Chapter 140: Ten Years of Union (2)

I heard a rustling sound. I looked back and saw other Automatic Phoenix twice their number flying away from Seiya’s back!

…Seiya! You’re finally moving now!

However, the Phoenix didn’t go straight to the demons. Instead, it flew towards the town.

「I increased the number of fiery birds to fifty. I have to make sure that the dragons really were exterminated.」

「Hey you!! You’re still invoking them!! How much more do you need to know that!? You aren’t a cormorant* fisherman!!」

「Hmm. Looking at this situation, and that attitude…He’s really a strange hero.」

Chaos Makina was confused by Seiya’s actions. Seiya nodded immediately after.

「There’s no need for me to be hostile with you. I’d rather cooperate with you.」

 「Eh? 」

I was completely amazed at Seiya, who was completely unwilling to fight. Then, Celseus murmured on my ear.

「He…Hey, Lista. You know, about Seiya…Do you think that he isn’t capable of beating Lucifer in a fight?」

「EH!? You know how strong Seiya is!! Even if his ability value is lower, he can easily beat Lucifer if he switches into a Berserker mode…」

「Even if he got closer to her status, how will he prevent the attacks from that magical bow?」

「Tha…That is…! 」

It was unusual for me to be silent after Celseus targeted me with a question.

Was…Was that right, Seiya!? You won’t be able to win in a fight against her…So, that was the reason why you were trying to cooperate with Lucifer!?

Suddenly, Celseus slammed his fist.

「…I shall do it instead. 」

「What!?…Wait right here!! There’s no way that you’ll beat an opponent whom Seiya can’t win!! Did you forget that the enemy has weapons with the Chain Destruction!?」

However, I realized that the devil’s horns were growing from Celseus’ head.

「The devil transformation!? Uno told us that we mustn’t use that in the earthly worlds!!」

「I only released a few percent of the whole power. There should be no problem with this.」

Did…Did he really want to fight!? Don’t tell me that his passion as a Swordsman God came back after spending a few days in this quest with us!?

Those thoughts of mine were actually short-lived. Celseus smiled fondly when he approached the group of vicious demons.

「Please, look at my horns! I’m actually a devil! Yes, I’m your comrade! Lady Chaos Makina, if you’d like, can I please you at night as your comfort object?」

「You are even willing to be a comfort object for that demonnnnnn!? You worthless scum goddddddd!!」

I screamed, while another scum was talking to the nearby enemy.

「The investigation of the whole town is complete. As expected of Lucifer Crow. There are no traces of a living Paradula. He doesn’t exist anymore.」

「This is not the time to praise her! Lucifer is the enemy of humankind!」

 「I don’t care. 」

Seiya approached the flock of demons who surrounded Lucifer. He spoke to Chaos Makina who blocked his way.

「As I said, I’m not hostile with you. Let’s work together to defeat the Dragon King.」

「The hero wants to cooperate with the demons? You’re lying, aren’t you? It’s impossible for anyone to deceive the demons.」

Eliza also came over and stared attentively at Seiya.

「Hero. Then, won’t you mind if we killed all of the people in this town?」

「Yeah. I don’t care. 」

Eliza and Chaos Makina were surprised by Seiya’s immediate response. I shouted in surprise too.

「What is wrong with you!! 」

However, Seiya suddenly moved his neck to the side as if he noticed something relevant.

「Ah, wait. You said “all the people in this town”. Don’t tell me that I’m included as well?」

「*grins devilishly* You are a hero, but you’re still a human being. So, of course.」

Eliza laughed. Meanwhile, Celseus changed his complexion.

「I…I’m not included as well, right? I’m your comrade, am I not? 」

「You aren’t our comrade. You have a strange aura. Half of it belongs to a devil, and the other half belongs to a god. Moreover, there’s no way that we can trust you. You are the hero’s companion after all.」

「No…No way!! 」

Then, a frightened Celseus came back to me in a hurry.

「Damn! I was going to kill all demons, but it didn’t work! 」

「I am the one who wants to kill you…! 」

Seiya was still beside Chaos Makina. He was still trying to reason with her.

「I don’t want you to harm me. 」

「Ahahah! Are you feeling anxious? Are you going to beg for your life? Ah, so pitiful! You’re pathetic, a very pathetic hero!」

「I beg you, can’t you just kill all the other humans except for me? 」

「No way!! Are you really begging for your life!? Seiya, stop it already!!」

I yelled at Seiya. I felt so embarrassed and unhappy to see him behaving like this. Nevertheless, Seiya never gave up and tried to speak to Lucifer Crow, who was far away from him.

「Let’s calm down a little, and talk things out. I don’t care how much people you kill. I can cooperate with you from the shadows. The most important thing right now, is to defeat the Dragon King. You can kill as many people as you want from this town. This will prove that my words are true.」

He…He was the worst…!! How could he say that!! This was a twisted world, but still!!

My heart was saddened about Seiya, who was enthusiastic about persuading Lucifer.

「I…Until now, I…What have I done… 」

Tears overflowed from one eye, and fell down from her cheek.

…Rosalie…!

