NOVEL NEXT Chapter 240
After asking Lucius to lay a new barrier on this island,
I surveyed the interior of the castle with the resolve that until I completely defeat the Asydia organization and return, I would never come here again.
Everywhere, there were traces of Arpe and Asydia.
The remnants of the now non-existent pair were scattered throughout the castle all too abundantly.
In fact,
Arpe was already a dead soul.
No matter how much of a Hero of the Holy Sword she was, living over 500 years in a human body was impossible.
In other words, the moment she laid down the Holy Sword, Arpe’s death was sealed.
Arpe was ready to accept her death.
If she were to lose to me, she would try to kill herself by relinquishing the Holy Sword.
I would certainly try my best to stop her, but she would surely say something like, “I’ve lived enough,” and leave the aftermath to me.
That was indeed what would happen.
However, just because Arpe acknowledged her defeat and tried to die, it doesn’t excuse Lucifer’s ambush.
Lucifer was clearly waiting for the opportunity.
Knowing where Arpe was, he used Lucius to lure her into a fight.
Then, when Arpe was most off-guard, he struck her from behind with a sword.
A sword made with Divine Power.
“Is the Moon Goddess also in on this? Or is he just using the Divine Power of the indifferent Moon Goddess as he pleases?”
Lucifer is a Fallen Angel.
And even though he has fallen, he is still an “angel.”
He is a Demon King, but fundamentally, he is still an angel with goals.
Those fallen angels in the Demon World and other angels are all trying to return there.
“The Celestial Realm.”
If the Demon King Satan seeks to conquer the Intermediate Realm and create a world for the Demon Race,
then the Demon King Lucifer is the one attempting to use everything, be it the Demon World or the Intermediate Realm, to ascend to the Celestial Realm.
Revenge for being exiled from his fallen self?
Still having faith in the devout Moon Goddess?
Or perhaps a scheme to draw the Moon Goddess into the Intermediate Realm?
I don’t know what it is, but I’m not concerned about how significant his mission is.
“Revenge for Arpe.”
The act of stabbing Arpe to death.
That revenge, I will carry out thoroughly.
And.
Once all the battles are over.
Once revenge against Lucifer, and the Asydia organization is completed,
What comes next…
Vroom.
“…Huh?”
Over there,
the space beyond the wall sparkled.
Something strange, a vivid red light was shimmering, and I approached it cautiously.
Click.
As if reacting to my hand, the door opened.
It was like a secret room sealed with magical powers, and I stepped carefully inside.
“…Attic.”
I had no expectations that it would be a laboratory to summon a Demon King or the secret lair of a Necromancer.
But to find that what existed beyond the sealed door, which reacted to ‘Asydia’s own body’, was just a regular attic,
“What is this?”
What did my daughter want to hide here?
“…A diary.”
Correction.
Rather than wanting to hide it, it was simply her own space to quietly write down the records of her day-to-day life.
Every human needs their own space.
Arpe must have needed her own space, and Asydia must have needed her own space as well.
This place was, in every sense, a secret base where Asydia could let herself down.
Rustle.
I opened the diary.
It’s not polite to casually peek at my daughter’s diary, but I reached for it as if mesmerized.
– Year 134 of the Demon King’s Reign, March 15. Zephar is being clingy. It’s really pissing me off. I want to kill him, but I hold back because of Dad. Zephar should just die.
– Year 135 of the Demon King’s Reign, February 2. Finally writing in my diary after a long time. I want to date. Everyone else gets to date and get pregnant before they even turn twenty, but I’m still living with Mom and haven’t gotten married. Still, I hate Zephar. I seriously wish he would just die.
“…….”
It’s just a diary.
It’s not particularly lengthy or written every day; it’s just sporadic. But I could catch a glimpse of my daughter’s feelings.
“The Demon King’s Reign…”
Perhaps,
It is her own calendar.
The Demon King’s reign—started from the day I disappeared, that kind of calendar.
“…That girl.”
Every time I read, laughter escapes.
I wondered if she liked Zephar but was frustrated about it, and my heart sank.
But most of what was written about Zephar was genuine anger.
This diary could be called a curse diary against Zephar, filled with hatred and rage towards him.
