Chapter 8: Makoto Takatsuki Fights the Strongest Demon Lord
The ground was burning red.
The air was dark and murky from the miasma coming off of Astaroth.
Despite being daytime, the area centered on the dragon king was as dark as night. Magma overflowed from the surrounding mountains and gushed across the ground.
“Dia,” I said.
“Yes, my liege?” she answered immediately, dropping to one knee.
Hundreds of other Undyne were arrayed behind her. Massive clouds blanketed the sky, and thick snow began to fall. The world around me was a silent expanse of silver. The area was quiet, as if every living being had vanished.
“Y-You... Elementalist, I must say...you’ve improved,” Mel said. She was almost speechless as she looked at me. Lucy, Sasa, and Mel’s brother all gaped at me.
“Hrm...you summoned all of the water elementals on this planet, then,” Astaroth murmured. Even faced with hundreds of Undyne, he wasn’t flustered in the slightest.
“Well, it’s nowhere near all of them,” I answered honestly. If I really had summoned all of them, the balance of nature would’ve been thrown completely out of whack...or so Ira had warned me. I’d pushed it right up to the limit instead.
Astaroth’s pitch-black miasma—the clear blue mana from the Undyne.
Worlds of black and blue pressed against each other, vying for superiority.
It seemed like this was going to be a contest of strength when it happened.
“Oh my, this certainly looks like fun, doesn’t it?” came a chillingly beautiful voice.
There was a strange magnetism to it, and despite the fact that I was facing off against the strongest demon lord, I couldn’t keep my gaze from straying that way.
Shining silver hair, even more brilliant than the snow around us, filled my vision—it framed a pale face of otherworldly beauty that seemed too pristine for this world.
This was the Goddess Noah.
“Noah, how are you here?! I thought you were supposed to be in the Seafloor Temple?”
Had Eir performed some miracle again to let her descend for an instant?
“She said she’d never do that again,” Noah replied with an adorable shrug.
“What are you doing, Makoto?!”
“You can’t take your eyes off him!”
Lucy and Sasa scolded me for my lapse in attention.
“Yeah, right, I’ll be careful.” They were right—losing focus in front of Astaroth was out of the question. But their words made me suddenly realize something.
“So you’re an illusion?” I asked Noah. This seemed similar to the time when Sakurai had needed saving against Zagan. And in a region where the influence of the Sacred Deities was weaker, only I could see Noah.
“That’s about the size of it. I have to say, this place is nice, though,” she mused cheerily. “It’s nothing like the dominion of those pesky Sacred Deities. Instead, we’ve got my beloved elementals and the rather nostalgic presence of the dragon gods...”
So essentially, she’d come to get some air. Well, in spirit only.
“I’m technically up against the strongest demon lord right now,” I pointed out. “You’re cheering for me, right?”
She giggled. “I always have faith in your victory,” she said, eyes full of surety.
With my goddess looking at me like that, there was no way I wasn’t going to do my best.
Let’s do it, I thought, readying her dagger.
Astaroth was acting strangely, though. He was looking toward Noah, his face twisted in shock.
“Oh, you can see little old me? Descendant of the dragon gods, Storey?” Noah asked gently.
Astaroth’s mouth opened slowly.
“The last of the Titanea. The courageous goddess who yet stands against the Sacred Deities of the divine realm, charming all of this world. The Goddess of Freedom—Noah. It is an honor to meet you...”
Astaroth was showing her respect?!
“You do your ancestors credit. It doesn’t matter, though. After all, Makoto’s about to defeat you.”
Unlike the usual affection she directed toward me, her face was carved into a cruel, icy smile as she looked at Astaroth.
The dragon king didn’t flinch in the slightest as he answered. “Unfortunately, I do think I am about to kill your apostle, Lady Noah. Against the awakened blood of the dragon gods...even your apostle has no hope of measuring up.”
Even after that, Noah’s expression didn’t falter. She giggled. “Well then, out of the descendants of the dragon gods who are left in this world...only one of the ancient dragons has awakened their blood—you. Having become the strongest in the world, you are a pitiful powerhouse that none could ever hope to defeat.”
“Huh... Isn’t Iblis stronger?” I asked.
Astaroth may be the strongest demon lord, but he’s still Iblis’s subordinate.
“The blood of the dragon gods awakened within me when I battled the great one—Lord Iblis. That alien god made me stronger. However, excluding him, there is now no one on this planet capable of standing against me...”
As he spoke, Astaroth looked almost saddened.
“There was the Hero of Light though, right?”
He simply shook his head in response.
“I had hoped, but it seems that without you, she could not fight. With her strength... Well...”
“Mph.” It pissed me off a little to hear him discount Anna like that. Though it was true that she hadn’t exactly been familiar with her Hero of Light skill yet. She should have been stronger later...
“I have no greater hope for the Hero of Light of this era...”
