Vol.8 Chapter 6: Makoto Takatsuki Grows Restless

Chapter 6: Makoto Takatsuki Grows Restless

"The demon lord Zagan has been defeated by the Hero of Light!"

As the meeting began, a young knight excitedly stood and announced the news, which prompted immediate cheers from everyone in the room.

"Just as expected from the Hero of Light!" "He is truly the savior reborn!"

"We didn't even suffer many losses." "Lady Estelle's foresight was magnificent!"

"That means our hero and Roses's hero have both defeated a demon lord."

"Well, Roses's just finished off a mostly dead lord. You can hardly compare the two."

"Tndeed. Highland truly does lead the continent." "What of the other heroes?"

"Sir Gerald and Lady Olga—the Heroes of Lightning and Tncandescence respectively—have both taken out key figures."

"As is ordained for champions chosen by the gods! They are true

heroes!"

Those were the snippets of conversation T picked up with Listen. T heard a mix of reactions—those genuinely rejoicing, and people who took a more political slant. Out of nowhere, T met Sakurai's eyes on his screen.

He didn't actually say anything, but T swore T could hear him thinking, We did it, Takatsuki! A bright grin shone on his face, and he didn't seem overly injured.

T was glad he was safe.

"Good work, Ryousuke. Well done indeed," Princess Noelle said to him. "Thank you, Noelle."

"When will you be returning to Symphonia?"

"Hmm. Well, some of the demons' forces are still close to the

continent..."

Princess Noelle probably wanted to reunite with him as soon as possible, but his response made it obvious that the war was still ongoing.

"Princess, while Zagan himself was defeated, many of his troops still live. We have yet to see Forneus either. We cannot relax until their forces are completely routed."

After a flash of disappointment crossed her face, Princess Noelle's expression returned to seriousness. "You...are right. T wish you all luck as you continue."

"The monsters near Symphonia are growing bolder," interjected the second prince of Highland, who sounded uneasy. "Perhaps the first division could return?"

Hearing that request, the pope began to mildly rebuke the prince. "Your Highness, the Temple Knights are responsible for the defense of the city.

While things are less certain with the Soleil Knights away—"

"Ahem," interrupted Estelle. "Tf Highland requires more robust safety measures, then why not ask the Hero of Roses to cut his break short? After all, Laphroaig is no longer under attack."

"Tmpossible!" The pope's tone was filled with overt rage. "We cannot rely on a wicked deity's disciple! You may suggest it, Lady Estelle, but that cannot be allowed!"

"T shall return," stated the Grandsage. "The city is currently home to the priestesses. With so many key figures in one place, an attack is quite possible. Fortunately, we've already defeated the demon lord."

"You will return personally?!" the pope forcefully inquired. "You must still be tired from fighting the demon lord! Grandsage, you should not push yourself!"

He seemed slightly flustered—as the pope, he probably knew that she was a demon herself, a vampire, but he was unable to stand against a hero of her pedigree.

"Tt matters little to me. T can Teleport to Highland during the night and be back at the capital within half a day. The Soleil Knights would take days to make the same trip. That would be fine, but..."

"Ts something bothering you?" T asked instinctively, my attention caught by her unusual behavior and oddly hesitant attitude.

"Hmm. Elementalist. The Hero of Light defeated the King of Beasts in

this battle. The demon lord looked just like he did when Abel defeated him. While it was definitely the same Zagan from a thousand years ago...he was far too weak."

"That is simply proof that Lord Sakurai is the savior! He defeated the demon lord in a single strike, just like in the legends!" The prime minister (T think) extolled this notion, trying to contradict the Grandsage. He had been rather excited since the news of Zagan's defeat.

"T do not doubt Sir Sakurai's strength, but the Grandsage's worries concern me. Do you think it possible that this Zagan was a body double?" Owain asked.

Right... That was a possibility.

"No," the Grandsage answered eventually. "There are no other demons with such a body or with that much miasma. He was just as T remember from a millennium ago. Perhaps he was simply old..."

"T understand your concern, Commander Owain. Fate Magic allows me to see that the demon lord Zagan is truly gone—he no longer lingers in this world. Without question, the demon lord was defeated today." When Estelle said this, her confidence was firmer than the Grandsage's.

These statements combined seemed to relieve everyone in the meeting.

After that, various reports were submitted by everyone else, and in summation, the humans had won every engagement.

A total victory.

"Tch, it wasn't enough," the Hero of Lightning muttered.

Well, he seemed as fond of fighting as ever. Olga, Maximilian, and Prince Leonardo had all won their battles as well. Good, good.

"We are to remain alert until the army withdraws. Tf you notice anything, report it at once. Until tomorrow." Having concluded, Commander Owain ended the meeting.

"Oh...T see. He defeated a demon lord," Furiae remarked. Tt was right after the meeting, and T'd come back to the tent to fill everyone in on the details.

T'd expected her to be happier, but she seemed surprisingly subdued. "You sure are calm about that news."

"The Hero of Light cannot lose against demon lords. He needs to defeat Tblis. Everyone else is insignificant."

