NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: Prologue
Translation: Word (Microsoft).
Prologue
In a hidden place in the Ordesia Empire, what was called the "School of Instruction" was located.
A place where he was dedicated to training orphaned children with the aim of turning them into murderers as well as with another objective...
In search of the successor of the Sulaiman Demon King.
An entity known as the first elementalist man in all of history.
Where only pure maidens had the privilege of forming a spiritual contract with the "Spirits."
Leaving people who saw that historical event a thousand years ago surprised and then lived through hell because of the actions of this elementalist nicknamed the "Sulaiman Demon King".
At present, this "School of Instruction" has had no luck finding the successor to the "Sulaiman Demon King" by forming a spiritual contract with the "Spirit of Darkness" that the Sulaiman Demon King was carrying.
Or so I thought...
The person who had managed to make a spiritual contract with this spirit was not "him", it was "her", the girl named Ren Ashbell.
In this place she had the number one position, where she reached this position fighting with all the children who received the same training, but Ren Ashbell had better skills when it came to learning and executing what she learned, using her cunning to win the confrontations allowing her to reach the elders and the ring where the spirit of darkness was located.
There she saw her, a beautiful girl with black hair and eyes, as well as her dress and wings on her back of the same color.
She was the high-level darkness spirit known as "Restia Ashdoll".
And the one who would become her best friend and light of her life, thanks to her the emotions she had lost in her training as an assassin, Restia helped her to recover her until the elders, realizing this fact, sealed her back in her ring.
They couldn't allow their greatest creation in this place to become human again.
Until time passed where all this would change.
…
In the cave where this place is located, a young girl with black hair down to the middle of her back, was walking through the cave to reach the cell of a girl who considered her as her older sister.
Arriving at the cell, she saw the little girl sleeping comfortably on the rocky floor.
"Muir." She sweetly called the sleeping girl. "It's time to wake up, Muir."
She approached her gently rocking her to wake her up where she was effective.
The little girl named Muir was slowly starting to get up.
Muir's fingers went to her eyelids, rubbing her eyes that began to open and receive the daylight as well as the presence of someone special to her.
"Good morning, Onee-sama!"
Muir greeted Ren Ashbell animatedly.
"Good morning, Muir." Ren replied with a smile. "By the way, Muir."
Ren's face darkened slightly, frightening Muir.
"I remember telling you to do your laundry."
Although Ren's tone hadn't changed at all, Muir managed to tell her that she was angry.
"I'm sorry Onee-sama!"
Muir made a dogeza in apology.
Ren sighed. "My little girl will become useless at this rate." Fake tears appeared in Ren's eyes effectively increasing her performance.
"You don't need to cry Onee-sama! At this time I will go and wash my clothes!"
Muir ran desperately carrying the dirty clothes that were in her leather bag and quickly reaching another place in the cave where there were several springs where they bathed and cleaned their dirty clothes.
Watching as Muir left, she only smiled bitterly. "I really have to always do this so that Muir can wash her clothes. I would like her to do it for herself without me acting sadly."
I walk out of Muir's cell.
"Well... now what do I do." Ren paused for a moment to think things over. "Although I have nothing to do, 3 weeks ago I went out with Muir and Lily on a mission, so right now..." Another idea came to his head. "Maybe I can look for a way to rescue Restia..."
It's been a while since she's seen her precious best friend, so she wanted to rescue her from the seal on the jet ring with letters in her spirit language.
"The ring is always guarded by the elders, it will be difficult to rescue her without drawing too much attention from the other adults who may come to the rescue of the elders as well as catching me without succeeding in saving Restia."
I walk until I rest her back on a large rock.
"I can only wait patiently until something big can attack this place and allow me to escape by the ring of Restia." She frowned. "But who would do crazy things like that?"
Shrugging her shoulder and letting out a sigh, she sighed with a wry smile as if something happened.
Since she had nothing to do, she went to Muir where she saw her washing her clothes arduously.
(I guess I can cook her favorite food.)
Ren thought that she went to another place in the cave to steal food from the elders and secretly cook Muir's favorite food.
Spending the whole afternoon in the cave and having fun with Muir as well as training to improve her skills as an assassin, the night came when they went to their respective cells to sleep.
Hours passed and we arrived at two in the morning, the cave began to shake, alerting everyone, including Ren.
(What's going on...) Ren's nose sniffed the smoke coming up from the cave. (This can be caused by fire... don't tell me that someone attacked this place!?)
A sarcastic joke that she thought in the afternoon, ended up being really fulfilled.
(Next time I jokingly say I want a million real coins!)
Putting aside her joke, she began to move to another side of the cave where on the way she met Muir.
"Onee-sama!" Muir smiled relieved to see her well. "It's good that Onee-sama is in perfect condition, several people were crushed by the rocks."
