Chapter 173

CHAPTER 12 Savior As the snow quietly falls, piling up on the ground, the demon gently smiles at us while showing no signs of hostility. Chaos Machina…?! But Seiya cut her to ribbons! This is warped Gaeabrande. If Seiya was never here like the dragonewt claimed, then that means Chaos Machina was never killed. While I can understand that, it’s still eerie to see a monster we already killed once before. As I watch Seiya with his sword drawn and ready to attack at any moment, Chaos Machina sticks out her red tongue and licks her lips. “Oh, myyy. How scary. Come on, now. Let’s be friends.” Flashika suddenly inserts himself between Seiya and Chaos Machina. “H-Hero…! Please stay your blade! As I mentioned a moment ago, we are working alongside the demons!” “Yes, yes, yessssss… Together, we must defeat those wretched dragonewts.” “…Do you seriously think I’d trust a demon?” You don’t even have to be as cautious as Seiya to understand how he feels. I’m of the same mindset. Cerceus hides behind Seiya as well while nodding. “I understand why you may be doubtful, however… Chaos Machina, do you have it with you?” “Yes, I doooo.” She pulls an old slip of paper from her cleavage. Flashika then holds it in our direction so we can see it. In the center of the paper is a magic circle and something written in bloodred…ink? “The ancient script says as follows: ‘Demons shall not harm humans, for this is the pact we made and shall give our lives for.’” “Tee-hee… They caaall this a Testament. A former general of the Demon Lord’s army named Kilkapul created it.” “K-Kilkapul…!” “Hmph. The monster that pretended to be a dwarven shopkeeper.” Seiya frowns. He was the general who summoned the God of Death, Crossed Thanatos! We would have never defeated that thing if it weren’t for Valkyrie and her Gate of Valhalla! “I’m even more skeptical of that treaty now.” “Well, aren’t you the waryyy one, Hero. But this pact possesses a magical pooower. If a demon were to break it and kill a human, they would die as well.” I do sense a powerful magical force overflowing from the back. I decide to use Appraise on it just in case… And sure enough, Chaos Machina isn’t lying. “Any demon who breaks the pact shall die.” Just like the summoning list Brahma gave me, which said I couldn’t summon Seiya, this pact possesses a powerful binding force, which was created by a tremendous magical and divine power. …And yet Seiya still doesn’t believe it. “Anyone could simply rewrite what it says.” “Not at all, my deeear. Once a pact has been written, it can never be changed.” “Should it become necessary, you’re planning on destroying it even if you have to use force, aren’t you?” “This pact cannot be destroyed no matter whaaat.” “Oh? Then put it on the ground right there.” After staring at the pact on the ground for a few moments, Seiya puts on his leather gloves and picks it up with both hands. “Hmph!” He lets out a somewhat strained grunt. It looks like he’s trying to rip the pact in half, but the thin piece of paper doesn’t even wrinkle. “Berserk: Phase Two.” A dark crimson aura immediately explodes from within him! Flashika and Chaos Machina step back. “Oh, myyy! So this is the power of the Hero!” “Incredible…!” While they watch in utter surprise, Seiya continues trying to rip the paper with all his might. Nevertheless, he isn’t even able to leave a mark on it after battling it for a full minute. And yet… “…Maximum Inferno…The First Valkyrja: Shattered Break.” He follows up the high-level fire magic with a Technique of Destruction, but he is unable to scratch the pact. “S-Seiya! Chaos Machina is telling the truth! The pact can’t be destroyed!” “Tee-hee. See? Nothing works.” Chaos Machina watches Seiya, amusement plain on her face. “I’m not done yet…! I can probably tear it if I just use Gate of Valhalla…!” “Seiya?! You’d kill yourself, too, if you do that! Why are you so desperate to destroy it?!” It must be pretty frustrating for Seiya. He lets out a “hmph,” then looks the other way as if he has finally given up. Sigh… He’s not an idiot, so I’m sure he’s not going to sacrifice himself