Chapter 44: List of Possibilities

I instinctively took my gaze away from the Warlord Emperor’s eyes. And I looked alarmed at the sword’s sharping point.

「Too bad, goddess. But, you will die here. I will destroy your brain and your heart with this sword.」

「You’re joking, right? 」

「I heard that, as long as there is a goddess, the hero would be able to escape to the heavenly world at any time. Therefore, I will kill the goddess first in order to destroy an escaping route. I have to take the proper measures before a battle.」

In other words, he was aiming at Seiya all this time!? But…But, why!?

The Emperor pointed his wrinkled hand directly at me.

「Old age is a horrible thing. This body is like steel, but my brain is still clear, even at this moment. I didn’t go to Alfreis, the current home of the Demon King, just for an act of chivalry. I intended to put an end to this old body of mine. But, I met the Demon King there.」

Rosalie said that the Imperial Army stopped the Emperor before he reached Alfreis!! But the Emperor had already met the Demon King by then!?

「The Demon King saw everything. He knew what I desired, so he gave me the God Eater. Okay…Let’s stop this idle talk. I’ll fall into unconsciousness again if I don’t do this quickly.」

Then, the Emperor drew his black sword backwards. He took an offensive stance.

「It’s true that I worshipped and honored the almighty god once before. So, I will show you my empathy. I’ll try to kill you with one blow.」

「*shouts* Stop!! Wait a moment!! 」

My dignified attitude as a goddess disappeared the moment I cried desperately for my life. However, the Emperor did not hesitate and tried to kill me with that big sword.

*screams*

I twisted my body when he tried to slash me. The Emperor had a surprising expression on his face. Somehow, I managed to survive his attack.

「You avoided my attack just now. You have unexpectedly good eyes. It will be difficult for me to kill you with just a single blow.」

「It hurts!! 」

I felt an abrupt pain on my feet. At the same time, my body started to trembled incessantly. I fell in the floor.

「…Just accept your fate. 」

It was as if I fell from riding a horse. I felt awful. The Emperor pointed his God Eater onto my heart.

…Eh…Eh…Eh!! Wait, why was this happening!? Seriously, I was really going to be killed now!? My soul will be destroyed and lost forever!? It…It can’t be…!!

「Do…Don’t… 」

A thin and trembling voice came out from my mouth. The Emperor looked at me with disgusting eyes.

「Are you that afraid of dying? Now that I’m looking carefully at you, you’re just a young woman even though you’re a goddess. You’re pathetic.」

Then, he drew his sword.

「Still, I won’t spare you. 」

I was so scared. My eyes were full of tears. He “will kill” me even though I was immortal…This was the first time my entire life that I had a taste of real fear…Even so, I knew the feelings of despair. I felt a sense of hopelessness because I didn’t have enough power to protect my life from being taken away…

「Seiya…Save me… 」

I muttered in the brink of death. The Emperor shook his head.

「Reality is not a fairytale. There’s no such thing as a well-timed hero for these moments of crisis. Listen well. That hero won’t come here. There is no way that he will think I would attack you in the first place. Besides, everyone thinks that a “goddess can’t die”…That hero perfectly knows that trait about you. He should be fighting the remnants of the demons with a peace of mind.」

It was exactly as the Emperor predicted. There was no reason for Seiya to come here out of nowhere and help me in this crucial time. That was logical. My soul, was cornered, even so I asked for the hero’s help.

「Save me, Seiya!! *yells aloud* 」

「It’s useless to resist, goddess. You should return to nothing. 」

The Emperor swung the God Eater. I instinctively covered my chest with my arms. But, that would be a meaningless effort. Because that sword would be able to slash my arms and pierce my heart. Once that happens, I will surely die.

…At least…I wanted to die after reconciling with Seiya…

The moment of death was dreadfully near. But, my eyes became distracted. The doors of the Cathedral opened a little bit and the light from outside reflected on my teary eyes. Soon…A tremendous cracking sound was heard when the doors opened fully wide! At the same time, an arrow of light came flying through the shining light from the outside and went straightaway to the Emperor’s direction!

