I've Come to Kill You

Frey threw up a wall of light and tried to hold the line, but weathering a bombardment that detonated from every direction at once was far beyond her. That was not a thing a human being could stop. In the end the barrier shattered, and Leon's party was laid bare to the blasts and swallowed in fire. If Lola hadn't reined in the force of it halfway through, there truly would not have been a bloodstain left of them.

The four of them were now bound fast with rope, thoroughly restrained.

"I'd rather not exercise a noble's authority if I can help it."

Lola stood before them and looked down with a gaze gone ice-cold. It had been a long time since anyone had seen her eyes like this — the eyes of a noble.

"Outside the academy, you crossed a line you had no business crossing. The moment we return to the Empire, I will file a formal accusation. I will mobilize every resource my house possesses to investigate every last thing you've done. Do you understand what that means?"

Her voice was cold-blooded, steeped in the authority of her rank.

"We forgive a great many things. We have never once forgiven an attack on our own blood. My father, Count Lemercier, is not a man who lets this sort of thing pass. At the very least, a permanent reduction to slave status. At worst…"

Her gaze cut into Leon like a blade.

"A death sentence. Let's see how far that oh-so-special status of being chosen by the Goddess actually protects you in the Empire. House Lemercier is always ready for war."

Even X swallowed, a knot of tension tightening in his throat.

What the hell kind of house is Lemercier?

He had spent his days with Lola as nothing more than a close friend. She had whined often enough about being treated like a noble, but she had never once actually invoked that authority. And yet — the last time she had spoken with the Count, and the way she was speaking now — it was the same steel.

Even among high nobles, almost none would come down this hard on the Hero, the chosen proof of the Goddess's existence.

Come to think of it, it's like that at the academy too…

Class F had one other student of high rank besides Lola, a count's child, and even as a washout in Class F everyone followed that person blindly. Nobles, as a rule, would flatter and trail after anyone at all if it served their social standing. And yet not a single student had ever approached Lola. As if they were afraid of her.

"Circe. Do you know what House Lemercier actually is?"

"…You don't? You've been traveling with her and you don't know? Are you out of your mind?"

Circe shot him a look as if he had grown a second head.

"House Lemercier is the Empire's foremost magical house of a Margrave! They're the house that carries the epithet Demon Realm Annihilator…!"

A word he could not afford to let slide caught and turned over in his mind.

A Margrave. That's not just a count!

A Margrave governed the frontier against a hostile nation — a commander-count with overwhelming military authority and independent power, the kind of figure commonly called a marquis. And in this world, there was only one hostile nation: the Demon Realm.

Why would someone like her even be in the original story… Right. Because of Master.

Lola had been the student who talked back to Roxwell on day one and got herself marked. Originally she would have withdrawn, citing unfair treatment — or they would have found some pretext and expelled her. But X had drawn every eye in the room. Lola's expulsion had simply never happened.

And now a house with authority comparable to a nation's, its own blood kin, was exercising her rights with a justification no one could dispute.

"If it were up to me, I'd settle this with a summary execution, but…"

"A-a summary execution…!"

Leon and the other three were only now, at last, feeling in their bones that Lola was a noble. The reason Leon had gotten away with every disaster he'd caused until now was that someone had always cleaned up after him. That someone was not here.

The first to recover her wits was Frey.

"Please, forgive us! Our lives are far too heavy to be treated so lightly! I beg you to reconsider…"

"You're saying that killing you would mean war with the Deus Theocracy? I'm afraid…"

Lola's eyes flared blue, and explosive spells bloomed in the air around her like a swarm of stars.

Frey saw the resolve seated in Lola's eyes and closed her own. They had made a choice that would not be easy to take back.

"Of course…"

Then Lola let out a thin sigh and dismissed the magic.

"I have to leave you your share. I'll stop here."

She glanced back over her shoulder at X and Circe.

"Commoner. I'll respect your choice. And you…"

"Circe Odyssey."

"Right. Circe. I'll respect your choice as well."

She walked over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lightly and came to stand beside X.

"What are you going to do?"

She handed him the decision. If X said to kill them here, she might well do it. This was the final destination of the Ancient Ruins — a place no one else could reach. If Lola's explosive magic erased them down to the last cell, no one would ever know.

"…Killing them would be a bit much. I did make a promise, too."

