[Omake 3] We're off to slay the Demon King! [Temporarily Locked]

Koyoko looked around him as the the sense of overwhelming righteousness that is holy magic overwhelmed him a bit. His heart felt..odd. Or was it his head. Everything felt familiar to him and yet he has no recollection of ever being near any sort of magical user, let alone a temple. He could only blame the sword in his hands, the one in which forced his fate into a pit of despair, a fate in which will send him places he dared not to step into. Yet, as the temple seemed to come to life, he wasn't afraid, rather he just stayed silent as the doors opened.



As the doors opened, he instinctively began stepping forward without much thought, as the voices that echoed in his head played like a melody. While this would be the point where he would question everything, he remained silent, with his mouth slightly open, as a gentle breeze pulled at his hair. It felt...natural, yet completely alien to him that he strides forward with absolute certainty.

The hero approached the pedestal without a sound, only speaking as the words of the forgotten language, suddenly changed, as they words glowed brightly gold in his eyes, changing into a more familiar one. Whether anyone can see this or if the language remained unreadable to others, he did not know. He read everything allowed. "Have you heard of the Philosopher's Stone? It is said to be the pinnacle of alchemy, able to turn lead to gold, and purify the life of mortal man and make him an immortal god. However, there is but one domain it cannot trespass on. It is the realm of secrets kept hidden from the self, of darkness forever untouched by the light. Even the stone itself is home to this domain. O Hero, should you desire to move onward, then purify the stone. Sully the perfect gloom, and continue onward." Soon after he would consult his sword on the matter. "What do you make of this...? It's pretty clear but...'Purify the stone, purify the perfect gloom'..." It puzzled him the most.

A sudden pressure rose in the air. A number of sounds resounded in the proximity. It felt close yet far. It formed a chaotic orchestra that had nature as its instrument; a chaotic orchestra that inspite of its discord, resounded like a a beautiful harmony in the ears; a beautiful harmony born from the nature itself, wild creatures, water steams, a burning fire, a gentle breeze... The contradiction of the elements forming the auditory picture itself only increased its beauty, a beautiful union that could only be born from something Divine.

Even when she was no expert in magic, she could tell from the atmosphere alone that this was the effect of Holy magic. Any heart would find peace in such atmosphere, any body would find safety and any mind would find enlightment.

And yet...

Why was she feeling so... uneasy?

In the presence of holy magic any earthly creature would find inner harmony. No dark feelings, no gloomy thoughts and no wicked intentions. Nevertheless, her heart started wavering, her mind got fuzzy and her body started shivering. Why was she overthinking this? She probably was just stressed. She discarded it off as a usual stress and went through the great door that has just opened.

When the voices disappeared, the odd pressure did as well.


In the second room there was a stone tablet that attracted the eye.

They approached but seemingly none of them could read it. Hiromi didn't even recognize the language used. At that moment a strangely solemn and ancient voice echoed in their heads.

Please, do not be alarmed. This temple holds no danger for you. It is a place of peace, of safety, and of enlightenment.

This particular line frustrated her. Was the voice mocking her? This was the exact opposite of what she had been feeling seconds ago. And, even though the weird feeling mostly disappeared, a small portion of it still bothered her even now.

After the voice finished its monologue, the tablet started glowing in a golden light.

Holy magic again.

Koyoko was the first to notice and he appearently could read it now.

Hiromi tried doing the same. She found that she now understood the words engraved on it. However, the moment she layed her eyes on it, she felt a stinging feeling in her eyes that only intensified each second she kept gazing at the now golden text.

"Agh...", she cried in pain, in a somewhat low voice, not wanting to attract attention.

She closed firmly her eyes because of thhe pain and stepped back, to avoid looking at the golden light emitted from the text that only hurt her eyes.

'It stings?! Why are the others reading it like it's nothing...?'

She was confused. Why was she the only one left out? Why did it feel like... the temple was rejecting her?

---

14 years ago, in a certain house,

She was doing laundry when she heard a small footsteps coming her way. She smiled before turning around, fully aware of who was coming.

She heard a so familiar voice calling her, a voice that always made her feel light-hearted.

"Mama!", called a 4-year-old girl who had a petite stature.

"Yes, dear?"

However, unexpectedly, the girl started crying all of a sudden.

"What's wrong, my sweet girl?", asked the mother and hugged her daughter.

"Papa... sniff... papa is getting bullied... sniff... by the people of the village..."

'!!!'

"Where is he right now? Where is papa?", the woman was getting worried too.

"In the forest... where he usually goes wood-cutting with the other men of the village", she answered in a still shaky voice.

'Have they found out...? It would be dangerous to leave her behind at home alone then. They might target her next.'

"Don't worry", the mother patted her daughter's back to calm her down, "Papa will be alright. We are going to help him. I'm sure it is just a misunderstanding. Papa is a very kind person. He did nothing wrong. So, don't cry, let's stay strong for him and go save him. Okay?"

"Mhm...", the girl nodded, her eyes still red and moist.

