[Don’t mess with me.]
A fleeing adventurer’s leg is severed.
[I trusted you all. So why?]
An intercepting knight is blasted back and smashes into a wall, knocking it out.
[Because I’m the hero? Or because I’m half beast?]
Slicing off the arms of attacking adventurers, nullifying their magic with his sword.
[Don’t mess with me, I said, don’t mess with me!]
The boy swings his sword, expanding a sea of blood.
–Stop…
I seemed to hear a voice pleading.
–Brother, please stop…!
A pathetic scream echoed through the room.
[I will kill you.]
But the boy continued to wield his sword.
The voice didn’t reach him as he cut down the adventurers.
Obviously, it couldn’t be heard. This is the past.
[A monster! Demon, stop this abnormality!]
An ugly voice sounds and the boy stops his hand.
The cowering figure of the employer.
Right next to him – a sinister, pitch-black being bound in a collar and shackles.
[Go ahead and kill him! Just…]
Splat.
The upper half of the employer disappears with that sound.
The huge pitch-black being filling the room – the “demon” – spits out the broken collar and shackles… and the torn top half of the employer onto the ground.
Seeing this, I understood.
The abnormal behavior of the magic beast was caused by that demon.
Seeing the boy, the demon’s face contorted horribly.
The boy silently prepared his sword.
Then, as the demon approaches the boy…
Our view out there goes black.
“The original place…huh?”
I look around. The altar with the small sword from before we entered the illusion world comes into view.
Looks like we escaped…
These were the scenes the demon wanted to show us. The past of a certain red-haired hero.
Why show us this?
The reason soon became clear. Just like who was showing it to us.
Suddenly, black magical power swirled and formed a shape.
Rafine and the others moved away, taking up fighting positions.
But I didn’t move. I knew it was unnecessary.
The large black being formed by the black magical power bares its hideous face, showing large fangs.
Identical to the grotesque form from just before.
It had taken on the appearance of the “demon” that had attacked the boy.
“Letty, stop.”
I stop Letty as she immediately draws her holy sword to attack.
“You girls put that away too.”
I say to Rafine and the others who are also on guard with their weapons ready.
“But…”
“it doesn’t want to fight us. So hurry up and stow them.”
“O-okay…”
Eve doesn’t seem very convinced, but stows her staff, Rafine and the others follow.
As she does so, the black magical power swirling around the demon begins to soften its movements, as if it had been frightened but now calmed down.
A reaction completely unlike anything I’ve heard about demons.
But that makes sense. Because this isn’t a demon.
“You’re… Henry, right?”
“Whoawhoawhoa”
In response to my question, the demon before me makes an unpleasant, warbling sound, neither a roar nor a shriek – the language of demons, not human words.
“Are you saying… this demon is the boy?”
“Yes. Well, only his essence, but yes.”
Rafine looks at me incredulously, disbelieving my words as she looks up at the demon.
“But the footage showed that he died before this demon appeared…”
“Right, so it probably devoured his body afterwards. There are rare cases where the soul possesses the demon’s body instead of being completely absorbed after being eaten.”
“Such a thing can…”
“That being said, normally, souls wouldn’t be able to overpower demons. Maintaining the selfhood so completely is… a first for me as well.”
Even though I’ve killed countless demons during my training days, I’ve only ever seen individuals who were able to maintain their consciousness for hours or days after being consumed.
“Whowanttogether…knight…”
The demon just stares at us, bending his massive body and uttering a mournful sounding voice.
“…Master Jirei.”
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Rafine turns a pleading face to me.
I understand what she is trying to say. But it’s impossible.
“Too much time has passed. The resurrection magic won’t work.”
The soul remains. But it’s been dead for too long.
Resurrection requires that the soul linger no longer than 10 days after death.
This “10 days after death” is not just some arbitrary amount of time, but the amount of time it takes for the soul to completely leave the body. Not something the caster can change.
“With a suitable vessel, it would be different, but…”
I leave it at that. Rafine and the others bow their heads sadly.