"That doesn't reassure me at all." Ren replied with a sweat in her brow. "What happened to the elders?"
"Onee-sama shouldn't worry about those stupid people, Onee-sama should worry about Muir nothing else." Muir pouted moving her ash-colored pigtails.
"Muir..." Ren sighed. "Can you tell me what happened to the elderly, please."
"Good." Muir put aside her pout. "They were crushed to death."
This relieved Ren, luck was in her favor.
(I can easily rescue Restia right now.)
She had no sympathy for the old people who were crushed to death, she just wanted to rescue her best friend.
"Listen to me Muir." Ren's eyes turned serious. "You must escape from this place, I must rescue Restia as soon as possible."
Muir pouted. "Again that spirit of darkness, Onee-sama must worry only about Muir."
Ren had to sweeten her words with Muir.
"I will Muir, but I must move quickly to the rescue of Restia. So come to the surface where we will meet once I leave this cave with Restia." Ren's sweet voice reached Muir.
"Good." Muir, still pouting, began to move in compliance with Ren's order.
While Ren moved fast leaving a trail of air in her wake.
Quickly arriving at a room where the ring that sealed Restia was, without thinking twice, she grabbed the ring and began to head to the surface to escape this underground cave.
Ren with her hearing improved, heard more explosions hit the top of the cave dropping more rock to bury her alive in this place.
(I'm sorry, but I can't afford to die in this place without rescuing Restia!)
Taking her body and abilities to the limit, she began to move quickly and escape from the rocks that kept falling, where she saw the starry sky very close.
Thanks to her small stature, she managed to successfully escape from the cave that was bombed.
She looked around where she didn't find Muir.
(I know Muir perfectly, she must have escaped.)
Now I was at a crossroads.
Search for Muir or look for an answer to remove Restia's seal.
(I'm sorry Muir, but I must rescue Restia.)
Mentally apologizing to Muir, she left the place to find a way to save her best friend.
❅────✧❃✧────❅•
And then, several weeks later.
In a remote town where she was wandering, Ren came into contact with a frontier faction of the "Assassins", a secret organization.
Without a sense of justice and without knowing any other way to live than through her battle skills, she couldn't come up with any other option.
They had ridiculed Ren who came to their hideout with hair that had grown as long as possible and a tattered appearance.
What can such a young girl do, they said.
But as soon as his guards were beaten in an instant, her value changed.
"I'm going to take any job. The price is..."
The reward he sought from the "Assassins" was only a book.
A book that was sealed by order of the "Institute of Divine Ritual", a forbidden text "Sulaiman's Key".
The job she accepted in exchange was...
The murder of the strongest elementalist on the continent, the "Witch of Twilight".
And now, the girl, Ren mingled at night in the witch's courtyard.
The suburbs of the imperial capital. The gardens were large, the home for the former number one of the "Numbers" who had been granted great nobility, it was evident.
Not to mention a gate-protecting spirit, there didn't even seem to be a single servant... although she already knew this from the information she had received.
The hour at which Greyworth would return to the royal palace was drawing nearer and nearer.
Shrouded in darkness, Ren touched the ring she had hidden inside her jacket.
She stroked the words written on its outer edge in spiritual language.
(... If this goes well, I can release her.)
Even though she had managed to steal the ring during the opportunity created by the destruction of the "School of Instruction", Ren didn't know how to undo the seal. In addition, the instructors who knew how to undo the seal had all been killed by that "Evil Spirit of Fire".
(But if I can get the "Sulaiman Key", then I definitely can...)
She would murder the strongest elementalist on the continent in order to get her best friend back.
She hadn't done an assassination mission yet, but she was sure it was something she would succeed at.
The sound of a horse-drawn carriage came down the road. Ren heard with her extraordinary hearing.
(This mission will be decided with the first strike. If I lose, I'm dead.)
This was the iron rule for when a non-elementalist fought an elementalist.
It seemed that all assassination attempts against the "Twilight Witch" so far had failed.
The "killers" had not told her what had happened to those who had failed. It wasn't something I really wanted to know.
The carriage arrived at the door.
Ren covered the lower half of her face with a black cloth and pulled out the twin swords from her waist.
Special short swords forged from spirit crystals, items she had received at the "School of Instruction".
They had no registration. They weren't really designed for battle, they were twin swords meant to be used in a maiden's blade dance ritual; However, supplying divine power to the swords allowed it to also cut spirits so it was convenient for quests.
Even so, there was no comparison to the performance of an elementalist's "Elemental Waffe".
The carriage door opened, and a woman with ash-blonde hair came out.
Ren threw all her muscles into action and shot out of the darkness.
Without leaving room for a reaction. She closed the distance in an instant and slashed toward the woman's neck.
