Chapter 22 — Interlude: You Came to Get Me, Right?

 He had no idea where he was, or where he had come from. But when Ein came to, he was walking down a familiar road. Far off from the village, it was a slightly overgrown path. This was the road to his own house.

 Though he had barely been able to drag his ruined body around earlier, at some point it had begun to heal. He hadn't done anything in particular — the rare healing power he possessed had already knit closed most of the wounds inflicted by the Sage. It was a wonderful power. Despite falling from such a height, not only had he not died, but he'd started to heal automatically.

 Yet Ein had nothing but derision for himself. So what if he could heal? He couldn't beat a single Sage in combat.

 It was supposed to have been the perfect chance. The Sages were elusive, unpredictable in when and where they would appear. There was normally no way to know where they would be at any given time, but his agent had infiltrated the City Guard and managed to secure that information. He had known both the place and time that a Sage would appear.

 Ein had been confident in his abilities as a Hero. If he could confront a Sage, he knew he could beat it. He had believed that from the bottom of his heart. But here was the result. The Sage had taken every single one of his attacks without resisting or even batting an eye.

 He had slain Demon Lords. He had saved entire kingdoms. Even the Sage's attendants were easy prey. But he couldn't beat an actual Sage. He had exhausted every option and still hadn't found even a clue as to how he could fight them.

 So what could he do now? He was the Hero of the Resistance, who bore all their hopes on his shoulders. He'd had every intention of honoring those hopes, but now he felt crushed beneath the weight of them.

 By the time he had fully recovered, he was standing in front of his house...a ramshackle ruin on the verge of total collapse, completely abandoned. He didn't know what had brought him here, but something was off.

 There was someone inside. There was someone in the house that should have long since been abandoned. It wasn't just his imagination, either — a Hero's senses were far too reliable.

 Ein stood frozen. It couldn't be. But even as he thought that, the door swung wide open.

 Ariel.

 The sister he had been searching for, who had disappeared so long ago, was standing right in front of him. Expression full of hope, she immediately looked towards Ein.

 "Lord Mitsuki! You came to get me!" The name was totally unfamiliar to him. As Ein wondered who she was talking about, the girl's face immediately lost its hopeful glow. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were the Great Sage. Oh! Are you one of Lord Mitsuki's messengers? Something's wrong here! When I woke up, I was suddenly in this dirty house. I have no idea what's going on!" And her eyes immediately began to shine again. The way her expressions changed in the blink of an eye was just like he remembered her from so long ago.

 "Ariel..." Ein immediately embraced her. Her behavior was rather strange but he didn't care. The fact that she was alive, that she was back, was all that mattered.

 But Ariel began to struggle. "Please, stop! Let go of me! Someone! Help!" With unbelievable strength, she desperately tried to break free from the Hero's arms. At this rate, she would hurt herself, so Ein let her go.

 "No! No, no, no! My body belongs to Lord Mitsuki! No one else is allowed to touch it!" Ariel wrapped her arms around herself, crouching down.

 As Ein watched her, dumbfounded, another person stepped out of the house. A woman, wearing glasses and a cold gaze.

 "Hello. I am the secretary of the Great Sage. Please call me Alexia."

 The Great Sage. The moment Ein heard that name, he immediately fell into a fighting stance. Although he had lost his holy sword, that was only one part of a Hero's power. Even barehanded, he had plenty of combat strength remaining.

 "As the Great Sage has grown tired of her, I have brought her back."

 "What...?"

 "The Great Sage is a terribly kind person, so he would never say something so hurtful. But watching him every day, his feelings were clear. As such, I have returned her. Of course, we wouldn't be so callous as to take her life simply because our use for her was finished. That would make the Great Sage unhappy. As such, she has been returned home. I have come to explain this to you. Unfortunately, those who are taken away from the Great Sage inevitably feel the loss, as they've become rather obsessed, but there is nothing to be done about it. Such is the magnificence of the Great Sage."

 As the secretary prattled on, Ein could do nothing but listen in awestruck silence. His shock rapidly turned to rage, and he ended up reflexively throwing a punch at the secretary, but his hands passed through her like she was nothing but air.

 At that point he realized the truth — there had never been anyone there besides his sister.

 "Unfortunately, I am not physically here. I have only appeared to explain Ariel's situation, that it might not be a hindrance to her in the future."

 As if that was all she had come to say, the woman who called herself the Great Sage's secretary suddenly vanished.

 "Lord Mitsuki! Where are you?! You! Did you hide him from me?!" Ariel stood back up and punched Ein. Still in shock, he took the blow to the face and was instantly knocked flat.

 He jumped back to his feet, staring at Ariel in disbelief. Even if he had been caught off guard, there was no way Ariel should have had the strength to send a Hero like him flying. But taking a closer look, he saw that her arm was strangely swollen. It was almost like the arm of some monster had been crudely grafted onto her. Ariel brandished that arm, staring at Ein with ragged breath and bloodshot eyes.

 A pang of fear urged him forward. Quickly closing the gap between them, he punched her in the stomach. The strange sensation of that contact sent another chill through him, prompting him to throw another blow. And with each blow, Ariel transformed further.

 How long did he spend punching his own sister? By the time he came back to himself, Ariel was motionless at his feet. The strength left his knees and he collapsed over her. She was still breathing, if only barely. But so what? What could he do now?

 Ein was at a complete loss.