Time passed quickly, and before long, the sun had set.
As usual, I led the children back to the village.
“Leader~! Today was so much fun!”
“…Yeah. Go wash up before the director scolds you.”
“””Okay, Leader!!”””
Following their excited chatter, the children dashed toward the village with their footsteps echoing in the air.
Ron too blended in with them and disappeared behind the building.
“They sure are full of energy.”
“Ain, you’re the weird one. Are you really the same age as us?”
“…Do I look that old?”
“Mhmm.”
A child’s blunt honesty really stung.
I walked next to Ren and entered the village.
And, as always, I was met with the familiar gazes of the adults.
Among them, the one who looked at me with the most unpleasant expression approached.
“Ain. I see you played with the children again today.”
“…Director, I’m at the age where I’m supposed to play too, you know.”
He was a middle-aged man with streaks of gray in his hair.
The priest of this cathedral, the one in charge of the orphanage and the overall management of the village.
And the root of every incident that would unfold here.
“Ain, you’re oddly mature for your age. It makes you quite reliable.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“No need to be modest. Thanks to you always being with the children, I have one less thing to worry about.”
What a load of crap.
Even though he spoke like that, he was surely watching our every move from somewhere out of sight.
I never believed such blatantly obvious lies.
I responded to the director with brief replies while letting his words go in one ear and out the other.
“Ain, did you get praised?”
“Mhmm.”
As we walked past the director and strolled through the village, Ren spoke up.
“…You don’t seem happy. The director is really strict, you know. He doesn’t smile like that very often.”
“It doesn’t make me happy.”
Someday, I would slice off that disgusting head of his.
A compliment from someone like him was completely worthless.
“…Hmm, now that you say that, I feel a little uncomfortable too. Ain, I’m gonna go wash up too, okay?”
“Alright.”
With those parting words, Ren followed the children and disappeared behind the building.
Now, I was left alone.
Since it was a rare moment for me, I immediately made my way toward the cathedral.
Although the village was small, the cathedral was on a completely different scale.
When I first saw it, I found it grand and imposing. But the moment I recalled an illustration from the game, my brow furrowed in distaste.
Avoiding the presence of any nearby adults, I crouched in a secluded corner by the outer window, where I could clearly hear what was happening inside.
Before long, faint voices reached my ears.
– —Today, too—nothing unusual—
– —Same as always—on your end—anything?
– —Nothing—
I couldn’t make out the voices clearly.
I grimaced and struggled to get my small body as close to the window as possible.
– So, how are the offerings these days?
– They’re growing well.
– Only about a year left, huh? I can’t wait, kuku…
– Hey, lower your voice, will you?
The two men’s unsettling voices echoed through the cathedral.
As I listened to their conversation, I clenched my fists tightly.
One year from now on.
The year we would turn ten.
The day when the mana within our bodies would fully mature, completing its foundation at last.
Mana was the very essence of life present in all living beings.
Once our mana vessels reached their full capacity at the age of ten, we would finally become the “offerings” they desired.
Sacrifices for human offerings.
Those fanatic cultists who worshipped demons planned to sacrifice the children they had carefully nurtured in order to summon a demon into this world.
They intended to carry out a ritual so forbidden that even among cultists, it was considered the ultimate taboo.
…Is there no way?
No.
There were plenty of ways.
Escaping this place alone would be easy for me.
Even if it meant taking a risk, it wouldn’t be impossible for Ren and Ron either.
But that wasn’t the problem.
There’s no way to save the other children.
Their deaths were inevitable.
The demon would awaken fueled by the blood of the sacrificed children, and the director who was possessed by it would tear everything apart without mercy.
This wasn’t a matter of whether it could be stopped or not.
Even in the game.
No, now that this had become reality, it was something that had to happen.
A fate, an inevitability.
An unbreakable law that had to be carried out.
I couldn’t stop it. No. I must not stop it.
.
.
.
To put it simply, it was like this.
[The Demon King must be slain by the Hero.]
Then what if, before the Hero could even face the Demon King, someone else killed him first?
What would happen? Would that be the end? Would peace come, even without the Hero?
…Absolutely not.
No matter what.
Even if it made no logical sense.
A predetermined fate had to unfold exactly as it was meant to.
If the Hero died first, a new Hero would appear.
If the Demon King was slain by someone else, a new Demon King would rise.
The world would twist and force events to make sure the two would meet, one way or another.
Because fate was an unbreakable law that had to be fulfilled.
…If only I had ignored all of this from the beginning, it would have been so much easier.
But now, that was impossible.
I wanted to protect those pure, innocent children and their smiles.
I wanted to prevent the tragedy that would leave scars on Ren and Ron. The same event that had always been depicted as their trauma in the game.
It was a foolish dilemma for someone like me.
The chances were close to zero, yet I kept agonizing over it.
And then, I overheard something that could be the key to my dilemma.
– Now that I think about it, what was that book the High Priest found underground?
– I heard it was called a relic.
– …A relic?! Why would something like that be buried here?!
A relic?
I focused intently on this unexpected piece of information.
Even in the game, I had never known about this.
– I have no idea. The High Priest seems to be struggling with it as well.
