It was dusk when Isagi parted with Shuu.
It seems they ended up talking for quite a long time.
Isagi immediately went back to the inn.
Just like he imagines, Amalia make racket like always and Franz tried to calm his big sister down.
It seems that they still prohibited to enter the castle.
After greeted them, Isagi immediately went to his bed while holding his pained hand.
The thing that Shuu had said to him surfaced on his mind.
(G.o.d Disease, huh... Even if he said all of that now... )
Probably the S rank adventurer with green sword that he fought back then at the port in Blackround, also someone who caught the G.o.d Disease.
After all his presence wasn"t that of a normal human.
Shuu said, G.o.d Disease wasn"t something that normal humans could perceive, but he could see those ghastly things surrounding that adventurer with the eye that he possesses.
Now that he thought about it, probably Demon Emperor Anrimanyu also caught that G.o.d Disease as well.
The amount of his magical power wasn"t something that person could possibly have.
However, Caliburnus" magical power already far surpa.s.sed even that demon emperor.
(... What in the world are you trying to do, Shuu?)
Even at this moment, Isagi still couldn"t understand what Shuu"s goal was.
It looks like Shuu doesn"t just simply tried to save the world.
Anyway, He already promised Isagi that he would arrange so Isagi could met with Bardz.
The day would be tomorrow.
Shuu said, there would be a hole in the guard in that day.
For now, that was enough.
Shuu had said that they wouldn"t be able to defeat Caliburnas with the way they were right now.
He said that, despite knowing the true extent of Isagi power.
It means that the G.o.d Disease was that much of terrifying thing.
Isagi closes his eyes.
He doesn"t want to think that all of the things that Shuu had said were true.
However, he understood.
Shuu depended on him.
The sixteen years old Isagi, and the hero who once saved this world Isagi, clashed inside his mind.
Isagi wanted to believe in Shuu.
However, he mustn"t believe in him completely .
With the sound of the siblings frolicking with each other in the background.
Isagi closes his eyes as he thought.
(No, right now, let"s leave it as it is... Either way, I"ll have to cooperate with him...)
As long as the enemy that he had to defeat was Caliburnas.
----
The putrid smell tick the nostrils.
Isagi"s face grimaced.
"You said that you will meet me with Bardz... Now look, Isn"t this the secret pa.s.sage of the royal castle…?"
"The device that was set here 400 years ago still working even now, you know, isn"t that amazing?"
"Don"t you have more smarter way to do it, though?"
Isagi groaned.
They walked through the underground pa.s.sage, with Shuu light his fingertip using sorcery to lit the way up.
It seems that in several generations ago, in the past, Shuu had a chance to become the acquaintance of the King of the Paraberiu.
On that occasion, he heard a lot of secret regarding the royal castle, and this place was one of that.
On the outskirts of the Dynacity, one could find a stone monument, when they moved that monument they could see a stairway that would lead to an underground pa.s.sage, they’d used that pa.s.sage to sneak into the royal castle.
Surely it was a thing that would make one"s heart beat in excitement, but in the end it was still an illegal way to do stuff.
Also, despite saying that he didn"t believe in anyone, Shuu still expose his unguarded back to Isagi. Probably he understood that he couldn"t win even if they have to fight. Even counting that, its show Shuu resolute himself.
Shuu laughed as he turned his head, looked at Isagi.
"But, you"re amazing you know, Iskun"
"Hmm?"
"Even though almost all of my power when I was summoned into this world were gone, but that doesn"t seem to be the case with you, as your power didn"t changed from what you have 20 years ago, right?"
"... Well, I suppose"
Now that Shuu mention it, that time when Isagi used a.n.a.lysis Technique on Shuu, He remembered that Shuu"s stats didn"t really that much different from Renzou"s and Yoshin.o.bu.
At first, Isagi thought that it was because Shuu wasn"t a knight and a sorcerer, thus he didn"t really train his body...
Shuu shrugged his shoulders.
"I suppose that is also one of your tricks, right? My guess is that your eyes that capable to erase all kind of magical power, negating a part of the Summoning Technique effect"
"Yeah, probably"
Isagi stroked his eyepatch.
Never in his wildest dream he thought that his eyes would automatically activates in case something like that were to happen with him.
There were still a lot of things that he didn"t know about the Break Technique.
He just learned how to control its power, as it"s just recently he actually learned about how spell and magic work.
"... Hey, Shuu"
"What, Iskun?"
"If I use Break Technique, can I destroy Caliburnas?"
"I don"t really know much about that power, but I ask, is that power capable of piercing through the Physical world, Magic World, Soul World, until it reached the G.o.d world?"
"No... Even if it"s possible, I suppose the Magic World would be the limit. If I push it until the Soul World, I wouldn"t left unschated"
There is backlash in using the Break Technique.
If he wanted to erase the opponent"s soul in one attack, Isagi had to prepare for his soul to extinguished as well.
If that was the case, then he couldn"t use it.
Shuu said "Hmm" as he nodded.
"Then I suppose it wouldn"t have any effect on a person who is inflicted with G.o.d Disease, right? It"s worth trying though"
"The risk is too high..."
Isagi shakes his head.
Thought it was a forbidden technique that he bet his life with to obtain, it couldn"t be helped.
Isagi looked at Shuu"s back who walked in front of him.
No matter how he looked at it, it was slender and by no means the back of a warrior who already went through long battle.
"Hero Mashuu, eh"
"It"s kinda ticklish to be called by that name, you know"
"In the book that I read, all he had done was defeating bad guy though"
"All of the people who were inflicted with G.o.d Disease could only be seen as the bad guy from the outside, you know. They were just a zombies that could only moves following their desires"
"But it was still a crisis for the nation, right?"
