◇ Makoto Takatsuki’s Perspective ◇
The tower had fallen apart, and Iblis—being a god from another realm—couldn’t survive outside of it. Apparently.
Allegedly, a god on the level of Noah or Eir would’ve been fine in the mortal realm, but Iblis wasn’t that powerful. As far as the Great Demon Lord was concerned, the barrier falling ought to be fatal. His body gradually started to lose its form.
Unfortunately, someone stopped that decay in its tracks.
“Lord Iblis, please, use my body,” urged Queen Nevia. Immediately one of Iblis’s tentacle-like hands wrapped around her. Then, dozens of black arms writhed their way up her beautiful body in an almost obscene spectacle.
What...the hell?
“Ngh...hahhh.”
Hearing those soft moans... Watching her face—so reminiscent of Furiae’s—flush red... It was honestly kinda hot.
Her black dress was rolled up, showing quite a lot of skin. It put her in a rather compromising position.
As I stared, Anna spoke coldly from my side. “Makoto?”
“I didn’t see anything,” I protested.
“Liar.”
Yup, I was one.
“Stop fooling around and attack!” Ira yelled. “Iblis is becoming one with Nevia!”
“What?!” Anna and I exclaimed in unison, turning around to look.
A great wind blasted us with gusts of miasma. That wasn’t all—Queen Nevia and the broken form of Iblis were now surrounded by a black surface. A barrier.
“Lightning Spellbow: Storm.”
“Fire Magic: Phoenix.”
Johnnie and Mel’s spells struck the dark barrier, but it showed no sign of breaking. I signaled to Cain with a look.
“Dia!” I called. “Water Magic: Yamata no Orochi.”
Cain sliced at the barrier as my spell struck it. A deluge of water engulfed it, pressing in on the darkness as Cain’s blade slammed into its surface.
But...
“It’s...not working,” Anna said weakly.
Not even Dia’s magic and Noah’s weapon had broken it. All we had left was...
I looked at the Hero of Light at my side. She gazed back and then nodded shallowly. The sword in her hand began to glow white.
However, before she could actually carry out the attack, the barrier vanished.
“Apologies for the delay.”
The voice came from the mouth of a much-changed Nevia. Her pale skin had darkened—her long black hair was now glowing with every color of the rainbow. Her golden eyes, capable of charming everything, seemed to gleam all the more. She had already been just as gorgeous as Furiae, but after merging with Iblis, her beauty was almost otherworldly, just like a goddess’s.
“Nevia...I apologize.”
“Worry not. All that I am is yours.”
Strangely, both of their voices were coming from the same mouth.
Suddenly, Ira’s voice resounded in my head.
Makoto Takatsuki, the Great Demon Lord...no, the Scrap has fallen to the mortal realm. Merging with the moon priestess has caused him to lose his divinity. The Hero of Light can defeat him now.
“Anna, can you kill her?” I asked.
“M-Me...?”
She’d been overwhelmed by the Witch of Calamity’s presence. After merging with Iblis right in front of us, her presence felt more threatening than even Astaroth’s. Even so, Anna managed to marshal herself and ready her sword.
Meanwhile, Nevia was looking dispassionately at us. Huge amounts of mana were radiating from her body—even more than I usually felt from the Undyne.
“You are far from the Hero of Light in the original timeline,” she said. “Will you be my opponent?”
Hmm...
This was going to be tough. Mel, Johnnie, and I could fight alongside Anna, but since none of us had even put a scratch on that barrier, I figured we might be more hindrance than help. Anna, our strongest fighter, flinched back from the strength Nevia was emanating.
Come on, Makoto Takatsuki. Time for Strategy 77!
Oh yeah. Now that the barrier from the tower was down, I was the only one who could hear Ira.
Forget about that and get on with it!
“Strategy XX” referred to the many tricks Ira had told me about. They were all things I could use to potentially defeat Iblis. And she wanted me to use 77 of all of them...
That’s your only choice now! Pull your finger out!
Fine...
I got ready.
Letters floated up in front of me.
Are you really going to do it? Seriously?
Guess not
I have to!
Quit it, RPG Player.
“Anna,” I said, calling her name gently.
“Makoto...” She looked back at me uneasily.
I put my hands on her shoulders...and kissed her.
