Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Demon King of the Sunset
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"I'll come with you."
Well, I had expected as much.
I knew this girl was incredibly stubborn.
Roca stared straight at me, probing my willingness to let her tag along. Just recently, I'd resolved to treat her as an adult and respect her decisions, but this time was different no matter what.
So I tried to persuade her somehow, but the girl flat-out lay down. Not figuratively—she literally sprawled on the ground belly-up. Arms and legs splayed out wide, she glared at me with a sulky expression, as if to say she'd make me step over her if I wanted to leave.
"Roca. The place I'm heading to this time is really dangerous."
"Roca doesn't know anything."
"I appreciate your courage, but Phoenix isn't something you can fend off with that."
"Roca can't hear a thing."
I couldn't help but press a hand to my forehead. Rowena, who had been watching, chuckled softly.
This was truly the first time the girl had thrown a tantrum like this at me, leaving me utterly at a loss.
"The truth is, I don't want to send Master off to such a dangerous place."
Roca cracked her eyes open and looked at me.
"But even if I tell you not to go, you're going anyway, right, Master?"
"Yeah..."
She understood me just as well as I understood her.
That's what living together does, I suppose. The more I came to know this girl named Roca, the more she came to know me. I'd thought she didn't think much at all, but she was deeper than I'd realized.
"So I won't tell you not to go. I'll go with you. Is it that hard to grant me this one request? I'm not letting Master go alone. No, I can't."
What was I supposed to do? Should I tell Roca that I can revive even if I die?
If I used the night when the Milky Way blooms, my departure would come sooner... but even then, I'd have some time to spare.
But I couldn't reveal that secret here with Rowena present, deepening my dilemma.
"If you won't take me, just step over me then."
She was being so obstinate that I was at a complete loss for words. I couldn't actually step over her, and I couldn't get mad or scold her over something like this.
"If you really leave me behind, I'll turn rotten."
This time, she puffed out her cheeks and whipped her head away in a huff. I couldn't quite coax her, only tried to soothe, but she wouldn't budge. I hadn't realized it before, but Roca's determination ran deeper than I'd thought.
In the end, I threw up both hands in defeat. I considered slipping through the gate without her knowledge, but no matter how I thought about it, that wouldn't do.
Put myself in her shoes—if Roca went off to a dangerous place without a word to me, how would I feel? I couldn't bring myself to do it.
She really would turn rotten if I did.
"So take me with you. At least I can protect myself. Don't you trust me?"
Now she was even tearing up as she pleaded, leaving me with no way out.
Only after I reluctantly agreed to take her did she flash a triumphant smile, brush off the dirt, and stand up. Roca was sharper than I'd given her credit for.
The girl beamed happily then, and I laughed despite myself. I truly didn't want to bring her, but with her throwing such a fit, there was nothing I could do.
"Then before you follow me, let's max out your strength at least."
The most I could do was use the Lineage Sapling to raise this girl's abilities to their limit. It wouldn't let her beat Phoenix, but it might make surviving a bit easier.
Paht.
Rowena watched in fascination as the sapling bloomed between my hands, while Roca, having used it once before, reached out without hesitation and grasped it.
Once more, the two of us were in that place without sky or earth. Only possibilities branched out endlessly before us.
So many possibilities crowded our vision it hurt the eyes, but this was my third time, and Roca's second. The girl didn't react with surprise like before.
'You've grown a lot.'
She'd been small for her age, but after devouring mana and growing bit by bit, she was quite tall now. Of course, growth of the heart matters more than the body.
Having been through so much, the girl no longer showed fear or fright—or even wonder—as she gazed at the lineage tree before her. She seemed to ponder which branch to develop.
"There are this many things I can do?"
I was surprised too. Quite a few branches were activated, ready to be chosen at any time.
Roca hadn't done anything particularly noteworthy lately, yet she'd accumulated far more karma than I'd thought.
This was only the third time using this miracle. I didn't know the fine details of how it worked, but I had a rough understanding.
The Lineage Sapling is a miracle that rewards people for everything they do in life. Why does it have that nature? Because that's how I prayed back then.
—Life is a chain of suffering, and misfortune visits everyone—that I know. But this child has lived a bitter, painful life. Might this foolish servant dare ask for a small recompense for that life?
The Lineage Sapling is the Lord's response to that prayer. It takes what naturally accumulates in life, which people can't use, and grants grace that can be used right away.
But people are all different, and so is the karma they accumulate. Even those living the same time do different deeds and can do different things.
'Duke Shumira.'
As I wondered what Roca had done to amass so much karma, my thoughts drifted to Duke Blut Shumira.
Right. The reason we found Roca collapsed in the bath back then was because sunlight flashed brilliantly. We followed that dazzling light to the child.
'No wonder I couldn't see it—she was killed by the sunlight Roca made. That's why she's piled up such massive karma.'