She felt a strong impact with her hands.
The double swords had stopped in mid-air.
"¿¡...!?"
"Oh, you're different from everyone else."
Wrapped in a gray dress, the beautiful woman smiled captivatingly.
In her hand was a thick book.
That book had stopped the twin swords.
"Tch-!"
Chills ran down her spine. That was something I should have lost by now, the instinctive fear.
Those bottomless gray eyes pierced through Ren.
(This person is...)
A monster, that word floated in her head.
She withdrew her twin swords and stepped into the darkness. Fighting more than this would be pointless.
Since she couldn't kill her with a single blow, she would have to wait for a while until the next opportunity.
"My God, do you think you could escape after coming by a witch's neck?"
The "Twilight Witch" smiled as if she were enjoying it and held out her hand to her.
In an instant, a sickening lump of darkness emerged from nowhere.
(... Is it a demonic spirit!?)
They had a different spiritual structure and consequently could not be controlled by human beings.
The one who could control them was only the heretical "Twilight Witch".
The lump of darkness coiled around her arm and transformed into a vibrating sword.
Even if she hadn't honed her skills as an elementalist, she could feel it with her skin.
Before her eyes was a first-class demonic spirit.
She was probably of the same rank as Restia, no less...
(Even though she was a retired spirit knight, she had hired spirits of this caliber!)
She had heard of her, but, even though it was right in front of her, it was hard to believe.
Normally, the ability of a maiden who was at her peak was between ten and twenty years old, and she would only weaken after that. Those elementalists who had lost their power would retire, marry a noble of high birth, and pass their power on to their daughters.
While it was true that she had fought during the time of the Ranbal War, then her power should have weakened long ago.
A sharp flash split the air.
(¡... How fast!)
She barely reacted using her instincts, but the blade brushed against her.
The cloth over the bottom of her face was cut and fell gently to the ground.
"Oh, a very cute girl."
The gray eyes widened slightly.
"... Tch."
Ren clicked her tongue at the discovery.
She couldn't escape the range of her opponent's sword. She would only be killed the moment she escaped.
(Then there's no other way but to figure it out myself.)
Ren readied her twin swords and stared back into the eyes like a witch's hawk.
"I have come, to kill the 'Twilight Witch.'"
She immediately hit the ground and shortened the distance.
The slash at divine speed was aimed at the witch's windpipe, but just before that.
The witch's figure swayed.
One minute.
"Absolute Sword Arts, first form "Purple Lightning"."
"¿¡...!?"
Greyworth's sword penetrated directly through Ren's abdomen.
…
"Uu, mm ..."
When she opened her eyes.
Ren lay on a soft bed.
The clean sheets smelled nice. Morning light flooded through the large window.
(... Where exactly is this?)
And with no time to guess.
"It seems that you have finally woken up."
"¿¡...!?"
Ren jumped out of bed at the voice she heard.
No, rather, she tried to jump out of it, but she couldn't.
It seemed like her lower half was numb and she couldn't move.
Greyworth smiled as if she were having fun.
"Sorry, I allowed myself to put "bondage" magic on you. It would be annoying to me if you ran wildly."
"Kuu..."
"In any case, the movement will open your wounds. Even if I restrained myself, my sword pierced the stomach."
"..."
Certainly, her lower torso ached with a sharp pain. The bandages tightly wrapped around her were stained with blood.
"I have applied healing techniques. You should be fully healed in three days."
"... Why did you save me?"
"Because I've taken an interest in you. At such a young age, you have unparalleled endurance to the other assassins, serene ability and judgment, and besides..."
And she paused, and then she pulled that out and showed it to her.
"You had a very interesting article. The legendary class demonic accessory, the "Sulaiman's Ring."
"... Give me that... back, give it back to me...!"
Ren opened her eyes and stretched out her hand as if possessed.
But those fingers only caught air.
"... I'm surprised, that you can move under the "tie". It seems that you treasure it a lot." Greyworth smiled captivatingly and leaned into Ren's ear.
"A maiden can't make a spiritual contract with this ring, it's obvious that it should be given to a man, so how did you get it?"
"¡...!"
Ren looked away without saying a word.
It was impossible to fool her. An elementalist of the caliber of the "Twilight Witch" could easily see through her.
"This ring should not have come easily to you, and seeing how the treasurer surely seeks to release the spirit that is sealed in the ring."
As if mocking the one who had taken the bait, the witch whispered in her ear.
"..."
"A ring that is meant to make a contract with a chosen man and turn him into the Demon King who once brought destruction and disaster to the continent. It is indeed a dangerous existence."
"... What are you going to do with me?"
Ren finally spoke.
If she was handed over to the empire, the chance to see Restia again would be forever closed to her.
That was the one thing I definitely had to avoid.
