Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Breaking the Lie - 1
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I cried out in alarm.
“......! W-Who are you?”
[You’re aiming to cut down Iori behind the mana barrier, right?]
“You don’t mean...”
[But you should bend your knees a bit more for that. Watch closely. Your current stance won’t deliver a lethal blow.]
......
Ah.
Right.
I need to bend my knees a little more. About 3 centimeters.
[Just 2 centimeters. Too low and you’ll lose power.]
“You’re grasping this technique I’ve just seen better than I am. As expected of Lepia, the incarnation of the sword.”
[Hehe. I hate that nickname. It’s too flashy.]
“It works in a place like this. I hate being the Unyielding Sword Emperor too.”
[It seems like a good one.]
She whispered softly.
[Before you cut down Iori, go easy on him just a little with your grip.]
“......”
[I’m begging you.]
“Understood.”
With that answer, I activated the technique.
“Cut what you desire!”
Shaaa!
My sword shot out of its sheath like a streak of black light, then slid back in.
And Iori could no longer pour mana into the sun.
“Cough.”
“Huh? Oh.”
Neril’s decomposition spell pierced the guy’s mana barrier.
It decomposed the entire barrier and vanished, as if its job was done.
All that remained was Tibur... no, Iori Otics.
I said inwardly.
“Will you borrow my mouth?”
[Would that be okay?]
“If it’s you, as much as you want.”
[Thank you. You’re a good man.]
Soon, my mouth opened.
“Iori Otics.”
It was definitely my voice, but Neril and Jenia noticed right away that it wasn’t me.
“Huh? Maide? Something’s off...”
“Shh. Be quiet.”
“Huh?”
“I noticed it midway through the fight. The one Iori’s been desperately searching for is Lepia. Probably the soul fused with Mariana.”
“The second hero...”
“Yeah. Looks like that brat Adwin separated them safely. She wants to say something through Maide’s body, so let’s watch.”
That’s when Lepia spoke through my mouth.
“The afterlife... or in a mage’s terms, the realm of nothingness. You weren’t there.”
“L-Lepia? Is that you, Lady Lepia?”
“Yes. I knew your soul remained on the continent. It always saddened and tormented me, but now we meet again like this.”
“Lady Lepia.”
Tears streamed from Iori’s eyes.
Lepia continued.
“What lingering attachment kept you here?”
“There was something I had to tell you.”
......
Uh. Wait.
I think I know what comes next.
But don’t say it.
Don’t say that to my body. I’ll die for real.
“I loved you.”
I told you not to! Damn it!
Lepia opened her mouth.
“Why didn’t you say that when we were together?”
“Because I was lowly.”
“You, one of the empire’s great nobles? I was a commoner.”
“A hero transcends commoner or noble. That’s why I worked so hard to confess to you, to stand worthy before you.”
“......”
“I thought killing the Demon King of Greed would finally give me the right. So I planned to confess after slaying the Demon King.”
“But you couldn’t. You made a noble sacrifice.”
“Thanks to that, I saved you, Lady Lepia, so I have no regrets. But this one regret lingers—that I never shared these feelings.”
Lepia used my facial muscles to form a heartfelt expression.
You too?
Just give my body back.
“May I hear your answer?”
“Uh, um...... This body’s owner is desperately blocking it.”
“Huh?”
“He says he can’t allow that in his own body.”
“What the hell! An insolent pup whose arrogance pierces the heavens.”
“Hehe. Don’t say that—he’s a hero like me.”
At that, Iori turned meek as a lamb.
“I’m sorry. Maide is indeed a hero.”
Don’t your personality change so much depending on the person?
Lepia’s playful voice echoed.
It seemed to come through my soul, audible only to me.
[Iori’s always been like that. I wanted to fix his arrogant view of commoners as worthless, but instead, he shows infinite respect, loyalty... and affection to those he deems nobler than himself.]
[I’d appreciate it if the affection part toned down. At least for now.]
[Pfft. Got it. Time to wrap this up.]
She spoke through my voice again.
“Then shall we go back, Iori Otics?”
“Um...”
“I’ll give you my answer to your confession in the realm of nothingness. Our comrades are there too.”
“......”
“And stop calling Ort ‘piglet.’ They’ll get mad there too if you do.”
“That guy’s just so out of shape from lack of exercise... No, understood. I’ll do that.”
Lepia nodded contentedly.
“Before you go, return the territory folk’s lifespans. You could convert mana back to lifespan again, right?”
“As you command.”
“Good. Go on ahead. I’ll talk with these folks a bit and follow.”
“Yes. I’ll wait. My hero.”
The next moment.
Tibur’s body staggered.
And he plummeted endlessly toward the ground.
“Flying.”
Thankfully, Neril cast a spell, sparing us the sight of him splattering on the pavement.
“That bastard really doesn’t even see people he doesn’t respect as bugs.”
“......”
“To think I lived respecting a guy like that. What a wasted life.”
“......”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
No.
You’ve got a bit of that vibe too.
Once Iori returned the lifespans and Jenia healed once more, the territory brimmed with vitality.
Lepia returned my body to me.
I climbed atop Agril and declared loudly.
Neril’s voice amplification magic echoed it throughout the territory.
“Everyone! Worry no more. The nightmare is over.”
“......!”
“The ghost incidents here were all caused by a specter from the past just now. Not Mariana.”
“Ahh.”
“She actually asked me to protect you all. Me, Maide Mohan!”
A massive cheer erupted in response.
“Woooaaah!”
“Waaah. Lady Mariana, I’m sorry for doubting you.”
“Maide! Maide Mohan!”
“The hero of legends.”
“Thank you so much. Sob sob. You saved my daughter—thank you!”