“Huh?” Her eyes went wide.
Suddenly, there was a dramatic change.
“Wha?! Uh! What?!”
Her body had begun to give off aura in a prismatic mist.
Hmph. Nicely done. You know what’s next, don’t you? Ira’s voice was heavy now.
“U-Um... Makoto? What was that...?”
The unease had faded from her face, and she was now looking at me with shining eyes.
Okay, finish it off! Strategy 78!
The goddess was chattering away in my mind. Ah, forget it! It wasn’t like I had any other ideas.
“Before we die,” I murmured, “I need to tell you. I... I...l-love you, Anna.”
Her face went bright red, and I could practically hear the steam pouring off her. It’d worked, though. Her entire body was shining like another sun.
Great! The Hero of Light has awakened! All because big sister Althena made the skill evolve through intense emotions!
Why’d Althena put a condition like that on it?! According to the normal timeline, she would have awoken through a desire for vengeance, but, for some reason, she was much more at peace this way.
Ira’s plan had been to awaken her through love for me. Surely that wasn’t right?
“I-I love you too...” she replied, and I could practically feel the heat in her voice.
I definitely didn’t dislike Anna—I was honestly fond of her. However, I hadn’t wanted to say something like this here.
I’m definitely going to hell.
“Watch me, Makoto.” Anna brandished her sword. That tiny movement set off a blast of mana-laden wind. Now that I’d lost my anima, she was so much stronger than I was—there was no way I would be of any help to her.
“This is certainly absurd,” said Queen Nevia. “Is this truly the Hero of Light’s awakened strength?”
Nevia was holding a staff I’d never seen before, looking almost tired. Apparently, she hadn’t just been waiting during Anna’s awakening—she’d summoned a weapon.
“I shall destroy you in Lord Iblis’s stead.”
The Witch of Calamity, having merged with Iblis, pointed the staff at us. Waves of miasma launched off of it.
“I won’t let you.” The awakened Anna moved forward, her sword wreathed in prismatic light.
The final battle had begun.
Anna let loose a light swing of her sword. Even that minor attack blasted me with enough wind that I could barely stand.
The shining blade in her hand expelled countless blades of light. Each one of them was as strong as a saint rank attack. The air was shaking. Facing them, Queen Nevia smiled serenely. The staff in her hand was emitting a pitch-black miasma, just like the rest of her body. As she spoke, her beautiful voice seemed at odds with that disgusting sight.
Reversal Magic: Darkness Grasper.
Countless black hands grew from her staff, grabbing and smothering Anna’s blades of light.
“You’re a human, aren’t you?” Anna yelled. “Why are you on Iblis’s side?!”
I’d been sure that Queen Nevia would ignore her, but surprisingly, she answered.
“I’m a cambion, not a human,” she said with a sigh.
She cast her next spell.
Reversal Magic: Dark Augur.
This dark spell conjured a huge black bird. It was like Lucy’s phoenix spell—the one she was so good at—but far more ominous.
In a flash, the one bird turned into a flock and attacked Anna.
“I was born to a concubine of the king,” said the queen. “I’ve possessed miasma since my birth, and because of the strength of my demon heritage, I was confined. I would have lived my life as a pitiful, imprisoned princess...”
“So that’s...why you hate...” Anna was panting raggedly, only barely keeping up with Queen Nevia’s onslaught. I wanted to help, but with my current power, nothing I could do would make a meaningful difference.
“I was chosen as the Priestess of the Moon, though. Naya granted me the power to charm all living creatures. It was a simple matter to use Charm to rule Laphroaig, and even invading demons were no match for my skill. I had power over all creatures, and I figured that while I was at it, I should use Charm to form human-demon couples who would birth cambion children. Eventually, all my subjects would be cambions... That was my goal.”
The words were practically pouring out of her. However, the idea of Queen Nevia making cambions “while she was at it” was a bit unnerving...
“Nothing you said excuses you! You had no reason to join Iblis!” Anna exclaimed.
She swung Balamung toward Queen Nevia, but a multitude of black hands blocked its path, keeping the blade from reaching its target.
Queen Nevia brushed the fierce attack away and smiled sadly. “The Great One was lonely.”
This is bad... Ira mumbled.