「What? 」

The Emperor retreated the sword pointed towards my heart to deflect the attacks. Then, three arrows of light came flying but he defended himself with the God Eater.

…That was…the Shining Arrow!! Was it Seiya!?

However, there was no hero in sight. In front of the opened doors, stood a pale-faced Rosalie instead of Seiya.

「This…This can’t be true…! My father attacked the goddess…! 」

Mash and Elle appeared next to her.

「Lisutan!! Are you okay!? 」

「This was exactly as the Master predicted! 」

Mash rushed away from the doors after he shouted.

Suddenly, I heard fierce sounds from battling swords from the place where I fell down! When I looked ahead, I noticed that the Adamantiter and the God Eater were engaged in a fierce fight!

Before I knew it, Seiya was right in front of me! He exchanged sword blows with the Emperor!

「Gramps. Get away from this woman. 」

The Emperor was more astonished than I was.

「So, you concealed your appearance through the bright light of those arrows. That’s why you managed to enter this Cathedral unnoticeable. Even so, I never thought you would actually appear in here.」

「Just get away. If Lista is not here, I will…I will… 」

I never saw Seiya with a truly serious face. My tears stopped overflowing from the eyes as my chest became gradually hot. Seiya spoke without changing his overly serious expression.

「I will…never return home… 」

Ah…Okay. Well, that was certainly right. Yes.

On that precise moment, Seiya kicked me as if I was a soccer ball.

*screams*

He kicked me away from the Emperor, and I came rolling over in Mash’s direction. Mash ran towards me.

「Oh my!! 」

「You…You look bad, Lista! Are you all right!! 」

「Of course, I’m not all right…More importantly, Mash, Elle!! Why is everyone here!?」

「Mister Seiya was actually worried about you, Lisutan!! That’s why we came back here!!」

I looked at Seiya, and he was still confronting the Emperor. They pulled their clashing swords and stepped back. Now, they were far away from each other.

「Hero. I want to ask you one thing… Do you have any prediction abilities?」

「Unfortunately, I don’t have such abilities. I just thought of a list of possibilities. In one of those possibilities, you would actually try to attack Lista.」

「Pardon me. What do you mean by that? 」

「Do you want to know? Then, I’ll tell you. 」

And Seiya began to talk compassionately.

「In fact, there was a possibility that the General King Eliza was still alive by pretending to be killed by the Warlord Emperor. If that was the case, then Eliza would attack the Imperial Capital once I was gone to defeat the remnant of demons. Even if Eliza was actually dead, he could resurrect and transform into a ghost. If Eliza didn’t attack, then, the Demon King himself would be the one to attack the Imperial Capital. Furthermore…」

He spilled countless of ridiculous words without stopping as if they were a maze of paranoia.

「What’s that? What the hell is he talking about? 」

The Emperor stared at Seiya with a confused expression. It was as if he didn’t understand the meaning of Seiya’s words. However, Seiya continued to talk nonsense that kept approaching the truth.

「…It is a well-known fact that the goddess can’t die. But this world has an S-rank difficulty, which means that the demons that lurks around here might have enough power to create a strong weapon that would kill a god. Also, there was a possibility that the Emperor got to meet the Demon King when he went to the north region. At that time, the Emperor might’ve been jealously of the Demon King’s power, making him an alley of the evil in the process. Because of that conciliatory relationship, there was a possibility that the Demon King gave the Emperor a weapon that would kill a god, meaning that he would use it to aim at Lista. In other words…」

The hero clarified everything that happened. His eyes were pointed sharply towards the Emperor.

「The Warlord Emperor Wolks Rosgard might be my enemy. 」

An “electricity current” ran throughout my body.

What was that just now…!? Where did he get this “transform into a ghost” idea in the first place!? He was sick as usual!! He had a serious heart disease!! But, he was still the best!! That was amazing!! I didn’t know the reason why, but I couldn’t stop tearing up!!

Seiya was staring at me for some reason.