He had absolutely no intention of doing any such thing in front of Circe.

"But they don't get to walk away without paying a price."

And he had even less intention of simply letting it go.

Leon seemed to take that as a cue. He dragged himself forward on his knees and pleaded.

"If someone has to die, kill me! My comrades were only following my lead. So…!"

"Don't you dare play the good guy now…!"

Crack!!

"Ghak—!!"

X drove his heel into Leon's face with everything he had. The boots were iron-shod; the impact was anything but ordinary.

"Leon!!"

"You despicable bastard!"

The other three bared their teeth and glared at him, each one seething. X paid those looks no mind at all.

"Despicable is a pack of you half-killing a girl. You didn't even heal her. You just stood there making excuses…!"

"Khuk…!"

He kicked Leon in the solar plexus as the boy lay choking on the ground.

"What I still can't forgive is that you didn't give her a single meal or a single drop of water. That's not treating someone like a human being…!"

"Guh — ugh…"

The kick to the stomach sent half-digested food spilling from Leon's mouth. They had eaten on time, themselves.

"And last of all… ugh. You ugly son of a bitch…!"

Crunch—!

"GYAAAAAAGH—!!"

On impulse, X kicked him square in the groin. There was a sound like something giving way. He pointedly ignored it.

This was the root of every disaster to come — the one who would, in time, cause accidents that could not be undone. Truth be told, he had wanted to leave Leon in the same shape they had left Lola. But with Circe and the other reincarnators looking on, he held himself back. Even a wretch like this had a role to play in stopping the world's destruction. All X could hope was that the boy would take this as a lesson.

"What would you like to do, Circe?"

"You worked Leon over, so I'll take care of the others."

What followed was a long, searing stretch of Circe's interrogation lightning. X had felt that pain himself; his body flinched on reflex.

CRACKLE-CRACKLE-ZZZT—! FZZZZT—

Having branded the lesson directly into the remaining three, Circe dusted off her hands and turned away.

"Sorry, but from here on out, I won't be traveling with them."

She meant the distortion of prophecy. With Circe gone from the party, a great many things would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠change. He had already steeled himself for that.

"I'll have a lot to think about once we're back at the academy."

"Why are you acting like you're going to stew over it by yourself? I told you I'd help. I may not know everything, but I'm pretty sure I'm better at this than you."

And with that, the matter was settled for the time being. They dumped Leon's unconscious party in a corner, and X, Lola, and Circe made for the place where the ruins' rewards were kept.

Perhaps because Circe had joined them, Lola was unusually quiet.

"My lady, are you all right? Aftereffects from your injuries, maybe…?"

"Hm? Ah — no! I'm fine. Perfectly fine. It's just…"

Lola stole a cautious glance at Circe. The memory had surfaced — of Circe hurling magic at her with real venom in it. Circe herself had no recollection of that moment, and so no feelings about it at all, but she understood Lola's reaction well enough.

"Lady Lemercier. It is late to say so, but I sincerely apologize for what happened. I was not myself at the time, and I committed a grave discourtesy."

Circe bowed her head. It was a grown, measured response — exactly what one would expect from the person who had once been the voice of reason in Leon's party.

"I-it's fine! You don't have to be so formal! If anything, I want to thank you for helping me and X this time. If you ever need anything, just say so!"

Lola was not the type to nurse a grudge. She forgave her easily, and that became the opening that let the two of them start talking. Circe, for her part, had a keen interest in House Lemercier as a distinguished ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠magical lineage, and Lola — whose mana, at a glance, was bottomless — was fascinating in her own right.

And this is the same woman who used to call her a brat…

She really did keep public and private strictly separate.

The two of them talked at length and were well on their way to becoming friendly by the time they arrived at the place of reward. It was a chamber sealed behind a stone door. Circe looked at it and let out a small, wondering breath.

"I didn't think I'd ever come here again."

In her previous life, Circe had obtained the Eye of Akasha in this room. The second time she reached it, she had found a weapon lesser than that, but still formidable. The other parties had been the same.

I'll hold onto it for now and give it to her when the time is right.

X reached for the door to open it.

"X. Can you read the ancient language written up there?"

Circe pointed above the stone door. A brief string of pictographs ran along the lintel. He looked at the ancient script, and strangely — impossibly — he understood it.

"It says Warehouse No. 005…?"

