Chapter 78

EPILOGUE Master, I’m back.” “Ah, welcome back, Minnalis.” “Welcome back!” When I returned to the cabin where the others were, I found that Kaito had used the power of his Lust sword to alter space. I could see Quiquitto Village below me, as though I was walking on air. It was very peculiar. Master and Shuria both greeted me with a smile. Sloth was lying on the floor, and Lust was perched atop him, pulling playfully at the straps of his clothes. And in the center of the room lay Leone and her party, unconscious. “All righty, that’s done!” said Shuria. “Now our little latecomers should stumble upon the children in the woods quite nicely!” “So this is what Lust’s Toybox can do,” I marveled. “It’s quite impressive.” The scene I was looking at appeared to reflect reality perfectly, and Shuria was waving her finger, pushing groups of monsters around the forest, closing off routes by felling trees, making sure the group of people headed for the village took exactly the route we wanted. Thanks to her, we had managed to spend these last three days without anyone finding out what we were up to. Master’s Lust sword allowed him to set up an area and enact certain rules within; for example, allowing me access to the powers of his soul blades. The cost of doing so was to provide as much blood as the girl’s fickle whims demanded. According to Master, this was relatively light as far as the Swords of Sin went. Sloth’s power, on the other hand, was almost unfair. For the cost of a single cursed item, he could set up a “workshop,” wherein the laws of nature could be turned on and off as he pleased. Unlike Lust’s power, nothing could resist these effects; Master told me that even the evil dragon had been slave to its laws. But the way I saw it, it seemed like Master’s Swords of Sin simply broke the rules. “Did you have fun, Minnalis?” “Yes, I did. All that’s left is to clean up.” I walked over to Leone. There was still one thing left to do. “This is the end, Leone. Good-bye.” I drew my knife, but just as I brought it down toward Leone’s neck, Master grabbed the blade to stop it. “…Master? What is the meaning of this?” “What are you talking about? I can’t let my partner in crime do something stupid, can I?” “What’s stupid about this? Leone is our enemy. She skirted the contract and hid this village from us. If we hadn’t uncovered her deception, we wouldn’t have been able to do any of this. She tricked me!” “You’re right. I usually get what I want via threats, so I’m not used to honest negotiations. I should have been more careful and checked for loopholes. It’s my fault.” A few drops of blood from Master’s palm dribbled down the edge of the blade. “Why are you trying to stop me?! Leone’s our enemy! She interfered with our vengeance! She deserves to die!!” “Then do it with a calm heart and a steady hand, Minnalis. Yours are shaking.” I gasped, and Master seized that opportunity to flick the knife away from me, sending it spinning across the floor. I fell to my knees in shambles. “Wh-why…?” Why were tears streaming down my face? It just didn’t make sense. “Listen to me, Minnalis. We’ve done what we came here to do. She can’t stand in our way any longer, so there’s no reason to kill her.” “But… But…!” But she was our enemy. She had to die. “Even when Leone sought to stay your hand, she did it without resorting to force. She might have been deceitful about it, but she cared about you.” “But… But!!” Leone was my enemy. She needed to die. Even if I didn’t want to do it. Even if my hands were quivering. “She’s our enemy… She…has to die…” “She’s too good for this world, that’s for sure. A naive fool who can’t bear to see me acting in anger. Even I can see that, and I’m not the one who’s known her since childhood.” I know she only cared about me. But even so…! “She’s our enemy! I have no choice! She needs to die!!” I shook my head madly from side to side, when suddenly Master grabbed my cheeks in his hands. “Minnalis!! Listen to me. You always have a choice. Nobody’s forcing you to kill. Don’t be silly!” I tried to wrest myself free of his grasp, but he didn’t let me go. “I made that mistake already,” he said. “I didn’t know what I wanted. I didn’t know what I should do. And by the time I did, it was too late. You don’t know how many times I’ve been forced to think back to that day, wondering how I could go on living after the mistake I made.” Master closed his eyes, his pain clear to see. “You haven’t made that mistake yet. If you kill, don’t hesitate. And if you hesitate, don’t kill.” He spoke, never breaking our gaze for a moment. “Minnalis. It’s okay for this to be the end. The people who upended your life are all gone now.” Those words were the finishing blow. “…It’s not fair,” I said. “How am I supposed to kill her now?” “If you can ask that, then you’re in a much better position than I was.” Master sighed and shrugged his shoulders, giving a dry smile. It just wasn’t fair. In that moment, my strength left me. “Hug me, Kaito. Please. So tightly I’ll break. Stroke