Chapter 296 : Thump! Thump! Thump!

...Demon God?

'Why a Demon God all of a sudden?'

No, more than that.

"The Demon God is dead?"

Can gods die too?

If so, who killed him?

Scarlet answered nonchalantly.

"The Demon God's seat remains vacant. Thanks to that, chaos has spread across the continent. The magical beasts are considered to be a part of the byproduct."

What was this?

I couldn't understand it well, so I just blinked.

"Why did the Demon God die?"

"Finding that out is your mission."

"..."

In the midst of my confusion.

Something flashed through my mind.

"Don't tell me, is this related to the Dark Heaven Society?"

Those Dark Heaven Society guys were making a fuss about bringing the Demon God down to earth.

So were they doing that without knowing that the Demon God was dead?

Or, was the descent of the Demon God they were talking about, actually talking about the resurrection of the Demon God?

Is it possible for humans to resurrect a dead god?

"The Dark Heaven Society is a very old organization. Its history is not ordinary."

Scarlet, who had been watching me in my confusion, explained.

"The Dark Heaven Society is a group that has been passed down from the followers of a god who died a long time ago, a Demon God who has lost his name."

"Hmm."

"Of course, it's not the same as it used to be. The name has also changed several times. They were originally a group that had made their nest in the western demon realm, but as time passed, they were beaten up here and there, split up, and the remaining remnants settled here."

Scarlet habitually fiddled with her fiery red hair.

Her deep green eyes flashed in the darkness.

"I thought the records were all burned... it seems some have survived."

She looked so fierce that I swallowed hard.

Anyone would think she had burned them herself.

"Uh, Big Sister."

"Yes?"

I asked, feeling an ominous premonition.

"What happens if I fail?"

Scarlet looked at me and smiled brightly.

"To think of failure before even starting the work. That's not like you, Ashuban."

"I also jump in after assessing the situation to some extent."

"And the monster wave?"

"Well, that was unavoidable. We were all about to be wiped out."

"This is not much different."

"Pardon?"

The ominous feeling grew stronger.

I had a strong feeling that this was not just a simple time travel.

I asked in a cautious tone.

"What happens... if I fail?"

"The continent will fall into chaos and misery."

"Uh..."

"To put it simply, the world will be destroyed."

...This was on a bigger scale than I thought. And too big.

Scarlet nodded and muttered.

"Hmm. The probability of destruction is high. The sky will be dyed completely black, and the boundary between day and night will disappear, and the ground will collapse, and everything we know will be thrown into the abyss."

"No, Big Sister."

My failure is directly linked to the destruction of the world.

Isn't this a different story?

"Uh, Big Sister. Should I go and get the captain now?"

Scarlet burst into a small laugh and then slowly shook her head from side to side.

"Ashuban."

"Yes, Big Sister."

"This is a job that only you can do."

"And why is that?"

"Because you are the Child of Prophecy."

The Child of Prophecy.

In that moment, the voice of the old king of Blake echoed in my ears.

—This will only be the beginning. From now on, trials will rise like waves and continue to try to swallow you.

The words that Lasol had said to me also flashed through my mind.

—Master of the prophecy.

—The Red-Eyed Judge, the Apostle of the Night, the one who will end the old evil deeds, the time traveler, the one who returned from death.

—God-Slayer, the nightmare of the demon worshipers, the one who gathers the starlight, the magical beast slayer, the master of the rainbow sword,

the guide of the gods, the child of prophecy, the helper of the last dragon clan, the liberator of the demon race, the ruler of the demon realm...

"And."

Whether I was confused or not.

Scarlet's words continued.

"It is physically impossible for anyone other than you to play that role. It is inevitable."

"...And why is that?"

Scarlet's sparkling green eyes stared at me.

"Because I saw you."

"When?"

"In the distant past."

"..."

That word again.

A word that I couldn't understand at all.

After I had fallen from the fog cliff, she had said such incomprehensible words when I had returned.

That she knew I would return.

I stared blankly at Scarlet's eyes.

