I think I understand, in a way, what manner of person you are now.” She sounded like she’d given up halfway through, understanding it was pointless to air her grievances.

Around the time that the conversation settled down, someone else’s voice could be heard, as though perfectly on cue.

“Satou, I need your help. Come over here.” Just then, a man in white clothes slowly and smoothly emerged from inside the wall.

“E-eek! A-a ghost…?!” Maria let out a frightened cry, which was unusual for her, and clung tightly to Linus.

“Is he projecting himself using light magic?” Gadhio was also wary, while Eterna was more concerned about Ink and Milkit, who showed no response to this.

“Ink, is that person not a ghost?”

“The way they explained it was quite complicated, and I don’t quite understand it, but it seems like Chatani isn’t a ghost.”

“That’s correct. My name is Chatani, and I am not a ghost. Well, I suppose I might be something similar to a ghost, actually. But to put it simply, I’m helping Satuhkie with his research, which means I’m on your side. I look forward to working with you.”

Casting a nonchalant sideways glance at the dumbfounded heroes, Satuhkie and Chatani quickly departed the room.

“I intend to explain the situation to you later. Including him. For now, just rest your bodies,” Satuhkie told them as he left.

It was certainly true that, in their current physically exhausted states, just trying to comprehend what was going on would be taxing. Even if they were in top form, it likely would have been difficult for them to trust Satuhkie and this mysterious ghost man without reservation.

“I thought that the big battle was over, but it looks like we won’t be able to relax just yet.” Gadhio said.

Eterna agreed. “I wish they’d give us a break.”

Afterward, Kleyna, Hallom, and Ink all returned to the other room, perhaps out of consideration for Gadhio and Eterna. Milkit, who remained behind, continued to hold Flum’s hands as she waited for her to wake up, as though she were praying.

 

***

 

There were several entrances to this underground laboratory. After finishing his business with Chatani, Satuhkie arrived at the most frequently used of these, which could also be called the front entrance. Three people, a man and two women, were being carried in on stretchers from the passageway that connected to the underground.

The monk at the front of the group noticed Satuhkie and gave him a report, his voice strangely forceful. “Master Satuhkie, we have successfully rescued His Highness Slowe!”

“Excellent work. We need to examine whether he has been affected by Origin. Take him to treatment room number three.”

The monk responded with an “Understood, Master Satuhkie!” and carried Slowe to the treatment room he’d been ordered to, moving at a half run. The two other people on stretchers were none other than Y’lla and Welcy.

“What about the other two? Do they need to undergo the same kind of examination as His Highness?”

“It is just a precaution in his case. It is not necessary to do so for all of them. We’ll just have to lay them down to rest in some available space. Just in case, though, place them in the hallway in front of a treatment room.”

As he gave that order, Y’lla and Welcy were also carted away. Satuhkie didn’t want to lay women down to rest in a hallway…but with even the heroes sleeping on pieces of cloth, there was nothing else he could do. This wasn’t a military base, only a research facility, and it wasn’t designed to have enough beds to accommodate a large number of people.

Having given his instructions, Satuhkie turned to go back the way he came. Just then, more monks came down the steps with stretchers.

“Hmm…? Was there still someone left to rescue?” The monks placed the stretchers on the ground. Atop them were more unconscious people, though Satuhkie didn’t know who they were. “Who have you brought here?”

“Injured people whom we discovered near the guild, Master Satuhkie.”

“I don’t think I gave that order.”

“But we cannot just leave an injured person. We are fighting to save humanity,” one of the monks who had been carrying the injured people replied calmly. That was certainly the correct thing to do as a monk, but Satuhkie did have certain concerns.

The hero and Flum Apricot have been in a comatose state since the battle with Mother, and the other warriors cannot move about properly yet. I can’t imagine that the Church Knights and the Chimera would pass up such an opportunity…

He was right. This was surely the perfect time for them to strike. If Satuhkie were the commander of the Church Knights, he would not have let this opportunity pass him by. But if he turned away the wounded person, he would end up antagonizing the monks, who were passionate about their duty.

“From what I can see, their external injuries appear almost completely healed. Once we confirm that there are no internal abnormalities, return them to where you originally found them. This is not a place we can bring ordinary people to.”

“But we cannot be sure it is safe above ground. The people within the building have only lost consciousness, but those outside had parts of their bodies mutated into monstrous infants. Most have lost their lives, but we confirmed that there are still some who are moving, even now. If we leave them, they may attack and kill us.”

When Satuhkie tried to argue, another monk spoke up.

“It seems that this child has awoken! It’s okay. This is a safe place.” He gently addressed the child who seemed to be stirring. “What’s the matter? Come, reach out your hand. Is there something you want to tell—ah! Gah. Gih.”

When the child’s hand grabbed hold of the monk’s face, his fingers sank in, crushing flesh and breaking bone. The monk’s face burst with a squelch. He fell backward, the front half of his head torn off.

“U-uh-uwaaaaaaa!” Another monk let out a scream of agony, right in front of Satuhkie. He wasn’t terrified by his comrade’s death—a human arm protruded from his abdomen. The man he’d rescued had come up behind him and pierced through him with sheer strength.

Oh no. This is the worst-case scenario…! Satuhkie, cursing himself for not being forceful in exerting his authority, used Scan while retreating.

 

Chimera Werewolf

Affinity: Earth

Strength: 6,519

Magic: 6,163

Endurance: 6,121

Agility: 6,784

Perception: 6,511

 

“I knew it! They are Chimera!”

They were Chimera, pretending to be injured people. The monsters had not only killed the monks but also torn apart and murdered the ordinary civilians on the stretchers.

“S-sa…ve…m-me…pl-please…” The Chimera in the form of a child approached Satuhkie, shaking its head unnaturally from side to side.

“So they’ve even acquired the ability to change into human form.” However, they could only transform from the neck up. Upon closer inspection, parts of a creature that were clearly not human could be seen peeking out from between gaps in clothing. The monks’ sense of obligation to their duty was so strong that it had ended up dulling their sense of caution.

The Chimera leapt toward Satuhkie in unison now that he had been cornered.

“Divine Wall!” Satuhkie tried to defend himself by casting a protective wall of light, but the Chimera sharp claws easily shattered the barrier. All he had gained from it was a few short moments.

He turned and fled. However, the Chimera were overwhelmingly faster and pounced once more. Seeing the desperate life-or-death situation that Satuhkie was in, Ottilie appeared, sword drawn.

“Genocide Arts: Amphisbaena!” She quickly swung her sword in front of her. Twenty-four red snakes shot from the blade, which had been stained with her own blood, tracing different paths through the air as they attacked the two Chimera.

The Chimera dispelled them with a wave of their arms. However, Ottilie’s blood seeped into the slight wounds the snakes left behind, slowing their movements.

“It pains me to see that my attack only works on them to that extent.” Ottilie stood in front of Satuhkie to protect him.

“So you came. I thank you.”

“If you were to lose your life here, it would tarnish my sister’s honor.”

“Can you get the Reversal core?”

“It will likely be difficult to do while protecting you, but I shall try. For the love of my sister!”

As they fell back into the narrow passageway, the Chimera could only attack one at a time. Ottilie blocked the claws of the enemy that lunged at her using her sword. But then, with a heavy clang, she fell to her knees.

“For meaningless little creatures, you are far too stupidly strong!” She leaned her body to dodge the Chimera’s attack as it still tried to crush her, narrowly avoiding it. The Chimera’s swiping claws grazed the wall, leaving deep gashes in the hard stone.

“It is irritating to run away, but I am afraid we have no other choice at the moment.”

When their opponent lost their balance, Ottilie and Satuhkie used that opportunity to retreat. A single Chimera pursued them. The other Chimera, for some reason, climbed the stairs instead and unlocked the door from the inside. It seemed intelligent.

 

***

 

Suddenly, the lights on the ceiling of the laboratory began flashing red. A piercingly loud alarm cut the air.

“What?! What’s going on?!” Linus, who had only just fallen asleep, jumped to his feet. The others had also woken up, though not as noisily as he did.

“It seems there’s some kind of emergency.”

“So the church has attacked after all!”

“They must have launched a surprise attack, knowing that we are badly wounded.” Everyone had anticipated the possibility, but there was nothing they could have done, except pray that it didn’t happen.

Eterna called over to Milkit, who was anxiously clinging to Flum. “Milkit, we don’t know what’s going on. It’s best that you hide.”

“A-all right, I understand…” Unfortunately, there was no space under the beds to hide. With no other choice, Milkit hid in a space behind the bed, out of sight from the entrance.

Then just as the heroes had gotten their weapons in hand, the intruders appeared.

“Verily! It would appear that luck is on our side.” The man wore clothing of a design that no longer existed in modern times—a kimono—carried a katana at his waist, and spoke in an anachronistic manner. It was Jack Murray, a vice captain of the Church Knights.

“I-if this ends quickly, there should be fewer casualties. Yes…” This was a thin man carrying a shield, who cowered, knees bent, and trembled with fear. It was Bart Charon, also a vice captain of the Church Knights.

“Sure saves us a lot of trouble, with all our targets gathered together here, Captain.” The woman who spoke next had orange hair and a combative gaze, and she wielded a large axe. She was Rischel Hyle, also a vice captain.

“Collect the package right away.” This speaker looked like a good, agreeable young man with blond hair, clad in white armor—at least on the outside. However, underneath all of that, he was the church’s most fanatical zealot and their most terrible executioner: Huyghe Pagna, the captain of the Church Knights.

The moment the heroes saw their faces, they sprang into action. A sword, arrows, water spears, and balls of light all descended upon the Church Knights simultaneously. At that moment, Huyghe pulled Bart’s arm and pushed him out in front.

“Huh? Huy—” Confused and terrified, Bart instantly raised his shield in front of him. “Iron Maidennnn!”

As he uttered that pitiful shout, the mayhem of S-Class attacks rained down on the barrier that Bart had deployed. There was a thunderous sound and smoke blocked their view. For a moment, they couldn’t see Bart—but then he emerged, unscathed.

“Tch. They have something like that?!” When Linus lamented as such, Jack stepped forward this time.

“Yea, justice is on our side…or something like that. Justice Arts: Ishidaki!” Jack drew his sword and thrust it into the ground. In an instant, everyone in his field of vision was crushed by an invisible weight.

“Guh, uuuh…!”

“Ah, ahh, this is…!” Eterna and Maria were down on their knees, groaning.

“Justice Arts…sword techniques passed down by the Church Knights…!” Though Gadhio was somehow holding on, he still couldn’t move his body how he wanted to.

“Well, then, shall we settle this?” Finally, Huyghe stepped forward and drew his silver sword from its sheath. He raised the blade, which reflected the red warning light, high above his head and swung it down, shouting, “Judge them, Scorch Maiden!”

Chapter 2: Abhorrent Justice

Chapter 2:
Abhorrent Justice

 

JUSTICE ARTS WERE a form of sword technique often mentioned alongside Cavalier Arts and Genocide Arts. However, while Cavalier Arts and Genocide Arts could be learned by becoming the disciple of a master if one wished, the techniques of Justice Arts were kept secret, and no one other than high-ranking members of the Church Knights were allowed to learn them. The phenomena through which Justice Arts were triggered were concealed as well, such as what they consumed, like a person’s physical strength or blood, as with other sword techniques. So were the principles through which they were activated.

The Justice Art unleashed by Huyghe Pagna, captain of the Church Knights, was Scorch Maiden. It was an execution technique that allowed the user to sever the neck of any target within their field of vision with a single swing of their sword. The slash was so fast that it couldn’t even be seen, but—

“You goddamned pieces of shitttt!” Linus roared to rouse himself to action. He forced his body, which was being bound by Ishidaki, to move and drew a dagger from inside his clothes.

“Hmph!”

“An attack of that magnitude will…!” At the same time, Gadhio summoned a blade of Prana, while Eterna generated a shield of water in order to block the blade of purification that was aimed at their carotid arteries. Although the slash was invisible, it created a current in the surrounding air as it approached the base of their necks. It was possible for a master with a sufficient level of Perception to detect the invisible force.

The sound of several heavy, thunderous impacts echoed simultaneously, accompanied by sparks. Ka-clang!

One could unleash such a powerful slash at the base of an opponent’s neck just by swinging their sword. It was a simple yet powerful technique. In the end, whether or not someone could block it depended on Scorch Maiden. They were exhausted. Jack’s Ishidaki had immobilized them. Even so, as long as they had enough strength to defend themselves…

But Maria, whose abilities were a step below those of Linus and the others, did not have that strength.

“Ah…” Maria had tried to defend herself using a barrier but couldn’t stop the attack completely. She collapsed face down, bleeding profusely.

“Maria!” When Linus tried to move, Rischel stood in front of him, blocking his path.

“Come on, it’s fine for that blackhearted saint to just fuck off and drop dead already.”

“Youuu!” Linus forcefully broke through whatever it was that was binding him and pointed his dagger at her. However, he was much slower than usual. Rischel grabbed his wrist and wrenched it, breaking bone.

“Gah! Ah… Don’t count me out yet!” Gritting his teeth and struggling desperately to endure the pain, Linus thrust at her using his other hand.

“Ah ha ha ha ha ha! You’re just so desperate, guy. It’s hilarious!” Rischel kicked Linus in the stomach, nimbly took a step back, and swung the axe she was carrying overhead. “Go ahead and die with that pathetic look on yer face!”

Linus instantly detonated a ball of air in front of him and dodged by moving backward. Rischel’s axe sliced through air, but the wind pressure created by her attack assailed him. Linus was blown backward, hitting the back of his head against the wall as he slid down.

“Aww, you wittle heroes are so weak! All of you might end up getting killed by little ol’ me!” Rischel directed her raw, savage killing intent at the others as well. Eterna swallowed hard, realizing that she couldn’t resist in her current condition.

“Rischel, don’t play around. Carry out the objective.” When Huyghe gave her that icy warning, Bart’s face stiffened, for some reason, even though he had nothing to do with the situation. Rischel, who did have something to do with the situation, approached Flum sulkily, with an “Okay, okay.”

Similarly, Jack approached Cyrill, who was sleeping in the back of the room, and lifted up her body. Unable to move, Eterna bit her lip, openly showing her frustration. I can’t just allow those two to be taken. But right now, I’m…

She and the others, who were unable to even move, were only being overlooked at Huyghe’s whim.

When Rischel reached out to Flum, who was asleep…Milkit, who had been hiding, stood up.

“Milkit, no!” Eterna suddenly raised her voice in a shout. However, Milkit didn’t stop what she was doing, clinging tightly to Rischel’s arm and crying out desperately.

“I will not let you take Master! I won’t let you! I absolutely will not let you…!”

Image - 10

Milkit knew she was powerless. Her body and her voice shook with terror. Even so, she just couldn’t stand by and watch.

Rischel’s expression twisted into a look of irritation for a moment, but then a smile quickly formed on her face. It was the face of a predator who had found a convenient toy.

“Master… Oooh, Master, huh? So, what, it’s like a pure love story between a gross bandaged woman and a slave woman? Wow, that’s great—that’s the most moving, tear-jerking story ever! Ahh, ahhh! I just wanna smash it to bits!” When Rischel swung her arm with all of her might, Milkit’s body was flung off.

“Kyaaaah!”Milkit rolled across the floor and slammed into the wall. Rischel drew close and mercilessly stomped on Milkit’s abdomen with the sole of her foot.

“Ah ha ha ha ha ha! I understand, you know! I understand allll too well. Those bandages are to hide the wounds you got from being oppressed by an overwhelmingly powerful person, right?”

“Agh! Guh! Hyu!”

“Yes, that look on your face! It says that you’ve been degraded by someone, beaten up, and that you’re gonna die miserably, tossed out like an old rag! Any hope you might feel is just spice for that end! You’re a sacrifice that colors the lives of the chosen ones. You were born to live that kind of life!”

“Geh! Ah! Kaf…”

Rischel stomped on Milkit over and over again.

“Stop it, you brutish woman!” Eterna shouted loudly, raising her voice in a manner uncharacteristic of her. She tensed her body, preparing to attack Rischel again, but Jack, who was carrying Cyrill on his shoulder, responded.

“Shrimp Hold.” When Jack muttered those words and pointed the tip of his sword at Eterna, her limbs became immobilized as though bound by ropes.

“Ah, ugh…can’t breathe…!”

“Verily! At this rate, you’ll even stop breathing, eh? Well, it is to be expected—nay, guaranteed—that the inferior suffer indignity, no?” said Jack.

“Hah, you get it, Jack!” Rischel, now in good spirits, intensified the violence even further. Milkit curled up into a ball to defend herself, but that wasn’t going to be enough protection. Not only was she breathing heavily, but there was now blood pouring out of her mouth as well.

“Stop now, Rischel.” Huyghe tried to stop her, but his words didn’t reach her.

“Just like this! I’m gonna squash you like a bug!” She stomped on Milkit’s torso with all of her strength. Milkit’s eyes widened, and she spat out a large amount of blood.

“Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!” Rischel laughed loudly. Just then, Gadhio appeared behind her, sword raised.

“Huh…?”

“Move, you fool!” Reacting to Huyghe’s voice, Rischel immediately jumped to the side, but Gadhio’s slash came down on her right shoulder. That alone was enough to cut her arm completely off.

“Ah! Agh! My armmm!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll kill you soon enough.” Gadhio immediately moved to make his next attack. Rischel, sweat beading on her forehead, was still unable to move.

“Such sudden striking force that his movements can’t be seen, hm… Shrimp Hold!” Jack bound Gadhio using his Justice Arts. But Gadhio didn’t stop. “Verily! How are you still moving, you monster?!”

“This is why I told you to stop playing around and carry out the mission! Scorch Maiden!” Huyghe swing his sword right then and there. The invisible slash targeted Gadhio’s neck, scoring a deep wound, but unlike with Maria, there was no bleeding. He was forcibly stopping the bleeding with prana. Of course, that was not something an ordinary person could do.

Huyghe got even closer to Gadhio and attacked him with his sword. But Gadhio blocked it with his broadsword.

“Ohhhhh!”

“Haaaaaa!”

Their blades collided, causing a violent burst of wind to sweep through the room with a fwooosh! The nearby bed was overturned and Flum, who had been sleeping in it, tumbled out. Gadhio sensed that the impact wasn’t caused solely by the clashing of their blades. This man uses Cavalier Arts too, then?

Church Knights used Justice Arts. However, that didn’t mean they didn’t master other sword techniques too. If someone had rare and extraordinary talents, it would have been possible for them to master both schools of techniques at an expert level.

While the two of them crossed swords, Rischel picked up Flum with her remaining arm and hurriedly left the room.

“Like hell I’m gonna let you do that!”

“There are some wishes that cannot be fulfilled, even if you sacrifice your life. Especially not for someone as battered and broken as you!” Prana burst forth from Huyghe’s sword as he locked blades with Gadhio, pushing up against one another. Gadhio tried to hold it back with brute strength, but he couldn’t withstand it and was thrown back. In that moment, Rischel and Jack had already arrived at the exit to the room.

“There is no need to lament. The world will soon come to an end.” Huyghe, leaving Gadhio with those words, withdrew along with his comrades.

“Gotta…follow…ugh…” Gadhio looked about to pursue them, but then suddenly clutched his chest. A look of agony appeared on his face. The forced suppression of the bleeding, thanks to prana, had ceased, and blood was pouring freely from his neck.

Eterna and Linus, on the other hand, were able to move again. The effects of Jack’s Ishidaki must have worn off after he left.

“Milkit!”

“Ugh… Maria!”

The two immediately rushed over to Milkit and Maria respectively, who had collapsed. Eterna quickly checked the extent of Milkit’s injuries, while Linus ripped up a nearby bedsheet to make improvised bandages and attempted to stop Maria’s bleeding. Then he held her close, lifting her up.

“We need to get treatment quickly… We gotta find those monks!”

“Milkit is in trouble, too. Her breathing is shallow, and her internal organs have probably been crushed. Treatment is top priority right now… Gadhio?” Eterna noticed something strange about Gadhio, who was sweating profusely.

“Don’t worry ’bout me…I expected as much.”

“But I…think that we ought to be very concerned. Besides, there’s the wound on your neck.”

“Not a problem. Prioritize getting treatment for those two. Go, Eterna, Linus!”

“All right…”

“Yes!”

Ignoring their multiple bad premonitions, the three of them rushed out of the room, carrying the other two in their arms. They searched for monks in the nearby rooms one by one, but…

“Everyone is dead here too.”

“This room’s a no go too. There are only corpses.”

All they could find were the mutilated remains of the monks.

“There’s no way they could’ve killed this many with their numbers.”

“Eterna, does this mean they had other allies?”

“No, not quite. Judging from the condition of the bodies, they didn’t have humans helping them. It was probably Chimera…”

During the battle with the Children, the Chimera had appeared before Flum and the others. The church had been pitting three research teams against one another, but two of them—the Children and Necromancy—had already crumbled, leaving only the Chimera. Originally, the three teams were pitted against each other in order to screen fighting forces that could be used to recapture Origin. Now that only the Chimera remained, it was highly likely that the Church Knights were making practical use of them as a weapon.

“Kuh. Keh?” From around the corner, the legs of a werewolf appeared. But its head was that of a bird and its arms were that of a bear. The mismatched incongruity was characteristic of the Chimera—weapons of the Church that had been created by combining the bodies of different monsters.

“Looks like those are the ones who’ve been going around killing the monks.”

“Damn it, this thing’s getting in our way! At this rate, Maria’s gonna…!”

“We have no other choice but to push through by force.”

“But their stats…if we’re unlucky, it’ll be even higher than those Church Knights.” Eterna, after casting Scan, furrowed her brow in irritation. The Chimera drew closer. Gadhio charged forward and swung his sword with great force.

“Haaaaaaah!” A single blow, imbued with prana.

“Kukyueee!” The Chimera caught his swing with one hand. There was a slight scratch on its palm, but it wasn’t deep enough to be called damage.

“Wasn’t enough for my blade to go through.”

“Gadhio, fall back! The next one’s coming!” Just as Linus said that, a second and then a third figure appeared behind the first.

“This is bad. They’re increasing in number.”

“They’re weapons, after all. They’re being mass-­produced.”

“Huh? Who said that just now?”

Just then, someone suddenly poked their head through the wall behind Linus and the others.

“Nuoooooh?! O-oh, it’s you, Chatani?! Don’t just pop out like that!”

“I’ll make this short. Come into this room. I’ll give you something you can fight back with.”

“Something we can fight back with… Do you mean a Reversal core, by any chance?” Eterna asked.

“Yes,” Chatani languidly replied.

Gadhio, Eterna, and Linus launched an attack in unison, sending the first Chimera flying, and put some distance between themselves and the enemy. Taking advantage of that opportunity, they rushed into the nearby room, guided by Chatani. There, they searched the desk as instructed and discovered a bracelet with a white rock crystal embedded in it.

“This isn’t a storage area. We only have the one here, which was taken out for research purposes. Whichever one of you is in the best condition should use it.”

Gadhio volunteered himself in response, saying, “I’ll do it,” and put on the bracelet. It was a little tight on his large arm, but he wasn’t about to complain.

“So how do I use this, Chatani?”

“If you wear it on your wrist, it’ll affect attacks you make using that hand. It’ll make the Chimera’s hard bodies softer, and if you deliver a strong enough impact, you can probably even destroy an Origin core.”

“I can even destroy an Origin core… That’s good.”

“Be careful, though. You can’t destroy them just by channeling your power, like Flum Apricot.”

At that moment, the door to the room was destroyed by the Chimera. The first one stormed in, deforming the metal with loud cracking and snapping sounds. Gadhio stepped forward, challenging the Chimera to a rematch.

This time, the Chimera moved in first. It leapt into the air and, using that momentum, took a swing from above with its claws downward. Gadhio imbued his sword with prana, just as he did before, and countered with a simple downward swing, not twisting the blade at all. When the claws and blade collided, only the Chimera’s claws were shattered.

“It’s exceptionally effective. That is surprising,” Eterna said, shocked.

Gadhio slashed directly at the Chimera. The monster tried to defend itself by covering its body with its arms, but those arms were easily lopped off.

“Kukeeeeee! Kukee, keeee!” The Chimera writhed in pain on the floor.

Just then, Linus, who had been observing, offered some helpful advice. “The movement of its muscles around its flank looks strange. There might be an Origin core there!”

Linus had powerful eyesight that enabled him to see for several kilometers—powerful enough to even be called second sight. However, his keen eyesight wasn’t just useful when it came to seeing things in the distance. When he examined someone standing in front of him, his incredible powers of observation let him all but see right through their flesh.

When Gadhio thrust his sword into the spot that Linus had told him about, the tip of his blade struck something hard with a klang. He instantly exerted more force, and the impact shattered whatever it was inside of the Chimera’s body. In the next instant, the Chimera, which had been flailing its limbs on the floor, began to convulse and eventually stopped moving.

“Looks like I managed to defeat it. I thank you, Chatani.”

Chatani responded with a languid “You’re welcome,” as well as a slight bow.

“All right. Let’s press on.” With Gadhio at the front of the group, the three of them moved on again, in search of someone who could provide treatment.

“Maria, just hold on a little bit longer!”

“Milkit, just a little bit more. You will be saved soon.”

The two injured people being carried by Eterna and Linus were not in a good state. The color of their faces was rapidly worsening, and their body temperatures were dropping too.

 

***

 

“Haa… Haa… With Carithia…!” Ottilie used the blood pouring from her arm to spread a web of blood across the floor and walls. When the approaching Chimera touched the web, needles shot out and pierced its body.

“Kukeeee!” The Chimera let out a bellowing cry, which contained pain, discomfort over the restriction of its physical movements, and anger.

Behind the battered and wounded Ottilie stood Ink, Kleyna, Hallom, and Satuhkie. Things had been fine until they came to this room to retrieve the Reversal core. Then, before they knew it, they were cornered by the Chimera that had poured in through the entrance and had no other choice but to barricade themselves in the room. However, the door had been destroyed, the Chimera were multiplying, and they were only just barely managing to drive them back.

Ottilie was out of blood cartridges, which she used in order to wield her Genocide Arts, so she had no other choice but to rely on the blood pouring out of her own wounds. She was using Carithia, which had powerful binding ability, to buy time at the moment, but she was nearing her limit. They were cornered at this point, and they prepared for death, but then—

“Gah, these noxious vermin are swarming here too, eh?” Gadhio appeared in gallant fashion, slaying the Chimera near the entrance.

“You’re safe!”

“Yeah, we’re fine, but—”

“Satuhkie, please treat Milkit.”

“Maria is in trouble—please help her!” Leaving the fighting to Gadhio, Linus and Eterna rushed over to Satuhkie. Satuhkie questioned them with a grim look on his face.

“If you’re coming to me for help, then that means the others are…?”

“Unfortunately, from what we saw, they were all wiped out.”

Upon learning of the deaths of those kindred souls, Satuhkie responded only with “I see,” but his anger showed in his clenched fists. However, he quickly reoriented himself and turned his gaze toward Maria.

“Show her to me. I’ll treat Madam Saint first.”

“But what about Milkit?!” Eterna unintentionally shouted. Satuhkie, however, replied to her as calmly as possible.

“I cannot treat both of them at the same time. I am sorry, but I will prioritize the one who can contribute to our fighting forces.” It might sound cruel, but Satuhkie was making the correct choice. Eterna gritted her teeth and searched for the words to reject what he said, but she couldn’t find any.

Gadhio and Ottilie had successfully defeated the Chimera, and the room was secured. As Eterna slowly laid Milkit down on the floor, Ink approached.

“Hey, Eterna. It seems like Milkit’s breathing is about to stop…”

“I know…but…” Satuhkie was concentrating quite hard on treating Maria. If Milkit had been given priority in this situation, it would only put Maria’s life at risk.

“Milkit…hang in there. We’ll get you treatment in just a little bit.”

Milkit lay on the floor, making small, pained gasps. Eterna was a doctor herself, but she couldn’t use healing magic. She didn’t possess a means of healing injuries. All she could do now was pray that Milkit would receive treatment in time.

Eterna was frustrated by her own uselessness. Then, as if her prayers had been answered, someone suddenly burst into the room. In response to the sound of their footsteps, Ink and Eterna turned their gazes toward whoever it was.

“Why are you here…?”

“Those footsteps—is that Sara? Is Sara here?!”

Sara immediately understood what was going on when she saw Milkit.

“Leave Milkit’s treatment to me!” she said enthusiastically.

Chapter 3: Gentle Selfishness

Chapter 3:
Gentle Selfishness

 

THE CHURCH KNIGHTS, after escaping from the underground laboratory, advanced through the half-destroyed royal capital. Flum and Cyrill were being transported by small Chimera. Seeing how obediently the Chimera followed their commands, Jack spoke up.

“Their numbers have been reduced quite a bit. I can imagine Echidna will be furious.”

Huyghe casually shot him a glare. “That’s because you lot were playing around. Reflect on what you’ve done.”

“Haa… Haa… Hey, can I get treatment for my arm yet…?” Rischel, who only had a cloth wrapped around the stump of her arm, apparently hadn’t had the wound treated yet. Her face had gone pale from heavy blood loss, and she was sweating profusely from the pain.

However, Huyghe coldly replied, “You’ll stay like that for the time being.”

“Damn, saying that so seriously… Well, I guess I’m just grateful to be alive.”

“Y-yes, that’s right. Normally, the captain would have already…”

“Of course. I would have killed her.”

Seeing Huyghe’s coldness, completely lacking in human kindness, Bart reacted with a startled “Eek!” and recoiled.

“However, comrades who possess the right to mete out justice are precious, in and of themselves. I cannot afford to lose them.”

“Meaning someone else will have to die instead, eh? Verily!”

“Corpses can still be used as a mask for Chimera. That is a far more useful way to spend a life than living as a defiled human being.” Huyghe said this with a completely straight face, like he thought nothing of it.

Jack shrugged his shoulders and muttered, “You are as insane as ever.”

“But Captain, the Chimera that we left underground weren’t just defeated.” Bart sounded furious. “Are you sure that’s okay? Won’t that mean we’re passing them information…?”

“Oh, that… Echidna has no right to be angry. It is a failure on the Chimeras part. A defect. If anything, she’ll likely want data on how the Chimera affected by Reversal will behave.”

After the Church Knights had stormed the underground laboratory, multiple Chimera were released into the facility. However, the Chimera that had headed toward the treatment room where Nekt and Slowe were undergoing examinations hadn’t returned to the surface, even though the order had been given. That place was the heart of Reversal core research—so it was likely filled with the energy of Reversal. The fact that the humans in the underground facility weren’t greatly affected by Mother’s influence also suggested that the place was protected by a force that countered Origin.

“Th-then, in that case, isn’t it dangerous to have her transported via Chimera like this…?”

“Judging by its movements, yes, there does appear to be some disruption.” Huyghe directed his gaze behind him. The Chimera carrying Flum occasionally swayed and shook, as though it were caught on something. “However, if it is in close range of the control core, it doesn’t appear to have enough effect to cause a loss of control. Of course, I do not know what would happen if Flum Apricot were to make a serious effort in exerting her power.”

The control core was the large crystal carried on the back of the medium-sized Chimera accompanying the knights. That black crystal ball, roughly 50 centimeters in diameter, had a spiral swirling inside it, just like an Origin core. This core completely controlled the Chimeras actions, meaning a Chimera removed from its influence would stop moving entirely.

A safe, secure weapon that was absolutely obedient to humans—that was what the Chimera were. However, the idea of controlling them through this core was a complete imitation of the central concept used by Necromancy.

“As long as we exert control, they’ll be subordinate to us… Fu fu, Chimera are kinda cute, aren’t they?” Biting back the pain from her severed arm, Rischel smiled as she gently patted the head of a nearby Chimera. Bart recoiled in terror.

Without even looking at the Chimera, Huyghe muttered, “I do not like them.”

“Huh? Why not?”

Even when Rischel persistently pestered him into pointless conversation, Huyghe spoke in an indifferent manner, expression unchanging. “I am unable to stomach the notion of completely cutting off Lord Origin’s exalted consciousness and allowing humans to exert control. Lord Origin is, without question, the only absolute in this world and the only god that exists. Echidna is lacking in piety.”

“I must say, Captain, you are quite the peculiar fellow.”

“Why would you think so, Jack? I am only stating what is correct.”

“Because as far as this one knows, the only personage so totally devoted to Lord Origin even after knowing its true nature is you, Captain. All the rest turn into hollow puppets after they are baptized. What is it that drives you so?”

“Well, then, I suppose I should have said so from the beginning. It’s—”

Huyghe smiled broadly. The look on his face was one he rarely let others see.

“Love.”

There was absolutely no hesitation. His eyes shone brilliantly. If you had to use a figurative of speech to describe how he looked…you might say he looked like a maiden in love.

“I love Lord Origin. More than anyone else in this world. That is what compels me.”

“I for one certainly do not understand.”

“That’s what makes the captain so interesting!”

“Verily!”

“Ah ha ha ha!”

When Huyghe spoke about his love, Jack and Rischel laughed happily, as though they found it amusing.

We’re killing people, kidnapping girls, and surrounded by monsters on top of that. I don’t understand how anyone could laugh in this situation. Bart averted his eyes, feeling uncomfortable.

They continued walking. Just as they approached the exit of the royal capital—

“Visibility is poor. Is that a cloud of dust?” Jack noticed a slight abnormality.

“The royal capital… It’s beat to hell. The air smells, too.” The fierce gusts of wind carried fine sand and gravel, which stung the knights’ skin. The winds, far from dying down, grew stronger, obscuring their vision.

Huyghe, intuitively sensing something was up, muttered “Something is strange here” as he stopped in his tracks. Despite having lived in the royal capital for a long time, he wondered if he had ever seen a wind blow like this before. The winds continued to howl, and the brownish sands turned black in color, completely blocking out their field of vision.

“Captain, this is—”

“Yes. It’s magic. Bart, guard the hostages.”

“B-but Captain, I can’t see anything!”

“I told you to do it!”

“Y-yes, sirrrrr!” In the pitch-black darkness, Bart stood in front of a random nearby Chimera before deploying a barrier.

 

***

 

Neigass took a sudden dive from the skies above the royal capital, planning to launch a surprise attack on the Church Knights to recover the hostages. It would’ve been a simple matter if the knights had been her only opponents, but the problem was the Chimera. Several small creatures were walking in formation, and there was a medium one with wings carrying a large core on its back.

 

Chimera Anzu

Affinity: Earth

Strength: 8,945

Magic: 8,269

Endurance: 8,181

Agility: 7,692

Perception: 7,399

 

Though it was good that there were no large Chimera there, it didn’t change the fact that they were troublesome foes.

Don’t think about attacking. Let’s just focus on rescuing the hostages.

Immediately before touching the ground, Neigass gently came to a stop, then began moving at high speed in a horizontal direction. She glided close to the ground, so close that she was almost touching it, slipping through the gaps in the formation while approaching the hostages. She reached out toward a hostage being carried by a Chimera and…didn’t connect.

“E-eek! Close! Someone’s getting close!” The frightened Bart’s barrier had gotten in the way of rescuing Flum.

…I’ll have to apologize for this later. I’m sorry, Flum.

Neigass reluctantly gave up on reclaiming Flum and withdrew after snatching only Cyrill.

 

***

 

By the time the black smoke that had been blocking their vision cleared, there was no longer any sign of their attacker.

“The hero’s been taken…”

When Huyghe muttered those words, the blood quickly drained from Bart’s face.

“I-I-I’m so terribly sorry! My vision was clouded, and I couldn’t guard both of them and—”

“It’s fine. What happened just now is not your responsibility.” The fact that Huyghe wasn’t holding Bart responsible, which was unusual, actually made him even more terrified than usual. However, Huyghe paid no attention to his unease and started marching forward once again.

“Are you sure about this, Captain? Without the hero, the seal on Lord Origin cannot be broken.” Even Jack’s reasonable and obvious question didn’t faze Huyghe.

“Darkness and wind magic. It was most likely one of the Three Demon Generals, Neigass, who attacked us. It would be pointless for us to pursue her. We’ve received reports that she’s even shaken off large Chimera sent to track her.”

“Oh ho, so she is that big of a deal, eh?”

“Demons… They sure are troublesome.”

“Yes. They are an eyesore. They ought to be destroyed as soon as possible. And we have the power to do so.”

“You’re going to activate it as soon as we return, aren’t you?”

“Verily! Even that lot will likely be scared out of their wits.”

Listening to their cheerful voices, Huyghe narrowed his eyes in pleasurable nostalgia. He recalled and missed those dreamlike moments. He fantasized about those long-lost days, wishing they would return.

“Yes. Let us return. Back to our birthplace.”

 

***

 

“The treatment’s complete. I think she should wake up in a little while.” Milkit’s wounds had been completely healed, and she was sleeping peacefully.

“Thank you, Sara. Truly, thank you.” Eterna’s voice trembled slightly as she bowed her head deeply.

“It’s only natural to help a friend when they’re in trouble. There’s no need to thank me!”

“But the fact that you’re here means—” Gadhio, who was leaning against the wall to rest, called out to Sara.

Just as he was about to continue, the very person he was about to mention entered the room, carrying Cyrill upon her shoulder.

Ottilie was openly wary at once, shouting “A demon?!” before drawing her sword. However, Sara immediately intervened.

“Neigass is an ally! She’s been supporting me this whole time!”

“Oh no no, I’m not a bad demon, tee hee!” Neigass’s ridiculous attempt at humor made everyone feel awkward, but Gadhio also stepped in to cover for her.

“Ottilie, what she says is the truth. There’s no need to be wary.”

“Well…it looks like she’s rescued Cyrill for us, so what you say must be true.” In Ottilie’s case, her bewilderment likely played a bigger role in her reaction than a hatred for demons. Unlike the hero party, she had never met Neigass before.

“I’m sorry for surprising you. Also, while I’m at it, I must apologize for something else. I could only rescue one of them.”

Eterna’s face clouded over for a moment as she wondered how she should explain this once Milkit awoke, but she quickly shook off those negative thoughts and thanked Neigass.

“No, no, you’ve done plenty for us just by rescuing Cyrill. Thank you, Neigass.”

“It feels strange to be thanked so politely by human beings. If I wasn’t used to it by now thanks to Sara, I might’ve been taken aback by that. This conversation might go surprisingly smoothly, then.”

“Conversation?” Eterna cocked her head to the side, puzzled, and Neigass launched into what she was about to say.

“I’ve received direct orders from the Great Demon Lord. It seems that the church is secretly preparing for something terrible, so the Great Demon Lord wants to see if humans and demons can join forces in response. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“I’m surprised the demons are the ones coming to us with this proposal.” Linus had actually fought battles against demons—battles in which both sides had sought to kill each other—so his surprise was great.

Just then, Satuhkie stepped forward and posed a question to Neigass. “When you say, ‘something terrible,’ do the demons happen to know what that is?”

“You…are someone important within the church, it seems,” Neigass replied, giving him a suspicious look. “You’re that person called ‘Satuhkie,’ if I’m not mistaken.”

“I am working with this group now. I am a traitor to the church.”

“I suppose that the fact that you’re here now with them says as much, yes… As for your question, the answer is no. We know that they are transporting a large amount of Chimera, but we have no idea what their plans are beyond that.”

“I know.”

“Can you tell me what you know, then? Despite receiving nothing in return?”

“Of course.”

Neigass had braced herself for some kind of condition, but Satuhkie apparently had no intention of putting on airs. He readily revealed the secret that the church had been kept hidden.

“The trump card in the church’s possession is known as Tokyo—the Sacred Floating City.”

“Sacred Floating City…?”

“Tokyo?”

Ink and Sara each repeated a portion of what Satuhkie said. Eterna was the next to speak, although she also didn’t understand the true meaning behind Satuhkie’s words, which seemed to carry some special significance.

“The sacred floating city part aside, I don’t understand what Tokyo is supposed to refer to. Is it related to Origin?”

At that point, Satuhkie slowly turned to Neigass to hand the question to her. “If you are a demon, then you might know.”

Neigass answered in a vague manner, as though trying to recall some distant memory. “I think…it was the name of a city that once existed on this continent.”

“That is correct. It seems some degree of old records remain in the demon realm after all, then.”

“Unlike humans, we don’t discard our history and tools. Well, I suppose some humans understood that too, which is why they entrusted those things to us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Decades ago, there was a group of people who asked us to look after some teaching materials that were about to be disposed of. Is that not noted in human records?”

Chatani spoke up, smirking for some reason. “Satou, I’m pretty sure we’ve talked about a group that wasn’t part of the Originism religion discarding a learning apparatus, haven’t we?”

Satuhkie let out a small sigh, looking deeply troubled. “So…that was fabricated history too.”

“Only the Originists would want to discard something so precious. People in the past had revered that apparatus as divine. Of course, I suppose it was precisely because the Originists understood that that they fabricated that history.”

Chatani folded his arms and made a gesture like he was deep in thought.

“I see…because they treated learning devices as objects of worship, they respected the knowledge gained from those devices so much that this world refused to change its language. That is why I, who use the language of old humanity, can communicate with you. A very interesting notion. If the world were at peace, I would want to explore it further.”

As Chatani mumbled those words to himself, Eterna interrupted him, saying “We’re getting off topic here” and trying to steer the conversation back on track.

“That’s right! Like about the floating city thing! You know what that is, Master Satuhkie?” Sara joined in as well, bringing the topic of conversation back to the floating city.

“The church is using the power of the Origin core to make a huge city float in the air so that they can turn it into an aerial fortress.”

“Is something like that even possible, even with Origin cores?”

Neigass’s question was entirely valid. While the Origin core could certainly generate enormous amounts of energy, it was by no means all-powerful. At the very least, Neigass could say with certainty that it was impossible to lift an underground city into the air without any kind of preparation.

It was none other than Chatani who answered the question of how they’d done it.

“At the time the underground city was constructed, there was a plan to make the city itself float, like an ark. As you can guess, that plan stalled out, because it was ridiculous. However, as a result, the city itself was designed in such a way that it could be flown if one had a mind to do so. But even with a core, they can’t support the weight of the entire underground city. It’ll probably be cut up into sections with a radius of one kilometer…no, perhaps even a little bigger than that.”

“A radius of one kilometer? Isn’t that still pretty big already?”

“Yes. It’s big enough that, at that mass, just having it fall and crush something makes it a weapon.”

In other words, the fortress didn’t simply float, it also moved. Also, if desired, it could crush Selayde from above and occupy the area.

“That’s where they were transporting the Chimera.” The underground space where Neigass and Sara had discovered the Chimera being transported. The mystery had been solved. After listening to this explanation, Linus opened his mouth to speak.

“Can’t we stop it before it’s airborne? There’s still time if we act now.”

“It’s impossible. If we’re unlucky, there could be more than a thousand Chimera there.”

“There are really that many of them…?!” He was left speechless at their sheer numbers. Eterna and Gadhio, who would also likely be fighting those Chimera in the future, both let out sighs and furrowed their brows, looking irritated.

“You all know very well what kind of state you are in physically, I’m sure. So just focus on recovering your stamina for now.” Satuhkie said this with entirely good intentions, wanting to show his appreciation and sympathy.

“Even if we rest, it’s impossible for us to deal with a thousand…” Linus mumbled. It was a fair response.

 

***

 

After the conversation ended, everyone left the room. Eterna remained leaning against the wall. Then Neigass appeared beside her, standing with her back against the wall as well.

“Is it all right if I stand next to you?”

“Go ahead.” Before them stood Sara and Ink, who were facing one another.

“That child over there is Ink, right? I’ve heard about her. She’s Sara’s friend. Is she affiliated with the church?” Neigass had never met Ink before, but she could guess who she was from the bandages covering her eyes.

Eterna didn’t feel the need to hide anything, so she answered honestly. “Those eyeballs earlier—they were things Ink was unconsciously producing.”

“Ah…so that’s it.”

“You didn’t know, it seems.”

“It’s difficult for me to know exactly what goes on in the royal capital. All I know about what happened to all of you is what Sara knows. But I see now. That girl is…” Of course, Neigass also knew what Ed and Johnny meant to Sara. “As Ink’s guardian, what do you think about this?”

“No one is at fault. It’s all the church’s doing.”

“I agree. But…”

“Yes. Even though that’s true, Ink isn’t so brash as to just let it go.”

If Ink were that brash in the first place, she wouldn’t have even considered being all alone right here, just the two of them. In a sense, it could be called kindness, but she also thought that it was a painful way to live. Eterna believed from the bottom of her heart that Ink bore no responsibility for anything that happened.

“It’s not even a question of right or wrong, good or evil. When all is said and done, whether Sara hates or she forgives her, someone will definitely be hurt. That’s just how it is.”

Because of the church. Because of Origin. Because of Mother. Children were being sacrificed to adults’ warped desires.

“That’s exactly why I want to be close to her, so I can always support her.”

“That must be tough. You look like you’re about to pass out from exhaustion, even now.”

“If it’s for her, I can handle it.” Although Eterna said that, she would’ve been barely able to stand if she didn’t have a wall to lean on right now. Still, it was essential for her to see things through.

“You know, I’ve only met you a few times, but I thought you were a more matter-of-fact, unemotional person.”

“I thought so, too. But somehow, I turned out like this before I even knew what was happening.”

“It’s wonderful, isn’t it? The feeling of caring for someone, giving you the strength to fight.”

“Please don’t look at me as though I’m the same as you.”

“And now you’re suddenly being harsh!”

The feelings that Neigass had for Sara and the feelings that Eterna had for Ink were completely different. Or at least, so Eterna thought. Which was why she shot Neigass down, thinking they weren’t the same kind of person.

Still…I wonder what Sara will do?

In this situation, Neigass was similar to Eterna. Neigass wanted to support Sara, but she couldn’t interfere in this conversation that Sara and Ink were having. All she could do was watch over her.

Ink clenched her hands tightly, seemingly unable to get any words out. Sara waited patiently for Ink to speak, with a kind and gentle expression on her face. Finally, Ink called out Sara’s name in a strained voice.

“Sara…”

“It’s been a while, Ink. Have been you well?”

Ink’s body stiffened at Sara’s innocent and cheerful voice. Eterna prayed fervently, thinking, “Hang in there.” Then as if her prayer had been answered, Ink rode that momentum, bowing deeply before opening her mouth to speak.

“I’m sorry…!” Once Ink got started, her emotions overflowed. “I know that’s not nearly enough, at all. But I’m sorry. I’m sorry! I’m truly sorry!”

“What…are you apologizing for?” Sara didn’t know that Ink was the cause of the eyeball incident. She just thought that she and Ink were friends of the same age. And…

“It was me.” Ink had to push herself away. “Those eyeballs…came from me. I was the one…who caused those people dear to you…to be killed, Sara.”

“Huh…?” Sara was speechless. Rather than being surprised, it was more like her brain couldn’t quite comprehend what Ink was saying. How could those hideous eyeballs emerge from Ink, who was standing before her?

Just then, Eterna stepped in to offer a little help.

“Those eyeballs were created while Ink was unconscious, and they automatically attacked anyone who had tried to search for information about the Children. Now that the Origin core has been removed, she’s gone back to having a normal human body.”

Eterna spoke up because Ink likely didn’t feel like she could say anything in her own defense, or as self-justification. Maybe she should’ve added that these were incontrovertible facts. That it hadn’t been Ink’s intention, and she no longer had the power to do something like that.

Then Sara smiled warmly and said something that was probably identical to what Ink had imagined she might say. Something she thought was too convenient, too good.

“In that case, Ink, you did nothing wro—”

That was something Ink couldn’t accept.

“But it was me. It’s a fact that I killed them!” It was unforgivable. Ink ended with the words I’m sorry. I’m really, really, sorry…

Even though Ink knew that no amount of apologizing would ever be enough, she continued to apologize over and over, single-mindedly. Meanwhile, Sara felt a little remorseful. She regretted saying so easily that Ink had done nothing wrong. Easily. Optimistically. Reflexively. Even though she didn’t really think so herself. Because it was sad that Ed and Johnny died, and if someone had killed them, she couldn’t forgive that person.

“I…don’t really know what to think, when you spring this on me so suddenly.” Sara couldn’t just accept it all right off the bat, so she was sure that was the right reaction. “I know that you’re not bad, Ink. It’s all the church’s fault.”

Sara and Neigass had been following the trail of the sins committed by the church. They knew that it was not only monsters who had been sacrificed, but many humans as well. And Ink was one of them.

“That’s right. You’re not bad, Ink. If it were true, then that’d be the end of it, but…I dunno, I still feel like things aren’t settled. Like I’ve got undigested food still sitting in my tummy.”

Yes. Yes, that’s right. This wasn’t enough to set things right. Because, whatever the reason, Ink had killed Ed and Johnny.

“You don’t have to hold back. You can do anything you want with me, Sara. I think you have the right to do that.”

Ink was probably seeking punishment. In that case, was it kindness to give her that punishment? If Ink suffered, would she feel satisfied? But at the same time, she must want to be forgiven. The pain of being made to kill someone against your will was something only the person in question could truly understand. Was it right for something so irrational to happen?

Ink wasn’t at fault. Somewhere deep inside, she must feel that too. Sara fell silent and thought. Where could she find an answer that both parties could accept?

What she came up with, in the end, probably wasn’t something that would satisfy everyone present. Even so, there was no other answer that the person known as Sara Anvilen could’ve come up with.

“In that case, I’d like…for us to always stay friends, just like we have been.”

“Sara… Come on, I know that you’re kind, Sara. But you don’t have to force yourself to do this!”

“That’s not it!”

Sara was sure Ink saw this as Sara making the choice to be excessively kind. But that wasn’t the case at all.

“I was in so much pain over Ed and Johnny’s deaths. At first, just closing my eyes was enough to make me relive those images, and when I slept, it was all I dreamt about. But sadness fades, little by little. When I realized that, I felt so incredibly lonely. I hated myself for being such a cold person! But…that’s just how things are. Thanks to meeting Neigass, and her being so kind to me, I felt my emotional wounds closing up, little by little. I realized that’s just what being human is.”

The sadness didn’t disappear completely. But with the passage of time, it gradually faded. If something so intense remained lodged in your heart for good, all lesser emotions would be rendered relatively invisible.

“My confused, stifled feelings are just like yours, Ink. If you ask who is at fault here, it’s the church, isn’t it? I know that, and I’m sure that you, Neigass, Eterna, and everyone else know it too! Even so, we can’t… There are feelings that we can’t do anything about. The only way to erase those feelings and push them away is to have fun times together. To build lots and lots of happy memories!”

They said that time healed all wounds. What Sara said was something similar. There was no one to blame for these painful feelings. The only way to overcome them was to overwrite them with feelings of joy and happiness.

“Which is why I want us to stay friends. That’s my selfish request.” It was both Sara’s kindness and a sort of cruelty.

“Sara…I…”

“If you want me to be angry, I’m sorry. I don’t think I can do that…”

“No, I’m the one at fault for expecting that.” That’s right. Ink had wanted punishment. Which was why the fact that her wish for punishment not being fulfilled itself was punishment.

“So…does that mean we can keep being friends?”

“That’s what I’m asking for! So come on, gimme a hug, to make up!” Sara hugged Ink tightly. Though Ink still had some lingering discontent that she couldn’t get rid of, she hugged Sara back.

“I’m…surprised. She came up with a much better solution than we did.”

“I think she just got caught up in the flow. But I agree with you.” The girls’ respective guardians were relieved that the two of them had reconciled without incident.

“My little Sara is always so dazzlingly straightforward!” Neigass boasted proudly.

“Sure.”

“Hey, now, aren’t you being a bit too detached there?”

“I can tell that you have an unrequited love for her, Neigass. It was because I could tell at first glance that I didn’t dig into it any deeper.”

“Unfortunately, these feelings of mine aren’t one-sided. I’ve already taken Sara’s—”

“Neigass, what are you talking about over there?” Before Neigass realized it, Sara had already finished hugging Ink and was now glaring at Neigass with scornful eyes.

Neigass responded to that with a big, broad smile, without a hint of shame on her face. “I was telling her that you’re so cute, I’m going to marry you, Sara.”

“Really…?”

“No.” Eterna flatly denied what Neigass said, gently stroking Ink’s head after the girl came over to her. “Aren’t you glad, Ink?”

Image - 11

“Yeah…”

Not everything had turned out as they had hoped. But the inevitable challenge of reuniting with and apologizing to Sara had been overcome in a much more positive and well-intentioned way than they had expected. The girls would grow and mature through this hardship.

Chapter 4: Tokyo Emerges

Chapter 4:
Tokyo Emerges

 

ETERNA AND INK returned to the sleeping quarters to rest their bodies, just like the others. Meanwhile, Neigass and Sara, who didn’t especially need to rest, went to join Satuhkie and the others to help. They needed to mourn the monks who had fallen victim to the Chimera.

While the pair searched for Satuhkie, they walked around the interior of the underground laboratory to get an understanding of its layout.

“That reminds me, Neigass… Earlier, you said you wanted to marry me, right?”

“Yes, I did.”

“You’re always joking around, Neigass…but were you being serious?”

“Of course.” Neigass answered concisely, not looking like she was joking at all. Because she said it as though it were a matter of course, Sara felt her face grow slightly hot. “You’re awfully straightforward, aren’t you, Sara? So much so, that sometimes I find it worrying.”

“Well, to tell you the truth…I once caused trouble for Flum too, because of that.”

“Most people eventually give up when they hit a wall. But I want you to keep shining forever.” Neigass stopped in her tracks and looked into Sara’s eyes as she said what came next. “I want to protect you. So that you can continue on the path you desire.”

Neigass spoke without the slightest bit of shame for her pretentious-sounding words. At that moment, Sara suddenly thought back to something that happened at the Demon Lord’s Castle. She’d had a talk with Sheitoom and Tsyon that she kept secret from Neigass.

“Once a demon’s body stops developing, they do not age from that point onward. Therefore, as you’ve said, Sara, we demons don’t care much about things like how old we look. Of course, individual preferences vary, but if I had to compare it to something, I’d say it’s similar to humans discussing their preferences based on height.”

“Neigass is absolutely serious. I’ve never seen her with such a lovestruck look on her face like that before.”

In short, they were talking about whether or not Neigass was serious about liking Sara. The answer that Sara had received was that “She likes you, one hundred percent.”

From that point on, Neigass was on Sara’s mind twenty-four hours a day. Just then, Neigass suddenly brought her face close to Sara’s as she was lost deep in thought.

“Sara?”

“Eeek?!” Sara reflexively let out a squeak, her voice cracking. From her perspective, Neigass was incredibly beautiful. She couldn’t keep her calm when Neigass got this close.

M-my chest feels weird. What’s going on with my heart?! Sara frantically tried to smooth things over, like nothing happened, and put some distance between herself and Neigass.

“I-it’s nothing!”

“Really…?” Although Neigass usually pushed forward aggressively, she backed off quite easily in situations like this.

Sara, making use of this opportunity, placed her hands on her chest and took several deep breaths.

Maybe I really… Neigass… Sara’s heart was pounding so hard that she could feel its throbbing in the palm of her hand. But now’s not the time for this! I’ll try not to think about unnecessary things!

She told herself that repeatedly, trying to get her heart to settle down. Neigass, upon seeing Sara’s odd behavior, cocked her head to the side, a question mark appearing above her head.

 

***

 

About five hours later, Milkit woke up on a bed in the sleeping quarters. After sitting up, she immediately looked for Flum. But she was nowhere to be found. What’s more…Milkit was lying in the bed that Flum had been sleeping in until just a short time ago.

“Master…where are you? Master!” Milkit, flustered, hopped off the bed and moved to rush out of the room. When she tried to leave, Eterna stood in her way, blocking her path. “Miss Eterna, where is Master?!”

“She was taken by the Church Knights.”

“Oh…oh no…” Milkit vaguely remembered trying to protect Flum and being nearly killed by Rischel. The wounds she had received had been neatly treated and there were no marks, but when she thought back to it, the lingering pain of being trampled on still throbbed.

“The church sees value in Flum, so they aren’t going to kill her right away.”

“Are you…going to go save her?”

“Absolutely.”

“Please… Without Master, I…couldn’t go on living…” Milkit clung tightly to Eterna’s body as she tearfully pleaded with her.

She likely wasn’t speaking metaphorically and meant it in a very literal sense. Emotions, desires, the meaning of life—everything that made Milkit who she was now had been born of her encounter with Flum and the time they had spent together. Milkit’s existence was based on Flum Apricot as a prerequisite.

Eterna stroked Milkit’s back as she felt alone and on the verge of collapse, waiting for her to calm down. Just then, in that exact moment, Satuhkie emerged from the hallway.

“It seems everyone is awake. I have something to discuss, so please come to the room we were in earlier when you are ready.” It seemed like that was all he had to say at that moment.

After delivering this message to everyone present, he left. Gadhio and Linus exited the room, looking listless, while Maria left with a questioning expression. Eterna waited for Milkit to settle down before leaving the room a bit later. On her way out she saw Welcy sitting in the hallway, hugging her knees.

“You look depressed.”

“Oh, it’s you, Eterna…” Welcy tried to force a smile, but her expression lacked vitality. “Sara and Neigass just came by earlier. Before returning to the capital, they met with my brother and sister in a nearby village. They asked Sara and Neigass to make sure that I was safe.”

“I’m sure that the capital must appear to be a in a terrible state, seen from the outside. It’s only natural he would be worried about his family.” Eterna had heard the details of what Leitch had done via Ink, regarding why Milkit and the others, who were supposed to have been released outside the royal capital, were at this research facility. Judging by this situation, Eterna figured Welcy must have heard from someone else.

“I understand the reason for taking my sister-in-law hostage. But it was my brother who betrayed her. I can’t forgive him for putting Milkit and the others in danger…” Welcy, indignation welling up within her, tightened her grip until her nails dug into her own arms.

It wasn’t just because they were siblings. Welcy had such a strong moral compass that she aspired to be a newspaper reporter. Leitch was also opposed to the church, so his younger sister must have inherited her sense of justice from him. Which was exactly why she couldn’t forgive him.

“It was my brother who showed me the way from a young age, telling me to live my life the right way. He was committed to doing honest business. He would cut ties with anyone, even our father, if they did anything wrong. And yet…and yet! The moment his wife gets taken hostage, he… It’s just not right!”

Everyone was soft when it came to their loved ones. That was what love was. Leitch had been caught in the tight space between love and justice, and he chose betrayal. He had to make that choice. The despair Welcy felt at seeing her older brother, whom she respected, do such a thing was probably something only a blood relative could understand.

“I may have said something weird to Sara and Neigass, despite their efforts to reach out to me.” Unable to reconcile with her brother’s decision, Welcy had inadvertently said something that sounded like she was taking out her anger on them, which she now deeply regretted. “I’m sorry for troubling you with this, Eterna.”

There was nothing to be done except for the siblings to talk to one another. Even so, saying that right now would be pointless. There was only one thing Eterna could say.

“All I can say is that we’re going to destroy the church as soon as possible.” And that was to eliminate the root cause. “Once this battle is in the past, this may end up becoming something you can laugh about one day. We’re doing our best to make sure that happens.”

Welcy looked up at Eterna with a slightly shocked expression. “Eterna…you know, contrary to how you look, you say some surprisingly passionate things.”

Embarrassed, Eterna averted her eyes and said “Not really” as her face turned slightly red.

“Thank you. I feel a little better now.” Welcy smiled a little more brightly than before as she looked at Eterna.

 

***

 

A total of nine people were gathered in the room: Satuhkie, Chatani, Ottilie, Eterna, Gadhio, Linus, Maria, Neigass, and Sara. The first thing the group did was ask Neigass and Sara to share their information. Sara talked about everything she and Neigass had seen since they escaped from the royal capital.

When she had finished speaking, Linus sighed. “A Chimera factory, huh… We almost died fighting the Children, and now they’re producing hundreds upon hundreds of monsters that’re that strong?! This is a total nightmare.”

“But now we have the Reversal core.”

“Defeating them one by one isn’t very realistic, though.” Eterna was optimistic, but Maria was being realistic, pointing out their lack of manpower. When she said that, Neigass spoke up in agreement, adding some information.

“The Chimera you encountered were actually the weakest ones. The small ones.”

“Ugh…seriously?”

“There are also medium ones based on Anzu and large ones based on wyverns. Like the small Chimera, they don’t possess particularly remarkable stats, but in terms of overall strength, they surpass even the Demon Lord.”

At that, Eterna suddenly remembered that Flum had mentioned fighting an Anzu before. Gadhio, another veteran, appeared to have fought a wyvern too.

“Both Anzu and wyverns are beasts that fly, right?”

“Yes, they certainly both do. And at breakneck speeds, too.”

“I was prepared to die back then…” Sara and Neigass trembled as they recalled how they had barely escaped to the demon realm with their lives.

“But they have a weakness.” Amid all this, Satuhkie spoke up with an emphatic declaration. All eyes fell upon him, seeking an explanation for what he’d said. “The knights left several Chimera behind. A detailed analysis will require some time, but we’ve already discovered something now. They cannot move without orders. There is most likely a separate control core somewhere.”

When Gadhio heard that, his expression darkened slightly. “A control core… Is that similar to the central core used by Necromancy?”

“Correct. If we destroy the core that controls the Chimera, I believe they should all stop moving.”

“I can’t imagine they would put something so important in a place where we can easily find it.”

“If they put it in their flying fortress or whatever, we’ll need to think about how we can even get inside before worrying about the location.” As Linus said, their enemy was up in the air. Also, it was protected by a large number of Chimera, meaning it would be difficult for them to approach as things stood currently.

“In that case, it looks like we will have to join forces.” Demons could fly through the air with ease, using their magic. With their help, the heroes finally started to see a way they might conquer the flying city.

“Yes…it looks like we really have no other choice but to devise a strategy based on the assumption that we’ll be joining forces with demons.”

No one voiced any objections to Gadhio’s statement, as he was effectively the eldest member of the party. It was only a casual back-and-forth exchange, but in that moment, the decision was made for the heroes and the Demon Lord to work together.

“I’ve already informed the Great Demon Lord of the danger posed by the Chimera. We plan to have the demons living in the north gather at the Demon Lord’s castle in Selayde, so we can prepare to intercept the enemy. That plan won’t change even if a floating fortress appears.”

“So the problem is how to get to the Demon Lord’s castle, yes?” When Ottilie said that, Neigass smiled smugly with a “Mhm!”

“That is where Cyrill comes in. If we use Return, we can greatly shorten the time it’ll take to get to the Demon Lord’s castle.”

“I figured, but the problem is whether Cyrill wakes up, isn’t it?”

“If I make a restorative potion, I might be able to force her to awaken. But…” Eterna hesitated.

“Cyrill is sleeping because of the backlash from her magic, right?” Sara asked, an anxious look on her face. “It’d be dangerous to force her awake.”

“This is nothing more than speculation on my part, but if we force her to wake up, there will likely be painful repercussions. She might even lose consciousness again immediately after.”

“Her being in a prolonged coma is quite troubling. Having to make the choice between having Cyrill move all of us and having her fight with us is extremely difficult.”

Cyrill, who used Brave, was the strongest member of the hero party. However, without the instantaneous movement provided by Return, the heroes would be delayed in joining forces with the demons, which meant that they would be unable to coordinate their efforts.

“We don’t have much time left. Tokyo is going to emerge before long.”

“Can’t we get her to wake up gently with healing magic or something…?” Sara looked desperately to Satuhkie, hoping that, as a cardinal, he might be able to do something. But he shook his head.

“I’m afraid I do not possess that knowledge. Though perhaps Madam Saint would know?”

“I am afraid I do not know, either. I had been thinking we could rely on Eterna’s medicine.”

It looked like there was no other option.

“Very well. I feel bad for Cyrill, but I’ll prepare the medicine right away. I should be able to find the ingredients on the surface.”

“No, you can find the materials and implements you need here. Doctor Chatani, could you show her to the lab?”

“Sure, if it’s an errand boy you need, leave it to me.” With Chatani guiding the way, Eterna headed off to another room. Chatani calmly passed through a wall as he left. Sara and Neigass still hadn’t received any explanation for his presence.

“Hey, um, I saw him earlier, but…Master Satuhkie, who or what is that person?”

“I believe we touched on this earlier, in our talk about the learning apparatus. By advancing that technology even further, humans in the past were even able to replicate personalities. That is what Doctor Chatani is. His form is something projected into our eyes. He doesn’t actually exist.”

“So I guess you could say he’s something like a legacy of the old human race.”

“That is an accurate way of describing it.”

“W-wow…that’s amazing.” Sara didn’t really understand, but since Chatani didn’t seem to be a ghost, she was relieved.

At this point, the conversation came to a momentary pause. Maria spoke up, as though she’d been waiting for the right moment.

“Based on this conversation, it sounds like we will all be heading to the Demon Lord’s castle…but is that really all right?”

“Is there some sort of problem?”

“I was wondering if there was a risk in bringing a traitor such as me along to the demon realm.”

“Maria, you don’t have to bring that up now,” Linus said.

Even so, Maria didn’t stop. “No. It would be unfair not to say anything.”

Neigass looked puzzled by that, and Sara looked at her anxiously.

“What do you mean exactly, when you say that you are a traitor?”

“Big Sis Maria would never, ever do something like that!” Sara trusted Maria unconditionally. But Maria didn’t hesitate to betray her trust.

“I handed Origin cores to Cyrill and Jean, on the orders of His Holiness.”

Sara’s eyes widened. Maria continued to confess her sins.

“I even used an Origin core on myself. Furthermore, I was aware from the beginning of this journey of the true purpose behind unsealing Origin and the power of Reversal possessed by Flum.”

“That’s…a lie, isn’t it?” Sara couldn’t comprehend the gulf between the woman she adored and this new reality. “But Maria, you set out on a journey to save the world. That’s what you said, right?! Unsealing Origin would be the exact opposite of that. That would be destroying the world!”

“I wanted to destroy it.” The darkness that Maria kept hidden in her heart was still deep and intense. “I wanted to destroy the world. Even if it meant getting you, Ed, Johnny, and Elune wrapped up in it. In a sense, I may even be partly responsible for Ed and Johnny’s deaths.”

Sara was shocked and at a loss for words. Neigass gently took her hand and then addressed Maria in a slightly prickly tone. “Since you’re saying all this, I’m sure you must be feeling some remorse.”

Linus stood by Maria, speaking of the good things she had done.

“It’s true that Maria used an Origin core. But she used that power to fight Mother and help us! And she doesn’t want to end the world now. Right?”

At that, Maria simply looked away and said nothing. Even if she denied it now, she thought, the fact that Ed and Johnny were dead remained unchanged.

Then Neigass addressed Maria in an even stronger tone than before, practically spitting out her words. “To be honest, I do not want to take this person along. But it is not because she belongs to the church or because she used an Origin core.”

“Then why?”

“Because you’re selfish. You’re not thinking about Sara at all.”

At that, Maria slowly looked back to Neigass. “I thought that it would be kinder to tell her the truth,” she argued.

“No, you’re wrong,” Neigass immediately answered, without a moment’s delay. “You just wanted to be punished. And rather than try to satisfy that desire by making people scold and rebuke you, you’re doing it by hurting Sara and indulging in self-loathing.” To Neigass, who had decided to protect Sara, this was unacceptable. “And I was really looking forward to meeting you, because you’re the ‘big sister’ she admires.”

Maria, unable to say anything in response, bit her lip. At that moment, Chatani, who was supposed to have been showing Eterna around, suddenly appeared without warning in the center of the room.

“Satou!” he shouted, causing Linus to recoil in shock with a “Wagh?!”

Satuhkie, on the other hand, seemed to be accustomed to this sort of thing. He remained calm. “What’s the matter, Doctor Chatani?”

“Minor vibrations have been detected. Tokyo is about to emerge!”

Satuhkie didn’t flinch at the report, perhaps because he knew it was going to happen sooner or later. “What would you like to do? Go and watch, perhaps?”

The rest of the group was thrown off-balance by this casual suggestion, which was the exact opposite of what you’d expect someone to say in a tense situation.

 

***

 

By the time everyone had gone aboveground, the tremors had grown even stronger.

“These vibrations… Satuhkie, is the ground okay?”

“Do not worry, Gadhio. The research facility is built to be even sturdier than the cathedral.”

The shaking continued to grow in intensity. It was beginning to affect the buildings in the royal capital. Windows shattered, walls separated, wood split, and the sound of something collapsing could be heard. Eventually, the tip of an enormous object came into view to the north of the royal capital, just beyond the castle. Splitting the ground apart and engulfing several villages built upon it, the city rose upward.

“I can see it.” Eterna swallowed hard.

“Sister is in there as well…” Ottilie glared at it with a stern expression on her face. As the city rose even higher, they could see only the shapes of buildings that lined it and the foundation that supported them all.

“I didn’t realize just how huge it was until I saw it for myself.”

The floating city exuded such oppressive power that it left even Gadhio speechless. It was shaped like an upside-down mountain, with the structures of cityscapes built upon it. A very low-frequency rumbling sound, which they assumed to be the floatation devices in operation, undulated in waves. Voom, voom.

Shortly after the emergence, violent winds mixed with pebbles whipped through the royal capital. Neigass instantly took hold of Sara and held her tight, while the others protected themselves in similar fashion, such as by using their arms to cover their faces.

Tokyo began to move, heading north.

 

***

 

Several facilities were scattered across the surface of Tokyo the Sacred Floating City. These included facilities for managing the Chimera and for controlling the floating city as well as barracks for the Church Knights. Putting it another way, everything other than these scattered facilities was ruins from ancient times. Countless buildings remained as mere structures, but these were made of “time-stopping metal” and had survived the passage of time without deteriorating. The same held true for the giant pillars towering in the center, which were commonly known as underpillars.

Huyghe gazed through the window of the captain’s room, his cheeks flushed red at the scene of the ruins crawling with Chimera. He touched the window with a spellbound look in his eyes and stroked it with the pad of his finger, murmuring, “What a lovely view.”

Bart, who had been sent for by the captain, couldn’t help but grimace. What exactly is so lovely about the sight of these ruins…?

He hadn’t said that aloud, of course, but it seemed Huyghe had noticed something was on Bart’s mind.

“Dissatisfied about something, Bart?” When Huyghe abruptly turned to look back at him, Bart’s entire body suddenly reacted with a jolt.