my hair, touch my cheeks. Tell me what a good job I did. Tell me how important I am to you.” “Of course. You’re my irreplaceable partner in crime. You did so well. Your vengeance was sublime. Let it all out.” “Sob… Waaaaaaaaaaaahhh!! Aaaaaughhh!!” It was like a dam spilling forth. My tears, my wails, I couldn’t hold them back. My heart, my body, my emotions were completely out of my control. I was like a baby, crying in Master’s arms. “Oh, Minnalis. What am I going to do with—?” “Finally showed me an opening, son.” “Hurgh! Gh?!” “…Huh?” At that moment, a figure had crept from the darkness like a shadow and planted two poisoned daggers in Master’s back. As painful as it was to admit, I had let my guard down. With my vengeance exacted, I thought that I could breathe easy, just for a moment. I felt the poison enter my system from the two blades lodged in my shoulders. It was like being crushed to death by a boa constrictor. The poison first forced Lust and Sloth back inside me. “Hwah?! No, no, I still wanted to play!” “Aargh, what a bother…” Then the toybox I had created with Lust’s power dissolved away, and the cabin returned. This poison…it’s the Wine of the Holy Grail! This is bad…very bad… “Gordo… You— Ack?!” As soon as the Swords of Sin were dismissed, the Curse of Saints hit me at full force. Blood sprayed out of me as if a hundred little blades had sliced me at once, and a paralyzing pain ran through my body. The Wine of the Holy Grail nullified intrinsic abilities, and there was also a second poison that made my arms and legs go numb. Since the drawback of using Lust was that my resistance to status conditions dropped, it was more effective against me now than ever. “Ho, so you’ve heard of me, young lad? Still, I must confess, I didn’t expect you to…fight…back…” Gordo slipped to the floor, my Soul Blade of Beginnings stuck straight through his heart. But there was no time to waste. If he had access to the Wine of the Holy Grail, then there was only one person who could be responsible… “Master!” “Kaito!” “Stay alert! Draw your weapons!” But it was of little use. “Stream of Water: Avalanche. Prison of Water: Submergence.” “Wha— Ugh?!” “Eee—ah…gh…?” A torrent of water flattened the walls of the cabin. Not a second later, a bubble appeared, encasing the two girls with no way out. “Metelia!” I yelled, recognizing the spells. “What are you doing here?!” In answer to my shout, an echoing voice rang throughout the forest, as pure and clean as a running stream. “Tee-hee-hee. Oh, my dear Kaito. I’ve finally caught up with you,” it said, as a figure stepped out of the trees. Her hair was the color of the sea, as smooth as roiling waves. She was beautiful specimen of a woman, yet she was shrouded in such an aura of such incorruptible piety that any and all improper thoughts perished with a single glance. Her robes were flowing and white, and the head of her porcelain staff was trimmed with stars, like the night sky. It was the holy priestess, Metelia Laurelia, said by all to be the most gifted of her line. “Oh, Kaito. It’s been such a long journey. You don’t know how far I’ve come.” Soft words fell like treacle from her lips, while on her face shone a smile that would charm the heart of even the most abstinent priest. “Come, Kaito. Let’s see this story restored to the proper path. The way it was always meant to be.” The Wine of the Holy Grail was a closely-guarded secret of the Church. Only a priestess like Metelia could create it, and aside from the fact that you couldn’t store the poison for very long, it had no weaknesses or drawbacks to speak of. Why is she here? Why?! I thought she was in the See, conquering the Coffin of the Undying! She shouldn’t even be allowed outside while that damn archbishop is still out and about!! I knew that using the Swords of Sin transmitted my location to her, something I had been doing continuously for the past three days. So I had expected the Church to send somebody to investigate sooner or later, but not her, and not so soon. And this power…it’s like she’s conquered the dungeon already! Dammit, and I’m in no condition to fight… I had never been in a worse position. I was suffering the drawbacks of both Sloth and Lust, I had just been stabbed in the back twice, I was paralyzed, with no access to my soul blades, and I had used up the last of my mana maintaining the Blackwheel Workshop. To make matters worse, both Minnalis and Shuria were out of the picture. They clawed at the walls of their prison, but I knew that the technique Metelia was using wouldn’t break down so easily. The walls were made of compressed water and were more solid than any cage of iron or steel. Not even sound could escape from inside it. Metelia, however, showed no sympathy for my plight and continued talking. “Ahhh, Kaito. You’re hurt… I’m so sorry. It’s all because of my own weakness. If I had only been stronger, then things wouldn’t have had to end the way they did, and my Lady would have had no need to restore this world.” “What?! You