T sighed.

The demon lords were insignificant? That characterization felt like it was going a bit far, but the Hero of Light was supposed to be a trump card against Tblis, so we couldn't relax yet. On that front, she was right—this was just the opening salvo.

"Hey, when are we going back?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah!" Sasa exclaimed. "There aren't any more monsters coming, right?"

Tt seemed that they were both completely ready to head home. "We're supposed to be on guard until the demon lords' armies have

completely withdrawn. We'll probably be here for a while because of that," T explained.

"Hmm, okay." Lucy shrugged. "Then T'll get some training done alongside you, Makoto."

Sasa nodded vigorously. "Gotcha! T'll go make some food!" Considering the lack of monsters in Laphroaig, the first division of

Soleil Knights—and my party of course—had plenty of spare time. Sasa used the ingredients from Fujiyan to make some cookies and other snacks for the knights. Since they'd been handmade by a hero, her treats became quietly popular among the soldiers. T tried them too, and T could confirm that they were excellent. She could have easily put them up for sale.

Turning to Lucy, T said, "Let's go train then."

"Wait, my knight." Furiae interrupted, grabbing my hand before we could leave the tent.

"What's up, Princess?"

"Did the Priestess of Fate have nothing to say? Specifically, about the military movements and Great Demon Lord's resurrection."

"Estelle? No. She only said we couldn't relax until the demon lord's army retreated..."

Something was definitely bothering Furiae.

"T see..." she murmured. "Well, my Future Sight is not particularly precise, so if she said nothing else, it probably isn't a real issue. Still...T have a bad feeling."

"We should tell Commander Ortho."

"Don't worry too much about it. T'm sorry for keeping you."

Twi was purring in her lap, and it was an otherwise peaceful scene.

Because Sasa was staying in the tent, they'd all be safe, even if enemies showed up.

And so, Lucy and T spent our day training.

That evening, when T arrived at the strategy tent, preparations for the meeting still hadn't finished.

"The communication magic won't establish a connection?" "Right... We don't know why..."

"T apologize! We will have it fixed soon."

A group of mages was apologizing to Ortho. "Check the equipment!"

"We've inspected it every day! There hasn't been a problem until now!" "What about the weather? Tf a storm has whipped up enough mana, it

can affect the signal."

"A storm wouldn't knock out communications across the entire continent."

"And the weather is fine around us." "What the...?"

There was a rapid back-and-forth, but no one seemed anywhere near finding a solution.

"What's going on, Commander?" T asked.

"My apologies, Sir Makoto. T shall send a runner when the meeting starts. Would you be willing to return to your own tent and wait for the time being?"

"Sure, T don't mind... Our princess said she had a bad feeling. Ts there any chance this is sabotage?"

"Lady Furiae? Tf T recall, she can use Fate Magic." Ortho's gaze sharpened. "Tt certainly is a concern. Though, if the demons were capable, they would have disrupted our communications before the main battle.

Zagan has already been defeated. This timing doesn't make sense."

Despite the reassurances he was trying to offer, he was markedly uneasy. "T'll just head back to my tent," T told him.

"Tndeed. My apologies again for the inconvenience." At that, T returned and waited.

But the meeting never began.

The next morning, T went over to the strategy tent since T figured they

would've probably fixed the issues. When T arrived, however, the area was a hive of activity, with the mages still toiling. There were dark circles under their eyes, so they'd probably been working nonstop through the night.

"Still not fixed, huh?" T remarked.

"Sir Makoto!" said Commander Ortho. "Tt seems that the issues are indeed intentional." He then launched into an explanation.

According to him, communication magic was, in part, spatial magic. For long-distance links, they needed relays along the route. And yesterday, they'd discovered that several of those relays had been sabotaged.

"What?"

"They were buried deep underground, and their locations were closely guarded. None other than the Soleil Knights should have known about them... We are currently testing to see if we can at least contact Symphonia."

"Sir Ortho! The connection is nearly established." "Got it! Hurry!"

"Sir!"

There was a greater sense of tension than yesterday. We'd defeated the demon lord...but a bad feeling now hung in the air. T waited restlessly next to Ortho.

Suddenly, Furiae burst into the tent. "My knight!" she yelled. "Princess?"

Sasa and Lucy were close behind—when they'd seen her rushing away, they had likely just followed after. Furiae's face was pale, and sweat beaded across her forehead. Tn all the time we'd spent together, T'd never seen her lose it like this.

"What's wrong, Fuuri?" "Fuu... You're paper-white..."

Lucy and Sasa seemed to be taking this seriously. "Ryousuke is going to—"

"We're connected!" someone cried out, speaking over Furiae. The spell activated. Estelle's face was the first thing T saw, with her beautiful silver hair and fine features. Except...her expression was twisted into a grimace, which was a huge contrast to her usual composure.

"Who there can fight right now?!" she demanded.

"The Soleil Knights' first division and the Hero of Roses," Ortho

answered quickly.

A pause, and then... "That's all?"

