That was why I finally realized…that my vengeance was not mine. It never had been. “My vengeance…is yours, isn’t it? It belongs to you—to all of you. To all the heroes who came before me. You’re using me.” My intrinsic skill, “Soul Blade.” I’d always assumed these swords were conjured of my own soul. Wasn’t that what the name meant? But now things were clear to me. I was so stupid. They weren’t my souls at all. I had been collecting the souls of other people. It seemed so obvious in retrospect. “Why do you think that?” “Because I know you. You’re the Soul Blade of Beginnings, aren’t you?” The very first soul blade I had acquired. Even in a state like this, I could never fail to recognize my most long-standing companion. I couldn’t say I understood what was happening to me right now, but I got that at least. Freed of the blinkers I had been wearing my entire life here, I could finally see my swords for what they truly were. “…” That silence told me everything I needed to know. “And if you’re the Soul Blade of Beginnings,” I said, “then the other blades must also be people. I doubt they’re all heroes like you, though. Their abilities are all too different.” “Yes, you’re right,” said the light. “Right now, you are with us. You are within your own intrinsic ability.” “…So that means that shadow was a soul blade, too.” I thought back to the black figure that had engulfed me. Their burning presence was clear to me now, and I could see how it could turn any normal person into a monster. “Which soul blade did he come from? He’s one of you guys, too, right?” “Not one of us. All of us. He is a figure created by the power you possess, the power you call ‘Soul Blade.’ He is molded from our hate. An amalgamation of our every desire, distilled and concentrated into a humanoid form.” “So he’s the true form of my intrinsic ability? I see. That’s why your pain all felt so familiar. I really thought it was my own.” Now that I was myself again, I could feel that my heart was empty. The first world had hollowed it out, allowing the shadowy figure to replace it. Without that, within the confines of my own mind, my own psyche—I could see for the first time how little truly remained of Kaito Ukei. “Is that your choice?” “All I do is bring death to whatever I touch.” “…” “I don’t want to do it anymore. It’s all my fault that Yuuto died. I just keep losing things.” “…So you wish to give up? The princess has taken control of Lunaris. You can be sure that she will come for you next.” “I know. That girl’s an even bigger monster than I am.” I thought back to when Lunaris had appeared and Alicia had hijacked her power. I’d sensed the princess becoming something more. Something even I couldn’t contend with. Something far above mere mortals like Leticia and me. She had absorbed the power of a god; maybe that made her a god herself, I didn’t know. All I knew was that to continue my crusade against her would be suicide. “It is true that she has surpassed all mortal reckoning. Few stand a chance against her current form. And she continues to garner strength through the World Tree…or the Demonlight Tree, as is the case now.” “…” Everything told me that if I went up against her now, it wouldn’t even be a proper fight. I could already see myself losing. I couldn’t even bear to take her on without the blinkers of hate to cloud my mind. “However,” the light went on, “our power is sufficient to penetrate her domain.” “Huh, is that right? Damn, you guys are pretty strong.” The power hidden inside my ability was that of countless generations of heroes. With all that power combined, perhaps they stood a chance after all. But… “…I’m sorry, I really don’t think I can help you.” Even if there was power enough to do it, I would have to wield it, and I was far too broken for that now. “I’m just exhausted. Tired of it all. I can’t even lie to myself anymore. I don’t have the strength to keep on walking.” “Even after you so regretted your ignorance? Even after you so lamented your powerlessness? Even after you sincerely swore revenge with your dying breath?” “I regretted my ignorance, that’s true. I lamented my powerlessness, too, that’s also true. But I never swore revenge. That wasn’t me. If revenge means hurting those closest to me, then I don’t need it.” What sense was there in destroying that which I fought to protect? “I’m afraid that makes things difficult for us. We have been biding our time, tallying our pain, waiting for an opportunity. A chance to kill god.” For a moment, the edge of the ball of light flickered, like flame. “Before I died, I laid my trap in the fabric of this