She prayed her husband was really alright. If the villagers had really discovered the truth, who knows what they might do to him. She had to get him out of here. They had to escape together.


Meanwhile, in a certain forest,

Cruel shouts could be heard from several meters away.

"Why did you come to our village?"

"A monster like you has no place here!"

"Are you planning to destroy us?"

"If the likes of you just go die, humanity would be happier..."

"Is this an order from that worthless king?"

"To think you are that demon's son..."

"If you don't leave today we will kill you!"

"We won't spare the woman and the kid either!"

"They might be spies of the king as well..."

"Monsters!"

"Why did you have to come here?!"

"How dare you deceive us, Yamaguchi!!"

"Leave!"

"Die!"

"Die!!"

"DIE!!!"

Overwelmed by their own fear and controlled by their hatred, the people forgot all values of humanity. No one questioned the words they had said. No one found it odd that a dozen of grown-up men were beating up a single powerless person. No one felt disgusted after threatening to kill an innocent child and a defenseless woman. Even the smallest signs of humanity were lost in this crowd. All compassion disappeared from their hearts. All rationality left their minds.

They were no longer humans.

Weren't they the real monsters?

The man, who was the target of those false accusations, could only pray his wife and daughter would be able to escape unscathed from their persuers. He had no idea the two of them, the only people who loved him and cared about him, were coming to his rescue this very moment.

He had let his guard down. All he ever wanted was a peaceful life with his family. He wanted a place where they could be safe, a place they could call home. After managing to spend 6 years in this village with no problems, he assumed they finally found the place where they belong. The people here had always been welcoming and nice to them, so he thought he could trust them, trust that they would look past his origins and aknowlege him for who he is, if they ever discovered his truth. However, in the end, when the day came, this village was no different than the other places they had escaped to in the past. It seems the curse would be following him wherever he went. When will his family be freed from the chains of the past that kept tying them down? Why was that crazy king ruining their lifes even after they had cut all ties with him for decades now? Why did it seem that...

No matter where they hid, the world just kept rejecting them?

"Have you heard of the Philosopher's Stone? It is said to be the pinnacle of alchemy, able to turn lead to gold, and purify the life of mortal man and make him an immortal god. However, there is but one domain it cannot trespass on. It is the realm of secrets kept hidden from the self, of darkness forever untouched by the light. Even the stone itself is home to this domain. O Hero, should you desire to move onward, then purify the stone. Sully the perfect gloom, and continue onward."

She was supposed to get some sleep, though she was a sword she didn't exactly need any. The point was she had to have some down time, but then again she has had that for thousands of years. So she wasn't going to exactly complain about the quick disruption.

"What do you make of this...? It's pretty clear but...'Purify the stone, purify the perfect gloom'..." The hero has said towards the legendary sword and nothing really sparked in Martha's conscious that would validate a proper answer to the Hero's question. Using the Hero is a proxy she was able to preserve the surroundings better then she could alone and noticed something which may be a surprise to the others. But even for a thousands of years old spirit like herself she isn't as old as many things in this world, this place even preceded herself and she remembered that annoyed her greatly last time.

"Riddles have never been my thing, I've always been the one with a direct approach. Why don't you just purify the tablet or this stone it talks about. We have that power and we should do it since it doesn't hurt to cross out the direct answer." Martha suggested who clearly didn't have confidence in her own answer, but the hero had asked for it.

Because Gunha was focused on training himself, he did not pay much attention to the great theatrics, or the grandeur of the temple-like place that received the Hero and his party. He simply followed behind and made sure his clothes were in order.

Being a magician, Gunha was able to decipher the instruction (but not the meaning) quite easily. However, due to the self-exerted pressure on his body, he did not find it easy to speak. Had that ever stopped him, though? He trained and trained, honing his guts for the day he could shine, only to find out it wasn't enough. He only needed more guts, so now he was resuming his training. However, no matter how much courage and guts he had, seeing the gap both motivated and depressed him.

He did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"Just... channel your energy into it. It's in you... somewhere." He managed to say. Of course, telling the Hero how to access his power or energy wasn't something he could teach. Perhaps, with how the Hero was, he didn't even know he had anything inside him. Gunha also understood the sword itself held an immense power, or, if the possession theory was true, whatever was inside the sword.

He didn't want to believe the possession theory was the actual case, because it meant the sword vessel was actually limiting the power of the whatever-was-in-there. If that was true...

Just thinking about it made Gunha increase the pressure on himself. Even now, just walking at a normal pace was the best movement he could manage. For the first time he saw what it meant to be born with power, and the difference was like the distance between Heaven and Earth! Overcoming such a thing with Guts is possible in his opinion, but his situation was that he had no real time to do so. The energies inside the temple were massive, and if he could use them to cultivate, it might be possible to increase the power of his Guts... maybe enough to hope for a breakthrough.

He suppressed his trademark smirk by increasing the pressure temporarily. If something were to get in the way of his chances, he'd overcome it with Guts. Yet, at the same time, he would also make sure to take the necessary precautions so nothing would hopefully realize it until it was too late.

