Special room.
An odd space where even extraordinary people go mad if they stay too long.
It was a place that constantly changed its color and shape.
A blue sky turned crimson red within seconds.
A sweet floral scent would drift by, only to be swept away by a freezing blizzard.
The ground shifted repeatedly, mud, then sand, then mud again.
At the center of that bizarre space stood an ordinary-looking bed.
Velosian lay there, peacefully asleep.
Ssh.
Then, a shadow fell across his face.
“Hey. Get up.”
“……”
“I said, get up. Things are serious.”
“……”
“Ha. Seriously.”
Shrrk.
Soone drew a dagger.
Thud.
And without a mont’s hesitation, plunged it straight into Velosian’s heart as he slept.
Naturally, it should have killed him instantly, but Velosian simply opened his eyes.
He blinked a few tis, then looked up at the one who had stabbed him.
“Mr. Aktion?”
Aktion.
Like Adin and Serad, he had once been a mber of Impelium’s party.
A na that, even when rely ntioned at the banquet, had made Impelium’s face harden.
Aktion said,
“You awake?”
“Yes. For now, could you please pull that out?”
“Tch.”
Aktion yanked out the dagger.
Velosian patted his chest a couple of tis.
The wound sealed itself in an instant, and his heart began to beat again.
He stretched lazily as he got up.
“What brings you here? Why are you in this place?”
“Sothing happened.”
“And what exactly happened?”
“Kaeld got taken down by Mide.”
Freeze.
Velosian’s body stiffened.
Aktion slowly dragged a chair over and sat down.
“That bastard Kaeld was born to screw things up. Should have kept him locked up in here.”
“This is a space that drives even humans insane within hours. Kaeld is nothing but a worm, he wouldn’t have lasted that long.”
“Who cares if he goes mad?”
“If he goes mad, we can’t control him.”
Velosian cracked his neck.
“With his fa still high, we were supposed to stage Idria’s death. Then the lies she harvested would make her stronger, and after that…”
“You would devour her.”
“Yes. So Kaeld’s role is crucial. If he loses his mind, that’s a problem.”
“He has already made plenty of problems.”
“You said Mide took him down? I will just resurrect him.”
Aktion shook his head.
“It’s not that simple. He can’t kill him. I’m guessing he got advice from Impelium again.”
“You an that law of the world, how a hero can’t kill a person?”
“Technically, it’s the law you rewrote.”
“……”
“And that’s why it’s such a problem. Mide tore open space itself and sealed Kaeld beyond it.”
Velosian tilted his head.
“With the power I shared, he should be able to overco that much.”
“Adwin erased his soul before he was sealed.”
“Ah. Then yes, that would do it. Truly troubleso.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. There is more.”
Creak.
He leaned back in the chair.
“That play you ntioned earlier, Mide might do it first.”
“What do you an?”
“Mide and Idria joined forces. She is going to raise his fa. Just like she did with Kaeld.”
“……!”
“Once his fa peaks, they will storm in here and co for your neck.”
Velosian’s face hardened.
Aktion found his expression oddly interesting, it might have been the first ti since Impelium that he had seen Velosian truly tense.
“So even the great Demon King of Lies finds himself cornered, huh?”
“……It seems so. I didn’t expect Idria to betray .”
“I saw it coming. When you tried to use Pirensha, I was already appalled. Didn’t I tell you to reconsider?”
“……”
“Anyway, what will you do now? You’re bound to this Special Room. You can’t stop Mide’s plan yourself.”
Velosian rubbed his forehead.
Aktion rose to his feet, as if giving him ti to think.
A small table appeared beside them, and he casually poured himself a cup of tea.
While he sipped, Velosian finally said,
“…Ha. I will have to summon both Kaeld and Idria here.”
“Hm?”
“I can’t let them make contact with Mide.”
“And if Mide barges into this room?”
“I doubt he is that foolish… but if he does, all the better. I will beco the victor of this ga.”
Aktion tilted his head.
“You’re supposed to be sleeping, though. You wouldn’t wake unless your body was near death like just now.”
“……That’s true. In that case, I will leave it to you.”
Aktion took another sip.
“Why ?”
“As you said, I still need a long rest. Just talking to you like this already exhausts .”
“That’s not exactly a reason to help you.”
“Then you can just sit back and watch my plan collapse. Is that what you want?”