But Ren, who had a tense face.
"Girl, how old are you?"
An unrelated question was asked.
"..."
"Challenging, it's not."
The witch began to play with the ring in her hands.
"... Thirteen. Those who raised me told me so."
"Thirteen, huh. A good age, that's enough. And with this face."
She muttered random things to herself and then smiled.
"Girl, wouldn't you want to be mine?"
"I refuse."
Ren responded immediately.
"Don't jump to conclusions so quickly. It is a business. It's not bad for you either."
"¿... What do you mean?"
"What if I told you that I could release the spirit sealed in this ring?"
"What?"
In an instant, Ren's face changed.
…
The release of the Restia seal. In return, what Greyworth wanted was...
Unexpectedly it was just housework.
"I was sure I would be hired as an assassin."
Ren expressed doubts.
"I would if you were stronger than me." She joked with a smile.
"... That's true, but why am I dressed like this?"
Ren said with a shocked expression as she grabbed the hem of a long skirt.
For some reason, Ren had been made to wear maid clothes.
It was the first time she had worn one.
Her black hair, which had been left to grow uncut, was personally combed by Greyworth and now had a satin sheen.
The image reflected in the full-length mirror was completely of a beautiful girl.
"Really, it looks good on you. If you went to the imperial capital like that, the boys wouldn't leave you alone."
Greyworth once again raised a voice of admiration.
"I wouldn't like that. At least lend me normal clothes."
"Denied. I don't just make you wear those clothes because I like to intimidate."
"¿... What do you mean?"
"If any of my guests knew that you were a murderer, what would happen? If it's a high-potential maiden, then being an elementalist or not, it's easy to overlook."
"That's it..."
Certainly, if she was found to be a murderer and worse the place where she had grown up, it could cause a problem at some point. Those rumors could even reach the empire's top brass.
"Besides, you're an unregistered elementalist... Needless to say, the nation will regard a street elementalist as a major threat. If you are discovered, the Ordesia Empire can send its spiritual knights or even the 'Numbers'."
… I couldn't refute any of that.
Unsurprisingly, without Restia, she didn't feel confident that she could escape the empire's elite.
"What, it's not like you have to escape forever. I'm also going to think of a path. But you're going to have to stay in the mansion for the time being."
"... I got it."
Ren nodded as she couldn't be helped.
"Well, there's another reason."
"Yes?"
"Mm, it doesn't matter for now."
Greyworth shook her head to drop the subject.
"Therefore, you can really free Restia, right?"
"Yes. It's going to take some time, but if I use "Sealed Library" from the Elstein family, I should be able to find the book you were looking for. Demonic accessories are out of my specialty, but hey, I'm going to make it somehow. Still, I'm still a college graduate."
"..."
She didn't understand what the "Twilight Witch" was planning. However, as long as she had no other way to free Restia, she would have to listen to her.
"Now, follow me. I'll guide you through the mansion."
Greyworth turned on her heel and stepped out into the hallway.
Ren sighed and followed her.
In any case, Ren thought of a question.
... The interior of the mansion had very few human presences.
"Why do you only have one servant?"
"Ahh, it's because the people who work in this mansion aren't actually here."
"¿...?"
"You'll understand soon, I'm saying while you're here."
Greyworth smiled wryly.
Ren found it difficult to understand what he meant.
The next moment. Suddenly, the window in the hallway opened.
"¿¡...!?"
Ren reacted instantly. Lifting the long skirt, she took out her twin swords that were tied by straps to her thighs.
Those who entered through the window were two boys in all black. Carrying in his hands short swords with a curved blade.
The assailants froze for a moment.
That was obvious. Since an ordinary maid had just pulled out some weapons with trained moves.
With that opening, Ren closed the gap in an instant. Striking the hilt of her sword into the jaw of one, which rendered him unable to fight, and with fluid movements, she pierced her sword into the shoulder of the second assailant.
A silent scream. Immediately hitting her fist on the solar plexus, she knocked him out.
It hadn't even taken her a few seconds to defeat the two assailants.
As for their reactions, among other things, they were reasonably well-trained, but to Rem who came from the 'School of Instruction', they were not a match for an assassin.
Greyworth calmly observed Ren's ability in the face of the defeat of the aggressors.
"... What's wrong with these guys?"
After confirming that the two of them had truly lost consciousness, Ren asked.
"Who knows? I'm quite hated by various groups. Outside the empire, of course, and there are enemies inside as well. Having a visit from a murderer is a common occurrence."
"Could it be that this kind of thing happens every day?"
"Cleaning up these types of guys is also the job of a maid." Greyworth poked her glasses with her fingers and smiled.
"But your sword style now, those are genuine assassination techniques."
"... I don't know anything apart from this style of sword."
