Chapter 05: The Day the Majin Mourned

The damage I caused by invoking the [eye of destruction] in my fury was more terrible than I could have imagined.

My vision faded and I lost consciousness, when I next opened my eyes towering before me was a mountain of rubble.

Both Sanctos Castle and those lying on the ground, my family, had been destroyed.

The ground where they would have been was gouged out, it left me with a strange feeling when I looked at it, and I slowly began to realize the extent of the destruction I had caused by relying on my rage.

“…….Ahahaha”

I could only laugh drily.

The area where I was lying was the only place that had been spared.

Alfred, Lilian, the other Majins, everything had disappeared.

“――What have I done?”

After that dry laugh, I spoke those words to condemn myself.

――I know what I did.

I didn’t want to look upon that scene anymore, so I wished for it all to be destroyed.

“Because I only ever worried about myself――”

They died.

In addition, afterwards, I destroyed their remains.

“That’s right. ――I destroyed them.”

The remains of the family that had carefully raised me.

――So that I could accept it.

I think I might be off in the head.

If not, I wouldn’t have destroyed the remains, their corpses, and the castle filled with memories.

Ordinarily you’d properly bury them in graves.

“――That’s wrong.”

The truth was that I couldn’t accept it.

The scene laid out before my eyes, everything――I refused to accept it.

“――That’s right. It’s fine to think that way.”

――That sort of egotism.

“It’s fine if I only think of myself――”

Hahaha.

………

――Who could do that?

“――There’s no way I could think like that….”

◆◆◆

It was easy to keep lying in that place. I didn’t want to move.

As I laid there, in stillness, I thought about a lot of things; I was held captive by my thoughts.

Why were Alfred and Lilian so determined to send me off in such simple way, with so few words?

Or so I thought once I was able to think with a calm mind.

I wonder if Alfred entrusted something to me within that leather bag.

◆◆◆

“…..It really is here.”

Closely packed together with other various items was a thin journal.

On the cover [Sare] was clearly written.

With shaking hands I carefully opened it.

I was shocked by its contents.

But despite my shock the words were convincing.

I willingly accepted the words that were written without complaint.

From the beginning it read:

[To Sare: At the time you are reading this you should have left the forest and stepped upon the ground of a foreign country. Maybe it is already night time, and you have found an inn to rest at.]

That was how it began.

[I am going to write about what we have discovered concerning your origins from here on. We are a people who like to collect information you know. Two years ago we received a report from some family members who had successfully infiltrated the Pure race’s territory.]

So that’s why Alfred and the others renewed their training.

[As a result, we uncovered your lineage.]

When I read that sentence, my heart fluttered uneasily.

――I wanna know.

I wanna know,

but I’m worried that if I knew, then I might lose something as a result.

[Before I tell you, I want to reaffirm something…]

I held my breath.

[――Sare, you are definitely a Majin. ――A member of the Majin race, just like the rest of the family.]

――Ahh….thank goodness….

Just knowing that is a huge relief.

[But, your soul has been involved in quite a conspiracy. You might even say that your soul has been ensnared in it. You once said, I have memories from before I was born, even though they have mostly faded I know that I’ve died before, and I remember being killed.]

………

[Regarding the secrets pertaining to your birth――west of the Irudoe Empire is a country ruled by a hot headed royal family: the {Atem Kingdom}. It is a neighboring country of Irudoe. As a matter of fact, {Atem Kingdom} was the country we Majin last fought against. As you may recall, I told you how it was a severe and disheartening battle. It was the war where the Majins had everything taken from them.]

In what way was my birth tied to the Pure race’s royal family I wonder?

[I am sure you are tired of hearing me repeat this, but when the Majin population was larger, Irudoe was a proper empire. We had a proper emperor, and held our own amongst other foreign nations. Irudoe was a nation known throughout the world. During those times the Majins fought with various countries including the Atem Kingdom, but the Atem Kingdom was single-mindedly focused in their desire to cause the destruction of the Majins. Various reasons for this existed but I will set them aside for now.]

The [Atem Kingdom]――was it?

[And so, in ancient times, the ones who wished the most for the fall of the Majins, the Atem Kingdom, initiated a certain {strategy}.]

――Strategy?

[Because the Atem Kingdom fought so often with the Majins, they had become very familiar with our overwhelming power. They also fully understood the differences in individual physical strength as well. That is why, back then, the Atem Kingdom――]

◆◆◆

[Created their own Majin.]

[One loyal to Atem Kingdom, one who would always stay obedient,]

[A Majin who exists to destroy other Majins.]

◆◆◆

[The strategy’s first requirement was acquiring a Majin body. The Atem Kingdom had secured a Majin {body} hundreds of years ago. Because of the huge passage of time the {body} had become a corpse but, using a particular technique, they succeeded in resurrecting it.]

