The timing is quicker than I thought.
I was expecting it to take at least a few days.
Thud
It’s like my blood has frozen solid.
An unsettling feeling slithers up and tightens around my neck.
“Princess Pina, is there a safe place to retreat to in the Imperial Palace?”
The line that popped up in the Status Window clearly points to the Magic Hat.
I was starting to get the idea of why that guy resurrected in the past rather than the present.
“Uh..? There is, but why suddenly…?”
“Get there right now. The Demon God is targeting you.”
Pina has a look that screams confusion.
She must know that Emperor Rock killed the Demon God.
“Wha..? The Demon God was certainly…”
“Not that guy. Pina.”
But the one that’s barging in here is a living nightmare.
No matter how many times you kill it, it keeps coming back, and it even took over the Demon God’s position.
“The Demon King of Truth, or rather… I guess I should call it the Demon God of Truth now.”
The words in the Status Window definitely mean this.
It’s not labeled as Demon King, but Demon God.
That Magic Hat has been preparing for a long time.
When you think about it, it’s a simple idea.
If there’s a future where I lose, I just go back to the past and remove the cause.
‘Before it blocks my path…’
It’s probably trying to eliminate someone named Pina Grancia from this world in advance.
“Pina, there’s no time for explanations. We need to run.”
“B-but… what about you, brother? You won’t be escaping with me…?”
Maybe she’s noticed my hesitation; her small body shakes.
Normally, it would be better to fight the Demon God with Pina’s help, being the beloved Hero.
“I have to fight. Pina.”
Right now, it’s the past.
I can’t rely on the hands of a child without the Holy Sword.
If it resurrects again, I just need to kill it a few more times.
As I grasp the hilt of the Magic Sword Horizon tightly, white flames surged and took the form of a blade.
“W-why are you going this far for me…? We just met yesterday…”
Her eyes looked like they could burst into tears at any moment.
Pina, who had been holding in all her thoughts, was finally voicing them to me.
Yeah, that must be troubling.
Even if she has the eyes that can see through lies, the gap between the future and the past…
That strange dissonance can’t be understood without revealing the truth.
“I came from the future to save you.”
“……!!”
I revealed to her that I came from the future.
Her golden wolf eyes started to glimmer.
At times like this, it’s nice that I don’t have to explain.
“T-then does that mean that you and I…”
She doesn’t even know how serious the situation is.
Young Pina hid her face with both hands, embarrassed.
“Born anew from the flames.”
I flashed a slight smile behind my helmet and summoned a Spirit to help her escape.
It had grown large enough to actually be called a wolf now.
It had grown into a Holy Relic without me even realizing it.
“Nice to meet you, Pina.”
I put her on the wolf’s back and started running in the direction of the retreat point.
*
Crunch
The fake buildings made by Bellin Grancia crumbled like paper.
The black hand reaching out even swallowed up the moon hanging in the sky.
“Bwahaha!! Bwahahaha!”
A laugh that sounded like it could tear my ears apart echoed.
As if casting a shadow, everything it touched began to transform.
Roses bloomed and wilted repeatedly, turning into dust.
‘Can it manipulate time at will now?’
Just as the Nameless Saintess Pina said, it must have become fully powered as a Demon God.
If it resurrected from a time far in the past and has been growing stronger, it makes perfect sense.
That guy isn’t an idiot either.
“My Lord, you really are tenacious.”
“Well, I do tend to be stubborn.”
A slow, creeping form started to walk toward me.
It transformed into an elderly figure and then back into a woman.
“I never imagined you would come to the past with me! We are truly fated!”
The Magic Hat spoke in the same manner as Pina Grancia clad in Saintess robes.
It was mimicking the Nameless Saintess.
“Cut it out.”
“Oh my, I thought you would fall for this appearance… how boring.”
Realizing my provocation wasn’t working, it shape-shifted again and moved right in front of me.
I gripped the sword’s hilt so tightly that blood wouldn’t flow.
“Let me introduce myself again. O Demon King of Conviction.”
I swung my magic sword at the bowing figure, but…
“My name is Blanc. I am the Demon God who resurrected from the past with the power of the One Who Inherits.”
Even half of its body severed, it still spoke, sending chills down my spine.
Originally, I could have defeated it with this sword.
It really doesn’t work, huh.
“That sword is useless to me now.”
“…Why?”
