Episode 87
“Thanks to you, Mikhail!”
When I came to my senses, I saw a familiar ruin in front of my eyes.
But the unfolding ruins… …It was a little different.
The pitch-black sky was clear.
There were no remnants of demons polluting the ground, and no one groaned in pain.
Everyone was laughing.
her.
really solved
I stuttered and said in disbelief.
“we…Did you do it?”
“You did it.”
The beast king answered me with his arms crossed and a wide smile.
The sharp teeth that he was so proud of usually shone brightly.
And that wasn’t all.
Fairy King Jihad.
He, too, was just laughing happily, freed from the guilt of the past.
It must have been that he finally finally laid down his burden for his own people.
Moreover, Siegfried.
Until now, he faithfully accepted my advice and acted diligently as a hero.
In the final battle with the Demon God, he accepted my advice even in a dangerous moment.
The guy’s momentary judgment also shined, so it can be said that everyone’s hard work really paid off.
and.
“You did it, Mikhail.”
The saintess smiled broadly and sat down next to me.
“It was pretty tough.”
“It was. It was really hard. There was no one who didn’t suffer, but certainly… …“
Yes, everything is over. really.”
She said.
“Probably, if it wasn’t for Mikhail, I wouldn’t have been able to save my brother, and I wouldn’t have been able to defeat the demon like this.”
“It is not. It is the result of everyone working together.”
“Whoops, is that so?”
The saintess smiled brightly and thanked me.
“Thank you, Mikhail.”
“haha.”
Then he spoke.
“Thank you so much for being with us until now.”
“…!”
At that moment, I opened my eyes wide.
It’s not a strange word.
Words that can come out at any time.
but.
“…hmm? Where are you going?”
“Yeah, I guess I have to go back.”
I let out a bitter laugh.
It’s a landscape you really don’t want to leave.
A world where everything I wanted came true… ….
everything was there
But at the same time, it wasn’t there either.
“okay.”
The saintess nodded as if she understood.
“Good work Mikhail.”
“thank you.”
I also smiled at the saintess.
It was time to end it.
“It’s done.”
I walked with my back turned away from them.
blue sky.
A dream freed from demons.
Leaving them behind, I spoke to someone who might have been watching all of this.
“This is enough. It’s comforting, so please stop.”
“….”
Stand tall.
The world stopped at my words.
“It’s okay to become a little more comfortable.”
“You have to know how to be tough.”
It would be nice if I could just think and live comfortably, but the world doesn’t work that way.
I looked ahead.
The illusions disappeared without even a trace like a mirage.
Instead, a woman stood there.
Holding an orb in both hands while smiling benevolently.
“You’re a troubled child.”
“It’s you.”
“okay. The guardian I was in charge of this tomb… ….」
She revealed herself.
“It’s called Nephthys.”
* * *
“Set.”
“You don’t want him to see your dreams. I tend to respect personal life.”
Nephthys sweetly said that he had ruled out the set.
“by the way…Too bad. You can rest as much as you like.”
“It’s not yet that time.”
Yeah, it’s not time to rest yet.
Because there are many things left.
“Rather than that, I think you know why I came.”
“It must be because of the new thing.”
“That’s right. furthermore…“
I thought of Draculion.
The fact that his son, Chepes, brought me here must have something to do with it.
“You know Draculion, right?”
“It was the last challenger.”
…it’s the last
I asked her again.
“Perhaps he also had a dream similar to the one I have now.”
[That’s right.]
A sweet fantasy that I don’t want to break.
Sometimes kindness itself can be a harsh ordeal.
It is very difficult to leave the world where everything has been done and have to go back to reality.
Some may just remember it as a dream and get away with it.
maybe not someone
Maybe there will be someone who collapses miserably and eventually gets completely twisted.
“He sacrificed the current territories and became a complete monster. Do you know that too?”
“…Unfortunately.」
The guardian of the tomb doesn’t know what’s going on outside. At least in the general case, that would be the case.
But knowing.
That the situation she’s in right now is by no means normal.
Several thoughts went through my mind.
I never considered it a coincidence that Asar’s tomb was located in Draculion’s estate.
‘Before the return, we couldn’t even attempt an attack at all.’
The grave never rejects those who come.
However, the tomb before the return refused to be approached by outsiders at all.
In other words, there is someone who has influenced the grave.
Besides, Nephthys just told me.
That Draculion was the ‘last’ challenger.
Then there is only one conclusion.
“I thought about it a lot before I came here. you are kind In reality, the fantasy showed the scenery everyone wanted.”
“…. 』
But you didn’t.”
Draculion did not only enter this tomb once.
According to Chepes, he diligently went to the tomb to the point of becoming addicted to it.
would have failed countless times.
If it was an ordinary grave trial, the life would have been taken away as the price of failure.
But she didn’t.
Of course, as a result, Draculion became addicted to that kind fantasy and fell out of line as a human being.
1 Is it her fault?
In the first place, the tomb was a place where trials were given and passed on to those who passed them.
Even if that kindness is harsh.
If it is part of the ordeal, it cannot be said to be Nephthys’ sin.
It would be better to say that the one who can’t come out is the fault.
However, there was a different problem.
“Your kindness was certainly not bad. If only you hadn’t crossed the line.”
