I was finally in the mood to edit some chapters, and I was like “Alright! I’ll edit some chapters after I quickly do this chapter~!” Hah, ‘quickly’, how naive could I be. Because of how long this chapter was, I procrastinated for so many hours… My meager pride is still screaming at me to edit them though… Thanks for reading~
Flames are rising and vulgar laughter is resounding in the kokuyoku race"s village.
The G.o.d bird Caladrius is fluttering about in the sky.
Because of the overwhelming mana the G.o.d bird releases and the feeling of being drawn to a great presence, the demons and monsters who attacked the kokuyoku race"s village are looking up at the sky.
And then, snow begins to fall.
It isn"t just normal snow. It"s the fatal disease G.o.d bird Caladrius"s snow of death.
The violet snow falls and piles up.
Screams start resounding.
The monsters and demons collapse in succession.
They have been afflicted with disease.
I have tasted the power of the G.o.d bird"s disease with my body.
Even I, who can obtain resistance by making an antibody and instantly heal no matter what disease I"m harmed by, am helpless before the G.o.d bird"s disease that changes its nature every second.
There"s no difference even if the opponent is a demon.
Even monsters that have absolute resistance to poison and superior demons are turning into prey one by one.
I confirmed it after looking at this. For the trial, the objective was only to test us, and the G.o.d bird had been holding back.
This is its serious disease.
To answer to Eve"s hatred and sorrow by killing them, it is sending poison snow.
"It"s tremendous." (Kearuga)
It seems I had still underestimated the G.o.d bird"s power.
Hundreds of demons and monsters have been afflicted with disease, struggled in agony, and died.
It"s pointless even if they try to escape to the buildings.
The snow that descended onto the ground vaporised and has spread from being carried by the air.
It"s better than directly touching the snow, but it just means that death will visit slightly later.
It"s an overwhelming power.
If we have this, it"s possible to defeat both the demon king and his followers.
The legend that it destroyed a country in a night wouldn’t have been an exaggeration. The G.o.d bird would be able to do it.
"… It"s not the time to be happy, but I"m thankful for the large quant.i.ty of EXP here." (Kearuga)
Moreover, it"s wonderful to have the demons and monsters that the G.o.d bird killed being treated as Eve"s kills.
EXP rapidly come into us who have formed a party with Eve.
I"m glad that we were able to level up in one go here.
It can serve as our last preparations before we challenge the demon king.
And also, there is one more big meaning to this attack.
I loved the people of this village. This isn"t an act, and I truly did love them from the bottom of my heart.
It was only a short time we spent together, but the genial people and the gentle time had reminded me of my hometown.
… That was stolen. I can"t forgive them. There"s no way I could forgive them.
Even I am feeling hatred, but Eve is feeling a more violent and intense hatred and sorrow.
"More, more! Annihilate them!" (Eve)
With disheveled silver hair, she is using the G.o.d bird"s power.
I can tell from just looking at her. A tremendous amount of mana is being absorbed from Eve.
That"s not all, her stamina… no, a more fundamental something that cannot be undone is being taken from Eve.
She should be going through considerable agony, but she is bearing the pain while continously using power.
And then… she reaches her limit.
Eve faints and crumbles down.
『Fumu, your supply of power has stopped. I can only stay in this state for another several tens of seconds. O small ones. All the enemies have died out, and there are none to protect in the village. … However, in the northern forest, albeit faint, I can sense lives that resemble my master. If you are going to save them, you should hurry.』(Caladrius)
After saying just that, the G.o.d bird drops us off onto the ground and disappears. The violet snow and the vaporized poison that floated above ground had both unbelievably disappeared.
The northern forest huh.
The probably let some of the women and children secretly escape.
If they all ran, they would have been found with pursuers chasing after them, resulting in complete destruction.
Therefore, the majority of them became a decoy and only let a few of them escape. It"s quite a courageous action.
After getting off to the ground, I look at Eve"s state.
She has weakened to the limit.
From my pocket, I take out stamina recovery potions and mana recovery potions.
Putting those in my mouth, I pour it down her throat.
As she has lost consciousness, this is the fastest way to make her drink it.
In addition, I apply【Recovery Heal】on her.
"Eve, wake up, Eve!" (Kearuga)
"Ke, a, ru, ga." (Eve) (TL Note: His name is written in hiragana instead of katakana here, to show that she"s saying it weirdly because she was so weakened.)
