The sight of Kanami, healing the sick with a fantastical light, was exactly the ‘great savior’ I had always imagined.
Without a doubt, that was my ‘Ideal’.
However, this ‘Ideal’ began to warp my life.
Like a misbuttoned shirt, everything started to fall apart from that day on.
First, Romis Neisha dealt with the witnesses to Kanami.
I became a victim of the ‘Demonization’ experiment—but I ‘luckily’ survived it. I was the only one who somehow lived. Three years later. Hearing rumors of Hermina Neisha, the lord of Fanian, I chose to ‘return home’—
I reached the lowest floor of the ‘Seventh Demon Obstacle Research Institute’.
Just as Hermina told me when I was little, I stepped foot there when I was a little older.
However, at that time, I was neither an ‘upper-level employee’ nor a ‘lower-level employee,’ but one of the many victims of ‘Demonic Poison.’
—Screams always echoed.
There, patients suffering from the true ‘Demonic Poison’ continued to be victimized.
Every second, my sanity chipped away.
When I thought about how I had lived comfortably on top of this hell for so long, ignoring these voices, I couldn’t stop the nausea or the tears. Especially the cell I was put in, called the ‘Divine Vessel Storage Room,’ was terrible.
It was a dark stone room, always stained red.
Occasionally, a cleaner would come, but their cleaning was never enough.
—Because the pool of blood in the center would periodically overflow.
The surface of the water constantly pulsed, and from the mass of flesh sunk within, blood was generated endlessly.
My longed-for Hermina had been reduced to a pathetic state.
She was still alive, though.
More accurately, she was being kept alive, her ‘blood power’ perpetually drained.
Now, as the new ‘Blood God’ protecting Fanian—
“—Ahhh… Aaahhh, aaaaahhh…”
Chained, being forced to witness the person I admired suffer was nothing short of hell.
I lamented and moaned aloud.
However, it would never reach Hermina.
No matter how many words I threw at her—
“Hermina-san… again… please… I beg you…”
“I—■■■■ flesh■ liquid■■■, blood■ gnawing■ numbers■ place—”
She couldn’t speak.
What came back was mostly bizarre, inhuman vibrations.
Even if I heard something that sounded like language, conversation was impossible.
I could no longer learn from Hermina like I did in the past.
There was no one in this world to guide this foolish junior.
In despair, even though I knew it was futile, I continued to cry, cling, and talk to her.
“What… what should I have done…? Where and what did we do wrong…? How could we have been saved—?”
I desperately wanted to hear Hermina’s voice.
I wanted her to tell me what to do next, as she used to.
“Y—you are■■—■■ my■ liquid■■, gnawing■ numbers■ pleasure■■—”
But I couldn’t hear her.
Like the cleaner from long ago, Hermina was being consumed by the ‘Demonic Poison,’ completely gone mad. It was the only way I could describe her ‘voice.’
I would never be able to talk to Hermina again.
The moment I accepted that, I wished I could go mad like her.
Being alive was painful. In this state, it was only suffering. I hated thinking, hated trying. It would be so much easier to become like Hermina is now—it didn’t take long to think this.
“Ah… I will become like Hermina too—”
I believed I could.
I had heard from the ‘Dragon God’ that to join the gods, one had to despair of everything and abandon it all. Therefore, I just kept believing that I too could become like the ‘Lord Flame God,’ the ‘Light God,’ and the ‘Blood God.’
I didn’t need strength anymore. I just wanted weakness. If I could only surrender to this painful reality, I could go to Hermina. If only my heart would crack, shatter, and go mad—
Then I could talk to Hermina again.
Like in my innocent childhood, when I knew nothing.
If there was even a sliver of a chance to reclaim those happy times, I would abandon anything.
If pretending would bring me even slightly closer to the ‘real thing,’ I would go mad any number of times.
Even if I wasn’t mad, I would pretend to be. I would go mad, madness, madness, and madness. It would be so much easier, so much faster, to just go mad—
“—Lady Hermina doesn’t want to be saved at all.”
At some point, a reply came.
It wasn’t from Hermina.
“Of course. Because Lady Hermina is very ‘happy’ right now.”
“…What? Huh?”
At some point, instead of being able to talk to Hermina, I had become able to talk to the mad cleaning girl.
She had finished her cleaning duties and was resting when she saw my pathetic state and called out to me. I heard her and understood.
I didn’t know why I could talk to the girl now.
