Ch.111111. Epilogue

The moment I saw the crimson hair from the rooftop, I already knew her identity.

Dina, a monster surgeon who had implanted a magical beast into her body.

Among the monster surgeons of Dante, she was a unique monster who devoured everything.

A woman who appeared as a named mob when fighting against Dante while playing Retry.

By that point in the game, players would be skilled enough to handle her without much difficulty.

But facing her directly in person, her aura was extraordinary.

Well, that makes sense, since it was Aria who easily dealt with Dina in the game.

[Did she implant multiple magical beasts?]

The returned Dark Spiritmaster calmly observes Dina and offers an opinion. It certainly sounds plausible, but I shook my head.

“No, there’s only one magical beast.”

[What? But…]

“The human body isn’t sturdy enough to withstand multiple magical beast implantations.”

Yet the reason she appears to contain multiple magical beasts is…

Because she implanted that specific type of magical beast. And from what I could see, it wasn’t just an ordinary magical beast.

“There can be magical beasts that consume mana. But I’ve never heard of one that devours souls and digests them as its own.”

Looking at Dina, who was transforming into something hideous with crunching sounds, I continued.

“That’s not just a magical beast, but something that combines a magical beast and a monster.”

[And she implanted that into her own body? That sounds completely absurd… though I suppose Dante might be capable of it.]

“Yes, that’s right.”

It was an eccentric feat that would be entirely possible for Dante, an organization of multiple Black Mages.

Take the bone worm, for example.

It was a monster, but it materialized by parasitizing Emily’s body.

They fused a monster with a high-ranking magical beast, and Dina implanted that into her body.

Truly eccentric.

It was a mad act befitting the term “crazy mage,” but Dante had the technology to make it possible.

I suspected it might be similar to Tam, a Chinese monster. A creature that devours everything until it eventually consumes itself.

Not only was her entire body covered in mouths, but she could also consume intangible things like mana and souls.

[So what are you going to do? Can you solve this?]

“You’ll be surprised at how simple it is.”

At my words, the Dark Spiritmaster smirks behind her black veil. Finding it ridiculous, she casually leans on my shoulder.

[Then couldn’t you have acted sooner? Findenai and I went through so much trouble.]

“If killing Dina had been the goal, I would have.”

But my objective was to send off the monsters. After realizing Dina was the mastermind, I determined there was no need to chase after her.

She would naturally come to the monster procession anyway.

I just needed to send off the monsters and, as a bonus, deal with Dina.

[What are you going to do?]

Dina had transformed into something grotesque. People screamed and backed away from the bizarre sight of her body covered in mouths.

No matter what, no one could smile at such a sight.

That’s why I planned to kill Dina as quickly as possible. Her mere existence was already disrupting this procession.

Once again, I took out Lemegeton.

Normally, she would be quite challenging to defeat. Even as a named mob in the game, her tenacious vitality and recovery were impressive.

“I need to teach her that putting anything in your mouth can make you sick.”

I pulled out a black jewel from my chest. Sadly, games ultimately come down to equipment, and this world emulates a game.

And I held a jewel that could only be described as cheating.

I casually tossed Lemegeton toward the mouth of Dina, who had completely transformed into a monster and seemed to have lost all rational thought.

Gulp.

After swallowing it, Dina’s steps faltered. Instantly, black light began to pour from her body, and spirits escaped from all the mouths covering her body.

[…Is this right?]

After fighting so hard, such an anticlimactic death seemed almost unfair from the Dark Spiritmaster’s perspective.

Findenai and the Dark Spiritmaster had risked their lives fighting, while I simply resolved everything by tossing a single Lemegeton.

“It just means she wasn’t an important character in this story.”

Of course, there was a clear reason why the two had to fight.

If Findenai and the Dark Spiritmaster hadn’t fought earlier to drain Dina’s health and push her mentally, she wouldn’t have transformed her entire body into a monster.

Then she wouldn’t have swallowed the Lemegeton I possessed.

In the end, when the buildup is solid, the result often comes so smoothly it feels anticlimactic.

[I feel a bit cheated.]

Ignoring the grumbling Dark Spiritmaster, I focused on sensing the Lemegeton inside the creature.

This was actually an experiment as well.

I felt the energy of Lemegeton more strongly and was certain it was seeking me out.

I also felt confident that my connection with Lemegeton had grown stronger.

I knew exactly when this change had occurred.

‘Since Stella fell asleep.’

Former Saintess Stella.

Since she began sleeping within me, my assimilation rate with Lemegeton had increased.

I was certain this was because the great demon Vellica was assimilated with Stella.

Originally, it felt like I was merely borrowing Lemegeton.

Now I had become its true master.

Though unintended, thanks to Stella and Vellica, Lemegeton had recognized me as its owner.

“KYAAAAAAAH!”

Dina screamed and twisted her body. Her waist rotated a full circle with a cracking sound as it broke, unable to digest all the evil spirits rampaging inside her.

That was to be expected.

“They say she devours everything, but that’s just a figure of speech. She couldn’t possibly eat everything in the world.”

If she truly had a limitless stomach that could consume everything, wouldn’t she be the ruler of this continent?

“Just a magical beast with a good appetite.”

Dina, who had been writhing, finally collapsed, unable to support her body. And the procession of monsters passed over her.

