119
Chapter 119
The Pope smiles and snaps his fingers.
At the same time, the illusion of the fake Aria turned into light and vanished.
However, none of that entered her sight.
"Ian!!"
Her beloved had collapsed.
In such a situation, she couldn't possibly notice anything else.
Aria immediately rushed to the fallen Predecessor.
She instantly manifested a barrier forged from mana.
Somehow blocking any external interference with it, she examined her lover's condition.
He wasn't breathing.
The Holy Sword was stained black.
A Curse poured out, so intense that even she struggled to withstand it.
No matter how she looked at it, the situation was completely hopeless.
But she couldn't give up. The man before her was her entire world.
A brilliant light erupted again and again.
Healing Magic was cast in rapid succession. But nowhere in this world existed a spell that could bring back the dead.
Please, wake up.
I'm not ready to say goodbye to you yet.
She wept and shed tears countless times, but the outcome remained unchanged.
A loud boom echoed.
Over and over again.
The construct she had personally forged.
Its durability was certainly exceptional. But standing here were the Emperor of the Empire and the Pope of the Holy See.
No matter how sturdy the Barrier was, it couldn't possibly hold out against them.
The cracks continued to grow wider.
Soon enough, with a sharp cleave, it shattered.
What followed was a one-sided slaughter.
Having exhausted all her Mana on a futile effort, she couldn't possibly withstand their combined assault.
In the end, her heart was pierced by the very same sword that had run through the Hero.
However... she was not granted rest.
Even as she lost all hope and screamed, even as she spat out Curses, her words fell on deaf ears.
To them, other humans were nothing more than pieces on a game board.
No one considers the feelings of game pieces while playing. Ultimately, there was only one thing that truly mattered to them.
Whether she had any use or not.
And she was a sufficiently useful piece.
The boundary between life and death.
The Pope's twisted Divine Power forcibly fixes the state of the woman standing at that threshold.
Stripping away her free will. Ransacking her memories. Destroying and erasing worthless things like her personality.
What was once a person was being reduced to a doll.
However... cruelly enough.
The misfortune did not end there.
From far away, small footsteps could be heard.
Someone was walking towards this place. And who would come here was all too obvious.
The door opens.
The girl who was afraid of sleeping alone, having woken to find her mother and father suddenly gone, opened the door she should never have opened.
"......Huh?"
The girl, who had been rubbing her sleepy eyes, froze instantly.
Her face turned pale. Her breathing quickened. Tears began to flow.
In the heart of the father who had been more dependable than anyone, a sword was embedded.
The body of the mother who used to gently stroke her whenever she couldn't fall asleep was severed and torn apart all over.
To such a Yulli, the golden-haired old man approached.
Yulli was so bewildered by everything happening, and so utterly terrified, that she tried to run away.
But she couldn't escape.
Her body wouldn't move. Her trembling legs refused to listen to her.
"I've told you before. You mustn't kill her. If this child dies and the next generation's Saintess is born, wouldn't that be troublesome for both of us?"
The monster who had been tearing apart the mother spoke thus.
"Therefore, we must break her wings and keep her safely protected."
The white-haired man continued speaking.
To erase her memories and bring her into the Imperial Family.
To keep her from realizing her own power and place her under thorough surveillance until 'that day' comes.
"...I know. You'd better keep your end of the bargain too."
But the girl couldn't understand such words. She was simply terrified by the scene unfolding before her eyes.
Towards the crying girl, the white-haired man approaches. Slowly, step by step.
A girl shedding tears before her parents' corpses.
The white-haired man, wearing an eerily hollow smile as always, pours his twisted Divine Power into the girl.
With that scene as the last thing 'I' see, my vision also gradually grows darker.
Soon, the world was completely dyed in darkness.
*****
My wandering consciousness returns to where it belongs.
The familiar scenery before my eyes. I finally managed to return to reality.
...My head is spinning.
It wasn't that there was an issue with the Spell Formula or anything. It was just that what I had seen was so absolutely messed up.
I feel like a swarm of vengeful spirits might come rushing in.
A protagonist who falls into despair and breaks down several times, yet always stands back up until the very end. And the heroine who supports such a protagonist.