It sure is, Ira. Queen Nevia and Iblis combined were a little bit stronger than Anna, even after her awakening. The two sides struggled against each other, but while Queen Nevia seemed at ease, Anna’s face was distinctly panicked.
I turned to my last hope—Dia.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“My liege... I apologize, but I doubt I could measure up against this evil. I also think that even trying would see me charmed...”
For a moment, I was shocked to hear that Dia could be affected by Charm, but then I remembered that I’d actually charmed her once before when I’d asked for her help. Looks like I can’t rely on the strength of the Undyne.
“Lord Iblis is a weak god,” said Queen Nevia. “He was cast from his realm and unable to live here without a barrier. He had no one, so he was forced to make the blight monsters his family...”
I looked around the floating island. The monsters had all fled from the fight between Queen Nevia and Anna. So these blighted things had been made because Iblis had desired companionship?
“It is fine. I have you, after all— You honor me, Lord Iblis.”
It was a conversation between two people coming from one mouth—the first half of that statement had come from Iblis, and the second, from Queen Nevia. It was really hard to tell them apart.
And even as they spoke—their tones so casual that they could’ve been discussing the weather—Queen Nevia was casting saint rank spell after saint rank spell. The ground was being carved into by great furrows, and the whole area shook every so often. I was getting worried that we might fall from the sky.
Anna was breathing heavily, and I could tell she was unsteady on her feet.
B-But she’s now awakened...she shouldn’t be weaker...
Ira’s voice made me realize just how bad the situation was, but I couldn’t do anything about it.
“You are not as strong as I had heard,” Queen Nevia lamented. “Well, allow me to close the book on this chapter.”
Nevia’s staff started spewing even more anima.
“The hero is in trouble!” Mel exclaimed.
“We must aid her,” Johnnie said. Both of them leaped forward.
Momo was still out cold.
“Dia! Look after Momo!” I ordered.
“Of course, my liege!”
A step behind the others, I rushed after them.
Nevia giggled.
“Gobble them all up, Orthrus...”
Her spell was complete.
Pseudo-Summoning: Orthrus.
The spell called forward a huge hellhound with two heads. Orthrus was supposed to be a divine beast on another world. Th-This wasn’t the real one, right?
It growled deep in its throats before leaping at Anna. Hundreds of black hands from Nevia’s staff rained down at the same time. Several of them wrapped around Anna’s limbs.
No!
We all rushed to protect her.
The beast howled—both Mel and Johnnie stopped in their tracks.
It’s not the real Orthrus, just a temporary construct. Even so, it’s a true representation of the beast—it’s almost as strong as a divine rank spell. Mortals freeze just from hearing Orthrus’s voice...
So it was that strong. The only ones still moving were me and...
“Run!”
Cain cut through the hands that were preventing Anna from moving.
Suddenly, Orthrus’s maw closed down on Cain.
“Gaaaah!”
I heard a distinctly unpleasant crack as Cain’s armor broke.
Noah had made it. It was a divine relic. It shouldn’t be so easily destroyed...
“Oh my, Cain. I hardly expected you to protect the Hero of Light. I thought you would understand, being a cambion like myself...”
“Stop it!” Anna screamed.
Sword of Light!
This was the biggest blade of light yet. Frankly, it was more like a laser—it blasted into Orthrus and exploded in a cross of pure radiance.
That’s about as strong as when Sakurai defeated Zagan.
This attack probably utilized all of her strength. Surely it would have an effect...
After the dust cleared, I saw Orthrus—missing one head—and Nevia—unharmed. The head that had been biting down on Cain had fallen, and Cain was collapsed next to it, his armor half broken.
His ripped-up arms must’ve been painful, but the relic’s abilities were already healing him. Phew, the blessing from Noah is still in place. Too bad he couldn’t fight anymore.
Orthrus’s remaining head growled, glaring hatefully at us.
“Sun Magic: Holy Flame!”
“Wind Elementals: Stormblade.”
Mel and Johnnie’s spells struck the hellhound. They didn’t do much more than scratch it.
“Right Hand of the Elemental... Water Magic: Ice Frontier.”
My ice barrier trapped it, but it didn’t last long—the ice soon began to crack. The barrier was about to fall when Anna’s next attack came in, taking out the beast’s other head.
The hound fell to the ground and disintegrated into dust.