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

The monsters trampled over Dina without even recognizing her existence, and she gradually crumpled, losing her human form.

I manipulated mana to create a light fog, preventing people from witnessing her gruesome end.

“She’s a picky eater too, it seems.”

What remained was the spirit stone, emitting an ominous light amidst the soggy mass of remains.

It wasn’t called an item comparable to the Holy Grail for nothing.

The effect was definitive.

[Now Dante knows everything about you.]

“Yes, I suppose they do.”

Dawn was gradually breaking. The monster procession was coming to an end, and people, though tired, were applauding us for the wonderful performance.

[They’ve discovered Lemegeton and my existence. Dante will be thoroughly prepared when they face you next.]

“I know.”

When I reached out my hand, Lemegeton coiled around it, recognizing me as its master. Since it was slightly dirty, I created water with magic to clean it.

“But I too will continue to grow stronger.”

I extended Lemegeton to absorb the soul of the one who had just died. This was the second soul.

The second soul I had willfully bound.

I needed to replenish my strength for the fight against Dante, and the soul of the Black Mage Dina would be quite helpful.

[…Be careful.]

The Dark Spiritmaster looked at me with concern. I thought it might be about the battle with Dante, but her next words revealed otherwise.

[I hope you don’t become too immersed in Black Magic, like me and Dante.]

“…”

[When you handle souls, even someone with an iron will eventually starts seeing them as consumables.]

I understood what she was worried about. She feared I might abandon my current principles and change into an ordinary Black Mage.

[When you start breaking down due to lack of power, you eventually forget your humanity, just like this monster surgeon.]

“I see.”

[Please don’t become a monster in order to fight monsters.]

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

At my words, the Dark Spiritmaster carefully embraced me before gradually disappearing.

The end of the festival.

As the sun rose, people laughed and chatted while cleaning up, reminiscing about the memories from just hours ago.

They were grateful to the monsters for providing such a unique experience.

And from among the crowd.

A boy approached me.

He had abandoned his female disguise, removing his wig and changing from a skirt to pants.

I asked Owen:

“How was it?”

Before the festival began.

I told Owen to observe and learn a lot from today’s festival.

“I think I understand now why the monsters couldn’t move on.”

Owen began speaking, and I listened calmly, prepared to wait patiently.

“They wanted more from me than what my grandfather offered. They had such expectations. They wanted to disappear with joy, not just consolation.”

Owen had always followed in his grandfather’s footsteps and had never independently thought or acted regarding the monsters.

That was the boy’s misstep that led him down the wrong path.

“That’s what you showed me. It’s the first time I’ve seen those children laugh like that and disappear with satisfaction.”

A smile slowly formed on the boy’s lips. He smiled at the brilliant sunlight, thinking of the poor souls who had departed.

“Thank you for this enlightenment.”

I gently patted Owen’s head again.

“Your grandfather, Oster, was a musician who consoled.”

But Owen is different.

Considering that Oster’s final performance for Owen was a piece with notably escalating excitement.

“You are a pianist who plays joy.”

“…!”

A tightly clenched small fist.

But within it, a sense of mission.

I could already envision how many smiles this boy would bring to people’s faces with those small hands.

“Come with me, Owen.”

“What?”

“I value your abilities. You have the potential to walk the same path as me.”

However, his approach would be different from mine. That’s why I needed him.

“When I lose my way, I might need your performance.”

Owen swallowed hard and was about to take my hand but hesitated.

“B-but if I leave, monsters will appear in Claren again.”

After all, Claren is a city of artists.

Monsters born from their imagination would continue to appear.

“That’s why I held this festival.”

The opposite was also possible.

“I plan to turn today’s event into a thought entity named ‘Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.'”

“What?”

Thought entities weren’t just monsters. Thoughts could adhere to any unique phenomenon.

School ghost stories were a typical example of this category.

“Just as the imagination of artists becomes monsters, now the wishes of people anticipating this annual event will recreate today’s scenery.”

Just one day every year.

A day when monsters appear.

“Ah…”

Owen exclaimed in amazement. He seemed to realize that this would solve the problem of disappearing monsters every year.

“Now, you no longer need to stay here.”

As Oster would have wanted.

I wanted to show the boy a broader world.

I intended to teach and show him many things, as much as I needed him.

“I see.”

Squeeze.

Owen slowly extended his hand and firmly grasped mine. It was a hand filled with strong determination to accompany me.

So we headed back to the hotel. The story of Claren, the city of artists, had come to an end.

It was time to depart again, but…

Like an epilogue, Owen trembled slightly and turned his head toward me.

“But why did my grandfather and I have these abilities in the first place?”

To him, who clearly couldn’t understand this, I gently replied:

“What was your ability again?”

“Huh? W-when I play the piano, I can see spiritual entities.”

To Owen’s bewildered answer, I continued my questions.

“What did you intend to do with that ability?”

“Um, I wanted to help monsters find peace.”

“Yes, then think about who needed that ability the most.”

“…The monsters?”

Owen looked at me with wide eyes. Seeing the innocent emotion in the boy’s expression, I smiled slightly.

“They didn’t seek you out because you had the ability.”

An elderly master with exceptional technique and performances that could touch even monsters’ hearts.

A boy who empathized with them, had a kind heart, and would never abandon the piano.

“They chose you.”

And that would be the final gift from the monsters to the boy who never gave up on them until the end.