episode_0191

000

In the gorge where the barrier had regenerated, the village was in the midst of being restored.

Because the green emeralds in structures cracked or destroyed by the aftermath of the battle could be restored by using healing magic, Kuon was busily running around various parts of the village.

During the previous fight, Sasha patrolled the gorge several times, in case any monsters had sneaked into the barrier through other routes.

Amelia had been afflicted with something similar to a curse, her fingers not moving properly, because she had been enveloped in black magic and had grabbed a Lilim’s body with her bare hands. Therefore, she needed rest until she recovered.

“Hmm. As you said. It seems there is a pollutant in the water-attribute spiritual vein slightly above. Let’s send an automaton to clean it.”

“…An ancient’s automaton. I’m curious, what kind is it?”

Lyla and Mercury returned to the underground laboratory and continued their investigation to purify the contaminated spiritual vein near the gorge.

As a result, they discovered the location of the pollutant and were preparing to purify it.

And, in the same room of the research lab ruins.

Kleone, sealed in a blue crystal, quietly stared at the Lilim who had been moved to the laboratory through the crystal tower and sealed.

Inside himself. After seeing the memories of his previous life, he felt as if a large obstacle had been removed from within him.

He said he was fine, but after being forcibly examined, Mercury said.

`The previous life factor has disappeared from within you.`

He knew the reason.

In the battle with that guy, a state was created as a result of drawing out Galatea’s power to the maximum.

That sword energy blew away not only the factor but also the space inside Kleone’s soul where that guy was residing.

“Kleone.”

Turning to the voice calling him, Aruru was looking at Kleone with a slightly worried expression.

Kleone also knew what she was worried about.

The Sword Demon Emperor, Kain. The greatsword Pandora that she used.

For Aruru – an object of fear.

If the continental public enemy who burned the kingdom and plunged countless people into pain was Kleone’s previous life, it would be natural that it would be difficult to treat him as before.

“…Shall we take a walk, perhaps.”

When Kleone said that, Aruru quietly nodded.

“Galatea. Watch the Lilim.”

When Kleone said that, Galatea, who was hanging on his waist, shone and took on a human form.

As always, she had beautiful turquoise hair and revealing clothes, but her usual composure was gone, and she also had an expression as if she was worried about Kleone.

“Okay… but Kleone. Don’t overdo it either.”

The reason Galatea said that was clear.

She had heard from Mercury’s physical examination that Kleone’s insides were completely messed up.

In other words, it was the same situation as Rubera before.

The previous life factor was one of the `physical`, `mental`, and `spiritual` elements that made up Kleone’s interior.

In a way, this was obvious, because the original purpose of the previous life factor was to improve flaws by repeating previous lives.

However, over a long period, the factor tried to create incarnations that emphasized efficiency as a tool to stop Adam’s rampage.

The Sword Demon Emperor Kain may have been one form reached at the end of pursuing that efficiency.

The current Kleone is in a state where he cannot even draw power through engravings, let alone use black magic.

His physical abilities had recovered to some extent, but after opening his eyes, his whole body creaked so much that it was difficult to get up on his own.

It had not even been a day since Mercury put him in a treatment capsule and forcibly recovered him to some extent.

However, it seemed that it would still take more time for the magical organs inside his body to recover, and the reason for this was not only related to the previous life factor, but also because he had repeatedly suffered major injuries to the extent that his whole body had been overhauled several times recently.

He could guess at several reasons…. Becoming a mummy and lying on the bed after a big incident had become like a jinx.

As Kleone and Aruru turned to leave the room, Mercury looked back at Kleone.

“Hmm? Kleone. Are you going outside the village?”

“No. I’m just going for a walk… so I might go outside the village.”

When Kleone said that, Mercury took out a small spherical magic tool from the drawer and threw it to Kleone as if it was a good opportunity.

With a thud! sound, Kleone caught it in one hand and felt that it was quite heavy compared to its small size.

“What’s this?”

“I have a favor to ask. If you go outside the village, there will be ores of a different color than ordinary emeralds in various places in the gorge. Please collect some of them for me.”

When Mercury said that, Lyla raised her voice from the side.

“Wait, Kleone is injured.”

“What. What you have to do is simple. That magic tool is a small automaton for resource collection. There’s a button in the middle, right? If you press it, it will automatically collect the ore.”

“Still…”

As Lyla was about to say something more, Kleone nodded.

“I understand. It’s not in my nature to do nothing. Let’s go. Aruru.”

Looking at Kleone’s back as he slowly walked away, Aruru had an expression that seemed somewhat relieved as she followed him.

“Okay, then. Finally separated from Kleone, Galatea? I want to do some tests on you too…”

“Dream. On!”

