СИМИС

Hey! How long will you keep looking at us like that? It’s disgusting! 」

Mash was shouting at Seiya in front of the church’s ruins. Seiya finally diverted his eyes from them and muttered with a repulsive voice.

「No use. 」

「…What? Hey you, what did you just say? 」

「I said “no use”. Your status are too low to even talk about. I don’t have a use for comrades like you. 」

「Say what again!? You bastard!! 」

Mash was looking quite furious at Seiya, but Elle managed to keep a smile.

「*laugh awkwardly* Well, we are still gaining experience! So I hope you’ll look at us with different eyes, is that alright? 」

However, Seiya looked at the red-haired girl with cold eyes.

「By the way, it seems you have fire magic but that’s also one of my attributes. I don’t need you. 」

「Did you just say that you “don’t need me”? That’s cruel!! 」

「Besides, even though you say you’re still gaining experience, I don’t see any development, ‘cause you were standing there doing nothing; you didn’t even recognize that the priest was an undead; so how can you be useful to me from now on? 」

Both of them couldn’t speak back and they just stayed silent while clenching their teeth. I was the same as both them before.

「It can’t be helped, Seiya. The priest was hiding every trace of being an undead, so it was hard for humans to notice anything strange. I also didn’t know it was him… 」

「No, that’s not it. Their ability to detect danger is extremely low. I will be exposed to danger if I’m stuck with these two. Let me be clear here, this is bothersome. 」

Mash was at the limit of his patience and was spiting continuously on the ground.

「Hey, Mister Hero. Just because you are strong, it doesn’t give you the right to look down on other people, got it? 」

He stood face to face with Seiya and glared intensely at him.

「Don’t you dare measure people by their status alone! Do you want me to show you my real strength here? I don’t care if you’re a hero who received a God’s revelation, but in my Nakashi Village, I am called the “Hero Mash”!」

「Okay. Let me show you the differences between our abilities in a second.」

I stepped in between both them to stop their intense rivalry.

「Calm down you two! Also, Seiya! You said very harsh things to them! Apologize to Mash! 」

「Why? I don’t need to apologize. 」

Seiya looked at Mash and shooed him away.

「I’ll say one more time. I don’t need you. Go back to your Nakayoshi Village. 」

「Nakayoshi…? My Village is called Nakashi, you bastard!! I won’t forgive you!!」

Mash was going to hit Seiya, but Elle stopped him.

「Stop Mash! You mustn’t fight with him! 」

「Shup up! Let me go! 」

I let Elle handle Mash for now, and I went to speak with Seiya.

「Seiya, listen to me. According to the information of the Great Goddess Isister, there seems to be a hidden place with a special seal that can only be opened with the dragon crest on the hands of both of them. In other words, we can’t save Geabrande without it. 」

「Do you mean we have to take them not as allies but as “keys”? 」

「Well, I guess it’s okay to interpret it like that… 」

I had no choice but to use this strategy to take them with us. However, I didn’t notice at all that Mash pushed Elle away and was listening to the story I just told Seiya.

「We’re “keys”!? Don’t you dare treat us like items!! 」

「No!! That’s not what I meant!! 」

* feeling regretful* I poured oil in the fire!! How can I fix this mess!?

Now what to do…

* crying sound*

I could hear an agonizing voice. Then, I saw that Elle was crying endlessly. Suddenly, it became rivers of tears.

「*cries continuously* First it was “no use”, after that was “keys”, I can’t take it anymore!! I trained so hard ever since I was born, this is unfair!! 」

「That’s right! I completely understand! So, please don’t cry Elle! 」

「What’s this? Kindergarten now? This is ridiculous. 」

「Seiya, be quiet!! 」

A hero who is insensible. A crying “dragon girl”. An angry “dragon boy”.

Ah!? The atmosphere unexpectedly turned into a horrible mood!? I mustn’t allow this!! As a goddess, I need to put some order into this situation!!

I somehow managed to find a solution and pointed towards a group of armored Knights that were passing by.

「What!? Everyone, look at that!! Something is coming on our direction!! I wonder what’s going on!? 」

Good! In some way or another, I succeed in changing the mood…Yet, the five Knights that were walking stopped right in front of us and looked serious as they shouted repeatedly.

