Chapter 148: Baldy’s Last Case (4)

[148] 23. Baldy’s Last Case (4)

It’s the time of day when the red sunset casts long shadows. Scattered drops of blood are indistinguishable from puddles, and the clouds, their faces flushed, drift away to the far side of the sky.

And beneath that messy sky, a blood-soaked man walks.

He’s in tatters. Where his eyes should be, there are only deep cuts. His worn priest’s robe is already soaked with blood, dripping drops of it.

The wounds left by a 30-minute chase,

The traces of the forgotten goddess’s malicious attacks,

Injuries more than enough to lead to death,

Yet, he does not stop walking.

“Ugh…”

Even when he finally stumbles and falls, he drags himself into the shadows. He pulls out a communication device from his bosom and, with blood-stained hands trembling, activated it.

[Hey, baldy, did you dig up anything?]

Only then did the man become Clevens.

His usual flippant tone. Even in pain, a laugh escaped him. It was like that as the conversation continued.

But he couldn’t keep joking around forever, could he.

“We’re fucked.”

Clevens begins his explanation, desperately clinging to his fading consciousness.

And so, the story returns to the present.

Silence flows from the other end of the communication device. All that remains is Clevens’s own breathing. Faint, as if about to cease at any moment.

“Kid, say something. Betty, that woman is the goddess? And that price of fate was all bullshit. Hurry up and deal with it…”

“Turn on the location sharing function on the communication device. I’ll come to you right now.”

Clevens’s expression hardens.

“What the hell… Cough…! Are you talking about… Instead of that, hurry…”

“You think I can’t tell the voice of a dying person?”

It was a voice thick with warmth. For a moment, Clevens paused for a moment, then forcibly raised his voice.

“I’m fine, you idiot. Just hurry up and…”

“Stop fucking around and turn on the location sharing, Clevens.”

Sometimes, old friends are a real pain in the ass. Thinking so, Clevens bangs the back of his head against the wall.

“Hey, kid.”

“Clevens, this is an order. Turn on the location sharing function, now.”

He couldn’t let that happen. Rem wouldn’t be able to handle that monster on his own. So, he simply asks with a smile.

“Still, it was more fun than I thought, wouldn’t you say?”

“Clevens! Are you…!”

“So, live well.”

“You son of a…”

*Crunch-*

Clevens’s divine power crushes the communication device. The shattered pieces flow down like tears. The sound is strangely clear.

Maybe because of that, the approaching heavy footsteps stand out even more.

Betty slowly walks out of the shadows, a fake smile plastered on her face.

“In the end, all my disgrace has been exposed. How troublesome…”

“Bull… Cough…! Shit….”

Clevens’s body slumps after spitting out a handful of blood.

“You even stepped aside so I could blabber about your disgrace as much as I wanted… I guess it doesn’t matter anymore whether it’s known or not.”

“Your perceptiveness is truly remarkable. Of course, just as you said, it doesn’t really matter anymore.”

“[…O Lord.]”

Again, a beam of light shoots forth from Clevens’ hand. It’s so faint it can barely be called light. Betty Ailleyde doesn’t even bother dodging it.

After absorbing the light, Betty Ailleyde gestures with her hand.

“Well then, you’ve worked hard. Now rest.”

“____!!”

Betty’s shadow lunges and bites into Clevens’s body. With a crunching sound, it chews and swallows his body.

“You don’t have to be too scared. Soon, everyone will join you in my belly…”

In the midst of excruciating pain, Clevens started to lose his hearing. The sunset slowly sets, and night seeps into the streets.

But until the last moment, Clevens smiled with the corners of his mouth.

“That… won’t… happen…”

“…”

“Our… kid…! Is notoriously… hard to kill…”

For the first time, Betty’s face hardens. Beyond hardening, she displays displeasure all over her face.

“Be quiet.”

And then, the shadow devoured Clevens.