Mercury, who had confirmed that Kleone had left the room, looked at Galatea with sparkling eyes, and Galatea felt goosebumps on her back and showed her intention to resist.

001

When Kleone and Aruru came up to the surface through the crystal tower’s teleporter, the village had recovered quite a bit to its original state thanks to the group’s efforts.

In addition, perhaps due to the influence of the barrier, which was mixed with a high concentration of holy magic, unlike the original barrier, the buildings made of green emeralds and the green emeralds themselves seemed to have grown larger than before.

“It seems to have recovered a lot. That’s a relief.”

As Kleone said that and slowly moved his feet, Aruru followed beside him.

“That’s right. I guess it’s thanks to Kuon-yang running around diligently. I was a little surprised when I heard that healing magic worked on buildings too. It seems that the green emeralds here are not ordinary ores.”

Aruru also said that, taking out a green emerald crystal from her pocket.

Unlike the other green emeralds growing in the village, it was more transparent and processed into the shape of a crystal pillar, as if it could be used directly for decorations.

“What’s that?”

When Kleone asked curiously, Aruru held it up to the sunlight and answered.

“A `communication magic tool` made through green emeralds… or so it seems. It seems that such pure green emeralds with a high magic content have the ability to store formulas themselves. Gabriel-nim asked me to give it to mother.”

“To Aurelia-nim…”

“Yes. It seems that she wants to hear her voice directly, not just a letter.”

Kleone nodded at her words.

Aurelia is a daughter’s friend to Gabriel.

She was one of the few people who could talk about her, whom most people now avoided mentioning or had forgotten in the depths of their memories.

For himself, Lesia would be a similar existence to Sophia or Eska.

“…I see.”

“Yes. Mother will be happy too.”

As they were talking like that and slowly walking to one side of the village, they saw Jibril standing at a location like the boundary line dividing the village and the gorge.

She seemed to be using magic to suppress the growth of the green emeralds that had grown near the village road, so that they would not block the road.

When Jibril noticed the presence of the two and turned her head, she momentarily made eye contact with Kleone.

“Ugh.”

Then, she hurriedly turned her eyes away and looked at Aruru.

`… …`

Kleone couldn’t help but think that her reaction was unavoidable.

The being that had caused great damage to the village was also the Lilim, a member of the Black Magic Clan, and it was known to the people that `he` had summoned her.

He couldn’t help but be hated. Thinking that way, he couldn’t say anything.

“Ah, Aruru-nim. Kleone-nim. Are you going for a walk?”

“Yes. Jibril-ssi. What’s down this road?”

Aruru also seemed to have accepted Jibril’s gaze with that intention, smiling and starting a casual conversation.

“If you go this way… you’ll find the `Reverse Waterfall`. It’s a more unique space even in the gorge.”

“Reverse… Waterfall?”

When Aruru tilted her head at the term she had never heard before, Jibril smiled softly.

“It’s a space just as it sounds… you’ll understand if you go there. It’s okay, it’s not a dangerous place.”

Aruru also did not ask any more questions at her words and nodded, walking with Kleone.

And, after Kleone passed by Jibril-

“K, Kleone-nim.”

Jibril called his name and stopped him.

Both Aruru and Kleone stopped, surprised by this unexpected event, but Jibril lowered her head and spoke hesitantly.

“I, is your body… getting better?”

Jibril’s voice, asking that question, seemed a little trembling.

Kleone also thought for a moment after receiving her question and answered.

“Yes. The magical parts are not yet, but I’ve somehow become able to walk around.”

“I, I see… T, that’s a relief.”

When Kleone looked at Aruru at Jibril’s reaction, who still seemed to have difficulty talking to him, Aruru also shrugged, looking like she didn’t know.

“Then… it means you are now able to `move` your body…”

“…Is that so?”

“I understand… Then, I’ll see you again later.”

Watching her walk away, leaving behind incomprehensible words, Kleone looked like he didn’t know.

Wasn’t she avoiding him…?

“…I don’t know…”

After saying that, he turned around and approached Aruru.

002

“Ooh… Ooooooooo!”

Walking to the end of the road, the `Reverse Waterfall` appeared as Jibril had said.

There was a huge stream of water. The sound of it moving with a loud noise.

It would be natural if it were a waterfall. But what the two saw when they got closer was beyond imagination.

The water of the waterfall was flowing upwards, against the current.

The sound was the sound of water colliding with the rocks in between.

When Aruru raised her voice with sparkling eyes, Kleone could not help but make a sound of admiration.

“How is this possible? Is it a magical effect?”

“U, um… I’m not an expert in that area, so I don’t know, but since most things in this world can be solved with magic… wouldn’t it be?”

Kleone chuckled at Aruru’s casual answer.

“…Ah. That’s right. Before I forget, let’s collect the ore.”

