CHAPTER 13 Leaving It to Others “Hey, um…Rosalie? This Mash person…” “Mash Dragonight is the Dragon Lord’s name.” The moment I hear that name, I visualize a boy, who is always cheerful and bright, wearing a bandanna over his light brown hair. A fierce light glows in Chaos Machina’s eyes. “He even turned his childhood friend into a sword to slaughter countless demons and humans!” His childhood friend…?! She doesn’t mean Elulu, does she?! Th-that means his sword must be…Igzasion! I wanted it to be just a misunderstanding, but my hope was almost immediately crushed. There is no doubting it! The Dragon Lord is Mash! And… And…Elulu is no longer…! I panic. Seiya, however, speaks in a calm voice as he asks Rosalie: “Just to make sure, was that childhood friend’s name Elulu?” “Yes. Even after death, they still worship her as the Seraph.” This is a stunning and terrifying revelation to me. Seiya, on the other hand, doesn’t seem fazed in the slightest. “I assumed so. If they were able to defeat both Crossed Thanatos and that Demon Lord, then using the holy sword Igzasion would be the only way other than Gate of Valhalla.” “So Mash really did…” But I stop myself, too frightened even to mutter the words “kill Elulu.” My head is going to explode. I feel only anxiety. But even if Mash did use the Igzasion, would he really be powerful enough to defeat the Demon Lord? More important, I thought only the Hero could use the holy sword. Seiya softly sighs. “It looks like we’re going to need to stop Mash if we ever want to fix this warped world.” “…! Y-yeah…!” I firmly nod back at Seiya. H-he’s right! We don’t have to kill him. We just need to stop him! We know the real Mash. While strong-willed, he’s an honest, good kid. But since Seiya and I never showed up in this Gaeabrande, Mash must have taken on so much hardship all by himself, which could have made him lose his mind. I want to stop him, but there’s probably no point in telling Rosalie this right now. “That’s all the more reason for us to help you, Rosalie. Let us join your fight!” “…I’m pretty sure I already told you: I don’t need your help.” “Seiya’s strong! He’d be a valuable asset to your army!” “Beating Hydral is a feat deserving of praise. However, we, too, have successfully defeated high-ranking dragonewts over the past decade and reduced their number by half. Honestly, even Chaos Machina and I could have defeated a dragonewt of that level if we’d worked together.” “You, Rosalie? Yeah, I don’t know…” The Rosalie I know talked a big game like the old Reckless Seiya did, but the aura radiating from the woman before me is awe-inspiring. Y-yeah, this Rosalie is extremely imposing! Even her stats are superhuman! While hesitating, I notice Rosalie place a hand on Chaos Machina’s shoulder out of the corner of my eye. “At any rate, I want to see the magic-sealing rock.” “Yessss. Let’s go see the rock.” “H-hey! Wait up!” I chase after Rosalie in a fluster as they walk away, trying to leave us behind. “Please forgive the princess for her rude behavior.” Flashika apologetically bows to us as Rosalie and Chaos Machina trudge through the snow slightly up ahead. After bitterly smirking, I ask: “Flashika, what kind of monster is Rosalie trying to resurrect?” “The legendary monster Lucifer Crowe. Long ago, the Demon Lord feared her, so he used a powerful dark spell to seal her away. She specializes in magic bows, and they say she could shoot an arrow from the Aness Plains to the top of Mount Glastora.” “A-are you sure it’s okay to be resurrecting someone so dangerous? What if she attacks a human?” “It is probably going to be difficult to explain our pact to the monster when she awakens, but we still have the Testament if something happens.” “Uh-huh…” They seem to be putting a lot of faith into that pact that Seiya couldn’t put a scratch on. “Hm…” I suddenly hear Cerceus grunt and whisper to him: “You’ve got a bad feeling about this, too, don’t you? Resurrecting a monster that even the Demon Lord feared? Seriously?” “No… I was actually thinking about Mash. That’s the kid I taught swordsmanship to a long time ago, right? I just can’t imagine that he’s now some cruel leader that rules over this world.” “Oh, that? Yeah, I mean, I feel the same way.” “He was a good kid. Don’t you think we could just talk to him and work things out?” “Yeah, maybe he’s being controlled by someone evil. Of course, we’re not going to kill him. We’re just going to make him snap out of it… Right, Seiya?” I smile at Seiya, but he simply continues to walk ahead in silence. “Huh? Seiya…?” Rosalie suddenly stops in front of a large stone building. It’s a