Koyoko was puzzled as Martha gave a rather unsatisfying answer. Riddles are always difficult to solve and the most basic of answers are always shot down. Even an idiot knows the most obvious of answers, would never get the adventurer anywhere. Yet the hero could not make heads or tails about what the encryption was asking him to do with the stone.

As the Guts mage gave an answer somewhat similar to Martha's, Koyoko began getting impatient a bit as time was of the essence. The more they waited, the more time they'd lose. This can't wait a day, a week or a year. Surely the Demon King or whoever is aware of the hero's rising, and will probably take action upon humanity before they either die, or at least before the hero confronts them.

"Grrr...Fuck it. I'm just gonna break it." Koyoko growled as he swiftly drew his sword and held it out, ready to strike the stone tablet. Though just to be sure, he did his best to weakly empower the sword with holy magic, or at least he thought he did. Personally he has no idea how to control his powers yet, and 'channeling' it wasn't a real possibility at the moment. "HaaaaAAA!" Koyoko, before anyone could stop him or say anything to influence his thoughts, brought the mighty blade into the air, and brought it harshly against the Philosopher's stone.

The area around the stone was soon covered in smoke and ash, as a small explosion is caused by the blade alone. It was a bit smaller than when Koyoko got angry at Martha, but if any normal human was hit with that, they would certainty be losing a limb or two. Thankfully no one was in any harm, other than perhaps smoke or dust in their eyes, but as it slowly cleared...

"...Figures." The stone was unscratched. Untainted. Only thing that changed is the ambient mana it gave off. Koyoko sighed as he sheathed his blade. "I'm sure the answer itself is simple, but figuring it out is the hard part..." Koyoko glanced at the riddle again, trying to figure it out. "...What a drag..."

Unable to read the text herself, Hiromi just listened to Koyoko who was reading it to them.

'Does it refer to the dead? So, a grave? No, maybe underground in general...?'

She honestly didn't understand what those words implied exactly. She had always been horrible at riddles.

She looked at Martha with expectation when Koyoko asked the sword. She had thought surely a sword that ancient would have an idea what that riddle meant, and more importantly she would know the best course of action they had to take.

But she soon heard a disappointing answer.

"Riddles have never been my thing, I've always been the one with a direct approach. Why don't you just purify the tablet or this stone it talks about. We have that power and we should do it since it doesn't hurt to cross out the direct answer."

"Umm...", she tried to point out that solving this with violence would unlikely be the right thing to do, specially not in such a place.

But she was interrupted by the new guy who had joined them.

"Just... channel your energy into it. It's in you... somewhere."

'Don't just start giving Koyoko random solutions guys!!', she wanted to yell.

"Grrr...Fuck it. I'm just gonna break it."

'Oh no... Not him too!!!'

Koyoko growled in complaint, appearently fed up and getting impatient.

She had to stop him before he did something stupid.

"I don't think it would be wise to----"

But before she could finish her sentence, Koyoko hit the stone.

"..."

She knew this definitely wouldn't end well. riddles in ancient mysterious places always come with a heavy price if failed.

The place was soon covered in dust and smoke.

Hiromi started coughing.

However, it soon dissipated.

Honestly, she was surprised all of them were still fine and well.

"Nothing... happened?"

She was sure such an action would have a horrible outcome, like triggering some "bad end" or something.

In that very instant when she finally relaxed, thinking they were safe...

The whole place shook with a a tremendous sound.

She noticed something out of the realm of reality, an occurence that her mind couldn't even understand.

"What the hell... is that?!!!"

The Royal Demon Library. It was a building that stood not too far from the Demon King's personal castle. Due to the proximity to the residence of the Kingdom's highest authority, the Royal Library stored archives of knowledge from throughout the world that were stored for generations. In a sense, it was another arm of the Demon King's castle. Due to the nature of what was kept, library access was generally restricted to the higher courts and access to the area generally required permission from said higher courts. Moreover, the Demon King was the only one allowed to take books in and out of the premises. Of course, Kohaku did not need to worry about these restrictions as she was the Demon King.

That being said, access was not too hard to obtain so it was normal to see a lot of academic types within the library during the day. In fact, being the Demon King made her quite a celebrity and her looks apparently seemed to be popular (amongst the cosplay enthusiasts in the crowd). But as fate would have it, Kohaku would not have to worry at all about the people in the library. As soon as she stood at the door, a giant rip in the space-time continuum appeared in Kohaku and the door. It was an odd mix of silver and purple.

"Milady, what is this?"

"It seems to be a plot hole. Now of all times…" Kohaku had heard tales about these "Plot Holes". They were rumors and old wives' tales passed throughout the world about strange portals that would appear at times when some idiot screwed up and did something stupid. Those who these "Plot Holes" would appear in front of were generally tasked with doing some task either called a Deus ex Machina or Diabolus ex Machina. In general those who claim to have gone through these "Plot Holes" honestly did not care to talk in any more depth about them because the ex Machina was so contrived and stupid and was more of an annoyance than anything.