“O-oh, no, sir, I was just surprised, is all. That such a huge structure could fly, I mean.”

“Strange. I thought I had already explained that to you at the start.”

Rischel, who had been called to the same room, sneered.

“The old man’s such a scaredy-cat. It’s a waste that he can’t enjoy such a wonderful experience.”

Jack was also enjoying the situation. “Verily! The corpse of a destroyed world seems like it would make a good battlefield, eh?”

“Battlefield…? Jack, do you think that they’re going to come here?”

“Of course. They will most definitely come. And then we engage in killing one another. Just imagining it gets my blood pumping!”

When Jack laughed after saying that, Huyghe smiled. Rischel joined in, her shoulders trembling with emotion. Bart, the only one of them who remained silent, could only hang his head low.

In the end, I ended up coming here, unable to run away. No, this is the result of me continuing to run away… Dragged by memories of the past, I ended up here, in this place…

With the knights aboard, Tokyo rumbled as it headed toward the Demon Lord’s castle.

 

***

 

After witnessing the fortress rise, the heroes stared in blank amazement at the sky for a short while before returning underground once more. As soon as they entered the room where the discussion had taken place, Linus banged his fist against a wall.

“Okay, after seeing that, I’ve made up my mind. Once Eterna finishes making the medicine, let’s set out immediately. If we’re gonna face such a monstrous opponent, we’ll need all the time we can possibly get.”

He was full of motivation once again, but Chatani just gazed at him, replying in a listless tone. “Don’t be in such a rush. There’s still a mountain of things we need to tell you. Right, Satou?”

“Yes. And I want to show her, too.”

At that, Linus found himself getting tired of Satuhkie’s easygoing commentary and decided to say something. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on here, but is this really the time to be acting so relaxed?”

“It’s because we need time. There is information we’ve obtained from the fortress that has risen into the sky. Doctor Chatani should be able to calculate the location of the Origin core that powers it.”

Gadhio folded his arms and gave a slight nod in response. “And if we destroy that core, we can take that fortress down even with a small group of people?”

“But can you really finish those calculations so fast?” When Sara asked that question, Chatani tapped his temple with his index finger and raised the corners of his mouth into a confident smirk.

“I’m pretty smart, you know, Plus, I’ve memorized maps of Tokyo from when it was used as an underground city. It’ll take a little time, but I don’t intend to make you wait long.”

With that, Chatani suddenly disappeared. That was probably his way of saying that he wanted to concentrate on his calculations. Once he was gone, Ottilie let out a sigh.

“Sigh… When all one can do is wait, one cannot help but be acutely aware of their own powerlessness, no matter how much they may dislike it. If only I had wings, I could go and rescue my beloved sister right now!”

Whether Satuhkie had heard what she said or not was unclear, but he made a proposal. “Well, then, while we wait, there is something I would like to show everyone. Would you please come with me?”

“Are you saying that this is something important that you need to show us right now?”

“Yes, that is correct, Madam Saint. Could you please call Milkit as well? She will need to see this too.”

Upon saying that, Satuhkie left the room. The others were puzzled, but they had no other option but to follow him.

 

***

 

With Satuhkie guiding the way, the group arrived at a room located deeper within the research laboratory. In the center of the room was a pedestal, a glass case, and a silver box that stood about a meter tall. However, there was nothing else in the room aside from those things. It was completely empty.

In this peculiar place, Eterna noticed warped skeletal remains lying in the case.

“Are these remains what you wanted to show us?”

“But these remains, they…”

“Did you notice something, Maria?”

“They are…twisted counterclockwise. The remains are warped in the opposite direction of Origin.”

“Exactly.” Satuhkie touched the glass case, his eyes shining like those of a young boy. “After I became a cardinal, I initially considered joining hands with the Chimera. It completely cuts off Origin’s will and utilizes only its power. It was suitable for fulfilling my dream…or so I thought.”

“Because nothing good would come of it.”

“Yes, you are correct, Miss Eterna. After all, they are nothing more than a vanguard for Origin. I realized my mistake while investigating Flum Apricot. With all of her stats at zero and no significant powers at her disposal, why was she entrusted with the important task of defeating the Demon Lord?”

To have her brought over to Origin. To make it resistant to Reversal. Of course, Satuhkie already knew that when he brought up that point.

“That was when I found it. The ruins buried in the mountains near Patria, Flum Apricot’s hometown. The encounter I had there was a complete coincidence…no, perhaps I should say it was fate!”

No one dared say anything to interrupt Satuhkie’s highly emotional soliloquy. “The interior was defended by weapons of an unknown technology, and several of the monks who accompanied me lost their lives. After a desperate life-or-death search, I finally encountered it deep within.” Satuhkie looked at the box next to the glass case. “This silver box.”

“Wait, not the dead body?!” Linus blurted out without thinking, but Satuhkie paid him no mind.

“This box is Doctor Chatani’s real body.”

“What do you mean, this box is him? You said it was a learning apparatus or something, right?”

“Doctor Chatani was already dead. What is inside this box are his brain cells, which were extracted and cultured before he died. This is a device called an organic computer. He thinks and talks from inside this box. What appears in our field of vision is a technology called a hologram, which he said was commonplace in his lifetime.”

It was an amazing technological feat—worthy of surprise, to be sure. But that wasn’t the point of this story. Milkit had listened silently until this point, but she had a bad feeling about something. Without thinking, she opened her mouth to speak.

“So who is that?”

“Flum.” Satuhkie gave a succinct answer.

“But Master is alive!” Even if it was a joke made in poor taste, Milkit became emotional at his words.

Satuhkie calmly replied, “I am not lying. Once upon a time, there was a girl named Flum Watermoon in this world.”

“So it is not Master.”

“Doctor Chatani, I understand that you are busy, but could you please show them this girl’s face?”

At Satuhkie’s request, an image appeared in the field of vision of everyone present. It showed a black-haired girl in her late teens.

“This…black-haired girl is Flum…?” This girl’s face looked so much like Flum’s that Eterna couldn’t help but comment.

“Their figures are a little different, but they do look similar…” The similarity was so striking that even Milkit was surprised.

“In the world that was destroyed by Origin, she had survived until the end, fighting the whole time.” Satuhkie gazed at the dead girl’s corpse with respect in his eyes. The girl’s noble life inspired a strong feeling within him. Something that might even be called faith. “She had undergone the Reversal experiment. Reversal, the power to resist Origin.”

Bequeathed Memory 1: I Was Just a Student Until I Became a Murderer

Bequeathed Memory 1:
I Was Just a Student Until I Became a Murderer

 

ORIGIN WAS A DREAM POWER plant that generated infinite energy. It was located in northern Japan, far from the nearest settlement, and supplied electric power not only domestically but also overseas via wireless energy transmission.

Thanks to this invention, the world, which had been plagued by wars over scarce resources, suddenly become a peaceful place. Unlimited electricity caused many factories to be built in my area, and the population suddenly increased. A fair number of shops lined the national highway, and an interesting phenomenon happened, where a shopping mall located a short distance away actually went out of business as a result.

I remember my parents being happy because electricity was now free—no more electricity bill. However, my allowance didn’t increase.

Even though this world was now at peace, it didn’t mean much to me, someone who lived so far away. Besides, I didn’t really understand what peace meant, anyway. For example, I studied 22nd-century world history in class and saw that almost all of it was filled with war. Human civilization stagnated due to energy shortages, and as a result of fighting over resources, development was stunted for a long period of time. I had heard that Japan had gotten caught up in this, with large cities being burned to the ground by missiles. At one point, it was on the verge of being occupied by another country, causing many things to change, such as laws and how names were recorded.

It might seem like we were living in a truly peaceful and prosperous era now, but…even today, foreign countries were engaged in horrific wars for reasons I didn’t understand. Unthinkably, they ceaselessly fired nuclear weapons, which were never used in past wars, with reckless abandon. They killed hundreds of millions of people, changed the landscape, and even wiped out entire nations. These things were being reported as if they were good news.

As another example, it seemed like law and order in Japan had improved, but the number of deaths caused by murder was increasing every year. The other day, a serial killer live streamed what they were doing. It sounded like thousands of people were killed. Everyone talked about that as if it were something to be celebrated, too.

Recently, there were rumors that live streams of people being killed and dismembered were becoming popular. I thought it was obviously a joke until one day, I saw my parents watching one in the living room, laughing hysterically. Apparently, all those things were included under the category of “peace.”

It was certainly true that, since those things had no significant impact on my own life, peace was what I knew. It was the summer of 2197 AD. The daily life of Flum Watermoon continued, untroubled, for the time being.

What changed my life was my sudden closeness with my classmate, “Milkit Soleil.” She was what they call an albino, I think? She had pale skin and hair. More importantly, though, since she came to school covered in bandages for some reason, she really stood out in class.

The only connection we had was that our seats were close together. We never really had any actual conversations. At best, we just exchanged hellos. But one summer day, I found Milkit abandoned in front of an apartment building, stuffed inside a cardboard box with the words Please throw away written on it. Apparently, it wasn’t a mean-spirited prank. Her parents had abandoned their daughter and run off in the middle of the night.

Maybe it was because it was summer, but she was mysteriously scantily clad and, after having been left out in the open under the blazing sun, showing symptoms of heatstroke. I gave her some juice that I happened to have with me at the time and decided to take her in. Perhaps because of me feeding her, or perhaps from my daily greetings, Milkit became extremely attached to me. To be honest, she was super cute. I would’ve been ashamed to have desert her, so I consulted with my parents, who readily gave their permission for us to live together. Their reasoning seemed to be that since they didn’t have to worry about electrical bills, that left more money for living expenses…so I guess that was okay?

And so, Milkit and I began our life together. Since we had no extra rooms, it was decided that Milkit and I would share one, sleeping in the same bed. What’s more, we were even going to take baths together.

That was where the problems began. Soleil-san had a super sexy body.

Image - 12

She was plump and voluptuous, and I had a dirtier mind than I’d thought I did. I was a pervert and a gloomy, taciturn person.

Ugh, I’m being gross. Also, Milkit was clinging to me very affectionately. She would say things like “Just hearing your voice calling to me every day makes me feel like I’ve been saved,” and “This is the first time that I haven’t been abused by someone close to me,” and “I never knew that just being hugged could make me so happy.” Her bandages were to hide her wounds from the abuse she suffered. That fucking father and fucking mother of hers!

I tried to be as kind as I could to Milkit. I would have died for her. And she became extremely attached to me—so much so that she would die for me. And so, we ended up in this somewhat indecent relationship.

Well, there was nothing I could do about that. Not when she said things like “I’m happy when you touch me, Flum-san!” Her plump breasts were so soft.

 

***

 

We continued to live together like this for a while. On the day we were supposed to go back to school, I woke up to a putrid stench filling the house. Outside my window, I could see the body of someone who had hanged themselves, dangling like a teru teru bouzu.

When Milkit and I came down to the living room, hand in hand, I saw my mother was crying as she stuffed the body into a garbage bag. She really, really didn’t want to, but apparently, Lord Origin said to do it. Well, if Lord Origin said so, then I guess there was no other choice.

We hated boiled wiener sausages. The bones made them difficult to eat. As we walked along the path to school, a rain of light came down on us. Damn, it was thick. Today was another hellish inferno.

Arriving at the nearest station, we entered the side entrance of the familiar Kubirizaka station (wait, was that the station’s name?). We passed through the hanging corpse curtain, which this station was famous for, and boarded the train. The station staff grumbled that this time of year was difficult, since bodies rotted easily, which I could totally understand.

Then the rain of light stopped. Milkit spoke to me.

“They say that a missile launched from Japan destroyed the last island, apparently.”

“So everyone outside of Japan is dead now, huh?”

“Which means it might be our turn next.”

Yes, she was right. Because—

“Next stop is Kubitsurizakamae. Kubitsurizakamae—”

The high school girls who had been riding the same train as we were took sharp implements out of their bags. They had all kinds of stuff stashed in there, like scissors, box cutters, and kitchen knives. When the train arrived at the station, they stabbed themselves in the neck at the same time. Fountains of blood sprayed beautifully forth. The flowering water of life approached our feet, as though it wanted to accompany us. But I couldn’t allow that.

“I’m glad you’re with me, Flum-san.” Milkit leaned on my shoulder.

“Same here. If I were all alone, I’m sure I would’ve been swallowed up a long time ago.” On the platform of the station we just passed, naked old people banged their heads on the ground and screamed wildly. The sound of their voices receding due to the Doppler effect was comical.

“Next stop is Kubizuka. Kubizuka—”

We arrived at the station closest to the school (although the name was different). We intertwined our fingers and held hands as we got off the train. I knew holding hands like we were lovers in front of people at school would definitely cause rumors, but I didn’t mind anymore. After all, the rain of light was going to erase everything, anyway.

The pyramid of severed heads piled up at the station looked resentfully at me and Milkit walking affectionately together.

When we entered the classroom, my closest friend was surprised to see me and Milkit holding hands. Apparently, she could recognize what Milkit and I had because she and I were so close. She accepted that we were together and bombarded Milkit with questions like “What do you like about her?!” Milkit was afraid of strangers, so she looked at me, asking for help.

Then it was time for first period: Jumping to our Deaths. It was unusual for things to end with homeroom on our first day of school. What’s more, this was a practical lesson, so we weren’t even using the learning devices.

Since this was a mobile class, we headed to the rooftop. My friend got called to the front by the teacher, and she tearfully expressed how happy she was.

“Save. Me. Please.” I felt like she was screaming in a voice that couldn’t be heard. But no one heard anything.

Then she jumped. There was a dull sound down below. When I looked at the ground, almost going over the fence, I saw my friend, writhing in agony, unable to die instantly. I started to lean over the fence, as if drawn by the sight, and—

“Flum-san!” Milkit hugged me tightly from behind, stopping me.

“Th…thanks.”

“N-no, I don’t know why I stopped you, actually.”

“Now that you mention it, I don’t understand why I said ‘Thank you’ either.”

“I know, right?”

“Yeah, totally! Ah ha!”

“Ah ha.”

Several lives had been lost. Class ended. Afterward, things continued as normal, with the Offer Your Life to Lord Origin class. During our third period break, Milkit and I decided to cut class and go home early without permission. We just couldn’t hold it in anymore.

When we got down to the schoolyard, we found several corpses lined up there.

“May you find happiness in the next life.” The corpses had already been pecked at by crows, and half of their faces had been disfigured.

“Congratulations.” After giving my dear friend those words of “wisdom,” I picked a nearby flower in bloom and offered it to her.

“Thank you. I loved you very much.”

Graduating from this hell was cause for celebration. The world was already over. It was better to die sooner rather than later.

 

***

 

From that point onward, Milkit and I stayed holed up indoors. Our slightly indecent relationship became a fully indecent one. As we lay there, sweaty and entangled, we didn’t even notice the putrid stench filling the house. Our degenerate pleasures protected us temporarily from the rain of light (or, rather, reality).

However, the decay was spreading. One morning, when I woke up, I found my mother dragging a stranger by the hair into our house as they cried and screamed.

“Morning, Mom.”

“Good morning.”

蜉ゥ縺代籠繝輔繝？縺溘星縺代！

Mom stabbed the stranger repeatedly with the kitchen knife she had in her hand and killed them. The stranger’s flayed and butchered meat was spread out on the dining table. My dad continued to laugh hoarsely, making sounds like “Akyakyaa, uheeeee, ehe! Kehe, kuko, koko, oki, sakyakyakyakya! Kikeeeee! Kuke, kuke, kukekieeeeeee!” as he stared at meaningless static images. He hadn’t blinked at all since last night, so blood was flowing from his eyes.

Then he ate the food that my mother made. My dad praised her, saying that it was “delicious,” and mom screamed, “I love you, dear!”

Milkit and I averted our eyes and filled our bellies with the “clean” canned foods that we had obtained from the supermarket. We washed off our sweat in the shower and then made love again. Love. What is love? I wondered if it really was protecting us, as I had thought. Or was it just prolonging our suffering?

As these doubts filled my mind, I ran my tongue over her ripe fruit and lapped up her dripping nectar. The pleasure of repeating our raison d’être.

But as time had passed, the house became unusable. Corpses were left lying around, feces and urine were scattered everywhere, and the house was no longer being cleaned properly. Milkit and I went to the home where she had previously lived, as if fleeing from our situation. We borrowed food from the supermarket. It was okay—capitalism no longer existed, so plundering was a legitimate right of the survivors.

I went to check on my parents from time to time, to see how they were. When I showed up for the first time in a few days, they greeted me with seemingly happy and then lonely-sounding, meaningless nonsense words. However, they soon lost even that bare minimum of intelligence, repeatedly going through those broken days, over and over.

Still, I was glad they were both alive.

Even though things had gotten to be like this, the internet was still alive and kicking. Apparently, there were still quite a few sane people left in Japan. They gathered on a text-based fossil of a website called SANE. The reason for using such an old format was to guard against encroachment by Origin. Yes, that’s right: Origin.

We learned that Origin was the root cause of everything. Thanks to me and Milkit secluding ourselves, we escaped the rain of light and thus regained our sanity, which was a big deal. The device in northern Japan was supposed to have been a dream invention that produced infinite energy…but it wasn’t. Well, no. It actually did generate limitless energy without needing to use any fuel itself. Many factories were built, revitalizing the local economy, and my mom was happy because life got easier. Even systems that were previously impossible to maintain due to excessive power consumption began to function, and the world rapidly became prosperous as it sought to make up for the setbacks brought on by war.

The town I lived in used to be a complete backwater in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but mountains and forests around. Now, it was a fairly prosperous rural town. A train station had been built, reasonably wide roads were constructed, and shops lined the streets. If even my little ol’ town had changed so much, then the big city had to be something straight out of sci-fi.

But there weren’t just benefits to this situation. The dream came with nightmares.

Origin had the power to drive people insane. It first used that power to drive the people of other countries mad. It intentionally started a fruitless nuclear war and wiped out all of humanity. Once that was over, it was Japan’s turn.

Perhaps Origin was cautious and deliberate in its destruction of Japan, to ensure that it would be the only thing left. It didn’t use weapons, but drove people mad, making them kill each other, and waited for us to destroy ourselves.

That’s right—Origin was to blame for everything. But even if we understood that, what could we do about it?

After summer vacation ended, I visited the school for the first time in weeks. It seemed like a class had just been in session. My classmates and teacher were still seated at their desks, even though they were dead. Only the learning devices were alive, recognizing Milkit and me and speaking to us. These devices had been a staple of education for years. Thanks to Origin’s unlimited energy, technology advanced quickly, and the devices were redesigned to be especially sturdy.

That was why, even in this unsanitary school, they were still alive and functioning. They might even keep working after humanity had gone extinct. After all, humans were so fragile. Perhaps because they had been left abandoned here during the hot summer months, the corpses were decomposing, swarmed with buzzing flies and crawling maggots. It was a familiar sight. I would eventually end up like that too.

I gave up and returned home, holding Milkit in my arms.

In October, a post that someone had made on SANE became a hot topic. It was a post made by a woman who said she killed the man she was living with. Apparently, the man hadn’t even been acting strangely, or anything of the sort.

“I killed him. I couldn’t find a reason to keep on living, but he kept telling me to live. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I killed him.”

No one could deny what she was saying, because they’d all thought the same thing deep down in their hearts. “I’m going to die now, too. Goodbye.”

For a while after that, group suicides between people who lived together became popular on SANE. Milkit and I got scared, and we stopped visiting the site for a while.

In November, we visited SANE for the first time in a while. Something strange was happening.

“This is divine punishment, after all. We’ve encroached on God’s domain and angered him.”

“You might be right… Hey, how can I be forgiven by God?”

“All we can do is believe. Pray to God, offer up your prayers.”

“I’ll pray. Teach me how!”

People began to seek salvation from God. The number of followers grew, and we witnessed the birth of a religion in real time. Neither Milkit nor I were interested.

In December, it got colder. Thanks to insects and animals eating the remains, the smell of decay became less noticeable, which was great. The food supply at the supermarket was running low, so we knew we might need to expand our range of activities in the near future. While we searched for edible canned food, I asked Milkit a question.

“Christmas is coming up soon. Is there anything you want?”

“As long as I have you, Flum-san, that’s all I need.”

Oh my god. My heart is melting.

“I’m super happy about that, but I don’t think that’s enough for me. I want to do something for you.”

“In that case…I’d like to have some cake.” That one sentence decided my next course of action. I wasn’t going to be able to gather all of the ingredients in this one store alone.

The two of us went around to nearby stores, frantically searching for ingredients for the cake. When we were making it side by side at home, I felt so happy. I didn’t really want anything else.

As long as you’re by my side, Milkit. I hope these carefree days will continue as they are. And then, before I know it, I’ll just rot away and die. That’s fine. That’s all I want.

Eventually, the cake was finished, and we had ourselves a modest little Christmas party. It was a little early for Christmas, but still. We made merry, we chatted away, we played, and we made love—and then morning came.

I took the cake that we had left over and brought it back to my parents’ house. My parents were still alive. Their bodies were covered in spots, their abdomens were abnormally swollen, and their skin was the color of dirt. Even so, they were still alive, so I called out to them, telling them, “Eat this later, okay?” and left the cake for them.

The next day, I went to check on my parents again. As I expected, the cake hadn’t been eaten. It had been tossed onto the floor, trampled on, and reduced to a miserable state. I collected the plate and the remains of the cake. Milkit helped me. When we returned to our room and threw it in the trash, I felt overwhelmingly sad and started crying, my shoulders trembling.

 

***

 

On New Year’s Eve, Milkit and I divided up our heavy luggage between the two of us and left our room. We were leaving this town. The incident with the cake the other day had completely broken my heart. I decided that I had no other choice but to give up on my parents.

At the same time, I saw a rumor online that there was a shelter in Tokyo. There was nothing credible about the information, but…I thought that being able to travel with Milkit was better than staying here and dying by the roadside like a dog.

Before we set out on our journey, though, we stopped by my house. We set our luggage down outside the front entrance and I stepped into the dilapidated, festering interior. I was heavily equipped, with plastic bags wrapped around my shoes, and a mask and gloves. I whispered in my father’s ear as he trembled slightly in the living room.

“Thanks for everything. Goodbye.”

Next, I went out in the hallway to look for my mother, who was standing there with a kitchen knife in her hand. She was filthy and inflamed, and there was no trace of who my mom used to be in her. She approached me slowly.

“Mom…?”

“Flum-san, watch out!” Milkit, who had been nearby, shouted to me. My mother took a swing with the knife. I grabbed my mom’s arm at the last second and stopped her.

“N-no…Mom, stop! Please!”

“Please, don’t! Let Flum-san go!” Both Milkit and I tried to stop my mother, but she attacked us with tremendous strength. Drool mixed with foam spilled from the corners of her mouth and she let out a strangled grown from her throat, like “urghhh.”

“F盂, 擧, 甕”

The words that came out of her mouth were nothing but meaningless sounds. But somehow, the shapes she was making with her mouth made me feel like she was trying to call my name. My mother may have noticed that I was going on a journey and was trying to stop me because it made her lonely. If that was the case, then I should choose to…

“Kyaaaaaaah!” At that moment, I could hear Milkit screaming. Before I realized what was happening, she was being attacked by my father, who was holding an ice pick.

“Milkit!” In an instant, the option I was thinking about vanished from my mind. What kind of idiotic idea was I entertaining, letting myself be killed like this? Yes, surely the world would end, and humanity would perish. Even so, there was no way obeying the wishes of such crazed parents could ever be considered filial piety!

“Ugh, come onnn!” I wrenched my mother’s wrist with all my strength and snatched the kitchen knife away from her. And then…

“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!”

I thrust the blade into my mother’s neck as she loomed over me.

“Ugugaaaaaaah!” As she let out a painful cry, blood pouring from her mouth, my mother tried to strangle me. It was almost as if she was saying, Wait, wait, don’t leave me! Clouded brown tears flowed from her eyes.

“Aaaaaah! Aah! Aah! Uwaahhhhh!” Even so, I repeatedly stabbed her with the kitchen knife. Gradually, the strength faded from my mother’s body. In her final moments, she called out my name—“Fl…um…”—before breathing her last.

She was dead. She had been killed. By my own hand. When she called me by my name properly for the first time in months, memories came flooding back. Such fond, distant memories of my family… I felt like crying and screaming. However, I didn’t even have enough time to do that.

“Eeyaaah! Please let me go! Let me gooo!” Milkit was in danger. Pushing aside my mother’s body, I rushed over toward my father next.

“Phew… Haaa…” Taking a deep breath, I raised the blade high, and…

“Aaaaaaaaahhhhh!” I drove the kitchen knife into his back. My father turned to look at me. He had a sad expression on his face. Even so, I wasn’t going to stop. I couldn’t stop, because I already killed my mother!

“Dad! Daaaaaaaaaad!” Shouting meaninglessly, I stabbed him in the arms, in the stomach, and in the chest. Over and over again, relentlessly, until he stopped moving. Then finally, at the very end, his expression softened. My father also died while trying to call my name.

“I…killed…”

I crumbled into a heap and sat on the floor. Milkit came over and hugged me tightly.

“My mom and my dad… In the end, they went back to normal, just for a moment. Maybe that means that…there might have been…a way to bring them back like they were, and yet…!”

“No, you’re wrong. I’m sure they were happy. Because it was their beloved daughter who took care of them in their final moments!”

“But still! I…didn’t want to do this… No matter how…desperate the situation…killing my own parents, that’s… I absolutely, truly did not want to kill my dear mother and father!” I wailed in a way that could have been tearful grief or screaming rage. I buried my face in Milkit’s chest and cried my eyes out. For hours and hours, until I finally fell asleep. She didn’t even complain once but simply held me in her arms.

Bequeathed Memory 2: The Cycle of Transmigration (Reference Error)

Bequeathed Memory 2:
The Cycle of Transmigration
(Reference Error)

 

AFTER MOURNING MY PARENTS, whom I had killed with my own two hands, Milkit and I set out on our journey together. The new year dawned, making it the year 2198 AD. I wasn’t going to celebrate the New Year together with my family like I had last year, or go to the shrine for the first visit of the year, either. The sky was covered with clouds. I thought it looked like the end of the world.

 

***

 

We began our journey north with Tokyo as our destination, taking the national highway at a relaxed pace and stopping wherever we could rest or have fun. The roads were crowded with accident-damaged cars, some even containing bodies. We considered driving but decided against it because the roads were in terrible condition. Sure, the car would automatically take us to our destination, but there was still a possibility of getting into a fatal accident because of someone else. I didn’t especially mind dying myself, but if I did, I wanted to die peacefully with Milkit.

As we traveled, we occasionally met some good, decent people. There was someone who continued to work a part-time job for some reason, even though this was what the world had become. There were people who we thought were living self-sufficiently but then found out that they had buried their daughter in the fields, using her corpse as fertilizer, so that her sacrifice could bring nourishment. There was someone who carried out rescue operations in homemade hero suits, working to save as many people as they could. There was someone who clung to their unrealized love by taking care of the person they had feelings for after they had lost their mind, keeping them like a pet. There was someone who, like us, continued to travel like a free spirit until the end of the world.

We met many others as well. We were truly able to meet all kinds of people. And about half of them died right before our eyes. It seemed they were already close to their limit, and making a connection with someone else pushed them over the edge.

I don’t know how the people who have survived are doing now. But Milkit and I are alive. It took us more than half a year, but we’re still alive, and we reached Tokyo.

It turned out the shelter really did exist. In addition to the extremely prosperous surface of Tokyo, there was also an underground city that was developing at an incredible rate. According to rumors online, there was actually a plan to launch this underground city into the sky and use it like an ark when the world came to an end. It seemed the shelter had been part of that plan, and it had actually been built even deeper beneath the underground city. It was located in the heart of the ark, equipped with things such as air and water circulation systems, crops for self-sufficiency, and so on. It sounded like the ark project was left unfinished due to a budget deficit, but there were sufficient food reserves. In fact, there was still food left when Milkit and I got there, so we borrowed some.

But there were no living people left. There were only lines of corpses. It seemed they’d all committed suicide. In that enclosed space, pessimistic, despairing thoughts about the future of the world had spread like a disease, until one by one, they each took their own lives.

They were correct. Because they didn’t have to lose hope and suffer like us.

 

***

 

Why did I choose so desperately to live, I wondered? If I hadn’t met Milkit in that place. If I had died in the classroom at that time. If my parents had killed me at that other time. My regrets were endless. But no matter how much I regretted things, the past couldn’t be changed. Of course, neither could the present.

Time passed since we discovered the shelter. It was now December 31, 2198 AD. It had been exactly one year since I killed my parents, and Milkit was no longer by my side. I was now lying on my back on the cold steel floor, looking up.

After we left the shelter, Milkit was killed. She was brutally murdered. She was tortured to death. And even after she was dead, she was raped. She was mutilated. Right… Right in front of… Right in front of my eyes.

I couldn’t…do anything. Not only was I unable to protect her, I let her be killed. Having lost everything, I wandered around Tokyo alone. I wanted to be attacked by someone. I wanted to get sick. If that wasn’t possible, I wanted to starve to death.

I wished for death, hoping that it would come. But in the end, even that wish wasn’t granted.

One day, I was surrounded by some suspicious men and dragged into a car against my will. I didn’t really put up any kind of resistance. I thought I was finally going to die…but for some reason, the men just gave me food and water. They treated my wounds and drove me somewhere, which took hours.

Apparently, I had been brought to the Kii Peninsula. I was stuffed into some kind of shady laboratory, where I met a man named “Chatani.”

He said that he was doing research to resist Origin, or something. I have to say, it’s unusual to see someone go by their Japanese name these days. I have one too, I guess. It’s Minazuki Homura. Milkit was Koujitsu Miruku. But we usually called each other Flum and Milkit. Apparently, that was also one of the results of the war.

Chatani said that his other name was “Brown” or something, but he seemed like he didn’t want to be called by that name. He’s a strange guy.

Incidentally, the men who had actually grabbed me went crazy due to Origin’s influence. Funnily enough, they died all too quickly. Also, this man called Chatani had apparently already died, in the physical sense, but his personality was copied into the computer. It was so unfair of these guys to keep dying before me.

According to Chatani, I, having survived this long, might have the power to resist Origin. I had no hope myself, but I was humanity’s last hope. What a funny joke. He was researching a type of energy called Reversal that resisted Origin, and basically, I’d been chosen to be a guinea pig. And now, I was about to undergo experimentation.

“I should mention that everyone aside from you has been wiped out, Minazuki-kun. All of humanity.”

I heard that shocking news over the speaker in the laboratory. It was true that several months had passed since I arrived here, but I had no idea that things had gotten to that point outside.

“When you die, humanity will be totally extinct.”

“That’s wonderful news.”

“Maybe so…”

“I want to go to the other side soon, too. Someone is waiting for me.”

“That someone is Koujitsu, if I recall.”

“Milkit. We never used that name. She’s so incredibly cute. She’s the cutest, kindest, most thoughtful, most earnest, softest, warmest, and sexiest girl in the world, and…” I kept on saying what I liked about Milkit. Dozens of things, hundreds of things, as I recalled the days I had spent with her. “And she loves me the most in the whole wide world. So are you jealous?”

“How can you be going on and on about your lover at a time like this?”

“Because she was my everything!” Now that I had lost her, I could declare that without hesitation. “She was my everything… She was, my…”

“That determination…might have been what has kept you alive.”

“This world is cruel to me.”

“No, you’re wrong. It was Origin’s doing.”

Even if that was true, what difference did it make in this dying world?

“Well, then. I will begin the experiment.”

Immediately after Chatani spoke, there was a loud whirring sound as some kind of machine sprang to life. I felt a strange sensation in my body, almost like my flesh was being forcefully twisted in on itself. It wasn’t painful now, but I knew it would soon turn into excruciating agony.

I was spun around, twisted up, in the opposite direction from Origin. I thought this experiment would probably fail. Because even if Origin twisted things around clockwise, I couldn’t imagine anything would happen from spinning a human around counterclockwise. But that was okay. Now I could die.

As I died an agonizing death, being squeezed like a rag, memories flashed before my eyes like a kaleidoscope. Precious days, hateful days, flowing through me as my life ebbed. Ah…death was such a gentle thing. I wished that my eyes never open again, and that the world would come to an end, and—

 

***

 

Then I, Flum Watermoon, awoke.

“Where am I…?”

I was lying on a soft bed, like one you’d find in a hotel, and surrounded by furnishings that reminded me of my old room. A deep, bassy sound, different from that of the Reversal device, resounded throughout the room. Looking through the nearby window, I could see a city lined with buildings that were nothing more than framework structures. Even further in the distance, I could see large, inverted cone-shaped towers standing side by side.

“Wait, could that be…the underpillar?!” I got up, practically leaping out of bed. At that moment, I noticed that my body felt strangely light. “H-hmm…? What is this? Something feels really off…”

There was a full-length mirror in the corner of the room. I got out of bed and stood before it.

“Wh-what the hell is thissssss?!”

Upon seeing my hair dyed a tawny color, I couldn’t help but shout. Dyeing my hair a color like the sun was against school rules! Wait, but there was no school anymore! And I didn’t have sleeves, either! Even though it was winter! Wait, the room was warm. So it must not have been winter. Also, weren’t these hot pants way, way too short? There’s no way I could wear something like this when I was so self-conscious about my thighs!

And on top of that, I had these suspicious-looking tattoos all over my arms and legs! Freaky! This was so freaky! And more importantly—

“My boobs are tiny!” That made me sad. I wasn’t big to begin with, but now they felt even smaller. Well…I supposed I was thinner than before, at least?

“Wait, who cares about all that?! What’s going on! I… I’m supposed to be dead!”

The fact that the underpillar was here must mean this was Tokyo, the underground city. But it was flying through the sky. And almost everything was in ruins. Up in the sky…and I was dead…so, wait, was this heaven?

“In that case, I wonder if Milkit is here too?”

I tried to leave the room. But for some reason, the door was locked from the outside. I couldn’t get out.

“H-huh? Could it be that I’m locked in here?” After jiggling the doorknob several times, it was suddenly unlocked from the other side. There stood a young woman with red hair who looked a little older than me. Wow, her hair was so flashy. I guess people in Tokyo really were totally fashionable.

“Oh? You’re awake, huh.”

“Oh, uh, hello.”

“Hmm…? Your reaction upon meeting for the first time is a little different than expected. Did Henriette make a mistake? No, she should know she’d be killed if she did something like that.”

This person was saying violent things. Maybe she wasn’t a normal person after all.

“Do you remember the name ‘Flum’?”

“I do…but who are you, Miss?”

“Where are you from?”

“Um, I’m from F Prefecture.” I told her where I was from, but she froze, and her eyes went wide.

“Hey, lemme ask your name once again. Your full name this time.”

“It’s Flum Watermoon.”

“And your Japanese name?”

“Minazuki Homura. Please hold on a minute, though. I seem to be the one answering all of the questions here. Who might you be, Miss?”

Without even answering my question, she suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders. Oh god, this was so freaky! Scary! She was definitely a hooligan! The type of person I just couldn’t get along with!

“Ha ha…ah ha ha! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha! Amazing! So this is what happened. What a coincidence—no, this has gotta be fate! Flum, you’re the best!”

“U-uh, thanks…”

“So when your memories were shut off by Genocide Arts, memories of your past life were brought back? Ha, ha ha! That means Flum Apricot is one of us! How convenient is that?!”

It was no use. I couldn’t understand what this person was saying at all. And for some reason, she was shaking me back and forth while holding me by the shoulders! She was being way too forceful! I was going to throw up!

“Oh, sorry about that. I got a little overexcited and couldn’t help myself.”

“You finally noticed… Urp.”

“My name is Rischel Hyle. I’m a vice captain of the Church Knights.”

“Church Knights…? Is that like some kind of relief group for survivors, Miss?”

“Come on, enough with the polite talk. We’re friends now, after all.”

“Oh, okay…”

“Relief group, huh. I remember those. They usually rotted from the inside and fell apart.”

“Well, I guess I can relate. That tracks with my experience. So what are the Church Knights?”

“It’s just like the name suggests. An order of knights owned by the church.”

Wait, what church? And knights? Like, from a video game or something? She was wearing armor that looked like the real thing, too. So it wasn’t cosplay? This was real?

“Okay, I gotta explain the situation to you, Flum. This place was created by repurposing the underground city of Tokyo’s infrastructure… To put it in simple terms, it’s like an aerial fortress. We call it Tokyo the Sacred Floating City.”

This all sounded fishy. That was obviously a suspicious name. But it was true that that big tower over there was the underpillar.

“Also, AD is over. You’re in the far, far distant future.”

“Huh…?”

“Do you remember when you died?”

“I mean, I literally just died, like moments ago.”

“An unimaginably long time has passed since you died. Humanity, once destroyed, was reborn. Civilization was brought back—but this time as a fantasy world filled with magic!”

“S-so, I’ve been…?”

“Reincarnated.”

Reincarnation was just a fantasy, though…or so I’d thought. But there was no other way to explain this situation. It was possible that my hair had been dyed and the scenery outside was some kind of projected image, but there was nothing anyone could have done about my chest. Well, no. I supposed it was possible I just lost weight and went down a size.

“You’re the same as us. Someone chosen by justice.” Rischel grabbed my shoulders once again, gazing right into my eyes with a passionate intensity. Her eyes sparkled with some mysterious anticipation, which troubled me. “Flum, I’m sure we’re gonna be great friends!”

There’s no way that’ll happen, I thought. But I kept that to myself, of course.

And so began the restart of my strange life.

Chapter 5: Before Departing

Chapter 5:
Before Departing

 

THE CENTRAL CONTROL ROOM that managed Tokyo’s flight was filled with anachronistic electronic equipment. Everything had been reconstructed from what remained in the underground city of Tokyo. In today’s world, where even the knowledge and technology to develop such systems had been lost, let alone the manufacturing of fine parts, the task of restoring such sophisticated electronic equipment was extremely difficult. It was said to be impossible even for someone like Jean Inteige, but one man had made it happen. And that man was captain of the Church Knights: Huyghe Pagna.

According to Huyghe, everything was a miracle brought about by God, and it was Lord Origin’s wisdom that had guided him. Therefore, it was only Huyghe who could fly Tokyo and control the artificial intelligence that governed the systems. Sitting in his chair in the control room, he stared at the numbers displayed on the monitor with an intense look on his face.

“As I thought, the output is weak. If we continue northward and get closer to Lord Origin’s true body, perhaps it will improve a little.”

“It dost not seem like we can launch a lightning-fast surprise attack, does it?” In the same room, Jack relaxed cross-legged upon a mat laid on the floor. He watched things unfold with a teacup filled with hot tea in one hand. “How many days until we are in range?”

“Considering what resistance the demons will put up, I would say about three days’ time.”

“A slow-going journey… At this rate, it appears that we will reach the skies above the Demon Lord’s castle afore long. If we were to launch from here, our attack would be more like a bomb than a missile.”

“Our first choice of attack will be to gain control using the Chimera. That weapon has the potential to cause harm to Lord Origin’s true body.”

“We could have the range extended if we asked Jean Inteige, no?”

“While it seems like he has parted ways with the rest of the heroes, we cannot rely upon him.”

“You are suggesting he is still connected with them in secret?”

“No. Have you seen the weapons that he provided to the Royal Army? They are far, far too idiosyncratic. They are certainly powerful, but the addition of unnecessary features made them unusable for their original purpose.”

“Aha, verily! I see, so that is why Henriette and the others were so put out with him.”

“He is highly talented, but he is useless in an organization. That said, leaving him to his own devices, unchecked, would be extremely dangerous. The king most likely couldn’t find any other use for him, save for keeping him close at hand and letting him conduct research as he pleased.”

“How could they have traveled with such a monster for a half a year, I wonder.” Not just Jack, but even Huyghe was impressed by that point, feeling that the heroes deserved praise. “Still, why didst thou insist upon using that weapon, Captain? It is difficult to use, no?”

“Romanticism, I suppose.” Huyghe said that somewhat bashfully for some reason. “It is the same for this town. It fulfilled the dreams that ‘he’ and I once talked about, ages ago. After such a long time, the task of restoring what he had left behind was work filled with joy.”

“I see, so that is what it comes down to, in the end.”

“Yes. Love. Nothing else is necessary.” Huyghe said that with a serious look on his face. “The same is true for everyone. For me, you, and even Rischel. She is also searching for love.”

“She was delighted to learn that Flum Apri…no, rather, Flum Watermoon was one of us.”

Rischel, discovering Flum Watermoon after she awoke, had come here to report it. Her eyes sparkling excitedly like a dog about to go on a walk, she said, “Flum has ‘justice’ on her side! We can be friends!”

Since everyone else in the group was older than Rischel, and male to boot, she must have been happy to have a friend the same age.

“Do you really think this will work? I really cannot imagine how we can bring her to our side.”

“The world is going to end soon, anyway. She can just do whatever she wants.”

“Verily! Is that not like saying that wishes do not come true?”

At that, Huyghe slowly turned to look at Jack. “Our wish is to revive Lord Origin.”

He stared intently into Jack’s eyes as he calmly spoke those words. Despite his composed face and flat tone, his words had a strange power that made a chill run down Jack’s spine. Jack stopped touching on that topic.

“Still, I must say, it is quite strange. This business about how if you cut off memories with Genocide Arts, memories of a past life will return. I have never heard of such a thing before.”

“It is the first time I have heard of such a thing happening as well. Perhaps Flum really is a special case.”

“Perhaps Henriette is up to something.”

“She is not that cunning.”

“Perhaps she has tried to do something to artificially increase the number of Genocide Arts users.”

“‘Justice’ is not something that can be obtained simply by erasing memories. Flum is an exception.”

They were committed to justice. They lived for justice. They didn’t know what that justice was—but they took pride in the fact that justice dwelled within them.

 

***

 

In the underground laboratory in the royal capital, Satuhkie continued delivering his speech in front of the corpse of Flum Watermoon.

“Even after the passage of time everlasting, her determination and nobility remain! She is the very embodiment of the justice I so admired as a boy! Through my encounter with her, I was reminded of how noble the human race is!”

Included in the data Chatani had were several messages that had been recorded before Flum Watermoon’s death. They contained records of the journey that had been taken by the two girls—Flum Watermoon and Milkit—how that journey ended, and the events that had befallen Flum afterward.

“And even after her death, her will remains. As a magic that we call Reversal.”

Thus, the long speech came to an end. After listening to everything Satuhkie had said, Milkit summarized what he was trying to say in one sentence.

“You believe that Master is the reincarnation of that person, then.”

In response, Satuhkie readily answered, “Yes, I do. Their names are the same, they have the same appearance, they both have a partner named Milkit, and they both share the same determination to resist Origin. That cannot be dismissed as mere coincidence. It’s fate! Her fight against Origin and your encounter with her too, also—”

“The one I love is the Master who lives in this world right now.” Milkit interrupted Satuhkie’s words with determination. “I’m sorry. I am not very interested in that person.”

Her words might cause some awkwardness, but even so, she had to say what she thought. However, to her surprise, Satuhkie responded with a satisfied smile.

“That is quite all right. That is also a noble human trait. You should follow your heart.” He remained steadfast, accepting that this was a lovable aspect of humanity. One might say that was yet another of the many suspicious things about him.

Putting that aside, Linus asked a question that had sprung to his mind as he listened to the story. “So in the end, the Reversal cores were created from her?”

“Partly. The data on Flum Apricot collected by the church also contributed greatly.”

“So you’re saying there were affinities between the data on that corpse and data from the Flum that exists now?”

“That is yet another reason why I suspect that Flum Watermoon may have been her incarnation in a previous life, yes.”

At the very least, the twisted corpse and Flum’s Reversal ability had extremely similar properties. With so many similarities, it was difficult to dismiss this as mere coincidence—and yet, Milkit still appeared unconvinced.

At that moment, the door to the room opened and Eterna appeared. Gadhio asked her if the medicine was ready, but she shook her head from side to side.

“I gave Cyrill the extract and observed her reaction, but it doesn’t appear to be working. I need a different medicine.”

Upon hearing this, Satuhkie put his hand to his chin and thought on it deeply.

“Which means you will need more time, I suppose. If there are medicinal herbs you are lacking, I will provide them.”

“If I return home, my stock will…”

“You can use as much of the cathedral’s inventory as you wish.”

“Then I’ll take you up on that,” Eterna said at once.

Before leaving to show Eterna to the storehouse, Satuhkie addressed Chatani. “Doctor Chatani, while there’s time, could you please give them those things?”

The hologram in the white coat responded simply with “Understood,” the same languid look on his face.

 

***

 

Chatani led the heroes to a room with a burlap bag filled with many bracelets. Linus lifted the bag, took out one of the bracelets, and examined it.

“You made quite a few of these Reversal cores, I see.” There seemed to be exactly ten in total.

“Perhaps you’ve prepared some for demons as well, then?”

In response to Neigass’s question, Chatani responded simply with “Sure, yeah.” He instructed the heroes to take the other bag that had been placed next to them. This time, it was Gadhio who picked up the bag and inspected the contents.

“Small silver boxes?”

“They appear to be smaller versions of the main unit that Mister Chatani showed us earlier,” Maria said.

If that was true, that meant some of his brain cells were inside them—but Chatani denied that was the case, saying, “They’re just communication devices. It’s difficult to procure the small parts, though, so these can only be used to transmit voice.”

“How do you use them?”

“When you start talking, the sound will be automatically transmitted to the other devices. If you don’t want it to make any noise, touch the slightly concave part on the side once. However, since these are makeshift devices constructed in a hurry, you can’t make any fine adjustments to the volume.”

At that, Neigass immediately took two devices out of the bag, handed one of them to Sara, and started playing with it.

“Ah, ah, ahhh. Hello? Can you hear me?”

“Oh! I really can hear you!”

“Now we can whisper our love to each other anytime, anywhere!”

“Everyone else can totally hear us too, though!”

Linus, paying no attention to the two of them playing around, approached Chatani with a question. “Hey Chatani…how far can these things reach?”

“I designed them to be used within Tokyo, so they can easily reach from one end of the city to the other.”

“Even if it’s short, that’s still two kilometers… Gadhio, we’ve really got something unbelievable on our hands.”

“This will change the battlefield.”

In the past, letters were sent using wind magic, but this required magicians with advanced skills, such as Linus or Neigass. These communication devices were an innovative tool that could transmit information instantly, without the need for such skills.

Linus and Gadhio excitedly discussed using the devices. Maria timidly raised her hand and asked Chatani a question.

“By the way, Mr. Chatani, have you also made a map?”

“Ah. Well, I’ve finished the calculations, but I forgot that the monk who always helped me draw when I needed it isn’t here anymore. There’s paper and pens here, so I thought I’d ask someone to draw it for me.” If they had printing equipment, even Chatani, who had no physical body, could produce a map—but here, there was no choice but to rely on human hands.

Gadhio made a suggestion. “Welcy can burn figures onto paper, can’t she?”

“She certainly can do that. I will go look for her.”

Ottilie, who had been standing near the exit at that moment, volunteered to go look for Welcy. When Ottilie brought her back, Chatani made his form disappear and instead projected a map in the empty space.

“Burn Projection!” Welcy burned the shape of the map onto a large piece of paper placed on the floor.

“What a wonderful ability.”

“I never imagined I’d be complimented by a demon… Eh he he, thank you.” Welcy scratched her head bashfully, but her voice still lacked vigor. It seemed she still hadn’t come to terms with the matter of her older brother.

Meanwhile, Maria and Linus immediately turned their attention to the map.

“There seem to be even more cores than I had imagined. Are there more than twenty of them?” The locations where the Origin cores were thought to be located were marked with circles.

“Well, they’re makin’ something so unbelievably huge fly, after all. It’s not so much skill as, like, brute force they’re keeping it up with, probably.”

The troublesome thing about the Origin cores was that they could be mass-produced. It seemed they were using as many as twenty cores, but the fact that they could make a large city float with only twenty meant the cores were so efficient that relying on other energy sources seemed ridiculous.

Chatani also shifted his gaze toward the map.

“The speed will decrease even if you do not destroy them all. If you can reduce the number of cores to two or three, the altitude will also decrease.”

As Linus stared intently at the map, the furrow in his brow gradually softened. “I kinda feel like we can win now.”

“Yeah, we can! If everyone works together, we can definitely stop them!” Sara’s voice, bursting with energy, further boosted everyone’s hopes.

 

***

 

After returning from the cathedral, Satuhkie hurriedly visited another room. There, he found Slowe lying in bed, with Y’lla efficiently and diligently caring for him. Satuhkie immediately told them about his plan for the future.

“I’m really going to become king…?”

“That’s too much! There’s no way that cute little Slowe could handle the duties of kingship!”

“I shall support you, Your Majesty.” Satuhkie knelt reverently and bowed his head. He had planned to cultivate a certain kind of mood, but it appeared to have backfired with Y’lla.

“No, don’t do it, Slowe. No matter how much he supports you financially, you can’t trust people like him. He’s probably planning to just use you as a puppet so he can do whatever he wants.”

“I won’t deny that.”

“See!”

“B-but, if I were really to become king, I would need to do at least some things myself, or it wouldn’t work…”

“Are there no other members of the royal family left?”

“The current king does have a son, but it is highly likely that he has been brainwashed by Origin since early childhood. Furthermore, the whereabouts of the king and all the other members of the royal family are unknown. Most likely, they are holed up within the fortress.”

However, since even cardinals could easily be killed, he felt it was unlikely that the king’s son was still alive. The reason people of great importance had deliberately been brought to the fortress was probably to throw the royal capital into chaos and to restrict Satuhkie’s movements, most likely.

“The royal capital is in a terrible state. The city and its people are in ruins, and with the king absent, riots could break out at any moment… There is not a moment to waste. The fate of the kingdom rests with you. Please, won’t you work with me?” Satuhkie stared intently at Slowe with a passionate look in his eyes and pleaded.

“I-I…”

“Slowe…”

Slowe and Y’lla were shaken. Satuhkie was confident that he was close to winning Slowe over, with just a little more persuasion. But at the same time, Satuhkie mocked himself inwardly, realizing that thinking such things would make them wary and suspicious of him.

 

***

 

With his departure imminent, Gadhio spent time with his family, sitting together in circle. Seeing Gadhio hugging Hallom as she played, Kleyna had a sad look on her face.

“I see. So you’re leaving again.”

“I’m sorry that I can’t spend much time together with you.”

“It’s understandable. This is a worldwide crisis.” Last time, she was the one leaving, but this time, she was seeing him off. What’s more, he was going even further away. She felt lonely…and scared.

“Daddy…are you okay? You’re cold.” Hallom, who was clinging tightly to Gadhio, suddenly looked up and asked him that question anxiously.

“Nothing’s wrong. Children just have higher body temperatures.” Gadhio tried to smooth things over.

Kleyna stealthily averted her eyes, bit her lip, and felt tears well up in her eyes. She thought about saying, I know. Did you think I wouldn’t notice? But she swallowed those words, thinking it wasn’t appropriate to say something like that before he departed on this journey.

Gadhio was aware of Kleyna’s inner conflict.

If the Chimera are about, it’s highly likely that Echidna is aboard, too. However, he had no intention of turning back. If I can kill that woman, then I…

What he fixed his gaze upon was not his future as a man and as a father, but his future as an avenger.

 

***

 

At the same time, Milkit and Ottilie were arguing for some reason in the hallway.

“I cannot take you with us.”

“Why not?!”

“What do you mean, ‘Why not?’ To be honest…you are not much help in battle.” Of course, Milkit knew for herself that her presence would only be a hindrance.

“I understand that. But…ultimately, I can’t do anything even when I’m by Master’s side. Master protects me, but I can’t do anything for her in return… I hate myself so much that it makes me want to disappear! I want to do something! Even if it’s only something small, for Master’s sake!”

“Proving your love by throwing yourself in harm’s way… I too know that feeling. But Sister was never happy about me doing so.” In the end, it was only self-satisfaction. While it might have been true that that was just the way love was, Ottilie couldn’t very well irresponsibly allow someone else to do something like that, even if she did that herself. “If you are no longer here when Flum returns, then…she will be devastated.”

“So…what should I do, then? What should…I do for Master?” Milkit slumped and collapsed onto the floor in a heap.

This girl is quite upset. Even more so because Flum was taken right in front of her eyes…

What shocked Milkit more than nearly dying was that she couldn’t do anything when Flum was kidnapped. Flum always said “Just being by your side is enough,” but every time Milkit heard those words, her desire to do something, to be useful to her master, grew stronger. Ottilie couldn’t aggressively stop her because she understood those feelings all too well. Just then, Eterna passed by, holding a vial containing a medicinal liquid.

“Ottilie and Milkit. It’s unusual to see the two of you together.”

“Oh, Eterna. Have you completed the medicine?”

“More or less. Linus is currently checking on the royal castle, so we will leave once he returns.” After answering, Eterna stared intently at Milkit. “This may just be my imagination, but were you discussing whether to bring Milkit along to Selayde?”

“That is a good guess. I understand that she wants to do something, but…”

“If I can’t do anything here and now…then, I don’t know why I’m even alive…” Milkit pleaded, speaking in a voice so weak that it seemed like she might break at any moment. Eterna crouched down in front of her, met her gaze, and stroked her head.

“I understand. We’ll take you with us.”

“Are you really sure it’s okay to offer that so readily?!”

“In exchange, though, I will be close to you at all times. Is that okay?” A light began to shine in Milkit’s downcast eyes.

“Eterna…is that really all right?”

“It will be dangerous.”

“Even I do not know where the safest place would be. Whether it’s the royal capital or the demon realm, anywhere the church operates unchecked is dangerous. In that case, it’s better to keep her close at hand.” The location of the underground research facility had already been discovered by the church. While there was no benefit for the church in attacking this location, there was still a possibility that they would send in Chimera.

“All right, I understand. If you say so.”

“Thank you. Thank you both so very much!” Milkit repeatedly bowed her head and thanked both Ottilie, who had tried to stop her from going out of concern, and Eterna, who had allowed her to accompany them.

“Do not leave my side even for a moment.”

“Yes!”

“Also, it’ll be a good idea for you to at least learn some defensive magic. I’ll teach you later if I have time to—”

“I was listening to your conversation.” Chatani smoothly and suddenly poked his head out from the wall.

Milkit let out a terrified shriek, while Eterna mumbled “What a malicious way to make an appearance” as she glared at him.

“That really was not my intention…”

“If that is the case, then you are a man with truly horrible timing.” Ottilie shrugged as she said that.

Chatani deliberately cleared his throat, then said, “If you are looking for weapons for self-defense, I can prepare those. Do you want to take some along?” His face was serious.

 

***

 

Milkit and Eterna arrived at a laboratory near the sleeping quarters. Milkit picked up a silver-colored L-shaped object that had been placed on the desk.

“What…is this?”

“Do ‘guns’ still exist in this age?”

“They do, but this looks completely different.”

“I knew intellectually that this was likely a gun, but I thought it would be bigger.”

Guns did still exist in this age, but they hadn’t been this miniaturized.

“Oh, so handgun models are rare? I was interested in magic, so I tried to make one using my knowledge. It’s easier to handle than one that uses gunpowder, but the drawback is that it’s a disposable limited-use weapon, since it’s based on the magical power stored in the ore. However, it has little recoil, so it should be easy to use, even for someone exceptionally weak.”

“How do you use it?”

Milkit received instructions from Chatani via a lecture. After setting up a target in the room, she fired several shots. The gun made a subdued popping noise that didn’t echo very much. On the other hand, it had enough power to pierce through a single steel plate.

“Sorry, but there isn’t enough ammunition for more, so that’ll be it for practice. The rest is for actual combat. Ten shots should be enough. You’re likely not going to be using it in battle, anyway.”

“Is it because it’s specially made that it has so few bullets? Like it’s been endowed with Reversal energy or something?”

In response to Eterna’s question, Chatani shook his head with a wry smile on his face. “It’s nothing as grand as all that. This is just something I made to kill time, as a hobby. It’s only for self-defense, so keep in mind that it won’t do much against Chimera.”

“So you’re saying it’s for use against people.”

“Against people…”

“It might be useful, then. Since it was people who kidnapped Flum.”

If something happens, use it on the Church Knights. That was likely what Chatani was saying. Milkit had no experience ever hurting another person with a weapon before. However, she likely would not hesitate to take a life if it meant saving Flum.

 

***

 

Meanwhile, Neigass and Sara stopped by the room where Maria was resting.

“The green fellow is not here. Perhaps we ought to come back later.”

Maria was all alone in the room. She sat silently in a chair, unusually quiet. “I thought for certain that I had disappointed you greatly during our last conversation.”

“You did, but if you don’t come with us, our strength will be diminished. That’s why I’m conducting another interview.” Neigass and Sara sat side by side in the seats across from Maria.

“I suppose it is good that Linus isn’t here, then. He’s kind, so he would surely end up trying to cover for me.”

“Big Sis Maria…how much of what you said is true?” Sara asked her once again.

Maria squinted sadly but answered without hesitation. “All of it.”

Sara was shocked once again, but this time, she was able to respond immediately.

“So you hate demons? If you can destroy demons, you don’t care what happens to everyone else?!”

“That’s…right. Yes, that’s how it is.”

“That doesn’t make sense!” This was the first time that Sara had ever raised her voice at Maria like this. Her beloved big sister, whom she looked up to. The big sister whom she loved so much. It was because she was those things that Sara didn’t want to direct such violent emotions toward her. “Then why where you so kind to us?! Me, Ed, Johnny, Elune, we all think of you as family, Big Sis. It’s because you treated us so kindly that we felt like you were our own sister! If your only goal was to get revenge, then you didn’t need to do all that!”

If you were going to throw everything away anyway, I wish you hadn’t been so kind to me in the first place. If you wanted to be kind to me, then I wish you wouldn’t toss me aside in the end. Sara directed these simple wishes at Maria. She was too bright for Maria to look upon. All she could do was turn away and fall silent.

Just as the conversation was about to reach an impasse, Neigass spoke up.

“Just to confirm…it was really demons who destroyed your home?”

“Are you saying that I’m lying?” Being questioned by a demon made Maria’s eyes light up with hatred. She was unable to accept what she’d just heard. The intensity was completely different from the indecisive girl she’d been just moments ago.

“Forgive me. I apologize. If you can look at me with eyes like that, then it seems it really is the truth. Honestly, we demons are not so innocent that we can place all the blame on humans, so…I need to apologize to little Sara on this point too.”

“What do you mean? Were the demons doing bad things too?!”

“I was investigating the royal capital because we thought there might be a reason why the power of Origin was leaking out. But I couldn’t find any evidence of that. In the end, the cause was Origin, located underground, below the Demon Lord’s castle.”

“Yes. It was your loosening the seal that started it all,” Maria said coldly, her words piercing Neigass. Because what she said was an irrefutable fact. That was why Neigass herself admitted to it.

“There are traitors among the demons.” Following Sara’s example earlier, Neigass faced her sins—and Maria—without flinching. “It was probably them who had destroyed your home.”

“You admit it, then. The wrongdoing of the demons.”

“Yes, I admit it. I truly am sorry.”

Maria looked a little uncomfortable when Neigass apologized sincerely. She had likely unconsciously assumed that Neigass would make some kind of excuse.

Come to think of it, I have never actually spoken with a demon before… She had only known them as bloody monsters who had killed her family, and she had never needed to know.

“Please raise your head. It’s okay. I know that you are not the same as the demons who attacked my home.”

“But…we’ve been carrying out destructive, subversive activities under the pretext of resolving the demons’ grievances.”

“I know. There was evidence that suggested that the demons were responsible for the massacre. Perhaps there were traitors among those who stirred up discontent, and they were the ones who brought about this outcome.”

“So do you mean that the ones who destroyed my home…were part of that, too?” After being supported by Neigass and welcomed so kindly by everyone in the Demon Lord’s castle, Sara had just begun to think the demons were all good people. She couldn’t hide her shock at learning the truth.

“Yes…that’s right. I know this is not a satisfying answer, but I really have no idea who the traitors are. Right now, I have Tsyon investigating within Selayde.”

This was a deeply interesting subject for Maria as well. She might be able to meet the ones responsible for killing her family and perhaps have her revenge. It was a welcome prospect, but…

“This is a dilemma. Until now, my reason for going to the demon realm was hatred, but I cannot protest my own innocence.” No matter how many sins the demon race had committed, the truth was that Maria’s own wrongdoings would never be erased.

Neigass suddenly interrupted, saying “I have a few questions” before broaching a new subject. “Are you still connected to the church?”

“No, I am not.”

“Are you connected with the Church Knights?”

“No.”

“What about the Chimera?”

“I am one of the ones who have been discarded, so I have no intention of joining forces with them.”

“If you can go to the Demon Lord’s castle, would you want to release the seal on Origin?”

What purpose does this serve, answering these questions? Maria, feeling a little foolish, answered firmly.

“No.”

Neigass brought her hand to her chin and stared intently at Maria’s face, so hard that it was almost like she was going to pierce a hole straight through it. “You do not seem to be lying. Very well.”

“What did you learn from all of that?”

“I give you my permission to accompany me.”

“But why…? What did you learn from those simple questions?”

“Even before getting to that, I was observing how your voice and body language changed in response to your emotions, throughout the course of the conversation.” Of course, Neigass hadn’t exchanged words just for that reason, but she had gathered information to come to a decision. “Not everyone can use this method, of course. But you’re quite awkward, aren’t you? You couldn’t hide your emotions even if you tried, especially in front of Linus and Sara.”

Maria’s feelings of anger and hatred were so obvious that you could say that they were naked for all to see. She appeared elegant and sophisticated on the outside, but Neigass analyzed her as having a quite passionate, fiery personality inside. “So I can say with certainty that you weren’t lying in response to the questions I asked you earlier. I don’t know what you’re torn up and lost about, but it seems to me that I might be able to pull you slightly over to our side if I help you get revenge on those who attacked your home.”

“But there’s no reason for you to go to such lengths to bring me along with you, is there?”

“There are reasons. Among them is that it would make Sara happy.” Neigass stood behind Sara and placed her hands on Sara’s shoulders.

“Little Sara is making this face that just says, ‘I wanna be together with Big Sis Maria!’ You can see it, right? It honestly makes me a little jealous.”

Maria looked intently at Sara. Sara clenched her hands tightly before her, as if she wanted to say something, but was holding it in. Then she confronted Maria with her characteristic straightforwardness.

“I wanna be together with Big Sis Maria!”

She still nursed many doubts and inner conflicts, but in the end, that feeling was the strongest. Maria had changed, but Sara had been blessed with experiences that caused her to grow swiftly, while staying as straightforward as ever. Maria envied her, but as her older sister, she was also very happy for her.

“And here you used to follow behind me all the time.” Maria supposed this was just as it should be. “How did you grow up to be such a good girl?”

Maria was called a saint. But her virtue… Facing someone who truly deserved the name of saint, Maria was painfully aware of how meager her virtue was.

***

Jean was immersed in his research in his room at the royal castle when a knock at the door interrupted his concentration.

“Who’s there? Don’t disturb me,” Jean replied in an irritable fashion.

“It’s me, Linus.”

Jean’s expression softened somewhat at this unexpected visitor. He opened the door obediently, which was unusual for him.

“I’m surprised. I didn’t expect you to show up after what happened.”

“I came to check on you, to make sure you were safe. I didn’t think that you’d really stay here in the castle.” This meant Jean had been in this room the whole time that giant Mother was around. Linus couldn’t imagine how he’d had managed to survive.

“Who do you think I am? I’m not an ordinary person. I can’t be driven mad by something like that.” As Jean made that declaration, he sat down in his chair. Linus tidied up a large pile of documents that had been placed on the sofa meant for visitors and sat down there. He noticed a black crystal on the desk in the room.

“That Origin core…was that given to you by Maria, by any chance?”

“Oh yes. That was an extremely unpleasant incident.” It must have been something Jean could not stomach, because his facial expression twisted with abhorrent disgust. It had been entirely Maria’s fault, so Linus couldn’t say anything in response.

Then Jean suddenly grabbed the hem of his own garment and showed Linus his abdomen. “And this is an Origin core that I borrowed from a Chimera.”

“Uwaaaaagh?!”What Linus saw was a core embedded in Jean’s stomach. The surrounding skin was twisted and wrinkled, and the crystal was completely implanted into his body. “J-J-J-Jean! Don’t you know what that thing is?!”

Jean responded with a knowing smirk, grabbed hold of the core in his abdomen, and then plucked it out. It left a cavity behind, but after a few seconds, the area returned to its original shape, as if he had regenerated, like Flum.

“Of course I do. It’s removable.”

“W-w-wait, hold on a minute. I have no idea what’s going on here. Why would you make something like that?!”

“As a precaution. For after the charade is over.” Linus thought Jean was joking, but then he saw that Jean had a serious look on his face.

“Charade? Wait, hold on—upon closer inspection, that thing you put on the shelf, isn’t that a Reversal core?”

“Oh, I got this from an acquaintance. Surprisingly enough, it was from a human being with enough intelligence to be able to speak on equal terms with me—well, no, not quite a human being. Rather, a ‘being’ I suppose. He told me all sort of interesting things.”

“You must be talking about Chatani. So that’s why you’re okay.” Jean had said he was different from ordinary people, but apparently, he had taken proper precautions against Mother.

But why did Chatani help a guy like him? I suppose they might get along, as fellow researchers, but…no, there’s no way anyone would get along well with Jean. But it seems like they were able to have a conversation.

Linus was surprised by the range at which Chatani could manifest himself, but he was even more surprised to learn there was someone who could speak with Jean on equal footing.

“So what are you planning to do by making something like that? If you want to fight the church, you ought to work with us.”

“I’m not interested in the church. The only one I’m fighting is Origin.”

“In that case, you should just join forces with us and—”

“Even if you were to make Tokyo fall and destroy the church, nothing will be resolved as long as the root cause, Origin, remains. In order for a genius such as myself to achieve a complete and total victory, I have no other choice but to destroy it.”

“I don’t remember you having an ‘I’m gonna save the world’ kind of personality.”

“Who said anything about doing it to save the world? I’m doing it for my own sake. It’s a matter of pride.”

“Pride?” Linus couldn’t for the life of him understand the notion of picking a fight with a god simply out of pride. “Okay, but before that, shouldn’t you give Flum and Cyrill a proper apology?”

“If you came here to lecture me, then leave. You have no reason to rebuke me for treating trash like trash. Besides, Cyrill simply eavesdropped on a conversation without permission and got upset on her own.”

“But that means you’ve basically been jilted.”

Jean was left at a loss for words when Linus sharply pointed that out. He could only respond with a “Grr…”

“Oh, so that bothers you, does it?”

“It’s just that Cyrill couldn’t come anywhere close to my level. The difference between us was far too great!”

“Hey, men get stronger when they get rejected. Cheer up.”

“I’m telling you, I was not rejected!” Jean sounded like he was quite heartbroken, given how emotional he was getting. But considering how selfish he was, it was also rather egotistical of him to be heartbroken.

“Hmph… Did you come here to engage in such ridiculous and foolish conversation? Your battle is about to begin. You should have no time for this. I am not interested. Hurry on to your next scene.”

“I already told you, I came to check on you. I still don’t really understand it all, but from what I hear, if we fail, the world’s gonna be destroyed. I don’t want to end on bad terms, parting ways after fighting, right?”

It was certainly true that Linus and Jean hadn’t seen each other since they fought over the matter with Cyrill, but…there was no need for Linus to repair his relationship with Jean in particular among all the human relationships that he had established. Jean understood that too. That was why he gave Linus an exasperated look as he spoke.

“I’ve been thinking this for quite some time, but you really are out of your mind.”

“Are you trying to pick a fight again?”

“You are the only one who would speak that way to me—someone who is on a completely different intellectual level from you,” Jean said. Linus interpreted this as Jean’s way of complimenting him and swallowed his anger for the time being. “It is entirely incomprehensible that you would have feelings for such a hopeless woman.”

Linus couldn’t hold back his anger a second time. “I can’t believe you. How much do you hate Maria?!”

“It is only natural that I would, given that she tarnished my pride. Look. See this core.” Jean took the core that Maria had given him in hand, an unusual but sincerely contemptuous smile appearing on his face. “She gave me this core—she foisted this inferior, poorly made trash on me. I will improve upon it with my own hands and cut down its receptive functions even further than the Chimera. Just you wait and see. It’ll serve them right. That little girl thinks she can show charity to a genius like me? She is a hundred billion years too late for that. The same goes for Echidna. That’s right—if Echidna had only bowed down humbly before me, prostrated herself in submission, and begged me for my teaching, she could have been the victor by now!”

The terrifying thing about Jean was that it was impossible to say for certain that he wasn’t right. Jean approached Linus with the Origin core in hand and placed it in Linus’s hands. “Therefore, you can keep this vexing thing.”

“I don’t really know what to do with this. I don’t want it.”

“I have made some improvements, so it should be useable.”

“And I’m telling you I don’t want to use it!” Jean wasn’t listening. Linus was left bewildered at being forced to take something so insane.

Jean opened a drawer in the cabinet and looked at the red and blue crystals lined up inside. After a moment’s hesitation, he picked up the blue crystal and handed it to Linus.

“And I’ll give you this too, while I’m at it.”

“And what is this one…?”

“This blue crystal…sucks up all of a user’s magical power and blasts a small area around them.”

“Say what…?”

“Putting it in simple terms, it’s self-destructive magic. If you know how hopeless and worthless that woman is, how much she cannot be saved, but you still want to grow old with her and live out your lives as a married couple until death do you part—then have her use this when the time comes.”

“You asshole! How can you say something so ridiculous!”

“Linus, do you really think that you can have a normal, proper romance with Maria Afenjuns?”

“Don’t talk to me about romance, virgin!”

“Your pupils are slightly dilated. I suppose you do have some thoughts on the matter.”

Maria had joined in the battle against Mother. She had wanted the Origin core removed from her body and was going to be joining in the upcoming battle against the Church Knights. If they could just defeat the church, then Linus could bring her back to a place where she could bask in the sunlight. He felt that it was possible—that it was within reach.

But at the same time, he wondered if Maria was still hiding something. In short, Jean was right, which was why Linus couldn’t say anything in response.

