Chapter 8: Makoto Takatsuki Speaks with a Demon Lord
It’d been three days since we’d arrived at the temple. There was a spring nearby, so water wasn’t a problem. And since various fruits and vegetables—including wheat—were growing all around, we didn’t need to worry about food either.
It seemed like these resources were maintained by magic, and the lack of monsters made the temple seem really peaceful.
“Is this paradise?” murmured Abel—or rather, Anna, since she was in her female form. She’d been spending a lot of time as Anna lately.
I took a sip of the spring water. Delicious. “It’s more than pleasant,” I remarked, staring at the flowing water. Do mountain tops have springs? Maybe they do in this world. I gave up thinking about it.
We were sitting around a stone dining table that Mel had made using ground magic. Before us was a spread of bread, fruit, and some meat. Mel had made the bread by using some sort of cooking magic. She really can do anything. We’d gotten the meat by hunting farther down the mountain—Momo and Anna had roasted it for us.
As for me...I’d peeled fruit with a knife.
“Um...Sir Makoto?” Momo asked, fidgeting.
“Right, you want your usual.”
I held out my arm, and Momo latched on.
She let out a happy sigh. “Your blood is so sweet...”
“Sweet? Really?”
She let me go after a while, and out of curiosity, I licked the wound she’d left behind. It was saltier than it was sweet. Frankly, it just tasted like blood. I didn’t understand vampire taste buds.
“U-Um...Sir Makoto, my mouth was just there!” Her face had gone red.
“Hm?”
Oh, right, she’d just bitten there. Guess me licking it was...an indirect kiss?
Anna shot me a light glare. “Makoto...you’re so shameless.”
Hey... All I did was lick my own blood.
“So, what are our plans now?” Mel asked.
I nodded, ready to get back on track. “Okay, Momo, you follow Mel’s training plan. Anna, could you talk with Althena, please? Also, we’re above the clouds here, so your Hero of Light skill should work—work on training that.”
“Sunlight makes things harder for me...” Momo muttered sadly.
We were covered by the temple’s roof right now, but if Momo stood directly in the sun, she’d collapse. I stroked her hair. This was a difficult environment for a vampire, but it was definitely safer than below, so she’d need to bear with it for now.
“I’m praying every day,” Anna said, her voice lacking any energy, “but I can’t hear her at all.”
Hmm. I knew Althena’s influence was weaker without faith, but to think, not even her priestess could talk to her...
“I’m heading down to Labyrinthos,” I said. “I need to explain our plans to Johnnie. Also, I need to hand over the weapons Estelle gave us for the townspeople. Mel, do you mind acting as transport?”
“You’re almost taking advantage of my skills as a dragon. Still, I am curious to see how my family is. Very well.”
In the end, she agreed to the trip without much issue.
“Makoto...” Anna said softly. “Be careful.”
“I’ll miss you, Teacher!” exclaimed Momo.
“I’ll be back in a few days,” I assured them with a laugh.
With that, Mel and I departed for Labyrinthos. The journey went smoothly, and along the way, we came across quite a few groups of monsters. I used my dagger to sacrifice them to Eir.
Getting my life span back! Getting it back♪
The monsters in this era were strong, so I was about to efficiently collect a hundred years of life span. Mel gave me a wary look as I hummed while looking through my Soul Book.
“What’s up?” I asked her.
“Your enjoyment of the sacrificial techniques is quite unnerving.”
“It...is?” Uh-oh. Don’t wanna frighten her. I’ll have to be careful to not overdo it.
We arrived at the entrance to Labyrinthos after two days of travel, and once inside, we teleported down to the middle layer.
The sight that met our eyes was shocking, to say the least.
“I-It’s...”
“Well, this is quite the town,” Mel said in awe.
The settlement wasn’t huge, but instead of making homes out of gloomy nooks in crags of the cave, the shores of the lake were lined with buildings. Wouldn’t those get attacked by monsters?
A red-haired youth spotted Mel and began running over. “Mother! You’re back!” But when he saw me, he backed off. “Y-You!”
“Uh...who’re you?” I asked. He apparently knew me, but I didn’t recognize him at all.
“That’s the red dragon you first froze,” said Mel. “Have you forgotten?”
“Oooh.” I turned to the redhead. “Uh, yeah, it’s been a while.”
“Guh! I’ll beat you at some point! Not now, though! I can’t yet!” His voice was insistent, but he was also moving farther and farther away.
I let out a sigh. Must’ve frightened him. I feel bad. Apparently, having an ancient dragon constantly lurking around had kept the monsters away.