"Did you learn that style from that killer training organization you mentioned?"
"..."
(As expected, you've seen right through me, huh...)
There was no point in denying it. After the destruction of the "School of Instruction", the empire had sent its knights, including the "numbers", to investigate. What had been done in that facility; There was no way that the military authorities or she who had been contacted knew about it.
"I don't particularly have an interest in your past."
Perhaps she had taken her silence as an affirmation as Greyworth shrugged.
"It's just that that style of blade is a drawback in a variety of ways. Not suitable for Blade Dance."
"The blade dance?"
Among the elementalist rituals offered to the spirits, it was the program with the highest social status.
To the orphans of the "School of Instruction" who were raised entirely as murderers, it was a word that had no relevance.
Greyworth's gray eyes looked at Ren as if evaluating her.
"Girl, have you always wished you wanted to be strong?"
"¿... Strong?"
Ren was perplexed by the question that was suddenly posed to her.
Wanting to be strong, to think that way, should not have been a given until now.
But she had been ordered to be strong. And actually, if she hadn't become strong, she wouldn't have been able to survive in that hellish center.
She pondered that theme for a while.
"... I don't know."
Ren shook her head.
"At the very least, I don't think I wanted to want to be strong, I think."
"I see."
Greyworth nodded to herself, as if coming to a conclusion.
And with her eyes as if she felt sorry for something about her, she turned to Ren and...
"You are strong. Chances are, it would be nice if I called you simply the strongest master assassin in the entire continent. But that is, after all, an empty force."
Her chest became a hive at Greyworth's words. She opened her mouth as if to reply.
"It's not like I wanted to be strong."
"Hrm."
Greyworth put her hand on her chin as if her interest had peaked.
"First of all, it seems that it is necessary to open this girl's eyes."
And as if she had been hit with an idea, she gave a deep smile.
…
Since then, a few days have passed.
Ren worked devotedly as a newly hired maid at Greyworth's mansion.
"Ren, heat the bathroom. I don't like it hot, so I'm counting on you to keep it soft."
"Yes."
"Then I'd like you to clean up the garden. Trim the bushes too."
"I got it."
"Ren, dinner. I like the cuisine subtly seasoned with Laurenfrost-style meat."
"I can't do that kind of thing!"
"There's a recipe, isn't it there? Everything is an experience."
"Whatever happens, I don't know anything..."
Of course, Ren didn't have much cooking experience, other than Muir's favorite food (toast and fried egg). Although, she somehow managed to do something akin to meat cooking and Greyworth ate without leaving leftovers without expressing any complaints.
The most worrying thing about being in the empire was that fire could not be used satisfactorily.
The cause was the revolt of the "Queen of Calamity" that had passed several weeks before the "School of Instruction" was destroyed.
The enraged elemental lord razed the empire's territory and wiped out all the flames within its lands.
Because of this, whenever Ren wanted to use fire, she had to go to the "Spirit Forest" that flourished outside the capital to catch a fire attribute spirit.
There were still other things that worried her.
"Ren, wash my body."
"What!?"
Ren's face flushed.
"Just kidding."
"Kuu ...!"
Ren looked at her inhuman mistress, but her beautiful clothes nullified her impact.
"Maybe he should be my partner for tonight."
"... Ah, uu ..."
"Fufufu, you're very cute."
It seemed like it awakened her sadistic heart instead.
(... This is also for the sake of freeing Restia.)
As Ren said to herself, her household skills had improved.
But her most important job wasn't housework. In the intervals between household chores, she had to fend off the killers who apparently arrived every day with the aim of taking Greyworth's life.
"... You are truly abhorred by various groups."
Ren muttered sarcastically.
"I wasn't as calm when I was a gentleman as I am now."
"¿... Do you feel at peace now?"
Ren once again remembered the fear.
…
And so, one day. Greyworth left the mansion.
"I'm going to visit the royal palace. Do the laundry and clean the mansion until night."
"Didn't you hate politics?"
"I cannot ignore a direct summons from His Majesty the Emperor. And the theme this time is not foreign to you."
"¿... What do you mean?"
Greyworth shrugged in response to Ren's question.
Apparently, a few days ago, the report of the spirit knights at the "School of Instruction" was announced and the details of the inhuman experiments were coming to light, one by one.
Among the founding members of that facility, there were a number of important nobles so the imperial court was buzzing around like a nest of disturbed bees.
"... I'll bet."
In the organization, the battle techniques of the "School of Instruction" were well hidden, but from the contents of the missions, it was possible to guess the states and situations of the clients.
Although, to begin with, those who had investigated them were elementalists specialized in gathering information that were more or less the same as their former teammate, Lily Flame.
"Well, the founding members were nobles of this empire, but it seems that they gradually moved everything to the 'Demon King Religious Sect' of Alphas Theocracy that backs the organization."
