Chapter 202

CHAPTER 35 Divinity After arriving at the town’s inn, Seiya has a room prepared for Cerceus and me as if it were the most natural thing in the world, then he immediately walks briskly to his own room. I try to go after him, but Cerceus tightly grabs my shoulder. “Rista, let him go.” “I’ve already let him go enough, and he’s gone too far! I can’t take this any longer! It’s insane!” I unload my pent-up anger on Cerceus, but he gazes right back at me with a serious expression for a change. “Even Uno and Due said Seiya was right.” “‘Right’?! He sacrificed our friend to win a fight. He’s using the townspeople as meat-shields. What kind of hero does that?!” Cerceus stares into the distance and says: “When Rosalie was killed, I thought to myself, ‘I would never be able to do what he’s doing.’” “Nobody would! He’s a cold-blooded hero!” “That’s not what I mean. I was genuinely amazed by him. I mean, who could do something like that? It takes a special kind of determination to do what he did, even knowing that these are nothing more than illusions.” “‘Determination’?” “He’s determined to restore this world back to its former state. While he may look cold-blooded at first glance, I think he actually understands what’s most important right now.” “Y-you too, Cerceus? Do you seriously think that?” “Even if I didn’t, that doesn’t change the fact that we need to kill Mash if we ever want to save this world. All we need to do is keep our mouths shut, sit back, and watch. Even you want to save the spirit world as quickly as possible so you can be reunited with Aria and Ishtar, right?” In the back of my mind, I suddenly imagine Ishtar gently smiling. I then think about Aria, Adenela—each and every deity I was close to—and my anger toward Seiya gradually dwindles away, instead turning into sadness and emptiness. “Yeah…” I plod wearily to my room alone, listlessly open the door, then take a seat at the table in the corner. I don’t know what to do. Should I really just keep quiet and do as I’m told? Cerceus was right about Seiya, though. He is determined to save the world. Even though his actions seem cruel, he is doing this to defeat Mersais and the Divine Hero. I get that, but… I take Mash’s bandanna out of my item pouch. I don’t like using psychometry in the human realm because entering Demon Mode is not only mentally exhausting but also embarrassing when I lose all self-control… But I’m all alone right now, so it should be okay…right? After taking in a deep breath and steeling myself, I turn into a demonic deity. I feel more or less okay mentally, perhaps because I’m the only one here. I then tightly squeeze the bandanna in my hand and focus in order to read the memories of Mash sealed inside. …I can see what appears to be a burned field. Dragonewts are running about, trying to escape. Covering the sky like clouds are giant monsters that look like flies. Dragonewt after dragonewt is picked up and carried high into the sky before being dropped. “Is my Dragon God Metamorphosis really not enough?” I suddenly hear Mash’s voice from when I knew him. The youthful Mash looks up at the sky from the cliff while clenching his teeth. Elulu, young as well, is by his side along with the Great Mother. Elulu’s still okay! W-wait! This place… Is this…?! “Mastering Dragon God Metamorphosis in such a short period of time is an impressive feat. However, the flies have already infiltrated Dragon Village. You wouldn’t be able to defeat them all.” Elulu is trembling with a downcast gaze, but she soon lifts her head back up as if she had made up her mind. She smiles. “I—I’ll do it! I’ll become Igzasion! So, Mash…please save the world!” “Elulu…!” The Great Mother accompanies Elulu to the edge of the cliff. One look over the edge reveals only darkness. It looks like they’re about to push Elulu off and start the holy sword ritual to turn her into Igzasion. “Go, Elulu! Die and be born anew!” “W-wait! This isn’t right! I don’t want to do this!” Mash shakes his head with a pained expression, but Elulu gently holds his hand. “The Hero may have never come to save Gaeabrande, but you know what? You’re my hero, Mash.” She lets go of Mash’s hand and steps back. “Save the world, Mash…” Although she can’t hold back her tears, she still forces herself to smile, and then…she throws herself into the Abyss. “Elulu!” screams Mash. The Great Mother places a hand on his shoulder as he breaks down crying, but her eyebrow curiously curls after a few moments go by. “Why is Igzasion not appearing? No… It couldn’t be…” Mash and the Great Mother climb down the cliff until they are eventually able to see the glowing magic circle at the bottom of the Abyss. Next to it, however…is Elulu’s body. She lies in a pool of blood with her limbs twisted in unbelievable directions. N-no…! Is Elulu still alive?! “Ahng…mn…” Her bloodied body violently convulses as she wheezes, struggling to breathe. “Oh, my! Elulu still isn’t dead yet!” “E-Elulu…?!” “Mash, hurry! Deliver the final blow and kill her!” “Th-there’s no way I can do that! We have to help her!” “Don’t be foolish! There’s no saving her now! If you love her, then cut off her head and put her out of her misery!” “B-but…!” “Look at her, Mash! She’s suffering! She called you a hero!” “Mn…ngh…” Although trembling, Mash takes the sword the Great Mother hands him. Then… “Ahhhhhhhhh!” He swings the blade down, along with a scream full of despair. Elulu’s delicate neck is separated from her body. Not long after that, a mysterious power slowly absorbs her separated torso