“Oh, it sounds like you’re missing some information, Astaroth,” I said. “The current Hero of Light is now stronger than me. You know that, right?”
“Hmmm...” His eyebrow twitched at my statement.
I’d spent a long time with Anna, so I was sure of it. There was no comparison between their Hero of Light skills. Sakurai’s was like a version update of the skill—way different in its effectiveness.
Incidentally, Althena gave the skill to an otherworlder like Sakurai—despite having so many other candidates—because there was such a low chance he would be corrupted by the power.
I mean, it made sense. I sometimes wondered if he was a saint or something. Also, he was Althena’s type.
Unlucky for you, Sakurai.
I’d actually asked Ira about it because she was supposed to be the one who gave people skills.
“Fundamentally, granting the people born in this world skills is under my domain. Heroes and priestesses are special skills though. Each goddess chooses the recipient of those skills after the fact. Also, for you all—the otherworlders, I mean—skills were given at random. It made the admin even harder.” That had been her answer.
While I was thinking back over that conversation, I faced the dragon king again.
“Once I have defeated you, I will head to challenge the Hero of Light,” he said.
Miasma gushed forth.
Here it comes...
I kept Right Hand of the Elemental going as I readied the goddess’s dagger.
Suddenly, I broke away to look toward Noah. She was watching me with a smile.
“I’ll do my best,” I promised.
“Good luck,” she said, waving a hand slightly as she gracefully crossed her legs.
In the next moment, Astaroth’s roar shook the air, and a dark flash cut through the sky.
◇ Helemmelk’s Perspective ◇
What the...? A full-power breath attack right off the bat?
Father’s breath attacks were on a staggeringly higher level than other ancient dragons. They were powerful enough to pierce mountains or obliterate entire towns at a time. Normally, a human mage wouldn’t leave even dust behind if they were hit by the attack.
“Thank goodness...” The redheaded elf sighed.
Indeed, the elementalist was completely unharmed. Dia’s barrier had perfectly blocked the onslaught. However, because father’s breath attacks incorporated anima, being struck by one meant certain death. A simple barrier spell would never have been able to defend against it...
“Hmm... Is there something weird around him?” the other girl asked.
“Eh?”
“Hm?”
Several ripples seemed to be spreading out from my father—they faded as they moved outward.
Is that...what I think it is?
“It’s kinda hard to breathe...”
“I don’t feel so great...”
The elementalist’s friend looked pale. This was bad.
“Let us move farther away. The area around the elementalist is filled with ether. It is what the angels and demons use in the other realms. Mortals find that it warps their minds if they remain within it.”
“What?! Will Makoto be all right?!”
“Takatsuki!”
Despite their yells, I continued explaining.
“He ought to be fine. Mortals would normally lose their minds at the slightest contact with anima, and yet he borrowed some from the Goddess of Fate herself and manipulated it. He used ether regularly a millennium ago.”
The two girls nodded and gave hums of understanding.
To explain the process, we mages extracted mana from the prana permeating the atmosphere. Refining that mana then created ether. Using ether made spells far stronger than simple mana. However, huge amounts of mana were required to produce even a smidgen of ether.
It wasn’t something a mortal could achieve. Even the ancient dragons would’ve found it impossible. The elementalist, though, currently had hundreds of Undyne at his beck and call. He was surrounded by endless mana.
He wouldn’t have been able to do such a thing back then. What in the world had happened...?
Just as father’s scarlet breath left his mouth, several flashes of darkness assailed the elementalist. But because he was surrounded by Undyne, not one of those attacks reached him.
“You’ve gotten stronger, elementalist!!!”
Father’s voice was—for the first time in a long time—emotional. It was likely...joy. Father was always eager for a fight.
The blood from the gods of war that ran through his veins had granted him tremendous power.
At the same time, no one but Iblis was a match for him. Challenging Iblis to a rematch after his defeat would impugn the pride of the ancient dragons.
Thus, he had waited for a rematch with the elementalist—after all, their first fight had not reached an acceptable conclusion.
Father seems so happy... I hadn’t seen him so emotional in over a thousand years.
Still, there was more than one person in this fight.
“Well, I’ve been training for the past thousand years,” the elementalist answered casually. I saw no hint of fear on his face.
That made no sen— Actually, he might have been telling the truth.
I had fought alongside the elementalist against Iblis a thousand years ago. Back then, he had been extreme in every way. And now, after so long apart, it was like he was on a completely different level.
Their fight was getting more and more intense.
The ground was splitting—magma burst from it as countless masses of ice rained from the sky. It was like a scene of the apocalypse, with lightning flashing through the air.
We’d backed away to avoid getting caught in it, but ominous gales buffeted us.
“Guh...”
A dense miasma was contained within the gusts. Even the aftershocks were like full-on offensive spells.
“Are you okay?” I asked, turning to look at the elementalist’s two comrades whom I was responsible for.