Had we...done it? I exchanged a look with Anna.
Then I saw that Mel and Johnnie had been captured by those black hands.
“Curses...”
“Apologies.”
They’re hostages now...
The situation was getting worse and worse.
“My, my. Orthrus was my trump card... What a shame.”
Even though she’d said that, Queen Nevia didn’t seem even slightly concerned—she continued casting saint rank spells. Though Anna was unsteady on her feet, she repelled them. I tried to use my elemental arm to attack, but just couldn’t get the magical output needed to damage her.
But still...
It’s odd, remarked Ira. Why isn’t she threatening the hostages?
Our enemy had Mel and Johnnie’s lives quite literally in her grasp. It would be simple to threaten us with that.
Queen Nevia seemed to realize my and Ira’s thoughts. She spoke with a smile. “I cannot kill my hostages. It would make her stronger, after all.”
So she knew about the specifics of the Hero of Light skill—it was strengthened in response to the bearer’s emotions.
Anna was heaving for breath, unable to even speak.
Meanwhile, Nevia was still smiling gracefully. “Incidentally, Makoto Takatsuki, I won’t lay a finger on you. After all, the hero loves you. Slipping and killing you would be awful.”
Ugh—she’d caught on to me. I’d been thinking about a suicide run.
“Hero of Light, you will be the first to die,” Queen Nevia proclaimed, her voice laden with disinterest. “Until then, the others will remain alive. Rest assured that you’ll become the first sacrifice.”
She wasn’t mocking Anna. If anything, Queen Nevia was taking every precaution. The fallen god and the Witch of Calamity had no weaknesses, and they also weren’t letting their guard down.
They’re strong...
“M-Makoto...”
I turned around to see Anna looking haggard. This was my fault... I’d pushed her into fighting.
Left Hand of the Elemental.
I ignored Ira’s panicked yell.
Both of my arms were now elementals.
I should be able to cope with this. Probably.
Suddenly the mana flowing around me doubled. Breathing itself became more difficult. Mana was rampaging through my body, and I couldn’t let up on Calm Mind for even an instant.
Anna and I repelled the next dark spell. I had mana from the water elementals, while Anna had endless power from the sunlight. Iblis and Queen Nevia had endless power as well. We were at an impasse.
“It’s never-ending,” Queen Nevia remarked. Her words seemed out of place. “Did you know, historically, the Priestesses of the Sun and Moon have often been at odds?”
Why was she bringing this up now?
“What’s your point?” I asked, since Anna seemed too exhausted to speak.
“Well, Naya keeps picking cambions for her priestesses... That’s the reason. Because of that, her priestesses have no companions. I was the same. Even now, I fight alone.”
“Why does Naya pick cambions over humans?” I asked. There must be some reason for it.
Queen Nevia didn’t answer my question. She just carried on with her speech. “I am grateful to my goddess. I’m sure that if I’d been born a human, I wouldn’t have thought twice about defeating the demons and cambions. I would’ve been satisfied with that simple, flawed peace. But because I am one of the minority of cambions, reviled, I can aim for a world of true peace...”
“True peace?”
She wanted peace?
“Indeed. I can charm everyone on this planet and create a world of serenity ruled by Lord Iblis...”
“That’s...just domination, though.” Essentially, it would be conquering the world. It was very like Iblis.
“Wonderful, is it not?” she asked. “Those I bewitch are equal. They can feel happy no matter their situation. None are unfortunate. Do you not think it is the best possible world?”
“Then why are the people from my home all suffering?!” Anna screamed in rage.
Right—when we’d first met, Anna had been hopeless because of the loss of her mentor. The western continent was definitely far from peaceful.
“My apologies. Those of the western continent would have been charmed eventually.”
“Enough!” Anna yelled.
The queen’s smile widened. “You lost your concentration... I have you.”
“Damn!”
“Anna!”
The purpose of the conversation must have been to distract us. Several layers of black hands were now gripping Anna’s sword. I heard an ominous creak of metal.
“The holy sword!” Anna screamed.
Balamung suddenly bent sharply in the middle.
Again?!
Sasa had broken it in Great Keith—it seemed to spend more time broken than not!
Not the time, though! Anna has no weapon now.
I looked over to where Cain was passed out. What about his?! Crap, I don’t see Noah’s sword... It’s not an option!