and head into the magic circle. The moment her body completely vanishes, the magic circle glows even brighter, and a holy sword sparkling with a sacred aura emerges. “Marvelous! That is Igzasion! That is the ultimate weapon that can defeat the Demon Lord! Now, Mash! Take the sword!” Mash takes the floating sword, his arm limp with despair. His face is pale as snow, contrary to the Great Mother, whose expression is full of life. “What… What have I done…?!” His unfocused eyes shoot open wide all of a sudden, and a small arm wraps around him from behind. “Mash… I’m right here…” “E-Elulu…? Is that you?!” I can clearly see her as well. Elulu, still young, is standing right by Mash’s side while innocently smiling like she always does. “Can you hear Elulu’s voice? Yes! Igzasion is a living sword! Elulu is not dead!” “O-oh…! She’s still alive even after becoming a sword…!” Mash’s eyes well with tears. He must feel slightly relieved. However, Elulu’s phantom suddenly begins to groan as she curls into a ball. “Ah…ng…!” “Elulu?!” “I-it hurts! Mash, it hurts! My body feels like it’s being torn apart!” Blood begins to drip down her face, and before long, even her hands and feet are covered in blood as she crouches on the ground. And in the blink of an eye, her body horrifically twists until it resembles the way it looked when she first fell into the Abyss. “It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Mash! Please…! Please…! Kill the demons…! Kill them all!” “Is something the matter, Mash? What is Elulu saying?” “Sh-she told me she was in pain! And to kill the demons!” “I see. Then we must allow Igzasion to drink the blood of the demons. Until we slake its thirst, her pain will not subside.” Just then, a fly monster suddenly appears from above, but it’s humanoid, unlike the countless other giant flies. It’s Beel Bub, the monster that Seiya killed with the archery move he learned from Goddess Mitis. The fly monster stares at the rainbow-hued sword in Mash’s hand. “I was wondering what that light was… Bzzz…! Interesting! So that’s the holy sword Igzasion!” “…You came at the perfect time,” comments Mash as he gets into a battle stance with Igzasion, but white smoke rises from the hilt in his hand. The demon notices the anguish on Mash’s face and laughs. “You fool! The power of the holy sword is too much for you! There’s no way a child, who’s not even the Hero, can use it!” “…Gaeabrande doesn’t need a hero.” “Oh? Then are you ready to die?” Out of nowhere, the crest of the dragon on the back of Mash’s hand illuminates as it grows up his arm like a tattoo. “Because I’m gonna kill every last demon myself!” He wildly charges Beel Bub and swings, but the flying demon easily dodges. It flies a few dozen meters into the sky, then mockingly laughs. “Bzz, bzz, bzz! Too slow, too slow! I’m the fastest general in the Demon Lord’s army! You’re not even going to be able to scratch me like that!” Even Seiya felt that Beel Bub’s speed was a threat, so he practiced archery in the spirit world in order to avoid close combat. However… “Full Haste.” Mash vanishes the instant he mutters those words! He jumps into the air at lightning speed before reappearing right before the demon’s eyes. “What…?!” Mash freely swings his sword as Beel Bub’s face is overcome with astonishment. There is something about the move that resembles Seiya’s Phoenix Drive, and in the blink of an eye, the demon’s body is reduced to fragments of meat dispersing in the air. The Great Mother lets out a cry of admiration. “Incredible! Mash, you are the pride of our people!” While the Great Mother showers him with praise, the blood-covered phantom of Elulu cackles with joy. “Elulu! I-is the pain gone?” “Thanks, Mash! I feel good! Really good! Hey, keep feeding Igzasion blood, okay? Keep making the demons suffer! Break their arms and legs like mine! Crush their lungs! Kill them, kill them, kill every last one of them! Ha-ha-ha… Hyah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” “…!” I can’t take the laughter anymore and promptly end the vision. The past I saw was so frightening that my body is still violently trembling. …This is when Mash changed. Elulu’s ghost must be with him day and night, whispering into his ear. He exterminated the demons to free Elulu from her pain, but her pain didn’t go away even after he defeated the Demon Lord. She will be saved only when all races other than the dragonewts have been destroyed. That includes…humans as well. Mash, you must be in pain. It must hurt. Yes…I have to save him from this hell as soon as possible, no matter what it takes. Seiya’s right. “…Ristie.” A familiar voice suddenly calls my name. A young Elulu is standing next to me, but I’m not so surprised this time…because I now understand she is nothing more than a figment of my imagination. I created her. “Go away. You’re not real.” “Ristie, listen… Ristie…” “The real Elulu is already a ghost who lost her mind after suffering for so long. I only created you because I couldn’t accept that.” “No, Ristie. You’re wrong.” Elulu’s illusion begins to rub her eyes while bitterly weeping. “Seiya isn’t going to be able to save Gaeabrande like this. He isn’t going to be able to save any of the other worlds, either.” I glare at Elulu’s illusion. “Go away!” “Ristie, please… Save Mash…!” “I—I told you to go away!” I take a pillow off the bed and throw it at her, but it goes right through the illusion and hits the wall. I blink, and now only the pillow remains. Elulu is nowhere to be found. The next day. Seiya gathers