Chapter 157: The Memories of Souls (2)
Elle smiled as she looked at Seiya and me.
「It is fine, Mister Seiya. This world is different from Geabrande.」
「…Is it you Elle? 」
「Don’t worry. Time has stopped. 」
I felt that Seiya relaxed his strength on my breasts. After looking at Elle for a while, Seiya talked to her.
「You…No…What on earth is this place?」
「Hmm. I can’t describe it well because I’m not that smart, but…I could say that this place is another part of Mash’s heart.」
I asked Elle the following question on behalf of Seiya, who wrinkled his eyebrows and thought silently about something.
「Inside of Mash’s heart…Do you mean we are inside of his deep consciousness?」
「Yes. Lisutan, your power allowed you to come here.」
「My…power?」
「Because you were trying to save Mash.」
When Elle pointed her finger, I noticed the presence of another figure. Our Mash sat on a table chair that should have been empty until now. Mash stood up, and approaching us in tears.
「I’m sorry, Master. Sorry, Lista. Ah, I am truly sorry everyone. I’ve done terrible things…」
Seiya looked at Mash with caution, but suddenly, he looked back and stared fixedly at me.
「No, wait. These are probably the hallucinations that Lista is showing to me…」
「No…No, I’m not!」
Seiya approached Mash with suspicion.
「Hey, Mash. I want you to confirm your identity. Tell me something that only we know. Something that even Lista doesn’t know.」
「Ma…Master?」
「I used to teach you how to prepare for battle. “Doubt everything you see. Even your parents and siblings might be enemies as well. And I doubt you too”…Do you remember?」
「Ah, yeah! Of course! 」
「If so, then continue that phrase. 」
…Ehh!? There was a continuation to that ridiculous advice!? What on earth!?
Mash spoke with a little hesitation.
「“Of course, we must doubt Lista too”!」
「Hey, why did you teach him that!? I’m a goddess you know!!」
I was extremely upset, but Seiya nodded positively with a serious expression as if he were finally convinced about Mash’s identity.
「Yeah. You don’t seem to be Lista’s delusion.」
On this very moment. A bloody arm appeared from behind Mash! The young Elle’s face was filled with despair.
「No way… I can’t believe it appeared right at this time…!」
A haze of darkness spread behind Mash, and from there, another Elle, whose limbs were bent, entangled her arms around Mash’s shoulders.
…Elle…Was actually two people!?
『Mash…Kill…humans, gods and heroes…!』
「No, I don’t want to! No, No, No, No! Stop it already!」
Mash blocked his ears with his hands and screamed aloud. Seiya was staring attentively at this agonizing scene.
「Lista. Is that thing what you described as Elle?」
「Can you see it, Seiya!?」
「Yeah.」
It seemed that Seiya could finally see Elle’s ghost. Most probably because we were in this specific place. The ghostly figure of the deformed Elle was trying to drag Mash into the deep darkness where she crawled out of.
『Mashhhhhh! Hurry! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it really hurts!』
「He…Help me, Lista…! Help me, Master…!」
Mash reached out for us. But, more than half of his body had assimilated into the darkness. The young Elle looked down with a painful look on her face.
「When that thing appears…I can’t do anything about it…That thing belongs to a different world than ours. I can’t even touch it…」
「No…No way! 」
「No one…can do anything to prevent it from taking Mash away…」
Eventually, Mash was dragged into the darkness. We couldn’t do anything but watch the situation. However…The metal sound of a sword sheath reached my ears.
I saw a flash, on which Seiya threw the dazzling shining blade towards the darkness. At first, I didn’t know what happened. But… The jet-black darkness was torn apart and Mash’s body got pulled away from it!
「This was…Seiya’s doing!?」
「The blade of photon that cuts through space…Dimension Blade.」
From the depths of the darkness where Seiya was looking fixedly at, I could hear Elle’s ghost screams and grudges.
『Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh…Damn you, damn you, damn you, damn you, damn you!!』
A thunderous yell. Nevertheless, Elle’s ghostly voice became distant, and the darkness swirled away.
「…Mash! 」
The young Elle ran up to Mash. Mash was struggling to breathe, but he seemed to be fine. Elle looked up at Seiya with tears in her eyes.
「Mister Seiya…You saved Mash just like the time when you saved him from Death Magra. And…By saving him, you are saving me too…」
「Do you have memories of that time?」
「I remember my adventures with Mister Seiya. Of course, Mash remembers them as well. But, we forget them every time we return to reality.」
「That’s cruel…」
Mash suddenly jumped into Seiya’s chest. He screamed and cried without stopping.
