episode_0219

Before leaving the Mirror World.

We waited for Levia to wake up.

The reason was Tamiel’s words.

‘Since the Holy Kingdom is currently being invaded, it would be better for that child to be awake, too.’

I’m sure Tamiel said something like that during the battle, but honestly, I just brushed it off because the Holy Kingdom also had the ….

But after hearing that the Holy Kingdom’s invasion wasn’t over and was still ongoing, I changed my mind.

While we were waiting for Levia to wake up.

I glanced at Tamiel.

The chain around her neck had disappeared, but the chains binding her body clearly remained.

Is that proof that she is physically connected to『The Demonic Monster Hiding the Sun』?

“Tamiel.”

“What is it? Prince.”

“…There are a few things I want to ask. Is that alright?”

“Of course…. It’s not like I’ve ever refused to answer the Prince’s questions.”

Tamiel replied with a bit of playfulness.

Calling me ‘Prince’ and saying ‘I’ve never refused to answer’….

It was obvious that she was trying to tease me, but I decided to let it go for now.

“You’ve been here the whole time, so how do you know they’re attacking the Holy Kingdom?”

“Well, you know that, right? They brought ‘Hati’….『The Demonic Monster Hiding the Sun』to the Holy Kingdom. I’m deeply connected to it, so I can feel it through that.”

“…Then, what about Leviathan? That monster was trapped here with you…. Why was it outside the Mirror World with your followers? Did the hero who sealed you here miss it?”

“Well…, to be precise, it’s half right and half wrong. It’s here too, you see.”

Tamiel raised her arm and said.

“This chain is also a part of Hati, strictly speaking. The one rampaging outside is a divided main body. The hero who sealed me at the time judged that he couldn’t win against me, who wielded the power of two monsters. So, he divided my power. That’s the effect.”

“Hmm….”

I did annihilate Leviathan in one blow, but if there were two of them….

If I had to fight Tamiel possessing Levia + Tamiel’s original body + 『The Demonic Monster Devouring the Sea』+ 『The Demonic Monster Hiding the Sun』, my head would have exploded.

“Then, I asked you this before, but you could have left this place, right? Why didn’t you leave and stayed here?”

“…I never thought you’d be so interested in me.”

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

At my question, Tamiel looked at me.

When her purple eyes met mine, she smiled and said.

“Can I not answer?”

“If you don’t want to.”

“…I’ve been giving you that answer since the first time we met.”

“Since the first time we met?”

Tamiel nodded lightly.

“I…. was waiting for the Prince. Someone who can’t be stopped anymore…, someone who can stop me…. My Prince.”

“….”

“If I were to go outside this Mirror World, I would have to act as a once again, led by the two beasts that bind me. That’s why my physical body itself remained here. Wandering outside, so that I could find my Prince.”

“…Then, one last question. Do you remember your real name?”

As if she had heard a truly unexpected question, Tamiel’s eyes widened, and then she smiled lightly and said.

“Hmm…. I don’t know. The time I’ve lived as Tamiel is much longer than the time I lived as myself…. So, now my original name…. I don’t even remember it anymore.”

“I see.”

“Umm….”

Just in time, Levia groaned and frowned slightly, as if she was about to wake up.

And soon, Levia carefully opened her eyes.

“Levia, are you awake?”

“Ah…. Prince, nim?….”

“…Are you calling me Prince too….”

“Ah…. Ah! S, Sorry!….”

I chuckled at Levia, who was calling me Prince as she looked at me, probably because she had been deeply assimilated with Tamiel’s memories.

Well, what does it matter what she calls me.

It’s enough that she woke up safely.

Levia looked at me, then trembled slightly when she saw Tamiel standing behind me.

“Y, You are….”

“Hello? Did you have a good dream?”

“A, Are you alright?….”

Perhaps it was because of Levia’s kind heart.

Or perhaps it was because she had been deeply assimilated with Tamiel.

I was dumbfounded to see Levia asking Tamiel, who was clearly an enemy, if she was okay, so I gently pressed Levia’s head.

“Uwaeu….”

“Who asks an enemy if they’re okay?”

“Th, That’s right….”

“Pull yourself together. If you keep being swayed by the memory assimilation, it’ll be troublesome later.”

Levia nodded her head, flapping it as if she would keep it in mind.

After confirming that, I headed to the full-length mirror.

“Then, let’s go back.”

“Y, Yes!…. But….”

“It’s okay. I’ve decided to leave Tamiel… for now.”

“Ah….”

Levia looked back and forth between me and Tamiel.

Tamiel looked at Levia with an expression as if she was looking at a cute little animal and said.

