Chapter 25 - Volume 1 (2/2)

People could say, ‘stop being so foolish.’ People could say, ‘Stop getting your hopes up over nothing.’ But even so, Yulifalet decided to believe in Agedilus. Even though he knew it was a bad gamble and the chances were low. Even if everyone else decided to deny Agedilus being alive, Yulifalet decided he alone would believe in him until the end.

As he thought that, Alhelm approached him. Yulifalet had never seen Alhelm make an expression so serious. Even though Alhelm was the one who always playfully messed around in their group, he was in fact very realistic. To him, Yulifalet’s words must have been nothing more than sentimental sophism. Yulifalet might be told, 「Stop messin’ around,」 or if he was unlucky, he might get hit with a 「Come to your senses!」

Yulifalet tightly gripped Agedilus’s staff, staring right into Alhelm’s reddish brown eyes. Standing in front of Yulifalet, Alhelm uncharacteristically sighed deeply before petting Yulifalet’s head. He smiled wryly as Yulifalet was bewildered by the unexpected, almost rough gesture.

「Well, that’s right. No way that guy will die from something like this.」

‘Right, Princess?’ Alhelm looked over his shoulder at Clementine, who had been watching the two of them. Her lovely features looked like they were about to burst into tears any second, but she still nodded, a beautiful smile on her face. She didn’t respond with any words, but that reaction was more than enough.

After that, Yulifalet and the others returned once again to the inn town. They awaited the arrival of their new companion sent from the capital——Agedilus’s disciple, a boy named Widnichol Aide.

The boy arrived as soon as he could, out of breath from making full use of carriages and teleportation magic. He cried as they gave him his teacher’s wand with the broken magical jewel in it. When they told him that they still believed Agedilus was alive, he tearfully said, 「I think so too,」 nodding countless times.

If you asked all four of them whether they truly believed from the bottom of their heart that Agedilus was truly alive, they would probably have some doubts about it. There were no signs of Agedilus being alive anywhere. But there weren’t any signs of him certainly dying either – that’s why they chose to believe that he was still alive.

That became one of their few hopes on this hopeless journey to defeat the demon king. They would certainly meet him again. Believing that, they continued moving forward.

And then, they finally arrived at the demon city. Facing the castle in which the demon king sat, they were caught in a trap by the demons. Ensnared by their own shadows, the more they struggled the more they would trip over themselves, their shadows coiling around their bodies.

A demon, with features rather like the high-ranking demon they’d faced once, looked at them in that state and smiled.

「Well now, since you’ve taken half of me, I’m going to take my revenge on you fools. Are you done with your prayers to your useless goddess?」

Smeared all over that smile was the poison called hate. Its doll-like, lightless black eyes had a certain hatred in them as it continued.

「This time for sure, you’ll die in the depths of despair.」

The laughing voice pierced their ears, full of a dark joy, making them feel the same despair it spoke about.

It couldn’t end now, not at a place like this. But their bodies wouldn’t move, they couldn’t even speak.

The entire journey flashed behind Yulifalet’s eyes. This was no joke. Anger welled up within him. He’d come so far all the way here, was he really going to let it end now? He had only become a hero going with the flow at the beginning, but on this trip he’d learnt just how many people were being tormented by the demons. He’d learnt just how much hope he gave them.

It couldn’t end here. At least, never until he’d gotten one strike of the sword into the demon king.

Happily watching Yulifalet struggle in the shadows, the demon only deepened his smile.

「———Die.」

The demon lifted a long, sharp nail and dragged it through the air, as if cutting off the heads of Yulifalet and the others. It was right then that it happened.

「What a shame, you’re the one that’s going to die.」

That was the same beautiful voice, the one no one would forget after hearing just once. At the same time, countless arrows of light pierced the demon’s body.

For a moment, Yulifalet couldn’t understand what happened. The demon was supposed to have the upper hand, but now its body shook, lurching over. The shadows holding them were unfastened, returning to how they were supposed to be naturally. Staggering, the party somehow managed to stand up again. And that’s when they saw that instead of a subordinate demon, beside the demon stood a masked man.

「Y-you…….!」

Spitting black liquid from its mouth, the demon looked incredulously at the masked man before crumbling to the ground. Its body was broken down, sizzling as if burnt by the arrows of light.

The man took off the thick hood he was wearing with his hands, enveloped in black gloves. He took off the mask that hid the upper half of his face. And the face laid bare before them was…

「Agedilus!」

Was it Yulifalet who yelled that, or someone else? It didn’t matter. The important thing was just the reality that Agedilus Von Lancent really stood there. Although there was a new scar under his left eye, he was certainly the beautiful wizard with jet black hair, Agedilus.

「M-master?!」

Widnichol cried out in a tearful voice. His joy and surprise got jumbled together to the point that he could do nothing but burst into tears. Agedilus only responded with an irritated glance towards him. That was what made Yulifalet believe that this really was Agedilus.

「……I believed, that you were alive.」

He had believed that, all along. That there was no way Agedilus would die, that he had to be alive somewhere. Believing that all along, he had finally ended up here.

「You’re late.」

「Now you’re just cherry-picking.」

Clementine and Alhelm contrarily began cursing at each other, but neither of them hid the joy that ran through their voices. Yulifalet directed a beaming smile that spread across his whole face towards Agedilus, who he’d thought was one of the demons until now. Agedilus looked like he’d been caught unguarded, before making a cynical smile.

「A bit early to be so relieved, isn’t it?」

Holding a new wand in one hand, Agedilus muttered that as he looked at the demon king’s castle. Yulifalet wondered where he’d managed to get himself a new wand. He nodded at Agedilus, holding back the tears that welled up within him.

「I know. Let’s settle this off quick, and go home together.」

This time for sure, they’d go home with nobody left behind. Swearing an oath to that, the party began walking towards the demon king’s castle.