handsome piece of architecture that really stands out in this wasteland of a town. A demon with the head of an ox salutes Rosalie at the entranceway. After following Flashika into the building, I immediately gasp…because there is a throng of demons of all shapes and sizes guarding a massive piece of black matter that’s around five meters long. “I-is that the magic-sealing stone?” It looks more like a crystal than a stone. A fissure runs through the jet-black surface, causing it to resemble a hatching egg. After Rosalie looks at the crack and nods, a demon next to her asks: “How much longer until she awakens?” “Around a hundred more.” “A hundred more, huh? It’s already that close.” Chaos Machina amusingly claps her hands together. “My, my, myyy. It looks like Lucifer Crowe’s going to awaken by the time the Demon’s Sword special forces have finished their expedition.” The demons around her let out deep-voiced cheers. I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach from the demons celebrating and from the ominous aura flowing from the cracked stone. “Um… I think it’s probably best we don’t resurrect this monster…” I timidly tell Rosalie. However, the air in the room suddenly changes along with the color on Rosalie’s face. “Resurrecting Lucifer Crowe is the fervent desire of humans and demons alike!” “Y-yeah, I get that, but Seiya can—” “Enough! I told you we have no need for a Hero!” She then grabs me by the collar and fixes me with a frightening glare. “Eep!” “You’re too late! Where were you thirteen years ago when the human race was on the verge of extinction?! This is all we have left!” I want to tell her we did come, but there’d be no point. No matter what I say, the truth of the matter is that Seiya and I have never been to this warped world before. “We don’t need any Heroes or Goddesses!” Rosalie lets go of me, then points at Cerceus, who’s panicking by my side. “And we definitely don’t need an ordinary human soldier like that!” “…?! Rude! I’m a god, too! You’re the one who’s just an ordinary human! You just have high stats. That’s all.” “…I gave up being human.” “Excuse me? What is wrong with this woman?!” Rosalie ignores Cerceus, despite that fact that he’s lashing out at her, then quietly mutters: “Release.” Rosalie’s right hand, which she is holding over her head, suddenly grows claws of black and red jumbled together. And rising from her arm… “Whoa! A malicious aura…?! Eek!” Cerceus throws himself back in an exaggerated fashion, as if he were under attack. That wasn’t the case, of course. After rolling a few times, he begins to crawl over to me and doesn’t hesitate to hide behind me. How can the Divine Blade be this frightened?! Rosalie’s eye locks on to her wildly transformed arm as she smiles, almost self-deprecatingly. “I applied a technique created by Deathmagla, a former general of the Demon Lord’s army, and surrendered my body to the power of the demons to retaliate against the dragonewts.” Deathmagla…! That’s the guy who made an undead army of ten thousand and created that monster Dark Firus, which was immune to everything except for physical attacks and ice magic! “Rosalie! Are you going to be okay?!” “Who knows…?” “What’s that supposed to mean?!” “I don’t care what happens to me anymore. Even if I have to fall into the depths of darkness, I will defeat the Dragon Lord. I’m willing to put everything on the line, unlike you two.” I’m left speechless; feeling threatened, even. Just like Rosalie, all the demons in the room are glaring at Seiya and me. The air is tense as an intimidating aura fills the spacious building. Chaos Machina smirks. “Oh, Princess. Don’t be like thaaat. The Hero and Goddess just want to help.” A few seconds go by until Rosalie faces me. Her eye shoots open wide, and she bows to me. “You have my apologies. I just think about what would have happened if you had come to Gaeabrande sooner and… Well, I’m sure you had your reasons.” “Y-yes… Uh…” “Forgive my ill-mannered behavior. There is no doubt you would be valuable assets to our cause.” Wow… Chaos Machina was actually able to persuade her to calm down. Humans and demons really do have a relationship built on trust… “Goddess, Hero, do you think you could lend your aid to the Human-Demon Alliance?” “Yes! We’d love to!” The moment I shout in relief, Seiya turns a stern look on me. Then… “Automatic Phoenix.” A dozen fiery birds instantly soar out of his body, flapping their wings as they circle the room. “S-Seiya?! What’s going on?!” Not only Rosalie and I, but all of the demons look up at the ceiling and brace ourselves until Seiya nonchalantly says: “It was