Chapter 56 In One Breath
CHAPTER 56
In One Breath
When I slip through the gate, I’m welcomed by the spirit world’s warm sunlight and comforting air. Just being here brightens my mood, if only a little. I made sure the gate would take us to the plaza, and sure enough, I see the familiar sight of Cerceus cleaning the area around his café. Our eyes meet.
“Ack…!”
Cerceus drops his broom and dustpan, then ducks into the shadows. Jonde, however, approaches him.
“Cerceus, I apologize for the other day. I will not ask you to spar with me anymore, so there is nothing to worry about.”
“Wh-what? Really? Thank goodness! I mean…ha-ha-ha! That was the first time I trained in a while, and I wasn’t feeling good at all! I was sleep-deprived, and had a cold, and had a touch of diarrhea, and was basically dying, and—”
Cerceus fires off excuses one after the other as he recalls how Jonde and Kiriko beat him senseless during their sparring session… How pathetic can you get?! Just admit that’s the best you can do! If Seiya were here, he’d say something like, Okay, then show me what you can do at full strength. Now. Jonde, though, is an adult.
“At any rate, could you let us borrow a room again like last time? Kiriko needs to rest.”
Cerceus seems to have noticed Kiriko hanging her head. He bends down at the knees before her.
“You must have been through a lot, Kiriko.”
“Yes…”
“Those who endeavor to save the world will often meet with pain… Okay, give me a few minutes.”
Cerceus eventually returns with a pot of tea and some teacups on a tray.
“Here, have some warm tea.”
“No, I…”
“Don’t be shy. It’s really good tea.”
“But…”
“I only use one hundred percent pure tea leaves from the spirit world. It’ll really cheer you up. I guarantee it. Come on.”
“N-no, I… I can’t drink tea because I’m a machine…!”
I charge over to Cerceus, unable to watch any longer.
“Ugh! How stupid can you be?! If you forced her to drink that, she’d break!”
“Wh-why did you have to call me stupid?! I was just watching out for Kiriko and—”
“Maybe you should stop using ‘one-hundred-percent-pure spirit world tea leaves’ and start using at least one percent of your brain!”
“Excuse me?!”
In the midst of our exchange, I notice Kiriko giggling. She then pours some of the tea Cerceus brought her into a teacup and brings it to her face.
“Although I can’t drink it, it still smells really good!”
Hearing the cheerful ring back in her voice brings a smile to my face.
Oh, thank goodness! It sounds like Kiriko’s feeling a little better now! Cerceus, while an idiot, can prove useful from time to time!
I look around for Seiya, but he’s nowhere in sight.
“H-huh? Kiri! Where did Seiya go?”
“I saw him walking that way.”
“I knew things were a little too quiet! Ugh! There he goes again! I’m going to go look for him!”
I rush off, leaving Jonde and Kiriko behind at the café. After running through the plaza for some time, I see Aria.
“Oh! Welcome back, Rista!”
“Hey! Have you seen Seiya?”
“He’s at the sanctuary. He said something about going to see Great Goddess Ishtar.”
“Thanks!”
After a quick thank-you, I zip over to the sanctuary.
“Excuse me! May I come in?”
I knock on the large door to Ishtar’s room, then slowly open it to find Ishtar and Seiya sitting across a table from each other. There is a big crystal ball between them, which Seiya is staring into.
“Stop disappearing like that! …Hmm? What are you doing?”
Ishtar speaks up in Seiya’s place.
“Seiya Ryuuguuin requested to see what happened in Ixphoria one year ago.”
“O-oh…”
After taking a seat by Seiya’s side, I peer into the crystal ball as well. Seiya sternly watches what appears to be a peaceful town. A waterwheel spins in a small river while elderly, white-haired villagers poke around the water.
“Is this village…?”
Before I can even finish my sentence, the liquid being churned by the waterwheel is dyed a deep red.
“Hya-ha-ha-ha-ha! Die, die, die, die, die!”
A monster’s voice, tainted with hatred, echoes. The two-headed monster appears on the crystal ball wearing a filthy dress and holding an old man’s head in her hand.
“C-Celemonic?!”
My heart skips a beat when I lay eyes on the creature I wish I could forget. I don’t even want to look at her after the trauma I faced because of her curse…but I won’t allow myself to look away. Upon closer inspection, I notice another woman’s head behind Monica and Celena.
Shanak! It looks like their third sister was still alive a year ago!
The village shown in the crystal ball turns into hell after Celemonic appears. In a monotone voice, Seiya mentions:
“This is Sage Village, which I skipped last time.”
“Th-this is Sage Village…?!”
Many of the villagers appear to be enlightened elders just like the name implies. However, each of them is slain one after the other by Celemonic.
“After killing me and growing even more powerful, the Demon Lord must have sent Celemonic to the village to kill the sages who knew his secret.”
“How awful…!”
