Chapter 3: Makoto Takatsuki Fights a Demon Lord
Johnnie Walker was Lucy’s great-grandfather, and therefore Rosalie’s grandfather. Putting it like that made him sound familiar and approachable, but The Legend of Hero Abel didn’t include many depictions of him. For example, the book didn’t say anything about how he’d teamed up with Abel’s party—Johnnie just appeared in the story around halfway through. Because of that, I frankly hadn’t expected to meet him so soon.
It is convenient, though, I thought.
The four who’d defeated Iblis were the Hero of Light, the Saint, the Grandsage, and the Spellbow—Abel, Anna, Momo, and Johnnie. I’d learned bits and pieces of the story at the Water Temple, and without a doubt, Johnnie Walker was the most important of that group. And I know where he is and that he’s safe. I’d already teamed up with Hero Abel and the Grandsage, Johnnie was in my sights, and now, I only needed to find Saint Anna.
But there’s a pretty big problem with that...
According to the legend, Hero Abel and Saint Anna were childhood friends, born and raised in the same village. In other words, they should already be in the same place. Despite that, I’d yet to hear the name Anna from anyone’s lips. Not Volf, Julietta, nor even Abel himself.
She hasn’t died like the Hero of Fire, has she...? I wondered, before purposefully shaking the question off. It was too soon to make that kind of assumption. The picture book didn’t mention anything about Abel being captured in Bifrons’s Castle, so I figured I should just assume that history had already changed.
I’m sure that Saint Anna’s off safe somewhere...
Or so I hoped, anyway.
I thought I might be able to sound out Julietta, the Hero of Wood, but...if I revealed too much knowledge from the future, she could potentially become suspicious of me. Just suspicion would be one thing, but if I actually admitted to being from the future, everyone here would probably just think I was crazy.
Guess I’ll have to leave the mystery of Saint Anna unsolved for now.
Either way, Johnnie Walker—the legendary Spellbow—was here. Though, now that I’d gotten a good look at him, he seemed more like a swordsman. Indeed, a sword hung from his waist, but I didn’t see a bow anywhere.
He was currently eating while surrounded by a throng of people, which was a testament to just how influential he was in this town. On top of that, he was one of Abel’s true comrades against Iblis.
It would be best to get familiar with him. Maybe I should go introduce myself?
“I’ll be back in a few,” I announced.
“Huh? Where are you going?” Momo asked me.
Volf gave me a questioning look. “Sir Makoto?”
“I thought I’d give my greetings to Johnnie,” I replied.
“Huh. You’re a funny one,” said Julietta. “He’s not exactly friendly. Especially with men.”
“He’s...not?”
Well, he was famous for being a womanizing hero, so maybe that made sense. Still, nothing could happen unless I tried to open a dialogue.
I slowly wandered my way over to the big table where he was eating. There were a lot of women around him. Some were beautiful elves; others had sleek cat ears or adorable bunny ears. All of them were drinking and laughing. The general noise of their chatter and giggling as they poured drinks for each other...almost reminded me of Sakurai’s group back in junior high.
Hang on—hadn’t I made it this far in life by staying away from the extroverts?
Beyond all of that was Johnnie, the center of the group. He was drinking, but with an awfully bored look on his face.
I’d need to summon quite a lot of courage to break into the conversation. But if I can’t...
After some back-and-forth with myself, I felt someone clap me on the shoulder.
“Hey, mister, you’re the guy that saved Volf and Julietta, aren’t you?”
I turned around to see a well-built guy with dark facial hair. Taking in his appearance as a whole, I figured he was probably a dwarf. His face was severe, but so was the aura enveloping him. Judging by his looks, he was a veteran warrior.
“I’m Makoto,” I replied. “Nice to meet you.”
“I’m the Hero of Iron, Deckel. Good to meet you too.”
Ooh! The Hero of Iron!
As far as I’d heard, this was one of the other faction’s heroes. He seemed really strong, and I sensed a fair bit of mana on him as well. He certainly didn’t look like someone who’d given up on fighting the demon lords.
I took his offered hand and shook it. “I hope we get along.”
“Volf talked you up...but you don’t look that strong!” he exclaimed before suddenly breaking into hearty laughter.
I sighed. Well, I was used to being seen as weak.
“Say, you shouldn’t have too much to do with them,” Deckel continued. “They said they’re planning on challenging the demon lord again. Honestly, considering that not even Olga could do much, their whole rebellion’s nothing but a pipe dream.”
“Umm...”
“Besides, I’ve got a seven-year-old little girl. I need to be around when she grows up! I can’t just be fighting recklessly! Don’t you think?”
“You’ve got a daughter...?”
Ah. He wasn’t against fighting because he lacked courage. Sometimes strong people had others—like family—whom they wanted to protect.
“You’ve got a little sister of your own, right?” Deckel asked.
“Huh?” A sister? But I’m an only child.
“Sir Makoto?” Momo’s voice chimed in by my side. She must’ve come over to see what the commotion was about.
“See, right there.” Deckel gestured to Momo. “Your little sister! She’s adorable.”
So he’d assumed that Momo and I were related...even though we looked nothing alike. Also, what kind of sister called their brother “sir”?
“Hey, Deckel, don’t start trying to win over Makoto!” Julietta exclaimed. “We’re going to take on the demon lord!”
Guess she came over with Momo.
Deckel scoffed. “You say that, but you nearly didn’t make it back this time. You should just quit while you’re ahead.”
“No way! If the heroes give up, the world will end!” Julietta insisted.