“Hyup!” The town girl punched the wind.
Huh...?
I looked again. What kind of logic was that? That was a blast of wind full of miasma—it would have hurt had it connected with her, and it was certainly not something you could just punch.
“Are you not going to use barrier spells?” I asked the two of them.
“I can’t use magic,” one of them replied.
“I’m not great with barriers...” the other admitted.
I sighed. “I will cast one, then.”
They seemed impressive in their own rights, but apparently, their skills were far too specialized.
It was perhaps perfectly fitting for the elementalist’s comrades.
“Um, you’re the holy dragon who fought with Makoto a thousand years ago, right?” the red-haired elf asked.
“I am indeed. I am not used to that form of address, but I was indeed his comrade.”
“Huh... But Astaroth is your father, right?” the town-girl asked. “Are you sure about this?”
“It’s fine,” I responded.
Father was fighting energetically, and there was nothing I could do to stop them. All I, the elementalist’s comrades, and the other ancient dragons could do was watch.
In the end, father and the elementalist’s fight was still going after an entire day.
◇ Makoto Takatsuki’s Perspective ◇
I’m exhausted...
Casting magic for twenty-four hours straight was obviously going to be tiring. Apparently, having my proficiency over five thousand and borrowing all the power I could from the Undyne still weren’t enough to beat Astaroth.
Of course, he seemed to be in the same situation—he had no trump card to use on me.
Where are Lucy and Sasa...?
I peered at them in the distance—they seemed to be praying as they watched. They looked like they hadn’t slept a wink—like they’d stayed awake supporting me the entire time.
Mel and the other ancient dragons surrounded us in the distance, watching. We were both in the same situation, but there was no suggestion of a ceasefire.
Mel had once told me that ancient dragons had the strongest constitutions of any creature on the planet, and that they could keep fighting for seven days straight.
I had infinite mana from the Undyne, but I didn’t have the stamina to keep fighting for this long. I didn’t have a winning move to play either.
This is ridiculous! You trained for a millennium, and he can still fight you to a stalemate! What kind of cheat is he?! Beings like him are why my predictions go wrong! Makoto Takatsuki! Escape!
Incidentally, Ira’s frantic voice had been offering me advice since a few hours after we started fighting. But now, it seemed like she was out of useful tips.
Can you hear me, Makoto Takatsuki?!
“Yup, I’m listening,” I answered.
I’d had Calm Mind at a hundred percent since the start of the fight.
I knew this did damage to my mind, and it wasn’t a good thing to do, but it wasn’t like I had much of a choice against Astaroth.
Hurry up and run!
“I will once there’s nothing more I can do,” I said.
Isn’t that now?!
Despite what Ira was saying, there was something niggling in my mind. I looked toward Noah where she was floating in the air.
I saw her yawn.
She’s bored. This fight must be too low-level for her. She’s still staying, though.
She didn’t show any sign of heading back to the Seafloor Temple, and she was smiling as she watched the two of us fight. Unlike Ira, she hadn’t offered any advice. She looked like she wanted to say something, though...
There was a roar as another breath attack—I’d lost track of how many Astaroth had launched—blasted through the air. I used ether to create a barrier to block it. As things were now, I wouldn’t win against him. At best, I could hope for a draw, or maybe passing out when I ran out of stamina.
There was the option of running like Ira said, but I didn’t want to delay the conclusion with Astaroth anymore—I’d promised to be in full form for the fight between Iblis and Sakurai.
I needed something to overturn the current situation, and I had a feeling that the answer was staring me in the face.
Suddenly, letters formed in front of me.
Will you make an offering...to Goddess Noah?
Yes
No
I looked at the words, and I knew my next move.
Oh, that’s how I should do it...
I looked at Noah and saw that her smile had taken on an expectant, almost hopeful tinge.
Makoto Takatsuki, said Ira. You aren’t planning something odd, are you?
She sounded uneasy.
“Sorry, Ira. This will cause you some trouble.”
D-Don’t! Noah! Stop him! History will... Not aga—
“None of that, Ira. I didn’t suggest a single thing.” Noah’s grin made it look like she understood everything. “This is what Makoto decided of his own free will.”
I was holding the dagger in my right hand, and I stabbed it into my left palm. Thanks to Calm Mind, I didn’t feel any pain. Blood welled forth.
As blood clung to the blade, the metal began to glow.
“What did you...?” Astaroth’s suspicious gaze focused on me.
You’ll know soon enough, I thought.
“I offer this...to you, Noah. Please...allow me to borrow your strength...on this single occasion.” I appealed to Noah using sacrificial magic.
She was standing right next to me, and she said simply, “I’ll allow it.”
I heard Ira yelling about not forgiving me.
After Noah’s indulgent words, I spoke in Elemanti.
“××××××, ××××××××. (Elementals of time, lend me your power.)”
My vision warped.