A regional lord and queen of the vampires. Holding an imperial duke's title and allied with the Demon Empress—if Roca turned that woman to ash, it made sense.
The duke was a master-level powerhouse personally, and her social standing matched. Killing her was a huge deal.
In the end, with Duke Shumira and Lady Kamira slain, vampires became a rootless race. All that added up, weighing heavily on Roca's karma.
...I'll just let her remain unaware. No need to tell her she unknowingly turned a mother and daughter to ashes at the same time.
'......'
I'd thought she'd boldly pick her branch like before, but Roca eyed two branches thoughtfully, turning her head this way and that.
One was a massive branch formed by merging many small twigs. Choosing it would grant all-around growth in every field—from expert beginner to advanced, maybe beyond.
The girl seemed drawn to it but couldn't tear her eyes from the other.
In contrast to that cluster of branches, Roca stared piercingly at a single thin, delicate one.
'Can a branch like that even exist?'
Straight as an arrow, neither thickening nor thinning. Less a branch and more a line of sunset hue, unconnected to any others, just extending onward.
Perhaps because its very sheen differed, Roca was drawn to this one too.
'Where...?'
Even amid the lineage tree, it exuded such a strong presence. Curious, I grasped it without thinking. Unchosen branches are mere possibilities, so I was merely probing one.
Did Roca have this potential? I hadn't seen it last time, so I was a bit puzzled.
'Sunset... Slash?'
Where did she learn such a technique? Curiosity was short-lived. My eyes widened on their own.
A mad path abandoning all else to obsess over this one technique. The sapling supports it, but no one who wants to remain human should walk it.
That's the kind of branch it was. It suddenly glowed, showing me a vision.
A familiar face appeared in the illusion. Much more mature than now. But the face held no expression, no vitality—just near-silence, an impassive mask.
—I didn't want to be a god of evil. I wanted to become evil itself.
A sound like countless babies babbling together.
That eerie voice rang out. Naturally, it wasn't Roca speaking.
It didn't even sound human.
A boy. One boy looked at Roca with a troubled expression, then smirked. Countless infant afterimages reflected in his eyes.
It was just a possibility, and I was merely a viewer peeking at it.
I couldn't be sure what the boy was, but one thing was clear: he wasn't normal either.
—But Sis, you're even less sane than me.
Something not for humans to face, yet the troubled one was Roca?
In some future possibility, Roca gazed quietly at the boy. No goodwill, no hostility—just silent eyes. A gaze serene to the point of stillness.
Bigger now, longer hair, taller—nothing showed in Roca's eyes. No emotions, no heart, not even thoughts. Just emptiness reflecting within.
—How does it feel to pursue the end until you become the end itself? You probably can't hear me anymore, but I want to ask. Satisfied?
Roca neither answered nor responded. Arms crossed bare-handed, she merely gave the boy a light nod.
In that instant, the sun shining placidly in the sky dyed sunset hues, and a single line fell like lightning toward the boy. A beautiful sunset line cleaved the sky, bisecting the youth.
Slash.
That execution-like strike resembled the sunset branch I'd grasped. In the moment it fell, the light in the inhuman boy's eyes vanished.
The sunset severed all. It brought the end that all things must have to this very moment.
Twilight sunset that annihilates all. This branch likely represented a possibility of delving solely into that until assimilating with the sunset.
Showing me this was a warning. The Lineage Sapling can grow any aspect, but the outcome isn't always good.
'Pulling what should be learned step-by-step directly with the sapling's power leads to this.'
That Roca was less person and more something devoured by the image of sunset, even her reason and spirit.
Choosing this branch now wouldn't cause it immediately, but raising the chance she'd end up like that was deeply worrying.
Someone left a fragment of will in Roca's inner self. That sunset image should naturally melt into her as she grew, becoming part of her.
But drawing it out raw with the Lineage Sapling, without preparation or foundation, turns Roca into part of the sunset instead, causing this.
The person vanishes, power remains. Power gained for sure, but a path never to choose.
"Roca. Don't pick that one."
Snapping back, I saw Roca peering at the two branches. Unlike that future Roca, our Roca's eyes brimmed with spirit.
"If you have to choose, let's go with this one."
"Got it."
I'd thought either was fine, but she seemed relieved by my decision. Moments later, the massive branch of merged twigs was selected.
Her base power level and mana control rose sharply, her scimitar handling improved, and her understanding of sun, moon, and her own mana rose decently.
Not sure it'd mean much against Phoenix, but it eased my mind a little. These small things—though calling them small feels wrong—pile up and can save a life someday.
"So we're going right now?"
"No. I should at least say goodbye."
Back in reality, as the girl savored her changes, she asked. I smiled and replied.
"She's come this far with us, after all. We should tell the princess."
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