Just as their words were about to become an argument, Volf walked over and attempted to mediate. “Come on, both of you, calm down.” Abel was with him but didn’t join in. He just watched us as we spoke.
Deckel and Julietta both turned simultaneously to me.
“Why not just give up on defeating the demon lord?”
“Makoto, we should fight the demon lord, right?!”
I tilted my head. Defeat the demon lord? Singular? Surely they weren’t only talking about Bifrons. That wasn’t the whole point of their rebellion...was it?
“Well, we should be defeating the Great Demon Lord, right?” I asked.
Silence. Everyone present was gaping, mouths open in shock. All around us, conversation had stopped—the whole room was staring at me.
“Come on, mister. That’s a bit much...”
“R-Right. Iblis is a god, that’s just...”
Huh? Wait... None of the heroes were trying to defeat Iblis? Maybe I shouldn’t have answered like that.
Suddenly, a group of beastmen got up from Johnnie’s table and approached us.
“Human heroes,” said one of them. “Getting excited is one thing, but this is our town. If you’re going to drag us into conflict, you can leave.”
“Fighting the demon lords is a fool’s errand,” said another. “Don’t even consider it. After all, humans are weak.”
“Besides, forget the demon lords, Great or otherwise—you ain’t even defeated their subordinates.”
“Free the humans from the farm before you start talking nonsense.”
The aura around each of the men spoke to their strength. The Hero of Iron and the Hero of Wood both wore awkward expressions. Heroes really do have a low position in the pecking order around here.
Then, two people stepped forward.
“Makoto actually has defeated one of them—Balam the Wonder!”
“That’s right! Sir Makoto is very strong!”
Abel and Momo.
The other heroes all looked taken aback. Ack, I really wish they hadn’t said that! I didn’t want to make a name for myself here... I’d have to tell those two to keep stuff to themselves next time.
“You defeated Balam the Wonder?” one of the beastmen asked.
“Eh, well,” I muttered reluctantly. “Yes, technically...”
“How do you expect us to believe that?!”
“You look like a stiff breeze’d do you in.”
“Balam was the most senior of Bifrons’s generals.”
“Right. You can prove it against me. I’m Johnnie’s right hand!”
This is getting rather annoying.
“Hey, hey,” Julietta protested. “Makoto’s only just gotten back from a long journey.”
One of the beastmen scoffed. “He’s supposed to be some bigshot who took down a high-level demon. A fight with one of us should just be a warm-up to him.”
That guy’s really hot-blooded. He sorta reminded me of Gerald, to be honest. And actually, aurawise, he was really strong. I was just trying to think up something that might get me out of fighting when a pale-faced man came rushing in.
“W-We’re under attack!” the man yelled.
“Under attack! Everyone hurry!”
The whole town erupted. Volf and Julietta’s expressions changed—the beastmen and the Hero of Iron became deadly serious as well. Everyone put their hands on their weapons.
“Come on, calm down. The chief’s here.”
“What is it? A dragon? A demon?”
“Don’t look so pathetic, Sir Johnnie is here...”
A lot of elves and beastmen seemed to have faith in Johnnie’s strength. However, the next words out of the lookout’s mouth changed all that.
“A-A demon lord! Demon Lord Cain is here!”
The cry of despair echoed all across the dungeon town.
Demon Lord Cain. It went without saying, but this was Noah’s disciple from the current era. Wicked Deity’s Follower, the Black Knight, Mad Hero... Demon Lord Cain had a lot of (rather ominous) nicknames. Yet the one most often used was “Hero-Killer.”
In The Legend of Hero Abel, most of the heroes were killed by Cain. And right now, there were several heroes in Labyrinthos. The situation was bad...and getting worse...
“Demon Lord Cain!” Abel bellowed. His voice was raw, completely unlike his normal tone, and he suddenly leaped outside. Cain had killed Abel’s mentor, the Hero of Fire, so of course Abel felt his rage boiling over. However, he was also forgetting himself and focused only on his fury.
Th-This is bad!
“Abel, wait!” Julietta called.
“We’re coming with you!” Volf shouted as the two of them rushed after him.
“Papa!” came the cry of a small girl.
“You evacuate into the dungeon with the others,” Deckel told her.
“No! Not without you!”
“I’m a hero too. I can’t run away.”
“Promise me you’ll come back!” the girl insisted. “It’s my birthday tomorrow!”
“Of course. We can celebrate when I’m back.”
“You have to...”
This conversation between father and daughter was, well... Could you both stop it with the death flags?! In that moment, I promised myself I’d protect Deckel.
Then, a gruff voice spoke up. “Have the citizens evacuate. Women and children first. Anyone that can fight, come with me. We will drive him off.”
“Sir Johnnie! We can’t! That’s Demon Lord Cain!”
“We should all run!”
Johnnie Walker, the eye of the storm amid all this chaos, shook his head. “The heroes won’t cope on their own. We won’t be reckless. Come with me.”
So his faction was going to fight too.
“S-Sir Makoto?” Momo asked, tugging hesitantly at my sleeve. I honestly wanted her to evacuate, but I was scared of getting separated from and then losing track of her. I really didn’t want her to get abducted again.
“You come with me,” I said. “But if we start to fight, you need to hide.”
“R-Right!”
The two of us followed the crowd outside. As I stepped across the threshold, shrill laughter grated at my ears.
“Volf!” I heard Julietta scream.
Volf’s armor was broken, and he was bleeding freely.
H-He can’t be...
