"I see. So that's what it was."
Shibito placed his free hand to his mouth.
It was a reflexive gesture, as though covering his lips.
"The source of that odd feeling."
Seras was stunned as well.
"Lord Touka… an otherworld hero…!?"
The other Five Dragon Warriors also looked surprised.
"Whoa~! That kid was an otherworld hero all along!?"
"We had heard the goddess already succeeded in summoning heroes… but to encounter one in a place like this."
Shibito asked,
His voice carried a slight thrill.
"But Touka Mimori, why are you in a place like this?"
Shibito can sense lies.
It seemed to be a different kind of innate ability from Seras's spirit power.
The moment I gave my name, he saw through the pseudonym.
An obvious lie would be detected.
From here on, blatant falsehoods wouldn't work.
To pull this off, I had to push through with nothing but the truth.
"Among the summoned heroes, my position is a bit special."
"Hm."
"That's why I'm acting separately from the others. The goddess herself arranged it that way."
"There appears to be no falsehood in your words."
As expected, he had a keen sense for detecting lies.
A bead of sweat rolled down my cheek.
My position differs from the other heroes.
I am acting separately from the other heroes.
The goddess herself made it so.
No falsehood.
All of it true.
But the interpretation—that was up to Shibito.
Conversing with someone who can detect lies.
My experience dealing with Seras, who could see through falsehoods, was proving useful.
"Why are you acting separately from the other heroes? Did the goddess give you some special secret mission?"
I should avoid yes-or-no answers.
I put on a smug expression.
"Apparently I'm on a different level compared to the rest of them."
"Oh?"
Shibito narrowed his eyes.
Eyes filled with anticipation.
Yes—I am an E-class hero.
My "level" is different from the other heroes.
"Thanks to that, I'm allowed to operate on my own right now."
"A man the goddess herself acknowledges as special, eh."
"Yeah, it seems I was an exceptional hero in the goddess's eyes."
"How interesting. And so—what does an otherworld hero like you want from me?"
I spoke with complete composure.
As though laying out a demand.
"A reprieve."
Shibito's face showed understanding.
"You want us to let you go for now?"
"That's right."
"But… what benefit do I gain by letting you escape here?"
"There is a benefit. At least for you."
"A benefit for me, you say?"
"I'll grow stronger than I am now—and kill you."
A shiver ran through Shibito's expression.
It was as if goosebumps had risen on his skin.
His mouth twisted.
Into a warped smile.
He seemed to be barely containing irrepressible delight.
"You'll kill me…?"
"I'm an otherworld hero. If my level rises, I might reach your domain, right?"
Keep the tone somewhat rough.
Aggressive.
Provocative.
While letting just a hint of reason show through.
If I grow, I will definitely reach Shibito's level.
Touka Mimori believed that now.
He could imagine it.
The sight of himself defeating Shibito.
"This man… knows his own limits, yet truly believes he will reach my domain. Indeed, fascinating."
"I'll become stronger than anyone. In the extreme—I'll gain enough power to trample even that goddess."
"Ha. Then let me ask outright. How exactly do you plan to grow stronger? If my memory serves, otherworld heroes level up by killing golden-eyed monsters—"
"I'm heading to the Golden-Eyed Monster Swarm Belt from here."
Shibito's excitement visibly surged.
His face said he had been hoping for exactly that answer.
"You'll level up by killing the golden-eyed monsters swarming in the belt?"
I gave an ambiguous smile.
"Maybe."
"But if it's golden-eyed monsters you need, wouldn't the goddess prepare suitable opponents for you without needing to go to the belt?"
"She's letting me walk a different path from the other heroes. That's why right now, I've been granted freedom from Goddess Vysis."
The goddess's words.
'If you manage to survive and emerge aboveground from the transfer ruins, we have an agreement that I will no longer interfere. Alion grants that person the right to live freely.'
"She said she won't interfere with me for now. In short, as long as I achieve her goals, that goddess doesn't care about the rest."
"So as long as you eventually defeat the Great Demon Emperor, she won't meddle in the process leading up to it."
"Well, I'll leave that to your imagination."