“It is time to end this,” Queen Nevia declared.
Her staff began to gather miasma again. There was just as much of it as when she had summoned Orthrus. Maybe even more.
Shitshitshitshit!
Mel and Momo didn’t have swords, and Johnnie’s wasn’t good enough to harm her. Besides, Mel and Johnnie were both trapped by the hands.
What else was there?
I needed something on the level of a holy sword...
Are you forgetting me, Makoto?
The beautiful voice filled my empty heart like a drop of water after a day in the desert.
It felt like it had been years since I’d heard it...
Noah’s voice.
Huh? I heard Ira say in confusion, but I’d already started to act without even realizing it.
“Anna! Use this!”
I yanked the goddess’s dagger from my waist and passed it to the Hero of Light.
“Got it!”
She took the weapon. Relic or not, it appeared to be just a dagger. Honestly, it looked far weaker than any holy sword.
Queen Nevia paused for a moment, staring at the blade. “You are facing me with that?” Apparently, she agreed about its unassuming appearance.
Pseudo-Summoning: Cerberus.
A jet black hound with three heads manifested from her spell. Another divine beast...
“Kill the Hero of Light, Cerberry,” she said in a sing-song voice.
The beast rushed toward us—or rather, Anna—with unbelievable speed.
“Guh!”
Anna poured mana into the dagger and launched a Sword of Light at the beast. The blade of light it produced was tiny, but for an instant, it shone in all the colors of the rainbow.
Several people gasped in shock. The same attack from Balamung earlier had taken one of Orthrus’s heads. It hadn’t even scratched Nevia. However, this time...
The blade of light from Noah’s dagger...had blown away all three of Cerberus’s heads. In addition, the black hands protecting the merged body of Iblis and Queen Nevia had been cut through like paper.
Queen Nevia herself had been split in two.
“Gah...”
Coughing up blackened blood, Queen Nevia crumpled to the floor. Dark ichor covered the ground. She fell slowly, collapsing.
All of us were dumbfounded.
Anna, despite being the one who’d launched the attack, was the most surprised.
“That...was absurd... What is...that dagger?” Nevia murmured, her voice fading.
She was right. If I’d known the true power within Noah’s dagger, I would’ve handed it over from the start.
“Ugh! Haah...hah...haaah...”
Anna fell to her knees with a thud.
“Anna!” I yelped, rushing over to hold her up.
“I-I’m fine. It feels like all of my stamina and focus is gone, though... U-Um, Makoto, what is this dagger?”
“A relic from my goddess. I didn’t think it’d be that powerful, though...”
“I-I’ll return it. I don’t have the strength to use it again anyway.”
Gasping for breath, she handed it to me. We’d been saved by that dagger. And...saved by the voice telling me to use it. It had definitely been Noah’s.
“Noah? Noah, can you hear me?!” I yelled at the sky. “Thank you!” There was no reply.
Maybe it’d been my imagination. That didn’t seem possible.
“Aah...that terrifying goddess who almost caused a Titanomachy all on her own. I assumed this relic was the same as Cain’s and let my guard down... That goddess truly loves you.”
I looked down at the dagger as I listened to Nevia’s pained voice. This blade with mana inside it was glowing the same beautiful blue as always. It was the first weapon I’d gotten in this world—a magic dagger that had saved me time after time.
“You...said...that Noah gave you the dagger...” Cain wheezed, staggering over.
“Are you okay?” I asked him.
“I’ll...cope.”
His biggest wounds had been healed by the armor’s blessing, but the armor itself was half broken. The puncture marks left from Orthrus’s fangs looked wicked.
“So...your relic...seems special...” he said, a sad look on his face.
C’mon, Cain, I’m jealous of your sword and armor.
“Well, as far as I know, they’re made out of the same thing,” I told him.
“They are?”
“They look quite different,” Johnnie interjected.
That’s right, Ira said. Your relics are both made of adamantite, but not in the same way... But since I don’t have the same divinity as Noah, I can’t tell what has made them so different.
Huh. So Noah made my dagger stronger to compensate for the lack of raw material.
“Noah...thank you.” I kneeled where I was standing and offered my thanks to my goddess. Obviously, there was no reply. I’d just have to thank her properly when I was back in the future.
