Shujinkou Janai! - CH 84

[What in the world……!?]

As the dying Werther held up the “Demon Lord’s Relic” and it let out a strong pulse, the air around us changed.

[Kuh……!]

The air feels so dense with magic power that I could hardly breathe.

———-This is a <Demon Lord>.

This is just the remnant of its magic power contained in the “relic”.

The pressure of its presence was definite enough to make one think that Werther, who was standing in front of it, was nothing more than a small puppy in front of the real “King of Monsters”.

[Kuh……!]

The words “Forced Event” flickered in my mind.

Beneath Roze’s feet, the magic circle lets out a suspicious light.

Even knowing how dangerous that magic circle is, no one could move.

Radd and the others stiffened, cold sweat seemingly flowing down their backs, while Mana knelt down on the spot and clutched her chest, gagging from the sheer density of magic power.

Even Resilia, who had shown much versatility, froze with a look of astonishment on her face.

And I too, have also……

[This won’t do. That is…… Just that is something……!]

Within this world where gravity seems to have increased, I desperately reached out my hand.

At the end of my outstretched hand was the magic circle that had just emerged…… and the memories of this event back in the game.

※　※　※

The final and greatest secret in the “Vampires of Frelia” Event will be revealed after Werther is defeated.

After the <Knife of Regret> was driven into his heart and attentively watched as Werther disappeared.

The “Hero” and their party were faced with a scene they had never imagined when they headed for the deepest part of <House of Roses> to challenge the <Fourth Demon Lord> for the decisive battle.

What I said to Nuku when we explored the <House of Roses>, about how “even if we go to the deepest part of the dungeon, there will definitely be nothing there, that wasn’t really a lie.

There was nothing at the deepest level.

To be more precise, what had been there had already left.

[……An empty coffin?]

At the deepest level was an ornate and opulent coffin placed in the center of a large space.

However, the lid of the coffin had already come off and there was nothing inside.

What was going on?

No, for the me back then who didn’t know what was happening, I was confused in front of the screen.

The only clue to the truth was left on the screen.

On the floor in front of the coffin, there was a message that seemed to have been carved by the <Demon Lord>.

After the light awakens……

Stand before me……

And offer me my heart.

It was the “<Demon Lord>’s Will” that I had seen in the past.

However, I could clearly read the part of the message that was blurred in the diary.

The message was the same as what I had first guessed, but what caught my attention was the last sentence.

[……”Offer me my heart”?]

Until that moment, I had always thought that this part of the will said “Offer me the heart”.

In other words, in order to revive the <Demon Lord>, I thought that Werther was after Roze in order to offer “her heart” to the <Demon Lord>.

He could bring Roze as she is, or having turned into a vampire, he could take away her will before bringing her as a sacrifice.

In any case, I thought that by bringing Roze before the <Demon Lord> and offering her as a sacrifice, the <Demon Lord> would be revived.

……However……

If the heart that would be offered isn’t “someone else’s heart”, but the “<Demon Lord>’s Heart”, then this changes the story.

Where in the world is the “<Demon Lord>’s Heart”?

No, in the first place, if the <Demon Lord> had been sleeping in this coffin, then where in the world is the <Demon Lord>?

……The answer to all of these questions, however, was right in front of me.

My gaze unconsciously turned to the coffin in which the <Demon Lord> was said to have slept in.

When I saw the short string of words written there, I finally understood everything.

The empty coffin of the <Demon Lord>……

On the surface of that coffin, there were those words carved on it……

——————-Here lies <Fourth Demon Lord Roze>.

※　※　※

<Fourth Demon Lord Roze> is the Unparalleled Vampire King.

And for a True Vampire who has conquered even the light of day, the only thing she fears is a stake through the heart.

Therefore, just before she lost her power, the <Fourth Demon Lord> conducted a very bold plan.

In other words, she removed her “heart”, the source of her power and at the same time her greatest weakness, from her body and entrusted it to her trusted brethren.

This was, even if someone finds her body sleeping beneath the <House of Roses>, she will not really be killed.

And in preparation for the time when her heart was to be returned to her body, the <Demon Lord> used her final power to cast a spell on her heart.

That is the true nature of the “<Demon Lord>’s Relic”.

The <Demon Lord>’s body was taken out of the coffin a step ahead of the heart.

The <Demon Lord>’s body, who lost her power and memory as the <Demon Lord> due to the loss of her heart, is the current Roze.

What the party had thought was a “curse attack” wasn’t one at all.

It was more like a transplanting operation to affix the “<Demon Lord>’s Heart”, which had its appearance changed with a technique, into the “<Demon Lord>’s Body”.

It’s not a curse effective only against Vampires, but only a part of a predetermined plan……

It wouldn’t matter to the Vampires that “her temporary personality when they had lost her memories” would disappear in the process.

And once the “Curse Mark” is engraved, there’s no way to stop the “curse” except by the death of the one who casted that curse, <Roze>.