While I look away from the headless, bloodless corpses lying on the ground, Seiya calmly comments:
“I was curious what kind of village it was. Hey, old lady, could you show me what the village is like now?”
“The mist, which was once hiding Ixphoria from sight, has cleared substantially since you defeated all of the Demon Lord’s high-ranking monsters. While I still cannot look into the near future, I should be able to take a peek at Ixphoria’s current state.”
Ishtar focuses her thoughts until the scenery in the crystal ball changes. Similar to Seiya’s earth serpent cameras, it’s a bird’s-eye view of a dilapidated village.
“Hmm. What’s that?”
Seiya points at one corner of the village. Ishtar zooms in, revealing bizarre creatures wearing masks and robes, standing around a red magic circle. Even Ishtar herself stares hard at the sight.
“These are not human. They appear to be demon priests of some sort. I do not know what kind of ritual they are performing, though…”
Seiya crosses his arms for a while until…
“It looks like I’ll just need to go there and see for myself.”
He doesn’t seem content to simply look through the crystal ball. I ask Ishtar:
“Would it be okay for me to open a gate that leads directly to the Sage Village?”
“Very well. You have my permission.”
“Thank you so much! Seiya, what do you wanna do? We can go now if you want.”
“No. Our enemies are in the village. I need to prepare.”
With a smile, Ishtar tries to reassure us.
“While there are a few demon priests in the village, I’m sure they’re no match for you anymore.”
“They might not be the only ones I need to worry about. Although the village seems to be destroyed, there might be some resentful survivors who want to kill me.”
“I—I don’t know… Do you really think a sage is going to attack you?”
“No matter what may happen, I still need to prepare for the battle against Ultimaeus as well.”
Ishtar firmly nods.
“You are free to stay in the spirit world for as long as you like. I will provide you with as much help as possible so you can save the SS-ranked world of Ixphoria.”
“Then let me ask you one more thing, Grandma. Do you know of any deities with these skill sets?”
He must have thought it’d be quicker to ask Ishtar where to find a specific deity than to search with me. Seiya gives a detailed description of the type of god he’s looking for, and I start to feel like the third wheel.
“H-hey, Seiya! Is there anything I can do to help?”
He fixes me with an intense glare.
“Actually, there is. Go to your room in the sanctuary.”
“Okay! Then what?”
“You have a bed that you always sleep in, right? Lie down in it.”
“Okay, sure. Then what?”
“After that, just quietly close your eyes. Hopefully, forever. That is all.”
“Oh, okay… Hold on!! Take a nap?! That’s it?!”
“Enough with the screaming. If you don’t want to do that, then go play with Kiriko or something.”
“You’re missing the point! Ugh! Great Goddess Ishtar, you know what I’m talking about, right?! Tell him!”
She cheerfully smiles.
“I agree with him. You should go play.”
“Y-you agree with him?!”
“Spending time with your allies is important, too.”
D-don’t tell me even Ishtar thinks I’m useless… I bet she does. I mean, just the other day I got cursed and caused so much trouble for everyone. Sigh…
I end up hobbling back to Cerceus’s café alone after that. Aria and Adenela are there now, and Kiriko seems to be enjoying conversation with Jonde. Jonde spots me in no time at all.
“Goddess, where is the Hero?”
“He’s apparently going to start training again. He said we’re going to the Sage Village after that.”
Jonde’s eyes grow serious, and he places a hand on his chin.
“I see. Perhaps this will be his last training session.”
“Huh?”
“We don’t have to worry about a pincer attack now that the Death Emperor is gone, and he said he planned on attacking the Demon Lord while he was still storing energy, right?”
“O-oh yeah…!”
“So he has probably started making final preparations for the battle against the Demon Lord. I assume we’ll be heading straight for the Demon Lord’s castle after training and stopping by the Sage Village.”
Jonde’s assumption makes my heart pump wildly in my chest.
H-he’s right… Our next major battle is with the Demon Lord himself! I’m so nervous!
We’ve run into various hardships, but before I realized it, we were already taking the final steps toward saving the SS-ranked world of Ixphoria. Just thinking about it makes my heart race.
Seiya risked his life to defeat the Demon Lord of the S-ranked world Gaeabrande, and I’m sure this fight isn’t going to be easy, either.
Adenela, who was listening to our conversation, looks over at the sanctuary and mutters:
“S-speak of the Dark God. S-Seiya’s c-coming this way.”
When I turn, I jump, and it’s not just me who’s surprised. Aria speaks up with a startled tone:
“Look at all the gods Seiya brought with him!”
Standing behind Seiya are numerous deities, but the only ones I recognize are the Goddess of Wind, Fraala, and the God of Lightning, Orand. I rush over to Seiya.
“Seiya!! What is going on here?!”
“I asked Ishtar to summon various deities for me. Unlike with Gaeabrande, the special abilities such as magic in Ixphoria are subdivided, so I plan on focusing on the classes I have an aptitude for and perfecting them.”
