Chapter 217 ·Ritual (1)

Ritual ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍(1)

If you asked me whether I was afraid of dying, there was only one answer.

Yes. Of course, I was afraid.

Terribly afraid.

After devoting an entire lifetime, who wouldn't fear having everything collapse?

Unless someone has lived a life no better than death itself, they might fear it a little less—but even such a person would feel fear in the face of death.

That's because there remains, deep down, a desire to do something one would never regret while alive.

Rio of her previous life was a prime example.

She lived her whole life like a Homonculus, brainwashed and controlled by those above, moving not by her own will but always at the behest of others.

No matter how much she became a Hero, even called the Maiden of Blood, it was never by her will.

But even that achievement as a Hero vanished when the entire continent rebelled against her.

All that remained was the stigma as the criminal who brought disaster upon the entire continent.

A Hero who unified the continent, a criminal who brought calamity.

Ironically, both had something in common.

It wasn't Rio herself who had wished for or achieved either.

As a result, Rio of her past life had not accomplished a single thing for herself.

Everything was an order, everything merely for the sake of others' intentions.

That's why, just before dying, Rio in her previous life thought:

Should her life really end like this?

How could a life so unfair exist?

It was such an utterly unreasonable life that she cried until her death.

A life with nothing of her own—so much that she only remembered the faces of her family and her own name just before dying.

Of course, she felt vengeful toward those who had made her life this way.

But what ran even deeper was regret.

Regret for wanting to live a life truly her own, even now.

That regret—mixed with all the buried emotions—exploded, shaking the girl's mind.

Even as she died, the pain in her brain felt worse than death itself, so she felt more pain just before dying.

Remembering this even in her current life, Rio couldn't help but be afraid.

Although this life was far better than her previous one, it was another life cut short.

Seeing her past life made the fear even more intense.

Of course, she didn't want to die like this.

But if she didn't sacrifice herself here, the world would be destroyed by the young master, who had turned into the Chaos Dragon.

'I can't let young master become such a criminal.'

Because Rio herself had been made into such a criminal once, she knew exactly how that felt.

If young master hadn't been there in the first place, her current life would have been no different from her previous one.

Without him, she would have been assaulted by the soldiers of the 7th Legion, never grown stronger, never made friends.

It was young master Louis who changed a life that was on the verge of repeating as before.

She thought she wouldn't mind sacrificing her life if it meant saving young master Louis.

Rio intended to carry out the ritual for that one conviction alone.

'I'm just returning this life to my benefactor.'

That's right. A life she had to return.

From what she heard, according to young master, she originally seemed to have an "evil" tendency.

Wasn't she supposed to follow some kind of "evil route" and be fated to destroy the world?

If that was true, then Rio all the more had to sacrifice herself for Louis.

Because it was young master Louis who changed the "history" she was originally supposed to fulfill.

Louis Seifert. Without him, she might have become something called "Lord" and contributed to destroying the world.

Had that happened, it would have been no different than her previous life.

It was he who prevented a hellish life from repeating.

So, she had to repay him.

By whatever means necessary.

Even if it meant her own life.

Her feelings for Louis—which had been intense even before—grew even stronger after glimpsing her previous life.

But it was for the best. Thanks to that, she could risk her life with no hesitation,

even if there was still regret.

'No, am I really the only one who's sacrificed myself?'

Suddenly, the word sacrifice reminded her of when she was first dragged into the 7th Legion.

The five who were the first to be sacrificed after being kidnapped from the village.

Dimo was at the center of that group.

Silia's platoon, surrounded by monsters during the stampede.

If Dimo hadn't voluntarily stepped forward then, the entire squad would have perished.

Even while knowing he was going to die, Dimo stood bravely before the monsters.

He was just a boy in his mid-teens.

'Dimo also sacrificed himself... can't I do the same?'

What she now enjoyed was practically Dimo's place.

Not the seat of the one who would destroy the world, but the seat of the savior.

Actually, even being called the origin of the world's destruction bothered her.

Every time she heard "Demon King" or "Lord," it made her head spin.

That's why she wanted to prove herself.

That she wasn't someone who brought about destruction.

This ritual of the Blood Sword Technique, the root of this apocalypse—how great would it be if she could use it to save the world?

No one could have predicted that the time for that would be now.

Rio put all the emotions accumulated from her previous life into her thoughts.

She was no "Maiden of Blood," nor was she a criminal who called forth disaster.

Even less so a Demon King or Lord.

She was just a single girl named Rio.

If she could live as such a normal girl, if it was for the young master who paved the way to such a life, then death was not to be feared.

"Guh!"

Blood poured from her mouth.

The ritual seemed to have reached its halfway point.

The moment it ended, her breath would as well.

'Ah... I forgot something.'

She had forgotten one crucial thing.

If young master found out she had died, what kind of expression would he have?