“….”
“I’ll be honest.”
I looked at her, who hadn’t said anything since before, and said sternly.
“This tomb has already been captured. Am I wrong?”
Attack.
In other words, the ‘sacred object’ that Nephthys was guarding had already found its owner.
“It wasn’t just an attack. Nephthys. You did what you shouldn’t as a Guardian.”
“….」
He didn’t answer this time either.
As if blaming herself, she lowered her head and shook her shoulders a little.
And I was sure of the response.
my guess is correct
Yeah, it wasn’t a normal attack.
Draculion failed.
He was not qualified to raid the tomb.
But even so, if he attacked the tomb, the meaning is clear.
“You were driven by emotion and fed up with a failed challenger. Am I wrong?”
“…You’re a wise kid.」
She let out a deep sigh.
“I didn’t expect to know so quickly….”
“I have no choice but to know. The sanctity unique to a divine object rarely came from this place.”
Ever since I crossed the barrier and reached the contaminated area, I’ve been concerned about it.
Should I say something familiar yet unpleasant?
so it’s concluded
The truth, harsher than I thought, was revealed in front of my eyes.
“Do you know what happened out there with your cheap sympathy?”
“That’s… ….」
How did Draculion swallow so many people?
I’m not entirely sure yet, but I can make some guesses.
In fact, it’s speculation, and it’s not strange even if it’s certain.
“He devoured tens of thousands of innocent people. There is only one thing that I know of that makes that level of atrocity possible.”
“…!」
At my words, Nephthys’ eyes trembled violently.
“…I’m sorry.」
Once again.
Nephthys bowed her head.
Draculion must have taken on countless trials to conquer the dungeon.
It was a challenge at first.
Later, I would gradually become addicted to it.
In the fantasy of being infinitely positive and recovering what was lost… ….
and later on
You must have been seized by the desire to make that fantasy come true.
If you think so, the interpretation of his immortality is also slightly different.
Immortality was not the goal.
He was just in the process of achieving his goal, and his true purpose is probably… ….
“Realization of fantasy landscapes.”
“….」
It can be seen as manipulation of reality.
I don’t know exactly what kind of power the divine object has, but it seemed true that it had a powerful enough power to even do that.
she asked cautiously.
“Do you intend to punish me?”
“I do not intend to do so.”
Punishing her must be herself.
Apart from the obvious wrongdoing she did, I have no right to punish her.
“But I also succeeded in attacking once.”
“That’s right.”
“So I need to get something too.”
Draculion probably didn’t take all of them because they didn’t hand over the sacred objects in a complete process.
As if remembering something from my words, she widened her eyes.
「No way.」
“Yes, what you just remembered is probably correct.”
I looked around and said.
“I want this tomb.”
* * *
After a while, I started to come to my senses belatedly.
For a moment, a hazy feeling dominated my body, as if I had just woken up.
But that’s for a while.
“Hey hey. Are you okay?!”
The shock that shook his shoulders urgently brought him back to his senses.
When I opened my eyes, it was Lian.
“It’s okay, so stop shaking.”
“…Is it really okay?”
Cepes asked cautiously.
“For sure…I thought it would be a very harsh ordeal.”
“If it was harsh, it could have been harsh, but it was tolerable.”
He shrugged his shoulders as he replied, “Because I’m a warrior.”
Then Set asked with his eyes wide open.
[Did you get something else? God is… …It doesn’t seem like it.]
“I didn’t say there was anything new. So I paid for something else in advance.”
He muttered in a low voice and reached out his hand.
then that moment.
“her?”
The landscape around us has changed.
New shoots began to sprout on the surrounding land that had been black and dead, and vitality returned to the dead trees.
It was as if color was being added to the achromatic landscape.
“What is this, Bocchan…“
Simply put, as of this time, this dungeon belongs to me.”
At my words, the butler looked at me with a ridiculous expression.
“…Did you receive something like this again in that short time?”
“It’s a personality that doesn’t see any harm.”
For once, one thing was certain.
This grave was by no means common, and all these forests we passed through were ‘graves’.
In other words, a part of the contaminated area has completely become mine.
“This could be very useful. In a way, it could be seen as stealing Draculion’s territory.”
“yes.”
In other words, he gained the power to stand up to Draculion’s realm.
When it is released from its seal, this tainted area literally becomes a swamp.
A swamp that turns into undead.
It’s like you’ve got a safe space in that swamp… ….
“Sir Mikhail.”
Then Chepes said.
“Can you tell me? What exactly was in the dungeon?”
It seemed pretty desperate.
I guess so.
From his point of view, the identity of the tomb must have been known.
“I had a past. Your father, Draculion, seems to have been trapped in the past for quite some time.”
“past…As he pondered the
words, he smiled wryly as if he understood.
“…Ah yes. Was it?”
“Of course, whatever the reason, that doesn’t justify the evil he did.”
“Know.”
Chepeshu nodded heavily.
“As a son, I will punish you. That would be the best I can do for you.”
“great.”
There was not the slightest hesitation in his eyes.
“So I may be harsh on you, but I would like to ask you for one role.”
“role…What if?”
i told him
“I need you to become ‘Draculion’ for a while.”
Great mage who transcends by regression