◇ Astaroth’s Perspective ◇
Ever since my birth, I’d been raised as the king of dragons. I possessed exemplary strength.
In my youth, I had ventured to other continents and conquered them. I’d fought countless heroes and turned them all aside. I had even ruled the world more than once or twice.
And yet, the goddess’s heroes sprouted like weeds. I wiped them out time after time, and eventually, people willing to challenge me lowered in number. In all lands, there were warnings against striking out against Astaroth of the northern continent.
Eventually, there was no one left, and my time grew boring. I hunted the heroes as they fled.
I despaired.
There were fewer chances to fight the strong, and I had more and more time to do nothing.
In that time, my family prospered on the northern continent. I lost my desire to rule the world, and I left the battlefield. Tens of thousands of years passed. Demons, humans, and demihumans fought for supremacy, but I just watched as long as they made no move on my continent.
I had no personal knowledge of the situation outside my continent, but my longtime friend, Bifrons the Undead King, visited my home.
“Astaroth, you have yet more mana. What say you to ruling the world again?”
“Bifrons, the moment I do such a thing, the goddesses will create heroes elsewhere. Then I will have to chase them. Why should I waste my time on that?” I asked with a sigh.
He guffawed in answer. “You are far too strong! You were born in the wrong era. You ought to have been born in the era of the gods.”
“That is a compliment coming from you, who has lived longer than anyone else. How was the era you were born in?” I asked.
“Frightful,” he said. “The gods rent the earth in irritation, ushered in floods due to jealousy, and fights between angels and demons made stars fall from the sky. The weather made no sense—it changed at their whim. Naturally, I had no experience of open war between the gods.”
“I am impressed you survived,” I said.
“I was born in the very closing days of the era,” he replied. “There were a few of the divinities and divine beasts left, but most finally returned to their own realms. Following the rules of the Sacred Deities and confining themselves to the mortal realm was stifling. Thanks to that, weak demons like myself are now called demon lords.”
“The divine and those beasts... Maybe I would have been less bored had they remained...”
Unfortunately, that was not to be. Bifrons—a former archangel who was now a demon lord—talked about how the gods ruling this world had entered a pact. They would not interfere directly with the mortals.
No one in the world was capable of standing on my level...
My time passed in tedium until he appeared.
The Scrap God Iblis. A god fallen from an outer realm to this one.
In an instant, he ruled the world. No, he molded it.
Using his infinite mana, he covered the world in persistent black clouds and stole the sun’s light. All life on the planet knew the fear of his dominion.
I led the ancient dragons in a fight against him. Many of them lost their composure when they saw him, and they became unable to fight.
I, for the first time in my life, had used my full power to challenge him. And...I lost.
It infuriated me. But at the same time, I was glad.
I survived, and in accordance with our customs, I followed the victor. I was not unhappy with that. Iblis also awakened me to the blood of the dragon gods—it was said that they’d clashed with the Sacred Deities during the age of the gods.
That strength had been slumbering within me. The great one had the ability to awaken someone’s latent power.
He used it upon me, saying, “You are strong, and with your blood awakened, you can become even stronger.”
He awakened many others’ latent abilities as well. Of course, not everyone was able to partake of its benediction. It could fail, and when it did, the power warped its target into a blighted monstrosity. Even so, there was no end to the people gathering under him.
My awakening had made me even stronger. That was good, but having lost, I could no longer challenge the great one to a fight.
The heroes and other creatures of this world were too weak. They couldn’t take even a single attack from me. I grew even more weary with the world.
But...
Wonderful!!!
My body was shaking. Stars were falling from the sky—great stars of ice. The ground was burning, like the very planet was being torn apart. Every so often, huge washes of water—almost tidal waves—attacked me.
The same scenes Bifrons had once described to me were unfolding before my eyes.
“Graaah!”
Even my breath, with the power to destroy all, was summarily stopped by barriers of ice. There was no way that mere magic could defend against that. My God Eye could see that those barriers were created from ether.
The battle continued through the day and night. I had never experienced a fight lasting so long. My battle with the great one had lasted mere moments.
Before my awakening, I had not been able to put a scratch on the great one—who was technically the lowest class of gods, but still a god nonetheless.
But things were different now. I could use the remnants of my heritage and fight even against the gods.
Standing against me was the apostle of the goddess who’d brought about the final Titanomachia. The man was using Undyne to turn aside my attacks with nary a hint of concern on his face.
Memories of a conversation with Bifrons rushed forth.
“Bifrons, which race was the hardest to deal with in the era of the gods?” Back then, I’d asked out of sheer curiosity.
“They were all difficult... I would have to say the gods, of course...particularly those goddesses. They spared not a whit of thought for the mortals on this planet. Though considering how I was little more than a bug beneath their feet, they paid me no attention, so they were easier to deal with. As long as you left them alone, they would ignore you.”