“Because unless it’s the Grand Route that connects the past and the future, along with various world lines, I won’t die.”
The monster laughed at my attempt to slice it apart.
The pieces of the Magic Hat, with mouths all over, transformed into cards that melded into one.
“I’m glad I cultivated my strength from a time long before. To see my Lord bewildered is priceless.”
“…?!”
I swung my sword again at the one whispering in my ear, but it missed.
It kept appearing and disappearing like a phantom.
“Why do you dislike me so much?”
“Are you really asking that?”
The short-haired woman I saw while acting as an instructor at the academy.
And the Silver from the imperial guard, like…
Pretending to be those who took on forms from my past life.
“You’re only trying to change the past for someone you love, after all!”
While it was grinning at my ragged breath, it finally transformed back into what I originally knew.
Black silk hat and cloak.
It resembled a living shadow, with only a white mouth visible.
“Ah, love is truly great. Wouldn’t you agree?”
The Magic Hat grinned wide, letting out a sinister chuckle.
I charged at it, swinging my sword to behead it.
“Oh, I was just complimenting you.”
When it spread its cloak, countless hands sprang out to grab me.
“With such trifling emotions, killing me is quite the accomplishment.”
Gakh…
A pain like my bones cracking surged through me.
The grip was so strong that my armor began to crumple.
“Are you unhappy that the beloved Hero turned into the Nameless Saintess and couldn’t find happiness?”
It spoke as if it didn’t understand me.
Considering it knew these things, it seemed to have stolen the powers of all the Demon Kings like last time.
“Even reborn in a woman’s body, I still failed to turn your heart.”
The Magic Hat transformed again into Pina’s form.
Seeing its grotesque smiling face made me feel like throwing up.
“But… what if I were to kill ‘Pina Grancia’ in advance… what do you think would happen?”
As it mimicked a throat-slicing gesture, it stuck out its tongue and rolled its eyes.
If the past version of her dies, everything she has built until now would be for nothing.
“Y-you bastard…”
“Bwahaha! What a pity I can’t see your expression, Demon King of Conviction.”
Mocking me, the Magic Hat spread its shadows, taking over the Imperial Palace.
“Then, I shall take the place of the beloved Hero. Wouldn’t that change your thoughts about me?”
That’s a horrible thought.
It would kill Pina and then execute her like a resurrection.
“Pretending to be the Nameless Saintess, wearing glass armor at the academy… Ah, I can’t wait to see you feign kindness that isn’t from the heart.”
It aimed to steal all of the memories Pina had given me for itself.
“Conviction. Mistake.”
“…What?”
With the incantation, a sword descended from the sky with a sound that sliced through the air.
It cut off all the arms of the Magic Hat holding me.
“Seems like you don’t learn. Even that sword ultimately won’t kill me…”
“I know.”
After escaping from the Magic Hat‘s grip, I transformed into shards of glass and pierced its heart.
None of the Mind Swords I possessed reached it.
I had no allies to save me, and unlike last time, I couldn’t get help from Pina, the same kind of Demon God.
“I know that better than anyone.”
So, for the sake of Pina and the others who ran away to safety, I have to buy time.
That’s the best I can do for them now.
“Yet you still rise up? Knowing there’s no way to win against me?”
The Magic Hat stretched its bony hand toward me, creating bone doves to attack.
“There’s still one way left. The Grand Route.”
As I sliced through those chilling creations, I spoke.
“Even if I lose fighting you now, if she, the beloved Hero, completes the Grand Route, it’ll be fine.”
“……”
The Magic Hat appeared startled and pulled back.
Looks like I was right.
If the Grand Route is completed, all past world lines will be voided.
Or they will merge into one.
“Why did you think I wouldn’t know? You’ve dropped too many hints with your own mouth.”
If there’s a world line where I lose to the Demon King, there’s a chance for recovery.
‘Just like the game.’
The Grand Route.
That is where she and I intertwine our empty wishes to create completely new possibilities.
“No matter how much of a Demon God you are… you can’t touch the Grand Route, can you?”
“…You truly are an interesting one. I want that passionate love of yours for myself.”
The Magic Hat said something spine-chilling.
It was remarkable how it was fixated on me, having killed me twice already.
And the moment that dreadful confession was uttered…
“Stay away from our son.”
Numerous red diamond swords flew through the air and pierced the heart of the Demon God.