Somehow, she felt very unfamiliar today.

"...Big Sister."

"Yes."

"What on earth is your identity?"

A smile bloomed on Scarlet's lips.

"Do you want to know?"

"Yes."

Scarlet raised her hand and then held up three fingers.

"Three things."

"Pardon?"

"You will be going to three different time periods and performing each mission. So I'll count it as three commissions in total. Then there should be a reward for that, right?"

"That's right."

"One question per mission. So three questions in total."

Scarlet waved her hand with three fingers in front of my eyes.

"I'll answer them all. Any question."

I doubted my ears.

Because Scarlet had never told the members anything about her past.

I don't even know how she met the captain.

I don't know what she did in the past, or why she came here.

I have never seen anyone who knows Scarlet.

It was a strange thing.

She was a magician with such great skills that she was known as the Red Witch, but how could there be no one who knew her past?

Come to think of it, she was a suspicious person in many ways.

"...Really?"

I looked at Scarlet with suspicious eyes.

"Of course. Since you're going to do a difficult job, there should be a suitable reward. How about it, is this enough as a reward?"

"Of course."

I nodded.

Because it was high-quality information that couldn't be heard anywhere else.

I had always been curious about how old Big Sister was, and I would finally get to know.

"Hmm? Wait."

Come to think of it, no one knows Scarlet's identity.

Then?

No one knows Scarlet's identity.

The dead tell no tales.

Everyone who knows her identity is dead.

Therefore, I will also die.

"...!"

I looked at Scarlet with trembling eyes.

"Uh, Big Sister."

"Yes?"

"I'm not going to die after the questions are over, am I?"

Scarlet's green eyes took on a cold light.

Fwoosh—

A blazing flame erupted from her hand.

"That's why I don't like quick-witted guys."

"Heok!"

Scarlet burst into laughter.

She laughed out loud, pointing at my face, as if my expression was quite funny.

Miho, who was watching from a little distance away, was also chuckling.

"Ha, haha..."

I also laughed awkwardly and stroked my chest.

I knew it was a joke, but why did my heart drop when Big Sister did it?

Scarlet, who had scattered the flames that had erupted in her hand, laughed and patted my shoulder.

"Don't worry. Do you think I would kill you just because you know about me?"

"Pardon?"

"It doesn't matter as long as you don't tell anyone else."

"...And if I do?"

Scarlet's green eyes flashed.

"Are you going to tell?"

Flinch.

"N-no. Of course not."

"Our Ashuban is tight-lipped. Right?"

"O-of course! Big Sister."

Scarlet patted my shoulder and said.

"Think carefully while you're on your journey. What questions you'll ask."

"I will think about it carefully."

"When you're ready, stand in the center of the magic circle."

"Yes."

I took a deep breath, and then slowly moved my feet and reached the center of the magic circle.

Miho said.

"Have a good trip."

I nodded.

Scarlet looked at me once, and then, chanting a spell, she slowly moved her hands.

Then, the hazy fog that had been spread out on the fog cliff slowly began to approach.

It flowed into the magic circle, and one by one, the magic stones lit up.

Kiiiiing!

The magic circle shone red.

The fog began to rise.

"Ashuban."

At the voice that called me, I quickly raised my head.

Scarlet was looking at me with quiet eyes.

"Do you know about the butterfly effect?"

"The butterfly effect?"

"It refers to the phenomenon where a minute change, a small difference, a trivial event, like the flapping of a butterfly's wings, leads to an unexpected, enormous result or ripple effect later on."

Kiiiiiiiiing!

The light grew stronger.

And the fog rose to my chest.

"If you go back to the past and prevent an event that should have happened, or make an event that should not have happened happen. If you twist the timeline in any way, the passage will close."

"Will it close?"

"Time and space will be distorted, and you will never be able to return."

"...!"

Then did that mean I would be trapped in the past?

"You are an observer. Other than the mission you have been given, you must not interfere, no matter what. Even if someone is dying in front of your eyes. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Yes."