I truly hated Rosalie, who sacrificed humans for the sake of Lucifer’s resurrection. She didn’t even care when her loyal advisor Flasika died for her. But now, Rosalie returned to her senses. She was reckless, but had a straightforward personality…Rosalie…That’s right, this person was finally the Rosalie whom I knew very well.

「I’m so stupid…I became a pawn for the demons and offered my own people as sacrifices…I even sacrificed Flasika’s life…」

She bit her lips as she spoke with remorse. I didn’t know what to say in a situation like this. Then, Rosalie turned her sword towards herself.

「Wa…Wait, Rosalie!! 」

Rosalie tried to cut her throat with the sword without hesitation just as Flasika did to himself. I tried to stop her, but someone held on to Rosalie’s arms earlier than I did.

「Please stop, Lady Rosalie! 」

Most of the townspeople had escaped from this place when the demons showed their true nature. Even so…

「Nina!? 」

A serious-looking Nina grabbed Rosalie’s arms.

「Why are you stopping me? I’m the woman who sacrificed your own father, don’t you know that?」

「My dad had always trusted Lady Rosalie. He knew that Lady Rosalie is a truly gentle soul, who has turned her human heart into a demonic nature in order to save humankind…My dad always told me that.」

「Wrong…I am…! 」

Nina smiled gently while holding Rosalie’s arms.

「Something awaited me on the day of my dad’s death. When I returned home, I noticed that he left me a letter. “You should never hate Lady Rosalie”… That’s my dad’s will.」

Tears fell from the one-eyed Rosalie.

「Please, forgive me…! Please…Forgive me…! 」

…Ugh, I was about to cry as well…!

I wiped my tears while watching the two of them embrace each other. This whole scene felt so serious and moving. However, when I suddenly looked at Seiya, I saw that he was still persuading Lucifer.

「…I’ll ask you one more time. Will you kill only the people of this town except for me?」

「Hey you!! For how long are you going to keep begging for your lifeeee!! That damned conversation hasn’t changed for a long time nowwww!!」

I was so furious with the not-so hero like Seiya. Lucifer was looking at Seiya with disdainful eyes as if she was looking at a dirty thing.

「Why are you begging so much for your life? I don’t think your life is worth saving. After all, heroes are like repulsive insects.」

「I’m good with being just an insect. I want you to perform my duty and defeat the Dragon King yourself.」

Lucifer spoke with harsh words after she heard the hero say that he was okay in being a bug.

「Haven’t you heard about anything we’ve said? Humans and demons are not cooperating. Not now and obviously not in the future. You belong to an inferior race. You should die before I kill the dragons.」

Then, Chaos Makina reacted to Lucifer’s words.

「Excuse me, but are we going to kill them all? Why don’t we use some of the humans as livestock?」

「It’s nauseating for me just bearing the thoughts of having humans nearby. There’s no point in making them our livestock.」

「But, but… 」

This time, Chaos Machina and Lucifer began to talk with each other. However, the contents of their conversation were whether they killed the humans or turned them into livestock. There was no good option among those two. It oscillated between the worst and the hopeless. Either way, humanity had no future.

At some point, Rosalie regained the posture of a warrior.

「Nina. This is an opportunity. Run away now. 」

「How about you Lady Rosalie…? 」

「It doesn’t matter what happens to me. But, I will do my best to protect you.」

While I witnessed this hopeless situation, I heard someone say, 「Ahh. 」. I saw that Seiya sighed with an unpleasant look on his face.

「Jeez. So, this is how it ends. 」

Then, Seiya turned his head and began to move his hands around as if he were doing preparatory exercise.

「Wha…What are you doing this time? 」

「The safest and the greatest way to win against the enemy is without getting my hands dirty…I tried to go this route, but it seems that it failed. I have no other choice then.」

「Eh! What do you mean? 」

「To fight Lucifer Crow. 」

「Is…Is that so! You’re finally motivated! But…are you going to be okay? We saw how deadly her magical bow of darkness is! She’s really a formidable demon with a frightening status! Did you hear that she even surpassed the power the previous Demon King?」

「I don’t need you to tell me that. I know it very well. Her strength equals the power of Exfolia’s Grand Lion.」

「Ah…So, you did see her status after all… 」

「Whether this is a twisted world or something else, I always pay close attention to my self-defense. So, for me it’s a natural consequence to fight against Lucifer if my persuasion didn’t work.」

Rosalie glanced up at Seiya. She probably heard our conversation.

「You have to escape now. It’s useless to fight her. Lucifer Crow was our trump card to defeat the Dragon King. Her resurrection took us a whole decade…There is no human being in the entire world that can win over a legendary-class demon, which even surpassed the status of the former Demon King.」

「Shup up, old Rosalie. Just focus about rebuilding your devastated town after the battle.」

「He…Hey! 」

Rosalie tried to stop him from leaving, but to no avail. Seiya began to walk towards Lucifer Crow.

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 *Cormorant fishing is an ancient tradition with deep roots in China, Japan, and Korea. The technique is typically practiced in rivers, with the fisherman training their birds to catch fish in their throat and bring them back to the boat.

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