Chapter 215 – [Hero] Bridle
The next city we arrived at was said to be managed by Ruella’s men.
“But nothing special will happen. From here on, it is also the direct command of the Demon King.”
It was a place where Luella’s influence was exerted, but it was said that the demon king’s influence was stronger than that.
Devil…
The time to face him is coming soon.
What should I do
The goal was to kill him, but I didn’t know if the other person was hoping to die, and judging from the girls’ words, I felt embarrassed to think that the goddess might have intervened here.
Ertina looked at me and said before parting, as if my troubles were also revealed in her expression.
“Could you give me some time tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?”
It doesn’t matter since I was going to take a day off tomorrow anyway, but her expression was very serious.
“Before I meet the Demon King, I will tell you everything I know.”
Ertina made up her mind to tell her the whole truth.
“… Yes.”
And perhaps that fact is certainly shocking.
Nervous about that fact, I anxiously waited for the next day.
Thanks to that, my dream seat was also a little confusing.
***
The next day, I met Ertina and was heading somewhere.
“Where are you going?”
“I will be there soon… Ah, everything is here.”
The place she took me to was a very shabby building.
No, can I express it with the word shabby?
Rather, it seemed more appropriate to call it an abandoned building.
It was a building with strange malice, as if no one was taking care of it, and rather neglected the building to be destroyed.
Something seems familiar, but…
“This is a church.”
“School… How about?”
Is this building collapsing?
I heard that there is no roof, but it looks like a church.
I don’t think I would have known if I hadn’t listened.
“Why is this…”
“Let’s go in.”
She opened the functioning door and went inside.
Thanks to that, the door rattled and almost fell to the floor, so the two of us put it upside down for a while.
The inside seemed dark because there was no light, but the walls and roof were somewhat collapsed, so the sun was shining and it was rather bright.
Heaps of dust and… The statue of the Goddess shattered.
“That one was broken by Sera.”
“Yes?”
That goddess statue?
I asked back, embarrassed, and she nodded her head.
“It happened while I was sealed, but Luella told me. He said that was the first thing he did after conquering this land.”
“But elsewhere…”
No, come to think of it, I haven’t heard of church anywhere else.
Could it be that all the churches in the land conquered by the demons are like this?
“Yes, probably.”
“Why, why did you do this…”
At my question, Ertina looked at me for a while.
“Because he was angry.”
“… Is it like that too?”
Their anger. And resignation.
She had roughly guessed that the goddess might be the cause of those strange feelings.
“I think you’re guessing roughly, but you’re right.”
After Ertina said that, she stroked her lips for a moment.
“She’s a little worried about where to start with her words… You know what?”
Ertina told me that what I had only half guessed was true.
“The Demon King… It has appeared several times since a very long time ago. The last time, the other time, and the long before.”
All we know is the last demon king.
But obviously that wasn’t the beginning.
Among the old stories, there were definitely stories about the demon king that seemed to be older.
“Probably the stories you’ve heard always end similarly. It is said that the hero eventually defeated the demon king. But it’s a little different.”
And, the stories I’ve heard…
“The hero defeated the demon king. Yes, that’s right but… I didn’t defeat the existence of the demon king itself.”
… An important story was missing.
“Even if the current demon king died, the seed for the next demon king always remained.”
“I hope that…”
“Yes. Someone always betrays.”
The demon king appears, and a warrior appears to stand against it.
And the hero defeats the demon king, but always someone betrays the hero and becomes a new demon king.
“Why… Is that so?”
“Because it’s designed that way.”
Design…
There is probably only one being who can design something like this.
“Yes, she is a goddess.”
“Why…”
Why… Are you doing this?
“Well. Was there some important reason? We don’t know that either. Even now, the way to know forever is gone.”
“That… Excuse me?”
From the words she hurriedly threw, I got a very uneasy feeling.
Ertina looked at me and said, as if telling me to prepare.
“Because the goddess who planned everything has disappeared.”
“… Yes?”
The goddess… No?
“All that remains is this bridle she made. We are just running in a cycle where no one manages or watches anymore.”
“Well, what…”
What… What do you mean?
“A series of processes that start with the revival of the demon king, the hero kills the demon king, and a new demon king is born. It just keeps repeating itself.”
We did it, and everyone did it before that.
I could understand Ertina’s words, but she didn’t understand at all.
“No, but… How could that be?”
Why… Does that happen every time?
“I told you. Because it was designed that way.”
Design…
But, isn’t betrayal always a matter of personal opinion?
“Just… Even if it’s just that there’s at least one case where no one betrays you…”
“No. I don’t know if the bridle pre-determines the person to betray, or whether it triggers a change to betray, but it always does.”
After hearing her words, she suddenly thought of Jeren.
“… Then this time…”
“Maybe he will.”
Jeren… Become a demon
Is that a set ending?
“Why… So, are you leaving him alone?”
“We have heard of it before. No matter what you do, it’s useless.”
To whom?
“From the last Four Heavenly Kings.”