All I could do was head for Johnnie’s place. As I was looking around for someone who could point me in the right direction, I heard a woman’s gasp accompanied by the sound of rushing footsteps. Someone was headed our way.
“Makoto! Huh? Where are Momo and Abel? D-Don’t tell me they...”
It was Julietta.
“Oh, hi,” I said. “Don’t worry—they’re safe and getting some training done. Is Johnnie around, by the way?”
“Hmm, he left to go hunting, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be back soon.”
“I see.”
So he wasn’t here at the moment. While waiting, I said hello to Volf and Deckel. They were curious about what had happened in Cornet, so I filled them in. Apparently, my story came as a shocking revelation.
“The Demon Lord Cain was in Laphroaig?”
“And the citizens are stuck under a charm...”
Johnnie returned after a while. I greeted him, and for some reason, Johnnie declared that the town would have a feast to celebrate our return.
“Julietta,” I whispered. “How come he’s organizing a feast?”
“Well, you’re the first one to actually make it back from Laphroaig.”
Ah, well that made some sense. Thanks to Mel, the journey itself had been pretty uneventful, so returning didn’t feel like a huge accomplishment.
Johnnie had named me as the guest of honor, so I’d been seated beside him at the head of the table. During dinner, I took the time to explain our plans for the future.
“Ira’s advice was to train for about a year to fight the demon lord, which sounds like a good idea,” I explained. “I’m sorry, but would you be willing to wait?”
The handsome elf’s brow furrowed at my question. U-Uh? Was he not happy to wait?
“You went to search for a holy sword...but instead met the Priestess of Fate and clashed once again with Cain? And now they’re training in the hidden temple at Ascareus Sanctus. What in the world, Sir Makoto?”
I shuddered out a relieved sigh. At least he didn’t seem angry. This also seemed like the right time to hand over Ira’s equipment.
I handed Johnnie a katana and a bow. “Ira thought these would be perfect for you, so please go ahead and use them.”
“What are these?”
“I got them from Lady Estelle’s hideout. She had a whole stockpile of rare weapons.”
Of course, I didn’t really know the differences between any of them. I could at least tell that they were magical. Johnnie stared at the weapons in his hands.
“These do not seem like weapons produced on this continent. They must be from another.”
“Right—they’re apparently from the eastern continent.”
I guess, once you were as skilled as Johnnie, you could spot the differences as clear as day.
“And they aren’t replicas,” he murmured. “These are originals, created by a craftsman. They take me back...”
“Are you from the eastern continent?” I asked.
In the future, there weren’t any records of Johnnie’s origins. We only knew that he was older than Hero Abel and the Grandsage.
“No. I have never left this continent. I have wished to visit the others before, but... Well, we can discuss that at another time. I understand what you have to say, and I do not mind if it takes us some time to defeat the demon lord. I will wait until you are ready.”
“I’ll let you know when we are.”
He nodded. “Indeed.”
Well, that was sorted. Afterward, he asked me plenty about Laphroaig.
Some of Mel’s family eventually came up from the depths of Labyrinthos to join the feast. And of course...not one of the monsters native to this layer showed hide nor hair of itself.
◇ The Next Day ◇
“Shall we head back, then?” I asked Mel.
“Indeed. Abel and my little apprentice are waiting.”
I quickly climbed up on Mel, and we set off for the temple. The journey started off well, just like the trip to Labyrinthos.
But then...
Cain appeared, riding on the back of a blight dragon. The man, clad in pitch-black armor, leveled his greatsword at me.
“You!” he boomed. “You are separated from the hero. Spit out where he’s hiding!”
Noah’s mad disciple...
This was the third time we’d met. The first time had been at the entrance to Labyrinthos, and I’d been frantic to simply survive. The second time had been in the capital of Laphroaig, and we’d run for it.
And now, this time...
Only Mel and I are here. Normally running away would be our best bet. Yet something Noah had once told me swam to the surface of my mind: “I should tell you about this, but I don’t recommend it...”
If Mel weren’t here, then Cain and I could speak alone, one-on-one. If there was a chance to get him on our side, this was probably it, wasn’t it?
“Elementalist, buy some time. I will fly as fast as—”
“Mel, I’ll stay back as a decoy. You head back to the temple and get Abel.”
“What?! Are you planning on sacrific—”
“Nope,” I answered. Despite the initial look of shock on her face, one look at my resolve had apparently changed her mind.
“You’re plotting something, aren’t you?”
“I am, yeah.”
“Don’t go too far... I’ll be back in around half a day.”
Normally, the distance to the temple should have taken a whole day. She would be rushing for my sake.