world. I wove it into the role of the hero itself. So that when another hero was summoned, I could lend them my strength. And when that hero died, I could speak to them, here in this place, and add their power to my own.” “…” “This is the only time I shall speak to you while you are still alive. If Alicia finishes what she is planning, then there may be no more heroes. No one left to wield the strength I have recruited…save you.” “That’s what you want, not me. If you want to do it, then do it yourself. I just can’t bear to lose anything else…” I was sure it wouldn’t matter. Once I left this world, the Holy Sword of Retribution would take hold once more, transforming me into a beast of revenge. But while I was here, I found it impossible to feel glad about that. “In that case, we will have to take over your body. We will have to remake it into a vessel that can carry out our desires using the strength we have entrusted to it. However, if we do that, then you will cease to be. Your consciousness, your self—it won’t even join with us; it will simply be erased. Is that okay with you?” So I would be transformed into a beast of revenge, and my own sense of self would be deleted. I would be forced to exact vengeance, no matter how I felt about it. “How is that any different from what I’ve been doing until now?” “…” “Whatever. Why does it matter? If giving you guys control of my body means it’ll get rid of Alicia—if it’ll let my friends live in peace, then who cares? I’ll do it.” “…Are you sure? You have great power within you, but it is only a tool on its own. All we need you to do is wield it, and you can keep your mind to yourself.” “Haven’t you been listening to me? I…can’t go on.” I had been through many tough times. Painful times. Awful times. One each of those occasions, I had learned to stand up and keep walking. But every time, I had also left something of myself behind. “You don’t want me to wield you, trust me. There’s nothing left.” “…I see. I suppose that is also a valid choice.” “Yeah, so use me, and save my friends in my place.” “…” The floating light faded from view. Then the world around me began to crumble, like falling sand, revealing only darkness beyond, like the blackest depths of the deepest dungeon. It felt remarkably similar to where I had lost my life the first time around. “…Are they finally gone?” I couldn’t even feel the cold ground beneath me. What I could feel was the power of the soul blades, seeping into me once more. I looked down at my fingers, which had begun to turn a sickening white. In a few more moments, I would cease to be an individual, but instead be a legion of souls, out for vengeance. “…Is this finally the end?” The end of my journey. It had taken me so long. Like before, I gently closed my eyes and awaited it. “What is the meaning of this?!” Three days after we were brought to that place, we descended on Towako’s room, demanding to know what was happening with Kaito. The room had an antique smell, and there, with a teacup in one hand and a book in the other, sat Towako. “What’s the meaning of what?” she asked, unruffled. “And can you be a bit quieter when you come in? I nearly spilled tea on my book.” She gently placed her cup on the table and glanced at us. “Mrh. Sorry about that,” I said. “But we want to know about Kaito! Is he okay?” Kaito had been unconscious when we arrived, and he still hadn’t woken up. At first, I thought Towako had knocked him out to calm him down, but he shouldn’t have been unconscious for three days! Something was clearly up, and I was desperate to find out what. “Why hasn’t Kaito woken up yet?” I demanded. “What did you do to him?” “Oh, is that what this is about? I believe I did say it would take him a few days to wake up. As for what I’ve done—nothing, really. You’ve been here the whole time, haven’t you? You can see I’ve done nothing with your demon eyes, no?” “Well…” Towako had referred to my intrinsic ability called “Demon Lord,” which was granted to the bearer of the arcstone. One of its effects was called “Truesight.” It was an advanced form of Shuria’s “Scarlet Eyes” that allowed me to discern the true nature of any magical phenomenon. “If you were watching,” Towako said, “then you know that all I did was induce severe MP drunkenness, forcing Kaito’s mind into a dormant state.” “Yes, so I surmised at the time, which is why I said nothing…” The spell I had seen was something an inhabitant of this world would never even consider. It artificially raised and lowered the conductivity of the target’s magical pathways, inducing mana sickness. However… “If that is all you