However, trapped in the ‘Divine Vessel Storage Room’ and starving for conversation, I clung to it without thinking too deeply.
“You… you don’t think she wants to be saved…? That can’t be true!? Is this ‘happiness’!? Look! Into that pool of blood! She’s just a meatball now! This! This is the ending!? Is this how you treat Hermina, who has been working so hard to save everyone!? Hermina was always trying to save people suffering from ‘Demonic Poison’! She worked hard, little by little, steadily! And yet, this damned ‘World’—!!”
Perhaps it was the joy that I might have finally gone mad.
If I kept pretending, I could become ‘real.’
I felt a little closer to Hermina and spoke to her normally.
“Yes. That is why, is this not what is called an ‘Ordeal’?”
“‘Ordeal’…?”
“At least, Lady Hermina thinks so. I, who have been with her all along, understand Lady Hermina completely. —Didn’t she once say that ‘Ordeals’ are hope and good fortune? That by overcoming ‘Ordeals,’ ‘Magic’ will one day no longer be solely for the gods…… This must be part of that path.”
“Th-this? This is part of the path…?”
The cleaning girl admonished me, just like Hermina used to.
For some reason, I couldn’t brush her off.
“Yes. Lady Hermina is still in the process of trying to overcome the ‘Ordeal.’ Yet, Fafnir Helvishein, you are giving up? You, her disciple, are succumbing to an ‘Ordeal’ halfway down the path?”
“That’s… well, I wasn’t exactly her disciple…”
“That can’t be right, can it? —Because you are a ‘strong person’.”
“No, I’m really… really was… —!?”
I’m not strong.
Before I could deny it, a piercing scream interrupted my words.
It was the screams of the ‘Demons’ still being sacrificed in the ‘Seventh Demon Obstacle Research Institute.’
The screams seemed to stop me from giving up.
It felt as if they were saying to me, the masterpiece of the ‘Demonization’ experiment, “You still have a role to play,” “If you give up, why did we die,” “I entrust our regrets to you. Please, I beg you.”
It was just my imagination.
But I flinched and looked around.
Naturally, there was no one else in this ‘Divine Vessel Storage Room’ besides myself and the cleaner.
There was nothing but blood. Or so I thought—
“Eh—”
For some reason, “Scripture of the Hakuhi Religion” was placed in this room.
The book that my past self once loved, relied on, and believed in.
My hand moved naturally and picked up the book.
My body knew the book’s power well.
“Cha, Chapter Five, Verse Eleven…”
As if it were a habit, I recited it.
At that moment, I felt a little bit of my heart lighten.
And with that small relief, I felt like I could endure a little more.
Of course, it was an illusion.
Medically speaking, it was a form of religious addiction.
“‘You must revere all souls, lest your own soul find no rest’…”
Having assisted Hermina, I knew this was a dangerously deep dependency.
I should have let go of “Scripture of the Hakuhi Religion” immediately.
Once you become engrossed, you can never let go.
However, conversely, that meant—
“—Chapter Five, Verse Eleven: ‘You must revere all souls, lest your own soul find no rest’—”
As long as there was something to be dependent on, it meant I could still keep going.
At this point, I knew the true power of “Hih.”
I turned the pages of “Scripture of the Hakuhi Religion” in the “Sacred Object Storage Room.”
On the lowest floor of Fanian, I desperately prayed to the oldest god and continued to recite.
“—Chapter Five, Verse Twelve: ‘By revering all souls, your soul found rest’—”
It became a kind of “Price.”
“Scripture of the Hakuhi Religion” was gradually becoming a part of my body, necessary for me to live.
And from that part of my body, a voice I should no longer hear began to speak.
It was the voices of the sacrificed “Demon”s, urging me on: “You can do it. Because you are our Helvishein—”
It was the voice of my admired Hermina, guiding me: “Only accumulated knowledge can pave the way. If you inherit my ‘Law of Blood,’ you should surely be able to escape from here—”
It was the voice of the “Great Savior” Kanami, waiting for me at the end of the path: “Fafnir, never give up until the very end. We will surely be reunited someday—”
In this way, I paid the “Price” and obtained the warped “Voice.”
It was a strength that would never break my heart, no matter if it were a hundred years, a thousand years, or many generations into the future.
“—Ha, haha, kuhah!”
“Fuh, fufu—do you understand now? You were a ‘strong person.'”
Two laughter escaped.
I continued to laugh, not to be outdone by the screams of the “Demon”s echoing from afar.
