Vol 3 Prologue (1/2)
Prologue: Roland's Darkness
Some kind of fairy tale ritten
—Once you formed a contract with a Demon, you could never return to normal—and such
That ith child-like judgment, if a demon appeared before him,
”Now then, forrant any wish you desire”
Even if such things were said, he felt that, without fail, he couldn't succumb to the temptation
Even with its sweet voice and though the conditions it presented were alluring, he felt that, without fail, he couldn't lend an ear to any of the demon's words
After all, if he listened to the demon's words
If he succumbed to the demon's temptation
Because in the end, he knew that things would end in such a way that he had no support
That hy, if a demon appeared before him, he would, without fail, refuse to listen to it—that hat Sion Astal had vowed, like a child
””
He recalled that childish vow
Recalling the vow of the old him, Sion smiled ruefully
When his mother had read picture books to him and a scary demon appeared in those picture books—if a demon appeared before him, he would, without fail, refuse to listen to its words, he had vowed like a fool, at which Sion now, recalling that, smiled ruefully
And suddenly
””
Suddenly, he remembered the conversation that he'd had with his mother
—Hey, Mom
—Yes?
—If, somehow, a demon appears in our house, I'll protect you, Mom!
—Really?
—Yeah! I'll definitely protect you, Mom!
If he recalled correctly, he'd said that
But in the end, his mother died so easily
Even though no demon from a fairy tale appeared, his edy rather than of a fairy tale, it was a miserable, wretched death
No, it wasn't just his mother
His allies, friends, and loved ones—everyone that he'd considered important to him died without any fanfare
Sion hadn't been able to protect a single person
—I'll protect everyone!
At those words,
”Ha—”
Sion let out a quiet laugh
And he reminisced further
Before hi
Before him, his friends had cried out
Before hi had been dirtied with a deep red
And he'd finally realized
Monsters from fairy tales meant to deceive children didn't exist in reality
No, on the contrary, as they beca everyone realized
In this rotten country
In this rotten world, dehtly darkness deeper than humans didn't exist
That hen, in reality, a Demon appeared
””
When a demon like the ones out of fairy tales appeared before him
Sion listened to that demon's words
He broke his vow as a child
That he would, without fail, refuse to listen to the words of a deainst that decision and listened to the demon's words
””
That demon spoke
”Starting from now, I'll ask several questions I'll ask several questions in order to deem whether you are suitable or not”
No, rather than a denant with black deeper than darkness Radiating hite greater than light As if his existence were occupying a space with nothingness, it was unstable and strange, and with that, he was an incredibly, incredibly beautiful man
That man spoke
”For you to receive these questions, there is one condition”
” Condition?”
Sion asked, to which the demon said,
”Yes I shall ask you the questions And if I am not pleased with your answer, I'll kill you Relax It won't hurt You won't even feel your head separating from your body Rather—rather, you'll simply die”
He said that
And that, unlike what a demon in a fairy tale would say, was a deal with an unbelievably harsh condition At any rate, merely to receive his questions, the other party would have to wager his life
He didn't talk about how, to grant your wish, he'd offer a deal What he spoke of was instead of how he'd judge you If he wasn't pleased, he'd kill you Just about that kind of thing
Without a doubt, if this had been Sion when he was a child, he would've rejected that proposal
If it were Sion who'd feared demons back then, he would've rejected the unreasonable proposal immediately
But no longer,
””
No longer was he a child
He was no longer an innocent, cheerful child who read fairy tales
His mother died
And in the war, he lost all of his allies
Nevertheless, this cursed world continued to kill people, day after day It killed his allies It killed his friends It killed his family Even if they cried out, no one was saved Kiefer cried, Ryner lost hope, and Fahl, Tyle, and Toni died
In spite of that, as always, the cries don't stop
In spite of that, as always, the cries won't stop!
Then
Then, what in the world should be done?
What can I do to stop those cries?
What can I do stop the people's tears?
What can a powerless, foolish piece of trash who couldn't protect a single person do to protect what's important?
What can I do to get a hold of enough power to protect everyone?