Louis had suffered much to take care of her and the rest of the special task force.

If she died here, it would make all his efforts go to waste, but Rio didn't hesitate.

But even worse would be if the rampaging young master reduced everything—including Seifert Village—to nothingness.

That would mean the other special task force members would also die;

it would be better if only Rio herself vanished.

'The few must be sacrificed for the many.'

In a way, it could be seen as a necessary evil.

She wasn't even sacrificing someone else, after all.

"Ugh...!"

The pain in her body escalated further.

She started to feel more and more detached from consciousness, compared to when the ritual began.

The artifact she gripped in her hand was turning the originally red pillar into a pure color.

At least, the last thing she'd see before dying was such beautiful light—it was some comfort.

Would young master already have become a god by the time she died?

――――――!

Maybe the light was just too bright, but suddenly her vision blacked out.

Was she already dead? But what appeared before her wasn't the afterlife.

"Where is this?"

It was a very familiar scene.

The central fountain of the capital, where she sometimes heard herself being called by Estelle.

"Hello?"

At that moment, someone sitting at the fountain called out to Rio.

"Nice to meet you~"

"Is this your first time seeing us like this?"

The two people sitting in front of the fountain looked familiar.

Especially, she recognized the voices the moment she heard them.

"Uncle Karl, aunt Karl?"

"Call me Frederick."

"I'm not an aunt, I'm Mirianne."

Not in the lingering thought entity form imbued in the sword, but appearing in human guise, they sat before the fountain.

"Sit, will you?"

"..."

When Rio sat between them, she asked:

"Where is this? Until now, I was..."

"That's right. You were performing the ritual until now."

"A little more, and you'll be completely sacrificed."

Then, was this the so-called life-flashing-before-your-eyes moment?

But why were these two here?

"Looks like you don't quite understand the situation."

"Yes. I mean, what's the point in seeing any of this when I'm going to die anyway?"

"Really?"

What did the two of them want to say?

Showing up like this seemed pointless, didn't it?

"We have a good grasp of how you feel. For the young master you care about, you don't even mind giving up your life, right?"

"And you want to prove that you're not some being who brings about destruction?"

All of it was true.

Rio's heart was all too clear, as if she hadn't just been given the Hero title by chance.

"Yes. Isn't that enough?"

Was there anything wrong with her actions?

She didn't think there was any reason for anyone to criticize her, since it wasn't as if she committed evil.

"Yes. It's not necessarily bad. If you don't sacrifice yourself, there might be a greater catastrophe."

"Sacrificing the few for the many. The world always works like that, you know."

The two nodded, seemingly accepting.

But then, they continued.

"But even if 'it's not evil and thus permissible,' can it really be called a good thing?"

"That kind of logic is just self-justification, a defense mechanism to hide your true feelings."

At their words, Rio shrank back.

"You actually feel this is unfair too, don't you? But do you know what's truly unfair?"

"There's a real Hero, but that person ends up written about as a criminal in the history books."

Having themselves been written down as heroes in textbooks, they knew exactly how it felt.

Being celebrated as a Hero in the books was gratifying, but what about being recorded as a criminal, instead?

Even after living a heroic life, to have such infamy spread was unfair beyond words.

"What are you two even talking about...?"

As Rio began to question, Mirianne suddenly hugged her.

"It's really heartbreaking. Thanks to you in your previous life, we lived out our full spans, and yet you ended your life as a mere puppet."

Mirianne looked at her with pity, and this time, Frederick patted Rio on the head.

"And even after we died, we linger as lingering thought entities doing all sorts of things. Yet after your reincarnation, you end up going through hell again in the demon realm."

At this point, it was enough to make her suspect that some god was deliberately holding a grudge against her.

"That's why we even discussed it with Silia."

"Who's the one who should really be sacrificed, you know?"

"Um..."

From earlier, their words had taken a strange turn.

Just what are these two planning?

She was full of questions, but didn't have time to ask.

"So, Rio. When you wake up, go ask your young master for what you want."

What did they mean by that?

"I'm sure, seeing what you suffered for this ritual, he'll definitely grant it."

Just what did they intend to do?

Just as she was about to ask, the two suddenly vanished.

And the scene before her eyes was swallowed by blinding light and disappeared.

.

.

.

"Huh?"

Rio finally regained consciousness.

Awakening, the first thing she did was move her hands and feet.

Upon seeing that her limbs moved just fine, Rio felt confused.

Why am I alive?

Moreover...

"Are you awake?"

For some reason, Silia-big sis was ramming two swords into the ground by her side.

The swords stuck in the ground were those in which the two heroes' lingering thoughts resided.

However, Rio could no longer feel the light of their energy emanating from those blades.

She understood quickly.

And...

Why were the heroes' swords like that, and what did the vision she just saw mean?

"You went through a lot."

Before her eyes stood the young master, restored to his human form.

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