“Keep calm...Julietta... I’m alive...”
Phew. What about Abel, though?!
“Geh?!”
There—he was prone on the ground some distance away. Cain must’ve gotten to him already. I couldn’t see any bleeding though, so I hoped he’d just been knocked out.
“Momo! Check on Abel.”
“G-Got it!”
With Momo tending to Abel, I could observe the situation as a whole. Various beastmen and elves were lying on the ground covered in blood. Only a few minutes had passed since we’d even learned about the attack.
I spied a figure staring haughtily at us over the devastation—a knight clad entirely in pitch-black armor. He had a full-face helmet, so I couldn’t see his expression. There was a massive greatsword in his hands though, and he gave off immense amounts of aura.
Demon Lord Cain.
“Ga ha ha ha ha hah!” he guffawed. “Weak, weak, weak, weak, weak! You heroes of the Sacred Deities are nothing!”
An annoying demon lord... I suppose he’s a talkative one.
“The heroes will die! All others will be allowed to live as long as they pledge themselves to Noah. On your knees, now! Praise her! If you do, I’ll let you live with only a missing arm! Be grateful for our Lady Noah’s compassion!”
Come on...
Noah could only gain a single disciple every decade—that was one of the restraints put upon her. He could throw around as many threats as he liked, but it wouldn’t gain Noah any more believers. It would, however, definitely ruin her reputation.
Of course, no one answered him.
Elementals, elementals, I called out, gathering mana.
“Water Magic: Rain of Ice Lances.”
At my word, several hundred spears of ice rained down on Cain. Yet they all broke apart on his armor, not even leaving a scratch.
Yeah... Noah was right about that armor.
I thought back to what she’d told me just before my journey through time.
◇
I was in the cathedral, almost ready to depart. Right next to us, Ira was chanting the incantation for the time travel miracle. All we could do at the moment was wait for her to finish, so Noah was using the time to get me up to speed on info from the past.
“Do you know which demon lord you need to be the most careful of?” she asked. She’d bothered to change into her teacher outfit. Noah sure likes those clothes...
“Iblis, right?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Iblis doesn’t leave Eden, the fortress floating over the demon continent. As long as you don’t seek him out, you won’t run into him.”
Oh, I wouldn’t?
“Then I guess...Bifrons? He ruled over the western continent.”
“He’s dangerous too, but the correct answer is—”
“Demon Lord Cain,” Althena interrupted. “He was Noah’s disciple and a particularly widespread problem. If you are accompanied by heroes, there is a significant possibility of encountering him.”
“Hey! Don’t cut me off!” Noah protested.
“Demon Lord Cain...” I mused. He was the legendary hero-killer, and my predecessor...at least in regards to being Noah’s believer. What kind of person was he?
As if to answer exactly that, Noah proudly continued her lecture. “I gave him a full set of plate armor and a greatsword—both made out of the same material as the dagger I gave you!”
Althena’s eyes widened. “Hold it right there. I didn’t have many believers back then, so I’m not exactly familiar with the situation, but...you gave him something like that?!”
Guess it was Althena’s turn to be unhappy.
I glanced down to the dagger at my waist. His things were made from the same glowing blue magic material as this?
“Noah! I can’t... You used Cronus’s all-severing sickle?! And then you gave it to someone in the mortal realm?! What were you thinking?!”
“Oh, shaddap! Your Hero of Light skill was even worse, so who cares?!”
“My skill isn’t invincible! There has to be sunlight! I followed the laws when I made it! But those weapons of yours... You thoughtless relic!”
“Who’re you calling thoughtless?! Those laws are...well, they’re annoying! I just decided to wing it!”
The people in the cathedral startled backward at the sudden yelling match between the goddesses.
“Um...I apologize for interrupting your excitement,” I interjected politely, “but what kind of person was Cain?”
The two turned away from each other to face me instead.
“Makoto Takatsuki...” Althena began, her tone grave. “Listen calmly. The metal that makes up Cain’s equipment comes from the previous godking’s sickle. In other words...”
Althena paused to consider her phrasing, and Noah finished for her. “It’s invincible to physical and magic attacks.”
“Huh?”
What did she just say? Immune to physical and magical attacks? Doesn’t that make him unbeatable?
“Noah, you have to give him the proper details,” Eir said from the sidelines. “Mako, it’s actually only invincible against saint rank skills and under.”
Still...
“Doesn’t that make him unbeatable?” I asked.
“Nope. A divine rank attack or anything equivalent should work.”
“Say, for example...an attack from the Hero of Light,” Noah finished.
So no one besides the Hero of Light could beat Cain.
“Then what should I do if I have to fight Cain before I find the Hero of Light?”
“Run,” Althena said firmly. “You have no other choice.”
“That’s...all I can do?” Oh well. Guess trying to fight someone with hacks like that isn’t going to work. I’d definitely lose.
“Hmm...” Noah thought for a moment. “On the off chance you do have to fight Cain when the Hero of Light isn’t there, I should tell you how to deal with him.”
“There’s a strategy?” I asked.
“It’s not easy, okay?” Noah said, launching into her explanation. “Look, you have to...”
◇
The “off chance” huh?
Noah probably knew this would happen.
Undyne, come here, I called.
I’d been requesting her for a while, but she wasn’t showing up. Maybe I’d been leaning too heavily on her lately. I’d need to get back into her good graces later.
As I was trying to summon Undyne, the fighters were falling like dominos.