But before being completely digested by the shadow, Clevens desperately recalls.

His wife, Emily Clevens.

The nun who had been in charge of Rem’s education when he was Clara’s servant.

She committed suicide out of guilt for standing by when Rem’s eyes were gouged out. That was the reason Clevens went from being an inquisitor to a drunkard.

He’d been drowning himself in alcohol for 10 years.

Asking meaningless questions of his faith, his life, his God,

…Until one day, he found Rem again in a tavern.

Why he chose to accompany Rem is still a mystery to him. Was it for atonement, or out of curiosity. Honestly, even the emotions he’d felt back then were hazy now.

But what happened after that is vividly clear.

The memories of doing all sorts of stupid things while half out of his mind.

The memories of laughing while watching the Vice-Captain struggle.

The memories of overcoming life-or-death situations, back to back.

Gathering them all together before death, it all boiled down to one sentence.

It was fun.

And so, with a smile, Clevens melts into the shadows.

Only the setting sun and its lengthening shadow remained in the empty cathedral.

***

I throw the disconnected communication device to the ground. Finishing the magic circle I was drawing while talking, I immediately head down to the prison.

“The Steampunk Cyborg? You went out to take a call…”

“That woman, Betty Ailleyde, has appeared.”

The ‘civil servant’s’ expression hardens. He strides towards me, tossing aside the half-dead Irene.

“Where.”

“…The cathedral in Axolotl.”

“Is there a way to get there immediately?”

“I’ve already prepared it. But…”

“Right, that method you used to travel between worlds, right? Don’t worry. I’ll take the penalty in your…”

“There’s no need for that.”

Betty Ailleyde’s uniquely frivolous voice.

We both simultaneously grab for our weapons as we turn to look. However, I couldn’t bring myself to draw my sword.

“…Vice… Captain…”

Shafiq, bound by shadows, looks at me. Covered in blood, his eyes tremble as he speaks.

“Don’t mind me… Attack… Ugh-!”

The shadow covers Shafiq’s mouth. Betty Ailleyde curls her lips and places her index finger on her lips.

“Shhh, please be quiet. It’s a rather important moment.”

“Right, an important moment indeed.”

The ‘civil servant’ steps forward, emanating a strange intensity. Drawing a greatsword I’ve never seen before from his palm, he faces Betty with sharp eyes.

“Finally, it’s time to tear you to pieces!!”

*BAM-!*

I couldn’t see the moment the ‘civil servant’ moved. When I came to my senses, the sounds of battle could be heard above the broken ceiling.

*KABOOM-!*

*CRASH-!*

Hurriedly, I take care of Shafiq who had fallen to the floor. I pull out a healing potion and force it down his throat.

His wounds slowly begin to close. I help him to his feet.

“I’m sorry… I was on my way back after activating the machine…”

“As long as you’re alive, that’s all that matters, so shut up.”

When we finally make it to the surface, the fight is still in full swing. Shadows and flashes of light intertwine, demolishing the Demon King’s castle.

“B-Big bro!”

Feya, who had been watching the battle with bewildered eyes along with the other mercenaries and the Hero Party, spots me and then runs towards me.

“Wh-what’s going on? What the heck is…”

“First, take this guy and treat him.”

“Ah, got it. But, really, what is happening…”

At that moment, the first round came to an end.

*KABOOM-!*

With a thunderous roar, the intertwined flashes of light and shadows separate. There was no mistaking who had won.

“Damn…”

The ‘civil servant’ curses, clutching his half-severed left arm. Betty wipes the blood from her mouth and replies.

“It seems the so-called administrators aren’t that impressive… Was Alain the exceptional one?”

“It’s a bit unfair to be compared to that old geezer… More importantly,”

The ‘civil servant’ gets up from the ground while clutching his arm. Naturally, we stand beside him and glare at Betty.

“I’m not alone here right now, am I?”

