Unlimited Writing Works

26 – Demon Lord Route – Downbeat

I took a sip from my tea cup. Bitter, without even a hint of sweetness.

Across from me, Aultry took a sip from his own. From the way his eyes wrinkled in delight, it obviously wasn’t as bitter as mine.

After my abrupt entrance, we’d decided to hold the conversation in a more relaxing place. Aultry suggested it, mostly because of the stress my visit was giving him, and I agreed to it.

Considering his attitude towards me, and how outrageous asking to visit the heart of Yggdrasil was, any help in lowering his resistance was welcome.

We were seated at a table on a deck not far from the inner sanctum. Apparently it was where Aultry liked to unwind between dealing with ruling.

A maid had delivered tea for the two of us, leaving a kettle on the table, and then let us be.

Aultry set down his cup and said, “So how is my baby girl, Lord Nazin? I hope that you’re treating her well.”

I stared at Aultry and frowned. “Did you elves suddenly gain another protector? It seems that everyone around these parts has suddenly grown a backbone and decided they can stand up against a Demon Lord.”

Aultry shrugged and waved his hand. “Maybe you just haven’t seemed very intimidating, ‘Lord Nazin’. After all, you look very much like an ordinary human right now.”

“An ordinary-“ My eyes widened and I reached for my face. Halfway there I realized what I was doing and stopped.

Aultry smirked.

“…You sly fox.”

“Thank you. But in all seriousness, where is my daughter? I don’t detect her anywhere in Alvheim and haven’t for the past five days.”

“She’s fine. I just sent her off to undergo training-“

Aultry stood up. “You sent her off to train? By herself? My Ari?”

I raised an eyebrow.

Aultry coughed and sat back down. “…Pardon me, but isn’t that excessive?”

“Well, Aultry, considering how I haven’t seemed very intimidating lately, do you think I’d still be capable of protecting her and Alvheim at the same time?”

Aultry narrowed his eyes. “I handed my daughter to you because I believed she would be safe, not for you to force her through trials!”

I took a sip from my tea cup. Still bitter, but I was getting used to it.

“Lord Nazin!”

I set my tea cup down and said, “She’ll be fine. She’s with my servant. If anything, you should be concerned about people that meet her instead of the other way around.”

Aultry grumbled and said, “Fine. In that case, I suppose I can accept it. But still, you are truly a Demon Lord, aren’t you? Though you have such a lackluster appearance, your actions at least are fitting. Even daring to set your hands on my eldest daughter as well-“

“Hold on.” I raised my hand. “I have no intentions towards Titania.”

Aultry scoffed. “As if I would believe that. Practically all of Alvheim has heard about how she took you for a walk around the other day. You! And her, who hasn’t even so much as looked as any of the suitors I’ve suggested in the past three hundred years!”

I frowned. “It’s not my fault that she’s somehow become fond of me.”

“There!” Aultry pointed at me. “That right there! A Demon Lord through and through! At least Cross had the decency to politely reject the elves that made passes at him, but you! You’re just sitting there and pulling my honeybun along!”

My mana flared.

Aultry flinched and then lowered his hand. He took a deep breath and sighed. “…My apologies, Lord Nazin.”

“…Again, you and your people are being quite rude recently. I’m beginning to think that it might be better to just leave.”

“No! Stay, please.” Aultry grimaced. “You’re our only ally at this time.”

I thought about making him sweat a bit, but eventually said, “It’s good that you know that.”

Aultry sighed and took a sip from his tea cup to calm down.

I decided to do the same.

After a while, Aultry said, “I suppose Tani has always been a bit… unorthodox. Her falling for you is unexpected, especially the relationship between you and Ari, but I suppose the heart wants what it wants.”

“…Sure. Now the reason why I wanted to talk with you is-“

Aultry gestured with his tea cup and said, “Do you know that she swore herself off of love when she was younger? She thought it was ridiculous and unnecessary. Something about the sword and magic being all she needed.”

“…That’s interesting to hear but-“

“I thought it would change after Ari was born, but then Lunaria died and she became even colder! She stopped giving me hugs, calling me papa… she even started using formal language all the time!” Aultry took a long drink from his tea and then turned towards me with red eyes. “Isn’t that ridiculous?”

“…What’s ridiculous is the way you’re acting, to be honest. You’re a king, and I’m the Demon Lord who saved your kingdom. And daughter. And other daughter. And… probably all your children probably.”

Aultry paused. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be talking to you like this… but you’re the only hope I have left for getting a grandson.”

I froze. “Hold on. Repeat that again?”

Aultry tilted his head. “You are my main hope of getting a grandson? An heir to the throne?”

“There. That right there. What gives you the impression that I’m going to give you an heir?” I shook my head. “No, the more important question is… why does that even matter?”

Aultry leaned back in his chair and held his teacup. “I’m not getting younger and the throne of Alvheim can only be passed onto males with the royal bloodline. Since I don’t have a son, the next best would be a grandson. And since you’ve taken my baby girl and somehow ensnared the heart of my precious honeybun, it’s only a matter of time, isn’t it?” He narrowed his eyes. “…Or are you saying that my daughters aren’t good enough for you?”

A headache started to build up.

I pinched the bridge of my nose with my left hand and said, “Don’t you have other daughters? Why me all of a sudden?”

Aultry’s expression darkened. “I do, but their mothers are different than Titania and Aria’s.”

“Oh?”

The elven king lowered his tea cup and stared into it. “…Unlike you humans, we elves find it hard to conceive a child. Once every few decades can be considered blessed, but once a century is more common.”

“…Did Aria’s mother not do it for you?”

Aultry glared at me. “What would you know? Titania and Aria’s mother… my Queen, Lunaria. I loved her with all my heart and hoped we could have a son to inherit the throne. But no. Even with Yggdrasil’s blessings, after Titania’s birth there was nothing else.”

I slowly nodded. It was interesting and all to hear about Aria’s family… but more important things were at hand. “Right. That’s all understandable, but I didn’t come here to talk about your family history-“

“For a long time, Lunaria thought the problem lay with her.” Aultry continued talking, completely ignoring me.

I sighed and decided to sit back and relax.

“I reluctantly accepted concubines into the family in an attempt to produce an heir. But again, only daughters. Not only that, but they even go on to spurn male advances and seek the ‘fairer sex’. Some unfathomable logic about the natural state of affairs being females pursuing females due to how Yggdrasil gave rise to Elf and Fae alike.”

I poured myself some more tea from the kettle and said, “Right.”

“Fortunately, the birth of my darling Ari showed that it wasn’t a problem with Lunaria. Rather, the problem likely lay with myself… Even so, we would have continued to try, but then Lunaria died during labor. Because of that, the only hope I have of passing down this throne and retiring would be the son of either my honeybun or my baby girl. Thus… you.” Aultry stared at me. “You, who has taken both of my precious daughters from me. While I can’t do anything about their decisions… if you so much as harm a single hair on either of them, Demon Lord or not, I won’t forgive you.”

I took a sip from my tea cup. I tasted nothing but bitterness, but considering my mood, it was welcome.

Just how did a talk about reinforcing Yggdrasil and Alvheim’s defenses turn into what was essentially the future father-in-law chewing out his future son-in-law?

At that time, Aultry coughed. He quickly covered it with his right hand, but he didn’t do so in time to prevent the few specks of crimson from escaping. “Apologies. All of this stress recently must be getting to me.”

I decided to let him have his excuse and nodded. “It’s fine.”

Aultry took a sip from his tea cup but frowned on finding it empty. He poured himself some more from the kettle and said, “I believe we’ve gotten off track. What was it you wanted to discuss?”

Finally. But even though we arrived at the crux of the conversation… I hesitated.

Aultry laughed. “Come now. Don’t tell me that the chaotic Demon Lord Nazin is afraid of me now.” He shook his head and took a sip from his tea cup.

“I need access to the heart of Yggdrasil.”

Aultry coughed and quickly set down his cup. Wiping his mouth, he stared at me and said, “You what?”

“The heart of Yggdrasil. I need access to it so that I can lay defenses down to protect all of Alvheim.”

“Just how in the world- no, I suppose one as powerful as you could sense it. Even so…” Aultry looked towards me and narrowed his eyes. “What makes you think that I’ll let a self-proclaimed Demon Lord with chaotic mana near the heart of the world’s Order?”

“I think that if you don’t, Yggdrasil will fall within the next few days after both the Braves and the Archfiends invade Alvheim.”

Aultry waved his hand. “So what? You’re here, are you not? Or are you telling me that they’re too powerful for our dear Benefactor?”

“Of course not. Barring the human emperor and the other Demon Lord, it would take a creature of catastrophe to threaten me. But the same isn’t true for Yggdrasil.”

Aultry smiled. “You underestimate us. While we were caught off guard by the imperial soldier’s chaos magic, since you’ve arrived and reinforced our barriers, we’ve come up with plenty of countermeasures against it.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“What?” Aultry said. “Did you think that your actions went unnoticed? I possess access to all of Yggdrasil, and her roots extend quite a ways throughout the Ancient Forest.”

“Be that as it may be, I doubt that it can defend against Anti-magic.”

Aultry froze. “Anti-magic? You mean spell nullification?”

“Did I say spell nullification?”

Aultry rubbed his face and said, “Curses. Was that why you came back so injured the other day?”

“…Not exactly, but for the sake of the argument, yes.”

Aultry sighed. “The humans have gone too far. First dabbling in Chaos and now developing an energy diametrically opposed to magic… do they not fear retribution from the Goddess?”

I forced my expression to remain neutral. That Goddess… far from retribution, she would be sitting back with a bowl of popcorn to watch the fireworks.

Aultry stood up. “Very well. I assume you have countermeasures then if you’re asking this?”

I stood up as well, and then nodded. “Of course.”

“Then… follow me.” Aultry turned towards Yggdrail and waved his hand. The moment he did, the tree’s surface shifted and rippled, turning into a dark chasm. “I will lead the way. But know that the moment I sense anything out of the ordinary, you will be facing the wrath of not only myself, but Yggdrasil and all of its guardians.” He turned back to look at me. “Understood?”

“You don’t need to tell me twice.”

Aultry nodded and walked into the chasm.

I followed close behind him.

“On a side-note,” Aultry said. “Have you and my Titania done it yet? I mean you must have, what with her finally being so bright and cheerful after all these years, right? If you need any tips on ways to increase fertility or want to spice things up…”

I sighed.

What I was willing to put up with to protect Alvheim… Aria had better appreciate my efforts when she got back.

---

In the depths of the Ancient Forest, a young elf with golden hair and a dark violet dress raised her head.

An elegant beauty with long silky black hair and red eyes frowned. “What is it, girl? Another of your flashbacks?”

Aria shook her head. “No. I just felt like Nowun was thinking about me.”

Saphira scoffed. “As if my Master cares about a girl like yourself.”

Aria rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, old hag.”

“You-!”

“What? It’s true, isn’t it? And I’m sure that Nowun prefers pure maidens anyway, unlike a certain ancient has-been over here.”

Saphira raised her right hand, crackling with crimson lightning. “It seems that you require discipline.”

Aria raised her right hand as well, a black tornado slowly swirling within it. “Anytime, hag.”

The two beauties charged at each other, wind howling and lightning screeching, vying for the position of the one to stand at a certain person’s side.

---

Meanwhile, still doing paperwork where Nowun left her, Titania remained blissfully unaware of the storm that was about to come her way.

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25 – Demon Lord Route – Counterpoint

The smell of vanilla and something else sweet. That was the first thing I noticed when I entered the room that Titania had fled to.

The house that Yggdrasil had provided us was furnished, but in a way that was relatively spartan. While elegant in a minimalist way with pure wooden finishing and soft cotton-like threads and cushioning, the house lacked a ‘homely’ feeling that should be expected of a place where people lived.

But the room I walked into was different.

The layout of the room was similar to the one in which I woke up. A bed lined the wall in the corner of the room to the left of the entrance, directly beneath the room’s window. Across from the bed, to the right to the entrance, there was a rectangular table and a pair of chairs.

The main difference between the room layouts were the large wardrobe directly in front of the door. But while those were the only main differences, there were plenty of minor differences that added up.

A stuffed wolf sat at the head of the bed in the room. Its gray fur was matted and slightly scuffed, torn a bit here and there but lovingly stitched back together. Next to it, there was a pillow embroidered with bright yellow sunflowers, a design mirrored by the blanket covering the bed.

As for the wardrobe, while it was shut, I could see the edges of over a dozen dresses peeking out from beneath the doors, as if there were so many it couldn’t shut properly.

I quietly shut the door behind me. Whether because of Information Concealment or because it was just well-made, the door closed without a single sound.

When I did, the scent of vanilla and that strangely sweet smell became stronger.

I frowned and glanced around the room. When I did, I caught sight of a wreath of white and yellow flowers hung on the right wall. The white flowers I recognized as vanilla, but the yellow flowers I didn’t.

Curious, I decided to analyze the wreath.

---

Status Screen

Name: Wreath of Vanilla and Yellow Freesia

Summary: A wreath made of vanilla and yellow freesia flowers. The maker lovingly entwined the flowers together and blessed them with mana, preventing them from dying.

---

Interesting… but I didn’t know the language of flowers so the deeper meaning was lost to me. It seemed like my skill either thought it was obvious or didn’t want to pry either. Still, the gesture wasn’t lost on me.

I shifted my gaze to the only one who could have brought that wreath in the room, as well as the one responsible for decorating everything else.

Titania sat at the table, her back turned to the door. On the tabletop before her stood two piles of papers, a towering one on her left and a smaller one on her right. In her left hand, she held a quill with an inkwell nearby to dip it.

“You’re working rather hard, aren’t you?”

Titania flinched and bumped into her inkwell.

I grabbed it before it could fall using Dragon’s Grasp.

Titania sighed and then turned around to glare at me. “You could at least knock before entering.”