“Linus, I know you’re being foolish. So just shut up and take them.” Two detestable crystals lay in Linus’s hands. Just holding them made him feel genuinely uncomfortable. As he held them, an expression of anguish on his face like he was being forced to swallow a bitter pill, Jean couldn’t bear to watch. He tactfully produced a bag to put the crystals in.

“I am never, ever going to use them, though.”

“It is not my choice to make.”

“I will never, never, never use them!” While emphatically declaring that and clutching the bag containing the crystals, Linus headed out of the room.

For some reason, Jean smiled, like he found something amusing. He let out a snort.“That reminds me, Linus. You once invited me to some gathering of idiots—a drinking party, if I recall.”

“You turned the invitation down.”

“Was that something I would have been able to enjoy, had I gone?”

“If you had a bored look on your face, I would’ve made you laugh, even if I had to force you.” It was unusual for Jean to remain in this good a mood, even engaging in trivial small talk. “What, do you want to go now? After all this time?”

“I suppose so. In order for me to be a genius, there need to be a certain number of fools around. I thought it would be a good way for me to learn how vulgar the world of the foolish can be.”

“Just come out and say that you want to go, honestly.”

Considering Jean’s personality, it was no wonder he would never say such a thing. Finally, Linus just said, “If you come back, I’ll take you to my favorite place,” and left the room.

On his way back to the research facility, he thought about what Jean said today.

Jean… Judging from the way he was talking, does he know that something big is gonna happen soon?

Jean had clearly been acting strangely today. Why had he engaged in such pointless small talk and why had he handed Linus those crystals? It sounded like Jean had made a connection with Chatani before anyone else had realized it. What had he learned as a result of that connection?

There was no after. The battle was going to end here and now, with this. Linus reaffirmed his resolve that that was the case.

 

***

 

Linus had returned from the royal castle, and preparations for the departure to Selayde were complete. Just before waking Cyrill with the medicine, Eterna called over Satuhkie in front of the room where Cyrill was asleep.

“What do you wish to talk about before your departure?”

“About Ink.” It was decided that Ink would stay behind to watch over Nekt. Eterna swore to her that she would definitely come back home, and they pinky-promised. “This place isn’t necessarily entirely safe, either. But she wants to remain by Nekt’s side.”

It would be meaningless for only Eterna to remain safe if she wanted to fulfill her promise to Ink. Which was why she bowed her head to Satuhkie. “So no matter what happens, I want you to protect Ink. I beg you.”

Once you entrusted someone with something, they had to fulfill that obligation. For Ink’s sake, something like pride was a small price to pay. Satuhkie commended Eterna for that.

“I am a cardinal. I know that I have not yet completely earned your trust. Even so, I am deeply impressed by your nobility in setting aside your pride and bowing your head to me. I will do everything that I can to protect her.”

Eterna had not bowed her head to please him…but seeing his reaction, she felt relieved. She thought he would do everything in his power to protect Ink, come what may.

 

***

 

The time had finally come to awaken Cyrill. Eterna gave her the medicine that she crafted, as Cyrill slept in bed. The effects were immediate.

“U-uhhh…” A hoarse, husky groan came from Cyrill’s throat. She woke up, sat upright, and immediately complained of feeling unwell. “Ah, ugh, my head… Why? What’s… G-gaaah…!”

She was assailed by an intense headache. Eterna felt the pain of guilt in her chest, but this was within expectations.

“Cyrill, I’m sorry for forcing you awake.”

“Eter…na?”

“Flum’s been kidnapped.”

Cyrill’s eyes widened in shock, but she quickly understood what her role was to be. “Where…should I go…?”

“We need to go to the demon realm. Can you fly us there using the Return spell, to the northernmost teleportation stone?”

“Hack, cough…!”

Eterna had thought Cyrill was just coughing, but now the hero spat out blood. It seemed the strain of Brave wasn’t just affecting Cyrill’s head, but her entire body.

“Gather, every…one together… Got to…rescue Flum…”

The nine people heading for the demon realm included Eterna, Gadhio, Linus, Maria, Ottilie, Neigass, Sara, Milkit, and Cyrill. Everyone gathered around Cyrill and waited for her to activate her magic.

“Return!” When Cyrill summoned as much strength as she could muster and invoked that word, the room was enveloped in a soft light. When the light had faded, all nine had disappeared.

“We’re counting on you, heroes.” Satuhkie, who had remained behind, muttered those words softly, as if praying.

Bequeathed Memory 3: Raison d’Être

Bequeathed Memory 3:
Raison d’Être

 

“WHERE DID YOU LIVE, FLUM? What was your blood type? When’s your birthday? Who was your favorite artist?”

Ever since I woke up, Rischel had been visiting me here in “Tokyo,” where I’d been held captive, and acting overly familiar with me. Just now, she’d climbed onto the bed and begun bombarding me with questions, pitching forward excitedly. “Did you have friends? Any people you hated? Anybody you wanted to kill? What’s the most memorable corpse you’ve seen so far?”

“W-well, I don’t really remember all that much…ah ha ha.”

Trapped on the bed, I probably looked like a small animal being cornered by a hungry predator. After listening to everything she’d said so far, the one thing I’d realized was that she was definitely not normal. So I just smiled and went along with the conversation, and because of that, she took a liking to me and started getting even closer.

As I wondered what I should do, the solution I came up with was asking, “Hey, tell me more about yourself, Rischel.”

I decided to let the other party do the talking, for now. If she said something like “I’m sooo happy that you’re interested in me! I wuvvvv you!” then I would throw my hands up and give up.

“I’m the same kind of person as you, Flum.”

“I don’t really know what that means, though? Being the same kind of person…?”

“Someone with memories of their past life.”

“Past life… Wait, but I don’t remember anything about my past life.”

“Yeah, you’re a special case, Flum. The personality of your past life is coming to the surface due to the temporary loss of your current self’s memories.”

“Really…? So does that mean this is the body of the me in this world?” I wasn’t all that surprised by waking up even after I’d died, but I was surprised to learn this wasn’t the afterlife. Did this mean my hair wasn’t dyed this color, and my body felt light because of regular exercise?

“That’s what we call justice. A feeling so strong that you can’t forget it, even after dying. A wish that you want to have fulfilled, even after life has ended. That’s what it means to have memories of a past life.”

I almost unintentionally blurted out, Isn’t that called lingering attachment? But I stopped myself because I was afraid. Also, there was a something significantly wrong with what Rischel was saying. I had wanted to die. I wanted to just disappear. So why?

“Hey, Flum?” While I was silent, she used that opening to begin the flurry of questions once again. “Did you kill your parents?”

“Uh…”

And then she suddenly asked me such a pointed question, out of the blue. I didn’t answer, but it probably showed on my face. Because I couldn’t help but remember. That day, when I killed my crazed parents with my own hands.

“I see. You did.”

It looked like my face gave it away after all. But…why was this person smiling so happily?

“Me too. I killed my parents. And twice, no less! Oh, by twice, I mean in my previous life and this one. Isn’t that incredible? Killing twice!” It was truly incredible, in the sense that this person had no sense of guilt about it whatsoever. “The first time was when the world was set right thanks to Lord Origin.”

Lord Origin? She was calling that garbage piece of shit Lord Origin?

“You remember, right? How the whole world was saved by a rain of light? Those wonderful days when the veil of reason was lifted and the awful, cruel true nature of humanity was exposed! Amid all that, I killed my parents for the first time.”

Wait, was that what she called “saving” the world? That sickening phenomenon where all the people precious to me grew warped and twisted?

“My mother was always nagging me to study, to become someone exceptional, and saying that I’d be worthless if I didn’t. She blamed me for her bad relationship with my father, but it was the affair and the fact that I was a child she had with someone else that was the real culprit. It was time for me to spread my wings and fly. That’s what I came to understand.”

That’s… It was just that you weren’t loved. Unlike me.

“Ever since my father found out I wasn’t his child, he treated me like ‘filth,’ in his words. I stabbed him in the face with a kitchen knife! And right before he was killed, he actually said something like ‘I raised you! Why?’! Men who refuse to divorce just for the sake of their social status often talk like that, don’t they? But I forgave him! The moment I killed him, I felt good, and I didn’t care about anything else anymore.”

I see. That’s it. It’s because you weren’t loved and couldn’t love!

“Soon after, relatives—my uncle and aunt, who lived nearby—found out. But they praised me over it. They said, ‘He was a hopeless case, so thank you for killing him!’ That’s right…I was a chosen person. Even though I committed the serious crime of killing someone, I was praised by others. Yes! In other words, I was a knight chosen by God to shoulder the responsibility of purging the population! I was born to be that way!”

That’s not true. You’re just a strange person who can kill easily, like it’s no big deal. At first, I thought you were scary… Well, I still think you’re scary, in some sense, but you’re not really what you say. You’re someone who was broken by the world that Origin turned insane, and you managed to keep living through it.

“When I awoke in this world, I was convinced of that all over again. But when I first awoke, I was still confused. That was some years ago. My parents here were worried that I was sick and caused quite a stir.”

Well, of course they’d think you were sick. Their daughter suddenly changed so drastically.

“But that’s so rude, isn’t it? To think that I’m sick? I’m not sick. This incredible ‘justice’ will never fade, even in death! It’s wrong to treat this wonderful destiny as an illness.”

What…a horrible story. What a horrible, tragic story.

“So I killed them.”

Where exactly was the humor in something like that?

“The faces they made, distorted with despair, were even more intense than the ones my parents in my previous life made. They were a mess of tears and blood. They shouted things like, ‘Please wake up!’ ‘Come to your senses!’ ‘You’re our sweet child!’ and stuff like that. Which is why I destroyed everything so carefully and thoroughly. Then my previous personality, the one from this world, disappeared somewhere. My head felt clear, and I felt great.”

The despair of having someone take over your body and kill your parents… She must have sunk deep inside herself and decided she’d never come back. Poor thing. I felt so sorry for her.

“Then I was tossed into a jailhouse. But Captain Huyghe must have heard about me, because he came for me. He said, ‘You have justice within you. Use your power for the sake of Lord Origin.’ That’s what he told me.”

Good-for-nothing people tended to attract their own kind. I was sure that this Huyghe was just as hopeless as Rischel.

“He made me realize that I am a special person. Even in this world, I’m praised for killing people. There’s no other life as happy as this! I’m so happy that you get to experience this too, Flum. Congratulations!” Rischel took my hand and shook it vigorously.

I wanted to shake her hand off, deny everything she said, and curse her out. But I couldn’t. If I did something stupid, she’d probably kill me. All I could do was remain silent and look down.

“Ah, I should probably head back soon, or the captain will get mad. Later, Flum!”

Such rough communication, where things were being forced on you, really took a lot out of you physically.

“I am not like that!” I buried my face in the pillow and screamed. “Don’t lump me in with a monster like you!”

It was pathetic, but it was all I could do. But those eyes… I felt like I had seen them somewhere before. I met all kinds of dangerous people on my way to Tokyo. Maybe there’d been someone similar among them.

“Maybe I’ll try to get some air outside…”

I didn’t think Rischel had locked the door earlier. I tried turning the doorknob and was easily able to step out into the hallway.

 

***

 

There was a wall to my left, and the hallway stretched out to my right, but in the middle, there was a single door that was almost like a checkpoint. In front of the door stood a slender woman who looked like a guard. She was dressed differently from Rischel, and she stood upright, her posture giving off a prim and proper vibe. When our eyes met, she suddenly looked sad for a moment. But then she quickly broke into a delightful smile and called to me in a friendly manner.

“Hello, Flum.”

Overwhelmed by her delightful, invigorating power, I responded simply with “H-hi,” demonstrating my complete lack of communicative skill.

“It seems you do not remember me, as expected… Well, you did react to the name Flum, though.”

“Are you an acquaintance of the other me? The one who isn’t me?”

“I am called Henriette. I am the one responsible for erasing your memories.”

I thought she was normal—but she wasn’t normal, after all!

“You do not need to be wary of me…though I realize it is probably pointless to say that to you. I did not do it because I wanted to. I did it because she threatened me.”

“Which means that you and Rischel are enemies. It doesn’t seem to me like you’re friends, with that look in your eyes.”

“Yes, we are most certainly enemies. But right now, I am standing watch. I am making sure that you do not leave, for the time being.”

Hmm. I still wasn’t sure whether they were actually enemies or allies yet.

“You said that you were being threatened, right? So if I tried to force my way through, what then?”

“I am sorry, but I would have to stop you.”

“And what if I broke through…?”

“That is impossible for you as you are now.”

“How can you say that with certainty? What if I’m an incredibly fast runner?”

“With your Souleater confiscated, you will not be able to outrun me, as I have higher stats than you.”

Those were some exceptionally out-of-character words from a girl who looked like a princess. “You’re talking like this is a video game.”

“If you use Scan, you should be able to see.”

“Scan?”

“That’s right. So you have forgotten that as well… Well, they never said anything about teaching you at least this much, I suppose.”

After prefacing her statement with that, Henriette-san explained to me what Scan was. Incidentally, there were magical things that seemed like they could only exist in a fantasy world here.

“This place is Japan, isn’t it?”

“It is not called by that name. Though I have heard that such a country once existed.”

“So in the distant future, magic will just suddenly appear?”

“I suppose so.”

Wait, was this really okay? Could the laws of physics really change so easily?! The passage of time was frightening…

For now, I decided to try using this magic—or whatever it’s called—that I’d been taught.

“Scan!”

 

Henriette Bassenheim

Affinity: Darkness

Strength: 4,170

Magic: 183

Endurance: 2,599

Agility: 5,394

Perception: 6,381

 

“Whoa, something really did appear! Wow, this is totally privacy infringement magic, to a ridiculous degree.”

That being said, I had no idea what the standards for the numerical values were. I figured this Henriette person was probably quite strong.

“Thank you very much for the detailed explanation. I apologize for my skepticism.” For the time being, I decided to apologize in a formal tone.

“It is quite all right. It’s understandable.”

I was glad that she was nice enough to so readily forgive me. “Oh, that reminds me. You saw my name, yes?”

“Oh, no. I didn’t.”

“But I didn’t introduce myself to you earlier, and yet you called me Flum…”

“Your name is Flum Apricot.”

“Anzu-chan… That’s a cute name, but my name is Flum Watermoon.” When I said that myself, I realized something. “Um…is the me of this time also called Flum, by any chance?” Henriette-san nodded. “Wow, what a coincidence! We even look alike… Reincarnation?”

“Maybe so.” That was a noncommittal answer. I figured she probably didn’t know anything.

“By the way, was it also magic that erased my memories?”

“No, that was due to an application of sword technique called Genocide Arts.”

“Another violent name…”

“They are techniques that use blood in order to restrict the functions of an opponent’s body. I sent some of my own blood into your brain and paralyzed part of the area of your brain that controls memory.”

“So in other words, your blood is in my head?” Ugh. Just imagining it made my head feel all weird and tingly. “So how do I recover those memories?”

“If your head gets blown off, the paralysis will disappear.”

“I’ll die.”

“Hah hah. Yes, that’s right.”

I really didn’t think this was a laughing matter, but it seemed like there was no other way to recover from this than to just wait for some actual self-healing. If that was the case, I felt sorry for the other me… It sounded like I was doing something that would rob me of my memories.

Anyway, who were the good guys here? Rischel, who I’d met earlier, was so crazy that I was starting to think the person standing before me now was on the side of justice. Maybe? But I figured it wasn’t a good idea to just start asking all sorts of questions. When Rischel did that to me, it scared me.

Come to think of it, there was someone in the room next door… Yes, there was! I spotted a large man through the window.

“Is it all right for me to speak with that person?”

“Herrmann? Well, it seems he isn’t busy. I think he would be happy if you talked with him.”

Since I had her permission, I decided to go into the room. When I knocked, I heard a deep voice say, “Enter.” I was a little scared.

“Please pardon the intrusion.” I cautiously, fearfully entered the room. The man was single-mindedly swinging his hammer down, over and over. I decided I’d try using Scan for the time being.

 

Herrmann Sabneu

Affinity: Ice

Strength: 6,498

Magic: 5,019

Endurance: 2,963

Agility: 1,089

Perception: 916

 

He seems to be quite strong and also quite skilled with magic. Wow, and that was all obvious just with one glance. This spell really is a major invasion of priva—

“What are you looking at?”

“Eeek?! Ah, wait, is this is the type of thing where you can tell if someone is looking at you when you use it? I’m sorry! I’m not familiar with the etiquette involved in using the magic of this age and I should have gathered information about it online in advance!”

His eyes were really, really terrifying. Henriette-san, is this person really happy to be spoken to?!

“I don’t care. Was just curious.” After saying that, the man shifted his attention back to his hammer once again.

“Are you also an acquaintance of my other self, by any chance?”

“We’ve met face-to-face.”

“I see… By the way, what are you doing, exactly? It looks like you’re hitting ice with ice.”

What he was held in his right hand was a hammer of ice. In his left hand, he held what appeared to be scissors made of ice, and he was striking the ice stick that he had clamped with the scissors. Everything was ice. What was going to come of this ritual? An ice combo meal?

“My hobby is smithing.”

“Smithing?”

“Making swords.”

“Oh, that smithing. Huh… So an ice sword?”

“I can’t make anything like that.”

“You can’t, can you…”

“I’m just training my imagination.”

“Oh…so it’s really just that you’re killing time.”

“There’s nothing else to do.”

It was a surprisingly relatable answer. I figured that must mean Henriette-san was bored too, and that was why she took the time to teach me to Scan.

“What kind of relationship do you and Henriette-san have, Herrmann-san?”

“Subordinate.”

“Part of those knight guys?”

“No. Royal Army.”

“Oh, another group, then.”

“It’s recently fallen apart.” It sounded like they were a group with their own problems. I got the feeling that these Church Knights and this Royal Army were in opposition with one another.

“Herrmann-san, if I tried to run away, would you stop me?”

“I would have to.”

“Have to?”

“Otherwise, something would happen to us. Our bodies.”

“That’s terrifying. So what would happen? Would you suddenly explode or something?”

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t really understand my position. Rather, I mean, why am I being held captive? From what I gathered from Rischel, it seems like my past self…thingy returning like this was entirely unexpected.”

“…”

“Is that something you can’t talk about?”

“Dunno. Depends on them.”

I see. If these people were also being held captive, that probably meant they couldn’t just carelessly talk about anything sensitive. I guessed I’d just have to stick to harmless topics of conversation.

“Sure is nice weather we have today, isn’t it? Oh, but it is a little chilly, I guess.”

“It’ll get colder as we head further north.”

So that meant we were heading north. If we were heading for a colder area, did that mean we were getting closer to Origin? Rischel mentioned something about Origin. I wondered if it still existed in this day and age. But that was probably a sensitive topic too, and I didn’t think that Herrmann-san could give me any answers, so I decided to move onto another question.

“Oh, um, so, uh, how is your family do… Ah! I’m sorry! I can’t talk about family while we’re in custody…!”

“I have parents and a younger sister.”

“You have a younger sister?” I wondered if Herrmann-san’s younger sister looked like him.

“We don’t resemble one another.” He answered even though I didn’t ask! It must have shown on my face. “She’s different from me. I’m taciturn. She’s noisy.”

“Ah ha ha, I guess she’s like me. The current me, anyway…”

“Yeah.”

I knew it. I was noisy. Herrmann-san had the vibe of someone who liked things quiet, so I thought it best that I left him alone.

“I don’t…dislike noisy.”

But then he said that. He was quiet and his face was scary, but I figured he was a kind person. Still, it would be rude of me to just bombard him with conversation all at once, so I decided to leave it at that for today.

“Can I come back and talk to you again if you’re free?”

“That’s no problem.”

When I left the room, I made eye contact with Henriette-san, who was leaning against the wall.

“So what do you think? He’s a nice fellow, isn’t he?”

“Yes. I think we can get along nicely. And with you too, Henriette-san.”

“I think it’ll be a short relationship, though.”

Short. I didn’t know what was going to happen from here on out, but I was sure that it wasn’t going to be anything good.

 

***

 

There was nothing to do when I got back to my room, so I lay down in the bed and went to sleep. Even if I tried to dream, I couldn’t imagine anything hopeful, like I used to. All that played through my mind was the gruesome, blood-soaked scene that had been etched into my brain.

After escaping from the underground shelter littered with corpses, Milkit and I wandered the streets of Tokyo. Where should we go next? Maybe we should head north and try to destroy Origin?

It was talking about such things that ended up attracting the attention of a strange group of people.

They were a motley crew of people of different ages and different genders, all naked, their bodies covered in strange patterns drawn in blood. They danced around us, crying out in strange voices.

“We found one!”

“Found one!”

“Kill.”

“For Origin-sama.”

“To purify the world!”

Oh. These people were beyond hope. I grabbed Milkit’s hand and ran as fast as my legs could carry me. There were many survivors resistant to Origin in places with lots of people, like Tokyo. But even those people would eventually go crazy if the world continued to head toward destruction.

The group that was currently pursuing was likely composed of people who were escaping from reality by worshipping Origin. And they were killing survivors in the name of purification. I was in better health, so I had the advantage in speed…but they knew the area better. Even when I thought we’d escaped, they got ahead of us, and sometimes, they almost lured us into a trap. As this went on, the distance between us gradually closed.

“Milkit, can you still run?”

“Yes! I will follow you, Flum-san, no matter where you go.” Just having Milkit squeeze my hand back made strength well up within me.

But then an arrow pierced Milkit’s thigh. She groaned in pain and tumbled to the ground. From above, I could hear a grating voice, going, “Kya ha ha ha! I hit her! I hit her!”

“Milkit!” I desperately tried to rouse her by calling out her name, and then by propping her up on my shoulder, I continued running, refusing to give up. But at this speed, we would soon be surrounded. And it would be impossible for her to make it on her own.

“Milkit, hang in there. Let’s survive! Let’s escape!”

“Flum-san… Run…”

“That’s right, I will! Together, the two of us!” I shouted words of encouragement to Milkit. Perhaps they heard my voice, because the beast-like cries of those people were drawing nearer. You filthy animals! I won’t let you steal her from me! Milkit is my treasure. If she’s going to die, then I’m going to die alongside her!

When we reached a wide road, the group surrounded us. They slowly approached. One of the women spoke to me.

“Hand her over. If you hand her over, we’ll let you go.”

“No! No! I absolutely refuse!”

That’s right. No matter how much I hollered, the woman wasn’t talking to me; she was addressing Milkit.

“I understand.”

Because, knowing Milkit…she would give herself up of her own free will.

“If I can die protecting you, then there is no greater happiness for me.”

The crowd grabbed her and pulled her away from me.

“Wait! Don’t leave me! Milkitttt!”

Even if you scream, the woman whispered in my ear, even if you extend your hand, you won’t reach her.

 

***

 

“Hey, wake up, Flum.” I was woken by Rischel’s voice. “I’ve got some time, so let’s talk some more.”

I wasn’t skillful enough to be able to hide my discontent after just waking up, so I’m sure it showed on my face.

“Oh, sorry, was I bothering you? I’m just really happy, that a girl from my generation was chosen by ‘justice’ and all.” Even so, she wasn’t discouraged. I decided to choose the method that would tire me out the least. I’d ask her a question and let her talk freely.

“What was the happiest moment of your life?” I had to wonder what meaning lay behind that question that just popped out of my mouth without any thought behind it.

“Probably when I was praised by a large crowd of people. In my past life in Tokyo, I once caught and killed a girl that was running away.”

Perhaps I had asked the question because I had sensed something on a gut level.

“Back then, my comrades and I made bows and arrows and such with whatever implements we had on hand and pretended we were going out hunting. The idea was that we were humans who understood the greatness of Lord Origin and everyone else was a beast. Well, that was true, though.”

Or perhaps I had already realized it long ago.

“Then I spotted two girls walking around together. It was amazing. Two girls in their teens, y’know? They looked so weak, and yet they survived in that world. They seemed to be very close. So I shot an arrow at them. I hit my target perfectly. Everyone cheered, with big smiles on their faces!”

I’d asked her so I could confirm it.

“Even so, they tried to escape together, so I decided to kill one of them and have the other one watch.”

“I’ll let you live. In exchange, watch.” She’d whispered those words in my ear back then, holding my arms tightly so I couldn’t escape.

“It was my idea, of course. Everyone complimented me, saying it was the best show ever. It felt amazing.”

“Ah ha ha ha. She ended up like that because she tried to endure it. She should’ve just screamed.”

Even though I wanted to turn and look away, several people grabbed hold of my face. When I tried to close my eyes, I was punched in the stomach.

“With everyone’s excitement still running high, everyone grabbed their favorite blades and cut the girl up.”

“People will keep on living even if their arm falls off. Humans are pretty tough, aren’t they? Did you know that breasts are basically just lumps of fat?”

In the end, Milkit never asked me for help.

“We tore her apart, crushed her, shredded her, and gouged her out. Everyone enjoyed watching her gradually get weaker and weaker together as one.”

“She’s no longer able to speak, but the real fun starts here. Playing with corpses is fun. They don’t resist.”

Milkit had died with a deep sense of pride in having been able to keep me alive.

“It didn’t end even after she was dead though, you know? Because she still kept her human form.”

“I see…you liked her. This hand? These fingers? Lips? Chest? Oh, perhaps…”

Blood was splattered everywhere. Flesh was stuffed into my mouth and thrown at my face.

“After we messed up the body so bad you couldn’t even tell what it originally looked like, I wanted to see the other girl’s face.”

“Ah, now it’s just a mass of meat.”

No matter how torn up Milkit might be, I couldn’t help but know who she was. Because I had touched her so many times.

“What was left was just a red, filthy lump of meat. Humans are such strange creatures. She cried out, convinced that it was someone she loved.”

“Foolish human. Clinging to nothing but a mass of meat, clinging to an illusion called love. Ah ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha!”

Even when I tried to hold her, my arms were just soiled, and the meat and bones spilled from my grip to the ground. Even so, I didn’t want to let her go, so I gathered her up and hugged her close.

“Everyone laughed when they saw that. At that moment, the excitement reached its peak! Everyone was having fun, everyone was happy, everyone praised me… I really felt that justice had been carried out.”

That’s right. That was what happened.

“That was the story of the happiest moment in my life.”

That was the story of the most despairing moment in my life.

“To tell you the truth, whenever I tell people this story, they always make a face like they’re disgusted.”

No matter how much I hated her, it wasn’t enough. So I ended up hating not only the world, but even myself.

“But you’re different, Flum. I knew it, you’re special.”

I wasn’t special. I blamed myself for being a piece of garbage who couldn’t even protect the person I loved. I cursed myself for being a weakling who couldn’t even get revenge.

“I’m glad I made them smile so much. It made me happy that we could share the same values, as comrades.”

But here, before my eyes right now, there was Rischel. To her, what had happened was cause for a joy—a thing that made her smile.

“Yeah, it was the best.”

Milkit. I’ll do it. I’ll show you. I will most definitely kill this person.

Chapter 6: Re: Welcome to the Demon Lord’s Castle

Chapter 6:
Re: Welcome to the Demon Lord’s Castle

 

“SO THIS IS THE Demon Lord’s castle…” Eterna stopped at the entrance to Selayde and gazed at the Demon Lord’s castle located deep within the city. The party of heroes had skipped more than half of the journey to the Demon Lord’s castle via Return. From there, they were carried by Neigass’s wind magic, eventually arriving at Selayde in just a single day. Incidentally, Cyrill had lost consciousness again immediately after using Return, so now Gadhio was carrying her.

“Sheesh, it looks so ominous…but more importantly, damn, it’s cold! I should’ve prepared more gear to protect myself from the cold.” Linus, standing next to Eterna, shivered. “Are you okay, Maria?”

“I am more worried about you, Linus. If you’re going to make me wear so many layers, you ought to be using them yourself.”

“I’m tough. I can handle it.” Though he said that, Linus occasionally shook and shivered from the cold…and yet, despite that, he refused to back down, no matter the cost. Meanwhile, Milkit gazed up at the sky and murmured wistfully.

“The snow is beautiful. I wish I could have seen it together with Master…”

“Flum is from Patria, if I recall. Since that’s south of the royal capital, she has likely never seen snow before, either. It’ll be lovely if we can all see it together after we rescue her.”

When Ottilie said those words of encouragement, Milkit responded with a “Yes!” and perked up a little. The heroes were excited by the new and unusual scenery, but they didn’t have much time to spare.

“Phew… Let’s save the sightseeing for after we take down that fortress, yes? Come, I’ll show you to the Demon Lord’s castle.” Neigass appeared exhausted as she led the way, walking ahead. As one would expect, carrying so many people was clearly hard work, and her magic was exhausted. Sara stood next to Neigass to support her.

“We’re standing out more noticeably this time than last time.”

“It’ll be good publicity, don’t you think?”

“Is it okay to publicize, though? I’m sure there are some demons who won’t like us.”

When Gadhio asked that question, Neigass responded casually, “It’ll be fine!”

In fact, they hadn’t had abuse hurled at them or stones thrown at them. If anything…

“A child is approaching us.”

A demon girl ran up to Gadhio and silently held out her right hand. Gadhio stopped and looked to Neigass, as though asking for help.

“Perhaps she just wants to shake your hand?”

“That’s…” When Gadhio offered the girl a gentle handshake, she smiled broadly, full of mirth. Then she ran off somewhere. “What just happened?”

“When Origin was first sealed, demons and humans worked together. There are still stories about that among the demons. That’s why there are kids who have an interest in humans that borders on affection.”

“Affection, huh?”

From the demons’ point of view, the heroes were nothing more than invaders who worshipped Origin. It seemed a little naïve to show such goodwill toward humans, but this was also emblematic of the gentleness of the demon race.

“Well, maybe it’s because you exude this feeling that makes children comfortable with approaching you?”

“Children are often afraid of me, though.”

“Well, Gadhio dotes affectionately on his dear little Hallom, so maybe that’s what’s coming across.” Linus said that with a grin.

Gadhio stammered, “That’s not my intention,” denying it. However, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that he coddled Hallom.

They exchanged peaceful banter that was hard to imagine having in enemy territory as they made their way to the Demon Lord’s castle.

 

***

 

“The interior is surprisingly ordinary,” Ottilie remarked as she observed the well-scoured entrance.

“It seems quite different from the exterior, in terms of sensibility,” Gadhio muttered, expressing a similar sentiment. Neigass shrugged her shoulders.

“The exterior is apparently to the taste of the first Demon Lord. It’s not something that can be easily redone.”

At the very least, it sounded like the later Demon Lords didn’t live in a castle with such a façade by choice.

Just like last time, Neigass called out, “I’m home!” Her voice carried through the entrance.

Sara did the same, offering a polite greeting. “Sorry for the intrusion, once again! Thanks for having me!”

Linus almost collapsed in shock. “Even though this is the Demon Lord’s castle, it feels like…like you just brought some friends home with you.”

“This was supposed to be the final destination of our journey, but I feel a little deflated.” Even Maria, who felt she should be nervous, couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“Um, excuse me, but is the Demon Lord someone who would come if you called them?” Milkit asked timidly.

“Oh, always. But the Great Demon Lord may be busy right now… Oh, Tsyon!” As Neigass searched the area, she found someone who wasn’t the Demon Lord.

“Oh, welcome…ba…” Tsyon froze as he saw the hero party. “Y-you… What kind of people did you just bring here?!”

“You told me to recruit allies to our side, didn’t you?”

“I did! But you should have at least contacted me beforehand! Like normal!”

“You already know that the floating city rose up into the sky, don’t you? We didn’t have that kind of time. Anyway, where is Sheitoom?”

“The east hall… Ugh, seriously, you’re just way too fast.” Exasperated, Tsyon would have put his head in his hands, but couldn’t do so because his hands were full with a laundry basket. As he tood there awkwardly, his eyes met Gadhio’s. Gadhio bowed his head slightly, and Tsyon returned the favor with a “Hey” and a nod.

When you came face-to-face with a former enemy in a moment that was totally immersed in everyday mundanity, it felt extremely awkward for both parties.

“I mean, it’s obvious, but still… Even the Three Demon Generals do housework, huh.”

“I had imagined that they would have their subordinates do it for them.” The others seemed to have a similar impression, as Ottilie nodded in agreement.

“We only call ourselves the Three Demon Generals to make ourselves seem important, but the reality is what you see here.”

“They’re almost the same as humans, except for their physical makeup and their lifespan.” Sara understood that fact all too well thanks to her previous visit.

“Then does the same go for the Demon Lord…?” Milkit asked as Neigass lead the way to the east hall.

“No way, that can’t be true. I mean, it’s the Demon Lord, right? They’ve got to have this kind of majesty about them, befitting a title like Lord, and—”

The hall was closer than they’d thought it would be. By the time Linus was just about to finish that sentence, they had arrived. The door was already open, and inside, a demon girl was industriously hanging laundry on a rope.

“Ah, here you are. Sheitoom, I’ve brought the heroes,” Neigass called out.

Though Eterna thought there was no way this could be her, she timidly spoke up. “Could this girl by any chance be…the Demon Lord?”

Neigass nodded. Everyone’s gazes concentrated on Sheitoom.

“A kind of majesty about them…befitting a title like, Lord…” Linus’s fantasy about the Demon Lord crumbled to pieces with a loud cracking sound. Even the others couldn’t hide their surprise.

“She’s so young.”

“She’s such a lovely girl.”

“She’s living a domestic life.”

“She’s not very scary at all.”

However, the heroes weren’t the only ones puzzled by the situation. Sheitoom froze with the laundry still in her hands, her face turning red.

“Neigassss! Wh-why are humans here? And the heroes, at that?!”

“Because I brought them here. Besides, you told me to, remember? You said you wanted us to be allies.”

“Stilll! I mean, why did you bring them here of all places, out of the bluuuue?!”

“Because Tsyon said that you were here.”

“Big brotherrrrrrrr!”

With the addition of a little sister element, the heroes’ awe and dread for the Demon Lord was completely and utterly shattered.

 

***

 

They took things to the audience chamber, the room that boasted the most “castle of the Demon Lord” vibes in the entire castle. But even after she was seated on a throne that looked very Demon Lord-ish, Sheitoom’s image wasn’t about to recover.

“Once again, I am Sheitoom, the Demon Lord. I am delighted that we were able to form an alliance with you.”

“I think it’s far too late for you to be acting lordly right now.”

“Please do not add any commentary, Neigass! And besides, doing laundry is part of preparing for battle!”

Sheitoom was also aware that the church’s aerial fortress had begun to move, and it sounded like preparations had already begun. However, regardless of whether she had a sense of majesty about her, there was no doubt that she ruled this place. Gadhio and Linus’s expressions were more serious now than when they had first met.

“Well, we can definitely tell that you’re the Demon Lord just by looking at your stats.” Apparently, they had scanned her once after having been given permission.

 

Sheitoom

Affinity: Darkness Sun

Strength: 1,123

Magic: 20,655

Endurance: 1,098

Agility: 987

Perception: 2,146

 

They understood that she had the power of a Demon Lord from that astonishing stat value. Sheitoom was likely the only individual in the world with a Magic stat over twenty thousand.

“The Demon Lord is not only the ruler of the demon realm, but also a priestess who guards the seal. Our clan has lived in the Demon Lord’s castle for generations, continuing to maintain the seal on Origin, who once destroyed the world.”

“Is what you’re guarding the seal placed by the first hero?” While the heroes were on their way to the castle, Neigass had told them the secrets surrounding the seal on Origin. Humans are justice, demons are evil—such was the belief that permeated the royal kingdom. What Neigass told them had completely upended those ideas. However, after seeing the countless evil deeds of the church, it wasn’t that surprising.

“What you say is correct, Mr. Gadhio. However, the seal appears to have been weakening over the past fifty years or so. I have no choice but to admit this is due to my own mismanagement, but no matter how much I investigate the matter, I cannot find the cause.”

“So you are saying that there are traitors among the demons who are responsible.” When Maria said this, Sheitoom’s face clouded over. She didn’t want to admit it, but she couldn’t escape it.

“How has your investigation been going, Tsyon?” Neigass asked

“We’ve identified a few suspicious individuals,” Tsyon responded, looking grim.

“Then let Maria see their faces. She is one of the survivors of a village that was attacked by demons ten years ago. She was eight years old at the time, and she says she remembers the faces of the demons who attacked her village.”

When Tsyon approached Maria, he seemed to glare at her. Linus stepped forward to protect her.

“Are you looking for a fight?”

“She’s a church official who is called a saint, isn’t she?”

“Things are different now.”

“However, I cannot deny that I was in a position close to the pope before.”

“Can you really trust someone like her, Neigass?”

“I agonized over it, but yes. I’ve made my decision. I figured that if I hand over the traitors, I could secure her cooperation. If we have some give-and-take, things will work out. Besides, if we want to get rid of the pus, we have to drain the poison and the blood too.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. But I’m not so enthusiastic about this.” Tsyon smoothed his hair back, moving away from Maria. He must have been struggling with the decision to expose the traitors too.

Seeing this, Dhiza opened his mouth to speak. “That is why I said you were not really suited for this task, Tsyon.”

“Pardon me, I’ve noticed you standing by the Demon Lord’s side for a while now, but who are you, exactly?”

Dhiza bowed politely in response to Ottilie’s question. “I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. I am Dhiza, a butler who serves the Great Demon Lord. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

As Eterna watched his conduct, she expressed her admiration with an “Oh.”

“At last, a demon that looks like he belongs in a Demon Lord’s castle has appeared.”

“He’s like a guardian who has looked after us since we were children. He teaches children in Selayde and other towns, and everyone loves him.”

“You seem to be a much closer-knit group than I imagined, but what kind of relationship do you have?”

Neigass answered Linus’s question in just a few simple words. “Childhood friends.”

When Linus heard this, his face stiffened.

“You’re saying that we’ve been getting beaten black and blue by your childhood friends?”

“That’s just the natural result when you gather exceptional people in one place. By the way, Dhiza, will the feast be ready in time?”

“Feast?” Milkit cocked her head in surprise at those unexpected words from Sheitoom. Then Sara spoke up, her eyes sparkling.

“You mean you’re going to feed me that delicious food again?!” Apparently, the last meal she had was exceptionally tasty. Dhiza must have been happy to hear what Sara said, because his expression softened.

“Since there are so many people, it will take more effort than a normal meal, but I believe we have enough food in our stores. I have already begun preparations, Great Demon Lord.”

“Please make it as grand as possible.”

“A feast? For what?”

“A welcome party for you and your colleagues, Mr. Gadhio.”

Normally, they would’ve been grateful for this. But…

“We don’t have the kind of time for that.” Eterna’s point was entirely reasonable. The church’s aerial fortress was approaching. Shouldn’t they be spending every second of every minute in preparation?

“No, we must do this.” Tsyon rejected that notion. “I’ll take that woman called Maria with me now and point out the traitors. And Sheitoom will—”

“I will make a grand announcement to everyone living in Selayde that we are joining forces with the heroes.”

“And on top of that, we’ll have the feast. If we do something that flashy and extravagant, and really make a show of it, you can imagine what’ll happen next, right?”

It was a quiz with an obvious answer, and Ottilie was the one to step forward and answer.

“You mean the people who do not want you to ally with the heroes will likely make a move and show themselves.”

“So we’re bait?” It might have sounded like a harsh choice of words, but Milkit’s description was likely the most accurate. Which was precisely why Sheitoom bowed her head apologetically.

“I would like to dispel any misgivings before the battle against the church begins in earnest. I do sincerely want to hold a welcome party for you all, so I hope that you will please cooperate with me.”

If they were stabbed in the back by traitors among the demons when they launched their attack on the fortress, it would prove fatal. The heroes had no other choice but to cooperate.

 

***

 

Afterward, Tsyon took Maria out into the city. They went looking around for the demons who may have possibly loosened the seal and worked with the church. Maria had a strong reaction to one of the demons Tsyon showed her. The one she singled out as the perpetrator of the massacre was the father of a friend whom Tsyon had known well for a long time.

At the same time, Sheitoom began giving her speech in front of the Demon Lord’s castle. Standing before a large crowd of demons, she announced that they were going to join forces with the heroes to fight against the church’s massive weapon. Everyone except for Cyrill and Maria was lined up in a row behind Sheitoom, drawing stares from the demons, who wore expressions of expectation, anxiety, and distrust.

Later that night, a grand feast was held at the Demon Lord’s castle.

A lavish spread of food was laid out, copious amounts of alcohol was poured, and the festivities reached a level of excitement akin to drunken revelry. Linus and Tsyon, both drunk, sang together, shoulder to shoulder, while Gadhio laughed heartily and raucously, which was unusual for him. Eterna tearfully and passionately spoke to Milkit about how she would save Flum, while Maria silently devoured the food before her. Before anyone knew it, Sara was carried off to Neigass’s room, while Ottilie shouted her love for Henriette to the heavens. Their voices likely carried all the way outside the castle.

 

***

 

The night deepened. The heroes, having enjoyed the feast, were now fast asleep in their respective rooms.

Having confirmed this, “they” sprang into action. Dressed in black robes that would melt into the darkness, they targeted only the humans. They were to kill them, starting with the weak ones first. When they reached the room where Milkit was sleeping, an Earth Magic user made thin tendrils spring from the ground, pushed them through a gap in the window, and then unlocked it.

Once the window was open, a male demon holding a knife stole into the room, pressed a bedsheet against the mouth of the person in the bed, and plunged the blade into the person’s neck. The knife sank in. The sensation was dull, for a human being. The attacker felt like something was wrong. Immediately afterward, the lights in the room came on…and Dhiza was there, standing by the entrance to the room.

“Unfortunately for you, that is a clay doll I created with magic.”

The demon rushed outside in a panic, trying to rejoin his companions. However, they were already surrounded. Maria’s Light Magic illuminated the robed group.

“They were taken in so easily by such obvious bait.”

“I suppose that’s just how impactful it is for the heroes and the Demon Lord to join forces.” Even though he said that, Gadhio was exasperated by the attackers’ simple-mindedness. Meanwhile, Tsyon’s expression was grave.

“When I heard Maria’s story, I prayed it was just the old man.” He stared hard at one of the robed men who’d been outside, then shifted his gaze to the one who’d been inside the room, holding the knife. “But it looks like that’s not the case.”

One of the attackers was a man whom Tsyon had known since childhood. He was a caring man, who often played with him when he was a child. And the other attacker…was that man’s son. In other words, Tsyon’s childhood friend. It was a truth that Tsyon didn’t want to believe.

Maria pointed at that friend and spoke once more. “I saw him during the attack on my village as well.”

Tsyon clenched his fists tightly, flames spilling from them in anger.

“We were friends…weren’t we? When did it start? When did you start working together with the church?!”

In contrast with Tsyon’s passionate indignation, his friend simply replied, “From the beginning. That was why I got close to you,” in a calm tone of voice. “It was the most convenient course of action in order to break the seal on Lord Origin.”

“You’ve got to be fucking—” Tsyon raised his clenched fist. The heat of the flames he was draped in intensified. The temperature was so high that Maria, who had been standing nearby, instinctively took a step back.

But in the next moment, a girl’s voice rang out from behind him.

“Chaos Suffocation.” White and black bands of magical power stretched from Sheitoom’s hands, which she held over her head. They flew like the wind, intertwining in the air as they approached the group wearing black robes. As soon as they came into contact with the black and white bands, the demons began to writhe, clutching their throats and mouths.

Sheitoom’s rare affinity, “Darkness Sun,” allowed her to control both light and darkness magic. White magic was light, or rather, an application of recovery magic. Recovery magic could be used to heal internal organs, even when cast externally. In other words, by cutting off certain functions, it was possible to interfere with an enemy’s body.

Black magic was darkness, and depending on how it was used, it could cause an opponent’s body to decay or make bodily functions decline. By combining these two magics, Sheitoom’s spell impaired the breathing of those it touched, forcing them into a state of suffocation. Eventually, all of the demons in robes lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground. Tsyon looked down at his friend and his friend’s father as they lay unconscious, shaking his head from side to side as if to deny reality. Sheitoom nuzzled close to him and wrapped her hands around his fist.

“I’m sorry. If I hadn’t done that, you likely would’ve ended up killing them right here and now, Big Brother.” There was still information that they needed to draw from them, so she couldn’t allow them to die now. Even so…

“Why’d it have to be them?” He couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t accept it. “How many decades have we been friends…? D-damn it!” With no place for his anger to go, all he could do was look up at the sky and grit his teeth.

 

***

 

After being stripped of their robes, the traitors were thrown into the underground jail beneath the Demon Lord’s castle. Sheitoom and Tsyon were likely interrogating the prisoners right now. The others were gathered in the dining hall where the banquet had been held.

“Neigass…” Sara sat on Neigass’s lap as the demon hugged by her from behind. Sara called her name anxiously, wondering if she would be all right.

“You don’t have to say anything. Would you just stay by my side?” Neigass wished for nothing else.

“Okay,” Sara said. She had no other choice but to accept. Someone Neigass had known for a long time had turned out to be a traitor. Sara understood quite well that only someone who had been in that situation could understand that pain.

“This feels like a funeral scene straight out of a painting.” Ottilie said that while looking at Neigass. Gadhio, leaning against the wall near her, was also looking in that same direction.

“Almost all the demons who participated in the assassination attempt were acquaintances of theirs, apparently.”

Linus responded simply with “That’s horrible.” He sighed, imagining the wound that had been inflicted on the Demon Lord and those close to her. “Seriously, they’ve been betraying them for nearly over fifty years then, right? I guess it’s more natural to think that they came to worship Origin on their own, rather than being influenced by the church then. I don’t even know who to be pissed off at here.”

As someone who had witnessed the threat posed by Origin herself, Milkit couldn’t understand it at all. “Why would anyone worship something like that…? Even though it practically destroys everyone who comes close to it…”

“I suppose they were taken in by its immense power. I cannot understand it myself.”

“There are always a certain number of people like that, in any era.” Eterna was something akin to a living witness to that. Whether Origin existed or not, humans would even resort to experimenting on each other in search of great power.

“Maria’s participating in the interrogation, huh,” Gadhio said suddenly. “Linus, are you sure you’re okay with not being there with her?”

Linus slowly shook his head from side to side. “It’s so she can have her revenge. In that case, it’s better that I’m not there.”

 

***

 

Maria directed her hatred at the bound man in the cell. He was a friend of Tsyon’s. At his feet lay the corpse of his father, who had bitten of his own tongue to take his own life.

“What were you feeling on the day you killed my family?”

Ten years ago, her home was annihilated. The demons that appeared joyfully slaughtered her family, who had been living out their days in peace. It was from that day that everything started to go wrong. Maria had every right to blame this demon. But even if she tried to do so, whether he would actually reflect on what he had done was another matter.

“We were able to eliminate unnecessary lives from this world. We took one step closer to the world that Lord Origin ought to rule. Do you think that there could possibly be any other emotion than absolutely blessed joy there?”

Maria’s body shook with anger. She mercilessly swung the mace she held down on the man’s arm, breaking it, but he didn’t let out a single scream.

“You really think you’re righteous?! Even though you’re a monster who carried out such a slaughter?!”

“Allow me to ask you a question.” If anything, it was the demon who was cornering Maria, his unwavering gaze fixed upon her, hemming her in. “What did you feel when you were able to serve the humans who killed your family?”

Maria froze, with her mace still raised.

“If you are a saint, then you surely know. On that day, it was the current pope, Fedro Maximus, who gave the order to attack your home. And the reason your hometown was targeted was not only because it was a pagan village, but also because there were valuable people there who could be used by the church.”

Maria had shown signs of certain talents from an early age, as a user of light affinity magic. And it wasn’t just her talent for magic…her remarkable beauty was also valuable as a promotional tool for the church.

“Saint Maria. Were you really a victim? Now, and in the past…”

The man was saying that her home was destroyed because she was there.

“Be quiet!” With that shout of indignation, Maria brought her mace down on the demon’s other arm and broke it. However, he didn’t suffer at all. Rather, he continued spewing malicious curses, as though he felt no pain whatsoever.

“How many people have you killed, while you played the victim and portrayed yourself as pitiful?”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!” This time, she created a sword of light and cut off both of his arms.

“Which number is greater? The number of people we killed on that day, or the number of people the Saint has killed while under orders from the pope, I won—” Since that apparently hadn’t been enough, Maria now took aim at the man’s face.

“It was because of you. Because you killed everyone! I-I had no other choice but to live like thisssss!” Then she thrust her sword right into the dead center of his face. His body convulsed, and he immediately drew his last breath. There was a hiss as his flesh and brain were burned by light, and a foul odor filled the area.

“U-uuu…Mother, Father, everyone…uuuuuu…!” Maria wept, her face downcast, her shoulders trembling as the tears flowed. Sheitoom, who had been watching, asked Tsyon a question as he was standing next to her.

“Are you really sure this is okay, Big Brother?”

“The guy I thought was my friend…turned out to be a monster.” Tsyon, who had repeatedly witnessed death, remained calm despite his friend’s demise. His sorrow had already reached rock bottom—it couldn’t go any lower.

After hours and hours of interrogation, the men still didn’t say anything. They had admitted to obvious, undeniable facts, such as loosening the seal on Origin and attacking Maria and Sara’s homes in collaboration with the church, but they remained silent about the details. Finally, the father bit off his tongue and killed himself, as if to make a show of it to Sheitoom and Tsyon. They were forced to watch someone they knew die in front of them, with an expression on his face that they had never seen before.

It drove home the message that all they could do was give up. None of these individuals would respond to talking. They had all seemingly agreed to inflict as much mental and emotional anguish as possible on their captors before dying, if they were captured. And they were so devoted to Origin that they would carry this out without hesitation.

“It would’ve been useless, even if we tried saying anything to him. It was probably best to let her have her revenge.”

“But…it doesn’t look to me like she’s been saved.” Sheitoom looked at Maria, who was crying inconsolably, her eyes filled with worry. It was true that this wasn’t a satisfying revenge, like cloudy skies suddenly being cleared up. However…

“I think that she’s reached some kind of milestone, though.” It was better than not being able to carry out her revenge at all. Rather than wandering around in a maze with no exit, it was better to grasp onto something, even if it meant temporary suffering. “Besides…well, this is a vulgar thing for me to say, but this means we can demand favors from the Saint, as an obligation of gratitude. Yeah, I know that’s vile of me. It’s nauseating. But we’ve got no other choice but to make the best we can out of a worst-case scenario.”

That was also one of the reasons why Neigass had brought Maria to the Demon Lord’s castle. Because, if nothing else, it meant Maria’s hatred wouldn’t be directed at all demons, but at the lone traitors who had attacked her village.

Bequeathed Memory 4: If Those Who Should Live Die, Then Those Who Should Die, Die

Bequeathed Memory 4:
If Those Who Should Live Die, Then Those Who Should Die, Die

 

THE NIGHT THAT WAS supposed to have never ended finally came to an end. I got out of bed and felt a slight chill, causing my body to shiver. I wasn’t as lightly dressed as before, though. I had changed into the white robe that Rischel brought me, which made things a bit better, so I wasn’t quite as cold as before. When I looked outside the window, I could see scattered snow falling from the sky. It seemed we’d come pretty far north.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t gone further north than Tokyo on my journey with Milkit. I wondered what it was like now. Or rather, what had transpired in all the time that had passed since then? I was supposed to have been the last of humanity. It was supposed to end with me, so why were there people here? My questions were endless.

The city was flying, and it was headed toward Origin, so I could only feel like it was the end of the world. Something was going to happen soon. If that was the case, that meant I needed to kill Rischel before that happened.

That said, there wasn’t much I could do here. When I left my room, I saw Henriette sitting on a chair placed in front of the door. She seemed exhausted from standing all the time, so I’d given her a chair from my room.

When she saw me, she approached me with something in her hands.

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, thanks to you.” I had killed Rischel over and over in my dreams, and I awoke in a pleasant mood. I wanted to make those dreams come true.

“I washed them for you, just in case.” What she handed me were the clothes that I had been originally wearing. Henriette-san’s hands were a little red. I wondered if she washed them by hand.

“Thank you very much.”

“I was thinking that the clothes you’re wearing now might be make you feel a little uncomfortable.”

“They’re comfortable to wear. They just have some strange patterns on them.”

“It’s the symbol of the Origin faith.”

“Then I’ll change.”

When I returned to my room to change, warm air came out the air conditioner installed on the ceiling.

“The air conditioner’s working.” I had expected it to work earlier, since the lights were on. But the switch on the wall didn’t do anything, even when I touched it. It looked like there was a crystal ball embedded in it, but I thought for sure it was some kind of sensor or something.

When I finished changing and left the room, Henriette was looking up at the ceiling with a puzzled expression.

“It seems like the heating is on.”

“Yes…it is quite a luxury to have a device that blows warm air.”

“It isn’t normal?”

“No, because it is necessary to apply wind and fire magic. Mixing affinities means that it’s delicate to handle, and a continuous replenishment of magical power is also necessary. In that case, it would be cheaper to simply use a fireplace.”

Apparently, in today’s world of magic, a heater was a luxury item. I had a feeling that this was probably powered by electricity rather than magic, though.

“As I thought, that outfit really does suit you better.” Henriette-san nodded as she looked at me once before.

“Was the other me always wearing this?”

“Yes. Apparently, it is easier to manage because it has little coverage.”

Sure, there was a lot of skin showing in this outfit, but it didn’t give off a sexy vibe. I wondered what the hell the other me was doing.

“Your eyes look better, too. Yesterday, you seemed deeply confused, but today, you seem more composed.”

“I think I’m getting used to things.”

“Is that all?” She said that as though she could see right through me; she could see a certain something. No, I figured that she wouldn’t miss something like that. She must be a total flirt. “If something happened with Rischel, I think I might be able to help you with that.”

“Weren’t you supposed to be a guard who doesn’t let me escape?”

“It’s my job to prevent you from escaping. But whether I want you to escape is another matter.”

I didn’t know why this person was acting as a guard, but she wasn’t an ally to Rischel and those people. “You’re strong, aren’t you, Henriette-san?”

“Reasonably so. Though I may not look it, since I’m being held captive.”

“So from your perspective, as someone strong…do you think Rischel can be killed?” I decided to be completely honest and tell her everything. Besides, it looked like nothing from my conversation with Henriette-san had been leaked to Rischel before, so I decided it was okay.

“Are you planning to kill her?”

“I think that’s why I’m here.”

Henriette-san looked at me with a stern expression and then suddenly stood up. The next moment, the tip of a thin sword drawn from her waist was thrust in front of my eyes.

“H-hey…what are you doing, all of a sudden?!” I reflexively buckled, crumpling to the floor. When I did so, Henriette-san calmly looked down upon me.

“Your experience has been reset.”

“Huh…?”

“The other you would have been able to react to what I just did.”

“Was the other me strong, by any chance?”

“Considering her achievements in battle, she is undoubtedly a first-rate fighter.”

My other self’s values were getting more and more off the charts…!

“Your experience should be ingrained in your body. You need to remind yourself of it. Herrmann, a moment?”

When Henriette-san called out, Herrmann-san poked his head through the door of his room.

“I want you to make a sword the same size as Souleater,” she told him.

“I only have ice.”

“It needs to disappear after Rischel comes, so that’ll be more convenient for us. She’ll still be able to swing it around if it’s wrapped in cloth or something.”

What in the world was about to happen…?

 

***

 

“I-it’s huge!” What appeared before my eyes was a huge broadsword that a girl like me couldn’t possibly wield. “Did I really fight using something like this? It’s about as tall as I am!”

“It’s true. And you were better at using it than anyone else.”

I thought that was ridiculous…but when I tried holding it, I was surprised to find out that I could lift it.

“Actually, it really does feel kinda familiar…”

“All right, then. Let’s start with a hundred practice swings.”

Henriette-san said that so casually that my reaction was delayed. Eventually, I let out an “Eh?!”

“It will bring back the memories of battle that are ingrained in your body. And to do that, you need to swing that sword over and over again, single-mindedly. Besides, it’s only a hundred swings. It’s barely a warm-up.”

“This is ridiculously heavy, though…” I tried to gently protest to Henriette-san, but she just flashed a refreshing smile back at me. I decided I’d try looking to Herrmann-san for help.

“Do your best.”

He was heartless. I let out an agonized cry of grief, but I went ahead and began swinging the sword.

 

***

 

“Haa… Haa… Feel like I’m gonna die…” After completing the exercise, which for some reason had increased to three hundred swings, I collapsed, drenched in sweat.

“You’re looking good. In much better form.”

“Why do you have such a satisfied look on your face, Henriette-san, like you were the one who did the work…?” It was frustrating, but I really did feel like my body was starting to remember. Sheesh. Trapped in a place like this, wearing such flimsy clothing, fighting with such a gigantic sword… What the hell kind of life is this, Flum Apricot?! It’s your fault that I’m so frazzled!

“I could just let her continue learning the basics of Cavalier Arts…but it may be interesting to teach her some Genocide Arts as well. Though Ottilie would likely get angry with me…” Henriette-san muttered something under her breath. She sounded like she was having fun. Oh no. At this rate, it sounded like even more grueling training awaited me!

“Um, I’d like to take a break.”

“Oh, yes. I’ll work on planning your next lesson. Rest until then.” She readily let me take a break, but it was nothing more than a prelude to the next trial of suffering. I cried to Herrmann.

“Herrmann-saaan, is she a Spartan or something?!”

“I haven’t seen her make that face in quite a while.”

“Henriette-san, could it be that you’re enjoying this situation?!” When I lobbied that accusation against her, Henriette-san flashed a prince-like smile in my direction. “She smiled! So wonderfully! And with the kind of look that makes your heart go squee! She’s definitely the type of woman who is popular with women!”

“Yeah.”

I knew it. She was popular, after all.

“Sigh… I’m exhausted. I feel like I want to hear a story that’ll perk me up. Herrmann-san, do you have any heartwarming stories about your little sister?” Sitting down, I made a totally unreasonable request of Herrmann-san.

“…”

Oh no, I’d made him uncomfortable. I’ m sorry, but since you’re Henriette-san’s subordinate, you’re responsible for her actions, Herrmann-san.

“She would…always watch me when I was making swords.”

Oh ho! It sounded like a good story was about to begin!

“That’s all.”

“That’s it?!” Maybe it wasn’t so much that Herrmann-­san was taciturn as that he was just bad with words. But he must also have thought he should say some more, because he continued speaking.

“I thought it would be boring for her…but she always said it was fun.”

“When a little sister says something like that, you just can’t help but find it cute, eh?”

“My little sister wants to learn how to cook…so I made her a knife.”

“She must have been absolutely delighted.”

“She was. She said she’d treasure it for the rest of her life.”

“So are you still making things for her even now?”

“That’s right. Every time I see her, I feel truly glad that I became a master blacksmith.”

Oh wow, that was a wonderful story… Jeez, who was it that forced such a nice person to take shared responsibility for someone else, and handle a certain someone’s unreasonable request?!

“I’m sorry. I can only tell boring stories.”

“Oh no, no, no! They’re incredibly good stories! I’m sure your little sister loves watching you as you diligently work on making your blades, Herrmann-san.” I didn’t know much about smithing though, so that was just my imagination talking.

“Heh…”

Oh, he smiled. Good, good. It seemed like our attempt to communicate had proven successful.

“Are you…interested in blades?” The fact that Herrmann-­san brought it up of his own accord was progress.

“Me? Well…I think I’ve tried making a sword before, and I think I once made a knife.”

“If we make it back safely, I’ll make you something.”

“I’m looking forward to it!” I didn’t know if I would actually be there, though. Once my memories returned, I would probably disappear…but I thought I’d still remember my conversations from today.

“Finished with your conversation?” Just as I let my guard down, Henriette-san, eyes sparkling like the sun, suddenly cut in. Oh no. I had completely forgotten about her.

“I-I was wondering if I could rest a little longer…”

“You seemed be really enjoying your chat, so you must have recovered enough.”

“Herrmann-san, she’s a super sadistic instructor!”

“Henriette’s been away from the field for quite a while now.”

“So you’re saying she’s enjoying being back to work after so long?!”

“Don’t worry. The contents of your training will change a little from here on.” With that, Henriette-san drew her sword. Droplets of red trickled from the blade.

“Henriette-san, blood! You’re bleeding!”

“I’m going to pass Genocide Arts onto you—sword techniques that utilize blood. It should be helpful to you in your fight with Rischel.”

Wait, was a technique that used blood actually still swordplay? It wasn’t magic? I couldn’t even imagine it…but I could easily imagine that even more Spartan training was awaiting me.

 

***

 

I wasn’t tired, but the training left me sore. After I was finished with it, I flopped down onto the bed as if I were dead. I supposed that was what happened when a mere student underwent military-standard training. Even Henriette-san seemed to be a little apologetic in the end.

“Flum, why are you so worn out?”

Even though I was resting, Rischel showed up. My peaceful time was over. For some reason, she was straddling me as I lay in bed. Having anyone other than Milkit do this to me doesn’t make me happy.

“When I told Henriette-san and Herrmann-san that I was bored, they offered to teach me to train my muscles—”

“Those two did that to you, then.” I saw a faint, dark flame light up in Rischel’s eyes. I felt like I’d just stepped on a land mine. “Flum, you don’t have to associate with such inferior people. We’re people chosen by justice, remember? That means you’re better than the rest!” She raised her voice in excitement, grabbed me by the shoulders, and shook me around. “Flum, if you get involved with those worthless good-for-nothings who resist Lord Origin’s will, you’ll just end up getting sullied! You’ll be dirtied, Flum! Stop, you two! Don’t dirty my Flum!”

Ugh, her screeching was so unpleasant. But that was good. Because that meant I could hate someone who I wanted to kill.

“That’s it. Let’s just get outta here right now and activate their Origin cores.”

“Origin core…?”

“They’re implanted in their bodies! If you escape, Flum, they’ll automatically activate and those two will turn into monsters.”

It was an unpleasant term, to be sure. Was it like a small Origin that could be implanted into someone’s body? It certainly seemed like if you implanted something like that directly into a person, they might turn into a monster.

“They’re handy, you know? These cores created by Chimera. At first, the idea was to connect monster bodies to match with the core, but with the accumulation of data, it became possible to Chimera-ize human bodies, instead! But I haven’t actually seen a human turn into a Chimera myself. That’s it. Let’s see for ourselves, using those two! Inferior beings like Henriette and Herrmann turning into horrible monsters!”

I couldn’t stand the sight of Rischel shouting in crazy joy.

“Don’t tell me…that you dislike the idea. Do you?” It seemed she’d noticed me unintentionally averting my eyes. “Those two turning into monsters would be good, right? You think so too, right, Flum?”

Ugh, her face was close to mine again. But I had to play along for the time being. I needed to just grin and bear it for now.

“Yeah. Because you’re most important, Rischel.” I hadn’t had any experience working a part-time job, but I thought I was pretty good at putting up a customer service smile to look friendly.

“You really think so?! Yay, yay, yay, yay! Flum, you’re such a good girl! I knew it, we really were destined to understand one another!”

She petted me repeatedly, clearly delighted. Was that why she loved me so much? To do things like this? I wondered if she was the sort of person who, even when we weren’t together, let her imagination run wild about me until she couldn’t tell the difference between fantasy and reality?

“In that case, let’s get out of here, the two of us. Let’s run away! Into that vast ocean called freedom! Oh, and also, let’s kill those two. They’ll definitely come after us and try to stop us!” But…this was convenient for me. I decided to play along.

“But…my body feels kind of heavy, and I can’t really move properly.”

“Oh, I see, because you don’t have Souleater…”

Henriette-san said as much before, but it really did seem like I had been wielding a weapon of that name. It sounded like if I had it, my body would become lighter, and my chances of being able to kill Rischel would increase. If I could kill her, then no matter how creeped out or nauseous it made me feel, I’d flatter her and fawn over her now. I’d even go so far as licking her shoes.

“Got it. I’ll bring it to you.”

Yes. Things were going well.

“But!”

That surprised me! Rischel, don’t shout at me so loudly when you’re right in front of me.

“Promise me that you won’t talk to either Henriette or Herrmann at all from here on out, okay? Not a single word! Promise me that you won’t go near them, that you won’t even breathe the same air as them! Swear it!”

“I understand. I promise.”

Okay, you’ve got a good fake smile going there, Flum.

“Flum, you’re such a good, pure, honest girl. Okay, when the time comes, I’ll bring you Souleater. See you later!” Perhaps I had answered her question in the way that she had hoped, because she left the room in a good mood. I immediately jumped out of bed and wiped my face with a cloth that I had prepared, since it was likely that she had gotten some spit on my face. Then I crawled back into bed.

That was when it happened.

“Don’t you mess with her, you goddamn asshole bastards!” I could hear Rischel’s voice in the hallway. She sounded extremely pissed off, and I could hear the sound of her hitting something. “Don’t you sully Flum! You nobody, you lowlife general who pretends to be on the side of justice and can’t even properly protect your subordinates! You’re nothing but living trash that spews out red filth!”

Was she…hitting Henriette-san? How could she think I’d like her if she did things like that?

“You too, you big blockhead! All you’ve got going for you is your size—you’re a worthless nothing who can’t even understand words! Grah!”

Oh, she was even going after Herrmann-san, too. After the storm had passed, I timidly peered outside.

“Phew, what an emotionally unstable woman.” Henriette-san touched her bruised face and grimaced, her face twisting in pain. However, when she noticed my gaze, she immediately gave me a smile. “There’s no need to worry. I heard your conversation. When the time comes, you escape with her.”

I came out of the room. Henriette-san approached me.

“But if I leave here…the two of you will end up turning into monsters, won’t you?”

“If we try to attack you, Rischel will likely stop us.” In other words, I would be the only one who could escape safely.

“Isn’t there a way…that I can somehow save you and Herrmann-san too, Henriette-san?” I knew it was a false show of goodness on my part. But I couldn’t help but say it. However, despite the hopeless situation, the look in Henriette-san’s eyes showed that she hadn’t given up yet.

“If we’re lucky, they’ll come to our rescue. The hero, and the rest of the hero party.”

The way she said it, it sounded like it wasn’t a fairy tale. Like a hero really did exist. Did that make the bad guys who were holding us captive the Demon Lord?

With that thought in mind, I returned to my room before Rischel saw me. Something was going to happen. I felt like that moment was just around the corner. Even when I closed my eyes atop the bed, tension, anxiety, and the anticipation of revenge kept me from sleeping.

Chapter 7: Cursed Treasure

Chapter 7:
Cursed Treasure

 

AS DAWN BROKE in the Demon Lord’s castle, a strategy meeting was being held to discuss the plan of attack to storm Tokyo. Chairs were arranged around an oval-shaped table in the center of the room, with people from the Demon Lord and hero factions sitting in their respective sides—save for Cyrill, who was still in a comatose state.

Milkit sat quietly in a corner on the hero side of the table, muttering as she looked out the window. “So that’s what we’ll be fighting with…”

Neigass, who was directly across from her, turned and looked out the window as well. “That’s right. With catapults carefully built by demons.”

Preparations to intercept Tokyo had been progressing steadily in Selayde. Not only were reinforcements arriving one after another in response to Tsyon’s call, but assembling weapons had begun.

“They are quite large, but I can’t imagine that catapults will be enough to take it down.” When Eterna made that anxious comment, Ottilie spoke up after her.

“They’re far too primitive. That said, I am not sure if even bringing out cannons will do much, either.”

In response to that, Tsyon shrugged his shoulders and laughed.

“Ha ha ha! Those ain’t normal catapults. Each one has a fire, wind, or earth mage assigned to it, and they can attack from hundreds of kilometers away. They’re real good.”

“Well, sure…” Linus answered, a strained smile on his face. If they were going to be using primitive catapults, then the demons would be much stronger in a fight with actual flesh-and-blood opponents.

“However…no matter how exceptionally powerful they may be, they are only throwing stones, aren’t they?”

Sheitoom nodded in response to Maria’s logical argument. “Are you saying they lack in power?”

“Well, even if you fill the projectiles with gunpowder and detonate them, I still think…”

“We probably won’t be able to shoot that thing down.” Gadhio agreed with Maria’s opinion.

“They’ve already been used in other cities, and all they’ve been able to do is slow it down by the most minimal amount,” Sheitoom acknowledged.

“Hey, come on, there’s gotta be some other objective here, right?” Linus said, looking uneasy. Sheitoom unintentionally let out a giggle.

“We are going to have all of you hop onto a catapult so that you can infiltrate that flying fortress.”

For a moment, time stood still. Then Linus unintentionally blurted out, “Uh, what did you just say?” and asked her to repeat herself.

“We are going to have all of you hop onto a catapult so that you can infiltrate that flying fortress.” And then she repeated the exact same words.

Linus pointed to himself and said “Us?” before pointing to the catapults outside the window and saying “On those?” to seek confirmation from her once again.

Sheitoom, smiling, responded with “Yes.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, that’s impossible! Even if you hollowed out the inside of the projectiles and had us get in them, if we’re launched with even speed to cover several hundred kilometers, the inside of the projectiles, meaning us, will be reduced to mushy meat paste!”

“If we have someone skilled with wind magic, we should be able to take care of that. Right, Neigass?”

“Well, I’ve never done it before, myself. So Linus, you’re going to help me practice my until we depart.”

“Are you actually being serious right now? I was fooled by your appearance, but I knew it—you really are the Demon Lord.”

Maria, sitting next to Linus, grimaced as she listened to this conversation. “Um, please hang in there, Linus.”

“Yeah. If I fail, my Maria will suffer for it. I will definitely make sure we pull this off!”

As Linus spoke with determination, the demons began doing test launches with the catapults outside right at that very moment. They slowly lowered the arm, which was creaking and bending under the weight of the enormous magically created boulders that had been placed upon them. Then as a demon nearby gave the signal, the stored power was unleashed, and with a simultaneous application of the explosion of fire magic and the acceleration of wind magic, the boulder was launched with tremendous force. The shockwave of just the launch reached as far as the Demon Lord’s castle, causing the windows to rattle.

“Just firing it had such an impact…” Milkit trembled slightly in fear from the shock of it.

“Am I going to be put in one of those, too…?”

“Don’t worry, my little Sara. I will definitely protect you, so you’ll be safe.”

“There’s no way I could feel completely safe, even if you’re there, Neigass!” Sara immediately became anxious, brows dipping down.

“What do you think, Gadhio?”