just so he can rip a stupid piece of paper…right? “H-Hero, the facts speak for themselves! We have been living with the demons for a long time without conflict! In addition, our wisemen engaged in much debate during the negotiations of the pact and already thoroughly investigated each and every last letter of it! Not even someone with the powers of the Demon Lord could destroy it!” “You can explain all you want, but I still don’t trust them.” “Seiya, that’s enough! We’re just arguing in circles now… Anyway, Flashika, are we going to go meet Rosalie now or what?” “Yes, that is the plan.” Seiya clicks his tongue. “Hurry up, then. You’re wasting our time.” “…?! Do you know how long you spent trying to rip that stupid piece of paper?!” “Oh, myyy. We have quite the self-centered Hero on our hands. All right, allow me to take you to the princess. Follow me.” We keep our distance as we follow Chaos Machina. On the way, I see demons and humans working together shoveling snow around dilapidated buildings. They really are coexisting. It’s a sight to behold. All of a sudden, Chaos Machina looks back at Cerceus. “So I’ve been wondering… Are you their servant?” “What…?! I’m a god, too, you know!” “Ohhh? You are?” “Yes! Can’t you tell by my divine aura!” “Ohhh, is that sooo? You’re a god, huh? Good for youuu.” “You’re not being sarcastic, right?! Right?!” While watching their exchange, I whisper to Seiya: “I don’t sense any bloodlust coming from her. She is making fun of Cerceus, though.” “Don’t let your guard down, Rista. Check out her stats.” “Huh?” I use Scan just like Seiya told me to. “See what I mean? Her stats are far higher than they were last time.” “You’re right! I wonder why, though?” “This is a warped world. She must have obtained some sort of power she normally wouldn’t have, similar to how Mersais’s Hero was able to increase her berserker phase past the limit.” “But how…?” “Hell if I know. At any rate, do not let your guard down no matter what happens or who you meet from now on.” “O-of course!” Chaos Machina’s personality is still “cruel.” I was planning on exercising caution around the demons in town with or without Seiya’s warning, but his face remains stern. “Do you really understand what I’m trying to tell you? Remember, I said ‘no matter who you meet.’” “Huh?” “…We have arrived.” Flashika points to a run-down shack, bringing our conversation to an abrupt end. Rosalie’s in there? Rosalie is the princess of Roseguard, so I figured she’d be living in a castle like she used to. When we’re brought inside, it ends up being far more spacious than I imagined. There are soldiers with soot-covered faces gathered around a bonfire. There’s a woman in the center of the group. While Flashika explains to her that we’re the Hero and Goddess, the woman glares at me, but only with one eye. She’s wearing a black eyepatch over the other one. “A-are you…Rosalie?” “That I am. Rosalie Roseguard.” Her voice is the same, but her beautiful azure hair is now completely white. Her armor seems slightly tarnished. She seems like a completely different person. Nevertheless, I feel relieved to see someone I know and say: “I see you’ve been through a lot, Rosalie. You look all grown up.” “What an odd thing to say. I believe this is the first time we’ve met.” “O-oh yeah! Sorry!” “And I believe being thirty years old would indeed make me ‘all grown up.’” “…! You’re thirty? What the…?! I remember Rosalie being way younger than that! Seiya mutters by my side: “It appears even time itself was warped, so now we have the off-brand ‘Worn-Out Rosalie.’” “…Who are you calling ‘worn-out’?” Rosalie glares at Seiya. Sensing turbulence, Flashika suddenly tells her: “Th-the Goddess and Hero defeated the Blazing Dragon Hydral!” Rosalie’s eyebrows slightly rise, but she eventually lets out a deep sigh. “I wish you’d have come when mankind was on the verge of going extinct. I have no need for any Hero or Goddess anymore.” “B-But we did come! Seiya and I defeated the Demon Lord!” “I have no idea what you’re babbling on about.” “So, like, uh… This Gaeabrande isn’t the real Gaeabrande—” “Then where