123. Flame Emperor
123. Flame Emperor
"The star that led Demons to unavoidable misfortune and death, the Calamity Star, Ronan Luzarak! The most valiant, ferocious, and merciless man in human history! The Hero who killed the most Demons and earned the fear of every Demon! I, the Flame Emperor, revere that Ronan Luzarak above all. Eliarnes, what connection do you have to Ronan Luzarak?"
My mind went blank at the Flame Emperor's surprise worship.
The Calamity Star. Ronan Luzarak's epithet.
A name more famous among Demons than among humans.
And the Flame Emperor knows it. How in the world?
Traces? Time? Something like that left in the waterways?
I can't understand it. I can't understand it, but the Flame Emperor already knows something.
Does she know I'm Ronan?
No... she hasn't reached that far.
Of course she hasn't. Reincarnation. The human soul is something mere humans could never touch, much less imagine.
Then what in the world did she think of to make the connection?
"I've blocked all sound, so worry not. No one on this continent will be able to hear this conversation."
My head feels like it's about to burst, but the Flame Emperor is grinning with an innocent smile that doesn't match her age, so excited about something.
Eurasia, Stella, and Pina standing behind me are also flustered by the Flame Emperor's smiling face.
"...You swore an oath, Flame Emperor."
"Correct. Even I, the Flame Emperor, would have my heart torn apart and die if I broke an oath. So believe me."
"Why go that far to earn trust? Someone of your level could just obtain information through force, couldn't you?"
"That is not a method I, the Flame Emperor, favor. And what reason is there to break such precious sprouts? Beings like you must be cherished and treasured. That does not mean I am telling you to serve the Empire, so worry not. Even I, the Flame Emperor, called one of the Six Pillars of the Empire, do not serve the Empire."
I narrowed my eyes and looked at the Flame Emperor.
This is... well. It feels like she's forcibly shoving trust down my throat and telling me to believe. But the fact that this trust is backed by an oath means I have no choice but to believe it, which makes it even more infuriating.
How can a person be this... transparent?
"So, Eliarnes. What is your answer to my question?"
"If I answer, what benefit do I get?"
"Hm? Benefit? Is there something you desire from me, the Flame Emperor?"
"What if there is?"
It was a slightly rude thing to say, but the Flame Emperor nodded with a pleasant smile.
"If you resolve my question, I will grant it gladly. However, I cannot grant requests for my head, my equipment, or anything lewd or impure."
"Then... please grant me the right to ask a favor of you, Flame Emperor, once, at a time of my choosing."
The Flame Emperor's eyes twitched.
"Is that what young people these days call a wish voucher? However, I've heard the intent of a wish voucher is ultimately copulation. Eliarnes. Do you wish to become my wife? Hmm... a direct descendant of House Eustetia. In that case, since I, the Flame Emperor, am of lower rank than you, would I become your wife? But I have cast aside my name. Would I then become Flame Emperor Eustetia? Hah... that would be quite unpleasant."
She looks genuinely troubled.
This isn't a joke. She's serious. This woman.
Crazy bitch.
The Flame Emperor is a pure crazy bitch.
This is what happens when someone with a head full of flowers goes off the rails.
"...I don't want anything like that."
"Then that is fortunate. Very well. If you resolve my question, I shall grant you a wish voucher."
"...Yes. Calling it a wish voucher makes it sound awfully grand."
I bowed my head and sank into deep thought.
How should I answer about my connection to the Calamity Star?
Answering that I'm Ronan is far too dangerous.
Of course, she's sworn to tell only the truth and not harm us, but you never know what might happen.
I'm still weak. So the more people who know about my existence, the more dangerous it is.
I'm not stupid enough to tell the truth.
An excuse. What would be a suitable excuse?
The Flame Emperor read the traces of battle.
Just as Wizards at a high Realm can follow traces of magic, the Flame Emperor seems able to trace something like memories of the past.
Though I can't tell whether it's Intent or Ideal Manifestation. And I don't need to know right now.
How much did she see?
Can she even hear conversations?
No, that's not it. If she'd heard what I said to Phaid, the Flame Emperor wouldn't have come at me like this.
Then... scenes? Appearances?
The Flame Emperor asked what my relationship to the Calamity Star is.
The Calamity Star. Ronan Luzarak. She knows his combat methods. And she reviewed my combat as well.
And she found a commonality between the two.
What commonality?
Ronan wielded countless weapons.
Eliarnes is a Martial Artist.
There's no overlap.
No, there is one.
The thing that made Ronan be called the Calamity Star.
The Deceptive Body.
The Flame Emperor saw it.
The Purgatory Gates? I still can't know.
Then, does the Flame Emperor know that I... that Ronan wielded weapons in his Past Life?
That Ronan wasn't a Martial Artist?
Probably.
I've roughly figured out how to answer.