I eased the inkwell and the ink back inside of it. After that, I walked around the table and took a seat opposite of Titania. “Knock? I live here. Why would I do that?”

“You-“ Titania shook her head. “Never mind.” She glanced at her papers for a moment and then shifted them to the side. “I assume that you need something?”

“What makes you think that? Maybe I just wanted to say hi?”

Titania sighed. “With you, Lord Nazin, I highly doubt that mere greetings would warrant a visit. Did you want me to clean the dishes? Are you still hungry?”

I frowned. “…What am I, a kid?”

Titania raised an eyebrow and said, “Considering that in the past two days you have spent the total of one lying in bed like a sick child, yes.”

“…It’s not like I asked you to take care of me. But that’s not why I came here. I have something important to ask you.”

Titania paused and then rested her elbows on the table. “What is it?”

“That guy called you Commander, right? Are you responsible for Alvheim’s combat potential?”

Titania frowned. “…I suppose you could put it like that. But why do you ask?” She narrowed her eyes. “Do not tell me that you are planning an expedition.”

“No, but it’ll be important for me to understand all of it if we want Alvheim and Yggdrasil to remain safe in the coming week.”

Titania’s frown deepened. “Is it that serious?”

I nodded. “It is.”

Titania remained silent for a few moments and said, “Why ask me this? Would it not be better to ask my father?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I trust you more than that ol-“ I coughed. “Than Aultry.”

Titania flushed, but said, “Very well. Since you trust me, I will do my best to answer your questions. What specifically did you want to know about?”

I paused to think. “First of all… what’s the territory like?”

I had a vague understanding of the world’s geography from my ‘Otherworlder’ title, but still lacked in concreted details.

“Territory?” Titania tilted her head and stared at me. “…Are you really a human?”

“Titania.”

“Fine, fine. Give me a moment.” She reached into her pile of papers and dug around. Eventually, she grabbed one from the pile and placed it in front of me. “Here we go. A recent map of Asifant from one who recently returned from their pilgrimage.”

A map… that was useful. I grabbed it and took a closer look.

Countless names, boundaries, and points of interest were written out, but in summary the continent could be divided into five major sections: the Northern Empire in the north, the Demon Realm in the south, the Western Mountains in the west, the Sun Kingdom in the east, and the Ancient Forest in the center.

From what I knew, most of the humans lived in the Northern Empire, the result of Emperor Elio uniting it under his rule. The Sun Kingdom had the next largest population, though it included Anima, humanoids with animal features, among their number. The Demon Realm obviously had demons. As for the Western Mountains… considering that my title didn’t bring anything up, it seemed unimportant. But even so, that left three potential enemies.

“Surrounded on all sides, huh?” I muttered.

Titania nodded. “It would seem like it, yes. But in truth the only ones we need to fear would be the Empire.” Her nose wrinkled in disgust. “At least the demons would not resort to such… repulsive acts.”

They wouldn’t… but that didn’t mean they weren’t a problem.

“What about the Sun Kingdom?”

“Hm? Ah, they have closed off their borders for years now. Even had they not, the children of the Sun hold honor in as high esteem as us elves do Yggdrasil.”

I rubbed my chin and frowned. “Is that so?”

That sounded similar to how China used to be in the past as well. It made me curious, especially with that hero’s reaction to me in Ars Nova, but I shelved the thought for the moment. Instead, I focused on the map.

“The north and south then. The north has the Lost Woods so the imperial army will have to take a detour, but the south… Are the barriers and bewildering arrays on the outskirts of Alvheim the only protections you have?”

“Of course not.” Titania crossed her arms and said, “What do you take us for? There is an outpost on the southern side of the Ancient Forest where our greatest hunters hold a vigil against the demons. In addition, the Fae live near there and would be the first to inform us of any activity.”

“Hm…”

It sounded secure, but I couldn’t help but feel like it wasn’t enough. An outpost could be easily overrun or captured without a trace. The Fae were fickle and might flee at a moment’s notice into their homeland between the cracks of the world.

“What about your combat power? What forces can Alvheim dispatch if push comes to shove?”

Titania frowned and placed a finger on her chin. “That… I believe around a hundred? If we are including the Royal Guards and those responsible solely for guarding Yggdrasil… approximately two hundred.”

“That’s not enough.”

“Pardon me?” Titania narrowed her eyes. “Are you telling me that two hundred of the most elite warriors, men and women that have trained for centuries is insufficient in your eyes?”

“Are they as strong as me?”

Titania froze. “W-Well…”

“Yes or no.”

“…No. They are not. B-But-“

“Damn. So that’s how it’s going to play out then.” I stared at the map and sighed. “Knowing her, the most ‘exciting’ part is just about to start.”

“I… do not understand?” Titania stared at me and frowned. “Her? Exciting?”

I shook my head. “Yesterday… No, it would be two days ago. I fought the Empire’s Braves here.” I circled a region north of Alvheim.

Titania’s eye widened. “Is that why you were grievously injured?”

“Yes. They were unexpectedly tough… and while I managed to kill most of them, the few that survived were strong.”

Strong enough to make me wonder why they weren’t the real heroes instead of that delusional fool in Ars Nova, actually.

Titania bit her lip.

But I wasn’t finished. “And from what I know, the Demon Lord is making moves to get rid of the elves as well. While the demons wouldn’t have moved if the Empire had succeeded, with my appearance destroying that plan, we can count on them attacking soon.”

“That…” Titania glanced at the map and muttered, “I see. Our forces would indeed be insufficient. But Lord Nazin, are you not overestimating the enemy forces?”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“While it may not appear so to you,” Titania said. “The Ancient Forest is home to many dangerous creatures. The Fenrir Wolves possess claws and talons that pierce through any defense. The Lethe Spiders can bind even the most skilled magician in their illusions. And there is even the Darklight Python that can strike unannounced. While us elves can avoid them due to the aid of nature’s spirits guiding us, the same is not true for the other races.”

I paused and mulled over her words and then shook my head. “No. If they were ordinary soldiers, that might be true. But this is the imperial army, the same one run by Emperor Elio, the prodigy that could fight off the Demon Lord by himself.”

“…The ruler of the humans is that powerful?”

I blinked and stared at Titania. “Didn’t you know? You handed me the map, didn’t you?”

Titania flushed. “W-Well, it has been a while since I have left Alvheim, so pardon me for being out of date.”

“A while…? It can’t have been that long, right? I think I remember Aria mentioning that you told her how great crepes were…”

Titania coughed. “A-anyway,” she said. “If the Emperor is so powerful, why is he going about the war in such a roundabout manner?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe he doesn’t want to have collateral damage? Or maybe he’s testing the waters for something bigger-“

I suddenly remembered what the Emperor was researching. Chaos magic, darkness… and didn’t those demons say they would get vengeance for their princess or something?

“…Dammit.”

“Lord Nazin?”

I sighed and rubbed my temples. “It looks like I’m going to have to meet with your father after all.”

“Ah.” Titania stood up and began tidying her papers. “Give me a moment then. I will be just-“

“You take your time. I remember the way.” I closed my eyes and then focused on the spatial coordinates of the hallway in front of the inner sanctum.

“Eh? Lord Nazin-“

Titania’s voice cut out, replaced by the cold chill of non-existence. Soon, that chill vanished as well, replaced with the familiar warmth of reemerging at my target.

---

I opened my eyes.

An elaborate set of double doors, woven through with ivy and branches, stood before me. The doorway to the inner sanctum of Alvheim, where the king presided over his people and Yggdrasil itself.

But that wasn’t all.

Someone stood there, not far in front of me. A girl.

She stood as tall as I did, our eyes the same level. But unlike my dark brown eyes, hers were a dark violet, the color of amethysts shrouded by night.

Milky white skin like the pale moon. Lovely pink lips set in a soft frown. Her hair, short and raven colored, framed a delicate face that looked like it was carved by a master artisan trying to depict a goddess.

A simple black dress covered her lithe body, its threads light enough to reveal the shape beneath it but dark enough to hide the important parts.

I took in all of that information within a single glance. Barely any time at all. But that single glance seemed to stretch on forever.

I knew her.

I didn’t remember her, but I knew her.

My heart throbbed and I reached out. Her name was on the edge of my tongue. “You-“

She shook her head and said, “You’re not him.”

Confused, I blinked. And when I did, she was gone.

I blinked again and spun around. “…Was I imagining things?”

No one was there. I didn’t detect any mana fluctuations either.

“It must be the stress.”

I shook my head and then stepped towards the doors.

They loomed before me, tall and austere. I got the feeling that most people would be intimidated by looking at them… but I wasn’t most people.

I kicked the door open and said, “Aultry. I have something to discuss.”

The king of Alvheim sat on his throne. A book lay on the ground nearby, its pages bent and ruffled from landing at an awkward angle. Aultry stared at the book for a moment. When that moment passed, he turned towards me and said between gritted teeth, “Lord Nazin. To what do I owe this… pleasure?”

---

ERROR: Due to anomalous events, certain skills and titles have been lost. Status for the individual “Nowun” updated.

Status Screen
Name: Nowun
Gender: Male
Age: ??
Race: Human
HP: 1,300,000 (+1,300,000)
MP: 800,000 (+800,000)

Skills

Absolute Memory LVL ?? – A unique unranked skill granted to Nowun by Goddess Serena using the infinite human potential gifted by Earth’s Creator. Grants the concept of ‘Absolute Memory’ to the user. Cannot be disrupted by the lack of mana. Allows spatial leap.

Information Concealment LVL ?? – A unique unranked skill recognized by Goddess Serena due to the user’s ability to withhold and conceal information. [This applies even to one’s own self.]

Chaos Affinity LVL 7 – A skill granting the affinity of Chaos, the magical element that disrupts all others. At this level, it becomes possible to disrupt most magical phenomenon.

Physical Damage Resistance LVL 7 – A skill granting resistance towards physical attacks. At this level, an attack capable of reducing a mountain to rubble is reduced to a tap.

Imperial Slash LVL 7 – A subset of the martial skill “Imperial Swordsmanship”, which is the greatest swordsmanship available to the current era of humans. Using physical strength (or an appropriate substitute), lash out with the force to sever steel. At this level, it has almost become a swordsmanship in itself.

Darkness Affinity LVL 7 – A skill granting the affinity of Darkness, the magical element embodying shadows, void, and negativity. At this level, uses are limited primarily by imagination and mana.

Mana Resistance LVL 7 – A skill granting resistance towards phenomenon involving mana. At this level, a magical attack capable of wiping out a mountain is reduced to a slight shock.

Analysis LVL 7 – A skill gained through the skilled usage and interpretation of mana fluctuations. Allows gaining of information through reading the world’s record. More is shown with greater expertise. At this level, Name, Level, Age, Race, Combat Potential, most skills, and a brief biography is shown.

Grant Skill LVL 2 – A skill born through the familiarity of what makes up the essence of a skill. It allows the user to grant a skill they are familiar with to a targeted individual. The level determines the level of the skill that can be granted.

Curse of ****** LVL 2 – A skill embodying the wrath of ******, the fallen divine dragon. Attacks cannot be defended against and inflicts the status ‘Soul Corrosion’.

Dragon’s Grasp LVL 2 –  A skill embodying the saying that one cannot escape once inside a dragon’s grasp. However, you are an exception to the rule as you are ‘no one’. It becomes possible to dominate beings by directly restricting their soul. A greater effect is shown with higher levels. At this level, it is possible to restrain dragons and beings with equivalent power. The target is limited to one.

Anti-Magic LVL 1 – A skill that allows the usage of an energy serving as the antithesis of mana. Greater levels allow for greater amounts. At this level, allows the creation of a handful of Anti-Magic.

Regenerate LVL 5 – A skill that allows regeneration from damage through the use of mana. On this level, even lost limbs can be restored, let alone vital organs.

Titles

Otherworlder – Obtained by all those transported by Goddess Serena to Asifant. Grants language translation and basic knowledge of the world.

Karmic Anomaly – The title granted to one whose karma cannot be discerned or altered. Further effects are unknown.

Martyr – The title granted to one who sacrificed their life for the sake of another. Doubles HP and MP.

Aria’s Savior – The title of the one who strives to save the elven princess Aria Sylvania from her fate. Your goodwill and efforts will never be forgotten, having been burned into her memory. She will always return to your side, no matter the time, no matter the place.

Legend – The title of one who defeats ancient beings of catastrophe. Grants unrivaled strength and speed.

Demon Lord Nazin – Your name, your title, the role you have decided to embrace. A Demon Lord that protects others with his domineering strength, repaying kindness with kindness and malice with malice. You will never fall into darkness.

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24 – Demon Lord Route – Dissonance

I opened my eyes.

Light streamed in from nearby, but my vision was too blurry to make out where.

What happened to me? I blinked, and my fuzzy mind began to clear, my senses sharpening once again.

A familiar room, a familiar scenario. Somehow, I ended up back in the bed I was in after attacking the Braves and collapsing in my house at Yggdrasil.

I got up and moved to sit at the edge of the bed. “Have I gone back in time?”

A splitting headache erupted.

I grimaced and clutched at my head with my left hand. “Gah, what is-“

A flash of memories. Aria’s body. My corpse. Darkness, flooding the surroundings. And blood. So much blood from-

“Stop… it!”

I grit my teeth and smacked my head with my left hand. Somehow, it helped. The moment that my palm connected with my skull, the headache vanished. The flash of memories also disappeared.

“That…” I lowered my hand and frowned. “What was that?”

A scene that I didn’t remember. Standing before Aria’s dismembered corpse, covered in her blood.

Nausea welled up and my stomach churned.

I jumped off the bed and ran towards the door. I reached out and grabbed the handle.

The door opened.

A woman stood there. Long, honey-colored hair. Sharp features that gave off a cold beauty. Yet, those sharp features softened the moment she saw me.

My eyes widened and I tried to stop. But I was moving too fast.

“Eep!”

I tumbled and fell to the ground, pinning Titania beneath me.