――That’s ridiculous.

How could such a technique be possible?

[It took a long time, and the lives of many technique users were sacrificed, but they were able to make it possible.]

――That’s insane.

[After being revived that Majin body recovered its abilities, and was made viable as a vessel. Next, the Atem Kingdom went about creating a {soul} to drive that vessel.]

When I read those words my heart thumped noisily.

[That soul――]

――……

[――Sare, it is yours.]

――Ah…..

[The Atem Kingdom once again performed a massive and demanding technique and summoned your {soul} from somewhere.]

――This is way too crazy.

[Whether you came here from some other world, I cannot say. Who knows if even those who performed that technique could say for sure. Once they successfully called your soul from somewhere they then took it and――forcefully inserted it into the body of that generation’s Irudoe emperor.]

It was inserted.

How did they do it?

[As a separate project from creating a Majin, the Atem Kingdom would raise warriors of the Pure race for the express purpose of destroying those of the Majin race.]

…………

[These warriors possessed the ability to stand on equal footing before an Irudoe emperor. They had one such warrior face off against that generation’s Irudoe emperor while carrying your soul so that, during the battle, he could use a technique to force your soul into the emperor’s body. The plan’s success mostly relied on luck――and took less than a moment.]

But why?

Why did they do this and not just immediately put my soul into the vessel?

[I have an abstract idea as to why the decided to do this. I believe that when they called your soul it still had a clear sense of self and tenaciously clung to it. Before trying to put your soul into the ancient body they had revived after a lot of effort, they wanted it to adapt to being in a Majin. At the same time, the soul would inherit the {memories of battle} which are ingrained within the flesh of every Irudoe emperor.]

Memories of….battle.

[The vessel’s abilities had to able to exceed the power of normal Majins. How else was it to succeed in destroying the Majin race? Even more important, they had faith in this strategy. They believed that, in the end, they would be able to retrieve a soul that would easily attach itself to the vessel. I think I can guess why they acted so haphazardly with your soul: when they initially summoned it they must have tried to put it in the vessel, but it was rejected and, in their confusion, they made the sudden decision to insert your soul into the Irudoe emperor.]

But,

[In the end, you did not receive the memories of battle held by the {emperor’s lineage}, and it seems to have been a failure.]

My soul was housed in the body of an emperor to try and inherit memories of battle.

But the plan ended in failure.

I know that better than anyone.

The memories I did inherit, I know them well.

――That’s what they deserved.

Those words came to mind.

[But something unexpected happened instead. Because another existence was suddenly forced into the emperor’s mind, it created an gap. This gap stifled the emperor’s movement and created a chance. The Pure race warrior, who specialized in fighting Majins, used this opportunity to defeat the emperor. It was not a part of the plan, but if a chance appears you take it I suppose. As a result, the Irudoe emperor was killed. In the end your soul, which had not had a chance to attached itself to the emperor’s body, rejected the flesh when it died. You were instead attracted, and held onto, the Irudoe emperor’s soul. Your soul, which had only experienced the suffering of death, clung to life and resisted being extinguished.]

It almost seemed as if the soul of that generation’s emperor was sacrificed in my place.

If my soul hadn’t gotten in the way, he probably would have survived.

[Has it, or has it not, inherited the memories? In order to find out, the Atem Kingdom had no other choice than to reawaken you. Upon discovering it was a failure, they decided to try again, and so they reinserted your soul into subsequent emperors and defeated them when your presence in their minds created a chance. Until, finally, they decided that it was time to move forward with their strategy――or rather, your soul had been broken, and so, eighteen years ago, you were finally inserted into the vessel.]

◆◆◆

The day that the Majin who would destroy the Majin race――was completed.

◆◆◆

[But, at the very last possible moment, something happened that even the Atem Kingdom could not anticipate. Shortly after they put you into the vessel, its form was changed into that of a baby, and in that form you escaped from them.]

I possess absolutely no memory of something like that happening.

[This is just my guess, but perhaps it was the work of the Irudoe emperors’ souls that were still clinging to your own. Quickly following the moment in which you were put into the vessel, these souls awoke before you and borrowed the vessel’s body to take action and save you. ――Well, that is just my guess. Rather, I hope that is what happened.]

……….

[That is the extent of the information we have verified. To tell the truth there are more finite details we had wanted to investigate, but recently our spies’ identities were discovered. We have taken up training to penetrate into Atem Kingdom’s royal castle ourselves, but for now this is all the information I have to give you.]

……….