mean…you still have your memories?!” “Why, yes, of course. Each memory of you is etched deeply into my heart, thanks to the blessing of Lady Lunaris. You and I are special, Kaito, as arbiters of Her will.” “…What? What do you mean?” Ignoring my confusion, Metelia wiped the tears from her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, as if holding something precious very close to her. “I must apologize. I really, really, must, Kaito. For allowing you to be hurt again. You’ve suffered so, so much, and it’s all been my fault…because I was too weak to stop it. It must have been so difficult…and I was powerless to even be by your side. I must seem so pathetic.” “Metelia…” She wept openly, brushing aside the tears to no avail. I detected no trace of deception in her actions; it seemed she really did only care about me. Yet I couldn’t suppress the smoldering flame of doubt that arose in my chest. “Why…,” I began. “Why did you betray me? Why did you kill me? What did you stand to gain?” It was an answer I had long sought. Metelia wasn’t like the others, who’d hounded me across the land in the year following their betrayal. After casting the Curse of Saints upon me, she had been content to leave me alone. Even at the very end, she didn’t lay eyes on me. She just clasped her hands together, eyes closed, and prayed. All my other former party members were possessed by unbridled hatred, but not her. It didn’t make any sense. “…I do not think I have ever betrayed you,” she replied. “Wh-what?! How could you say that?! You sealed off my strongest weapons and declared me an enemy of your god! What do you call that if not a betrayal?!” But Metelia shook her head. “That was all to save you, my dear Kaito. You had been taken in by the demon lord. It was a necessary step toward capturing you and purifying your soul.” “Purifying…my soul?” “Yes. And so I followed the guidance of my Lady Lunaris! The hero and the priestess are to be joined in holy matrimony; it is the way things must be!” “What are you talking about…? Explain yourself!” “That is what Lunaris wishes, and so that is the way it must go. There is no reason to doubt, no reason to fear! Tee-hee-hee!” She spoke as if possessed. A deeply unsettling feeling rose from the pits of my stomach. “Can I tell you a secret, Kaito? Sometimes, I don’t like the things Lady Lunaris tells me.” A voice from the past rang in my ears. A pier at the edge of a silent lake, in the depths of a forest bathed in stars. “When I talk to Her in my dreams…she scares me. It sometimes feels like she’s forcing me along a path I don’t want to go down. I don’t want to stop thinking. I don’t want to stop worrying. And sometimes that makes me feel like I’m not fit to be Her priestess…” The Metelia I knew never used her revelations as an excuse. She never took them as oracles, even though they literally were. Whenever she would convince others to follow her Lady’s will, she did so with her own words, using her own logic and her own emotions. She’d burdened herself with hardships she didn’t need to take and was hurting because of it. She’d been in so much pain, for so very long. “…You’re not Metelia. Who are you?” “Hmm? Who else would I be?” “Metelia would never tell me there’s no need to worry.” “…Huh?” She seemed genuinely surprised by my words. “Metelia never wanted people to offload their decisions to faith. Was that all a lie?” “A lie? Uh…ah…no…I…that’s not what I…” Metelia suddenly got all panicked, but there was no time to press the initiative. I felt my hear straining to beat, and then everything went all blurry. Shit…the poison…I can’t resist it any longer. “M-Master!!” “You’ll pay for this!” “What?! Prison of Water: Swirling Tides!” Minnalis and Shuria had taken advantage of Metelia’s lapse in concentration to push through the walls of their bubble, but there was another stage to the spell. The sphere of water changed into a serpent and wrapped its body tightly around the two, pinning them in place. “…Please don’t interrupt when my darling and I are talking.” “Urgh…gh…” “Hgh…ugh…” The rope of water tightened around the pair’s necks. “No, stop!” I yelled. “Don’t worry, Kaito. I won’t kill them. I know how they leech off your life force like the parasites they are. I’ll keep them alive…for now.” Metelia’s moment of disquiet swiftly passed, and Minnalis and Shuria both fainted. When she looked back at me, her smile was as firm as it had been just moments before. “That’s right. There’s nothing to fear. I simply need to cleanse your wicked heart that has been seduced by evil.” When she said that, the scene of my death flashed in my mind. “Krh…!!” “Oh, don’t worry,” she said. “It won’t require anything so…drastic as last time. That tragedy only needed to be performed once. It’s time to start again, Kaito! Become the hero you were always meant to be and cleanse this world of evil!” “…And what makes you think I’m going to do that again? What do you think got me into this mess?” “Oh, Kaito. What a sad, lonely man you are. But it’s okay, I’m