Greyworth took a breather.
"The devout fans of the demon king. The ones who studied you after learning that a girl like you managed to make a contract with the spirit of darkness, were also those guys from the Demon King's Religious Sect, right?"
"... I don't know."
Ren shook her head sideways. Certainly, the elders of the "School of Instruction" seemed to believe that Ren could become the second coming of the Demon King as a Demon Queen, changing history with another historical fact where now Ren would be known as the "Demon Queen Ren Ashbell".
"For I was a tool that materialized his will."
"..."
Greyworth stared at Ren for a while.
"Oh, girl, it seems that drastic measures are necessary."
"¿...?"
"Ahh, that's true."
In front of the room that preceded the hall, Greyworth said as if she had remembered something.
"Also clean my studio today."
"The study?"
Normally she said she was fine, even if she didn't clean the studio.
... What a strange turn of events.
"Cleaning only the floor is very good. I've told you many times, don't touch the things that don't concern you."
"... I got it."
Even as she thought of a question, Ren nodded obediently.
…
After Greyworth left the mansion, Ren immediately began cleaning.
She had started out not knowing about maid work, but she had finally gotten skilled at it.
As I walked down the hallway I had an expensive rug spread along it.
(... I really didn't know anything but fight.)
During all this time, she had never noticed.
The disciples of the "School of Instruction" were only tools for the purpose of killing. They never taught him unnecessary knowledge.
Restia had granted her knowledge of the outside world, but their time together had been too short. Particularly, at their first meeting, Ren hadn't seen her as anything more than an enemy she had to defeat. (She wondered if the "School of Instruction" was completely dissolved by the empire.)
She didn't have any particularly strong feelings about it, but...
The one that crossed her mind was the girl with the ash-gray hair that she had said they would meet on the surface.
The girl who had called him her sister and adored her.
The second place, the "monster" of the "School of Instruction" Muir Alenstarl.
She could have escaped and lived on her own or captured by the spirit knights, she wondered.
(Either way, it doesn't seem likely...)
Shrugging her shoulders, she opened Greyworth's study with the key she had provided.
Books were neatly lined up on the bookshelf that covered an entire wall and a pile of documents were stacked on the office desk.
"... It seems that what she said about graduating from college is true." Ren muttered and walked into the room with the broom in her hand.
… It was a bigger room than I had imagined. Perhaps to prevent the deterioration of research materials, there was no window. Instead, the light from a spirit crystal illuminated the entire room dimly.
A crystal cabinet was adorned with spirit crystals and a collection of demonic accessories. They were, without a doubt, absurdly priced elements.
And among them, she noticed that there was a striking medal left carelessly.
"This is it..."
In the center of a wooden shield, a beautiful spirit crystal was inlaid with it, and Greyworth's name was engraved on the metal plate.
"... The medal given to the winner of the "Blade Dance", eh."
It was the elementalists' festival that happened once every few years or possibly several decades in "Astral Zero".
It seemed like it was an article from more than twenty years ago, when the "Twilight Witch" had won.
"Blade Dance, eh..."
She remembered what Greyworth had said a few days ago.
"It's just that that style of sword is an inconvenience in a variety of ways. Not suitable for blade dancing."
That's what she had said.
She wondered what the difference was from the sword techniques she had been taught at the "School of Instruction."
(My sword techniques couldn't reach the "Twilight Witch.")
She was sure that she had said "Absolute Sword Arts."
As if stabbing through the blank space in one's consciousness, it was an inexplicable sword technique. Until now, that was the only sword technique that Ren hadn't been able to see through after a while.
(... Why?)
"You are strong. But this is, after all, an empty force."
(... I don't understand it. I don't know anything apart from that force.)
Walking away from the closet, this time she looked at the table.
And there.
"¿¡...!?"
Seeing an item that wouldn't surprise anyone, Ren gasped.
An antique book with leather fixings.
The title engraved in spiritual language was "The Key of Sulaiman."
(... No way, got it yet!?)
Of course, it was not the original, but a copy. Either way, he should have information about the legendary class demonic accessory, the "Sulaiman's Ring", in which Restia was sealed.
"..."
Ren stretched out her hand without hesitation. Ren hadn't really studied that language, but thanks to Restia, she could decipher the meaning more or less to some extent.
... If he at least understood the method, the process itself didn't seem too difficult. If she used the ritual equipment gathered in the room, she should be able to begin the spiritual ritual of liberation immediately.
The shrill sound of a bell rang out.
"¿¡...!?"
It was the notification that an intruder had entered the "barrier" of the mansion.
"Kuu, right now."
Clicking her tongue, Ren turned her gaze toward the door.
Those eyes widened in surprise.