– Could it interfere with our ritual? If something as impure as a relic comes into contact with it…
– It’s only a half-finished object. It may be a relic, but it holds nothing more than the power of a mere imitation.
– Hmph… If that’s the case, then there’s no problem. So, what will be done with it?
– The High Priest said he’ll handle it in secret.
A book. A relic. A half-finished object.
As far as I knew, there was only one object that fit such a description.
Thump.
My heart pounded.
Was it just a coincidence? If not, was this some kind of trick of God?
I had no idea why that object was here.
But one thing was certain; there was now a chance for all of us to survive.
***
“Ain? Why do you look so drained today? Are you feeling sick?”
“…Ain, you’ve seemed low on energy lately.”
As Ren and Ron ate, they looked at me with concern.
The other children, agreeing with the siblings, also spoke up.
Was my expression really that bad, enough for them to notice?
“I’m fine. I just didn’t get much sleep.”
“Are you sick? Should we tell the director?”
“No, it’s fine. Don’t say anything.”
“…Okay.”
In order to keep Ren from speaking, I forced myself to swallow my food.
The closer that day came, the more my anxiety and worry killed my appetite.
…Just one month left.
There was a mountain of things I needed to prepare.
Soon, most of the adults would leave the village to make arrangements for the ritual.
That would be our only chance.
“Ren, Ron.”
“…Huh? Ain?”
“Why are you calling us?”
And so, I called the siblings over to give them my final lesson.
…The knowledge they needed to survive the tutorial. It was the last piece of knowledge the siblings needed to know.
This was especially crucial for Ren, the hero.
“…There’s one last thing I need to tell you. And when we turn ten, one month from now—”
Ren and Ron listened intently.
To prepare them for the disaster that would strike in a month, I laid out a course of action for them.
…With a small lie woven in.
“—Then, once everything outside goes quiet, you just need to head toward the cathedral.”
“Isn’t that the day of the celebration? Why do we have to hide?”
“It’s a surprise. The adults are preparing a secret party, so if we make a surprise entrance, it’ll be fun, right?”
“…Ohhh!”
I convinced the naive Ron.
“Ain, is it just us? What about the other kids?”
“The adults are calling them separately.”
“Without us?”
“…Mhmm.”
Ren fell into deep thought.
I did my best to conceal the nervous tension rising inside me, and then she spoke.
“Alright, we’ll do that, Ain.”
“…You’re not going to ask anything else?”
“Nope. Ain, you don’t lie about things like this.”
“……….”
Her trust felt unbearably heavy.
And terrifying.
Because I knew I would never be able to repay it.
***
Time passed quickly.
Days turned into weeks, and before I knew it, a month had gone by.
Before long, disaster struck.
“Haah… Haaah…! Where on earth… did you get that kind of power—?”
Swish—!
The blade’s cold gleaming tip was pressed against his throat.
The director who was clutching his severed right arm panted heavily as he stared blankly at the sword touching his neck.
Around him lay the corpses of other adults strewn across the floor.
The stench of blood filled the cathedral.
“…Ha, haha! But you’re already too late! Your little friends have been offered as sacrifices, and the ritual is nearly complete!!”
“……….”
“No matter what a brat like you does—”
“Seven.”
“…What?”
“That was the number of sacrifices needed to complete the ritual, wasn’t it?”
I pulled something out from inside my coat.
A single, tattered book.
The moment he saw it, the director’s eyes widened in shock.
“…….! H-How… How do you have that…?! I made sure it was destroyed!”
“You know, under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t be dying here. Your fate was supposed to be far more wretched than this.”
I opened the book.
As if responding to my will, the pages turned on their own.
Before long, they stopped at a specific passage.
I reached out my hand.
Woom—!
The center of the cathedral.
A large pentagram drawn in blood began to glow.
“Th-The magic circle is changing?! What the hell did you—”
Slice!
Thud.
Now… it should be fine to kill him.
The director’s head fell to the ground. He was lifeless and his shock was frozen on his face.
…That made exactly seven.
The demon descending upon this place will be changed.
The red magic circle gradually began to take on a pink hue.
The star-shaped pattern shifted as well, transforming into the shape of a heart.
And then, it flashed.
Flaaash—!!
A deafening roar erupted along with a brilliant light.
At the same time, a violet mist spread around the area, and a faint, shadowy figure slowly came into view.
[…Oh my, so there’s still someone left who knows my summoning ritual.]
“Lilith.”
[Hmm? You even know my name… Now, that’s surprising.]
“I apologize for summoning you so suddenly, but may I ask for a favor right away?”
I glanced toward the front entrance of the cathedral.
They would likely arrive soon.
[…Very well. The price has already been paid, whether I wanted it or not. What is it that you wish?]
“Please cast an illusion spell on this place right now. Change the corpses here into the corpses of the children in my memories.”
[Hmm~? Now, that’s quite the interesting request.]
“Hurry. There’s no time.”
[Understood.]
Flaaash!
A sudden gust of wind made me squint.
When I looked around again, the corpses strewn across the floor bore the familiar faces of the children.
Even though it was merely an illusion, it looked so real that even I felt sickened.
At that moment—
Creak!
The cathedral doors swung open.
And a familiar girl stepped inside.
“…Ain?”
Leave a Reply