CHAPTER 53

Cautious Hero

I storm out of the cave to give Seiya a piece of my mind, but my rage vanishes when I step outside. Dozens of wooden buckets are lined up next to each other on the ground, projecting live footage of what’s happening inside and outside Fulwahna. Kiriko, Jonde, and Seiya are gathered around the buckets, which are linked to the earth serpent cameras.

“Hey, now. What’s going on?”

“I know, right? I just woke up a few minutes ago.”

Golems are collecting the townspeople, one after another.

“Seiya?! What’s going on?!”

“I told you. The enemy is approaching, so I gathered the townspeople in one place to reduce casualties.”

“O-oh… Wait! ‘Enemy’?!”

Seiya wordlessly points at a bucket showing a few golems fighting a massive brown dragon.

“A—a dragon?! Are you telling me a dragon is attacking us?!”

“This is live footage of what’s happening northwest of here.”

Seiya points out multiple buckets to me after that, and cold sweat trickles down my back.

A cyclops?! And a chimera?!

Numerous bizarre monsters are fighting Seiya’s golems outside Fulwahna!

A local peers into a bucket and screams:

“L-look! It’s the King Scorpion!”

A colossal golden scorpion appears on the scene playing out in another bucket.

“Wh-what?! That’s impossible!”

I turn in the direction of the familiar voice to find Reckless Seiya standing behind me with a panic-stricken face.

“I defeated the King Scorpion! The cyclops, dragon, and chimera—these are all monsters we fought and defeated a year ago!”

What?! Then does that mean they came back to life?!

The townspeople who saw the footage turn to Reckless Seiya, their eyes full of fear.

“S-Seiya! Are we going to be okay?”

Reckless Seiya unsheathes his sword.

“I’ll take care of this. I will protect the people of Fulwahna.”

“Seiya…!”

A chorus of cheers echo all around us. Th-this Seiya is so much more heroic! But…

“You’d just get in the way. Stay put.”

Cautious Seiya scoffs at him.

“…What?”

Reckless Seiya frowns, but Cautious Seiya doesn’t seem the least bit apologetic.

“The golems I positioned outside of town are already handling the enemies. Plus, my earth serpents are keeping an eye on everything happening in town as well. There’s no need for you,” remarks Cautious Seiya, his tone somewhat annoyed, before looking back at us. Jonde knits his brow and says:

“The enemy came out of nowhere.”

“The Death Emperor probably had a change of plans.”

“A ‘change of plans’? What do you mean?”

“…Wait.”

In the middle of his chat with Jonde, Cautious Seiya’s eyes snap open wide. I follow his gaze, and my heart skips a beat. Reckless Seiya is heading out of town! After clicking his tongue, Cautious Seiya catches up with him, places a hand on his shoulder, and pulls him back.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m going out there to defeat the enemy.”

“Are you stupid? I already told you that you aren’t needed.”

“The town is under attack! I can’t just sit back and watch!”

“You’re useless. How many times do I have to tell you that? You’re even weaker than Jonde and Kiriko.”

Regardless, Reckless Seiya confidently replies:

“Everything’s gonna be okay.”

I notice Cautious Seiya’s nose twitch.

O-oh no! He is definitely angry!

Sensing danger, I slip in between them and try to persuade Reckless Seiya to stay put.

“I-it’s gonna be okay! Just let the golems take care of things! In the worst-case scenario, we can build a wall around the town with earth magic! Right, Seiya?”

Cautious Seiya nods. Still, Reckless Seiya stands his ground. He glares at Cautious Seiya with a wrinkle between his eyebrows.

“I’m going. I’m a Hero, and I am the one who defeated the Demon Lord.”

“You defeated a weak Demon Lord from a weak world. You wouldn’t even be able to defeat these monsters at your level. How many times do I have to repeat myself?”

“I won’t lose. I have justice on my side.”

“Your justice is a joke.”

This time, it’s Reckless Seiya whose nose twitches.

“Take that back! You’ve gone too far this time!”

“All I did was state a fact.”