"Tell me."
Noticing that I'd emerged from my thoughts, the Flame Emperor spoke in an excited voice.
"Can I trust that what we discuss here... won't leak anywhere?"
"Trust it. I, the Flame Emperor, do not lie."
"But... couldn't I answer with a lie? Do you trust what I say, Flame Emperor?"
"I trust you. But even if you do tell a lie, it is fine. Merely finding a being connected to that great one is enough to satisfy me. The reason I ask you now is... yes. It is merely greed. And merely the curiosity that all Wizards possess."
I could see flames burning in the Flame Emperor's orange eyes. A sparkling, intense gaze.
As I stared quietly at it, I cleared my throat and slowly opened my mouth.
"I am—"
"Mm...!"
A moan burst from the Flame Emperor's lips. Her crimson Mana flared. The flames that had been flickering beyond perception, invisible to the eye, surged violently.
The surging flames instantly enveloped me, the Flame Emperor, and the three behind us, forming a hemispherical dome.
It wasn't hot. They were intense flames that seemed like they would melt your entire body just by touching, no, just by grazing them, but we felt no heat.
Inside, the Flame Emperor spoke urgently.
"Eliarnes. We must part for today. But it is fine. I will come find you soon. I will, I will! Come find you, so please wait for me."
"Y-yes? What is this all of a sudden...?"
"It is a request."
The Flame Emperor bowed her head.
One of the six people called the Six Pillars of the Empire, known as the strongest on the entire continent, bowed her head...!
I couldn't understand why she was doing it, but I nodded for now.
"Yes, well. It's not difficult..."
Just as I was about to say that.
I felt what the Flame Emperor felt.
An aura like a wild beast. And at the same time, a horribly ominous, chilling presence.
"What the... Vice Dean?"
I can feel Leona's presence beyond the wall.
I looked at the wall made of flames.
Even at a glance, it looks solid.
Can I break it? Impossible in my current state.
I'd have to break at least a couple fingers on my left hand to break that wall.
Then what about Leona?
I picture Leona, the one I sparred with.
Seems impossible.
Just as I thought that.
RIIIP—
"...Crazy."
The wall was torn apart.
"Flame Emperor."
Then a voice like something scraping the bottom of hell, Leona's voice, rang in my ears.
"You dare lay a hand on my disciple."
"Mm...! This is a misunderstanding! I, the Flame Emperor, did not lay a hand on your disciple! I merely had a conversation—"
"I did not permit you to speak."
Leona's pupils split vertically.
Even the dragons I met in the past didn't have eyes that chilling.
No, wait. Why am I... afraid of Leona?
I know Leona is strong. Because of her perfect concealment, I can't gauge the extent of her strength, but I know she's strong regardless.
But her opponent is the Flame Emperor.
A being called one of the Six Pillars of the Empire, someone with overwhelming strength even at a glance.
And that being is afraid of Leona.
The Flame Emperor is afraid of Leona? Why? Unable to follow the flow at all, I approached Leona for now.
The Flame Emperor. I don't fully trust her, but I can't help but view her favorably for chasing the traces of us from 400 years ago.
And that... praise. The smile she wore while praising Ronan Luzarak was... so utterly pure.
For now, for now... I wanted to help resolve the Flame Emperor's predicament, even just a little.
How could I dislike someone who purely likes me? And, sorry to the Flame Emperor, but it's also important to toss out a rough excuse and secure the right to ask a favor.
So for now, I decided to take the Flame Emperor's side.
"Um... V-Vice Dean?"
Those gleaming beast eyes turned toward me.
My body flinched, and my instincts tried to stop my steps.
But only for a moment. The instant Leona blinked, her eyes returned to their usual cheerful look.
The Flame Emperor didn't miss that opening.
"Mm...! Fist Demon, let us postpone this conversation for next time! I, the Flame Emperor, have never once spoken a lie! So just know that today's matter was a misunderstanding!"
The moment she finished speaking, whoosh! A blinding light flared that made it impossible to keep my eyes open.
And then.
Crackle— pop—
All the flames that had surrounded us vanished along with the Flame Emperor.
The sound of small embers burning.
The sound of the Imperial Capital's citizens murmuring.
Pina's breathless gasping, Stella's stammering, Eurasia's sigh of relief.
And a cold silence.
Within it, I recalled the Flame Emperor's last words.
"...Fist Demon?"
The Fist Demon (拳魔). The first pillar of the Empire.
Actually, there aren't many stories or rumors about the Fist Demon. It felt strongly like they'd been deliberately erased.
I couldn't find anything even in Dad's study.
But I thought that someday, I absolutely had to meet her.
Because I'm a Martial Artist?
No. There's a more important reason.
The Fist Demon has lived long. Very long.
400 years.
She is the only being who lived in the same era as my past self, as us.