Seere, who had seen utility in the arrogant Aleu—who mistakenly swung Hresvelgr’s power as his own—and moved to sacrifice both him and the wind spirit, had not seen the match after that.
He hadn’t seen that clashing ice and fire.
If Seere had been cautious and possessed a personality that prepared for emergencies, he would have noticed.
The sight like rime frost that dominated the arena. Any Greater Demon who had lived for a hundred and eighty years would remember that name upon seeing it.
The name of the King who destroyed the first Greater Demon, Bael.
“He is the arch-nemesis of the Demon King Bael-sama, whom you worship so dearly.”
Bringing the thunder with him, the man annihilated the demons.
The beast-girl lightly caught the strike of the Beast Curse, and the black-horned woman punched the shadow’s massive body into the sky as if it were the natural order of things.
A fairy tale among demons. No one who had seen them directly remained among the demons anymore.
Therefore, there was no way to know of them other than through hearsay.
The only certain thing was—they were a combat group that far exceeded the rumors.
“Are you saying… they are Helheim!? Nonsense, that’s impossible!!”
“Then how do you explain that sight? Turning the corpses of our kin into armaments, leading dragons and ancient wolves… if that is not the Corpse King, then what is it?”
“Two hundred years have passed since Bael-sama’s passing! Why now…!?”
“Who knows. But… perhaps ‘someone’ claiming the name of his subordinates—the name of Helheim—has roused the Lion once more. Wouldn’t you say, Seere?”
The fake Helheim making a name for itself on this continent.
At this point, Kaguya was beginning to realize the connection between the Bael-faction Greater Demons and that name.
“A relic of the past…!!”
As Seere’s rage hit its peak, Kaguya finally lifted her cheeks and looked down at the handsome man with narrowed eyes.
“I’ll return those words from earlier, brat. Come, your prized curse is losing. —Right now, show me the power of a Lord.”
“You…!! Don’t get cocky! The fact that you cannot use your full power in this place hasn’t changed!!”
Having long since lost his cool, Seere roared.
The arrogant way of speaking he had been maintaining vanished as he screamed fiercely, gathering mana in his right hand.
An attack from Kaguya was effectively non-existent.
Her magic as a Lord was not built to accommodate trivial things like the surrounding environment. Once activated, black mana would erupt to destroy everything other than herself.
If she did that, her beloved country and the inspired explorers would all return to nothing.
Taking advantage of Kaguya’s strength, Seere laughed loudly once more.
“Surrounding yourself with lower lifeforms, have you grown that weak, Gremory!?”
Facing Seere, who was flaunting his magic like a weapon, Kaguya remained without showing any resistance.
—There was no need to.
“Have you not noticed… you truly are a man of narrow vision.”
“What now, another bluff—”
“—Found you. Seere-kun~”
The Sleepless Land, which should have been cut off from the outside world.
The moment the Corpse King appeared there, Seere should have chosen to flee.
By now, it was all too late.
Not from the entrance, but jumping from the very top of the high, high night sky in a single bound, Furcas stepped through the window of Kaguya’s private room with his boots on.
“I heard from Shiou-kun… all your comrades around here were decoys, weren’t they? That’s so mean~ Everyone was using Seere’s name, there’s no unity at all. How lamentable, ah, how lamentable, lamentable—you guys are a disgrace to the demon race.”
Snap!!
Seere’s right arm, which had been thrust out while charging mana, flew through the air.
The sound of flesh and bone being severed. Spouting blood stained Furcas’s pure white cheeks.
“Gi—!?”
Inside his flickering vision, Seere grit his teeth in pain.
“Ah, shut up.”
Immediately after, the severed right arm was shoved into Seere’s mouth, which had been opened to scream.
“Hmm~, so weak. I guess if it’s not a Lord-class, it’s not satisfying after all… Gremory, why don’t you try standing on the rebel side too?”
“I’ll pass. As long as you reign as a Knight, that is.”
“Smart, Gremory. And you, you were really stupid, Seere-kun~”
“Mgh… mmph, nuuuuuuu!!”
Furcas’s greave stepped on the stomach of the fallen Seere, who had his arm shoved in his mouth.