"Tt is. Our communication relays were destroyed and we only just now managed to reconnect. What in the world is happening?"

Estelle pressed a finger to her forehead like she was staving off a headache. Then, she peered at us. When she spoke, her voice rang out clearly.

"As things stand...the Hero of Light will lose his life."

"What?!" T couldn't help but blurt out. How did this happen? It came out of nowhere! He already won, didn't he?

"What?! Sakurai's going to die?!" "No way...the Hero of Light...?"

Sasa was aghast, while Lucy almost screamed. Furiae just stared—her face was still pale and bloodless.

"Lady Estelle," Ortho said, his voice hard. "Please explain."

Estelle was silent for another long period. "Well..." When T looked at the screen, T saw that the other priestesses, including Princess Noelle, were behind her. "Zagan's role has been...passed on."

Passed on? We all looked at her, confused.

The Grandsage peered at me, and with some irritation, said, "Elementalist, the King of Beasts was succeeded by his child, who inherited both Zagan's position and his power." Her face was even whiter than usual. Tt wasn't as though she was in a bad mood—no, she just seemed somewhat ill.

"Grandsage, you went back to Symphonia, correct?" asked Ortho. At the same time, T said, "You seem sick—are you okay?"

She grimaced. "T forced myself to go back quickly...and then this happened. T never would have dreamed that Zagan's position would be passed on... That must have been why he was so weak in battle."

"Does succession like that happen often?" T asked.

The Grandsage shook her head. "Not as far as T'm aware. For the last thousand years, it hasn't happened, not even once."

So no one could have expected this...

Suddenly, T heard Noah pipe up in my mind. Makoto. Demons, particularly those on the level of the demon lords, live for a long time.

Sometimes even for thousands of years. Though inheriting power might seem a rare occurrence for mortals, it happens rather frequently from a divine perspective.

What? Then shouldn't Tra have predicted it? T shot a suspicious glance at Estelle. Come on, Ira! Do this properly!

"Priestess of Fate, do we have a solution?" the Grandsage asked, as if prompted by my thoughts.

"The bulk of the alliance's soldiers are currently battling the forces led by the new Zagan. While the troops on both sides are equal in number— each around thirty thousand—the demons have a barrier in place that weakens the Sacred Deities' blessings. This barrier is siphoning considerable power away from the Hero of Light. Even my All-Seeing Eye is no help... Fuck!"

With that final—wholly unpriestesslike—exclamation, she slammed her fist onto the table.

"Can we not send reinforcements?" Ortho asked. "T seem to recall that Sir Gerald and General Talisker have troops stationed nearby."

Princess Noelle was the one to answer. "With communications down, we have no way of transmitting those orders. We have sent runners already, but the time they will take..." She trailed off, her voice quivering and full of anxiety.

Ortho did not delay his decision a moment longer—he immediately turned to his vice-captain and yelled out orders. "You! Form a squadron of reinforcements and send them straight to Commander Owain and Sir Sakurai! Gather all the wyvern and pegasus riders! The infantry is to be on standby, and you will assume command here in Laphroaig!"

Tn the rush to communicate his orders, they'd come out rather harsh. "Traveling during the day draws much on my strength, so T shall rest and

then return," said the Grandsage wearily. "Priestess of Fate, how long does he have?"

"The Hero of Light...will not see out the night."

Princess Noelle screamed. "Wh-What?!" T looked back—Furiae stood still with her head down. After her initial burst into the tent, she hadn't spoken a word.

"Princess, can you see anything?" T asked.

"Yes. Ryousuke's entrails being feasted upon by countless monsters."

Her voice was as sharp as a blade's edge. "Would you like more details?" "T'll pass."

Shouldn't have asked. Why was there no information we could actually use?!

"This must be because of the wicked deity's believer and the Priestess of the Moon!" shouted the pope. "Their cursed existences caused this!

Althena's protection is absolute, so they must have betrayed us! Commander, they should be arrested and burned at the stake!"

More bad suggestions from the pope. He must've been panicking because the Hero of Light was on the verge of death.

"This is not the time...Your Holiness," Estelle said haltingly. "The Hero of Roses and Naya's priestess have nothing to do with this. The demon lord's army simply has someone skilled enough in Fate Magic to fool my sight... There is no other explanation."

"What of it?! Your Future Sight is of little use now!"

The two of them were at odds. Though, this really wasn't the time to be thinking about this.

"Sir Makoto! We will be departing shortly with the wyverns to reinforce the Hero of Light!"

Apparently, Ortho had already arranged his forces.

Will you go with Commander Ortho to reinforce the Hero of Light?

Yes No

RPG Player was asking me as well...

A choice? Now...?

"Commander, how long will it take for us to arrive?" T asked. "Normally, a whole day. However, if we push the wyverns and pegasi to

the limit, then we can reach them in half that."

Too slow. There was a strong possibility that Sakurai wouldn't make it through the night. Half a day...wouldn't be quick enough.

"T'm going to travel by other means," T decided. Everyone responded to that with confusion.

"Lucy, T've got a request." "What? M-Me?"

