episode_0054

[After docking the ark on the vast lake, the Navigator took out the golden branch he had hidden within his robes and planted it in the land that would one day be called Numenlora.]

[The branch, planted in the most fertile soil, grew at an astonishingly rapid pace, and the Navigator raised it as if it were his own sibling.]

[When I was young, I often gazed at the tree and contemplated the meaning of fate.]

[Perhaps the decisive catalyst for creating the tale that would one day be known as the Ultimate Prophecy was due to these contemplations.]

*Feanor, Memoirs Hidden in Minerva’s Forbidden Library.*

“How is her condition?”

When I asked El Cid, who had removed her helmet, about Helena’s condition, she bowed her head slightly and began to explain Helena’s state systematically.

“I had a sorcerer examine that devil…”

Just as she was about to say ‘devil’, her eyes briefly flickered towards her liege, then dropped again.

“…the results of the examination of the woman named Helena show that, first of all, there is no abnormality in her health.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes. But-”

She handed over a few documents.

Within them were details of how Helena was revived, and the current state of her soul and spirit. Lastly, it meticulously explained how the Devil King’s factor affected her.

“It states that she has perfectly transformed into a complete succubus, with not a single physical characteristic of a human remaining.”

From a human body, she perfectly acquired the body of a demon.

Though I had heard stories of hybrids with mixed blood from different races, the fact that a person’s entire race had fundamentally changed was something I had never heard in my life, so I asked El Cid.

“Is this possible?”

To that question, she replied with a serious expression.

“Honestly…even with the technology of the Golden Age, committing such an extraordinary feat was impossible. Though I have heard stories of Prophets creating new life forms from nothing with their unique technology, I have never personally seen a case where not only was a dead person revived, but their very race was changed.”

However.

“Since the power of a mysterious entity named ‘Calamity’ was involved, if it is the incomprehensible power possessed by previous Calamities, then it somewhat makes sense for such an absurd event to have occurred.”

“You mean the Devil King’s factor?”

“Yes. Or perhaps-”

The power of a star.

“If it’s the power of a star, it would be entirely possible to change a person’s very race from its foundation.”

“Isn’t the power of a star simply the source of power contained within a spirit? What does that have to do with this?”

“Ordinarily, yes, but haven’t we recently had a ‘Hero’ whose very race changed from human to High Elf?”

A Hero whose very race was completely transformed, from human to High Elf.

On this vast continent, there was only one Hero of that kind.

“Hero Kara.”

She was known as the Hero of Verdure, a High Elf, and the great Hero who was said to have defeated Solomon, the second Calamity. At the same time, she was the woman who inherited the spirit of the legendary Hero who, excluding the emperors of past Elf Empires, was the only one in history to have been chosen by the Golden Tree.

“I don’t know why or how, but unlike other Heroes, after awakening the power of a star, she alone transformed from a human body into a High Elf body, did she not?”

“Come to think of it…”

It was certainly true. She was undoubtedly human the last time I saw her, but when I encountered her 10 years later, her human form was nowhere to be seen, and she had abruptly changed into a High Elf.

“I don’t know about the dead, but at least a living person had their race changed to High Elf.”

“Then, is there something in common between the Devil King’s factor and the spirit (power of a star) possessed by the Hero of Verdure?”

“……”

She said nothing, but somehow, El Cid’s silence sounded like an affirmation to me.

“…At the very least, an absurd event that has never happened once in history, was caused by the Devil King’s factor, a Calamity, and the spirit of Verdure, who was chosen by the Golden Tree. I believe there is some degree of connection.”

“……”

‘There’s a connection.’

If it had been anyone else’s words, perhaps I could have ignored them, but precisely because they were El Cid’s words, I couldn’t simply dismiss them. As far as I knew, she was the woman who took her words more seriously than anyone else.

After a brief moment of contemplation, she added another comment.

“Our family was originally a household of highly respected scholars during the Golden Age.”