「And…this goddess might be a fake one as well. 」

「No, can’t you see that I’m the real one!? Why don’t you stop making those absurd assumptions against me!?」

When I shouted, the Emperor started to laugh so high that it echoed in the whole Cathedral.

「That totally surprised me. I don’t think you thought of those possibilities just because you have a sharp mind or sharp intuitions. That talent of yours is quite special. Your cautiousness is one that surpasses theory, the common sense, the skills, the logics of the world, and above all, the incomprehensibility of all things…」

His face stiffened as he stared continually at Seiya.

「But, my previous order has changed now! I will finish the goddess after I kill the hero! 」

「Fa…Father! Please stop! Why…Why you’re doing this…! 」

The father pointed the black sword at the daughter that tried to approach him.

「Don’t get in my way, Rosalie! I’ll cut you if you get too close! 」

「This…This can’t be…! Why…! 」

Rosalie trembled and became unsteady as she kneeled on the floor. She felt devastated, not because of the Emperor’s fearsome power, but because she was shocked for being betrayed by a loved one.

The Emperor didn’t care for his daughter as he looked only at Seiya.

「When I was young, I dreamed of becoming the “hero who saves the world”. But, in the end, that dream did not come true. I was not satisfied by the results. Therefore, fighting you will be a great pleasure for me.」

Then, he pointed the God Eater towards Seiya.

「Seiya! Be careful! That sword won’t kill just your earthly body! It can destroy your real soul as well!」

「The goddess is right. If I destroy your brain or heart with this sword, then your life will be gone forever. You will no longer be able to return to your original world. What do you think? How do you feel now that you’ll fight an enemy worthy of being your equal? 」

Yet, Seiya squeezed his nose after he heard the Emperor’s threatening words.

「What’s wrong with that. I don’t see a problem in any of this. 」

Seiya didn’t hold the Adamantiter on his right hand anymore. He took from his sheath the Platinum sword instead and switched places.

「Mode Double Eternal Sword…! 」

Seiya took one sword on the left hand and the other sword on the right hand. The Emperor laughed when he noticed Seiya’s offensive stance. But…

「Ah…ugh!! 」

Suddenly, the Emperor felt an excruciating pain. He put the God Eater on the floor like a cane.

Were…Were those seizures!? I got it!! He was going to become an idiot!! If that happened, the formidable Warlord Emperor would become harmless like a baby!!

However, the Warlord Emperor became like a masochist. He was smiling even though he was suffering.

「*laughs wickedly* My body is on the verge of decaying. But, today it seems that it’s the day of goodbye. If I could regain the glory of my younger days, then I would gladly give this soul to the devil…」

The Emperor took something out of his pocket and put it on his mouth. At that moment, a black aura overflowed from the body of the Emperor.

「Along with the God Eater, the Demon King gave me this “Devil’s Spirited Ball”… This spirited ball is able to rejuvenate the body. The human body will transform into a demon as a side effect…」

There was a change in the Emperor’s body after he spoke. His white hair converted into a blue colored hair just like Rosalie’s hair. The wrinkles on his face gradually disappeared. His arms and legs became robust with toned muscles…The eighty-year-old Emperor turned into a young man in his twenties.

「*laughs extremely loud* I can feel my body overflowing with strength! This reminds me of my prime days…No, I feel that I got more power than before! 」

I could see the Emperor’s newly transformed fangs as he laughed crazily like a mad youthful man! The color of his eyes became red!

I looked at the status of the Emperor who just turned into a demon.

Warlord Emperor Wolks Rosgard

Level – 90

HP – 359985

MP – 0

Attack – 302225

Defense – 293664

Agility – 257511

Magic – 0

Potential – ?

Resistance – Fire, Water, Thunder, Ice, Earth, Darkness, Poison, Paralysis, Instant Death, Sleep, Abnormal Condition

Special skills – Darkness Protection (Lv MAX), Attack Power Evolution (Lv MAX)

Skills – Style Evil Light, Crash Evil Light, Massive Evil Light

Personality – Exceptionally Courageous

…His attack power exceeded 300,000!? It greatly surpassed the status of the last of the Four General Kings Eliza!!