"Does this mean we're going to have to go into it?"

The tear immediately continued until enclosed around the pair like a sphere.

"It seems like it." Kohaku said before the two slipped into the spherical tear in space-time.

---

After having completely slipped into the tear, the two were greeted with an odd space. It was simply a dark purple space with shadows everywhere and no horizon in sight. It was as if the space had its own time axis and time flow.

In front of the two of them was a rolled up piece of parchment. As Kohaku picked it up and unrolled it, they read only four lines.


It was short, simple and to the point…though the last line was cryptic. After all, neither of the girls knew what a computer was and they had no idea what riddle it was talking about. However, the ultimatum was clear.

"So, we have to kill them already, milady…"

"Ugh! WHY?! I'm a DOCTOR! My entire career is built on the principle of do no harm!"

"Umm, milady…what were you planning to do if the hero and his party actually made it to the castle."

"I would have either faked my death, convinced them to sign a Geis contract and made them leave, or knocked them out and made them sign the Geis contract while they were unconscious."

"That's surprisingly…bloodless…"

"But, so much for that…"

"Yeah. If we want to get back to the kingdom, then we need to finish up here and that means killing them. I don't like it any more than you do but this is a necessary evil."

"I guess so." Kohaku sighed. "Fine, I guess it's time for Demon King Kohaku to get serious."

With those words, the parchment burned up on its own before another bright tear opened in front of the two girls.

---

It was a tear in space time. A large one as tall as the height of the doors opened right in front of the doorway. It was colored a murky purple. Out of it walked two figures. The one in front was a silver-haired girl in a back-and-white lolita dress. The other was a girl in black ringlet curls and an odd black-and yellow maid outfit. Under normal circumstances, the two would likely seem quite cute or pretty. However, there was nothing but an aura of intimidation about them. Everyone in the vicinity aside from Maria would likely feel the same aura that was unleashed in the baths. It was the feeling of infinite blades pointing at everyone and everything.

After taking a few steps in, allowing her footsteps to resound throughout the temple, she looked to the hero's party with a slight smile. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am the current Demon King Kira Kohaku and this is my personal attendant, Kumokawa Maria."

She placed a hand to her chest and another to her side and gave a polite bow before standing back straight up. "Unfortunately, it seems somebody here was idiotic enough to trigger a Plot Hole. As such, we have been tasked with eliminating you all."

This was the ultimate sign of Game Over. The Final Boss had come to seriously eliminate the adventurers early on in their journey. The ultimate despair.

Of course, there was still the chance to attack the Final Boss. It seemed like she was willing to allow them the opportunity to try and fight back.

Koyoko sighed, as this was getting no where. He knew riddles were supposedly hard but in a way completely simple. Thinking about it too deeply wouldn't solve anything, but a looking at it at face value was all but productive. The tablet remained their, unmoved and unscratched before the heroes power. Though they did have supposedly the rest of their lives to finish these trials, so it's not like it's the end of the world if they wait a day. But then again, wasting anymore time would have more negative effects on the world rather than themselves.

"...Let's rethink this..."

It's time to brainstorm again. Koyoko knew nothing of alchemy and what it can't or can achieve, so as he continued to read it, his mind was getting an idea of what the answer might be. And before Koyoko knew it, he had an epiphany, a revelation in progress.

"Wait I think...I think it might be-!"

Koyoko's train of throught crashed along with the answer as Hiromi suddenly yelled out in horror and surprise. He would turn around to see what was wrong and notice a rather odd phenomenon was ripping through the walls of the room. Koyoko was stunned and couldn't move as it sucked at the air inside of the temple, as two figures emerged from the 'portal' of sorts. "The hell is going on?!"

The figures were two females, one looking like a regular maid and the other gave a rather intimidating aura, in an odd lolita outfit. The girl with silver hair smiled slightly. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am the current Demon King Kira Kohaku and this is my personal attendant, Kumokawa Maria." They introduced themselves rather politely, and seemed a bit harmless for a moment, but everyone knew that wasn't true. Still Koyoko let his mind lose it's gravity of the situation as the girl said something rather baffling. She's the demon king...? This was hard to believe, but at another glance it wasn't impossible, as she certainty felt like she had the power to obliterate a species.

"...Huh." Was all he said for a moment as he stared up at the Demon King. "I thought the Demon king would look like a hideous creature, but she's actually kind of cute...Wait.." Koyoko took a moment to think, as he realized something was extremely off. Why was the demon king able to find him? How was she able to get into the temple when he was promised complete safety within it's walls? He looked at the portal as it certainly was the oddest thing in the room, as it felt...unnatural or other worldly.

"Unfortunately, it seems somebody here was idiotic enough to trigger a Plot Hole. As such, we have been tasked with eliminating you all."

"...Plot Hole? The hell is that?" What the hell was she talking about? Is she talking about the weird portal? And did she just say she was going to eliminate them all?! "...None of this makes sense!!"

She knew this would end badly. No bad wasn't enough to describe the situation they were in right now.