After a while, Eve comes to her senses.
It seems quite painful for her.
"I"ll tell you the current situation, so understand it the first time I say it. Everyone who was attacking this village died. And then, according to the G.o.d bird, some of the kokuyoku race has escaped to the northern forest. There might be pursuers over there as well. I plan on chasing after them from now. What will you do, Eve? I gave you temporary treatment, but if it"s tough, then you can rest." (Kearuga)
"… I will go as well! If there are still survivors, I want to save them." (Eve)
"I see… everyone else will stay on standby here. I want to reduce the weight on the raptors to gain more speed." (Kearuga)
"Nn. Kearuga-sama, just in case, Setsuna will check if there are any survivors here." (Setsuna)
"Yeah, I"m counting on you." (Kearuga)
We"re talking about that G.o.d bird that excessively pays attention to other people. If there were any kokuyoku race survivors, it would have warned us before using its power, but just to be sure, it would be better to check. I"ll leave that to Setsuna and Co.
"Eve, hold on to me." (Kearuga)
"Yeah, take it out, Kearuga." (Eve) (TL Note: Referring to the raptor I think.)
We mount the raptor, and after I confirm Eve has wrapped her arms around my waist, I make the raptor run.
I made the raptor run with all its power in the direction the G.o.d bird pointed at.
The raptor wouldn"t be able to keep up with this way of running, so by using【Recovery Heal】, I forcibly recovered its stamina to keep it running.
There is something that has been on my mind ever since I used【Recovery Heal】on Eve earlier.
Eve didn"t recover even from my【Recovery Heal】.
If her stamina and mana was just exhausted, then she would recover from a potion and【Recovery Heal】.
Something more than that was probably taken away.
“Eve, sharpen your senses. You are better at detecting mana than me.” (Kearuga)
“Yeah, no matter how small, I won’t miss any sign of mana.” (Eve)
I have set searching-use abilities and sharpened my five senses until the limit.
I was only taught the direction from the G.o.d bird. It wouldn’t be strange to overlook something.
“Are you able to talk while you’re still being on guard?” (Kearuga)
“Yeah, that’s okay.” (Eve)
“What did you present to the G.o.d bird?” (Kearuga)
Eve swallows her breath.
It seems she thought I hadn’t noticed.
“…To call the G.o.d bird Caladrius, it’s necessary to present your stamina, mana and life force. If I made the G.o.d bird Caladrius fight with all its power, I could probably only call it four or five times. If I call it that many times, my life force will probably become empty.” (Eve)
As expected of the G.o.d bird.
If it was an ordinary person, they probably would have become a disabled person in one shot.
Because Eve is irregular, she can call it five times. And each times he calls it, Eve steadily becomes weaker. Once she calls it three times, she would break down, and I doubt she would even be able to normally live.
“Sorry. I didn’t think it would be something like that. If I knew, I wouldn’t have relied on the G.o.d bird.” (Kearuga)
In the first world when Eve had reigned as the demon king, it’s not that she didn’t call the G.o.d bird, but it was that she couldn’t call it anymore.
Until she reigned as the demon king, she had most likely relied on the G.o.d bird’s power until the limit.
If not, it would be impossible for the Eve in those days to become the demon king. Because she had the G.o.d bird, she was able to overturn the difference in fighting power.
I had cornered her into doing it without knowing that.
“You don’t have to apologize. After all, for just my life alone, you can use such an amazing power. You should thank me. By just presenting one life, you can defeat ten thousands of people after all. There’s no story as tasty as this.” (Eve)
There was no uneasiness in Eve’s voice.
Rather, I sense hope from her in defeating the demon king.
In a way, her words are correct. It’s a cool-headed calculation and the cost performance is good.
Even so…
“Don’t ever use that again. What’s ‘just my life alone’. For me, your one life has a lot more value than ten thousand pieces of trash you can find anywhere. It’s not profitable so don’t do it.” (Kearuga)
Those are my thoughts.
I like Eve. There’s no way I could bear exchanging her for just a few tens of thousands of trash.
“Kearuga, don’t say those sorts of things. You’re making me fall in love with you.” (Eve)
“Aren’t you already in love with me? I’ll say it just in case, I’m going to properly embrace you today.” (Kearuga)
It’s also to console her. It’s better for someone to be beside her.