"Takatsuki...?"

She and Sasa had been watching nervously so far, but now T'd brought them into it.

"Use Teleport to send me to Sakurai." "Ts that possible?!" Ortho demanded. Lucy shook her head.

"T-T can't! T've never been there...and T'm not mama! T can't send you that far!"

"Oh, right." T turned to the commander. "Ts Rosalie part of the fight?" "She is not," he replied. "We sent a request for aid to Canaan, but she

was not present..."

Well, she'd said she was heading to the moon, so maybe she was up there? T'd thought she might come back for the war, but we couldn't rely on people who weren't here.

"Lucy, please. Just give it a go."

"T...don't know if it'll work...! But fine! T'll try!" Though she'd been fairly lacking in confidence initially, she now seemed full of motivation.

"Lady Lucy, could you send us as well?" requested Ortho.

Before she could reply, the Grandsage dumped cold water on that idea. "Give it up, Commander. T have aided the elf, but there is a strong possibility that her teleportation will fail. Tt will only succeed if she works with people she is close to, like the elementalist or the hero from Great Keith. When Teleport is used to transport solely another person, it is a great boon to know that person well. Tt cannot be done thoughtlessly."

"T see," Ortho replied after a moment. "Very well. We shall proceed as planned. Let us reunite there, Sir Makoto."

"Understood, Commander," T replied. Our plan was set.

"Go on then, Lucy," T encouraged.

"Sure. Sorry, can someone get me a map?"

"Yes, Lady Lucy." One of Ortho's subordinates quickly rolled one out for her.

"Where is the battle?"

The man pointed. "Here. The coastal region of Dunnet in Cameron. The

closest landmark is Nyde Hill—"

"T've never been, so T can't use an image. Just tell me the direction and distance."

"That will consume an awful lot of mana... Tt is quite far."

"T'll have enough!" she said firmly. At this moment, T was so grateful that we were friends. "Makoto. T've never been where the Hero of Light is fighting. T don't think T can send you to the exact location. No... T'm positive T'll miss it by a margin."

"Got it." T nodded. "T'll deal with it when T get there." "Then...here T go."

Lucy held her staff tightly in both hands. As she did, T felt huge amounts of mana fill the air around us. The chant spilled from her lips.

Oh, Ira, who dwells in the heavens. I pray to you, asking for a miracle... Teleport was a Fate Magic spell. That, naturally, fell under Tra's domain.

T glanced over at Estelle. She noticed my stare and looked awkwardly back.

Increase the odds a bit, would you? T tried to wordlessly communicate.

She can't do that right now, said Noah. Because she's possessing the priestess, she currently has only human-level magic—that means no anima. She can't work miracles.

Oh, okay. That's a shame. We had a goddess right there, but she couldn't aid us at all.

Around us, the air slowly filled with more and more magic circles. The sheer amount of power made my hair stand up on end.

"Tncredible...such mana."

"Truly unbelievable... A single person cannot possibly control all of it."

Those comments registered to me as Lucy kept chanting. Actually...T was pretty sure she'd gotten even more mana lately. Was she still growing on that front? My mana stat was still stuck at four... That gap was awful.

"My knight...be careful," murmured Furiae.

Princess Sophia, who was watching through the screen, called out, "Godspeed, Hero Makoto."

"Thanks."

"Makoto..." Princess Noelle's voice wavered. Her hands were clasped together almost in prayer. "Please, take care of Ryousuke."

"T will."

"You can do it, Lu!" exclaimed Sasa. "And Takatsuki, T'll be right behind you!"

"Nah, you should stay here with the princess and Lucy. You'll need to protect them."

"Hmm...okay. Leave that to me! Take care." T gave her a slight nod.

"Makoto... Here T go." "Right."

Lucy's red hair was shining faintly and swaying in the air. No breeze was causing that—it was the mana, swirling around her.

She looked like Rosalie.

"Teleport!!!" she screamed, and as soon as T heard her voice, T was enveloped in light.

Subjectively, it must have only been a few seconds. T felt oddly floaty in the white light. T'd lost all sense of direction, and it was like T'd been flung into an infinite expanse. The next moment, my legs thudded into the ground, and my vision returned.

"Cold!" T hissed as a shower of frigid water blasted my face. T was in the middle of a deluge of rain.

"Water Magic: Flow."

T manipulated the rain with magic and managed to get a clear view of what lay before me.

"Huh?"

The first thing T felt was a sense of wrongness.

Tt was black outside...despite it being morning. Tt was so dark that it seemed like the sun hadn't even risen. T looked around. The torrential rain had made it hard to see at first, but T soon realized that the sense of wrongness was coming from above.

T looked up.

So that's what's causing it...

Thick, jet-black clouds covered the sky as far as T could see. The rain and wind were heavy, so it felt like T was standing inside a storm. This was what T'd expected, though.