「Master! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m truly sorry! I didn’t mean this to happen! I’ve been suffering for ten years and it’s been really hard!」
…Mash…!
The distorted-looking ghost of Elle constantly haunted Mash’s deep consciousness…No; his soul may have been screaming all the time for help. The young Elle smiled as she wiped away the tears with her hands.
「But, Mister Seiya has always helped us when we are in tough situations.」
「Thank you, Master! Thank you! 」
「…Wrong. I wasn’t the one who helped you.」
Seiya quietly shook his head in front of them, and then, he glanced at me.
「It was her who told me to save everyone even if they were just mere illusions.」
「Ah, haha. Lisutan is kind.」
Seiya exhaled heavily without looking directly at me. Then, he muttered quietly after being silent for a while.
「It seems that I misunderstood the roots of the evil hidden in the Twisted Geabrande. Moreover…」
「Seiya? 」
「“In a world that subsists infinitely, the souls transcend time and space, and discern everything at the same time”…I see. I should have considered that possibility.」
Seiya walked up to Elle and Mash. And…Oh gosh! Unbelievable! Seiya bowed his head!
「I apologize for not realizing this sooner.」
「Se…Se…Se…Seiya has apologizedddddddddddd!?」
I shouted high upon seeing this unrealistic sight. Like me, Elle shouted in surprise.
「Eh! It’s unusual for Mister Seiya to apologize!」
「I’ve done terrible things to Rosalie. I wonder if I hurt her soul…」
Elle smiled at the unusual-looking Seiya.
「You haven’t done terrible things. After all, Mister Seiya is trying to save Geabrande with utmost effort, am I right?」
「Yeah. Even so… 」
「You don’t need to apologize. But… 」
Then, Elle silently looked at Mash. I noticed that Mash lowered his head remorsefully and painfully.
「Please, I want you to remove the twist that corrupts our world…」
Finally, Elle looked at us with a big smile and said the following words.
「I leave Mash in your care.」
—
…The wind blew and my hair fluttered from my shoulders. I found myself standing on a plain grassland. Seiya and Mash were facing each other not too far away from me.
「Ahahah! I’ll show you the true power of Egzation!」
The armor broke and Mash’s body changed due to the tremendous energy that overflew from inside his body. Sharp-looking fangs spread out of his mouth, and the tattoo-like dragon crest engraved all over his body. He looked like a demon when wings grew on his back. There was no trace left of the Mash we saw in the deep consciousness. I shuddered upon seeing the evil appearance and the more combat-focused visual.
…So, this was Mash’s Pole Changing Dragon!! This change was completely different from the one we saw on the Dragon Mother!!
「I shall bring forth the aura of god…This is Geabrande’s strongest force! The side effects are larger with this form, but…I don’t care what happens to me tomorrow as long as I kill you bastard.」
Besides being a fearsome Dragon King…Mash became the frightening Pole Changing Dragon. After an obvious change in attack and defense power, and a change in agility that combined with the aura of invincibility, Mash laughed triumphantly.
「Hyahahahah! Do you remember what I told you before? I am the type of person who keep my promises! From now on, I will gouge the eyeballs of your comrade and throw them in your mouth, you damn bastard!」
The people around Seiya were nervous by Mash’s new transformation.
「Wha…What a terrifying enemy…! 」
「It…It’s okay! We have the goddess to protect us! 」
「That’s right! We mustn’t fear our death! 」
The army made of the local townspeople surrounded both Seiya and I. However, Seiya raised one hand.
「…Retreat. 」
「He…Hero? 」
「Go back to your town. I’ll do it all by myself from here on. 」
Seiya approached Mash after leaving the confused people behind. Celseus reacted with a confusing look as well.
「What? Seiya…Did something happen? 」
Seiya and Mash faced each other one-on-one with a short gap between them. Mash stared fixedly at Seiya.
「Did you tell your escorts to retreat? You bastard, what are you up to now?」
「God Dragon King Mash Dragonite…I will kill you here and now.」
「What, hey, you haven’t changed your approach after all!!」
Celseus shouted loudly. No…No, wait a second! To save the distorted world by killing Mash! I thought Seiya would change his approach after meeting the real Elle and Mash! And yet, this approach was no different from the wrong one he tried to achieve! But…!
While holding the sword and looking carefully at Mash, Seiya showed a calm expression as if he were talking to a close friend.
「…Mash. 」
「What? 」
「I am sorry to have kept you waiting.」
Shit, poor Rosalie… ;(
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