Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers (LN) - Volume 12 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue: Urgent Report

Iblis had attacked Highland.

My guts churned slightly at Gerry’s words.

“Ira!” I couldn’t help but yell. What happened to her Future Sight? Shouldn’t she have known?!

There was no response from the heavens.

She’s probably busy, Noah replied instead. I bet she’s giving instructions to the heroes there through her priestess.

Eir’s voice joined Noah’s, though distress was mixed in with her usual cheery tone. Hey, Mako! Congrats on your win...but it’s not exactly the time for that. Things are a bit serious. 

“What exactly—?”

My request for clarification was cut off.

“Makoto Takatsuki! First and foremost, you are to rest. We will meet in Highland after,” Gerry ordered. He cut off the transmission when he was done.

“Makoto...do you think Fuuri and Queen Sophia are okay?”

“Fujiwara and Nina are in Highland too, aren’t they?”

Lucy and Sasa were both uneasy as they asked their questions.

My response was obvious: if we were worried about them, then checking for ourselves was the best course of action. “We should head back right away!” I exclaimed. “Lucy, Sasa, are you good?”

“I-I’m fine,” Lucy said.

“What about you?” Sasa asked.

I’d expected the same kind of instant reply that they usually gave, but they didn’t seem entirely on board.

Makoto...you just passed out, you know that, right?

Mako, rest for a while longer.

The two goddesses both scolded me. Now that they mentioned it, I had just collapsed. Still...

“If Iblis is there, we need to hurry.”

Lucy sighed. “Fine.”

“That’s just like you.” Sasa shook her head.

Both of them fought off reluctant smiles.

Time to head off! I thought, heading toward the exit.

Suddenly, someone entered the room before I could walk out. “Now, now, Elementalist. We haven’t seen each other in over a millennium and you’re already leaving?”

She was a tall, slender woman with white hair. It was Mel. Her presence was what finally made me realize that I didn’t know where I was.

“Mel, thanks for that earlier. By the way, where are we...?”

“We made a room for humans in our home. We just used magic to create it though, so it’s rather plain.”

“Huh...”

Despite what she said, there was furniture and decoration, so it was done properly. It definitely didn’t look “plain.” It was more like a high-class hotel.

“Something pretty urgent has come up, so we’re heading out for a bit,” I said. “We’ll be back soon.”

“Odd... I heard something about the final battle with Iblis while I was on my way.”

“Once we’ve beaten him, we can have a proper conversation,” I promised.

“There you have it, father.”

“I-I see...”

The other three of us jolted in shock. Standing behind Mel—appearing out of nowhere—was a man over two meters tall.

I recognized him—we’d met in the demon capital a thousand years ago. This was Astaroth’s human form.

It ought to have been the first time Lucy or Sasa had seen him, but they soon seemed to realize who he was, and they were on their guard.

“Elementalist, are you going to challenge the great one?” he asked, his brow furrowed.

“Are you going to stop me?” I asked.

Astaroth shook his head.

“I lost to you, so I have no right. However, I cannot betray him and become your ally... Though I could offer my life.”

“Unfortunately, we’re in a bit of a rush, so we’ll have to talk about it later,” I said. I really didn’t want to talk about killing him right in front of his daughter. Instead, I just deflected so we could pretend it never happened.

“Wait,” he said as I tried to leave. “At least let me bestow upon you the symbol of your victory.”

With that, he held something out. It shone in a kaleidoscope of color, and it looked like a pointed bone of some kind.

“What is it?” I asked.

“My fang. If you display it, any dragon on the planet ought to obey you... Assuming it isn’t to injure the great one.”

“That...doesn’t seem particularly useful,” I remarked. We were literally just about to fight against Iblis, so handing over something we couldn’t use against him...

Don’t be like that, Makoto. He literally broke his fang off for you, Noah admonished.

That’s right. It’s a symbol of being the dragon king, so most monsters should run if they see it. That, or they’ll obey you.

O-Oh. The two goddesses had backed him up... This let me know that I had an absolutely absurd item in my hands.

“I shall gratefully accept,” I said.

“I see...” Astaroth said after a pause. He seemed slightly put out, maybe because of how I’d reacted initially.

