Chapter 200: Pre and Post-processing – Part 2 (4)

Thus came to an end the Anatolia Incident orchestrated by Raizein, which had served as the grand finale of the sports festival night.

Fortunately, despite the scale of the incident, the damage was relatively minor.

Only three people had been killed—savagely slain and consumed by Raizein—and the rest had suffered only minor injuries.

Considering that fiends had been running rampant across the entire school throughout the night, this outcome was nothing short of miraculous.

It was a testament to the swift response and capable leadership of the veteran teachers.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the lives of those three victims were expendable. Raizein would have to live the rest of her life burdened with guilt and atoning for their deaths.

However, that was her responsibility—not Sion’s. Whether or not Raizein could ever be forgiven was none of her concern.

At present, Sion had a more pressing issue at hand:

Confirming the safety of the one surviving Spirit Hound.

“Oh, you’re safe and sound, Number Two! I’m so relieved you made it! I was so worried you might have gotten caught up in the chaos and died as well.”

“Woof! Woof!!”

The wolf, referred to as Number Two, wagged her tail and bounced around Sion cheerfully.
(She was female.)

Of the six Spirit Hounds that had come to the school, she was the only one who hadn’t been purged by Raizein.

And the reason was almost laughable—

Before she could even encounter Raizein, she had run into Dorothy and gotten beaten up, resulting in injuries that landed her in the infirmary.

Thanks to that, she hadn’t gotten involved in the bloodbath, and as a result, had survived.

Truly, life’s fortunes can be as unpredictable as the old proverb about “fortune and misfortune being two sides of the same coin.”

“Woof! Woof woof!”

“Enough, enough! You’re getting me all slobbered on. I’m happy to see you too, but settle down for now.”

“Woof woof woof!! Awooo! Awooooooooo!!”

Suddenly, Number Two lifted her head toward the sky and howled.

Having been knocked out by Dorothy before ever meeting Sion, this was actually her first time properly seeing her master.

Thus, she had no idea that her siblings had already met Sion.

Believing she was the first, she howled excitedly, hoping the others would hear and come running.

But they would not come.

They would never come.

From now on, Number Two would have to live the rest of her life alone.

“…….”

Sion gazed at her with somber eyes for a moment before finally opening a dimensional storage space and pulling out a staff.

It was the [Eye of the Dominator], an artifact she had looted three months earlier and had not used even once until now.

“Number Two, sit!”

“Woof?”

At Sion’s firm command, Number Two instantly stopped howling and sat down reflexively.

Smiling gently, Sion patted her on the head.

“Good girl. Even after 500 years, you still remember how to obey commands. Unlike someone I know, you’re very smart.

Now then, can you take a look at this jewel for me? Yes, just like that…”

As she spoke, Sion activated the staff.

Gradually, Number Two’s gaze grew hazy, and her frantic panting slowed down.

She stared quietly at the jewel, as if falling asleep with her eyes open—a sign that the artifact’s effect was working properly.

Watching from behind, Exia couldn’t hold back her curiosity and asked,

-“Um, Sion… didn’t you say there were only three uses left for that thing? Are you sure it’s okay to just use it like this out of nowhere?”

The [Eye of the Dominator] required a special kind of divine power to activate—not the ordinary sacred power from the goddess Lafrey, but the dark divinity derived from sacrificing other lives to the evil god Zairef.

Perhaps in her days as a demon, Sion might have had access to it, but not anymore.

Thus, the artifact’s remaining charge was effectively its remaining lifespan.

And yet Sion was willing to expend one of those precious charges—not even on a human, but on a dog.

This from the woman who usually hated using memory manipulation and would come up with all sorts of excuses to avoid it.

What had gotten into her all of a sudden?

“Well, tools are meant to be used when needed, after all,” Sion replied simply.

Then she closed her eyes and began altering Number Two’s mind.

Only a single modification:

“By the name of the Dominator, I command thee: From this moment forth, thou shalt forget all about thy siblings.

The Spirit Hound has always been and shall always be just one—and that one is thee.
Thou art my one and only masterpiece, my sole and faithful vassal.”

-“?!”

Exia, who had been listening, took a sharp breath.

-“Are you going to erase their memories? Everything about their friends?”

“Yeah. Knowing the truth would only bring sadness.”

Spirit Hounds are highly sensitive to the existence of souls, even if they’re placed in completely different vessels.