「Some people alerted us about a huge uproar coming from the area around the church…What the hell happened here!? The church was burned down!! 」

「Look over there!! The Sister is lying unconsciously on the floor!! 」

「Hey, you people!! Explain what happened over here!! If you don’t give a credible answer, I’ll keep interrogating you all!! 」

What is this!! The atmosphere became worse than it was before!!

「Well, about this, you know… 」

When I tried to justify the occurrence, the nun woke up.

* panicking* This is getting worse!! She will tell the Knights that it was Seiya who destroyed the church!!

Still, contrary to my thoughts, the nun protected us.

「Gentlemen. The truth is that the priest of this church was an undead in disguise. These people here helped me. 」

「The church collapsed because of that? 」

「I guess…I can’t recall that event too well because my head still hurts. But…well…I’m sure the undead ignited the fire and destroyed the church in the end…」

The nun looked serious and she continued talking with confidence; she didn’t seem to be lying to them. I am sure the nun didn’t want to believe that a “hero destroyed a church”, so she went ahead with the undead story.

「However, there is one thing that I clearly remember. The undead told us that ten thousand undead warriors would arrive in the following morning.」

「What did you say!? 」

「Ten thousand…!? It can’t be true…!! 」

「I heard that the undead army that destroyed Klein Castle was moving southward…but who would have imagined they would be that many…!! 」

The Knights became scared after hearing the nun’s words. Yet, she smiled.

「Please, rest assured. God did not abandon us, because He sent these people to our town to protect us. The goddess was descended from the heavens to save Geabrande. In addition, we have a hero who received the revelation of God. Besides, we also have here today two people from the Dragon Tribe who saved Geabrande since the ancient times. 」

The Knights changed the gaze of their eyes when they heard the nun’s words. Meanwhile, a veteran Knight with a beard was saluted.

「Please forgive us for our rudeness! We are the Knights of the Rosgard Empire! We were dispatched to save the town of Semul from the undead army! Forgives us for any inconvenience that we’ve caused! 」

The five of them bowed to us in unison.

「Hero! Please, defeat the army of the undead!! 」

Unusually, Seiya looked up to the veteran Knight and spoke to him.

「I want to ask you a question; if I defeat the army of the undead how much will I receive? 」

「Ah…? What do you mean? 」

「I am talking about money, of course. 」

「Wait a moment, Seiya!! Why are you talking about money at a time like this!? You are a hero, not a mercenary!! 」

「Recently, I thought about a new skill. Therefore, I need money to practice my new skill. 」

What…skill? What kind of skill is that that requires…money?

「Of course, we can give you a nice incentive from the Empire. At least thousands of gold coins… 」

「Okay. In that case, you need to write that down. I want to have a guarantee that you’ll pay that money in the end. 」

After writing the memorandum, the veteran Knight gave it to Seiya with a smile.

「There will be arriving more Knights! Two hundred Imperial Knights will cooperate with you on the battlefield! 」

However…

「I don’t need it. 」

「What!? You don’t need their cooperation!? 」

The Knights were astonished by Seiya’s sudden response.

「Even so… 」

「I said I don’t need them. There are a few people remaining in this town, right? Then, stay here and protect the town. 」

The Knights were caught in surprise. Next, Seiya sent a gaze at Mash.

「Hey, you mushroom from Nakayoshi Village. 」

「I’m Hero Mash from Nakashi Village!! You bastard, I’ve told you that many times already!! 」

「You’re noisy. More importantly, do you think you can manage this situation by yourself? 」

「Ah? What do you mean? 」

「What I am asking is if you can handle a ten thousand army of undead by yourself. 」

「About that… 」

The “dragon boy” and “dragon girl” look at each other speechless. Seiya spoke in a fed up tone.

「See? You guys can’t do anything about this situation. But, I can handle it. If you understand, then go back to your Nakayoshi Village. 」

「I told you it’s not Nakayoshi Village!! I won’t return!! 」

「If you don’t want to go back, you could protect this town with the Knights. You can do that much, right? 」

Elle wondered about that and looked at Mash.

「What should we do, Mash? Should we do it? 」

「Shup up! I won’t be told what do go by a guy like him! 」

Mash turned back precipitously.

「Enough! Let’s go to a different place! 」

「Wait for me, Mash! 」

「What!? Mash!? Elle!? 」

I screamed at them, but Mash continued to walk without looking back. Elle followed after Mash after bowing to me apologetically.