Maybe I should apologize.

“Father, I will escort the elementalist to Iblis.”

“Hm... But—”

“I am not the great one’s subordinate. Besides, considering how I defied him a thousand years ago, it is a little late for such concerns.”

“As long as you do not invite his rage...” Astaroth’s expression was not that of a terrifying demon lord, but of a father worrying for his daughter.

“Let’s go, then.” I looked between Lucy, Sasa, and Mel.

“This way,” Mel said, leading the way.

We followed after her and walked through the ancient dragons’ home. It was like a labyrinth—or a dungeon—and without a guide, I wasn’t sure we would’ve made it out.

The only thing that had me on edge was that Astaroth was following us. Was he really intent on seeing us off?

We soon arrived at the exit and were greeted by a clear, open expanse. Apparently, our fight had made huge changes to the scenery. I felt kinda bad.

Lucy, Sasa, and I all climbed onto Mel’s back—she’d reverted to her dragon form.

“Take care, Lady Helemmelk!”

“Be safe!”

“The dragon king is leaving...”

“Then the terrifying elementalist will finally be gone, right?”

Various dragons poked their heads out as we left, all saying one thing or another. Come to think of it, this was the ancient dragons’ home, the most dangerous of any of the dragon nests. We were surrounded on all sides by ancient dragons, and all were staring straight at us. I felt a chill run down my back.

None of them seemed hostile, though. It must have been because I defeated Astaroth. They all had their heads bowed toward us.

Mel kicked off the ground, and took flight, weaving through the sky. With thousands of ancient dragons watching us leave, it was quite the spectacle.

◇

“Sorry, Makoto. If I weren’t feeling so rough...” Lucy apologized.

“There was no avoiding it. You were quite close to father and the elementalist’s battle. Most humans wouldn’t have been able to withstand the aftershocks of the magic.”

We were currently flying through the air on Mel’s back. We would’ve used Lucy’s Teleport, but it wasn’t working right. For now, she was taking a break and recuperating.

“Are you okay, Sasa?” I asked.

“All good,” she chirped back. Sasa had literally no equal as far as physical hardiness went, and she was just as energetic as ever.

“I hope...things are okay in Highland,” Lucy mused.

“Sakurai and the other heroes are there, so I’m sure it’ll be fine,” I reassured her.

It still didn’t entirely help, though.

“Why now?” Sasa wondered.

“That ought to be obvious,” Mel replied.

“You know why?” I asked. Not even Ira had been able to predict it.

“Of course,” she said nonchalantly. “He picked the moment you weren’t in Highland, didn’t he?”

“Lady Holy Dragon, are you saying that Iblis is scared of Makoto?” Lucy asked.

“Wow, nice one, Takatsuki.”

“No, no. That’s not it, no way,” I denied rapidly. There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that this was the reason.

“Enough modesty,” Mel said. “While the Hero of Light might have struck the blow, I doubt she would have won without your presence.”

“I knew it!” Lucy cheered.

“He’s always playing down his contributions!”

“Oh, you haven’t told your companions exactly what happened? Very well then, I shall give them the details. It will be a while before we arrive at our destination regardless.”

With that, Mel launched into a—rather embellished—retelling of the events of a thousand years ago.

“...and that was how it finished,” she concluded.

“Nah, that’s exaggerated,” I protested.

“Wow!” Lucy marveled.

“You’re so cool, Takatsuki!”

Neither of them seemed interested in my protests. Eventually, I ended up just nodding along with whatever Mel said.

There was a distinct lack of tension in the conversation. However, waiting for us at its end was Iblis, the Great Demon Lord of a thousand years ago—the being who had once ruled the world. Even if our conversation was light, everyone was still filled with foreboding.

We were traveling from the center of the demon continent to the center of the western continent—between the ancient dragons’ home and Highland. Even on a wyvern, the fastest form of transport, it would take two full days. But with the combination of Mel’s flight speed and Lucy’s teleportation, once she recovered, it only took us a few hours.

◇

Highland’s royal capital, Symphonia...