The two Seiyas are staring daggers at each other! I feel like I’m on pins and needles. The tension between them feels ready to explode! Kiriko, however, yells:

“P-please calm down and look at the buckets!”

When I peer into one, I can’t believe my eyes. The cyclops is collapsed on its back while the dragon and chimera are in pieces.

“What…?! The golems already won?!”

It looks like the golems took care of all the enemies while the two Heroes were arguing. I let out a sigh of relief, but Cautious Seiya wears a stern expression.

“Don’t let your guard down. The battle isn’t over yet. If my hunch is correct, it’s only just getting started.”

He then looks back at the buckets. Before long, trails of black smoke rise from the monsters’ bodies while forming a cloud of darkness over Fulwahna!

“I am Sirrusht, the Death Emperor—the one who rules over death and destruction.”

Out of nowhere, a voice echoes throughout the town. It sounds like it’s coming from the pits of hell. The eerie voice continues:

“Hero, I’m impressed. If your souls had truly accepted this false world created by the Dark God’s ritual, it would have swallowed you whole, and you would have vanished into nothingness.”

O-our souls would have been destroyed if we accepted this reality?! Seriously?! During my time in Fulwahna, I was beginning to think I would have been happier here, and it’s not just me. I’m sure Jonde and Kiriko feel the same. But…that was all part of the Dark God’s plan! We might not be here if it wasn’t for Cautious Seiya spying on us and ruining the mood!

Astonished, Jonde asks Cautious Seiya:

“Don’t tell me…you knew about this?!”

“I considered the possibility, obviously.”

As always, this was one of the dozens…if not hundreds of possibilities for which Seiya had accounted. Whatever the case, though, the Dark God’s plan has failed.

“It appears there’s no reason to keep this world around any longer.”

The Death Emperor’s ominous words terrify me.

“Is he planning on getting rid of the townspeople?! Seiya, what should we do?!”

“I hid a special earth serpent in each of the townspeople’s pockets just in case. The moment the serpents bite them, their spirits will be drawn from their bodies. I applied the move that Nephitet taught me.”

“Oh…! Then we can still help them even if they lose their bodies!”

“It’s far from ideal, but they should be fine if I temporarily link their souls to an earth serpent or golem.”

Kurio anxiously looks up at Kiriko.

“H-hey, Kiriko, we’re going to be okay, right?”

“Of course! Seiya is always prepared for anything!” Kiriko says with a cheerful note. As if on cue, Seiya snaps his fingers.

“Ghost Bite.”

The people of Fulwahna all collapse, and their astral bodies slip out of their physical vessels.

Incredible! I can’t believe Seiya even prepared for something like this! Everyone’s going to be ok—… What the…?

I can’t believe what I’m seeing. The townspeople’s physical bodies are turning to sand, and their astral bodies are disappearing!

“It didn’t work…,” Cautious Seiya quietly mutters to himself.

“Wh-what do you mean?”

Speaking for the silent Hero, the Death Emperor says:

“You can’t save them. There is no escape for those who never existed in this world to begin with. Once the source’s power—the power of the Dark God—disappears, all that derived from it will disappear as well.”

The townspeople around me crumble one after another, so I shake Cautious Seiya’s shoulders in a panic.

“Seiya! What do we do now?!”

Seiya simply lifts the Ghost Bite spell without saying a word, and their souls return to their original bodies.

“There’s nothing we can do.”

“What?! S-Seiya…!”

I thought that Seiya would be able to figure something out like he always does, but he doesn’t even move. Only the Death Emperor’s voice breaks the silence.

“It would be foolish to believe even you could save the people of a false world. Now, enjoy their final moments. Watch as their memories from the true world return…along with their despair.”

As they watch their bodies turning into sediment, Glesden and Mirei mutter:

“Oh yeah… We were killed one year ago…by the Demon Lord’s army.”

“Oh, Kurio… Oh, my sweet Kurio…”

Glesden and Mirei try to walk over to Kurio, but their bodies crumble and scatter across the ground.

“Glesden! Mirei!”

Jonde screams. Kiriko lets out an earsplitting cry:

“Seiya! Kurio’s…!”