Therefore, there had only been two possible endings to this story.

—————Either I kill Roze, the <Demon Lord>, with my own hands……

—————Or overlook the <Demon Lord>’s resurrection and watch as Frelia turns into a town of the dead.

The option of overlooking it can’t really be chosen.

Leaving her alone is synonymous with acceptance of her resurrection, and even if you had never seen Roze in your playthrough, she will still awaken as the <Demon Lord>.

“”

There’s no option to prolong her life.

The “curse” on Roze grows stronger with each passing day, and it’s impossible for her to resist the “curse” until the very end.

Thus, the player is forced to make a choice.

Will you kill her and save the world, or will you abandon the world and save her?

No, if we define the extinguishing of her personality as “death”, then “her” fate has already been decided.

She stands in a pre-arranged tragedy, and the player has only one choice: how to conduct “her” death.

This is the reason why the players have different assessments regarding the “Vampires of Frelia” Event.

The story is well-crafted and the dialogue is emotionally rich.

A tragedy that is both sad and engaging.

Some say that this Event is <Brave & Blade>’s greatest masterpiece.

—————However, I hated this sh*tty Event.

Once you get to the Second or Third Era, the emotions and sentiments fade.

If you’re aiming to clear the game, you can’t let Frelia collapse.

If she was gonna die anyway, it made no difference whether she died early on or later.

With such an excuse in mind, I would fulfill her request to kill her, one that she made immediately after she received the “Curse Mark”.

Unsympathetically, mechanically, I killed “her” as a matter of course, but still, a certain thought lurked deep in my heart.

—————If only this were not a game……

If I could act as I pleased, I could defeat Werther and save Roze before she received the “Curse Mark”.

[D*mn it……!]

Under this heavy pressure that makes me feel nauseous, as if it had been soaked in a sea of mud, I desperately moved my sluggish body.

I was close…… I was so close……

The opportunity to change her fate is just around the corner.

There’s no way I can just give up now!

A few meters of distance, she’s so close, yet so far away.

Just like a star, she stands a distance away from reach but near enough to be visible, but still, I reached out towards her.

However……

[Ahahahahaha! <Demon Lord>-sama! Roze-sama! Please grace us with your presence once again……!]

With Werther’s mad loud laughter, the light of the magic circle intensifies.

Half of the Vampire’s body has already crumbled, his right leg and left hand already turned to ashes.

And yet, his right hand is still outstretched, and his insanely sharp eyes haven’t diminished in the slightest.

The “Demon Lord’s Relic” shatters with a flash of bright-red light, and a huge sword of blood rises from it.

I remember this scene……

I remember the image of that sword piercing her body leaving an imprint on her chest that will literally never disappear.

This was the moment of despair that settled her future.

And yet, my feet just won’t move.

Even within this distance of just a few more steps, no matter what I do, I’m unable to close that distance.

And then, just before the sword of blood begins to move……

I see Roze’s gaze catch mine.

[Rex-sama…… Help———–]

But at that moment, the blood-colored sword, its tip pointed toward the center of the magic circle, towards Roze’s chest……

[ROZEEEEEEEEEE!!!]

I called her name frantically, and then…..

[………………….Ah.]

Right in front of my eyes……

I watched as the sword of darkness ruthlessly pierced my chest and carved a “Curse Mark” on it.

※　※　※

Feeling lethargic, my body collapses.

————–The “curse” has been connected.

There’s no point in making a fuss about it now, and it will not be reversed.

The dense magic power that surrounded the place had already disappeared.

Still, I didn’t even have the energy left to stand up anymore.

Slowly, the red light subsided……

The vision that had been dazzled by the flash gradually returned to normal, and I can gradually see my surroundings.

[No way……]

What could those words of lamentations delivered on the wind mean?

Guided by the voice, I quietly looked around.

There’s Radd and Nuku, with their eyes wide open, and then there’s Prana and Mana, who were still seated on the ground.

Resilia was biting her lip, as if she had realized something, while Roze was holding her chest, looking like a lost sheep, still unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Unable to move, everyone absentmindedly stared at the center of the magic circle.

And finally……

I turned my gaze to Werther.

The mad vampire, who had finally lost all of his limbs, was lying on the ground, but still, he obsessively remained in this world to confirm the establishment of the “curse”.

His current appearance overlaps his final moments in the game.

Even with the stake on his chest, withering and vomiting blood, he, who had a satisfied smile on his face……

[Why……]

However, the overlapping with the game stops there, as the expression on his face was different from the one in my memories.

As if he had seen something impossible, Werther dazedly stared in my direction……

Towards “me”, who was sitting on top of the magic circle, with the shining “Curse Mark” in the middle of my chest.

[—————-WHY THE HECK ARE YOU IN THERE!!!?]

With a cry of astonishment, outrage, and unconcealed despair, the rest of his body crumbled to ashes and scattered with the wind……

And fluttering along with it, shattered after doing its job, was the <Castle Ring> I was wearing in my right hand.