CHAPTER 51

A Parallel World

While Jonde, Kiriko, and I are astonished, Kurio yells out:

“I knew that other Seiya was an impostor!”

“N-no, he isn’t! That Seiya’s obviously the impostor!” I scream.

Bubbling with rage, Kurio walks over and pulls down Kiriko’s hood.

“Ah…!”

The moment Kiriko grunts, her mechanical head is already exposed. His hand trembling, Kurio points at Kiriko and Jonde.

“Look! A machine and a zombie! This guy’s friends with monsters! What more proof do you need?!”

Glesden and Mirei tense up. There’s no denying that we look like the impostors now. Even then, I try to act normal.

“Kurio, calm down and look at me.”

“Wh-why?”

I slowly comb back my long, blond hair and strike a pose.

“You can sense my divine aura, can’t you? Yes, I am the goddess Ristarte, and this man is the Hero Seiya who will save the world.”

But Kurio glares at me with a look of disgust.

“He’s friends with monsters and some brain-dead girl!”

“…?! Listen here, you little shit!”

“Ah!! And she’s a potty mouth, too!”

Kurio swiftly hides behind the impostor Seiya.

In a panic, I shout:

“I-it doesn’t matter! Just get away from that man! He’s so obviously a monster pretending to be a human! Right, Seiya?”

Seiya just quietly stares at the impostor, though.

“Rista, check his stats.”

“Huh…?”

I use Scan as instructed.

SEIYA RYUUGUUIN
LV: 36
HP: 70,024	MP: 12,077
ATK: 48,651	DEF: 47,999	SPD: 42,187	MAG: 9,685	GRW: 475
Resistance: Fire, Ice, Wind, Water, Lightning, Earth, Poison, Paralysis, Sleep, Curse, Instant Death, Status Ailments
Special Abilities: Fire Magic (LV: 10), Explosion Magic (LV: 4), Magic Sword (LV: 4), EXP Boost (LV: 8), Scan (LV: 7), Synthesis (LV: 3)
Personality: Extremely Reckless

His stats really do look like they belong to Seiya… But what’s up with that personality?! Extremely reckless? That’s just like the old Seiya before he became overly cautious!

“I-impressive! You can even imitate his stats!”

The impostor shoots me a quizzical glance, then hands something to Kurio.

“Here, Kurio. I brought the pottery materials I promised.”

“Thanks, Seiya!”

Even his voice sounds like Seiya’s. Mirei and Glesden look back and forth between the two Seiyas, just as bewildered as I am.

“There are two Seiyas! Wh-what in the world is going on?!”

Kurio hides behind the fake while pointing at the real Hero.

“I told you already! That man’s an impostor! Show him who’s boss, Seiya!”

That’s when the impostor finally takes a hard look at my Seiya.

“Hmm… He does look a lot like me.”

He then confidently approaches him.

“Ah?!”

I naturally hide behind Seiya as the impostor asks:

“What’s your name?”

“Seiya Ryuuguuin.”

“Oh, wow. Not only do you look like me, but we share the same name as well.”

I watch with bated breath, trying to imagine how the impostor will react until…he laughs.

“Ha-ha-ha! What a funny coincidence. Ha-ha-ha-ha!”

This obviously isn’t a coincidence! What is wrong with this guy?!

“I feel like I already know you. Let’s be friends.”

The impostor laughs while extending a hand of friendship to Seiya, but Kurio cuts in between them.

“Seiya! They’re bad guys! You have to defeat them!”

He took the words right out of my mouth. The impostor, however, shakes his head.

“Kurio, I don’t think they’re bad people. Take this lady who claimed to be a goddess. She has the same aura Aria did when she helped me save this world last year.”

“Y-you know who Aria is?!”

“But, Seiya…! Even if she is a goddess, those two are clearly monsters!”

“Hmm… A zombie and a Killing Machine.”

Kurio knits his brow and points at Kiriko.

“I mean, come on! Look at that monster’s disgusting mechanical body!”

“…!”

Kiriko hangs her head, and the impostor gives Kurio a reproachful look.

“You mustn’t judge others by their appearances. While they may look like monsters, I sense no malice coming from them.”

“B-but being friends with monsters—”

“Kurio. Apologize to the Killing Machine.”

Kurio hesitates after being scolded by the impostor, but he eventually lowers his head to Kiriko, albeit timidly.

“I’m…sorry…”

“O-oh, don’t worry about it! I’m fine!”

The impostor watches Kurio’s and Kiriko’s exchange, then smiles with evident satisfaction. Wh-what is this feeling…? When we first tried heading to Ixphoria, Seiya was attacked by a werewolf, causing him to temporarily become reckless like he used to be. This impostor reminds me a lot of him, but—ahhh! Don’t let yourself be fooled, Rista! That’s clearly what the Death Emperor wants!