“Water Magic: Water Dragon!” I called, pulling mana from the water elementals. The spell didn’t seem to even register to Cain, though—he didn’t look my way.
“Guah!”
Ack! That was the Hero of Iron! Crapcrapcrap!!!
“Guh... I wanted...to celebrate her...seventh birthday...”
He was way too quick on the flags! You’re giving up too soon!
“×××××××! (Undyne!)” I yelled angrily in Elemanti. Finally, she showed up...in a maid outfit.
“×××××××! ×××! (Sorry to keep you waiting! My liege!)”
“×××××××...? (What are you doing...?)” I asked after a moment.
“×××××××? (I thought you’d like this outfit. Don’t you?)”
As she spoke, she glanced at Momo. Speaking of, Momo was still looking after Abel, and he’d now regained consciousness. Undyne couldn’t have been taking so long because she was imitating Momo...right?
“×××××××... (You’re being...)”
Too carefree for such an emergency.
“×××××××? ×××××××? (A-Are you angry? My liege?)”
Her eyes began to well up with nervous tears. She looked almost exactly like Noah did when she pulled out the crocodile tears. For the love of...
No, calm down. You need her help to get through this.
Elementals were capricious and flighty—they needed to be in a good mood to help out. This was the fundamental truth of elemental magic. Which meant that my answer should be...
“×××××, ××××××××××××××. (Undyne, that outfit really suits you.)”
“×××××××?! (Really, my liege?!)”
“××××××××××××××××××××××××××××? (You’re very cute. Undyne, would you help me?)”
“××××××××××! (Of course, I’ll do my best!)”
As soon as that cheer left her mouth, all of the mana in the area began to gather around me. It started to rain, and the earth shuddered. The air itself shook—the undulating black clouds sparked with lightning.
Undyne was gathering all of the water mana in the world.
Finally, Demon Lord Cain looked my way.
He had his sword raised, ready to finish off Deckel, but he stopped in his tracks. Cain had shown no concern toward me thus far, but now he was clearly examining me. Was it because he could see Undyne at my side?
He spoke quietly.
“Are you a hero?”
“No, I’m not,” I answered immediately. I was technically a State-Authorized Hero, but Roses didn’t exist in this time period. That meant I wasn’t actually a hero.
He seemed to ponder my response for a moment and then he spoke once more.
“Will you...put your faith in Noah?”
I couldn’t answer. I had no words with which to respond.
My faith still did belong to Noah. But I wasn’t her believer in this era, so I couldn’t say anything. Surprisingly, I became rather angry at that fact.
“If you cannot, then die,” he declared, having taken my silence as a refusal. He swung his sword, instantly closing the distance between us.
He was fast!
“Water Magic: Barrier (Saint Rank)!”
“It’s pointless! Ah ha ha ha hah ah hah ha!”
The demon lord tore through my barrier like paper, cackling all the while. With that shield gone, I had no other choice.
Right Arm of the Elemental.
Light flashed blindingly as my arm transformed into an elemental.
“Hm?”
The light pinpointed gaps in his armor—places an attack could slip through like a needle.
Then, a quiet voice sounded in the air.
“Elemental Magic: Wind Arrow.”
Close to a thousand wind arrows rained down on Cain. Most of them were turned aside by his armor, but a few seemed to make it through the gaps and joints.
As the arrows pierced through, I saw flecks of blood on the black plate.
Amazing...
This was the strategy Noah had given me against Cain—the armor itself would stop all attacks, but I could target the gaps. Wind Arrow understood that.
Before anyone else could move, the caster of Wind Arrow moved to stand between Cain and me.
His long brown hair fluttered in the wind, and he was carrying a sword that I’d swear was longer than he was tall. No...not just a sword. There was a curve to it, and the metal seemed to ripple with a temper pattern.
A katana.
Standing before me was a long-haired swordsman with a lengthy katana. He looked almost like a samurai.
“Thank you, Johnnie,” I said.
As I spoke, he moved just his eyes to regard me. “Undyne... I have seen them before, but never with someone like this.”
So he could see her. Well, that made sense—he was an elementalist too.
“You should help,” he said. “I want you to, actually.”
I nodded. “Let’s drive him off.”
“Your name?”
“I’m Makoto.”
“Johnnie.”
“Right.” Well, I already knew that. His name had gone down in history.
“Rain of Wind Arrows,” he murmured, causing several hundred wind arrows to appear. The spell used the mana in the area, not Johnnie’s own.
This was elemental wind magic. I couldn’t fall behind here.
“××××××××××××××...×××××××. (Undyne...I’m counting on you.)”
“×××××××. (Of course, my liege.)”
At my command, hundreds of water dragons spun into the air around Cain. Not that he seemed to even consider them worth any attention...
I held Undyne’s right hand and activated Synchro.
Water Magic: Abyss.
I summoned huge amounts of water and enveloped Cain, hoping to protect everyone from his attacks. Then, I exploited his weakness, the one Noah had told me about.
According to her, his armor stopped all attacks and magic. Additionally, his sword could cut through anything. That meant attacking him directly was pointless. My target needed to be his surroundings, not him. So, I made the geography and environment work for me.
The water dragons and walls of water essentially created a sea around him. The huge mass of water absorbed Cain completely. This was frankly a waste of mana, but as long as Undyne was here, my mana was infinite. I could see Abel and the Grandsage gaping in the distance. Fortunately, Abel didn’t seem majorly hurt. That was a relief.