Of course not.
But still.
“What a pain… fine, I will try. Kaeld will obey easily enough, but Idria, how am I supposed to sweet-talk her?”
“Think of sothing. I’m sure you will co up with a fine plan.”
Velosian added, with a sly tone,
“After all, wasn’t it you who ca up with the plan to kill Impelium?”
Aktion snorted.
“I only said it first. With your vile mind, you would have thought of it soon enough.”
“I doubt it. My head is not that sharp. Using the laws of the world to kill a hero… that kind of idea would have never crossed my mind.”
“Enough. You’re flattering .”
“Oh, that’s not all.”
Velosian’s expression softened slightly.
“You’re also the one who suggested I beco a demon god, aren’t you?”
“……”
“You told to rewrite the laws, to invert the positive and negative emotions of humans. To create countless Demon Kings, and sit at the very top myself.”
“……”
“How brilliant an idea. Even I, the Demon King of Lies, couldn’t help but admire it.”
Aktion tilted his head.
“You’re unusually complintary today.”
“Just my way of saying I’m counting on you.”
“You always pressure people like that. Bad habit.”
“Well, it’s in my nature.”
“I’m leaving. Get so rest.”
Aktion started walking away, then stopped as sothing ca to mind.
“Oh, right. That thing you just ntioned, Idria knows.”
“What?”
“Your true goal. That you plan to devour her and beco a demon god. Her betrayal wasn’t just about Pirensha, it was realizing what you were really after.”
Velosian’s eyes sharpened.
“How could she know that? Only Impelium, Adin, you, and I were aware of it. In this era, at least.”
“Batore devoured Adin’s body and absorbed his mories.”
“……Damn it.”
“Killing Adin and passing his fa to Kaeld was fine, but your cleanup was sloppy. Idria got Adin’s mories through Batore, and his soul through Pirensha.”
Devouring Adin’s soul didn’t matter much. That trash’s soul could only make her so strong.
But the fact that she now knew the mories of that Forgotten Era…. that was troubleso.
“She will co for my life, then.”
“Using Mide, no less.”
“Phew. In the end, we have co full circle. You will have to summon Kaeld and Idria here.”
“Okay.”
He turned to leave again.
His steps were so leisurely that Velosian felt irritated for no reason.
So he called out toward the receding back.
“Not even an apology?”
“Why should I apologize?”
“You said Idria gained mories of the Forgotten Era through Batore. You should have kept that from happening.”
“Huh?”
Velosian continued.
“You’re Batore, aren’t you?”
Aktion turned around.
Velosian went on.
“Batore devoured you. Ordinarily, you would have been absorbed into Batore’s personality, becoming nutrients for revealing mories and information…”
Velosian narrowed his eyes.
“But you were the complete opposite. You devoured Batore’s personality instead.”
“I got eaten on purpose. Wasn’t that your idea in the first place?”
“……”
“Idria was the final key to your plan, right? You said you needed soone to stay by her side, to watch her and report back on her movents.”
That’s why he let himself be consud by Batore.
To track Idria’s every move and report to Velosian, ensuring the plan stayed on course.
Later, when it was judged that ‘Idria alone couldn’t handle Mide,’ Velosian himself stepped in to make contact with her.
Velosian said,
“Anyway, you devoured Batore’s personality long ago, didn’t you? In that case, you shouldn’t have let the truth slip to Idria.”
“The timing was bad.”
“What?”
“Right before that, Idria absorbed Adin’s soul and got absurdly strong. When she grew stronger, Batore, who was born from her, was empowered as well.”
“……”
“For a brief mont, Batore took control of this body again. By the ti I regained command, it was already too late.”
Aktion scratched his head roughly.
“So yeah, the truth leaking out was just an unfortunate accident… but why am I even explaining myself right now?”
“……”
“Don’t tell you’re blaming for not stopping it?”
The atmosphere grew a little tense.
Velosian quickly stepped back.
“No. Of course not.”
He spoke with genuine sincerity.
“I haven’t forgotten what you have done for . You willingly threw yourself onto Impelium’s blade to make him break his vow of no-killing.”
Yes.
Aktion had deliberately offered his life to Impelium, so that Impelium would be bound by the revised laws of the world.
So that Velosian could ultimately win.
Aktion smiled faintly.