“Hmm... So it would be the other divinities and beasts? Or perhaps the angels and demons...”
“Maybe. They were intelligent though, so they did not fight meaninglessly. The angels were busy with errands for the goddesses, and the demons would soon lose interest because of the allure of souls. None of the races were all that terrifying to deal with if you knew how to handle them... Actually, there was them.”
Bifrons, a man who rarely changed his expression, had a sour look on his face.
“Them?”
“The elementals... They would approach with no ill intent at all and then plunge things into chaos.”
“The elementals...?” As far as I knew, they were peaceful beings. There were many of them, but they were weak.
“You can only say that because you don’t know the arch elementals. Nothing was left after they rampaged, and they were completely unpredictable. They are innocent calamities, and I never worked out how to deal with them.”
“Hmm... But there were people capable of guiding them in that era, no?”
“According to the legends. I never met one, though.”
Such had been our conversation. And now, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Bifrons had known the era of the gods, and the beings he had considered to be the most difficult foes were right in front of me.
Each Undyne had mana that far outstripped an ancient dragon, and there were hundreds of them, all following one man.
The infinite mana was like a wall pressing down on me. Spells rained down.
Since I was protected by anima, it was hard to injure me with simple magic. There were irritating attacks, though.
“×××... (Tee hee hee...)”
The Undyne would charge me. Those attacks I had to avoid. Earlier, one of them that I’d dodged had frozen an entire mountain solid. Actually, it was more like it had frozen the entire region it had occupied. It’d been a bizarre attack, and not one I could withstand. If I got hit, it was likely that not even I would escape.
“××××××××. (We can’t get him.)”
“××××××××... (If we could just touch him...)”
“××××××××? (Has he noticed us?)”
“×××× ××××. (Let us leave this to our liege.)”
I could hear the Elemanti. Undyne were flying around, trying to take my life. Their attacks would never hit me though, since my God Eye could see a few seconds into the future.
The battle between us was still far from its conclusion. Or so it should have been...
Suddenly, the goddess’s apostle stabbed his dagger into his own hand.
“...to you, Noah.” I heard him murmur quietly.
What is he doing? Had he lost his composure due to the battle? He didn’t look to be so weak-willed.
“××××××... (Elementals of time...)”
Then, the elementalist’s form warped. My vision warped too.
The world was shaking.
He still had a hidden technique?!
I had my Future Sight, though. Even if this was a new kind of attack, it would never—
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Wha?!
My vision was covered in black. This sensation—it was the same thing I’d felt in my fight against the great one. There was no future for my vision to show.
Just as I realized I was defeated, my entire body stopped functioning.
Before my consciousness faded, I felt the cruel gaze of the goddess upon me and heard the laughter of the Undyne.
◇ Makoto Takatsuki’s Perspective ◇
Slowly, Astaroth’s massive frame dropped to the ground. Then, it stopped moving.
Phew... That spell worked on him...
I let out a sigh of relief. The spell I’d used was a unison between Water and Moon Magic—Ice Gaol Binding.
It wasn’t particularly lethal, but it almost certainly rendered anyone it hit incapable of moving. If I used it on the dragons in the area, they’d be frozen solid for at least a century. I’d figured that even Astaroth would fall under its sway for a period.
Incidentally, it was the same spell that I’d cast on myself a thousand years ago.
“Well done, my liege. I will see my sisters back to their original locations,” Dia said to me with a smile before breaking apart into mist. The others disappeared one after another.
Suddenly, I felt woozy.
I pulled the blade from my hand. Must’ve lost too much blood.
That was close...
In a single battle, I could just barely borrow the strength of the time elementals once. Any more than that, and I wouldn’t keep my sanity. I probably wouldn’t have the lifespan for the sacrificial magic either. It was a dangerous gamble, but I would’ve lost it all anyway if I’d perished at Astaroth’s hand. It’d worked out in the end.
I’d only asked one thing of them: to fix the future in place.
I didn’t really understand the theory behind it, but apparently, it was a common way of using time elementals.
Incidentally, Ira had insisted that I never use them. Never. But I’d ended up doing just that, so I was pretty sure I was in for a massive lecture.
“Good work, Makoto. Well done.”
Noah appeared at my side—a floral scent wafted from her.
“Thank you, Noah. It was all thanks to you.”
“No, that was all you. Have confidence in yourself. Well, I should head back to the Seafloor Temple.”
With that, Noah’s form vanished into mist.
Every time she appeared, she was barely here before she was gone. She could have taken it easy for a bit.
“Makotoooo! That was incredible!”
“Takatsuki! Your hand! We need to treat it!”
Lucy pulled me into a hug, and Sasa started wrapping bandages around my hand. It was starting to throb in pain now.
Then, I heard something moving.
The massive black dragon was lifting his head. Astaroth was already back?!
Lucy, Sasa, and I all looked at him tensely. But all he did was lift his head—he didn’t move to attack.
