Ares looked perplexed.
“I was the one who stole the dragon materials,” I said. “Shiro and Kuro had nothing to do with it. When we receive the dungeon’s blessing, we’ll ask for your friends to be revived, so please, would you spare Shiro and Kuro?”
“You’re...” Ares trailed off, his face tightening.
Is he angry? Maybe it’s not possible to negotiate with this guy.
His expression looked angry but also pained—a complicated mix of emotions.
“Um—”
Just as I tried to speak again, Machina of Pride’s voice echoed through the hall.
“Show me the strength of your hearts.”
Even while bound, Machina had done something, probably trying to disrupt us.
“Thor, come here,” a voice said.
“Yes, Thor...” said another.
“Huh?”
Two figures suddenly appeared before me, calling my name. They were my parents from my current life, smiling at me with gentle, almost transparent expressions.
“We’re sorry for what we put you through...”
“Please forgive us...”
Both of them radiated such exaggerated humility it was unsettling. A normal child might’ve lost their will to fight, or frozen up, or started crying. That was how gentle and peaceful the illusionary parents looked. If I’d been born to parents like them, I probably would’ve lived a life without any hardships.
“Thor,” they said together, opening their arms as if inviting me to run into them.
Their affection felt so real it was hard to believe they were illusions. But it didn’t work on me. Sure, it surprised me for a second, but that was it. Partly because I was an adult on the inside, and partly because I had zero affection for those two. If anything, I despised them. Even if they’d appeared now as ideal parents, the only thing I would’ve done was spat in their faces.
“Listen to us,” said my father.
“Then we’ll spare your lives.”
“Attack that young man.”
“Come now, do as we say.”
So it’s an illusion meant to make us turn on each other—like that’s gonna work on me now. Wait, then maybe they really are my parents’ spirits? Not like that’s gonna make me think twice about attacking, though.
I blasted my illusionary parents with magic. A fireball exploded, and they vanished—it seemed all too easy.
Looking around, I saw unfamiliar adults standing in front of Shiro and Kuro. Are they their parents? The illusions calling out to them seemed to have woken them up, but the girls wore blank, confused expressions. They must have not had any memories of their parents. They simply tilted their heads, not recognizing the people in front of them. Just like with me, it seemed they were being told to attack Ares, but—
“We won’t do something so cheap!” said Shiro.
“Kuro would never do something so dirrrty.”
They shot back immediately, both of them looking visibly disgusted. They clearly felt strong distrust and rejection toward the illusions of the strangers.
“Listen to us, we’re your family.”
“That’s right, my sweet child.”
“Shiro’s family is Thor and Kuro only!”
“Yeah, that’s right. Shiro and Thor are the only family Kuro needs too.”
With that, the two of them attacked the supposed parents with their bare hands, going straight for the illusions’ faces without a shred of hesitation. The illusions shattered instantly and disappeared.
“Victory!”
“Victoryyy.”
Shiro and Kuro looked very pleased with themselves.
Meanwhile, it wasn’t Ares’s parents who’d appeared before him, but two young women, both beautiful girls around his age. The moment he saw them, he froze.
“Marika... Ximena...” he muttered.
“Why didn’t you protect us?”
“Why are you the only one who survived?”
“I’m sorry...” said Ares.
“I don’t forgive you.”
“You were angry at those kids, but you’re the one who’s most at fault, no?”
They’re really laying into him. One was a demure girl with pale indigo hair, and the other, a lively-looking girl with cherry-blossom-pink pigtails. They must’ve been the party members that Ares had lost in the heaven dragon battle. Marika and Ximena both had names that sounded like they could’ve been Japanese, but their appearances were completely otherworldly.
The real problem, though, was that Ares had completely fallen for the illusion. The spell must’ve dug deeper the bigger the shock was, and it seemed Ares still hadn’t come to terms with the girls’ deaths. Ares stared blankly, his eyes unfocused.
“Ares, you want to bring us back, don’t you? Then kill those children.”
“That’s right. Our lives or theirs. Choose.”
“Choose...one...?”
Wait, this could be bad. If Ares decides to attack us...
“Choose...?”
Ares slowly turned toward us. His eyes were unfocused, yet something frighteningly powerful flickered behind them.
“Go on, Ares. Kill those children.”
“And bring us back.”
Ares paused for a moment. “Yeah...”
Crap! I rushed to Shiro and Kuro, pulling them close as I watched Ares’s every move. The girls sensed the strange aura around him and held their breath, frozen in place. Worst case, we’d have to fight both Ares and Machina. That would be—
“I have to kill those kids...to bring you two back?” Ares muttered, still not moving. “Why?”
“Because that is the law of the dungeon.”
“You can only choose one.”
“Again, why?”
Ares stared at us, but didn’t take a single step.
“You two mean the world to me.”
“Then—”
“But no! I can’t kill those kids! I can’t...have him die again because of me.”
“You care for them more than you care for us?”
“That’s not it.”
At some point, the light had returned to Ares’s eyes; he had clearly regained his sanity.
“I remembered. The vow I made to live like him. Plus, I’m a hero. Would a hero choose one or the other in a moment like this? That’s not how it works.”
Who’s “him”? Someone he looks up to?
“Choose one? No, I choose both! I’m not gonna kill them, and I’ll still bring you two back!”
Choosing both instead of one—arrogant in a way, but exactly the kind of choice a storybook hero would make. The moment Ares made his declaration, purple light erupted from his entire body. It wasn’t a pure, clean color like you’d expect from a hero, but rather a purple-black magical light that harbored malevolence. It was, nonetheless, undeniably powerful.
“I am Ares the hero! I’ll save everyone I can!”
The black-haired young man who had always seemed timid suddenly looked impossibly large from behind. As soon as he made his proclamation, the two girls vanished. Ares had overcome the illusion.
“So it didn’t work on you. But such fine pride. If I absorb you...my pride will grow even stronger!”
He must have taken too long. The holy magic binding Machina of Pride shattered, and she broke free.
But Ares didn’t panic. Purple mana rose around him as he readied his sword with a stern, gallant expression.
“How dare you trample over what I hold dear...” said Ares, anger leaking from every inch of him. “You’re gonna pay for this!”
His aura sharpened, fierce and wild. He wasn’t raging blindly, but the figure he cut was unmistakably that of a warrior.
“Give me your pride...!”
Ares and Machina of Pride clashed again, trading full-power blows and carving away at each other.
“Shiro, Kuro, can you put up barriers?”
“Yes!”
“Yeees.”
We shielded Godlord behind us and raised a triple barrier to intercept the shock waves. Meanwhile, the battle only grew more violent, the two adversaries screaming in rage.
Ares’s speed rose even further; he was darting around Machina of Pride with afterimage-level velocity as he swung his sword. Purple-mana-infused slashes tore away at her black mana.
He also dodged Machina’s powerful mana blasts by the narrowest margins—he was clearly reading them. What surprised me the most was that I could follow Ares’s movements. I hadn’t been able to see Geos’s or the lord’s movements in battle, but now I could see clearly. It wasn’t that he was slower than them. I could feel that my regeneration, my dynamic visual acuity, and all of my other abilities had skyrocketed.
Still, I wasn’t confident enough to join the fight. My physical abilities had probably risen as well, but I was still in a four-year-old’s body. All we could do was watch from inside the barrier as the two titans fought.