The Heavenly Demon Shatters the Veil
"So, how was meeting your mother? Did you cry and hug each other in joy?" Squar poked my cheek repeatedly, teasing me as if I were a ten-year-old boy. Well, given that Squar was a descendant of a dream demon and over two hundred years old, I supposed both a ten-year-old and a twenty-nine-year-old looked like children to her. Still, being treated like a kid was unpleasant when you were an adult the size of a club.
"My mother and I are quite similar."
"In what way? Which part? Don't tell me it's your appearance?"
"No, I don't know about appearances, but in terms of personality... I thought, 'Ah, this person really is my mother.'"
Outwardly, she had been a silver-haired, purple-eyed little girl... but her gaze and demeanor were exactly the kind of things my mother would have. At the same time, her eyes looked somewhat sad and lonely.
"Well, she's someone who lives with a butler and a mansion even without me. We agreed not to interfere much with each other's lives, just like we've been doing until now."
"...Aren't you sad?"
"She was a mother I thought didn't exist in the first place. There's no point in feeling sad about it now, is there?"
At that, Squar pulled me into a hug. "There, there. This big sister will take care of you."
"I don't need that, so get off. It's hot."
"Ehh, you've gotten way colder compared to before...."
Before she could finish, the Heavenly Demon's hand separated us at the speed of light. More precisely, the strange way he was holding me had simply changed.
"That's enough, you vengeful spirit. The child said he dislikes it, so clinging to him is a vulgar act. Think about it by changing your age. A hundreds-of-years-old grandfather clinging to a child he's known since the age of ten. Is there anything more disgusting in this world?"
"Ha, says the one who's even more decrepit than me! Besides, your appearance is that of an old man! My appearance is still in my twenties! Be honest, your face was so ugly when you were young that you didn't do the Return to Youth technique, right? Because your old face looks better!"
Squar struck a beautiful fist-potato pose toward the Heavenly Demon. But our dear elder was no ordinary person either. The Heavenly Demon clenched both fists and demonstrated a beautiful gesture by pushing his thumbs between his index and middle fingers.
"This Lord merely refused to reach the realm of Return to Youth because he dislikes going against the natural order! It is fundamentally different from a seductive creature like you who devours men to maintain youth!"
"Hey!!! I said I only absorb yang energy through dreams!!! I've never devoured a man! Besides, I can get nutrients from regular meals too!!!"
"Hmph, this Lord cannot hear the words of a seductive creature that devours men!"
"You senile fool who couldn't do Return to Youth because your face was ugly when young, and now your ears are deaf too!"
My head was starting to hurt. Was this really a conversation between people hundreds of years old? Though it also meant they were comfortable enough with each other to act this way. In the game, these two had been rivals as well. Not a truly hostile relationship like Ricardo and Melchior, but more like rivals who bickered over everything.
"Haa... Please stop fighting. We're about to enter enemy territory, and if we keep bickering like this, we'll be wiped out before we even get there."
If they self-destructed through internal conflict before fighting, there could be no greater comedy. That was the kind of thing the Italian army during World War II would do, not something the nine people called heroes should be doing.
"By the way, are you really okay...? Even with that kind of relationship with your mother..."
"I told you it doesn't matter. She even gave me gifts."
I kept the gloves, gave the red-bladed sword to Camellia, the cold-emitting sword to Glacia, the ring to Lorsha, and the earrings to Airi. Camellia had looked surprised, saying her old sword was worn out and asking where I'd gotten such a famous blade. Then she gave me a light kiss on the cheek, just like she used to do when I was young as a gesture of gratitude.
Glacia blushed and said she wanted to thank me, calling me to her room. I preferred to leave what happened in that room to the imagination. Lorsha tried to hide her loosening lips and said, "Th... thanks. Still, it's not even a millionth of what you've done to me. If it were the old me, I might have given in right away, but not now." Then she left. But in the morning, she sent me a lunchbox she'd made herself as repayment.