“That’s enough,” I said to Cain as I leaped from Mel’s back. Luckily, the cloak I’d gotten from Ira allowed me to float in the air.
As we separated, Cain glanced between the two of us. He must have been trying to decide which of us to chase. Eventually, he picked me and slowly began to approach.
“Can we cope, Dia?”
“Of course, my liege,” she replied, appearing at my side.
“Abandoning your dragon, huh? You must be eager for death!” he yelled, laughing scornfully. The black-armored demon lord slashed at me, but I threw up a barrier of ice and cast some magic to obscure his vision.
“Water Magic: Blizzard.”
I could hover with the cloak, but my flight speed wasn’t exactly fast. Far from it—I’d lose a race in seconds.
“Phwa ha ha ha! Pointless!”
I ignored his yelling and just pointing at him, muttering.
“Water Magic: Ice Mass.”
A few dozen blocks of ice appeared and hurtled toward Cain.
“You pesky insect!” His sword sheared through them like butter, but several chunks of ice hit. It didn’t matter—his armor repelled any damage. Still, the impacts seemed to irritate him.
“××××××,××××××,×××××××! (Fire elementals, wind elementals, blast it away!)” he shouted in Elemanti. Instantly, I felt heat surrounding me.
“Ha ha ha ha ha! Your magic is noth—”
His laughter cut off as the massive dragon of fire he’d summoned vanished like a snuffed-out candle.
There was silence. His helm obscured his face, but I could tell he was taken aback. He rushed toward me again, but I managed to defend using the raging blizzard and blocks of ice.
“Do you not see the futility of your struggle?!” he yelled, slicing through the ice over and over. A second later, another mass of ice struck him, and he screamed in Elemanti once again. “××××××××××,×××××××××! (Fire elementals, wind elementals!)”
I braced for the next attack, but...nothing happened.
Uh? I couldn’t not comment.
“Performance issues?”
Dia murmured in agreement.
“D-Don’t look!” he yelled.
Still Dia and I turned out to be right—Cain was awful at utilizing the elementals.
◇ Several Days Ago ◇
In a corner of the temple—quietly, so Abel didn’t hear—I was speaking in Elemanti.
“So, Dia, what’ll happen if we encounter Cain again? Can you fight him even though he’s Noah’s believer?”
This had been worrying me, so I wanted to clear things up. After all, Noah was sort of the elementals’ boss—could they stand against Noah’s believer in this time period?
“Hmph, I wondered what you were going to ask. But this question is nonsense, my liege.” She giggled at my concern.
“It is?”
“Indeed. The elementals hate rough men like Cain.”
“Rough?”
“Right. His use of the language, of spells, and of us in general—all of it is crude at best. The elementals don’t like that.”
“They...don’t?”
Unlike me, Cain seemed to be able to control more than just water elementals. Yet, according to Dia, he couldn’t do it all that well.
“The elementals like kind and caring people,” she explained. “And Noah also loves freedom. There is no need for us to listen to those we don’t like! I serve only those I wish.”
“I see.” Well, Noah never did bother with the details. Her general stance was to just let people do what they wanted. Apparently, her retainers were the same way.
“So Cain isn’t quite there as an elementalist?” I asked.
“I feel sorry for the elementals following him.”
Huh. If an arch elemental of water is saying as much, it must be right.
“And what about me?” I asked.
“My liege, you are...skilled.”
She shot me a meaningful look. Why’re you blushing?
“Your mere touch makes us quiver in sweet pleas—”
“Wait, wait, wait.”
I didn’t touch Dia each and every time I used elemental magic. This wasn’t like a porn game or anything...
“It was a metaphor,” she said defensively. “I was just trying to emphasize your level of skill.”
“I suppose that’s fine.”
With that, our conversation concluded.
◇
Dia and I continued redirecting Cain’s attacks for several hours. My spells didn’t do anything, but his weren’t even landing. It was a stalemate.
“Tch! There’s no end to it! Annoying insect!”
He swung the sword again. The black blade came toward me, but an ice barrier soon deflected it.
A clumsy attack—he was losing concentration.
Is it almost time? His attacks had weakened, and so, too, had his motivation. Soon enough, his impatience would force him to give up and leave. If I was going to talk with him, now was the time.
I stopped the blizzard, along with the bombardment of ice.
“Finally run out of mana?” he asked.
Not quite.
I snapped my fingers.
“Water Magic: Ice Mass.”
Huge hunks of ice appeared all around us.
He glared at them. “Tch!”
He should know that elementalists don’t run out of mana.