She flushed a deep red. Her crimson lips opened and shut, trying but unable to say any words.

A flash of another memory. Of failing to save Aria, her final words and wishes.

My stomach churned again and I forced myself to my feet, only barely remembering to avoid stepping on Titania.

“Y-You! Lord Nazin!”

I ignored Titania and moved towards the bathroom. Reaching the door, I threw it open and leaned over the toilet.

My stomach churned and I felt bile well up in my throat.

I gagged and retched.

My throat painfully constricted, preventing anything from coming out my mouth. At the same time, my stomach continued to churn, nausea twisting my insides.

I retched, and retched, and retched, and retched.

I didn’t know how long it was, but eventually I felt a soft hand on my shoulder.

“…Nazin?” Titania said. “Are you… alright?”

I grimaced and cleaned myself up with dark magic, eradicating the bile staining my lips. “I’m fine. Just… a bit nauseous is all.” I turned towards Titania and forced a smile. “Maybe I’m just hungry, haha? I don’t even remember the last thing I ate-“

As if to spite me, my mind brought up the memory of Black Steel Boar and the way its marbled meat glistened as it roasted. Slimy and savory, just like Aria’s-

Nausea welled up again and I quickly leaned over the toilet and retched.

Disgust, guilt, anger… emotions I didn’t know the source of roiled within me, amplifying my nausea.

“Spirits of nature, heed my call and lend me your strength.” Titania’s voice echoed. “Calm the mind of the one before me and settle his soul.”

An incantation that seemed like a prayer. After saying it, Titania placed her hands on the side of my head. The moment her fingertips made contact, I felt a calming chill spread through my body, starting from my head and passing down through my toes.

The emotional turmoil and nausea vanished.

I cleaned myself again and muttered, “Thanks, Titania.”

She moved her hands away and said, “Thanks are unnecessary, Lord Nazin. However, I would like an explanation.”

I stood up and turned to face Titania.

She crossed her arms and stared at me. While her lips were pursed, her eyes scanned my body as if checking for wounds.

“I-“

My stomach rumbled.

Titania sighed. “Well, I suppose that explanation can wait until after you eat something proper.” She spun around, sending her honey-colored hair scattering, and said, “Meet me in the dining area when you have cleaned up.”

With those words said, Titania walked out of the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

Alone, I took a better look around the bathroom.

Whether due to the Goddess’s design or coincidence, it was surprisingly modern. A toilet, a sink to my side, and a shower area to my left. A window shone some light into the room, illuminating the room and revealing the endless blue sky. With a brief Analyze, it seemed that everything managed to operate as expected with the difference being that water and waste were managed by mana… sigils? Runes? Some sort of pattern woven into the material itself.

Also, everything was made of wood, being created by Yggdrasil for us to use.

A lot of information, but also a useful distraction to keep those memories at bay.

I shook my head and stepped into the shower area. Maybe some cold water would help clear my mind…

---

Titania placed a bowl in front of me and said, “Here. It is far from proper fare, but it should help ease your body and mind.” Then, she placed a wooden spoon into my hand. “Now eat.”

I nodded.

After my shower, I changed into a loose-fitting black t-shirt and pants for comfort. Then I headed to the house’s dining area. There, Titania had already finished preparing a meal for the two of us.

I stared into the bowl. It seemed to be a porridge of some sort and filled with colorful berries.

“What? Is it not to your liking?”

I shook my head. “It’s fine. Thank you for the meal.”

Titania nodded and began eating from her own bowl of porridge.

I took a bite. It was sweet and refreshing, reminding me a lot of oatmeal. The berries were new, but somewhat reminiscent of blueberries mixed with cherries.

Titania stirred her bowl with her spoon and muttered, “…If Ari were here, she could probably make something better. She always was the better cook.”

“Did you say something?”

Titania flushed. “O-Of course not! What made you think that?”

So she was planning to deny it. A typical… ‘tsundere’, was the word? No, not quite. It was more the up-stuck princess archetype than that.

“A-Anyway,” Titania said. “What happened to you this morning, Lord Nazin? Did your wounds get infected?”

“No, I-“

“Then a fever, is it?”

I shook my head. “That’s not-“

“Oh no. Did your body reject Yggdrasil’s Dew? I should have known. A Demon Lord’s physique must be fundamentally different… perhaps the darkness in your soul was eroded by Yggdrasil’s light?” Titania tilted her head and stared at me.

I decided to ignore her barb and said, “I’m fine.”

“Then-“

“I’M FINE. I was just a bit dizzy after using so much mana.”

“…Ah.” Titania frowned. “…My apologies.”

“Hm?”

Titania shook her head. “It is my fault after all. If Mitri had not suddenly attacked you…” She sighed and then looked at me. “It seems that I’ve been nothing but trouble for you and Ari, haven’t I?” The moment she said those words, Titania’s eyes widened and she said, “I-I mean that I have been a burden upon you two! And I apologize for the troubles, a-and-“

I decided to cut Titania off before she spiraled out of control. “It’s fine. It was mainly my fault for insisting on a tour throughout Alvheim.”

Titania paused and then said, “Right! You were the one who started all of this!” She pointed at me with her finger, her face flushed. “Y-You should take responsibility!”

“…Responsibility.”

“R-Right! For your sake, I punched my subordinate off Yggdrasil!” Suddenly realizing the extent of her actions, Titania’s skin turned a deep crimson and she buried her head into the table. “Aaahhh, what am I supposed to tell Father?”

I blinked.

This… Huh. I thought it might have been the case, but was Titania really just a big softie? The stern older sister type that was secretly as squishy as a marshmallow on the inside?

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “If anyone asks, just tell them that I made you do it. After all, both you and Aria are apparently under my spell.”

Titania snapped back to attention. “That! I forgot, but those ungrateful plebians dare to besmirch your name! After all you have done for us, they still dare to slander you!”

“Well, I’m not surprised. With the way you’re acting now, it’d be strange not to think you fell under a spell.” I sighed and said, “Where did the dignified Elven princess I meet disappear to?”

“…Meanie. You made me like this.”

I raised an eyebrow.

Titania coughed and said, “A-Anyway. What were we talking about again?”

“How long has it been since I was unconscious?”

With the conversation returning to normal topics, Titania’s complexion did as well, fading back to her usual pale skin. “Roughly a day has passed. After you collapsed, I brought you back here.”

Hearing that, I frowned and took a closer look at Titania. When I did, I saw signs I hadn’t earlier. Her clothes were the same as I remembered when we went out. Her long hair, while still orderly, looked slightly askew in places. And her eyes had a slight shadow beneath them, marring her beauty.

“…What is it, Lord Nazin? Is something on my face?”

“It’s nothing. Thank you for your hard work.”

Titania flushed and turned her head to the side. “W-What hard work? I simply did what was required of me.”

“Sure, sure. Whatever lets you sleep better at night, Tani.”

“Hmph. You… eat your food already. It’s going to get cold if you keep yapping.”

I smiled, but did as she said.

Across from me, while she tried to hide it, Titania smiled as well.

Like that, the two of us ate our food in a comfortable silence.

As I ate, my mind wandered towards what had happened before I woke up. More specifically, I remembered the slash across my chest.

It was gone now, healed by Regenerate, but the memory of it was still vivid in my mind, as well as the cause.

This body… wasn’t my original. No, that was wrong. In truth, it was my original body. And that was the reason why the wound appeared.

A ‘memory gambit’. I didn’t know all the details, but I knew bits and pieces. Something had gone wrong with whatever I tried to do, and ‘I’ ended up walking down a repulsive path.

Remembering that sent a wave of nausea through me, but I managed to calm it this time.

‘I’, no, ‘HE’ killed Aria. In cold blood after she saved him. All for power. And that power… for what?

“How stupid.”

“Hm?” Titania turned towards me. “Did you say something, Lord Nazin?”

I shook my head. “It’s nothing important. Just a thought.”

“I see. Well, if you have anything to say, I am all ears. Since my dear sister is still absent, I will reluctantly play her part as your confidant if you need me to.”

“…Are you sure you haven’t been charmed by my good looks?”

Titania blushed and threw her spoon at me.

I caught it and placed it on the table.

Titania’s blush deepened and she said, “I-I’ll be in the other room if you need me. I have… paper work. That’s right, paper work to do.” She stood up from her seat and quickly made her escape.

I smiled. “What a silly woman.” She was a such a pushover… like that, it was no wonder that Aria ended up so bright and naïve. Titania must have spoiled her, even though she didn’t intend to.

“…And I ended up corrupting that bright and naïve young girl, didn’t I?”

My smile vanished.

“Power, was it?”

For the sake of power, he killed Aria. For the sake of power, he hid himself from the Goddess’s gaze and used Information Concealment in a way that tricked the world itself.

But I…

“I’m not like you.”

I decided.

Even though I had unlimited retries. Even though I had an infinite amount of time at my disposal. Even though I could have everyone die and then go back as if it never happened.

Aria. Saphira. Even the prickly Titania.

I had power now, and I didn’t need any more. What I needed to do was utilize it in the best way to keep everyone safe. To protect them from a world that didn’t care about them. To protect them from humans that wanted to exploit them.

The first step to that was making sure Alvheim could protect itself.

“Titania is a commander, right? She should be able to help me out.”

Countless ideas swirled in my mind that we could try out. Weapons, spells, items… I had those in spades. Alone, they were just ideas that I didn’t have any use for. After all, my strength and mana made most of it irrelevant. But I wasn’t fighting alone now.

I cleaned up my bowl and spoons and then left to get Titania.

In my haste, I never realized that my faithful companion had vanished, disappearing from my side.

< – Previous         TOC         Next – >

23 – [ Memory Gambit – III ]

I stood in front of the World Tree, my body stained in blood.

A somber silence filled the air. Yggdrasil and Alvheim hidden within had lost its guardians.

I stepped forward, holding my faithful companion in my right hand. Blood dripped to the ground where I stepped, but Information Concealment erased it the moment I took another.

Power. I had stopped seeking it because I forgot a single fact: the titles, the skills, and even the status screen I obtained in this world were strings to pull me along to the Goddess’s whims.

Leveling up? That was just the Goddess reinforcing her brand on my soul, giving me power at the expense of my will.

Titles? They gave benefits but decided a ‘Fate’ of the owner, forcing them down a predetermined path.

Aria’s Savior. Legend. The Nameless One. The Karmic Anomaly.

I had countless titles to my name, and only now realized that they were the Goddess’s way of giving me just enough rope to hang myself.

But it would be different from this point onward.

A puppet… if the Goddess wanted one. If she wanted someone to play the role of a ‘protagonist’ she could have it. ‘That’ version of me would play the role well enough. In the meantime… I would gain the strength needed to cut her down.

Power… I needed power. Power to oppose the Goddess. Power to find the truth behind my death. Power to return home.

A splitting headache. Something inside of me rebelled at that thought, but I forcibly crushed it.

I scowled and kept walking, following the path I remembered that led into the heart of Yggdrasil.

The halls were different. Instead of the ashy husk I traversed in the future, the current walls were living wood, pulsing with life and mana. But at the same time, it remained a husk; a land of the dead.

Corpses of elven warriors were roughly strewn across the halls. Mostly male, for obvious reasons, though there was an occasional female warrior. None of them were in a complete shape, as if their killer found it amusing to desecrate their corpse.

You can save them.

I let them be.

I continued to walk along Yggdrasil’s winding halls. As I did, I reflected on my decision.

Aria. Saphira. Alvheim.

With my strength, I managed to save those three. But the strength I had was false. Borrowed power, one where the debtor would come calling any day and time.

I couldn’t live like that.

Even if Aria wanted to devote her life to me out of gratitude. Even if Saphira wanted to serve me with everything she had due to pulling her back from being the Wrathful Sin Dragon. Even if Alvheim treated me as their benefactor.

If the Goddess still had me wrapped around her fingertips, there was no point to this life. Even if I could restart it at any time, even if I could undo everything, that didn’t make it disappear. Not for me. So to prevent it from happening in the first place, I needed power. Power to break free of all bonds.

You’re being irrational.

A splitting headache.

I clutched my head with my left hand and kept walking.

Save them.

Immoral. Giving up everything, sacrificing countless lives, throwing away those that I saved. Was it a bad thing to play to the Goddess’s script if it meant people wouldn’t die? If you could save people?

The headache intensified, but I grit my teeth and kept walking.

I was never a hero. Trying to act like one would only drag me down.

Liar.

I arrived at the chamber. The inner depths of Alvheim where I met Aria in the future.

It was well hidden, judging from the fact that the imperial soldiers didn’t manage to find it even ten years in the future until they summoned another Brave.

A holy sanctuary. That was the atmosphere that the chamber exuded. It was a primal location, like a womb. Roots wound all around the chamber, and the only light came from the center. There, a swirl of roots wrapped around a glowing orb, pulsating with a soft green light.

“So that was what she guarded.”

A sword. Cradled in those roots and hovering in the light, it rested, as if waiting a proper owner.

That… was not me. But I would still be taking it.

I stepped forward.

As if sensing my intentions, the roots making up the chamber swirled. From the ground, a few steps in front of me, a figure began to form. Humanoid.

I drew my faithful companion. “I don’t care if this makes me the enemy of the world, or if this is ‘evil’. But that power… I’m taking it.”

The figure formed. A knight, glowing with green fire. It raised a sword and charged towards me, swinging his weapon at my neck.

Slow.

I dodged to the side and slashed at the figure’s wrist.

The wooden knight’s arm shifted, and it staggered, but it didn’t get severed like I intended.

I changed my strategy and ran towards it, my left hand outstretched.

Roots writhed on the knight’s body and pierced into the ground, perhaps as a countermeasure to my attack. Settled into the ground, it swung its sword again, aiming at my outstretched left hand.

I clenched and the knight froze.

I could feel something in my hand, a pulsing core.

The knight shuddered, turning its head to stare into my eyes.