do you think we are?” Seiya holds his arm out and stops me before I try to explain. “You’re wasting your time, Rista. This isn’t the same Rosalie we know. Her age…personality, and even stats are different.” I notice a light in Seiya’s eyes as he stares at Rosalie, so I use Scan on her in a fluster as well. Sh-she’s strong! And… “Blessing of Darkness”? Her status is nothing like it was last time! Chaos Machina giggles. Does she know we’re using Scan? “Are you surprised? The princess is even stronger than meee.” “Where did she get such power?” “I guess you could call it the ‘Demon’s Blessing’?” “‘Demon’s Blessing’…?” Rosalie casts a stern gaze at Chaos Machina, shutting her up. I want to know more about it, but Rosalie doesn’t seem to want to talk about it. “At any rate, I want to check how much of a time difference there is between here and the real Gaeabrande.” Seiya faces Rosalie and asks: “When did you join forces with the demons?” “Three years after the Dragon Lord defeated the Demon Lord and the dragonewts started their reign. We’ve been working together for the past ten years in order to defeat them.” “A world where the Hero never appeared?! And over ten years have passed, to boot?!” Cerceus groans behind me in equal surprise. “We haven’t just been timidly running away, though. We have been developing teleportation magic circles using this town as our hub while disposing of dragonewts whenever the opportunity arises… We have suffered many losses as well, of course.” Rosalie tightly clenches her jaws as if recalling a bitter past. “The Dragon Lord’s powers are beyond imagination. Even the God of Death, Crossed Thanatos, who former General Kilkapul sacrificed himself to summon, was obliterated by the Dragon Lord’s blade.” “What?! That Thanatos…?!” Seiya wasn’t even able to defeat that! He had to escape to the spirit world and have Valkyrie use her ultimate attack, Gate of Valhalla, to finally get rid of it! And this Dragon Lord just defeated it himself?! “Nonetheless, we still have to defeat the Dragon Lord. That is why we have been carefully preparing all these years.” “Wh-what do you mean by ‘preparing’…?” “Princess Rosalie…!” A soldier rushes into the shack, gasping for air. “Th-th-the sealed stone…! The magic-sealing stone has cracked!” Immediately, the soldiers’ faces light up with excitement. “F-finally…!” “Our wish is finally going to come true!” “Yes, it won’t be long before our savior is resurrected!” Rosalie quietly gives the soldier a firm nod, then looks at Seiya and me. “Allow me to thank you for defeating Hydral and his men. It appears that sped up the resurrection.” “Wh-what…?” Chaos Machina mirthfully laughs. “After ten years of haaard work, she’s finally going to be resurrected! The legendary demon, more powerful than even the late Demon Lord, shall return…!” “A legendary demon?! R-Rosalie…! You’re trying to resurrect someone as dangerous as that?!” “Everything I do, I do to defeat the Dragon Lord.” “But…!” Rosalie suddenly shoots me a distant gaze. “You have no idea how frightening the dragonewts are! They follow the teachings of the Seraph and brutally murder humans! They pried the organs out of my father, Wohlks Roseguard, while he was still alive before killing him!” “What…?! The emperor’s…” Rosalie runs a finger over her eyepatch to quell her rage. “The final crusade between the Human-Demon Alliance and the dragonewts is about to begin.” “Th-then let Seiya and I join you!” “A human is no longer any match for the Dragon Lord Dragonight. He has grown far too powerful for the Hero to be of any help.” “But Seiya can turn into a berserker, and he defeated Hydral easil—” “No, thank you. This is going to be the end of our decade-long war.” Seiya suddenly pulls me back by the shoulder. “That’s enough, Rista. They’ve made up their minds.” “B-but…!” Dragonight is the one who warped Gaeabrande! Seiya and I eventually are going to have to defeat him. But Seiya whispers into my ear: “It would be in our best interest to have the Dragon Lord and the Human-Demon Alliance kill each other.” “What the…?! What kind of half-assed plan is that?!”