Chapter 218 ·Ritual (2)

Ritual ‍​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍(2)

The moment the pillar of light erupted and engulfed him at the start of the Blood Sword Technique ritual, Louis suddenly found himself standing in another space.

This space, somehow both unfamiliar and deeply familiar, felt just like the place where he had first encountered Frederick and Mirianne.

Louis could tell that this was a place where only lingering thought entities could communicate.

And just in time, two forms appeared before his eyes.

One was a black lizard-like shape that gave off an evil impression, while the other was a human shape emitting a greenish glow.

Louis immediately understood what they were.

"You two are the gods of this world, aren't you?"

Neither responded to his question. Instead, the green figure—the World Tree—reached out a hand to Louis.

Interpreting the gesture as an invitation to take its hand, Louis accepted.

The moment he did, something began to flow into his mind.

Chaos Dragon and the World Tree. As expected, the two were originally a singular god.

While maintaining the world as usual, they came under attack from an outside force.

That invader was none other than the Great Devil, whose existence was well known to them.

However, to fight those devils would mean becoming unable to govern the world, so the god split its power into two.

One side took the form of the Tree of Wisdom to govern the world, the other a destructive force to combat evil hordes.

'So Headmaster Ferus's hypothesis was correct.'

As expected, the true nature of the Chaos Dragon was that of a half-god, not a being born for evil.

'So much for the final boss...'

In the end, the real final bosses were the Great Devils.

Yet even after battle, they could not be killed—only mutual destruction was possible.

What happened afterward he already knew, but he also learned some things he hadn't before.

After the five Heroes used the power of artifacts to subjugate the Chaos Dragon, they imprisoned its power in another dimension.

But the World Tree had been horrified by this act.

That other dimension is host to a different world, and if the Chaos Dragon's power spreads there, a catastrophe will befall that world.

'Wait, could it be....'

Another dimension. Another world.

Louis quickly realized what that meant.

It was because he was himself someone from that other world.

'So that's why I reincarnated in this world....'

Ultimately, the Chaos Dragon's power flowed into that other dimension—Louis's original world.

To prevent a disaster there, the World Tree deliberately sent trustworthy individuals over.

But what happened after that, or anything about that world, the World Tree no longer knew.

Nevertheless, Louis, as someone from that world, now had a lead on why he had reincarnated here.

It was highly likely that the Chaos Dragon's power, unintentionally transferred to that world, had infiltrated his body.

That would naturally explain his reincarnation with that power.

'So that's how it happened.'

In fact, Louis himself was a victim.

Caught up in an unintentional accident, he had reincarnated into this world with the power of the Chaos Dragon.

Krrrrk―

As Louis made a slightly annoyed face, the form of the Chaos Dragon looked somber and bowed its head.

'Huh?'

Louis was surprised to see that.

'That thing knows how to make that kind of face?'

For a monster that had only shown indiscriminate destruction against friends and foes, to show regret or apology?

It felt like all the knowledge about the Chaos Dragon he had in his head was crumbling.

This was what you might call a breakdown of settings, or character derailment.

'No, wait.'

But strictly speaking, that monster couldn't really be called evil.

It was simply a representation of violence and strength that had split from god.

In fact, it could be seen as a "good guy" with just a fierce-looking face.

Krrrrk―

This time, the form of the Chaos Dragon reached out a hand to Louis.

Now, knowledge the Chaos Dragon knew began to flow into his mind.

What kind of knowledge could such a beast of destruction possess?

As expected, not much.

Merely... The remaining intelligence of the Chaos Dragon had helped the Louis, who had first become a monster when his village was burned down, return to his original form.

At the same time, it had done everything it could to suppress its power, so Louis would not go on a rampage.

That was all.

Yet even with only these two things, Louis felt immense gratitude.

"Sorry for calling you a crazy bastard all that time."

It wasn't once or twice he'd badmouthed the beast from behind its back, calling it uncontrollable.

Louis regretted this and patted the dragon's head.

Krrrng!―

The monster blushed and smiled.

'Wow... what the hell.'

He really couldn't get used to it.

It felt as though the charisma of the Chaos Dragon that had been burned into his mind was crumbling away.

Sorry, but this really was character destruction.

As he thought this, the lingering thought of the Chaos Dragon was absorbed into Louis.

He felt the lost power return, but as expected, being the power of destruction, it almost knocked his consciousness out.

....

Then, the form of the World Tree was absorbed into Louis.

The threat of losing consciousness vanished in an instant.

"Thank you both."

When Louis expressed his gratitude, the form of the World Tree provided him one last bit of information.

It wasn't an ancient history or some shocking secret, simply the inner thoughts of someone.

For one called the wisdom of the continent, transmitting another's memories was a trivial thing.

Thanks to that, Louis learned what Rio, who was currently performing the ritual, was thinking.

"...."

Learning that Rio had intended to sacrifice herself, Louis's face stiffened for a moment.

After much thought, the light surrounding him began to fade.