I completely closed my hands and the core shattered. With it, the knight fell to the ground, a lifeless husk.

“That’s settled.”

My faithful companion warmed, as if congratulating me.

I smiled, but then focused.

“…It would probably be a bad idea to reach inside there.”

Although I had beaten the knight guarding the sword, that did not mean I had the qualifications to possess it.

However, I didn’t need those qualifications.

I raised my left hand again, blocking out the light with my palm.

My mana flared, and the pattern for Dragon’s Grasp was recreated, but separated from the Goddess’s brand.

“Dragon’s Grasp.”

I clenched my hand, using the skill as an extension of my body.

Yggdrasil shuddered. The roots writhed, countless wooden limbs whipping towards me.

I couldn’t block them. Yggdrasil’s resistance was fiercer than I expected, and I felt Dragon’s Grasp beginning to fail.

A sea of roots opened, as if to swallow me whole and prevent my actions.

But before it could, my faithful companion flared. Shining an ominous black light, a surge of energy swept across the chamber. Everywhere the energy touched, the roots froze and then fell limply to the ground.

I mentally thanked it, and then redoubled my efforts.

“I refuse to believe that I can’t acquire you!”

I tried to close my left hand but me huge resistance. It was like trying to crush a rubber ball, always expanding back against my grasp.

Yggdrasil’s shuddering intensified and I could hear a faint cry in the air. It was feminine, like a young girl crying out in pain.

I ignored it and focused on maintaining Dragon’s Grasp.

“Vile spirit! You dare to lust for Yggdrasil’s heart!”

A voice called out from behind me. A male’s. But I didn’t have the attention to spare.

“Faithful companion. I’m leaving it to you.”

It warmed in my hand and then shone with that black light again.

“What?! This…  Chaos? How could such a vile thing appear here?!”

I heard the sounds of energies clashing, of armor being carved apart. But I didn’t turn around, my gaze only for the sword before me and the light encasing it.

It was condensing. Slowly but surely, my Dragon’s Grasp was binding it to my will.

The young girl’s crying turned into a full scream, painful and agonized.

At once, the ground shuddered again.

My footing started to slip, but immediately darkness emerged from my faithful companion and stabilized my footing.

In the edges of my vision, I saw the floor fall out from beneath me. But in its place, countless bones emerged. Skeleton warriors… Elven skeleton warriors. Roots writhed, forming countless bows, and equipped each of the elven skeleton warriors.

I grit my teeth. Even with my resistances, I felt a clear sense of danger from seeing them.

A dozen of the closest elven skeleton warriors knocked a mana arrow to a bow woven by the roots.

At the same time, I heard the male voice from behind me call out. “Vile spirit! I know not how you possess the taboo Chaos, but it’s useless against I, Hraesvelg! Nature, aid us in Yggdrasil’s plight!”

A surge of mana swelled behind me. At the same time, countless arrows fired.

My faithful companion surrounded me with a dark barrier, stopping the attacks.

But then it cracked.

My eyes widened and I glanced at the stick in my right hand.

A clear fracture had formed in its body.

“No!”

I started to send it mana to reinforce it, but my mana was sent back to me. As if telling me not to worry and to focus on my task, a tendril of darkness stretched from my faithful companion and pushed my head to look at the sword.

“You…”

I couldn’t fool myself now. That act… “You’re alive?”

My faithful companion thrummed with power and reinforced the barrier.

“You skeletal fools! Imbue your arrows with mana! Yggdrasil is in danger!” That male voice boomed, and countless arrows flew again.

Another crack formed in my faithful companion.

I grit my teeth and focused on the sword. If I wanted to save it, I had to hurry and bind the accursed sword. I tensed my entire body and condensed my mana, feeding every last drop into Dragon’s Grasp. Immediately, the light around the sword shrank, only a finger’s width around the entire blade.

“Hurry!”

That male voice roared. At the same time, I heard the sounds of flapping wings and something surging through the air towards my body.

I grit my teeth. “Almost have it…!”

A heavy impact.

Something cracked, and the resistance I felt in my left hand vanished. As if it always belonged to me, the sword flew free of the roots in Yggdrasil and landed in my hand.

Something cracked, and the comforting and nostalgic warmth in my right hand disappeared.

My eyes widened and I looked down towards it.

My faithful companion had shattered, turning into dust.

At the same time, the sword in my left hand flared, surging with mana.

“You!” The voice called out. “Nidhogg!”

Gone. My faithful companion. The one who had been by my side this entire time. The only one who had gone through all of my experiences with me. The one who I could rely on time and time again.

I roared and lashed out with my left hand. Mana flared and white light covered everything.

And then I knew nothing else.

---

In a dark void above the world of Asifant, a goddess sat before a wooden table. Her beauty was indescribable and far exceeded a level that mortals could hope to achieve.

Sighing, she leaned on the table and tapped her chin with her delicate fingertips.

Before the goddess, upon the table top, there was a gameboard. To anybody from Earth, it would have been familiar. A square board divided into eight columns and eight rows, each cell alternating light and dark. Scattered throughout the board, various game pieces stood.

Serena stared at her white pieces and, after an indeterminable amount of time, said, “I hate to admit it, but you’ve got me stumped.”

Her opponent smiled and said, “Of course I do, Serena. If you weren’t, I wouldn’t have needed to come here in the first place.”

Serena’s gaze turned towards the opposite side of the board where her opponent had placed the pieces Serena had lost. There, a bishop, a knight, a queen, and eight pawns stood.

The Goddess’s gaze shifted to her side of the board, where she kept the pieces that her opponent had lost, a mere two black pawns.

“You’re cheating,” Serena said. “There’s no way you could have taken so many of my pieces and lose only two pawns.”

Her opponent smiled. “You never said we couldn’t. Besides, isn’t the game more interesting this way?”

Serena sighed and her king moved forward. In response, her opponent’s own king moved forward.

“It would be,” Serena said, “If I hadn’t bet my world on this game.”

“Well,” her opponent said. “You should have thought that through before accepting.”

“I guess. Still, I didn’t think that you would get this far.” Serena’s eyes flitted towards her opponent’s pieces and focused on one in particular: a knight seated at the corner of the board. “To think that a single knight managed to disrupt the board so much… I never thought that would happen.”

Serena’s remaining bishop flew across the board, placing her opponent’s king in check.

In response, a pawn stepped forward and cut the bishop down.

Serena sighed and said, “If only I stopped you two turns ago…”

Her opponent smiled. “Yes. If you were a bit more aggressive, it would have been over. But you weren’t, so here we stand: you missing most of your pieces and destined to fall in three turns.”

Serena gazed into her opponent’s eyes. “Well then, since ‘cheating’ is fair game, changing the rules would be too, wouldn’t it?”

“…What are you saying?”

Serena smiled. “You know, in Japanese chess, captured pieces can be brought back into play under the other player’s control. You can also place it on any open square.” She picked up a pawn and set it down in the middle of her opponent’s forces.

“Check. Your move, Nameless One.”

< – Previous         TOC         Next – >

22 – [ Memory Gambit – II ]

A small clearing with a pond and a few scattered boulders nearby. I returned to the same forest clearing I used the first time I rescued Aria. With the young elf princess in my arms, I cleared a small area near the pond’s edge with my mana and placed her down on a mat woven from shadows.

Aria grimaced as I let her go, but her expression eased upon settling into the mat.

To ensure her comfort, I patched up her wounds the best I could and transferred distilled mana into her body to speed up her natural recovery ability.

Aria’s breathing slowed down before settling into a natural pattern.

After I was sure that she would be fine, I sat on one of the boulders and let out a long sigh.

Aria Sylvania. The youngest elf princess, the ‘Pure Wind of Change’. Our meeting, was it coincidence or preordained? And if the latter, should I care?

Information Concealment persisted in the background, hiding the clearing and everything in it from outsiders. No one would arrive to disturb us, divine or otherwise.

Because of that, I could finally sort out my thoughts. More specifically, I could sort out who ‘I’ was.

In the beginning, my refusal to give my name to the Goddess resulted in Information Concealment and my title of The Nameless. At the time, I thought nothing of it, a simple price to pay in exchange for a useful ability. But now I realized the ramifications of what I lost in exchange.

“The original name is discarded and one’s true nature becomes indistinct… that includes my desires and ambition, doesn’t it?”

My words vanished the moment they left my lips, crushed by Information Concealment to hide my presence.

I frowned. Why did I even agree to get transported into this world? Even with Absolute Memory, I couldn’t remember.

Was I a noble person who would have jumped at the chance to save Aria?

Was I a vile person who would have taken advantage of her gratitude?

All I knew was that in the beginning I sought power. Overwhelming power. Enough power to crush any foe before me.

But why?

I failed to save Aria, so I gained the power that could save her. Yet, in the next breath, I tossed her aside in pursuit of more power. Chasing it with complete abandon, I even forgot that slaying the Wrathful Sin Dragon would draw the attention of the Goddess and did so anyway, leading to the arrival of a Brave possessing a Cheat that could erase someone’s entire existence.

A headache.

There was a contradiction. An anomaly. Something… wasn’t right.

Power. Why did I need it?

The Goddess? Did I fear the Goddess? Was that why? But she couldn’t control me and she would only intervene if I started boring her.

Fear…? Fear. Fear? Did I fear losing control of myself? Did I fear losing Aria? Did I fear dying? But I couldn’t die. I couldn’t lose control of myself.

I-I-I… what was my purpose here? Why did I agree? Why did I accept?

I-

“Mm…?” Aria stirred and gingerly shifted herself to sit up. Her dazed green eyes slowly scanned her surroundings before settling on my position.

Impossible. My Information Concealment should be perfect… ah. The title. Even shrouded from the eyes of the Goddess, it seemed that Aria could recognize me through my usage of Information Concealment itself due to her familiarity with me.

Aria shook her head. She stared at me and then frowned. “This… is strange. A spirit? A nameless spirit? Were you the one who saved me?”

I didn’t respond.

“No response. Am I imagining things…? But then, who healed me?” Aria frowned and rubbed her left arm. Brushing against the dark patch I used to close her wound, she paused. “This mana…”

My stomach lurched.

-Get away.

My body moved by itself, and I ran away.

---

I didn’t make it far. Before I had gone more than a hundred feet, my legs gave out beneath me.

My heart raced, my head hurt, and my very core felt cold.

“Why… did I run away?”

I couldn’t understand it. I didn’t understand it.

Information Concealment continued to run, hiding my very existence from the world.

I began to suspect Information Concealment hid it from myself as well.

Emotions that I hadn’t felt, rationale that didn’t make sense.

“Focus. Focus!”

I grabbed my skull and squeezed, trying to clasp my fraying thread of sanity.

It didn’t help. If I could just figure out what changed-

“That’s it!”

I quickly cleared the forest ground near me and then placed down a bedding of dark mana. I pulled out the corpse of my past self from where I kept it in the shadows and then laid it out.

Blood and viscera splattered as loose fragments of bone flew through the air.

I ignored them and knelt to the ground, placing a hand on the corpse’s chest. “Analyze!”

---

Status Screen

Name: ???
Gender: Male
Level: ERROR
Age: ERROR
Race: ERROR
Combat Potential: ERROR 
ERROR
ERROR

Summary: A nameless spirit’s body. Whether a villain or hero, a saint or devil, it is impossible to ascertain. The cause of death was a surge of chaotic energy after a fatal slash across the upper torso that cut deep into the body.

ERROR. An oddity has been de-detected wi-within the body. The r-r-record of the so-soul is corrupted. ERROR.

ERROR.

ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR–

---

I took my hand off the corpse’s chest.

A headache. A knife in my brain, stabbing it in the center and wrenching downwards. My mind was splitting in half.

It didn’t help.

It didn’t help.

It didn’t help.

Why?

Why did I run away from Aria?

Why did I leave Aria behind after I saved her?

Why did I seek power?

Answer.

I needed an answer.

I clutched my forehead and tried to stand up.

The world tilted on its axis.

I staggered and collapsed against a tree. My right hand flailed around, trying to find purchase to push myself back up.

A stick. I grabbed it and used it to steady myself. For some reason, it felt warm to the touch. That was enough to calm my racing mind just a notch, enough to think.

Why was I here and what did I want to do?

I had power. I had all the time in the world. Everything was at my fingertips.

But.

I.

A pained scream cut through the dark forest. Female, extremely familiar.

My stomach lurched, my heart raced, my head ached.

I moved. Swaying left and right, I made my way towards the scream.

A howl echoed in forest, one soon joined by a dozen others. Fenrir Wolves.

Save her/Abandon her.

Be a hero/be a villain.

Seek power to protect/Seek power to destroy.

You wanted to come here to save people/You wanted to come here to be free of people.

Remember.

I ran.

The dark forest blurred past me as I honed in on the source of the scream.

A splitting headache.

I clutched my head with my left hand while I held onto that stick in my right hand.

A pack of wolves surrounded a young elf maiden in a forest clearing. Her left arm dripped with blood, and her green tunic was ripped apart, revealing bite marks on her side. With her right hand, Aria tried to hold her wound shut. Her green eyes frantically scanned the forest, seeking a way out.

I had to save her/let her die.

I stepped forward.

A Fenrir Wolf spun around and bared its fangs. It growled and then charged, lunging through the air towards me.

I swung the stick in my right hand.

Blood sprayed and two halves of a wolf landed on the ground beside me.

My body swayed and my vision distorted.

Aria’s eyes grew wide and she turned in my direction. “You? The nameless spirit from before?”

I forcibly straightened myself and took another step forward.

I had to save Aria/leave that useless girl behind.

The wolves stopped circling Aria and then turned towards me. Slowly, they stepped to the side as the largest of them stepped forward. The Fenrir Wolf that advanced loomed a good six heads over me, over twice my height. It was the Alpha, the leader of the pack.

I had to stop it/kill it.

My mana surged.