Before I even realize it, the impostor Seiya is looking at me. When he approaches, I jump.

“Wh-what do you want?!”

“Goddess, what brings you to this town?”

“We came to save Ixphoria from the Demon Lord!”

“That’s strange…because I already defeated the Demon Lord Ultimaeus and saved Ixphoria one year ago.”

“You what?! That’s ridiculous! Ultimaeus had two lives, you know! After you thought you defeated him, he came back to life, attacked when you let your guard down, and e-e-everyone was…”

I can’t even finish my sentence, but the impostor Seiya’s eyes open wide.

“I’m impressed, Goddess. You know things that only we would know. Yes, Ultimaeus did have two lives during the final battle…but the elders at Sage Village had already warned us of that.”

“Y-you went to Sage Village?!”

When Ishtar showed me the past in her crystal ball, Seiya went straight for the Demon Lord’s castle and ignored Sage Village because he wanted to save Ixphoria as quickly as possible.

“The day before, Tiana had cried, saying she had a feeling something bad would happen. I was reluctant at first, but I decided to change course and visit Sage Village. Looking back, I’m glad I listened to her. We probably would’ve died, otherwise. When the Demon Lord revived himself, he went straight for Colt, but I was able to block his attack and defeat him using the move I learned at Sage Village.”

“You’re lying!”

“I’m not lying.”

When he stares at me with conviction, I freeze. It’s as if a ghost were telling me a frightening tale. By the time I realize it, the sun is already disappearing into the horizon, and it’s getting dark. The impostor surveys the area.

“Goddess, it’s getting late. How about we finish this conversation at the inn?”

He points at Glesden’s inn, but the real Seiya shakes his head with a stern mug.

“No. We’ll finish it tomorrow. For now, we’re going to rest in this cave.”

“S-Seiya?!”

Seiya then briskly walks inside the cavern he created.

After parting ways with Glesden and the others, we walk through the entrance guarded by numerous golems and find ourselves in a wide, open space lit by glowstones. Unable to hold it in any longer, I scream to Seiya, Kiriko, and Jonde.

“I’m losing my mind! What in the world is going on?!”

Seiya leans against the dirt wall and crosses his arms without a word. Jonde, however, replies:

“Obviously, there’s something suspicious about that Hero. Perhaps it’s the Death Emperor in disguise?”

“Y-yeah! That’s the only thing that makes sense!”

But Kiriko softly mutters:

“I don’t think that Seiya was lying.”

“What? Kiri?! What makes you think that?”

“I—I just don’t feel like he is. That’s all…”

Seiya, who has been quietly listening, gently nods.

“He isn’t lying. After using Scan and Appraise, it’s clear that he isn’t using Fake Out or any other kind of disguise.”

“H-he’s probably just using some kind of tricky Transformation ability!”

“That is possible, but I mastered Rasti’s Transformation abilities in the spirit world. If he’s deceiving me, that would mean his Transformation level exceeds even Rasti’s.”

A transformation that surpasses the ability of the Goddess of Shape-Shifting?! Th-there’s no way that’s possible…!

“I consider each and every possibility every day, and one explanation is…”

After a brief pause, Seiya continues:

“Everything he’s saying is the truth, and here, I defeated the Demon Lord Ultimaeus one year ago and saved the world. In other words, this town is the materialization of a world where I was able to defeat the Demon Lord.”

“Th-that’s impossible…!”

Jonde is terribly taken aback…and I’m having an extremely hard time believing it myself! “So this is part of another world—the materialization of a town in another dimension?! That would need God of Creation levels of power! I don’t care how strong the Death Emperor’s gotten with the Dark God’s Blessing! Is something like this even possible?!”

“Keep in mind, this is nothing more than a hypothesis. The Death Emperor could still merely be disguising himself and deceiving us somehow.”

As a heavy silence falls over our group, Kiriko asks Seiya:

“If this really is a world different from ours, then what was the Death Emperor thinking, inviting us here?”

“That much isn’t clear yet. I used my earth serpents to check out every person in town, but they didn’t sense a single monster’s presence, let alone the Death Emperor. I thought he might be trying to slow us down, so I checked the surveillance earth serpents in Galvano and Termine, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.”

“What’s going on?! What is the Death Emperor plotting?!”

Jonde clicks his tongue. There’s something eerie about not knowing what the enemy looks like or what they want from us. Nevertheless, Seiya’s demeanor is as calm as always.

“I’ve positioned numerous earth serpents and golems throughout town. We’ll just have to keep our guard up until the enemy makes their next move.”

Seiya then lies on the ground.

“It’s probably going to be a long battle, so get some rest. I’ve prepared a room for each of you.”

