“What difference does it make if I wonder?”
“It will change. Me.”
The evil god spread its arms wide, as if revealing its true self.
“I have awakened. This is the real me.”
“…”
“I don’t want this world to be destroyed. I don’t wish for all humans to die, either.”
“…”
“I just want everything to bow beneath me.”
“A world ruled by the evil god, huh.”
Sion’s words, spoken almost to himself, made the evil god’s eyes gleam. Slowly, the evil god began walking toward Sion. Sion stood still, not moving from his place.
Eventually, the evil god stopped as well. Its gaze rested on the sword Sion still held firmly.
“It will be magnificent. I guarantee it.”
“…”
“A world where the thoughts of the strong are truth, and the words of the strong are law.”
“…”
“There will be no rebellion. The fear imposed by the strong will rule over the weak.”
After silently listening to the evil god’s argument, Sion finally spoke.
“Listening to the world you describe, it reminds me of a certain place.”
“What?”
Sion raised his sword, pointing its tip directly at the evil god’s multicolored eyes.
“Since we won’t be meeting again, I’ll answer the question you asked earlier. You wondered if I ever questioned why I had to save the world?”
“…”
“I haven’t. There are many things in this world that can’t be explained by ‘why.'”
“…”
“So, I just accept it.”
“Foolish.”
“Yes, die together with a foolish human. Ah, you won’t die, you’ll just be sealed again. But being sealed for a thousand years is practically the same thing.”
“Wait! Answer this question too. Isn’t your role to prevent the destruction of the world? Then why are you trying to seal me when I’m saying I won’t destroy the world but rule it?”
“Because you’re spouting nonsense about turning this world into Hildegarde.”
“What?”
Sion briefly wondered.
Will Laila be angry if she finds out about this decision?
She had told him never to leave her.
But there was no other way.
That thing he said before, about Laila jumping into the depths of hell to be by his side.
That didn’t mean he truly wanted Laila to live in hell.
“…Think again. Do you really intend to die here?”
The faint sneer on the evil god’s face vanished. Sion, still expressionless, stared at the evil god without flinching.
As the tip of Sion’s sword, still pointed at the evil god, neither wavered nor withdrew, a dark aura began to surge around the evil god.
“Curse you. I hope your thoughts change after I tear off your limbs one by one.”
Instead of responding, Sion charged forward.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Laila’s gaze briefly brushed over the calendar.
It had been exactly fifteen days since Sion left the territory with Count Wigner.
Assuming they traveled with little rest, Sion should have arrived at the royal castle either yesterday or today.
‘Has he met the girl who’s controlling the king? Are they fighting? Or maybe when she recognized Sion, she ran away?’
There’s no need for Sion to chase after someone who’s running away…
Laila, sitting in front of the table, started tapping her nails on the glass surface. After testing the strength of her fingernails for a while, she soon covered her face with both hands.
It was an action filled with regret.
“…If I had known this would happen, I should have asked him to send a letter as soon as he arrived.”
If she had known it would bother her this much.
After a moment, Laila abruptly stood up from her seat. She turned her back to the table and paced around the room.
“Madam.”
“Come in.”
As soon as she heard the knock and the voice calling her, Laila quickly responded.
The door to the bedroom opened, and Marie appeared.
“What’s the matter?…Did a letter arrive for me?”
“It’s not a letter.”
Laila, momentarily disappointed by Marie’s answer, quickly composed herself.
So, it’s not a letter?
“Is it a visitor then?”
“Yes. But…”
Before Marie could finish speaking, figures entered the room. And it wasn’t just one person. Laila paused as she looked at those who had appeared.
“Iodal?”
And that wasn’t the only familiar face.
She looked a little older than before, but undoubtedly…
“Neidal, and…”
Neidal’s younger sibling—the child who had once called his aging brother ugly.
Now that Laila thought about it, she realized that she had never heard his name.
When Laila recalled the identities of the three people who had appeared, Iodal spoke.
“We judged it to be an urgent matter, and I couldn’t wait any longer, even though I knew it was rude.”
“Oh, no, it’s fine. But what is this urgent matter?”
“It concerns the hero.”
At that moment, Neidal’s younger sibling clung to Neidal’s skirt with small hands.
Why?
Seeing that made Laila’s heart race wildly.
Soon, Iodal continued.
“The hero… might die.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“You’re from the Moon Clan. Indeed, you seem to possess extraordinary power.”
The young priest spoke as he looked at Iodal. Iodal remained silent. Laila barely stood in the meantime.
“Duchess!”
Soon, the middle-aged priest, Hollei, and the high priest appeared in the gathered crowd.
Laila wanted to sit down instantly but managed to hold herself up. Meeting Hollei and the high priest alone wouldn’t immediately resolve anything.
The two priests approached Laila swiftly. Hollei, who had first called out to her, spoke.
“What on earth is happening? The hero’s life is in danger?”
“Well…”
Laila tried to respond directly to Hollei, who had spoken to her, but her actions didn’t align with her thoughts.
As Laila could not continue her speech and instead exhaled heavily, Iodal stepped in.
“This child recently saw the future.”
Iodal pointed to Neidal’s younger sibling, who was still clinging tightly to her sister’s skirt.
“The future?”
“Not far off—just a short while into the future. Specifically, about ten days from now.”
“Ten days from now… are you saying something will happen to the hero then?”
Laila closed her eyes involuntarily. Iodal continued.
“He will die. After sealing the evil god.”
“What? What does that mean? The evil god is already sealed.”
Hollei, initially frowning in disbelief at the absurd claim, then relaxed his expression and continued.
“Could it be that the child saw the past instead of the future?”
“The future is certain. The evil god has been released from the seal. Although it seems only the spirit was released.”
“Pardon?”
“In the future this child saw, the evil god was not in his usual form. He appeared as a girl.”
“A girl…?”
“Perhaps the evil god’s spirit was removed from the seal and placed into another body capable of containing it. It is possible, though it would require significant sacrifice.”
Iodal lowered his gaze.
Though not explicitly stated, it was vaguely apparent who might have revived the evil god by transferring its spirit.
This responsibility drove Iodal to come here. While he didn’t have to, his character compelled him.
“So, you’re saying that the evil god in the form of a girl will be sealed again, and the hero will lose his life about ten days from now?”
“Yes.”
“What—this is absurd…”
“Why have you come to us?”
Leaving Hollei’s sigh behind, the high priest spoke up for the first time since arriving.
“Is there no way to save the hero?”
Iodal answered, and Laila, who had been listening intently, held her breath.
“Are you asking if there’s a way to both seal the evil god and save the hero?”
“…That would be ideal.”
“Yes, there is.”
Laila’s eyes widened. Although she had come to the temple with hope, she hadn’t expected to hear that a solution was readily available.
“Excuse me?”
It seemed Laila wasn’t the only one surprised. Hollei looked anxiously at the high priest.
“High Priest, what are you saying? How can we both seal the evil god and save the hero?”
“Clearly, we don’t have a method to seal the evil god for a thousand years.”
“Then…”
“But, using the temple’s artifacts, we can suppress the evil god for nearly twenty years. This is possible because the evil god is using a human body.”
“Twenty years?”
As soon as she heard the high priest’s words, Hollei voiced what came to Laila’s mind.
“So, even if we save the hero now, are you saying he will still die in twenty years?”
