CHAPTER 29 Mash’s Weakness “This isn’t…a dream…?” I mutter in blank amazement, alone in my room. I immediately decide to tell Seiya, so I head to the living room, but Uno is the only one sitting on the sofa. “Hey, Uno. Where’s Seiya?” “He hasn’t come downstairs since he went to take a nap, so I am guessing he is still asleep.” “Well, that’s strange.” Seiya said he was only going to take a nap, but it’s been hours since he went inside his room. Worried, I knock on his door, but he doesn’t reply, so I slowly open the door to his room and find him sound asleep. Oh, how cute, I think to myself as I walk over to his bed…when suddenly a fire salamander rushes out from under it, bites my finger, and burns me! I take back what I said about him being cute! When I head back to the living room in a bad mood, I see Rosalie sitting on the sofa. It’s hard to look at her arm with the bandages wrapped around what’s left of it, but she doesn’t seem to care all that much. I begin to chat with her while we enjoy the snacks Uno brought us. “Anyway, I get that he was trying to cause a distraction, but making that many Automatic Phoenixes exhausted him. It was like watching a giant flock of birds migrating.” “But we were able to safely escape, thanks to that. The power to turn invisible saved us as well. We probably would have been killed when the Dragon Lord suddenly appeared if we hadn’t mastered that move. I honestly didn’t believe training would be necessary since we were simply gathering information, but everything turned out just like the Hero predicted it would.” “Yeah, I guess…” Rosalie shows an ecstatic expression. “Every move the Hero makes is the right one.” I start to worry, so I decide to ask her about what is bothering me. “Rosalie, I want you to be honest with me. How do you feel about Seiya?” “I—I…!” “Tell me the truth.” After a few moments of silence, Rosalie’s face turns bright red as she shouts: “I love him!” “I—I knew it! But you mean you love him like a brother in arms and you respect him, right?” “No! I want to be naked in bed with him while he ravishes me over and over again!” “You don’t love him! You just want to make love to him! And what the hell?! That was so graphic!” After letting out her pent-up feelings, Rosalie continues: “I know a woman like me doesn’t even have a chance with him, but simply training and traveling together is enough for me.” It almost sounds as if she is trying to persuade herself of that. Not only does Seiya not see her as a romantic prospect, but he doesn’t even consider her human. Whatever ends up happening, the only thing that’s certain is that her love story won’t have a happy ending. I need to make sure she doesn’t get her hopes up. “At any rate, Seiya has absolutely no interest in relationships or love. All that Hero is thinking about is saving the world.” “Is that so… Ugh…! I figured as much… Sigh… That’s too bad. Tsk!” “Rosalie?!” “O-oh, nothing! Of course, it is only natural for the Hero to be that way! What has gotten into me! I am ashamed of myself!” Rosalie slaps her cheeks a few times to knock some sense into herself. “The Dragon Lord said something that caught my attention, though! He said that the demons were already on the verge of extinction! It appears the dragonewts’ invasion is gaining momentum! We have to stop them before it’s too late!” “Y-yes, let’s ask Seiya tomorrow what we should do.” After that, I leave Rosalie in the living room and head back to my room for the night. Early morning the next day, I am suddenly awakened by a stern knocking at the door. “Rista, how long do you plan on sleeping? Get up and meet us in the living room.” “Oh, okay. Sorry. I’ll be right there.” Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I begin to head over to the living room while slowly waking up along the way. Wh-what’s his problem?! He’s the one who said he was taking a nap and ended up sleeping all night! How selfish can you be?! Rosalie and Cerceus are already sitting on the sofa in the living room, but Cerceus is simply relaxing without any of his belongings ready to go. Seiya urges me to take a seat. “Hey, um…? Are we not going back to Gaeabrande?” “Not yet. We will be staying in the underworld for a while longer.” “But Seiya, Mash said that the demons were on the verge of extinction. Doesn’t that concern you?” “I already knew they