The Alpha Fenrir Wolf lunged towards me and bared its massive maw.

I lowered my left hand and reached out.

The other Fenrir Wolves leapt at me from different angles, coordinating their attack with the Alpha.

I clenched my left hand.

Gore splattered to the ground, staining it crimson.

The remaining Fenrir Wolves struck.

“No!” Aria screamed.

I winced and clutched my head with my left hand.

A Fenrir Wolf lunged and snapped its jaw shut around my neck.

Pain. I couldn’t breathe.

And then I could.

Wind howled and the remaining Fenrir Wolves were killed.

Aria panted, her left arm outstretched. Faint tendrils of wind still spiraled at her fingertips, stained crimson with her blood. Her gaze shifted towards me and she smiled. Then, like a puppet with severed strings, she collapsed.

I grabbed her before she could fall to the ground.

I had to save her/kill her and take her powers.

A splitting headache.

Power.

The reason why I arrived in this world.

Why I existed.

My mind raced, my heart throbbed.

Be selfless/be selfish.

You need her/you don’t need her.

Protect her/abandon her.

Save her/kill her.

Do it.

I stared at Aria and-

< – Previous         TOC         Next – >

21 – Slice of Life

“Could you stop pulling my arm? At this rate, increased recovery or not, my wounds are going to reopen.”

Titania’s ears reddened and she said, “Then walk faster.”

“If this is how you treat people, it’s no wonder why Aria wanted you to leave her alone.”

The red on Titania’s ears spread to the rest of her face, but she didn’t say anything in response. Instead, she increased her walking speed.

I shook my head and reluctantly did the same.

Since Titania had resolved herself to being my minder, she took me to the base of Yggdrasil so that we could explore Alvheim from the ground up. Unfortunately, that meant that I had to deal with the demeaning act of being led around by the hand like a toddler.

If it wasn’t for the fact that it sped up the recovery process of the World Tree Dew so that my could sooner memorize its effects, I would have already gone back in time. Still, the pros of following Titania outweighed the cons of minor embarrassment and awkwardness, so I didn’t reject her actions. Instead, I just wanted it to proceed without trouble.

“As you can see, this is the base of Yggdrasil and the main entrance into Alvheim proper,” Titania said, gesturing in front of her with her right hand. “Both those intending to journey through the Ancient Forest to explore the outside world and to hunt monsters in the forest depths pass through here.”

“…Isn’t that obvious?”

“You-“ Titania narrowed her eyes for a moment, but then she smoothed her expression. “Hmph. As a guide, is it not better for me to be through rather than assume you have knowledge about our city?”

“I suppose.”

I gave Titania a halfhearted answer while I examined the World Tree.

Yggdrasil’s trunk was massive. Someone trying to look up at its top would only hurt their neck and someone trying to walk around its circumference would be at it for well over a day. While it wasn’t as large as the one known in Norse mythology, Yggdrasil was still awe-inspiring in size with a cross-section that would be large enough to house an entire city, and one that did. And the entrance to that city was before me.

Seeing it, I said, “So why is the main entrance so plain?”

For a main entrance to a mythical city, it was nothing more than a giant hollow. There wasn’t even a door, barrier, or anything guarding it. If it was always like that, I wondered how Alvheim didn’t get besieged earlier.

“How arrogant. Unlike humans, we live in harmony with nature and accept what is given to us. While we may ask the spirits and Yggdrasil for guidance, we would not dare change what it has provided.”

“Are you elves not afraid of monsters charging into the depths of Alvheim through this entrance?”

A small army could charge through the main entrance. That was how wide it was. If a small army of orcs or goblins found it, a large scale tragedy would be occurring in no time.

Titania sighed. “Did you forget already? We live within Yggdrasil’s providence. Mere monsters do not dare approach the World Tree, let alone invade it. Humans are a different story, however… but then, that is what the mana barrier is for.”

“…The same mana barrier that was torn apart by the imperial soldiers?”

Titania huffed and walked inside the entrance.

I followed her, taking a look around as I did.

Like I said, the main entrance was simply a giant hollow, like that of a regular tree but expanded about a hundred or so times in size. However, it wasn’t completely natural. Now that I was inside, I could see torches lining the walls to provide light. They weren’t flame torches, but rather made of a strange crystal that radiated light. Almost like light-bulbs, actually.

“I thought you elves didn’t dare change what was provided?”

Titania followed my gaze and then said, “Of course we do not. Those are spirit stones, and the fixtures were created by prayers made to Yggdrasil.”

“Hm.”

It was hard to believe, but considering that an entire house had been grown for me, Aria, and Saphira… I suppose I could accept that.

Titania led me towards the right side of the hollow where there was a stairway and rails organically growing from the wall. “As we care for Yggdrasil, so to does it care for us. When we require something, be it light or these stairs to connect various levels, it provides it, even going so far as to modify its own body.”

I nodded and kept observing.

It was strange to see, considering the prevalence of man-made constructs and dwellings on Earth… or just in general. That was the difference from the presence of mana, it would appear. Where concrete, stone, and steel would have been laid, there in Alvheim… or rather, within Yggdrasil, it was replaced by living wood.

A symbiotic relationship. Harmony… something that humans inherently lacked.

We continued climbing the stairs… and then I noticed a problem.

“Titania.”

“Yes?”

I stared at the over a thousand steps looming before me and said, “Do you elves really walk up all these steps?”

She laughed. “Of course not.”

“…Then why are we?”

“Proper circulation is necessary for proper recovery. What better way to achieve that then ascending stairways?”

“Titania.”

“Yes, Lord Nazin?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Stop wasting my time.”

While I was willing to bear with Titania’s presence until my body memorized the effects of the World Tree Dew, if that meant that I had to perform such meaningless actions then I would rather go off and kill myself fighting something. At least then I would get something out of it after my body memorized the lethal blow.

…Except that I hadn’t obtained anything from battling the Braves.

Damn that Goddess. I still had to get to the root of that issue.

“Very well. I propose you hold on tight then.”

“Hold on tight? Why would I-“

“Oh spirits of the wind, lend me your strength and serve as my wings. Flight!”

“…Right. Wind magic. That makes sense.“

Before long, we were flying through the air towards wherever Titania wanted to show me next.

Staring at Titania’s back, I frowned.

It was still strange to see her acting this way. A protective older sister, a straight-laced but caring beauty… it was a stark contrast to the spiteful frigid woman I met first. This Titania not only cared for Aria, but she was going out of her way to take care of me, a person she should by all rights despise, simply due to my important to Aria. Awkward, stiff, and a bit arrogant she might be in doing so, but she cared.

The Titania I remembered did not, even going so far as to infiltrate the Imperial Palace just to assassinate me and Aria. Likely as the Demon Lord’s pawn, judging from the Anti-Magic weapon she used.

“…It’s odd.”

Titania tilted her head towards me. “Did you say something?”

“Yes.” I made a show of looking around. “Is there a reason why we haven’t met any other elves?”

“Of course. We have yet to enter the main plaza.”

“…Do you elves even use up all of the space Yggdrasil provides?”

Titania’s answer was to increase our flight speed.

After a few minutes, we passed through the opening at the top of the stairway. When we did, the dim light from the torches was replaced by sunlight, filtering in through the leaves above.

Titania adjusted the wind to land gracefully on the ground… for herself.

I had to slow myself using my own piddling mana reserves.

“Here we are, the main plaza of Alvheim.” Titania stepped forward and gestured with her right hand. “This is the primary residential area for Alvheim’s citizens, as well as the center for trading.”

So Titania was going to ignore the fact that I could have crashed into the ground just then.

I shook my head and readjusted my dark aura to compensate for my decreased mana. Women… they were indeed unfathomable beings. If only they could be as reliable as my faithful companion, my life would be much simpler.

The main plaza was similar to one I would have expected in a regular kingdom. It was actually similar to Ars Nova where a portion of it was dedicated to market stalls and trading.

From where we stood, the entire right side was opened to the air, revealing a sea of green as it overlooked the tops of the trees in the Ancient Forest. To our left was something similar to a small suburban neighborhood with houses lined up neatly side by side.

The market stalls I mentioned were directly before us on a winding path leading higher in Yggdrasil. However, unlike the bustling of Ars Nova, the place had a lazy atmosphere. The few elves running the stalls were either reading or sleeping, relaxing in the shade and soft sunlight.

“What do you think?” Titania turned to look at me. “Is it not much more cultured than those human cities?”

“I don’t know about cultured… but it is more relaxed.”

Titania pouted and responded by turning around and pulling me after her.

“Ah.”

“What?” Titania said.

I didn’t think that telling Titania she pouted just like Aria did was a good idea, so instead I said, “Do you elves even have a currency to trade with?”

“Of course not. Unlike humans, we trade directly instead of using some artificial construct with no inherent value. Come, I’ll show you.”

Before I could say a word against it, Titania was already leading me to the closest market stall.

“Good morning, Aunt Maria!”

“Hm?” The elf seated at a comfortable chair behind the stall raised their head. Like her name suggested, the elf was female. And, like all the other elves, she was beautiful, possessing long violet hair.

Not quite as beautiful as the ones I’d somehow gotten involved with, but beautiful nonetheless.

The elf woman looked at Titania and said, “Well, well. I never expected the cold first princess to cozy up to a man after all these years but I suppose a Demon Lord would be the only one you would chase after…” Maria’s gaze shifted towards Titania’s left hand and said, “Should we be expecting an addition to the royal family anytime soon?”

Titania froze and slowly turned her head towards me. “Lord Nazin-“

I laughed. “I’m afraid he’s going to have to wait a bit longer, Miss Maria. The eldest princess is simply showing me around Alvheim so that I can prepare for when the imperial soldiers and their Braves return.”

Maria frowned and leaned back into her chair. “How disappointing. And here I thought that the frigid princess had finally found a match.” She turned towards Titania and said, “You’re not getting any younger, Tani dear. It’s not too bad quite yet, but two more years and we’ll be calling you-“

Titania coughed and then said, “Lord Nazin was interested in seeing your work, Aunt Maria.”

The violet-haired elf stared at Titania for a bit longer before shifting her gaze towards me. “Well, if our Benefactor wants to take a look, he can go ahead. Pick something nice, dear. Maybe something made of sapphire?”

“Auntie!”

I ignored the blatant slice of life drama happening nearby and took a proper look at what Maria was offering, finally free of distractions.

“Accessories?” I muttered.

They were similar to what I made for Aria and Saphira. Only, the craftsmanship and appearance was magnitudes above what I could make.

Jewelry lined the table that Maria used to show her wares. Silver earrings with emerald threads that radiated wind magic. A golden broach inlaid with a ruby that enhanced vitality. A mithril ring etched with countless runes and bearing a sapphire imbued with recovery magic.

Each of them were things that adventurers in the outside would bankrupt themselves to possess, but there in front of me they were laid out like trinkets.

Then again, to a long-lived race like the elves, they probably were trinkets.

No wonder that emperor wanted to take over Alvheim and the elves. With equipment like these arming his soldiers, he could reduce the casualties they would suffer by a good amount.

My gaze wandered towards a silver pendant. However, while it looked silver, that was only true of its chain. The pendant itself wasn’t metal. Not only that, but there was an odd blue gemstone on its surface that radiated an oddly familiar power.

“Oh?” Maria noticed what I was looking at and said, “You have a good eye, Benefactor.” She picked it up and said, “That’s my finest work, made with the best materials I could get my hands on back in the day. It was supposed to be for a certain someone’s wedding, but it’s just been sitting there gathering dust for the past three centuries now.”

“…And no one’s traded for it?”

“Nothing’s caught my eye, dear.”

I nodded. “I suppose it would be hard to trade for something made with a dragon scale and a fragment of a dragon core, especially with all those enchantments.”

Increased mana recovery, abnormal status immunity, slash damage immunity… all sorts of ridiculous effects were listed when I used Analyze.

Maria laughed. “Oh, dear. You have no idea.”

Just seeing the pendant alone made being forced to follow Titania around and listen to her backhanded comments worth it.

The sensation of recovering from deadly wounds through a miraculous medicine has been memorized. Regenerate LVL 1 obtained.

Through accumulated experiences and your unique physique, Regenerate’s level has increased to level 5.

And hearing that announcement was even better.

Now to return to the past and avoid this entire situation altogether-

“Commander!”

-or to trigger an event flag.

Maria turned her head and muttered, “Oh dear.”

An elf ran down from the trail up ahead. He was fully armed, two swords sheathed at his side, and wearing a mithril chest-plate. Like all elves, he didn’t suffer any in the looks department. With spiky brown hair and clear blue eyes, paired with his rugged yet pop-idolish face, he would have been a shoe-in for most attractive male of 20XX back on Earth.

Titania turned towards the approaching elf and said, “Mitri. What are you doing here?”

The elf male, Mitri, drew his swords and shouted. “Unhand my Commander, Demon Lord! I won’t let you bewitch her as well!”

“Bewitch?” Titania shook her head. “What are you saying, Mitri?”

“Enough!” Mitri jumped into the air and raised his swords. “Spirits of Earth and Wind, heed my call! Become my blade-“

“MITRI!”

“-and slay my foe! Earth-Wind Slash!”

I sighed and raised my left hand. “Every single time,” I muttered. “I swear, the goddess loves her cliches too much.”

Mitri rocketed through the air, his swords surging with green and orange mana, and slashed. An ‘X’ of green and orange flew towards me, filled with killing intent.

It was a powerful attack, but worthless against me.

I clenched my left hand.

The ‘X’ was crushed and Mitri froze in mid-air, Dragon’s Grasp sealing his movements.

“…I swear, what is with hot-blooded warriors and jump attacks? They’re predictable, inefficient, and risky.”

Titania let go of my hand and marched towards the frozen elf knight. “You, you…!” Her voice trailed off and she raised her left hand, clenching it in a fist. “You idiot!”

Titania swung a left hook at the elf knight’s face.