(Since when!?)
A shadow with a small bundle wrapped in black cloth was standing on the other side of the door.
…
Ren immediately switched her thoughts to battle mode.
Her opponent was small with a feminine physique.
A girl, if she was, the possibility of her being an elementalist was high.
Ren quickly reached for the twin swords under her skirt and gathered divine power in her hands.
This was the first time an elementalist assassin had arrived at the mansion. By no means, it was not to be from the remains of the "School of Instruction" but...
"It's unfortunate, but the 'Twilight Witch' isn't here."
"..."
Ren said those words, but the assassin was not disturbed at all. She stood there in silence while emitting a murderous instinct.
(Greyworth isn't objective, so who exactly is.) A moment. From the killer's fingers, a sphere was formed.
With the target being Ren, she threw the sphere.
(Spiritual Magic... as I thought, an elementalist!)
As she reflexively dodged, she noticed.
On the table behind her was the "Key of Sulaiman" that was needed to free Restia.
She turned around in an instant. She stopped with the twin swords infused with divine power, but...
"¡... Wow!"
Even if it was infused with divine power, something like a sword couldn't deflect spirit magic. The black orb that struck the swords exploded right in front of her. Ren's body was violently beaten and crashed into the wall.
"... Ku, ah..."
At the place where the sphere had exploded, an air-like hole had been torn out and the fragments of the twin swords that had touched the spirit magic had been removed without a trace.
"... "Annihilation" magic, huh!"
This was on a different level than all the assassins who had arrived at the mansion before.
The assassin fired several black orbs at her without saying a word.
Ren quickly grabbed the "Sulaiman Key" and threw herself on the ground.
The black spheres exploded on top. The fragments of the wooden cabinet that was shattered by the technique brushed against her cheek.
(... Don't tell me, the goal is this book!?)
And despite everything, her opponent kept shooting her magic carelessly.
She decided that the goal was not recovery, but destruction.
Ren tightened the grip of the book in her hands.
(... I'm definitely not going to let this go.)
This book was the only key to freeing her.
(Restia...)
The girl with black wings wearing a dress the color of the night.
When they had separated, the last smile she had shown her was deeply etched in her mind.
With the remains of the double sword in her left hand and the copy in her right hand, Ren confronted the assassin.
In essence, with the safety of the book as a priority, she would prefer to retreat at this time, but unfortunately there were no windows in this room and the only way out had a female assassin standing in it.
(I seem to have no choice but to defeat her.)
The murderer held out her fingers to her.
Instantly, the black spheres shot out consecutively, there was nowhere to hide in the room.
But that was general knowledge of a technique in the middle of battle. Ren kicked the ground and moved from the wall to the ceiling in just a moment, avoiding all the orbs with minimal movement.
The specialty of the assassins of the "School of Instruction", the meta-three-dimensional movement, on the other hand, Ren's version had been dubbed "Shadowweave", an otherworldly movement.
"¡...!"
The first signs of agitation were born from the assassin dressed in black.
Ren kicked the roof and jumped. Closing the distance in an instant, she launched a slashing attack.
But the blade unsuccessfully cut through only air.
The image of the murderer disappeared into thin air like a mirage.
There was no particular reason for surprise. With an elementalist as her opponent, it was a natural fit.
She calmly verified his presence, and above his head, the air fluctuated slightly.
"¡...!"
Instead of confirming the enemy with her sight, Ren quickly took evasive maneuvers.
A moment later, the place where Ren had been standing right before it was sprinkled with 'annihilation' magic."
The ground where there was nothing was torn out along with the air.
If that hit directly, a person would vanish without a single trace.
(I can't let it touch me, even slightly.)
Ren gripped the copy tighter.
(I will definitely protect this!)
That moment. Ren noticed.
(I see, this is the first time I've fought this kind of battle.)
Without any orders, she wanted to protect something of her own free will and was struggling as long as she strongly desired.
The assassin pounced before her eyes. In her hand she had a sword made through magic.
The flash of a leaf passed. Ren quickly threw her sword with one hand, shielding the book against her chest.
The one-handed sword was removed as if it had been absorbed.
The assassin kicked the ground again and moved a remarkable distance.
(Cra-)
Just before the assassin's sword touched the copy.
Restia's smile flashed through her mind once more.
(I won't leave you!)
"Ohhhhhhhhh!"
Ren instantly infused her left hand with divine power.
Normally, an elementalist without a hired spirit could not use spirit magic. However, Ren concentrated her divine power to the maximum limit and created a pseudo-sword of divine power.
It was possible in theory, but it was the first time she had achieved it.
The growing sword of divine power deflected the assassin's sword of "annihilation."
On top of that, the black cloth mask was lightly cut.
The cloth fell softly from her mouth.
