“Are you a reincarnator?” Ares asked, looking down at me.
“Huh?”
What? That came out of the blue. And is this...holy magic?
The pain that had been coursing through my body was fading. While I was still trying to make sense of what was happening, Ares pressed on.
“Do you know anything about something called the heaven dragon’s core?”
My heart jumped at those words. Did he find out about the heaven dragon’s core?
“Me and my party members defeated that heaven dragon at the cost of their lives.”
I couldn’t believe it. “Well...”
So it was Ares and his group that defeated the heaven dragon! And he lost his party members in that fight? Then taking the materials without permission makes me nothing but a cowardly thief in his eyes. Is that why he attacked me?
Ares’s face showed no anger or contempt. So much so that it felt like his bloodlust and hatred from before were all something I’d simply imagined. But his expression was complicated, so it wasn’t like he had any fondness for us either.
I couldn’t answer his question. Whatever he thought of my silence, Ares looked away.
“Are you quite finished?”
“First, I’ll deal with that thing,” said Ares. “We’ll talk after. Give this to the girls. It has purification effects.”
Ares sprinkled potions—taken out from who knows where—over me and Godlord, then placed two more in front of me.
Then he walked toward Machina of Pride.
“A Demon King, huh.”
“Oh...? You can tell?”
“Yeah. I never thought I’d run into two of them in a single dungeon.”
“You... Are you the hero who slew Bellwood of Wrath?!”
“That dragon? Yeah, we defeated it.”
“Running into a hero right after making flesh... What terrible timing...”
Demon King? Hero? Those are things out of fairy tales... What? These two are a Demon King and a hero? And it seems the heaven dragon was a Demon King too. I’ve heard that the dungeon is a trial from the goddess, but does it also create Demon Kings?
While I was struggling with that thought, Ares and Machina of Pride began to fight. Ares darted around at a speed I could barely follow, and she countered with quickness that seemed impossible for someone of such a short, stubby stature. Ares swung his sword in an elegant dance, while the Demon King swatted at him like she was flicking away a fly.
Both of them were monsters.
Ares didn’t have the vicious aura he’d had when he attacked us before, but he still looked immensely strong. Actually, he almost seems stronger now that he’s calm. Watching him dodge every attack by a hair’s breadth sent a shiver through me.
Trying not to get caught in the battle, I crawled across the floor with one eye on them. I have to save Shiro and Kuro.
Meanwhile, Ares and Machina of Pride continued their duel, both firing off immense mana.
I should probably be rooting for Ares, right?
Honestly, I still couldn’t fully trust him. While I did feel guilty, I also couldn’t forget that he’d nearly killed us.
With those tangled feelings still in my chest, I somehow reached Shiro and Kuro. Countless mushrooms had rooted themselves into their bodies. Their skin was dry and cracked, probably from having their nutrients drained. But their chests rose and fell, and I could hear their heartbeats.
“They’re...breathing.”
They’re alive!
I threw myself over them and poured Ares’s potion into their mouths. Thanks to my knowledge of ingredients, I knew it was real—an expensive, high-tier potion. At the same time, I activated holy magic, but their wounds healed slowly, and half the mushrooms remained. The mushrooms were draining their life force, and I guessed that many of them couldn’t be killed off with purification. I could get rid of the ones I had knowledge about, but many were completely unfamiliar. Using detox and lightning magic, I managed to eliminate half of what remained, but several still clung on stubbornly.
One kind—pitch-black mushrooms the size of a fist—seemed especially dangerous. Every time I used holy magic on Shiro and Kuro, they grew larger. The mushrooms were absorbing something beyond life force.
Should I risk pulling them out? But some mushrooms leave dangerous mycelium behind. I have no idea what might happen.
“Shiro, Kuro...”
Their complexions worsened, their bodies growing colder and colder. It was just like that time with Carolina. I was trying to hold on to their lives, but they kept slipping through my fingers. No matter how hard I tried, I was certain I wouldn’t be able to save them.
My own helplessness made my vision burn red with frustration.
“Why...?!”
Is this...where it ends? Not a chance...in hell!
We’re gonna live! We’re gonna live together, eat together, laugh together...!
