CHAPTER 49

Even I…

The moment I exit the gate, I find myself in the abyss—a darkness with neither skies nor land. As a chill runs down my spine, I can feel it in my bones. I am inside the Area Chain Destruction.

“Wh-what is this place?!”

“I thought this was supposed to take us to the Demon Lord’s castle?!”

Elulu and Mash wail in surprise. I made a gate to take us to the final battle within the Dark Lord’s castle. That part I am sure of. This must be the Demon Lord’s magic. He must have covered the area in darkness to give himself an advantage during the battle. Inside the transformed throne room, I see a pale aura, glimmering as if it is humanity’s last glimmer of hope within the darkness.

“Seiya…!”

The Hero is facing off against the Demon Lord several dozen meters up ahead. Clad in armor and in human form, the Demon Lord of the S-ranked world Gaeabrande confidently stares down the Hero. Neither of them seems tired. It looks like the battle just started.

I made it in time…but my relief is short-lived. Seiya places his left hand over his right before pointing it at the Demon Lord. I tremble at the sight of his stance.

Th-that’s Valkyrie’s final attack! Thirty seconds after using that move, the blowback will kill him!

“Seiya, wait! Stop!” I scream as I rush over, but my voice doesn’t reach him.

He fixes a piercing glare on the enemy before him. Then…

“Omega Valkyrja: Gate of Valhalla!”

His dignified voice cuts through the darkness, immediately followed by a colossal gate that appears along with a white miasma over his head. In a flash, the Demon Lord, who has been facing Seiya, is nowhere to be found. The black gate opens while releasing the mist, soon revealing that the Demon Lord has already been sucked through. As blood drips down the face of the gypsum goddess, she bursts into laughter.

“Gi-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh!”

The Demon Lord is unquestionably shocked by the Goddess of Destruction’s unavoidable, ultimate technique.

“What?! But I put up an Anti-Magic Field around the area…!”

“Techniques of Destruction aren’t magic. That’s why they can be used regardless of the circumstance.”

“Techniques…of Destruction…?”

He struggles to free himself from the gate, but the countless spikes attached to the inside of the doors shatter his armor and pierce his body. The Demon Lord turns pale as he sees the black blood dripping down his arm.

“A weapon other than the holy sword Igzasion can pierce my flesh? Such a material, no, such an ability exists?!”

The human body of the Demon Lord suddenly begins warping and becoming more demonic in appearance. His eyes turn red as his mouth splits open, baring sharp fangs. At the same time, his bulging, dark-red arms latch on to the gate’s doors, trying to force them open as they close around him. Even then, the power of the Gate of Valhalla exceeds that of the Dark Lord. Even the God of Death, Thanatos, was unable to withstand its power. However, the Demon Lord’s body begins to transform. The armor around his body shatters as robust arms appear beneath his other arms. With six arms, just like Eraser, the Demon Lord tries to wrench open the door while bloodying his limbs. But…what I see next is something I wish was a dream. The Gate of Valhalla is slowly being overpowered by the Demon Lord’s brute strength!

Voices trembling, Elulu and Mash cry out.

“Th-this can’t be happening!”

“He’s gonna escape!”

My body quivers at the unbelievable sight.

B-but…! Seiya risked his life to use that move, and yet…!

Once half of the Demon Lord’s body has been pulled free, he sneers with his widely split mouth.

“Don’t you dare underestimate me…human…!”

But in the next moment, the Demon Lord’s expression stiffens! The Hero is floating right before his eyes. He had already used Flight and is right before the Gate of Valhalla, assuming a combat stance with sword in hand!

“I never underestimated you, Demon Lord of the S-ranked world Gaeabrande. I figured you were capable of at least this much.”

Seiya widely draws back the Adamantitor, wreathed in flames.

“Phoenix Thrust!”

He thrusts his sword toward the demon’s chest with the same move that pierced the emperor’s golden armor, but it clinks as if metal were hitting metal. It looks like Igzasion really is the only thing that can cut through the Demon Lord’s flesh! But even then, Seiya tries to force the demon back into the gate with all his might!

“Your sword cannot hurt me! Don’t think your strange moves can seal me away, either!”

The Demon Lord’s roar echoes. After pulling his body even farther out of the gate, he swings one of his six arms right into Seiya’s stomach. Unable to even defend, Seiya is sent flying back at an incredible speed.

“Gwah…!”

He somehow manages to stop himself before regaining his footing, but he immediately vomits blood.

“Master Seiya!”

“Seiya!”

They scream his name, but Seiya simply wipes the blood from his mouth with his arm before taking flight once more. He is prioritizing trapping the Demon Lord inside the gate over healing his wounds. After getting into position with his sword, Seiya’s joints begin to creak…

“Eternal Sword EX!”

The Hero uses Adenela’s ultimate attack. However, the Demon Lord laughs at him.

“You fool! I told you that your moves are useless against me!”

The continuous strikes wash over the Demon Lord like rainfall, but he doesn’t even bother to defend himself. He simply continues focusing all his strength on pulling himself out of the gate… However, after the sword touches the Demon Lord, the sound of flesh being sliced echoes along with the appearance of numerous cuts all over his upper body.

“A sword that’s not even Igzasion…is cutting into my flesh?!”