– Year 174 of the Demon King’s Reign, September 1. My kid came to see me again today. He said he found a way to save my father, and when I went to check, he proposed in a whole castle. He said he would be the father of my daughter. I killed him, but since he’s a lich, I think he’ll come back to life. I want to take his life vessel and bring it to the Order of the Goddess to burn him with Divine Power right away. If he pulls something like this one more time, I declared that I would just hide with Mom instead of summoning the Demon King.
How much did she hate him that she would think about giving up my summoning just because she hated Zephar?
And.
– Year 189 of the Demon King’s Reign, December 30. I’ve come to a conclusion. I cannot meet my father while I am still alive.
“…….”
– The divine barrier spread across the Intermediate Realm is extremely powerful, and the magic to summon beings from the Demon World has repeatedly failed. It seems it won’t be until about 300 years later that the barrier of the Red Moon Goddess weakens. By then, even the Demon King class demons might be able to be summoned in spirit.
Perhaps,
Content that Arpe could check wouldn’t be written here.
– Preventing aging with mana has its limits. My lifespan is nearing its end. I want to live about 300 more years, summon my father, greet him, and then die, but it seems that won’t be possible.
The result of years of research tells me “time doesn’t allow.”
– However, I have no desire to become a lich like Zephar. Mom cried and threw a tantrum to give me her Holy Sword, and I was so angry that I subdued her with magic and made her faint.
“…Oh.”
– I need to conduct my sealing ceremony without my mother knowing. Mom cannot say such nonsense about giving me her Holy Sword once I’m already dead.
“How sharp.”
– What did Dad see in someone like Mom that made him accept that? He must have thought it was pitiful that she’d throw a fit saying she’d die if he didn’t take responsibility.
“…How did she know?”
She really is my daughter.
As I moved to the back of the diary, it became increasingly evident that Asydia was learning about the truth of the world.
After realizing it would take immense time to summon me, my daughter seemed to have a liberated vibe, almost like a wise sage, felt even in her writing.
– I understood my father’s plans.
“…….”
– I understood what my father desires. That dream is so great and grand that it’s overwhelming, far beyond what I had imagined; if I were to plan it, I couldn’t just follow it carelessly.
“…No way.”
– I found out where the Celestial Realm is. I found out where the Demon World is. The rest is just a matter of moving a single meteor with magic. I want to destroy the world and show the now-nonexistent Red Moon Goddess how it perishes.
“…….”
– But, even though my father defended this land with his life, I don’t want to destroy it like that. It doesn’t make sense.
– Why would my father, a Demon King, want to protect this world? He could simply avoid the satellite bombardments and whatever else.
“…True.”
I still don’t understand.
Logically judging, it seems like this ambiguous situation would continue to repeat, making it difficult to articulate.
– Still, it’s a world my father has preserved. If I were to destroy it, would my father understand me, or would he be angry? I hope to meet him at least that way. I want to ask why he loved “Sorceress Bel,” even turning the Red Moon Goddess into an enemy.
“…….”
– And I too, want to become like that. If I had a wish before I die.
[Master?]
A voice called from outside.
I closed the last page of the diary, wiped my eyes with my sleeve, and used a teleportation spell to go outside.
“Did you call?”
“…Isn’t teleportation magic a bit mana-consuming?”
“This much is nothing now. This body is a Great Witch.”
Not just any Great Witch, but one who could have destroyed the world.
“Lucius. Any remnants inside?”
“Nothing at all. I searched directly with Sleipnir.”
“Good job. Then… I’ll seal it.”
I raised my staff atop Sleipnir’s shoulder.
Boom.
A small island that didn’t appear on the map began to sink downwards.
A phenomenon possible because it was an island raised by magic, not one that emerged from below.
Now.
That island sinks beneath the sea.
The magical barrier enveloping the island will persist permanently, and when all is said and done, I will return to this land and live out my life on that island.
“Then… farewell for now.”
So.
“Lucius. What do you want to do after defeating both Asydia and the Demon King?”
“Suddenly?”
“Yeah. We’re almost at the end.”
Lucius crossed his arms and began to ponder seriously.
“…Well, I guess I won’t know until we get there. What about you, Master?”
“Um. Well, I’ve got one goal now.”
To hear a final wish.
To grant a wish.
– Just like Mother was loved by Father, I want to be loved by someone, give birth to their child, and live happily.
“A happy ending.”