It centered on the gigantic Highland Castle and spread out radially from it. Countless buildings crowded the city, which was the biggest on the continent. However, something there was different from usual.

That difference soon became clear.

“Wh-What the...?!”

“Takatsuki! Is that an island?!”

Lucy’s and Sasa’s yells rang in my ears.

I spied a gray chunk of land—not made of rock or dirt, but of something more unsettling and bizarre. It must have fallen from the air, and it looked like it had just grazed the city.

I recognized it, of course.

“That’s the Great Demon Lord’s castle, Eden. It originally floated, but...”

“Odd. It looks like they dropped it to destroy the city, but there was no point to that.”

I had to agree. From what I could see, the castle hadn’t caused that much damage to the city.

“What is our plan?” Mel asked.

“Let’s head for Highland Castle,” I decided. Sakurai and Queen Noelle would be there, and Iblis’s goal was to take Sakurai out.

Mel nodded. “Very well.”

We remained on her back as we carried on in that direction. But, as soon as we tried to pass the walls of the city, Mel threw the brakes on.

“Wah!”

“Ahh!”

“Mel?”

She took a nosedive without warning.

“There’s a barrier here against monsters...” Mel explained, sounding pained. “It’s pseudo-divine rank as well. Being an ancient dragon, I can go no farther... I suppose this is what lowered the damage of the falling castle so much.”

Now that I looked closer, the whole city was covered in a thin film of light.

“Hey, Makoto,” Lucy said. “Do you think this is what Queen Noelle was using her power as a saint for?”

“Right, Gerry did say something about that.”

He’d mentioned a barrier under construction against Iblis. It would have covered the entire continent once it was done, but they must have put it up over the city itself as an emergency measure.

“If it’s a barrier against monsters, am I gonna be able to get inside...?” Sasa wondered. “I don’t feel anything, though...”

She had a puzzled look on her face.

“It likely...has exceptions...to which it specifically...does not apply. I...can’t take any more...”

Mel landed gently on the ground.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I will be...as long as I get away from here soon. Alas, it seems that I will be unable to offer you further assistance.” Her face twisted in regret.

“Thank you. We’ll go and see Iblis, then.”

She snorted softly. “You’re as easygoing as ever, I see. Don’t die, Elementalist.”

With that, she slowly took flight and headed away from the capital.

The gate was open; no one was guarding it either. On top of that, the normal mass of people going back and forth along the streets was nowhere to be seen. It was a strange sight. Then again, Iblis was here, so of course things weren’t normal.

Carefully, Lucy, Sasa, and I made our way toward the castle. Stalls and shops lined the route, but no people could be seen.

“It’s quiet...”

“I can feel something, though.”

“Let’s just be careful.”

We progressed quickly as we talked. After a while, there was a deafening hissing noise. A snake the size of a dragon was suddenly bearing down on us.

A monster?! It got through the barrier?!

Before I could use magic to intercept it, red light pierced it from the heavens.

“Fire Magic: Vermilion Spark!”

Lucy’s spell obliterated the snake’s head. All that was left was its torso, which writhed around.

“Urgh...that’s gross,” Sasa said, frowning at the snake’s pattern.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t the pattern—there were eyes spread over its surface, rolling to and fro.

“A blight monster...”

It was one of the monsters that had lived on Eden. They had been granted power from Iblis but were unable to withstand it, so they’d transformed into these blighted creatures.

We came across plenty more during the rest of our journey, but Lucy and Sasa made quick work of them. As we defeated the monsters, we gradually started to see people coming out of hiding. They must have hidden while the blight monsters were roaming the city.

The closer we got to the castle, the more people we saw. Some of them were temple knights fighting the blight monsters. The monsters were by no means weak. But, whether due to the barrier or something else, the knights were taking them out one after another. I’d been worried that the city might have already been under Iblis’s control, but that didn’t seem to be the case. If anything, it looked like the knights were picking off stragglers.

Where is Iblis, then? I wondered.

The castle had fallen to the side of the city. Iblis himself was definitely here.

But where?

As if to answer that question, a temple knight came running up, yelling something. He was presumably spreading the news throughout the city.

I listened to his shouts.

“The Hero of Light has defeated Iblis!!!”