Chapter 139 A Hero’s Work
“Have you ever seen the Spirit King’s face when he’s not wearing his mask?”
Jiste shook his head when I asked.
Well, I suppose so. He had bothered to wear a mask that hid his magic, so I could only assume that he was hiding his true identity.
“Is there anything else you can remember?”
“…I’m sorry, after I saw Spirit King-sama, I immediately fell into a daze…”
He must have switched personalities to Curse King Kaihilam.
And now he was hiding something.
“Please, Demon Lord-sama, save Lord Kaihilam. I know you two don’t get along too well, but I have no one else to turn to…”
Hmm.
Although not all of it was true, the information about the masked man was useful.
He could simply destroy it if it was a trap.
“Just as well, my men are in hiding. I’ll help Kaihilam as well.”
“Thank you, Demon Lord-sama.”
Jiste breaks into a big smile.
It would be better and more peaceful if Kaihilam’s personality never came out.
Well, it was bound to happen anyway. It couldn’t be helped.
I said, looking at Rina.
“I don’t care anymore.”
“…Yeah.”
She walked through the flower garden, staring ahead, as though drawn by something.
Then she stood in the center of the space.
A single white flower was stuck in a vine grass wrapped around a kind of stick.
Rina reached out and picked up the flower.
Then, as if being forced against its will, the vine unraveled, revealing the stick-like thing it was wrapped around.
It was a sword.
It was a plain iron sword with no magic in it.
It must have been used for a long time.
The blade was rusted and tattered.
The sword was stuck in the ground, and a flower was placed in front of it.
It looked like a gravestone.
“…I feel so sad…”
Rina muttered.
Tears were spilling from her eyes again.
“…I have to go…”
Strong emotions seeped into her words.
“…I haven’t told you…there’s something I have to tell you…”
I approached her slowly and stood next to her.
Rina turned to look at me.
“…I can’t remember, but I’m sure you’ll understand when you see him…”
“The Spirit King?”
With a chuckle, Rina nodded.
“I think so.”
If the Spirit King was the man in the mask, what did he want?
“Lay, can you hear me?”
I called out in <Thought Communication Leaks>.
A few moments later, a voice answered.
“What is it?”
“During the magic sword tournament, you were given the magic sword of contract in exchange for curing your mother’s spirit disease, right?”
“That’s right.”
“From what you knew, it was Demon Lord Elio who planned that, but he was only a puppet.”
After the war for Azeshion, I had asked Elio about it, and he had said that he was threatened by an unidentified demon lord.
“I’m going to ask you this just to be sure, you didn’t make this up yourself, did you?”
“I wouldn’t risk my mother’s life, even for the sake of peace.”
I knew that would be the case.
In other words, there existed some unidentified person who threatened Lay and stabbed the magic sword of contract into his chest.
Considering what had happened so far, there was a high possibility that it was the man in the mask.
But even if that was the case, what was his purpose?
When I tried to detach the root of Kanon, which was fused with the Seven Demon Emperors Gaios and Ydol, and see its true identity, the masked man prevented me from doing so.
As a result, he hid the fact that Kanon was Avos Dirhevia.
Why on earth would he need to do that?
If I hadn’t discovered Avos Dirhevia’s true identity, Kanon would have died as a fake Demon Lord.
So, was the goal to kill Kanon?
Or was his goal to go through with Kanon’s plan and save me?
If it was the latter, then the masked man could be my subordinate, a demon from 2,000 years ago.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Shin, for example, had done it.
If we only considered the magic sword tournament, that is.
If it was Shin, then this situation was quite puzzling.
Since I had survived, there was no reason for him not to show up.
In addition, it was hard to imagine him calling himself the Spirit King, hiding his true identity, and imposing a test on me.
If that was the case, was his goal to kill Kanon?
If it was the work of someone who had a grudge against him, that was a possibility.
“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?”
Rina called out to me.
“Um, I think I know where Lay is now. Maybe there is a shortcut to the top.”
Rina says, looking at <Remote Clairvoyance Limnet>.
“Huh. Where is it?”
“Um, I think if we go a bit further, we’ll probably meet up with Misa.”
“…eh, is that so?”
Misa’s voice could be heard coming from the <Thought Communication Leaks>.
Misa and Lay were each walking up a staircase covered by a wooden wall, and they could not see each other’s position.
After a while, a circular space appeared in Lay’s vision.
Misa emerged from the passage on the other side.
“Oh, you’re really here! I was scared, imagining what would happen if I were left alone!”
Misa rushed over to Lay.
Just then, a voice echoed in the circular space.
“Hmm. Well done, you’ve made it this far.”
It was Eniyunien’s voice.
“In this place, you will undergo a test of choice. As you can see, you must pass through that door in order to proceed.”
There was only one sturdy looking door in the circular room.
“However, that door is locked. You have two choices to reach the top. You can fight each other in this place, and if one of you wins, the door to the sky will open. But the loser will have to return to the Trials Room.”