We left the Knights behind and ventured out of town.

「Seiya, you know…about Mash and Elle…you think that both of them are going to face the undead army by themselves? 」

「They are not that stupid. Even if they plan on fighting them, I will destroy them first. You don’t need to worry about that. 」

I stared closely at Seiya.

「Listen. “Defeat” and “Do alone”…yes, that’s something you can do well because you are strong. You fought against the god swordsman Celseus and you managed to improve your sword skills, right? Even so, this time you will be outnumbered. It’s ten thousand. Are you sure about this? Look, it’s not too late. We can go back and ask the Knights, Mash and Elle to come with us, okay? 」

「No. 」

「Come on!! You’ve always been way to cautious about fighting, so what’s wrong with you now!? At times like this, isn’t it safer to have allies at our side!?」

「It would be a hundred or even two hundred against ten thousand undead, we would never surpass the enemy in number even if all of them came with me. Neither the kids from Nakayoshi Village and neither the Knights are a goddess like you who won’t die. This way, there won’t be deaths in vain. 」

I’m sorry? He said something unusual just now, am I right? Perhaps, he is worried about those kids and the people in the town?

I was observing Seiya and…I was amazed. Seiya rapidly soared into the sky flying! Is this his flying skill!?

「Seiya!? 」

Seiya looked at me from above and said.

「By the way, I don’t need you. 」

「What did you say!? 」

「I heard the undead were going south. Instead, I went north with you. So, you must stay at that inn until I return. 」

Seiya took off and I was left alone in this inn out of town.

「You’re kidding, right…? Are you saying that you don’t need a goddess…? Wait a second…is this a dream…? 」

After being perplexed, my anger exploded.

That selfish and individualist hero!! Unforgivable!! I will never forgive you!!

I shouted loudly towards the sky.

「Order!! 」

I prayed to Isister from Geabrande all the way to the God’s realm.

And so “The permission is granted to Goddess Listarte to use the original ability to fly”!!

The power of gods and goddesses get particularly limited when we get human bodies and descend to an earthly world. This circumstance happens because of the Almighty rule about “saving a world but not excessively assisting human beings”. However, there are exceptions. In an emergency, the Special Measures Act of the God’s realm specifies that if a hero needs support, the goddess can gain access to some of her original abilities. Of course, I had to ask permission to Isister to be granted some power. Still, I asked for the flying skills only to follow Seiya. It should appear soon…

As expected, I felt my back burning hot and a couple of white wings appeared along with the glittering light.

* laughs confidently* It has been a while since I’ve had my beautiful wings! Seiya you smartass, you thought I couldn’t fly? You just wait! I will catch up with you soon…no one can beat the speed of my wings!

「Lista, Wings!! 」

I spread my wings wide open like a beautiful swan and I flew towards the bright sky, where I disappeared slowly into the horizon.

- Не связывайся с богиней!! 」

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I was flying at a full speed and in an instant, I could see Seiya’s silhouette from the distance. It seems that my flying skill is not that rusty. In fact, when I saw Seiya’s status the last time, his “Flight” ability level was not that high. Currently, my flying ability is at level 14. If I convert to hours, I can fly at 60 to 80 kilometers p/hour.

I caught up with Seiya immediately.

「I got you!! 」

…I tried to catch him from behind but he managed to avoid me.

Darn it! His reaction was so perfect that it seemed that he had an eye attached on his back.

「So, you followed me. I said I didn’t need you… 」

「Huh! What’s up with the “didn’t need you”! Watch your own mouth, okay? I am much better than you in the sky! If you try to get smart on me, I will make you fall to the ground! 」

I’m sure he might be astonished by my feat, yet Seiya murmurs indifferently.

「We are flying at normal speed. I’ll fly seriously now. 」

In that instant, Seiya’s body suddenly disappeared.

「What… 」

When I noticed, he was further ahead of me, maybe around ten meters in the distance.

That’s quick!! When did he…!? Curse you!!

I made my wings get bigger to chase after Seiya. I won’t lose against him in flying. I have beautiful wings while Seiya has no wings and only floats in the air. I can’t be defeated that easily.

However…he truly is fast! I am already at my MAX speed, but it looks like I am getting further and further away from him!

I won’t lose to someone like him!! Here I go!! Full “Megamic Power” initiated!! I’m using all of my power on my wings… *excruciating pain* My back hurts!! I feel like my wings are breaking apart!! Listen to yourself Listarte, endure, endure a bit more!! I’m a fine goddess!!