At the moment of impact, I released Dragon’s Grasp.

Whether due to the stored momentum, the fact that Mitri was still in the air, or the sheer force in Titania’s angry blow, the elf knight was sent flying off the edge.

That done, Titania let out a long sigh and turned back towards me. “…I apologize for my subordinate and his unsightly behavior, Lord Nazin.” She bowed her head. “If there is anything I can do to make up for this, do not hesitate to state them.”

“She’s telling you to take her, dear! Don’t be shy!”

Titania flushed and spun towards the market stall. “Auntie!”

It was laughable. The entire chain of events from the time I woke up was like a slice of life comedy. Spending the day with a cold beauty who tried hard to hide her caring side, meeting an auntie who tried to set us up, being confronted by someone who had a crush on that beauty, and then ending with the beauty being too embarrassed to express her feelings.

It wasn’t just laughable, it was absurd.

Titania turned towards me again, but didn’t meet my eye. Instead, she turned her head to the side and fidgeted with her ribbon. “D-Don’t get any strange ideas! I just want to pay you back.” Titania glanced at me an then looked away again. “Mitri was being an idiot and everything so I wanted to apologize,” she mumbled.

“In that case, Titania. Why don’t you just take me back to the-“

A sudden searing pain across my chest.

I froze and patted my chest with my left hand.

It came back crimson.

“…Lord Nazin?” Titania looked towards me and then her eyes widened. “Your wounds!”

I lowered my gaze. Blood poured from a deep slash wound on my chest, staining Yggdrasil beneath me.

Titania ran forward and reached out towards me.

I staggered back and forced my body to remain upright as I watched the elf approach.

“Nazin!” Titania called my name, her usually cold and sarcastic voice laced with concern.

Static drowned out her voice. At the same time, I could feel all the strength leaving my body.

I clutched at my chest, trying to close the wound with the little mana I could muster. But I couldn’t.

And then I realized why.

My wound.

It wasn’t from the previous battle with the Braves, or from the elf knight.

It was-

20 – Demon Lord Route – VI

I opened my eyes.

Light streamed in from nearby, but my vision was too blurry to make out where.

What happened to me?

I tried to remember and, for the first time since I arrived in this world, couldn’t. But soon, like dripping water filling a bowl, bits and pieces gradually returned until I remembered everything. Specifically, I remembered how I collapsed after arriving at Yggdrasil in our house.

I blinked, and my fuzzy mind began to clear, my senses sharpening once again.

I was lying on a bed. To my left was a window, which explained the light. Somehow, I had been tucked in. Yet, I didn’t hear or sense either Aria or Saphira.

I sat up and immediately winced. Pain throbbed from everywhere in my body, the worst of it being at my chest. Glancing down, I saw that someone had bandaged me and cleaned my wounds. Also, instead of my clothes that had been turned into bloody rags from battling the Braves, I was now wearing a dark green robe.

I frowned, and slowly shifted to the side of the bed. That done, I muttered, “It seems like I’m going to need a new plan.”

Plan A, assassinating the Braves, was tossed out the window when I was caught in the middle of it. Plan B, running away failed when I was surrounded. And even Plan C, facing everyone in frontal combat, failed due to a combination of underestimating the extent of cheats the Braves had and my own abilities malfunctioning.

I had one piece left to play, but that would take time to develop. The pawn had to make its way across the board first before I could promote it to anything useful. But for now… the only thing I could do was rest.

My mana was depleted, and I couldn’t feel the usual strength coursing through my body from [Legend]. Whether that was the aftermath of using [Curse of ******] or suffering so many attacks, I didn’t know. Either way, I was vulnerable.

Lost in thought, my gaze drifted around the room. It was a fairly standard size, not too large but not too small either. My bed was in one corner of the room and lined up against the wall. On the wall to my right, there was a door leading to the other parts of the house. But before that, within arm’s reach, there was a table where my faithful companion (stick) lay.

Seeing that, I smiled and picked it up. Out of everyone and everything, at least I could count on my faithful companion to see things through.

As if sensing my thoughts, it warmed in my hands.

That reminded me… didn’t the goddess say something about my faithful companion? That it-

The sound of the door opening cut off my thoughts.

A woman entered the room, but it wasn’t either of the two I was expecting.

“…Titania. What brings you here?”

It was Aria’s eldest sister. Unlike the last time I saw her, she was wearing clothing fitting of a princess, or at least one of royalty. On her upper body, she wore a black shirt with white frills and a black bow in the center. Beneath that, she wore a skirt that matched, with a white lacy hem.

She held a bowl in her right hand, one filled with a clear glistening liquid.

Hearing my words, Titania frowned but didn’t say a word. Instead, she walked towards me and then held the bowl in front of me. “Here,” she said. “Drink it.”

I stared at the offered bowl and then at Titania. “…And if I don’t want to?”

Titania furrowed her brow. “It isn’t poison if that is your concern. Just drink it.”

I took the bowl with my left hand, but made sure to Analyze its contents.

---

Status Screen

Name: World Tree Dew

Summary: Morning dew collected from Yggdrasil, the world tree. It possesses miraculous restorative properties, but must be personally collected by a member of Alvheim’s royal family to take effect. A drop is said to be able to bring one back from the brink of death, though that is true only for average adventurers. For someone with vast vitality, it would take an equally vast quantity of World Tree Dew to be effective.

This dew was personally collected by Titania Sylvania as the sun’s morning rays struck Yggdrasil’s leaves.

---

After handing me the bowl, Titania waited. Her expression was neutral and, if not for the fact that she was tugging at a corner of her bow, she would have looked completely apathetic.

I took a sip from the bowl.

Sweet, refreshing, and… bubbly? The World Tree Dew had a strange flavor to it that I found hard to describe. It was almost like soda except that it didn’t burn or fizz.

Regardless of the dew’s taste, by the time I finished drinking it, the pain in my body slowly faded. While I could still sense it, the level had reduced to a dull ache rather than sharp pangs.

Titania took the bowl away from me when I was finished and set it down on the table. After that, she stared at me.

“…Is something wrong?”

Titania didn’t respond and kept staring. However, she slowly raised her right hand and began twirling the end of her bow within her fingers.

Seeing that she didn’t plan on speaking any time soon, I closed my eyes to do a thorough check of my body’s condition.

Running the little mana that I could through my body, I saw that most of my wounds had been healed. Every external wound was closed, the flesh completely mended. However, there were countless tiny wounds sealed within that the dew couldn’t treat. Likely, it was the result of that one spearman’s crimson mana running rampant throughout my body from his attack. My heart was at least back in working condition and I didn’t have a gaping hole in my chest though, so it was good enough.

Still, it was strange that I was so low on mana. After being bathed in Saphira’s blood in the past, it should have taken on the same characteristics. Considering that it was morning, I should have recovered at least a quarter of my mana pool. Yet, I was only left with a piddling amount, barely enough to play out the role of the Demon Lord-

I froze and then opened my eyes.

Titania was still there, staring at me. This time, I stared back.

After a while, the cold beauty opened her mouth and said, “You are human.”

It wasn’t a question, so I didn’t answer. Instead, I said, “You were the one who found me last night, weren’t you?”

Titania didn’t answer either. Instead, she waved her hand. Wooden tendrils sprung up from the floor and formed a chair. When it was completed, Titania took a seat.

“Where’s Aria and Saphira?” I asked.

“Training. Where, I do not know. However, my sister said that it would be a few more days before they returned.”

“I see.”

“Indeed.”

It was quiet again. It seemed like neither of us knew what to say to each other. Or rather, we knew what to say, but didn’t want to broach the topic.

Eventually, I said, “Thanks.”

Titania tilted her head. “For what?”

“You were the one who changed my clothes and dressed my wounds, weren’t you? I appreciate it, as well as you gathering the World Tree Dew for me.”

“Hmph.” Titania crossed her arms and turned her head to the side, sending her long honey-colored hair astray. “What did you expect? My sister would be heartbroken if you never returned. As the eldest sister, how could I allow her to experience such pain?” Despite those harsh words, the tips of Titania’s ears turned red, revealing her embarrassment.

I nodded. “As you say. Then… it’s about time I got going.” Saying those words, I stood up from the bed and slowly formed a dark miasma around me. At the same time, I activated Information Concealment… or tried to. For some reason, however, it still wasn’t working properly. Usually, I could sense it running, but that time I didn’t feel anything other than my dark miasma.

“Wait.” Titania called out to me. “Are you truly planning on leaving?”

“Of course. Demon Lord Nazin can’t simply lie around while the threat of the Northern Empire looms.”

And that was before taking into account the fact that the goddess was taking a more active approach in interfering with my actions. I didn’t forget how one of the Braves I fought the other day was serving as a direct channel to her, or how my abilities that had been working completely fine suddenly failed.

Titania stood up as well. “You are a fool.” She crossed her arms and stared directly into my eyes. “I know not what you fought against the other night to leave you on the brink of death, but if you think that I will allow you to leave and face it again after all the effort I spent healing you, Demon Lord, then you’re greatly mistaken.”

“Oh?” I flared my mana. “And what makes you think you can stop me?”

Titania stepped forward and poked my chest.

“Gah-“ I reflexively took a step back.

Pain coursed through my body, the dull ache suddenly turning back into burning needles. “You-“

Titania tucked a strand of her honey hair behind her ear. “You might not be aware of this, oh Demon Lord, but the dew of Yggdrasil’s healing powers relies upon the grace of the royal family member that collected it.” She smiled at me and said, “Now you tell me. What makes you think that you can leave if I do not allow it?”

I glared at her.

Titania simply kept smiling.

“If Aria were here, she would be terribly disappointed in you.”

Titania’s smile dimmed and she turned her head, staring out the window. “…Perhaps. However, I would rather disappoint her in this then have to console her after she lost her most cherished person.”

Hearing those melancholic words, I couldn’t say anything in response.

After a few moments, Titania turned back towards me and said, “Well, Lord Nazin. It would appear we are at an impasse. You wish to leave and I refuse to allow you to follow such a reckless course of action.”

“Hmph.” I crossed my arms. “You’re lucky that I’m weakened and neither Aria nor my servant is here. Such disrespect would never have been allowed otherwise. But I suppose you have a point. I am still recovering.”

Titania nodded. “Good. Then stay here and-“

“However, recovering does not mean disabled,” I said. “And I refuse to lay here like an invalid.”

Titania narrowed her eyes. “You need to rest.”

“And that rest would be better off done through exploring Alvheim. Proper circulation is necessary for proper recovery.”

Titania hesitated. “That… is true. But-“

“If you’re so concerned about it, then you can be my guide. I’ve seen the perimeter of Alvheim but I haven’t explored its interior yet.”

Titania frowned, tugging on the corner of her bow. Finally, she nodded. “Very well. I will guide you around Alvheim. However, the moment that I sense you performing anything strenuous, or the moment I deem it necessary that you rest, we are coming back here immediately.”

“As if that would happen… but whatever you say, Tani.”

Titania’s ears turned red and she turned her head. “…You are fortunate that Ari likes you.”

“…Excuse me?”

Titania didn’t respond, simply holding out her left hand from behind, as if reaching out to a toddler.

“…You can’t be serious, Titania.”

She turned her head back a bit to look at me and then quickly looked away. “…It isn’t like I want to do this either. However, the healing properties of Yggdrasil’s dew increases when the gatherer is in physical contact with the patient.”

Hm… it was still a mystery why my body hadn’t already memorized the effects of the dew, but Titania’s words made sense. It could be that I needed more time for the effect to sink in before I could gain something like ‘Regeneration’ from memorizing it. That meant having to hold hands with Titania.

Titania, the eldest princess of Alvheim. The cold beauty with sweet, honey-colored hair. The same beauty who spent most of her life devoted to the sword and to magical studies, creating an entirely new path for her people.

I could already tell that this wouldn’t end well. Trouble was definitely going to come my way by hanging around a person like her, especially if that time was spent walking hand in hand. Yet, the benefits for following through would be worth it. Regeneration would have been useful in the fight last night. Not only that, but I would be able to get a proper introduction to Alvheim and get hints to the room at the heart of Yggdrasil.

“W-Well? Did you change your mind already?” Titania turned her head slightly and looked at me in the corner of her eyes. “If you did-“

I placed my faithful companion (stick) in its rightful place at my side and then grabbed Titania’s hand.

She flinched and her face flushed. However, Titania managed to keep a neutral expression and she nodded. “Remember. This is all for the sake of your quick recovery so that my sister need not worry. I most definitely am not enjoying this, and you had better not get any ideas.”

I scoffed. “Don’t be so haughty, princess. Beauty alone is not enough to move me, and with your personality… well, it would be tough.”

Titania strengthened her grip on my hand and then started walking, pulling me along. “…I rather dislike you.”

“Funny. I was thinking the same thing.”

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19 – [ Memory Gambit – I ]

I opened my eyes.

A familiar dark forest canopy, covered in gray mist. The Lost Woods. Except, this time, I was standing. Not only that, but I was a fair distance away from where I usually woke up.

“…It worked.”

Glancing at my body, I saw that it was transparent. Considering it was that way to my eyes, I was a non-existent ghost to everything else. That was the result of my little experiment testing my hypothesis on Information Concealment earlier.

The goddess’s gaze and presence was nowhere to be seen or felt. But that was obvious. She should still be observing the ‘me’ that was playing out the role of a Demon Lord.

Remembering that, I grimaced. He- or rather, I, was not going to be happy.

It took all of my abilities to return here with a body without replacing the ‘me’ in this timeline. As a result, the ‘me’ in the future would be substantially weakened… and without him knowing.

Well, it couldn’t be helped.

This was a risk I had to take, a plan I had to set in motion. And to start-

“There I am.”

Lying on the forest ground a few feet away was a person. A young man with black hair, a dark long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and sneakers. His face was lacking any distinguishing features. Me.

“Now… how are we different?” I muttered.