“Haha! Ah, I understand! Ah, I understood it all! This kind of “Ordeal” is nothing new! Hermina is still alive! As long as I can hear Hermina’s voice, we can still keep going!”
“Yes. …Because we are alive. We haven’t died yet.”
“Ah, I will absolutely not die! I will absolutely live, get out of here, and save everyone! I’ll kill all the researchers upstairs! It’s absolutely wrong that we are ‘unhappy’ while those scumbags are ‘happy’! That no one can be saved… that no one can be saved, such a thing must not be—!!”
The “Ordeal” is not despair. Rather, this is where the effort begins, I cried tears of sorrow and laughed loudly with joy.
—And that new “Voice” would lead me.
Since the other researchers were useless, I conducted my research alone in this “Sacred Object Storage Room.”
Stretching the chains to their limit and reaching my hand into the blood pool in the center, I independently acquired the “Law of Blood.”
If you ask me how? The answer is quite simple. Following the “Voice” that echoed from somewhere, I found a way to become a proxy for the “Thief of Principles of Blood.” That’s all.
……………………..
This is how I became a proxy for the “Thief of Principles of Blood.”
After that, I continued to overcome “Ordeals” like a madman.
As Hermina’s proxy, I even spread her benevolent teachings.
Because I believed that if I kept trying, I would one day become the “real thing.”
……………………..
That was the pretense.
Perhaps it was the easiest path.
To ease my own mind even a little, I instinctively chose to be a “Theologian,” became a proxy for the “Thief of Principles of Blood,” and continued to follow the voices of the abnormal status ailment “Hallucination”—not the skill “Oracle.”
That was the true identity of Fafnir, the proxy for the “Thief of Principles of Blood” a thousand years ago.
In the world a thousand years later, I organize that past and keenly feel its pain.
And with that pain, my consciousness gradually begins to clear.
Not just my mind, but my body also awakens.
From the “Sacred Object Storage Room” of a thousand years ago, to reality.
Even to Fafnir Helvishein a thousand years later, who couldn’t even properly fulfill his role as a proxy and is still making mistakes—
***
—Returning, I awaken from meditation.
Slowly, I lift my heavy eyelids and exhale the air in my lungs.
“Haa…”
The scene that assaults my retinas is the same as the memories I had just replayed.
A room made of red stone, with a pool of blood accumulated in the center.
However, there was no longer a mass of flesh submerged there. No one was there.
Even a thousand years later, I was in the “Sacred Object Storage Room,” leaning my back against the dirty wall.
Using the system of Vivid Blood Magic and Labyrinth Construction, I had “Recalled and Converged” Fanian from a thousand years ago, so it could be considered almost the same room. However, the faces present were slightly different from before.
“Are, are you alright? Your complexion is bad, or rather, your face is starting to become transparent.”
Right in front of me, Glen Walker was looking at me with concern.
And within his chest was that “Hermina’s Heart.”
What I had obtained with so much effort a thousand years ago, I had given to another.
Waking up, I observe my surroundings carefully.
Glen and I, facing each other, are bare-chested, with large empty cavities in our chests. However, mine is “empty,” while Glen has “Hermina’s Heart.”
Compared to when it was in my chest, the heartbeat of the heart was exceedingly weak.
But this was according to plan.
It seemed I succeeded in weakening its power to the limit. Glen inherited “Hermina’s Heart,” yet his body’s magic power remained thin. This would not interfere with his clandestine activities.
And it wasn’t just Glen whose power was thinned; I was too.
Not only was my magic power quiet and gentle, but my living limbs were extremely thin. The abnormal presence of the “Thief of Principles” had vanished, and I had completely returned to being a ghost “Demon.”
Now, all preparations are complete.
In a little while, Kanami, the “Thief of the Principles of Dimensions,” will arrive at this “Sacred Object Storage Room.”
A being capable of parting the seas with a fingertip, making fruit trees grow by merely touching the earth, and healing all sickness with divine radiance, will come to save me, because I once wished for salvation.
Therefore, I discarded the “Thief of Principles” in advance.
I know that “Thief of Principles” is synonymous with “weak person.”
A child who cracked their heart and borrowed from the world to gain power they didn’t deserve.
Being a “Thief of Principles” would be a weakness when facing Kanami.
So, as the final preparation, I carried out the inheritance of that weakness.
However, the ceremony was more labor-intensive than I expected, and it seemed to have put a strain on my mind and body.
What I thought was light meditation had actually caused me to lose consciousness briefly.