“We have no choice but to get in them. Getting inside that fortress was always going to be the real challenge.” Eterna and Gadhio, on the other hand, accepted this course of action as though it were the most practical solution at hand.

 

***

 

As the strategy meeting progressed, the topic of destroying Origin cores came up, and Eterna took out the Reversal cores that she had received from Satuhkie and placed them atop the map of Tokyo that had been spread out.

“These white crystals are Reversal cores?”

“They just look like simple crystals, but the same goes for the Origin cores as well.” As Sheitoom and Tsyon picked up the Reversal cores and examined them, Neigass spoke up.

“We’ve received ten of them in total. As for the number of people to storm the fortress…eight people should be enough, I believe.” Currently, it had been confirmed that Eterna, Gadhio, Linus, Maria, Ottilie, Neigass, Sara, and Tsyon would be participating in the assault on Tokyo. What was to be done with Milkit had not yet been clearly decided upon.

“Dhiza and I will stay here in order to defend the area, so it would be very helpful for us if you could leave two Reversal cores with us.”

“Chances are high that Selayde will also be attacked by Chimera.” When Dhiza said that, Eterna spoke up in response.

“I think it’s best to be prepared, yes. However, Chimera cannot move outside the range of the central core. They may not attack as far as Selayde.”

“But it seems like the Chimeras range of activity is wider than we expected, though.” Tsyon shared the information he had just obtained with Eterna and the others. “That central core thing you told us about probably has a spherically shaped range of control. Which means that flying monsters like wyverns can attack Selayde from the sky relatively quickly.”

Then Tsyon showed them the extent of the control range by placing flags on the map. In response, Gadhio murmured, “The range of the catapults is slightly wider, hm.”

“While we’re fighting in the fortress, there’s a high possibility that Chimera will attack Selayde. It’d be ideal if the hero woke in time for that, but considering the reaction from the medicine she took earlier, I imagine that’ll be difficult.” Just as Neigass had analyzed, it appeared that it’d be difficult for Selayde to avoid losses.

Just then, Linus suddenly opened his mouth to ask a question. “Hey, Tsyon, how’d you get word about the control range of the central cores? It only took us a day to get here from the point that we used Return to get to.”

“Via letter, carried on the wind. We’ve connected each town and city so that we can communicate with each other at any time.”

A network connecting each town and city using magic—that was how the demons transmitted information.

“So that’s why Neigass got scolded for not contacting you in advance, huh?”

“She can use wind magic herself, so it ought to be easier for her to make contact than it is for us.” When Sheitoom glared at Neigass after saying so, Neigass deliberately averted her eyes. Neigass was simply a person who tended to find things bothersome and didn’t like to make an effort.

Then Eterna brought the conversation back on topic after things had gotten derailed.

“A central core was also used in Shuor, but they’ve become incomparably larger since back then.”

“The complexity of controlling monsters versus controlling humans must be vastly different, right? So they must have simplified the processing and expanded the range.”

“I think your theory is plausible, Neigass, but even so, that kind of technological progress is far too rapid.”

“So you suspect there’s something else going on here, Eterna. Like some kind of trap. Right?”

“Not a trap, necessarily. But I feel like there’s another reason why the scope of control has been expanded.”

“Better safe than sorry, as they say. We ought to keep that in mind.” Even Gadhio didn’t know about the method by which the range of Origin cores’ effects was expanded. It could be said that this raised more questions, but if they were look at this situation positively, it meant that eliminating those questions could also curb Chimera’s movements.

“Personally, I’m also curious about those Chimera that the Church Knights brought with them when they attacked the research facility.” Maria recalled what happened at that time, and she spoke with some regret.

“I had unfortunately ended up losing consciousness at the time, but when the Church Knights left, the Chimera stopped moving, didn’t they? Maybe they have some small, portable control core, in addition to the central core installed in Tokyo, that they carried with them.”

When Maria said that, a wrinkle formed in Tsyon’s brow. “So in short, if they load that core on a Chimera, they’d be able to operate freely anywhere, wouldn’t they?”

“But that would weaken Tokyo’s defenses.” Gadhio’s opinion was valid, but that didn’t dispel their unease.

“We can’t dismiss the possibility that they’ll just throw caution to the wind and attack. But there’s no point in talking about the small stuff. Let’s just get moving and start preparing.” At that, Neigass directed an exasperated look at Tsyon for his unusual haste.

“What you really mean is that you’re tired of talking and are itching to do something.”

“Sure, but even so, what I’ve been saying isn’t wrong.” With Tsyon having become defiant, the strategy meeting was ended for the time being, and they began preparing for the battle.

 

***

 

After the meeting, the group was guided by Sheitoom to the innermost part of the Demon Lord’s castle. There, they found an imposing, heavily locked door. When Dhiza opened the door with the key that he had brought with him…what they found within were treasures collected by the demons of the past. In other words, Epic equipment. Sheitoom entered the room first and turned around, her skirt fluttering gently.

“Please take any one piece of equipment that you like. It will surely be useful in your battle, everyone.”

“Is this…really okay?” Even Gadhio was taken aback by her generosity, so much so that he couldn’t help but ask that question. However, Sheitoom readily replied in a definitive tone.

“These things may be highly valuable in the royal kingdom, but they hold little value to demons, who do not like fighting.” The main opponent in the battles where these pieces of equipment had been used in the past was none other than Origin. In other words, these items were weapons and armor that have been lying dormant here for thousands of years.

“So please, go ahead and use them. We won’t be bothered by these things being gone.”

“Are there cursed pieces of equipment, too?”

When Milkit quietly muttered that question, Sheitoom readily responded, “There are. If Flum will be using it after her rescue, it may be all right to give it to her.”

“Yes, I’m sure that…Master would be happy.”

“It’s stored in another place, so I will show you. Dhiza, please take care of things here.”

“Yes, milord.” Sheitoom guided Milkit further into the treasure vault. Meanwhile, the other heroes scanned and examined the equipment that caught their interest.

“Y’know, when you’re asked to choose one thing, it’s actually hard to pick.”

“Yes, I know what you mean. It’s hard to choose when everything looks so valuable.”

“There aren’t any cheap Epic gear items after all, so I might as well just pick something based on how it looks.” In terms of value, these items were worth so much that you could buy land in the East District of the royal capital and build a house and still have money left to spare. It was perfectly understandable that Linus and Maria were at a loss.

“What’re you gonna do, Gadhio?”

“I’m thinking.”

“In your case, you’re not planning on changing up your sword or your armor, right? So I guess the question is what area you’re looking at, I suppose.” Gadhio and Linus were now standing side by side, racking their brains over the issue. A little away from them, Sara was in a similar situation, going, “Hmm, hmmmm” to herself.

“Since you’re special, you can choose as many as you like, my little Sara.” Neigass hugged Sara’s small back tightly, squishing her chest against her as she spoke.

“That wouldn’t be fair. I couldn’t do that.”

“Mmm, I just love that kind of humility!”

“Stop getting so excited like that here! You’re embarrassing me!”

Even so, Neigass didn’t stop, nor did Sara even attempt to shake her off. Sara kept searching for equipment, even in this difficult-to-move position. After a while, she stopped in front of a robe.

“A white robe…”

“Isn’t that similar to the clothing you wore as a nun, though? Are you sure you’re okay with that?” After being exiled from the kingdom, Sara abandoned her church robes in order to hide her identity. However, as a clergywoman, she never lost her desire to save others.

 

Name: Ancient Robe of Loneliness

Tier: Epic

[This equipment raises its wearer’s Magic by 670]

[This equipment raises its wearer’s Endurance by 828]

[This equipment amplifies its wearer’s light-attribute magic power]

 

What’s more, the enchantments on the equipment were completely fitting for a nun. Sara didn’t think she would find anything that suited her more perfectly than this robe.

“Okay, I’ve made up my mind!”

“I think it’s good too, with all that exposure.” The slits were certainly unusually long, and the design made it look like it would be breezy around the thigh area. “And what’s more, with Epic equipment, you can take it off in an instant…”

“Neigass…?”

“O-oh, nothing! I wasn’t thinking anything inappropriate, really!”

“I think I’ll pass on this after all. I’ll choose something else.”

“Oh! But when you take a good look at this habit, you can see how cute it is! It’s perfect for you, Sara! I’m sure it was made for you to wear, Sara! I want you to wear it, my little Sara! Please!”

“It’s too late now! You definitely had an indecent look in your eyes!” Sara tried to move away from the robe, but Neigass clung tightly to her waist, pleading with her.

“I beg you, wear it just once, pleeeease!”

Linus watched the two of them with a grimace on his face. “They sure seem to be having fun, huh?”

“It’s wonderful that they’re so cheerful…but I have to wonder about making a move on a child of that age.” For a moment, Maria’s eyes sharpened.

Linus let out a strained chuckle. Despite his forced smile, he was happy to see Maria acting like a big sister.

“By the way, Linus, it seems like you’ve made a decision yourself.”

“Yeah. I picked this.” Linus showed Maria what was in his hands: a pair of brown leather gloves.

 

Name: Life-or-Death Leather Gloves

Tier: Epic

[This equipment raises its wearer’s Agility by 1851]

 

When Maria used Scan and saw the enchantment on the gear, she couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow!”

“You just thought, ‘Wow, that’s so excessive’…didn’t you, Maria?”

“O-oh no, I was thinking that it’s rather fitting for you, Linus.”

“Yeah, it is fitting for me, for sure. Besides, even if I equipped something that made my physical abilities suddenly improve, it’d just leave me overwhelmed, so I thought it’d be easier focus on developing my strengths. What are you gonna choose, Maria?”

“I am going to choose this.”

 

Name: Mace of Parting Guilt

Tier: Epic

[This equipment raises its wearer’s Strength by 332]

[This equipment raises its wearer’s Magic by 444]

[This equipment raises its wearer’s Endurance by 517]

[This equipment amplifies its wearer’s light-attribute magic power]

 

“Hehe…you were probably thinking, ‘Wow, that’s extreme,’ weren’t you?”

“No, I wasn’t… Well, okay, yeah. For a minute there, I was.”

“I thought so too, honestly. It’s not exactly cute, but it is practical.” The mace Maria was currently equipped with didn’t compare with Epic equipment. She’d probably decided the new mace was an easy option, since just replacing her current gear with this item would increase her fighting abilities.

“The top priority is to survive the battle and return safely to the royal capital.”

“Yes. And we can buy cute things later, then.” Maria smiled, one appropriate for her age, looking like she had somehow put her doubts behind her. Perhaps it had been because she was relieved after having avenged her home…but last night, she was in such an unstable emotional state that it was worrying. Even so, after one night had passed, she seemed to be in better spirits than before. “That reminds me: Don’t you need to be going soon, Linus?”

“Oh yeah, you’re right. Neigass is waiting for me.” Because of their reckless plain involving catapults, Linus needed to learn magic in a matter of hours. “All right, I’ll be going now.”

“Take care, Linus.” Maria waved goodbye to Linus.

Eterna suddenly appeared behind her. “You’re just like a newlywed couple.”

“Hyaah?! Eterna, please don’t just suddenly spring out from behind me!”

“You let your guard down. Anyway though, it seems like you’ve really relaxed a lot and let get of the tension, which is good. I’m glad.”

“Heavens… Anyway, what have you decided, Eterna?”

Eterna handed Maria a pointed hat that seemed like something a witch might wear. “This.”

“It even raises the wearer’s Strength by over a thousand. Eterna, are you going to fight physically?”

“I thought it’d suit Ink.”

What did Eterna intend to achieve by increasing Ink’s Strength by over 1000? Maria imagined Ink carrying Eterna in her arms like a princess. It was a surprisingly fun image—and more importantly, Eterna seemed like she’d enjoy it.

However, there was no way this was Eterna’s actual choice of equipment.

“Are you…playing with me, by any chance?”

“It’s rare for me to have casual, everyday conversations with you, Maria. It felt like a novel thing to do.”

“You’re not denying that you’re playing around with me…”

“Yes, that one was a joke. This is what I’m choosing.”

 

Name: Protector’s Deep-Blue Necklace

Tier: Epic

[This equipment raises its wearer’s Magic by 539]

[This equipment raises its wearer’s Endurance by 312]

[This equipment raises its wearer’s Agility by 256]

[This equipment amplifies its wearer’s water-attribute magic power]

 

“Both the color and its abilities are just perfect for you, Eterna. Well spotted!”

“With such an excellent selection, there’s bound to be something for everyone. The only one who can’t find something is Gadhio, who is far too particular.”

Maria and Eterna were having their conversation not far from Gadhio, so he was able to hear what they were saying.

“I came to the conclusion that I don’t need anything. I don’t have room to add any more equipment.”

“What about accessories, such as necklaces or rings?”

“I’ve decided that I’m only wearing one for now.” Gadhio dedicated his everything to his late wife, Tia. Maria honestly thought that was wonderful of him.

“You are very devoted, Gadhio.”

He smiled shyly at that, letting out a small “Heh.”

Meanwhile, Tsyon was watching their conversation from a short distance away. “They’re awfully relaxed as they go about choosing gear, even though we don’t have any time.”

Dhiza, standing next to Tsyon, relaxed his expression slightly. “It seems like they have been in a state of tension for quite a long time before coming here, due to continuous battles. The are likely feeling a little relaxed now that they have finally come to a safe place.”

“This is the Demon Lord’s castle; it’s supposed to be the heart of enemy territory for them.”

“I am happy that we were able to come to meet and understand the heroes in this way, though. After all, humans and demons were originally supposed to be races that work together… Oh, it would appear that help is needed.” Dhiza headed over to Sara, who was trying to put on the robe but struggling for some reason, getting all caught up in it.

“Dhiza’s so impressive. It’s gotta be difficult enough just taking care of us, but he reaches out to people in so many ways, helping them grow into adults…”

“He is like a father figure to everyone, it appears.” Ottilie, who happened to be nearby, spoke up in agreement with Tsyon.

“You find a piece of equipment yet, Drill Girl?”

“Could you please stop calling me that? This hairstyle is the supreme twin roll that my sister praised me for when I was but a small child! My sister approached me, though I was still shy and withdrawn at the time, and said—”

“Don’t just start launching into stuff I didn’t ask about.”

“Very well. By the way, speaking of Dhiza, what exactly does he do?”

“He regularly visits schools. He travels around the demon realm teaching various things for free. There are few people out there who haven’t been helped out by him during their childhood.”

“He really is quite the commendable fellow, then. Is he a blood relative of the Demon Lord?”

“From what I hear, he’s been serving since the time of the Demon Lord two generations past. Anyway, what about your gear?”

“I am already wearing it, as you can see.” Ottilie showed off the earrings adorned with red gems that she was already wearing on her ears.

 

Name: Crimson Earrings of Lust

Tier: Epic

[This equipment raises its wearer’s Agility by 431]

[This equipment raises its wearer’s Perception by 1095]

 

Those are kinda perverted stat values, thought Tsyon. Ottilie, unaware of what Tsyon was thinking, spoke a bit proudly for some reason.

“Isn’t it because you can’t notice the subtle changes in a lady that your relationship with your childhood friend isn’t progressing?”

“Shut up. Besides, can you even become lovers with that ‘Sister’ or whatever of yours?”

Ottilie had just intended to tease him a little about Sheitoom, but she slumped her shoulders dejectedly after his unexpected counterattack.

“Ugh, come on, don’t get so downhearted about it… It’s annoying.”

“Well, you apparently haven’t made any progress either, so you have no right to talk down to me so high-and-mightily. Hmph!” Ottilie, leaving behind a comment that seemed like the textbook definition of being a poor loser, left to join Eterna and the others. Just then, Dhiza and Neigass had finished untangling Sara, after they worked together to free her. After Dhiza had finished his task, he took a ring out of a drawer and brought it over to Eterna.

“I have a favor to ask of you, Miss Eterna.” Before anyone knew it, Maria had walked away from Eterna and the others. Since she had left the room, she may have gone to check on Linus. “If you do not mind, I would like you to give this to Miss Cyrill. She should be able to handle it.” As he said that, Dhiza handed her a slightly blackish silver ring.

 

Name: Ring of Closed Illusion

Tier: Epic

[This equipment raises its wearer’s Strength by 326]

[This equipment raises its wearer’s Magic by 422]

[This equipment raises its wearer’s Endurance by 483]

[This equipment raises its wearer’s Agility by 276]

[This equipment raises its wearer’s Perception by 396]

 

As far as Epic equipment went, it was rather plain, but its abilities were the real deal. However, Ottilie, after scanning the equipment at almost the same time as Eterna, went “Oh?” and cocked her head to the side, puzzled.

“What’s the matter, Ottilie?”

“Well, it was just that, for a moment, something felt off…”

“Was there something strange about it?” When Dhiza asked her that, Ottilie used Scan once again. But this time, she didn’t see any abnormalities.

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. Looking at it again now, it must have just been my imagination.”

“That is a relief.” Dhiza smiled contentedly and walked away from the women. And so, the heroes gained new strength before the decisive battle.

 

***

 

Guided by Sheitoom, Milkit arrived at a dusty room located even deeper inside the treasure vault. There were no lamps powered by magic, only candle tables set up along the walls. When Sheitoom gently applied some heat using her light magic, the candles lit up, softly illuminating the room. Faced with the array of cursed equipment all lined up, Milkit felt a shiver run up her spine and tightly squeezed the hem of her garment.

“It is a creepy place, isn’t it? We rarely set foot in here ourselves.”

“So all of the equipment in here is cursed, then?”

“Yes. There should be some Epic equipment here as well, so I think that Flum could make good use of it. We can’t use this equipment ourselves, so you can take as much as you like.” Even if it was cursed equipment, Epic equipment was still valuable in itself. Flum would surely be delighted if Milkit gave it to her. “Oh, and please do not get close to the pieces of cursed equipment covered in cloth. Some of them can have ill effects on your body just by touching them.” The warning had come just at the right time, as Milkit stopped reaching for the small object in front of her when she heard that.

“You can touch and use Scan on the other items, though. I am sure you know which equipment would be best suited for Flum, Milkit, so please feel free to look around.” Apparently, there wasn’t any need to be overly afraid, at least more than what was necessary. As long as she didn’t wield it or equip it herself, she shouldn’t suffer the effects of the curse.

“What equipment Master can use is…a different matter from what clothes would suit her though, I think.” Milkit moved a bit away from Sheitoom and looked around for cursed equipment. Sheitoom also seemed to be helping out by looking for equipment that she thought looked good.

“I think that Master would look absolutely adorable wearing this dress.” The first thing that caught Milkit’s eye was a dress with lots of gothic lace. If anything, the design was closer to the maid outfit that Milkit wore. Milkit remembered feeling her heart race when Flum wore a maid outfit before. She was convinced that this dress would surely make her just as excited…

Just imagining it brought a big smile to her face. But at the same time, she felt a sense of loneliness welling up within her over Flum’s absence.

Milkit quickly shifted her gaze over to another piece of equipment. The next thing she found was a black suit of armor that exuded an ominous aura.

“This armor… Scan.” When Milkit took a look to see what its stats were…

 

Name: Abyss Mail of the Wailing Ghost

Tier: Epic

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Strength by 3871]

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Magic by 5136]

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Endurance by 4923]

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Agility by 3994]

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Perception by 5512]

[This equipment doesn’t forgive your sins by 44444444]

[Won’t forgive]

[I won’t forgive]

[I won’t forgive you]

[I won’t forgive your betrayal]

[I didn’t want to die]

[Why?]

[Why did I suffer this?]

[Give me back]

[Give me back my happiness]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

[Give it back]

 

A torrent of information and emotions that were stained the color of fresh red blood flowed into Milkit’s brain.

“Ah…ah, ah, noooooooo!” She let out a scream and cowered right on the spot, curling into a ball. Sheitoom raced over to her in a panic.

“Oh no, why was that armor out in the open?! Milkit, are you okay?”

“Ah, agh,w-were, k-killed, giiiii! Ahhhh!” Milkit scratched at her head in agony, blood streaming from her eyes.

“If it’s a curse, then a simple healing spell should do the trick… Healing!” Sheitoom repeatedly cast healing spells, gradually getting Milkit to calm down.

“Haa, haa, haa…Sheitoom…” Milkit finally came back to her senses. Her clothes were soaked with cold sweat.

“I’m glad, it seems like you’ve recovered.”

“What was that just now…?”

“I’m sorry. I was careless. If only I had stayed by your side this whole time…” Sheitoom looked over the armor that Milkit had scanned earlier. “That armor has been passed down from generation to generation of Demon Lords. At first, it was an exceptional piece of Epic equipment used by the first Demon Lord, but when the previous Demon Lord, my mother, Leatus, passed away about thirty years ago, it gradually began to grow cursed. Now, just scanning it is enough to burn one’s soul with that curse.”

Sheitoom’s voice was full of conviction, which suggested that she had perhaps experienced that curse herself. “To tell you the truth, the equipment stored here wasn’t originally cursed.”

“Did the curses spread from this armor as the center point?”

“That is a possibility. Normally, it is kept in a locked box and stored securely. Why was it out here…? I can only think that it moved of its own accord.”

This armor was filled with so many curses that they couldn’t be contained. They overflowed, spilled out around them.

“I truly am sorry! This was my mistake.” Sheitoom bowed her head deeply once again.

“It’s all right, I’m better now. Rather, I should be saying thank you very much for healing me. Actually, about this armor… When I look at it, I get this powerfully sad feeling, somehow.”

“You feel it too, Milkit? I do not know about the relationship between the curse and my mother. But if what resides in here are my mother’s regrets, then…perhaps she knew that there was a traitor among the demons. That is what I think.”

Sheitoom called for Tsyon, who was bored, having nothing to do in the next room, and requested that the cursed armor be sealed away again. Meanwhile, Milkit joined Sheitoom in searching for more cursed equipment for Flum.

What they found was a pair of black greaves. Based on the shape of the greaves, they figured that Flum should be able to put them on over the boots that she wore.

 

Name: Greaves of the Wailing Shade

Tier: Epic

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Strength by 811]

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Endurance by 363]

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Perception by 778]

 

The greaves appeared to be made of black metal, but they were exceedingly light. Cursed equipment often had such inexplicable characteristics. Because Milkit felt that something sinister might happen if she handled the equipment with her bare hands for a long time, she asked Sheitoom for a bag. Then Sheitoom asked Milkit a question as she saw her holding the bag containing the greaves.

“From the look of things, it seems you are planning to storm the fortress as well, Milkit.”

“I…understand that it would be better for me to stay here.”

“No, it’s not that I’m going to stop you. I’m sure that once the battle begins, both places will be dangerous.” If the Chimera attacked, then Selayde would become as dangerous a location as Tokyo. In that case, it would be safer for Milkit to stay by someone who would protect her.

“I brought you here because I said I would protect you. So I am taking you with me.” Eterna had entered the room too, after hearing the commotion. Following after her, Tsyon arrived as well after sealing the cursed armor.

“Is this kid gonna be of any use, though?” Milkit, looking up at the large man, shrank back uncomfortably. Eterna followed up in support of Milkit.

“If we can get her back with Flum, then Flum’s motivation will skyrocket by about ten billion times over.”

“Fu fu, it’ll go up by that much, that quickly?”

“So you’re saying she’ll get heated up.”

“Oh yes, very heated up.” Since Tsyon would also likely feel himself burn up in order to protect Sheitoom, he couldn’t say anything more. Then when the atmosphere became more peaceful… Tsyon sensed something outside of the Demon Lord’s castle.

“Everyone, get down!” Tsyon covered Sheitoom, while Milkit and Eterna crouched down low. Immediately afterward, the sounds of an explosion echoed throughout Selayde.

“They’re already attacking?!”

“This is strange. We shouldn’t be within firing range of the Chimera yet.”

“Big Brother, outside!”

“Yeah!” Sheitoom and Tsyon leapt out of the window and flew toward the city, which was lit up by the explosion.

Chapter 8: A Large Number of Intersections

Chapter 8:
A Large Number of Intersections

 

THE MYSTERIOUS EXPLOSION in Selayde destroyed buildings and caused injuries. Tsyon supported a man who had fallen and was unable to stand back up, propping him up, and then asked him for information.

“What happened? Did they hit us with magic?”

“I-I don’t know…something just flew over at such incredible speed that it was invisible to the eye and exploded.” When Tsyon glared the gray sky, he heard a faint, high-pitched sound.

“Damn, another one’s coming! Get back! I’ll intercept it!” Immediately afterward, there was a loud explosive sound, like boom, and Tsyon flew like a bullet. What he saw in the air was a solid cylindrical object made of metal moving at high speed, while spewing flames. In order to respond to its excessively fast speed, Tsyon intentionally fired off a series of lower-level spells.

“Burn up with heat! Fireball!” The flying object exploded in midair, and the fragments fell to the ground. “Wait, it’s not magic—it was a bomb that flew at high speed. There are things that can fly this far?!”

Tokyo was still quite far away at this point. It was at such a distance that it was visible only as a silhouette on the horizon. In that moment, the sound of a loud explosion roared from behind Tsyon.

“What was that?!” When Tsyon turned to look back, he saw that the explosion had occurred in midair, just before reaching Selayde. Sheitoom had deployed a massive Divine Protection to shield the entirety of Selayde. Apparently, she had noticed that something was approaching but couldn’t determine where it was coming from.

“Not even Sheitoom could predict the trajectory?! If she’s put up a defensive barrier, then that means she won’t be able to move.” On top of that, this time, another mysterious explosion occurred, this time ahead of Tsyon. “Oh, what the hell?! It’s just one thing after another!”

 

***

 

Linus stood with his bow drawn on the roof of the Demon Lord’s castle. His eyes were focused on the flying objects fired at them from afar.

“So it’s a sharpshooting showdown, huh? Well, if it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get, Church Knights!” Linus shot arrows straight ahead, upward to the right, and then upward to the left in rapid succession. A second later, there was an explosion in the air.

“Don’t underestimate the God-Killing Archer, hah!” A smug smile appeared on his face.

 

***

 

Inside Tokyo, in the central control room, an electronic voice reported on the state of the battle with all of the leaders of the Church Knights gathered together.

“All supersonic guided missiles from the second onward have been shot down.” Huyghe, sitting in his chair, asked the voice a question.

“And the cause for them being shot down?”

“It is likely that the second missile came into contact with a high-temperature flying object, the third missile came into contact with an invisible barrier, and the fourth and subsequent missiles came into contact with flying objects made of metal and wood.” Upon hearing this, Rischel couldn’t help but cover her mouth with her hands and giggle. Bart looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“Was there something to laugh about just now…?”

“I mean, come on, old man Bart. ‘Flying objects made of metal and wood’?”

“Wait, you don’t mean a bow and arrows, do you? Wait, then that means it’s Linus Radiants! To think, shooting down a missile with arrows…”

“That’s just what makes him a hero, after all. Now it’s clear that the heroes have joined forces with the demons.” All of that was within Huyghe’s range of predictions, so neither Rischel nor Jack were surprised.

“They’ll probably try and storm the place when we get close to the Demon Lord’s castle. Demons can fly, after all.”

“Yes, I cannot imagine that the demons will sit around and wait that long, though.”

“But they’re primitive savages that use things like catapults, aren’t they? There’s no other way.”

“Don’t drop your guard. Did you forget that Gadhio lopped off your arm?”

“Captain, there’s no need for you to dig that up. If we get into a head-on fight, I’ll win.”

“They have the hero on their side, too. It may be possible they could launch a surprise attack on us immediately using teleportation magic.”

“We will know if they use a teleportation stone though.”

“Using a teleportation stone would be difficult, and shooting with a catapult would be ridiculous. If you’re so cautious, why not just shoot more missiles and take care of them that way?”

“We are out of ammunition.”

“Come on Captain, why didn’t you make more?”

“Don’t be unreasonable, Rischel. Only the captain can restore those things. Besides, if you had been smarter, then the situation might have been different.”

“Can an idiot obsessed with torture like you really talk here, Jack?”

“Ga ha, verily! Yes indeed, this one does foolishly desire to cross blades, to the death.”

“So you admit you’re an idiot. But honestly, I’m the same way.” Jack and Rischel, anticipating a battle to come, found their blood stirring in excitement. Huyghe seemed to like the way those two were, because his cheeks relaxed into a smile.

“You appear to be motivated. In that case, be ready to sortie at any moment.”

“All right, then, I’ll go to where Flum is.” Casually ignoring what Huyghe said, Rischel quickly left the control room.

“Even though we were literally just told to start preparing…” When Bart muttered that under his breath, Huyghe spoke up to address him.

“Let her do as she pleases. Besides, if the heroes are going to move to take back Flum, she’ll need protection, anyway.”

So Huyghe had entrusted Rischel with protecting Flum. Since that was what Huyghe had decided, Bart couldn’t argue with it. But he couldn’t imagine that it would work out very well.

 

***

 

Everyone gathered in a room to discuss dealing with the flying objects. However, several people were not present. Sheitoom and Sara were outside treating the injured, while Neigass and Linus were in another room prioritizing their magic training.

“It would appear that the fortress is equipped with more weapons than just Chimera.” Even though Dhiza had brought up the topic, no one could think of an effective countermeasure against the high-speed projectiles.

“We are already within range of their attack.”

“They’re just too far away, no matter how you think about it. Is there anything we can do?” The others agreed with Maria and Gadhio’s opinions as well. The enemy was just too far away, and there was nothing they could do. That was when Tsyon spoke.

“I just talked to the folks outside, and it sounds like, if we push the catapults to their absolute limits, we can forcibly extend the range.”

“Does that also mean they will be prone to breaking more easily?” When Eterna asked that question, Tsyon nodded in agreement.

“Yeah. But they don’t have enough power to be able to stop that fortress in the first place, anyway. If we think of them as disposable tools meant for getting aboard, then they should be able to fill that role.”

“Does this mean that it will be necessary to modify the catapults?” When Ottilie asked that follow-up question, Tsyon answered.

“Looks like it’ll take about an hour to do. After that, we’ll be ready to go immediately.”

“But will Neigass and Linus be finished with their preparations in an hour?” When Milkit asked that question, Tsyon swallowed his words, stammering a bit. Just then, Neigass and Linus, who had been training in another room, popped their heads out.

“I think we can make it.”

“And I think it’s far too soon, no matter what you say.”

“Eterna’s concerns are valid. I would like to say that it’s because we’re too exceptional, but…assuming there will be recovery, if we can tolerate minor injuries, we can go ahead even in our current state.”

In response to that comment from Linus, Neigass added “I don’t think he will die” as an addendum. While some people present had become even more anxious at hearing these words, Maria seemed to believe in Linus.

“Linus, please give it your best. All I can do is cheer you on, but…” Maria’s eyes were moist with tears as she squeezed Linus’s hands tightly.

“Nah, don’t worry, just that is plenty for me. All right, I’m feeling motivated. Let’s get this done in an hour, Neigass!” Neigass made a face that seemed to say, “Men are just too easy.”

Just then, Sara, who was outside, seemed to have spotted Neigass through the window.

“Neigass! Do your best!” Sara gave Neigass a cheer while waving her hands. Suddenly, Neigass was filled with motivation herself.

“Let’s do this thing, Linus! Let’s get everyone there safely!”

“Yeah, nothing is impossible for us right now!”

“Let’s show the strength of those who live for love!” The two of them walked away with long strides, breathing heavily. Milkit, who had been watching from nearby, was half repulsed and half frightened.

“S-such incredible enthusiasm…”

“They have no feeling of tension, even right before a battle.” Those two carefree individuals had no idea whatsoever that Eterna was exasperated with them.

 

***

 

And then the scheduled time of their departure had come. When it actually came time to get inside the hollowed-out boulders, though, they felt nervous. Due to the limitations of the size of the boulders, they were divided into two groups. In one group were Ottilie, Neigass, Sara, Eterna, and Milkit.

“Even though they’re hollow on the inside, can we really ensure that they have the same range as the other boulders?”

“We’re all packed in here tight, anyway, so it’ll be fine.”

“But everyone here is so small. You’re the biggest one, Neigass.”

“Don’t be nervous, Milkit. That being said, I know it’s hard.”

“I just have to think only about saving Master…!”

And, in the other group were Maria, Linus, Gadhio, and Tsyon.

“Um, we are all stuffed in here, so…”

“Even if you say that, there’s not much we can do.”

“Don’t worry about us.”

“Sorry that it’s so filthy in here.” With three big men and one young maiden, it was no wonder that the guys were feeling a little awkward and guilty.

“No, no, there’s no need to apologize. It was my own selfishness that made me say I wanted to go together with you, Linus.” Incidentally, it was very awkward for third parties when two people got affectionate in a closed space. Just as an awkward silence was about to ensue, cheers from the outside drowned it out.

“Do your best, Tsyon, Neigass!”

“We’re cheering for you!”

“We’re counting on you, humans!”

“It is all up to you… Thank you so much.” A large number of demons had surrounded the catapults and cheered the group on. At this point, even the demons who feared the heroes had no other choice but to give them hope. However, the hero herself, Cyrill, still remained in a comatose state. Before the cheering died down, the openings to the boulders were sealed up with magic. The amount of oxygen was limited, so it was necessary for them to breathe as little as possible until impact.

“We’re all set over here!” shouted the man who had been preparing the catapult.

“All finished over here, too. Okay, let’s get this started. Do not miss. We’ve gotta hit that fortress no matter what!” When the other man shouted and got pumped up, the demons around him shouted in unison, going, “Yeah!” The catapults could launch boulders that were this large. The catapults themselves were enormous, and it took a large number of people to get them ready. When several demons turned the cranks, the gears turned, and the wood materials, which had been strengthened with magic, creaked and groaned.

“Three, two, one…” They could faintly hear the countdown from outside the boulders.

“Okay, a shock is coming—brace yourself!”

“Sara, hold hands with the other little girl! Tightly now!” Linus and Neigass called out to the others from inside their respective rocks. And then…

“Launch!”

Ka-thoom! A violent shock made the air tremble, and the huge boulders were launched simultaneously from the two catapults.

 

***

 

“Confirmed impact of stones thrown from the north. Damage is minor.” In the central command room, a cold, robotic female voice carried throughout the room.

“So there has been movement at the Demon Lord’s castle.”

“But throwing rocks surely is a futile endeavor.” Even after hearing that an attack had come from the Demon Lord’s castle, and that it had hit, Huyghe and Jack still appeared relaxed. On the other hand, only Bart was leaning on the table with his elbows, looking anxious. Jack gently placed his hand on Bart’s shoulder.

“You seem nervous, Bart. Where have you been hiding all this time, anyway?”

“I was too scared to leave my room in the barracks. Actually, why do you look so calm, Jack?”

“Because I have a premonition that that woman is coming.”

When Bart saw Jack smiling happily, his smile stretching across his face, Bart’s body shook like a leaf. The Chimera strutting about and flying around were scary, but he was even more scared of the Church Knights. He was so scared of them that he felt like once the battle began, he would finally be free of them. That was when it happened. Suddenly, Tokyo slowed down and the entire control room shook violently.

“Uwoooooooaahh?!” Bart fell out of his seat in an exaggerated fashion.

“What happened? Report!” Huyghe raised his head, shouting as he stood up from his seat.

“Core number sixteen was destroyed.” The cold robotic announcement signaled that there was an emergency.

“So they boarded us!”

“B-but how?”

“It is presumed that they were inside the stones. Core number fifteen has been destroyed.” In just a flash, a second core was destroyed.

“Ga ha, verily! I have heard of tossing corpses with a catapult, but to think they were carrying living humans!” Jack’s voice reverberated even more happily now.

“Is this a situation to be happy about?!” Bart interjected, but Huyghe paid no attention whatsoever to their back-and-forth exchange.

“It would seem that the Demon Lord is an even more magnificent, wonderful individual than I had thought. Everyone, take your position. The war is about to begin.”

“What about Rischel?!”

“A word of warning. If you do not act, I will cut off your head later.”

Huyghe’s murderous intent and Jack’s crazed joy. Caught between these two unusual emotions, Bart unintentionally muttered, “Cut me a break…”

 

***

 

The boulder that Linus and the others had ridden landed on the surface layer of Tokyo. Once outside, Linus and the others first confirmed their current location and then quickly destroyed the nearest power core.

“The surprise attack was a success!” Linus had been injured while protecting Maria inside the boulder, but he had already been treated with healing.

“Linus, you are amazing!”

“Getting sincere praise from my dear Maria gets me ridiculously pumped up!” With that, the pair ran toward the next core, as originally planned.

“Even though we’re in enemy territory, they’re awfully loud,” Tsyon grumbled in exasperation. Gadhio, who had been running alongside him, must have gotten accustomed to this, because he smiled and joked with ease.

“Perhaps he’s calling the Chimera to him, to act as a decoy.”

Tsyon gave a wry smile at that comment and mumbled “Sheesh, that’s cold” under his breath, before noticing a medium-sized Chimera approaching from ahead.

“Gadhio, you take care of the core.” Tsyon accelerated rapidly and attacked the enemy with his flame-covered fist. “I’ll blow you away!”

When Tsyon’s punch connected with the Chimera’s lion body, an explosion occurred at the same time, gouging out chunks of meat. The Origin core inside of its body was slightly exposed, but the surrounding meat was twisting to try to hide it.

“Got it. Prana Stinger!” Gadhio thrust his sword forward again and again, and prana arrows shot out from the tip of the blade. Despite the boldness of his movements, he had pierced the Origin core with precision. His Cavalier Arts technique, imbued with the power of Reversal from the Reversal core, destroyed the black crystal. Tsyon, after watching the medium-sized Chimera slump heavily, sounded slightly embarrassed as he spoke.

“Never thought I’d be fighting alongside you, my enemy. This is kinda getting me fired up.”

“But there’s no need for us to work as a pair.”

“You’re right. Let’s split up and crush those cores quickly!” Gadhio and Tsyon went their separate ways here, each heading toward different cores.

 

***

 

Meanwhile, the boulder that Neigass and her group had ridden landed at a location a short distance away from the others.

“Sister, I will save you, without fail…!” As soon as she destroyed the core closest to the boulder, Ottilie disappeared somewhere in search of Henriette.

“Was it okay to let Ottilie go off on her own like that?”

“She won’t listen when it comes to Henriette. She’s like Flum when it comes time to protect you, Milkit.”

“Master is like that…?”

“We’ll search for Flum. First—”

“Yes, let’s head over toward that building.” The two of them, Milkit and Eterna, ran toward an unnaturally beautiful building in Tokyo, surrounded by ruins that were nothing but structural frames.

Meanwhile, Neigass and Sara were moving ahead with the destruction of cores as their top priority.

“Sara, please take care of this Chimera!”

“Judgment: Illegal Formula!” A giant sword of light pierced the small Chimera that appeared before them. The sword burned the enemy’s body to ashes and even destroyed the Origin core within.

She mastered Illegal Formula so easily. She really has terrifying talent.

During her travels with Neigass, Sara was taught magical techniques passed down among the demons. However, just because someone is taught something doesn’t mean that they could use it right away. What made it possible for Sara was her extraordinary talent.

 

Sara Anvilen

Affinity: Light

Strength: 875

Magic: 2,197

Endurance: 741

Agility: 948

Perception: 651

 

Sara had not only improved her skills, but her stats had also improved rapidly in this short period of time. She’s going through a growth spurt…though her body hasn’t changed. Maybe all of her growth has gone into her stats instead of her height. Neigass observed Sara intently with her hand on her chin, but Sara ended up scolding her for it when she noticed Neigass’s gaze.

“This is not the time to be watching me!”

“I know. But I’ll take a real good look at you when we get home.”

“Nasty…”

“I didn’t mean it in a dirty way, though!”

“You had a lewd look in your eyes!”

“What are you talking about?!” Even while the two of them played around with each other, they defeated the Chimera that stood in their way one after another.

 

***

 

At the same time, the captive Flum was also sensing the unusual events happening in Tokyo.

That shaking was clearly different from anything before… Something is happening.

She wondered if it meant that that that certain “something” had already begun. When she sat up in bed and looked out the window, the door to her room opened violently.

“Flum! Looks like the fighting’s started. Let’s go!” When Rischel forcefully grabbed Flum by the arm, Flum’s face twisted in pain.

“G-go? Go where?”

“First to where your weapon is. After I give it to you, we’ll fight together.” Before Flum could ask who exactly they would be fighting, Rischel pressed with a follow-up of her own. “You’ll fight with me, right?”

“Yeah…because you’re important to me, Rischel.” Flum figured that it was best not to think about things too deeply and to flirt and curry favor at a time like this. In fact, Rischel immediately broke into a happy, contented smile.

“Really? You’re such a good girl, Flum! Quick, quick, let’s go!” They rushed out of the room and down the hallway, approaching the door where Henriette and Herrmann had been standing guard. Escaping from here meant that those two would end up being turned into monsters.

Henriette-san, Herrmann-san… Flum glanced at the two people standing in front of the door. No words were spoken, but their eyes seemed to be urging her on, telling her, “Don’t hesitate—go.” She passed through the door as they watched her. Immediately afterward, Flum heard unusual groaning coming from behind.

“Ugh, guh, gah…gugaaaaaaaaa!”

“Uguooooooooooooo!” When they heard that, Rischel stopped moving.

“Oh yeah, that’s right! Let’s watch those two turn into filthy monsters!” This girl, frolicking and in high spirits, was someone who Flum felt was deserving of contempt from the bottom of her heart. However, she couldn’t let that show on the surface now. Henriette and Herrmann were both spewing large chunks of meat from their mouths. It enveloped their bodies and transformed them into something hideous.

“O-oh god…” In the face of this grotesque spectacle, Flum couldn’t keep acting. Her strained words, as if squeezed from her throat, spilled out. “Ugly monsters. It’s impossible to even tell that they had once been human.” Before Flum had realized what was happening, Henriette had transformed into a four-legged beast. Its sharp teeth and claws gleamed brightly as its body quivered irregularly. Blood poured from all over its body, as though it were overflowing.

On the other hand, Herrmann transformed into some kind of massive humanoid, looking as though its body were covered in armor of flesh. Only its right arm was abnormally enlarged and shaped like a hammer. It seemed to be so heavy that it could only move it by dragging it along the ground. Then, as if to make a display of it all, the two of them showed their faces to Flum, with their faces having been changed to spirals of meat. They made peculiar squelching sounds, like bushutsu, bushutsu, or perhaps they were some kind of cries, and Flum thought those sounds would be stuck in her brain.

“Those who go against us end up like that. Because we’re people chosen by God.” Flum really wanted to shout and curse at Rischel right then and there. But that would be betraying Henriette and Herrmann’s kindness. Flum gritted her teeth and held back the tears that were about to spill out, tightly clenching her stomach muscles to bear it. Meanwhile, the two people who had been changed into monsters began to move toward Flum and Rischel.

“They’re attacking!” When Rischel stretched out her arm to the side, the tattoo on the back of her hand glowed. In the next instant, a massive axe appeared in her hand.

“Justice Arts: Pendulum!” However, she didn’t swing the axe but merely tapped the floor lightly with the hilt. Suddenly, the monsters lost their footing. The two monsters let out a “Gooohhhhhhh!”as they fell down to the lower levels.

Immediately after she did that, the floor in the area that she didn’t touch was broken apart into pieces. What in the world was that just now…?

Flum was dumbfounded, but Rischel once again forcefully pulled her by the arm, dragging her along.

“Come on, let’s go!”

Flum wondered if she could really kill this girl herself. That anxiety was within her.

 

***

 

Eterna and Milkit arrived at a spot near the Church Knights’ barracks.

“Do not leave my side for a second, Milkit.”

“I won’t. I’m too scared to do that…” Perhaps Church Knights had noticed that there were intruders, because the Chimera that had been flying around the area had gathered on the surface. They needed to proceed cautiously, without making any noise, so as not to be noticed. Even if we have Reversal cores, I want to avoid fighting the medium- and large-sized ones. So far, Eterna had only destroyed a few small-sized Chimera. That was because she thought it would be difficult to protect Milkit while fighting anything medium-sized or larger.

“Do you hear something, Eterna?” When Milkit said that and came to a stop, Eterna did indeed notice that a sound was gradually drawing closer, something like a knocking sound.

“That sound… It’s coming from below?” By the time Eterna had noticed, it was already too late.

“Guooooooh!” The floor beneath the two of them was destroyed by an attack by someone that came from underneath then. Apparently, there was some kind of large space beneath them, and they fell helplessly.

“Guhh! Milkit!” Eterna frantically reached out her hand, but then a large hammer made of flesh came for her. “Don’t get in my way! Aqua Pressure!” Eterna thrust her right hand forward and released a massive quantity of water, forcing the hammer back. The owner of the hammer was a giant that was completely covered in armor made of flesh. Perhaps it was a type of Chimera. Thanks to Eterna’s spell, she had gotten some distance between herself and the giant, but the recoil had also ended up pushing her away from Milkit.

“Eterna!” Milkit also reached out her hand as she fell. Eterna tried to extend water tentacles toward Milkit, but they froze before they could reach.

“This Chimera has ice magic?!”

“Guaaaaaaaah!” The giant used the exposed pipes in the underground space as footholds and leapt for Eterna.

“Then I’ll smash you with ice!” Eterna launched an ice lance at the giant, repelling its charge. “And while I have this opportunity… Come on, make it in time! Aqua Sphere!”

She threw the ball of water toward Milkit. It enveloped her in a cushion of water. It should keep her safe from harm even if she fell. Eterna wrapped her water tentacles around a nearby pipe and threw the ball down.

“I really messed things up here, getting separated from Milkit so quickly.”

The giant, after being pushed back by the ice lance, landed on another pipe.

“I’ll defeat you and catch up with her right away.”

“Gaaaaaah!”

 

***

 

Gadhio arrived at the location of the core, which was positioned at the end of the passageway. However, a man holding a shield was standing in front of the core, blocking the path with a barrier.

“So you’re the first human I encounter here, hm. You’re Bart Charon, vice captain of the Church Knights, if I recall.”

“Gadhio Lathcutt?! That hero came here…?!”

“I owe you for what happened at the research lab.”

“I-I know. But it’s not like I wanted to do it. I didn’t want to cause such tragedy, either!”

“You seem like someone that’ll respond to conversation, at least a little. Are you willing to back down?” Bart seemed clearly different from the other knights, so Gadhio tried proposing a truce, however—

“This battle is wrong. Even so…this is the only place I belong!” He seemed to have his own reasons. But Gadhio didn’t care. If his offer was rejected, then that was that. He first triggered his Scan to assess the enemy’s strength.

 

Bart Charon

Affinity: Earth

Strength: 2,971

Magic: 1,086

Endurance: 3,219

Agility: 1,961

Perception: 1,244

 

In terms of stat values alone, he was a notch below the heroes. Even from the perspective of a vice captain of the Church Knights, you could say that his stat values were fairly modest. However, he possessed a singularly unique power known as Justice Arts.

“A perfect wall. I’ll use it as my test subject.” Gadhio drew his sword, not only to destroy the core, but also to fulfill a personal goal.

 

***

 

Linus and Maria arrived at the underpillar in central Tokyo. Judging from the Chimera’s range of movement, the central core should have been located here, most likely.

“Normally, you’d think that this place would be heavily guarded by Chimera…” Surprisingly though, their defenses were thin. Instead, they found…

“His Holiness and His Royal Majesty…”

“Those two are cowards who abandoned their country and fled, and now they’re sitting about arrogantly like they own the place, all high-and-mighty.” The two people who were supposed to carry the nation on their shoulders were sitting on a throne made of rubble at the foot of a massive tower, waiting. Their bodies had been cut in half and then sewn back together into one. However, their necks branched off to the left and right, and they had two distinct heads.

“How disrespectful.”

“The death penalty is inevitable.” They seemed to talk in turns, alternating.

“So if I kill you both here, I’ll be acquitted, right?” There was no way that they could show respect to the heads of state that had turned into grotesque things here in this place, and so Linus quickly readied his bow.

“Maria, this might be the man who took care of you, but don’t hold back, okay?”

“No, he never took care of me.” Maria also readied the new mace that she had received at the Demon Lord’s castle and glared at them with a sharp look in her eyes. “All I have for him is resentment.”

The pope and king both lamented. “Foolish. How utterly foolish. To stand against a king and a pope.”

“We are the nation. To oppose us is to oppose the nation itself.”

“Therefore, you will die here.”

Then the pope and king’s necks extended, as though they were lengthening their spinal cords.

“Oh, so the top two are gonna carry out this execution themselves, huh? Guess you’re far too lacking in popularity!” Linus nocked two arrows and fired them both, aiming at both targets at the same time.

 

***

 

Ottilie ran around looking for Henriette. On the way, she encountered a filthy, squalid man who was the complete opposite of her beloved sister.

“Oh my, have you been looking for me, by any chance?”

“I could smell the sickly-sweet scent of blood, and lo, I found thee right away.” Jack tapped the ground with his geta, making a klak klak sound.

“I would very much like to settle things between you and me, but finding Sister is my top priority.”

“And my goal is to break that love.”

“Fu fu fu…” Ottilie’s shoulders suddenly began to tremble as she prepared to roar with laughter. Then she let a hearty, mocking laugh reverberate throughout the room, putting her whole body into it.

“Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!Break? My love for my dear sister?! Oh, you make me laugh. Even if this world is destroyed, even if this soul of mine is crushed, such a thing as that could never, ever, ever happen!”

“Ga ha, verily! An impressive bluff. I have crushed many people such as you before!” Both of them drew their swords at the same time. One drew a slender blade stained with blood, while the other had a long, curved sword.

“Care to test that?”

“Yes. Do thine best to resist and bring me joy.”

“Enough impudence!” The two of them sprang at the same time, clashing their blades, sending sparks flying, and—

 

***

 

“All right, a high five to celebrate destroying a medium-­sized one!”

“Aren’t you getting a little carried away here?” Compared to the others, Neigass and Sara were reducing the number of Chimera quite smoothly. Though Sara was exasperated by Neigass, she still had the wherewithal to give her the high five.

“Having a serious look on your face doesn’t make one strong, you know. You and I are an unbeatable team, Sara!”

“Still, if you let your guard down, then…” In that moment, Neigass noticed something unusual.

“Sara, watch out!” Neigass drew Sara in closer with a gust of wind and embraced her protectively using both arms. Immediately afterward, a red liquid splattered where Sara had just been standing, with a mushy squelch. The liquid made some kind of melting sound…and smoke rose from it.

“Thank you…I was the one who let my guard down. Was that blood just now…?”

The enemy leapt from the structure and landed in front of Sara and Neigass. It was a four-legged beast with sharp teeth and claws. “This is clearly a different kind of Chimera than the ones we’ve run into so far.”

“Parts of its body appear to be human, here and there.” Sara noticed this as well, after Neigass had said it. Neigass, seeing that Sara was shocked, spoke to her in a gentle tone. “You probably want to save them now, right?”

“Well, I…”

“Then let’s do everything we can. Okay?”

“Thank you, Neigass!” Neigass stepped forward to protect Sara.

“I will put my life on the line for those words!” Then Neigass unleashed countless blades of wind at the monster, whose identity was unknown.

 

***

 

Tsyon happened to find a room underground. The location had nothing to do with powering the city, but in the large space was a huge glass case containing a man and a monster.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“What are you doing? This is my room.”

“Wait, I’ve seen your mug somewhere before… Oh yeah, that’s right. The church. You’re one of the cardinals. Toytzo or something, they said. I’ll ask you again. What the hell are you doing?”

“Exactly what you see.” Toytzo turned to look behind him, gazing at the monster in the glass case. Tsyon should have been able to see the back of the monster’s head when it turned around—but where there should have been a back, there was another face there.

“What the hell?! There’s another old fart on the back of the one old fart?!”

“We tested the procedure before connecting His Holiness and His Majesty. Following this success, we had the honor of being able to perform the procedure on the two of them.”

The man now speaking respectfully was Slowanak, a powerful figure in the church who was entrusted with managing the Chimera. The other person, Cardinal Toytzo, was an influential person rumored to be the next pope. He was also an adviser to the current pope.

“You casually turned two powerful people, the king and the pope, into monsters and discarded them, like sacrificial pawns… You sure are confident, aren’t you? You believe that your victory is absolute and that the world will inevitably be destroyed by Origin. You wouldn’t have gone this far without firmly believing that.”

Tsyon looked once again at the monster in the glass case. It was clearly a literal “chimera,” created by connecting the bodies of demons. “I’m not gonna reject the idea of believing in a god. Sometimes people need to believe in something. But wrapping other people in it, manipulating them, and treating them like toys isn’t faith—it’s just heresy!”

“I had just so happened to get my hands on some suitable materials, so I tried connecting them is all. They are not toys. I did it out of scientific curiosity. Demons are tougher than humans. They are surprisingly hard to kill, no matter what you do to them. They are much more fun to play with than the leftovers from the Royal Army and the Church Knights.”

Toytzo and Slowanak paid no heed whatsoever to Tsyon, whose fists were trembling in anger. “A long time ago, my elderly mother used to enjoy knitting as a hobby. When I watched her, I wondered what was so interesting about it. But when I tried it myself, I found it to be quite enjoyable. So? How about you?”

But now Tsyon had reached his limit.

“Drop dead and go to hell, you shitty old fucks! Graaaaaah!”

His fist went through Toytzo’s cheek. At the same time, a burst of flame magic exploded, blowing the heads off both men. But new heads immediately grew back.

At the same time, a scream came from the demon Chimera behind the enemy.

“What was that…?!”

Part of the Chimera had disappeared, as if they had been gouged out.

“Didn’t you notice? Those who are ‘connected’ with us will shoulder our burdens for us.”

“If you hurt us, your comrades will die.”

Toytzo and Slowanak were already using the bodies of captured demons as a resource to extend their own lives.

“How can you treat demons’ lives like that…? I’ll burn you to ashes, along with your filthy souls!”

Flames burst forth from Tsyon’s body, enveloping the underground space in blistering heat.

 

***

 

Amid the fighting that had broken out in various locations, Flum and Rischel advanced underground. Descending step by step from the barracks where she had been imprisoned, Flum had now arrived at this place, which she recognized.

There were crude lights that she had only seen in factories; exposed pipes; gauges displaying numerical values that she didn’t understand; machines whose purpose she didn’t understand, spewing smoke; thin, bare metal floors that echoed with every step; unusually low and flimsy handrails; and beyond that, a bottomless abyss…

She figured that this was probably a repurposed version of the air circulation system and agricultural area used in the underground shelter in Tokyo.

“Wow, so this is what it’s like underground,” Flum said in a somewhat forced manner.

“The upper levels are full of Chimera, so it might be dangerous for you, Flum. Which is why we’re going this way.” Rischel happily answered Flum’s questions for some reason. Flum had figured she would.

“Who am I going to be fighting?” Flum looked at the tattoo etched on the back of Rischel’s hand as she spoke. Thanks to that hand, Flum’s Souleater, which had been stored in another room in the barracks, had been returned to her own. Flum had also been taught how to handle Epic equipment, and she was able to summon protective gear such as boots.

In other words, she was able to kill Rischel at any time.

“Don’t know. If we run into somebody, let’s kill ’em. But you don’t have to worry. Just having you here with me is good enough for me, Flum.”

Rischel was trying to get Flum to kill her former comrades from this world. This alone proved what a despicable person she was—and that she deserved to die.

“Oh, look. Someone’s there.” Rischel pointed over to the other side of the handrail…toward the floor below, visible across the abyss. There, wandering uneasily along the wide corridor, was a young girl with her face wrapped in bandages.

Flum used Scan without hesitation.

 

Milkit

Affinity: Darkness

Strength: 11

Magic: 8

Endurance: 9

Agility: 6

Perception: 11

 

Flum saw a name that shouldn’t have existed.

“Milkit…?” Flum unintentionally let her voice slip, but fortunately for her, Rischel didn’t seem to suspect anything.

“Ah ha ha ha! It’s that weakling! This is perfect—it’ll be great for your first battle, Flum!” Rischel was so excited that she wasn’t really looking at Flum.

Their clothes and their body types are different, but they’re similar in other ways. Is that you, Milkit? Is it really—

Flum, on the other hand, was confused. If that really was Milkit, or her reincarnation, then she could only believe that it was fate that had led them to meet in this era, in this place.

“She’s a total idiot, so I’m sure she’ll come right over if you call her. Go ahead, try calling her.” And Flum could only think that it was fate that Rischel was here with her, too.

She’s trying to kill Milkit again. I am not going to let that happen. The darkest murderous intent that Flum had ever felt in her entire life began to well up inside her.

“Ah ha ha, this is quite a coincidence. I never imagined that she’d be all alone here—”

While Rischel was entranced by Milkit…

I’m going to kill you here right and now!

Flum called Souleater and raised it high. Rischel, turning around after noticing movement behind her, called her name. “Flum?”

“Aaaaaaaaaaah!” Flum brought Souleater down. Rischel immediately summoned her axe and blocked the attack.

“Wh-why? Why did you do that?!”

“Rischel! You! You killed Milkit! Dieeeeeee!” Flum unleashed all of the hatred that she had been suppressing until that moment.

“That was Master’s voice up above, just now…!” And Milkit approached, drawn in by the two of them.

Chapter 9: The Meaning of Justice

Chapter 9:
The Meaning of Justice

 

FLUM PUSHED DOWN Souleater, using both hands. Rischel stopped the attack just as she wheeled around. Although it looked like Rischel was in a disadvantageous position, she summoned some kind of power into both arms and knocked Flum away.

“Don’t get cocky!”

“Kyaah!”

Rischel leapt instantly into the air and brought her axe down on Flum without mercy. Rolling away from the incoming axe, Flum used that momentum to get back on her feet, and though she staggered, she retreated to get some distance.

“Why did you betray my affection for you?! I accepted you as a friend!”

“You don’t remember, do you? My looks, my name. You’re acting all high-and-mighty, talking about memories of a past life. How can you act all arrogant about being ‘chosen’ or whatever when you don’t remember those things?!” Once the words started coming, they didn’t stop. She had been holding in saying those words for so long, but the reaction was significant.

“I remember, though. You killed Milkit right in front my eyes! You and that creepy group of people, screaming like a bunch of animals—you tore the person I love to shreds right in front of my eyes! And even after she was dead, you played with her!”

Ranting and raving wildly, Flum attacked Rischel with amateurish moves. After easily blocking her attacks, Rischel pinned her with the gaze of a hungry predator.

“Ah, I remember. That was you back then, with that brat.”

“And you killed her! And you even said you were gonna kill her again just now!” Rischel even had the composure to quickly glance at Milkit down below. “If this is fate, then the God of this world must be telling me to kill you.”

When Flum said that, Rischel wore a cold smile.

“You’re wrong. This is a reward for me.” Now seeing Flum as prey, rather than a comrade, she began the hunt. “Before the world ends, God is telling me… Lord Origin is telling me, ‘Go ahead, savor that moment that felt best of all once again.’ Giving me a reward! Because I have done such great work for himmmm!”

When Rischel pushed back with all of her strength, using both arms, she sent Flum’s body flying. This time, Flum somehow managed to land without toppling over, but when she looked up, she saw an axe already coming down on her. Though Flum shut her eyes out of terror, she protected herself by holding her sword out horizontally.

“Your moves are too amateur!” Rischel, quickly switching from a vertical slash to a horizontal one, severed Flum’s right wrist with a light blow.

“A-aaaahhhhhh! My arm, my, my arm, gah…aahhh…!”

Clouded sweat poured from her entire body, her breathing became irregular, and she couldn’t move properly due to the pain. But Henriette had taught her that “Flum Apricot” had fought like this.

Has the other me really done things like this before? Getting my own arm cut off? I must be crazy!

Her arm started to regenerate. A lot of blood was flowing. And Rischel’s axe was coming for her again.

“Die, for my pleasure!”

“Uwaaaaah!” Before Flum’s wound was completely healed, she swung her blood-splattered sword, spraying Rischel’s face with blood.

“Gah, don’t splash your filthy blood on me…!” In that moment, traces of blood entered Rischel’s eyes.

When Henriette had been training Flum, she’d said, “You won’t be able to wield much power even if you learn sword techniques on the fly. However, there are some parts of the human body that cannot be trained, such as the organs and mucous membranes, and also…the eyes.”

Rischel felt a burning pain in her eyes.

“Gah! What is this?! Wait, Genocide Arts?! This is that woman’s doing!”

“Die, die, dieeeeeee!”

As Rischel staggered, covering her eyes with one hand, Flum immediately swung with her sword again and again. However, Rischel still wielded her axe in the other hand and easily blocked Flum’s slashes.

Meanwhile, Milkit, who had noticed their voices, finally found the two of them.

“The person Master is fighting… It’s the knight from back then!”

As soon as she saw the injured Rischel, Milkit took the gun from under her skirt. She gripped it tight in her sweaty hands and aimed it straight at her target.

“I practiced. I can do this. I should be able to do this. It’s far, but if it’s to save Master—” Milkit muttered those words to herself as she put her finger on the trigger.

“There’s no way you can kill anyone with such weak attacks!” Rischel got even angrier and knocked Souleater away.

As the sword fell into that abyss, it disappeared—and then an emblem reappeared on Flum’s hand.

She’s suddenly gotten even stronger! Is this also some kind of power?!

Rischel was coming for her. It was too late for Flum to draw Souleater now.

“You die!” Unable to defend herself against the axe coming down on her, Flum shut her eyes tightly. But in that instant, there was a bang, like exploding gunpowder.

“Ah…” Blood was seeping from Rischel’s right thigh, in the femoral region. She slumped forward, feeling confusion, heat, and then finally pain. Rischel slowly directed her gaze in the direction the sound had come from.

There she saw Milkit cheering, “I got her…!”

“Why, do you…have a gun…?”

“Milkit!” Flum was certain this was destiny. “Milkit did it.”

Back then, an arrow fired by Rischel had pierced Milkit’s thigh. But this time…

“Ha ha, ah ha, ah ha ha ha ha ha ha! This is the opposite of that time, Rischel!” Flum summned Souleater and ran toward Rischel with the tip of the sword pointed at her. “This time, you’re sure to dieeeeeeee!” She drove the sword deep into her abdomen.

“Gah… Ugh…” Rischel’s eyes were wide with surprise and blood poured out of her mouth.

Flum pushed her opponent over the railing with her sword. She had sent Rischel, whom she hated, down to the depths of Hell.

Eventually, the sword returned to the back of Flum’s hand in the form of a crest. She sank to the floor and sat down hard.

“Haa…haa…haa… I did it… I did it, Milkit…!” A flood of tears streaming down her face, Flum was overcome with emotions and thoughts.

“Master! Are you okay, Master?!” Hearing the voice of the person she loved made it even harder to stop the tears from flowing.

“That really is Milkit, isn’t it? Why is she calling me ‘Master,’ though…? Well, whatever.” Choosing to ignore the discrepancies, Flum stood up and waved to Milkit. “I’ll be right there! So just wait!”

“Yes! I will definitely wait!”

With that, Flum hurried off toward Milkit.

 

***

Image - 13

The pope and king attacked Linus and Maria, extending their exposed spine. Linus shot down his targets one after another, as if playing a fairground game. But no matter how many targets he hit, the spine would split and branch, sprouting new heads.

“The ability to multiply… The Origin core should be somewhere inside their body.”

“Maria, stand by and wait for the right moment!”

“Yes…!” Maria nodded vigorously in response, and Linus shot the heads of the approaching pope and king once again.

“Linus, no matter how much of a hero you may be—”

“—if you are human, you will eventually reach your limit.”

“Yeah, and because humans have got limits, you became monsters, is that it? That just sounds like loser talk to me! Like the grumblings of cowards!”

Faced with not just two but now dozens of heads, after they’d multiplied, Linus intentionally took but a single arrow in his hands and took aim. “And I’m still far from my limits!” Then, when the arrow was released, it suddenly exploded in midair. The fragments pierced the pope and king’s foreheads with precision, as if guided to those spots.

Taking advantage of that opportunity, Maria approached the throne.

“Now… Judgment!” A sword of light pierced the enemy’s torso and burned it with the heat emitted by the light. Watching this, Linus was reminded of something.

These Reversal cores are amazing. Even though our enemies are supposed to be reinforced with Origin cores, we can just easily penetrate them. If my attacks can get through with even slightly less power, then it’s better to focus on numbers, like earlier.

In terms of Reversal power alone, Flum was far, far stronger. However, the heroes had a high degree of potential inherent in their physical bodies to begin with. Even if their Reversal power was microscopic, they could easily pierce through physical bodies strengthened by the power of the Origin core. However, even if they could pierce through their opponent’s defenses, that did not mean that their own defenses had become stronger. It was entirely conceivable that, if they carelessly got their head even just grazed by an enemy’s attack, they could get killed instantly, their brains splattered all over the place. To make matters worse, many monsters often couldn’t be defeated simply by “destroying” them.

“Saint, human flesh has no meaning.”

“We thought that you of all people would understand that.”

In place of the charred torso, a lump of flesh swelled and bulged and grew at the top of the spine. From there, a new spine was grown, and the number of heads multiplied.

“I had been hoping the core would’ve been in the torso, but it appears I was wrong.”

“Their original heads have been obliterated, and their torso was burned away. Even so, we can’t find that core anywhere…which means that these things can freely move the Origin core within their body, I wager.”

“Do you think that you have seen through our power?”

“How idiotic. Those who defy Lord Origin are all fools.”

“That’s a bluff if I’ve ever seen one.” Linus had a look of exasperation on his face, fed up with this pope and king who seemed to pick holes in every single little thing. However, just then, the two of them suddenly spoke in unison.

“Look toward the truth with your own eyes.”

After they made that proclamation, a single thread extended from the area around Linus and Maria’s hearts, seeming to connect them.

“Huh? Wait, my Maria and I are…connected by a red thread? Hey, now that’s a tasteful effect eh?”

“Linus, I don’t think that’s—”

Of course, Linus was just being sarcastic. Immediately afterward, a voice echoed within his mind.

“Heh heh heh. Well, I suppose you can indulge your fantasy for a moment.”

“Wait, just now, that was Maria’s voice…?”

Just as Linus thought that, the figure of Maria appeared in his field of vision.

“Do you want to…do something like this with the Saint?”

Not only that…he was witnessing a scene she had been present in once. And the figures of the people who had been with her.

“No… No, don’t…” Maria, understanding what the pope and king were trying to do, shook her head. She tried to tear the thread that extended from her chest, but it was incorporeal, and she couldn’t touch it.

“Saint.”

“The time for dreaming is over.”

The pope and king proclaimed those words coldly, cruelly, and without shame. Before anyone knew it, Linus was standing there, dazed and blank-faced, as if he had lost consciousness. The “visions” flowing into his mind were being forced upon him—forcing him to see.

Maria, on the other hand, was forced to be the source of the visions he saw. Her eyes were vacant, unable to see her surroundings, but she was still conscious.

“Stoooop!”

The girl clutched her head and crouched down, and her heart-wrenching cries reached no one who might offer her a helping hand.

 

***

 

“Love exists to be destroyed. Do you not understand that?!” Jack, facing Ottilie, tried to stab his sword into the ground.

“I will not let you!” Without a moment’s delay, a blade of blood shot from Ottilie’s sword. She had unleashed her Anguis, deflecting Jack’s sword.

“Your Ishidaki cannot be activated unless you plunge your sword into the ground, no?” Jack, realizing that she had seen through his technique, clicked his tongue. In terms of raw power alone, the two of them were evenly matched. Their abilities fell slightly short of Henriette and the heroes. However, both of them had mastered unusual skills that few others possessed, and depending on that explosive power, they could even demonstrate that they could temporarily surpass Henriette and the heroes.

“I do not understand how your Justice Arts work exactly, but I understand your abilities. They are movement inhibitors that are linked to specific actions, right? And…you most likely have four techniques that you can use.” The techniques that Jack used in the underground research facility were Ishidaki and Shrimp Hold. From those two techniques, Chatani had predicted what kind of power he was using and where those techniques had originally come from. They were methods of torture used in an ancient time period known as the Edo period. Jack seemed to be using sword techniques modeled on those methods.

“My, you are quite the learned one. Well, then, now that you know—”

The tip of his sword moved. Ottilie took the initiative and thrust her sword into the ground just like Jack had attempted to do earlier. Jack, wondering if she was doing some kind of warm-up exercise, appeared puzzled but pointed the tip of his sword at Ottilie.

“Shrimp Hold.” It was a form of Justice Arts that bound an opponent’s body in invisible ropes and robbed them of their freedom.

“J… Jörmungandr!” At the same time that Jack activated his skill, though, Ottilie hung onto her sword that was stuck in the ground and then swung it upward. Although the effects of Shrimp Hold triggered slightly faster, her sword technique was fully activated thanks to the fact that she had already started acting and used the momentum of pulling her sword out of the ground. A giant blood snake large enough to swallow a person attacked Jack.

“Ga ha, verily! So you’ve unleashed a bold move!” Jack had wanted to slash at Ottilie while his Shrimp Hold effect was still active. Therefore, Jack avoided Jörmungandr with a minimal degree of movement, dodging it so narrowly that it grazed him.

“However, you present me with an opening when you are replenishing your blood!” Jörmungandr was a powerful technique, but it reduced Ottilie’s blood cartridges significantly. In order for her to continue fighting, she would need to move her heavy body and reload cartridges. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Jack tried to get in close to Ottilie…but suddenly, another blood snake crawled up from near his feet and bit him in the calf.

“Gah! This is…!”

“Serpens. I had them dive underground ahead of time.” Ottilie launched her blade at Jack with the little blood that she had remaining to perform a follow-up attack. Jack temporarily gave up on trying to get close and retreated, while cutting off her pursuit.

“Tch, I ended up getting bitten.”

“Unless this turns into a greatly drawn-out battle, the effects of my Genocide Arts will remain.” Ottilie calmly removed the empty cartridge and replaced it with a new one from her belt. “I am poised once more, and I have the advantage.”

“I do not think it would be a mistake to say we are evenly matched.”

As Jack said that, Ottilie’s left upper arm suddenly burst open and blood spurted out.

“Th…this is…”

“You had thought you had seen through my techniques, but it would appear to have backfired on you, methinks.”

“You are saying you have other techniques besides inhibiting one’s movements.”

“Torture is not limited to binding someone. Direct violence can also be used, at times.” Ottilie looked at him and, for some reason, made a sad face.