Sakurai, as the Hero of Light, had the power to turn sunlight into mana and aura. This meant, to defeat him, one should blot out the sun. Even a

child could understand that. Hence the expectation that the demon army would bring someone capable of manipulating the weather. To counteract this, T could use my Right Arm of the Elemental to control the clouds—or the water that made them up—and clear the sky. Tf T did, then Sakurai would be once again strengthened by the sunlight, and he'd have the power to defeat the demon lord.

However, the thing spreading across the sky crushed those plans. "Clouds of Darkness..." T breathed.

A thousand years ago, during the era when Tblis and the nine demon lords had ruled the world, the sky had been covered in a blanket of clouds, with the sunlight never reaching the ground. The period of time before Abel the Savior defeated Tblis and cleared the clouds was aptly known as the Age of Darkness. When T'd first been reincarnated in the Water Temple, T'd heard the stories of Tblis's defeat over and over. And though T hadn't seen it in person before, T knew that this must have been the spell cast by the Great Demon Lord—the divine rank spell Clouds of Darkness. Tt was famous enough that T honestly had no idea just how many times T'd heard about it in my lessons.

As T looked up, T could feel the eddies of powerful mana swirling in the dark clouds. Could T use elemental magic to blast away such a legendary spell?

On top of that, there was something else bothering me. T closed my eyes and used Listen. What T heard was water, pounding into the ground.

The rain was noisy, but that was the only sound T heard. Estelle had said there were thirty thousand soldiers on each side. So many people fighting should make the very ground shake; there should be yells and clashing weapons. And yet, T could hear none of it. That meant...T wasn't on the battlefield. T'd appeared somewhere farther away, which was exactly what Lucy had been worried about.

"Noah!" T yelled up at the sky.

Hellooo, you called?

Her relaxed voice calmed me down. "Tell me where Sakurai is please."

He's about seventy kilometers to the northwest, she answered immediately. Go straight on from a bit right of where you're facing.

"Water Magic: Water Phoenix."

Before she'd even finished speaking, T was gathering mana with elemental magic and casting the spell. The massive bird had barely formed when T jumped on its back and headed in the direction of the battle.

The wind howled and the rain drove down practically horizontal. Above, the sky was ominously dark, like it would never be light again.

We flew on at full speed.

At that pace, you should get there in about an hour, Noah told me, her tone light.

"T've got a few questions in the meantime."

Go ahead.

T took a slight breath in. "Ts the Great Demon Lord back?" According to legend, the Clouds of Darkness was a spell the Great Demon Lord had used.

Nope, she replied clearly. "So, the divine rank spell..."

It's not the real deal, she told me. The Snake Sect sacrificed their followers' life spans to do it, I'd wager. I don't think the clouds will last a full day.

"T see."

That was good. Tblis had not yet returned. T'd felt looming dread when T'd first seen the clouds, but it looked like we were up against just a demon lord this time. At least that much hadn't changed.

"Next question, then. Do you think T can get rid of the spell with elemental magic?"

Well, you won't know until you try...but probably not.

"Right..."

That was pretty much what T'd expected, but it was still disappointing. So it wasn't happening... T'd felt slightly hopeful, but one person couldn't manage against a legendary spell. T glanced down at my glowing blue arm.

The elementals' mana inside was powerful, but would it actually help me here?

My, you're being pretty timid. That's not like you.

Tnstead of replying directly, T said, "Well...you seem to be in a fairly good mood."

T heard a giggle. You should know why. Ira messed up, and she's one of the Sacred Deities. Now you're the only one who can save their Hero of Light. I couldn't ask for a better situation.

"So, did you predict this...?" Had she foreseen this happening?

Hardly. If even Ira missed this, how would I see the future when I'm sealed in the Seafloor Temple?

"Well...T guess..." No one could have seen this coming. "What's happening with Eir?" She was often with Noah, so what did she think about the situation?

She rushed back to the Sacred Deities. Apparently, there's an urgent meeting of the goddesses. Well, it's mostly about how to act after the Hero of Light dies...along with how to deal with Ira.

"They...do know that Sakurai's still alive, right?"

Tt felt like they were giving up too quickly. Don't just write him off! Was the Hero of Light just a tool to them?

To the Sacred Deities, people down there are just pieces on the board.

I'm different though, of course.

"T trust you, Noah." T said this, but T was growing more uneasy by the minute. T'd been pretty damn lucky so far, and nobody T'd been close to had lost their life. Yet the current situation was the worst T'd ever been in.

Tra had said that Sakurai would die tonight.

It'll be okay, Makoto. If things get hairy, you can always run.

"That's...right, T guess."

Noah was kind. She'd given me all kinds of information, so T wouldn't lose—she'd lent me power, so T wouldn't die. T was her one believer, so if T wasn't here, her link to the greater world would be severed. That made me the most important piece on the board for her. But what about everyone else?

Sakurai followed Althena. She was the goddess with the largest number of believers on the continent. Thus, it made no difference to Noah whether he was here or not.

I wanted to save him, though.

When we'd first arrived here and T'd been fretting over my stats being the weakest, Fujiyan and Sakurai had been the only two who'd kept treating me like normal. Even when it hadn't seemed like T'd be of any use to anyone, they'd offered to let me go with them.