The fog rose to my shoulders.

Now, I could barely see Scarlet's eyes.

"Absolutely, absolutely do not change the situation."

"I'll keep that in mind. Don't worry."

"...Yes."

Before the fog completely covered me, I exchanged a last glance with Scarlet.

"Have a good trip."

Kiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!

The magic circle screamed and spewed out a red light.

Thanks to that, the fog that had covered my vision was dyed red.

"I'll be back."

I closed my eyes, surrounded by the red fog.

* * *

Is there such a thing as a storm of time and space?

Anyway, I closed my eyes tightly, prepared to be swept away by the torrent.

But that didn't happen.

It was just quiet.

Wondering if something had gone wrong, I stealthily opened my eyes, and I was still surrounded by the red fog.

As I was glaring at the fog...

After a while, the fog slowly cleared.

In that short time.

The world around me had changed completely.

First of all, it was daytime, with the sun shining brightly.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

I could hear the sound of metal being hammered somewhere, and people were walking around busily.

'Did it work?'

I instinctively sniffed.

Sniff, sniff.

The smell had changed.

It was an unfamiliar smell.

It seemed I had really fallen into a different time and space.

The method of time travel was very different from what I had imagined, so I was a little bewildered.

I first set foot in the new world and then desperately looked for the Heavenly Demon.

“Master, Master! Can you hear me?”

[…]

“If you don’t answer, I’ll take it as you admitting you’re weaker than I am.”

[…I hear you.]

Hearing the Heavenly Demon’s bored voice made the tension in my shoulders ease.

“Whew.”

He snorted.

[What? Were you scared?]

“No, not scared. I just thought it’d be disappointing if you couldn’t witness my thrilling adventure.”

[Tsk. Pathetic brat.]

Just the fact that Heavenly Demon was still with me calmed me down.

It’s better for the two of us to fall into a strange world than for me to fall alone.

Better for two to be lost than one.

I steadied my mind and recalled the purpose of being here.

“Sister said there would be three stops.”

Then this must be the first stop.

And the first mission.

“Where is this?”

First, I needed to figure out the time period and location.

I slowly looked around.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

I was standing on a road.

Near the outskirts of a village, it seemed. The road was paved neatly without bumps.

People of all kinds busily walked along the path.

At that moment—

“Move! Move!”

A boy pushed through the crowd while pushing a handcart.

People scrambled out of the way.

“Hey, move already!”

“Waaah!”

A man nearly got rammed and pointed angrily.

“That little brat!”

But the boy didn’t care and pushed through forcefully.

The rude boy was running straight toward me.

“You there, move!”

I looked around. I was the only one not moving aside.

I was the last obstacle.

“Move!”

For a moment, I wanted to flip the cart over…

But I remembered what Sister said, so I decided to step aside.

It’s unlikely something like not stepping aside for a cart would twist time and space, but being careful never hurts.

[You actually listened to someone. I’m proud of you, disciple.]

“Please.”

I was about to move aside like everyone else…

“Hmm?”

The boy’s face, approaching rapidly, looked familiar.

I didn’t move.

Instead, I braced myself and stood in the cart’s path.

Stopping a handcart wouldn’t distort time, and there was something I needed to confirm.

“Move!!”

The boy didn’t slow down at all. He intended to ram me.

As the cart charged like a bull, I smiled faintly.

“No.”

“You crazy bastard!”

Crash!

A small collision.

The victim—me—was unharmed.

The perpetrator took slight damage.

The cart, blocked by my foot, had one side crushed. The boy, unable to control the momentum, was flung to the side.

He rolled across the dirt, coughed, then jumped up and stomped toward me.

He looked ready to grab my collar.

“You insane bastard! Why didn’t you move! Huh? You want to die?”

Quite the temper.

Blaming me, unbelievable.

Without answering, I examined his face.

“You. What’s your name?”

He scowled.

“Hans, you idiot.”

“Aha.”

Now I could guess where and when I was.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Not far away, metal rang loudly.

(End of Chapter)