were. If Paradura was supposed to break Iglu’s barrier, then one should assume that the dragonewts were already surrounding the town so they could invade at any moment. Chaos Machina and Eraser were probably killed by them after we kicked them out.” So he knew that, and yet he still kicked the demons out of town?! H-how cruel! “What’s wrong, Rista? Don’t tell me you’re even concerned about the lives of imaginary demons, too.” “N-no, I’m not. But I wonder if the people of Iglu are okay.” “Sigh…” I know. I get it. The townspeople are illusions as well! “They have survived many years thanks to the barrier, despite the dragonewts knowing where they are. There is no reason to start worrying now.” I glance at Rosalie, and she nods as if to confirm what he said. “At any rate, Rosalie, do you have any idea who is in command over the troops around Iglu?” “Yes, I believe it is the Dragon Lord’s right-hand woman—the Great Mother of Dragons.” “Th-the Great Mother of Dragons?!” That’s the queen of the dragonewts whom Seiya ended up killing in the original Gaeabrande because she was trying to turn Elulu into the holy sword. Not only is she alive in this world, but she is serving Mash as well! “Mash perhaps purposely made sure we could hear the demons were on the verge of extinction because he is planning on attacking us on both sides with the Great Mother and her forces,” mentions Seiya while he turns to me with a piercing gaze. “Rista, do you know what Mash’s most terrifying ability is?” “I-Igzasion, of course.” “No. His teleportation magic.” “…?” “He could suddenly appear anywhere in Gaeabrande just like he did in Nakashi Village. We would be at a disadvantage if he appeared while we were fighting the dragonewts near Iglu, and we would be in trouble if one of the high-level dragonewts suddenly showed up while we were fighting Mash as well. The only relatively safe place in Warped Gaeabrande is in Iglu, since it’s protected by the barrier.” Good point… His teleportation magic could cause trouble for us now that he mentions it… Wait! “But we can use Rosalie’s teleportation magic to go after Mash in Bahamutros as well!” “I already know the location of the Dragon Lord’s lair! While I cannot teleport us inside, I believe I can get us nearby!” “No. The enemy is obviously going to be expecting that, and I want to avoid danger, even if only by a little. Besides, I have already decided on the location for our final battle.” “What?! You have?!” “For now, we are going to continue gathering information.” Where in the world does he want to have the final battle? I wonder until Seiya suddenly hands me Mash’s bandanna. “Read this bandanna’s memories again and get me more information on Mash. In short, I want to know his weakness.” “Um…I don’t know if my vision is going to be able to reveal information as convenient as that.” I was successfully able to read the bandanna and see a vision of when Nakashi Village was attacked, but would I be able to pinpoint a specific piece of information like Seiya wants me to? Does Mash even have a weakness? “Regardless, turn into a demon god. Don’t worry. I’ll light you on fire and bring you back to your senses if you try to make a move on me again.” “…?! How can I not be worried when I might get lit on fire?! …Hold on! Why is your hand already on fire?! We’re in the underworld, so nothing’s going to happen!” After forcing Seiya to put out the flame, I transform into a demonic goddess and pick the bandanna back up. But when I sit down on the sofa and try to concentrate, Seiya places a hand on my shoulder. “There’s something I want to try. Stand in front of the wall.” Seiya forces me to stand in front of the big white wall in the living room while I’m still in my devilish form. “Wh-what are you doing?” “I am going to display the images in your head on the wall.” “What the…?! How?!” “Essentially the same way I projected what the mud serpents saw on the water in the buckets. I think it should work.” When we were saving Ixphoria, Seiya used that move like a surveillance camera during his battles against Oxerio and Celemonic. “Just focus on reading the item like you always do.” “O-okay.” I close my eyes and quietly concentrate. Before long, I can vaguely see an image of what appears to be Mash in my mind. Then, out of nowhere, I hear Seiya’s voice echo. “Share Info.” Whack! Ooeee?! My