The former Demon King, not the current Demon King.
I wonder if his Four Heavenly Kings were in a similar position to Ertina now?
“They said he didn’t die no matter what he did. Like destiny.”
“Fate…”
“We don’t want to believe that.”
Ertina said so, but to some extent she seemed to be accepting it already.
“Of course, it’s probably because the demon king gave the order not to directly harm Luella and Sera.”
Does that mean that the Demon King wants to hand over the seat to him?
“Only then can I die. At the point where he is no longer the Demon King, he can be killed by a hero.”
“… In other words, a demon king must make another demon king in order to die?”
“Yes.”
If that’s the case… After all, shouldn’t I take Jeren with me?
No, but doesn’t that mean that if I don’t hand over the position of the Demon King, he won’t be killed by me?
I got into an embarrassing situation.
A situation where you can neither do this nor that.
Suddenly, I wanted to resent the goddess.
… I see
This is why everyone was angry with the goddess.
“Irresponsible. Where the hell have you gone… She doesn’t react to such blasphemous acts. Because she is no longer here.”
Saying that, she lightly kicked the part of the goddess statue that had been shattered with her foot.
“Apart from abandoning us, shouldn’t we at least take off these bonds and leave? No matter how divine it is, it is too much.”
So, in the end, this act itself has no meaning.
There is no meaning, no reward, nothing.
“Suddenly, I had an idea. If you arrive in front of the Demon King without telling this fact, he will surely tell you about it and break your heart.”
Ertina continued.
“At such a place to decide a new demon king… To do nothing.”
Is it an experience story?
From the look on her face, she probably did.
“So I told you beforehand, albeit belatedly. I hope it doesn’t fall apart like that. … I’m really sorry for the late talk. Perhaps… You will collapse like the hero…”
In fact, I am in a state of great shock.
I realized that what we do doesn’t mean anything in the end, so why do I have to keep doing it?
If I had heard this story directly in front of the Demon King, I might have let go of the sword inadvertently.
No, it probably must have been.
Ertina looked at my complexion and said.
“… Looking at you, I still don’t feel like I’ve let go of everything. What a relief.”
“Thank you for telling me in advance… I’m so glad.”
At least it gave me time to think about it.
“… Is it so.”
She helped me get some alone time for a while.
Thanks to that, I was able to clear my mind a little.
But as she recalled her words of her own, I felt something strange.
“Why are you telling me this? You said you didn’t want it to collapse, but if this is destiny anyway, I’ll do nothing…”
“Is that really good?”
There was something burning in her voice.
“Eric. I’m counting on you That will to be with my friends until the end is probably just an answer led by a predestined fate… For some reason, I felt that it was not the only thing.”
Hearing that, something else came to mind.
“Hey, then that… The last time you suggested leaving them alone…”
“Because one way or another, he’s going to stand there. If there is such a thing as fate…”
“Yeah, that’s right…”
Well, if fate really is, if the bonds placed on us are so strong, we won’t be blocked by this method.
For a moment.
According to her… The future where the demon king’s power goes over and I kill him is just the beginning of another misfortune.
The reason why she wants to send me to the castle of demons… Is it by accepting this future?
That’s why her attitude seems a little different.
“Mr. Ertina… That… Did you accept it? Such a future?”
“No. I just want this bond to be broken.”
That was Ertina’s wish.
“There are no specific plans. Someone has already done that in the past. It may be a meaningless struggle, and it may not come to fruition, but still…”
She bit her lip and gave her first look of resentment.
“… Please break this vicious cycle.”
“…”
Ertina asked me.
To break this bondage
There is no such thing as a groundbreaking method.
Even if there is, someone must have tried it before and failed.
This bridle that continues to this day is proof of that.
In the end, she had no choice but to ask me.
It must have been like facing the demon lord with Ertina’s request on his back, but strangely, he didn’t feel the weight of it at all.
Is it because he’s a warrior?
Because you already have the wishes of many people on your back?
“Maybe, maybe it’s not just a wild dream. Compared to the distant past, that power must have weakened… There are cases of intervening in this bridle like pattern magic…”
“Yes? Glyph magic?”
In her flowing words, a story that should not be missed suddenly passed by.
“Ah… Yes. That rose pattern… Hmm… As far as I know, it’s a magic created by someone from the previous demon lords interfering with the chain.”
This then… Are you saying it’s nothing more than the magic of an old wizard, not even a goddess?
“I don’t know who did it, but it’s already become part of the cycle. It’s not just about thinking about strong magic.”
“Why…”
Why such a pattern…
“… We don’t know that either. You don’t even know when the enemy demon king…”
“…”
I just got more embarrassed.
After that, after talking some more for a change of heart, we went out.
It was a complicated story.
This… I’ll have to tell everyone.
Especially if you tell him… Is it good to say
Wouldn’t it be nice to accept it?
With such thoughts in mind, I came outside and soon encountered the culprit of the trouble.
“… UNI.”
“Eric…”
Yuni and Jeren stood alone.