Seiya swiftly thrusts his notepad at me: Monk, Lancer, Mage (Wind, Lightning, Fire, Earth), Merchant, Seer, Jolly Piper.
Written on the notepad are the classes that Enzo said Seiya had an aptitude for when we first went to Little Light in Ixphoria.
“W-wait… Are you telling me you plan on mastering all of these before you fight the Demon Lord?!”
“Yes. But I have already mastered fire magic, earth magic, and Jolly Piper, so we can ignore those.”
As Seiya speaks, he unravels the long bundle he’s carrying. An old spear twirls out, and he takes a few practice swings with it.
Whoa?! I’ve never seen Seiya use a spear before, but he already looks like a natural!
A few moments go by until one of the gods wearing armor that looks distinctly Japanese walks out of the crowd.
“Oh? So it looks like you want to spar with me, the Spear God, first.”
The other deities take a step back.
“We’ll be waiting over here, so let us know when you need us.”
“What are you talking about?”
Seiya glares at the remaining deities.
“Don’t waste my time. I’ll take you all on at once.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m telling you to attack me with magic while I’m sparring with the Spear God.”
“Y-you’re going to train magic and spar at the same time?!”
“It’s more efficient that way. I’ll learn all the moves in actual combat.”
Fraala wryly chuckles, but Orand’s face turns fiery red.
“What hubris. You’d better not regret those words, human…!”
My heart races as I watch until I hear a slightly goofy voice.
“U-um… What should we do?”
Standing side by side are a portly god wearing a kimono with an abacus in hand and a mysterious goddess wearing a mask and gray hood. Judging by their attire, I’m guessing the God of Merchants and the Goddess of Divination. Annoyed, Seiya repeats himself.
“I already told you. I’ll take you all on at once. You, try to make a deal with me. And you, tell me my fortune.”
“““Seriously?”””
The deities yell in unison.
S-seriously, though…what?! Not only does Seiya want to simultaneously spar with the Spear God and deities of elemental magic, he also wants to train with the Goddess of Divination and the God of Merchants, too?!
The Spear God draws back his weapon with a fierce expression while Fraala and Orand raise their staffs into the air as well! The deities are surrounding Seiya!
“I’m going to smack that smug look right off your face!”
The Spear God makes the first move, lunging right for Seiya. However…
“Berserk: Phase Two.”
Transforming into a berserker, Seiya uses his spear to deflect each of the Spear God’s wild thrusts! He then narrowly evades Orand’s attack from the left before swinging his spear behind himself and canceling out Fraala’s extremely fast strike without looking. After that, the Goddess of Divination and God of Merchants approach Seiya and hand him a hex-shaped box of fortunes and an abacus, respectively. Seiya then calculates something on the abacus while shaking the box of fortunes until one comes out.
“The Blessed Stock Average will suffer a 3.22 percent drop from yesterday’s figure. Today’s lucky color is blue.”
Seiya casually mutters as the deities gradually retreat.
“Mn…! Th-this human’s…!”
“He’s calculating our next moves—”
“While calculating on the abacus…!”
The other deities shudder, but…
“What kind of training is thisssssssss?!”
I can’t just sit back and watch this without pointing out how absurd it all is. And “he’s calculating our next moves while calculating on the abacus”?! That pun’s really stretching it!!
Jonde and Kiriko are gawking now.
“I—I have no idea what is going on, but this is incredible!”
“It really is! I’m at a loss for how to describe what I’m seeing!”
The deities’ onslaught starts to waver, as if they’re afraid of Seiya, but he slowly approaches them with a spear in one hand and an abacus in the other.
“What’s wrong? If you’re not going to come here, then I’ll just have to go over there.”
All of a sudden, someone takes a step toward the group from behind me.
“Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh…!”
“A-Adenela?!”
“I-I’m just tingling w-with excitement…!”
The Goddess of War, Adenela, blissfully cackles with bloodshot eyes before unsheathing the sword at her waist and charging into battle! The fighting causes a cloud of dust to rise into the air where flashes of magical light can be seen and the sound of steel against steel can be heard. And that’s not all…
“Oh, what’s going on? Is there a festival or something?”
I turn around at the sound of the husky voice to find a half-naked goddess wrapped in chains. It’s the number two goddess of the spirit world: Valkyrie—the Goddess of Destruction!
“Looks like fun. Let me join.”
Valkyrie joins the fray while swinging a chain in the air. Magical explosions roar alongside the clangs of clashing weapons. Eventually, a bolt of lightning shoots out from among the jostling mob, striking one of the garden tables at Café du Cerceus.
“Ahhhhhhhhh!! My café is going to be destroooooyed!! Go fight over there!!”
Th-this is nuts!
Aria and I somehow manage to run away with Kiriko and Jonde until we find somewhere safe.
And that’s how this unprecedented mob training session began.