It was something that I had been wondering about. No, it was something that I had to account for, something I realized after the goddess’s insistent actions.

I didn’t use Analyze. Instead, I reached out with my mana and relied on my Absolute Memory. And when I did-

“…So that’s it.”

The ‘me’ in this timeline… or rather, the me at the origin of every timeline, had only a few powers in his body. First was Absolute Memory, obtained from the orb of infinite human potential. Second was Information Concealment, something that was really a shadow cast from Absolute Memory’s power. A sort of side-branch due to controlling my own ‘memory’ in the world itself. As for the last-

“I was right to be cautious in the beginning, but after that… Tch, I got too arrogant.”

If I wasn’t standing right there facing my past self, I would have never realized it. The status screen, skills, and the titles… rather than a blessing, they were more of a restriction.

“No,” I muttered. “To most it would actually benefit them. But for me…”

My power was Absolute Memory. With it, I could memorize everything I experienced, barring vast differences in power. Because of that, I hadn’t realized it. Those skills, that status, those titles… they were brands. A way to etch divine power onto the soul, granting it strength while giving her influence.

My past self opened his eyes. At the same time, the Wrathful Sin Dragon roared.

He jumped to his feet and glanced around before activating Information Concealment. Immediately, he faded from view and the Wrathful Sin Dragon’s roars stopped.

It was the same. Like a distant memory, the same events played out. And soon, it would be the same result. It must be the same result.

…But only in ‘my’ memories.

My past self left no traces behind as he left the Lost Woods, but I didn’t need any to follow him. Recalling my own memories, I followed behind him, step for step, pace for pace.

And then it happened.

“…I had considered the possibility that I would come across a cliched event, but for it to be something as disgusting as this…”

The start of it all.

Just past the boundary of the Lost Woods, a young man stepped up to save a young elf maiden. It was a whimsical act, a random act of kindness.

Standing behind my past self, I saw everything unfold just as I remembered it.

The commander’s arrogant words.

My calm response.

I knew how this story would end, so I took a step back, not wanting to get splashed with blood.

And then Aria looked at me.

I froze. That… should have been impossible. Yet, her eyes were wide with shock, and then realization.

The memory played out. The commander swung his sword at my past self, easily cutting through my torso. My past self staggered, his eyes closing for a fraction of a second.

Back then, I hadn’t realized it. But now, standing there as an observer, I saw it. Though I was too far to hear her, I could see Aria’s lips move, muttering an inaudible name.

Before I could react, Aria forced herself to her feet and ran towards the Lost Woods.

My past self was dying fast. Blood poured from his gaping chest and his body leaned backwards, lacking the strength to remain upright.

At the same time, the soldiers chased after Aria.

Like I thought in the past, it was unsightly. Her left arm was dripping with blood. Her golden hair was dirtied with dirt and brush. Not only that, but her face was starting to bruise from where the commander struck her. It also looked like she had trouble breathing, maybe suffering from a cracked rib or two when she was pulled through the air.

She wouldn’t make it.

The commander looked panicked, his eyes flitting between my past self’s body and Aria.

I was still invisible. Information Concealment was working its magic, and even the Goddess wouldn’t be able to see me.

I waited.

Aria tripped, collapsing mere inches before the border of the Lost Woods and the Ancient Forest.

The commander stared at my past self and abruptly turned on his heel back towards his soldiers. “You idiots! What are you doing, taking so long to stop a wounded elf?!”

I waited.

Aria reached out, trying to pull herself those last few inches. But she was too weak. She lowered her head to the ground, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I told you, Elf! It’s pointless!”

The soldiers formed a perimeter, not that it was needed, and barred Aria’s path. At the same time, the commander was approaching Aria’s collapsed form, leering at it and her damaged clothing.

‘I’ died.

And I acted.

Shadows burst from the ground and I tossed my past self into a fold of space. At the same time, I drew my faithful companion (stick) and stepped forward.

Chaos threw nature’s mana into disorder.

The commander sensed it first. He drew his sword and spun to face me… but he saw nothing. “What?”

The other soldiers mimicked their commander. However, when facing empty air, they froze.

I stepped forward again, but nothing changed. After all, ‘no one’ was there.

But the soldiers must have noticed. One of them took a step back, his armor clattering in fear. “C-Commander! You said that the ghosts in the Lost Woods were a fairy tale!”

“Dammit Briggs,” the commander said. “Not now!”

“B-B-But-“

I charged.

Screams filled the air, blood splattered the ground, and then it was silent.

I turned my attention to Aria and muttered, “You troublesome elf. When will I be rid of you?”

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18 – Demon Lord Route – V

I drew my faithful companion (stick) and swung it towards the crowd of soldiers and students. A wave of chaotic darkness spilled forth, threatening to envelop them.

“Barriers! Now!”

One of the soldiers shouted towards the students. He was a middle-aged man with graying black hair. If I remembered correctly… he was the same one who charged against the demons in Ars Nova? What was he doing here?

During my thoughts, over a dozen shimmering barriers of various colors appeared to block my attack. At first, they were separate, but then one of the students reached out.

“Condense!”

The separate colors became one, the multiple barriers collapsing into one that looked like a kaleidoscope.

My attack crashed against it. Sparks flew and a shrill grinding sound echoed throughout the clearing. However, the barrier held.

“Arrows! Mages, cast your spells!”

That same soldier shouted out orders to the crowd.

Before I could react, a volley of arrows, icicles, lightning, and other projectiles flew towards me.

“Useless!”

I shouted out and gathered shadows to form a barrier-

“Oh Goddess, lend us your light! Bless!”

A girl’s voice echoed through the clearing.

And then there was pain.

“Gah! This…!”

A hundred glowing arrows pierced into my body. At the same time, over a hundred elemental spells crashed against me. Hot, cold, sharp, blunt… I was struck by attacks of all sorts in a single instant.

“This… shouldn’t be!”

Physical Resistance and Mana Resistance should have blocked them! Why-

“Sir Keita! Use it!” The soldier shouted out an order.

“Understood!”

A figure ran towards me. A spearman with spiky black hair. He stared into my eyes and thrust forward with his weapon. “Gae-“

My eyes widened. That goddess! She said that the people she brought over only chose elemental magic!

“Bolg!”

Crimson mana surged around the spearman’s weapon as it thrust towards my chest.

I kicked off the ground, trying to escape the legendary weapon’s range. In an instant, I had cleared over fifty feet, well out of range from my attacker’s spear.

Or so I thought.

A crimson light stretched impossibly through the air. Then, a searing pain erupted from my chest as the spearman’s weapon pierced my heart. But the attack wasn’t over. Immediately after, the crimson mana burst.

Unimaginable pain. My body was shredded from the inside out as the mana took physical form, turning into countless barbs that pierced my body.

I landed on the ground in a crouch. The impact jarred my wounds and I spurt out a mouthful of blood.

I shakily wiped it with my left hand, staring at the vivid red staining my skin.

…This wasn’t making sense. My abilities weren’t working. First Information Concealment, then my resistances, and now my titles!

I should have been immune from a conceptual attack like that! Was the goddess interfering? This didn’t-

“He’s wounded! Melee fighters, charge! Mages, provide support!”

Again, that damnable soldier shouted out orders.

Almost immediately, I could see my countless foes preparing for their next move.

…Was this it? Like this, I was going to die without even knowing how it happened?

My faithful companion pulsed in my hand. As if telling me to not give up, as if telling me to remember.

I grit my teeth and forced myself to straighten.

I wasn’t dead yet. Even if I was taken off guard, I was durable enough to keep fighting. I didn’t know why my resistances were failing me, but if I couldn’t defend then all I had to do was attack.

“Remember, you forced me! Curse of ******!”

Something changed. I could feel it inside me. The moment I called out that skill’s name, an intangible change had occurred in my very being. A power different than mana, different than strength seeped into my body, my mana, my weapon.

The spearman who used Gae Bolg charged again. Perhaps realizing that he didn’t finish the job, he advanced, crimson mana once again gathering around his spear. “Gae-“

“Like hell!”

I lashed out with my faithful companion and swung my right arm, putting my whole body into the attack. Again, a blast of chaotic darkness surged.

The spearman didn’t falter. Instead of dodging, he crouched and jumped into the air. At the same time, he pulled his spear back, getting ready to throw it.

-But I knew he would do that.

My left arm swung into the air and I clenched my open hand. “Dragon’s Grasp.”

Gore splattered to the ground.

“KEITA!” A girl’s anguished voice called out, but I didn’t have time to pay attention to it.

A noise from behind caused me to turn. Just in time.

A male student with parted black hair raised his sword and shouted. “Thunder slash!” Electricity sparked along the blade and he swung.

I kicked.

The student’s eyes widened and he shifted his sword to block, but my skill didn’t allow that. The intangible power surged forth and sent him flying.

“Fighters, back! Archers, arrows!”

Suddenly, there was a vast opening around me. At the same time, I heard the unmistakable sounds of arrows whistling through the air.

“Bless!”

That girl’s voice again. I didn’t need to see it to know that the arrows would pierce through my resistances.

“Enough! It’s my turn!”

This time, I didn’t stand and take the volley of arrows. Instead, I charged.

Taking a page from the student who copied a certain Child of Light, I decided to copy a certain Faker. I gathered my mana and formed a hundred swords, sending them to intercept the arrows. The projectiles clashed and shattered into dust on impact.

An opening.

The soldiers and students directly before me were stunned.

I gathered that strange power into my faithful companion and kicked off the ground. “Imperial Slash!” Using the momentum from my charge, I swung my faithful companion in front of me.

A ripple passed through the air and then dozens of students and soldiers exploded, unable to resist the force of my slash. The ones further away were better off, but the additional power in my attack didn’t leave them unscathed.

“Mana! I can’t sense any mana!”

“No! My power…! I can’t use it!”

Confused cries and shouts filled the air.

“Focus!” The soldier called out again. “He’s-!”

“Enough with you!”

I changed directions and charged at the soldier giving orders.

“Protect the commander!”

The other soldiers closest to the one giving orders crowded in front of me, raising shields to block me.

But it was pointless. I had a better grasp on the curse I had invoked now, and with it…

“You’re less than air!”

I lunged, thrusting out with my faithful companion. At the same time, I gathered my mana around me, spiraling it into a drill.

Blood, viscera, and scraps of armor flew through the air. The soldiers in my way were obliterated. However, it slowed me down a fraction, forcing me to take another step. With that time, the soldier… no, I should call him the commander, shouted. “Barriers!”

Again, a myriad of barriers appeared before me.

“Condense!”

That same student used his power to combine them.

But this time-

“That won’t work!”

I kicked off the ground and ran the commander through.

He stared at me in disbelief. “Im…possible. The goddess-“

I pulled out my faithful companion and silenced the man. That done, I took a look around my surroundings.

Half of the soldiers and summoned students were dead. No, saying that they were just ‘dead’ would be putting it nicely. My attacks left no intact corpses, especially not after being imbued with the curse.

Despite the commander’s death, the discipline held in the imperial soldiers. During my contemplation, they quickly gathered in front of the summoned students, forming a human barrier. One of the soldiers drew his blade and raised it, meeting my eyes. Without looking back, he said, “Brave heroes, run! We will hold him off!”

“But Sir Steiner-!

“RUN!”

Roaring, the soldier charged, leading his companions in a last ditch effort to stall me.

I stared at him. He was younger than the other soldier and vaguely familiar. And then I remembered.

“Right, Steiner,” I muttered. “The apprentice commander… so you were here too.”

He was the noble commander type. A good guy. An admirable man.

“A noble decision, but ultimately pointless.”

I raised my right arm, pointing my faithful companion towards the sky.

…I should thank that spearman. Keita, was it? I should thank him the next time around. If not for his attack, I wouldn’t have been reminded of a way I could utilize my combined darkness and chaos affinities.

A fake of a fake. While I couldn’t utilize the world egg theory and switch out the worlds, I could create a bounded field with a similar effect.

Chaotic mana dispersed the natural order, and then dark flames wreathed the campsite, preventing escape.

There were screams of surprise and the sounds of weapons clashing against an unbreakable barrier. And then, swords rose from the ground.

One, two, ten. Soon, an almost infinite number of swords filled the air.

The soldiers that had charged so valiantly slowed down. The determination in their eyes turned to awe, then fear, then despair.

“This is your end.”

I swung my faithful companion and the world dimmed as my swords pierced into the ground. Soldier after soldier fell, forming a hill of swords where the corpses piled up.

I shifted my gaze to the Braves, thinking they would suffer a similar fate. And, for the most part, they did. Out of the fifty or so that had remained before, only a dozen were left. But that last dozen showed me an impossible sight.

There was a barrier. Not just a barrier, but one formed from something other than mana.

A girl was standing in the center of that, her hands clasped in prayer. Although her face looked Japanese, her hair was shining a pure white, along with her eyes.

Seeing that, I realized why I had such a hard time. “Serena, you cheating bastard!”

One of the remaining Braves, a young man with dark brown hair and glasses, turned towards his companions and said, “He’s noticed! Emi, hurry! Miko can’t use Arcadia much longer!”

“I’m trying!” A girl with twin-tails answered the man. “I just need a few more seconds to lock on to the coordinates!”

I charged, raising my faithful companion. “You won’t escape!” Chaos, darkness, and the curse swirled around it. At the same time, I prepared Imperial Slash.

“Dammit… fine! I’ll use it! But you guys better not leave me lying on the ground like last time!” The young man with dark brown hair turned towards me and raised his right hand.

I swung my faithful companion.

“凍¹!”

I froze.

It was short. Barely any time at all. But for them, it was enough.

A white light shone around the dozen Braves. When it cleared, they had vanished.

I clenched my hands, glaring at the empty clearing, and then spun on my heels. My plans were all ruined, so there was no point in sticking around.

“…Ah.”

I remembered. There was that patrolman I used Dragon’s Grasp on. I was planning to experiment on him, but at this point, a spy would be better than more abilities.