””
Day in, day out, Sion had continued to ask himself that Foolishly, he continued to ask himself that each day
And, he thought about it
If, by any chance, a demon from a fairy tale now appeared before him
And if that derant any wish of his
Even if, for co, surely—he would accept
””
That hy he spoke
Sion spoke
He stared at the demon before him
”Very well Let's hear your questions Lucile Eris”
Then the demon—
Lucile Eris smiled
”Haha I thought you ht say that”
And Lucile turned on his heel
”Please come with me,”
He said
The man who'd reached an unknown depth in the underworld, deeper than demons from books, rapped in a deep darkness, said that
Incidentally, right now, the place that Sion was in was the residence of the Eris house, the renowned fauarded the royal family
And within that residence was a dojo Like the sort of space that noble children would gather, with a wide, open wooden floor, it was a dojo with nothing remarkable about it that Sion had been invited to
The reason he'd been invited here was because he'd been told so like, ”I'd like to meet with and reward Sion-kun, who returned safely from the war”
Due to Kiefer's betrayal, he'd lost all of his allies; however, because of Ryner going berserk, all of the Estabul Magic Knights had been slaughtered, and so Sion had survived
And Rahel Miller had appeared
Thethe shoes of the nobles, acting obsequious, and falling prostrate to the ground appeared with his true figure
That Miller said that he was starting a revolution
He was starting a revolution that, all this ti from the shadows
For that reason, he was going to make use of Sion
By creating a legend of the hero Sion Astal, who, on his oiped out the Estabul Magic Knights and furtherdom of Estabul to surrender, they would elevate Sion and so start a revolution within Roland
In other words, Sion had been allowed to live so that he could be Miller's puppet
He'd been allowed to live so that he could be a doll, s
And in one fell swoop, the tale began to move forward
Miller was extinguishi+ng any hindrances, one by one
One by one, he was assassinating anyone who got in his way, from nobles to people in positions of authority On the other hand, he wasn't negligent about controlling the flow of information either Currently, it seemed that the upper brass of the military and the nobles were unaware of the true ene them off
No, it was possible they weren't even aware that an enein with
Even if they noticed the threat of Sion Astal, the low-born co elevated the saviour and hero of the country, they were unaware of the existence of Rahel Miller, the onehim
And while the royal family and nobles were unaware, Miller's plot moved forward Miller's deception y moved forward
Everything wasto his plan
He was doing what should be done He killed those whom he needed to kill He raised the reputation of Sion Astal, the beloved hero of the people who put an end to the war
And to the very end, theruht of the people, was the one slaughtering the royal family Already, he'd become Miller's prepared tool, as part of a just cause—
””
That was likely part of Miller's plan
And Sion wasn't that displeased over such a plan If, with this, the country could truly change If this rotten country could change even a little, then he didn't care about as done with the life of the powerless him who couldn't save anyone—that was how he felt, after all
But
””
But surely, with this, nothing will change, Sion thought
The perfect world created by the efficient Miller wouldn't work for ht
No, ht that Miller's revolution wouldn't succeed
The main reason for that was,
” This”
Muttering that softly, Sion looked at the back of the beautifulthem further into the dojo
He looked at Lucile Eris, the head of the Eris clan who'd been tasked with protecting this country's king for generations
Glossy golden hair, and an unbelievably abnored appearance But that wasn't the issue at hand here
This presence
This substance
From the first time Sion had met Lucile up until now, Lucile hadn't felt like a human
Inside of Lucile, there was killing intent so strong that it extinguished everything, and an existence that felt as if it would blow out and disappear, tre faintly
After exchanging only a feords with him, some sort of anxiety and tension formed inside of Sion, for some reason
After he moved only a little, anxiety and tension formed in the world
Of course, the monsters in the dark side of the previous Roland also had that overpowering feeling
For exah Klom or Rahel Miller,presences and become unable to move, likely
Even Ryner had developed such an aura No, the figure of his Alpha Stighter, rather, felt like facing a God
But even compared to that
””
Even the rah Klom as called a de presence, Sion thought
No, there was nothing that could coht
The air that Lucile Eris was clad in was so that was too distinct
So so distinct that,
””
There was clearly so that felt distinct from a human inside of him
Rather than a hu even worse than a demon or a monster—that hat Sion felt
And that was—
That was the main reason why Sion couldn't approve of Miller's plan
This thing that wasn't a person was protecting the king of the Roland Empire
This thing that surpassed co
And for whatever reason, Sion felt it
That thisfor
However enius that man called Rahel Miller was, no matter how perfectly and efficiently he could act, his perfect plan that fell within the boundaries of co for Lucile Eris, he felt
If by any chance Miller's plan succeeded, if the people's revolution succeeded, and Miller and Claugh storet past Lucile Eris
No, fro, in this country, people had never behaved in such a normal, sensible manner, had they?
