I’ve entered the castle with Rurika and Sera.
The heavy door was completely destroyed, and there are pieces of the stone statues on the floor too.
I see a demon I recognize on the floor too, in a pool of blood. I shut my eyes without thinking, but he might still be breathing.
I run over and check, but… He’s not.
“Kotori, are you all right?”
Asks Sera, sounding worried, and I nod.
That’s a lie. I nodded because if I open my mouth, I might throw up.
We keep following the destruction down the hall. The suits of armor that decorated the hall are on the ground, destroyed. T-that helmet was cut cleanly in half. And that armor has so many holes.
I keep seeing sights like that here and there, but at least we haven’t found any demons on the floor since the entrance.
But this is awful. And proof that there was a battle. I just keep thinking about Kae.
Was she here? It makes me feel happy thinking that she’s all right, but what am I going to do when I see her?
Am I going to fight alongside them? I can’t. I know it now. The demon king we were told about… Eris. And about the demons.
They have blood coursing through their veins like us. And emotions like us.
They’re definitely not evil murderous weapons.
Then there’s the truth of this world that I heard from Sora. And what I learned in that jail.
No matter how much I tried, I wouldn’t be able to beat them. If there’s such a thing as instinct, that’s what it told me back then.
It was pure fear. Something I didn’t even feel when I was facing a dragon in the dungeon.
“Are you sure you’re all right Kotori? You look pale.”
Asks Rurika, also sounding worried, as we walk forward with caution. Do I really look that bad?
It’d be easy to tell if I had a hand mirror or a phone, but those aren’t exactly easy to find in this world. Well, the mirror can be bought if you have the money.
“Y-yes, I’m fine. Let’s keep going.”
I say as I grip my staff tightly to rouse myself.
“I understand if you’re getting restless, but we have to hurry. We might bump into the enemy.”
Rurika is right. Actually, I can really feel how they’re holding back from rushing forward. They’re worried about Chris.
I might be holding them back.
Anyway, we know we have to go to Eris, so we’re heading to the throne room.
I didn’t feel it before, but now that I’m heading straight to the throne room, I really get a feel for how complicated the route is.
Is it also a measure to deter invaders? I can’t really remember, but I think…
“H-hum, is this the right way?”
“Yes. We passed through it a few times, right Kotori?”
Rurika says with full confidence, and I look away.
What great memory. She’s going forward without any hesitation.
I peek over at Sera, and when our eyes meet, she looks away.
W-we’re the same. Yes. It’s pretty complicated, so it’s hard to know for sure!
We just have to follow Rurika.
We’re cautious as we advance, but we don’t find anyone on our way to the throne room.
The door is wide open. There are no signs that there was a battle in front of the throne room, and the statues of armor and monsters are unharmed.
We step forward, and hear a noise. We all look at each other, and run to the door to peek inside.
“Ah.”
Rurika makes a quiet noise.
We see Chris and a few demons, and at their feet…
I almost puke. That… Was a person. It’s mangled flesh.
I can tell from here that Chris’ face looks pale.
“Are you all right?”
I’m asked again.
I take a deep breath to calm down, and this time, really look where the noise came from.
I see two faces I recognize, Shun and Naoto. And one more… It looks like Kae’s figure, but… I’m shocked when I see her from the side.
Is that a mask? It looks like one of the slave masks Sora told me about.
The battle continues, ignoring my confusion. But can it even be called a battle? Shun and the others are much stronger than me, but Ignis deals with them like they’re kids. The gap between them is very clear.
And just as they’re starting to show their exhaustion, Ignis, who was on the defensive this whole time, goes on the offense, and finishes it quickly.
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Thanks for the treat.
Oh looks like the battle really is coming to a close the question is will he wipe them out or show mercy to bring them around to common sense