Chapter 97

I had broken the unwritten rule I’d imposed on myself at the beginning of my do-over and raised my level above 1. The reason I had decided against it before was because I wanted to prove a point to our fighter, Leon, who believed that levels and experience were everything. I figured my stats would be high enough without raising my level, and that everything would be okay. However, I hadn’t expected to be returned to Earth with my memories stripped. Luckily, I managed to join up with Yuuto and Mai, and find my way back, but it was a close shave. I had been this close to dying out there. “I’m not yet back at peak performance, but I’m getting there. Maybe eighty percent?” The experience points I’d received from the dungeon allowed me to unlock all my remaining soul blades. I was still only a third of my previous level, but the stat buffs I received from them more than made up for it. Now the only scenario I could envision where I would be in danger was if I ran into an archdemon outside the barrier. Either that, or if I had to fight a certain someone who regained their full strength after the barrier fell. The barrier weakened all demons within its bounds and made it difficult for new ones to enter. It was created by the Holy Crystal, borrowing the life energy of beings born in this land. That meant that after the barrier fell, that energy was returned to its original owners. Of course, few could put this returned energy to good use immediately, but there were some who could. “Well, everything looks good on the stats front. Let’s take a look at titles.” After returning here from Earth, I’d received a bunch of new titles: “Repatriate,” “Returner,” “Bound Breaker,” and “Custodian of the Divine Key.” Also, my “Avenger’s Master” title changed to “Avenger’s Overlord.” The first three were good. As far as I could tell, they raised my stats just like other titles. The problem was the other two. First, “Custodian of the Divine Key.” Turning my “Appraise” skill upon it resulted in only a stream of incomprehensible garbage, leaving me unable to work out what it did. I didn’t like having a title whose effects were unknown, and going by its name, I could only assume that I must have received it from that mysterious voice I’d met in the space between dimensions. I didn’t like that, either. Then there was “Avenger’s Overlord.” It gave a small buff to all my stats, but on top of that, it also upgraded the effect of the Holy Sword of Retribution. Specifically, it altered the terms of the contract from a mutually beneficial agreement into one that favored me significantly. Now every one of my partners in crime would go down with me if I died, but if one of them kicked the bucket, I would be unaffected. “Grr, another thing I didn’t ask for…” I didn’t want there to be any difference between me and my accomplices. I wanted us all to share equally in revenge, our blood and our lives mixed together into a single, muddy mess. But just as I was lamenting this “upgrade,” there was a rattle at the window. “Hmm? Ah, they’re back.” I closed the status boards and walked over to the window. A dry wind blew in from outside as I slid it up. “Welcome back, you two,” I said. “Kyupie!” “Squeak!” Slimo and Sir Squeaks came into the room. They’d been scouting the area ever since we arrived. It was they who’d told me about this inn, in fact. “Thanks, guys. Sorry for working you two to the bone—or, the goo, I guess. Get some food and you can have a nice rest.” I took out some food from the Squirrel’s Blade of Holding and fed it to them. For Slimo, some magic stones I’d picked up in the dungeon, and for Sir Squeaks, a fancy cheese that he was rather fond of. As those two happily nibbled away, I turned my attention to the information they had brought me. From what I could tell, it seemed time had passed as normal while I was away on Earth. However, war had broken out a little earlier than I’d expected. Additionally, the fighting had happened in the beast lands the last time, but now it was transpiring over in the See. It doesn’t seem like Leticia and Lilia are here in town, either. It’s a little earlier than before, but I guess they’ve already infiltrated the allied army. My investigations turned up a demon on the front lines by the name of Ardelius, Baron of Flames. He was a long-standing enemy of the previous demon lord, and the one responsible for summoning the evil dragon that killed Leticia’s big brother. Assuming history had not yet been totally rewritten, Leticia would still be after him, while Ardelius himself assaulted the mainland. Once the demon shattered the Holy Crystal, Leticia would ambush him and cut out his three hearts, slaying him. To do so, she would use the conflict between her supporters and Ardelius as a distraction. During that time, Lilia would be alone. If all went according to plan, that would be when I made my move. So for the time being, I decided to focus my efforts on our noble-hearted fighter, Leon Gailed. He was the one leading the troops on the front line, but if my information was correct, then he had come back to this town just yesterday in search of something. “I hope he falls for my little bait. Well, if he doesn’t, it’s no biggie.” My biggest concern at the moment, however, was about Minnalis and Shuria. Ever since coming back to this world—actually, even before that—I had been able to sense a faint connection between us. The last moment I’d seen them painted a pretty dire picture, but based on this connection, it was safe to say they were still alive. But I had no idea where in the world they might be or what they might be up to. Did Metelia take them prisoner? But then why keep them alive? There’s no reason I can think of. So did they manage to escape? There