“Gather, Fire Elementals,” I heard Cain mutter. His sword was engulfed in black flames. So he could use elemental fire magic... His sword tip meandered through the air before suddenly thrusting at me.
“Rain of Ice Arrows.”
“Water Magic: Water Dragon.”
Our spells crashed into Cain. His armor defended against everything, though our magic slowed him down.
“Water Magic: Ice Barrier.”
I cast a multilayered barrier—Cain cut through it contemptuously.
Hmm, nothing was working... Though I’d known that would be the case.
“Water Magic: Ice Mass.”
I launched huge chunks of ice at him, similar to Lucy’s Meteo. They didn’t hurt him, but they did ruin his footing.
“Wood Magic: Grasping Vines.”
Johnnie’s wood magic spell wrapped the demon lord in vines. He just cut through them.
“Rain of Stone Arrows.”
Thousands of arrows, all made of rock, rained down on Cain. Johnnie was definitely versatile.
“Water Magic: Water Gaol,” I cast. I thought this might trap him, but Cain’s greatsword tore through it pretty much as soon as it’d been summoned. That sword was definitely made out of the same stuff as my dagger.
Which meant...it could cut through anything in the world. Man, this is annoying.
“Sir Makoto,” Johnnie asked. He was floating in the air, buoyed by air currents. “Do you know of any spell that might work?”
“None of our attacks will harm him. We should keep going like we are, keeping our distance.”
He looked at me doubtfully. “But we are making no progress. I thought you might have an idea—”
“This is the best we’ve got,” I interrupted. “Our attacks won’t work, but if we get close, his sword will cut us down.”
“I see...”
Johnnie seemed disappointed but didn’t argue. Maybe he was hoping I had some hidden trump card. I felt kind of bad, but then I once more thought back to the conversation with Noah.
◇
“So, Noah, what’s my strategy if the Hero of Light isn’t around?” I asked.
Noah giggled. “Well, you stay away from Cain and just buy time. He gets bored quickly—if he thinks he won’t be able to beat you, he’ll leave.”
“Can you really call that a strategy?” It’s way more brute-force than I expected...
“Also, attack him while he’s sleeping, maybe? He probably takes the armor off while he’s asleep.”
I paused. “Fine. So I won’t win if I try to fight him head-on.” I’ll just have to pray that I don’t run into him.
“Noah, can’t you give Makoto Takatsuki the same kind of equipment?” Althena asked.
Nice one!
“Well...nope! The dagger I gave him used up the rest of Cronus’s sickle. Also, Makoto doesn’t have the strength for that stuff anyway.”
“Ah... That’s right.” I couldn’t wield anything heavier than a dagger.
Althena slumped, then turned to me. “Makoto Takatsuki. Do your utmost to avoid encountering Demon Lord Cain.”
“O-Okay...”
Althena was emphasizing this so much—how terrifying must he be? Honestly, I was really curious about Cain now.
◇
Now, back to the present.
The king and saint rank spells that Johnnie and I were shooting toward Cain weren’t even scratching his armor, and the greatsword Noah had given him could cut through anything.
That OP bastard... Honestly, shouldn’t he be the Great Demon Lord? How could Iblis be worse? I had no idea what we’d do if Iblis was as crazy as Alexander. If he was...humanity wasn’t gonna win this war.
Cain charged straight at us like a bull.
He’s not going to get hurt by any of our attacks anyway, so that’s probably the most efficient choice.
“Undyne!” I called out. I activated Synchro and used her mana to construct a huge ice barrier. Would it even slow Cain down?
Johnnie followed up with a slash of his own. “Wind Magic: Kamaitachi!”
Our combination of spells diverted Cain’s attack, and the man tutted scornfully. He must be furious at his inability to land a hit. I wonder if he’ll leave soon...
“Wind Elemental...” I heard Cain murmur. A gust of wind threw a blast of dust into the air. Suddenly, I couldn’t see him.
H-He’s gonna play dirty like that?!
“Undyne!”
I braced for Cain’s onslaught, layering barriers around me. He wasn’t after me, though—he was rushing toward Johnnie.
Cain’s even faster than before! Is he taking this fight seriously now?!
“Die, heretic.” Cain was now right in front of Johnnie. His massive greatsword, which blazed with black flames, came arcing down at slaughtering speed.
That’s not going to be dodgeable!
Two figures—red and black—crossed one another, obscured by the cloud of dust.
“Huh?”
I’d seen visions of Johnnie being cleft in twain, but instead, the elven swordsman had easily turned Cain’s blow aside. A simple katana had parried the godking’s relic? Johnnie was beyond impressive.
“That was close,” Johnnie remarked in a casual tone. He readied his blade once again.
Wow...
If Cain’s sword had struck true, the katana would have definitely shattered. Cain probably knew that as well—the hero-killer turned toward me, switching targets, and I felt his menacing aura.
“Water Elemental Unification,” I said, pushing mana from the elementals into my dagger. I slashed it horizontally through the air.
A huge arc of water wrapped around Cain, and the rushing sound filled my ears. That black armor was unaffected, though. My water arc broke apart a section of the dark clouds, allowing a shaft of sunlight to reach the ground.
Then, Cain came dashing toward me.
“Worthless! Die where you stand!”
Only a few steps separated the two of us.
Right Hand of the Elemental.
I braced myself, and then...
Someone appeared behind Cain, yelling and swinging a sword that glowed in a kaleidoscope of color.
Is that...Abel?
Cain noticed Abel and hesitated for a split second over whether to commit to attacking me. Ultimately, he decided to turn and deal with the hero first, slashing to counter Abel’s sword strike.