“Yeah, embrace me plenty. If you don’t, I probably won’t be able to endure today.” (Eve)
Her voice has turned into one with sorrow and hatred mixed together.
Those feelings are too heavy for someone to carry themselves.
“Also, Kearuga. I will use this power… I was naive. I thought I could someday become the demon king and save everyone if I continued running away. But that wasn’t true. It’s exactly what you said before. I didn’t even notice that things would be stolen from me if I don’t steal. I won’t hesitate anymore. I will defeat the current demon king. For that reason, I will use this power. Even if you stop me, I will definitely use it. I don’t want anything to be taken from me anymore.” (Eve)
Revenge.
It’s our common feature.
I see, so Eve has already chosen huh.
‘I won’t stop anymore. I have come too far that I can’t be stopped.’
She has understood that by force. …I want to stop her. However, I don’t have the qualifications to tell her that when I’m the one that has advanced to the end of that path.
“In that case, promise me. I’ll lend you my power. Therefore, you can only use that power once. I’ll make it so you only have to use it once.” (Kearuga)
Thinking about it realistically, it’s impossible to challenge the demon king without the G.o.d bird.
In the first world, on top of having four heroes, because they had various backups, they won.
Therefore, I’ll find a method to win by just using that power to the max just once. That is the only way I don’t lose Eve and she can carry out her revenge.
“Thank you. Kearuga, why are you doing this much for me?” (Eve)
“You’re being insistent. I have already said the answer of it many times. It’s because I love you. If it’s for the sake of my woman, I will go through any hards.h.i.+p. That’s why I can embrace you with a peace of mind.” (Kearuga)
“Because you’re like this… I love you so much.” (Eve)
Eve rests her *forehead on my back.
I’m feeling motivated.
For a while, I continue making the raptor run.
My sense of uneasiness is steadily increasing.
It was at that time. (TL Note: As far as I know, おでか(???) doesn’t mean anything, so I think the author just made a mistake in writing おでこ(Forehead).)
“Kearuga, turn your route slightly to the left, there’s a mana presence from over there. It’s the kokuyoku race’s mana! Furthermore, that person is fighting right now!” (Eve)
“Okay!” (Kearuga)
Eve found it.
Furthermore, the fact that the person is fighting means they are alive. I need to hurry.
Miru-jii is there. He has taken a stance with his staff. His robe is dyed in blood, and he has taken a severe wound.
With girls from the kokuyoku race behind him, he’s fighting bat-winged demons.
When our eyes meet, Miru-jii smiles.
In Miru-jii’s surroundings, there are corpses of adult men from the kokuyoku race, and the corpse of a gigantic bat monster is rolling.
I throw a knife.
It pierces through the bat monster that came to attack Miru-jii from high in the sky.
“I came to save you!” (Kearuga)
I purposely threw away my chance for a surprise attack and made them aware of me.
It seemed like Miru-jii would immediately be killed if I didn’t do so.
The bat-winged demons face this way.
I jump off from the raptor and charge with a low posture.
They come to try and cut me with their sabers.
I dodge them, and press my hand against a stomach.
“【Deterioration Heal】” (Kearuga)
Due to【Deterioration Heal】, I remake the enemy’s body to one with an abnormal condition. I blocked the gateways to the heart.
Because of that, the man instantly dies.
The second one faces this way. However, by the time he turned around, there was nothing above his neck.
Eve did it.
It evaporated because of Eve’s light magic.
The third one looks at us, understands that he’s at a disadvantage and tries to run, but Eve’s light magic mercilessly pierced through him.
Light magic goes at the speed of light. Therefore, running away is impossible. Now that her accuracy problem has been resolved, Eve has become a magician of the strongest cla.s.s.
Because their masters are gone, the bat monsters run away.
There are no signs of enemies in the surroundings. It seems we have somehow made it in time.
“Miru-jii!” (Eve)
Eve rushes over to Miru-jii.
Miru-jii has taken a serious injury.
It wouldn’t be weird for him to die whenever. I need to quickly cure him.
I hurriedly head that way too.
And then, I press my hand on him.
However…
“Kearuga, what are you doing, quickly heal him, Mriu-jii will, Miru-jii will die.” (Eve)
Eve shakes my shoulder.
