Chapter 137.2
Chapter 137: Return (2)
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I redirected the portal to Rosalie’s hideout . My portal, whose direction has been restricted due to the twisted worlds, seemed to be free on places where I have been once before . After we arrived, I decided to meet Rosalie immediately and interrogate her about the sacrifices . I tried to find Rosalie, but there was no one around when I looked at the surroundings .
「Hey, hey . What’s with the fuss over there? 」
Celseus muttered . I saw a large crowd in the distance . It seemed that both humans and demons gathered in one spot far away from the hideout .
「Let’s go over there! 」
The main street was bustling and it was amazing how many people and demons gathered in there . The town of Igle, which was freezing cold, was now full of heat and buzz .
Eventually, demon soldiers reinforced with strong armory, walked between the people that stood on the left and right sides of the street .
「The Demon Sword is back! 」
「It’s a heroic triumph! 」
The demons were so happy that they held hands with the humans . Most of the demon soldiers were injured . It seemed that some of them were even killed by the dragon men . Yet, they were still smiling . When a six-arm demon emerged on the street, the people and the demons shouted even more loudly .
「Lord Eliza!! Lord Eliza!! 」
「Hurray!! The Demon Sword!! Hurray!! 」
I was so startled that I clung to Seiya’s shoulder .
「He…Hey! Don’t tell me that this Eliza is that one of the four general kings…!」
「Yeah . Even though he was one of the four general kings, I do remember that the Warlord Emperor annihilated him quite easily . But, is he a kind of hero in this world? It looks like it . And it seems that his stats have improved as well . 」
He was a vicious demon who swung his six arms in all directions in order to kill every opponent… And yet, this Eliza was handshaking the townspeople without hesitation . Celseus said the following words .
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「That demon looks like…he is friendly with the humans . 」
「Hmm . It feels rather strange…Eh! I shouldn’t be concerned about this! I have to find Rosalie right now!」
I asked the cheering demons and the townspeople about Rosalie’s whereabouts . Apparently, Rosalie was behind the building with the magical demonic seal . As we headed towards the place where they told us about, I finally saw Rosalie in the distance . She was praying alone in front of lined stone monuments .
「…Rosalie . So you were in a place like this . 」
When I talked to her, she stood up and looked back slowly .
「Eliza came back from the expedition . And I’m glad that it was victorious endeavor . Therefore, I was reporting that news to the dead spirits . 」
「Weren’t you actually atoning for your sins? 」
「What are you talking about . 」
「I know what you have been doing! You are sacrificing the townspeople for the sake of Lucifer Crow’s resurrection!」
「…As expected of a goddess . It seems that I can’t hide it from you . 」
Despite us knowing this terrible fact, Rosalie was not that upset . Conversely, she glared confidently at me with one eye . That infuriated me a lot .
「Lucifer Crow’s resurrection requires a large amount of life energy called “mana” . However, the mana from demons and dragons is less dense than the mana from humans . No matter how much we tried to subdue the dragons, it would take several decades to revive him with it . So, once in a couple of months, I choose a person from the townspeople to be a fair sacrifice . 」
Rosalie stared attentively at the dozen stone monuments . I was horrified when I realized what those were . My emotions collapsed entirely .
「Do…Don’t tell me that these abundant monuments are graves…! 」
…She was neglecting the lives of others for the sole purpose of resurrecting a ruthless demon…How she could be that different from the Dragon King! This person wasn’t the Rosalie I knew! Would people change so much if their environment and if their position changed dramatically?
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「Se…Seiya! Please say something! 」
However, Seiya was like this Rosalie, an unconcerned person .
「Who cares . She should do whatever she wants . This world is an illusion anyway . In fact, I praise her for doing well . 」
Then, Seiya pat Rosalie’s shoulder . For some odd reason, Celseus also imitated Seiya’s gesture . He smiled shiningly and showed his thumbs up to Rosalie…No way, are these guys serious!?
Rosalie gazed at Seiya and bowed her head slightly .