“I want to talk to you,” I said.
“Begging for your life? If you tell me where the hero is, then I can let you—”
I cut him off.
“Cainhart Weelach.”
He twitched. “Why... H-How do you know that name?”
Got him. I didn’t answer. I just grinned.
Cainhart Weelach was the name Noah had given me—his real name. She also told me his story. Cainhart was born on one of the hundreds of islands near the southern continent. His homeland was a barren place, one where people eked out a sparse existence in hiding thanks to countless demon attacks. And since they had only few resources, the people also constantly fought each other.
Cainhart was a child from a community on one of those islands. Eventually, Cainhart’s people lost against those from another island. All of them were poor, and such things were not uncommon. Normally, the losers would all be killed, but Cainhart was weak and—unfortunately—rather attractive. Though he was male, he was still young and virile, and the other island’s leader took a liking to him. Cain was allowed to live as a “kept man.”
Thus, he was cast into the hell of being used for the pleasure of his family’s killers.
Cainhart’s island had faith in a deity, but he cursed the god for not saving him. He would have sold his soul to the Daemons if it meant exacting revenge on those who had taken his family. Each night, he pleaded for some divinity to answer him. Then, one day, he was addressed by an old goddess, one trapped in the Seafloor Temple—Noah.
She does well with loners... This felt a bit too similar to how things had gone down with me.
Either way, he met her in his dreams and swore to follow her. And when he awoke, there were relics on his pillow.
That was similar to my experience as well. She’d encouraged him in the same way.
He now had armor that could defend against all attacks and a sword that could cut through everything. Noah had birthed a berserker.
Using the relics, Cainhart got his revenge. He destroyed his family’s foes and offered his goddess gratitude, swearing to do anything for her. However, she had told him, “Just do what you want.” Therefore, Cainhart decided to gather followers for his goddess.
He left his home, crossing to the mainland. The continent was ruled by demons, and equipped with the relics as he was, there was no one with the strength to become his enemy. At first, he had aided persecuted humans, but none of them had been willing to follow the goddess Noah. He had no comrades.
Then, the demon lord who ruled the continent appeared. He took an interest in Cainhart. He also knew that the man did not believe in the Sacred Deities. So, the demon lord offered Cainhart an incentive.
He told Cainhart of how Noah was one of the gods who’d lost Titanomachia and explained how they shared a common enemy. The demon lord suggested they rule together. Cainhart accepted. His beloved goddess offered her support as well.
And that was the birth of Demon Lord Cain.
This had all happened several years ago.
◇
And now...
“How...do you know my name?” he asked again, clearly confused.
I had only one answer.
“Noah told me.”
He twitched again.
“Trying to trick me?” he spat. “Only I... Only her believer can hear her. You could not have spoken to my goddess.”
His voice was hard. It sounded like he was never going to believe me.
“Let’s talk about it, then,” I replied. I kept my smile as I recited what I knew of his past—the story of an unfortunate island boy and how that boy had eventually become a demon lord.
Cain’s response was instantaneous. He practically convulsed with shock, almost dropping his sword.
Cainhart had not discussed his past with anyone. Anyone but his goddess, that is.
“How do you know...about my past? Are you telling the truth? B-But that’s impossible...”
“As I said, Noah told me. I wanted to talk with you, Cainhart.”
Noah called him by his real name, so I figured I should do the same while trying to reason with him. That’s what she’d advised me. But when Cain had attacked us in Labyrinthos, Abel had been there, so I couldn’t have spoken to him like this.
“Are you...on my side? Prove it!” Cain demanded.
“Hmm...”
Proving it would be difficult. I unsheathed my dagger, showing him the blade.
“Noah gave me this dagger. It’s made of the same material as your relics. Well, not that I can prove where it came from.”
“This dagger... I can feel the same anima in my sword. But...”
“My liege, you know you don’t need his help?” Dia said from my side, twining her fingers through her hair. “We are more than enough.”
That might’ve been true, but fighting Cain was using up my life span, so I didn’t want to keep it up. I asked her to look as relaxed as possible.
Cain leveled me with a stare. “What...is your goal here? Why are you on the hero’s side?”
I snorted at his question. It was a silly one.
“Because Noah wants me to be.”
“She wants you...to save heroes? That can’t be right. She praises me every time I slaughter one!”
Oh, right—she let him kill heroes in this era.
“However many of them you kill, it won’t actually help her. If anything, it causes her to get treated as a wicked deity in the future. She’ll suffer for it, even after a thousand years have passed.”
“What...the...?” He shook his head, seeming not to believe me.