Oh no! Is this where Abel falls?! Johnnie and I tried to cast a spell to help him, but...
“What?!”
Though the yell of shock had come from Cain, the rest of us were even more surprised.
Abel’s sword had sliced through the demon lord’s helm.
Wasn’t that armor supposed to defend against everything?!
The helmet clattered across the ground. Blood welled forth from Cain’s neck, but a scant instant later, the wound disappeared with a flash of light.
Oh. So Noah’s armor also healed him. Come on, goddess... That’s not fair.
Demon Lord Cain had dark skin and purple eyes—he was also shockingly handsome. However, those fine features were currently warped into a hateful scowl.
“You...defiled...the armor gifted to me...by Noah...”
“Rain of Wind Arrows.”
“Rain of Ice Spears.”
The spells Johnnie and I cast generated over a thousand elemental weapons, all leveled at Cain’s newly revealed head.
Yeah, get his weak spot!
“Tch!”
Cain seemed to realize his sudden disadvantage. Instantly, he scooped up the helm and flew away.
Ah! You took it with you?!
“Just you wait!” he yelled back at us. “I’ll offer your soul up to Noah next time!”
We made it... That was close—I had lost track of how many times I’d nearly died.
I dropped to my knees where I was.
“×××××××? (Um, my liege?)”
“×××××××, ×××××××. ×××××××, ×××××××. (Ah, sorry about that, Undyne. Thanks. You were a real help.)”
“×××! (Of course!)” She smiled happily before vanishing.
She seemed far more emotional now than the first time we’d met. Then again, I wasn’t sure if she was technically the same person I would meet (had met?) in the future.
Also, what was with all the “my liege” stuff?
Even though Cain was gone, I still needed to deal with all the water walls and dragons I’d conjured. I was tidying it all up with my magic when I noticed someone getting closer. Maybe Johnnie? Wait, no...
“M-Makoto...”
“Abel. Thanks for your help earlier.”
He meandered over to me, having just landed a real blow on Cain. It’d been incredible.
“Makoto, I’ll heal you,” he offered.
“I didn’t really get injured,” I half protested.
“But what if something happened?!” He ignored my words and cast a healing spell on me. I only got scratched up a little, and nothing really hurts... Regardless, I had more important things to ask him about.
“Abel, that technique you used was unbelievable. Is that a magic sword?” There was no doubt about it—his attack had been from the Hero of Light skill set.
“I don’t know. I was barely even thinking. You pushed the clouds away, and I just felt like...like I was filled with strength the moment the sun shone through...”
“Huh...”
Right! Iblis’s Clouds of Darkness were constantly covering the sky in this time period, blocking the sunlight.
Is it that simple? I asked myself.
As I absently considered that, Abel’s expression fell to pieces. “Thank the gods... I thought all I could do was watch as he took away someone else I owed a debt to. I’m so glad you’re safe.” His voice shook, and his hand gripped my shoulder. His head was bowed, so I couldn’t properly see his face, but he might have been crying.
“Sir Makoto!” A young girl quickly ran over to us.
I nodded to her. “Momo.”
“Are you okay?! Were you injured?!”
“Nope. Abel healed me up just in case, but I’m not hurt at all.”
“Thank goodness... I’m so glad.”
The Grandsage wrapped her arms around my waist, hugging me tightly. I must have really worried her. I’d need to make up for that.
Meanwhile, Johnnie was surrounded by his own subordinates. A lot of his comrades were injured. Had they all pulled through?
Oh, he’s looking at me. My Listen skill picked up his faint words: “My thanks.”
Man, he was cool as a cucumber. Lucy, your great-granddad’s a certified badass. No wonder he was so popular.
What about the others?
Several healers were tending to the wounded. I looked around and saw that Julietta was nursing Volf. Deckel’s daughter was holding on to him and crying. Whew, he made it. Guess we managed to knock down those death flags.
I let out a massive sigh.
We’d somehow managed to get through Cain’s seemingly unstoppable assault.
◇
“Hurry—we’re moving farther in.”
“Anyone healthy, help the wounded!”
“Wait! Have we secured somewhere safe in the middle layer?!”
“We’ve got a barrier up in a cave near the lake. It’s enough for us to evacuate to.”
“Isn’t that lamia, arachne, and harpy territory?”
“Trust the barrier! It’ll be fine...probably.”
“Oy, are you sure about that?!”
Currently, the people of the dungeon town were in the middle of a massive migration. The reason? Cain now knew of the town’s existence. They needed to relocate from the upper layer before the whole demon army arrived.
It was a real shame...
“Momo, let’s get going.”
“R-Right.”
Momo and I didn’t have many belongings—we practically only owned the clothes on our backs. I offered to help carry other things, but everyone turned me down with words like, “You must be tired from fighting alongside Sir Johnnie! You don’t need to worry about this stuff!” Also, since Momo was a child, she was exempt from carrying anything.
Even as we progressed farther into the dungeon, barely any monsters showed up. The mages had cast barriers on the paths. It was probably a real pain for the monsters...but it enabled us to safely arrive in the middle layer.
I heard the constant rumble of the waterfall impacting the lake. A small crack in the ceiling allowed a single shaft of light through, which gave the entire area an almost ephemeral feeling.
It’s really taking me back... This is where I met Sasa again.
As I was lost in my memories, Momo turned to me. “Sir Makoto, is something wrong?”
“Nah, it’s nothing. Let’s go find Abel and the others.”