From the tear in the space appeared two familiar girls. The silver-haired and her maid she had encountered back in the hotsprings.

"Ko... ha... ku-san...?"

Why was she here? Was she an ally or a foe? Did she come to help solve the riddle or...

To give them their deserved punishment?

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the current Demon King Kira Kohaku and this is my personal attendant, Kumokawa Maria. Unfortunately, it seems somebody here was idiotic enough to trigger a Plot Hole. As such, we have been tasked with eliminating you all."

".............................?!"

Hiromi was shocked. This girl in front of them, the girl she had casually talked to earlier, was none other than their worst sworn enemy.

'What's... the meaning of this...?'

At first she couldn't believe her eyes and ears. But as soon as the Demon King unleashed her intimidating aura, the reality hit her hard. This was the same aura she had felt coming from the girl back then.

A lot of questions were haunting her mind right now and she couldn't sort them out.

Why is the Demon King here?

How did she find them?

How did she get in?

What was that weird portal?

What is a Plot Hole?

Wasn't this temple supposed to be safe?

Why did the Demon King go to the Human World earlier?

Did she recognize the Legendary Sword back then in the hotspring?

Did she recognize Hiromi as one of the Hero's allies?

Why did she let them go?

Did she follow them to here?

Was she really... the Demon King?

"What the hell is going on, Kohaku-san?!!"

She shouted angrily, feeling mocked, but also guilty. She, unlike the other members of the Quest, had gotten the chance to meet her before, and she even witnessed her rampage, but was yet unable to recognize her true identity.

Hiromi drew her sword, the sword that she trusted with her life, the sword that her father gave her on that fateful day, the sword she herself had named, Orion.

However, she was shivering. She was scared. She knew they were doomed, they were going to lose. None of them had enough power or expertise to fight the Demon King right now. She knew they were...

"... ou... re... go... to... ie"

"?!!"

She thought she had heard a wispering unclear voice. Was she so scared that she started hallucinating?

"You are going to die."

Said the voice again, this time more clear and louder. It felt like a chanted curse rather than a normal voice. It felt cold, lonely, angry and full of hatred. Hiromi felt a chill running down her spine. She looked around, terrified.

"Who's there? Show yourself!"

But there was no one.

Great... Now she was really hallucinating such realistic voices... Was her fear driving her insane?

Just... everything was getting so jumbled right now. Nothing made sense.

'Just let this nightmare end already...', Hiromi finally gave up trying to understand, getting fed up, wishing she would just wake up from a bad dream.

But Hiromi didn't know that the true nightmare had yet to begin.

The plot hole already? Oh, come on! It wasn't supposed to happen this early!

...Which was why it's called the hole in the first place. Understandably, the Hero and the lady were confused. Though, Gunha had mistaken the reasons why they were confused.

Releasing the pressure on himself, he managed to stand upright and place his hand on the Hero's shoulder.

"Of course it doesn't make any sense, Hero." Gunha answered.

"That's because, Hero, none of this is actually happening."

That's right. The Hero was no Hero, the Demon King was no Demon King and this Magician was no Magician. However, in this place, everyone played by the rules. Which was probably why Gunha was so much smarter than he really would've been; the Magician role literally gave him intelligence and wisdom.

"None of this is real." He drove in the point.

"She's still right, though. We're all going to die, and this is really going to hurt."

Gunha took on a martial arts ready stance: feet shoulder width apart, both fists down, arms slightly bent. With how strong the Demon King and the Hero was, there wasn't any chance that he wouldn't die...

"...Then, I'll overcome death with GUTS!" Channelling magical energy into his fists, he snapped a punch outwards with great force, creating a large ethereal fist flying towards the Demon King and her servant.

The protests of the hero's party rained. The hero had no clue what was going on and the swordswoman seemed like she felt betrayed. The entire scene was completely painful for Kohaku to watch. It was even more painful when she realized that she would have to kill everyone here. She may have been a Demon King but killing others was not in her nature. Regardless of whether one was human or demon, what she ultimately wanted was not annihilation but...

Kohaku did find it odd that the mage with the spiky hair seemed to be taking the current events in stride though. He was fully honest with the reality at hand.

"She's still right, though. We're all going to die, and this is really going to hurt."

No. You are going to die…but…

Her thoughts were cut off.

"...Then, I'll overcome death with GUTS!"


The ethereal fist rushed towards Kohaku. She could not help but smile at the fact that at least one of them had not given up in the face of ultimate despair. She hated the fact that the others had given up in the face ultimate despair. It honestly made her job much worse for her. No matter what, this would definitely leave a bad taste in the girl's mouth.

But, for the man who did not give in, she could at least grant him the solace that he made the Demon King put in some effort. In her hand, a sword of light immediately materialized. With that, she lifted up her hand and swung the blade. A shockwave of light cut through the fist like butter before diverting its path upwards to the ceiling and dissipating.

"You are wrong about one thing. You are going to die, but…at least I can make sure that you don't feel any pain." She said, letting the sword of light dissipate into air.