“Ah, it’s fine. I was just doing some ‘Past Sight’ like I always do, Glen. …Actually, it’s you whose complexion is bad, isn’t it? You’re terribly pale.”
“Well… I suppose it would get a little bad. …Since this is the end for me now.”
Glen lowered his gaze and then murmured.
In his line of sight, a freshly pulsating heart lay there.
It was a fresh heart. Blood was still spurting from the ends of severed veins and arteries, continuing to dye the room’s floor red.
—Glen removed his own heart during the inheritance of the “Thief of Principles of Blood.”
Normally, it would be instant death.
Glen is alive now solely thanks to the power of “Demonization.”
His mixed bloodline belongs to the Poison Bee, a common monster with no special attributes, neither an advanced species nor particularly vital. However, his bloodline’s history has been deeply twisted for a thousand years.
As a result, the physical structure of that insect monster became quite peculiar. Instead of circulating blood with a heart like humans, it controlled body fluids throughout its body using an organ called the pulmo-vascular system. Furthermore, through Hermina’s medical knowledge for combating demons and my gene-editing surgery, we simulated a half-dead state… In essence, this means he can use a different, strange heart while “Demonized.”
However, this also means that if Glen reverts from his “Demonized” state to his human form, he will die. This is only natural, as he abandoned his human heart. If he returns to human form, Glen will die.
The future left for him is either to turn into a monster due to prolonged “Demonization,” or to die as a human by releasing the “Demonization.” Only these two options remain.
“Glen, this marks the successful handover of the ‘Thief of the Law of Blood’… As promised, if you can use that power to divide Kanami and the others, I’ll take on Kanami while you handle Seldra. I can’t refuse a request that involves risking your life.”
“Thank you… I can truly feel that my death is imminent now. The ‘Hermina’s Heart’ in my chest has been transmitting knowledge from a thousand years ago since just now… It feels incredibly strange. Is it like this for all Magic Stone users? Even though I shouldn’t have any ‘Affinity’.”
“It’s a common phenomenon for knowledge and techniques to be transmitted from a Magic Stone. However, Hermina’s Magic Stone is exceptional even among them. The ‘Power of Blood’ has meaning only when anyone can use it, so it has been modified in various ways to facilitate the inheritance of knowledge.”
“Wow, the technology from a thousand years ago is truly amazing. I can only express my gratitude to the great scientist Hermina Neisha. And I also deeply respect her.”
“Respect, you say? If it were Hermina, she would probably say: ‘This is not solely my achievement. The ‘Power of Blood’ is the wisdom that researchers of the Neisha family have arrived at through generations of repeated experiments and many sacrifices,’ she might say, sounding somewhat pleased.”
“Hermina Neisha was that kind of person… My own clan was involved in something similar through our family business, so I can understand that pride a little.”
They continue their casual conversation, confirming Glen’s improved condition.
“…Family business? I’ve never heard of that. What kind of research were you doing?”
“The ‘Alchemy’ skill my clan possesses is inextricably linked to science. I clearly remember my grandfather once calling himself a ‘Poison Scientist.’ …However, since Tiara’s actions ushered in the ‘Age of Magic Studies,’ the very word ‘science’ has become rare recently.”
“‘Age of Magic Studies’? That’s the first I’ve heard of it. Is this era called the ‘Age of Magic Studies’?”
“Eh? …Ah, yes. I suppose that wasn’t just my word. Hermina Neisha’s knowledge must have mixed in, and I just thought of it and said it. No, this feels truly strange…”
“So that’s how it is… Certainly, from my perspective, that phrasing does sound like Hermina. If it were me or Kanami, we would probably attach much grander names to it.”
“Ah, that’s true, Kanami-kun does like his embellishments, doesn’t he? If he knew about the ‘Thousand Year Plan of Five Stages,’ he might have added his own spin to it.”
They share a bitter smile, confirming their suspicions. It truly fits. Excessive memory inheritance should typically cause adverse effects. There should be abnormal discomfort, yet it’s dismissed with a mere “strange feeling.” There’s no rejection reaction, nor are auditory hallucinations amplified.
—It truly makes me realize that I wasn’t the right fit.
Unlike my case, Glen repeatedly checks his own body and nods with satisfaction. Finally, he touches his chin with his left hand and confirms that his molars are not grinding.
“Also, my body doesn’t tremble anymore in front of you. Is this because of ‘Hermina’s Heart,’ or because I’ve accepted my death?”