“Over here too! Just wave once, please!”
I waved until their clamor died down.
But their excitement showed no sign of fading even after a while, so I had to exit regretfully.
Jenia sent Agril back and muttered.
“He says don’t call him for a week—what do we do?”
“Give him meat.”
“Meat doesn’t fix everything! Neril, were you mocking me just now?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow. Says ‘yeah’ with a refreshingly bright smile.”
Anyway, we returned to Mariana’s house together.
There, a nervous mother and son paced anxiously in front of it.
Mariana, looking far more vibrant and healthy than before, cried out.
“Ah! You’re safe.”
“Mariana.”
“It’s really... really fortunate.”
She wiped away her welling tears.
Adwin stepped out from behind her and said.
“As expected of Hirahhan’s reincarnation and the child of the red moon. I was about to step in after watching a bit longer, but it was unnecessary meddling.”
“What’s Hirahhan, and what’s the red moon? I’d know about such hidden entities.”
“Uh, well...... I just made those up.”
Jenia spent a while restoring Adwin to normal.
Meanwhile, we entered the house and took seats at the table.
I asked Mariana.
“What happened?”
“My son, Adwin, did it.”
She gazed at Adwin with boundless pride.
“Not only did he uncover a soul fusion I didn’t know about, but he separated them in the end.”
“Ahem. I-It was nothing.”
“You. If you say it’s nothing, I feel insignificant for no reason.”
“Mother.”
“As I’ve said, you’re far superior to me. Stick out your chest and be confident from now on.”
“Yes!”
“......But don’t overdo it. You know what I mean, right?”
Adwin drooped and lowered his head.
That’s when it happened.
Lepia’s voice rang out.
[That boy has remarkable necromancy talent. Could I borrow his body for a moment?]
“Huh? Why not just speak through my mouth?”
[It’s uncomfortable. You seem to have another soul in you.]
......
Trail, huh.
Come to think of it, he’s been quiet for a while.
[Adwin mentioned it too.]
[He’s an exceptional necromancer, so he’d sense it far more precisely than me. I just know there’s some other soul besides yours.]
[Who...... could it be?]
I regretted asking the moment it left my mind.
This was a question for Trail directly, with his direct answer.
But fortunately, Lepia didn’t seem to know.
[I don’t know either. Don’t you?]
“No, I don’t. Anyway, let’s ask Adwin.”
I told Adwin that Lepia’s soul wanted to borrow his body.
Mariana vehemently opposed it.
She didn’t want to allow her son’s body to someone whose soul had fused with hers unknowingly.
But Adwin maturely persuaded his mother.
“It’s fine, Mother.”
“But.”
“As I said, it’s the second hero. Such a person couldn’t be bad. The fusion with your soul wasn’t her choice either.”
“......”
“We need to figure out what happened. Among us, I’m the only one whose body is easy for a soul to borrow.”
The kid has a good personality—average or better, except when he gets weird.
Mariana finally relented.
Soon, Adwin began muttering something.
Complex runes inscribed on his palm flashed and vanished.
As Tibur said, he’d made the incantation transparent.
And shortly after.
Adwin... no, Lepia opened her mouth.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Lepia Odgar.”
“The second hero.”
“Yes. I hoped there’d be no more Demon King descents. I wanted the second to be the last.”
She glanced at me.
“But sadly, we’re already at the fifth.”
At that clear recognition of me as a hero, Neril and Jenia smiled more happily than I did.
I shamelessly accepted being hailed as a hero by others, but actual hero approval made my face heat up.
I acted humbly, uncharacteristically.
“Ahem. No oracle has come down yet—how can I be a hero?”
“You kept calling yourself one to Iori plenty of times.”
“But I should be humble in front of a senior.”
“Hehe. The oracle will come soon. ......Though I wonder why it hasn’t when the Demon King has already descended.”
Everyone’s faces changed in an instant.
Probably shocked by her final addition: “the Demon King has already descended.”
Jenia asked in a trembling voice.
“What do you mean...”
“I’m borrowing a necromancer’s mouth, so I’ll call it the afterlife. I heard a voice there.”
“A voice?”
“Its owner introduced itself as Idria, the Demon King of Lies and Deceit. Out of respect, since I fought the Demon King of Greed.”
“......”
“Idria asked to borrow my soul a bit. And took me just like that.”
Her tone was calm, but the impact wasn’t.
Especially for Neril and Jenia.
They turned to me simultaneously and said.
“Idria—that’s the name the Martial King and Mariana met.”
“The Demon King of Lies and Deceit? And already descended?”
Sorry, but I couldn’t share their shock.
I already knew, but...... I was focused on another point.
[Strange. Even a Demon King interfering in the afterlife?]
Necromancers open gates to the afterlife and call souls with their cooperation and polite consent—not by force.
Especially not Lepia’s soul, far beyond ordinary.
That’s when Trail’s voice returned after so long.
[Idria’s on another level from past Demon Kings.]
[Where’ve you been?]
[Some weird woman stuck to you—it creeped me out. That hero annoys me. Don’t let her into my body again.]
[It’s my body—why yours?]
Ignoring my protest, Trail continued.
[Anyway, Idria’s too strong. Probably because the world’s full of lies.]
[Huh? Feels like you hinted at that before.]
[Yeah. Demon Kings descend when certain energies in the world peak. Like the Withering Demon King during history’s worst famine.]
[Hm. And the Demon King of Destruction during a great war.]
[Exactly. This era’s overflowing with lies. And these lies outnumber those from past eras—destruction, greed, corruption, withering—by far.]
Trail clicked his tongue and went on.
[That’s why Idria’s exceptionally strong. Don’t foolishly compare her to past Demon Kings.]