An adorable daughter who manages to bring a smile to this relentlessly bleak story.
Not to mention companions who are nothing but reliable.
Everything I knew was crumbling in an instant.
It felt like playing a sequel where some min-maxed PC character smashes the previous game's protagonist's head in with a golf club.
Having dedicated my life to Bone and Blood, the shock was bound to be even greater. But....
"...Are you okay?"
I somehow gather my wits at the sound of Ciel's voice beside me. For now, I needed to calm my mind and sort out the situation.
The regret the Hero had expressed at the very end.
I decided to set aside the uncertain speculation that his individualistic mindset strangely resembled the advice the Status Window occasionally gave me.
If I were to list only the facts I had learned for certain....
1. The Pope was plotting something bizarre. I didn't know when 'that day' was, but if it arrived, the world surely wouldn't remain intact.
2. But the Emperor was just as suspicious. In fact, it seemed he had outright joined hands with the Demon King.
The Emperor had become one with Dominance, who likely devoured even Slaughter.
Considering he was probably gathering power in some way even now... I couldn't even imagine how strong he had become.
3. Yulli had been captured and stripped of her memories.
She was likely in the Imperial Family, having even forgotten her own identity. To save her, I would have to walk right into the Emperor of the Empire's front yard.
So, to sum it all up....
"I don't think I am."
It was a situation where I couldn't even bring myself to say I was fine as an empty comfort.
As I rubbed my throbbing forehead and muttered that, Ciel stared at me intently.
Her gaze was filled with evident concern.
In the end, with a single sigh, I had no choice but to brush off my worries as best as I could.
Well... thinking about it, the harvest itself wasn't bad.
The Sword Master and the Archmage.
The Hero's comrades who were being controlled.
I was able to significantly deplete the Empire's military strength.
I also obtained information about the Holy Sword's fragment and the events from ten years ago, so all my goals for heading to the Demonic Realm were essentially achieved.
I patted Ciel's head, who was still examining my condition with worried eyes, and stood up from my spot.
Well, worrying about it wouldn't change the fact that it had already happened, anyway.
What I had to do hadn't changed.
I just had to keep pushing forward and giving it my all, like I always did.
I brushed the dust off my robe and resumed walking. It wasn't long before I saw the woman again.
Her gaze met mine.
She must have been reduced to a mere doll without a will of her own by the Pope's hands.
Yet, it seemed her heart, at least, couldn't be erased.
The eyes looking back at me were tangled with a myriad of complex emotions.
Her lips parted slightly.
I couldn't hear a sound. Even so, I knew exactly what she was trying to say.
Please.
I felt the sheer weight behind those words. I also felt the guilt she harbored for having no choice but to ask this of me.
Her daughter.
The future of the world.
Avenging the lover she cherished more than anyone.
She wouldn't be able to accomplish any of it. Even though she desired it more desperately than anyone, she couldn't achieve it. So she had no choice but to entrust it to someone else.
Even though she knew better than anyone the man who had suffered more than anyone while bearing that heavy responsibility.
She still had no choice but to ask me.
That was probably why she looked so guilty.
"Don't worry. I'll manage somehow."
That was what I told her.
It would be a lie to say it wasn't a heavy burden. But it was a weight I had sworn to carry.
I had resolved to protect everything without losing a single thing. To reach that kind of ending.
Hearing my words, she looked relieved, yet also a little sad, as if remembering someone, before quietly closing her eyes.
And just like that, the woman who had been exploited even in death finally found her peace.
...Though that was supposed to be her ending.
I forced her eyelids open.
Her face filled with bewilderment. At the same time, I felt a bit awkward. It felt like I was ruining a touching moment.
Well, I actually was ruining a touching moment.
But I had no other choice.
Deceiving the Hero, sealing a god, breaking the Saintess's wings to keep her under surveillance—the enemies were pulling every dirty trick in the book.
To face enemies like these, wouldn't I need to use some cheat codes of my own?
"I know you want to see your husband soon, but if you don't mind, could you postpone that schedule just a little longer?"
I said with a smile.
"I'll find a way to save you, no matter what."
...It was time to recruit some talent for the first time in a while.