"A warehouse? Number 005?"

005. Which would mean there's a 001, wouldn't it?

He had no idea what it signified. The Ancient Ruins had been built as a dungeon and nothing more. When, how, by whom, and for what purpose — even X did not know. He had never asked. It hadn't mattered.

But in this world, how does that work?

This was a world where Probability mattered. Something like this would not simply have dropped out of the sky with none at all.

I'll need to look into this later.

X opened the door and stepped through. At last, they had found the rewards of the Ancient Ruins.

"X! Treasure! It's treasure!!"

Lola could not keep her head on straight. A luminous gold shone from every direction. Gold and jewels packed the chamber the way a dragon's hoard packed a lair.

"I don't know how much of this we can even carry…"

Even seeing it with his own eyes, X could barely believe it. The real problem was how much they could take. They had brought a large bag, and it would not come close to holding everything.

Whether the other ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠two were losing their minds or not, Circe surveyed the room with no particular interest in the gold. What she was hunting for were powerful mage-tools and artifacts, and nothing else.

"Ah. This looks promising."

Circe had found a small, gem-set ring in a corner. X knew exactly what it was.

"That's Python's Leap."

"You know this one? Ah — of course you do. What's the effect?"

"It has the instant short-range spatial movement spell Blink built in."

"Blink…?"

This artifact would become Circe's exclusive equipment going forward. Blink, in particular, would send her sorely lacking close-combat ability shooting straight up.

"Ah — and besides that… My lady, come here a moment!"

While he was at it, X decided to pick out a powerful artifact for Lola as well.

"You should use this."

He held out a thin, finely worked bracelet of silver.

"What is it?"

"An artifact called Iris. It lets you use a special kind of barrier magic. As long as you have mana, it will never break."

"And how do you know that, too… Hah. I'm tired of asking."

Lola slipped Iris onto her wrist and spread the barrier. A defensive wall bloomed, luminous in a dozen colors, shining like a rainbow. Circe took one look at it and made a sulky noise.

"What about me?"

"You have Blink. Besides, that thing burns through so much mana you'd never end up using it anyway."

In the original story, the times Circe had used Iris could be counted on one hand. There was no reason to lean on an inefficient barrier when you could simply dodge with Blink.

They went on shopping through the rewards, picking their way through the hoard, until—

"Found it."

He had discovered an artifact shaped like an oversized chalice. The Holy Relic of Purification — the one he had spent a full fifty thousand points to create.

Was it originally this shape? It was described as smaller than this.

The Holy Relic of Purification was an item from the Theocracy episode, kept in the Theocracy's treasure vault. It was bound tightly to that nation's Doom Scenario, and he knew perfectly well he shouldn't be doing this, but—

I'll use it before anyone finds out, then put it back.

The future was the future. The present came first. Lifting the Emperor's curse with this took priority.

They stuffed every expensive mage-tool and artifact they could carry into the large bag, and then X turned to Circe and Lola.

"Let's get out of here. Fast. We're not the only ones coming."

"Come to think of it, I haven't heard those impact sounds for a while now."

At that, X focused his senses. She was right. The shocks that had been ringing out at regular intervals were gone.

Driven back by the golems? Or…

The instant the other possibility crossed his mind—

KRAAAAAANG—!!!!

A colossal explosion tore through the wall. Stone fragments large and small went ricocheting in every direction. The unexpected blast felt as if it would split their eardrums, and the sudden, massive shock hurled all three of them off their feet.

What—

Before X could finish the thought—

SHING—!!!!

A flash of silver dropped through the air in front of his eyes, so close it seemed to graze him. The flash split whatever he was holding cleanly in two.

The Holy Relic of Purification…!

The cumbersome, oversized relic sheared apart along a perfect cross-section. If he had been standing even a little closer, it would have been X cut in two.

"…That took longer than I expected."

From within the smoke of the explosion, the one who had caused all of this stepped into view. Pink eyes, dull and sunken. Long pink hair falling to her waist, tied back roughly, as if she couldn't be bothered. A girl who looked like she had no time to spare — and who looked, somewhere, as if she were in pain. And yet the Auror in her grip burned with a fierce, living fire. Auror imbued with will: the mark of a six-star warrior.

"…Hello?"

Said the girl who looked anything but well.

Elia, wrought of hatred and rage.