here. I have already laid out everything you must do. This time, I will be able to support you. This time, we can find happiness together.” Metelia smiled broadly, as though she were in a dream. It was a look all the more terrifying given the vile things she was saying. “Spit it out, Metelia! What are you trying to do?!” “We’re going to start over. You shall save the world from the demon lord, defeat the princess, and live happily ever after with me by your side. To that end, Kaito, I must ask that you return to your world for a time.” “Return…to my world?” “Yes. And in your absence, I shall tidy up this world for your return. I shall rid it of all that wishes to prey on you. The princess shall become nothing more than a powerless puppet; the demon lord an incompetent pawn. Everything shall be made right for you. And then, and only then, will I call you back to this world. This time, we won’t need that ragtag group of fools the princess arranged for us. It shall be just you and me against the world, as Lunaris intended.” “…You…you’re insane! You’re just going to send me back and forth like that?! How many lives are you willing to sacrifice?! Do you think I’m just going to sit still and let it happen?!” “There’s no need to worry. You have a kind heart, Kaito, and I would not do anything to cause it distress. Since you have not yet been tainted by the demon lord, you can return freely the way you came, and this jewel of mine will substitute for the offerings required to open the portal, for it contains the soul of the immortal Lichie, the dungeon boss of the Coffin of the Undying, as well as the hundreds of souls he imprisoned therein.” “Wh-what?!” She produced an orb, glowing with a purple light so dark as to be almost completely black. “This is fate. This is the will of Lunaris. Why else would you have used Sloth and Lust at this exact moment? The pain of Lust is that it makes you susceptible to all status conditions, and the pain of Sloth forbids you from enacting any and all magical influence. It pains me to say this, Kaito, but you no longer have the means to resist my sending ritual.” Metelia began channeling mana into the stone, and a seven-colored magic circle spread out beneath me. “I’m so sorry, Kaito. It’s all because of my weakness that you’ve been forced to endure so much misery. But upon returning to your world, all those painful memories will be washed away. I’m heartbroken that you won’t remember me, but I swear to create so many more pleasant ones upon your return.” The patterns around the circle looked just like the ones in the royal summoning chamber. The light that enveloped me was the same light that first brought me to this world. “W-wait…hold on… Stop this!!” It was all too fast for me to keep up with, but I managed to pick out two points. She was sending me back to my world. And upon doing so, I would lose my memories. “Parting is such sweet sorrow, my dear Kaito, but we shall exchange our vows upon your return. There are many things I must do in the meantime to ensure that our story reaches its proper ending.” “No…stop. I’m serious. Don’t do it!” Fear and anger gripped my heart. “Don’t do it! Don’t do it! Don’t do iiit!!” How could I go back to my old world now? How could I forget it all now? What was there for me, now that everything was gone? How was I meant to live in a world without friends, without family, and not even know why? It would be nothing but a joke. A sick joke! “Stop it!! There’s so much more I want to do here!! I can’t go back like this!! I’m not finished!!” Though I felt ready to blow a fuse, I couldn’t move a single muscle because of the paralyzing poison. “It’s okay, Kaito. You can start all over again. Forget everything causing you pain and grief and return to this land as the hero you were always meant to be. This time, I will be by your side always, and you’ll never have to feel lonely again. Instead, we will share in each other’s happiness, for ever and ever.” “What are you trying to do?!” I yelled. “Why are you doing this?!” “Why? Why, Kaito, that’s obvious.” She extended an arm, stroked my cheek, and parted her crimson lips. “Because I want you, Kaito. No matter what else happens, no matter what the Goddess has in store for us, that will never change. Even if I walk the path laid out for me, the love that spurs me on is real. Mmmh.” “Mmph?!” Before I could act, she pressed those soft, moist lips against mine. Then, I felt a sensation I had not felt since the first time I came to this world, and the connection between me, Minnalis, and Shuria was severed. The world twisted around me, and all the colors blended into one. It was like I was swimming in mud, tumbling through space until I couldn’t tell which way was up anymore. As I fell helplessly, a dark, shadowy hand reached out of the blackness. “Stop it!” I shouted. “Go awaaaay!!” It passed through my skin, clutching something inside me that I knew I couldn’t afford to lose. Its nails scraped off the layers, tearing it all away, shred by shred.