Furcas glanced at the Beast Curse through the window and put even more strength into his leg.
“That thing, the cause is a Primordial curse, but… you mixed the wind spirit-chan in there, didn’t you? That girl, see, is Shiou-kun’s cute subordinate… so I’ll give you some advice. Just let me kill you here. If you don’t, man, you really won’t be able to die easily. He’s actually quite spiteful, despite how he looks.”
So said Furcas.
However, Seere’s brain was already being scorched by the certain premonition of death.
Facing this Knight, how could he possibly survive? The moment he fell into this situation, the victory was decided.
“Well then, bye-bye~!”
The sword of judgment, swung down innocently, turned Seere into a silent lump of meat in an instant.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
■
“——”
When I opened my eyes, a ghastly torrent of mana tormented me.
There was no such thing as the ground. A floating sensation, as if I had been tossed into mid-air, assaulted me.
My body was unstable. As if I had entered a turbulence, my body was thrashed around within the torrent of mana, toyed with by the wind.
I felt like throwing up. Breathing was difficult; at this rate, I wouldn’t be able to stay long.
I couldn’t put strength into my body, nor could I manipulate mana.
A sense of helplessness I hadn’t felt since I was first summoned to this different world washed over me.
—That is exactly why I struggle.
I’ve long since moved past feelings of helplessness.
If I give up, it’s immediate death. In an extreme situation where if I die, not only Hresvelgr but also Nifl will die, I continue to swim through the nonsensical turbulence.
(Hresvelgr… Hresvelgr!!)
There was no answer to my call.
Is she unable to answer, or does she simply not want to?
For some reason, I can’t help but feel it’s the latter.
The turbulence currently blocking me feels less like a torrent of mana and more like a storm; I’m buffeted by gale-force winds, and mana pours down like a torrential rain.
This felt like nothing but Hresvelgr’s rejection.
Selfish, stubborn, pure, and honest. Because of that, she’s a wind spirit who can only live as she pleases.
Despite giving her such a grand nature, the role the world gave her was the guardian of the World Tree.
Her world, unable to leave the World Tree, was very narrow, keeping freedom away from Hresvelgr.
When I took her hand—that face was the most innocent smile in the world, one I could never forget for the rest of my life.
And I took that place away from her.
Furthermore, I gave her wounds that won’t disappear and disappointment.
I have to apologize first… and then.
(I’ll tell you… everything… so please…)
Just once. Give me a chance.
I’ll tell you everything, without hiding a thing.
—That’s so stupid.
Suddenly, the turbulence that was tormenting me subsided.
Within the hands of mine that had been pathetically swimming and clawing at the air—a sky-blue light sphere was held.
Inside the space that was entirely reddish-purple, that light sphere emitted a strong glow.
The next moment, after I narrowed my eyes at the dazzling light—a girl, lovely and the very picture of cheekiness, was pouting.
“…Hresvelgr.”
“Hel-kun, you’re going to die if you stay like this. This is my last warning, get out now!”
While pouting in her girl form, Hresvelgr huffed and looked away.
“…I’m sorry, Hresvelgr.”
Cutting away pretenses and calculations, words of repentance naturally spilled out without a thought.
But for Hresvelgr, it seemed everything was too late.
“In this situation, you have no choice but to apologize. After all, if I rage any more, lots of people will die. You’ve always been good at buttering people up, Hel-kun. But too bad! The one moving isn’t Fu-chan’s will, so buttering Fu-chan up is useless! If you understand, get out already. Fu-chan is—going to disappear here.”
A complete rejection with no openings.
Saving me from the turbulence was her final mercy.
Yeah, it probably sounds cheap.
To the ears of someone I’ve always just laughed and fooled with, my words probably don’t have an ounce of weight.
But.
“Listen to me, Hresvelgr.”
Even if this hurts Hresvelgr again.
If I want to be together again, I have to tell her here.
I spoke to Hresvelgr’s back, as she stood with her arms crossed, turned away in a posture of complete rejection.
“Hey, Fu-chan.”
“Gh, I told you, that nickname—”
“I—am an otherworlder.”
■
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