My back and my wings are aching so much; still Seiya’s appearance totally disappeared from my sight.

I was so exhausted that I stopped in mid-air because I was out of breath.

…I even asked permission to the Special Measures Act… and yet, the power I was granted with couldn’t win against him…

I was feeling depressed and when I looked up; there was Seiya right in front of me.

「That’s why I told you that “I don’t want you”. You’re so annoying. Okay then, let’s go. 」

Seiya grabbed my wrist, he took off and we flew together.

…I was so angry when we left. His serious sickness has been irritating me for quite a while now. It may be sudden, but I was somehow relieved to finally see some kindness because in the end he waited for me; I could feel the warmth that surrounded my wrist and the enthralling sight in front of me that kept flying ahead.

After all, when we see this guy from a close distance, he certainly looks cool!! *laughs timidly* And he keeps holding my hand tight, wait, this seems…like a date!!

Then, Seiya looked back at me.

「Hey, Lista. 」

What is this!? Seiya called me by my name!? All this time he has been calling me “you” or “hey”!!

「Ye…Yes? 」

My heart was pounding.

The air is so dense now!! I mean, we can’t even see the ground anymore!! Don’t tell me that Seiya will try to do naughty things to me up here!? No, we can’t, no!! A love between a goddess and a human being is a forbidden matter!! But…I wonder if only a little bit can be allowed? Well, if it’s only a little kiss, there should be no problem, right? That should be plenty enough? So, he is going to kiss me? Or maybe I should be the one doing it first?

After Seiya spoke to me and I realized my delusion.

「Let’s speed up 」

「…Sorry? 」

Soon, I felt power running through my hand! Seiya flew at a tremendous speed and I felt that power go throughout my body as well!

* screams*

There’s a lot of air coming inside my mouth. I cannot even breathe properly. I can’t look at myself at the moment, but I have a guess. I’m sure my face looks outrageous.

Yet, I could sense that Seiya was fine while flying at this horrendous speed, while I am the one being dragged behind. To make it easier to understand, for example, Seiya looks like he is sitting comfortably inside a jet’s cockpit, and I feel like I am the one tied with a rope outside the same jet.

I was being attacked by the massive gravitational acceleration, and not before long…I realized my ridiculous appearance. The top of my favorite white dress abruptly opened, and one of my breasts were in plain sight for the whole world to see.

「*shouts panicking* Stop it right now!! I have my breasts out of my clothes!! 」

However, he didn’t stop. I was trying to cover my breasts with my arms as he kept flying ahead.

…ten minutes later, Seiya finally slowed down his speed.

I finally managed to cover myself up and I spoke exhaustingly.

「I…I thought I was going to die…!! 」

「What? But goddesses don’t die, right? 」

Having said that, Seiya started observing my horrible appearance, my unkempt hair, runny nose, my ugly face and my messy clothes.

「You…had this visual before? 」

「Whose fault do you think it is; you made me became like this! Just look at me!! Even my Lista Wings are tattered!? Did you not see that I was getting undressed while flying at that ridiculous speed!? 」

「You can cure yourself with your recovery magic. More importantly, you need to speak quieter. What if they happen to hear us here? 」

I was so angry that I wanted to shout 「Ah!? 」, but on that moment I saw something from the distance and I immediately closed my mouth. It was because I saw the large army of the undead marching through the vast plains of Geabrande.

We were about 200 meters above the ground, so the army looked like small ants marching. But my eyesight is better than ordinary humans, so I could clearly see the whole scenario. The army of the undead consisted mostly of zombies and skeleton knights. They walked slowly, heading south without ever stopping.

「What are you planning to do? Don’t tell me, you’re thinking in going there right now…? 」

Seiya did not answer and pulled my arm again.

「I am going higher. 」

「What!? You’re flying again!? 」

We started to fly higher and higher into the sky. When I looked down, the large army of the undead became smaller and smaller, and at the same time I started to feel a bit suffocated.

We came to an altitude of hundreds of meters away from the ground. When Seiya finally stopped flying, the large army of the undead was only seen from above as a black mass moving in an inverted triangle.

