There are many unfortunate stories in the world, and even more tragic ones.
In the midst of a war between two races, everyone became a victim.
Country, status, wealth, acquaintances, family.
In the end, countless lives lost even themselves.
It was just a matter of how much each person lost or gained; all became protagonists of tragedy.
“How ridiculous.”
And sometimes,
“After being liberated for 300 years, you want me to just sit still?”
Victims can become perpetrators.
■
I suffered, so I must seek revenge.
To release the unbearable rage in any way possible.
To make up for what was lost, even if it means taking from others.
Victims don the mask of perpetrators and commit the same deeds as them.
The classic examples are the Ancient Beasts.
Beasts that have lived for hundreds to thousands of years one day suffered senseless harm, as if a natural disaster had struck, and fell into despair.
Then they couldn’t accept it and carried out their vengeance.
‘On weak races that had nothing to do with it.’
Ancient Beasts are tightly bound by belief and pride in themselves due to their long lives, but they’re not foolish.
Even in the moment of slaughtering the innocent, they knew.
‘They couldn’t act against the Celestial or Demon Races.’
To them, those two races were no different from natural disasters, and despite having clear targets for revenge, they turned their gazes elsewhere.
As if they had to do this.
Thus.
“Yes. Please stay still.”
“…I must thank you unconditionally. While all humans and spirits deserve to be torn apart, I can spare you and your acquaintances for your sake.”
Crackle…
A violet sword of magic begins to stir.
The aftermath of magic burns fiercely.
“But that’s where it ends. Do not shake my resolve any further.”
“……”
“If you disturb me again, even you─”
“Tragic stories, tragic tales, tragic…”
Ha ha.
I laugh.
A little static, but enough to convey the meaning clearly.
Sephid flinched and stepped back.
Two blue eyes, shining brighter than anything in the darkness, stared at him.
“I’ll believe there’s still an effect of ‘brainwashing’. Spirits are pure products of nature. You are different from the Ancient Beasts.”
Even if he was consumed by magic, even if he inflicted mortal wounds on a fellow Spirit King.
There’s still plenty of room for redemption.
“Though you may have been brainwashed, you must have thought at some point, ‘It’s truly because of the humans and spirits.'”
“……”
“But you know, don’t you? That it isn’t.”
“That’s not true.”
Spirits are beings born from non-living things.
The lower spirit, which has just begun to develop its ego, doesn’t even know who the Spirit King is.
At least, one has to become a higher spirit for a proper ego to form.
The same goes for being a higher spirit.
“Magic Lord, Karia Matchelpid is a mage with knowledge at the level of lower demons. If she decides to hide you, the spirits won’t be able to find you.”
Spirits confirm each other’s existence through pure elements like their own.
However, if they are in such a state of being consumed by magic, they will never be able to find you.
“…Naphras…”
“She is no different. Besides you, all six Spirit Kings are either dead or scattered in nature, so how would they find you?”
No matter how much of a Spirit King one is, they don’t share the same element, and above all, the Magic Lord’s domain is a place where ‘wind’ doesn’t reach.
If the wind doesn’t reach it, Naphras cannot verify that space.
“……”
“Now, let’s talk about humans. This should be simple.”
Of course.
“With weaker affinity than spirits, how could they possibly find you? Moreover, your stories are from thousands of years ago, and humans don’t live that long.”
It’s far too obvious.
But Sephid turned his gaze.
They were the culprits behind their current state.
While there may be an influence from brainwashing, Sephid might have unconsciously harbored such thoughts.
‘Demons cannot be resisted, and the humans who tormented me are already beyond revival.’
Then.
Who should I take my revenge on?
“I understand the tragic story… but that doesn’t mean anything unless you experience it directly.”
Just like I did.
Clang!
The spear transforms into a hammer.
Before long, Naphras’s body floats up and vanishes with the wind as the massive hammer in my hand radiates holy power.
“But if that reason leads you to harm me and this place… then I’ll have to take action.”
Even if it means killing you, who has been freed after 300 years.
The standoff continued.
The black pillar of light looked as if it could burst at any moment, and the hammer in my hand waited only to strike down.
“…What a spectacle.”
Swoosh. Sephid’s hand slowly descends.
The black pillar of light disappears as Sephid, who absorbed all the magic, lands with a thud on the ground.
“After losing everything to demons, now it’s the Celestial Race?”
“I’m not part of the Celestial Race.”
I frowned.
Then Sephid smirked and extended his black claws.
“You still want to kill humans and spirits. That hasn’t changed.”