No. 2 would immediately sense the presence of the siblings devoured by Raizein the moment they met her.

And upon realizing that yet another master had betrayed them, No. 2 would fall into utter confusion.

Even if the souls had already melted away without form and could no longer be recognized, the result would be the same.

In that case, No. 2 would spend their entire life mourning, waiting for siblings who would never return.

Every night a full moon rose, they would look up at the sky and howl mournfully.

Sion didn’t want to force such a cruel fate onto a beloved pet. She didn’t want to let them struggle in inescapable pain for the rest of their life.

Thus, she decided it would be better to simply make them forget everything.

Because that was the best choice.

“Normal memory-erasing magic wouldn’t be nearly enough to erase the memories of siblings they spent hundreds of years with. But using Mind Crash would make them unable to recognize anything at all.

So, reluctantly, I’ll have to rely on the power of an artifact. It’s unfortunate to consume one of the three remaining uses, but there’s no other choice for this.”

-“……..”

Exia remained silent.

If she were following her principles mechanically, she would have had something to say. As with Beryl, she didn’t like erasing other people’s memories.

But this time, she couldn’t say a word. Unlike back then, Sion’s face was steeped in deep sadness.

Surely, she didn’t actually want to erase the memories either. She was only doing so because she realized it was the best option.

In that case, Exia had nothing to say. She would quietly watch from behind.

Shuuuuu…

The light from the crystal orb attached to the [Overlord’s Eye] faded. It was a signal that the memory manipulation had ended.

At the same time, No. 2 collapsed onto the floor and fainted, their head thudding against the ground.

After putting the staff back into the warehouse, Sion reached out, gently stroking the creature’s soft fur as she spoke.

“Well, looks like we’ve finished everything we needed to do. Nothing left, right?”

-“Probably not?”

The wounded had been treated, and Raizein had been persuaded to switch sides.

The broken barrier still needed repairs, but that was Mana’s responsibility.

Aside from that, everything seemed finished. They could return to their usual daily life starting tomorrow.

…Really?

“Uuuhm… what is this feeling? Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something very important?

Something that should absolutely not be overlooked…”

Sion stroked her chin, falling into deep thought.

Usually, when she had this kind of uneasy feeling, it meant something truly was wrong.

And Sion always trusted her instincts — they had never once provided her with false information.

But what exactly was she forgetting—

“Hello?”

“Uwah, you scared me!”

Startled by the sudden voice, Sion jumped to the side in shock.

It was Marianne. She had no idea when Marianne had gotten there, but she was now standing right beside her.

There was no trace of the aftereffects of the fierce battle from two nights ago on her smiling face.

Had her body fully healed?

“Are you alright? Is it okay for you to be up and about already? You were pretty badly hurt this time…”

“Ahaha, I’m fine. Aside from being turned into a subordinate after being bitten by Lady Raizein, I didn’t really suffer any external injuries.

And somehow, she got it into her head to ‘act freely according to your heart. If you ever need something, feel free to come to me,’ and released all restrictions on me, so now I can act independently without having my will bound.

So aside from not being able to stand direct sunlight anymore, and not being able to eat garlic roast chicken, I’m completely fine!”

“Is that so… that’s a relief…”

Sion genuinely sighed in relief.

Right. What she had forgotten was Marianne. After the battle, they had retrieved her along with Raizein.

She had worried that Marianne might be traumatized by the experience, but judging from the way she spoke, that didn’t seem to be the case. Thank goodness.

“By the way, why is Lady Raizein working as a maid now? Just until the day before yesterday, she treated humans like bugs, looking down on them infinitely.

I heard she’s ‘atoning’ now, but seriously, what on earth happened while I was unconscious?”

“I’m curious about that too.”

Neither Mana, Raizein, nor Nelia had explained exactly what punishment had been carried out. All three just showed either meaningful smiles or shuddered in fear.

Hopefully, Sion wouldn’t suffer the same fate. That was all she could wish for.

“Anyway, even if everything seems fine on the surface, it’s always better to be cautious. Let’s go see a specialist doctor together later for a proper checkup.

Until then, please avoid unnecessary outings, alright?”

Sion said, speaking in a slightly scolding tone — worrying for the well-being of a descendant carrying even the faintest drop of her blood.

And in response to the hero’s advice, Marianne flashed a radiant, innocent smile and answered energetically:

“Yes, Sien!”

The world froze over.