For whatever reason, that was how Sion felt If it was because of the blood of theinside of him, or for some other reason, he didn't know, but whenever he looked at Lucile, he felt that, as plain as day
Looking at this man, he felt that, as plain as day
No matter as done to this h's power, and the people's cries wouldn't reach this country's king
””
To that extent
To that extent, Sion felt that thisthat distinctly wasn't of a human
Instead, he held an air that felt like nothing but the notion that Sion, who couldn't help but be a huet involved with him
Don't talk with a demon
Don't get involved with a monster
Don't touch this thing that isn't a human
Everyone knew that
Deep in their hearts, everyone instinctively knew that
That hy his heart cried out The moment that a monster appeared before him The moment that a demon appeared before him, his heart cried out
Run away Run away Run away Run away
But that—
””
Repressing that fear, Sion chose to move on ahead
Following the back of this thing that wasn't a human, he chose to move on ahead
Then, the girl next to hiirl who resembled Lucile
Ferris Eris—
Lucile Eris's younger sister
Long golden hair, and an expressionless face, but as expected, she was an inhuirl
However, she was a hu a sword that , she was nevertheless different froenuine human
He didn't knohy there was such a discrepancy between the siblings, but Ferris, as still rooted in the human world, spoke
To Sion, as following Lucile, she spoke
”What a waste You would throay your hard-earned battlefield survival here?”
Sion turned his head at that He looked at Ferris's unsurprisingly emotionless face
And he made a move to speak,
””
But he stopped
He ignored her words
Because he'd already decided that he wouldn't be misled
Because he'd already decided in that war the path that he would walk down
Again, he'd lost everything He'd lost all of his co that was i left that the him from then could do
There was no longer anything that the worthless him could do
That hy he wasforward
Even though he didn't knohata contract with a de forward
”Don't go, you fool,”
Ferris said
However, Sion didn't halt
”Don't go with Brother with him,”
Ferris said
However, Sion didn't halt
Then, Lucile spoke
He turned his head
He turned his lovely face
And he laughed
” Haha, Ferris is kind, isn't she? But it's pointless He has already decided He's already decided to go somewhere far away”
”Sion isn't like you He's not looking for your level of abnormal power”
”Is that so?”
”Yes”
”But even if he isn't seeking power, Ferris, you can hear what he's crying out for, can't you? He can no longer bear with his weakness He can no longer bear with crawling on the ground like a worer endure the cruelty of living like this in this world?”
In response to the question, Ferris spoke
” I don't really hear anything like tha”
She began, but was interrupted
”If you can't hear anything, then be quiet This is an affair that has nothing to do with you”
”But—”
”I said to be quiet And disappear for the ti”
Lucile said Lightly, he swung his hand
In that instant, his words became reality
Ferris vanished
Though Sion wasn't sure what just happened, Ferris truly wasn't there anymore
Regarding that, Sion stared, and,
” Haha What's with that? You don't want your precious little sister getting involved?”
He said that
In response, Lucile looked his way
And,
” Correct She's pure, after all It's fine if we alone are stained by the darkness Do you not agree?”
At those words,
””
Sion simply smiled a tad
For the first time, he felt that he saw a human side to this monster, and so he smiled
”Haha Roland's greatest monster is a foolish older brother, huh?”
Lucile also smiled
”Because she's special”
”And why is that?”
””
However, there was no answer to that question
Lucile continued further into the dojo Opening countless wooden doors, he moved deeper, deeper into the dojo There was no noise Not of Lucile's footsteps, or of Sion's No, it felt as if though there was a spell that was depriving the area of all sound, do the dojo with an eerie silence
Opening a door, they moved deeper inside
Opening a door, they moved deeper inside
As they advanced further, it felt as if they were being dyed by the deep the darkness that surrounded the deeply uncomfortable
Here
This place
He felt that it was a place where he, who hadn't surpassed being an ordinary human, should exist in He felt the darkness that surrounded theness try and crush him
Then,
”Is it getting difficult?”
Lucile asked
At that, Sion looked at his face and shook his head
”No”
Lucile smiled
”Heh You truly are superior, aren't you? Even though we're at a point that Ferris and Iris—no, that norht, Asruld's blood is strong in you”
He said so so cryptic
And again, he opened a door
He continued into a room with a wooden floor
But that wooden floor no longer looked like a normal one
The landscape was distorting
Feeling just like thefroan to airily distort Entering that distorting world, Lucile spoke
”Now, in this place, I will soon ask the first question,”
He said
But it felt as though that voice were echoing in a faraway place
As the landscape twisted and turned, the darkness warped, and time distorted, Sion felt that
Aently held out a hand to him
”Can you see ers?”
He asked such a question
In response, Sion stared, and then looked at the fingers that Lucile was holding up Naturally, he could see Lucile's fingers The index finger, the ers he was pointing in Sion's direction
Lucile spoke
”Right noat you? That is the first question”
The ansas three fingers
Or rather, in reality, he didn't think of any response beyond those three fingers before him, but,
””
Sion didn't answer right away
No, he shouldn't answer right away
This was a question where he had staked his life Lucile had said that if he wasn't pleased by Sion's answer, he would immediately kill him
He shouldn't answer so easily
That hy Sion stared at Lucile, as cheerfully gazing at him, and,
” Do you have some kind of aim with that question? Do you really just wantup, or is there so else hidden in the question, in which case there's so else in my answer that I need to have?”