were too many possibilities and not enough facts. Any more postulating, and I’d basically just be making things up. I knew next to nothing about Metelia, too. My only option was to keep gathering information and hope that the other two managed to get away and find some way to contact me. As for the offshoots, I still wasn’t sure why they’d begun appearing already, and there wasn’t much I could find out in this town on that front. But seeing as though I’d met Leticia, and she seemed to be doing fine, I guessed they must have come from someone else… “Not much to go on there, either…” That was as far as I could make it with the meager knowledge I possessed. If I wanted to know more, I’d have to go out and find it myself. By now, Slimo and Sir Squeaks had finished their meals and were happily snoozing away on the edge of my bed. Looking at them made me feel sleepy, too. Or rather, it made me realize just how tired I already was. “It’s still early in the day…,” I lamented to myself, but in the end, I crawled into bed, trying not to wake my two familiars. There was a lot to think about, but first I needed rest. If nothing else, I had to quell the excitement rising in me over finding two of my sworn enemies in one place. I had to stay calm so I could execute my vengeance without mishap. What I needed right now was a sleep so deep it extinguished all thought and soothed all weariness. And so, I gently closed my eyes… …trying not to listen to the voice in my head telling me, “There’s no way you’re going to get a proper night’s rest tonight.” I dreamed of the past. In an ethereal state, I watched as if reliving an abridged version of events. Objective and subjective facts merged and distorted, massaging my rational mind into realization. This world is filled with deceit. I recalled what I’d come to know after finding out the truth of the demon lord’s existence—or rather, their role. All demons possessed a magic stone inside their bodies that served as their heart. In certain circumstances, it was powerful enough to regenerate organs and flesh, but if the core itself was destroyed, the demon perished. On top of this, those who became the demon lord received another, separate stone: the arcstone. This was in fact a seed of the World Tree imbued with evil. It gave the demon lord unfathomable power, but it slowly turned them into something called a Demonlight Tree. Once the transformation was complete, the tree’s malign influence would spread to the surrounding areas. For a hundred years until that tree’s death, monster attacks would be more frequent, and the demons would grow in power. This was why heroes were needed to slay the demon lords: to destroy the one and only arcstone and purify the demonic energy within. Only a hero could perform this feat, thus bringing peace to the realm until the time another arcstone made its appearance. …But I couldn’t do that. The transformation brought on by the arcstone was not immediate. It took time for a demon lord to be consumed entirely. But things had been different with Leticia. She’d received her arcstone from the previous demon lord instead of through normal means. That meant she only had a few years left to live. Leticia had asked me to spend those final few years with her. She said there was no other way. She wanted me to complete what she had set out to do. Combining her power with mine, we would create a barrier that split the world in two, separating mankind and demonkind, thus putting a stop to the fighting once and for all. Then we would live out the rest of her life in the space in between. …But I couldn’t accept that. I decided to search for a way to remove the arcstone from Leticia’s body. The sudden appearance of the evil dragon had devastated both sides of the war, and while Leticia and I had managed to put it down, the feat had weakened us, and neither the forces of mankind nor demonkind had enough strength to resume hostilities, either. So I left Leticia in the care of Lilia, her sister, and Leon, a proud and upstanding wielder of martial arts. Meanwhile, I embarked upon a journey to find a cure for Leticia’s condition. And eventually, I found it. From the ancient vampires, I learned of a tome called the “Book of Wisdom,” that bestowed the reader with any knowledge their heart desired. Deep in the Ruins of Decay, I learned of a dungeon where the Book of Wisdom might be found. And deep in the elven forest, I entered that sealed dungeon in search of the treasure within. I fought my way through nearly five hundred floors, each swarming with boss-level monsters, until finally laying eyes upon the artifact I sought. And there, I learned how to extract and destroy the arcstone without endangering Leticia’s life. I had found it. At last, I had found it. I hurried back. I hurried back to where Leticia was waiting. Leticia… I promised you. I gave up your hand so I could promise you. So why…? “No… It can’t be… Not this quickly…” “Gruuuuuuuuhhh!” Why did I return to find your transformation complete? After Leticia became a Demonlight Tree, I fought her. I didn’t have much time to consider the matter. Leticia’s selfhood had fallen completely silent, and all the tree cared about was sending out Offshoot after Offshoot in search of life to feed on. Neither mankind nor the demons boasted enough power to stop it, and so that task fell to me. I had no choice unless I wanted innocent people to suffer. We fought for three days and three nights. She was more powerful than any foe I’d ever faced, and through it all, I clung to the hope that there might still be some way to save her. But I knew it was a vain hope. Because the book had also told me that once the tree sprouted, there was no way to separate Leticia’s soul from it. …Or rather, there