Airi also started shouting her thanks repeatedly. Then, just like Camellia, she kissed my cheek. Well, a kiss on the cheek was also used as a greeting... Zeke probably wouldn't kill me even if he found out. Though the kiss lasted a bit long and was a little close to the lips, so at the end it seemed to touch the lips... but that was probably just my imagination.
"Well, those gifts were used usefully, so they've fulfilled their role. I have no lingering attachments."
"Yes, such things as affection have no meaning."
The Heavenly Demon suddenly patted my head. "My master, the Black Wing Sword Saint, also said this. Affection is a very deadly snake venom, so no matter how strong one is, if bound by affection, they will lose their life in an instant. Therefore, he told me to stay away from affection above all else."
That was quite a brutal teaching. That Black Wing Sword Saint fellow must not be an ordinary person either, in both skill and personality. Surprisingly, even Squar chimed in.
"My master, the Righteous Thief Dark Wing, said something similar. He said that what always bites the strong on the nape of the neck are the people around them, like family, friends, and lovers."
Because their masters had similar tendencies, did both of them grow up to be such reckless adults? When I teach Airi, I must never belittle affection. Since these master-types looked down on the affection that Choco Pie protects, their disciples ended up like this.
"By the way, how much farther do we have to go? It feels like we've been walking for a while since getting off the carriage."
"Huh? We've already arrived, though?"
"No, what kind of nonsense is that?"
What I saw before my eyes was nothing but a vast, empty wasteland. A barren land where not a single blade of grass grew. The land value was probably dirt cheap too. But we weren't here to look at land, and for this place to be one of the Black Round Table bastards' bases... Was this some outdated April Fool's joke?
"Hmph... Well, it would look that way at first glance."
"The youngest still has a long way to go."
I couldn't understand what they were talking about. I'd taken time out of my busy schedule to come here, only to be looking at wasteland with these land speculators.
"Even though it looks like a wasteland on the surface... this is merely the outer layer of a false space created by spells, magic, and various artifacts."
Even waving my hand, I couldn't feel that it was a false space. However, when I concentrated my senses on detecting magical power, I could tell that the flow of magical power was slightly unstable. Of course, it was so natural that you wouldn't notice unless you concentrated very deeply.
"...The flow of magical power is definitely unstable."
"As expected, you noticed because you're a mage. We detected it in a different way."
They detected it through means other than magical power? Aside from the slightly unstable flow of magical power, there were no unnatural elements.
"Then how did you and the elder know?"
"It's a thief's intuition. My gut tells me there's a lot to steal in there."
"I merely felt the killing intent surging within that space and heard the wails of the countless vengeful spirits overflowing."
So that was how... They each used their own expertise to detect it. But even after detecting it, nothing changed. It was still a false space, and there was no way to enter.
"But is there a way to get inside? Infiltrating the spell that reversed the space itself won't be easy, right?"
Unless you were a thief like Squar, it would be impossible for the Heavenly Demon or me. Forcibly breaking into such a spell would tear our bodies apart and turn us into minced meat. Then the Heavenly Demon chuckled and patted my back.
"Indeed, infiltrating that impregnable spell won't be easy. Unless you're a first-rate thief."
"Oh, then let's have Squar go in alone and we'll eat lunchboxes outside."
"Heh heh... That's not a bad idea either, but... This Lord would like to do a bit of exercise before eating lunch."
The Heavenly Demon loosened his shoulders with a cracking sound and stepped forward. Even so, if he went like that, he'd just enter the false outer space...
"Black Wing Breaking Palm, Third Form━━━━"
The Heavenly Demon swung his palm filled with an enormous amount of magical power, and the empty air began to crack like glass with fissures. "Heaven's Collapse"
The barren wasteland without a single blade of grass disappeared without a trace, and only a massive temple remained visible.
"That is one of their bases. Shall we go in?"
"Couldn't the elder just blow up the entire building like you just did?"
"Unfortunately, what is exposed above ground is merely the tip of the iceberg. To destroy the part buried deep underground, a bit more effort will be required."
That was only a portion...? "Besides... I sense an extraordinary aura. There are quite a few monsters that won't die from merely blowing up a building."