"Farewell," she said with tears starting to flow from her eyes. Shortly after, she lifted her right hand and snapped her fingers.

In that instant, a simple spell was cast. Using her light and darkness magic, she forced her mana to press into every human (except for Maria) present. In a complex and calculated magic, she pressed her mana onto them. In that instant, everyone simply died. There was no pain. No cries for it all to stop. It was instantaneous and quick, and it was a spell that only worked effectively on low-level targets.

"It's over…"

"Yes it is, milady."

"Come to think of it, I don't think Diabolus ex Machina parchment ever told us what we should do with the bodies of everyone else."

"I don't think it did. I think all it said was to leave the legendary sword here."

"In that case, let's take the bodies back to the surface. We can at least give them the dignity of having a proper burial."

"I'll make arrangements to send the bodies back to the human kingdom once we return to the castle then."

The girls turned back towards the hole, with the bodies of the four starting to float behind them as they simply walked towards the hole. At some point, Martha must have fallen away from the hero as she was now laying on the floor, alone once again.

Once the girls walked through the Plot Hole with the four bodies, it finally closed behind them and the error in reality had been fixed.

---

Kohaku was standing at a balcony on the castle looking out into the sunset. It seemed that the Plot Hole had returned them back to the castle for some reason. But, Kohaku no longer had a need to go to the library anymore. So, she and Maria sent the bodies back to the human kingdom in coffins.

Kohaku did not know who would be feeling the pain of loss as a result of these people dying. It was a bittersweet feeling. She had lost her biggest obstacle but the method was far from her liking.

In the end, though, nothing could be done. So, for the sake of those who she trampled upon, she at least had to march forward. For the sake of conquering and uniting the world…for the sake of a peaceful utopia, she would move forward without looking back so that the sacrifices she made for it would not go in vain.

After all, she may have been the Demon King…but there was no rule in the universe that stated that the Demon King had to be an evil existence.

Slowly, awareness returned to him. He could not move any part of his body, not even confirm that he still had one, but he was still somehow able to perceive the strange space he had awoken in.

What the Hero saw was a pure white space that was endless in the truest sense of the word. Rather than an empty void, it felt more like a blank slate or an empty canvas, waiting for an artist to decide what it would become.

Within that, he could see but a single figure.

Only, it was himself.

Yet at the same time, there was no way that could be possible.

But without any care for the impossibility of its own existence, the being simply existed there, in this place where one could not even float. And from the bridge of his nose to the scars on his body that Koyoko remembered acquiring during his childhood, the being was completely identical to the Hero.

Yet, there was a single all important difference that separated the two, and ensured that the Hero would never for a moment come to believe that the being was, in fact, himself. For reasons and in ways that shall be not elaborated on here, that figure was simpler better!

Handsomer!

Stronger!

Less surly!

Indeed, while Koyoko resembled the figure to an uncanny degree, and was superbly wonderful as a result, I was simply superior in every respect!

...Oh, I seem to have slipped up.

"Eh, I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. Hello, Hero! I'm your narrator!"

"Oh, no need to tell me how great a job I've been doing. I already know without you telling me!"

"Well, you seem to have gotten yourself into quite a pickle. You went and got yourself killed because of a..."

"Um... A, Plot Hole?"

"..."

"I suppose... There's stupider ways to die? A few of them? Maybe?"

"Not that I can think of any..."

"A-Anyway. The point is, you died! Even with that gallant figure of yours, you went and died!"

"That's bad, Hero! Very bad! You can't do that!"

"Well, I suppose there's no point scolding you about it now that you've gone and become a spiritual body. And you won't even remember any of this after the world finishes reloading, either..."

"Such a pity. I have so much advice to give you on how to be a Heroic Hero of Heroism, worthy of your wonderful features."

"Ah, seems like it's just about finished. Well, it was nice talking with you, Hero!"

"Let's not meet again."

---

Damion Koyoko, the Hero. Martha, the Legendary Sword. Isamu Gaji, the Cleric. Sogiita Gunha, the Mage. Yamaguchi Hiromi, the Hero's Swordsmanship Master.

The entirety of the Hero's party stood before the stone tablet, just as they had before, but they all felt an intense sense of incongruity. Like something terrible had just happened. Something nightmarish, something they mustn't forget.

But without regard for their instincts, the feeling faded and was all but forgotten within what ultimately amounted to nothing but a few sparse moments.  

The only thing that remained of whatever had occurred was a single answer.

Inspect the other side of the tablet.

"...." Koyoko couldn't, for the sake of his life, remember what happened in the last moment. He was panicking, adrenaline pumping through his system, and then suddenly he was here. Motionless. Speechless. Nothing but the whiteness that surrounded him. Was this Heaven? Hell? Purgatory? Just what the hell is this? the dear hero would've said. However, he couldn't think. He could only listen and look.

Soon enough, after minutes, hours or even days, a figure did take form in front of him. Koyoko stared with dull dreary eyes, as the figure bared a stronger resemblance to him. It was as if it was an exact copy, though the words it decided to speak were unlike him, yet matched his voice.