「I wonder if they are marching that way because of their devil lord. It looks spectacular and stupid at the same time. To avoid taking risks, I will disperse that mass. Even if I started bombing from here, there won’t be any problem since there are one else in the surroundings. 」

「That’s true. However, about the bombing you mention, that’s from your world, right Seiya? There are no fighters who specialize in bombs in this world, right? 」

「That’s why I need to have a similar power to replace it. 」

Then, Seiya held his hands towards the heavens and slowly closed his eyes.

「…be quiet for a while. 」

It only took one minute. Suddenly, my eyesight became surrounded by a large shadow.

What? A shadow in the sky?

I was so astonished about what I was seeing that I forgot to fly and was about to fall. A huge object was floating above my head and it started emitting a bright light.

「What’s that!? 」

「“Meteor Strike”…! 」

On that moment I was almost speechless…that huge object was turning in the direction of the mass in the ground…we are still hundred meters above the sky, but it might be possible to strike.

「That’s a small meteorite with a radius of only ten meters, but the energy that overflows that thing is enormous and if it falls at a high speed it will be catastrophic. Maybe we can annihilate them all at once. 」

Before I knew, the meteorite emitting large amounts of energy collided with the large army of the undead marching in an inverted triangle.

In a second, a loud roar came from the ground!! A massive explosion erupted in huge flames!!

It felt more like a bomb than the collision of a meteorite. That attack had a tremendous amount of firepower, because when it hit the ground, the surrounding green plains transformed in a fiery hell.

「I adjusted the collision of the meteorite in the area where the undead were standing. However, the falling speed increased, making the meteorite disintegrate from the explosion caused by the collision with the earth’s surface. At least a radius of one-kilometer from the collision point became a burning field. 」

「Amazing…!! 」

I was only able to say one word, because the “ocean” of fire that spread in front of my eyes was overwhelming. I can’t believe that only one man annihilated an army of ten thousands! Only a High Wizard would have been able to change the orbit of a meteorite and aim at the ideal location; this accomplishment could only be achieved by powerful sky magic!

「Well, this is a powerful but limited magic. It can only be used when no one else is present, and besides that, it requires time to fully activate it and I need to have enough concentration while I do it. In fact, it’s useless because I can’t use this power that often. 」

「But where did you learn this remarkable magic? 」

「When I was beating Celseus’s mouth with an octopus, a vision came into my mind. And that was the Meteor Strike. 」

It was during that time…! He trained with a swordsman god and instead he learnt a power that doesn’t involve swords at all…!? Well, I guess it doesn’t matter much…!! Even so…

I looked at the scorched grasslands once again and my mind started drifting.

I was sad for Mash and Elle, but it is true that their levels are too different from Seiya’s. To be honest, Geabrande can be saved with just this man alone.

「I think more than ninety percent were annihilated, but I’m still worried…maybe I’ll strike them one more time just to be sure. 」

Without hesitation, I saw Seiya holding his hands together to create another Meteor Strike and I became speechless.

* laughs* Amazing! That’s too great to be true! If the one of the Demon Lord’s generals Death Magra was nearby, I am sure he would be caught in the explosion in no time! His personality is a problem, but his talent is one in a hundred million people! If he could use this Meteor Strike power on the Devil’s Castle, then Geabrande would be saved immediately, right!? Ah! It became an easy victory!!

At that moment, I was so overwhelmed by Seiya’s power that I temporarily forgot about the true situation of this place.

That’s right, Geabrande is a world with an S-rank salvation difficult Вскоре после этого мне напомнили об этой ужасной ситуации...печальный... через печальную жертву

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After creating another small meteorite, Seiya’s figure wavered in the sky.

「Are you okay, Seiya? 」

「I consumed a large amount of MP. I need to rest a little to recover it. 」

「I understand. For now, let’s return to Semul and rest at an inn. 」

He looked fatigued since he was wrinkling his eyebrows. It might be the first time that this happened to Seiya. It was a bit unreasonable. He ended up using that amazing magic for two consecutive times. In the end, it was not only the MP that decreased, he might have been mentally exhausted as well.

Seiya muttered bitterly.

「My MP was around 15 000…now is…only 13 500. 」

「But, you have a lot of MP left, don’t you!? 」

「You’re a fool. It might get very hard if the enemy targets me while my MP is this low. 」

「I wonder about that…will it be that hard…? Well, for now let’s go to the inn. 」

With 13 500 MP remaining there shouldn’t be any problem, but his everlasting cautiousness still amazes me; even so, we made our way back to Semul’s town…

When we arrived in Semul’s town I noticed that many other Knights have arrived as well and they were all assembled together. The veteran Knight from before spotted us arriving and he came running in our direction.