「Thank you for understanding . I had no choice but to sacrifice some people for the sake of this cause . 」
「What the hell is the cause you’re talking about! This is absolutely wrong! Anyway, just don’t make any more human sacrifices!」
「I don’t need to sacrifice the people anymore . Eliza has killed more than a hundred dragons during this expedition . The life energy that he gathered only represents a few humans, but it’s enough to break the magical demonic seal . Lucifer Crow will be resurrected once the demon priests finish the ritual of pouring mana on the seal . 」
「Lucifer Crow’s resurrection…Is that really okay? Rosalie, are you sure that the demons didn’t deceive you?」
「I’ve told you many times over . You weren’t here, but in the last decade the bond between humans and demons became deeper than blood . In fact, Chaos Makina and I have overcome life and death situations together and escaped death many times, and we have defeated countless of dragons . 」
On this moment, Chaos Makina appeared from the other side and shook her hand affectionately at Rosalie .
「Princess, hurry, hurry! The long-awaited ritual will begin soon! 」
「Ah . I’m going now . 」
Rosalie responded happily with a joyous smile . After the two of them went ahead, I stared at their backs for a while . Seeing them walking side by side with each other, made me think that they had a real and solid relationship of trust .
—
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We arrived in the large stone building where the magical demonic seal was located . Most of the soldiers, who returned from the expedition, carried the Demon Sword . I noticed that high-ranking officials of the demon-human alliance were already there, such as Eliza and Flasika .
Rosalie spoke strictly in front of a crowd of human people and demons .
「Our long-awaited ritual for Lucifer Crow’s resurrection will be held soon . The Demon Sword that killed many dragons and collected the necessary mana… And to those who risked their own lives to accelerate the time of resurrection . Let’s us offer a prayer of gratitude…」
Both demons and humans closed their eyes and remained silent for a while . Eventually, Rosalie opened her eye .
「Well then, let’s start the ritual . 」
Upon seeing Rosalie’s signal, the demon priests surrounded the crystal with the magical demonic seal . They looked up to the sky and spread their hands . It seemed to me that they were magically collecting and injecting the life energy of the dragons that Eliza had defeated in the expedition .
…However . The stone building’s doors opened with a loud noise right when the demon priests began to cast the spells .
Everyone’s eyes were concentrated on the doors . At the entrance stood a wounded demon . He was one of the Demon Sword’s soldiers who came back from the expedition .
「Refrain yourself . We are now in the middle of the ritual . 」
Eliza responded with a harsh voice . However, the demon approached us with a weird movement and began to utter an odd sound . I thought that my ears played a trick on me .
「Whoa…Whoaaa ahahah…! 」
I wasn’t hearing wrong! The moment I thought that the demon soldier gave a weird laugh, Seiya stood in front by using a fierce dash! Seiya took his sheath from his waist and hit the demon soldier’s head! The demon soldier flew off with a dull sound and fell near the entrance of the building!
「Se…Seiya!? Why did you do that so suddenly!? 」
「Shut up . Stay back . 」
The demons around us stared at Seiya . It wasn’t that surprising though . After all, one of their compatriots was blown away . On the other hand, Seiya didn’t look away from the demon soldier .
The demon soldier, who was thrown near the entrance of the building, stood up slowly and laughed again in a muffled voice . The next moment, his body dazzled and exploded with a violent sound!
「What!? 」
Celseus screamed louder than everyone else did . Chaos Makina and Eliza voiced their concerns .
「Tha…That demon . Did he put explosives in his body? What is going on, Eliza! He was your subordinate, am I right?」
「Unimaginable! To think that one of my men who carried the Demon Sword was actually a rebel!」
As they were discussing, Rosalie opened one eye wide and stared fixedly at Seiya .
「Why? How did you know that that soldier was dangerous? 」
…Ce…Certainly! If Seiya hadn’t noticed it, all of us would have been caught in the blast! How did he know about it?
Seiya replied with sharp eyes .
「There is no one who will suddenly walk with an idiotic laugh “Whoaaa ahahah” . Therefore, I threw him up beforehand . 」
「Eh…Ah, yeah…So, that’s what really happened…! 」
Rosalie was astonished upon hearing Seiya’s statement…Well, of course she would! As usual, his analysis of impeding attacks were always beyond of the common sense! How could he know that he was going to explode just because of a weird laugh! Either way, everyone was saved thanks to Seiya’s quick wits!
Rosalie shouted loudly after changing her mood .
「I impose strict security at the entrance! No matter what happens, the inside soldiers can’t let anyone enter this place from the outside! Hurry up with the resurrection ritual!」
Terrible things could be happening outside of the building . Nevertheless, Rosalie choose to prioritize the ceremony over anything else as she was trying to devote all of the mana to the crystal with the magical demonic seal .