"Eh, I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. Hello, Hero! I'm your narrator! Oh, no need to tell me how great a job I've been doing. I already know without you telling me!"

"...." Koyoko was unable to say anything, but as soon as his brain truly registered someone was there, the words felt like they formed in front of him, from his head. What happened? The words appeared in front of him, whether this figment of what could be his imagination could read those words or not.

"Well, you seem to have gotten yourself into quite a pickle. You went and got yourself killed because of a...Um... A, Plot Hole?...I suppose... There's stupider ways to die? A few of them? Maybe?"

"Not that I can think of any..."

"A-Anyway. The point is, you died! Even with that gallant figure of yours, you went and died! That's bad, Hero! Very bad! You can't do that!"

I don't understand...

"Well, I suppose there's no point scolding you about it now that you've gone and become a spiritual body. And you won't even remember any of this after the world finishes reloading, either...Such a pity. I have so much advice to give you on how to be a Heroic Hero of Heroism, worthy of your wonderful features. Ah, seems like it's just about finished. Well, it was nice talking with you, Hero!"

Koyoko felt something off at this exact moment, feeling the handle of his blade above his head, the stone beneath his feet, the weight of his clothes on his body. What was going on? These sensations were not happening in real time. The slight chill of the air, the body heat resonating from other individuals. Koyoko felt as if something was being reconstructed, or as if his mind was being manipulated.

"Let's not meet again."


Koyoko felt them all again. The blade in his hands, raised above his head, the weight of his warm clothes, the chilling air of the light temple. He was going to swing his blade at the tablet with his strength. No one could figure out the riddle, so it was time they just started to take some guesses rather than sit around and do nothing. However...

"...Eh? Haven't I....Huh?" Koyoko got what supposedly was a typical sensation of deja vu. He could've sworn that he swung this exact sword at this exact tablet before. What happened after that moment though was leaving him completely blank. Once more, as he paused for a great deal of time, trying to figure what just happened, he unconsciously read the tablet again, this time it was as if some words were highlighted in a gold light, just for him to see. "...Wait a minute..." Koyoko lowered his sword all of a sudden and holstered it, grabbing the tablet as he read those golden words over and over, the key hints to the answer. Soon they felt like they were forced into another statement, puzzle pieces reshaped purposely to give him the answer. What was this? Why did he get to the answer so quickly?

"...The other side...of the tablet?"

On that note, the hero flipped the tablet to one side and would inspect it just as he was told. Yes, Told. He felt like he himself did not solve this riddle just now, but he couldn't think as to why that feeling lingered.

Hiromi slowly opened her eyes.

“Where… am I…?”

She was floating in an empty white space.

“Hi Hiromi!”

“Took thou long enough.”

Hiromi looked in the direction the voices came from. She saw two girls standing some distance away.

“Um… Hi…”

She answered hesitantly, still confused.

“Who might you be?”, she managed to ask.

One of the girls looked exactly like Hiromi, just a bit shorter and older.

The other looked like a young version of Hiromi, about five or six years old.

The older girl spoke up with a shy smi---

Urgh... okay… refering to myself in the third person is annoying...

I spoke up with a shy smile:

“Haha, well, you see, I am you narrator. Nice to meet you.”, I said.

’... Narrator?’

Realising she didn’t reply, she quickly composed herself.

“Ah… uh, thanks. Nice to meet you too.”

I shot a glance at the young girl, as if to incite her to introduce herself as well.

Seeing the glance coming her way, the child grinned amuzingly.

“My, ‘tis a shame, indeed”, her speech was rather archaic, contradicting with her looks, “This girl is too much of a fool to realise our identities on her own.”

I chuckled.

“You have no intention of introducing yourself, I take it?”

“Aye, ‘twould be a waste of effort, is all.”

Upon hearing this, I smiled appologically at Hiromi.

“Sorry about that. Please don’t take it personally, it just likes teasing people. But it actually likes you, haha, or it wouldn’t have appeared in front of you.”

Well it is I who made it that way though, haha. And, it actually doesn’t like you as a person Hiromi, it just likes your potential, as a vessel for itself to use. Be careful not to surrender your reins to it.

“Ah it’s alright. I’m not bothe-- Wait… ‘it’?”

“Haha yeah well… This is your hidden power.”

“Pardon...?”, she was dumbfounded.

Hahaha! It seems my slow understanding affected her after all!

“Sorry, I can’t explain further”, I replied, “You would have to find out what I mean by yourself. But don’t worty I’ll give you enough hints to facilitate the task.”

“Listen, thou”, the young girl - who gave the vibe of someone who has lived for centuries - talked to Hiromi for the first time, “I fancy not the idea of being submitted to a wilt other than my own. Thus I shalt not submit to thine. There is naught thou can dost. Give up.”

“Eh, what it wants to say is that you aren’t able to controle it yet. So it will continue to do as it pleases. It is getting stronger, and growing out of your controle, so you need to find a way to restrain it and use it efficiently. Otherwise you will continue having those negative emotions and hearing the voices of the people of the other side.”