I have no way of knowing how much of a handle Seiya actually has on the situation, so I head to my room and go to sleep.

Early the following morning, after a poor night’s sleep, I roll out of bed, leave my room, and take a peek outside the cave entrance. The sky still has a pale, grayish tint as it hangs over the town of Fulwahna, tents and mud buildings crowding the streets.

Is this town really a different world from ours? I find that hard to believe.

While I wonder that to myself, I suddenly notice Seiya standing next to me.

“Oh, morning, Seiya.”

“Mm-hmm.”

He’s holding a basket of bread.

“Here. Breakfast. Make sure to share with the others.”

“Thanks.”

Huh. He seems to be in a good mood today.

After I accept the bread, Seiya narrows his eyes and stares at the sky. There’s a large cluster of clouds off in the distance.

“Look. It’s a sandstorm.”

“Oh, no wonder it looked so cloudy.”

“You won’t be able to leave Fulwahna for the next two to three days with that there.”

“Wow. Look at you, Mr. Smarty Pants.”

When I turn back to Seiya, I realize he’s not wearing any armor!

“Wh-what the…?! Wait! Are you the impostor Seiya?!”

“I’m not an impostor. But, well, I’m not your Seiya, either.”

“Eek!”

Terrified, my knees give out as I try to retreat, and I fall onto my butt. O-oh no…! He’s going to kill me, isn’t he?!

Noticing I’m scared, though, the impostor Seiya sweetly protests.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of. While we may have differing opinions, I know you people aren’t evil. So in the grand scheme of things, whether I defeated the Demon Lord matters little, does it not?”

“N-no, actually, I think that matters a lot in the grand scheme of things!”

More importantly, does this Seiya seriously believe us?! He’s acting just like Seiya did when he was extremely reckless!

Whatever the case, it doesn’t look like he’s going to hurt me. Right as I heave a sigh of relief, a crack appears in the ground below me and something pops out!

“What the…?!”

It’s none other than Seiya, fully armored!

“Why do you always have to appear like that?!”

“I was hiding underground just in case this impostor forced himself on you and I had to save you.”

“I would never do such a thing.”

“Right.”

Seiya brushes the dust off his body while approaching his doppelganger.

“Let me ask you something. You know a skill that I don’t. ‘Drain: Charged Attack’—is that the move you learned at Sage Village?”

“Yes. It’s a skill where you absorb your opponent’s power while blocking their attacks. Although you can’t attack while using the move, once your attack is completely charged, you can unleash a massive counterattack, which adds the enemy’s attack power to your own.”

“And that’s how you defeated the Demon Lord, huh?”

The impostor looks at Seiya with an amicable expression.

“Wanna know more? I could teach you if you’re interested.”

“Fine. I guess it won’t hurt to learn just in case.”

What?! Seriously?!

I call Seiya over and whisper:

“Seiya! Are you sure you should be learning something from an impostor?!”

“Relax. I’m always on my guard. Besides, I want to talk to him so I can learn more about whatever the hell’s going on here.”

“O-oh, that makes sense! Well, be careful!”

The two Seiyas assume combat stances, swords at the ready. The double then instructs Seiya to draw back his sword. It looks like any ordinary training session at first, when suddenly…

“Now, firm up like you did in elementary PE when you were at the bottom of the human pyramid.”

“Okay.”

“Next, while loosening up, try to savor the moment the enemy attacks like you would savor a nice stick of gum.”

“I see.”

How is that making any sense to him?!

The impostor’s teaching method sounds like nonsense to me, but as I watch his bizarre mannerisms, I can’t help but feel like he’s the real Seiya, too. After some time goes by, Jonde and Kiriko emerge from the cave and watch the two Seiyas as well.

“A-are they training together?”

“Wh-what an unusual sight.”

Jonde’s right. Seiya is teaching Seiya swordsmanship. The identical Heroes’ training seems like it could go on forever.

…After around an hour goes by, I ask Seiya if he wants to take a break, but…

““What?””

They both look back at me.

“Oh, no, uh… I was talking to this Seiya—”

““Which one?””

“Ugh! Can you be any more aggravating?!”

I point at the Seiya wearing armor.

“From now on, I’m calling the Seiya who came with me ‘Cautious Seiya’!”

The other Seiya roars with laughter.

“Ha-ha-ha. ‘Cautious Seiya,’ huh?”

“And you’re ‘Reckless Seiya’! Got it?!”

“Why am I the reckless one? Meh. Doesn’t matter. Let’s continue training.”

“That’s why!!” I scream, but Reckless Seiya innocently smiles back.

Slowly but surely, seeing him smile so cheerfully—something the Cautious Seiya usually never does—causes me to lower my guard.