“It’s true,” I insisted. “Your actions paint her in a negative light.”
“You think you can trick me?!” Cain roared angrily. “I’ll cut you down if you open your mouth again!”
Guess he finally lost his chill. Dia was ready to defend me, but I held up my hand to stop her.
Cain wanted more believers for Noah. However, the divine edict meant she could gain no more than one. Still, he kept trying, never gaining more comrades, feeling lonely. He had no one, even after becoming a demon lord. He was feared, though not respected. Cain was the only believer of Noah in this world...until now.
I spoke the words Cain needed to hear.
“Noah’ll be sad if her only two believers are fighting, wouldn’t you say?”
He jolted, letting his sword drop limp.
“You’re...her believer?”
“That’s right. The same as you.”
“I...see. I’ve never met another before.”
He slowly slipped his helmet off. Underneath the helm was a face so attractive that it could have belonged to a woman. Of course, his beauty had been a burden, so complimenting him wasn’t the best idea.
“What’s your name?” he murmured.
I hesitated for a beat and then said, “Makoto Takatsuki.”
Cain would probably talk about me with Noah later, so giving my actual name was probably the best idea. Noah couldn’t see far into the future though, so I didn’t know if any of this would work in my favor.
“Makoto Takatsuki.” He stared at me, eyes hard. “If killing heroes will not help her, what should I do?”
I thought for a moment.
“What about going to rescue her from the Seafloor Temple?”
Cain’s eyes narrowed. “Her prison? I do not know where it is, so I cannot even attempt it.”
He...doesn’t know? I hadn’t expected that answer.
“Well, I know where it is,” I told him. I’d even been there before.
“What?!” he exclaimed.
“Haven’t you asked Noah?”
“She wouldn’t tell me. She said I wouldn’t make it there.”
Yeah, that made sense—I recalled her being pretty negative about my chances of beating it too.
“Iblis promised that if I killed all the heroes, he would assist. But however many I kill, more appear. There’s no end to them. Eventually...”
“Oh, so that’s what he promised.” When a hero was killed, their goddess would just assign the role to a new person, so it would probably never end. Still, I could use that, along with the fact that Cain didn’t know where the temple was.
“Makoto Takatsuki!” His expression was hard and serious. “Tell me where the Seafloor Temple is. If you do, then I shall trust you.”
Right where I want you. I grinned back.
“Tell you? That’s all you want?”
“What?” He frowned, visibly confused once again.
“How about I go with you? We can attempt it together.”
“What...the...?” His eyes went wide. My answer was apparently not what he’d expected.
“We both believe in Noah, so our goals are the same, right?”
“But...”
“Think about it—your relics plus my elemental magic. Maybe we can use them together to bust her out.”
He gasped.
“There’s a lot to prepare,” I continued, “so let’s plan to attempt it seven days from now. We can meet here.”
“S-Seven days?! So soon?!”
“The sooner the better, right?” I grinned wider. “Can you use Water Breathing? We’ll be underwater for about half a day. Also, I assume you can swim in that armor.”
“M-More or less...”
The way he said that didn’t fill me with confidence.
“The divine beast Leviathan protects the temple,” I said. “We should start with scouting things out. Any questions?”
He shot me a doubtful glare. “Are you serious?”
“I’ll be going on my own either way. Don’t you want to save her?”
“You’d go alone?”
“Yup. I’ve actually been before.”
Silence stretched between us for a few moments.
“Very well,” he said. “I shall join you.”
“It’s settled, then.” I smiled, holding out my right hand. Cain didn’t look quite happy.
Are you serious? I heard in my head.
Ira? You were listening?
You’re trying to get a demon lord on your side while being Abel’s ally?
Surely it’s better than staying enemies? After all, as long as he has those relics, I’m not going to beat him.
You can beat him once Abel knows how to use the Hero of Light skill.
Well...we can, but...
But what?
Well, uh... To tell you the truth, it’s because he’s Noah’s believer. I don’t want him to die if he doesn’t have to.
Right. Ira sighed heavily. Make sure Abel does not find out. He killed their parents, so Abel hates him more than anything.
Right, I’ll be careful.
I nodded along to her words as I stared at the man before me. “I look forward to working with you, Cainhart.”
“Makoto Takatsuki.” His glare grew fiercer. “If you are lying, you will pay with your life.”
Ha! He said the funniest things.
“I swear on Noah and my life. We’ll beat the Seafloor Temple together.”
Cain clasped my hand. That hand, which had killed so many heroes, was beautiful.
Thus, Cain and I agreed to challenge the Seafloor Temple together.
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