Chapter 65: Holy Land (5)

“Have you ever considered that this world… isn’t real?”

Lumia’s question made Avalli nod. Even setting aside the meta-knowledge that she was in a game, the world was clearly… unusual.

“A cage, perhaps? Is that too blunt?”
“No. That’s… accurate.”

Lumia stroked Selenoxia’s silver hair as she lay on the pristine white bed, her skin as pale as a corpse, a sacrifice made to stop the war.

“What I’m about to tell you is the truth of this world, a secret known only to us three sisters.”
“Even the other Archangels don’t know?”
“No. Can you keep a secret, Avalli?”
“…Not unless we make a contract.”

Lumia’s eyes widened slightly at her words, then she smiled faintly.

“I can’t ask that of you. We have no one else to turn to. But please understand, this is a secret that could…cause great chaos.”
“Just tell me.”

Avalli hated cryptic conversations. She was a child of the modern age, accustomed to RPGs with clear quest markers and straightforward objectives. She preferred concise summaries, not vague hints.

“…Very well.”

Lumia formed hand signs, creating a powerful barrier, far stronger than Azazel’s, sealing the room. She took a deep breath, composed herself, and then spoke, her voice clear and steady.

“The war that began 700 years ago and ended 500 years ago… is recorded as a victory for humanity. But the truth… is quite the opposite.”

Even Avalli, who thought she had grown accustomed to this world, was shocked.

“We lost.”
“Lost?”
“Yes. We gathered all our strength, but we were losing. The land was ravaged, our lines were falling back… Our only hope was the Hero and his companions defeating the Demon King.”

But the Hero hadn’t killed the Demon King. They had reached him, a bloody, costly victory, and plunged a holy sword into his heart, but they couldn’t destroy him. They only managed to seal him, a temporary reprieve.

Even if the Demon King had been slain, the demonic forces would have remained. And by the time the Hero reached him, they were on the verge of annihilating humanity.

To prevent this catastrophe, Selenoxia had devised a plan, using magic so profound, so divine, that it was beyond human comprehension.

The result: the demonic forces retreated, and the world was saved. That was the official story, but—

“The world outside…is a dream. Created by my sister.”
“What?”
“500 years ago, time in this world… stopped. This colorless world… this is the true ending humanity should have faced.”

Selenoxia’s eternal slumber had achieved two things.

It stopped time.
It sent all survivors, except the three Goddesses, into a dream world.

“…Stopped time?”
“Yes. This world is frozen. Only within the Holy Kingdom, where my sister sleeps, does time still flow.”

Avalli glanced at the window, at the gray sky. Was that because time had stopped?

“And…she sent all the survivors into a dream. A dream where they had won. In my sister’s gentle dream, there are no demons, no Demon King.”
“…That’s not what I saw.”

Avalli recalled her encounter in the Eastern Great Forest.

“Sylvain mentioned… a darkness, an enemy attacking from beyond the forest…”
“Demons. Yes.”

Lumia’s expression turned grim.

“There should be no demons in my sister’s dream. Or rather, they can exist as… faint nightmares, easily dealt with by the guardians. The Four Guardians of the Cardinal Directions are more than capable of containing such threats.”
“…But Sylvain felt threatened. That’s why I’m here.”
“…Then they are no longer mere ‘nightmares’. Something… is invading my sister’s dream. From the outside.”
“Who?”

Lumia gulped.

“Even Transcendent Beings are limited within the dream. It is merely a reflection of the world my sister knew. A cage, as you said… Perhaps that’s why Khaled and Hongjin… lost their minds.”

Her voice trembled as she spoke the names of the two Divine Beasts.

‘Khaled and Hongjin… the West and North?’

Khaled, the Azure Dragon, master of rain and clouds, had transformed his domain into a barren desert. Hongjin, the Vermillion Bird, whose warmth had once nurtured humanity, had turned the North into a frozen wasteland.

Avalli had read about it in a history book, a tale of unexplained madness, but there seemed to be more to the story.

But Lumia was avoiding the main point. Avalli could sense her fear, her reluctance to speak the truth.

“But we had no choice. If we hadn’t done this… humanity would have been destroyed. But… if even this fails… if we are unable to contain this threat… then we… we will have committed an unforgivable sin…”

Lumia’s voice was filled with desperation, a confession of a 500-year-old secret, a secret she and Asteria had guarded, a secret born of desperation and fear. It was understandable that she was so emotional.

The ‘Transcendent Beings’ Avalli had encountered weren’t emotionless gods, but beings not that different from mortals, capable of despair and regret.

“I don’t blame you.”
“…Avalli?”
“It happened before I was even born… and you did what you thought was best. If that was the best you could do… then there’s nothing more to be said.”

Lumia’s expression remained grim, despite Avalli’s attempt to comfort her.

“But what if our choice wasn’t the best, but the least worst option? What if we destroyed… the other seeds of hope…?”
—“Don’t dwell on ‘what ifs’. It’s pointless.”

Avalli interrupted, shrugging.

“So, to summarize, ignoring all the dream talk, there’s something invading this world.”
“…Yes.”
“And you know what it is.”
“That’s…”
“Tell me. Honestly.”

Lumia tried to avoid the question, but Avalli wouldn’t let her.

“…Yes.”
“Who?”
“It’s… probably the Demon King.”

Lumia’s voice was filled with resignation, a deep-seated fear. If Avalli had been born a woman, she might have offered comfort and empathy.

“…Hmm…”

But as a former man, such emotional displays weren’t her forte.

“So, if we defeat him, the problem is solved, right?”

She knew how to solve problems. That was her specialty.

“…What?”
“Just wait here. I’ll be right back.”
“What are you—”

—talking about? Lumia was about to ask, but—

—Avalli teleported. It was an instantaneous, effortless jump across space, rendering Raziel’s presence as a guide meaningless.

‘I have a general idea of where he is.’

Avalli was a Transcendent Being, the most powerful one, in fact. And as such, she knew. It was an instinct, an intuition.

Somewhere in this world, a being of immense power slumbered, a potential threat. She had suspected it for a while.

And that being was the Demon King, the final boss of this Sword and Magic game.

“Avalli?”

A sleepy voice startled her. It was Gail, the Halfling, to whom she had entrusted the magic stones.

“How many are finished?”, “Well… only two so far.” , “That’s enough.”

There was no time for explanations. Avalli entered Gail’s mind, subtly influencing him, and retrieved the finished items. One of them was a strange device resembling a radio antenna. Gripping it tightly, she—

—teleported again—

—[—A new pawn of the Goddesses, I presume?]

—and found herself in a ruined castle, facing a man sitting on a jet-black throne, a sword impaled in his chest. It seemed she’d found the right place.

“Hello. Are you the Demon King?”
[—It’s been a long time. You’ve been avoiding me, hiding behind clever tricks, but your games end here—]
“I don’t care about that.”

Avalli interrupted, shrugging. Her tone would be familiar to the children of Asha Village, the tone she used when offering someone a final chance before unleashing her wrath.

“Just wondering…”

“…Are you willing to talk this through?”

—she asked.