"Ha… You must have been quite a troublesome hero for the goddess."
Shibito's eyes gleamed with hidden joy.
"Right now my stats—my blessing values—aren't that high. So to you, I probably look like trash. But someday I'll become a hero capable of killing the 'strongest human.' To make that happen… you know what you need to do right now, don't you?"
"Let you go here?"
"Yeah."
"But… is there any guarantee we will meet again and duel in the future?"
"Don't worry. I plan to return to the goddess eventually."
"Hm."
"Depending on the Great Demon Emperor army's future movements, the timing might change, though."
"Even if you disappear, the goddess won't simply let an exceptional hero she herself acknowledged slip away… In other words, there's no chance you'll go into hiding forever."
"Besides, I have to go back. I have no intention of vanishing somewhere without returning to the goddess."
Of course.
"I will definitely return to the goddess."
"Very well."
Shibito declared brightly.
"I want to see it."
"…"
"I want to see the grown version of you, no matter what. And I want to fight to the death against the hero who carries the extraordinary potential acknowledged by the goddess."
"Yeah. Me too."
I took one step forward.
"So someday, let's settle this just the two of us, Shibito Gaitland…!"
Shibito's eyes widened in rapture.
"A weakling… and yet you truly make my blood boil… That fighting spirit! That killing intent…! It feels good! Very well!"
Shibito proclaimed,
"I will let you go, Touka Mimori."
"Heh, that's more like it."
"Then feel free to leave this place. Once we finish Seras Ashrain, we will depart as well."
I could tell Seras had caught her breath.
I immediately spoke up.
"That's a problem."
"What?"
"Seras is necessary for my journey."
"You intend to take her with you to the Golden-Eyed Monster Swarm Belt?"
"At my current strength, I still need allies, you see? Someone as perceptive as you… should understand, right?"
"Ah… You plan to have that woman weaken the golden-eyed monsters, then deliver the finishing blow yourself."
"Even if she falls short as your enemy, you yourself acknowledged Seras Ashrain's skill as a fighter."
"But what about reporting Seras Ashrain to the goddess? You may have lost interest now… but Seras Ashrain is the very woman the goddess who summoned you desired. Taking her along without a word might sour the goddess's mood. You've already seen what happened to Neia when they displeased her."
"Ha! Who cares!"
"Hm?"
"No matter what the story is, reporting to that goddess can be put off indefinitely!"
I laughed it off boldly.
"I'll use anything I can get my hands on…! The goddess's feelings don't matter to me! To gain power, I'll use Seras Ashrain…! That's all there is to it!"
"Fu—"
Shibito's mouth opened wide.
"Fu… fuhaha, fuhahahaha! I see! Excellent, Touka Mimori! Yes, that's the spirit! That's exactly it! You have the fire to break through the dull shell of reason! Ah, it has been so long since I met someone like this! Someone who fearlessly hurls such resolve straight at me!"
Shibito straightened his posture.
"Understood. Then I shall show mercy."
He pointed at Seras with one finger.
"By my mercy, I will let Seras Ashrain go for now as well."
Oban panicked.
"Eh!? Wait!? Shibito-chan!? Hold on, hold on!? You're seriously going to let holy knight-chan go right here!?"
"Touka says he needs her for his growth. We can kill her after Touka and I have our duel. If there's concern she might leave the continent, we can send word through diplomatic channels to the ships heading to Yonato in the western continent. In any case, her death is inevitable. It's merely a matter of sooner or later."
"But still!? We finally found holy knight-chan!? What if, for example, she gets killed by monsters in the belt and her body gets eaten without a trace, or she goes into hiding somewhere out of reach—"
"Silence. Or I will kill you."
A murderous rebuke from Shibito.
"U…gh!?"
Oban recoiled.
His face had gone pale.
An overwhelmingly intense killing intent that made the skin prickle.
Even the other Five Dragon Warriors flinched for a moment.
It was a pitch-black shout, as though punishing someone who had stepped onto the stage and spoiled the mood.
"…"
In the Black Dragon Knights, there was only one absolute authority.
Shibito Gaitland.
Control him, and the will of the entire order could be bent.