The heroes had acted as a vanguard for the move, so Momo and I had come down separately from them. I was sure they’d been hurt...but well, I suppose it took more than that to bring down a hero.
I felt kind of bad that we were the only ones taking it easy. Volf and Abel were carrying heavy-looking luggage. They probably weren’t going to be free anytime soon.
Suddenly, a couple of girls I didn’t recognize came up to me.
“Um, Sir Makoto?”
“Do you have a moment?”
The first was a black-haired elf. The other was a blonde girl with cat ears. Both of them were gorgeous.
“What is it?” I asked.
The two slipped closer, taking my hands.
“The chief wants to talk with you.”
“We’ll guide the way.”
“The chief...?” I asked. “Oh, you mean Johnnie? Okay.”
Johnnie was a key figure in my mission to the past, so I wanted to spend some time actually talking with him.
“Um...” Momo mumbled, placing a hand on the back of my shirt.
“Can Momo come too?” I asked the girls.
They hesitated for a moment, exchanged looks, and then agreed in unison.
I wonder what that’s about...
They guided us into a big cave, perhaps excavated using magic. It was already set up to house people. As I walked, I used RPG Player to peer at the elf’s face more closely.
She looks kinda like her...
The black-haired elf had features similar to Lucy. Ah, but I guess Lucy is the only elf I’m somewhat close to. Maybe I just think they look alike because so many elves are attractive.
While I was considering that, we arrived in a large stone room within the cave.
“Chief.”
“We brought Sir Makoto.”
A muffled voice called out from beyond the door. “Come in.”
Is that Johnnie? It sounds like him.
The women opened the door, and we stepped inside.
“Huh?”
That was the first sound out of my mouth. Johnnie was sitting in a chair...with his shirt off. That in and of itself was fine. The real problem was behind him. There was a large bed...and the woman in that bed...
Naked!
Momo’s mouth was hanging open as she gawked. Ack, maybe I shouldn’t have brought her.
“I’m glad you’re here,” said Johnnie. “Take a seat.”
I let out a hitched sigh and sat opposite him across the table.
“Pardon me,” Momo said politely.
The women who’d escorted us here swiftly brought out food and drink and placed everything on the table.
“Go ahead and eat,” said Johnnie. “It’s not much, but it’s a sign of my appreciation for your help.”
“Well, I’m glad you were there too. I would’ve been killed otherwise...”
“You are not part of this town, and yet you risked your life to defend it. As its chief, I want to show my gratitude.”
I let out another breath. “I appreciate it.”
As far as Johnnie was concerned, he owed me for fighting for the town. I’d just been following my orders from Althena to protect the Hero of Light, but I guess it all worked out in the end.
“Demon Lord Cain—the hero-killer. Facing off against him made it clear...but I had not expected him to possess such abnormal strength...” There was a slight darkening to Johnnie’s placid expression.
“Man, he’s pretty much just cheating.” Of course, that’s mostly due to Noah’s relics. Come on, goddess! It’s not fair to only give my predecessors the cool stuff.
Johnnie nodded. “And yet you maintained your composure and calmly dealt with him. I was impressed.”
“Thank you.”
I didn’t quite feel like I deserved the praise—after all, I’d been briefed ahead of time about his skills and equipment. I was essentially cheating too. If I hadn’t known about Cain, and that had been the first time I’d experienced his power, I probably wouldn’t have been able to deal. Cain was one of those bosses—one that totally wiped you out the first time through.
“Oh, Sir Johnnie, is he joining our family too?”
“Despite how strong he is, he’s such a cutie.”
The naked women spoke up from the bed. Huh...I guess there were two of them. Also...cover up...at least a little. I glanced over at Momo—her face was red and she was looking away.
She definitely seems embarrassed. Sorry, Momo.
“We’ve got guests. Get dressed,” Johnnie told them.
They chorused their agreement, and I drained my wine to shake away the intrusive thoughts. It was a strong drink that caught in my throat.
“Here, Sir Makoto,” said the black-haired elf, quickly refilling my glass. She got right in my personal space as she poured. I glanced toward her, and she smiled back.
Come on! You’re gonna give a guy the wrong idea with an expression like that...
“My daughter seems to have fallen for you after watching you fight. If she suits your fancy, would you consider taking her?” asked Johnnie.
I jolted. “Huh?”
“Whaaaa?!” Momo’s eyes were wide.
“Sir Makoto...” The elf girl gazed intensely at me.
She was Johnnie’s daughter? Wait, so that meant...she was one of Lucy’s relatives?! No wonder they looked alike!
“No fair! I want him too!” the blonde catgirl protested before throwing her arms around me.
“Ah, she is fond of you as well,” Johnnie explained. “You need not choose—you can marry them both.”
Wait, she was his daughter too?! I mean, Lucy had mentioned something like this...but how many kids did he have?!
The two cute girls got closer, breathing my name.
“These two are a strong mage and warrior, respectively. I think they’ll be a boon to you. Plus, they aren’t bad-looking, are they?” Johnnie continued, urging his daughters on.
“Well, their feelings would need to—”
They cut me off.
“I long for you, Sir Makoto.”
“I want you to take me...”
Johnnie nodded. “There you have it.”
Whoa, whoa, whoa! We only just met!
“There’s something I am always telling my children: you can die at any moment in this world, so if you find someone you have feelings for, do not keep them shut away.”
I let out another stuttering sigh. “I-I see...” That sorta sounded like Rosalie’s mantra. I guess it’d been passed down from Johnnie. Still...