He began, but at that, Lucile laughed
”No, you can sier need to ask Right now, you can see how ers Because you can see that much, this question isn't necessary In that case, we may move on We'll ht now”
Saying that, he again moved on
Looking at his back,
”Just what in the world are you trying to do?”
Sion asked
But Lucile disregarded that and continued forward
He opened another door
He opened another door
He opened another door
He opened another door
With each door they passed through, Sion's head hurt His ears rang He felt like voh they should've been in the dojo up until earlier, he couldn't even tell what kind of place this was anymore
As the air tre in a dark sea of the night tormented his entire body
Just what—
Just as this place?
Right, Sion was about to ain, he did the sa He held out his hand
”Now then, I'll ask you again Can you see ers?”
It was in that moment
It was in that moment that finally, Sion understood
What Lucile was doing right nohat he was trying to do, Sion understood
Right now, before his eyes, the nu, and so he was havingthem
In other words, as the world distorted, as light distorted, as tiers Lucile held—no, even Lucile's figure was beco harder to see
If he lost consciousness
If he lost consciousness even if only slightly, he wouldn't be able to answer even this simple of a question
” I see So it's that kind of test?”
”Exactly It's that kind of test Then, how ers do you see?”
”Two fingers”
Lucile smiled at that, and,
”Correct—incidentally, everyone of your brothers failed at the previous room As I expected, you truly are superior,”
He said
At that, Sion stared at Lucile
”My brothers? You mean from the royal family? They also came here?”
”Yes It seeht those who possess the blood of this country's founder, Asruld Roland, are put through a test when they turn fifteen A test in order to beco through as round of this stained land possess the right to beco—even if it's the co, hmm?”
Lucile said
The co
Sion had been called that by the nobles and his brothers Mocked each day, continuously oppressed, he'd been constantly called a lowborn dog When his mother had died, it see
But,
” Then Then, I possess the right to beco as well? I have the qualifications to erode this country's structure?”
”Correct but that's enough with the less questions Let's continue”
Saying that, Lucile turned forward And he began to move ahead
Opening a door, he moved on
Opening a door, he moved on
Opening a door, he moved on
In response, Sion followed hiht now, to Lucile, there were so many questions that he wanted to ask about what they'd just discussed There were so s that he hadn't heard
But,
””
He didn't ask any of them
No, to be accurate, Sion was no longer capable of asking anything
With each further step, the scenery of the world changed
With each further step, the streaed
The sensation of madness pervaded so heavily that his head hurt As if his body were about to erupt, it felt like he would disappear He couldn't think at all As he was at his li to remain sane, he couldn't think at all
He felt as if he were going to die
He would disappear like this, and beco
Then,
” Now then, this is the place where the man who currently sits at the throne of this country—in other words, your father—lost his sanity He held on quite well, but he never regained it, it see here, it see tobut a lonely joke Nothing can be done about it No, you can't listen to ht to the question Can you see? Can you see this? Howup?”
He heard that voice from somewhere
And so presented before his eyes But whatever it was, he couldn't see it clearly
But he had to, he thought If he couldn't, then everything would be for naught, he thought If he couldn't, then the one who killed his ed the country into despair, the current king—he wouldn't be able to surpass him
That hy he had to
Sion, at that,
””
He grilared at so in the center of the darkness, and frantically tried to confir his eyes asas if his eyes were about to rupture, it hurt Feeling as if his head were about to break, it hurt
Nevertheless, he opened his eyes wide, and,
” O-One finger,”
Sion said
Then froain
”Is that truly what you see?”
Sion nodded
”Yes”
”In that case, shall we proceed further?”
”Yes”
”You will go mad”
”Be quiet Hurry Let's hurry up and go”
”Fufufu I see Then with just two steps with just two steps, move forward”
At that, Sion did as he said With just those two steps forward, the landscape of the world suddenly changed again The pressure that attacked his body swelled up He felt such pressure that it was as if he were going to voans and turn his body inside-out It was the sensation that he was already wandering amidst death
Regardless, Sion said that he would endure all of it
He spoke to the nothingness, the figure that he couldn't see well from inside the darkness
” Well?”
Nothingness replied,
”With this, you have advanced further than anyone else You have obtained the right to beco”
”Is that so?”
”But that sort of thing has no le betorthless children has noThus, I will now ask the true questions”
” Is that so?”
”If I am not pleased with your answers, I will kill you”
”All right”
”I will kill you, who's gained the right to beco,”
The nothingness said
But to those words,
” T-That's enough with that spiel Hurry up and move on”
As Sion said that, the nothingness seemed to smile Cheerfully, it seemed to smile
”In this place, aony, you can still speak? Within this despair, you can stillIn that case, there's a chance that ht be undone”