was only one way. If I could find the arcstone, wherever it was hidden, I possessed the knowledge and ability to draw out the evil power and release it into the world, leaving Leticia’s soul intact. But I couldn’t find it. And even if I had, I wouldn’t have been able to go through with this plan. Because I was a hero. Because Leticia had taught me to love this world and everything in it. If I released that energy into the world, it would create a blanket of evil so dense that all who breathed it in would perish, demons included. It would create a world inhabited only by death, and I knew for a fact that Leticia didn’t want to live in a world like that. Even so, I doubted and doubted. I fought desperately against the pitch-black monster that had drawn Leticia into its wooden heart, asking myself what the right thing to do was all the while. I couldn’t bring myself to end it. Not even as the Demonlight Tree glowed red and prepared to self-destruct. Ultimately, all my hesitation bought was my doom. But just as I was about to pay the price for my fatal mistake, Leticia regained consciousness. “I think I do want to destroy the world, actually. Let’s settle this once and for all. Win or lose, no regrets, okay?” Her lie was painfully obvious, but with it at my back, pushing me on, I skewered the arcstone that Leticia’s heart had become, thus ending the battle and my hesitation for good. “Leticia…” “Heh. What a face to make when you’ve got such a cutie in your arms.” “Why…did it happen so soon? Couldn’t you have…fought it off or something? I found it! I found a way to save you! Didn’t we say we’d go back to my world together? Didn’t we promise I’d show you off to my parents and tell them what a cute girlfriend you made?” I could sense Leticia’s soul fading. I could feel the body I held in my arms gradually growing emptier and emptier. “Sorry, Kaito,” she said. “It looks as if I shan’t be returning to your world after all. But that’s only fair, I suppose. I’ve always taken and taken, and never had the chance to give anything back. At least this way, I’ll be able to do something for you for a change. I told you before, did I not? I never like to leave a debt unsettled.” She giggled, the same way she had always done. “Promise me you’ll go back to your world. Your family. Your home. Oh, but don’t forget me too quickly. Be sure to mourn me. Construct a tomb worthy of my greatness, and weep as you remember my legacy. Kaito, all you ever think about is your own world. I want to have you to myself for a while! Hee-hee-hee! When I think about it that way, suddenly dying doesn’t seem so bad!” She chuckled mischievously, the same way she had always done. “Oh, and one more thing. Make sure you get all you want out of life. I’m giving you my own, so you had better not waste it. I’ll be watching over you, so watch out, mister! If I see you slacking off, I’ll come back to life and beat you up! Or I’ll haunt you!” She boldly urged my spineless self on, the same way she had always done. Only this time the pain was too much to bear. “Leticia…” “Come on, Kaito! Do you mean to use up all your tears before I’m even gone? I said ‘no regrets,’ didn’t I?! Smile! S-M-I-L-E!” Her powerless fists struck my cheeks one at a time. “Ow… What’s that for…? This is domestic abuse, I’ll have you know…” Leticia’s body began dissolving into sand. The contamination of the Demonlight Tree had left her demon heart unable to contain the boundless power of the demon lord. “Smile, Kaito. Come on. I want you to.” “L…like…this?” “Pfft! What an unfortunate mug! Now, there’s a head that’s going to go bald!” “Y-you idiot. Are you blind? Can’t you see my luscious locks?” “Heh-heh. Ignore my predictions at your own peril, Kaito!” I forced a smile and tried to chat like we always did, but it felt like that smile would come apart at any moment. The schism between how I looked and how I felt was so wide, I thought it would tear me apart. Her arms and legs were already gone. Our time was rapidly running out. “I can’t believe you…,” I said. “Even at a time like this…” “Heh-heh. Heh-heh-heh… Aah, I don’t think I can do it, Kaito…” Her voice strained and strained and strained. “I…don’t want to die after all…” “Leticia…” It was a whisper. “I want to stay. Please let me stay. Why can’t I stay?” “Leticia… Leticia!!” Her words, too, crumbled to dust. “I don’t want to go! I want to stay with you, Kaito! I… I… I…!” As if finally looking down from the precipice on which she stood, as if finally turning to face her imminent extinction, her nonexistence, like a bubble vanishing forever… “I love you! I love you, Kaito! I love you so much…” …as if finally awakening from a dream, she cried. Her tearstained face burned itself forever into my memories. “I…love you…too. I love you, too, Leticia. I love you, too. So, so much…” I wept, clutching nothing but cold, lifeless sand. It was cold. So cold. I never knew the world could be so cold. I never knew the world could lose its color. I lay atop a piece of driftwood in the deserted ruins of a coastal town. The hot sand caressed my cheek. The blood rolled down me, taking my body’s warmth with it, while poisons and curses left me unable to teleport or even move. “…” It all felt so empty. Even the dazzling glare of the sun high above seemed hollow. It was as if I’d regressed to the way I was when I first came to this world. I felt like the whole world was trying to squeeze me out of existence. My entire being. It felt like vague specters of the past were shackled to my legs as I trudged through a deep, boggy marsh. I was trapped, as if in a cage, and the more I tried to run, the more I was pulled down, choking, into those forbidden depths. “…Ha-ha-ha. No, if anything, it’s even worse than back then.”