The Demon Lord scowls in the face of the puzzling phenomenon. Even I have no idea what’s going on!

H-how?! How is that working when Phoenix Thrust didn’t?!

While continuing the flurry of attacks with one hand, Seiya throws something at the Demon Lord with his other hand, which makes a light crackling sound when it connects. Thereupon, it falls to the ground and into the darkness.

“What was that…?”

The Demon Lord is struck dumb with bewilderment.

“Hmph. It’s a Ristarte Hair Doll.”

…?! Whaaaaaat?! That’s the embarrassing doll I made with my hair! I-is he really going to use that?! And during such a critical moment?! Way to ruin the tension! B-but now I get it! Seiya didn’t use Phoenix Thrust to push the Demon Lord back into the gate! It was to stick the Adamantitor inside the gate and synthesize it with the indestructible, all-powerful Spikes of Destruction! The Demon Lord looks at the Hero’s sword as it emits a white miasma just like the Gate of Valhalla, then gasps.

“This is the sword born from the realm of death—the Valhalla Blade.”

Seiya widely swings the Valhalla Blade back. A peculiar aura, bright like a tangible soul, emanates from the Hero’s body, illuminating the darkness.

“Return to the source…! Valhalla Thrust!”

Seiya thrusts the sword with all his might. Bearing light, the blade pierces the Demon Lord’s forehead. With a jarring crack, the Demon Lord’s skull breaks open as his screams echo throughout the abyss. Immediately, his arms prying the gate open lose all strength. Seiya lets go of Valhalla Blade as it sticks out of the Demon Lord’s head, then twists his body in the air while unleashing a powerful kick into the sword’s hilt. The impact completely knocks the Demon Lord’s hands off the doors!

“H-human—!”

“Gi-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh!”

The Demon Lord’s reproachful cries are drowned out by the laughter of the goddess atop the Gate of Valhalla. And just like that…as the gate slowly releases a miasma, the doors slam shut with a booming thud.

Mash utters:

“H-he did it…! The gate closed!”

Then Elulu yells:

“Seiya!”

Floating in the air, Seiya unsteadily descends to the surface. Then, like a marionette without strings, he collapses to the floor.

“Seiya…!”

We rush over to him. In addition to the wound the Demon Lord gave him, his entire body is cut and bleeding all over. Thirty seconds have already elapsed since he used the Gate of Valhalla, so his body is starting to break down.

Paying no heed to the blood spewing out of his body, Seiya stares at us in a daze. When I hold him in my arms, he speaks to me in a drowsy voice.

“Rista, you took a shortcut to the Demon Lord’s throne room, didn’t you? What happened to the rules of the spirit world that you were always going on about?”

“You idiot! That doesn’t matter right now! If you die here, you’ll never be able to return to your world!”

“I know. But I defeated the Demon Lord,” the Hero says with an air of satisfaction.

I continue to go off on him.

“If you were truly cautious, you would’ve figured out a way to do it that didn’t involve killing yourself in the process!”

Usually, he would say something back or hit me, but Seiya’s ravaged body can no longer do even that. He simply remains silent…until his eyes close heavily. The pool of his blood on the ground already suggests that it’s too late.

“Seiya…!”

“Master Seiya…!”

Elulu and Mash cry as they shake his body, but he’s unresponsive. In just a few more seconds, the Gate of Valhalla will take the rest of Seiya’s life force as compensation.

In the midst of their screaming and crying…

“I won’t let you die…!”

Mash and Elulu look up at me with bloodshot eyes.

“Who said you could die anyway?! What’s your problem?! You said you’d be back by nightfall, you liar! We were supposed to go to the casino, then have a drink, then go to the hot springs where I’d show you my funny bathing suit… There are still so many things I want to do with you!”

After pelting the Hero with my words, which he probably couldn’t even hear anymore, I scream in a voice loud enough to shake the darkness of the abyss.

“Order!”

Then I pray to the Great Goddess Ishtar of the unified spirit world.

“Please grant me, Goddess Ristarte, all my divine healing powers!’

“Ristarte, you have already violated the rules of the spirit world by warping yourself to the scene of the final battle.”

The powerful voice resonates throughout my entire being, as if the Great Goddess Ishtar is speaking directly to my soul.

“Ristarte, what you have done has already conflicted with the rules of the spirit world. Not even I will be able to protect you any longer if you continue violating them. You could be tried by the innermost layer of the spirit world and lose your title as a goddess.”

But with firm resolution, I reply:

“It’s fine. I’m prepared for whatever happens. Besides…”

I continue with such a tranquil tone that I surprise myself:

“I believe this moment is the reason why I became a goddess in the first place.”

After a few moments of silence…

“Very well. I will grant you the full extent of your divine powers…”

Ishtar’s voice radiates.

Then…

“R-Rista?”

“Ristie?”

Mash and Elulu are astonished. All of a sudden, a blinding light wraps my body like a sun wrapped in darkness.

I’m sure that my regret for not being able to save you in my past life is what granted me this power. Just you wait… I’m going to show you just how superior my divine healing powers are to the destruction wrought by the Gate of Valhalla.

I tenderly caress Seiya’s blood-streaked face.

Because this time, even I…

“I’m perfectly prepared!”