“Elementalist... This was my loss,” said Astaroth. “As promised, you may call yourself the dragon king.”
I nodded slightly at his words. I was so glad he hadn’t said something like, “This isn’t over!” Honestly, if he’d wanted to keep going, I would’ve had to run.
Astaroth soon continued. “Even with the awakening from the great one... I could not measure up to an elementalist from the age of the gods. Heh. It isn’t a bad feeling...”
“Father...” Mel had a dumbfounded expression on her face.
“I will not live in shame. Elementalist, take that dagger of the gods and end my life. When you do, the ancient dragons will all follow you.”
“Father! Why would you go that far?!”
“Helemmelk, I am the great one’s subordinate. Though I have lost to the elementalist, I cannot do as you have and follow him...”
“B-But...”
“Hey, Makoto, are you going to do what he said?” Lucy asked.
“He’s her dad, right? Killing him would be...”
I could hear Astaroth, Mel, Lucy, and Sasa all talking.
I could...but their voices were going in one ear and out of the other. It felt like I was listening to them talk from a great distance away.
“Well...I’m...done,” I managed to say.
“Huh? Makoto...?”
“Takatsuki? You look super pale...”
“Elementalist!”
Everyone’s frantic voices were getting even farther away.
I’d controlled hundreds of Undyne.
I’d pushed Calm Mind to one hundred percent.
I’d lost too much blood from my sacrificial magic.
Finally, I’d called forward the elementals of time.
I’m at my mental and physical limit.
Lucy and Sasa propped me up as I finally passed out.
◇
My eyes snapped open.
“Where am I?”
“O-Oh... Makoto Takatsuki?!”
“Ira?”
Both of us blinked. Apparently I’d turned up in Ira’s domain. We looked silently at each other for a while.
Hm? She doesn’t look as angry as I expected. But as that thought went through my head, she gradually got redder and redder until she looked like a boiled lobster.
No, she wasn’t just angry. She was pissed.
“Why! You! Little!”
She grabbed me by my lapels and started shaking me back and forth.
“I-I’m sor— I’m sorry, Ira,” I mumbled between shakes.
“I told you! Over and over! And over again! Never use the elementals of time!”
“B-But I didn’t have another way...”
She stopped dead and paused. “Right, you probably didn’t have any other way to win... I saw a vision of you getting defeated by Astaroth.” She looked seriously up at me.
Sh-She did?
No wonder she’d told me to run.
“I managed somehow, though,” I said with an awkward smile.
Ira’s expression was still cold. “Can you still say that when you look at this?”
She handed over a Soul Book—my Soul Book.
I glanced over it, not seeing anything really out of the ordinary. But then...
“Remaining lifespan: three minutes,” she said.
“Huh...?”
That was...pretty bad, right? I could get some instant noodles going and be dead before I could eat them.
“So? What say you, Makoto Takatsuki?”
“Wh-Wh-Wh-What do I do?!”
I looked beseechingly at her. My voice shook.
She let out a big sigh. “Come here,” she said, pulling me by my arm. Then, she fixed both of her arms around my back.
“U-Um?”
“Hurry up and hug me back.”
“R-Right.”
I didn’t understand what was going on, but I did what I was told. Despite how small she was, she was also unbelievably soft as I hugged her. She also gave off an odd, pleasant smell.
“Honestly, you’re such a handful,” I heard her mumble. At the same time, I felt something flowing into me.
“Ira, what are you doing?”
“Extending your lifespan. You succeeded in defeating Astaroth, so I could give you around a thousand years, but a human’s body would never withstand that, so I’ll keep it to a hundred for now.”
That was crazy! And she was saying it like it was nothing...
Oh, so Ira can extend my lifespan... I suddenly remembered learning that detail in the Water Temple.
“There, done,” she said, clapping me on the back. I slowly released her from my arms.
Ira’s otherworldly beauty was right in front of me, and I felt my heart skip a beat. My heart might have sped up, but I didn’t have any impure desires. That had been the same for the entirety of the millennium I’d been working with her.
“You’re thinking something you shouldn’t,” she scolded.
“No, it’s the other way around. You’re beautiful, but despite being so close to you, my thoughts are pure. It’s kinda weird.”
“Of course you don’t feel that way. We are goddess and human, right? We exist on two vastly different levels of existence. Love and lust are only applicable to those on closer levels. A god in heaven would never couple with a mortal.”
“Huh? But what about the godking...?” I still remembered that mess with Alexander.
“That...is an exception... The godking—papa, that is, has an insatiable desire for women.” She laughed hollowly.
I decided not to go any further with that topic.
I checked my Soul Book and saw that it said I had a hundred years left.
Whew.
“Thank you, Ira. Man, it sure was a miracle I still had three minutes left. That was close...” I sighed in relief.