did, then Kaito should be awake by now,” I said. “His magical flow has already returned to normal, and yet he remains unconscious.” Kaito was still sleeping. Almost like he did not wish to wake up. “Whatever you did to him, it was not a simple spell. There was something of your intrinsic ability mixed into it as well.” “That’s right. My spells do call upon my intrinsic ability. But that’s no impediment to you. Your eyes can see all that, too, can’t they?” Towako was correct. In addition to mana, my eyes could see the truth behind any magical effect, even if it involved intrinsic abilities. I was even able to imitate anything I’d seen using my ability “Master of Magic.” In most cases, this made me more knowledgeable about how a spell worked than the person casting it was. Kaito had once said that being able to copy any spell or intrinsic ability after seeing it once was a “cheat skill of the highest order.” However, right now, even that power wasn’t enough for me to discern what was wrong with him. “Indeed,” I said. “I have seen your intrinsic ability in action. All it does is amplify your power and prevent it from decaying.” “Correct. That’s the result of an ability called ‘Researcher.’ I used it when I cast the spell on Kaito. It allowed me to surpass his impressive magical defenses and knock him unconscious.” “But that’s not all, is it? Even with all my powers as the demon lord, there was one thing I could never do: copy the hero’s powers.” Towako had been the hero, just like Kaito. And my power could not be used to discern the hero’s abilities. Even back when I had first met Kaito, when he’d been weaker, I could never tunnel to the core of his power. It was like a maze, and no matter how hard I searched, just when I thought I had reached the end, I would be faced with another wall. Whenever I tried to copy his power, it had been like there was something essential missing, and what came out was only a cheap imitation. “As shameful as it is to admit,” I said, “I cannot see what truly lies at the heart of your power. Perhaps you did something to Kaito even I cannot detect, and that is why he still sleeps.” “Hmm? It’s true you can’t see all the powers of the current hero, but that doesn’t necessarily apply to me as well. I made no attempt to hide from you the workings of that spell.” So she could hide the workings if she wanted to? The implication vexed me a little, but right now, the priority was making sure Kaito was okay. “Basically, with your power, you should be able to tell what’s up,” said Towako. “…Or wait, maybe…” Suddenly, an idea seemed to occur to her. She stood up and walked straight over to me. “Let me take a look here.” “Wha—?!” With no other warning, Towako placed her hand to my chest. “What are you doing?!” I yelled. “Whoa. Calm down. I’m just taking a look at the arcstone,” she said. “Hmm, hmm. Yes, I see. Looks like someone’s taken my half-finished notes and used it to seal off the arcstone’s power. That’s why you can’t see how the hero’s power works.” “Huh?! What?!” I thought back to when we’d used the knowledge Kaito discovered in the first world to prevent the arcstone from running amok. I had sensed at that time that my powers became ever-so-slightly harder to control. It felt rather like I was using thick leather gloves instead of my bare hands. “Oh dear. It looks like it was based on those notes I left on a rock in the high elf village. I left them there as bait and then sorta forgot about them. I guess I should have just deleted them and saved us all this trouble.” Towako nodded along to her own explanation. “…But this hack job is bothering me. Let me sort it out.” “Huh?! Wait, what are you—aaagh!!” “Yeah, yeah, stand still. This won’t take long; I’ve just got to cut off all the extraneous bits.” Towako snapped her fingers, and a small ball of mana began orbiting me like a moon. At the same time, I felt a deeply unpleasant itchiness coming from deep within me. Wh-whatever she’s doing, it’s too complicated for me to stop it safely! If I interrupt, who knows what could happen?! “…All right, that should sort it out.” “Hurgh… That was agony…” Nearly five grueling minutes passed before the itching finally stopped. As I looked around, I noticed immediately that something was different. “Wh-what the…?” “How’s that? Can you see any better now?” It was like someone had cleaned all the grime off my glasses that I didn’t even know was there. The world was in stark relief once more. “With full command of the demon lord’s power under your belt, you should be able to tell what’s up with Kaito. Do you think you could take a