Kleone said that and looked around, and as Mercury had said, he saw crystals that were a different color from other green emeralds – a color that was a little yellowish and close to light green.

“Is this it?”

“It seems so. I feel a little holy magic.”

When Aruru came closer and put her hand on it, she felt a warm energy, though small, from the crystal that reacted to her holy magic.

“It’s from the influence of the new barrier. Is this what you wanted to investigate…”

“The barrier can create a sanctuary and change the ecosystem.”

“Sanctuary… Ah.”

Kleone thought of one possibility and closed his mouth for a moment before shaking his head.

That was, was the reason his body’s recovery speed was slow possibly due to the `sanctuary`?

Kleone himself is a member of the Black Magic Clan and has a higher affinity for black magic than ordinary humans, but conversely, his compatibility with holy magic is a little bad.

So, wasn’t the environment, which was always full of holy magic around him, affecting the injuries in his body?

“…What’s wrong? Kleone.”

Compared to that, Aruru, who is a Hero, Kuon, who is a priest, and Amelia would be a little better off.

“…No, it’s nothing. The magic tool… you said I just have to press the button?”

Kleone said that and took out the ball from his pocket and pressed the button, and it began to transform above Kleone. It turned into a form like a “mouse”.

“…A mouse?”

“Wow… It’s incredibly elaborate… I’ve never seen anything like this made in the Academy’s alchemy department. Of course, not in the magic tool department either.”

As Aruru said, the mouse’s form was completely mechanical, but it was also made of hundreds of screws and gears, like a work of art.

Powered by the magic stone embedded in the center of its back, it soon approached the green emerald that was a different color near Kleone.

Then, it bared its sharp steel teeth and gnawed at the surface of the green emerald.

“…It seems like it will take a little time.”

Aruru watched it curiously, then turned to face Kleone.

Her gaze was closer to Aruru, who was “hungry for the strong” and crossed swords with him when they first met at the Academy, rather than the worried gaze she had until now.

“Kleone. Are you the Sword Demon Emperor?”

Aruru asked Kleone slowly, quietly, but clearly. Without missing a single word.

Kleone looked at Aruru and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them.

And, Kleone also answered in the same way as her.

“No. I am Kleone, not the Sword Demon Emperor.”

His voice reached Aruru, mixed with the wind that swept through the gorge.

The two silently looked at each other in silence.

There was no tension felt. It was just a time of communication more precious than words and conversation, to convey each other’s hearts through eyes and eyes.

“… …”

“Ah. I knew it. That’s a relief…”

Aruru said that and smiled.

Tears were flowing from one of Aruru’s eyes, running down her cheek.

“Ah, Aruru…?”

Kleone was flustered because he had expected to receive this kind of question, but he had not thought that Aruru would shed tears.

Aruru shook her head and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“Kleone is Kleone. Even if the Sword Demon Emperor is a previous life… Kleone is not the ruthless emperor of the empire, but a person who knows how to worry about others and will lend a hand when asked.”

“… …”

“That’s a relief… Really… That you haven’t changed… That you are the original Kleone…”

Aruru said that and raised both hands to cover her eyes.

Judging by the way she wiped her eyes with her wrists, it seemed that her tears could not be controlled because her tension had completely been released.

“…Aruru.”

Kleone hesitated for a moment about what to do, then took a step closer to her and stroked her back as if comforting a child.

As expected, even though she had been repeatedly trained, her arms and body were too slender compared to Kleone.

So much so that no one would think that she was the one who had to fight with the hopes of the people on her back.

“…I’m sorry, Kleone. I, I was actually scared… You know, right? In the Academy’s maze. The illusion of the `Sword Demon Emperor` popped out… That was an illusion created from my image of fear.”

As a Hero protecting the peace of the kingdom, the greatest object of fear for her was the Sword Demon Emperor, the invader who had driven the kingdom to the brink of destruction.

When such a threat appeared again. Could the current kingdom, without the Hero Lesia or the Sword Saint Talcheck, defeat him?

She considered all the duties she bore as her pride, but because of that, she feared in the depths of her heart the great threat that could threaten that pride.

That she might not be able to protect the existence she had to protect because she was not strong enough.

The reason she became stronger was to suppress that fear and to repay the expectations and hopes of those around her.

Kleone was one of the few people who could realize and understand such worries of Aruru.

They had come to know each other through swords, understood each other through conversations, and engraved each other’s existence through their bodies.

However, such Kleone.

May be the same existence as the `Sword Demon Emperor`, the existence she feared most.

The fact that the existence she had given her heart to was actually such a fearful existence deeply weighed on Aruru’s heart.

If Kleone opened his eyes and regarded himself as an enemy and wielded his sword ruthlessly, what should she do?

She spent the night with Arondight.