“But in the grand sche of things, we lost. Even when he had lost his power, that bastard still managed to trap you and inside this special room.”
“Only Adin had it easy. Well, he ended up trapped at the starting point too, though.”
“At least his wish ca true. What was it again? To be loved by everyone?”
“I don’t quite rember.”
Aktion shrugged.
“Anyway, stop sulking. We have known each other for ten thousand years.”
“Yes. My apologies.”
“I’m going.”
“Take care.”
Velosian bowed deeply to Aktion.
There wasn’t even a trace of the contempt he had shown toward Adin. If anything, there was a glimr of respect.
This entire grand design was Aktion’s creation. Velosian was rely a participant.
Bowing his head was only proper.
Swish.
Velosian lay back down again.
‘Now I can rest easy.’
Aktion was the sort who preferred not to get directly involved.
Even ten thousand years ago, he was the kind of man who would toss a plan their way and tell them to handle the rest themselves.
But once he did step in, there was never anything to worry about.
Velosian drifted back into a deep sleep.
I first stopped by the nearest territory and procured a sword.
From the mont I entered, the weapon-shop owner never once straightened his 90-degree bow.
“T-to think the Hero and his companions would visit my humble shop. It’s the honor of my entire family line.”
Please don’t.
Even asking him to lift his head felt like too much, so I changed the subject.
“I heard this was the finest weapon shop in the territory.”
“We have run this forge and armory for three generations. Do you have a particular weapon in mind?”
“Where can I see your swords?”
“This way.”
He stepped backward like a courtier retreating from an emperor, then guided us inside.
Soon we were facing a wall filled with all kinds of swords.
Offense ran a hand along one of them and said,
“I may not be as well-versed in blades as you, but this one seems the best.”
“I think so too. I’m not that discerning when it cos to swords anyway.”
“You are as modest as ever.”
“I’m serious. No matter how fine the blade, it never lasts more than a month.”
Even back when I was just doing rcenary work, most decent swords couldn’t withstand my strength.
It got to the point where picking out a sword felt like a waste of ti, so I just carried several ordinary ones as spares.
“So now you get how much it hurt when that fake Hero’s sword broke?”
“Hm.”
“That was the first sword that endured every wild technique I threw at it. I almost feel grateful to Idria for that one.”
“Then shouldn’t you be thanking ? I’m the one who took that sword from Kaeld.”
Serein cut in with a smirk. “Speaking of which, why did you leave that note? Saying you were off to find a better leader and all?”
“I was just feeling mischievous.”
“Kaeld totally lost it. I nearly got caught in the fallout.”
Offense shrugged.
The mory made chuckle as well.
While I was reminiscing, the shopkeeper, who had been fidgeting the whole ti, finally asked,
“So you will take that one, sir Hero?”
“No.”
“……?”
“From here…..”
I pointed to one end of the wall, then slid my finger to the opposite side.
“….to there.”
The shopkeeper’s eyes widened.
“You an… all of them?”
“Yes.”
“C-cough, well… my lord Hero. Of course, it’s not my place to trouble one so noble, who saves our world and humankind, with such trivial matters, but…”
“Yes?”
“Our business hasn’t been doing too well lately. I beg your understanding.”
What’s that supposed to an?
While I blinked, Neril spoke up.
“Wait, does he think we’re going to steal them?”
“N-no, I didn’t an that…”
“Good grief. Kaeld maybe, but Mide would never do that.”
That’s when I realized the man had completely misunderstood.
“Of course not. I will pay for all of them properly. How much in total?”
His jaw dropped so far I thought it might hit the floor.
And so, after paying the fair price, we left the shop.
We loaded the swords into the carriage until it was full, then mounted Agril with the entire wagon in tow.
Xenia spoke.
“The shopkeeper’s attitude just now was nothing like how people usually treat Heroes.”
“Huh?”
“Even though the deeds of past Heroes and their kindness toward the Empire are all docunted, he still acted that way. It seems your status now, Sir Mide, is sothing beyond even a Hero.”
True, even the Emperor and Captain of Alkahad treated differently.
Just thinking about it gave a headache, so I let it go.
Adwin spoke up.
“Hey, but do we really need all these weapons?”
“The fake Hero’s sword broke, rember?”
Adwin tilted his head.
“Sure, but the real Hero’s sword still exists.”
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