“Your...faith...is strong...Makoto...Takatsuki...”
“Queen Nevia...”
There was no way we could forget about her. Had she regenerated while our guard was down? We all looked cautiously her way.
However, the witch—with her body split in two—was gradually crumbling away into dust. It was honestly baffling that she could still talk.
“Good...for you. You saved...the world. I’m sure...your name...will be engraved in history...forever...”
She’s right. The danger to the world has passed, I heard Ira say.
So defeating the merged form of Iblis and Queen Nevia had saved the present. It didn’t feel right, though. This couldn’t be the end.
“Ira, what about Iblis reviving in the future?” I asked. The peace “now” was important, but the future was even more important. Had we managed to stop history from being modified?
Oh.
I heard a quiet “Tch...” from Queen Nevia.
C’mon, Ira, don’t forget about this kind of thing.
I-I didn’t forget! I just let it slip!
Should we really be entrusting history to her?
Umm...okay! Yup, I checked! History has been corrected up until the point where the Seven Nation Alliance fights the revived Great Demon Lord’s armies! In other words, it’s the same as before you— Huh? That’s okay, right?
“Seven Nations...” I murmured. “So Laphroaig is back?”
It had previously been the Six Nation Alliance—there was now an extra country. Well, whatever. The real issue was that Iblis had returned in the future, and that was true to the original history.
“So Iblis is reviving in my time.”
I glared at Queen Nevia, and she began to chuckle.
“Just so. We completed the Rite of Reincarnation yesterday. Lord Iblis has departed for the future.”
“Wait! We weren’t fighting him?! Then what have we been fighting?!” Mel roared in anger.
“A clone. Well, it was created from a portion of his soul, so it likely wasn’t that much weaker. It seems we deceived even Ira, though.”
Wh-What was that?!
They certainly had.
“Well, things are still on track,” I said. “Iblis was defeated by the Hero of Light, abandoned the past, and reincarnated a thousand years from now. That should match the original path of history.”
Ira had confirmed that this was how it had happened. We’d kept history intact.
“Indeed, there was no facing the awakened Hero of Light,” Queen Nevia explained. “During the original history, Lord Iblis fled on the verge of death, but this time, he left on his own terms.”
“So... He’ll be even stronger?” I asked.
“He will. The true Lord Iblis is strong indeed.”
She was speaking smoothly once again. Though her form was breaking down, she sure was talkative. She also didn’t seem particularly concerned with the whole “losing her body” thing.
So...was that it? I asked the question that was on my mind.
“You went too, didn’t you?”
“Well...who could say?” she replied, grinning.
Yeah, that’d definitely been her plan. Queen Nevia would be in the future.
“Looks like we’ll be meeting each other again.”
I gazed at her unhappily. Her face twisted just as much.
“Makoto Takatsuki, you realize that you are one of the heroes of this world, yes? Anna is beautiful, Momo is precious, and they both adore you—why don’t you just live out a peaceful life in this era?”
“You don’t want me to go back to the future?”
“I don’t,” she said bluntly. “Please stay here. I don’t want to see you again.”
Well, that was harsh. But I guess it made sense she hated me.
“Well if you don’t cause any issues, I’m not going to come looking for you,” I reasoned. “But you’re planning something, aren’t you? Like charming a whole country.”
“Well, don’t you want the world to be at peace?”
She was shameless. Then again, as far as she was concerned, it was the right thing to do.
“I’ll find you,” I warned. “Assuming you keep it up, that is.”
As I was thinking about how difficult it would be to actually get to her, she offered a cryptic response.
“Oh? But we’ve already met.”
“Huh?” That came as a shock.
She grinned. “You already know my form in the future.”
Did I really? Had Queen Nevia reincarnated into one of the people I knew?
“Hey! Who—”
She just giggled over me, her melodic voice laden with meaning. Then, she faded away.
With that bombshell, Queen Nevia and Iblis—or his clone—were no more.
“What next?” Johnnie asked, looking between us. Iblis was gone. While he wasn’t completely defeated, this era would soon be at peace.
“I’ll go on a journey to defeat the other demon lords while I look for a way home,” I said.
Cleaning up, essentially. Iblis might’ve been gone, but the current state of things wasn’t the same as it had been. The other continents were still under the rule of the demon lords, and they needed freeing. It would be great if I could get them all back here.