But. It seems that was an unfounded fear.

Kleone’s attitude towards others did not remind her of the Sword Demon Emperor.

The way he treated Mercury, the way he looked at Lilim, and the conversation with Jibril.

Nowhere was Kleone in front of Aruru without changing.

“Kleone… I’m sorry. For doubting you even a little… I promised that I would never let go of Kleone’s hand…”

Aruru shed tears to Kleone as she recalled the promise of that day when she danced under the moonlight.

“… …”

Why is it that when I hear an apology from her, I recall previous memories.

Of course, Aruru’s suspicion was reasonable.

She is different from Albein.

He rejected Kleone without rational judgment in order to satisfy his vanity and monopolize the popularity of those around him.

But Aruru… was prepared to raise her sword to Kleone, overcoming her anxiety and fear in order to wield her sword to protect the kingdom and, by extension, the world as a Hero.

“…It’s okay Aruru… It’s okay, so please don’t cry anymore.”

“…Kleone.”

Kleone said that and moved his body away from Aruru.

“Surely. My previous life is the `Sword Demon Emperor`. But, now there is almost no previous life factor or his existence left inside me… Perhaps, I have become a human who will not be able to reincarnate after this.”

“… …”

Kleone’s gaze was directed at the reversing waterfall.

“It seems that I have a `mission` to stop the rampaging Adam… For that, an efficient existence that can make any sacrifice. Just like the `Sword Demon Emperor` did.”

The flow of water falls from top to bottom, riding the flow, riding the gravity.

“…But. I have no intention of becoming such an existence. If `Adam` is a dangerous existence, I will stop him… So that there are no sacrifices.”

But the water in front of me was defying that law and going up in reverse.

“Will you trust me? Aruru.”

When Kleone turned his body back to look at Aruru, Aruru slowly approached Kleone and reached out to Kleone’s face.

Lightly, gently, the two’s lips touched and parted.

“…Of course, Kleone. I will never let go of Kleone’s hand again.”

003

When they delivered the collected ore to Mercury, Mercury said, `This can be used to do something interesting` and immediately started working.

Because Mercury did not give proper answers even when spoken to, they shook their heads as if they could not help it and came up to the surface with everyone.

After deciding when it was time to leave the village, they went to bed.

Quietly, in a room where only the sound of breathing could be heard.

The sound of hushed footsteps entered Kleone’s bedroom.

“…I, I’m sorry. Kleone-nim… Please forgive me.”

Just as he thought he heard such a murmur, Kleone’s body was quietly lifted by something and left the lodgings.

A little while later, Kleone opened his eyes and saw a ceiling he had never seen before – no, a ceiling he had seen before.

`This is… Gabriel-nim’s mansion…?`

It was the building he had entered when he first visited the village.

“Oh, you’ve opened your eyes. Child of Black Magic.”

When he slightly turned his head at the voice he heard, he saw that he was lying on the bed, and next to him, Gabriel was winking at him.

…Naked.

“What-”

“N, just a moment. Kleone-nim. Please wait… It’s sudden, but please forgive me.”

When Kleone tried to get up, he saw that even Jibril was lying naked next to him.

“…Jibril…?”

“Haa… Haa…♡”

Jibril’s face was red and her breathing was rough as she looked at Kleone with tearful eyes.

“Jibril is completely switched on…”

“Switched on… Could you please explain properly, Gabriel-nim.”

“Of course. Otherwise, I’m just a rapist, aren’t I.”

“I think kidnapping alone is dangerous enough…”

When Kleone narrowed his eyes, Gabriel sighed and looked at Kleone.

“It’s simple. It’s heat, heat. Our clan wants to accept the seed when we see the Black Magic Clan.”

“… … Is that also a story related to Eve or Adam?”

“Well. That’s it.”

When he made a suspicious expression as if he couldn’t believe it, Gabriel took Kleone’s hand and brought it close to her vulva.

Gabriel, who looked outwardly normal, already felt that her lower body was wet.

“Really. Every time I see your face, I feel like I’m going to die. Well, someone like me can adjust my body with magic to suppress it to some extent. But it would be impossible for a young child like Jibril.”

“…Could it be that you kept avoiding my gaze because of that?”

“…I, I’m sorry…”

Kleone sighed as he listened to Jibril’s apology.

“Well, well. Think of it as treatment and accept it. Your magical organs in your body are not yet normal, right? I’ll treat you through the art of the bedchamber. So accept it obediently and give out your seed.”

Licking her lips with her tongue, Gabriel, who was climbing on Kleone’s stomach, seemed to be ready to enter into the act with ease.

“…I, I beg you too. Kleone-nim…♡”

And, the voice of Jibril heard from the side.

Kleone also sighed and nodded as if he could not help it.