Kurio’s legs slowly turn to sand.

I-is there really nothing we can do?!

Seiya continues to stand immobile, not saying a word. Kurio looks at Kiriko and whimpers.

“I… I was already dead…”

While the tears stream down his cheeks, he smirks like a brave little boy.

“Hey, Kiriko! You better beat that Demon Lord for me! Make sure there are no more people like us in this world!”

“Kurio…!”

“I’m glad I got to be friends with you, Kiriko.”

Before Kiriko’s hand can reach him, Kurio’s smiling face turns into sand, and he disappears.

“Sniffle… This is… This is too much… How cruel…”

As Kiriko drops her head in despair, the Death Emperor’s voice echoes throughout Fulwahna once more.

“Return to the sands, ye who no longer exist.”

It’s not just the people. Even the buildings of Fulwahna gradually crumble. Despite this, Reckless Seiya is clenching his teeth, still desperately fighting fate.

“Seiya!!”

I rush over to Reckless Seiya. He’s trembling.

“Oh… Right. None of it was real. I never went to Sage Village. I failed to protect my beloved…and our unborn child…”

Reckless Seiya approaches Cautious Seiya as if using up his last bit of strength, but his legs disintegrate, and he collapses before reaching him.

“It looks like you were right… My justice was a joke…”

I suddenly notice tears welling in his eyes. This is the first time I’ve ever seen Seiya cry.

“I should have been more careful… I should have prepared for anything—and then prepared some more…”

“Seiya…!”

Reckless Seiya’s regret is so palpable that even I can feel it. My heart is being wrenched in two, and I can feel tears trickling down my cheeks.

“Tiana, forgive me…,” he begs with his eyes to the sky.

Unable to control myself, I throw my arms around Reckless Seiya as he slowly fades away.

“I’m fine…! You don’t need to worry about me!”

There’s no way for him to know that I’m Princess Tiana reborn, but even then, he…

“Thank you, Goddess…”

His voice is weak. Almost a whisper.

Cautious Seiya looks down at Reckless Seiya.

“Pathetic. You really are an idiot.”

“I’m sorry…”

“But I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t an idiot.”

“Please…defeat the Death Emperor…and the Demon Lord… You must…”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?”

I feel like I can see the shadow of a smile on Reckless Seiya’s face.

“I’m counting on you…Cautious Hero.”

Immediately after that, Reckless Seiya’s body turns into sand and scatters about Seiya’s feet. It’s such a cruel sight that I can’t look away, and yet…in a way, it feels like both Seiyas merged into one.

“E-everything is turning into sand…!” Jonde mutters in utter astonishment.

Before I even realize it, we are standing in the middle of the ruins of the past. Everywhere I look, there’s only desert sand and the bones of the lost. Dark clouds now blanket the sky as they twist into the shape of a giant skull.

“One cannot alter fate even after a false rebirth.

“Though a lie, a second chance at life will not allow one to change their fate. They experienced death twice. Their despair was overwritten with yet greater despair, and so my power grows.”

Drowned out by the Death Emperor’s delighted voice…

“Kurio…! Kurio…!”

Kiriko sobs, holding the sand that was once Kurio to her heart.

“You wretched monster…!”

Jonde furiously clenches his fist. It’s been a while since I’ve been this pissed off. The people of Fulwahna were killed twice at the hands of the Demon Lord’s ilk. I can’t even imagine how painful…how frustrating…how frightening it must have been when they turned into sand.

Death Emperor Sirrusht…! You’re gonna pay!

I hear someone take a step forward. When I see Seiya’s battle stance in profile, his sword brandished, I get goose bumps.

…He seems perfectly fine, even after all that—as if he’s forgotten how to feel anger or sadness. There isn’t a hint of his reckless self left. He already threw away the emotions he deemed unnecessary for battle. Now standing by my side is a Hero whose only focus is defeating the enemy.

“You said fate couldn’t be changed.”

Seiya regards the skull in the sky.

“I guess that means your fate of being killed by me won’t change, either.”