The black aura emanating from the Emperor’s body covered the God Eater! Soon, the sword became fully pitch black! The Emperor, who swallowed the spirited ball and got the power of darkness, held the sword in the upper direction!

「Se…Seiya…That’s…Eh!? 」

Contrary to my scary demeanor, Seiya rushed to the Emperor without hesitation!

「…Now it’s the right time. 」

He used his two swords for continuously strikes! The Emperor managed to block Seiya’s attacks with the God Eater…

「Hmm…! That’s strange movements. What’s that sword’s technique? 」

That technique exceeded the movements of the human arms, the so called “gunshot sword”…Moreover, it was a dual sword style. Even with the current status of the Emperor, it would be impossible for him to clearly see the speed of the movements from the gunshot swords. It created an illusionary image too difficult to grasp the true reality of its movements.

「Don’t get too confident, brat! 」

He swung his big sword with strong power to deflect the gunshot swords’ continuous attacks. However, after that furious strength, the Emperor stepped back as if he was being dragged down by his own power.

I noticed that the Emperor was struggling because of his immense power. I could understand now the meaning of Seiya’s words when he said, “it’s the right time”.

That’s…That’s right! He hasn’t adjusted to the rapidly rejuvenated body yet!

Seiya restarted his offensive sword slashing against the Emperor. The Emperor gradually retreated thanks to Adenela’s skill of direct transmission power. Seiya seemed to be in a advantageous position. He clearly had the upper hand on this fight. With one more strike the Emperor will collapse…I thought so. And yet, the Emperor opened his mouth.

「A dual sword with continuous strikes, huh. That’s a great sword technique you’ve got there. It exceeds Eliza’s six-arm attacks. But… 」

The eyes of the Emperor became darker than blood. His crimson’ eyes shined deeply.

「I’m accustomed. 」

In that instant, I saw trajectories of black lights coming above our heads. At that moment, the Platinum sword that Seiya held on his right arm was repelled and thrown to the ground.

「Take this…! Style Evil Light! 」

A black geometric pattern was drawn in the air! Soon, that attack was released towards Seiya’s one-handed sword! That technique was the one that the Emperor used to immobilize Eliza’s six-arms!

「Seiya!! 」

I screamed on that moment. The sound of bone’s cracking was heard violently from Seiya’s direction.

「…Eternal Sword EX. 」

The Adamantiter on Seiya’s left hand moved rapidly to repel the dangerous trajectory of the black light evoked by the Emperor! The strong sounds of the Adamantiter versus the God Eater made my earlobe hear a sturdy high continuous sound as if it was ringing inside my head!

The…The true consecutive gunshot sword!? I remember seeing that technique when Adenela fought against Tanathus!! When did he master that crazy skill!?

Like me, the Emperor was showing an expression of admiration.

「You are preventing my attacks with just one sword. I see, I see. I never encountered an enemy so formidable like you. I think you’ve probably won consecutive battles without losing even once.」

That’s right! Seiya is the world’s strongest! He was without a doubt a genius hero! Seiya will definitely defeat a man like you! Right, Seiya?

That was what I truly believed. Nevertheless, I couldn’t breathe when I saw Seiya’s profile. There was a deep cut on one of Seiya’s cheeks. Blood was dripping from his face.

…Blo…Blood…!? He didn’t overthrow the Style Evil Light attacks completely!?

In the midst of the dripping blood, I could see that Seiya’s face was sweating.

「The Demon King explained to me once. The world of the human being summoned as the hero is a world without war, like a lukewarm water.」

Then, the Emperor stared piercingly at Seiya with terrifying crimson eyes.

「I know you have a great talent. However, you don’t know anything about pain because you came from a peaceful world. The flesh rips away and blood splashes everywhere. I’ll show you the action of a real battle.」

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Its the first time we saw Seiya bleed… In another note Seiya is right, the only usefulness of Lista is the Portal to the Gods realm…

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