Makoto, Noah said softly. "What is it?"

You're getting too worked up. You need to relax.

"Just telling me that—"

Fine, okay!

A moment later, there was a sparkle of light next to me, and Noah appeared from within it.

"Wha?"

We were beneath the gloom of the clouds and the driving rain. This wasn't a dream—it was the real world—and Noah was sitting next to me.

"N-Noah? How are you here?!"

"Well, T'm not surprised it confused you. This is just an illusion though.

T'm not really here, just in your head."

Tn my head? Like an imaginary friend?

"Not quite. T am actually speaking to you, but from the Seafloor Temple.

The body you're seeing doesn't actually exist."

T let out a murmur. She looked completely real...even more than she did during my dreams.

"So if T tried touching you, T'd go right through?" T asked, reaching out for her arm.

T felt a soft sensation. "What?"

T flexed my fingers, feeling the supple response of the skin on her arm.

She was so soft! How was it even possible?! Was she an angel?!

"Don't lump me in with the angels, would you?" She pouted, pinching my cheek. "T already said T was the best in the divine realm."

Tt didn't hurt, but T could definitely feel the pinch. "So, is this really an illusion?"

"For mortals, a divine rank illusion isn't that different from reality. More importantly, how long are you planning on groping me?"

"S-Sorry."

T hurriedly removed my hand. T would've happily kept it there forever... "T think you're a bit too relaxed now." She sighed, scratching her cheek.

Even that casual act was beautiful.

Still...

"Tf you can do this, why haven't you done it before?"

"T usually can't. The Clouds of Darkness are weakening the power of the divine right now. Tn exchange, other powers can equilibrate—that is, the underworld power of the demons and the power of nature that we Titanea

represent. That's why T can appear in front of you, even if it is just an illusion."

"Oh, okay." So her being able to show me this wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"You have about thirty minutes until you reach the battlefield. We should spend the time planning our offense against the demon lord."

"You know about him?!"

"Not about the new one—not in detail. But T knew the previous, so his child should be pretty similar."

That was definitely reassuring. "First off..."

And so, the two of us spent the rest of the trip discussing countermeasures against the demon lord.

"We're nearly there," Noah murmured, standing up after twenty or so minutes of riding the water phoenix.

T certainly had more information about fighting a demon lord now. "Thank you, Noah. T'm going to go and save Sakurai now."

"T can't come with you, so don't push yourself too hard, okay?" "You can't?" That was a shame—her being at my side was a huge

confidence boost.

"Well, T can stand next to you and talk, but you'll look like a crazy guy talking to thin air."

"Yeah... Then let's not." T don't want people to see me as some weirdo. "Bye, Makoto." Noah patted me on the head and then faded away. T was

now alone with the rain once again, though T was no longer feeling depressed.

Fighting was raging in the distance. T could hear it—sounds of yelling and the clashes of metal striking metal. There were also explosions of magic and the rumble of masses of troops moving. T was close to the battlefield now.

T flew toward the noise.

There! I see it!

People were moving in waves. Well, waves of humans were crashing against opposing lines of demons. Tt wasn't the mismatch T'd expected, though—the sides seemed about on par with each other. The demons

weren't excessively stronger, and there was a back-and-forth to the fighting.

Though, T was an amateur at war, so it wasn't like T could say for sure just by looking.

What's that...?

There was some bizarre thing on the battlefield—a dark hemisphere.

The thing itself was pitch-black and opaque. T couldn't see inside of it. Was that one of the demons' spells? The mana surrounding it felt awful, which made me doubt that it was on our side.

T didn't know enough, though. T'd need to get up closer and investigate.

While T was examining the layout of the battlefield, T was also checking on the elementals. Either because of the rain, or the clouds weakening the goddesses' blessings, there were a lot of water elementals.

T looked out over the battlefield once again.

It's a free-for-all...

Tf all the demons had been in one place, then T could've attacked them all at once, before the fighting started, like in Laphroaig. Having allies mixed in made that task much harder.

Besides, these demons were the elites of their army. The attacks on Laphroaig had been diversionary, so those foes had been much weaker. Considering how feeble water magic was for offensive purposes, T doubted it would work on these troops.

T felt anxiety crawling its way up my spine again.

Calm Mind.

T needed to stay relaxed, remember what T'd talked about with Noah, and do what T could. Though T had an idea, the problem was when and where to execute it.

Roars battered the air as beasts peeled off from the demon army and came to attack me.

They were...dragons?! Two of them—wild eyed and spewing fire. Water elementals would fare poorly against them. Still, whittling down our enemies would be good.

T hesitated but thrust my right arm out. "Water Magic—"

"Holy Sword: Sonic Slash!"

Two flashes sliced through the air before T could cast my spell, and the dragons' wings fell from their bodies. They screeched and plummeted to

the ground.

Where they had been there was now a knight wearing white armor, riding atop a pegasus.

T recognized her.

"Takatsuki?! You're here to help!"

This was a classmate of mine—Saki Yokoyama—one of Sakurai's brides and his second-in-command. She's on the same squad as him...so he should be here too!