look?” “Really?!” “I think that’ll explain the situation much faster than I ever could.” “…Thank you.” I steadied my beating heart and walked off to find Kaito. When I went to the room where Kaito was resting, I found Shuria by his bedside, reading. The room possessed a fairly orthodox layout: There was a small chair, a table, and a larger-than-average bed. Because this place was technically a Dungeon, that meant we could design our rooms however we wished. The room we had made for Kaito was modeled off his favorite of the inns we had stayed at during his travels. “Oh, if it isn’t Leticia!” said Shuria. “Is it time to switch already?” Shuria turned and looked at me with completely innocent eyes. …As though I didn’t notice the creasing of the duvet, the stray strands of Shuria’s disheveled hair, and the slight, rosy color to her cheeks. She was just in his bed… I felt a slight jealousy rising up within me, but I pressed the matter no further. If I was to start wringing necks over every girl who got too close to Kaito, there would be no party members left. “It is, but before that, could you go fetch Minnalis and Mai? I suppose Nonorick and Metelia should be here, too.” “Hmm?” Shuria looked at me questioningly for a moment. “Well, as long as it’s eating into your time and not mine.” Then she slipped off her chair and left to find the four I’d mentioned. …Blast. I just realized. I’m wasting my precious Kaito time. Slightly regretting my timing, I peered at Kaito with my restored sight. I thought about doing this without everyone here, but that would truly be unfair. Watching Kaito on the bed, I sighed and rapped my knuckles against his skull. “…You incorrigible sleepyhead. When are you going to wake up?” With my renewed power, I looked over Kaito. There wasn’t any obvious cause to his symptoms. His mana was flowing freely, and his physical health was perfect. His soul, however, was steeped in a stagnant darkness. Bound by chains and rope, impaled on barbed spears, clutched between bony fingers, squeezed between the arms of a vise, trapped in a net… Kaito’s soul was held by every conceivable kind of seal. The reason he couldn’t wake up…was that he didn’t want to. And so that task fell to me. Because who better to rouse the hero from his dream than the demon lord? Before long, I was joined in the room by Minnalis, Shuria, Mai, Nonorick, and Metelia. “Very good. We’re all here.” “But why are we all here?” asked Minnalis, a worried look spreading across her face. “Don’t tell me…you’re planning on doing something to Master?” “Well, if you want to put it that way, then yes,” I replied. “Huh? Huh? Why?!” asked Shuria, panicking. “Didn’t Towako say he would wake up on his own soon?!” “What is the meaning of this?!” demanded Mai. “Is there something wrong with my dear brother or not?!” “The flow of Kaito’s mana is back to normal,” said Metelia, looking down at Katio’s resting body. “If he is not already awake…” “…then that means something else must be keeping him asleep,” I completed. Minnalis flew into a rage. “Then does that mean Towako did something else to him?!” But before I could calm her fears, it was Metelia who spoke. “No,” she said. “I think Kaito’s slumber is born of his own desires.” “You mean…Master doesn’t want to wake up?” “His health and mana flow are both normal. Which means it is his spirit, his soul, that wishes to remain dormant. In my opinion, it must be the power of the hero that is trapping him there.” “The power of the hero…?” “I think so too,” I said. “And I agree this is all because that fool doesn’t want to wake up.” “How do you know that?” asked Shuria. “Oh, Towako helped me see a little better. And I think there’s no question what is causing Kaito’s depression—it’s the death of his friend Yuuto. Kaito is an incorrigible crybaby. Even the fires of vengeance cannot rid him of that.” “…” He truly is a fool. “And so, it falls to us to knock some sense into him,” I said, lightly rapping his skull. “I’d like to say the only reason I called you all here was for the benefit of good sportsmanship, but to be frank, I’m not sure whether I’m strong enough to do it alone.” “Hmm? What do you mean by that?” asked Shuria. “To wake Kaito, we shall have to travel to the landscape of his mind,” I explained. “However, he is not alone. He has his power—the souls of successive generations of heroes, and all their hatred toward this world.” “So when you say you don’t think you’re strong enough…you mean we have to fight them?” Minnalis asked. I nodded. “That power rejects outsiders,” I said. “To wake Kaito up, we’ll need to rid him of it. If not, if we leave