Shadows writhed and then a student was tossed onto the ground amidst the gore. He let out a groan when he landed, but remained unconscious.

Seeing that reminded me of my own wounds. It also reminded me that I should have been dead, yet was still standing. The pain had even faded… although that could just be from the blood loss.

“Either way, I should get back to Alvheim.”

Yggdrasil had restorative properties and Aria wouldn’t let me die anytime soon. That, at least, was one thing I could benefit from having saved her.

I focused on the spatial coordinates of our room and then tried to jump to it. There was the familiar sensation of my body moving through the fabric of space, the brief chill of non-existence, and then the warmth of reemergence at my target.

I staggered, suddenly appearing in the house that Yggdrasil had provided us. It was dark, showing that Saphira and Aria were out. Probably training in the Lost Woods if I had to guess.

I clutched my open chest and then limped towards the closest bed. Rather, I tried to. Before I could take a single step, all the power left my body and I fell onto the floor.

As my vision dimmed and my consciousness grew faint, I found the strength to mutter three final words.

“Damn… you… Serena…!”

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17 – Demon Lord Route – IV

Moonlight filtered in through the dense tree branches, barely illuminating the forest ground. Night had fallen while I explored the perimeter of Alvheim to memorize its protective barriers and reinforce them with my own. As a result, my ability to handle and analyze mana increased, although it wasn’t reflected on my status page.

It was quiet. No wind, no movement. Like the calm before a storm, the Ancient Forest was silent and still.

I held my faithful companion (stick) in my right hand and walked, ignoring the trail of monster carcasses behind me and the minor headache I had.

While there was barely any light, there was plenty of darkness. And because there was darkness, I could see, the shadows acting for me like a spotlight would for others.

My destination was the northern part of the Ancient Forest.

In the other timeline, Titania had warned me of the emperor sending out his army of Braves to deal with any survivors. While I didn’t know how she obtained that information, I could guess. The imperial soldiers would have wanted to resort to whatever they could to break the elven morale. That fact would have been enough to drive more than a few battered elves into despair.

Although this was a different time, the goddess’s words and my own experiences had shown that events converged. Varied they may be, the same events would unfold in a certain order.

I didn’t know if the timing of events had shifted due to my actions, but if they did they would have shifted to occur earlier rather than later.

And that meant-

A giant snake with glistening black scales lunged towards me from a tree in front of me. Its fangs dripped with corrosive venom, and a maw capable of swallowing me whole in a single bite widened before my eyes.

I swung my right hand, and then there was a soft thump as the snake’s head landed on the ground before me. Not long after, its body collapsed onto the forest floor and thrashed about in its death throes. In the end, it died to its greed like the countless other monsters I had encountered on my walk and added to my growing power.

Power. Something that I would need a lot of in the coming days.

…And also something I would have expected the goddess to comment about, but she was oddly quiet.

That didn’t bode well for me. With her whimsical nature, who knew what surprises would show up in the near future?

I walked. This time, no monsters were brave enough to lunge out despite the enticing mana I exuded. It seemed like the buffet I had enjoyed wandering about had come to an end.

But an even bigger meal was going to start.

There were lights in the dark forest. Fire light. Although they were miles away, in the pitch black of the forest grounds, they shone like a beacon.

I concealed my presence and mana. At the same time, my body melded into the shadows, my affinity towards darkness utilized to its full extent.

---

Akira yawned as he patrolled the campgrounds, inwardly cursing his classmates. After a full day of marching and combat practice, they got to sleep in while he was out there in the dark woods by himself.

And that wasn’t even taking into account that bastard Kouki. It was enough that he already had two of the school’s beauties at his side, but he even took along the reliable transfer student into his party to undergo secret training in the capital!

“Dammit. Why couldn’t I be the hero? I have a strong cheat too…”

On that day, everyone in his class had been summoned into a white void. There they were greeted by a goddess who explained that they were going to be transported to another world to fight against the Demon Lord and his army. Because it was unfair to expect that of a single person, she decided to send everyone in their same grade. Even so, since Kouki was the one that the transportation spell locked on to, he was made the ‘Brave’, the one fated to clash against the Demon Lord in single combat.

Akira called bull on that. Sure, Kouki was fairly handsome and good at kendo, but that was it. His grades were in the bottom half of the class and his personality was completely annoying. In fact, if it wasn’t because of befriending the transfer student on the first day of class and being the childhood friend of the school’s number one beauty, he would have been nothing!

Even as the Brave, the only thing that made Kouki special was being able to use Light magic. His talent with a sword was so-so and his magical power was only slightly above the rest of the class.

In contrast, Akira possessed ‘Reading’, an ability that let him parse everything around him. With it, he managed to master the Imperial Swordsmanship, master the basic elemental magic, and even gain some proficiency in that chaos magic the empire tried so hard to keep hidden.

If their transportation to another world was a story, then by all rights Akira should have been the protagonist. Instead, there he was being put on patrol like a worthless mob because his ability made it convenient to spot out dangers.

“…Stupid classmates. Stupid soldiers. Stupid Goddess.”

Akira carressed the sword on his side and muttered, “One more week. After that, I’ll take back the spotlight by force if I have to. The hero should be me, not that brainless idiot.”

Akira was the one who scored in the top of the class.

Akira was the one voted as class representative.

Akira was the one with the most cheat-like power there.

He should be the one hailed as a hero, not some muscle-head spouting justice and other delusional things.

But that idiot could enjoy his role while he still had it. Now that he had ‘read’ some of Kouki’s light magic into a sword, it wouldn’t be long until their roles switched.

Akira shook his head. “Enough fantasizing.”

Even though he disliked his position, he still had to play it out thoroughly. As much as he hated that it was true, he was indeed the best person for the job of patrol.

Akira scanned the forest trees for monsters, but came up with nothing but darkness for miles around. Assured, he walked around, continually scanning for hostiles.

With nothing but silence, Akira’s mind started to wander. “…I wonder how much of what the emperor said was true?”

The elves teaming up with the Demon Lord. While it wasn’t too much of a stretch, the usual stories didn’t follow that development. From what Akira had read at the imperial library, the elves were the guardians of Yggdrasil as well as the ones who first taught humans of magic. Rather than enemies, they were benefactors. Yet, they had decided to turn on humans and join forces with the Demon Lord, a physical embodiment of darkness?

Akira found it fishy.

He wasn’t like the muscle-headed Kouki who blindly believed in that emperor, or like the sheep that followed that idiot.

Furthermore, while the soldiers traveling with them hid it well, they couldn’t hide the lust and desire that occurred whenever elves were brought up, especially not from his eyes.

Akira patrolled while lost in thought. Reaching the south side of the campgrounds, he found a giant boulder and sat down.

From the stories he had read, elves were always portrayed as the good guys. The exception would be dark elves, but even then that had usually been a result of some tragedy in the past. For the empire to send soldiers and even Otherworlders to subdue the elves reeked of human greed.

And then there was the lust that Akira had seen in the soldiers. His reader’s instincts were telling him that this was a bad plan, but he wasn’t prepared enough to strike out on his own quite yet.

Maybe he should-

A black line flew towards his neck.

Akira’s eyes widened and he hurriedly jumped back, drawing his sword to parry.

Light met dark and was devoured. At the same time, the surroundings were shrouded in shadows, a pitch black void replacing the Ancient Forest.

There was a figure standing before Akira. Wreathed in spiralling shadows and emanating oppressive mana, it was clear that the figure didn’t have good intentions.

But most importantly of all…

“I… can’t read you?”

The all-powerful ability Akira had gained from being transported to this new world, the trustworthy cheat he relied upon to increase his strength, the fool-proof power that showed even the unfathomable depths of the emperor’s strength.

For the first time, it failed.

The figure tilted its head and then raised its right arm. With that act, a blade forged from darkness emerged.

“…I don’t believe it,” Akira said. “I don’t believe that I can’t read you!”

Akira raised his sword and narrowed his eyes.

A headache. Blood rushed to his brain, enough to where it felt like it would burst from the pressure. His eyes blurred, his vision dyed red as blood vessels popped from the strain. Akira’s resolve fueled his power and his determination bore a single fruit.

But it was bittersweet.

“Demon Lord… Nazin?”

The figure- no, the Demon Lord charged.

---

My faithful companion (stick) cut through the air towards the student’s neck. Yet, strangely again he managed to parry.

I was confused for a while until I saw his eyes. The irises were a deep crimson hue, partially with blood, and had a pinwheel design.

“So you’re reading a bit into the future. Interesting, but pointless.”

I was just testing the waters, something I decided to do after I remembered my bitter defeat in the future. It seemed like the summoned person in front of me wasn’t that powerful though, even if he had the eyes of a certain ninja clan.

“Dragon’s Grasp.”

The barrier of darkness I established to hide our fight converged, wrapping around the patrolling student.

His eyes widened and his sword shone with light, exuding a pure white mana, but it was pointless. Darkness enveloped the light yet again, and then there was nothing left of the student.

The shadows dispersed, returning the surroundings to normal.

I stared at the campsite the student had been patrolling around.

It was an artificial forest clearing. In complete disregard of the natural environment, the trees that had lived for thousands of years had been cut down. Their trunks were tossed haphazardly to the side, not even being used to create a natural barricade. Instead, like rubbish, they were carelessly strewn together in a tangled mess.

In the place of the ancient trees, countless tents made of cotton and wooden poles dotted the clearing. Circles of about four to five tents each surrounded a campfire, and throughout the clearing there were at least twenty of those circles.

Yet, whether because they overestimated the strength of their patrolman, or because they were confident in being able to handle whatever opponents emerged regardless, there was no one awake.

I adjusted my grip on my faithful companion and it seemed to thrum with excitement. In response, I fed it mana, condensing a blade of pure darkness and imbued with chaos.

I stepped forward, idly swinging my faithful companion to test its weight, and then said, “I wonder if I’ll get a title for this? What do you think, Goddess?”

Again, there was no reply from her. However, I did get a response from my faithful companion. It hummed with power, as if telling me to rely on it. And, while it didn’t say anything, I somehow got a sense that it was telling me I didn’t need any powers from that goddess.

I laughed. “All of this acting and time leaping must be driving me crazy. A stick can’t communicate. But still, wouldn’t that be interesting? An insane person with a perfect memory whose sanity is kept in check only by a stick…” I shook my head at the wild thought and headed towards the nearest tent.

Opening the flap, I was met at the sight of four grown men, sprawled about some mats. Imperial soldiers, judging from the discarded suits of armor shoved against the tent’s side. All of them were sleeping and completely unaware of my entrance.

Stab. Pierce. Slash. Sever. In four moves, one tent was cleared. Only… ninety or so left to go.

I walked out of the tent, letting the blood stain the floor, and headed towards the next one. Again, there were soldiers. Again, they were killed.

One circle of tents, two, five. After clearing out ten circles, I started to doubt Titania’s warning. Perhaps the soldiers had been bluffing to her to break her morale. Out of the fifty tents I entered, none of them had any person that appeared like they might have been a transmigrator.

I opened the flap to the next tent, resigned for more disappointment. Instead, on seeing the people there, I subconsciously muttered, “Hoh? It looks like somebody’s enjoying the other world life.”

A Japanese male teen was sleeping in the center of the tent. Clinging to either of his arms were two girls, also Japanese.

Judging from the haphazardly strewn piles of clothes all over the tent floor and the faint musk in the air, the three had been enjoying themselves quite well into the night.

“Still, this is careless.”

I shook my head at the sight of the three, but I didn’t let down my guard in case it was a ruse and used Analyze.

“Aki, Yuki, and Haru. Combat potential B and… fast asleep.”

I frowned. This was too easy. I was expecting something more to happen. Usually a time like this was when the protagonist jumped out of nowhere to attack the intruder. That or someone woke up and caused everyone to be on their guard.

Was this a trap? Did the goddess expect me to kill off the Braves to delay the empire? Was that why she didn’t speak up?

I had a headache. I felt like I was forgetting something… and so I hesitated.

In that hesitation, one of the girls yawned and blearily opened her eyes.

I froze, but quickly relaxed. Information Concealment was active. Not only that, but it was dark and I was wrapped in shadows. I was fine.

But then the girl’s eyes focused on me. “…Aki? What are you doing up?” She blinked and then turned her head to look at the boy at her side as if the check he was there.

…It was a coincidence. There was no way she could see me, right?

Suddenly, the girl froze. She turned her gaze back towards me and opened her mouth, her eyes wide in shock.

I swung my faithful companion, but it was too late.

“EEE- grgh!”

Blood sprayed and her words were cut off. But the damage had been done.

The other girl and the boy woke up. I quickly cut them down, but from outside I could hear sounds of people stirring.

“What was that?”

“That scream! Yuki-chan?”

I scowled. “Tch. I don’t know why Information Concealment’s not working… but I guess plan B is still an option.”

I wanted to quietly eliminate the Braves and the soldiers before heading to the capital and assassinating the real hero and his party, but it seemed like that option was shot down. Since the stealth mission was a failure, it wasn’t worth staying any longer than I had to.

Screams echoed through the forest clearing. Panicked shouts for order sounded from the soldiers.

I opened the tent flap.

Seeing the fully armed and wary group of over two hundred soldiers and a hundred Japanese students instantly lock their eyes on me, I muttered, “…Plan C it is.”

I walked out of the tent and raised my faithful companion. At the same time, I released the suppression I had been placing on my mana.

One of the Japanese students nearest to me, a male with glasses and short bangs, gulped and took a step back. “Th-that power… W-who are you?”

I grinned. “Isn’t that obvious?” Darkness gathered around me, forming a crown of black thorns and a cape of shadows. “I am Demon Lord Nazin, the one protecting the elves from you greedy humans. And you are already dead.”

With my words, that student exploded in a pile of gore, shadows crushing his body in an iron grip.

And the battle between the Demon Lord and the Braves truly began.

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