“Probably. You no longer fear me at all. This means I can finally quit being your attending physician.”
Glen scratched his head apologetically as I replied.
The “Strongest” of this era, Glen Walker, had suffered from a monster phobia for a long time. It was caused by being attacked by a monster called “Thief of the Principles of Light,” Teeda, in a labyrinth during his childhood, which resulted in the brutal murder of the people he admired at the time. His adopted sister, Snow, who also survived, apparently suffered severe psychological trauma.
However, Glen gradually alleviated his symptoms through his interactions with Rowen, the “The One Who Steals Earthly Principles,” and Nosfy, the “Thief of the Principles of Light”—and finally, upon meeting me, the “Thief of the Law of Blood,” he was completely cured.
It seems like a strange fate. The three knights who serve the Saintess are essentially a disaster waiting to happen when they meet. Glen, having met all of them and survived, might possess some special power.
Yet, in stark contrast to my high assessment, Glen sighs and begins to self-deprecate.
“Sigh… It truly makes me hate myself that I can only stop my trembling by going to such lengths. I’m always trembling, freezing up, getting lost, and falling behind. Palinkron, Hein… even Snow-san is moving forward now.”
“I don’t think being cowardly is necessarily a bad thing. Not fearing death is simply reckless bravery.”
“No, cowardice is a bad thing… I was truly a terrible person. That’s why I will definitely face Seldra Queenfilion here in a mutual destruction. That is the only way left for me to atone.”
However, my words don’t reach him, and Glen speaks of his resolve with a wry smile. This man, like us, is likely here now burdened by various regrets.
To be honest, merely prolonging his life would probably be possible if Kanami and I put our minds to it. However, Glen would never accept it. He has found the value of his life in facing Seldra. In our terms, that could be considered his “Lingering Desire.”
This might be our last conversation. With that thought, I scratch the back of my head, mimicking Glen, and speak my true feelings.
“It’s just… things don’t go as planned. The people I root for always end up in terrible situations.”
I self-deprecatingly gaze at Glen’s exposed heart. I believe I have gradually corrected the buttons I fastened incorrectly on myself. However, I still find myself imposing misguided “Ordeals” on others.
“Conversely, the people I don’t pay attention to always achieve great things.”
Recalling my own childhood earlier, I understood this well. “Ordeals” are not something given by others. People grow, even without my “Ordeals.” They grow beyond imagination, endlessly forward.
—This is what I learned from “Tiara Fuziaze of a Thousand Years Ago” and “Rustiara Fuziaze of the Present.”
The moment I saw her clad in that rainbow-colored magic power, I immediately understood that there was someone working harder than me. Rustiara Fuziaze was a crystallization of “Magic Stone,” “Power of Blood,” “Religion,” and “Magic Stone Human”—and at the same time, the culmination of science accumulated since the Dark Ages. Tiara must have utilized all kinds of techniques, without being fixated on either science or theology.
That is why Rustiara Fuziaze possessed a miraculously balanced and exceedingly beautiful form.
Connecting through “Line” and gathering everyone’s power into one with “Levan.” Her rainbow light held a persuasiveness befitting her epithet, the “Living God.”
Compared to the candidates for the “Great Savior”—Kanami, Nosfy, and Ragune—who were burdened with the unreasonable “Ordeals” I imposed, she was truly beautiful, resolute, righteous, and healthy. Despite a strong sense of kinship through blood, there was no hint of bloodshed. That young girl, Tiara, proved that anyone can become the “Great Savior” even without arduous “Ordeals.”
“Ah… I’ve always lacked discernment since I was a child.”
I felt it keenly.
I had misjudged even Hermina. That’s why, despite being hailed as the successor to *The One Who Steals the Logic of Blood*, I failed to realize that the *Five-Stage Thousand-Year Plan* had been entrusted to Saint Tiara. I didn’t notice until Rustiara, a *Living God*, fulfilled Hermina’s *Lingering Desire* of “connecting knowledge across generations to become magic.”
In other words… Hermina would have been saved even without me. It was the same when the continent was frozen by the *Foreigner* Hitaki. The *Final Battle* proceeded without a hitch in my absence, and Tiara easily saved the world.
“…Sure, I lacked discernment, but I believe I bore witness to it. Kanami was revived, made peace with the past, regained all his memories, and grew more than anyone else… My *Lingering Desire* as Fafnir, the proxy of *The One Who Steals the Logic of Blood*, was achieved in a way that leaves no room for excuses.”