him at its mercy… It may well decide to take over his body directly.” “Oh no… Dear brother…” Mai’s eyes began to waver at my words. “So to save Kaito, we will have to fight the heroes who have trapped him,” I went on. “But don’t take this lightly just because we’ll be in a mental world. We shall have to be transported there in our entirety, else we risk becoming assimilated into Kaito’s mind. Death shall be as real in there as it is out here. If you want to back out, then now is your chance…though I suppose I need not ask such a foolish question.” Looking around at the determined faces of everyone gathered there, I shrugged in defeat. “Now then,” I said. “Metelia and I shall prepare to send everyone inside Kaito’s mind. It’s a delicate ritual, and we shall need some time. I’ll call you all when we are ready, so I suggest you use that time to say your prayers. For if you hesitate in the landscape of Kaito’s mind, there shall be no coming back. We don’t want to end up with another vegetable in the party.” At that same moment, a single person was visiting Towako in her room. “You. Was this also part of your plan?” “Oh? Don’t you know it’s considered rude to enter a lady’s room without knocking? What if I’d been getting changed?” “What if you had? Just answer the question,” reiterated Godrick, unwilling to entertain Towako’s jokes. “Man, I try to lighten the mood, and look what happens. All right then, Godrick, what are you talking about?” “I’m talking about Nonorick shackling himself to the hero’s ankle.” “Oh, that. Nah, that surprised me, too. I figured Kaito and Nonorick had fought each other so many times by now, they wouldn’t get along. Maybe our hero’s more of a masochist than I thought.” Towako chuckled to herself, but Godrick was not amused. “I could not care less for our friend’s sexual proclivities,” he said. “The only reason I went along with your schemes was because it was the most effective means of keeping my family alive. As true vampires, our only remaining mission is to preserve our divine bloodline. That is why Nonorick must live on to replace me after all this is over.” “I don’t remember babysitting being part of our contract,” Towako retorted. “All I agreed to do was put an end to all this.” “…” “Besides, you knew the risks. Coming into contact with the hero is the only way for Nonorick to regain his divine blood. After all, the person who originally locked it away is right there in the hero’s power with him.” “I know that. I know it’s the only way. But what if Nonorick’s mind is consumed before he meets with my brother?” “You’re such a worrywart, Godrick. The hero system isn’t so indiscriminate that it will suck up anyone and everyone who comes close. And once Nonorick gets his blood back, it’ll be impossible. Think about it. Leticia and Nonorick didn’t get new abilities when they made their contract with Kaito. That’s proof their powers haven’t mixed with his. Besides,” Towako went on, “you’re not the only one who wants Nonorick to come back alive. Luna will need a true vampire to help her after all this is over. Her power’s waned after being separated from this world for so long.” “Yeah! And I’m not good with the fiddly stuff!” said Luna with unwarranted pride, her upper torso emerging uncannily from Towako’s back. “Even after I get my authority back, it’ll be hard to control without something that’s one-hundred-percent my creation!” “Hmm. Now that you mention it,” said Towako, “I feel kind of taken advantage of, doing all the thinking on your behalf.” “Huh? Why?!” Godrick gave a deep sigh. “Enough. It matters not,” he said. “The only thing I need to do is crush anyone who dares bring harm to my family.” And with that, he left. Watching him go, Towako shrugged. “What a moody guy,” she said. “It can’t be easy being the eldest.” If the reason Master’s not waking up is because he doesn’t want to… It had already been a few hours since Leticia had given us her explanation. I had gone straight back to my room and had done nothing but stew in my own worries and fears ever since. If Master didn’t want to wake up, that meant he didn’t want to continue his vengeance. And if he didn’t want to continue his vengeance… “Then what will I do next?” I didn’t regret anything I’d done. Even if Master no longer sought revenge, that didn’t erase the time we’d already spent together. That time was more intense than any of the screams we had elicited, or pain we had inflicted. It is the reason I was still here, by Master’s side, today. Plus, I had upheld my vow. I had exacted revenge upon those I swore to kill. My vengeance was already over. Was