head takes a powerful blow! The pain is so bad that I can’t help but open my eyes! But when I do, I make a strange beeping sound with my mouth! And before I even realize it, the image I see in my mind is being projected onto the wall. Wait, wait, wait. I stop reading the bandanna for a moment and shout: “What am I, a projector?!” “What are you angry about? This way, you can share that information with everyone. This will also help prevent spreading misinformation due to your biased interpretations. I can’t think of one thing negative about it.” “Except when you smacked my head really hard!” “I had to use some force to turn it on… Now let’s continue.” Whack! Owwwwww?! Mn… He hit me again because I stopped the video! Dammit! I would have never stopped in the first place if I knew that would happen! Despite my bitterness, my eyes automatically display the vision on the white wall… It’s Mash wearing the bandanna around his forehead. It isn’t the Mash we were just in battle with, though. He looks relatively young, similar to the Mash we went on an adventure with. He’s slightly taller than when we said good-bye to him, so he must be a few years older. “Hff…! Hff…!” Mash, riddled with wounds, is breathing heavily within the darkness, and next to him is a giant dragon severely injured as well. “Mash, victory is right there in front of you.” When I hear the ocher-scaled dragon using human speech, I suddenly remember where I saw her. Th-that’s the Great Mother of Dragons in her dragon form! And the instant I see the other person before them, my heart wildly skips a beat. “Never did I expect to be pushed this far by a young dragonewt who isn’t even the Hero!” spews the giant monster with great venom. It’s none other than Gaeabrande’s Demon Lord, Xenosload. He is no longer in his human form. He’s transformed into his second form—a monster with six arms—and he’s covered with wounds like Mash and the Great Mother. “Allow me to show you my ultimate move.” A black, mysterious light begins to hover over the Demon Lord’s hand! The air vibrates as powerful mana coalesces! “Judgment Zero!” Just when the thunderous pitch-black waves are about to burst out of the light, Mash raises Igzasion high into the air. “Elulu! Give me strength!” The rainbow holy sword emits a blinding light as well, swallowing the Demon Lord’s sphere of light as if it were purifying the darkness. Wh-what power! The Demon Lord’s face is racked with disbelief as his ultimate move, which is powerful enough to destroy the world, is sealed. Mash lowers his sword, gets into a back stance, then closes the distance between him and the Demon Lord in the blink of an eye before swinging overhead with a powerful roar. Mash’s blade cleanly runs through his enemy, slicing him in half from the crown to the groin. The Demon Lord has a terrifyingly strong vitality. Even after being swallowed by Valhalla’s Gate, he came crawling out, despite being nothing but bones… Nevertheless, Igzasion’s unhealable wound reduces him to ash, and he crumbles into dust, never to be seen again. After the Demon Lord’s mana disperses and the darkness is lifted from the area, the Great Mother cackles in her human form. “What a marvelous day it is! A dragonewt has defeated the king of the demons!” gloats the Great Mother. Mash, on the other hand, is staring blankly into space. Curious as to what he’s looking at, I focus hard until I am eventually able to faintly see someone appear. It’s a cute, redheaded girl crouching on the ground. She looks similar to the Elulu I know, but her face is twisted in agony. “It hurts. It hurts, Mash.” “What…?” Mash scowls as he presses the Great Mother for answers: “I thought Elulu’s pain was supposed to go away once I defeated the Demon Lord, dammit!” “There are still countless monsters in Gaeabrande that the Demon Lord did not create. Perhaps you have to dispose of them as well.” “Dammit! Hold on, Elulu! I’m gonna kill every last demon and set you free!” “Mash, no… You…” Elulu, who has been speaking with pained breaths, suddenly opens her eyes wide. “You can’t just stop at demons! Dragonewts are the only life-forms that deserve to live! Kill them! Kill them all, Mash! Kill every last living creature on this planet!” shrieks Elulu before dropping straight to the ground. A large pool of blood slowly expands from under her body. Without even noticing it, Elulu has her arms and legs bent in unbelievable directions. And yet, she still crawls over to Mash, latches onto his legs, and looks up at him with bloodshot eyes. “Mash, it hurts. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!! I can still feel the impact from when I fell into the Abyss!” “Elulu…!” “Mash! The humans…! Kill the humans as well!” Mash places a hand over his face while staggering as if he’s dizzy. After the Great Mother places a hand on his shoulder, I notice that Elulu is no longer anywhere in sight. “Do not push yourself too hard. You are still wounded from your battle with the Demon Lord, and the recoil from Igzasion has taken a toll on your body as well. I am afraid a single day of rest isn’t going to cut it this time.” “Elu…lu…” Mash thereupon passes out, and my vision being displayed on the wall disappears along with it. Cerceus wears a solemn expression in the living room as he mutters to himself: “Mash really did defeat the Demon Lord, huh? I guess that just shows how powerful Igzasion is.” “It isn’t simply the power of the holy sword. The cause of the distortion, Mash, most likely received the Demon’s Blessing after Mersais created the warped world, similar to how the Demon Lord Ultimaeus in Ixphoria received his divine power.” “Ohhh! That explains how Mash was able to defeat the Demon Lord! He had Igzasion and the Demon’s Blessing!” “There is still another reason. I never told you this, but… Mash was already strong before all this.” “He was?!” “His stats when we first met and then after we started traveling together are exponentially different. His stats would probably have been higher than mine if he ever reached max level.” Th-then why would you make him carry your stuff?! We could have used him in battle! …But, well, I’m sure Seiya just didn’t want him to get hurt, but still…! Rosalie nods in agreement with Seiya and adds: “I hear the Great Mother possesses a holy power as well. And after they defeated the Demon Lord, she and the Dragon Lord created the religion around the Seraph, found many followers, and destroyed all of our villages.” “Hmm…” Seiya and the others discuss the vision, but there is something else that concerns me. “Elulu looked like she was in a lot of pain…” The other three immediately turn to me with puzzled gazes. “What are you talking about?” “H-huh? Elulu, in the vision. You know, when her body was painfully twisted and—” “The Dragon Lord did deliriously mumble that name, but…” “Yeah, it was like Mash was having a bad dream and talking in his sleep.” Wh-what?! Was I the only one who could see her, even though everyone was watching the same vision?! By the time I come back to my senses, Seiya is glaring at me with a distant gaze. “I am becoming more and more sure that what you said yesterday was nothing more than your imagination.” “N-no, I…!” “We can discuss later whether or not that really happened. More importantly, that vision provided some rather meaningful information… Rista, can you show us what Mash is doing right now?” “That should be easier than this was, at the very least…” Right as I begin reading the memories of the bandanna before the white wall… Whack! Seiya smacks me on the head yet again… Tsk! That hurts, you know! Isn’t there a better way to do this?! …Mash is inside a room with a powerful-looking dragonewt guard standing outside the door. He struggles to stand, using his sheath as a cane for support while heavily breathing. The Mash we can see right now is an adult with his body covered in the crest of the dragon. There is no doubt this is the Mash we ran into in Warped Gaeabrande. Mash manages to stand up, then staggers a few steps forward before loudly collapsing onto the ground. A redheaded woman in a dress appears behind him. I wonder if ghosts age as she wraps her delicate, blood-soaked arms around Mash’s shoulders. “It hurts, Mash. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. My body feels like it’s being torn apart. Please hurry up and kill the Hero along with the rest of the humans.” “I will. But give me a day. My body isn’t doing what I want it to right now.” Elulu’s appearance is eerie, but she sweetly kisses Mash’s sunken cheek. “I’ll do anything for you. Demons, humans—I’d even kill a god for you.”
Chapter 194
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