getting cold in here. This is warmer, right?” Rosalie’s eye opens wide as she stares at the phoenixes crossing paths and flying about. “Y-yeah, I guess the heat is making it slightly warmer…” Rosalie looks puzzled, but I have no idea what’s going on, either! Did he seriously just use Automatic Phoenix because it’s cold?! Seiya, being a man of few words, doesn’t explain himself any further and turns his back to Rosalie and the others. “First things first, I need to check out the item shop and weapon shop here… Let’s go.” “H-hey, wait…! Seiya!” Cerceus and I chase after Seiya, leaving Rosalie to her stupor as we retire from the building. “Wh-what is that?!” “A bird created with fire magic?!” “Why is he walking around with all of those monsters?!” Seiya turns heads everywhere he goes in the village. It makes sense, though, since a few dozen Automatic Phoenixes are flying around and above us. Cerceus and I follow closely behind Seiya while making ridiculous excuses like, “Ha-ha! These birds are so warm!” and “They’re kind of like our pets. Gwah-ha-ha!” But once there are no townspeople in sight, I immediately ask: “H-hey, Seiya? If you’re cold, I can grab your mantle out of the item pouch if you want it. I’m sure it’s around here somewhere…” “I’m not cold.” “What?! Then why…?!” “They’re for protection.” “Protection from…?” “I knew you wouldn’t understand what I meant. I told you to never let your guard down no matter who you meet, right? That means Rosalie as well, obviously.” “D-don’t tell me you think she might attack us…!” “It’s possible. Her behavior clearly changed after Chaos Machina talked to her.” “But I didn’t sense any animosity coming from her.” “She turned her arm into that of a demon’s, but she didn’t have a move called Release on her status screen.” “G-good point! It’s probably not a spell or skill, then…” “She might be hiding her hostility just like that as well. Whatever the case, be on your guard.” It’s hard to believe someone as impulsive as Rosalie was deceiving us, but Mash and Rosalie in this world aren’t the Mash and Rosalie we know. Seiya has a point. If Rosalie lost her mind like Mash, then we’re just going to have to stop her, too. But Seiya shifts his distant gaze at the sky and firmly declares: “If Mash or even Rosalie gets in the way of reversing warped Gaeabrande, then killing them is the only option.” “Whaaaaaaaaat! I thought we were going to stop them!” “Yes, from breathing.” “Th-that’s what you meant by ‘stop’?!” I scream at the not-so-heroic Hero, but he’s completely stone-faced as he glares back at me. “What are you yapping on about anyway? While I don’t believe everything Hathies said, I did experience a warped world myself during the battle against the Death Keeper. There is no denying that this is an illusory world created by Mersais, and if Mash is the cause of the world’s distortion, then he has to die. That’s all there is to it.” “…!” “What the real Mash and Rosalie need is for us to destroy this warped illusory world as quickly as possible.” Seiya’s sound argument shuts me up until he looks into the distance and points to where Rosalie and the others are. “…And they—the Human-Demon Alliance—are going to be the ones who kill him.” “What the hell?! I totally thought you were going to do it!!” “They seem to thirst for blood, so I say let them have it. If Worn-Out Rosalie and the demons defeat Mash, then what more could you want?” “Th-then what are you going to do?” “Hm… I’ll just tell them I’ll protect the town, then use the free time to investigate ways to defeat Mersais.” “You mean you’re going to go back to the underworld?!” “Yes. But before that, I’m going to take a stroll around town. There’s probably nothing useful here, but just in case.” Seiya then begins walking toward the center of town. I stare at his large back and sigh. “Ugh… He’s acting like this has nothing to do with him.” Cerceus, however, turns toward me with a mystified expression. “But I don’t think he’s wrong. It doesn’t matter what happens in this world. It’s just an illusion created by Mersais, after all.” “I guess you’re right, but…” While I half agree with Cerceus, something just doesn’t feel right. Is it really okay for us to be acting like idle spectators? The Dragon Lord Mash reigns over the world with the holy sword Igzasion, but the Human-Demon Alliance is trying to resurrect the legendary demon Lucifer Crowe to have a chance to defeat him. A decisive war is about to begin. While Seiya is acting like it’s no concern of his, warped Gaeabrande is on the verge of a major upheaval.
Chapter 174
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