They seem to understand that it’s useless. The “vessel” needed would be another living human with a similar magical nature to Henry’s.
Besides, the long years have probably fused the demon and Henry’s soul. Even moving the soul into a vessel and resurrecting it would likely overwhelm the host body. And there are no methods to perfectly separate demon and soul.
Just to maintain selfhood for so long is a miracle. He must have fought the demon from dominating his consciousness for years with extraordinary mental strength.
“And you call yourself weak…as if.”
Henry considered himself weak, but to endure this maddening torment alone, that’s no way to be weak.
Still, Henry had something he desperately wanted to say.
“I understand your will. What do you want me to tell you?”
The demon raised its long arm and pointed behind me.
Looking back, it pointed to the small sword embedded in the altar.
“Tell him.”
The demon slowly shuffles over, pulls out the sword, and holds it in both hands, offering it to me as if it were a gift.
“To… give it to him, you mean?”
I take the offered sword.
A ceremonial blade, it seems.
The edge is rounded, not built for combat, but an ornamental ritual sword.
The small red gem embedded in the hilt has no chips or scratches, perfectly reflecting my face on its mirrored surface.
However, this is not a real sword. It appears to be an ordinary magic sword when judged by its appearance and feel alone, but using Perception, it’s a sword of magical energy.
Magic swords are rare. It would fetch quite a sum if sold. Not that I’m selling it, though.
“I have it. I’ll pass it on.”
“Thank you.”
The demon bows his head deeply in gratitude. Then, without moving, it presents its decapitated neck as if prostrating itself.
Seeing this, I summoned the black sword from the void and placed it on the demon’s neck.
“No…! Thank… you…!”
Just as the sword touches it, the previously calm demon suddenly snarls, writhing as if to fight…but it is quickly suppressed by another will, and its movements calm down.
I understand. No matter how many years, he had reached his limit in maintaining his selfhood.
“…?”
I want to help somehow. But sometimes nothing can be done.
When the soul and the demon are fused, it is impossible to save him. There are no methods to separate them, the only way is to destroy the demon with him. There is no way to save Henry alone.
It’s not like I’m too weak or anything. That’s not the point. Only a fairy tale world with the blessing of the World Tree could cure this. It goes beyond human capabilities.
Or maybe only a “miracle” beyond human knowledge could do it.
“! What is…”
Suddenly, something ominous and black like magical power began to leak from the black sword I was holding. As if it had a will, it moved and spread around the demon.
I tried to stop it, but the power activated regardless of my will. What is this?
The demon shows no signs of pain…which means it’s harmless.
Rather, this is…
“Can you…do that?”
I ask the foreboding black something of the sword.
It sways as if in response, then crawls, condensing onto my right arm.
“I see.”
Just that one answer. No verbal answer came, but…
Somehow I understood. That this power could save him.
No basis for it. But it felt that way.
I strangely understood that this power could work miracles, make the absolutely impossible possible, even without being a god.
“I don’t really understand, but…”
With my jet black right arm extended, I held my hand over the demon’s head.
…Seriously, the meaning eludes me and it feels disgusting. I’d rather not use something like that if possible.
But if it’s to my advantage, I’ll use it. If it can change this annoying situation, I’ll reluctantly use it.
“Eat.”
As I command, Predation extends from the right arm and devours the demon in an instant.
“Thank…you…”
I can barely make out the words whispered as the demon is swallowed.
After leaving the lake and telling the fairies that the problem was solved, we sat by the lake and waited while the reward information was relayed.
As I look up, the sun has already set and darkness has fallen over the area. Without the lantern light nearby, it would be impossible to even see my hands.
“…”
No conversation passed between us as we waited. Since we left the lake over an hour ago, no one has spoken a word except when chatting with the fairies.
Letty is completely silent, Rafine is visibly depressed, and Eve has a blank face but a dark aura about her. Awkward.
They probably want to ask about that creepy something I used, but they don’t say anything… Well, it would bother me, but it would also help if they asked.
“Master Jirei.”
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