「I’m glad to see you unharmed! Then…who came victorious? 」

I told him the truth.

「They were annihilated…? All of the ten thousand undead…? Is that really true? Well, it’s not that I doubt you or anything like that, but… 」

The other Knights looked at each other and started laughing. Even if the hero was indeed strong enough to defeat the large army of the undead, he having done so in just a couple of hours seemed somewhat unbelievable. Seiya took out the memorandum and requested the reward; they said in response 「We need to go get it first! 」, several Knights got on their horses and ran out of the town.

The veteran Knight told us 「you must be tired 」, and took Seiya and I to nearby inn.

…it was our third morning since we stayed at the inn.

I was staying in the room next to Seiya’s; while I was combing my hair I heard someone knocking on my door.

「Geez! So you’re finally ready to go? …what? 」

I opened the door but the person standing there was not Seiya. I looked below and there was a curly-haired girl wearing a robe waiting for me; it was Elle.

「Elle? 」

Elle looked a bit gloomy as she nodded at me.

「Goddess, I am sorry for what happened the other day. Please listen to what I have to say. 」

「 You make it sound like it’s very bad. What is that you want to say? 」

「 Mash disappeared two days ago. I looked for him and I couldn’t find him anywhere. 」

「 Maybe he returned to your village, no? 」

「 If that’s the case, then I’ll have to return to see if he really went back… 」

Elle was about to cry but I touched her shoulder to reassure her.

「 Elle, I’m sure he is okay. The army of the undead was defeated. I think the possibility of Mash being in trouble is quite low. 」

Elle’s disposition became a lot better.

「 Yes, I heard it. People in the town are talking about what happened. That hero sure is amazing. 」

「 Well, I guess you could call him amazing. 」

「 Where is he? Is he staying in the next room? 」

I respond while taking a deep breath.

「 He has been obsessed with training a new skill called “Synthesis” ever since then… 」

Yes, that’s right. After receiving that large reward, Seiya went to the weaponry shop and bought lots of equipment; afterwards he closed himself within his room. He wanted to train his newly acquired ability named “Synthesis”. That’s why Seiya wanted so much money.

「 First, l need to talk with Seiya to tell him that I’ll go out with you. I can’t let you go on your own. 」

「 Go…out with me…? 」

「 I will go with you. Let’s go find Mash together? 」

「 Is that okay? Because we are not comrades anymore… 」

「 That’s what Seiya decided without my permission. Besides, as a goddess I can’t let anyone get in trouble. 」

「 Goddess, thank you very much! 」

Elle had a wide smile on her face.

Elle and I came to Seiya’s room and we knocked on his door; however, we didn’t get any reply from him.

「 Seiya? Are you there? Can we open the door? 」

The moment I opened the door, Elle and I were astonished. Dozens of swords and armors were scattered around the whole room. Seiya, who seemed focused with his sword, finally realized our existence.

「 Lista, look at this sword. 」

Seiya, who rarely showed his emotions, was flustered as he showed me his sword. I looked at it and I saw an elegant sword emitting a silver luminosity; then I spoke.

「 Don’t tell me that this is a Platinum Sword!? That’s incredible!! How did you make a sword like this in the first place!? 」

「 I had to change my experimentation. At first, I combined the sword with another sword, but only the strength was increased. To synthesize a strong sword, I had to prepare another method, so I used a catalyst. 」

「 Catalyst? What was that? 」

「 A goddess’ hair. I found some of your hair in your room while you weren’t there. I used it to combine with the steel sword, and I managed to synthesize a Platinum Sword. 」

My own hair…? He even entered my room without my permission…?

I was speechless; instead, it got a bit more complicated.

「 The Platinum Sword might need maintenance, so I need to have more hair in reserve. Give me more of your hair. A thousand strings will be enough. 」

「 I’ll get bald!! 」

As I refused his request, I noticed that Elle was shining her eyes towards me like if she was looking at me with utmost respect.

「 It’s awesome to have power on your hair! As expected of a goddess! 」

「 Well, I guess so! 」

Meanwhile, Seiya went further inside the room and picked a totally different sword. It was a strange sword with a twisted and curved blade.