“Is there something that has made you feel sympathy for me?”

“It is that I feel sorry for the people around you.”

“Ga ha, verily! You are worried for them, as I am someone with a fondness for torture? Do not worry. I choose my friends very carefully.”

“But you weren’t always like this, were you?” Jack’s brow twitched slightly at that. “Jack Murray. He originally was simply a kindhearted knight working in the countryside. But one day, he suddenly changed, tortured the married couple who had taken care of him in the village where he worked, and then brutally murdered them.”

“I used to be quite close with them, yes. How nostalgic.”

“It is as though you were possessed by an evil spirit.”

“It is something similar to that.”

“So you are a spirit who is aware that he is an evil spirit, then?”

“I was person who was born into a family whose calling was torture.”

“But Jack Murray never came from such a family.”

“I am talking about a past life.”

“Huh? You might be crazy, but that’s—”

“You said yourself that you do not understand how Justice Arts works, did you not?”

“You can’t mean…” Even in a world where magic existed, that was just too far into the realm of the occult. But the truth was that standing before her now was a human being with memories of a past life, wielding a power with mysterious principles.

“In my clan, parents do not raise their children themselves. Instead, they entrust them to married couples who, knowing nothing about the clan, raise the child with love and affection. When the child reaches a certain age, their adoptive parents are tortured and murdered. Only then is the child recognized as an adult.”

Ottilie felt dizzy after hearing his evil customs, the likes of which she thought you would only hear about in made-up stories.

“Even if they are parent and child, and no matter how lovingly they dote on the child, when faced with pain and suffering, people reveal their true nature and even come to hate their own children. They curse them, disparage them, shouting and screaming that they wish they had never raised them, that they are ungrateful, and so forth.”

She figured that this must have been something he had actually experienced himself. What’s more, as he talked about it, Jack had gradually become more and more excited, and a look of rapturous ecstasy appeared on his face.

“I could not possibly ever forget the pleasure of that moment. The instincts engraved in the bloodline of my clan cry out. Shatter love! Reach the heights of ecstasy! That is the meaning of your life! That is what it is telling me!”

Even Ottilie couldn’t help but mutter “Pervert…” under her breath.

“You understand, don’t you? This loftiness. This exalted nobility. Even after humanity fell to ruin and an immeasurable amount of time hath passed, it remains… Do you think this will is precisely what ought to be called justice?!” If the Church Knights truly believed that something like that could be called justice, then there was only one thing that Ottilie could say.

“You’re a vulgar lowlife.” She despised him from the bottom of her heart, practically spitting those words at him. But Jack could only think even that was just fodder for his own sadistic pleasure.

“The love that you speak of, too, will soon be reduced to that.”

“There is no way that an evil spirit such as you can destroy the love of people living in the present!” To prove her love for her sister, Ottilie resumed her attack on Jack with even greater ferocity than before.

 

***

 

It wasn’t like I chose to be burdened with memories of a past life, Bart thought to himself as he readied his shield and watched Gadhio prepare for his next attack.

To me, these memories were like a curse. Since childhood, my parents found me unsettling, and I couldn’t confide in my close friends and tell them my troubles, so I had no choice but to bear it alone.

Gadhio charged toward the barrier and struck it with his sword. He continued to do so relentlessly, single-mindedly.

But why? The suffering that Gadhio Lathcutt bears is similar to mine… No, since he experienced it in this world, I’m sure it must be much more painful than mine.

Bart could acutely feel Gadhio’s morbidly pathological concentration, obsession, and tenacity. Why is he wielding his sword so single-mindedly? Just looking at him makes me feel disgusted by the difference between us.

Neither of them spoke a single word, and with no signs of Chimera around either, it was eerily quiet. Gadhio put a little distance between himself and Bart, readied his sword, and concentrated for a moment. Then once his breathing had steadied, he closed the distance in one swift movement and unleashed a powerful attack, putting his entire body into it. How many times have I repeated this, he wondered. It would have been more accurate to have called this training rather than combat.

“I still haven’t managed to reach perfection yet. But I should be able to grasp it soon.” Gadhio remembered how he had lost his wife and friends and spent his days devoted to practicing the Cavalier Arts to fill the void left by their loss. “The secret technique of Cavalier Arts.”

He had learned about a secret technique that no one had ever mastered, something that existed only in theory. Gadhio was so exceptionally skilled that he had been able to master most of the techniques, but in the end, he was unable to master that one. Since Cavalier Arts were sword techniques that consumed physical strength, that was only natural. Because no matter how much you trained, the amount of physical strength that a human being could accumulate was not enough to use the secret technique.

“I will master it, without fail. As my…ultimate goal.”

However, he believed that it would be necessary at some point. He was convinced that in order to carry out his revenge, it wouldn’t be enough for him to remain as he was now.

“Gadhio Lathcutt.” Bart called his name. “Though I am a knight in name only, I had once thought about learning Cavalier Arts myself. I didn’t have the talent to master them, but I have the knowledge. Which is why I understand. You are quite literally fighting with your life on the line.”

Cavalier Arts: Sacrifice. The technique that Gadhio had come up with was, as Bart had pointed out, a technique that consumed life in order to produce Prana.

“Why? Why are you able to fight this much? You lost your wife and friend, didn’t you? And yet, you still live on as a noble hero! How can you manage to do that?!”

The church had even preserved Gadhio’s wife’s body, so it wasn’t surprising that they knew about Gadhio’s past. But Gadhio felt like Bart had significantly misunderstood.

“I do not think that I am ‘admirable’ in any way.”

“If you’re not admirable, then I’m absolute garbage.” Gadhio couldn’t help but force a wry smile at these words, which seemed to be far too self-deprecating to be coming from an enemy. “Did you know? Those who can wield the power of Justice Arts all have memories of past lives. Justice Arts is the power to transform remnants of that past life that are still in one’s soul into power used to fight.”

That was something that even Gadhio of all people didn’t know. It was a deeply fascinating story, but at the same time, Gadhio realized that they were sword techniques that were impossible for him to master no matter how hard he struggled, so, in a different sense, he lost all interest. Talent was everything. It was questionable to him whether something like that could even be called swordplay.

“But…I didn’t want something like this. The memories of my past life that have remained with me were those of losing my wife and daughter in an accident. We went for a drive on a day off, and… Oh, I suppose you might not understand what I mean by ‘went for a drive.’ Basically, it means a trip. I decided to do something fatherly by refusing my boss’s request for me to work on my day off, which was unusual for me. But that had been a mistake. While we were on our way home from our trip, the car I was driving collided with a runaway truck. When I came to, I saw that the people I loved had been crushed. They were dead. I was the only one who survived. I remember carrying that sadness within me, living a lonely life until I withered and died. Those memories have been stuck in my head since I was a child, and I can’t get rid of them!”

Memories that he himself didn’t have, of people he didn’t actually know. Only the person in question could understand the pain of having something like that inside of them, which was likely why Bart was tormented by a sense of isolation that those around him couldn’t understand.

“This is the power that I’ve awakened to. It’s simply a wall to protect myself, to ensure my own survival. It’s not that big, it can only be used from the front, and it’s a shield to protect others; it’s a shield for self-preservation!” Bart continued to single-mindedly spew out self-loathing.

“I feel so miserable and wretched that I’m ashamed to be alive! I’m sure that even my wife and child in the afterlife are disappointed in me! But…I’m scared of dying. Being alone is hard, too. Which is why I have no other choice but to cling to the Church Knights! Because there isn’t anyone who understands! How could I become someone like you?! I wanted to live like you, as a hero that people look up to!”

He had the accumulation of two lives. Gadhio had no way to resolve Bart’s issues, and since they were enemies, there wasn’t any need for him to resolve them in the first place. However, he had his own thoughts on the matter.

“The power to protect, huh…” He remembered Kleyna and Hallom. The woman who loved him and his best friend’s daughter, who looked to Gadhio like a father. Gadhio thought to himself as he looked at his open palm.

“If I had I had chosen to fight to protect myself, would the future have been different, I wonder.” However, what he held in his hands was a jet-black sword. Thoughts of his friend, lingering attachment for his wife. With those things in his hands, he continued to fight, even now.

“Bart Charon. I will now perfect the secret technique of Cavalier Arts and shatter that shield.” Gadhio, facing Bart, made that declaration.

“Is that to make me even more aware of my own wretchedness?” In response to Bart’s unendingly spineless, self-abasing words, Gadhio shook his head.

“You ought to see for yourself, with your own eyes, if there is a noble hero worthy of admiration here.”

Chapter 10: Distortion

Chapter 10:
Distortion

 

ETERNA WAS FIGHTING in midair, jumping from pipe to pipe with her water tentacles. A darkness spread out below her, and if she lost her footing, there was no telling how far she would fall. The giant positioned itself dexterously on top of the pipe, its body swaying from side to side. Due to its enlarged right arm, it was difficult for the giant to maintain its balance, and it seemed to be constantly swaying. Even so, the fact that it didn’t slip and fall showed that it must be well trained.

“Guh, uhh…Wh…y…?!”

“It’s trying to say something. Was it originally human…?” Eterna hadn’t seen any of the members of the Church Knights whom she believed to have also boarded this fortress as well since she had arrived here. She thought it was likely that there were “materials” used to make Chimera, but was this person one of them? She tried scanning the giant to find some kind of clue.

 

OrYouKanrukou KansaUninyu

Affinity: Trash=

MuscStreNgth: Sis

Foolishness: T0E9R

Lump of Meat: Carve

Because I don’t worship: Atone

I PrayKill: RIP.

 

However, she was unable to obtain the kind of information that she had hoped to get. The stats of completed Chimera don’t look like this when they’re scanned. Does that mean this isn’t a controlled monster? It’s being intentionally allowed to run amok…

“Donhhgummm, doooooonhh!” A thundering roar that seemed to have some meaning, yet that also seemed to have none at all, boomed through the air. At the same time, the giant crushed the pipe underfoot and closed in on Eterna.

“Ice Bullet!” Eterna fired a series of small bullets of ice from her raised right hand. However, even direct hits didn’t slow the giant down, and it moved to strike her right arm. Eterna extended her tentacles to another pipe to dodge the attack. When she looked at the pipe that had been hanging there just moments ago, she saw it get shattered into pieces after being frozen solid.

“If I got hit by something like that, I’d be done for.” As she expected based on how the giant looked, its flesh armor was thick, so it seemed that shallow attacks wouldn’t do anything. The only option was to wait for an opening and strike with a powerful spell, but… If I do something too extreme, Milkit may end up getting caught up in the crossfire, so I’ll just have to wait and see for a while.

As Eterna focused her undivided attention on dodging, something changed in the giant. It was still swaying atop the pipe, but its right arm began to expand. Something was coming. When Eterna braced herself, she found that the enemy didn’t charge this time but, rather, swung its arm from where it stood. Then its right arm was ripped off with a snap, spinning and flying toward her while spraying blood. Eterna dodged again by extending her tentacles, but the blood spurting from the giant’s severed arm wrapped around the pipes like tentacles, just like Eterna’s magic, causing the arm to change trajectory sharply. Furthermore, its severed right arm was already regenerating, and the giant itself moved to attack Eterna.

“Guuuu, dongumhhhhh!”

“Fairy on Ice!” Eterna created ice blades on the soles of her feet while in midair and glided along ice rails floating in the air as if she were dancing, dodging attacks coming at her from both sides simultaneously before coming up to the giant from behind. She extended the blades from the soles of her feet and, spinning around once, she slammed her foot down with an axe kick.

“Got him!” The giant tried to defend itself with an ice shield, but Eterna’s attack pierced through the shield and slashed the giant’s back. The giant fell, splattering red blood everywhere. It then quickly grabbed hold of a pipe with its left arm and hung on, dangling. Its weight caused the pipe to bend, and a creaking sound, like skreee, echoed throughout the underground space.

“Despite being a monster, its actions suggest intelligence, and what’s more, it can use magic and appeared to be skilled in combat. Come to think of it, I believe that Ottilie’s colleague should have been captured as well, in addition to Henriette.”

A large man who used a hammer as a weapon and who specialized in ice magic. The monster before her eyes matched the description of Herrmann that she had heard from Ottilie.

“Herrmann Sabneu… If my opponent is a lieutenant general, then I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by this being a bit of a struggle.” Eterna had speculated that he had probably been captured and had an Origin core implanted in him, resulting in his current appearance.

“Guuuudondgumglosah!” Another roar, followed by a charge. He moved toward her in a straight line, bound to miss her, and Eterna easily dodged.

“Did he say, ‘Don’t come closer’…?” She felt like Herrmann had been trying to say something for a while now. Then suddenly, there was a loud noise from above, like rocks being smashed apart. When she looked up, she saw the upper half of a medium-sized Chimera.

Medium-sized Chimera were based on lions like Anzu, but various monster parts were sewn into their bodies, so the number and placement of facial features, such as eyes and noses, were irregular, making them quite unsettling.

“Gugaaaaaaa!” That Chimera was squeezing into the hole where Eterna had fallen, trying to force its way into the underground area.

“When you say, ‘Don’t come closer,’ you mean them?” Eterna couldn’t see them from here, but she could hear the cries of other Chimera as well. Thousands of Chimera had been deployed here, and if you made a sound, they’d gather immediately. As Eterna switched her thinking from “how to fight” to “how to survive,” a voice came through the communication device.

“Eterna, can you hear me?!” Eterna took the device out from her sleeve and responded.

“Milkit, are you okay?”

“Yes, and it seems I was able to find Master.” Milkit had only just fallen… Eterna was taken aback by the speed of this development, but she was honestly happy.

“That is wonderful. It seems like I may not be able to join you myself, though, so stay with Flum.” After saying that, she looked back and forth between Herrmann and the Chimera in turn, who seemed to be ready to attack at any moment. Then after letting out a sigh, she floated a blue magic circle on her open palm.

 

***

 

In the underground passageway, Flum, who had defeated Rischel, finally reached Milkit.

“Master!”

“Milkit!” They raced toward each other with arms wide open and then tightly embraced on another.

“I am so glad you’re safe…Master…” Milkit pressed her body close as if to confirm whether Flum was really there, nuzzling her cheek against her.

“It seems I made you worry.” Flum bushed shyly at the passionately warm welcome, but she stroked Milkit’s head nonetheless.

“When we finally met like this, everything else just flew out of my mind.”

Milkit looked up, gazing straight at Flum, as she said those words. Flum fell silent and stared intently at Milkit’s face.

“Master?” Milkit tilted her head to the side in confusion over the strangeness of Flum’s behavior. But Flum said nothing and simply pinched the edge of her bandages with her fingers. “Are you…going to take them off here?”

Milkit sounded shy. Flum, embarrassed for some reason, lowered her hand.

“I just wanted to see your face…”

“I’m happy, but this place is dangerous. Eterna is fighting now, too.”

“Who’s Eterna?”

Hearing these words that Flum would have never said, Milkit couldn’t help but unintentionally blurt out a “Huh?” in response.

Flum reached out her hand toward Milkit’s face and tried to remove her bandages once again.

“Please let me see your face. If you don’t, I won’t be able to help thinking that you’re Milkit and—”

“Please stop!” Milkit unintentionally raised her voice and took a step back. It was definitely Flum standing in front of her, but there was something intensely unsettling about all of this. It was more than just the simple fact that another person appeared before her; it was an unpleasant feeling of something being off.

“Master, there’s something strange going on with you.”

“You’re the one who’s being strange here, Milkit! What’s all this Master stuff? Don’t call me by that ridiculous name—just call me ‘Flum-san’ like you always do!” Faced with Flum’s strong insistence, Milkit finally realized something.

“Who…are you?” She realized that this girl was not the Master that she knew. It was undoubtedly Flum’s physical body, but what was inside was different. And the same was true for Flum as well, regarding Milkit.

“I don’t know. And who are you? Where is my Milkit…?”

Flum had thought fate had brought her here. But now that she’d killed Rischel, if the Milkit standing before her right now didn’t have memories of the past like she did, then…

She felt like she had suddenly been cast into a cold, dark sea.

 

***

 

“Gaaaaaaaah!” The four-legged beast roared. The Chimera that appeared before Sara and Neigass was clearly more agile than the other individual Chimera, running around, jumping around, making a fool of and toying with Sara and Neigass with its three-dimensional movements. Neigass thrust her right hand forward and released a sphere of wind that followed the Chimera’s movements.

“What is this thing?! It is definitely not a normal Chimera!” However, Neigass’s attack missed the Chimera and landed somewhere slightly off target. Then the Chimera closed the distance between itself and them little by little and attacked with its claws. Neigass gently floated herself up on the spot to avoid the charging attack, then launched a blade of wind above the enemy’s head. Normally, she would’ve wanted to fight while flying in the air, but there were a large number of medium- and large-sized Chimera flying around. If she used too many attacks from the area, there was a chance that she would attract the flock. The Chimera dodged the wind blade by jumping to the side, kicking off of a building, and somersaulting backward into the air.

“You’re challenging a demon to an aerial battle? Do not take me lightly! Tornado!”

“You’re wide open! Judgment!” Neigass and Sara, spotting an opening to attack in the big jump that the Chimera made, simultaneously attacked with a tornado and a sword of light, but…

“Garaaaaaaaaa!”With a roar from the Chimera, blood spouted from its body, and it used that as a propulsive force to change direction. Avoiding the magic, it charged forward, gliding across the surface of the tornado summoned by Neigass.

“This thing can even pull off tricks like that?!” Neigass tried to avoid the attack, but the blood ended up getting on her upper arm, which had the effect of melting physical objects. When Neigass fell to the ground, Sara rushed over to her and used Healing on her without even a second’s delay. Meanwhile, the Chimera landed atop another structure and looked down at Neigass and Sara. Though it was a hideous monster, there was something dignified and stately about its appearance.

“Unlike the other Chimera, it only shows stuff I can’t read when I Scan it.”

“It’s not a complete Chimera. That’s a characteristic of a failure running amok. Considering its strength, the human that it was based on must have been extraordinarily powerful. What’s more, it excels at fighting using blood.”

“Blood… Do you mean Genocide Arts? In that case, it’s Ottilie’s beloved, Henriette!”

“They say that Henriette has strength comparable to the heroes. If that’s true, then we might not have the wherewithal to be able to save her.”

“That’s just my own selfishness. The most important thing is that you’re safe, Neigass.” Sara tightly squeezed Neigass’s arm, which had been injured earlier.

When you say something like that, Sara, it makes me feel even more motivated! Neigass’s heart throbbed with love, and she felt her fighting spirit well up like a storm. At that moment, Henriette kicked off the structure and landed on the ground.

“It’s on the move again!”

“Sara, be prepared to use Divine Wall at any moment.”

“O…okay!” Henriette quickly approached in a flash, using zigzagging motions. Neigass carried Sara in her arms and dodged the first attack by gently floating on the winds.

“You’re too fast. So I’m going to crush you with something huge.” Henriette dug her claws into the ground with her front and rear legs and slowed down, while sliding. Taking advantage of that opportunity, Neigass clutched Sara tightly with her left arm and raised her right toward the sky.

“Aero Meteorite!” She hadn’t used Illegal Formula, because she activated this ability immediately. An inflated sphere of wind measuring about ten meters, bulging so much that it looked like it was about to explode, was thrown toward Henriette. When the sphere of wind hit the ground, it exploded, scattering storm-like gales and a large number of wind blades. At the same time, Sara chanted a spell, shouting, “Divine Wall!” and a wall of light protected the two of them. Neigass’s spell, named Meteorite, was incredibly powerful and covered an extremely wide area, so it was something that she normally used at a certain distance from her opponent.

However, this time, the attack landed close by, so it was necessary for her to protect herself using a barrier to avoid being caught up in the blast. Neigass’s powerful magic hit directly, sending debris flying and causing several buildings to collapse. Due to the effects of the Reversal core, not even a Chimera would stand a chance if it were to get hit. However…

“It’s not there…!” When the winds stopped, Henriette was nowhere to be seen. Immediately afterward, Neigass felt a chill run up her spine.

“Oh no! Behind—”

When she turned to look behind her, there was a huge mouth opening beneath a mass of swirling flesh; the strange creature was attacking. Just before Neigass’s spell had hit, Henriette had melted the ground with her blood that she had secreted and dove down. Then by melting the surrounding area, she moved rapidly inside the ground and took Neigass and Sara by surprise from behind. However, she had made one big mistake. Henriette’s target was not Neigass, but Sara, who was in Neigass’s arms. Neigass reflexively moved to protect Sara. The twisted, sharp fangs of the beast sank into an area near the joint of Neigass’s right arm.

“G-guhh… Y-you…went after Sara just now, didn’t you?” Crunch. Crack. Henriette crushed Neigass’s bones with the strength of her jaw. The flesh was crushed too, with a squelching sound, and everything up to her shoulder was too gruesomely mangled to even look at. What’s more, the blood dripping from Henriette’s teeth not only melted her flesh but also caused Neigass’s body to become increasingly numb, like the effect of Genocide Arts.

“My little Sara!” Even so, no matter the pain or numbness, Neigass’s anger surpassed those things. Sara wanted to stop the fighting immediately and start treating Neigass, but Neigass’s determination would not allow it. “Air…Pressure!”

Air pressure crushed Henriette’s body from above like a heavy weight. An irritated Henriette broke away and tried to create some distance.

“Illegal Formula!” Neigass immediately applied more magical power. The pressure increased even more, slowing down Henriette’s movements still further. With Henriette off-balance, Neigass raised her fist in the air to strike.

“Crimson Disaster!” The swirling mass of wind above her fist was only black for the time being, not crimson. But soon, it would be stained red with the enemy’s blood.

“Be cut to ribbons!” Neigass slammed her fist down. She made the wind explode. Although the range wasn’t as wide as the meteorite, the compressibility of the air was higher. Therefore, the initial explosive power and the power within the range of the attack were both tremendous. Due to the binding caused by Air Pressure, Henriette should have suffered a head-on strike, but…she had somehow managed to escape the wind’s hold on her with her strength and avoided a totally direct hit. Even so, roughly half of her body had been caught in the raging black winds and had been torn to shreds. As the name of the spell suggested, the wind itself was stained crimson with blood.

“Gu, gaaah… Oooo… Gaaaa!” Letting out a cry that sounded like she was in total agony, Henriette turned her back and ran as fast she could.

“I won’t let you get away!” Neigass tried to follow after her, her eyes bloodshot, but Sara grabbed hold of her clothes and stopped her.

“Wait, Neigass! Let me heal you first!”

“But!”

“Neigass, you were angry on my behalf, because it went after me, but…don’t you know that I was worried about you, Neigass?” Sara had tears in her eyes. Words spilled out of Neigass’s mouth reflexively in response.

“I love you, Sara.”

“I know.” Then Sara immediately began treating Neigass. Due to the severity of her injuries, she had to use Recover several times, which consumed a lot of magical power. Considering that the battle with the Chimera was going to continue, this expenditure of power was a significant setback.

“I wonder if my little Sara might be surprisingly fond of me,” Neigass muttered quietly as she was being treated.

“Is that okay to say that right in front of the person you’re talking about?” Sara was exasperated by Neigass’s words, which only served to make her sound more lustful. Despite that, she didn’t seem truly upset, based on the look on her face.

“Well…I think you are, personally. Enough to make me really happy when you say you love me.”

“Neigass!” Sara blocked Neigass with one hand as she tried to hug her. “We’re in the middle of battle right now.”

“Ugghh, waiting is torture!”

“What were you planning to do?” Sara really didn’t know what was going to happen then, but she suddenly couldn’t help but wonder if…they weren’t in the middle of a battle right now, if she would have accepted whatever it was. Then she felt overwhelmingly embarrassed, her cheeks turning red. However, just as she’d said herself—this was a battlefield.

“Guooooooo!” A cry issued from somewhere, warning them that this was no time to be fooling around.

“That sound… It’s close.”

“I ended up getting a bit too into the fight. Looks like I’ve called a big one.”

When they looked up, they saw a strange dragon-like figure gradually descending. Sara tried scanning it.

 

Chimera Wyvern

Affinity: Wind

Strength: 12,412

Magic: 10,972

Endurance: 10,367

Agility: 8,915

Perception: 9,976

 

Its stats exceeded 50,000 when added up. The values were unbelievable.

“It’s literally a monster.”

“No matter what comes, I don’t feel like I can lose right now.” Even in such a situation, Neigass still had a smile on her face.

 

***

 

“Did you think you could beat me in such a state?”

Toytzo and Slowanak broke bare-handed through the wall of flames created by Tsyon. Ignoring their hair being burnt and their face being scorched, they attacked their opponent with punches from four arms, two on each side. Tsyon deflected a blow with his left arm and blocked the next one with his right, but the third blow came in from his blind spot and caught him directly in the side of the torso.

“Guh!”He let out a cry of agony as he felt the final blow strike him in the cheek. Tsyon was sent flying backward by the impact of the hit. He got back up, reassuming his stance, and wiped away the blood oozing from the corner of his mouth.

“As you can see, our body is connected to approximately twenty demons.” A red tube protruded from the back of Toytzo and Slowanak’s head. “Using simple calculation, you can also see that I possess twenty times the magical power of a demon.”

“You’re using all of that to enhance your physical abilities? You’re crazy.”

“Our mission is already over.”

“The remainder of our lives is nothing more than a game, so we may as well enjoy ourselves.”

“Then enjoy it with just your own lives, you shitty pieces of garbage!” Tsyon wrapped his arms in flames, thrust his fists forward, and fired off a series of fireballs. Toytzo and Slowanak deflected them with their bare hands and broke through the attack, while walking forward.

“Our wounds are your friends’ wounds.” Even if Tsyon hit the enemy with a fireball and damaged their body, it regenerated immediately. And the demons behind him screamed in agony before being extinguished… This was the worst kind of equivalent exchange.

“If you, someone close to the Demon Lord, had noticed there were betrayers among you sooner, there would not have been so many victims. So they are, in a sense, your victims, too.”

“After all the sacrifices we’ve made…”

“You cannot even stop us. How pathetic.”

Toytzo and Slowanak, coming up to him, slowly raised their fist in the air, as if making a show of it.

“Heartless, cold demon. Die.”

Their fist, strengthened by magical power, was aimed straight for Tsyon’s face. Tsyon tried to block the hit with one hand. Of course, Toytzo and Slowanak were stronger than him. He wouldn’t have been able to stop it.

“You touched it.” So, before the attack landed, Tsyon made the first move. The moment Toytzo and Slowanak’s fist touched Tsyon’s hand, their body exploded violently from the inside. The space was filled with explosive flames, and the thunderous booming shattered the glass case.

Toytzo and Slowanak’s body had been completely obliterated, without even a trace remaining. However, a lump of flesh began to swell in the center of the room. Their body was regenerating. At the same time, screams could be heard from the demons who had been burned after getting caught in the blast.

“Stop, Tsyon! I…I don’t wanna die!” When a voice familiar to Tsyon carried throughout the room, Toytzo and Slowanak smiled scornfully, mocking him.

“Oh no. Your friend is dead.”

“It’s all because you didn’t listen to what we said.”

Because you tried to kill us, your comrades died. That was the kind of farce they were going for. But Tsyon met them with his own scornful smile.

“Gah, guess you didn’t do your homework, cardinals. Well, you’ve been spending all your time scrambling for power, so you haven’t been out in the field in a long time, I reckon. It’s no wonder you’ve got a poor endgame. Listen. That guy always called me ‘Tsy Tsy,’ ever since I was a little brat. There’s no way he’d mess that up. In other words, these demons no longer have any sense of self. You’re the ones making them talk, that’s all.”

They fell silent. It felt good to make a talkative piece of garbage go quiet. At this point, Tsyon had finished confirming a certain something.

I checked all the faces within my field of vision, and I only see the missing demons that Sheitoom reported. This was information gathered as part of routine surveillance carried out for public safety reasons, unrelated to the investigation of the traitors. One of the things Tsyon had found was a friend of his, who had left Selayde decades ago and gone missing in another town. The other missing demons varied in age and gender, and had disappeared from different locations.

This means they have a system for transporting those kidnapped from the demon realm to the royal kingdom. In that case, the number of demons we caught in Selayde isn’t enough. There’s still some left. Traitors among us demons.

“Lost in thought, hm? You are quite calm.” Before Tsyon knew it, Toytzo’s face was right in front of him. Tsyon swept away the fists that came for him from the left and right at the same time using his legs, which were coated in flames. The arms that got hit by Tsyon’s kick evaporated and disappeared.

“So…you’ve been holding back your firepower until now?”

“I hate to admit it, but your psychological attacks were pretty effective. That’s why I kept my firepower in check.” Now there was no longer any reason for Tsyon to hesitate in attacking. “I’m gonna bring the heat now, so don’t you let this battle get cold!”

True to his words, Tsyon engulfed himself in flames and charged toward the enemy.

Sheitoom, are you okay? Even as he fought, he found time to worry about the fight happening deep within the Demon Lord’s castle.

 

***

 

At that time in Selayde, the skies above entered the control range of the central core, and the Chimeras attack began. The demons deployed multiple layers of barriers with various attributes to block the magic spewed forth by the Chimera. Sheitoom remained motionless, watching over the battle at the Demon Lord’s castle as a commander. While it might have seemed like she was just relying on others, with the Demon Lord standing close behind them, the demons could concentrate on defending Selayde with peace of mind. Above all else, the church’s “scheme” wasn’t going to end with just this. A male demon rushed into the conference room where Sheitoom and Dhiza had been.

“Lord Sheitoom! A large-sized Chimera accompanied by several smaller ones has come down.”

“Selayde itself shouldn’t be within range of the central core yet, though…”

“It seems that they are using a portable control core that can be transported.” The control core was carried by a large Chimera, which was deployed together with small-sized Chimera as a unit. This was the method of using Chimera as weapons which the Church Knights had demonstrated in the underground research facility in the royal capital. Sheitoom and Dhiza raced out of the room together with the man.

“How many large-sized ones?”

“As far as we’ve been able to confirm, just the one.”

“It doesn’t seem like they have that many control cores, then.” Sheitoom felt a little relieved. It sounded like the worst-case possibility had been avoided. If the control cores could be mass-produced, then they could let the Chimera roam around freely just by firing cores into enemy territory using cannons. Control cores were likely larger than normal Origin cores due to their greater degree of functionality. This meant, in other words, that mining black quartz of sufficient size was necessary to create them, so they likely couldn’t be produced that easily. Also, considering that the attack by the flying object had stopped immediately, perhaps that meant that the church didn’t have a surplus of materials, either. That being said, Sheitoom didn’t think that one control core would be the end of it.

“If Cyrill wakes up, we could gain the upper hand in an instant.” The hero was still unconscious because she had been forced to use Return. However, it was impossible to tell whether or not she would awaken. Sheitoom couldn’t rely on her. Right now, she had to focus on intercepting the large-sized Chimera.

She recomposed herself. Just as she was about to pass through the front entrance, she heard a loud bell ring throughout the castle. Briiiing!

“That sound… An intruder in the castle?!”

“Great Demon Lord, I will handle—”

“No. It is my duty to protect the seal on Origin. Dhiza, go outside. I will deal with the intruder.”

After parting ways with Dhiza, she hurried toward the sound. The Demon Lord’s castle was protected by a magical power, but in situations where the castle was assaulted, a bell would ring at the nearest location to alert the residents of the intruder’s whereabouts.

Why didn’t anyone notice anything until the intruder got inside? The demons outside were supposed to have been keeping watch. This place was the stronghold of the demon race. Even under ordinary conditions, someone would notice if a suspicious person approached. Which meant this intruder was no ordinary person.

“Judging from where the signal’s coming from…their goal isn’t Origin, but the jail?”

Sheitoom had a bad feeling. She hurried to the underground dungeon where the informants were being held. What she saw when she got there was a large hole in the wall and countless corpses. The intruder had not come here to free their comrades, but to eliminate the pawns they no longer needed. There was no sign of the intruder now, but she could still faintly detect a presence.

“There!” There was the sound of something wet falling to the floor. Splat. A corpse appeared where there had been nothing before.

“A Chimera…made by stitching together human bodies…” Sheitoom grimaced at the repulsive sight. It had likely been made using people from the church as components. With its head and limbs sundered, and moving in disorderly fashion, the monster that now lay before Sheitoom’s eyes could barely walk on two legs. A control core had been painfully and forcibly attached to its body with wires.

Sheitoom guessed that the intruder had gone unnoticed by using magic that manipulated the refraction of light. In modern times, where research into healing magic had advanced, magicians who handled light-attribute magic were favored and treated with courtesy. You wouldn’t treat them like disposable pawns, much less commit such a foolish and blasphemous act as stitching them together to create a monster. It was likely that connecting parts from this many individuals had been necessary in order to enable the Chimera to utilize light-attribute magic…but there had to have been a better method.

To put it bluntly, getting something as huge as Tokyo airborne while also using this creature to attack her was the height of wastefulness for the church, which didn’t exactly have a surplus of resources to begin with.

“The church’s actions reek of the insanity of blind devotion. What a distasteful joke.”

It was almost as though they were competing with one another to see who could express their faith in the most exaggerated way, while also dragging in as many other people as possible. But that was the extent of how much Sheitoom let herself dwell on her discomfort. There were other truths she had to face.

“It would be one thing if this were just part of their game, but it looks like it’s not.” They had come to kill the prisoners, even going so far as to use a precious control core. It had to have been to silence them. “Why would they go to such lengths to eliminate the informants…? I don’t understand it.”

Sheitoom was heartbroken as she looked at the fallen demons and the humans who had been turned into the Chimera’s component parts. She closed her eyes and mourned the dead.

Chapter 11: The Shape of Love

Chapter 11:
The Shape of Love

 

JACK SWUNG HIS SWORD from outside Ottilie’s reach. His slash whipped through the air as it reached for her, undulating like a snake.

“I see through you!” Ottilie parried the Justice Arts: Bind Strike that came at her from the right with her sword and immediately assessed the distance between herself and Jack.

Jack disliked close combat, so he retreated while pointing the tip of his sword at Ottilie. This was a step he took to trigger his Shrimp Hold. Ottilie jumped to the side to avoid it, but as a result, she was one step too late in getting close to Jack.

“Things do not always go as we hope, eh, Ottilie?!”

Once again, there came a winding slashing attack from his Bind Strike. Ottilie twisted her body to try to avoid it, but the slash caught her in the side, cutting through her flank. Blood poured forth. The pain caused her to lose her balance and slowed her down even more.

Another Bind Strike was unleashed without a moment’s hesitation. Pitching forward, Ottilie deflected the slash coming at her from the front. However, Jack’s blade bent at the point of contact and pierced her upper arm.

“Agh!”

“A phantasmagoric blade—there is no way a second-­rate lieutenant general such as yourself could see through that!” The transformed blade returned to Jack as he boasted of his victory.

In an instant, the blood that clung to the blade rippled outward. Some of it transformed into needles that shot at Jack’s eyeballs.

“What?!” Jack tilted his head, just narrowly managing to react to the attack, but the blood needles grazed his temple. The graze alone was enough to make the blood enter his body. Jack felt a powerful dizziness.

“It is called Carithia.”

Originally, this technique involved spreading blood over a wide area and then having it shoot out needles and thread in order to block an enemy’s movements. Jack had triggered the technique the moment his sword had cut Ottilie. Once the technique had been activated, her blood remained on the blade, almost as though it were coiling around it.

“Tch, can I shake this blasted blood off?!” Jack swung his sword to try and fling the blood off, but to no avail. Ottilie closed the distance once again. Having no other option, Jack thrust his sword into the ground.

“Ishidaki!”

“Are you sure it is all right for you to discard your sword?” The heavy weight of gravity pushed down on Ottilie. However, she moved to stab Jack with her blade first before it came down on her. However, he took a small blade out from his pocket and caught the attack.

“Hmph. What an unusual knife. It suits a small-hearted coward like you perfectly.” The two of them provoked each other at close range, while competing for dominance.

“Well, I should say this is enough to deal with a weak woman.”

“It feels quite good, seeing you play at acting tough with those torture implements in your hands!”

“That is rich, coming from a woman who is about to be crushed any moment from my Ishidaki!” Jack angled his small blade on Ottilie’s blade, as if he were entangling it, pressing down from above. Due to the effects of Ishidaki, she couldn’t move her body as she wished and couldn’t push him back. Then Jack reached out with one arm toward her almost completely exposed torso. When Ottilie instinctively tried to take a step back in that instant, Jack lightly swept her leg, causing her body to tilt. In the next moment, her world was turned upside down and she found herself floating in midair. She had been thrown. Then she felt her back slamming onto the ground as she landed.

“Kuh ha—!”

“I am learned in this manner of fighting as well.” Jack immediately lunged at Ottilie with his short sword. She tried to roll sideways to avoid it, but the weight prevented her from moving as she would’ve wished, and the blade tore up her back. In that moment, Jack took hold of his sword that had been stuck in the ground again and prepared to unleash another Bind Strike. Meanwhile, Ottilie, after getting back up, took a blood cartridge out from her belt and threw it. Jack, who had taken hold of his sword, reflexively slashed at it and cut the cartridge. The blood in the cartridge splattered, filling his field of vision.

“I blind you with a blood cartridge, and then—” Ottilie got in close to Jack, practically leaping at him from a low stance. The tip of her extended sword touched the blood that had been scattered across the arena. “Agarsura! Devour him!”

The blood, which had simply been spreading outward before, now suddenly attacked Jack like a striking snake. He immediately tried to brush it away with his Bind Strike but could only cut into it, unable to repel it.

A membrane of blood coiled around his body. From inside it, blood needles flew out and pierced him, just like with Carithia.

“Blast—it will not let go. How vexing!”

“It isn’t so bad, you know, waiting patiently like a snake, injecting venom into your prey until it weakens.” At this rate, if she waited, Jack would eventually become unable to move and would only be left to convulse on the ground. Ottilie thought this would be amusing to watch, but her goal was to save Henriette. “I have decided that I will only indulge in pleasure with my sister, in bed.”

“Ga ha, verily! Oh, you only pretend to be an innocent maiden!”

“Die right this instant, you perverted, torture-crazed maniac of a man!”

Right before Jack’s eyes, Ottilie raised her sword. Just as she was about to act out her murderous impulse, however…she sensed the presence of her beloved and turned around.

“Sister?”

There stood a monstrous, blood-covered beast. Bleeding profusely, with wet squishing sounds, it raised its sharp claws to tear Ottilie apart.

“Ah—” Ottilie, failing to catch the claws, had her neck ripped apart in spectacular fashion by the attack. Blood gushed from the open wound like a fountain as the Chimera Henriette landed in front of her. The source of her life sprayed forth with such force that it gurgled. A tremendous quantity of blood splashed across the ground, creating puddles.

Her body temperature was dropping rapidly. Her strength was draining. In such a state, it was impossible for her to maintain her Genocide Arts, and Jack was released from Aghasura.

“How wonderful!” Jack, immediately understanding what had happened, gave a hearty belly laugh, his shoulders shaking. “Is this the love you speak of?! Ga ha ha ha ha,verily! How beautiful! Congratulations, Ottilie, Henriette! I have never seen a love come to fruition in such spectacular fashion as this before! Ga ha ha ha ha!”

Had there ever been such a beautiful, betrayed love before? Jack’s only complaint was that he hadn’t created his work of art himself—but compared to the joy of getting to witness this scene with his own eyes, such complaints were insignificant.

Ottilie still couldn’t understand what had just happened, even now. However, she understood that death was approaching.

I understand. No matter what form she may take, she is Sister. Did she do this to me? Oh, I am going to die. I have to stop the bleeding. Sister is right here, in front of me. In that case, I must survive.

She slowly placed her hand on the wound and attempted to stop the bleeding using Genocide Arts. But Jack wasn’t going to let that go unnoticed.

“It is not my wish to add any touches to the finished work, but I am afraid it would be bothersome to let you go. Justice Arts: Strappado.”

The condition for activating this ability was for Jack to continue fighting for a certain amount of time. Originally, it was intended as a final act of torture for those who had already endured torture, sticking it out to the end. Ottilie’s arms were tied behind her back, and she was hoisted up into the air just by her upper body. She felt her entire weight straining against the invisible ropes that bound her, causing her considerable pain, but the bleeding from her neck was also having a significant effect.

I can’t fight back. Ottilie was growing pale. I’m going to die. I’m going to disappear. Even though Sister is right here in front of me… The blood overflowing from her neck eventually made its way into her throat.

She struggled, gurgling and coughing, andspat out large quantities of blood.

That’s right. Before the eyes of Sister, whom I love…

After observing the situation quietly for a while, Henriette sprang into action.

“Guuaauuuu… Otti…li…uaaaaa!” She let out a mournful cry as copious amounts of blood spilled from her spiral-shaped face.

“I see, you wish to deliver the final blow.” Jack was now an uninvolved bystander in this situation. He realized that he was nothing more than an audience waiting in anticipation for the completion of the work. “Very well—show me, then. Show me the course of your love! Ga ha ha,verily!”

He sheathed his sword and waited eagerly for that moment to arrive.

 

***

 

Linus, who had been connected to Maria by the pope and the king, was being shown her past. Not only what she had seen and heard, but also what she had been thinking at the time, and what she thought now when she looked back on those memories: Everything had been laid completely bare. It was a miserable, tragic thing, filled with lamentation, hatred, and self-loathing.

Maria Afenjuns was a defiled saint.

“Now, come, worship Lord Origin. Then your souls will be saved, everyone!” While preaching to the people about the salvation of their souls and how faith was the key to happiness…

And sometimes even exposing the wicked ulterior motives of blasphemous priests…

“Because of your filthy desires, you will be eliminated as the useless thing you are.” Once they were alone, she killed him. That was the sort of role she was given.

“Well done, Saint. Lord Origin will surely be pleased as well.”

“Thank you.” How did things turn out like this? She had already stopped thinking about it.

“Why do people go against the church’s wishes?” A cardinal had said that.

“I struggle to understand why they do not follow Lord Origin’s will.” The king had said that.

“It is the role of the Saint to correct and purify. Please carry out that task admirably.” The pope had said that. They all spoke. You are the Saint. You are the bearer of impurity. You are the sacrifice. Correct them. Correct them. Stain your hands with blood. Purify. Purify. Stain your hands with filth. And when you return to the royal capital after finishing your duty, your family will welcome you.

“Big sister! I wanna sleep together with you today!” Sara played innocently with her.

“Sounds like you had it rough again this time.” Johnny showed her concern.

“Eat lots of delicious food and recharge your energy before your next job!” Ed encouraged her.

“Come now, it’s okay to let us pamper you when you’re home.” Elune embraced her like a mother.

They were all loving, warm, and kind. Her heart ached. The closer she got to the light, the more her own shadow stood out. No justification, no excuse, could cover up this defilement.

Maria learned everything six years ago, when she was twelve years old. At that time, she was a proper, respectable clergywoman and a devout believer in Origin. She was also developing steadily as a magician, and her beauty was making her something of a symbolic figure for the church. That was when the pope and the others set their eyes on her. They intentionally created the position of saint and had placed her there. She was made to be the direct subordinate of the pope and had authority second only to the cardinals.

However, in reality, she was nothing more than a puppet made to conveniently follow the orders of the pope and the cardinals. For the sake of the faith, Lord Origin wills it—they deceived her with such words and had her kill people. Sometimes, she used seductive techniques to achieve those ends. Her heart was worn down and battered, and she could feel herself becoming tainted. She had thought about exposing this dark side of the church and freeing herself from everything. But before she could do that, she found out.

The Saint had been granted some authority, so she was able to view secret documents hidden in the cathedral. There, the truth from ten years ago had been recorded. The perpetrators were demons. The pope was the one who gave the order: Pagan villages needed to be crushed, partly as a warning to others. If possible, prioritize villages with people who may be useful. A girl with light-attribute qualities had been discovered. The pope had the demons attack the village to secure the girl and other experimental materials.

In other words, it’s your fault. You killed everyone. Surely there is no way someone like you could ever deserve salvation, right? That’s right, Maria Afenjuns.

 

***

 

“The moment I learned the truth, I decided to give up on everything.”

They were in a space created by the connection between Maria and Linus’s consciousness. Surrounded by a soft light, in a strange place where even gravity was ambiguous, Linus had been shown Maria’s past. When her memories had flooded into him like a raging torrent, Linus had been in a state of semiconsciousness, but now he could see clearly. Maria, who seemed like she was about to give up on everything again now, was hugging her knees, a delicate, frail look on her face.

“Everything I believed in and came to love… The whole world had betrayed me…”

She couldn’t believe anything anymore. She wondered if love really existed. She wondered if even those who loved her wouldn’t betray her eventually.

“But even if I use that as an excuse, the fact remains that my family died. And I dragged Sara into a painful and difficult battle. It’s my fault! It’s all my fault!”

And questioning that betrayal led to self-loathing.

“But I don’t understand. Why am I the only one at fault? That’s not right, is it? The demons destroyed my home and killed all of my blood relatives! And the church, humans, ordered them to do it. They betrayed me, who believed in them and followed them! So aren’t they all at fault, too?! But I can’t do anything about it myself… I can’t do anything…” Maria, wailing, looked even younger than her actual age. Ever since she was twelve years ago, she had been used as a convenient tool—the “Saint”—the whole time. She wanted to be loved and fawned on but couldn’t. Surely this was the true Maria, the one that should have been revealed to the world originally.

When Linus wished, “I want to go by her side,” the distance between them gradually closed, little by little. He reached out, pulled her closer, and held her tightly with both arms.

“Stop, don’t embrace me…” Though she said those words, Maria didn’t refuse him. “If you weren’t here, if only you hadn’t reached out your hand to save me, I would have died long, long ago…” She buried her face in his chest, letting her tears soak through. “Why do you love someone like me, even though I am so tainted?”

Even though she was expressing her self-loathing, she couldn’t resist the desire that swelled within her heart, far surpassing those feelings of self-hatred.

“Because of that, I can’t help but see hope in the world again… I find myself wanting to live…” Even though the world was so tainted, both inside and outside, just being held in his arms like this filled her heart with happiness.

Linus spoke to her as he held her.

“I tried learning more and more about you, Maria, but there was something I just couldn’t understand. I didn’t get why it wasn’t just demons you hated, but everything.”

That hatred that she had occasionally shown. Linus could sense the weight of the emotions behind it. But no matter how much he investigated into her past, he couldn’t find the reason for such hatred. That was because only the upper echelons of the church and the “Saint” herself could know the truth.

“You’ve known for a long time that there were traitors among the demons who are connected to the church. You couldn’t trust humans or demons, so you hated the whole world, and you tried to revive Origin to destroy everything.”

“The truth is that I’ve killed many people, too. I am not what you think I am… I am not a beautiful woman who should be loved! I am a worthless piece of trash who takes the lives of others using ‘giving up’ as an excuse! I don’t deserve to be loved…”

“Maria, you seem to think I’m some kind of prince or something.” Linus looked embarrassed, like he didn’t know what to say. Maria was taken aback by his expression, which seemed out of place in the gravity of the moment. “I’m not. I’m not a hero, and I’m not even a respectable person that people ought to admire. I’m just a man.”

“That’s not true!”

“In that case, I’m gonna say something that’ll disillusion you about me, so please don’t hate me.” Just then, his facial expression suddenly tightened, and he looked serious. That contrast made Maria’s heart pound. Linus paused for a moment and then looked her straight in the eyes and spoke.

“I just like girls with big tits who seem to have a darkness in their hearts.”

Maria froze for a few seconds. Afterward, what finally came out of her mouth was a confused “Huh?” Then Linus repeated what he said once more, to emphasize the point.

“I said that I like girls with big tits who seem to have a darkness in their hearts.” While Maria looked at him blankly, dumbfounded, Linus began to explain in detail. “When I first saw you, right away, I was like Whoa, Maria is totally my kind of girl. Why, you ask? Well, I’m a guy, so I love boobs. Plus, it’s even better if I can save a girl like that. It’s a kind of narcissism, I guess. I want to look cool.” His true intentions were so pathetic; they were far from the kinds of desires a prince would have.

“And my reason for accepting the invitation to join the hero party was the same. Everyone else has a really cool reason for joining, but not me. I wanted money and fame. I also thought that if I got the title of hero, I’d become more popular.” That’s right. That was undoubtedly his way of thinking.

“There you have it. That’s the kind of guy Linus Radiants is.” He knew very well for himself that he was a worthless person. He knew it, but that was the truth. Linus sounded fed up and disappointed with himself when he said that. Maria reflexively argued back.

“But there’s no way you could have come this far with such reasons!”

“I could.” That short response alone was enough to silence her. Linus continued talking in a flippant, foolish manner. “Men are idiots, and I’m the dumbest one of them all. Just because I fell head over heels in love, I ended up doing all of this.” Then he smiled gently at Maria.

“So? Shattered your illusions about me, didn’t I?” It was a parade of words that you would normally never say when trying to woo a woman. He had said it with the intention of making her dislike him. Maria’s eyes filled with tears and her tightly closed lips trembled. Then she closed her eyes hard, and at the same time, smiled warmly at him as the tears began to fall.

“Linus, I should say that you’re the one who misunderstands me.” She clung to Linus’s chest and grabbed hold of his clothes tightly. “Because there is no way I could hate you because of something like that!” Maria spoke in a trembling voice, but she spoke clearly and definitively.

“And you said that you loved me, even when you saw me in that hideous form. Linus, you are most definitely a hero to me!” Though she was shedding tears, she was radiant. She smiled brightly, as if she had been freed from something.

 

***

 

Then the two of them stared down at the pope and the king standing in their way.

“Why?”

“How have you returned?”

The darkness in Maria’s heart had made her continue to reject others. And as long as she rejected others, Linus’s consciousness would have never returned. Complete, perfect shackles. When those shackles had been broken, the pope and king were confused. Linus smiled confidently and readjusted his bow.

“Immediately after I understand everything, lo and behold, the real culprits are right here in front of me. Can’t say the timing could be better, to happily beat the shit out of you.” Linus reached for his quiver and prepared for his next attack. Facing him, the pope and king once again branched off their spine and multiplied their faces.

“If you refuse our salvation—”

Image - 14

“—we will scatter your flesh and blood and let you writhe in agony.” Hundreds of faces spread out, encircling the two of them. A disgusting, gruesome spectacle filled their field of vision. But of course, there was no fear whatsoever on either Linus or Maria’s faces.

“My dear Maria, did you hear what my plan is?”

“Yes. I’m ready, any time.”

“Okay, in that case, let’s tear these guys apart together!” Their hearts were literally connected. Which meant that words were unnecessary—they knew what they had to do next. After Linus nocked his arrow, Maria held her hands over it.

“Judgment…” Linus’s arrow changed shape, into a sword of light, and he pointed it at the enemy.

“Cluster!” The sword that was released shattered in midair, splitting into pieces. Then becoming countless rays of light and drawing arcs in the air, they severed almost all of the necks of the pope and king.

“No matter how much you chop us up—”

“—our body will—” Their freshly severed heads fell like dead leaves blown by the wind. Linus didn’t fail to notice that one of the necks was the starting point for their regeneration. He quickly reloaded for this next shot.

“I see it! The core’s location!” With that, he fired two arrows at the same time. “Eat this!” With the Reversal core attached to his wrist, Linus unleashed a powerful attack at his intended targets, putting all of his being into it, harnessing the power of Reversal. The enemy moved the Origin cores within their body, and as long as the cores remained, their body would continue to regenerate over and over. In addition, because two humans were connected together, there were two cores within their body.

To destroy those cores simultaneously, you would need to cut the enemy’s body into tiny pieces, determine where the regeneration started form, and then pinpoint the location of the cores. Of course, this kind of strategy required dynamic visual acuity that surpassed the speed of regeneration as well as agility on the part of the person pulling off the feat, in order to work. But Linus Radiants had both. Thanks to wind magic, the arrows curved as if they had a mind of their own and pierced the cores.

“How foolish… You choose to refuse mercy?” Suddenly, their regeneration stopped, and the decay of their body began. “You choose the path of suffering, Saint…?!”

The two men continued to spew vile curses at Maria, even now. Linus pulled Maria close to him. “Don’t listen to poor losers unwilling to admit defeat, not for a second.”

When he whispered those words into her ear, a smile appeared on Maria’s face, and she nodded. Then Linus made a declaration of victory, aimed at the two men as they faded away.

“I’m going to make my Maria happy. There’s no other path ahead for us but that.” Neither the pope nor the king had anything left they could say in response.

Chapter 12: I Offer Unto You Sweet Slaughter

Chapter 12:
I Offer Unto You Sweet Slaughter

 

AFTER DEFEATING THE ENEMY, Linus and Maria approached the base of the underpillar behind the throne. There, they found a large Origin core, which stood about one meter high. Linus used the power of the Reversal core to stab at it with a knife, but it bounced off without even chipping it. Maria and Linus tried combining their strength and attacking it at the same time, but they still couldn’t leave a single mark on it.

“I know they said that these Reversal cores don’t have as much power as Flum, but…I guess we can’t destroy something this huge.”

“This is a problem. If we don’t destroy this thing, the Chimera won’t stop… Oh?” Suddenly, Maria peeked behind the core. “There’s a wire connected to it. It extends to a hut over there.” The cable was tangled around the underpillar itself as well, but it continued on over to the hut.

“I sense someone inside. Come on, let’s go check it out.” The pair approached the entrance of the hut with weapons in hand, taking special care to conceal their presence so as not to be detected. They had fought so fiercely outside, so the people inside must have noticed Maria and Linus.

Linus kicked open the door, announcing, “Hello, we’re comin’ in!”

They didn’t get any response, which meant that whoever was inside was hiding—and also that there was someone here with a reason to hide.

“Look, the flow of the wind tells me where you are. If you don’t wanna get hurt, come on out,” Linus said in a deep, threatening voice.

A man with eyes slanted by the spiral on his face appeared from behind a bookshelf.

“Wait, I’m not your enemy!”

“Hold on, I recognize your face. You’re a lieutenant general of the Royal Army. Your name’s Werner, if I remember right.”

“Yes, yes, that’s right. I’m a lieutenant general. I ended up getting captured by the church together with Herrmann and the general.” Linus and Maria had heard from Ottilie that Henriette and Herrmann were being held captive here. If that were true, then it wouldn’t be unusual that Werner had been captured as well. However, they found something suspicious about his face, and Maria questioned him.

“We hear that when the battle with the Children began, it was Henriette and Herrmann who fought valiantly to help the people of the royal capital escape. The two of them. What were you doing at that time?”

“Look, I know it’s pathetic, but I was scared, so I couldn’t go against the church. Because of that, I was assigned to guard this place, and I’m alive and well, in perfect health.” He was by no means cleared of suspicion, but there was some logic to the trouble he was causing.

“What happened to Henriette and Herrmann?”

“I can’t get in touch with them, so I don’t know. But they’re definitely in a tough spot, since they’ve had Origin cores embedded in them.”

“You said you were assigned here as a guard. Who else is here?”

“Echidna Ipeila.” As soon as she heard that name, Maria’s expression stiffened.

“Echidna… She’s here, is she?”

Upon hearing Maria’s furious voice, a woman in white appeared from the back room, almost as if to provoke her further.

“My, oh my, it has been ever so long, Holy Saint. I am glad to see that your face has returned to normal.”

The person responsible for forcing a failed Origin core onto Maria had appeared. Maria glared at Echidna, not even trying to hide her animosity.

“Oh heavens, so scary. Is it okay for you to make that kind of face in front of him?”

“If something like this could make him dislike me, then he would’ve left me a long time ago.”

“Oh, how passionate.”

“I’m surprised you have the composure to try to provoke me. Even though you’re about to die here.” A sword of light appeared right next to Maria, floating in the air. Then Linus placed his hand on Maria’s, gently stopping her from attacking.

“Maria, wait.”

“But Linus, we cannot trust this woman!”

“She’s the one who created the Chimera, right? So she should still have some use.”

“Yes, that’s right, I am still usef…” Echidna was overflowing with confidence as she spoke, bringing her index finger to her lips. But as she did so, Linus drew his knife with such speed that it was invisible to an ordinary person and cut that finger off.

“Heeek?!”

“I’m not gonna kill you. But I didn’t say anything about letting you off unharmed.” There was no way that Linus was ever going to forgive the woman who had hurt Maria. Echidna crouched down from the pain, clutching her wound tightly with her other hand, groaning and writhing in agony as she broke out in a cold sweat.

“This isn’t a negotiation. It’s an order. If you refuse to obey, I won’t balk at killing you. Oh, yeah, that reminds me, Gadhio wants to kill you. Should I call him?”

“W-wait!” It seemed Echidna was aware that she had incurred Gadhio’s hatred. “I don’t want my cute little Chimera to be killed, either. If it’ll stop that from happening, I’ll cooperate.”

“That was quick.”

“Living for love… I’m the same as the Holy Saint, you know? I live for the love of my children.”

Maria and Linus couldn’t determine if Echidna was being serious or not, which made Werner speak up in exasperation.

“She’s been like this the whole time. It ain’t an act.”

It sounded like Echidna was more like Mother than Dafydd, in terms of her character. She loved the Chimera like her own children and desired the development of the Chimera more than the resurrection of Origin. She seems easier to communicate with than those overly devout people, thought Linus, as he recalled the pope and the king.

“Okay, in that case, stop the Chimera right now.”

“By the by, if I cooperate with you, when will you let me go?”

“Ah, I see. Well, if you do what we order you to here…we’ll let you receive a fair trial in the royal capital.”

“So…you mean that I am going to die either way?”

“Did you really think that we’d let you survive after you created something like the Chimera?”

“Die here and now or prolong your life a little longer. Choose whichever you prefer.” She bit her lip and trembled in humiliation. It seemed like she did value her life.

“Agh, this is the worst!” Despite her cursing, she headed toward the device in the back of the room. Linus, Maria, and Werner followed her. It seemed that this device was connected to the central core, and it also looked like this hut had been built as a place where they could control the Chimera with fine precision. When Echidna pressed numerous buttons on the device, making clacking sounds as she did so, the central core flickered slightly.

“It appears that the Chimeras really have been successfully developed into a fully controllable weapon,” Maria reaffirmed as she observed the scene. Weapons that used Origin cores in the past were powered by the unidentifiable thoughts and incomprehensible sentiments of humans. However, what Echidna dealt with was not the occult, but a series of devices created through scientific methods.

“Oh, are you unhappy that God’s will is being trampled upon?”

“I have no interest in that whatsoever.”

“I see. Captain Huyghe said that he could use them, but he also said he couldn’t stomach it personally.”

Hearing Echidna’s grumbling, Linus scrunched his face into a frown.

“The captain of the knights sounds just like the pope and those people. I’d rather not fight him, if possible.”

“Rumor has it that if his subordinates show even the slightest hint of defiance, he’ll kill them by chopping off their head,” Werner said.

Linus remembered hearing about those two cardinals being publicly beheaded in the royal capital. At that moment, Echidna finished her work.

“I sent out the stop signal. Now, my cute little Chimera shouldn’t be moving anymore.”

They could see those “cute little Chimera,” which had been flying through the sky, falling to the ground, one after another, outside the window. “I hope my little darlings aren’t hurt when they fall…”

Linus left Echidna to press her face against the window, concerned about her children, and reported on the situation via his communication device.

“This is Linus. We’ve successfully shut down the central core, and the Chimera aren’t moving anymore.” They had been too busy fighting to communicate, so they didn’t know much about how the others had fared.

“What should we do now? Should we prioritize destroying the central core?”

“Yeah. I’m uneasy about leaving it there, even if it is shut down. I wish someone knew where Flum is… I’ll try asking.” When Linus tried calling out via the communication device, a frail, timid girl’s voice came back over the device.

“This is Milkit. Um…I am with Master, more or less.”

“You already met up with her! Can you two come over to the huge tower?”

“Well, that will be difficult. We’re underground and we don’t know where we are.”

“Milkit, were you separated from Eterna, by any chance?”

“We were attacked by a monster while we were together, and well…”

Linus wondered if Flum was in any condition to fight, given that she wasn’t participating in the conversation. In that case, it would probably be safer for the two of them to go to Milkit and Flum.

“We understand. In that case, we’ll look around and see if we can find a way to the underground so that we can join up with you.” After finishing the communication, Maria had a slightly anxious look on her face as she spoke. “It doesn’t seem like it’s over yet.”

“Well, now that we’ve stopped the Chimera, we’ve accomplished our mission, so let’s not rush.” In terms of degree of contribution, it’d probably be fine if they left all of the remaining work to their allies, in the worst-case scenario. Just then, Werner, who had been listening to the conversation, raised his hand modestly and jumped into the conversation.

“Um, excuse me, what about me…?”

“You’re coming with us, of course. Keep an eye on Echidna so she doesn’t run away.”

“So I’m her guardian in the end anyway.” Linus and Maria left the hut and headed for the barracks, bringing Werner and Echidna with them.

 

***

 

As Ottilie lost consciousness due to the massive hemorrhaging from her artery, she saw her life flash before her eyes. All of those memories were ones related to Henriette.

She saw the memory of what happened when, as a young child, she had been taken by her parents to visit the Bassenheim family manor. That was when she had first met Henriette. Ottilie was shy around strangers and had been hiding behind her father, clinging to his back. Henriette, who was two years her elder, approached her. The first words she said to Ottilie were “That hairstyle is cute.”

Thinking back on it now, the words weren’t that significant. Ottilie was sure it was the way that Henriette spoke, her voice, her appearance, her soul…that was what charmed her. She was instantly captivated by Henriette, a slave to her love. Ottilie still wore the same hairstyle that Henriette had complimented back then. And whenever she had free time, Ottilie would visit Henriette and spend time with her.

Henriette never refused her. Together, the two of them played, talked, drank tea… Ottilie thought Henriette must have enjoyed those times too.

However, when Ottilie turned twelve, a change occurred. She heard that Henriette was going to be joining the army and would be leaving home soon. The Bassenheim family was said to be what they call a military aristocratic family, and it was customary for the next head of the family to become a soldier in each generation.

Even among her family, Henriette was a genius who could wield Genocide Arts better than anyone else, partly due to her unique constitution. Once Henriette joined the army, Ottilie wouldn’t even be able to see her for a while, much less touch her. But Ottilie was a typical young noble lady. Though she admired Henriette and had a taste for swordplay, she was nowhere near as skilled as her. There was only one thing that Ottilie could do at that point: train desperately hard in the art of swordplay with incredible determination and pursue Henriette.

She didn’t lend an ear to the voices of opposition she heard from those around her, not even once. No one thought it would’ve been possible for her at first, but she had literally put her blood and sweat into it, with the effort she put in. She completed training that would’ve made even military elites grumble and give up without crying about it even once, and she even found joy in the acts of self-harm and bleeding that were characteristic of Genocide Arts, saying, “I can catch up to my dear sister.”

Even Henriette was surprised and admiring of how much thought Ottilie had put into it when she had seen her. Even so, it had taken some time before the untalented Ottilie’s enlistment into the royal army was accepted. But her heart’s desire was granted, and she joined the army at the age of eighteen.

Over the next six years, Ottilie diligently honed her skills and rose to the rank of lieutenant general. It was often said that Ottilie’s sexual perversion increased as she polished her sword skills, but according to Henriette, Ottilie actually hadn’t changed that much from before in that regard. Although, while it was thought that Ottilie’s love was unrequited, that was actually not true. Henriette told her, “Once we’re freed from our military duties, let’s live together.” While they had never had any physical intimacy that could be called romantic, their hearts were connected. That was enough.

Yes, that was enough. But…it wasn’t as though she had no other desires, either. Ottilie wanted Henriette’s everything; everything that Henriette had to give. For example, if Ottilie stayed by her side, then she would have the opportunity to experience all of her emotions, joy, anger, sorrow, happiness. For example, the bittersweet feeling, like your heart was pounding, which could be obtained when their fingertips would touch in a chance moment. For example, even lewd acts accompanied by pleasure could be obtained as well, if they lived together.

However, even when she was in the military, she had unfulfilled desires. Henriette was kind. Even during her training, she showed care and consideration for Ottilie’s body, with her kindness. Her kindness was delightful, warm, and loving. However…there was something else Ottilie felt, too.

I want you to hurt me.

I want you to cut me up.

I want you to kill me.

Those things too were part of the “everything” that she wanted her beloved sister to give to her.

 

***

 

Henriette, who had cut open Ottilie’s neck, opened her mouth wide to bite her to death. Jack, his face contorted with joy, stared wide-eyed, fixated, trying to engrave these best worst final moments into his memory. But then another Chimera fell behind him with a heavy thud. With that as a starting point, the other Chimera that had been flying in the air had also begun to fall as well.

“It would appear that the central core has stopped functioning,” Jack practically spat. Even though she was a defect, this affected Henriette too, as she had been given a Chimera-made core. Her mouth remained open, but she stopped moving and began to convulse. “How tedious. Well, I suppose she may begin moving if I wait…”

Unlike the other individuals, Henriette hadn’t completely stopped functioning. Since she had originally just been running amok, once the effects of the stop signal being emitted by the central core were gone, she would probably try to bite Ottilie to death again. However, Jack had a bad feeling. This brief respite given to Ottilie… It seemed to him that it would sever the flow of events.

“I suppose I have no choice, then. I’ll kill you.” Jack approached the hanging Ottilie to deliver the final blow. At that moment, he heard it.

“Sister.” Ottilie kept muttering the same word over and over. “Sister, Sister, Sister, Sister, Sister.”

“Ga ha ha, how single-minded you are. Even though you were just about to be killed by your dear sister.” While it wasn’t as pleasurable as the ultimate ecstasy, killing Ottilie now would still be enjoyable.

Jack walked toward her, his heart racing with excitement—but then he suddenly realized something. The blood flowing from Ottilie’s neck hadn’t stopped yet.

There was a limit to the amount of blood a human body contained. It varied depending on size and weight, and it also depended on sex. It was said that men had the advantage in Genocide Arts because they had more blood relative to their body weight. Which was exactly why the existence of Henriette, who could freely produce blood inside her body at will, and even expel it, shocked those who practiced the same techniques as her. Ottilie, who achieved what she did through sheer determination, had also won herself similar praise.

In other words, that meant that Ottilie did not have Henriette’s unique talents. She was just an ordinary, insane person who had mastered Genocide Arts through obsession, effort, and technique. And yet, the blood pouring out of her had long since exceeded a lethal amount.

“I suppose this is not the time for me to slowly savor the moment. It is regrettable, but it is time for you to lose your head. Bind Strike!” The undulating, elongated sword came for Ottilie. But then, a gigantic hand emerged from the blood that pooled on the ground and crushed the sword.

In that moment, Ottilie…

“Sister, Sister, Sister, Sister, Sister, Sister, Sister! (This pain, this suffering, oh, what I’ve dreamed of, what I’ve desired, ah, love! Love is filling my entire body!)” She was in such a state of extreme arousal that it was hard to believe, for someone who was nearly dead.

“Sister, Sister, Sister! Sister, Sister! (My body, cut to ribbons by Sister, is now fully hers! And I have gained everything, my Sister’s everything!)” She was experiencing a joy (climax) that was overflowing with love.

“Sister, Sister, Sister, Sister, Sister, Sister, Sister, Sister! Sister! Sister! (However! However, however, however! I cannot forgive changing Sister into such a hideous form! I cannot! I cannot allow her to be defiled by another like that!)”

Rage, indignation, and aggression erupted from her. The pool of blood transformed into a giant red humanoid standing several meters tall. It was shaped exactly like Henriette. With a crimson sword in hand, this Bloodstained Sister manifested to protect Ottilie.

“What is happening? Is something like this even possible with Genocide Arts?!” Jack, shouting that this was impossible and absurd, retreated. The Strappado binding Ottilie was released. She fell to the ground with a thud, then slowly got up, like some kind of spirit of the dead, gliding through the air as if she disdained the very ground.

“Sister.” Responding to her call, the giant moved. With tremendous force, it swung its sword at Jack. Jack tried to block it with his sword, but…

“Guh, what, is this power…? Guaaaah!” He was being crushed, his knees buckling. Just before he was crushed, he tilted his blade to try and deflect the force and let out a slash as he got away. Jack glared at Ottilie with a grim expression, his composure gone.

“Ottilie, you… That look on your face—are you in heat?!”

Her flushed skin, her ecstatic expression, her vacant eyes, her heavy breathing. No matter how you sliced it, it looked like she was sexually aroused.

The giant moved in sync with her emotions, trying to smash Jack with its massive sword. He was swept away. The impact shattered the ground, and the wind pressure sent debris flying. The scattered blood became tiny blades, and even just grazing Jack’s body was enough to immobilize him.

In other words, the power generated from that single move had a destructive force that surpassed all of Ottilie’s previous attacks.

“Sister, Sister, Sister. Ah, Sister!” Ottilie’s neck was torn wide open, blood spraying from the wound. Her eyes were open, and she screamed only “Sister” over and over and over… She had long since lost her sanity. It was doubtful she was even conscious. The giant simply rampaged, swinging its sword with abandon. The storm-like slashes had somehow even caught the Chimera-ified Henriette before Jack had realized it.

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“Could it be that affection—love—caused such a phenomenon to occur?!” Battered by the overwhelming destructive power, tossed about like a rag doll by the raging winds, cut to ribbons by the blades of blood, and robbed of his freedom by the blood entering his body, Jack could only wait to be turned into mincemeat. This was an embodiment of love. It was a sword technique that only Ottilie could perform, born in this very moment.

If she were to give it a name, she would call it Genocide Arts: Ego Arcana – Henriette.

Ottilie regularly performed acts of self-harm to collect blood to fill her blood cartridges. By intentionally bleeding herself over and over, almost daily, she had enhanced her body’s ability to create blood, hematopoiesis. She considered this self-harm a way for her to show her love for Henriette, and so, her romantic feelings—i.e., the secretion of endorphins in her brain—were associated with the stimulation of hematopoietic stem cells on a regular basis.

As a result, she had acquired a learned peculiarity where her ability to make more blood increased as her feelings for her “sister” deepened. And now, Ottilie’s bleeding and her love for Henriette were both growing to a destructive degree. As a result of fulfilling all of those conditions simultaneously, her body had produced an amount of blood far exceeding that of a normal person, and she used all of it to complete her ultimate Genocide Arts.