“It’s alright. I won’t do anything.”

“Ah, yes….”

“But keep one thing in mind.”

“?”

Tamiel added a word to Levia, who didn’t know the situation properly yet.

“The Holy Kingdom is currently under invasion, so… the moment you go out, you might have to fight in a war right away.”

* * *

The moment I returned from the Mirror World to reality, what I felt was the scent of blood.

The sensitive senses gained through the extremely heightened skill level detected the scent of blood relatively close by.

However, perhaps because this place itself was a well-hidden underground cathedral, there was no immediate face-to-face encounter with the Demon King’s army.

“The scent of blood is thick. There’s probably a big battle happening above us, or it already happened, one of the two.”

“Unstable magic is felt all over the Holy Kingdom…. The war is probably still ongoing.”

“Come to think of it, I think we spent a few months in your memories in the Mirror World….”

Could it be that several months have passed here?

That would be a problem…. I only briefly stayed in the Holy Kingdom after hearing that White Tiger had been kidnapped to Tayo Country and rushing there, and then hearing about the ….

But as if my worries were unfounded, Tamiel smiled and said.

“It’s alright. The flow of time is very different there and here. At most…. Only 3~4 days have passed.”

“3~4 days…. That’s a relief, but….”

Since a battle could break out at any moment, I drew my Holy Sword and walked up the stairs leading upwards.

…Rumble…

Kwaang…

Waa…aa…!…

The closer we got to the surface, the more sounds we heard.

The sound of something collapsing, the sound of something exploding, the sound of someone shouting, and so on.

Without realizing it, I gripped the sword in my hand tighter.

And the moment I came out of the underground cathedral, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“What….”

Kwaaaaaang!!!

Krrrrrrr!!!

“Die!!!”

“Block them!! Block them!!!”

The sky was dyed black, and ominous darkness was spread all around, and explosions containing various colors of magic were erupting here and there.

The traces of a terribly miserable war.

No, I was facing the war itself that was currently in progress.

“Heop!….”

Levia, who was following behind, gasped as she saw the scene.

Tamiel wasn’t particularly shocked, perhaps because she had roughly guessed the situation above.

“H, Hero?!…. H, Have you returned?!”

At that moment, there seemed to be one Holy Knight who was taking care of the wounded in the vicinity.

The moment he met my eyes, he was overwhelmed with emotion and said with tears in his eyes.

“Th, Thank goodness!…. Now that the Hero has returned, only a counterattack remains!….”

“What’s going on right now? How is the war situation?”

“Th, That is….”

At my question, the Holy Knight trembled.

I don’t know what kind of emotions he’s feeling, but at least I know it’s not good.

“Those guys…. The Witch’s followers invaded the Holy Kingdom three days ago…. The guys invaded the Holy Kingdom with types of monsters that have never been seen before, but thanks to the Sword King’s performance, we were able to stably block them in the very early stages of the invasion, but….”

“But?….”

“The war situation was reversed in an instant when the appeared.”

“… ?”

At his words, I looked at Tamiel.

Tamiel, as if she didn’t know what was going on either, tilted her head and looked at the Holy Knight who was crying in front of me.

It doesn’t look like she’s preparing to stab me in the back?….

“Is it really the ?”

“Yes. His Holiness the Pope and the Saintess have guaranteed that she is using the power of the .”

What is it?….

Two ?….

“The stepped up to stop the , but he was defeated by the ‘s cowardly trick, and from that moment on, the enemies’ attacks began to intensify…. The castle walls have been captured, and we are barely defending around this Great Cathedral….”

“…What? Wait, what are you saying right now? Who fell?!”

The fell? That monster?!….

“Th, That’s right. His Holiness the Pope is also busy blocking the enemies and treating the wounded, so he doesn’t have time to catch his breath…. The Saintess is blocking the enemies. But….”

“But?….”

“…Th, The Saintess…. It has been revealed that she is actually an existence called a ‘Blood Demon’….”

“….”

She probably had no choice but to unleash her power as a Blood Demon in order to stop the overwhelming number of enemies.

In any case, the story I heard through the Holy Knight was that the situation was overwhelmingly bad.

And after hearing the whole story, the Holy Knight returned to his unit, and when only me, Levia, and Tamiel were left.

Tamiel said quietly.

“This is the power that『Demonic Monsters』possess.”

“….”

“It’s just that you were exceptionally strong. If ordinary beings try to handle it, this is what happens. Yes…, like back then.”

“H, Hero. According to what that Holy Knight said earlier…. What about Baekryeon unnie and Seollin unnie too….”

“…I have to head to the battlefield as it is. Levia, take Tamiel to the Pope.”