"I'm surprised. And to think that apart from spirit magic, you will draw a sword of divine power."
"¿¡...!?"
The one who smiled without fear was...
With light gray eyes, a beautiful girl.
"You are..."
"This is a reward for that. Go through it this time." And then, the slash of the sword exploded.
"Absolute Sword Arts, First Form. " Purple Lightning."
…
"Uu, nn..."
She woke up on top of a soft bed.
(Somehow, it feels like this has happened before...)
In her cloudy state of mind, she thought so.
"It looks like you've finally woken up."
The bewitching voice that came from close to her ear.
Turning around, she found Greyworth sitting on the bed smiling.
"¿... What was all that?"
Ren asked looking disgusted.
... No, that wasn't a good question. She understood her goal.
"Is there something missing from my sword?"
"That's right. No longer through theory, it is faster to learn with the body."
"..."
The thing missing from Ren's sword.
That was the existence of something to protect.
Certainly, having fought to protect the book, that is, Restia, the feeling she had of that resolve to protect felt as if she had sharpened her entire body in the sword.
"With the body, huh."
Ren said cynically and pushed the top of her shoulder that hurt.
What Greyworth had unleashed before: that sword technique.
If Ren's reaction had been too slow a moment, it would have pierced her heart.
"The only one who has seen through my Absolute Sword Art a total of two times has only been you. It's praiseworthy."
"... If I hadn't seen through him, I'd be dead."
"Well, that may be true."
Ren sighed at the witch who was without a hint of shyness.
"Anyway, your form back then, what exactly was it?"
At that moment, the face she had seen under the black cloth was a fifteen-year-old girl.
Her stature was also much smaller. If it had been the same physique from this moment, perhaps Ren would have seen through her identity from the beginning.
"I've changed my body a little bit. I can restore my youth to a certain cycle."
In the past, it was the "wish" that the "Twilight Witch" had obtained.
And for some reason, Greyworth muttered as if in self-mockery.
"Eternal youth... Don't tell me, eternal and immortal?"
"It's not that it's a convenient thing. It's not something separate from this world, the blessings of the elemental lords, that is."
She shrugged.
Opening the "Sulaiman Key" that she had in her hands.
"Now then, it was a promise. Take the ring in your hands."
"... Y-Yes."
Ren took out the ring and put it in her palm with a nervous face.
Greyworth lined up the ritual tools on the ground with trained movements and put her hand on the ring, then began chanting words of liberation written in the book.
"¿¡...!?"
The ring on her hands glowed a light blue.
Moreover, the characters inscribed in spiritual language on the front face glowed as if burning.
In the next instant, a fierce storm broke out inside the room.
"Uwaa."
Her vision was shrouded in the black mist.
No, it wasn't fog, black feathers were spinning instead.
Bright with darkness, wings that were more beautiful than anything in this world.
"This is surprising. She didn't believe that a spirit of the highest rank could take on a human appearance."
Greyworth raised a voice of admiration.
"Restia..."
Ren's lips trembled, and her outstretched fingers touched the wings.
"I was waiting for you, Ren."
The liberated spirit of darkness.
She put his hand on Ren's cheek and smiled softly.
Sometime later...
Ren was traveling through the Astral Zero, arriving at a spring to cleanse her body from the long journey she had made.
After all, she would be participating in the Blade Dance.
As she cleansed his body, something caught her attention in the sky of Astral Zero.
"Huh?"
What she saw surprised her.
A white-haired boy who seemed to be the same age as her and was plummeting to the large spring in which she was bathing.
Her black eyes looked at the boy's red eyes before his body sank into the spring.
But the most striking thing she saw of the boy were... their wounds.
She began to swim quickly to reach him and save him from drowning.
Once I was close to the boy I heard his voice.
"I'm surprised you want to save a stranger while being in that form."
His tone hinted at something morbid, where she reacted that the boy's eyes were carefully observing her naked body.
Her next action was to slap him hard and shout at him:
"PERVERT!"
It was a strong slap that sent him flying as well as blood splashing, falling into the spring.
The boy's body splashed several times and then came out of the spring and collided with a tree.
He let out a groan of pain.
"It was a good slap in the face." He said and then settled better on the trunk of the tree. "My body is sore after being attacked by Heracles, Thor, Scáthach, Sun Wukong and Karna."
[Demon Lord] Rey Oni Sengo; Age: 400.
"And my spiritual power is being affected by that combination of their powers... if it hadn't been for [End Emptiness] that swallowed me and sent me somewhere else, I'd be dead by Sun Wukong's hands right now."
(I must thank you the next time I return to Little Graden.)
Sengo's consciousness was swallowed by the darkness, sleeping on the trunk with blood falling to the ground.
But his body was lifted and carried on Ren Ashbell's back.