How outrageous… How absurd… Even something like our “justice” cannot compare to this violence of emotion, this torturous violence that cannot be breached!

All four of Jack’s limbs had already been cut off, but fortunately for him, his pain receptions had been numbed due to Genocide Arts, so the pain he felt was relatively mild considering the severity of his injuries. Despite having the violent name “Genocide,” it was quite a gentle sword technique after all. The openly vile and malicious violence known as torture had lost to that sword technique. However, Jack seemed somehow satisfied. That was because he had come to know firsthand that there existed a love that could not be broken, no matter what kind of violence was thrown at it.

“I have lost… Verily, ga ha ha—” Jack’s laughter had been cut short when his head was severed. And yet the giant continued to hack away.

“Sister, Sister, Sister, Sister, Sister, aaahn!”

Ottilie’s rampaging didn’t stop. Even the Chimera-ified Henriette had been completely cut to pieces. Amid all this, her Origin core was destroyed as well. The beastly flesh that had covered her entire body began to rot away. In the storm of blood blades, the giant’s movements came to a suddenly halt when Ottilie saw the naked skin of her beloved sister.

“Sister…” Ottilie’s nose began to bleed, and she came back to her senses. The giant reverted, falling apart and turning back into blood. Ottilie slowly walked through the morass of blood as though parting a sea, approaching the unconscious Henriette.

“Ahh, Sis…ter…”

However, Ottilie’s body had already reached its limit. As her emotions calmed down, her blood production stopped, and her body temperature started to rapidly fall due to blood loss. She lost the strength to stand and collapsed, face down in her own blood, before reaching Henriette.

As if a storm had passed, the scene fell silent. The battered Henriette, the dying Ottilie, and the corpse of a Chimera. Amid the desolate remains of the battlefield that evoked feelings of sadness, two pairs of footsteps approached.

“Those loud noises came from this direction, didn’t they?”

“It just suddenly got quiet though… Eeek?! Everything is completely red!”

It was Neigass and Sara. It seemed they had chased after Henriette, who had fled, after the Chimera stopped moving.

“Sara. Isn’t that Ottilie?”

“Oh, her neck’s been cut! I’ve gotta hurry and heal her right away!” Sara raced over toward Ottilie, almost slipping on the blood. Neigass observed the scene around her and thought about what had happened here.

“If this were Henriette’s blood, then more things should have been dissolved. I wonder…does this mean that Ottilie went on a rampage after encountering Henriette, who had been turned into a Chimera? No, that doesn’t feel right at all.”

Jack’s body, which had been hacked into tiny pieces by Ottilie, was no longer recognizable. Several bits of meat stuck to the rubble were pieces of him, but Neigass had no way of knowing that.

Chapter 13: My Darling Hero

Chapter 13:
My Darling Hero

 

BART HELD HIS SHIELD with trembling hands as he saw Gadhio in his line of sight, sharpening his will. Gadhio held his sword as if he were slinging it over his shoulder, bent his knees, lowered his hips, closed his eyes, and quietly faced the life within himself. The sight of Gadhio trying to transform everything within him into prana was so mystical that it added to the sense of terror.

They’re just simple movements, of accelerating straight ahead and swinging down with his sword. However, with each repetition, his moves become more refined and more powerful. How much more can my Iron Maiden withstand? This ability, which has no merits other than its sturdiness, and which can even defend against attacks from Chimera…

Bart lacked confidence in himself, but he believed that his “pathetic shield” was unbreakable precisely because of that lack of confidence in himself. This barrier had even held up when he was tossed into a herd of giant Chimera in the name of experimentation. However, Gadhio could see a future in which it could be destroyed.

The area around Gadhio Lathcutt now appears distorted… Could that be from the prana overflowing from his body? How much prana would have to be generated for a phenomenon like that to occur? It was because Bart was a petty swordsman in name only that he could understand how monstrous this seemed. No matter how much effort he put in, Gadhio was on a level that was absolutely out of his reach. Then Gadhio opened his eyes. He concentrated the prana he accumulated in his legs and leapt.

In an instant, Gadhio vanished. It was a level of acceleration that could only be described thusly. When Bart finally saw Gadhio and registered that it was him, it was the moment that the blade he swung had collided with its target. There was a burst of light in his field of vision. Until now, whenever Gadhio attacked, there was a loud clang sound as Gadhio’s sword was ultimately blocked. However, this time, Gadhio’s sword went through. The swing made no sound, leaving only a hole in its wake.

“Did I perfect it?” In an instant, the fissure that Gadhio made had spread through the entire surface of the barrier, and ultimately, the barrier shattered into pieces with a loud cracking sound.

“Ggah, guaaaaaaa!”Perhaps due to the backlash, Bart’s entire body was covered in a great deal of cuts, and blood was pouring out of him. As he collapsed on the floor, in agony, Gadhio struck the Origin core at the back with his sword and destroyed it.

Having accomplished his goal, Gadhio slung his sword over his back, quietly turned his back on Bart, and moved to leave.

“Wait…” Bart, aware of his own pitifulness, reached out his hand toward Gadhio’s back. “What…should I have done? How could I…have become like you…?” Gadhio stopped walking.

“Do you wish to be like me, seeing me as I am now?”

“Of course! Unlike me, someone pitiful and miserable, you fight with strong willpower!”

“I do not have much longer to live.” Gadhio looked at his own hands as he spoke. The warmth had long since left his palm. “There is a woman who loves me and a daughter who adores me.” He could no longer hold Kleyna and Hallom in a warm embrace. “And yet I have devoted my life to revenge.”

If you were to ask when his hesitation had been dispelled, it was probably when Tia had been revived. She may not have been the real thing, but…Gadhio had killed his beloved wife with his own hands. At that moment, he had decided to walk down the path of carnage, from which there was no return.

“The only thing this power can do is destroy things. If I were truly the kind of great man you aspire to be, wouldn’t I be risking my life to protect something?”

Living each day for Kleyna and Hallom. That would certainly be happiness. And if the afterlife truly did exist, then Tia surely would have approved and been smiling upon them. But that was not how things had turned out. He didn’t choose that path.

“You seem to think you acquired that power of yours for self-preservation, but that’s not it. It likely was because you went through suffering in the past and wanted the power to protect others that you got that power.” Gadhio understood everything. Even though he understood, he was a foolish man who couldn’t stop. Even Kleyna didn’t want to admit it. Still, knowing how much Gadhio loved Tia, Kleyna still offered him support and encouragement. Even though she wanted to tell him to give up on revenge and to live his life together with her.

“Don’t look up to someone like me. You, who even in death wanted to protect others, are an admirable father.” Rather, it was Gadhio who admired Bart. Gadhio thought that if only the power he had acquired could only be used to protect others, rather than hurt others, that would’ve been better. Then he wouldn’t have made the choice he had made. This time, Gadhio walked away for good. Bart’s eyes were filled with tears as he stared at his back.

“This power…is because I want to protect…because I don’t want to repeat those regrets…” Bart flashed back to the tragedy that he had seen countless times since childhood, so many times it made him sick. The crumpled car. A crushed corpse in the passenger seat. Cries of pain echoing from the back seat. Unable to move, all he could do was wait for someone to come help. While he waited, everything disappeared. He lost everything.

“That’s right… I never wanted to see that kind of sight ever again. But I…sought salvation at the church of all things… It was supposed to have been the power to protect, but—u-uhhhh, I…I…ahhhh…!” The man’s cries echoed vainly in the dim hallway.

 

***

 

Tsyon crouched before the charred corpse and observed the situation.

“They still have stock remaining, so why aren’t they moving?” When he tried using Scan, Slowanak and Toytzo’s stats didn’t show up. It seemed that they had already become inanimate.

“It’s extremely quiet outside. Have the Chimera stopped? So does that mean their regenerative abilities disappeared too, then?” Tsyon stood up and approached the Chimera, which had been created by connecting demons. Then he stared intently at those familiar faces.

“I had hoped they would’ve regained at least a little of their self-awareness when the Chimera stopped though.” What lay before his eyes was nothing more than a lifeless corpse, incapable of even uttering a word. Tsyon grabbed hold of a part that appeared to be a hand protruding from the corpse.

“I have absolutely no intention of letting the piece of shit bastards responsible get away. I promise that I will definitely settle the score.” Tsyon swore that vow strongly and left the room to destroy the power core as planned.

 

***

 

“Chaos Ray!” Multiple black and white magic circles appeared behind Sheitoom, from which arrows of magical power were fired indiscriminately. The Chimera before her eyes was already covered in wounds and no longer had the physical strength to be able to withstand such magic. As the arrows pierced its entire body, leaving it riddled with holes all over, the core also shattered, and the large-sized Chimera collapsed into a heap.

“It seems like that was the last of the Chimera that have descended upon us.”

“It appears so. Well, then, Dhiza, let us assist with the barrier and… Hmm, what’s this?” The large- and medium-sized Chimera had been firing a barrage of magic at them from above Selayde. But that had stopped at some point before they had even realized it, and the barrier that the demons had deployed had also already disappeared.

“It would appear that they’ve done it, after boarding Tokyo, apparently.”

“They succeeded in destroying the central core! Then Selayde is safe, for the time being.” Even as she said that, Sheitoom stared at the giant city floating in the sky with a grim expression. “That said, I cannot say I’m completely at ease yet…but now that Selayde’s safety has been secured, there should be no problem with me storming that fortress as well.”

“I understand that you are worried about Tsyon, but—”

“It’s not just him I’m worried about! Well, yes, I am worried about him too, of course, but…”

“Mmhmm, yes, I understand. Very well, I shall have the catapult prepared.” Dhiza seemed to have gotten enough composure to be able to tease her. He headed over to the demons responsible for assembling the catapults. Sheitoom, now alone, looked up to Tokyo once more and murmured to herself.

“If Miss Cyrill wakes, then we could go there while in a perfect position.” As she was thinking about that, she heard voices of demons echoing.

“H-hey, is this okay?”

“Humans are our allies, s-so it’s okay. Um, hello…”

“Miss, you’re the hero, right? Go and take care of those bad guys!” There, surrounded by demons, was the hero, clad in pajamas. Sheitoom was surprised and rushed over.

“Cyrill, you’re awake!”

“Y-yes, I am…” Cyrill was clearly frightened. “Where am I…? Wait, before that, who are you…? There are only demons here, it’s cold, and I don’t know what’s going on. And I woke up for a moment, and Neigass was there, so the demons are allies? But there’s a city flying in the sky, lots of disgusting monsters falling, and Flum and everyone else are gone… Could this be a dream?” She had woken up in the Demon Lord’s castle, an unfamiliar place to her, and when she went outside her room, she was accosted by demons, and everything she could see seemed so far removed from reality. Sheitoom immediately took her to another location for the time being so that she could calm down and they could be alone, and she proceeded to carefully explain everything from the beginning.

“First of all, my name is Sheitoom. I am the one who rules over the demon realm, known as the Demon Lord.” That explanation was correct, but…

“Demon Lord…?”

“Yes, I am the Demon Lord.”

“Such a little girl is the Demon Lord…? No, that can’t be true. I must be dreaming after all. I must be exhausted from the backlash from using Brave, and I’m still dreaming.”

“This is realityyyy!” Actually, because it was too correct, Cyrill had ended up becoming even more confused.

 

***

 

Eterna dangled from a pipe with the strength in her arms. She was battered and bruised all over, barely able to breathe. The spheres floating around her, used to amplify magical power, were also covered in scratches, having protected their master from attacks countless times. That was not surprising, since until just moments ago, she had been surrounded by four medium-sized Chimera, and to make matters worse, small-sized Chimera had been arriving one after another as reinforcements, and she had been flitting about all over the place trying to get away from them. However, the Chimera stopped as if a switch had been flipped and fell down. Herrmann too, who remained, stood still atop the pipe, his head shaking in all directions, convulsing as if he were broken.

“Haa…haa… Would it be showing off if I said that…this victory is because I believed in my comrades?” In reality, she had just been desperately doing whatever she could to survive. She shook her body and used the momentum to throw herself at Herrmann, using the strength in her arms.

“Aqua Pressure!” A large amount of water gushed out from the magic circle that appeared over the palm of her open hand at a furious rate. It was a simple spell that crushed its target with water pressure. However, as soon as it touched Herrmann, the water froze. This ice seemed to be created independently of his own will.

“I can’t stand the thought that water loses to ice.” When Eterna made a huffy, miffed expression, and a very immature, childish one at that, she poured even more magical power into her attack.

“This is just following by example, but…if I overload it with excess magical power so that the technique doesn’t fail…that might work.” The magic circle grew larger, and the blue light grew stronger. Although she hadn’t studied them, in Selayde, Eterna had been able to see the data on magic that only demons possessed. So she was putting the knowledge she had learned there to use right on the spot, in actual combat.

“Illegal Formula!” The amount of water released increased dramatically and the pressure grew stronger, too. The pressure crushed the ice and Eterna’s magic finally reached Herrmann. He fell from the pipe and plummeted into the abyss. The “weight” from Aqua Pressure pushed down on him heavily, accelerating his fall. He arrived at the lowest level, breaking several pipes as he fell. He crashed onto the floor.

The shock of his impact caused the entire room to vibrate violently, and great crashing sounds, a combination of the sound of the impact from his fall and of things breaking, shook the air. Herrmann lay sprawled out on the ground, with his arms and legs outstretched, as if he had been lodged into it. The armor of flesh created by the Origin core had burst open, exposing part of his original body. After Eterna landed shortly afterward, she threw a magic-amplifying sphere at the core visible in his abdomen.

“Eyah!” The sphere accelerated instantly by spraying water, and then a dull thud sounded, like whump. The impact had destroyed the core and the flesh armor covering Herrmann peeled away.

“A single core can be broken so easily now, so much so that it’s unimaginable compared to before. Thank you so very much, o gracious Reversal core.” While she said that, she sat down on the floor, looking exhausted. She then grumbled as she looked at the large body of Herrmann as he lay unconscious beside her.

“You look heavy…but it’s not like I can just leave you here.” She still had some magic left, but her body was worn out considerably due to dealing with a horde of Chimera. She decided she’d take a break for the time being, at least for a little while. She felt like she wanted to rest and catch her breath. She then took out her communication device from her sleeve and talked into it.

“Milkit, respond. Where are you now?”

 

***

 

“Oh, Eterna…” Milkit also took out her communication device. She and Flum were both sitting with their backs against the wall in the underground space. “The two of us are here together in this empty space underground. There’s nothing here. It shouldn’t be too far from where I fell. Master…says that this place is connected to the housing area.”

“I understand. I’ll head over there as soon as possible. Don’t move from where you are.”

“All right. There are no Chimera here, so I think that we’re safe.” When the call ended, there was an awkward silence. Flum languidly stretched out her legs and gazed up at the empty space. Milkit hugged her knees and softly buried her face in them. A past life, a world destroyed by Origin; the present time, the master who fought against Origin. After they came to understand things about each other, they both concluded that they couldn’t understand one another. It would’ve been better if they had been strangers with different faces and appearances.

However, even though their names, appearances, and even their relationships were similar, there was a fatal difference. Being faced with such a presence was, to put it bluntly, a very unpleasant feeling. Milkit could only hope that her master would return soon. And Flum could only despair that she would never be able to see her Milkit again.

“I guess that in the end…I have no other choice but to disappear.” When Flum muttered those words, the air grew even heavier. Common sense would dictate that you should normally say something like “That’s not true!” in a situation like this, but that would mean Milkit’s master would not be coming back. Which was why she had no choice but to remain silent.

“I get it. A consciousness revived from a previous life, it’s like, it’s nothing more than a vengeful spirit, or a curse, or something. Rischel showed me that, right in front of my very eyes. So I guess that means I’m ultimately the same.” But even so, she wanted to think that there was a reason why she had been revived here and now. She didn’t want to think that she had just taken over someone else’s consciousness for no reason, causing trouble for others.

“It’s like a temporary sickness. Once things go back to normal, I’ll disappear. Which means I’m just an abnormality.”

“Please stop. I…can’t say anything.”

“Yeah…I suppose you’re right. Look at me, muttering resentful words, like some kinda evil spirit. Hehe.” That wasn’t a joke that could be laughed at, not even a little, so there was silence once again. Unable to bear the awkwardness, Milkit slowly rolled up her upper garments.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“I thought it would be better to give this to you now.” When she untied the bundle that had been wrapped around her waist, a bag containing a cursed item came out.

“What’re these ominous-looking planks…?”

“I received this from Miss Sheitoom at the Demon Lord’s castle. Oh, and they’re not planks—they’re greaves. Since it’s cursed equipment, it will be useful to Master.”

“Oh, that reminds me, I think Henriette-san said something about that before. Is it really safe for me to wear these?”

“Yes, if you can use Souleater. I’ve heard that there’s no piece of cursed equipment more dangerous than that.” Flum timidly put on the greaves. Then she stood up and jumped vertically several times right on the spot.

“Wh-whoa…! My body’s gotten incredibly light. Thanks, Milkit!” Though awkward and clumsy, Flum smiled at Milkit. However, Milkit’s expression instead became gloomy. “Did I say something bad?”

“Even though your face is the same as Master’s, I can’t help but feel like there’s something different. It’s hard. I’m sorry.” Flum understood how Milkit felt, and it was true that she was at fault… Flum felt helpless and wretched, and she lowered her gaze toward her feet. Silence fell for a third time. Then Milkit broke the silence.

“After hearing your story, I thought that maybe fate does exist. The fact that you and Master have similar names and appearances is too much of a coincidence to be dismissed as mere chance.”

“It may have been fate that brought you and your ‘master’ together. But there’s no meaning to my being here.”

“I already told you: There’s nothing I can say to that…”

“I’m sorry. You’ve already said it before, and yes, I do know. It’s hard for me to say, but I know that I should just disappear quickly. When I look at you, I can see that you and this ‘master’ of yours have a very strong bond, and here, after you’ve finally been able to reunite, you find that there’s a different person inside. At this point, my existence itself is harmful, because I’m causing you so much sadness. But…I’m scared. I’m scared of dying. I don’t want to come back to life for no reason and then die for no reason. I don’t want that.”

Tears welled up in Flum’s eyes. Milkit, unable to say anything, watched her bite her lip in frustration with a sidelong glance. Because this girl wasn’t her master. The two of them fell silent again, and the only sounds that could be heard were the humming of the machines. The one who broke this silence wasn’t Flum or Milkit.

“Flummmmmm!” The voice of a woman that truly did seem like a vengeful spirit echoed from afar. Flum couldn’t say with certainty because the voice had become hoarse, but she recognized that voice.

“Rischel… It can’t be. Is she alive?” The pair stood up and looked around their surroundings, ready to run at any moment. In the distance, they could hear wet squelching sounds of meat rubbing against itself.

“She must have used an Origin core.”

“Those things have Origin’s power sealed in them, if I remember right. Humans can use them too?”

“They can. There’s also a high possibility that she isn’t human anymore, that she’s turned into a monster…”

“Anyway, let’s run for now. There’s no way we can take on something like that!”

“In that case, let’s go back the way I came. We might be able to meet with Eterna and—”

“There you are! Wait right there, I’m gonna come and kill you!” Rischel’s voice was coming from the direction that Milkit had just come from. Having no other choice, they ran in the opposite direction.

“It’s pointless to run. Because right now, I’m sharper than ever!” Rischel chased them from behind, and there occasionally came sounds as though she were hitting the walls with her axe.

“I can hear your footsteps, you know. I can hear your breathing, too. You really did me good earlier. You betrayed my affection for you! You trampled on it! That hurt! That hurttttt!”

Smash! Smash! Every time those loud sounds reverberated, Flum and Milkit’s bodies shook with fear. The underground of the fortress was made up of a mazelike structure with multiple entrances, and the same scenery seemed to continue endlessly, with everything covered in rusty, faded metal. Which meant that even if they rushed forward recklessly, they wouldn’t know if they were actually making any progress, if they noticed an exit somewhere, or if they were actually going backward. Then Flum, who was leading the way, found something on the wall.

“It’s a mark that Rischel made with her axe.”

“Then this is a path that she’s already passed through…”

“Don’t run away like a coward when it’s all over! Just give up and let me kill you!” Her anger bared, Rischel struck the wall with her axe. In that instant, the “mark” that Flum observed earlier exploded, exposing a big hole in the wall.

“Eek…! It just exploded, right in front of me! Did she plant bombs or something?”

“It seems like it’s either magic or some other kind of power. I’ve heard that these people can use a power called Justice Arts. She might have gained a different power too, through the Origin core.”

“Come to think of it, when Henriette-san and Herrmann-san turned into monsters, Rischel made the ground instantly crumble just from tapping it. I wonder if it was because of that power.” Looking at the hole in the wall again, Flum though it looked similar to the mark on the floor from that time before. Then Milkit tugged on Flum’s sleeve, looking panicked.

“Let’s move. The fact that she targeted this place means that she knows where we are.”

“You’re right… Let’s run!” The pair hurriedly left from their current location, but Milkit had a bad feeling. Considering the power of the Origin cores she’d seen until now, there was no way that they could escape at this speed. Rischel was most likely enjoying the hunt.

“This body is amazing. Lord Origin’s will permeates me, and incredible power is welling up inside! There’s no way shitty little small fries like you could escape from me now!” When they heard her voice filled with excitement, the wall right next to Milkit suddenly collapsed.

“Kyaaah!” Flum instantly leapt over to shield Milkit from the falling debris.

“Th-thank you…”

“My body just moved on its own. I guess that your master must always do this kind of thing.” Flum’s face tightened when she suffered a wound on her back, but it quickly healed. Then, just when they stopped moving, they noticed that they could hear a voice coming from the communication device that Milkit had.

“Milkit. I just heard a scream. Are you okay? What’s going on?” Eterna’s worried voice came through the device.

“I’m sorry, we’re on the move because we’re running from Rischel and—” Milkit tried to respond as they were running.

“Whoa, watch out! Stop!” The floor right in front of Flum’s eyes collapsed, revealing a hole that extended far below.

“Good job spotting that just now.”

“The places that collapse seem to be areas that have marks that Rischel left with her axe. I think that her ability is something like being able to freely destroy a place once she’s left a mark on it.”

“That’s correct! Good work!” Rischel’s voice. It came from Flum’s feet. Her hand came out of the hole that had just opened up. Justice Arts: Pendulum. With that power that Rischel used, she destroyed the floor that she marked with her axe and seemed to have gotten ahead of Flum and Milkit by passing through the space below. Her hand had grown larger, and the veins were protruding abnormally. Terrified, Flum and Milkit backed away slowly, too taken aback to even speak. Eventually, Rischel crawled out from the hole with just the strength of one arm.

Without hearing her voice, it would’ve been difficult for them to have recognized this monster that appeared before them as Rischel. It went without saying that her face had now been twisted into a spiral-shaped mass, but her body had grown larger, and through the gaps in the ripped Church Knight uniform, they could see skin covered with thick, densely packed veins. Her skeletal structure had also changed, with long bones protruding from her back that tapered toward the tip, like wings, giving her an overall appearance that was too pointed and sharp to be called human.

“You really stuck it to me earlier. You should know your place, you pitiful fool who was resurrected only to be killed!” Rischel didn’t have Epic equipment, but instead, she transformed her right arm into a massive axe. Perhaps because it was a part of her body that had changed into a weapon, she wielded it more easily than her weapon before and swung swiftly. Flum tried to catch it with her Souleater, but it was practically useless. The impact broke the bones in her sword-wielding arm and sent her flying backward. The wind pressure from the slash itself also damaged Flum’s body, slicing up her ribs and crushing her organs. Vomiting out thick globs of blood, Flum slammed onto the floor.

“Master!”

“You think you’re in a position to worry about others?”

“D-don’t come over here… Please stay away…!” Milkit pointed her gun at Rischel and fired repeatedly, but it had no effect. As Milkit had been told before, this gun was no match for monsters made with Origin cores. Then Flum gritted her teeth and stood up stubbornly.

“U-uhh…uwaaaaah!” Flum charged at Rischel, completely desperate. Rischel easily batted her away with her axe, as if she were swatting a mosquito. Flum couldn’t even see the slash coming her way and took a hit directly in the flank. However, perhaps because Rischel’s power was too great, Flum’s body got sent flying before she was completely cut in two, and she got slammed into the wall at an intense speed.

U-ughh… It’s no use. I’m gonna die. I can’t win. I… Milkit… Flum, her consciousness dimming, saw the open wounds on her body, the blood gushing out, and her own internal organs. At this point, I no longer even feel the pain… If anything, I feel kind of cold…

Even so, her body had conveniently begun to regenerate.

“This really is fate after all. I’ll kill your bitch, and you’ll despair and suffer! The world goes around in that kind of cycle, and I am here now!” Rischel, boasting of her victory, stared fixatedly at Milkit as she spat those words at Flum. Milkit, frightened and pale, reached for her gun, but Rischel snatched it from her and tossed it aside.

I… I can’t do anything… I couldn’t be this girl’s hero…

That was what had happened back then, too. Flum couldn’t save her, herself. If she’d had the courage to have broken free of her restraints, she might have been able to have died with her. But there was nothing she could’ve done. And there was nothing she could do now, either.

Even if there were some way to save Milkit, it wasn’t this Flum who was going to save this Milkit here now. Flum crawled toward the spot where the gun had landed after Rischel had taken it and thrown it aside.

“I have been chosen, and you have not been chosen! That’s right! You are sacrifices—” Rischel, enjoying watching her prey cower, slowly approached Milkit while licking her lips. Meanwhile, Flum took the gun and held it to her temple. According to Henriette, it was her blood that had been injected into Flum’s brain which was sealing her memories. Also, Flum’s body would regenerate as long as her brain stem or heart weren’t destroyed. In other word, if the temporal lobe, which controls memory, were destroyed and Henriette’s blood was drained out of her, her brain would regenerate, she would disappear, and “Flum Apricot” would be revived.

I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared, scared scared scared scared…

No matter how much people told her that she would regenerate, it was going to be certain death for Flum Watermoon.

But…

Flum was conflicted and agonized over what to do. And then, she found the one single reason to die.

This isn’t for me. I don’t want anyone else to experience this kind of despair. If she sacrificed herself, she could prevent that tragedy from happening again. Telling herself that gave her a little courage. When she pulled the trigger with her trembling index finger…

 

***

 

Flum Apricot awoke in a completely pitch-dark space.

“Morning. Can you see?” Standing in front of her was a girl with black hair who looked exactly like her, as if she were looking in a mirror.

“Me…?”

“That’s right. I’m probably you from a previous life.”

“No, come on, that’s imposs—” Just as Flum said that, though, she realized that she had unfamiliar memories in her mind. Memories of a past life, when she was Flum Watermoon. “But why do I know these things? What is this?”

Image - 16

“Since we’re in the same body, maybe my memories from when I was out there are in your mind, too.”

“You say that, but I have no idea where I am right now. Do you know?”

“I dunno. Maybe it’s like, a place where souls or such reside.” It was pitch-dark, and she couldn’t see anything except for the other person, but it did seem like there was a floor and walls. Flum got up and faced the self-proclaimed “Flum” from a previous life.

“I’m sorry. It seems like I ended up taking over your body for a little while.”

“There was nothing anyone could’ve done. My memories were sealed away. But I can’t forgive you for making Milkit sad.”

“There was nothing I could’ve done about that either, though. I talked to her because I thought she was the Milkit I knew.” This Flum thought she had done something wrong herself, and she seemed to be just as sad about it herself. That pain remained in Flum’s memory, so she couldn’t condemn her any further.

“So…your Milkit is waiting outside for her master to come back,” said “Flum,” pointing off to the right. There was a deep darkness spreading in that direction, but there was probably an exit there. “I wonder if the Milkit I know is over there…”

As she said that, she gazed off toward the left. There was a light visible in that direction, and beyond it, a beautiful, unfamiliar meadow. Flum thought it was a pretty sight, but at the same time, she thought that if she went there, she’d never be able to return.

“So it is really true that you’re me from a past life, then?”

“Who knows? I don’t think that anyone could say for sure unless they’re God. But ‘Flum’ is here, and ‘Milkit’ is nearby. After such a long, long time, to have such a miracle occur… I can’t help but think it’s fate or something.”

“You mean that it’s not just a coincidence that Milkit and I met?”

“I can’t say for sure about that either, but don’t you think that’s way too unlikely? I feel like it’s more natural to think that fate brought the two of you together, rather than coincidence.”

The moment they met, Flum had looked into Milkit’s eyes and felt that they were beautiful. Was that also fate, she wondered?

Feeling a little lonely, she put her hand to her chest, and looked down.

“This feeling is fate…”

“No, that’s not it!” “Flum” immediately denied it. It seemed like she had some reason that she could state that so definitively. “She wasn’t the Milkit that I knew and loved, and I wasn’t the Flum she loved, either. That’s only natural, since we lived completely different lives. The relationship we had formed was also completely different.”

She was supposed to have been reunited with the person she loved. But in the end, all she had was an intense feeling of loneliness. “It’s like fate only takes care of us up until that point where we meet, I think. Up to that point, it’s the result of our past lives working hard and making out all lovey-dovey.”

“Making out all lovey-dovey…”

“Huh? You aren’t doing that? I thought for sure you were lovers, though.”

“No! Milkit and I aren’t lovers…”

For some reason, “Flum” looked at Flum with a look of doubt in her eyes. “Hmm. Maybe that’s the difference.”

“What’re you ultimately trying to say here?”

“I’m saying that everything that happened after you met is the relationship that you’ve built together, a relationship that’s unique to the two of you.” No matter how much fate brought two people together, if they didn’t feel attracted to each other, they would remain strangers. It was this Flum and Milkit’s will that led to their meeting in the dungeon, holding hands and escaping to the outside together, and then deepening their relationship to the point where they wanted to be together forever. That was how it seemed.

“Go. You’re the only one who can protect Milkit-chan.”

“Flum” said that as though she were giving Flum a gentle push forward, but Flum had always intended to do just that from the start anyway. She started walking toward the exit, while “Flum” started walking toward the light.

Flum, suddenly curious about something, asked “Flum” a question.

“Hey. Wasn’t there something you wanted to do too, though, if you were alive?” It was a question that she simply asked out of curiosity, with no other meaning.

“Flum” stopped walking and casually replied, “Yes, there was.” She raised her gaze slightly, as if trying to remember something.

“But you know what Rischel and Milkit said. We’re already dead, and we have no place in this world. Even though we’re long-forgotten dead people, we cling to life stubbornly, not knowing when to give up, reaching out for what we’ve lost and our unfulfilled wishes, and that ends up becoming a ‘curse,’ I think.”

It wasn’t a conclusion that she had reached after being convinced of the facts. However, when Rischel appeared before her after changing into that monstrous form, “Flum” understood. She realized that, despite the difference in appearance, she was essentially the same.

“So it’s okay. I’m going to the place I should be going.” She had completely given up. In that sense, she might’ve even been able to be grateful to Rischel. As she moved to the light once more, this time, “Flum” asked Flum a question.

“Oh, that reminds me. If things continue as they are, there’d be no point in coming back to life. Can I just say one last thing?”

Flum went “What?” and looked back at her with a slightly anxious look on her face. “Flum” replied with a mischievous look on her face.

“You two are clearly in love with each other. Just tell her how you feel already. I’m sure she’s waiting for you.” Then with a wink, she walked toward the light.

“What a curse to lay on me, right at the very last minute…!” Flum’s face turned red in an instant.

In the end, “Flum” disappeared into the light without Flum being able to confirm whether all this stuff about a past life was real or not. Though it might have been some kind of hallucination…she could see another girl waiting for “Flum” in the meadow further beyond.

“Ugh, forget it, just forget it! I’ve gotta hurry!” Flum raced toward the exit without looking back.

 

***

 

“I have been chosen, and you have not been chosen! That’s right! You are sacrifices for me to offer up! Die!” Rischel was finally about to kill Milkit. Milkit, prepared to die, closed her eyes tightly. However, pain never came. Instead, she heard the sound of blades clashing, and then she fearfully opened her eyes.

“Tch… You’re the one who is gonna die, Rischel!” There stood Flum, catching Rischel’s axe firmly, unlike before.

“Master…” Milkit understood just from looking at Flum’s back. The person standing before her now was, without a doubt, Flum Apricot. And Rischel too, facing off against her, could sense the change as well.

Flum’s movements are clearly different from before… What happened?

Immediately afterward, Flum tilted her sword and deflected the axe. It was an easy-to-read evasive maneuver.

“Amateur!” Rischel, having read Flum’s moves, immediately laid the blade of her weapon flat and aimed for Flum’s flank. But before her attack connected, she felt unknown shocks hit her in the abdomen.

What… Flum’s Souleater hadn’t moved. Meanwhile, all five fingers on her left hand, which hadn’t been wielding a sword, were gone, as if they were severed.

They came off…? She fired off her fingers like bullets?! Although the Church Knights had obtained some information about Flum, it seemed as though they were unaware that she had learned techniques to use her own body as a weapon in her battle with the Children. Furthermore, Flum splattered the blood flowing from her left hand onto her Souleater and swung at Rischel as she staggered.

“Pendulum!” Rischel immediately activated her Justice Arts. Beginning with the mark she had left with her axe that lay between the two of them, the floor burst apart, like it had exploded. The impact caused Flum’s sword to wobble. Rischel’s body was also thrown backward. Even so, the tip of Souleater went through Rischel’s body.

The wound is shallow. Now I can create some distance! For a monster that had absorbed an Origin core, this was a minor amount of damage. She tried to step back to create some distance, but her body didn’t move.

This is…Genocide Arts?!

That was right. Flum’s blood had entered Rischel’s body and robbed her of her freedom. Flum couldn’t throw blades of blood yet, but if she slashed directly, that would have some effect. While Rischel’s movements were slowed, Flum once again closed in, quickly. Flum deliberately refrained from calling her Souleater and instead, in a nimble move, lunged forward and thrust her hand into the wound that she had just inflicted.

“This is payback for what happened at the guild! Get a taste of this!” Flum had only just woken up and Milkit was already in danger. Her fighting spirit was burning more brightly than ever. “Reversal!”

Flum’s arm exploded inside Rischel’s body. Flum was going to do whatever it took to defeat the demon that was before her.

“Gugyhaaaaaaaa!” She screamed in agony as the flesh from the right side of her chest and her shoulder was torn away in an explosive blast.

“You bitch!” Directing the red spiral at Flum as though glaring at her, she raised her voice into a shout. However, at that time, Flum already wasn’t looking at Rischel. If she wanted to, she could have followed up with another blow, but there was something she prioritized more.

“I’m back, Milkit.” Looking back, Flum smiled warmly at Milkit.

“Welcome back, Master!” Milkit, with her master finally returned, smiled through her tears.

Chapter 14: The Single Necessary Reason for Judgment

Chapter 14:
The Single Necessary Reason for Judgment

 

“DON’T JUST START FLIRTING with each other right in front of me!” Rischel was furious at Flum, who had prioritized her reunion with Milkit over delivering a follow-up attack. Thanks to that anger, her body temperature increased, her metabolism was accelerated, and blood spurted from the spiral and from open wounds. As a result, Flum’s body that remained in her body was ejected and she regained her ability to move. Jumping up, arching her body like a bow, she delivered a powerful blow with her raised arm, putting everything into it.

Flum didn’t try to take the blow head-on but instead immediately took hold of Milkit and jumped backward. The blow that Flum had caught earlier was quite intense…but Rischel hadn’t used all of her strength that time. That was because that attack was for the purpose of killing Milkit. Milkit was no different from an ordinary person, so strength wasn’t really needed to kill her. But this time was different. The single blow from Rischel hitting the floor this time shook the entire area, affecting even the areas that she hadn’t directly hit.

“Milkit, stay back as far as you can. She’s dangerous.”

“Yes…please be careful.” Flum, after having Milkit escape, tried scanning Rischel’s stats.

 

Rischel Hyle

Affinity: Fire

Strength: 6,739

Magic: 464

Endurance: 8,084

Agility: 1,091

Perception: 7,493

 

Despite using an Origin core, there was no disorder in her stats. That must have meant that she had used a complete and adjusted core. However, the trade-off was that the numbers were more within the realm of common sense than what Flum had expected. Considering that Rischel was a vice captain of the Church Knights, the total value of her stats normally would’ve been about the same as that of Herrmann or Ottilie. It was reasonable to assume that it was somewhere in the range of 15,000 to 20,000.

That alone showed that there had been a huge jump in stats, but Flum still felt like the increase was modest, because the monsters she had seen so far had been affected so greatly. On the other hand, Flum was currently equipped with a total of six cursed items: the Souleater Zweihänder, the God Hater Leather Boots, the Leather Belt of Agony and Screams, the Damascus Gauntlets of the Laughing Killer, Engagement Ring of Loss and Delusion, and the Greaves of the Wailing Shade. When she calculated those stat increases…

 

Flum Apricot

Affinity: Reversal

Strength: 3,907

Magic: 2,405

Endurance: 3,108

Agility: 3,185

Perception: 2,526

 

They exceeded 15,000. She had finally reached S-Rank level numbers, but in comparison to Rischel’s current stats, it still made her anxious. However, when facing Flum as an opponent, the disadvantage of having “used an Origin core” was quite significant. Because if she put her power of Reversal into her strikes, she could pierce through anything, no matter how sturdy.

She’s irritated. I know what kinds of abilities she has. If I can just stay calm and fight, I can toy with her. The fact that her dominant hand had been rendered useless due to Flum’s initial attack was also a major factor.

“Bring it on, Flum!” What Rischel was doing could truly be called rampaging chaotically. She transformed her left hand into an axe and swung. The slash was swung diagonally downward, followed by a sweeping blow, and then another attack straight from above. Flum tilted her body, crouched down, and, listening to the sound of the axe hitting the floor, lunged forward, slashing as she passed by. A deep wound on the thigh. She was bleeding profusely but showed no signs of being shaken. Rischel turned and slashed upward.

Flum could get away. But the moment she thought she could, the veins in Rischel’s arms throbbed and her movements accelerated. The blade went through some of Flum’s right arm, gouging out so much flesh that it practically severed her arm. Incidentally, when she slashed upward, the wind pressure tore off pieces of the ground, which pierced Flum’s body. However, because Flum regenerated, it was only a minor injury, so there was no need to panic. The problem was Rischel’s movements. It was certainly true that she had a great degree of Strength, but there must have been another reason why she was able to achieve even greater speed during all-out attacks.

“Strengthening your body with prana… You’re using Cavalier Arts.”

“Oh, does that shock you? What, did you think that Gadhio had a monopoly on that? You’re wrong. You’re so wrong. Cavalier Arts are knight techniques to begin with, so naturally they’re something knights should learn!” Now that she had mentioned it, Flum thought she was right. Neither Flum nor Gadhio were knights. Also, the Justice Arts that Rischel used were not learned through training; they were all innate talents that someone was born with. In other words, she could devote her time to training other skills.

“The prana you’ve generated can only be used to enhance the strength in your arms though, can’t it?”

“What? Are you trying to show off and act like you’re superior just because you learned that so quickly? Gawd, you really are a super uncute girl. I was a fool for thinking that we could’ve understood each other, even for a moment!”

“Yeah, you really were.”

“Don’t be so cocky, you trash!” Rischel once again charged in a straight line. She could say that Rischel just succumbed to her anger, but even so, it would’ve been unnatural for her to repeat the same move. Flum sensed that she was up to something. She twisted her body and dodged the downward slash. In an instant, Flum’s right arm, which hadn’t even been touched, exploded off of her. The shock of the explosion threw Flum’s body off-balance.

“That was Pendulum. And you were supposed to have known about that!” Once she attacked a spot, she could destroy it without touching it. That was Rischel’s Justice Art. Rischel, making that statement like she was boasting of her victory, aimed at Flum’s head with her axe. But in that instant, Rischel felt a strange sensation. She should have been fast enough to deliver that blow, but her movements were slower than expected. She focused her prana in her arm and accelerated her movements, trying to scatter Flum’s brains.

Based on her experience, she had a vision of where her axe should have been, but its current position was closer than she had expected. Amid that confusion, Rischel was dealt another blow. Flum’s arm, which had been severed and was flying through the air before, had exploded again. Blood and fragments of flesh blocked both Flum and Rischel’s line of sight, and the scattered bones spread like buckshot, piercing their bodies.

“This woman, using her body like a weapon again!” Flum could see the Pendulum coming, so just before her arm was shattered, she infused it with the magic of Reversal, so that she could detonate it with a time delay. Flum could generate, so it was only a minor injury for her, but it was a painful one for Rischel.

“I learn and you don’t. That’s the difference.” Flum drew her Souleater, splattering the blade with blood from her right arm. Then, scraping the ground, she slid the blade upward toward Rischel’s neck.

“Kuhhhh!” Even though Rischel bent backward, Souleater carved through her neck, leaving a deep wound. Her throat was wide open, vocal cords exposed, spewing blood.

“This much is no problem!” However, the wound immediately closed up and the bleeding stopped. Of course, her movements were still somewhat slowed by Genocide Arts.

I suppose I can’t kill her unless I destroy vital organs or break the core. She must understand that too, but I don’t feel any fear from her when I attack her upper body. While the opponent before Flum was no longer a human, but something else—a monster—the consciousness was human. Moreover, when Flum had briefly destroyed the right side of her body before, Rischel should have exhibited fear, even if she didn’t want to. Flum felt it was unnatural that this wasn’t reflected in taking action to avoid attacks.

“Ohhhhhhhhh!” Rischel angrily swung with her axe, as if to erase the disadvantages imposed on her, of not being able to use her dominant arm and of her body being made heavier. Just as Flum was thinking that she had become desperate after all, she looked around and saw countless balls of fire floating in the air.

I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

Flum jumped backward. In that instant, a ball of fire flew toward her. Flum tried to knock it down, but it floated away from her attack and exploded right in front of her eyes.

“Ugh…!”

“Ah ha ha ha! Your scorched face looks awful! Your beloved Milkit’s gonna hate you now!”

“Just now…” Rischel didn’t have much Magic stats, so that meant this power wasn’t brought about by magic. Rischel’s axe that she was swinging around caressed the balls of flames that she was continuously creating around her.

“Pendulum on the fireballs…?”

“Yeah, I can. You assumed I couldn’t activate that ability unless I slashed some physically and stuck the blade in it.” Pendulum allowed Rischel to detonate a target marked with her axe whenever she wanted, breaking it. They were just balls of fire that didn’t have much heat, so they were easy to control, even without magic. But there was something else that Flum found more curious.

“Having fireballs floating around seems more like a curse.”

“The hell you say?”

The reaction from Rischel, after her true nature was exposed, was like that of a hooligan. Flum, reminded of Dein and his entourage, felt her cheeks relax into a smile at the nostalgia.

“It’s what that other me was talking about. Dead people, reaching out for wishes that can no longer be fulfilled, turning into a curse that hurts people around them.”

“I am justice! This is absolute justice, transcending time itself!”

“Then can that justice protect others or bring others happiness? I’ve never heard of a justice that only satisfies one’s personal desires.”

“Shut the hell up! I’ll kill you dead with the next attack! Go, Ogre Flame!” She floated new balls of flame in the area. Quickly touching them with her massive axe, she then sent them toward Flum. Then, as if following after the fireballs, Rischel herself made a move on Flum. Then a fireball exploded right in front of Flum…but Flum charged forward, right into the explosion.

She’s moving forward? I can’t sense any fear of the flames!

Once Flum had been attacked by it once, she realized that it would only burn her, not kill her. Closing the distance while in the flames, Flum, her body burned, swung Souleater.

Don’t be scared. I still have a trump card up my sleeve. Flum thinks that I can’t use Prana Shaker. Rischel, scraping up the floor with the blade of her axe, brought her axe up to block the attack. Sure, I can’t fly, but I can still make a mark on a spot that’s a bit of a distance away. So even if it’s just a scratch, that’ll work. If I put it on her chest, I can blow out her heart and win!

Their weapons clashed. Then prana burst forth, and tiny blades would scatter from Rischel’s axe—or at least, that’s what should have happened.

“Reversal!” However, the reality was that there was no weapon impact. Rischel’s axe had been cut in two by Souleater.

“Ah, I figured if I hit it hard enough, it could break.” In the end, that axe was created with the power of Origin. Even if it was made to be denser and more durable, Flum’s sword was still imbued with the power of Reversal, and with her arms strengthened with prana, and attacking from above, the axe wasn’t something Flum couldn’t destroy.

“Ah, ah, uwaaaahhhh!”Flum had beaten her opponent, looking down on her. Rischel’s pride wouldn’t allow her to admit it though, so she threw a tantrum and went on a rampage. Rischel swung her left arm, which was attached to the broken axe, and, in a nasty move, filled it with prana, and grazing Flum’s abdomen with an incomplete and irregular slash.

“Pendulum, kill this bitch!” Flum’s abdomen exploded and her intestines scattered about. Flum, without panicking, calmly searched for the location of the Origin core based on her previous movements. The next time Rischel looked…

Huh? Why can’t I slash anymore? Souleater had gone for the Origin core buried in her left thigh. She had a similar experience earlier. It was an inexplicable phenomenon that could only be described as “time flying by.”

“As a price for using that power, your number of weak points increases. I found it, the Origin core.” Faced with this phenomenon, Rischel was stunned, but she reacted in a manner that was superhuman and jumped backward. It seemed like that was not Rischel’s will itself, but rather, the will of Origin residing in the core that resulted in that action. However, even if she tried to dodge it at this point, it was already too late.

“Prana Shaker Reversal!” For some reason, what was unleashed from that was a flying slash. Both of Rischel’s legs were severed and the core that was embedded in her was shattered.

“A, gah, agghaaaaa!” She suddenly let out a scream of agony. The power of Origin left her body, and so she began to change back, accompanied by intense pain. Her body was probably trying to change back to its original form, however, because she had mutated too much, she was stuck in an incomplete state. With about half of her face returned to human form, Rischel looked at Flum, sweat and blood pouring.

“Guhhh… What…did you do to me…?”

“You stopped moving every time you used Justice Arts. That’s a negative effect of using the Origin core, isn’t it?” Apparently, Flum didn’t know the cause herself. Rischel closed her eyes, frustrated. She spread her arms wide and showed no sign of resistance; her spirit must have been broken.

“Hey, Flum… What did I do wrong…?” Rischel leaned toward Flum, as if wanting to depend on her.

Flum coldly snapped back, saying, “Everything.” Rischel closed her lips somewhat tightly. But surprisingly, even though Flum was going to push her away, she continued speaking.

“Or that’s what I would have liked to say. But I think there’s room for sympathy for you, for the fact that your parents didn’t love you, that you were only praised by others for murder, and that you lived in a world destroyed by Origin.” Flum had memories as Flum Watermoon in her, so she remembered that conversation with Rischel, too. Flum also clearly remembered her wicked deeds in her previous life, too. In short, her words of sympathy were merely a prelude to casting her aside.

“But it’s different now that you entered the body of this person.” Flum’s voice got slightly lower. The sickeningly sweet, optimistic time was over. That was what it was signaling. “The original owner of that body, that girl was loved by her parents. And even after this new personality emerged in her, they were worried that you were sick and tried to cure you. And what did you do to those people? You killed them and destroyed them. You did that for your own desires, to an innocent, happy family!” No matter if she tried to represent it as justice, or lamented about a past life, Rischel’s actions in the present day were nothing more than murder for pleasure.

“If you had been able to talk to the original owner of that body and hear about the love she shared with her parents, then maybe your desires, too, of ‘wanting to be loved’ and ‘wanting to be recognized and accepted by others’ could have been fulfilled. But the moment you made the worst possible choice, the choice to kill, your future was completely ruined. Don’t you get it? You were the one who invited unhappiness and despair! If you don’t recognize that, then you’re just running away by putting it under a convenient label, like justice. And that kind of justice only increases the number of victims. You can only call something like that a curse!”

Rischel couldn’t say anything in return. That was because she had known better than anyone that those parents truly loved their child. That’s right. I…was jealous of that. The Rischel of this world respected and loved her parents. And they even said that they would’ve accepted her past life self. I killed those people. Just to make myself feel better.

If the concept of destiny existed in this world, as was the case with Flum and Milkit meeting one another, then perhaps, in Rischel’s case, her destiny was to meet the original “Rischel” of this world and her parents. If that were the case, then that meant she did something that couldn’t be undone. Even someone like this Rischel would regret that, reflect on it, and want to atone. However, Flum couldn’t care less about that. Up until this point, all Flum was saying was just to make her realize all of the mistakes she had made.

“Hey, how can I—” And then this was where Flum’s personal feelings came into play, and there was only one conclusion that she could reach.

“You’re the scum who hurt Milkit, so you can just die.” She brought her black sword directly down the middle of Rischel’s face. In that sense, it was a merciful, instant death. Rischel’s body was split cleanly down the middle and her innards spilled out. Flum had no intention of mourning her death, so she swung her sword to fling off the blood that was sticking to it and then sheathed it. Then after erasing the very existence of Rischel from her mind, she raced over to Milkit who was waiting for her in back.

“It’s over, Milkit.”

“Master!” As soon as Milkit saw Flum, she rushed over and threw herself into her arms. She must have been holding that back all of this time.

“Master, Master! This time it’s really you, Master! Master!”

“I’m sorry to make you feel lonely. I’m here.”

“Masterrrr…!” Her emotions laid bare, she cried and cried. Flum felt both sorry for Milkit and love for her as she held Milkit close to her chest. Right now, they just wanted to feel each other’s presence. They each knew that the other felt the same way, even without words. Which was why they held each other tightly, filling their hearts with the real feeling of “You’re here” using all five of their senses. But the battlefield wasn’t reading the room. Suddenly, the entire fortress shook violently, and the two of them almost lost their balance.

“Uwaah! Milkit, hang on tight!” Milkit was supported by Flum, so they didn’t fall, but that was still a big shake. “What was that just now? Or, wait, more importantly, what’s the situation right now? I understand that this place is a city called Tokyo, and that it’s floating in the air thanks to power of Origin cores.”

“That’s exactly right. The church is using this so that they can occupy the Demon Lord’s castle.”

“So you all came to this place to try and stop that…but you can’t break the cores without me, right?”

“Actually, something called a Reversal core was created, so we can break normal cores.”

“Oh okay, Flum Apricot, guess you’re relieved of duty…” Flum understood that this was a happy thing, but she felt a little sad. In response, Milkit hurriedly spoke up to try and smooth things over.

“I don’t think that’s true. It’s a tool that only a very select few people can use, because even though you have the Reversal core, you can’t really do anything with it unless you’re capable to delivering a powerful blow.”

“So I guess that means only people like Eterna and Gadhio could use it, then… Wait, so does that mean that the tremors we felt earlier were from Origin cores breaking and the fortress coming to a stop?” At that moment, a voice came through Milkit’s communication device.

“This is Neigass. Confirming that all of the reported cores have been destroyed.”

“Yep, all busted up!” Flum was shocked as she looked at the cube that Milkit took out of her pocket.

“Whoa, Sara’s voice came from that cube thingy!”

“This is, um, in the royal capital… It’s a communication device, that I received from Satuhkie.”

“That cardinal, huh. He’s fishy, but I guess he’s an ally after all. When I met Henriette before too, she said something meaningful. I wonder if they know about my past life.”

“I think that’s highly likely.”

“I see… Well, that’s certainly important too, but it’s Sara! Sara! Oh, and I could hear Neigass’s voice too. Does that mean we’re fighting alongside the demons?!”

“Yes, quite a few things happened.”

“Sounds like it’s a long story. Okay. I’ll worry about that later.” The situation seemed to be extremely chaotic, more so than Flum had thought it would be. But one thing was for certain: This fortress needed to be stopped. Flum decided to put off understanding the finer details and focus on the battle.

“Then what the heck is going on? All of the cores have been destroyed, but this fortress is still floating?!” However, while Flum and Milkit were talking, the state of the battle seemed to be getting even more complicated.

 

***

 

Linus glared at Echidna, who was together with him. “Hey, Echidna, you don’t know anything about this, do you?”

“I don’t know anything about this. I don’t have the sort of time to make this massive toy.” Even though she was essentially a prisoner, she remained as haughty and arrogant as ever. Then Maria spotted a large figure ahead.

“Wait, isn’t that Gadhio?” Echidna let out an “Uh oh…” and visibly grimaced. Then Gadhio spotted Echidna. Gadhio approached with sword in hand, with long strides, radiating such intense murderous intent that the temperature of the air around him seemed to drop. Linus hurriedly went between them.

“Wait, wait, wait! I understand how you feel but just wait a second!”

“Don’t stop me, Linus. I’m going to kill this woman.”

“We don’t know how to manage the Chimera without her! They’ve stopped for the time being, but if they start moving again, we don’t know of a way to stop them again!”

“I have been fighting all this time to kill this woman, until today. I have been so desperately craving to kill this woman that I don’t even know how many times I’ve killed her in my head and in my dreams! Slashing her to death. Stabbing her to death. Punching her to death. Squeezing her to death. Crushing her to death. Breaking her. Hacking away at her entire body until its original form is unrecognizable, being so through that her very soul itself disappears from this world when I kill her. Killing her again even after killing her. I have staked my entire life on killing this woman! For that reason, I—”

“I know! When we return to the royal capital, we’ll have her executed. And I will beg to have you participate in her execution. I will even bow down to Satuhkie to make that happen! So just for right now…okay?” The air was explosively tense. Gadhio exuded such raw killing intent that it looked like he might even swing his sword at Linus. Even Werner, who was just standing nearby, was breaking out in a cold sweat, and Echidna was unable to even breathe properly. However, after a brief stare-down, Gadhio compromised.

“Very well, if you say so…”

“Thank you, Gadhio. I’m really sorry.” Linus understood Gadhio’s struggle and bowed his head to him sincerely. However, Gadhio immediately shot Echidna a sharp glare.

“But it seems like she’s keeping quiet about something. If that woman is the kind of cunning person who could keep secrets at this point, then I think it would be best to kill her right here and now after all.” Of course, that wasn’t a genuine threat to kill her, but rather, a scare tactic to rile her up. However, Echidna, now cornered, couldn’t tell the difference. Her pale face was pulled into a grimace.

“J-just wait a minute… Werner, if you’re my guard, then protect me!”

“Hey, I’m not a hostage anymore!” Werner, who didn’t want to be suspected, abandoned his guard duties as well.

“I-I… I really don’t know anything!”

“Even if it’s just a guess, that’s fine.”

“Well, there is a possibility that I can think of, but…”

“Then it would’ve been better for you to have come out and told us from the start.” Maria, too, looked fed up with Echidna as she watched from the sidelines. Then Echidna took a quick breath to steady herself and began to talk about the phenomenon that was currently occurring.

“This is just speculation, nothing that has been proven. But Huyghe has skills that we still don’t know about. He had handled these Tokyo plans all by himself.”

“Huyghe is the captain of the Church Knights, if I remember right. Can he do stuff like that, like a scientist?”

“That’s the only explanation I can give. It was Huyghe who used the functionality of that underpillar to expand the control range of the central core.” It sounded like the control range was wider than that of the central core used by Necromancy. However, the underpillar was like an OOPArt used by an ancient civilization. If Huyghe understood its workings and connected it to an Origin core, then he was no ordinary person.

“Then you should have told us about that ‘possibility’ right away!” When Gadhio shouted those words with urgency, Echidna reacted with a start, trembling.

“I-I wonder if the power source for this fortress is the Chimera cores.”

“You stopped the Chimera from functioning just a little while ago, though.”

“Yes, but they’ve only stopped moving. The cores themselves are alive.”

“My knowledge may be lacking here, but if the Chimera cores, which are each some distance away, can be used as a power source, then wouldn’t it be unnecessary to install these cores as a power source from the beginning? Perhaps they’re decoys?”

“That’s why I said it was nothing more than a prediction on my part, remember? At the very least, with the technology that we have, it would be impossible to use the energy from an Origin core as a power source without connecting it directly.” If Echidna’s words were true, then that meant unless they destroyed all of the Chimera cores, Tokyo would not stop.

 

***

 

Flum and Milkit listened silently to the voices coming from the communication device.

“Is there any way to stop this fortress other than destroying the power source?” Gadhio’s voice, when he asked that question, was even lower and scarier than normal. Even over the communication device, his anger seemed to come through.

“You could, for example, go to the fortress’s central control room and take command of it yourselves.” In short, what Echidna what saying was…

“So ultimately, it looks like our only option is to fight and defeat the captain of the Church Knights.” From the sound of it, the plan was to take over the fortress by striking at the head.

“We don’t know where that is, though, so it may be better to join up with the others.”

“Yeah. For starters, though… Hey, everybody. Flum here. I’ve been revived.” When Flum called out through the communication device, the first one to respond was Eterna.

“Flum! It seems like you’re okay. I’m glad. How did your battle go?”

“I defeated Rischel. The two of us are unharmed.”

“Thank goodness…” They could tell from Eterna’s voice that she was quite relieved. Flum felt sorry for having caused her so much worry. Then a cheerful voice that she hadn’t heard in quite a while came through the device.

“Flum, it’s been so long!”

“Hey, it’s been a minute, Sara. You seem well. I’m glad.”

“I am protecting her, after all. Of course she’s well,” Neigass said boastfully into the device.

Then Sara grumbled, “You always get carried away so fast.” Still, that alone conveyed just how good their relationship was.

“Hmph. Let’s suspend the pleasantries there. Flum, let’s meet up.”

“Where should we go, Gadhio?”

“Yes, I suppose in terms of landmarks…”

“Yeah, it’s gotta be that thing, right? Flum, can you come to that tower in the center of the city?”

“There is a core there that only you can destroy, Flum.” A core that only she could destroy. While it meant that it had that much power in it, still, Flum was slightly relieved to understand clearly that she wasn’t yet useless. She agreed to the plan and moved her face away from the communication device for a moment.

“By the way Milkit, what about Cyrill?”

“She hasn’t regained consciousness yet because of the recoil from Brave. She is resting in the demon realm now.”

“Well…I can’t say that’s good to hear, but I am relieved, at least. Anyway, let’s head for the ground level for now.” From the room where Flum had been held captive, she had been able to see the tower called the underpillar. Once they got outside, she should’ve been able to find that location immediately. The pair began walking hand in hand…but they soon stopped in their tracks.

“Warning. Warning.” An alarm sounded with a loud breee, breee, and blinking red lights illuminated the surrounding area. Milkit anxiously wrapped herself around Flum’s arm.

“Attention, all personnel. Preparations for the launch of the special warhead missile will now begin within the facility.”

“Special warhead missile…? What is that?”

“All I know is that it isn’t anything good.” If the previous incarnation of Flum were here, she would’ve understood immediately, but what she had shared with Flum were only the memories of the experiences they shared while she was in control of the body; Flum hadn’t absorbed all of her past self’s knowledge.

“Personnel, move to the designated standby area. This is not a drill. Repeat. This is not a drill.” When the ominous alarm stopped, the blinking lights still remained on. Then a man’s voice came from over the speakers.

“This Tokyo houses a weapon that once destroyed the world.”

“That’s Huyghe’s voice!”

“So he’s the captain of the Church Knights…”

“When it hits its target, the demons will be vaporized in an instant and the Demon Lord’s castle will be destroyed. Nothing will remain except for Lord Origin. You have fifteen minutes until launch. I wish you the best of luck.” After making that unilateral announcement, Huyghe ended his broadcast.

“Master, that was…”

“A declaration of war, I guess. We don’t have any choice but to find where Huyghe is before time runs out.” The others seemed to share the same thoughts.

“Hey, Echidna, where’s the control room?!”

“I don’t know! I’m not a member of the Church Knights, I’m an outsider.” Linus and Echidna’s panicked back-and-forth could be heard through the communication device. Flum then spoke into hers.

“Let’s put meeting up on hold for now, and let’s split up and search for that control room. Milkit and I will search the underground!”

“I am in the underground level too, so I’ll search the area as well.” Even though it was ‘the underground,’ it was still a fairly large space, so Flum felt it was reassuring to have Eterna joining them in the search. And so, the search for Huyghe began, with all of their forces mobilized.

 

***

 

Flum and Milkit made their way through the labyrinth underground area, marking the walls so that they wouldn’t get lost. They knew the route to the barracks, so they just needed to search the rest of the area, but…

“Wouldn’t it be hard to go about your daily life in such a mazelike underground space like this?” The passages were so complicated that it made Flum want to grumble like that. There appeared to be many labyrinth-like buildings called ruins, and not just here either, so perhaps humans were creatures who tended to create intricate horizontal structures when they built underground spaces.

“Even though there were people capable of creating something like this, they still lost to Origin.”

“Origin’s still trouble even when sealed away, so I can’t even imagine how destructive it was during its peak…” Flum didn’t want to imagine it, but perhaps Flum Watermoon had left some memories behind, because there were fragments inside Flum’s brain. It was a hell that Flum strongly felt must never, ever be repeated.

“I cannot understand why anyone would want to break a seal on that.”

“It’s pointless to even think about it. It’s like with Rischel. I can understand how she was lonely, but her logic, including seeing murder as justice, was completely broken. I think that Huyghe is probably a similar kind of person.”

“Yes, you’re right. And I don’t understand why he would bother letting us know about the launch of that weapon, either.”

“About that missile thing he told us about earlier—when I thought real hard about it, I could vaguely recall what it was, from my memories from my past life. I think that it’s probably a powerful weapon, so powerful that he can’t use it to only destroy the Demon Lord’s castle.”

“Do you mean that it might even destroy Origin as well?”

“It won’t destroy it, but it’ll damage it. That’s why he held onto it until the very end.”

“If that’s true, then the Church Knights may be cornered.”

“That might be being too optimistic. But using the Chimera cores as a power source here seems to be a sub-plan that even Echidna didn’t know about. There’s no doubt that the original plan had already long since fallen apart.” Flum, who had already climbed the ladder, helped Milkit, who has climbing up behind her, pulling her up. They repeatedly went up and down stairs, crawled through suspicious holes that might’ve been passageways, and jumped over paths with broken floors, with Flum carrying Milkit in her arms when she leapt. The pair searched single-mindedly for the control room. As they walked around, they came across a well-maintained path that seemed to be much better taken care of than the others.

“The feel of the walls here is suddenly very different.”

“They’ve been cleaned, and everything’s tidy.” As they walked straight down the corridor, a double door appeared. When Flum focused her mind, she sensed someone’s presence on the other side.

“Master, is this the place, by chance?”

“Yeah. Huyghe is on the other side.” Before charging in, Flum took the communication device from Milkit and spoke into it. “This is Flum. We found the entrance to the control room in the underground.”

“Where are you now? I’ll come join you right away and—” When Eterna asked that question…

“Eight minutes remaining until launch.” An emotionless countdown sounded out, as though interrupting her.

“It doesn’t seem like we’re going to have time to wait. I’ll rush in there and stop Huyghe first. I’ll have Milkit waiting outside the room, so please ask her for clues as to our whereabouts.”

“Wait, Flum!”

“But Gadhio, the time until launch is—”

“Never mind that. Just listen to me. That guy’s Justice Art is something that enables him to slash at an opponent’s neck and behead them when he swings his sword. Even if they’re far away, he can decapitate someone just by swinging his sword. Be extremely careful.”

“An ability like that… Thank you very much!”

“Also, it’s possible that he’ll use Cavalier Arts, too. He looks to be quite skilled. He is a man with a wealth of combat experience, too, so if you think that you can’t win, you stall for time until arrive. Got it?”

“Yes!” With that forceful reply, Flum handed the communication device over to Milkit. Then Milkit tugged at her clothes tightly. Flum, thinking that Milkit was trying to stop her from going, whispered into Milkit’s ear and proposed a certain strategy.

 

***

 

When Flum entered the room, she found it to be more spacious than she had imagined it would be. At the back of the room was a metal box with countless windows, and displaying various letters, images, and other information on those windows. Somehow, Flum surmised that it must have been the control device. When Huyghe got up from the chair he was sitting in, he drew his one-handed sword from its sheath.

“The first to reach me is the girl with Reversal, hm. I feel like that is fate.”

“It’s creepy to be told something like that when we’ve only just met.”

“I am interested. I would like to know what kind of person can sway Lord Origin’s heart more than I.”

“I didn’t ask…”

“The moment of judgment is fast approaching. I shall enjoy these moments with you through an acquaintanceship of blood.” Ah, he’s the type of person that talking to won’t do any good. Flum had instinctively realized that. As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, she supposed, and he seemed to be similar to Rischel, who had strong convictions. Then Huyghe exhaled lightly and swung his sword down using both hands.

“Cavalier Arts: Prana Shaker!” What he unleashed was a slash directed at her neck. Two blades came for Flum at the same time.

Chapter 15: Crack

Chapter 15:
Crack

 

FLUM’S FIRST THOUGHT when facing Huyghe was “I want to take his attack once.” It was the same for Rischel as well. Justice Arts lacked the visual clarity of magic. If anything, they were more like conceptual attacks, similar to Reversal. And simply swinging a sword was far too easy as an activation condition. Huyghe was probably going to be firing off his attack with reckless abandon, so Flum wanted to gather information on it early on. Then when Huyghe used Prana Shaker, Flum felt a chill on the left side of her neck at the same instant. She jumped lightly to the right.

The sword slash went past her side, and Scorch Maiden was slightly delayed in slitting her throat. The wound reached Flum’s esophagus. She coughed blood out of her mouth.

With that jump just now, the wound went to the middle of my neck. It’s threatening, but it’s not going to kill me. Flum quickly leapt forward after landing and closed the distance between herself and Huyghe. However, when she took a look at his stats, she saw that his values were close to Gadhio’s.

 

Huyghe Pagna

Affinity: Light

Strength: 4,138

Magic: 1,972

Endurance: 3,097

Agility: 4,867

Perception: 4,247

 

During the moment Flum had dodged and landed, he should have been able to launch another energy sword slash. Was it conceit born from confidence that made him deliberately refrain from attacking and allow his opponent to close in?

That confidence of his will prove fatal. There isn’t that much difference in power between us, so I’ll make use of the weight of my weapon!

Flum delivered a downward blow, using her momentum.

“Teryaaaaaaah!” Huyghe blocked it with his one-handed sword. At the moment of impact, Flum felt something like a vibration running through her body. The next instant, she felt the strength drain from her arm, like it suddenly went limp.

“My bones were broken…?!”

“That was different from the Cavalier Art that Gadhio Lathcutt specializes in, no?” With Flum’s grip strength gone, her Souleater fell to the ground and disintegrated into particles.

“Seven minutes remaining until launch.” The voice of the alarm carrying through the room agitated Flum’s impatience. Huyghe aimed for Flum’s heart and thrust his blade forward. Flum used her entire upper body to make her arm move, grabbing the base of the blade with her still-regenerating hand to stop it.

“So do you mean to say that if your arm is broken anyway, you do not care about your fingers?”

“If I defeat you, the church will be over, and peace will return! Who gives a shit about fingers, or even an arm or two?!” Huyghe swiftly pulled his sword back. The upper half of Flum’s hand was severed. Immediately afterward, her arm exploded, scattering bones and flesh. Upon seeing Huyghe calmly protect his head using his sword, Flum realized something.

He must have heard or seen my battle with Rischel. He knows what cards I have hidden up my sleeve! Furthermore, he’d used Healing to immediately heal the small wounds on his body.

“Healing magic… I suppose you are a member of the clergy after all, more or less.”

“I clearly do claim the title of Church Knight.”

“What you’re doing is so evil that I can’t really see that, though.”

“Evil often says such things.” Once again, Huyghe unleashed both an energy sword slash and his Scorch Maiden simultaneously. If Flum tried to dodge both of those attacks, she would be guided into going in a specific direction. She figured that Huyghe must have had a definite way of finishing her off if she went there. Generally, people died from blood loss when their necks were cut, but when fighting Flum, there was a restriction that required “a sure strike to her neck.” So her weak points, such as her heart and brain stem, could not be attacked. Therefore, even though her neck had been cut, she didn’t stop getting close to Huyghe, despite spurting blood. And there was one more thing she realized.

Namely, that he could only activate his Scorch Maiden by swinging his sword. It didn’t trigger when he thrust and probably wouldn’t activate even with a half-hearted swing, either. She approached Huyghe as closely as possible and engaged him again to confirm this.

“Over and over again, hm. Your battle strategy relies far too much on regeneration, Flum Apricot!” This time, she swung her sword diagonally. Huyghe blocked it with his sword in the same way as before and once again activated his Cavalier Arts to shatter Flum’s arm. Prana Kushana: a technique activated by blocking an attack with a sword filled with prana, which was then transmitted through the opponent’s weapon and into their arms, destroying them from within.

However, this time, Flum was wielding her sword with one hand. That meant that her left arm was still intact. She momentarily put her sword away, then wielded it again with her left hand, and lunged at Huyghe with a rather awkward, reckless position.

“A weak attack. If you were a knight, I would have you beheaded.”

“I have to wonder about that!” Once again, Huyghe’s vertically positioned sword blocked her attack. His Prana Kushana broke Flum’s left arm, and then…

“Kuh… What?!” The Prana Kushana that Flum had triggered herself broke Huyghe’s arm. He was surprised, and he jumped back to create some distance.

“Heal—”

“Reversal!” Flum shot the fingers of her left hand at him like they were bullets.

“Divine Wall!” Huyghe activated a barrier to block the attack and healed his arm in the meantime.

“Tch, damn, so close.”

“I finally understand now…why Gadhio and Henriette taught you how to use a sword.”

“Because those two are good people.”

“You are like a dry sponge. Normally, humans develop into adults by filling in the gaps of their growth with experience. But in your case, your stats have been zero since birth. Although you are approaching adulthood in body and intelligence, you haven’t gained any of those gaps, and thus experience hasn’t sunk into your body.” Flum, ignoring Huyghe’s words, attacked him.

“Six minutes remaining until launch.” Perhaps he disliked having direct face-to-face combat, because he parried Flum’s slash by sliding his blade along the edge.

“However, you have suddenly gained a large number of gaps due to cursed equipment. And you filled those gaps with the highest-quality material: guidance from first-class warriors and life-threatening battles.” Flum lost her balance. Huyghe used the momentum of the sliding blade to accelerate, spinning around and slashing at Flum’s back. Meanwhile, Flum, after having lost her balance, made one of her legs explode from the position she was in, forcing herself up into the air. She spun in midair, blocking Huyghe’s blade. His Prana Kushana shattered both of her arms.