As she began to speak about her past for the first time.

“And just as I said before, as soon as my father began researching the two powers, believing there was a connection between them, my family was burned to the ground and vanished.”

“……”

I knew without her needing to say who had burned it to the ground. The only ones capable of such an act, and with the power to immediately eradicate an entire family upon discovering their research, were the Prophets.

“I’ll bear that in mind.”

“Thank you.”

As if that alone was enough, she bowed her head lightly.

“So, are there any side effects since she became a demon?”

“Well…since she died and came back to life, severe damage occurred to parts of her soul and spirit during the demonification process.”

‘That would be inevitable.’

After all, it wasn’t a living person whose race changed, but a dead person who came back to life and became a demon. Not only does the soul disappear immediately upon death, but unless one possesses a spirit strong enough to ascend to the sky and become a star after death, the spirit will also slowly dissipate. Although Helena was an excellent knight, she wasn’t a woman who had accomplished legendary feats great enough for her spirit to become a star in the sky, so in a way, this was a natural progression.

“That means her memories, her personality—everything—only the outer appearance is Helena’s, but in essence, she’s no different from another person, is that it?”

“…That is correct.”

“El Cid.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Don’t watch my expression; say what you want to say.”

“What do you mean by that-”

“Did you think I wouldn’t know?”

His gaze, which had been on the documents, turned to El Cid.

“Haven’t you been watching for a chance to speak to me since earlier?”

“!!!!”

At those words, she showed a rare sign of dismay.

“I apologize, it’s just that…”

“Enough. So, what is it you wish to say?”

At those words, El Cid cautiously asked me.

“Truthfully, Your Highness, I do not understand why you extend such favor to this woman.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“She is not a particularly remarkable being; she is merely a knight from a ducal family, isn’t she?”

Her red eyes looked at me clearly.

“Your command to not kill such a lowly knight who became a demon, but to bring her to the capital, and to have the most skilled physician examine her condition and treat her with utmost sincerity…I truthfully do not understand.”

“……”

Come to think of it, since breaking the seals of the Black Knights, I don’t recall ever showing favor to anyone in front of them. Having only shown a merciless demeanor, killing and cutting down others, even she, my closest confidante, must find this side of me quite awkward.

“Perhaps, did you have a deep connection with that woman in the past?”

‘What is this?’

For some reason, El Cid’s gaze seemed subtly different. Should I say it seemed to glow with a strange light? It seemed somewhat tenacious, yet she was looking up at me with an expression I had never seen before.

“Is there some problem with me showing favor to that woman?”

At those words, she once again showed a flustered expression.

“Ah, no. I apologize.”

“I am not as cold-hearted as you seem to think, my lady.”

“……I know…”

“What did you just say?”

“…I said nothing.”

After momentarily looking strangely at El Cid, who had returned to her usual serious expression, my gaze turned towards the tightly closed door behind her.

“……”

Helena was inside.

“El Cid.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“If I were to go in, …do you think she would react the same way she did back then?”

“Forgive my presumption, but I believe it is highly probable she would.”

“…I suppose so.”

Even when she saw me then, she trembled so greatly with fear upon seeing me that she eventually lost consciousness.

“…Haa.”

Still, I have to meet her. Whether her memories remained, and how much of Helena’s personality was left. I was now the only one in this world who could know that. Since a dead comrade had been revived as a demon, I couldn’t simply leave her neglected.

Creak—

I slowly opened the door and entered the room where Helena was.

“……”

Helena was sitting on the bed, looking at the scenery outside the window. With a slightly dazed expression. Perhaps she hadn’t fully recovered her senses, as even after El Cid and I entered, she continued to gaze out the window for a long time, not noticing our presence.

Thud.

When the sound of the door closing reached her ears, her shoulders twitched, and only then did she turn her gaze towards us.

And then.

“…Ah.”

Her eyes, looking at me, slowly began to tremble.