And that *Living God*, Rustiara, is now within Kanami. He inherited the complete thoughts and powers of the *Thieves of Principles* by surviving that *Final Battle*. And, as per the *”Scripture of the Hakuhi Religion”*, he became an entity that acts as a proxy for divine power. My *Lingering Desire* of “witnessing Aikawa Uzunami’s growth until the very end” has already been fulfilled.
To be frank, the *Seventieth Ordeal* of *The One Who Steals the Logic of Blood* is over.
“So, I should be able to rest easy now… Because the *Demons*… no, they’re *Beastfolk* now. All the *Beastfolk* have reached the blue sky. And from now on, with the power of Kanami, a *Great Savior*, the world will be saved further, and unhappy people will continue to decrease…”
However, I still don’t disappear. As an artificial *Thief of Principles*, I, like the others, have *Lingering Desire* as my source of power. I can say with certainty, as I researched that *Spell Formation* and performed the施術. Yet, I still—
“If I also entrust my feelings to Kanami, everything will end. I too can become a link connecting people, and this time, not just with words, but I can help save the world… That should be enough… But why, why am I still—”
“Even if the *Lingering Desire* of the proxy of *The One Who Steals the Logic of Blood* is over, isn’t your own true *Lingering Desire* still here? It’s the same for Rowen and Nosfy-sama. –You are also waiting. The world may wait for saviors like Tiara-sama, but the *Thieves of Principles* are waiting for people like Kanami.”
Glen answered my self-questioning, not me. Perhaps it was obvious to an outsider. Glen says I am still one of the *Thieves of Principles*, even after the proxy succession is complete. As someone who always wanted to be the *real* thing, it’s a welcome answer. However, I feel a little conflicted now, as recognizing myself as the *real* thing at this moment would only create an opening when I face Kanami.
“Am I truly a *Thief of Principles*? Am I really alive because of *Lingering Desire*…?”
“Aren’t you going to find out? Whether you can truly feel at ease. Here.”
“Ah, I want to find out… Whether Kanami truly inherited the *Great Savior* from Tiara. Or rather, whether the *Rustiara Fuziaze* I saw is truly within Kanami’s body right now.”
I thought that was my role. Therefore, I will test Kanami one more time. My misguided *Ordeal* will surely be overcome with Rustiara’s rainbow-colored magic power if it exists.
At that time, I will be at ease. I was a fool, but the world was properly saved in a way unrelated to me, and I will be at ease knowing that the long story ended with a “happily ever after.”
However, if he cannot overcome it. If I was mistaken yet again, then— I will be the one. I will do what Tiara did to Hidaki. Just as Glen resolved to fight Seldra to the death, I too will need to be prepared.
Seeing my determined expression, Glen smiled. Come to think of it, this resolve was Glen Walker’s initial objective as the party’s scout and recruiter.
“Our party has decided there’s no need to confirm. But for that reason, I won’t stop you. It’s very important to be convinced…”
With that, Glen averted his gaze and turned his back. He likely understood that simply worrying here would accomplish nothing. He put on the jacket he had folded on the floor, his fighting spirit surging from his back, and prepared to leave this *Sanctuary Management Room*.
“Leaving already? There’s still some distance to cover, you know.”
Even without *Hermina’s Heart*, I can still use *Blood Power*. The reason is simple: I didn’t gain the ability to use *Blood Power* by acquiring *Hermina’s Heart*. Rather, I reached perfection in *Blood Power* in this room a thousand years ago and then obtained *Hermina’s Heart*—the order was reversed. That’s why I can grasp the state of the *Blood Land* on the ground through an application of the magic *Blood*.
Even though Kanami and the others have infiltrated the *Blood Land*, there is still plenty of time left.
“I’ll move the *Living Legend* up early. I want to test the power of *Hermina’s Heart* a bit too. I should be able to summon *Blood Demon Beasts*, but I want to see how much I can command them.”
“I see. Then, this is it… Lastly, I will wish you luck. Please, let the last guardian living in this era, Glen Walker, pray for you.”
“Thank you. But I am not the last. Our leader once said that people’s feelings connect endlessly—”
With those words, Glen passed through the room’s door and went up the stairs. Seeing his valiant back, I was left alone in the *Sanctuary Management Room*. In the room that no longer held the sanctuary, I muttered alone.