“S-Sir Makoto...?”
Momo’s eyes were watering as she tugged on my sleeve. You don’t need to look at me like that. I’m not going to marry someone from the past. Especially not one of Lucy’s relatives from her grandmother’s era.
“I appreciate it, Johnnie,” I said, “but I’ll have to pass.”
“Hm, I see...”
“Aww, no fair.”
“Sir Makoto! I won’t give up!”
He and his daughters seemed disappointed.
“Still, I do wish to show my gratitude for your aid,” he insisted. “Is there anything else you want?”
Johnnie definitely had a strong sense of duty.
“I guess...” I thought for a moment. “Could you lend me a hand if I need it?”
“Me?” he asked, looking taken aback.
“Yes. I want your help.”
“Well, I suppose...”
“Great! I’ll come to you when I need assistance.”
He nodded. “Very well.”
Yes! I had a promise from him! Now I knew he’d help in the fight against Iblis.
“Though, I feel like I just made a deal with a devil...” Johnnie murmured after a moment.
“You’re imagining things.” I’m not letting you take it back!
The two girls were still trying to drape themselves over me. Staying too long might be a bad idea. I bid my farewells, and we left the room.
◇ Momo’s Perspective ◇
“Sir Makoto!”
“Sir Makotoooo, can we talk?”
The chief’s daughters and other women from the town were now constantly approaching him. Everyone seemed to be trying to curry favor. He was one of the heroes who had fought off that terrifying demon lord, so it made sense. And the women were all beautiful...with huge chests...
Ugh, he was going to end up with one of them at some point. And if he does, I’ll just be in the way. I didn’t think he would cast me aside, but I knew all too well that things would change.
I couldn’t stop my spiraling thoughts and was only pulled out of my worries by the sound of his voice.
“What’s wrong, Momo?”
His expression and voice were both calm, but despite that, his eyes were almost cold, like he was evaluating me. His gaze was always like ice, never wavering no matter what enemies attacked. I shuddered as those frigid eyes fell upon me.
Sir Makoto...I love you.
I wanted to stay with him forever. I never wanted to part from him. But how? How could I stay with him?
“Um...Sir Makoto?”
“Yeah?”
“Errr...”
What should I say? “Take me as your lover”? No, that wouldn’t work. He’d say something like, “Maybe when you’re older.” He just thought of me as some child he had to look after.
“Sir Makoto!” I exclaimed, breaking out of my thoughts. “Take me... Take me...as your apprentice!”
“Huh?”
My request elicited a rare noise of shock from him.
◇ Makoto Takatsuki’s Perspective ◇
The Grandsage had become my apprentice... Like, what the hell?
“Sir Makoto! I’m looking forward to your instruction!”
“Y-Yeah...”
Hearing that from the Grandsage made me feel like I was going crazy. Although, in this era, Momo didn’t have much fighting capability. Training her in magic wasn’t a bad idea.
“Let’s start by bumping up our magic mastery.”
“Got it!” she exclaimed. “I’ll train my Water Magic like you.”
“Are you an idiot?! Water is the weakest of the seven elements! It comes last. Last!”
“Awww!”
She had the Sage skill, which let her use all of the elements, so why would she start with water? It was practically just a hobby.
“I wanted us to match...” she complained.
“I train my Water, Sun, and Fate Magic in turn. You should start with Fire and then Ground Magic.”
“Okaaay...” She agreed reluctantly.
Fire Magic excelled at offense, and Ground Magic was great for defense. There was no harm in mastering those two first.
Also...I was pretty sure the Grandsage was good with Teleport. I couldn’t use it, though, so I couldn’t teach her. I wonder if there’s anyone good with Fate Magic around here. Actually...was I really coming up with the Grandsage’s curriculum?!
Regardless of the oddities in my mind, we kept training together. Although, speaking of oddities, there’d been an unusual shift around town recently—I’d become really popular with women. They were being pretty blatant about it too.
One of the most persistent girls was the black-haired elf—the one similar to Lucy. But, I mean...she was one of Lucy’s relatives. She was from the same generation as Lucy’s grandfather, the village chief I’d met that one time in Springrogue. And apparently, she was only around fourteen... That was actually younger than me. She was Johnnie’s daughter, though, so I couldn’t reject her too harshly. Instead, I just vaguely pushed her away.
I was currently training my Water Magic by fishing in the underground lake. Momo was training next to me, a look of focus on her face as she produced four Fireballs. She was improving quickly. I guess that was a benefit of the Sage skill. A little ways away, Abel was keeping watch.
There was a magical barrier around us, and the heroes were on guard too, so no monsters were lurking anywhere. In other words, there was nothing for us to do.
Let’s make sure the time isn’t wasted.
“Come over here, Momo.”
“S-Sure.”
“Keep the Fireballs going,” I instructed as I watched her try to drop them. Keeping magic up all the time was a requirement for this type of training. Incidentally, I had 999 butterflies made of water magic fluttering all around us. The Grandsage was going to be the best mage on the continent, so I’d have her doing the same sooner or later.
“Abel,” I called out.
“What is it?” He looked my way with a smile.
Nice! I scored a load of relationship points! Wait...what am I on about?
“There’s somewhere I want to go. Mind tagging along?”
“Sure, I can come. Where are we going?”
“Huh?” Momo looked between us, confused. “We’re going somewhere?”
“To the deepest layer of Labyrinthos,” I answered.
Momo and Abel let out overlapping gasps of shock.
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