"Kufufu, you were wise to summon me. I have come, you fool who desires something more than any king. What is your wish? I am in a fine mood today; I could even grant you the power to surpass a High King."
Whether because of Belial’s presence or the already unstable nature of the vision, the image flickered violently until even the voices cut out.
"Hey, the video cut off at the best part..."
"It cannot be helped, given that Belias and a concentrated mass of the Saint's magic power are present. To summarize the subsequent events: that Guardian Barrier is established."
"You’re skipping way too much."
"Surely you have deduced the rest yourself, Young Master? Yes... knowing you, I am certain of it."
"Knowing me... well, I suppose I have an idea."
The legends said the barrier was created using the Saint's magic power, but I found it hard to believe a demon would be able to manipulate energy that was essentially toxic to its kind.
"Is that it? The barrier itself is fueled by the Blue Blood of the Royal Capital—the noble lineages. It explains why there are so many pointless nobles, and why they’re all funneled into a single Academy. It actually makes sense."
While history claimed the barrier was built upon the Saint's power, the reality was far more twisted.
The Ancient Sage hadn't created that massive Guardian Barrier to protect the people. He had done it solely for the sake of the woman he loved.
He did it so the souls of the dead wouldn't dissipate into mana.
He did it so they would remain trapped within the barrier.
"An excellent deduction."
"And the Ancient Sage is waiting inside this birdcage for the Saint to be reborn? Something like that?"
"Now, I wonder."
"I can't see it being anything else."
In the game, the trigger for the Saint's awakening was always an accessory that had belonged to the Past Saint. Those relics were clearly prepared for the sole purpose of reuniting with the reincarnated woman.
I had always mocked the Royal Capital and this country for being nothing more than stage sets for an Otome Game, but it turns out they really were constructions prepared by the Ancient Sage.
The fact that Belial had claimed the modern Edward—who looked exactly like the Ancient Sage—suggested that some kind of deal had been struck back then.
The scale of it was staggering.
If the Edward Route was set to be so easy, was that just a manifestation of the past Sage's lingering desires? If so, I wondered what happened in the timelines where the player chose a different route.
Well, that was a meta-discussion about the game, so it didn't really matter here. I used to think this world was just a game, but it seemed more likely that the messy reality of this world had served as the game's foundation.
I couldn't hear the crucial parts of the conversation, so I didn't know the absolute truth, but I had seen enough.
"Let’s move on. What happened to the Ancient Hero? The one who supposedly didn't make it in time?"
"Right this way."
As if he had been waiting for the prompt, Sebas snapped his fingers, and a new vision flooded my mind.
—Crack!
A sickening impact echoed in my head as the Ancient Sage, Edward, was sent sprawling pathetically across the ground.
"I smell it... the stench of a goddamn demon."
Naturally, the one who had punched the Sage was the Ancient Hero, Laguna. His breathing was heavy, and he pointed toward the sky while gritting his teeth in a suppressed rage.
"What the hell is this?"
They were standing in front of the Royal Castle. Under a leaden sky where the rain started and stopped in fitful bursts, a thin, membrane-like film had spread out, enveloping the entire Royal Capital.
Edward slowly pushed himself up, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"...You're late. It's the barrier to protect the capital. This is the solution the high command decided on."
"Where is Patricia?"
"……"
"I asked you where Patricia is!"
"She's right there."
Edward looked up at the sky. In that instant, Laguna lunged, grabbing Edward by the collar and slamming him against the white stone wall.
"What do you mean by that? I'll kill you."
"Guh... exactly what I said."
Slammed against the wall, Edward answered through a spray of blood.
"Following her will, the Four Ducal Houses deployed a Guardian Barrier across the entire Royal Capital using the Saint's magic power. There was no other way."
"Bullshit! If it's you, with that uselessly sharp brain of yours, you could have found another—"
"—There wasn't one!" Edward's shout cut Laguna off. "You were too late. Did you see the walls around the castle town? They're gone!"
"……"
"It wasn't just monsters; it was bombardment from enemy nations. Even if we purified the miasma, monsters aren't our only enemies. This country has no strength left to fight a war. To save as many people as possible, she offered her own life."
"……"
"You've known her longer than I have. You should know better than anyone what kind of choice Patricia would make. You were late for everything... you were just too late..."
"...I see."
Laguna, who had known Patricia for years, accepted that she was exactly the type of person to make that sacrifice. However, he didn't hang his head in despair. Instead, he stared Edward straight in the eye.
"Like I'd ever say that!"
Laguna's fist swung with bone-shattering force. The stone wall behind Edward crumbled into dust, but the Sage had already flickered away, sliding through space to appear behind the Hero.
"Who the hell are you?"
Facing Laguna's glare, the figure of Edward began to laugh—a "Kufufu" that didn't belong to a human—as he began to clap.
"That last one was truly intended to kill, wasn't it? And directed at your own best friend, no less. I can hardly believe this is the pinnacle of the ideals held by you cattle. How wonderfully savage."
His blonde hair, beautiful enough to captivate anyone, had been stained half reddish-black. Simultaneously, his voice distorted, losing all resemblance to Edward's.
"A demon? No wonder you reek."
"Reek? Kufufu, do not lump me in with nameless trash. My name is Belias. I was summoned by the Four Houses—in a sense, I am the Hero who saved this nation."
"Ha! Don't make me laugh."
"Those are my lines."
The voice shifted back to Edward's. As if the man himself were speaking, Belias declared:
"I believed in you. I waited. Both Patricia and I waited for you to come back. But you never showed up, did you? Even though we stretched the time to the absolute breaking point, you were nowhere to be found."
"...Shut the hell up. Give him back."
"If you insist."
As Laguna prepared to lunge again, Belias—inhabiting Edward's body—gave a casual shrug and thrust his hand directly into his own chest.
"What!?"
The sound of snapping vessels and tearing muscle filled the air. Laguna froze as he watched Edward's heart being gouged out from the inside.
"Kufufu, pathetic. To think a man called a Hero cannot move a single step."
Vomiting a torrent of blood, the possessed Edward wore a look of total indifference. Belias held out the heart—still pulsing rhythmically even after being ripped from the chest—and offered it to Laguna.
"Here. You wanted him back, didn't you?"