"Well, yeah. But the situation was completely different compared to now. At that time it was just them attacking from foreign countries, but right now, one of the worlds most important person that was affiliated with the organization called Adventurers Guild, is someone infected with G.o.d Disease. Furthermore, he is human supremacist"
"... That"s why he attack Demon race, and the other"s race"
"There is no brake for those people. He already couldn"t thought anything for himself"
"I never heard such story before, thought..."
"After all, I already eradicate that disease from this world 400 years ago. I suppose it couldn"t be helped if there wouldn’t be any written proof left now"
The voice of two boys reverberates in the middle of the dark.
Suddenly, Isagi remembered.
The end of the Hero Mashuu that he read on the book.
It was something that was too cruel for him to ask.
But, since it was something that probably would have made Isagi able to know what was Shuu really had in his mind, He asked anyway.
"Now that I remembered about it, you have a lover, right?"
Hero Mashuu"s lover, Luna.
She suddenly lost her live in the middle of their journey.
Her end was just being stabbed by some villain.
Isagi didn"t know whether it was the truth or not, but it said in the book that how Hero Mashuu"s griefed over her death, wasn"t something that could be described in words.
For quite a moment, Shuu was silent.
The light shook in the darkness.
"... You"re right. But it was in the past. Its already 400 long years ago"
His tone, contain a bitterness in it.
Thought, for Shuu it was something that only happened around a year ago.
After that, the two walked silently through the underground pa.s.sage.
"We will arrive in a moment"
Finally they met a dead end.
Shuu place his hand on the wall, and move a brick.
And so, a stone door silently opened.
Dim light started to sapped into the pa.s.sage made Isagi squint his eyes.
What comes into sight were several knights who were on patrol--- or not, it was just a silent courtyard as far as he could see.
It seems this really wasn’t a trap that Shuu had set for him.
As he felt relief, Isagi also realized that he didn"t actually completely believe in Shuu.
Shuu felt Isagi"s gaze and then warmly smiled.
"I already "discuss" things with the guards over here, you know. After this we could advance smartly, just like how you liked it"
"... You"re amazing, eh, Shuu.When did you have time to do these things?"
"Hahaha, you know, becoming an Adventurers Guild staff in this world is all about being used or using someone"
Shuu made a mischievous smile.
Isagi astonished to see this side of Shuu.
The two of them walked inside the silent castle without being disturbed by anyone.
"... It"s been a long time since I last came to this place, heh"
"Is that so? Its seems no different for me, though"
"Except of the few months of swordsmanship training that I got in this castle when I first summoned three years ago, I immediately got thrown outside. I just came back and forth from my room and practice field, so I completely clueless about the inner structure of the castle"
"The summoned person from your age got really rough treatment, eh. In my case, I was treated like G.o.d the time I was summoned, you know"
"Probably its because the different in the civilization level, right?"
"Maybe"
The two summoned person who came from different age, slowly walked together as they talked about their experience.
Finally, Shuu stopped in front of a big door.
He then slowly knocked the door.
"... It"s Shuu. I ask permission to enter"
Mumbled voice of a man came answering from inside.
"Enter"
Isagi surprised.
Without doubt.
It was the voice of one of his friends who once fought together with him.
There would be no way for him to be mistaken about it.
Finally, they met.
After all this time, finally he arrived.
His heartbeat started to hasten.
He really miss that knight, Bardz.
A man among men, who have a high sense of responsibility and self confidence.
The king of mercenary that everyone depend on and admires.
That manly smile, even now Isagi could imagine it when he closes his eyes.
Shuu slowly opened the door.
Isagi entered the room as he swallowed his saliva.
Inside that room that being illuminated by the lamp.
He could sense the presence of a man.
On the top of that bed, he could see him.
"OOh..."
Voice of admiration leaked out from his mouth.
But, the moment he saw that man"s appearance, Isagi stopped his breath.
"... Is that you, Bardz?"
"Isagi..."
Hoa.r.s.e voice.
That man slowly raised his body.
His steel like body were thinned out, and his appearance now look like a withered tree.
His hair lain receded, there were countless wrinkles under his eyes.
Sitting over there, was the appearance of a tired old man.
Isagi became lost of words.
"Hehe... I got really long live, eh.
To think that we could meet again like this, hehehe"
Isagi slowly walked toward Bardz who laughed as his old body shakes.
There was scar from long ago, could be seen on that laughing face of his friend that grew old.
"... I, will wait outside"
Shuu left the room.
Isagi just slowly walked toward Bardz side like he was in trance.
"... Bardz..."
Isagi couldn"t trembled with feeling of joy again like before as he spoke his name for the second time.
"I heard your story a bit from Shuu. He said that you got summoned to this time from that day that time 20 years ago, eh"
"... Yeah"
"Hehehe... So such kind things also can happen, eh... Anyway, I"m glad that you"re alive, you know"
Isagi sat close to him on the side of the bed.
"There were a lot of things that I want to tell you, though... But the moment I see your face, I just forget all of it, hah"
"..."
Isagi took a deep breath, then let it out.
He needs more time to accept the 20 years difference in time they had.
So such kind of things could happen, eh.
The words that came out from Bardz mouth, keep repeated in Isagi"s brain.
That"s right. Such thing could happen.
Isagi never thought about what would happen to Bardz, all this time.
He just selfishly thought that Bardz would stay like he has always been.
Bardz was just like him, a normal human.
And Isagi just remembered that now.
Isagi Asked.
"... Bardz, I heard that this world is crooked. What in the world happened? Why all of this happened? Please, tell me"
"Aah, that"s right"
Bardz let out a sigh as he exhaled.
"Let"s talk about it, from the beginning.
... The last half of my life.
I want you to hear about this, Isagi"
He mutters so while gazing out the window.
His gaze felt distance.
The way he acts, like an old man who miss the past.