“Indeed.”
“But right now… I don’t think we should fight. Yes, I still have some left.”
“I know it.”
He trudged past me.
Since he wasn’t trying to do anything special, I just left him be.
In the meantime, I focused a bit and checked the chat window I had been trying to ignore.
[Wow]
[???????]
[Whoa, the story is dropping hints like crazy]
[What the hell is this? LOL]
[Why does Lily know so much?]
[Is Lily an NPC? LOL]
[Getting scared, huh? LOL]
[“I’m going to destroy the world! (chickens out)”]
[That penalty is hilarious]
[You can still get penalties without using the ring, what’s up with that?]
[????]
[So that’s the Spirit King, and he’s fallen, right? Lily blocked him with her words]
[Wow]
[Isn’t it just that they were too scared of Lily to attack? LOL]
[LOLOLOLOLOL]
…This is awkward.
“…Ahem! Uh, can you hear me?”
[Yep, yep]
[Have you regained your senses now?]
[Identity swap LOL]
[Penalties are scary, huh? Just blurted out random info]
[What if it turns out that was a lie and there really was no penalty?]
[OMG]
“…Whatever it is, it’s coming to an end.”
I had almost dealt with Karia, the target of elimination, and had somewhat managed to fend off the Empire’s large-scale invasion.
I also managed to stop Sephid, no wait, the Spirit King of Earth, Nord’s evil deeds without a hitch.
It was possible because the Magic Lord’s consciousness had almost disappeared, and brainwashing was no longer fully in effect.
Now, I just had to wrap things up nicely.
Clomp.
“Ugh…”
“…Was I tormented by such a mere human?”
As long as that ended well.
Nord looked down at the nearly non-existent consciousness of the Magic Lord.
A pillar of the Empire and a supreme master of magic, the legendary Three Lords.
It was hard to believe that such a great being was crawling on the ground, trembling.
He raised his black claws.
“Yeah. I’ll make sure to kill you mercilessly.”
With lightning speed, the black claws aimed for the Magic Lord’s heart.
Boom!!
“…!”
[?]
[Huh?]
[?]
[Light?]
The white light’s ‘buff’ enveloped Karia and deflected the attack.
With immense elasticity, Nord’s black claws were pushed back forcefully.
Flick.
The shining white light descended through the darkness.
Amid the warm rays, there was someone fluttering in a pure white saintess robe.
Glasses that sparkled brightly enough to stand out even in the intense light.
“O-Oh no… This person is u-useful… no, someone the Empire needs…”
Nea.
Saintess Nea of the Empire landed gracefully beside Karia.
Still stuttering, huh?
“Uhh… Y-yes…”
“Uh-oh… You’ve become quite the fool… How pitiful…”
“Euggh…”
Swoosh. Karia’s body collapsed as if the connection was severed, and Nea, who embraced Karia, stepped back.
Crash!!
Nord’s magical attack swept away the spot where Nea had been.
“Hand over that human. I won’t tolerate anything else, especially that human.”
“Ah… So, it’s not just one heretic…”
Nea, with her glasses glinting, cradled Karia with one hand and used the other to give Nord a ‘buff.’
It’s literally a ‘buff,’ meant for enhancement.
“Grugh?!”
Currently, Nord’s body was pure magic itself. In contrast, the light created using the holy power was like extreme poison.
The body and soul were being gnawed at, causing immense pain.
As Nea watched Nord thrashing in agony, she adjusted her glasses slightly.
“I should kill the heretic… but I’ll let it slide this time… Ah, um… you too.”
Nea’s gaze turned towards me.
However, I merely looked at her without doing anything.
Her slight confusion over my attitude caused her to tilt her head, but I just continued to observe.
‘This is no opponent to underestimate.’
The opponent was the Spirit King.
By sheer ability, he was a lower celestial race that hadn’t truly awakened their power, or even a demon race that could be beaten.
Moreover, the current Nord had forcefully gained magical power through an experiment and was in a strengthened state.
‘I can’t win against such a low-level opponent.’
“Graah!!!”
Nord pushed through the pain and charged at Nea.
The holy power that gnawed at the magic within him caused overwhelming agony, but he was familiar with pain.
Before long, Nord reached right in front of Nea, reaching out once more, and Nea hurriedly provided a buff, creating a shield of light.
Crunch!!
The shield shattered.
Finally, the attack grazed Nea’s nose and was about to touch her glasses when…
Boom!!!
“…!”
[?]
[?]
[Holy crap]
The Golden Holy descended upon this land.
“War is over.”
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