“—Chapter Fourteen, Verse One: ‘No one has a pure end. However, no one has an impure end either’—”
I recited a congratulatory address I had once given to my lord, Ragune, while turning the pages of the *”Scripture of the Hakuhi Religion”*, which was now my only possession, and offered it to Glen as well. This *Scripture* is one of the pieces of knowledge I learned from Hermina while imprisoned in the *Sanctuary Management Room* a thousand years ago. However, this isn’t related to *Blood Power*; it corresponds to the *Curse Technique* devised by Kanami a thousand years ago. A thousand years ago, before Kanami first visited Fania, he had already succeeded in embedding *Price* into a book. He wrote the *Incantation* in advance, and by holding the book when chanting the *Curse Technique*, he amplified its power. In modern times, these are called *Magic Tools* in the form of rings and bracelets. It’s not such a rare technique, just written on magic stones instead of paper. However, my *Scripture* has likely far surpassed the category of *Magic Tool* due to the excessive embedding of *Price*. A thousand years of research, experimentation, and pushing the *Rules* to their limit have made this *”Scripture of the Hakuhi Religion”* my—half-body.
“—*Hih*. Chapter One, Verse One: ‘You who are here, are you.’—”
Perhaps this book is taking the place of my heart, allowing me, whose chest is empty, to continue living like this.
Once, I abandoned my name. I will never use my own name again. I have believed in and continued to chant the alias *Fafnir Helvishein*. Though not as potent as the divine magic *Levan* of religion, that act became a great *Price*, and I receive favoritism in magic from the *World*. Using a bit of that magic power, I extend my consciousness to the *Blood Land* on the ground. Just as Arty, *The One Who Steals the Logic of Fire*, used fire as a sensory organ, I too can change blood into one of my sensory organs… or rather, this trick originates from *Blood Power*.
Kanami and his party had just jumped down from the wall at the edge of the Blood Land.
After landing in the shallow blood sea, they slowly began their exploration with the Vampire Race, Kuuneru, at the front.
As planned, Kanami’s objective was to talk, and he wasn’t forcibly trying to destroy the Spell Formations that interfered with the Dimensional Magic permeating the Blood Land.
From my perspective, there was no problem even if they were destroyed.
I had prepared many countermeasures for that scenario.
One example is the blood pool in the center of this room.
It’s not just a pool of blood.
It is my “Blood Tome” where my knowledge is stored.
Knowledge, primarily in theology, literature, history, folklore, and biology, is kept there.
It is the medium necessary to maximize the power of the Ghost’s Demon.
I can confidently say that I have finished preparations to the extent that nothing more can be prepared.
With that conviction, all that remains is–
” – Chapter Twelve, Verse Two: ‘Guard your limited time. Your laziness will harm all men.’ – ”
I chant and wait.
While calming my mind and organizing my memories, I pay an even greater Price.
I store magic power externally, ensuring everything is perfect.
I already felt like the scripture itself had become my main body from stuffing myself, my Price, into it, but I continued to meditate.
” – Chapter Twelve, Verse Three: ‘However, the limits of time are not the law. The freedom of all men will help you.’ – ”
” – Chapter Twelve, Verse Four: ‘Therefore, guard your limited time. For you are one of all men.’ – ”
” – Chapter Twelve, Verse Five: ‘And make time your ally. That will bring peace to your heart.’ – ”
Just, blankly.
Remembering my past self, steadily.
— I’ve always been good at passing the time by chanting.
This kind of distraction was essential to maintaining my sanity during gruesome torture.
The important thing was to escape suffering effectively before my mind reached its limit.
It’s because people try to fight painful reality head-on that their minds easily crack.
I understood this instinctively from birth. My body automatically managed it well. That’s probably why I was better at living than ordinary people. Because I was more fortunate than others, I could pretend to be crazy any number of times.
” – Chapter Twelve, Verse Seventeen: ‘There are no limits to time. Nothing in the world limits me.’ – ”
As I continued to chant, my sense of time flew by.
Was it an hour? A whole day?
Or was it a year?
If I wanted to, I was confident I could skillfully let years pass.
And when I chanted the same part many times and lost count of how many weeks had passed–
” – Chapter Twelve, Verse Two: ‘Guard your limited time. Your laziness will–… Ah!!”
I felt a tremor.
I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I immediately turned my gaze to the ceiling.
I could feel the sea of blood raging above the ground.
Presumably, the Living Legend had arrived above the Town of Fanian, or rather, above its sea. The moment I judged this, I felt a magic stone with great power fall within my “The First Demon Obstruction Research Institute.”
It was the magic of a familiar woman I had faced many times a thousand years ago.