However, I can’t meet her expectations.
No matter what kind of disease or injury it is, I can heal it.
However, even so… I’m unable to resurrect the deceased. It’s the limit of a healing magician.
“Eve, it’s impossible. He’s already, dead.” (Kearuga)
“That’s, a lie. After all, he’s properly standing, and holding his staff, and yet, and yet.” (Eve)
Eve opens her eyes widely.
She was probably made to understand by Miru-jii’s soul entering her wings.
“Eve, listen well. Miru-jii already got a fatal wound. However, to protect those girls, he was fighting on just his willpower. And by us defeating the pursuers, his thread of tension broke off.” (Kearuga)
“Why, why, we couldn’t even make it in time for Miru-jii! Even though I thought we finally caught up with him, even though I though we could save him.” (Eve)
Eve screams.
To her, Miru-jii was her foster parent.
And he died in front of her eyes. That scar is deep.
… And I can’t endure my hatred either. That d.a.m.n demon king who killed Miru-jii. Rather than many kind people dying, the fact that my friend, Miru-jii, died gouged my heart out even deeper.
After coming here, my intentions have changed. Subjugating the demon king is no longer just helping out with Eve’s revenge.
It’s my revenge. With my own intention, for my sake, I will kill the demon king.
“… Eve, stop crying. Let’s admire Miru-jii first. He protected them and fulfilled his duty.” (Kearuga)
The girls that were behind him who he protected are uninjured. Because he kept standing even after he got a fatal wound, we were able to make it in time.
With just that, there was a meaning for him to live.
“But, but.” (Eve)
“I know you’re frustrated. However, if you don’t accept it, you can’t move on. Isn’t that right?” (Kearuga)
“Yeah, I will absolutely, absolutely avenge Miru-jii. Moreover, I won’t let them kill the children Miru-jii protected.” (Eve)
With gloomy flames of revenge in her eye, Eve declares that.
The girls that Miru-jii protected come up to us.
“Um, Eve-sama, Miru-sama has entrusted me with his last request. He said he wants me to tell Eve-sama if I meet her after he dies.”
While shedding tears like Eve, the girl intermittently spins a tale.
“Tell me.” (Eve)
“Yes, he said ‘once I die, please let me fight with you. I want to continue fighting together through thick and thin as a knight of Eve-sama’s wings.”
“… I see, so Miru-jii said that sort of thing.” (Eve)
“We, no, everyone who died until now feels the same! Even if we are tied to this world for the rest of our lives, we want to fight! We want to clear away our resentment! Therefore, Eve-sama. Please use【Kokuyoku Summoning】! We have suffered this much damage, been killed and trampled, so I absolutely cannot agree with letting it end like that. Therefore, please let us fight with you! That is our wish.”
Eve looks up at the sky.
And then, she spreads her wings.
Every feather of those wings has a soul of the kokuyoku race who died with regret.
Her wings are s.h.i.+ning.
For some reason, it felt like the countless number of kokuyoku race souls that dwell in her wings are crying.
“I have received Miru-jii’s last request. … Until now, I had never used【Kokuyoku Summoning】. If I used it, they would be tied to the present world after all. I was waiting for them to return to heaven once their hatred fades away some day. However, it’s just as you said. Everyone would hate it if we only keep suffering damage. Therefore, we will fight together. That’s what I decided.” (Eve)
Eve makes a face that’s unbound to the past.
And then, she sweetly strokes her wings.
“I will fight together with all your souls that have been put in these wings.” (Eve)
Various thoughts start pouring out of her wings.
They are wavelengths of great joy.
I embrace Eve’s shoulders closely. Eve’s shoulder are small. They’re too small to be burdened with all of the kokuyoku race.
Therefore, I’ll support them.
They seem like they would break down if I don’t.
“First, let’s return to the village. We also need to decide what we will do with these girls from now on.” (Kearuga)
“That’s true. For the sake of Miru-jii as well, we need to let these girls live.” (Eve)
We nod to each other.
With this, the attack on the kokuyoku race’s village has settled for now.
Various people were lost, and Eve chose the path of revenge.
It’s a path of solitude she can’t turn away from anymore. Therefore, at least I will advance forward with her, as Eve’s lover, and above all, as a comrade who similarly had their important person taken away.