“Hardly a miracle. Normally it would’ve been impossible to use sacrificial magic and just leave three minutes left. Noah adjusted it so that you’d survive.”
“She did?”
“You offered up your lifespan to her to summon the elementals. Plus, she was right there—albeit only spiritually. In other words, she knew what you were doing...” Ira gnawed irritably at her fingernails.
Oh, so Noah made sure I wouldn’t use all of my lifespan. “I’ll have to thank her later.”
“I’ll need to complain to her later,” Ira said simultaneously.
We looked silently at each other for a moment.
Though we might’ve been aiming for different things, our destination was the same.
“Shall we go to the Seafloor Temple, then?” I asked.
“You put it so simply. Fine. Here.”
She thrust out her hand at me. I hesitated for a moment and then took it.
“I’ll teleport us to... Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
Ira tilted her head.
“It’s strange... There’s a barrier set up there. Noah has her strength sealed, so there’s no way she could’ve done it, and it blocks my teleportation. Maybe Althena put it up?”
“Why would she do that?”
“I don’t know... They used to be good friends though, so maybe they’re talking. I think it bothers her that Noah took the Daemons’ side a thousand years ago.”
“Huh...” I wondered what the two were talking about if Althena had gone out of her way to set up a barrier.
“I suppose we should wait for a while,” I said. If Althena and Noah were having a private conversation, we couldn’t interrupt them.
“What are you talking about? Who do you think I am?” Ira asked.
My vision wavered and warped. I felt slightly dizzy for a second. When my sight was back to normal, nothing had changed. What had she...?
“There, I put us forward in time by about an hour. Let’s go.”
“Eh? W-Wait.”
She’d used a divine rank spell like it was a cantrip, and now she was about to set off on an ultra-long-distance teleport between the heavens.
◇
Noah’s domain was way different from Ira’s. It was a wide, empty area. In the middle of the space was an antique-looking table and chairs.
Noah was sitting with her elbow propped on the table, staring into space and looking as beautiful as ever.
Even when she was thinking something over, the scene was like a piece of art.
Her expression soon turned from her thoughts as she noticed our arrival.
“Oh, Makoto! And...Ira.”
She grinned widely at me, and then spoke casually to Ira.
I fell to one knee and offered her my most heartfelt thanks. “Noah, thank you for your assistance in my fight with Astaroth.”
She chuckled. “You’re much stronger now,” she said, putting a hand on my head and softly stroking my hair.
“Noah! You know using sacrificial magic through mortals is forbidden! Makoto Takatsuki nearly died!” Ira yelled in complaint.
“Those are your rules. They don’t have anything to do with me. Besides...Makoto didn’t die, did he?” she asked with a beatific smile.
“Maintaining history falls on me!” Ira protested.
“Eh, it’s fine. He only called a couple of time elementals.”
“Dealing with it is difficult!!!”
“Oh. Well, good luck. What are you telling me for?”
“Because it was your apostle who did it!”
“I didn’t tell him to.”
“But you could have stopped him!”
“He wouldn’t have listened, even if I’d tried. There’s no way he would’ve decided against it.”
I could hear Ira grinding her teeth. Apparently, she couldn’t do much against Noah. Maybe it was because Althena and Noah were on good terms?
Then, something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. There were two glasses on the table. Bloodred wine had been poured into both of them.
“Noah, who visited?” I asked.
“Oh, Naya turned up.”
“She did?!” Ira yelped at her casual answer.
Naya was the Goddess of the Moon, one of the seven—no, eight now—goddesses who ruled this world.
She was the most mysterious of them all, and she was also the goddess who Furiae followed.
“Wh-Why was she here?!” Ira sputtered. “More importantly, she was in this world?! I thought she was off playing in some other one.”
“Oh, right, Furiae said she’d been seeing Naya in her dreams,” I added.
“What?! Why would you not tell me something so important?!”
“It’s important?”
Ira started shaking me again. I didn’t know why she was so frantic, though.
I looked to Noah for help.
“Naya’s a hedonist, so she’ll stick her head into anything that seems interesting. Once she gets bored, she’s gone just like that. Which means—”
“She’s planning something! Noah! Tell me! What did Naya say?!”
“Nothing major—she was just complaining about Furiae being so talented but so uptight with it. She said that the moon priestess should just do what she likes, and so on.”
“Huh...so Furiae’s skills are that impressive?” I said curiously.
“They are. She has almost unprecedented natural talents with Charm and Necromancy. If she put them to use, she would be able to control people over an even wider scale than Nevia...but she doesn’t use them much,” Ira explained with an odd look.
I didn’t know her skills were so impressive!
“But Princess prefers taking it easy and not standing out,” I said. That was the impression I’d gotten after traveling with her. She was the queen of Laphroaig now though, so she had a lot on her plate.
“And that’s boring for Naya,” Noah explained.
“We don’t want her being like Nevia...” Ira said tiredly.
“So, what did the two of you end up talking about?” I asked.