“Judgment.” Huyghe, without even changing the expression on his face, shot four swords of light at Flum.

“Reversal!” Flum reflected the one sword that was headed for her weak spot. The sword of light left a small wound on Huyghe’s cheek as he tilted his head to the side. The two of them took up their positions again. Flum waited for her arms to regenerate while Huyghe immediately cast a healing spell on himself.

“And yet, gaps still remain within you. Like a hungry beast, you absorb experience at a terrifying pace… I suppose it must be fun teaching you how to use a sword, as you grow at an extraordinarily fast pace.”

“Is that…supposed to be praise?”

“No. It is something born from the distortion of this world.” Flum had a feeling that they might have been able to communicate after all, but the likelihood of that happening quickly went down to zero in a flash. “This world was once Lord Origin’s property. In response, the will of this planet distorted the laws of the world in order to steal it back from Him! This cannot be forgiven!” Prana Shaker, Scorch Maiden, and blades of light: Huyghe launched three attacks simultaneously. Flum determined that only the Prana Shaker was going to hit her heart, so she deliberately let the other two attacks hit her and advanced. However, at that moment, the flying slash coming at her suddenly changed its trajectory. It curved and accelerated, severing Flum’s left arm. In time with that, Huyghe also took a leap and thrust with the sword he held in his right hand, aiming for Flum’s heart.

“Creating two races. Humans…and demons.” Flum, feeling the left side of her body becoming lighter, directed her gaze toward Huyghe. Then she realized something. His movements seemed to have slowed a little. It’s like that time with Rischel.

Flum wanted to think about it a little more deeply, but she couldn’t exactly do that in the middle of a battle.

“Five minutes remaining until launch.”

“You were given the ‘cheat’ known as magic, and even if that wasn’t enough, the planet created the overly convenient beings known as heroes! And what has happened to this world as a result?!” The tip of his blade approached Flum’s heart. She thought about grabbing hold of it just like she had done before, but she couldn’t imagine that her opponent would repeat the same mistake. Without thinking about counterattacking, she blocked the attack with the flat part of the blade of her Souleater.

“Negative human emotions interfere with physical matter, as curses!” In the next moment, a prana arrow was released from Huyghe’s sword: Prana Stinger. It collided violently with Flum’s blade, sending sparks flying. If Flum had tried to stop it with her hands, her heart likely would’ve been pierced by prana by now. Huyghe’s sword itself collided with Flum’s blade slightly afterward, and Flum staggered under the force of Huyghe’s power pushing her back.

“Extremely dangerous magic that may well interfere with the concept of a world itself—rare attributes—was born!” Huyghe didn’t let that opening pass by and slashed Flum’s armpit with his sword in his left hand, aiming for her heart.

“Dual-wielding?!”

“In the end, even people who couldn’t erase memories of their past lives and instead inherited them appeared as well!” Cavalier Arts: Prana Sword. It was an advanced technique that materialized prana into a physical form, creating a sword. Although it was a disposable sword due to its low strength, it was the perfect sword technique for surprise attacks, like the one just now. The blade seemed to be quite sharp though, tearing through Flum’s ribs and approaching her heart.

“Guhh… Explode! Reversal!” She suddenly twisted her abdomen forcefully to face the other way, using the momentum to send herself flying backward. However, when Huyghe had swung his sword, he had also activated his Scorch Maiden. The blade came for Flum’s neck in midair.

Maybe, if I take this hit… Flum desperately wriggled her body in midair to prevent the Scorch Maiden from completely cutting off her head. About 90 percent of her neck had been cut, but because the blade was thin, the wound quickly closed. Then she tumbled along the ground.

“Agh, gah, ugh…” Even though she had done it to herself, it was still painful to have her stomach burst open. Flum lay down on the ground, moaning. But as she had expected, no immediate follow-up attacks were coming. I knew it… When his Justice Arts hits, he stops. Even though he’s not using an Origin core.

Huyghe glared at Flum with eyes filled with contempt. His loathing seemed to contain some amount of irritation as well, from the looks of it.

“What happened now is exactly that. Clearly a glitch. A bug. What else could you call this but a distortion of the world?! That is precisely why we are justice. Justice Arts is a power given to us to correct these distortions!”

“Rischel said something different though. It seems like even though you’re all knights, interpretations vary. It’d be better for you to standardize.”

“Does it not make your heart ache to hear of these things? Of the distortion of the world, girl of Reversal?!”

“The wound on my stomach from earlier hurts a lot more.” Flum smiled, trying to bluff, staggering unsteadily to her feet by using Souleater like a cane. “Generally speaking, I really, really don’t care about the world or whatever, not one bit. The only thing that matters to me is beating the shit out of you as soon as possible and living peacefully together with Milkit!”

“Words will not work, I see. You are evil by nature, in the end.”

“Evil or justice, whatever, I fight to fulfill my own wishes! Uoryaaaaah!” Flum lowered her bloodstained Souleater and stepped forward. She used the momentum of her run-up to unleash Prana Shaker, putting her entire body into it. However, the blade that was unleashed was red.

“Two-stage preparation with Cavalier Arts and Genocide Arts? But!”

“Four minutes remaining until launch.”

With time running out, Huyghe chose to intercept the attack…by defending with his sword. He tilted the blade sideways and supported it with his left hand, waiting for it to come.

He didn’t choose to cancel my attack out with Prana Shaker. He noticed that there’s something unusual too, then. The previous slash was an attack made in anticipation. The red Prana Shaker that Flum launched had changed trajectory partway through, just like the attack Huyghe made. Flum thought that what he said was certainly true. First-rate masters such as Gadhio and Henriette showed Flum their highest quality techniques. And in imitating those high-quality techniques, even if Flum didn’t reach first-class power with them, she still had second- or third-class level power.

The same was true for Huyghe. Yes. The technique that Flum used earlier was an imitation of Huyghe’s, a slash that curved midway through its trajectory. Prana Shaker: Distortion. And since merely imitating it with an inferior version wasn’t enough, Flum added Genocide Arts: Anguis on top of it. Her newly learned Anguis was incomplete, and she couldn’t even make it fly on its own. But by wrapping it around the Prana Shaker, she could use that attack’s acceleration to make it fly. Then the moment that Prana Shaker: Distortion turned, the trajectory of the blood blade branched off and curved in a different direction. They attacked Huyghe from both sides, in a pincer formation.

“I will not be bewildered by such acrobatics!” Huyghe gripped the sword he made using Prana Sword in his left hand and used both swords to simultaneously knock down the blades thrown at him by Flum. However, since the Prana Shaker launched by Flum had considerable power behind it, Huyghe couldn’t completely block the attack with the one hand using Prana Sword, since that was inferior in terms of strength. Which meant it was necessary for him to strengthen both of his arms with the appropriate amount of prana and to strike with all his might. At that moment, Huyghe might have fulfilled the conditions for activating his Scorch Maiden, in a way that was undesirable. Flum prayed as she approached him.

Please, activate…! Did Scorch Maiden activate when he swung his sword, or could he voluntarily choose for the ability not to activate? If it was the former, then…that meant that Huyghe couldn’t stop attacking Flum, even if he wanted to. Then Flum felt a cold sensation approaching her neck.

Here it is! Huyghe realized what was happening too and, with his face twisting into a frustrated grimace, stepped back. Honestly, Huyghe was far, far superior to Flum in terms of skill. His stats exceeded Flum’s, and in truth, it had only been Flum who had suffered injury in this fight. Therefore, he shouldn’t retreat here but rather deflect the attack and launch a counterattack. But he didn’t do that. That was because he knew that he couldn’t.

Scorch Maiden sank into Flum’s neck. A wound was opened, spewing blood, and when the attack reached her esophagus, it became difficult for her to breathe well. But this was the third time; once she had gotten used to it, it wasn’t that big a deal. More importantly, the crucial part was that Huyghe’s movements stopped at this very moment. It was a mere fraction of a second. However, in a battle, that was a fatal length of time.

Souleater came for Huyghe from overhead. By the time he regained his awareness, a blade full of murderous intent was already right there in front of him. No matter who he was, it was at a distance that was completely impossible to dodge.

“I will not die, not until I fulfill His dream!” Huyghe had no choice but to sacrifice his right hand, his dominant one, to escape with his life.

“Ohhhhhhhhh!” Flum mercilessly unleashed another attack on him after he lost an arm and collapsed, so as not to give him time to recover. He dodged by rolling away and moved behind Flum.

“Three minutes remaining until launch.” Behind Huyghe was the door to the room, and behind Flum were the controls. It was as though their positions from the start of the battle had been reversed.

“This is good. I can destroy the control equipment from here.”

“Hmph…and what are you planning to do after breaking it? Do you seriously think that destroying the equipment will stop the attack? This is only a control terminal. Destroying it will only eliminate the means of stopping the missile.”

“Seems like I have no other choice but to make you spit out how to operate it, then.”

“You seem to think that you can beat me. But even with one arm, I can hold out for three minutes.”

“Even though I know you can’t use your Justice Art anymore?”

“I see, so you were aware of that and intentionally used that against me. Yes, I suppose that’s it. We really do have the worst possible compatibility. That feeling of ‘time flying by’ when I used Scorch Maiden. That must be your Justice Art.” Justice Arts was a technique that changed the remnant of a past life left in a soul into energy, turning into a power that could be wielded. Therefore, this ability was greatly influenced by the will of the past life existence. And Flum Watermoon, unlike the Church Knights, had disappeared from this world of her own will. In other words, what remained in Flum now was only the “empty” energy, without any color or shape, in her sword.

“Blank. Or perhaps I could call it Anti-Justice.” For that reason, Flum couldn’t use her Justice Art herself. Instead, when she made an attack that drew on her very soul, it was wrapped in empty, colorless energy, which flowed back into her opponent’s soul. When the soul received an unusual stimulus, it temporarily ceased to function due to shock. This affected the body in the form of fainting, creating an illusion of time displacement.

“This evil entity, which could be described as a symbol of distortion, seems to be capable of reversing even justice itself and transforming it into evil.”

“From my perspective, you’re on the evil side, so I guess what I have is true justice.” In the face of Flum’s provocation, Huyghe’s face twisted with irritation.

“You’re the one who… Very well. If that is what you wish.” Huyghe could no longer maintain his usual expression of calm but instead wore a nasty smile befitting a villain. He took a step back and knocked on the door with the sword with his left hand. “I figured you understood that I will do whatever it takes to achieve my goal.” I’m sure that someone important to you is on the other side of this door. That was what he was telling Flum. And he was also certain that Flum wouldn’t be able to stop him from murdering Milkit from where they stood.

“What a cowardly thing to… Waittttt!” Flum shouted in a panicked manner. Huyghe smiled scornfully and slashed at the door with his sword. But then…

“A smokescreen?!” He had noticed Flum’s—no, Milkit’s trap. Dark Fog was a dark attribute spell. It was a basic spell that only emitted black smoke from the palm of the user’s hand. It couldn’t be used to attack. It was a spell for self-defense that Milkit had learned from Eterna before they headed off to the battle in Tokyo.

And beyond the smoke, Milkit was brandishing her gun. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bullets were fired in rapid succession. Since Milkit didn’t know where Huyghe was on the other side either, her shots were random. But one of them just happened to graze his ear. Flum zeroed in on him from behind while he was shaken.

“I’ve gotten accustomed to reading the thoughts of vulgar lowlifes like you!” The black blade was raised from a low position, aiming for Huyghe’s back. He immediately blocked it with his sword in his left hand and went for a counterattack using Prana Shaker. Flum’s arm was shattered from the inside. However, she realized that if her slash already had momentum from the point her bones were broken, she could break free of the prana-based capture technique.

“Nuoryahaaaaaaaa!” Flum let out a fierce war cry and pushed Huyghe’s sword forward with all of her strength, carving a deep wound into her opponent. At the same time, she unleashed Prana Shaker, so even after her slash was made, it continued to dig into her opponent’s body.

“Guh, oh, ohhhhh!” Huyghe stopped the blade partway through, thanks to his strong muscles and the prana in his body.

“I…will not…die! Not in a place like thisssssss!” And with a burst of energy from his own war cry, the Prana Shaker exploded and disappeared.

“Recovery… Healing…” Huyghe knelt down and tried to heal.

“I’ll finish thisssss!” Flum’s murderous intent loomed from overhead.

“Guoh, uaaaaaaaaah!” Huyghe gave up on healing and ran with all his might, gritting his teeth, with his torso still exposed. Flum put her Souleater away and chased after him. Huyghe reached for the control equipment with a frantic look and shouted:

“Lower the bulkhead!”

“You’re not getting awayyyyy!” Flum still hadn’t caught up with him yet, but she thrust Souleater forward and fired Prana Stinger like they were bullets. The trajectory was aimed precisely at Huyghe’s forehead, between his eyebrows. However, a transparency barrier wall that fell forcefully from the ceiling blocked it.

“Two minutes remaining until launch.” The emotionless countdown continued. Flum struck the barrier wall protecting Huyghe and the control equipment with her sword, but it didn’t even budge an inch.

“Don’t run from me, Huyghe! Come out and stop the missile!”

“Haa…haa…haa… Ha ha ha ha ha… This reuses the same equipment that was used back then. It’s something that was touted as being able to withstand even nuclear weapons. It won’t be easily broken, no matter who comes.” He first placed his hand over his wound on his torso, attempting to heal. However, perhaps because the wound was deep and he was unable to concentrate his magic well, it was healing slowly.

“You won’t be able to escape with something like this!”

“Escape? Do not make me laugh, Flum Apricot. My goal from the beginning has been to liberate Lord Origin. As the preliminary step, I will burn those despicable demons to ashes. Once that is accomplished, I could not care less about my own life!”

“Even if you burn down the Demon Lord’s castle, the seal won’t be broken! There’s nothing you can do without Cyrill!”

“That is true. However, with advanced magic techniques, it is possible to loosen the seal. If we can occupy the area, all we have to do is wait for those techniques to be developed. Even without the hero’s power, the seal will eventually be broken!”

“Do you think that we and the other remaining people will let that happen?”

“The Chimera are not limited to those I have brought here. There are still thousands remaining throughout the kingdom. Even with the power of Reversal, it will be like throwing water on a burning stone. I will crush you with the power of numbers.”

“We’ve already caught Echidna. Even if you return to the royal capital, the church won’t have that kind of power!”

“As a scientist, I am superior to her. I will recreate something like the central core in no time. And the pope and king are not necessary, either. Even if I have to do it alone, I will see it through! That is why I am here!”

“I knew you weren’t the type that would respond to talking!” Flum regretted not at least destroying the control equipment…but in reality, as Huyghe had said, destroying it wasn’t going to stop the missile anyway.

“One minute remaining until launch.” Ultimately, only Huyghe, who had administrative authority, could stop it, and unless something was done about him, the fortress itself was not going to stop. With little time remaining before the missile launch, multiple footsteps could be heard from behind Flum. First came Eterna, bringing Milkit with her, who had been waiting outside. It looked like she had replaced Milkit with the unconscious Herrmann, who was now waiting outside the room.

“Flum, what’s the situation?!”

“I’ve got him cornered, thanks to Milkit, but as you can see, he’s managed to get away.”

“Move aside, Flum.”

“It is pointless, no matter who comes. Your power is formidable, but I can withstand for a minute.”

“You serious about that, asshole?” Next was Tsyon.

“We’ll combine our power, too!”

“That’s right! Let’s just break it first and worry about the small stuff later!” Then came Sara and Neigass. Behind Neigass, Ottilie and Henriette were there, asleep inside a sphere of wind. Four people—Eterna, Tsyon, Neigass, and Sara—hit the bulkhead with their magic. However, the wall, which only looked like glass, was merely cracked.

“It’s too tough.”

“There are things that you can’t break together with three other people, even when there’s a demon in the mix?” As everyone stood there confused, Linus, Maria, and Gadhio also arrived.

“Oh, it looks like everyone else has arrived at the same time, too?”

“It seems so.”

“That makes sense. Everyone must have been guided along via their communication devices in the same manner.” Of course, Werner and Echidna were with them, too.

“We really did arrive here just by being guided by the light. I wonder what’s inside.” As Echidna said, it was no coincidence that everyone had been able to come together, as though they were shown how. While Flum and Huyghe had been fighting, the communication devices had begun to emit a light. By proceeding in that direction, everyone had been able to reach the control room. They were told that they were just devices for transmitting voices, but apparently, they still had some secrets.

“Thirty seconds remaining until launch.” However, there was too little time to consider the finer details. Flum shouted in a loud voice, calling to everyone.

“We’ve gotta destroy that barrier and stop Huyghe!”

“I don’t get what’s going on, but I’ll just follow your lead, Flum!”

“We will give it our all!”

“Haaaaaah!” With Linus and the others joining in, the attacks on the bulkhead intensified with tremendous force.

“I am so delighted to be able to witness the annihilation of the Demon Lord’s castle along with such a magnificent group of people such as yourselves!” There were cracks in the bulkhead, but they hadn’t been able to penetrate yet.

“Ten seconds remaining until launch.”

“Now then, the countdown is over. Let the bells of celebration ring!”

“Time’s not up yet!”

“Nine.”

“Ah, the gun is out of bullets… Please do your best, Master!”

“Eight.”

“Damn it! It’s too small of a space—we can’t bust out the big attacks!”

“Seven.”

“Less talking, more smashing, Tsyon!”

“Six.”

“We’ve made a hole! Just a little more and we’ll get through!”

“Five.”

“We’re not going to let him get his way! We’ll definitely stop him here and now!”

“Four.”

“Damn, he deflected my arrow! He looks seriously injured, but he can still move!”

“Three.”

“We will not allow the church to do as it pleases anymore. I will pour all of my magical power into this!”

“Two.”

“We busted the wall. Prepare yourself, Huyghe!”

“One.”

“It is too late!” Although he had lost the bulkhead that had been protecting him, Huyghe was certain of his victory. Then…

“Zerooooo!” Huyghe shouted in sync with the countdown timer. But what they heard in the next instant was “An error has occurred. The countdown will be reset. Ten seconds to launch.” They were words that even Huyghe could not have imagined.

“Why?! What are you saying? Why did an error occur? This is absurd!” He struck the device, shaking with anger. Flum and the others spontaneously stopped attacking as well. Then, Milkit noticed that the communication device that she had put in her pocket was emitting a faint light. The devices the others had were also glowing in the same way.

“What is happening?”

“They even guided us here, too. Maybe they’re helping us?” Huyghe, hearing their conversation, directed his gaze at their communication devices and his eyes went wide with astonishment.

“That’s… It cannot be. Those are small-scale organic computing devices. Why would people of this era have something like that…?” Huyghe’s voice trembled, as though he were angry.

“Huyghe Pagna. Are these really that frightening?”

“It’s absurd… There is no way. There shouldn’t be anyone else other than me who could make something like that… No!” Without answering Maria’s question, he just shook his head, as if denying something.

“Three, two, one… An error has occurred. The countdown will be reset. Ten seconds to launch.” The warning announcement repeated the same interval over and over as red letters flashed on the monitor. Huyghe slowly turned his gaze to the screen and touched it with his palm, as if to confirm by touch.

“Stop this ridiculous performance! Who is it? Who’s there?! Who hacked into my system?!” When he asked those questions, all of the screens changed at once, in unison. Displayed on the screens was a man wearing white.

“Me.”

“…” Huyghe gasped. It was a man who remained in Flum Watermoon’s memory.

“Chatani.”

“That’s right. It’s me, Chatani, the one who gave you those communication devices.” Huyghe froze when he saw Chatani’s face. The heroes figured that, judging from his reaction, he probably knew Chatani, too. But he didn’t say anything, so, Chatani, tired of waiting, spoke first.

“It’s been a long time, Hirashiki. Apparently, you’re going by Huyghe now, though.”

“Brown… Why are you here…?”

“To do one thing, after coming back from Hell.” Chatani bluntly declared words that he had been preparing to say someday. “I’ve come to punish the great sinner who created Origin.” Just as Huyghe’s dearest wish was about to come true, everything had been shattered by an obsession that transcended time. He bit his lip so hard that blood seeped out, as he trembled with rage.

Chapter 16: When the Dreams of Spirals Come to an End

Chapter 16:
When the Dreams of Spirals Come to an End

 

“HUYGHE WAS THE ONE responsible for creating Origin…” Unlike the king, pope, cardinals, and so on, Huyghe did not seem to be manipulated by anything and didn’t seem to be under the influence of an Origin core, yet he was concerned about Origin. If he were the creator, then that would make sense.

“Technically, the correct answer would be that he was one of the key members of the team that did.” Chatani made that addendum. “I suppose you just thought that, given this day and age, no one would actually break into the system. Even though you built such an impressive fortress, the security was full of holes.”

“Brown. Were you also born in this era with memories of your past life, like me?”

“No, not quite. I copied my personality before the world was destroyed by Origin. In other words, I wasn’t reborn. I am a copy of the Chatani Haruki who lived in that era.”

“So you transplanted part of your brain cells into a computing device…and then you gave the divided parts to the heroes.”

“Yes, because even if it were just a stopgap measure, it would’ve been difficult for me to hack in if you put up a ‘wall.’ I disguised them as communication devices so they wouldn’t be noticed and rigged them only to activate their processing power when everyone was gathered together.”

Linus had a slightly disgusted look on his face as he examined the silver cube in his hand. “Does this mean that this thing’s got old man Chatani’s brains in it…?”

Meanwhile, Echidna listened to the conversation with deep admiration. “So that technology was also used to appropriate my cute little Chimeras cores to power the fortress. How very interesting.”

“I fell right into your trap…” Huyghe was bitterly frustrated, but the other people in the room were unable to understand and went without explanation.

“There were too many words I’ve never heard before and my head’s totally spinning…”

Eterna gave an easier-to-digest explanation to the confused Sara. “In order for Chatani to take over this fortress, he needed all of us to gather here. Huyghe had ways of preventing that from happening, but he was unaware of Chatani’s existence, so he was unprepared for that.” While Flum and Huyghe had been fighting in this room, the communication devices emitted a light and guided the other heroes. That was done in order to fulfill the conditions for cracking the system, but at the same time, there was a risk that Huyghe would’ve realized they weren’t just communication devices, if he had found out. It was a measure that could only have been taken precisely because Huyghe was focused on the battle.

“So how did he end up creating Origin, anyway?” When Tsyon asked that question, Chatani, in good spirits, began to speak loquaciously.

“This man…well, no, at that time, he was a woman named Hirashiki… Anyway, this person belonged to the same research institute as me and was conducting research on generating next-generation energy.” Flum then vaguely recalled dreams about her past life.

“In the past, various countries fought wars over control of energy, didn’t they?”

“That’s right. The development of new technology was needed urgently in order to stop wars, and among those technologies, Origin, which didn’t even require fuel, was truly a dream technology. Even the others had high expectations, while Hirashiki and her team where getting carried away, overly excited.”

“That is your jealousy speaking.” Huyghe said that with warped resentment, but Chatani didn’t pay any attention.

“Hirashiki was acting as though she worshipped Origin, which she and her team created. On the other hand, my colleagues and I were concerned about the dangers of Origin and appealed directly to our superiors. We told them of the possibility that it could be harmful to people.”

“You tried to have me and Him kicked out, out of jealousy, Brown. As a result, everything fell to ruin, and my friend was killed.”

“You’re really the one who killed your friend, Hirashiki, aren’t you? The Reverse Spiral idea was crushed by that dead guy!” It seemed it wasn’t just Origin that Huyghe and Chatani shared; there were also some personal grudges between them. Chatani, who was usually so laid-back and aloof, was unusually emotional, laying his feelings bare.

“Hirashiki, who felt like we were in her way, faked her suicide and killed her colleague. Then she pinned the blame on me. In the end, I wasn’t arrested, but I lost my place in the research center and had to leave. Once there was no longer anyone left to stop them, the plan to build Origin proceeded smoothly, without a hitch… The rest, as you know, is history.” As a result of a few people allowing their desires to run wild, the world was contaminated by Origin and destroyed.

“Which was why you kidnapped my past self, who seemed to be resistant to Origin, and took me to the laboratory.”

“I…know that I did something inexcusable.”

“I know that was what triggered the creation of the power of Reversal. And since she would have died anyway, I don’t think ‘she’ resented you, Chatani. I don’t feel anything about it.”

“Well, she was saved.” Chatani seemed to feel sorry for twisting and killing her, as she was innocent. “Now then, that’s enough reminiscing. Hirashiki, I’m going to send you to Hell.”

“You intend to make Tokyo fall, then.” Since Chatani had already seized control of this fortress, it was up to him what happened, whether that was to crash it or drop it into the sea. Which was why he had no intention of ending it with such half-hearted methods.

“No, I’m going to wipe it out without a trace.” A smile appeared on Chatani’s face. Huyghe’s face suddenly turned pale and a warning message sounded throughout the room.

“By administrator request, there is a change in the missile target’s planned trajectory. The target: Tokyo the Sacred Floating City. Detonation will be carried out inside the facility in ten minutes.” When Huyghe heard this, the look on his face suddenly changed, and he punched the display showing Chatani’s face.

“Brown… You… Youuuuu!”

“I’ve waited tens of thousands of years for this. I’ve lived until this today to see that look on your face! Our colleagues are probably laughing their heads off in the afterlife, too. Oh, that reminds me. I have a request for you, heroes. Please bring the communication devices back to the royal capital in one piece. I want to share the memories with the main unit, by any means possible.” Chatani boasted of his victory…but Flum and the others were shaken.

“That voice just now, it sounded like it said this fortress was going to completely explode.”

“Shouldn’t we be running away now, too?” When Maria asked Chatani that question, Chatani spoke without a hint of remorse in his voice.

“Yeah. Get away in ten minutes. Starting right now, Tokyo is going to go up high and explode in midair.”

“Hey, this is way too sudden!”

“Master, let’s hurry and get out of here!” Linus grabbed Maria’s arm and Milkit grabbed Flum’s arm, and they started to run away. Meanwhile, Huyghe drew his sword and cut through the wire netting attached to the wall.

“Huyghe, that bastard, he’s trying to get away!”

Gadhio moved to stop him, but then Chatani said “That won’t be necessary” and stopped Gadhio from acting. Meanwhile, Huyghe quickly destroyed the wire netting and quickly jumped into the air vent.

“Hey, Chatani, or whatever your name is, is it really okay to let him go?!” Tsyon was almost shouting angrily when he asked that question, but Chatani remained calm.

“I had set that ten-minute time limit so that he wouldn’t be able to do anything. I know where he’s going, and he cannot escape or fight back. I’m going to have him die along with his distasteful dream.”

“If Chatani says so, then it’s fine. Come on, let’s hurry up and get outta here!” When Linus leapt out of the room, the others followed behind him.

“Leave the navigation to me. I’ll take that much responsibility.” Emitting lights from the communication devices, he guided the heroes on the shortest route to the exit. Following his instructions, Flum and the others raced through the intricate underground passageways.

“Milkit, the footing here is dangerous, so hold my hand tight, okay?”

“Yes! I will never, ever let go.”

“Heh, those two are always flirtin’ whenever they get the chance.”

“You ought to do the same with Maria, Linus.”

“Eterna, what are you saying all of the sudden?!”

“It makes me happy when my big sister is happy!”

“Sara, you too… Oh, heavens.” Perhaps because it was a victory lap, the conversation seemed to be somewhat frivolous in nature.

“Don’t get carried away now.”

“You say that, but I’m sure you’re thinking, ‘I want to see Sheitoom right away!’ aren’t you, Tsyon?”

“Who are you to talk?!”

“Oh no, I’m not telling you. It’s my and Sara’s love story.”

“You’re undefeatable…” Putting aside the question of whether Tsyon was thinking about Sheitoom, it was certain that he was worried about Selayde.

“You’re all excited but…I’m the only one who feels like they’re about to be killed.”

“I didn’t know about that!”

“Don’t worry, Echidna. Out of consideration for Linus, I’ll wait until we reach to royal capital before I kill you.” Gadhio was taking up the rear, monitoring Echidna so that she didn’t escape. Since she was an excellent scientist, she wondered if she might have been able to escape somewhere, chances permitting, or perhaps find protection from a noble who desired the Chimera’s technology. That was what Echidna had been thinking, but when directly confronted with Gadhio’s murderous intent, she realized, painfully so, how naïve her thoughts had been. There was no way that she could escape.

“Linus, why’ve you been silent all this time?”

“I dunno, it’s just…I’ve got a bad feeling about something…” Now that they could feel the wind blowing, they felt that they were gradually getting closer to the surface.

“Seven minutes remaining.” There was plenty of time. They thought they would be able to escape after getting just a little further. That was what they had thought, but…

“Master, is there something worrying you?” Their footing became unstable. Then Milkit, being held by Flum, asked her that question. She hesitated for a moment before answering.

“It’s just, ever since a little while ago, I’ve felt some unpleasant sensation, like this tingling sensation on my skin.” Flum didn’t want to dampen the cheerful mood, but she couldn’t lie. Tsyon, who was nearby, asked her another question.

“Is that because you have the attribute of Reversal?”

“Maybe. I can kind of sense the presence of things like Origin cores. It’s similar to that.” Maria’s face clouded over when she heard that.

“This place is close to the Demon Lord’s castle, so Origin’s influence should be greater than in the royal capital.”

“You’re worrying too much, Flum! All you’ve gotta do is go outside if—”

“Kukyeeeeeee!” The cry of a small-sized Chimera could be heard coming from somewhere. Due to the complex terrain, there were many shadows, but even though they couldn’t see it, they knew the Chimera was close.

“Sara, duck!”

“Uhyaaah!” When Maria and Sara crouched down at the same time, the Chimera passed overhead. The Chimera went to hide behind cover once again, but Linus quickly fired off an arrow.

“I see you there!” His arrow drew an arc and pierced the small-sized Chimera’s core from a blind spot. The Chimera’s corpse fell into the abyss. Neigass immediately wheeled around and pressed for answers.

“What is going on here, Echidna? You didn’t do something, did you?”

“This is strange. The stop order should still be in effect.” Echidna didn’t intend to come off as flippant at all, but Gadhio mercilessly held a blade to her neck.

“If you are hiding something, spit it out, right now.”

“Wait! I told you before, didn’t I? I don’t have any means of doing anything remotely! Even if something was rigged to happen, it’s probably Huyghe tampering with things without my permission!” There was no malice that could be felt in Echidna’s eyes, as she spoke with tears in her eyes, her legs trembling. Gadhio clicked his tongue and lowered his sword. Then up ahead, a flock of ten or more small-sized Chimera approached.

“What the hell is going on?! Their numbers have suddenly increased!”

“I can sense a strong determination in them to prevent us from escaping.” Linus fired off arrows continuously, while Eterna, not to be outdone, unleashed a barrage of water spheres to push back the horde. Their goal was to escape, so they needed to keep moving forward even while defeating them. However, after they defeated the first group, another massive number of Chimera flooded the passageway and attacked.

“Someone needs to go ahead and clear a path. Flum, can you do it?”

“Of course, Gadhio! Haaaaah!” Flum and Gadhio moved forward, cutting through the Chimera horde. With the Cavalier Arts they unleashed simultaneously, they literally cut a path through the enemy forces, opening the way. Following behind the two of them, their comrades also attempted to make their escape. However, enemies appeared one after another, making it difficult to advance like they wanted. As everyone joined forces, Maria suddenly stopped attacking.

“Maria?” When Neigass questioned her, Maria replied with some frustration in her voice.

“This might not be the result of someone’s meddling. It might be Origin’s will.”

“Can it do that even when it’s sealed?”

“Even though we’re in the sky, we’re still quite close to the Demon Lord’s castle. The tingling sensation that Flum mentioned earlier, too, might be caused by the power emitted from Origin itself, rather than the cores.” Linus threw a knife at a leaping Chimera, taking it down, and then landed next to Maria.

“Origin’s going all out trying to kill us, huh? He’s a fraidy-cat, surprisingly enough!”

“We are not gonna lose to a guy like that!” The number of Chimera continued to increase even further, and before they knew it, Flum and the others were surrounded. Even medium-sized Chimera were now forcing their way through the narrow passageway. Tsyon smacked a small-sized Chimera that was trying to kill Echidna, sending it flying.

“So basically, they’re runnin’ wild due to Origin’s influence. These Chimera things are defective!”

“There’s nothing I can do about that! I wasn’t able to do any testing near the Demon Lord’s castle!” Her excuse hadn’t reached anyone’s ears amid the chaos of battle.

“Aqua Web!” The amplification sphere floating near Eterna spewed out a mass of water. It quickly spread out in the air and formed a net that caught several small-sized Chimera, entwining them.

“Nice, Eterna! I’ll shoot through them all together!” Linus pulled a bundle of arrows out of his quiver and shot them all at once. Then each single arrow perfectly pierced a single core in spectacular fashion, as though they had a mind of their own.

“Oh, a big one is coming from above!” A medium-sized Chimera approached from over Milkit’s head.

“Milkit, please duck!”

“Big sister, together!” Maria and Sara held their hands out in front of them at the same time, causing bright, sparkling magic circles to appear.

“Judgment: Illegal Formula!”

“Sacred Lance!” A giant sword and spear of light were unleashed simultaneously, impaling the medium-sized Chimera. With the wound it opened, the core inside the body was exposed.

“Leave the finishing blow to me!” Gadhio took a running start from behind and jumped into the air. “Ohhhhh!”

He split the Chimera’s entire torso and the core in two, cutting clean through to the other side.

“No matter how many of them gather, it’s pointless for these pathetic weaklings to face me!” Gadhio charged into the herd of Chimera with incredible ferocity, not even stopping to rest.

“Hey, hey, hey! Come on, you Chimera! You aren’t bringing the heat at all!” Meanwhile, Tsyon, fighting with another herd, was trading blows with a Chimera using his fiery fists.

“Tsyon, you’re going too far ahead!” Neigass was supporting him by thinning out the enemies with her blades of wind, from a short distance behind. If she weren’t around, Tsyon likely would’ve been beaten even bloodier. Then as if pushing the small-sized Chimera aside, a medium-sized one leapt toward him.

“Damn, a medium one!” Tsyon caught its claws using both arms, but he was pushed back by its strength and weight.

“Prana Shaker! Go!” The slash flew past Tsyon’s side and ripped open the medium-sized Chimera’s stomach.

“Gugyaaaaah!” While the Chimera was writhing in agony, Tsyon was freed.

“Thanks, Flum.” He casually thanked Flum, standing next to him. Then he heard Neigass’s exasperated voice coming from behind.

“That is exactly why I told you that you were too far ahead. I’ll handle the small ones, so you take care of the others.”

“I’ll take care of the core.”

“Yeah, and I’ll break through their guts first!” The medium-sized Chimera’s movements were slowed because of its injuries. However, it had already gotten back on its feet and was now preparing to expel magic from its mouth.

“Burning Knuckle!” During that opportunity while the Chimera was preparing to use magic, Tsyon leapt into action and delivered a powerful uppercut. SMACK! With a loud cracking sound, a whirlpool of fierce flame burned through the Chimera’s belly. Furthermore, the simple power behind his fist sent the creature’s giant body into the air, smashing it against the ceiling. The core glowed eerily from its open abdomen.

“Pierce! Prana Stinger!” When Flum thrust her sword forward, an arrow shot from the tip of the blade and pierced the core. Even those who were former enemies were working together as hard as they could, as they steadily approached the surface.

“Three minutes remaining until detonation.” The time limit was close.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect such all-out obstruction.” Chatani’s words didn’t sound apologetic in the slightest. There wasn’t any need for him to be blamed over it, and even if there were, they didn’t have the time for that.

“Could we escape by breaking through the ceiling?” When Maria suggested a shortcut…

“It’s no use. There are even more hordes outside. It’ll end up making the situation even worse!” Linus, who sensed what was happening outside, turned her suggestion down. The passage became wide at this point. However, at the same time, a wide area meant that there would be more Chimera to deal with. A wall-like horde of Chimera were approaching from ahead, and there were even some large-sized Chimera among them.

“At any rate, looks like there’s quite a few in the group ahead.”

“Isn’t there… Isn’t there some other means of escape…?!” No matter how much Eterna and Flum racked their brains to think of an idea, they couldn’t come up with anything good. All they could do was continue to fight the Chimera, with all their being.

“Two minutes remaining until detonation.” And the countdown that they could hear caused even more anxiety than the missile launch itself. At that moment, though, something unusual happened to the horde of Chimera.

“Gugyaaaah!”

“Kukeeeeee!”

“I can hear cries from Chimera from further away!” It wasn’t just Sara. The others could hear those cries, too. Then the cries gradually drew closer to Flum and the others. And finally…

“Chaos Penetrator!” Rotating white and black spheres pierced through the horde of Chimera. Beyond the hole in their numbers that was opened, Tsyon could see a girl.

“Sheitoom!” However, other Chimera quickly moved to fill that hole. To stop this from happening, an extremely thick band of light pierced through the enemy this time.

“Blaster!” The Chimera were blown away by an enormous mass of magical power that emitted a brilliant glow. However, the mass was also gradually drawing nearer to Flum and the others.

“This is bad. We’re gonna get caught up in it! Dodge to the side!” Linus shouted to everyone. Flum and the others hurriedly avoided the magic by sticking to the walls on the left and right sides, in a panic. When the light that passed by them disappeared, more than 90 percent of the Chimera blocking the path had been blown away.

“Awesome…” Flum unintentionally muttered that word. When they saw the two figures on the other side, smiles appeared on the heroes’ faces, even on the stern face of Gadhio.

“Looks like the Hero and the Demon Lord have appeared.”

“Aren’t they trying a little too hard to look cool?” When Neigass said that mockingly, Gadhio let out a soft chuckle, “Heh,” and agreed. Cyrill and Sheitoom had made a stylish entrance, but the first words to come out of each of their mouths were…

“Flummm!”

“Big Brotherrrr!” Pitiful voices, sounding as if they were each about to cry at any moment. Sheitoom raced over to Tsyon and threw her small body into his chest.

“It looks like you’re safe, too.”

“The Chimera stopped, so we were able to come here! But they started moving again as soon as we arrived…”

Meanwhile, Cyrill had finally reunited with Flum, and waved to her. “I’m so sorry that I couldn’t be of any help at all this time.”

“No, just coming here to help right now is plenty! Thank you, Cyrill.” However, there was no time to leisurely enjoy their reunion.

“One minute remaining until detonation.” They didn’t have any more time left.

“Cyrill, can you use Return?”

When Flum asked her that question, Cyrill emphatically replied, “Yes. That’s why I came here. I’ve set the return destination as the Demon Lord’s castle, so we can go back right away.” Upon hearing that, Linus and Eterna were relieved as well.

“Just escapin’ from here alone would be enough, but we can even get all the way back to the Demon Lord’s castle!”

“I’m surprised at myself for feeling relieved at hearing that we can return to the Demon Lord’s castle.” However, during that time, the next wave of Chimera was approaching from the outside.

“These things still haven’t given up yet?! They’re pointlessly getting fired up with this burning obsession of theirs!” Tsyon enveloped his fists in flames and prepared to intercept them. Maria, standing nearby, stopped him.

“As long as they don’t interfere with Return, that’ll be enough. You’ve done enough, Mr. Tsyon.”

“I understand. To be completely honest, deep down, I just wanted to beat the hell out of ’em with everything I got.”

When Cyrill shouted, “Everyone, get together!” all of the heroes stopped fighting. She closed her eyes and prepared to activate Return. Then they heard creaking sounds coming from up above, as if something was collapsing. Flum and Milkit looked up at almost exactly the same time.

“The ceiling’s collapsed!”

“Chimera are rushing in from above!”

Then Sheitoom shouted at Sara and Maria. “Maria, Sara, please, with me!”

“Understood.”

“Got it!” The three of them raised their hands toward the sky and simultaneously activated their magic.

“Divine Protection!” The triple-layered wall protected Flum and the others from the rubble and from the large number of Chimera pouring in from above. However, it was only a defensive measure, not an offensive one. In the blink of an eye, the area around the barrier was filled with Chimera. Origin’s vanguard forces gathered their strength, trying to crush Flum and the others with obvious killing intent. It would have been easy to attack with the Reversal cores, but the Chimera’s powers were still going strong. Cracks would soon appear in the barrier. It probably wouldn’t last long. Then Cyrill’s preparations were complete.

“Let’s go! Return!” Flum and the other heroes vanished in an instant, leaving behind only the horde of Chimera, who had lost sight of their targets.

 

***

 

“One minute remaining until detonation.” Huyghe also heard that announcement as he was crawling through a narrow passageway, after passing through the ventilation shaft.

“The Chimera are running wild… It had ended up taking longer than I expected…” Due to the Chimeras rampage, the route that he was originally supposed to have taken had collapsed and become impassable. What’s more, the path he was currently on had also crumbled, making it impossible for him to move through without crawling. If everything had gone as planned, he should have already arrived at his destination.

“Brown, you bastard. I won’t let such a stupid man destroy my and His dream…!” His white Church Knight uniform was stained with blood and dust, his face was covered with dirt, and a look of hatred was fixed on his face. But if it was for the sake of reviving Origin, he didn’t care one whit about things like appearances.

“Lord Origin, give me strength…!” As long as he retained the pride of having created God himself, his self-esteem would remain intact. He had devoted his entire life to Origin. He would even murder people for Origin. He believed that Origin was worth that much, and even now, he had no regrets. As the end drew near, Huyghe finally made his way through the passageway and arrived at the hallway just outside his destination. It was the missile storage hangar. In the corner of the facility was a small room used to control the weapons. Essentially, launch operations were carried out remotely from the central core room, but if you had the authority, you could also launch from the control equipment here as well.

“There’s still time. Ah, Lord Origin! I will surely burn to death those ugly, horrible demons who trample upon your beautiful countenance and who continue to breed! Lord Origin!” With bloodshot eyes, Huyghe opened the door and rushed into the room. But when he entered, he stopped by the entrance.

“Bart…” Sitting down in front of the control equipment and occupying the space was none other than Bart, his subordinate. He had activated his Iron Maiden. While it could only be used to protect from the front, it covered the entirety of the equipment.

“What are you doing in this place? You’re in the way. Move.” Huyghe drew his sword and approached Bart. “I said, ‘Move.’ Did you not hear me, Bart Charon?!” Huyghe yelled angrily and swung his sword at the same time. However, Bart’s barrier was solid, and the sword bounced off with a loud clang.

“The day my wife and daughter died, I ignored a directive from my boss to go into work on my day off and chose to go on a trip with my family.”

“What’re you mumbling? If you are a knight, then follow orders! Do not stand in my way!” Huyghe repeatedly shouted insults and abuses at Bart and slashed at the wall, but it seemed like Bart couldn’t hear them.

“Thirty seconds remaining.”

“After my wife and daughter died, I believed that the accident had been my fault. I had no luck, no sense, so obeying orders from above was the right thing to do, in accordance with my own will.”

“Stop talking about this trivial nonsense!” Huyghe’s rage and impatience intensified. The sight of Huyghe swinging his sword wildly with a demonic expression on his face, like he had gone completely mad, was terrifying enough to make anyone tremble in fright, and the old Bart surely would have never, ever dared to defy him. Actually, no—even now, if you looked closely at Bart, you could see that his hands were shaking as he gripped his shield and his face was pale.

“Move! Move! We’re going to die, so get out of the wayyyyy!” However, Bart did not move.

“But that had all been a big mistake! Following such a crazy man as you can’t possibly be justice! My justice is to protect the lives of many people with this power! You will not pass! That is what I have decided, with my own will!” Bart’s will was unshakable, which was why Huyghe’s sword was never going to pierce that wall. Actually, even if Huyghe could break the wall, it was already impossible for him to stop the missile from detonating at this point. Huyghe’s words of hatred that he was spewing were nothing more than the rantings of a sore loser unwilling to admit defeat.

“Don’t be ridiculous! This shouldn’t be happening! Our dream cannot be stopped by such a ridiculous, stupid man! It’s unthinkable! It can’t be real!”

“Twenty seconds remaining.”

“What’s with that look on your face? Do not be satisfied with stopping me! This is blasphemy against God! God’s wishes must be fulfilled! Only the wishes of God…of my beloved, of Learners, must be carried out, without fail!”

“Ten seconds remaining.”

“No! I do not want it to end this way! My love! My love for Him transcends time and space! It cannot possibly end like this, can it?! Was I not revived for the purpose of breaking the seal?!”

“Five.”

“I have devoted my life for this day!”

“Four.”

“There can be no such thing as a world where He isn’t given his reward!”

“Three.”

“I will not accept it! I will not permit such a world to exist!”

“Two.”

“Lord Origin! Please, grant me—”

“One.”

“I wonder if you’ll think your daddy looks cool now…”

“Bartttttt!”

“Zero.”

 

***

 

After Flum and the others had been transported to the audience chamber inside of the Demon Lord’s castle, they immediately went outside and looked up at the sky. Far, far away, up in the sky, a dazzlingly bright round glow, like the sun, swelled and engulfed Tokyo. The surrounding clouds were blown away by the blast winds, and blue skies stretched out across the demon realm, which was a rare sight for the area. It took another ten seconds for the sound to reach the Demon Lord’s castle. They thought they heard a very heavy, bassy sound, almost like a rumbling in the earth, and it gradually grew louder and louder, eventually turning into the sound of an explosion that carried far into the distance, up in the sky.

A few more seconds later, Flum and the others could feel a slightly strong wind brush against their cheeks. Perhaps that had been the blast wave. The impact felt on the ground was limited to that extent, and the battle was ended so quietly and so abruptly that it made it hard for them to believe they had been on the verge of being killed by an army of Chimera just moments ago. Eventually, even the flames in the distance faded away, and nothing, not even the wreckage of Tokyo, remained.

“This means the battle with the church is over, doesn’t it?” As Flum said those words to herself, for the first time, she felt like the battle was truly over. The Chimera weren’t running amok in Selayde, where Origin itself should have been close, and now that Tokyo had fallen, peace had returned. Perhaps what happened with the Chimera at the last moment was just a vain, last-ditch effort on the enemy’s part. Milkit, standing next to Flum, squeezed her hand.

“We can be…together from now on, can’t we?” Flum squeezed her hand back and answered while intertwining her fingers.

“Yeah. Let’s be together, always.” The pair leaned their shoulders against each other and gazed up at the blue sky for a while.

Chapter 17: Return to the Everyday

Chapter 17:
Return to the Everyday

 

LOOKING AT THE FIREWORKS exploding in the sky, the demons were very excited. They danced and sang, practically starting a party right there on the spot. Before they knew it, even Linus and Tsyon joined in, and the commotion grew even louder. Meanwhile, Ottilie, Henriette, and Herrmann, who were still unconscious, were carried into the castle by Eterna and Werner, while Echidna was taken away by Dhiza and brought to the dungeon of the Demon Lord’s castle. Amid all of this, Sheitoom apologetically beckoned to Cyrill.

“I sincerely apologize for doing this so soon after the battle has ended, but I have a request.”

“I think I’m about to fall asleep due to the recoil from Brave, though.”

“I just wanted to hear your answer about something before that happens.” Cyrill had used Brave when they arrived in Tokyo. It had only been for a short time, so the recoil should also be brief, but apparently, Sheitoom was in a great hurry. Sheitoom put her hands on her chest and approached Cyrill with a serious expression.

“Miss Cyrill, I would like you to reseal Origin.”

“Reseal…?”

“The seal on Origin is currently loose. The writings related to the seal have also been tampered with, and so the original, correct form of the seal is unknown. Therefore, we’ve been considering using the power of the Hero to reapply the seal.”

“All right. I think this is also a hero’s role.”

“Really…?! Thank you so very much! I shall prepare a thank-you gift, of course.” As Flum watched their conversation out of the corner of her eye, Gadhio approached her and spoke to her.

“Flum, you may need to stick around here for a while yet.”

“Me? Well, I guess maybe I should try destroying Origin itself before attempting to reseal it…” After hearing Flum’s words, Neigass interrupted their conversation.

“That’s impossible. As long as the seal remains, it’s impossible to influence Origin itself with magic.”

“I see… Okay, in that case, what would my role be?”

“I want to entrust you with destroying the central core.”

“You mean the core that Necromancy uses for controlling things, right? Did the Chimera use it, too?”

“Linus tried to destroy it with his Reversal core, but it seems like it was impossible for him.”

“Meaning it was still in the fortress… So did it end up getting blown away somewhere?”

“No matter how powerful the explosion, the core cannot be destroyed with the power of Reversal.” They thought it was likely that the central core had been blown away by the blast and fallen somewhere.

“The Chimera are still stopped for now. But we don’t know when they’ll start moving again.”

“It’s better safe than sorry, as they say.”

“But we don’t know where it could’ve fallen… It’s possible it could be at the bottom of the sea.”

“If you really can’t find it at all, we’ll continue looking ourselves. We want to thank you for all of your help, Flum, and, speaking for the demons, I’m sure everyone would be happy if you stayed a little longer.”

“In that case… I suppose it’s okay. Right, Milkit?” Milkit nodded in response to the question. She thought that Milkit would have wanted to go home, but Flum’s presence was what was most important to her, so it seemed like it was okay.

“Of course, we’ll join in the search too, and—” As Gadhio was speaking, a deep voice came through the communication device.

“This is Satuhkie. Can you hear me, ladies and gentlemen?”

“Whoa, a voice other than Chatani’s came through.”

“Satuhkie should be in the royal capital. Can the range reach this far?” As Flum and Neigass were surprised, Chatani interjected to provide an explanation.

“There’s no need to camouflage these as communication devices anymore. Of course, in this era, where communication infrastructure has not yet been developed, this kind of communication is only possible because the units share brain cells that have been cultivated from the same person.”

“I don’t…understand.”

“It’s okay, Milkit. I don’t either.”

“More importantly, shouldn’t someone reply to him?”

“I’ll answer. This is Gadhio. Can you hear me?”

“Oh, Gadhio. We saw the explosion in the sky as well. Good work, all of you. I thank you.”

“Um… Excuse me, Satuhkie? This is Flum.”

“Oh, Flum Apricot! It appears you’ve been safely rescued!” Satuhkie became very excited, as if he were talking to someone he admired. Flum was puzzled, but she continued talking.

“How is the reconstruction of the royal capital going? Y’lla and Slowe should be there still, right?”

“Ah, yes. As for His Majesty Slowe, the coronation ceremony was quickly held, and he has already ascended to the throne.”

“Huh…? Slowe has become king?”

“I thought you already knew that he is of royal blood.”

“I do but has enough time passed for him to have become king?!”

“The royal capital has been ravaged by mysterious monsters, the royal army and Church Knights are gone, and even the king and the pope are missing. In a situation like this, there’s no time to waste. The people need something to hold onto for support.”

“Th-this feels incredibly fast…” Flum was dumbfounded, but Gadhio smirked sarcastically.

“Slowe is an ordinary man. There’s no way he can handle the task of being king. In reality, he’s your puppet, Satuhkie.”

“I won’t deny that. However, when he is ready to stand on his own, I intend to step back. I plan to provide him with a firm education…but he has an unexpected guardian tagging along, so I cannot do as I please.”

“Do you mean Y’lla?”

“Hmph. She is quite strong-willed.” If Satuhkie of all people was saying something like that, then she must have been quite strong. Flum thought it was good that she had the ability to act as a deterrent, but she also felt a little sorry for Satuhkie.

“So then, what’s the purpose of your call, Satuhkie? You didn’t just call us to praise us, I imagine.”

“Giving you commendation was one of my reasons for calling. But the main purpose of my call is something else. I am sorry to ask this right after the battle has ended, but, if possible, I would like a few people—oh yes, that’s right, people who are connected to the guild and the church—to return to the capital. As soon as possible.”

“Hey, now wait just one minute! We’ve only just finished fighting, remember? At least give them time to rest!” Neigass interjected, her voice full of grumbling, but Satuhkie also seemed to have reasons for not giving in to her demand.

“As I’ve mentioned earlier, the situation is currently unstable. Naturally, there has been a lot of discontent surrounding Slowe’s succession to the throne. The reason we were just barely able to make it work is because he’s acquainted with the heroes and entrusted them with the hope of destroying the floating city and smashing the church’s conspiracy… That’s the story, anyway.”

“Say what? So it’s a fabricated story to make Slowe appear heroic?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Even I knew that it was a stretch, but it was necessary.”

“Does everyone believe that?”

“I’m guessing it’s probably as you suspect, Flum, that they’re probably half in doubt. Unless we go back and tell them ourselves that it’s the truth, it wouldn’t be surprising if the capital exploded with dissatisfaction at any moment.”

“It helps me a great deal that you understand so quickly. The guild is cooperating fully with the reconstruction, but they are not very trusted in political circles. The same holds true for the surviving forces of the church, especially since they are motivated by morality and detest false stories.”

“And there’s one more reason, too.” Chatani cut in to add that. “Inside the communication devices I gave you are, essentially, parts of my brain. The devices were made in a rush, so the anti-decay measures are inadequate. My brain will decay and become unusable over time, so please bring them back as soon as possible. They may contain wonderful memories.” Most likely, he was talking about the look on Huyghe’s face when he died. Even before his true identity had been revealed, Chatani might have suspected that he was “Hirashiki.” Gadhio spoke up in response.

“Well, in your case, Satuhkie, I’d say you’re just reaping what you’ve sown…or at least, that’s what I’d like to dismiss this as, but I suppose there are some who would like to return home quickly. However, considering the distance, they likely won’t arrive at the royal capital until tomorrow or later. I trust that’s fine.”

“Yes, thank you. It’s appreciated.” Satuhkie spoke with a slight sense of relief, and then the communication ended. Flum, hearing his voice, felt that he must have had his own struggles.

“Gadhio, are you going to return to the royal capital?”

“I’ve been keeping Kleyna and Hallom waiting. I’d like to spend as much time with them as possible.”

“Oh… I suppose that Eterna and the others will be returning too, then. Ink is in the royal capital, right?”

“Yes. She should be accompanying Nekt, who is undergoing treatment.”

“He said that he also wanted people related to the church to come back, too. So I imagine that means Maria will be going back…and if so, that means Linus will be going with her.”

“I think that Sara and I will probably be heading to the royal capital as well.”

“Why you too, Neigass?”

“Since the royal kingdom had so brazenly invaded the demon realm, we will need to have a discussion. Besides, even if Cyrill can return us to the vicinity of the royal kingdom, I’ll need to use my magic to get us the rest of the way.” If Cyrill used Return and Neigass helped carry them the rest of the way, then they should reach the royal capital in a few hours. However, if that happened, the number of people remaining here would decrease dramatically.

“Master… It will be lonely, won’t it?” Milkit said.

“Yeah,” Flum said in agreement.

 

***

 

About thirty minutes later, Cyrill lost consciousness. Those returning to the royal capital were going to be departing once she awoke. So while Cyrill was comatose, Flum and the others helped clean up Selayde. Although even the demons were concerned that the heroes must have been exhausted after the battle, they still couldn’t relax, knowing that they were the only ones resting in the Demon Lord’s castle. They spent that night in the Demon Lord’s castle, and then, the next morning…when Flum went to the dining hall, she found Cyrill there.

More than twelve hours had passed, so it was a reasonable about of time for her to have woken up by now, but she looked like she had only just woken up, which surprised Flum. In addition, Ottilie, Henriette, and Herrmann seemed to have woken up as well, creating a strange scene in which everyone, demons included, was gathered around the dinner table.

After the meal, Cyrill used Return to transport the people heading back to the royal capital. In addition to the people who were first mentioned—Gadhio, Eterna, Linus, Maria, Neigass, and Sara—Henriette and Echidna joined them as well. Echidna was being brought back to be handed over to the royal kingdom, and Henriette was returning to the royal capital to fulfill her duties as a general. Meanwhile, the other members of the Royal Army, Ottilie, Herrmann, and Werner, remained in the Demon Lord’s castle and would be assisting with the search for the central core.

Considering future diplomatic relations with the demons, it seemed like the Royal Army also intended to build up good relations, and the members staying behind understood this logic. Yes, they understood, but…Ottilie was so saddened at the thought of being separated from her dear, beloved sister, whom she had finally rescued, that she was on the verge of crying tears of blood. However, if Henriette did remain at the Demon Lord’s castle, Ottilie would try to share a bed with her every single night, and as a result, she would continue to have sleepless nights due to arousal and nosebleeds. Considering her health, it might have been better for them to have stayed apart for the time being.

Afterward, Flum, Milkit, and Cyrill spent a week at the Demon Lord’s castle together with the three from the Royal Army. It was a surprisingly peaceful week, almost to the point of anticlimax. Of course, it was cold, and looking for the central core in the snow was quite difficult, but compared to the daily battles with the church, it was like paradise. They could eat delicious meals every day, sleep in soft, warm beds, and Milkit was there, by Flum’s side. Working together with the demons and Ottilie and her colleagues to search for the central core too was actually quite fun.

On the fourth day of their search, the central core was found. It was discovered by demons who were searching in the mountainous zone while flying in the sky. Once it was brought to Selayde, it was promptly cut cleanly in two by Flum. This reduced the likelihood of the Chimera moving around Selayde again.

On the fifth day, Origin had been resealed. Flum and some of the others were unable to approach Origin itself, located deep underground in the Demon Lord’s castle, so apparently, only Sheitoom and Cyrill performed the act of resealing. Flum didn’t know the details of what happened. Later, when she asked Cyrill how they did it, Cyrill said, “When I thought very strongly, ‘Be sealed!’ I triggered a magic called Seal.” So in the end, Flum didn’t understand anything except that the hero was amazing.

For the next two days or so, Cyrill and Sheitoom checked to see if the seal was stable. The city’s reconstruction was underway, and Flum had some free time, so she went on a date with Milkit, deepened her relationships with the demons, and had casual conversations about nothing with the people from the Royal Army. Time passed in surprising peace before finally, the day came to return to the royal capital.

 

***

 

Thanks to Cyrill’s return, they were instantly transported to the vicinity of the royal kingdom. From there, Neigass transported them the rest of the way with her magic after she came to collect them, and they arrived at the royal capital in no time at all. They entered the capital from the skies above, as there was a risk of chaos due to the excessive number of people gathered at the main gate if they entered that way. Flum and the others were greeted by Slowe, who had become king. And for some reason, beside him was Y’lla, and also Satuhkie and Henriette. Slowe stepped forward with a nervous look on his face and tried to say something kingly, with a determined expression.

“Well done. I am glad to see you have returned safe and—” A head of red curly drills flew past him at incredible speed.

“Sisterrrrrrr!” Ottilie screamed and threw herself into Henriette’s arms, embracing her. Everyone was taken aback by her momentum, and Slowe’s expression went completely back to how it had been earlier. Even Ottilie wouldn’t normally do something like that in front of a king and a cardinal. However, even after she rescued her beloved Henriette, whom she proclaimed her love for, they had only been able to spend a short time together at the Demon Lord’s castle, so her feelings must have run wild. It was the sort of act where it wouldn’t have been surprising if she were punished, but…

“Ha ha ha, she’s the same as ever.” Satuhkie just laughed it off and left it at that. Ottilie was one of those who worked together with the heroes, so that meritorious deed counted for something. The atmosphere suddenly relaxed and Y’lla started talking to Flum in the same manner as she did before.

“Y’know, I’m really glad we were able to see each other face-to-face like this, safely.”

“It’s truly amazing that neither of us died.” Although Y’lla had come close to death many times, she had suffered almost no external injuries. And before she knew it, she was standing next to a king, which was more than just good luck.

“But what are you doing here, exactly, Y’lla? Slowe’s become king, but what’s your position?”

“I don’t know.” Flum and Y’lla both looked at Slowe for an answer.

“I don’t know, either…” Apparently, no one knew. Satuhkie had called her a “guardian,” but the fact that she was able to remain by the king’s side alone must be proof that this country really was in the midst of turmoil.

“In any case, I’m really happy to see you’ve returned. The residents of the royal capital will also be delighted, too.”

“Are you going to be using me and Flum to stabilize the country, like you did the others?”

Satuhkie couldn’t help but smile wryly at Cyrill’s blunt, honest words. “I wish you wouldn’t be so wary. Those who returned to the capital before you played that role in some small part too, but what’s important is that you are in the royal capital, and that’s the truth. Even though the church has been overthrown, the people are still gripped by fear, not knowing when another monster like Mother could appear next. In fact, a large number of the Chimera that have ceased functioning in areas such as the floating ruins of Tokyo have been spotted.”

“It’s reassuring to know there are people who can protect you.” When Herrmann said so succinctly, Satuhkie nodded in agreement.

“Gadhio is spending time at home with his family as usual, while Linus and Maria are acting as intermediaries between the guild and the church, but I am overburdening them with work to the point where they are overwhelmed. I intend to make arrangements so that you can return to your daily lives as soon as possible.”

“How is Eterna doing?”

“She is staying at my research facility with Ink, who is attending to Nekt. It seems that she hasn’t returned to the house where she lived, but she may have been waiting for you to return.”

“Meaning Milkit and I can go home right now?”

“Of course. Did you think that you’d be taken to the royal castle and be forced to do something?” It was understandable why Flum would have thought so, based on her past experiences.

“Master and Cyrill were both so anxious during the trip…”

“Yeah, we were. Right?”

“Yeah. I was thinking about what we’d have to say when you have Flum and me lined up on the balcony and introduce us to the crowd, before proclaiming ‘Here are the heroes’ in a loud voice in front of everyone watching.”

“Ha ha, it would seem I’ve made you waste extra energy. That time may come eventually, but right now, we’re busy preparing for our talks with the Demon Lord. We brought you to the royal castle to avoid confusion, and we’ve arranged for a carriage to take you from the castle to your homes.” Upon hearing this, Flum intuitively sensed that she was not going to be able to go outside freely for a while. However, it wasn’t so much that Satuhkie was placing her under house arrest; rather, since she had inadvertently become famous, going outside carelessly would result in her being mobbed by people. After thinking about it though, Flum suddenly realized something.

“I’m not as glamorous as Cyrill though. I don’t think that me walking around the royal capital will cause any chaos.”

Milkit spoke up before Satuhkie could, making a strong case against it. “Master, you are more beautiful than any flower!”

“Th-thanks…”

“Heh, it would appear your attendant is quite fond of you. However, you do assess yourself a bit too negatively.”

“After I became a slave, I walked around openly showing my face, but no one really noticed me.”

“Things are different now than they were then. The Mancathy Times has reported on your activities, too, saying that you are as accomplished as the hero Cyrill.”

“I was detained almost the whole time, though…”

It was hard to deny that the press coverage had been used as part of the plan to stabilize Slowe’s reign. But if Flum had gotten this famous, then it must have been even harder for Cyrill, who was already a famous person to begin with.

“That reminds me, where you are going back to, Cyrill?”

“I have…a room in the royal castle, but I have to wonder if it’s even okay for me to live there now that the battle is over.”

“We wouldn’t do anything like kick the hero out onto the street. But if you’re unhappy with that room, we’ll prepare something for you. Whatever you want. Even if it’s a mansion in the East District.”

“No, I don’t really need all that. I…”

“So in that case, you might as well move in together with us. How about it? We have a spare room, and—” When Flum casually started saying that, Cyrill leaned in close, bringing her face close to Flum’s without hesitation.

“Cyrill…?”

Cyrill stared intently at Flum, and while mindful of Milkit’s gaze, whispered something softly to her. “Flum, you don’t realize what you showed me while we were in the Demon Lord’s castle, do you?”

“Huh? Wh-what…?”

“I may be the hero, but even I don’t have the courage to jump into a place where there’s only two people.”

Cyrill had a very good idea of what was going on. She, Flum, and Milkit had stayed together in the same room in the Demon Lord’s castle. Flum and Milkit had been acting like they always did, but the physical intimacy between them was too close to be considered normal between a slave and master, or even between friends. Toward the end of their stay, Flum had the feeling that Cyrill had the same look on her face that Eterna had at home.

“Ah… Oh… Ah ha ha, I see. Yeah, I suppose.” Flum was cornered.

Cyrill looked into the face of her best friend, and giggled. “Pfft.” Then, taking a step closer, her skirt fluttering gently, she said, “You need to take responsibility properly, Master,” and lightly pushed Flum on the back with a warm smile.

 

***

 

The carriage that would be taking Flum and Milkit back home was already waiting for them at the main gates of the royal castle. Meanwhile, Cyrill had her room inside the castle, and the members of the Royal Army were probably headed to the barracks. In other words, this was where they parted ways for the time being. As they walked down the hallway, Cyrill stopped just before the path split.

“My room is over this way. See you, Flum.”

“Let’s go to the cake place together again.”

“Yeah. With the three of us next time.” Milkit, realizing that she was being included in this, hurriedly bowed her head. Flum waved energetically at Cyrill as she left. Then, as if he were waiting politely for the farewells to be over, Satuhkie opened his mouth to speak a little afterward.

“I have something to discuss with the hero. I apologize for not being able to see you off.”

“Oh no, just arranging a carriage for us is plenty.”

“I will also be discussing the matter of the future with you in due course as well.”

“I suppose that going back to my hometown will be…”

“Difficult, yes.”

“Yeah…”

“I do not intend to forbid you from sending letters or anything of the sort, so if you wish to let your parents know that you are safe, please feel free.” Then, after casually declaring, “And with that, adieu,” he went after Cyrill. As they continued toward the main gate, they also said farewell to the Royal Army members.

Image - 17

“I suppose this is where we part ways.” Ottilie spoke with her usual dauntless, resolute expression on her face. However, far from just linking arms, she had clung tightly to Henriette in an embrace, practically dragging her along, which attracted the stares of others in the royal castle earlier. If Henriette weren’t around, then Ottilie would have been a person that could be properly respectful, but…in Ottilie’s case, her usual dignified conduct was based on the existence of her beloved older sister, so it was impossible to choose one over the other.

“Ottilie, Herrmann, Werner, thank you for everything. Let’s talk again sometime.” Although it had only been a week, not a long period of time by any stretch, they had worked together with the same goal of searching for the central core and ate meals together out of the same pot. For Flum’s part, she felt that they were together enough to the point where they could call each other friends.

“Yes, let’s. Let’s have a tea party the next time.”

“I think I’d like to have a little bout with you next time, personally.”

“I’d like to introduce you to my little sister…”

“It is quite something for you to go that far, Herrmann. It sounds like you have deepened your friendship quite a lot while we were apart. I would be grateful if you and I could also become closer friends.”

“Absolutely, Henriette, I would be delighted!” Flum shook hands with Henriette and bade farewell to her and the other members of the Royal Army as they headed toward the barracks. The main gate was now right in front of Flum’s eyes.

“Are you on your way to see Sara, Neigass?”

“Oh yes. I’m sure that my little Sara is lonely and crying her little eyes out.”

“Would Sara actually be crying, though?”

“Milkit, if you shoot me down so seriously like that, you’ll make me cry.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Ah ha, she was joking—there’s no need to apologize. Anyway, what is Sara doing now, anyway? I’ve heard that the church is currently being dissolved.”

“For the time being, the remaining members have gathered together and are setting up a temporary hospital in the royal capital. There’s talk of creating something similar to the guild, like a medical magic association of sorts. Just like my little Sara said, everyone except for the higher-ups really are nice folks.”

“So are you helping out with that too, Neigass?”

“I’m doing what I can to help between other duties, but my main role is negotiating with the royal kingdom.”

“Oh, I see… I wonder if Sheitoom will be coming to the royal capital soon, too.”

“The location for that discussion is still being looked into. Oh, yes, that reminds me. Sara said, ‘When Milkit comes back, I definitely want to eat her cooking!’ She was breathing all heavily and excitedly when she said that.”

“It sounds like Sara’s given Milkit’s cooking rave reviews.”

“Please tell Sara that I will gladly prepare her a feast anytime. And I will prepare something for you too, Neigass, so I’ll be awaiting your arrival.”

“My, my, that is quite thoughtful of you. I’m sure that Sara will be delighted—and drooling—to hear that.” And so, Neigass strutted majestically through the main gates and out into the royal capital. With Neigass’s strength, Flum was sure she didn’t have to worry even if she did get sucked into some kind of trouble, but she also seemed likely to attract even more attention than Flum. According to Sheitoom, Neigass had wanted to promote more interaction between humans and demons, and so, as a preliminary step, she was trying to get the people of the royal capital used to being around demons.

As Flum thought about that, she moved to climb into the carriage that stopped in front of her, together with Milkit. It was a luxurious, magnificent carriage that seemed like something only royalty would ride in, and the cabin interior was spacious, too. It was so nice that she thought it might even attract attention if they went to the West District. And there was already another passenger inside the carriage.

“Leitch!” When Flum cried out his name, surprised, he bowed his head with a solemn expression on his face.

“Flum, Milkit, I felt that I needed to apologize to you both, so I had troubled Satuhkie to make some time for me.” The carriage, too, had most likely been arranged for by Leitch’s company—meaning that in exchange for Satuhkie being allowed to use the carriage for free, Satuhkie would allow the proprietor to get on board, she figured. He got up from his seat and knelt down on the ground, pressing his forehead against the ground.

“I am truly very sorry. I am prepared to accept whatever judgment you make!” Leitch’s refined manners and behavior, befitting his upper-class background, gave his humble begging an odd sort of elegance that made Flum actually feel more uncomfortable.

“Please raise your head. The battle is already over. Let’s just forget it.”

“But I couldn’t possibly—”

“Anyway, let’s be going. Coachman, if you please!” Flum offered her hand to Milkit and the two of them hurriedly climbed into the cabin. When the coachman cracked his whip, the two horses slowly began to move. Leitch sat facing Flum and Milkit, hanging his head low. Flum, unable to bear the heavy mood, changed the subject herself.

“Anyway, what happened with Welcy? She stayed back in the royal capital, didn’t she?” When Flum said that, Leitch dug his fingers into his thighs and his facial expression turned even more grim.

Flum could guess what was going on. An “Oh…” escaped her lips.

“She laid into me, showering me with insults, saying that she didn’t want to recognize someone who would do such things as that as her brother. Her disappointment is perfectly understandable. Thanks to Ottilie’s help, things ended without incident, but I still put Milkit in danger. I have done something that cannot be undone…”

“Your wife had been taken hostage. Anyone would have done the same if the one they loved was taken hostage.”