「 However, this one was a failure. 」

Seiya said that he used one of my golden hair strings on the sword. Yet, the sword became twisted and had a weird format.

Elle blushed before me.

「 It can’t be…that is…perhaps… 」

「 Yes. Maybe it became this frizzy because of the other string hair? In other words, with curly hair this strange sword was created. I want more of your straight hair. 」

「 *screams* What!? 」

I picked my hair strings “scattered around”, I got the twisted sword and I shouted angrily.

「 How dare you!! 」

I was so angry with Seiya that I tried to hit him with that “hair brush sword”, but at the same time, I heard knock sound. It was familiar voice from the other side of the door.

「 Excuse me. I have a delivery for Mister Hero. 」

That person was the Landlady of the inn. When I opened the door, the Landlady was holding a large object wrapped in cloth, and gave it to me. When I received it, it was surprisingly light despite its size, and I could grab it alone.

「 What is this? Who brought it? 」

「 I don’t know what’s inside. It just says “an offering to the hero who defeated the undead”. The one who gave it to me was a mysterious man wearing a hood. 」

After the Landlady closed the door, Seiya looked at the object with a suspicious look.

「 This is suspicious. It might have something explosive inside. You open it. 」

So, a goddess can be useful on times like this because I won’t die. Still, I unwrapped the object as I was told to. From the inside, there was this large full-length mirror. The mirror was wider than a normal full-length mirror and it could reflect two people side by side at the same time.

「 Oh my, it looks like a nice present…huh? 」

I noticed that this mirror looked more like a transparent plate similar to a glass. I erected the plate next to the wall, but it only reflected transparency.

「 What is this thing? 」

However, I heard a sound coming from this supposed mirror, and the transparency became colored.

* squeal sound* Elle and I were both startled.

「 What is going on with this thing? 」

…on that moment, an eerie image was unfolding on the full-length mirror. Someone appeared inside the mirror, that person was tied up on a chair with a rope in a shadowy room. That person’s eyes were covered with a cloth band and his mouth was closed with a gag. The red stains on the clothes were probably from blood.

Elle was the first one who noticed who it was. She pressed her mouth with her hand and said with a trembling voice.

「 Mash…! That’s…Mash…! 」

In a second, I could hear stepping sounds coming closer and closer to where Mash was tied up. Suddenly, a man appeared from the edge of the full-length mirror and stood next to Mash; this man started speaking to us.

「 I wonder if you can see and hear us from there. Yes, from here, I can clearly see a man who is probably the hero, a beautiful goddess and a cute red-haired girl. 」

The one talking looked like a petite man dressed in black robes just like a grim reaper. This person was bald and on his face there were three eyes. This man was obviously not a human being. He continued speaking with a low-pitched voice.

「 These mirrors are quite strange, right? They have the Demon Lord’s power engraved inside of them. They can project images of every place no matter how close or far they are from one another. 」

Unexpectedly, the man grinned sinisterly.

「 Oh my, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m one of the four generals of the Demon Lord’s army, my name is Death Magra. Thanks to the Demon Lord I got a special ability to “remodel”, in other words, to create an undead from the corpses of fallen human beings. 」

I was caught in this horrible situation.

This man was Death Magra…! He wasn’t within the undead march…!

「 My, my, that was a splendid attack. You destroyed a large army of the undead and reduced them to nothing. You used sky magic? That was a very fearsome power. I’m glad I was only remotely controlling the undead from afar. By the way… 」

Death Magra came near the full-length mirror to show us some possessions.

「 Do you know what this is? 」

I was horrified when I realized that Death Magra was holding a human finger on his hand.

「 I wonder if there is any left? Soon, this poor boy won’t be able to hold things with his hands anymore. 」

Elle was trembling next to me.

「…no, no, this can’t be happening. 」

Death Magra laughs pleasantly as he hears a terrified Elle.

「Yes, I had fun. I am so amused right now. Fooling around with living human beings is very entertaining after all. Playing with corpses is boring because they don’t feel anything and they won’t scream as well. 」

Then, Death Magra grabbed Mash’s head and put a knife on his neck.

「But, I’m getting bored and tired. I going to kill him now. 」

Elle’s screaming voice resonated everywhere. On that precisely moment, Death Magra turned his vicious eyes towards us.