The ‘civil servant’ raises his greatsword and points it at Betty.

“I don’t know what gave you the nerve to come here when everyone’s gathered. But surrender quietly, okay? You have no chance of winning.”

He’s right.

Even if she managed to subdue the ‘civil servant’, she was alone, and we were many. Moreover, there were some among us who were exceptionally strong. Betty’s chances of winning were slim to none.

“Right, everyone’s gathered. Everyone.”

But why is Betty Ailleyde smiling more brightly than ever.

Her uninjured hand points to Amy, whose hair has turned white.

“Amy, the warrior who defeated fifty immortals and carved their seals into her soul. The key.”

Then, to the haggard Clara,

“Clara, the ninth Pope. The Saint.”

Then, to Parsley, barely standing with a cane,

“Parsley, the seventeenth Tower Master. The Sage.”

Then, to Feya, who is glaring at her with cold eyes,

“Feya Danderlion, the next Great Chieftain of the Derin. The Barbarian.”

Then, to the captain, whose face is gradually turning pale,

“Katarina Auguste von Titanisch, Alain’s last direct descendant. The Hero.”

Then, to Shafiq who was barely standing, leaning against Feya,

“Shafiq de Fasitao Rodiner si Olaminea kun Dinar, son of Sharik de Sipadefa, and friend of the Ashwood tribe. The Fairy Knight.”

Then, to Genius’s soul that had somehow appeared on the railing, squirming,

“Though only a soul, Genius himself. The Advisor.”

Finally, Betty Ailleyde places the hand that was pointing at each person on her own chest.

“And…”

Betty’s green eyes gleam eerily.

“Me, daughter of Hairston and the seventh Skuld, the last remaining all-knowing witch, Betty Skuld. The Witch.”

A chilling realization finally dawns on me.

The successors of the Seven Heroes – the Hero, the Sage, the Saint, the Barbarian, the Fairy Knight, the Advisor, and the Witch. And the seals held by the fifty immortals.

[Certainly, it was Genius, that arrogant bastard, who was tasked with guarding the subspace where the Goddess’s body was sealed. But he’s not the one who holds the key to that door.

The fifty immortals who were either moved by or submitted to Alain. We broke the key into pieces and entrusted each piece to them to guard.

Moreover, even with the key, the gate wouldn’t open without the consent of the Seven Heroes themselves, or their rightful descendants.]

The proper way to break the Goddess’s seal.

“B-But without everyone’s consent…”

“Consent isn’t necessary. As long as the *conditions* for consent are met.”

Betty, with an ecstatic smile, pulls out a machine from the shadows. The very machine that I believed would prevent the price of fate.

Raising a high wall with shadows, she shouts.

“The last relic left by Alain! The rightful successors of the Seven Heroes and the fifty seals are gathered! I hereby request the unsealing of the seal!!”

The machine’s indicator light blinks, and a mechanical voice flows out.

[Unsealing device, activation confirmed by the Fairy Knight 71 hours 42 minutes and 32 seconds ago. Also confirmed that all seven are present at the seal location. Considering the time elapsed since the machine’s activation, it is determined that the seven are currently unable to express their intention. According to the initial design instructions, their presence will be considered as consent for the seal release.]

[Preparing for immediate operation.]

“Damn it!!”

The ‘civil servant’ desperately dashes toward the machine. He cuts through the shadow wall and charges towards the machine.

“You think I’ll let you?”

However, Betty immediately blocks him. Not only that, she manipulates the shadows to attack us all at once.

Of course, Betty’s resistance doesn’t last long. Amy, who breaks through the shadows in a flash, slices Betty’s neck.

The time Betty bought was merely an instant, a moment too short to be called a moment.

However, that instant was more than enough time for the machine to activate.

[Preparation complete.]

“No!! Damn it, not like this…!!”

The machine opens,

[Unsealing initiated.]

Finally, the Goddess slowly opens her heavy eyelids.