[If there are still things you are curious about, it would be easy to just ask the king of the Atem Kingdom directly, but I would rather you refrained from doing such a thing. The king of Atem is still searching for you. We, your family, would never wish for you to be exposed to such danger. That is why, please resist your own daring personality and the temptation to seek revenge. But, in the end, it is your decision to make. Act in whatever way you feel you must. Lastly, my final words to you――]

◆◆◆

Sare, you are a Majin――who possesses a [body] from the age of Irudoe’s foundation, who has touched the [souls] of multiple generations of Irudoe emperors, and who has been raised by the last emperor of the Irudoe Empire: Albert Sanctos Santana.

◆◆◆

[Even after reading all of this, please do not return to Irudoe. If the Atem Kingdom were to discover you here, they would probably initiate an attack on Irudoe. Although we have no intention of losing, our biggest fear is that you would come back, and the Atem Kingdom would find and kidnap you. You are our light, our reason for living, our dear family member that we must protect. We do not feel this way towards you because you are like an orphan of the lineage of emperors. Even if you had come to us as a Pure race child Sare would still be Sare. ――You are you. It is because you are Sare, that you are our family.]

“What the hell…….something that important……tell me sooner――”

[Lastly, I have something very serious to discuss with you. If Atem Kingdom succeeds in killing all of us, the king of Atem will have fulfilled his pointless desire. After all, his most desired wish is to destroy all Majins. If we die, you will be the last living Majin. I have two predictions as to how the king may wish to use you still.]

My first prediction is that:

[There is no changing the fact that you possess a large power, as do all Majins. Because the Atem king planned on using you to destroy the other Majins you have a significant amount of war potential, so he may wish to utilize you for a different militaristic purpose.]

Either that or:

[You, who would be the last of the Majin, could be seen as a foreign threat to his country and he may try to erase your existence. In any case, there is no chance Atem’s king will leave you be.]

In conclusion:

[As I told you before, what you decide to do is up to you. If you happen to be the last of the Majins, and you wish to continue to think and act in your own interests, that is fine. You do not need to worry about our enemy……. ――Sare, the days I spent with you were enjoyable and filled with happiness. ――Be sure to watch out for yourself. Take care.]

The paper became spotted with tears.

Not tears of blood; just normal, clear tears.

After hearing everything, many of the questions I’d always had were answered.

The reason why I had to face death so many times:

My mind was present in the bodies of successive emperors of Irudoe at the moments of their deaths.

The reason why I had a tail:

My body was from the same generation as the first emperor of the Irudoe Empire.

The reason why Alfred and the others suddenly renewed their training:

Because they wanted to gain the strength to raid Atem’s royal castle.

The reason why Alfred and Lilian were so adamant that I begin my journey:

They anticipated that Atem’s current king was planning an attack.

The reason why everyone wished to protect me:

I――――

◆◆◆

I give this body to you. After all, I went to a lot of trouble to change its appearance so you could grow up normally within it. The fact that your soul has completely acclimated to it is proof that it is already your own. I have no reason to hesitate. Carry in your chest your pride as a Majin, be strong, and live a good life――my son.

We were able to steal your body away from those terrible people in the end. As a result you, our last hope, were able to live a proper life. What comes next is up to you. ――Until we meet again, stay healthy――my child.

So the guy who was stuffed inside me during that final battle with Atem was you, huh? You made it really hard to focus, but it’s not like that was your own will so it can’t be helped. I’ll forgive you this time. But ya know, you better not be thinking about comin’ over here. If you start believing that you ending up here can’t be helped, you might just screw up while thinking that way and actually die. If you do come over here for a stupid reason like that, I’ll be sure to kick your ass. ――Anyways, you stay healthy――kid.

Take pride in being our child, and in being the last child of the Majin. ――Live nobly――our son.

◆◆◆

From deep in my soul echoed numerous voices.

◆◆◆

I sincerely apologize. I was unable to protect our family. (Alfred)

Ah, you are the last Irudoe emperor. You need not be concerned. You did everything you could as an Irudoe emperor. And you managed to protect this, or rather our, child.

We all share the founder’s opinion, Alfred.

I thank you for your kindness, founder, emperors. (Alfred)

We will be leaving first. ――Farewell, our son.

From within my body, there was a definite feeling of something pulling away.

We will still live in Sare’s heart. Even if you may no longer need us, as long as you remember, we will continue to live on within you. But, do not feel bound by us. We all wish for you to live exactly as you wish. Stay in good health――our son, Sare.

“Alfred….!”

At the very end, only one last, warm something remained.

Take care, Sare.

The warmth of the person who would hold me when I cried.

“Lilian…..!!”

Then the remaining something was pulled away.

◆◆◆

The souls seemed to change into tears as they left my body.

I had no ability to lessen or stop those tears.

I cried as if I was a newborn babe, showing an unsightly appearance.

“Live as I wish.”

Those kind words, which sounded a little conceited, were forever sealed tightly within my heart.

―――

――

―

End of Prologue.