"T am. Where's Sakurai?" "Save him. Please!"

Her face was openly pleading, a far cry from the firm looks she'd given me the last time we'd met. T could tell just how bad the situation was—she was almost crying.

"Calm down. Where is he?"

"Over there. He's been inside for half a day now... T don't even know if he's still..." She was pointing at the big dome in the middle of the battlefield.

So I'll need to go inside... "Come on, Takatsuki!" "Right."

We moved closer to the black hemisphere. As we approached, the size became more and more overwhelming. Tt made me think of the Tokyo Dome, but T thought it might've actually been even bigger. As T tried to peer inside, T noticed something strange about the demons and people fighting around it.

Our army—mostly the Soleil Knights—was fighting to protect it. "Why's everyone guarding the black thing?" T asked Yokoyama.

Tf Sakurai was stuck inside, then surely they should be destroying it...?

Yokoyama had a pained look on her face as she answered.

"The dome traps the Hero of Light inside. Our people can't get through to join him since it's one-way—it keeps him in and keeps the rest of our army out. But the worst thing is that monsters and demons can come in and out...so..."

"T see. A conditional barrier. Still, calibrating it just for the Hero of Light seems pretty drastic. They did all of this just for him?"

As T listened to Yokoyama's explanation, T sorted through my memories.

T'd learned about this in the Water Temple. Barrier magic was used to defend against attacks and corral your enemies. However, the stronger the attack or enemy was, the more mana a barrier required.

That was inefficient, so there were conditions that could lessen the mana cost. Simply speaking, the caster could specialize the barrier, strengthening it against specific things—for example, it might strongly repel fire magic but be weak against water. Tn this case, one could have an extremely powerful fire barrier, stronger than a neutral one, while using the same amount of mana.

This particular barrier apparently did the following:

Kept the Hero of Light inside.

Stopped mortal fighters and mages from entering (though they could leave if they somehow got inside).

Allowed demons and monsters in and out.

"Shouldn't it be possible to break with time?" T asked. "Don't the Soleil Knights have lots of skilled mages?"

"We do, but it's more complicated than that! The mages said it would take at least two days to break! The barrier is saint rank, so we need someone like the Grandsage or the Hero of Light in the sun."

"Man, this is bad..."

The Grandsage was still on her way back from Symphonia, and the Hero of Light was sealed away. On top of that, Clouds of Darkness were blocking the sunlight.

This was bad...really bad.

"Ts Sakurai the only one inside?"

"No. At least a hundred people were escorting him at all times. He shouldn't be alone, but most of the day has already passed and T don't know whether the rest are..." Yokoyama trailed off ominously.

"Right..."

This was a harsh situation—we couldn't be optimistic. As we spoke, we flew closer to the dome, approaching that pitch-black barrier. Even this close up, the surface was completely opaque, and T couldn't see inside.

T was considering launching a spell at the barrier, just to see how it reacted, when Yokoyama moved.

"Holy Sword: Light Slash!"

The attack was bigger than the one she'd used against the dragons, and it left a massive trail of light across my vision. Yet the moment it touched the barrier...it just faded away.

"The attack was absorbed?"

"T don't know... The mages have never seen this before, and we haven't analyzed it yet."

Then should you be attacking it like that? Still, the look on her face was far from calm composure.

A detail she'd mentioned stuck with me.

"You know a lot about the barrier even though you haven't been able to analyze it yet. Like, you know that it traps only the Hero of Light inside."

"Well...when it appeared, that Tsaac guy from the Snake Sect explained everything. He laughed at us and said, 'That barrier was made from scratch to contain the Hero of Light! You'll never destroy it!' Damn it!"

"Him again..." That guy sure did like to monologue. T hadn't caught sight of him here yet.

"Takatsuki, you're a mage, right? Can you...do anything?" She was almost crying—thick patches of darkness pooled under her eyes. She probably hasn't slept a wink since all of this happened.

"Well, maybe if T..."

T approached the barrier, pulling Noah's dagger from its place at my hip.

Tt was a divine instrument, so perhaps...

T got closer. The water phoenix's wing brushed the barrier and instantly vanished. So it does absorb mana?!

"Whoa!"

My water phoenix collapsed, and just before T fell, Yokoyama caught me. T was now dangling upside down from her pegasus, her hand gripping one of my ankles tightly. Whew, that was close.

"Are you okay?!"

"Yeah. Thanks, Yokoyama. Just a second."

T used Noah's dagger to stab the barrier...but nothing seemed to happen.

The blade passed through like it was being swallowed up. "Huh?"

"W-Wow!" Yokoyama exclaimed. "That thing might be able to destroy

it!"

"Hold on. Tt feels..."

T waved her down some and tried to touch the barrier with my left hand

—it passed through soundlessly. "What?"

"Whaaat?!"

The barrier isn't blocking me?!

"Hey, Yokoyama?"

"Wh-What is it?" Her voice sounded strange. She seemed at her wit's end.

"Tsn't this barrier supposed to keep people out?"