「Hero, this is your entire fault. You destroyed my army using your cowardly tactics. 」

Then, Mash began to stir on the chair as he noticed Death Magra’s ruthless intentions.

「Oh my. He wants to beg for his life? 」

He took of Mash’s gag from his mouth. Mash took deep breaths and then he spoke with a shaky voice.

「He…Hero. So, you ended up bringing down that army of ten thousand undead… 」

Mash raised his voice against the unimaginable pain and fear.

「You damn hero!! But, I must admit that you’re the real deal!! It’s true that I am nothing like you!! But please… 」

Tears of blood went through the blindfold band.

「Please…save the world in my place…!! 」

I instantly turned my eyes away from the full-length mirror, as I could no longer bear to keep listening to Mash’s cry.

I can’t bear to watch. I can’t bear to listen. Mash probably knows that he can no longer be saved. That’s why he entrusted his wish to Seiya, the one he hated so much not too long ago.

Death Magra spoke with a boring face.

「Oh my? You didn’t beg for your life? However, during your torture you shed so much tears that I was so overjoyed. Well, I guess I won’t be able to have fun with you anymore. 」

Elle strongly grabbed my arm.

「Goddess! Please, save Mash! I won’t ask for anything else, just Mash, just him! So, please…! Please…! 」

I tried my hardest to think of something. But I couldn’t think of any way to help Mash in this situation.

When I took my hand away silently, Elle fell on the floor and sobbed so much.

「I don’t want to believe this…somebody…somebody please help Mash… 」

Death Magra was laughing happily, as he saw how desperate the both of us were.

「That’s right. I understand it too well. Even if you defeated ten thousand undead troops, in the end you won’t be able to save one important person. 」

However, as Death Magra stared at us, Seiya’s face stiffened.

「Oh dear! What’s wrong, hero. This is not a time to get upset about trivial things such as these. According to the story I heard, you seem to be overly cautious; I wonder if that cautiousness made you detect this place and infiltrate some of your friends in here? 」

After he finished talking, this man revealed his true nature and laughed with a devilish face.

「*laughs loudly* It’s too bad, because that would be impossible!! You’re called a hero!? You are so helpless!! Just watch silently as I cut this boy’s throat!! 」

Even with this horrifying scenario, Seiya didn’t change his complexion that much, instead he whispered on my ear.

「Lista. Open the heavenly portal. 」

「Yes. But… 」

No matter how much time we can delay in the God’s realm, it is not possible to save Mash for being cut off right now.

「Just open it. Because… 」

Seiya kept ignoring Death Magra until now and remained calm as usual as he spoke.

「Are you sure you want to kill the dragon boy Mash? I must say you have guts. You will need to prepare yourself and start “collecting” your stuff. 」

Death Magra changed his attitude when he heard Seiya’s words.

「Hey you there. What did you just say? 」

「…I always use a simulation for similar situations. 」

「So, what are you even trying to say? 」

Death Magra became extremely frustrated right now. I also didn’t understand what Seiya tried to say.

「It was the same with Chaos Makina. I saw from a crystal ball that Nina’s father was about to be killed. I thought, “what should I do”. On situations like these when I can’t afford to waste time, it was important to find a solution, so I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. 」

In that instant, Seiya dropped his scabbard and took a grip at his sword. Noticing an offensive attitude, Death Magra opened his three eyes wide and greatly distorted his mouth.

「This idiot! Is he in the position to attack? I’m only reflected through that mirror, I’m not actually there! Your sword can’t reach me! 」

He put his knife back on Mash’s throat again.

「*laughs wickedly* This is your punishment for having destroyed my army!! 」

「Please, stop it!! 」

Elle screamed. Yet, I observed Seiya instead of watching Mash on the verge of his death.

A part of the sword came out of Seiya’s sheath and shined brightly. On that moment, he pulled out his entire sword; it was emitting such a strong light that even my eyes could not look directly at it; and he stroke back in the direction of the mirror! At the same time, Death Magra’s arm that was holding the knife went flying and there was dark blood spilled everywhere!

Death Magra shouted when he noticed that his arm was cut off and gone.

「*screams aggressively* This is…!! What happened…!? 」

After that strike with a swinging sword, Seiya looked at Death Magra again but with hawk eyes.

「This is a sword made of photons that splits the entire space… it’s a “Dimension Blade”…! 」