As planned, it seemed Apostle Sis had become a magic stone due to Glen’s surprise attack.
Immediately, I remotely controlled the sea of blood with magic (Blood). Controlling the flow of the sea of blood is now akin to water magic. However, for me, someone who is no longer a pure Thief of the Law of Blood, it was not a difficult task.
After a few tens of seconds, I guided Sis’s magic stone, swallowed by the sea of blood, all the way to the ceiling of this “Sacred Object Storage Room.”
Plop.
The surface of the ceiling rippled as if a stone had fallen into water.
The magic stone pierced the ceiling and entered the room.
I caught Apostle Sis’s beautiful magic stone.
I immediately wiped the surface of the magic stone with my hand and, focusing my eyes, checked if the contents were intact.
I have mixed feelings about Apostle Sis, but I don’t hate her enough to want her to disappear. Based on my experience from a thousand years ago, I examined the magic stone, confirmed her safety, and let out a sigh of relief.
“Hoo–”
Relief washed over me.
Then, I raised my head.
My gaze shifted from my hands to the front.
When I did, there–
” – Yo.”
Kanami, the Thief of the Principles of Dimensions, was already there.
Clad in a completely black coat, he stood before the entrance door, flickering like a ghost. With eyes darker than the darkness itself, he stared intently at me.
“K-Kanami-san…!”
So fast.
His arrival was almost simultaneous with the magic stone falling.
More than anything, I was surprised that I hadn’t noticed his intrusion into this room.
Kanami, that freakishly powerful being, had an unnaturally faint presence. I surmise he was suppressing his magic power to the limit with the coat he used, borrowing the power of the Thief of the Logic of Darkness, Teeda.
Compared to me, the Ghost’s Demon, Kanami before me was even more spectral.
Just as always, a mirror.
That sensation reminded me of that day.
The memory of meeting “Kanami-san” for the first time.
At the time, I was working at “The First Demon Obstruction Research Institute” as a theologian and was assigned to guide a state guest.
That guest was Kanami, a Foreigner from Fuziaze.
We hit it off immediately.
I loved talking about the history and religion of Fanian, and Kanami loved listening.
We quickly became friends. I was delighted, thinking he might be the first kindred spirit I had ever found.
I thought we could become the best friends.
— No, we *were* the best “friends.”
I am one person who can stand shoulder to shoulder with Kanami.
One of the great figures who survived hell, fell into madness, yet revived a thousand years later.
I am a “friend” of the “real” Kanami.
” – Kanami! Haha, it’s been a while! It feels strangely nostalgic! How long has it been? Since Ragune killed me!”
So, I called out casually.
I had the knack for doing that.
The talent to obtain what I want and become what I want to be.
But, the other party was–
“No. It’s a little different, saying it’s been since Ragune killed me. … It took me a thousand years to get here.”
He is a Thief of Principles, mixed with, distilled, and aged with a talent even greater than mine.
Currently, Kanami’s and my physical appearance are of the same generation, and our heights are almost the same.
It’s a fitting appearance for equal “friends.” However, Kanami looked at me with kind eyes, as if looking at a younger boy. A protective gaze, like that of an older brother or a father, enveloped my entire body.
It dredged up memories of us innocently walking together at “The First Demon Obstruction Research Institute,” talking about religion and magic stones casually, despite our height difference.
“Yeah. I remember how much fun we had that day, talking about the culture of the city with you at Fanian’s “The First Demon Obstruction Research Institute.” I think it’s been since then. Since then, I haven’t spoken to the ‘real you’ even once.”
Naturally, he read my mind.
Or perhaps, it wasn’t mind-reading, but a response read from my future self.
In any case, it was a conversation where he anticipated my thoughts.
Kanami looked around the “Sacred Object Storage Room” and spoke with both hands on his chest, like a performer singing on stage.
“I’m sorry I’m late. But I came to save you properly. I came to save everyone suffering in this “Demon Obstruction Research Institute” –”
He said so, with a smile.
Today, on my activity report, I released the character design for Apostle Legacy.
Bonus information has also been added there.
Furthermore, here are the usual reports–
* The serialization of “Let’s Aim for the Deepest Part of the Other World Labyrinth” has been decided.
It will start around the end of July on ComicGarden (I think!).
Detailed explanations are available on my activity report. New information will also be posted there later.
* At the same time, “Let’s Aim for the Deepest Part of the Other World Labyrinth Vol. 12” will be released on July 25th. Thank you for your support.