The pillar of light that formed the ritual lost its shape, and his surroundings returned to normal.

In front of him, Rio was collapsed on the ground, blood flowing over her body.

Louis approached the exhausted and powerless Rio.

"You've been through a lot."

He sat down at her level and embraced her.

****

"Young master... you're really the young master, right?"

As the pillar of light vanished, Pram could see that Louis had returned to his original form.

Moments ago, there had been a dragon sitting at the center of the magic circle.

Now, a boy very familiar to them had appeared in its place.

"Yeah, I'm back, you idiots."

Still holding Rio, Louis spoke to everyone who had watched over the ritual.

At his words, Victor and the other special task force members rushed toward Rio, trying to embrace her.

"No."

However, Rio, still holding Louis, turned her head sharply as if to say, 'He's mine.'

Everyone looked a bit defeated by her possessiveness.

"Hey! Don't be so unfair! Let me touch the young master too—it's been so long!"

"Touch? Ugh...."

As Pram pouted, Rio clicked her tongue.

"You've already had plenty of chances to touch him—why do you want more?"

Pram, always nearby, had suppressed Louis's rampages up to now.

No one had touched Louis more than Pram.

"Just let me have a turn this time."

"Hey! A monster's body and a human's body aren't the same! Hand him over!"

"No. I'm going to hold him like this forever."

As Pram kept trying to touch him, Rio kept turning her head away.

They bickered like sisters fighting over a toy.

Perhaps because of this, Louis felt a surge of annoyance.

"Hey, do you all think I'm your toy or something?"

Even as Louis tried to speak with a menacing expression, Rio replied without changing hers.

"Mm-hm. Just be our toy today."

"What?"

As Louis was flustered by Rio's bold attitude, she promptly laid him flat on the ground.

"What are you doing now?"

"It's simple."

What is simple about it?

"I want to satisfy desires that I've been suppressing till now."

What desires?

"It made me mad how I couldn't even touch the young master when he was not in human form, while Pram kept hogging him...."

Rio kept murmuring about the resentment built up inside her.

"Now that you're back to normal, there's nothing stopping me anymore."

"...."

Louis could tell just from her expression what she was thinking.

"Rio, you can't do that unless the other person gives you permission."

"Then I'll just get that permission."

"How?"

"It'll come eventually, if we keep at it."

He couldn't understand what she meant, but calming her down was easy.

"Rio."

"E-ehhh...."

"Don't cross the line, okay?"

No matter how strong Rio was, Louis could still free himself from her.

Then he tugged Rio's cheek as a form of discipline.

"Puhahahaha! Serves you right!"

"Pram, you get over here too."

"Huh?"

Laughing at the scene, Pram got her cheek pulled too.

"D-dohyoung masher...."

"S-sorry...."

Getting them too high-spirited was a problem in itself.

The two, receiving this small punishment, wore nothing but smiles on their faces.

At the same time, the others looked truly moved to see Louis back in his original form.

Except for one person.

"What happened to the two of them?"

Letting go of Pram and Rio, Louis asked Silia.

He was puzzled seeing Silia sticking her sword into the ground beside Rio, even though she should have been outside the magic circle.

No, there was no need to wonder.

The dual blades Bloodline she carried weren't shining as they usually did.

The ever-noisy swords were uncharacteristically quiet today.

"They've gone."

Silia looked up and forced a smile as she replied.

"They sacrificed themselves for me...."

Rio was the one who was supposed to be sacrificed through the ritual, but they took her place.

"Did you know?"

To Silia, they were like family.

They were the only blood relatives she had met since her brother's death, so they were particularly special.

"Yeah. They asked me so much that I had to accept."

"...."

"They told you something."

Silia relayed the words the two Heroes had left to Rio.

"To live a life without regrets now. To do whatever you want. To live by your own will, from now on."

With that, there was nothing to worry about.

During the ritual, she had already made that promise to the two of them.

"By the way, it worked, right?"

When Silia asked, Louis naturally transformed his arm into the Chaos Dragon's form.

Normally, just releasing the power would blow away his consciousness, but now there were no such side effects.

At the same time, a sacred light not usually seen began to leak from Louis's body.

"See?"

Proudly showing that he had succeeded, Silia hugged Louis, a look of deep satisfaction on her face.

"Well done, my little brother."

As he was embraced by the older elder sister, Louis felt a chill for no reason.

Wherever you go, be wary of anyone with a preference for the younger.

"You know it's not over yet, right?"

"...."

The moment Louis said that, Silia let go and tensed up.

Pram, Rio, and everyone else around them showed similar reactions.

Just then, the sky darkened.

With a sound like thunder, the sky turned black, and a sinister energy was felt.

"We have one month."

The moment the ritual restored Louis's body, the devils also regained their own power.

"In that time, we have to find a way to defeat them."

That had been the reason for the ritual from the start.

And so, they all looked up at the sky with resolved determination.

Their fate with the Great Devils would soon reach its end.

---

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