that why I was racked with such indecision now? “What should I say to Master when I see him…?” Should I shout at him? Tell him his vengeance isn’t over yet? Or should I say he can end it here if that’s what he wants? Tell him it’s okay, that he doesn’t have to do anything he doesn’t want to? Towako taught me how to manipulate this space. I could make a place for me and Master to live out the rest of our lives in peace. I wouldn’t mind that. …If I’m thinking like that, then Master’s thirst for vengeance must really be wavering. For so long, the only things that filled my heart were the dark emotions I shared with him. I never thought the day would come when I would be able to feel things like hesitation and doubt. “But when that day comes…will Master even want to stay with me?” “Who cares what he wants?!” “Eep?!” Suddenly, somebody tackled me from behind. I turned in surprise to see that it was Shuria. “H-how long have you been there?” I asked. “A little while. I knocked on the door and called your name, but you never answered, so I came in. But that’s not nearly as bad as what I just heard you say!” “Ah… Ow… That hurts…Shuria…” “Looks like I need to beat some sense into this big, dumb mouth of yours!” Fuming, Shuria pulled at my cheeks. “It’s not about if he wants to stay with us! He’ll always stay with us!” “B-but…” Without our vengeance binding us to one another, what reason was there for us to stay together? In fact, we might just be getting in Master’s way. “Listen, Minnalis. Who cares what Kaito thinks?!” “Huh?” “We’re his partners in crime, whether he likes it or not. And we’ll be by his side no matter what happens. If he says he doesn’t want us, then we’ll simply have to force ourselves upon him! Let the roles be reversed! You and I shall be the masters, and Kaito the servant!” “…” Reverse the roles? Be Master’s master? “Then we order Kaito to pamper us and attend to our every whim!” Shuria giggled. “Won’t that be fun?” “…I can barely imagine it. I never even considered doing something like that…” But… But… “Tee-hee. Tee-hee-hee! You’re right. What was I thinking, getting worried he’d throw us away?” When Master had asked me to be his partner in crime, he’d sought for us to be mixed, like hot blood and flesh, to be boiled and bubbled in a cauldron until all the colors ran together and became impossible to tell apart. Our vow could never be broken. And that meant Master and I were inseparable. Any personal feelings on the matter were completely irrelevant. “Yes. Yes, that’s right. Master and I are an integral part of each other. How could such a short time apart have led me to forget that?” “Finally, the old Minnalis is back again!” cried Shuria, nodding along eagerly to my words. Just then, I heard the voice of Leticia inside my head. “Sorry to keep you waiting, everybody. The preparations are just about complete. Everyone, come back to the room as soon as you can.” It sounded like we were ready to make the leap into the world of Master’s mind. Shuria and I returned to the room where he was sleeping. Just outside the door, we ran into Towako and Mai. “Hmm? You’re here too, Towako?” I asked. “Yeah. I was meaning to check up on him about now anyway.” “And you, Mai? Are you prepared for what’s to come?” “Of course I am,” asserted Mai with a forceful nod. “Waking up big brother is a little sister’s sacred duty.” The four of us entered the room together to find that Nonorick and Godrick were already there, alongside Leticia and Metelia. Each and every one of us was present and accounted for. I looked over to the bed and saw that Master’s body had become partially transparent, like a phantom’s. But unlike those monsters, brimming with a deep-seated anger so deep you could feel it, Master almost seemed to be slipping away, like a stone sinking to the depths of a lake. “What’s happening?” I asked. “We’ve employed a technique to soften the membrane as much as possible,” Leticia explained. “Let me tell you, though, it was back-breaking work. Even asleep, Kaito’s magical resistances are as infuriating as ever.” Leticia shook her head despairingly. “But with that, we’re all ready to go. And it seems like Godrick will be helping us, along with Metelia. That should make entering the landscape of Kaito’s mind a lot easier.” “Hmph. That’s because I have something I want to say to the boy, too,” said Godrick, reclining on a large sofa that hadn’t been there when we last came in. “He cannot lay indolent forever.” “Right. Is everyone ready? Nonorick, Minnalis, Shuria, Mai, Metelia, and I shall be entering Kaito’s mind. Godrick and Towako will stay