Shiro and Kuro are not dying! These two deserve to be happy!
“Agh...?”
My throat...is hot! It’s burning! It’s the red mana! My anger’s making it surge! If I use this power...!
No, it’s still not enough. I need more. I need stronger, deeper, denser mana to save Shiro and Kuro! Come on, you useless idiot! Get angrier! Squeeze out every ounce of power you got!
Mana flared up inside me. Then my stomach growled.
Even at a time like this, my hunger was crying out.
Or is it because it’s at a time like this? My instincts were telling me to eat if I wanted power. With every passing second, the hunger grew, and I could feel my own life force being converted into mana.
But I’m fine with that. Hell, devour my life some more!
I pulled out the meat I had in storage and bit into it on the spot. I tore it up, chewed, and swallowed it, over and over again.
The moment the meat hit my stomach, it turned into mana. So much mana welled up that it felt like my body might burst from the inside.
It’s a dangerous power, but now I’ll be able to—
“Shiro, Kuro, I’m gonna heal you!”
Using the red mana boiling through my body, I cast holy magic. It was the same spell as always, but the effect was clearly different.
The spell kept sucking up my mana. The consumption was brutal, worse than advanced magic, but the effect was extraordinary. Shiro’s and Kuro’s wounds closed up, their bodies healing by the second. Their heartbeats grew stronger, and their skin regained color and firmness. Their wounds healed completely, and every mushroom withered away.
Judging from how swollen they got, maybe they had too much life force?
“Myaffu?”
“Wuffu...”
The pain vanished from their faces, and they began snoring peacefully. They probably weren’t fully recovered yet, but without the mushrooms, their life force wouldn’t be drained anymore.
Look at you two sleeping with such innocent faces. Do you know how worried—
Boom!
The noise knocked me to my senses. I’d been so focused that I’d completely forgotten about the battle that was raging on, mana clashing and sending shock waves through the air.
They had both probably forgotten I even existed. That’s how evenly matched the fight was. At a glance, Ares seemed to be winning, dodging every attack from Machina of Pride. But when it came to stamina and life force, the Demon King had the advantage. Even one hit on Ares would’ve turned the tide instantly.
What should I do? What do I even want to happen?
For Ares to win? For them to take each other out? Is Ares even an ally?
He’d helped me earlier, but I still hadn’t forgotten he’d nearly killed me.
I was the one who stole the heaven dragon materials. I knew I was in the wrong, but I couldn’t suddenly decide, “He was an ally all along! I have to help him!”
I thought so hard my head started to hurt, but I decided to negotiate with Ares. If Machina of Pride won and wasn’t weakened enough for us to finish her off, we’d be done for. So talking to Ares was the best option since he seemed to be the one I could reason with. But I couldn’t just start talking to him in the middle of battle, so I gathered mana and watched.
The hall, filled with their overwhelming mana and fighting spirit, drained my mind just by being in it. At any moment, one of those attacks could come our way.
Shiro, Kuro, and Godlord were still unconscious. If I’d put some hell chimera jerky under their noses, they probably would’ve woken up instantly, but doing that in the middle of a battle was impossible.
As I waited nervously for an opening, the chance finally came.
“Aaaggghhh! Holy Light Binding Blade!”
“Hm...? Such a powerful spell...!”
Ares swung his sword down as he yelled out the grandiose name, and Machina of Pride became trapped inside a glowing dome—a spell that bound the opponent’s movement, it seemed. Machina of Pride shook her massive black body, trying to break free, but couldn’t move from that spot.
It looked like the perfect chance to attack, but Ares didn’t move—he couldn’t move. He was down on one knee, breathing hard. He must have used a huge amount of mana to restrain the enemy.
I approached Ares and cast holy magic on him.
“I’ll support you.”
“I appreciate it.”
Yes! I don’t know what he’s thinking, but my plan to earn some goodwill worked! And he doesn’t seem to have any animosity toward me either!
Ares stood and raised his sword again, the steel blade wrapped in mana.
If he was charging up a finishing move, it would be devastating. The end was close. This was the moment. I had to get him to give me his word.
“It’s all my fault.”