“Flum…” For a moment, Leitch felt like he had been saved, but then his heart quickly changed. I cannot be be saved. There is no way to be forgiven except through atonement.

He believed that so strongly that he despised himself for even feeling the slightest bit of relief. Flum and Milkit exchanged worried looks. Seeing Leitch’s current state, they felt that anything they said to him now would probably only wound him. But he was not a weak person, or the kind of person who would be content to wallow. Having made up his mind, he looked up at Flum and Milkit.

“This certainly isn’t enough to make up for what I have done, but I was thinking of throwing a party to celebrate everyone’s safe return. I intend to offer you the very best hospitality that I can provide.”

“If you’re saying as much, then it must be something special, Leitch.”

“I am preparing something that I hope will exceed your expectations. Could I humbly ask that you come?”

“Of course! Are you sure you’re okay doing this for us, for free?”

“Absolutely. You and your companions are heroes who saved many people, Flum.”

The atmosphere relaxed a little. From then until they arrived at their home, the three of them made casual conversation with each other.

Chapter 18: Let’s Put a Name on Our Relationship

Chapter 18:
Let’s Put a Name on Our Relationship

 

WHILE HEARING THE SOUNDS of the wheels of the carriage receding into the distance, Flum opened the door. The sight of her home immediately filled her with nostalgia.

“I’m home!”

“Welcome home, Master.”

“Shouldn’t you be saying ‘I’m home!’ too, Milkit?”

“Well, then…I am home.”

“Welcome home, Milkit.” The two of them looked at each other and chuckled softly at this slightly bizarre back-and-forth exchange. The house, which had been left unattended for some time, had some issues that were concerning.

“I feel like it’s a little dusty inside. Don’t you think?” Flum first looked around the rooms on the first floor. Milkit always had a somewhat sad look on her face as she looked at the dirt that accumulated in the corners.

“I guess we left the house unattended for too long.”

“Suppose we’ll start with cleaning, then.”

“Are you sure it’s all right not to rest?”

Flum checked her condition by rolling her shoulders and doing squats. Then she answered Milkit with a smile. “Let’s rest!”

When they finally returned to their familiar home, the fatigue that had been building up came rushing over them all at once. Still, that said, even if they were going to rest, they needed to do at least a minimum amount of cleaning. The two of them grabbed a broom and rags and headed to the second floor to give their bedroom a quick cleaning. Once they had finished with their sloppy cleaning job, Flum collapsed onto the bed on her back.

“Ahhh, the nostalgic feel of my bed!” Flum stretched out widely, pretending to be deeply moved in exaggerated fashion. Milkit, still standing, put her hand over her mouth and giggled softly.

“The bed in the Demon Lord’s castle was soft and fluffy, but you can really relax when you’re in your own familiar bed, after all.”

“There’s no beating the ol’ familiar… Oh, that reminds me, we’ve gotta wash and dry the futon out later, though. But the magic of the bed seems like it’ll make it difficult for me to move for a little while.”

“Are you going to take an afternoon nap?”

“If I do, then I might as well have you join me, Milkit. Before that, though…” Flum sat up and lightly patted the spot directly next to her on the bed with a pomf pomf. Milkit immediately sat down next to her. Flum then brought her hands to Milkit’s face and began removing the bandages covering her.

“Come to think of it, it has been a while since you’ve removed my bandages like this.” Milkit’s ears were slightly reddened, and her mouth was relaxed with a feeling of blissful happiness.

“Well, yeah, we weren’t all alone in the Demon Lord’s castle. It has been a while, so I’m a little nervous. What about you, Milkit?”

“My heart is racing. But the happiness of feeling that I am yours, Master, is so much greater than my nervousness that I do not really mind at all.” Originally, the promise that Milkit would hide her face with bandages and only show her bare face to Flum was only for Flum’s benefit. Also, it was for the selfish reason of Flum not wanting to give away the most beautiful and lovely girl in the world to anyone else. However, in reality, Milkit also found joy in this arrangement. Not being able to show her bare face to others was a trivial matter.

Rather, if anything, Milkit felt happier that her beloved Master had her all to herself. And Flum realized that Milkit felt this way, too. That was exactly why she felt uneasy. Milkit was too convenient for Flum, to the point where she wondered if Milkit was just a figment of her imagination or a fantasy, and she would eventually disappear. They were such ridiculous fears such as that. Which was why Flum immediately reached out and touched her. She reached out to confirm her existence, touching her exposed skin and her slightly reddened cheeks. When Flum stared at her, Milkit got all bashful.

“I’m not sure why, but I feel a little bit embarrassed now.”

“Oh, sorry. I was probably staring too much.”

“No…that’s not it. After spending so much time together with you Master, I’ve come to understand what you’re thinking a little bit even without words, just from your facial expressions and your eyes. That’s why.” Milkit turned bright red and looked down somewhat shyly. In short, it seemed that Flum’s thoughts were written on her face.

Flum’s face went just as bright red in response, and she confessed everything.

“Well, I can’t help it. Because you really are the cutest in the world, Milkit!”

She remembered saying the same thing before, but for some reason, she felt even more embarrassed now than she did then. But she wasn’t lying when she said Milkit was the cutest in the whole world. She was confident that this would never change in the future, either.

Milkit’s blushing expression suddenly darkened. It was only for a moment, but Flum didn’t fail to notice.

“What’s the matter, Milkit?”

“Oh… I’m sorry. I was thinking about something unnecessary.”

“Tell me what you were thinking about.”

“About past lives.” With that, Milkit began to reveal the anxiety that had taken root in her heart. “I don’t really understand things like souls or reincarnation very well. But it’s a fact that past lives exist and that you and I were together in our past lives, too, Master. Right?”

“It sounds that way, yeah.”

“So maybe that means the feelings of love that I have for Master…were something given to me by those two. When I think about that, my heart feels clouded.”

She had thought her feelings were her own, especially when it came to Flum. Those feelings were like a sanctuary for Milkit. She poured all the love she felt for Flum into repaying her, which also gave her a reason to keep living. However, the story of their past lives trampled all over that. What if the love she felt for Flum right now came from the Milkit of the past?

And on the flipside, what if Flum’s past life had intruded upon the current Flum? That would be something Milkit would find difficult to forgive. Flum, understanding this, spoke in a light tone, so as not to dampen the mood too much.

“My past self said something to me. About how it seems like fate only takes care of us until we meet.”

“Our meeting… You mean up until that that slave trader’s dungeon?”

“I didn’t want to admit this until now, Milkit. But you know, about how we met… You could say it was thanks to Jean, right? If Jean hadn’t sold me, we wouldn’t have met.”

“That’s…”

Being led to believe that all of her friends had betrayed her and having the mark of a slave branded onto her face were events that were essential for her to have met Milkit. At the very least, that was the only conclusion that she could come to before now. It was an undeniable fact that even Milkit couldn’t refute.

“But what if it was fate?” Flum smiled smugly as she said that. “Whether I was sold or not, we would’ve met. Don’t you think that’s more romantic and wonderful?” Perhaps Milkit had never even imagined the thought, because she was left flabbergasted. However, she quickly smiled warmly and replied after ruminating on Flum’s words.

“Yes, you’re right…more so than being because of Jean.”

“So regardless of whatever the truth may be, I think it’s fine. My encounter with you was fate, Milkit, and the relationship that we’ve developed after that point is something that only we, who are alive here and now, can understand.” Flum stared intently at Milkit, as if asking her, “Well, what do you think?”

“You’re amazing, Master… You instantly cleared away the cloudiness in my heart. You’re my hero, who always protects me and my sun, who always clears away the clouds when they cover me…” When Milkit looked up, she had a big, bright smile on her face, and spoke cheerfully. “I feel like I’ve gained more than a lifetime of happiness by meeting you, Master.”

There wasn’t a single cloud in her sparkling eyes. She simply stared straight at Flum, beaming more intently than any other light. Even Flum, the person she was looking at, could feel the absolute trust that Milkit was placing in her. Such a feeling could be burdensome, depending on the situation, but Flum found it pleasant, as it allowed her to feel Milkit’s presence.

“I want to make you much, much happier, Milkit.” And if her efforts could make Milkit shine even brighter, then… “I truly believe that I would be willing to devote my entire life to making you happy, Milkit.”

She didn’t need anything else. That alone was enough.

“Master…” Receiving love from her owner made Milkit’s heart tremble with joy. Tears filled her eyes, brought on by her deep emotions. She gazed at Flum with those moist eyes.

Flum wondered to herself if there was anyone in this world who wouldn’t feel their heart race when being gazed at like that. Then she suddenly remembered something that “Flum” said to her a little while ago.

“Just tell her how you feel already. I’m sure she’s waiting for you.”

Flum was sure Cyrill said something, too.

“You need to take responsibility properly, Master.”

That’s right. There was nothing to hesitate over anymore. Once she realized that, it was so obvious to her that she couldn’t help but laugh. Flum took Milkit’s hand. Milkit let it happen, intertwining her fingers with Flum’s and clasping her hand tightly. Then once again, their eyes locked.

“When I met you, Milkit, I thought your eyes were incredibly beautiful. I was captivated by that sparkle…Since then, my feelings I’ve had for you haven’t changed that much.” She was being too roundabout. Even though the mood was relaxed enough that she felt like she could do it, there was still some tension lingering in the air. She needed to get a running start, emotionally speaking, before she could say it.

“Those feelings have grown bigger the more time we’ve spent together, but their shape has remained the same. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t quite figure out what it was. The two of us have been wondering what these feelings are all this time…until today.”

At this point, Milkit seemed to understand what Flum was talking about. What should we call our relationship? It was too big to refer to it as master and slave. The relationship they’d had when they first met was far below them, now. From where they stood now, it looked minute. They figured it was about time to give it a proper name.

“Do you know, Master?”

“Yeah.” Flum closed her eyes and lips tightly and inhaled through her nose. After lightly taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes, full of determination. “It was love at first sight. That moment when we met in the dungeon, I fell in love with you, Milkit.”

She remembered it clearly, even now. Those eyes she saw at the bottom of that abyss, clearer than any jewel, visible through the gaps in her bandages. Now, those eyes were even more beautiful than they were back then, and they were looking only at Flum.

“Love. This is…love.” Milkit squinted her eyes and felt her heart throbbing.

“That’s right. The feeling of wanting to make the other person happy. The feeling of wanting to get closer to them, to touch them.” Flum gently thunked her forehead against Milkit’s. They were so close that their noses were touching. They could feel each other’s body heat and breath.

“I think this is love. Are your feelings the same, Milkit?”

“Yes…it’s so strong and intense. Together with you, Master.”

Ba-bump, ba-bump. She felt like if she listened closely, she could even hear the sounds of their hearts pounding. Their two hearts throbbed as one, racing with the same degree of infatuation. At this point, they no longer had any room for doubt in their minds that “maybe she doesn’t feel the same way as me after all.”

“I like you. I love you, Milkit.”

“And I, you… I adore you, Master.”

These were words they’d exchanged countless times before. But this time, they had a slightly different meaning. In this moment, Flum and Milkit were bound together. They had become lovers.

The two of them stared at each other from that close distance for a while longer, smiling for no reason. Eventually, they released their intertwined fingers and, wanting to get closer, wrapped their arms around each other’s backs and held each other in a tight embrace. Then they fell back onto the bed together.

“It’s strange… Even though I’ve only just realized that this is love, it’s like my feelings for you are going to make my heart burst, Master.”

“It’s the same for me, too. Just thinking about how we’ve become lovers makes my heart pound so much it hurts.” When they hugged each other and pressed their chests together, they could feel that even more strongly.

“But…”

“Yes. Me too.” The two gazed into each other’s eyes once again and spoke their next words in unison.

“I don’t want to be apart from you.”

They giggled softly, happy to find they’d been thinking the same thing. What a meaningless and unproductive exchange—and yet, it made them feel so fulfilled and satisfied.

“Can I say something selfish?”

“Say whatever you want.”

Having received permission, Milkit mustered all of her courage to convey her selfish wish to her lover.

“Whenever you want to touch me, Master, you can touch me anytime. I want you to do whatever you want to me. In return…can I touch you whenever I want to, too?” Milkit could say things that were even bolder than normal because they were lovers. That said, embarrassing things were still embarrassing, so Milkit was bright red everywhere, even her ears. Flum was too, after hearing what she said. But…

“Is it really okay for me to do anything?” It felt like shame alone was not enough to stop them anymore.

“Whatever Master needs of me, that is my happiness. And when it comes to love, I think you know more than I do, Master. I want you…to teach me what I should do.” Flum’s mind went blank. Acting on instinct, Flum got in a position so that she could pin Milkit down. She got on all fours on top of Milkit as she lay on her back and looked down at Milkit’s flushed face. The expression on Milkit’s face below her as she looked down was filled with a compassion that accepted everything about Flum.

“Milkit…”

When she tried doing what she’d wanted to do, she ended up acting unexpectedly bold. However, Flum thought…Milkit was saying bold things, too. Perhaps they’d both been holding these things in, all this time, both unaware of how the other felt. Without even knowing how to express their feelings, let alone their lust, they’d continued their half-hearted relationship.

But from today, there was no need for them to hold back anymore.

“Master…” Milkit instinctively understood what was going to happen to her and slightly raised her chin, closing her eyes tightly. Flum brought her face closer.

Just as their lips were about to touch…

Ka-chak! There was the sound of the front door opening.

“I’m home!”

“We just got back.”

Ink and Eterna had returned. Flum and Milkit didn’t know where Eterna and Ink had heard about their return, but judging by the speed of their entry, it sounded like they’d been eagerly awaiting it.

“Uh…” Flum’s body suddenly jolted. She stopped moving. Milkit’s attention had also been drawn to the first floor, instantly bringing her back to her usual state of mind.

Flum, having regained her rationality, was unable to push aside her shame.

“I-I’m sorry. I might’ve rushed things too much.”

“No, I understand that it wouldn’t feel right, now that this has happened. It’s difficult, isn’t it?” The two of them changed their positions, sat up, and settled side by side on the edge of the bed.

Ugh, damn it! I’m such a loser! I didn’t have to stop just because the two of them came back… But the atmosphere…!

If Flum had been bold enough to go ahead and kiss her, she might’ve been able to really do it. However, as Milkit herself said, it didn’t feel right to do it at this time. Love was difficult. It didn’t always go the way you wanted to. Flum felt this keenly. Then Milkit spoke up.

“But maybe there’s no need to rush. We have all the time in the world.” It was true that they weren’t just lovers only for today; they were lovers forever, starting today. Now that the battle with the church was over, they were probably going to start sticking even closer together in their daily lives than before.

However, there was also the problem of pride. Flum didn’t exactly have much experience with romantic relationships, so she didn’t have enough confidence to be able to take the initiative. However, considering the relationship the two of them shared, she believed that she should be the one to take the lead, after all. It wasn’t like she could just lightly brush the issue aside, saying, “Oh well, Ink and Eterna have returned home, so maybe another time.”

Flum faced Milkit once again and placed her hand on her shoulder. Milkit tensed up, wondering what was going on. Her expression stiffened slightly. However…

“If I feel like we have that kind of atmosphere again in the near future, I’m…going to kiss you.” When Milkit heard Flum utter such charming words, her expression immediately softened. On the other hand, Flum continued to speak, looking entirely serious. “I’ll do my best not to keep you waiting that long.”

Milkit was happy that Flum was so desperate. She was happy that days where Flum could be desperate about things like this had arrived.

“Okay. I’ll be looking forward to it.” A genuine smile appeared on Milkit’s face, coming from the heart, as she responded.

 

***

 

On the other hand, Eterna, who had just returned home, stared up at the ceiling, puzzled. She could sense that Milkit and Flum were on the second floor.

“There’s no answer. Are they sleeping?”

Ink, who had come home together with Eterna, tugged at her clothes.

“What’s the matter, Ink?”

“Eterna…I think that we might have interrupted them at a really, really bad time.”

“Did you hear something?” Ink wasn’t able to see, but in exchange, she had better hearing than other people. It seemed that Ink had indeed heard something, as she nodded somewhat shyly.

“The two of them sounded much more passionate than ever before.”

“What did they say, specifically?”

“They were talking about kissing.”

“So…they’ve started dating?”

“I think so.”

Eterna had a visibly troubled look on her face. “Meaning, in other words, we’ll be seeing that more than ever before… Ugh, my stomach’s starting to hurt.”

She was terrified at the idea of coming home to this every day, like being forced to drink highly concentrated sugar syrup. Ink gently rubbed Eterna’s belly, as if to comfort her.

Autopsy 1: Dreamers

Autopsy 1:
Dreamers

 

THE DAY OF THE PARTY hosted by Leitch, Maria was inside a room in the church in the Central District. After returning to the royal capital, she had settled down in the place where she had been born and raised. Maria, looking like a girl her age, tilted her head as she looked at herself in the mirror in her room.

“Perhaps this is too flashy after all…” Clad in a white dress, she murmured those words anxiously. Then Elune knocked at the door to her room and called her.

“Maria, we need to be leaving soon, otherwise we’ll be late.” When Elune warned her in a tone that sounded exactly like a mother…

“I know. Please just wait a little longer!” Maria replied like a daughter would. Elune, who was outside the room, chuckled fondly and nostalgically at this exchange. Then she opened the door to Maira’s room without permission.

“I knew it. You’re agonizing over that dress, aren’t you?”

“Elune, please don’t come in without asking!”

“If no one came and gave you a push, you would probably keep on hesitating forever.”

“But this dress, it’s… Mr. Leitch said that he would prefer that we come in our everyday attire, and I’m sure if that I try too hard, I’ll end up putting Linus off.”

“If you say ‘I wore this for you,’ he’ll be happy.”

“It’s not that simple, though.” The scars from the battle with the Children still remained in the royal capital and the people were working hard to rebuild. In addition, the effects of the rise of Tokyo had been significant, with some farming villages in the north having been literally wiped off the map, and several villages unable to sustain life due to the rivers drying up. The return of the heroes had eased the people’s discontent somewhat, but in a situation like this, throwing a flashy party could end up causing people to resent them. Leitch had specified that they should wear casual attire for that very reason, in light of those circumstances. However, Maria didn’t have many casual outfits to wear outside.

So Maria talked with Leitch, and he took her to the warehouse for the boutique that he owned and generously offered to let her take any clothes she liked home with her. Though Maria felt guilty and apologetic, Leitch had really wanted to make amends…so she took him up on his offer and brought home several articles of clothing. And one of those articles was the white dress that she was wearing now. The reason why she had it was because Sara, who had accompanied her to the warehouse, had said, “This one suits you best of all, Big Sis!”

Two days had passed since then. During that time, Linus seemed to be busy with guild work, so Maria hadn’t been able to see him. Meaning it had been a while…Though technically, while you could say it was a long time, it had only been two days since they last saw each other. Linus and Maria still hadn’t clearly become lovers yet, but the party was the perfect situation, which meant anything could happen. Should she go with the casual look to align with Leitch’s intentions, or should she cash in all her chips and go all out with a dress?

“Hmm, I think that these clothes might be better after all…”

“Oh, for goodness’s sake, you’re still agonizing over it… Look, a man would be happy no matter which one you pick. When it starts to look like we’re really going to be late, then I’m taking you there, even if I have to drag you. Understood, Maria?”

“Yes, I understand, Elune!”

Elune left the room with a wry grin on her face. Maria, now alone, took another outfit off the hanger and tried it on to see if it fit.

“I’m going to see the person I like for the first time in a while. I want him to think that I look cute…”

Maybe this one? Maybe that one? After repeated trial and error, Maria noticed something when she went to reach for the brooch on the table.

“It can’t be…” A black crystal that hadn’t been in the room before lay there. “An Origin core?”

Even though Origin was supposed to have been resealed, a spiral swirled within the crystal.

“How…? This shouldn’t be possible. I’m supposed to be away from Origin now…”

“I’m afraid it’s not that easy.”

“Who’s there?!”

Maria turned around and saw Werner, looking bored and fiddling with his bangs. There was no doubt that he hadn’t been there just moments ago.

“You’re Werner, lieutenant general of the Royal Army… Why are you here? How did you get in?!”

“Maria Afenjuns. How naïve. Your thinking is far too naïve.”

“Did you bring this core here?!”

“That’s right. I brought it. You might not know this, because you don’t get along with Echidna, but I’ve been working with her for quite some time now. I helped her out in exchange for her eventually giving me the power of Origin.”

“So even in Tokyo, when you were protecting Echidna…You’ve been acting under her orders?”

“No. Right now, I’m acting under orders directly from Lord Origin.”

Maria’s eyes went wide with fright.

“You understand what I’m getting at, don’t you? Lord Origin’s hand wasn’t limited to the church. There are several pieces on the board that he controlled directly, and one of them is you, Maria. The pope and the king thought they were using you like a puppet, but in reality, you served a different purpose.”

“That doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Because you fell in love with that feeble, effeminate man?”

Maria replied to Werner’s provocation with a resolute look on her face. “That’s right. I’ve decided to spend the rest of my life with that person. To be married, until death do we part!”

“The rest of your life? Until death do you part? Ah ha, ah ha, ah ha ha ha ha ha!”

“I’m serious!”

“That’s why I’m laughing. What a foolish woman you are!”

“Werner!” Maria seethed with anger. A sword of light appeared behind her. Werner brushed off her show of hostility with a jocular look and continued to play the fool.

“Don’t bother attacking. You won’t hit me. Besides, I can kill the people here anytime.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“I’ll teach you. I’ll show you, little rosy-eyed dreamer of a princess, what reality is.” He laughed smugly, proceeding to crush Maria’s dreams one by one. “You think you’ve gotten away from Lord Origin because you love Linus? Do you really think you could do something like that?”

Suddenly, she heard a familiar sound. Squelch. Squelch. Werner’s body, standing before her, seemed normal for now. Then what was the sound she heard coming from nearby?

“Look at your dress.”

Don’t look. Don’t look. Don’t look. Maria’s instincts were warning her. But that would just be trying to deny reality. No matter how much her eyes tried to reject it, she couldn’t escape from the sound of squelching, the raw sensation, and the smell of iron.

Maria slowly lowered her gaze. There, she saw her dress, wet and stained red with blood.

“Eeeek! Wh-why? How did it suddenly get all soiled?! N-nooo!”

She tried to wipe away the blood with her bare hands, but that only spread it even further, even staining her hands. Werner watched her with a smirk on his face.

“Origin was supposed to be sealed again. This was never supposed to happen again!”

“Lord Origin wasn’t sealed again.”

“What do you mean…?”

“This world already came to an end a long time ago.” Werner approached the staggering Maria and placed his hands on her shoulders. Then he spun her around and made her look at the full-length mirror. “Now see your true self.”

Before she knew it, even the red dress had disappeared. But what she saw was not her naked body. Reflected in the mirror were her exposed insides, with her skin peeled off and even her bones scraped clean.

“Ah…ahhh…aaaahhhh…”

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Her heart beat wildly as it swirled. With every breath she took, her lungs contracted and swirled. Her stomach, which was supposed to be digesting the cake that she had been looking forward to, was swirling too. Her womb, which was supposed to carry Linus’s child in the near future, was swirling. Swirling, swirling, swirling.

Maria’s body was already…no longer that of a human.

“With a body like that, who in the world could possibly love you?” Although Werner only whispered those words, despair slowly spread through Maria’s heart.

“No… Noo… Linus and I, we…”

Origin’s messenger mocked her as she teared up.

“What, did you think you’d get married, have children, and be happy? That’s impossible. With a body like that, there’s no way you could give birth to a human child!”

Voices that Maria had grown tired of hearing spoke up too, mocking her, as if in agreement with Werner.

“You can’t do it.” “It’s impossible.” “Give up.” “Don’t misunderstand.” “Obey.” “Don’t dream.”

Maria covered her eyes and crouched down.

“Help me, Linus… Someone, help me…”

But no one came. Perhaps Werner had done something so that the sound wouldn’t exit the room, because not even Elune could hear Maria’s voice.

“After being exposed to Lord Origin’s will for years on end, you even used a core. There was no way you could return to being a normal human.”

Werner’s ill-natured, wicked words unfortunately weren’t just baseless lies meant to rattle her. She knew it. Somewhere in her heart, she had noticed. It was undeniable.

“Destiny converges. Once you are entwined and caught, the only one you can connect with is Lord Origin.”

Even so. Even so, Maria didn’t want to accept it. She wanted to fall in love with Linus normally, be joined with him, live her life like a normal girl… The life she had dreamed of for over ten years was finally within her grasp.

“Let’s connect.” “We want to join.” “Let’s become one.” “Share.” “We will be one.”

However, faced with the voices pouring in, all she could do was sob weakly. Furthermore, Maria’s abdomen gradually began to swell.

“H-hic… Eeeeek! N-no…!”

Eventually, it swelled to the size of a pregnant woman in her final month. And then…

“Maria.” “Saint.” “Maria.” “Maria.” “Maria.” Squelch.

Her abdomen burst. Blood flew everywhere, but strangely, it didn’t hurt. And from the wreckage crawled a child with a swirling face. Its umbilical cord was connected to Maria. It was truly Maria’s child.

“Mama.”

“No, this can’t… No, no, noooo!” The child used its small hands to crawl up Maria’s body, gradually drawing closer to her face. Then it touched Maria’s cheek with its blood-covered fingers.

“Mama.”

“Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

 

***

 

“Maria, we’re really going to be late now!” Elune threw open the door with some force. “Huh? She’s not here. The dress is gone too… Did she just leave without a word? My word, what a troublesome child…”

Maria was not there. The pool of blood and the Origin core had completely disappeared as well.

 

***

 

The royal palace had a balcony overlooking the courtyard. Unlike the balcony used by the king to address the people when giving a speech, this balcony normally had tables and chairs set up on it and was often used for tea parties by the royal family and their associates. Satuhkie and Chatani sat there together. They were relaxed, but they had two soldiers standing watch at the entrance to the balcony, maintaining vigilance.

“Are you sure you’re okay not going to the party, Satou?”

Satuhkie had also been invited to the party hosted by Leitch. It was almost time for the party to begin at any moment, but he didn’t seem to be going.

“I know my place quite well. Someone like me would only sour the mood. Are you sure you’re fine with not going to the party? You did quite a lot in the battle, didn’t you?”

“Even if there is delicious food on offer, I can’t eat it. It’d just make me feel empty.”

“You have an appetite?”

“Well, it’s a relief that I don’t get hungry, but still—when I see something delicious, I feel like I wanna eat it.”

“Is it impossible for you to create a device that will let you experience taste?”

“There aren’t enough kinds of sensors to make something like that work.”

“This world is still underdeveloped, I suppose, which means that humanity still has room for progress.”

Chatani shrugged his shoulders. “You’re a positive one,” he said sarcastically and smiled.

Satuhkie, pitching forward slightly, made him a proposal.

“If possible, there’s something that I’d like you to cooperate with me on, Doctor Chatani.”

“It probably wouldn’t be good for me to have too much influence on civilization. Civilization as it is now must be advanced by the people of today.”

“Unfortunately, the learning devices destroyed by the old civilization are greatly related to the development of our civilization.”

“Ugh, yeah, right. But I’m gonna pass on that. I think I’m gonna retire for a while. Now that I’ve done what I needed to do, my motivation has suddenly withered away.”

“Does someone who has fulfilled their duty feel cheerful, then? Like a load has been taken off your shoulders? Or do you feel empty?”

“I feel super happy, obviously.”

“Is that so?”

“It is. Humans are creatures who aspire toward beautiful goals, but ideals are only ideals, in the end.”

“I think pursuing ideals is important too. I—”

Chatani began speaking like a dreamer. Then his voice and image suddenly grew distorted, right before Satuhkie’s eyes.

“Huh…? What’s going on? I’ve never had a malfunction like this before.”

“Doctor Chatani? What’s wrong? Did something happen to the main unit?”

“You! You’re Wer—stop! You’ll destroy me—”

“Chatani? Chatani!” Satuhkie stood up forcefully, knocking over his chair. He rushed over to Chatani, but the man disappeared.

Immediately afterward, he heard agonized death cries from the entrance to the balcony.

“Ughh!”

“Guwaaaah!” The soldiers who had been keeping watch had died, impaled by twisted swords of light.

“What’s going on?!” When Satuhkie turned to look, there was a young woman in a red dress with a swirling face standing there. The woman held a baby, which also had a swirling face, in her arms as she slowly approached Satuhkie.

“Good child. Good child.”

“Kyah!”

“Good child. Good child.”

“Babbo! Kyah!”

“Good child…good child…” The girl repeated the same words over and over in a lifeless voice, like she was broken.

“Maria? Is that you? What in the world happened to you? That body…?”

Maria was barefoot, her feet pattering across the floor.

“When we stray from our path, we are destined to be brought back to it someday.”

When she took one step forward, Satuhkie took one step back, keeping the distance between them.

“Stop. There’s still time. Linus was supposed to have made you happy!” he shouted desperately at her. But it didn’t make any sense to Maria.

“I. We. We mistakenly believed that we had the right to choose. Such pitiful clowns we were.” The conflict was already long ended.

“There’s no need to do this anymore! The role of the Saint should be finished!” Perhaps Satuhkie truly did love humanity. But his words were too shallow to counter Maria’s personal despair.

“Even the path that I had thought I walked of my own will, I had gone around and around, twirling like a spiral. Eventually, it will converge.”

Satuhkie’s back hit the railing. There was no longer any escape.

“The path you ought to be taking isn’t wrong!”

Maria raised her face from the baby and looked him straight in the eyes, directing her spiral at him.

“If there is a mistake, it is that I thought there was a ‘path I should take.’ Even though I am…this.”

Then she summoned a sword of light.

“Urk… The people… The future of the world…”

The blade of judgment pierced Satuhkie’s abdomen. He fell backward into the courtyard.

“It’s still…in darkness…”

His head cracked hard against a rock. When Maria approached the railing, she looked over the balcony, down at his corpse.

“You. Me. This world.” Strangely, her heart felt lighter. She had found her true salvation in complete and total resignation.

“I pray for your happiness in the afterlife.” Maria narrowed her eyes, as if in prayer. Then she was enveloped in light and disappeared.

 

***

 

Satuhkie Ranahgrky. Died age forty-nine. Death by falling from the balcony of the royal castle. Cause of death was a cerebral contusion caused by hitting his head hard on the ground. May his soul rest in peace.

Chapter 19: Happy Ending

Chapter 19:
Happy Ending

 

THOSE WHO HAD RECEIVED invitations were gathering at Leitch’s manor. Entering the venue, Flum was relieved to see that everyone was dressed like normal.

“Phew, thank God. I was wondering what I’d do if everyone showed up in formal clothes.”

“I thought you seemed fidgety, Flum. You were that worried about it?”

When Ink cackled with laugher, Eterna let out a soft chuckle. “You’re surprisingly cowardly.”

“A simple country gal like me is totally overwhelmed by a party like this.”

“You have a point… This is so fancy, I can’t help but be nervous.”

“I’m the same as Flum and Milkit, so I guess we’re coward buddies.”

Flum and the others had left home by carriage, but they stopped at the royal castle on the way to pick up Cyrill. The venue was already being set up, with sumptuous dishes lined up on the tables. In fact, the staff were still busily carrying plates around, which meant there was more to come.

“To provide such large Ohgles… I suppose I should have expected no less from Leitch.” Gadhio, who had approached the group from behind, looked at the fruit on the table.

“Oh, Gadhio! What, are they that expensive…?”

“I’ve heard stories of adventurers who, after finding some, used the money to buy a house in the Central District.” If Kleyna said that, then it must have been true. They could feel Leitch’s enthusiasm for this party.

“Daddy, Mommy, can I eat too?”

“Of course. You can have as much as you like.”

“Yay!” Gadhio gently patted Hallom’s head with a fatherly look. Hallom screwed up her face, as if he was tickling her, but then she saw something and froze.

“There’s someone even huger than Daddy!” Her gaze was fixed on Herrmann. Naturally, Ottilie and Henriette weren’t far away.

“You Royal Army folks all came as well! Huh? Wait, what about Werner?”

“I suppose that means you haven’t seen him either, Flum. I wonder where in the world he’s gone?” Henriette had thought he might just be late to the party, but…

“We called his house, but no one was there. So we thought he might’ve come here ahead of us.”

“He’s an impatient man…”

But judging by Henriette and Herrmann’s words, that wasn’t what was happening here. Flum was growing worried. However, Ottilie laughed it off.

“Fu fu, do not worry about it. I’m sure it’s not like Werner has suddenly turned into a moody fellow. We still don’t know what he was really doing during the incident with Necromancy, right?”

“Now that you mention it, no…”

“Even when we were together at the Demon Lord’s castle, he would disappear from time to time.”

“And then he’d reappear before you knew it. I think you’ve experienced it before, Flum, Cyrill.”

In other words, she was saying that this was just like before. There was no point in worrying about it.

“Why are you standing still around the entrance? Hurry and come inside!” Y’lla had just appeared. At her urging, Flum and the others entered the party venue.

“You were invited too, Y’lla?” Flum asked while she was forcefully pushed forward.

“What? Is it bad that I came?”

“It’s that you just don’t seem to have any connection to Leitch, I mean.”

“He invited Slowe. Obviously, that meant I was coming too. We’re a pair.”

“Where’s Slowe then?”

“The king can’t exactly afford to be out making merry, so he stayed in the castle. Which is why I’m representing him in his stead.”

“Your position is as mysterious as ever…”

Flum thought being the king’s representative sounded quite important, but all she could pick up from Y’lla was a lighthearted mood that said, “I’m gonna eat some yummy food!” The venue had large tables lined with food and separate tables for individuals. It was a standing party, but chairs were provided at the tables. Flum, Milkit, Eterna, Ink, and Cyrill were around the same table.

“Mmm, it seems incredible. I wish Nekt could’ve come too,” Ink said as she sat down at the table.

“Nekt’s become a lot more energetic over the past few days, too.”

“I think that Origin’s influence being weakened played a significant part in that, because she was even being cheeky with me.”

“So she wasn’t just doing it to a stranger like me, but to you too, Flum? Well, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about, then.”

Flum and Cyrill had already visited Nekt. Though Nekt was hurt by the loss of her older siblings, she had become well enough to tease Flum about her relationship with Milkit.

“It sounds like things are going to be really lively if we start living together.” Milkit smiled as she said that. Nekt, who had no relatives, had nowhere to go back to. Once her treatment was complete, she would probably live at Flum’s house, where Ink was.

As they were talking about this, a figure approached the table.

“A new roommate joining the home of the hero who saved the world… This is a very interesting conversation indeed.”

“Welcy, you finally made it!”

“I wanted to at least pop in and say hi to you and the others, Flum, but I’ve been busy with my reporter job.”

“I’m sure you’d make a killing writing articles about us.”

“Oof, that’s a hard sell, Eterna. The royal capital’s in ruins, so no one’s reading the newspaper now.”

“Then why have you been busy?”

Welcy had a dejected look on her face as she answered Ink’s question. “I’ve been distributing papers for free…because I believe that when the royal capital is rebuilt, I can snatch a share of the market away from the competition!” She clenched her fists tight at the end of her statement, her resolve burning bright. “So anyway, I’m gonna go say hi to the others. See you later!”

With a wave and a goodbye, she hurriedly raced off toward another table.

“It looks like she’s pushing herself really hard.”

“Yeah, she’s putting on a cheery face and trying to act like everything is okay.”

“You think so too, Eterna, Cyrill?”

“It…looks like she still hasn’t been able to make up with Leitch yet.”

“It’s difficult. They’re brother and sister—can’t they just say ‘I’m sorry’ and be done with it?” Even Ink, who was building a family-like relationship with Nekt, couldn’t turn a blind eye to the situation, or dismiss it as someone else’s problem. She could hear Leitch’s voice giving instructions from the kitchen. The soft female voice must have belonged to his wife, Foiey.

Normally, Welcy would have joined in to help with the preparations, but there was an awkwardness between the siblings that was proportional to the size of the rift in their relationship. For Flum’s part, she felt indebted to Leitch, so she wanted to help with getting them to make up. But…

“I think it’s less that this is a problem for Welcy and more that Leitch can’t forgive himself. It may be difficult to resolve unless Leitch actually wants to be forgiven by his little sister.”

When would he break free from this intense self-loathing? It seemed a little too difficult for Flum and the others, who were essentially strangers, to help with that.

“Well, I suppose there’s no point in us getting depressed about it ourselves.”

“Yeah… Oh, hey, that reminds me. It looks like Sara didn’t come after all, huh?” Flum looked around, but there was no sign of the gluttonous little girl.

“She must really have gone to the Demon Lord’s castle with Neigass.”

When Milkit said that, Flum remembered the time Sara visited her house a few days ago.

 

***

 

“I’m gonna be going to the demon realm for a while, so I came by to say hey!”

When Sara showed up with Neigass in tow, Flum had wondered if something was going on. Now that she’d said something like that. Flum couldn’t help but ask her a barrage of questions.

“Wait, even though you only just got back? Are you going by yourself? What did Elune say?”

“I reported it to her, of course. But, uh…we did fight quite a bit.”

“It was kind of like meeting her parents. I never imagined it would go that way.” Neigass rubbed her cheek.

Eterna asked Sara a question this time. “Even so, if it’s been decided you’re going, then that means Neigass was permitted to accompany you. What kind of magic did you use? An older woman in such revealing clothing, saying she was going to take a young girl who was like a daughter to her off somewhere—I’d expect her to refuse point-blank.”

They were harsh words, but also true ones, so Neigass couldn’t retort.

“Uh… We didn’t use any magic. The Holy Saint put in a good word for us.”

“Maria did?” Flum was surprised.

Sara happily recounted what had happened. “Big Sis Maria explained that Neigass has been protecting me all this time. She also said that Neigass has been taking good care of me and watching over me closely, even during the battle in Tokyo. If it weren’t for that, I don’t think Elune would’ve ever allowed it.”

Elune must have been quite depressed after losing Ed, Johnny, and even Sara. Furthermore, the church in the Central District had been damaged by the Children and Mother, killing her fellow nuns. And then Sara had safely returned home, healing a portion of Elune’s wounded heart. It would’ve been impossible for Elune to treat Neigass harshly after hearing how she had saved Sara from danger and kept her safe. Despite Neigass’s suspicious appearance, if Maria had given Neigass her seal of approval and vouched for her being a reliable person, Elune would have no choice but to entrust Neigass with Sara.

Of course, she must still have had some mixed feelings about the whole thing. And there was one other person who couldn’t sincerely rejoice at the news, either.

“That means I won’t be able to see you anymore, Sara,” Ink said sadly.

“It’s not forever!” Sara hurriedly added. “I plan to come back in about a week.”

“Huh? Really?”

“When I come back, let’s play!”

“Yeah, yeah! Let’s play!” The two of them seemed to have overcome the eyeball incident and become even closer friends than before.

“Besides, considering the position the demons are in, it’s not like I can just keep her with me all the time.”

“Have you talked to Satuhkie about this?”

“Yes, I made sure to have a proper talk with him. In fact, Satuhkie and Henriette provided a good pretext to have my little Sara work with me. They said she would deliver an important correspondence to the Demon Lord, serving as an envoy to deepen relationships with the demons.”

“I can understand Henriette, but even Satuhkie was on board with this idea? Huh.”

“He has a soft side to him.”

Eterna gazed into the distance. She must have been thinking about the time she bowed her head to him and asked him to protect Ink.

“Hmm… I’m not sure I fully understand yet.”

“Is something bothering you, Milkit?”

“Sara, are you going to the demon realm so you can be with Neigass the whole time?”

Sara’s cheeks went red when Milkit stated her true purpose so clearly.

“W-well, there is that, yes…”

Neigass’s eyes shone, creased with happiness, on seeing the expression on Sara’s face. After savoring the moment, she spoke up honestly, without trying to hide anything.

“My little Sara said she wanted to be with me—but she also wants to stay in the royal capital, live with Maria and Elune, and help a lot of people. As for me, as the Demon Lord’s adjunct, I can’t very well stay away from the demon realm forever. So we decided to go to the demon realm first to discuss how we could spend as much time together as possible in the future.”

“You’re thinking about the future more seriously than I thought you’d be.”

“Meeting the parents and discussing the future… Sara, are you…going to marry Neigass?”

“Big Sis Flum, you’re being too hasty! Don’t you think so, Neigass?!”

“Demons have no age-related restrictions or anything like that. Once we stop growing, we’re considered adults and can get married.”

“I’m still growing, though!”

“But you do love each other.”

Sara blushed bright red and froze at Milkit’s blunt remark. “Um… W-Well, yes, that’s true… Big Sis Milkit, you really say things straight out, don’t you?”

“Because the same goes for me and Master.” Milkit had a happy smile on her face as she said that. This time, it was Flum who went bright red. For some reason, even Eterna looked embarrassed.

 

***

 

“Master, why are you turning red?”

“I ended up remembering something other than Sara, too…”

Milkit herself didn’t seem particularly embarrassed to recall that moment. She was invincible, full of happiness after being bound to Flum.

“It kind of feels like I’ve been left behind. It’s like Sara grew up all of a sudden.”

“There’s no need for you to rush, Ink. In Sara’s case, her partner’s a demon, so common sense doesn’t apply.”

“Eterna, will you marry me?”

“You should be saying that to the person you really love.”

“But I am saying that to the person I love most of all, right now!”

Eterna didn’t show it on her face, but she must have been happy, because she gently patted Ink on the head. In that moment, Cyrill sensed something and looked toward the entrance of the party venue.

“Seems like Linus has arrived.”

There, near the entrance, was Linus, looking around the entirety of the venue. He and Cyrill must have caught each other’s eyes, because he came over.

“Hey, Cyrill. Have you seen Maria?”

“I thought for sure you would’ve come together.”

“I was waiting for her out in front of the venue, but she never showed up.”

“Maria is living in the remains of the church in the Central District now, right?” Flum said.

Linus responded, a troubled look on his face. “I popped by there, too. And Elune said that Maria had already left.”

Flum took another look around the venue herself, but sure enough, there was no sign of Maria. Just then, Leitch ran over and called to Linus, as if he had been waiting for him.

“Linus, has Maria not come yet?”

“Oh, hey, sorry, Leitch. I’m going to look for her again, so you can start without us.”

“But we need everyone to be together to…”

“We don’t want the food to get cold. Besides, I’m sure my Maria will hate to feel responsible for delaying the party. Don’t worry. I’ll find her and bring her here right away.”

Linus headed outside once again. Leitch pondered for a moment, but in the end, Linus’s words seemed to convince him. He went off to begin making the final preparations for the party to begin.

A few minutes later, Leitch reappeared, climbing onto a stagelike structure that had been built out front. He spoke into a stone that had been engraved with a spell that amplified sound.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting. Now without further ado…”

The party began while Linus and Maria were still absent.

 

***

 

After Leitch delivered some brief remarks, everyone proceeded to pile food onto their plates. The orchestra had begun their live performance on the stage. The most eye-catching of the decadent dishes on display was a massive hunk of meat. Apparently, the chef was going to cut it up and use fire magic right in front of them to serve it to them as steak.

“What a big piece of meat. I wonder how much it costs…” Milkit observed the food intently from a housewife’s perspective.

“Is that Deep Forest buffalo meat?” Gadhio said in a rare tone of surprise.

“Is that a rare monster?” Flum asked

Kleyna responded, “It’s a huge S-Rank monster occasionally found deep in the mountains. It’s rare and it’s unbelievably strong, so its meat is seldom procured. I wonder how he was able to get his hands on something like this.”

“Does it cost as much as it would to build a house, by any chance…?”

“Easily.”

“Yes, it’d cost as much as a house.”

Gadhio and Kleyna nodded at the same time. Flum hesitated to reach for the hunk of meat, which was more expensive than crude gemstones, but the children innocently held their plates up to the chef.

“Meat, please!”

“I want some too!”

Afterward, the adults followed Hallom and Ink’s example.

“I wanna eat my fill and build a house in my belly.”

“That’s crude, Werner…” Although Herrmann had said that, his cut of meat was bigger than anyone else’s.

“Wait, Werner, when did you…?”

“As soon as you wonder when he appeared, he immediately starts eating the meat. He is so childish,” Ottilie, who had just passed by, said with a cold look in her eyes. What she said in itself was entirely reasonable. She was also clinging tightly to Henriette, who must have been used to it, because she looked composed and showed no signs of discomfort.

“As you can see, Herrmann is the biggest eater in the Royal Army. In the barracks, we are restricted on how many times you can ask for seconds. A party like this, where there’s no need to hold back, must be like paradise for him.”

Imagining Herrmann looking all dejected, shoulders slumped because he was forbidden from having seconds, made Flum giggle.

“There’s so much food that even together, we can’t eat it all. Maybe it’s better to just let them tuck in. Otherwise, we’ll end up building a house with the leftovers.”

“Building…a house?”

“It seems like it.”

“Can’t we use some of the military budget for that…?”

“Ottilie, don’t think about unnecessary things. Let’s enjoy the party for now.”

“Sorry, Sister. You’re right. I need to enjoy the time I have together with my sister!”

Ottilie and Henriette, who seemed slightly out of sync with each other in terms of what they were talking about, walked away.

Before anyone realized it, Gadhio was standing in front of the chef who was grilling the meat. A chunk of meat as big as Herrmann’s was being cooked on the griddle. It looked like Kleyna had already received her steak before him.

“Flum, aren’t you going to have some?” she said.

“I’m fine. By the way, Gadhio sure eats a lot, doesn’t he?”

“He wasn’t like that when he was thin, but his appetite has increased as his body has grown bigger.”

“Isn’t it tough, though, cooking for him?”

“It’s tough, sure. But when he cleans his plate, it makes me, the person making the food, very happy.”

“Is that how it is? I wonder if Milkit feels the same way…”

“Now that you mention it, I see she’s not with you right now.”

“Yeah, she said she’d get my food. She was really enthusiastic about it.” Flum looked over at Milkit, who was making up a plate for her some distance away. When Kleyna saw her, she playfully nudged Flum’s shoulder.

“You’re being doted on.”

“Yes, I certainly am.” Flum spoke happily of her lover, albeit shyly.

 

***

 

Meanwhile, Milkit was waiting for the chef to fillet a huge fish. As she watched the chef’s knife skills to see if she could learn something to use when she cooked at home, Cyrill peered over her shoulder at what she had in her hands.

“Is that for Flum, too?”

“Yes, it is.”

Y’lla suddenly popped her head out from the other side. “You’re quite the devoted type, aren’t you?”

“Oh, Y’lla…”

“Why are you surprised by me when you’re not surprised by the hero?”

“Oh, well, it’s just that I haven’t heard much about you… I heard that you’re Master’s friend.”

“Well, yes, I suppose we have no connection other than Flum. Anyway, what’s your relationship with Flum?”

“Just jumping into private affairs without hesitation…” Cyrill was awed by Y’lla’s straightforward manner of speaking.

“Satuhkie praised me for my lack of restraint. He said it was my strength.”

“I don’t think that was praise.”

“Only a fool would take sarcasm at face value and get depressed over it.”

“You’re strong…” The hero admitted defeat. At the same time, Y’lla also respected Flum, whom she seemed to be on good terms with.

“So what’s going on with Flum? Answer.”

“Did Master not tell you? I heard that the two of you had tea together, though.”

“She was too embarrassed to say anything.”

“Oh, I see… Well, we’ve started dating.”

“I knew it. Wait, she’s beat me to it!”

“Were you competing?”

“No, not really, but it’s just that I personally feel frustrated. Hm. I wonder if Slowe would be more interested in a demon who was the devoted type. What do you think, as the most devoted of them all?”

“Me…? Well, I heard Slowe was suddenly made king, and that it’s left him kind of at a loss. Y’lla, you’re supporting him through it, aren’t you? I think you’re plenty devoted.”

“I had a vague feeling that might be the case.”

“I don’t think you’re supposed to say that yourself.”

Y’lla casually brushed Cyrill’s comeback off. “I think it’s kind of different from your style of devotion, Milkit. I think it’s like, mine isn’t cute or heartfelt. I’m trying to put my heart into it, though. How do you feel when you’re devoting yourself to someone else?”

Milkit put her hand on her chest and thought for a moment before she spoke, carefully weaving words together to express her feelings for Flum.

“Master has given me so much happiness. So much happiness that, no matter how much I give back, even if I devote my entire life to it, it will never be enough to repay her. Still, I do what I can, hoping that it’ll be enough to repay her just a little.”

“I don’t think Flum really wants anything in return, though.”

“I think just having you by her side is enough, Milkit.”

“Yes, you’re right. Master has said so herself, too. But…” Milkit’s eyes creased, and her flushed cheeks relaxed as she felt her love for her master well up within her. “I’m happiest when I’m devoting myself to Master. So even though I understand those things, I just can’t seem to stop.”

She sounded so happy when she spoke that Cyrill and Y’lla couldn’t help but pause in reaching for the food. They had thought this before, but they thought it again. I wonder if this girl is maybe a little too in love with Flum?

“I don’t think I could be like that.”

“I’m sure that Flum would say that as long as you’re happy, Milkit, that’s all that matters.” Cyrill wasn’t just guessing. She was certain of that.

“Really?” Milkit blushed bashfully. Her happiness was so evident that it even made Cyrill and Y’lla feel warmth inside, like she was sharing it with them.

“Flum really is amazing, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, I think so, too. I don’t think I could ever make someone that happy.”

No matter how powerful you might be, making another person happy was a complex thing to do. It was even harder to gift them the sheer level of bliss that Milkit felt.

“Flum…even forgave me, after all.” Cyrill couldn’t help but feel that Flum, who had accomplished so much, was a much more remarkable person than she was. Flum hadn’t condemned Cyrill for being cold to her. In fact, she would praise Cyrill whenever she had the chance, saying things like “Amazing!” or “I could never do that!”

But all that meant was that Cyrill had power. There was no comparison between that and Flum’s magnanimity.

“If I’m happy, that’s all that matters… Yes, I think that is definitely something Master would say. Master is a much more amazing person than she thinks she is, and she uses that strength for my sake. That’s why I always think that I’m not worthy of her.”

“I think so, too. I wonder if someone like me is good enough to be her friend.”

“If the hero is saying that, then someone like me has absolutely no place being her friend.”

“But master doesn’t think about things like loss and gain. She just offers people a helping hand because she’s kind.”

Flum hadn’t always been that strong to begin with. Since meeting Milkit, she had overcome many hardships before finally arriving at where she was today. Cyrill knew what Flum was like in the past, which was why she found her even more amazing.

“Can I bring Flum some food too? I want to give something to her, even if it’s just something small.”

“Of course.”

Cyrill knew that she couldn’t possibly repay Flum with something like that. But if she didn’t start small and work her way up, she’d never get anywhere. She’d just keep being on the receiving end.

“Well, if we can earn her favor that easily, then I’ll play along too.” Y’lla, jumping on the bandwagon, began piling more food onto the plate.

“That’s kind of a selfish line of thinking…”

“Hah hah, even Master can’t eat this much.”

Afterward, the three of them brought the large amount of food over the table, their hands fully occupied. Of course, Flum couldn’t eat it all by herself, so the four of them happily shared it with each other.

 

***

 

Gradually, the alcohol began to take effect, and the party grew more rambunctious. Meanwhile, Flum took Milkit outside to the manor garden. The sky was already shrouded in night, and only the lamps in the garden illuminated their surroundings.

“I’ve been curious about the beautiful garden here ever since I visited Leitch’s mansion before.”

“Did we sneak away from the party so you could see it?”

“I wanted to see it together with you, Milkit. What do you think?”

Flum had thought it would be a romantic gesture. Of course, she had gotten permission from Leitch. Milkit, understanding Flum’s feelings, hugged her arm.

The two of them walked slowly through the garden, which was filled with colorful blooming flowers.

“It’s beautiful. There are so many flowers that I’ve never seen before.”

“These are flowers that Mr. Leitch collected, so I’m sure they must be special.”

“He said that he got them from all over the continent. Oh, I think I’ve seen this one before.” Flum stopped in front of an orange flower that bloomed as wide as the sun.

“That flower is like you, Master.”

“Y-you think so…?”

“Yes. You bloom so beautifully, and you always shine down on me, like the sun.”

“Urgh… Well, then, maybe this one’s like you, Milkit.”

Saying that, Flum turned her gaze toward a white flower. The flower bloomed modestly, but its beauty was unmatched. Even surrounded by countless other flowers, it stood out with a grace that made it instantly recognizable.

“You’re beautiful, shining brightly no matter where you are. Like a light, always capturing my gaze and my heart.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You’re the most beautiful person in the whole world, Milkit.”

“I’m sure you’re the only one in the world who can find me, Master.” The flower looked plain to most people, and it was buried among other flowers, where no one would find it. But that flower was fine with that. “If Master finds me, that is all the reward in the world. I don’t need anything else.”

“I can’t win…”

“Were we competing?”

“I was. I feel like I really, really love you, Milkit, but I just can’t win against the love that you give me.”

“Master, you shower me with plenty of love.”

“Milkit, you’re always talking about how I’m not aware of things, but I think that you’re even less aware than I am. About, like…how do I put this…? The power of your love is strong.”

“I don’t know about love. I’m just taking the feelings I have for you in my heart and putting them into words, Master.”

The smile on Milkit’s face threw Flum’s heart into disarray. Was it really okay to have such a cute girl for a lover? Was it really possible to be loved so much that it felt like your brain was going to explode with happiness?

“Ah, it’s too much. I can’t take it anymore!”

“Master…?”

Flum suddenly turned around and shouted toward the night sky.

“Milkit, I love youuuuuuuu!” Her voice echoed far and wide. At the very least, she had shouted loud enough to most definitely be heard across the venue. It was embarrassing, of course, but she loved Milkit so much that she didn’t care anymore.

However, her sudden shout had made Milkit’s eyes go wide with shock, her pupils reduced to tiny dots.

“You surprised me.”

“Sorry. It was just that I love you so much that I felt like I was going to explode if I didn’t say it out loud, Milkit.”

“Is it okay if I try, too?”

“Huh? Sure, it’s fine, but…you’re not embarrassed?”

“Not at all. Because it’s how I really feel.” Milkit, smiling happily, turned to the air to shout directly from her heart. “Master, I love youuuuu!”

Her voice was definitely at a more modest volume than Flum’s, but it carried all the same. Then, with a giggle, she turned and stared at Flum.

I think this might be a good time.

Before they realized it, they were just staring at each other. There were no words, no meaning. They were simply happy. But they wanted to get even closer, so Flum tightened her grip on their intertwined fingers.

Under the moonlight, in this beautiful garden, this situation is perfect!

When Milkit turned to look at her, she felt like their hearts were connected.

Okay, now!

Flum brought her face closer to Milkit’s. Milkit’s eyes creased, ready to accept what was coming.

Squelch. Squelch.

When she heard the sound of swirling flesh, Milkit’s eyes suddenly snapped wide open. Flum also stopped and turned in the direction of the sound.

There stood Cyrill. The face of the girl standing alone in the garden at night was completely buried in a spiral of meat.

 

***

 

“That is just way too embarrassing.” Flum and Milkit’s shouts from the courtyard could clearly be heard inside the venue. Eterna, sitting in her seat and nibbling on bread, hung her head low in shyness. On the other hand, Ink smiled innocently.

“Lovers do that kind of thing, too!”

“Not normally, they don’t.”

“We’ve been fighting for days on end,” said Gadhio, who had a little bit to drink. “It’s okay to let loose once in a while.”

Eterna glared at him with a look of disgust.

“It’s wrong to indulge them. I see that kind of thing all the time when we’re at home. So much so I can’t take it anymore.”

“My condolences. Anyway, it seems like Cyrill’s gone off somewhere.”

Image - 18

“Now that you mention it…I haven’t seen her in a while.”

“I thought she might be talking to someone, but maybe not.” Gadhio was casually looking around for Cyrill when Hallom came up to him. She grabbed hold of Gadhio’s clothes and tugged, badgering him.

“Hey, hey, Daddy, let’s go get some fruit!”

“Okay, okay, don’t pull, Hallom.”

The two of them approached a table laden with food.

“I wanna eat that big one!” Hallom pointed to the large Ohgle.

As she approached it—something fell from the ceiling. It crushed the dishes that were on the table and smashed the table, too, before it slammed to the floor. It was a man’s corpse. The torso was pierced through, and the back of the head was crushed. The blood that poured from the body soiled the food.

Hallom clung tightly to Gadhio, trembling. Gadhio looked at the corpse’s face and muttered, “Satuhkie…”

The party guests and even the servants soon realized what had happened. The lively party venue was instantly transformed into a hellish scene of chaos and confusion.

 

***

 

“Kyaaaaaaah!” A shriek rang throughout the party venue. And then there was a spiral, squirming right before their eyes.

“Huh…?” Flum’s brain refused to comprehend what she was seeing. The hair, the clothes, the figure were all Cyrill’s. But her face was different. It was crushed. Red. Exposed flesh. Packed into a spiral. Wriggling disturbingly. Spewing blood.

“Cyrill?” Flum called her name in a trembling voice. The girl, standing stock-still, moved her flesh about as if trying to convey something.

“I. ’m. Sor. Ry.” That was what it sounded like to Flum, but it might just have been her imagination. No…it was possible that the girl standing before her was an illusion.

“Mast—” Noticing something unusual about her master, Milkit called to her.

But her words were cut off before she finished. Then, as if someone had flipped a switch, she lost consciousness.

“Happy end for you!”

Someone once said that, happily. No one knew what had happened. The only thing they knew for sure was that, on that night, almost every life in the royal capital was lost.

Bonus Story: Eterna Is like Usual: Second Form

Bonus Story:
Eterna Is like Usual: Second Form

 

WHEN ETERNA RETURNED to her room with her tea in hand, Ink was repeatedly touching the book on the desk. The house where Flum and Milkit lived was unnecessarily spacious, with plenty of extra rooms, so Ink had her very own…but she spent most of her time in Eterna’s room. At first, this had been so Eterna could keep her under medical observation after her heart transplant. At some point, Eterna stopped feeling uncomfortable about Ink being in the same room as her. She would’ve been lying if she said it wasn’t noisy with her around, but it was better than solitude.

“Ink, what are you doing?” When Eterna approached her and asked that question, Ink smiled broadly, looking all happy for some reason.

“I was just wondering what kind of book you were reading right now, Eterna.” Apparently, she was trying to feel the shapes of the characters with her fingertips. Ink couldn’t see, but in exchange, her other senses were sharp. When it came to something about as thick as the cover of a book, she could feel the slight unevenness of the printing with her fingertips. However…

“Can you tell?”

“Nope. I can’t tell at all. They’re all super complicated characters.” There was no way Ink would’ve been able to read the kinds of specialized books that Eterna read.

“Well, it’s actually a very difficult book, so that’s not surprising.” Eterna gently patted Ink’s head before sitting down in her chair. Ink hugged Eterna’s arm, squeezing it tight. She was always very physically affectionate, but this felt strangely clingy.

“What?”

“Hee hee, nothing!” Ink, clearly in high spirits, proceeded to bury her face in Eterna’s shoulder. Something was definitely strange here, but Eterna couldn’t figure out what had caused Ink to act this way.

“Well, whatever.” Eterna opened her book and continued reading. After a while, Ink opened her mouth to speak.

“Eterna, what are you always thinking about?”

“I don’t really understand the purpose of your question.”

“I can’t see anything, so I’m always imagining all sorts of things. Like, at first, I wondered if I’d be able to manage okay in this house. Then I wondered how I could repay you all. Stuff like that.”

“Everyone worries about things like that.”

“But lately, it’s been a little different. Now it’s like, I wonder how Eterna is doing, I wonder how Eterna laughs, how Eterna reacts to surprises, how Eterna looks when she’s embarrassed. I find myself thinking about you quite a lot, Eterna.”

“I see…”

“Ah, you were embarrassed just now, weren’t you?”

“I am not.”

“Your body temperature’s gone up, and your heartbeat’s gotten faster.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“You can’t hide it from me, because I’m clinging to you right now. Right?”

“Ink, your body is getting hotter, too. You’d be embarrassed to come out and say it yourself, wouldn’t you?”

“Yep!” Ink readily admitted. Eterna had no response to it. “Even so, I want to say it. I really like you, Eterna.”

“I see…”

“But still, I sometimes wonder why you think so much about me, Eterna.”

“I didn’t say that I do, Ink,”

“The book you’re reading.” Ink placed her hands over Eterna’s, which she was using to hold her book. Eterna’s heart started beating faster. “I don’t understand the whole title, but it’s a book about human eyes. Isn’t it?”

“That’s…”

“I already can’t possibly thank you enough just for keeping me alive, but you’re even thinking this much about my eyes. I can’t help but be so incredibly happy.”

Eterna hadn’t understood why Ink suddenly started clinging onto her or why she was talking about such things. But it all started to make sense if she assumed that the premise of the conversation was “Eterna was always thinking about Ink.” She was so embarrassed that she could die.

“Well…I want to do something about it. But it’s not like I’m thinking about you constantly, Ink.”

“Huh, really?”

“And in your case, Ink, I’m sure you’re also spending more time thinking about Nekt, too.”

“That’s true, but compared to when we first met, I dunno.”

“Also, earlier, you said ‘just’ for keeping you alive. I feel a little differently about that. Since I saved your life, I feel that I have a responsibility for the rest of your life, too. I’m reading this in the hope that there will be light in your future.” Whether because she was trying to hide her embarrassment or because she was totally serious, Eterna gave a somewhat stiff-sounding answer.

“Hmm, so then you don’t like me or anything like that.” Ink looked a little dissatisfied. “Hmm. Hmm.” Then as if she were pouting, she let go of Eterna’s book and plopped down on the bed.

“…” When Eterna saw that, an awkward look appeared on her face. After letting out a small sigh, she began to speak.

“Before coming to the royal capital…I lived deep in the mountains.”

Eterna didn’t talk much about her past—especially about the place where she lived before coming to the royal capital. It wasn’t because it was a difficult subject, but because she simply didn’t consider it worth talking about. It wasn’t like she had accomplished anything significant there. It was simply that she lived quietly in the mountains, as if time had stopped.

“For about fifty years, I lived without much contact with other people. My body didn’t age, and I rarely left the mountain. Eventually, the people in the village at the base of the mountain started calling me a ‘witch,’ fearing that they’d be cursed if they got close to me.”

Without realizing it, Ink had stopped sulking and was listening intently to Eterna’s story.

“That’s why…I have some thoughts about how I’m spending more time with people lately.”

“What kind of thoughts?”

“I might not be very good at interacting with other people at all.”

People told her that she was calm and collected, but she wondered if she was just bad at expressing her emotions. People seemed to think that she liked the quiet, but she wondered if she was just bad at making conversation. When she was with lively girls like Flum or Ink, she started to think that even more. Being so much older than them, she usually tried not to talk about such things…but, perhaps because of a pang of conscience for having made Ink sad, her true feelings had unintentionally slipped out.

Realizing from her tone of voice that Eterna was feeling quite down, Ink hurriedly hugged Eterna’s arm. “That’s not true!”

“But earlier…”

“Earlier was my fault! I was just being annoying!” Ink fawned upon Eterna, acting childish. It was true that Eterna wasn’t honest, but it was enough that she thought about what was in front of her. “Actually, not too long ago, you were the one who was more aggressive, Eterna.”

“As I watched Flum and the others, I began to wonder if I was correct about what constituted a sense of distance.”

“So you get down in the dumps like that too… Well, I guess that’s inevitable for a sixty-year-young child.” Ink climbed onto Eterna’s lap and hugged her tightly from the front. “Eterna, you know that I love you so much, so be more confident in yourself!”

“I can’t read in this position.”

“Deal with it!” Ink wanted to say. “That’s how it is!” But she held herself back. Instead, she leaned against Eterna and held her, as if to check her body temperature. Feel. Warmth. Scent. All of it reassured Ink. She savored the feeling of comfort, knowing that this was the place she belonged.

Eterna gently put her hand on Ink’s back and patted her softly, as if soothing her. Time passed quietly. Then Ink suddenly looked up and mischievously asked Eterna a question.

“Are you thinking about me?”

“I was thinking that, if nothing else, I’d like to be able to get along with you well, Ink.”

“You’re already plenty attractive, Eterna. You don’t need to worry about that.”

“You’ve grown up, Ink,” Eterna said, feeling Ink’s weight. There was the book, the heart, and the part about interacting with others, too. Ten-year-old girls grew up fast. When Eterna compared Ink to herself, someone for whom time had stopped, she almost felt like she had been left behind.

“I want to change too. I want to be able to make the people close to me smile more.” Eterna’s limit was that she couldn’t bring herself to say “Ink” specifically then, but…even so, her feelings had come across.

“Eterna…” Ink called her name in a sweet voice, her cheeks relaxing into a smile. She playfully pressed her cheek against Eterna’s shoulder and rested her body against hers. Then someone knocked on the door.

“Come in!” Ink replied reflexively.

“What? Ink, that’s—” Eterna tried to stop it, but she was too late. The door was opened, and Flum appeared, holding a plate of cookies with both hands. When Eterna went to get some tea earlier, the cookies were still baking. Flum had told her that she’d bring some when they were ready, but…

“Eterna, the cookies I was just making are done… Oh.” Flum saw Eterna and Ink embracing one another and surmised everything in an instant. “Sorry to have disturbed you. My apologies. I’ll just leave these here.”

She quickly placed the plate of cookies on the floor in a swift movement and closed the door.

“Wait, Flum, you’ve got it wrong! I don’t want this role reversal!” Eterna was panicking.

“It’s okay, don’t mind us! We’re just going to be doing our own thing over there, going all ‘Here, say ahhh’ and all that. I left the cookies near the door, so please eat them later. Take your time and have fun!” Flum’s voice gradually receded as she descended the stairs.

“That’s not the issue! Wait, Flum! Don’t act like the vibe here was the same as yours! It’s different from what goes on with you and Milkit!” Eterna desperately tried to explain herself, reaching for the door. However, she was unable to move because Ink was on top of her.

Eventually, Flum stopped replying, and Eterna let her outstretched hand fall limply. She stared at the cookies placed by the door, looking dejected. Ink, perhaps trying to comfort Eterna, spoke in a cheerful voice.

“Do you wanna feed them to each other too? Like ‘Say ahh,’ and all that?”

“No.”

“You don’t have to be embarrassed…”

“I’m not going to!” Eterna enveloped Ink in water and forcibly peeled her off.

The two of them then sat side by side and ate the cookies. While Eterna was disgruntled because Flum’s misunderstanding remained unresolved, the cookies were delicious.

Postscript

Postscript

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH for purchasing Volume 5 of Roll Over and Die. I sincerely appreciate it.

This is kiki, the author. It’s been quite a while.

I made a rather self-important-sounding prediction in the postscript of the previous volume, but before I knew it, five years had already passed. I’m truly happy that you’ve read this sequel, despite having been made to wait for so long.

Also, in a surprising turn, it turns out that Roll Over and Die will be adapted into an anime. I had the opportunity to supervise the anime, to the best of my meager ability, anyway, which allowed me to gain various experiences that are different from writing novels. Being surrounded by amazing people, attending meetings, being invited to the dubbing studio, getting to see the voice actors lend their wonderful voices to Flum and company—all things I couldn’t possibly have imagined while living in the countryside and writing novels alone at my PC. It was just far too removed from my life. What’s more, these amazing people were referring to me as sensei. I’ve never actually said this out loud, but I want to remember this feeling for the rest of my life. I look forward to working more with all of you in the future.

Also, I got to see Flum move and saw how her voice brought her to life. I already knew that Flum and Milkit were cute, but I realized that about one hundred times more intensely now. I also realized, with about a thousand times the intensity, that Jean was a good-for-nothing jerk. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with that guy? Also, everything was thoroughly disgusting, with stuff flying around and being torn apart, and I was treated to some incredible voices. I apologized when we were introducing ourselves, feeling bad about all of the screams and moans, but it seems I should have apologized a lot more.

Well, as I’m sure you can imagine, I can’t talk about anything in specific detail, so I humbly ask that you be patient in waiting for future announcements regarding the anime…

In the meantime, let’s talk about Volume 5. Chapter 6 could have been called “Showdown with the Church,” as it was a story about reading the Chimera and the Church Knights their last rites. This episode is not available in the web version and more than 90 percent of it is original to the printed edition. The theme is “past and future.”

Appearing as a figure from the past was Flum Watermoon. She’s a character who appeared in the end-of-volume questionnaire bonus for Volumes 1 through 4, where her encounter with Milkit Soleil and their runaway journey are described in more detail than in the main story, albeit up until a certain point. So if you’re interested, please give those a read. The difference between her and Flum Apricot is that, because she’s a typical high school girl, she’s not as good at enduring despair and pain. Though she’s a person who tends to get carried away easily, she’s taciturn and gloomy.

On the other hand, what awaits in the future is the love and desire of someone who wishes to share their happiness with another person. Flum and Milkit, who have finally started dating, are a perfect example of this. I’m sure the people around them wondered if they weren’t dating before now. But, knowing those two, their relationship probably won’t change that much even after they’ve finally started dating.

However, a certain something has begun, which threatens to completely blot out that joy.

The first part of the story covers Volumes 1 and 2, up to when Flum settles things with Dein. If the battle with the church in Volumes 3, 4, and 5 constitutes the second part, then Volume 6 will take us into the third and final part. I apologize for keeping you waiting for five years for this volume, but please rest assured that the next volume will be released in only a few months. This story is planned to finish with Volume 8, but I hope to get those to you without keeping you waiting too long, between this year and next.

Finally, I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone involved in this work. Thank you to Kinta-sensei, who was in charge of illustrations for the first four volumes and who designed the wonderful characters, and thank you to kodamazon-sensei, who drew new illustrations for Flum, making her look cute and sometimes very cool.

I’d also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my editor, who worked hard to make it possible for this volume of the novel to be released. I’m also thankful to Minakata Sunao-sensei,who created the comic adaptation of the work, the editor of the comic, and the many others involved in that publication as well. I’d also like to once again thank all of you, the readers, who have helped bring about this work being adapted into an anime.

Anyway, now that I have expressed my gratitude, it’s time for some disturbing, grim resignation… Let’s meet again in Volume 6, a hell that is like the end of the world.

Until we meet again.