“We just chatted.”
She wasn’t going to tell me.
“She wasn’t trying to unseal you...?” Ira asked.
I couldn’t help but whirl to look at Ira.
Would Naya free Noah? I couldn’t ask for more.
Noah just shrugged. “No way. If a god unsealed me, they’d be thrown straight in Tartarus—those are the laws. The only thing that can unseal me is a mortal beating the Seafloor Temple...”
She looked away with a sad sigh.
“I-I know that...” Ira said, awkwardly looking away as well.
I couldn’t help but interrupt the two goddesses.
“Noah, am I strong enough to beat it now?” I asked. My water magic mastery was now over five thousand. Ira had told me that no other mage in history had refined their magic to that extent.
But my hopes were dashed by the saddened look on Noah’s face.
“You tried so many times in the past, so you should know about the barrier against the elementals. You won’t reach it as an elementalist.”
“B-But...what about if I destroyed the barrier?” I couldn’t let go of the possibility.
She just smiled gently at me. “It was the godking’s brother, Neptus, that put that barrier up. A human cannot destroy it.”
“I see...” I slumped over, depressed. Since I’d put up a good fight against Astaroth, I’d been ready and raring to try again.
“You don’t need to be so sad. It’s thanks to you that I’m this world’s eighth goddess. I have so many believers now. When we first met, I had zero.”
She softly put a hand on my shoulder.
“Noah...”
She giggled. “You’re so cute.”
I couldn’t help but be taken in by her smile.
“Why are you two going off into your own little world?” Ira asked coldly from my side. “I’m still here.”
“Oh, you are?” Noah asked.
“I am. Problem?”
“I just thought you would’ve read the room and left.”
“Hmph. Well, I’m busy, so I’m going back. Makoto Takatsuki, don’t use those elementals again! I won’t give you more lifespan next time! Noah, teach your apostle properly!”
With that, Ira warped away with a whoosh. Was she going to shut herself away again in that busy office?
Maybe I should go help her again when I have some time.
“Hmmmmmm?”
Noah had gotten up close to my face and was sniffing.
“N-Noah?”
Before I could ask her what was wrong, she’d fixed me with a glare.
“I can smell Ira on you.”
“Ah, well...I...” I swallowed the fact that she’d given me more lifespan earlier.
“Hmm, so she hugged you and gave you more lifespan...”
Ack! Noah could read my mind, so there was no point!
“Um, well, it was...”
I cast around frantically for an excuse, but then Noah cut me off.
“I’m kidding. Ira was right—be more careful when you use sacrificial magic.” She’d gone from giving me a gimlet eye to a smile.,
Suddenly, my vision started to blur.
“It looks like I’m out of time,” I said. “I wanted to talk for longer, though.”
“Right. I did too. Well done with your fight.”
“Thank you. Until next time.”
My vision went white.
Noah’s smile was the same as ever—brilliant.
◇
I slowly opened my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling—no, to a familiar face.
“Morning, Sasa,” I greeted.
“Ah! You’re awake!” She grinned and wrapped me in a hug. “I was so worried. You looked ashen when you fell. Mel cast healing magic on you, but it didn’t do anything. Then suddenly, you started looking better. It was weird.”
She tilted her head cutely as she spoke.
“Ahh.”
That was because Ira had given me more lifespan. I hesitated over how to explain when I heard a cheer followed by the patter of footsteps. Someone must have heard Sasa. And those sharp ears belonged to...
“Makoto!!!”
The door slammed open.
The exclamation came from a redheaded elf.
“Morning, Lucy.”
“Thank goodness... You’re okay. Someone wants to talk to you...”
Lucy was holding something in her hand—it was the communication tool Gerry had given me before we’d set out for the ancient dragons’ nest.
Oh, right, he told me to report while I was away, didn’t he? I forgot!
“Hey! Is he awake?! Is he safe?! Actually, just let me talk to him!” I could hear the tool faintly using Eavesdrop.
Gerry sounded angry. That was pretty much par for the course, but this time, it felt a little different.
It was almost like he was rushing around...
“Lucy, let me see it.”
“Sure, here you go,” she said, passing me the magic communicator.
I lifted it to my ear and said, “Hello, it’s me.”
“Makoto Takatsuki! Are you safe?! I heard you drove Astaroth away single-handedly! Your name will go down in history! Let me be the first to offer my congratulations!” His angry voice burst forth. Loudly.
My ears were ringing, and I moved the communicator away from my ears a little.
“Thank you,” I said. “Is something going on?”
There was a short period of silence before he spoke. “Keep calm and listen.”
I felt like he should have been telling himself that, not me.
“The Great Demon Lord’s Castle, Eden, has appeared above Symphonia. I am heading there immediately. I’ll leave more detailed information at the fortress, so ask my subordinates.”
This was the first sign of Iblis’s attack on Highland.
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