on this side to maintain the spell and to respond to problems if something should go wrong.” “…” “Hmph.” Towako said nothing, just waved from her seat in the corner of the room. Godrick simply huffed, also saying nothing. “Right then,” said Leticia. “Everyone follow me.” “Follow you? Where?” I asked. “Why, inside Kaito, of course!” Leticia grinned, then stepped directly onto Master’s sleeping form, whereupon she completely disappeared inside. “…I see. I didn’t expect it to be so…literal.” The surface of Master’s body rippled like a lake a stone had just been dropped into. The five of us followed Leticia’s lead and stepped inside. “So this is what it’s like inside Master’s mind…,” I muttered. We emerged into a vast, empty space surrounded on all sides by cliffs. From the base of the cliffs, we could hear some kind of noise that sounded like gurgling screams. Looking up revealed no ceiling, but instead a marble-patterned sky colored with deep crimson, navy blue, and dark green. “It all feels so familiar for some reason…,” remarked Shuria. I found myself agreeing with her assessment. This gloomy place felt like somewhere we knew intimately. But I supposed that wasn’t surprising. After all, this was Master’s mind we were talking about. “Hey, hey, Leticia? What do we do now?” asked Nonorick. “What do we do? Well, I suppose we’d better look for Kaito.” “Yeah, but…how are we supposed to find him?” “Well, that’s obvious. If he’s shutting himself in, we just have to keep going as deep as we can.” Leticia pointed off in one direction, where there was a passage leading out of the space. The whole area was cloaked in a thick black mist and was blocked by a rusty iron door. The door itself was also held aloft and sealed by black chains. “So that’s where dear brother—” But before Mai could finish, they appeared. ““““GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!”””” A pack of creatures rose out of the ground without warning, surrounding us. They looked like a species of wolf monster, and they were clearly angry. “Well, this is nice and simple,” said Leticia. “Beat the enemies, unlock the door.” “Are these monsters a manifestation of the power of the hero that’s keeping Master locked away?” I asked. “Dead right. Their mana feels the same as the kind I saw ensnaring Kaito from the outside.” The monsters numbered a few dozen, and they all watched us warily, growling and awaiting their chance to attack. But just as they pounced, fangs bared… “Sparking Glacier!” Shards of ice clad in lightning appeared. Metelia swung a porcelain staff I hadn’t seen her carrying before, and the sound of bells rang out. Her magic encased each of the wolves in electrified ice prisons. “I have waited long enough,” she said, her voice taking on a dark quality. “None of you will stop me from seeing my precious Kaito.” Then there was a flash of light, a sound like cracking glass, and one of the ice prisons shattered. The wolf inside, scorched black by the lightning, broke to pieces along with the ice. Then, one by one, the other prisons followed suit. Unfortunately, as one wolf died, another rose out of the floor to take its place. Seeing this, Metelia swung her staff a second time. “…Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Sparking Glacier: Verse of Chains!” “Graaaaagh! Graaaaagh?!” “Whoa… That’s some real magic,” muttered Nonorick while Leticia ground her teeth in frustration. “Grr! I was going to take care of them!” “So Metelia is strong after all,” said Shuria. “Of course,” I said. “Because she still has the memories of her first life with Master.” I didn’t let it show, but I was a little taken aback myself. I still wasn’t sure what to make of Metelia. Perhaps that was because Master himself didn’t know what to make of her. If she can speak to Master in the landscape of his mind, will these feelings go away? I thought to myself as I watched Metelia’s spells make short work of the monsters. Lightning and ice. It was a fantastical, almost dreamlike sight, and before long, the scattered fragments of frozen monsters littered the arena like falling snow. As the last one expired, the chains holding the rusty door shut fell off, dissolving into black mist, and before long, even the mist faded to nothing. Metelia turned to us and smiled amid the snowfall. “Now, then, shall we proceed?” she asked. “Guess I should start prepping the stage,” I said. After the others left, and Godrick and I were the only ones remaining in the room, I began making a clone. “You worm. You would leave the work to a lord of my standing?” spat Godrick with vitriol.
Chapter 115
30 min read