While I was considering the idea, I noticed the pinched looks on the others’ faces.
“Elementalist, do you have some illness that will kill you if you don’t keep fighting?” Mel asked. She was treating me like I was diseased.
“I thought you’d be coming back to Labyrinthos...” Johnnie murmured.
Did he mean right now?
Momo tugged on my sleeve. “Sir Makoto...you need to rest, please.”
Anna nodded. “That’s right, and we need to repair the holy sword.”
Ah, yeah—Anna’s blade was still bent.
“Well,” I said after a moment of pause. “Volf and Julietta will be worried, so we should go back to Labyrinthos.”
Everyone looked relieved.
“I wonder what I should do,” Cain mused. “I might have given up my position as a demon lord, but the heroes will still hate me.”
That was odd. Cain seemed to assume that he had nothing else to do.
“Well, you can come with me to the Seafloor Temple, right?” I asked.
There was a long silence.
“Thought you might say that,” he answered with a reluctant smile.
“We’ll get in without Leviathan noticing.”
“That’s not happening. The temple is on the beast’s back.”
“We just need a decoy to trick it...”
“We can’t use elemental magic there.”
“Ah, that’s right...”
Dia cleared her throat. “Um, my liege... That is a terrifying topic for idle chatter.”
Cain and I had been getting drawn into a debate when Dia nudged my shoulder. I quickly insisted that we were kidding.
Suddenly, Momo’s small figure approached me. “Sir Makoto... Why are you rushing so much?” she asked, looking uneasily up at me.
Rushing?
Was that what I looked like?
Of course it is. You defeated Iblis and now you’re planning to go after the others right away along with challenging one of the last dungeons. That would usually be unthinkable.
Ira’s statement made me realize what was going on.
“I guess it’s because I need to find a way back to the present...”
I hadn’t even meant to say it. That was probably why I was so loath to rest. I’d promised Lucy and Sasa that I’d return, but I hadn’t found a way to do it yet.
Well, it’s possible, I heard Ira mutter.
“Ira, there’s a way back?!” I yelled.
The others jumped at my shout.
Technically... You can do it now...probably.
She definitely didn’t sound confident.
“You mean...I can reincarnate like Iblis or Queen Nevia?”
I’d be a different person then.
You can’t reincarnate. The less mana someone has, the harder it is to distinguish them from others in the afterlife, so it gets harder to reincarnate them. It isn’t something we can do with your soul.
“I-I see...” So you couldn’t reincarnate at all unless you had enough mana.
Just leave it to me. It’ll take some doing, but I’ll explain how to get back.
“Thank you, Ira.”
I guess technically, I was done here. I let out a sigh. The finish line was in sight... It had been so long.
“Makoto!” Anna interrupted my thoughts. She grabbed my hand and fixed her sapphire eyes on mine. “U-Um...”
“What is it?”
She took a short breath and then silently stared at me for a while. Her face was cherry red.
“Would you...marry me?”
“Huh?”
“Anna! No getting ahead!”
“Well, you’ll be able to see him a thousand years from now!”
“Ugh...but...”
Well, I had told them that I would meet Momo in the future. Anna had looked distinctly conflicted when she’d heard that the Grandsage had taught me magic.
“Makoto, I won’t stop you from going back to the future. But before you do...”
“A-Anna, calm down...” The look on her face was scaring me.
“You said you loved me before the battle, didn’t you?”
“I-I did...”
I had said that. And with the way she was smiling now...I couldn’t respond any other way. W-Was this what they meant by men taking responsibility?
RPG Player apparently understood my feelings—a screen with letters floated up into the air.
Will you marry Anna Highland?
Yes
No
Even RPG Player was getting involved...
The Highland name had appeared out of nowhere as well. I suppose Saint Anna had founded the country.
You could marry her and stay here. It wouldn’t be a bad life, Ira added. I’m honestly saying this out of concern for you. You can be happy in this era. You’ve done so much—you don’t need to come back and fight Iblis again.
Her voice certainly sounded worried.
Anna was standing there, and Ira was expressing her true feelings.
The letters still floated in front of me.
All of this was making me hesitate.
I took a breath, then answered Anna’s proposal.
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