the townspeople in the town square that morning and makes the final adjustments. By the time the sun is right above us, he calls everyone, regardless of their age, to the outskirts of town and neatly lines them up before looking at them with a piercing gaze. “Our holy war against the Dragon Lord, Mash Dragonight, begins now. Do not fear death. Victory is ours.” The men cheer while raising their arms into the air. Even the women and children have stars in their eyes as if they are no longer afraid to die as well. “Hmm… Is this what they call mind control?” Cerceus mutters quietly by my side. After an entire day of brainwashing, the townspeople seem to be nothing more than puppets controlled by Seiya. “Now get into position.” Each one of them scatters off in a random direction and hides behind a different building. The once noisy Iglu now looks like a ghost town. Cerceus approaches Seiya and timidly asks: “So, Seiya, how are you going to lure Mash to Iglu?” “That’ll be easy. After all, he’s already nearby, since he came to check up on the Great Mother and her forces.” “Hmm? How do you know that?” “My Automatic Phoenixes have been patrolling the skies over the entire continent. They have been keeping their eyes on Mash from high above.” Seiya created an unbelievable number of Automatic Phoenixes when we first ran into Mash. It looks like the main reason he did that was to watch him. I’m sure he has them spread out throughout all of Gaeabrande, telling him where Mash is. “I was expecting him to lead thousands of soldiers and generals at the Great Mother’s level out of Bahamutros and into battle, but no matter how many times I check, he’s always alone. What a shortsighted idiot he turned out to be. He increased our chance of winning exponentially,” comments Seiya with a confident expression after learning that Mash didn’t even bring any guards with him. “I will now be removing the barrier around Iglu.” Seiya places his hands together and begins chanting. I’m shocked. “S-Seiya, you can remove the barrier?!” “Yes. I already asked the village chief how to and mastered the spell.” When in the world did he do that? The earth begins to roar as cracks run through the barrier around Iglu! The indestructible wall, which had protected the townspeople from the dragonewts for years, easily shatters like glass. The outside world is finally visible from within the village, but all I can see are the pitiful bodies of the dragonewts and demons after their battle. “Dragon Lord! The barrier around Iglu has been removed!” Seiya raises his voice for a change, and a shadowy figure suddenly appears before his gaze. “You again…!” M-Mash?! Seiya must have known he was coming, since he was watching him with his Automatic Phoenix, but Cerceus and I are stunned. M-Mash is just outside of town! He stands only a dozen or so meters away as he glares at Seiya with lifeless eyes. “Those annoying firebirds must have let you know where I am. You’re really starting to piss me off.” “I will neither run nor hide this time. Let’s finish this.” “Let’s!” Mash draws Igzasion from the sheath at his waist, then begins to walk this way with heavy footsteps. Seiya, as if he were talking to himself, explains: “He’s impulsive. He must be mad that I got away last time, so luring him here was easy.” The barrier around Iglu finally being lowered… The man he despises standing before him… His right-hand general already being killed and unable to stop him… Mash probably understands that this is a trap, but everything is working in Seiya’s favor. “Come, Mash. This town will be your grave.” His confidence is impressive, to say the least. After all, he does have townspeople who will act like meat-shields and pathogens for him. But, well, this is Seiya we’re talking about. He probably has something else up his sleeve that he’s hiding from Cerceus and me. The town of Iglu has probably been turned into the perfect trap. I-it’s fine! Once Mash dies, this twisted world will disappear along with him. So it’s all going to be…okay… I try to convince myself of that while I watch Mash approaching with bloodlust in his eyes. However, I suddenly see someone behind him: the ghost of Elulu. She wraps her twisted, broken, and bloodied arms around Mash’s shoulders. “Mash… Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill… It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts…” Her voice is probably endlessly echoing in his head. There’s no way an ordinary person can listen to that all day and maintain their sanity. Mash’s mind must have started to deteriorate toward destruction over the years. Mash… The whispers of Elulu’s twisted delusions must have been too much for him. The guilt must have mentally destroyed him, leading him to kill humans… He has transformed into a mere monster. But even then, I can’t help seeing the young, innocent Mash I once knew when I look at him. Rista, come on. Save us. Please. The Mash I knew was crying. I feel my chest tighten, reviving memories of my own childhood. While rubbing my head as I cried after being bullied by other deities, Aria said to me: “Rista, do you know what the most important quality for a goddess to have is?” “…?” “It’s something you had when you were born. No, it’s something you had before you were even born as a goddess.” Aria sweetly smiles at me. “Never forget the kindness in your heart.” Townspeople hide behind Seiya. There are already countless traps in the town. Our victory is assured as long as Mash steps foot inside. And yet, I scream: “Mash, stop! It’s a trap!”