"So… it seems your lifespan has been extended, Seras Ashrain."
Shibito said.
"Use yourself up thoroughly serving Touka. From this day forward, you are Touka's 'tool.' You will surely deliver the 'completed Touka' to me. If you fail… perhaps I will torment Cattleya."
"!"
"But if you successfully deliver the 'finished product'—then I promise to kill you without even a moment of pain."
"—Lord Touka."
"Sorry, Seras. That's how it is."
It's fine.
Seras had realized it too.
That I was doing this—clashing with Shibito—to get us out of this situation alive.
The other Five Dragon Warriors said nothing more against Shibito's decision.
No one could defy the absolute one.
"Schweitz."
Shibito called.
"Yes."
"Inform Grimmritter as well, wherever he's loitering today. Tell him not to lay a hand on these two."
"Understood."
"Since earning the title 'Hero Blood Killer,' he's become even less inclined to follow your orders."
"Yes… My own son though he is, he is an oddity even within the order. For now, it may be better not to suppress him too harshly, as it improves his usefulness…"
"Seems so."
Shibito's white dragon spread its wings wide.
"Ha… The first act was a stage far exceeding my expectations. As a lead-in to the next act, which I anticipate with even greater eagerness, it is not bad at all."
Shibito's expression softened with apparent happiness.
"I look forward to the day we meet again, Touka Mimori."
The other Five Dragon Warriors' black dragons also began flapping their wings broadly.
They were preparing to depart.
"…"
I pulled it off.
The sweat still wouldn't stop.
Seras survived.
I survived.
I succeeded in making the "strongest human" let us go.
I won the gamble.
The sweat still wouldn't stop.
"[Pa-ra—"
"Tou, ka—"
"—raaaiizu!]"
"—You bastard!!"
Shibito did not reject an approaching "enemy."
Even when I drew near provocatively while talking, he did not refuse.
He did not reprimand.
In other words—
He did not kill.
Which meant—
I was within range.
"As expected of the 'strongest human.'"
The instant he turned his dragon to leave.
At the moment his guard was thinnest—that gap—
I aimed for it.
Yet of all people, Shibito reacted first to my hostile intent, with terrifying speed.
But by that point, my advantage was already established.
So I was—just a fraction—faster.
The moment Shibito was made to believe in the "truth" I had fabricated with facts, the probability of reaching this outcome had risen dramatically.
Shibito was the polar opposite of the soul-eater.
The soul-eater used "fear" as camouflage to induce carelessness.
In contrast, Shibito's camouflage was "fighting spirit."
Not fleeing, but advancing toward him.
His tendency to view things in "dramatic stage terms" was likely another factor.
Shibito's words just before leaving.
'The first act was a fine stage far exceeding my expectations. As a lead-in to the next act I anticipate with even greater eagerness, it is not bad at all.'
At that moment, in his mind, this "stage" had already ended.
For Shibito, it already felt like "curtain call."
"Someday we'll meet and settle it, huh—sorry, but I've got no intention of dragging this grudge with you lot out that long."
It made sense that the sweat wouldn't stop.
That single instant was everything.
Everyone believed the stage had reached its end here, their tension eased, and in that fleeting moment of vulnerability—
There was no other place to drive it in.
I thought it was time to settle things.
It was nothing but risk.
Letting them escape here.
"Unfortunately, this isn't some clean story, Shibito."
This is a filthy tale.
There is no room for the "sworn duel with a fated rival" that Shibito anticipated.
Because this is a story of revenge.
The path I walk leads to sullied vengeance.
From a rational standpoint, the Black Dragon Knights' existence right now is nothing but a risk to this revenge drama.
Therefore—eliminate them.
There will be no next act.
"So—"
When I uttered the skill name, I thrust my right hand forward in that brief opening.
Beyond my right hand, I could see the five paralyzed Dragon Warriors now falling toward the ground.
I—
Toward the five Dragon Warriors in the line of my right hand—
As though
Crushing them in my grasp—
"The grudge with you lot, born just moments ago—"
I clenched my reversed palm.
"Ends here, Black Dragon Knights."