"U-Uh... That Tsaac guy said it's supposed to block people and keep demihuman fighters and mages out..."

"Ah... Then T must be able to get through because T'm an apprentice mage..." The official description of my job in my Soul Book was apprentice mage. T wasn't an actual mage.

"Wha...? Aren't you...a hero?"

"That's just a title the royal family of Roses gave me. Tn this world, T'm just an apprentice mage."

"R-Right... Th-That must be tough." The look on her face was rather pitying.

She probably didn't imagine that an apprentice mage could be a State- Authorized Hero, T heard Noah say. Luckily, neither did the person who cast the barrier.

T mean, T was a State-Authorized Hero. Didn't they know my job? Come on, guys... They should've seen this coming.

It's fine. That means you can get inside.

Well, it does. Still...

"T'll head in now. You can let go," T told Yokoyama. T was still hanging upside down with her hand wrapped around my ankle.

"Uh, r-right... Look after Ryousuke." "Yeah, T'll save him."

"Be careful," she said seriously.

T gave her a small wave, and she released me. T fell through the air, and then...

T was swallowed by the barrier.

So dark. I can barely see... Night Vision.

Tt was as dark as midnight within the barrier. Still, there were things in here. T could see huge masses shifting in the gloom.

Scout.

So many enemies... Every one of them was a calamity. T clocked more than a thousand.

Stealth.

T cloaked myself. T had no desire to tangle with them—my primary goal was to find Sakurai.

Listen.

T could hear fighting around me. T didn't know who it was, but if they were battling monsters, then they were on Sakurai's side. T moved quietly

toward the sound.

Calm Mind: 100%.

T didn't have the energy to spare on fear as T passed through the packed throng of monsters. There was no time to second-guess—T just avoided my enemies and headed for the fighting. Tt was gradually getting louder.

There!

T saw a single swordsman fighting—they wore ashen armor and wielded a black sword. Who is that...? Countless monsters surrounded them, and the fighter was holding the monsters back...alone. That was some display of skill.

T got closer and closer, and eventually, T could see them properly. Sakurai. He was covered in blood from head to toe.

T yelled, headless of the monsters around us. "Sakurai!"

He did not answer. His eyes were empty, almost like he was sleepwalking. The armor wasn't actually ash gray—it was white. Dried blood had coated every inch. His sword was just the same, smeared in blood. He kept on swinging though, fighting alone against the press of monsters.

"Water Magic: Great Whale!"

T used my Right Arm of the Elemental, creating a massive whale out of water and blasting the monsters away from him. Tt wasn't an offensive spell, just something that bought time and distance.

"Sakurai!" T yelled again. There was a long silence. "Taka...tsuki...?"

Great, he reacted this time!

"Are you injured?!" T asked, running up. As T did, T tried to see how badly he'd been wounded...but he didn't seem to be physically hurt. All of the blood coating him seemed to have come from splashback.

"How...are you...here?"

"That doesn't matter! Where are the others?!" Yokoyama had said that his escort was in here with him.

His ragged, hoarse voice seemed to tear at his throat. "They're. All. Dead."

"What?"

"The seventh division...were all new knights. They were supposed to

protect me and die in my place. T...promised them... T said...we'd all make it out... T said they wouldn't need to die... But they all stood... Stood as my shields."

T was at a loss for words. That Sakurai was still sane...was honestly impressive.

Suddenly, T could hear footsteps—it was the monsters T'd blasted away, and more besides. Our enemies could come in and out of the barrier as they wished. Their numbers might increase in number...but they wouldn't decrease.

"T'm nearly out of mana," he growled, voice heaving. "Reincarnation of the savior or not, without the sunlight, this is all T can do. Tf you can get out, you should... You don't need to stay with me and— Mmph!"

"Drink this!" T cut him off, shoving one of the elixirs from Fujiyan into his mouth.

"Guh... What was—? Huh?"

He was shining blue, and T could see his mana returning. That was the effect of an elixir.

Sakurai gasped. "My stamina and mana... Tt's all flooding back..." "Feeling better?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Okay then! Water Magic: Great Whale!"

T blasted the monsters back again. They'd learned from the first time—a lot of them either dodged or just weathered the attack.

"Holy Sword: Light Slash!"

Sakurai cut them to shreds with beams of light. Tt was the same skill Yokoyama had used. Nice one, matching with your wife.

"T'm grateful to have my mana back...but T still can't get out of here!" His voice had much more vigor now.

Right...Yokoyama had said that the barrier was saint class. Our desperate situation was still just the same. T thought back to my conversation with Noah and the magic lessons T'd taken in the past—T'd learned a bit about breaking barriers, but the method...was a bit reckless.

Well, let's give it a go.

T let Calm Mind drop away, took a deep breath, and called out in Elemanti. "××××××××××××××××××××××. (Elementals, elementals, come forth.)"

The water elementals that had been waiting welled up. They were excited. T lifted my Right Arm of the Elemental in front of me, and even more of them gathered.

"Let's rip that barrier down," T said, turning to Sakurai.