“The people of the other side…? Do you mean... ghosts?”

“Oh ho. Getting smarter, art we?”, even though the words said were of praise, the tone she used sounded anything but a compliment. The small girl seemed to be really enjoying herself, making fun of Hiromi. She probably thought if the girl wasn’t even able to figure out such obvious answer she was a helpless case, which would explain her sarcastic tone. “But you knaves still could not solve that simple riddle. Thus thy group hast died, nay?”

At hearing the word ‘died’, Hiromi remembered what had happened.

“Ah…”

“Um… you aren’t being fair to her though. Technically it is our fault things ended up like that, haha”, I interrupted the girl with the odd way of talking.

“Our...?”, asked Hiromi.

“As in, the people behind the screen…”, I answered hesitantly. Well Jack said we can break the fourth wall anyway. So it’s alright… Probably… I guess… uh... It is, right?!

Hiromi looked at me in confusion, probably unable to make any meaning out of my words, haha…

As expected of Power-tan, she noticed my inner panick and decided to shift the discussion back to track.

She gave a rather generous advice to Hiromi.

“Thou should know mutiny solves naught. I shalt not help thee more. I give no free counsel. Now hie solve that riddle with thy friends. ‘Tis not o’er yet. Just hark to the voice in thy head, is all.”

“Well, I guess it’s time for you to go back, Hiromi”, I finally said with a smile.

Immediately, Hiromi started disappearing. In a panick, she asked:

“Go back where?!”

“To life”, both of us answered.

“Ne’er come again, ye,” added the smaller girl.

This was probably her way of wishing the girl good luck.

“I have a final question… for power-san”, Hiromi surprised us with this one statement.

“Aye?”

“Why are you inside of me?”

“I am oft mistaken for an evil existance. But such things interest me none. I am no foe. I ain’t thy ally either. I am but a sword thou draw, is all. I have always existed within all thy kinsmen, e’en ere thee. But I sense a great potential within thee, I shalt have my feast one day. If thou want not to become a villain, just be not as selfish as thy grandfather.”

“Grandfather?”, Hiromi was taken aback at the sudden and unexpected mention of her grandfather.

“Wait, are you---”, before she could finish her question, she completely disappeared.

“My, are thou not cruel?”, the girl looked at me with provoking yet amused eyes.

“Don’t be like that~ You know very well I can’t have her figure that out yet.”

“Aye, for the sake of the plot, or so thou say.”

“Haha! That’s right”, I grinned.

---

By the time the world materialized again, Hiromi had long forgotten the previous several minutes.

Just as she saw Koyoko swinging his sword, and was about to yell at him not to do it, she felt a déjà-vu sensation that made her stop.

’Eh?’

For some reason, Koyoko stopped to, and went to check the other side of the tablet.

Oddly enough, she felt that that was the correct answer to the riddle.

She hurried to his side to see what they might find.

“Koyoko-san, did you find anything useful?”, she asked the boy.

"Why does it feel like I've been here a very long time." Martha said quietly though she had got a strange vibe coming from a certain sword mistress. It was Hirmori and the sense of fear was rather apparent. She also seem confused but looking at how we had go to this place and what this place was it would confuse anyone. She was supposed to be a many thousands of years old spirit yet she had no clue where we was or knew enough to give a comforting answer of any sort.

"Hirmoi why don't you give us a smile, you have a lovely one which we all do admire. It would give this hero to be something to be excited about and you shouldn't be so worried. No matter what happens here or anywhere we all will take care of each other. That is what a team does so trust in Auntie Martha, she will do her best to look after us all." Martha said rather bluntly as her attention turned to where she swore there was a but itching knight.

"Who are you Gaji? Wait why ... thats your name yes." Martha said slightly confused at the sight of Gaji

The instant the opposite side of the tablet was exposed to the open air and illuminated by the light of the torches, everything within the room began glowing with a bright, golden light, tablet included. While not enough to blind, the glow was still bright enough to prevent one from getting a clear view of the objects it emanated from. This lasted for several moments, and then died down all at once. What they now saw was a spectacle entirely different from before.

The food had shriveled, the water had gone stale and become filled with all manner of muck and grime. The fine tables had cracked and broken apart, the chairs were rotting. The rugs and furniture looked as if they were the homes of hives of insects. And the tablet had never stopped glowing. It had glowed brighter and brighter until it had simply disappeared from Koyoko’s grip, as if it had turned to light and dissipated into the air.

Before, they could have lived their lives there and never wanted for anything. Now, just spending a single night there would be all manners of unpleasant. Was this an intentional part of the design? Was it a message that now that they had took the first step, they could no longer turn back? Or did the creators of the temple simply have a twisted sense of humor?

There was no way for them to answer that question, so all that remained for them to do was to enter the next room, for the door had slowly inched open while the room was undergoing its transformation. The torchlight did not extend into the newly opened path, and as a consequence they could not see a single thing within.

"Hirmoi why don't you give us a smile, you have a lovely one which we all do admire. It would give this hero to be something to be excited about and you shouldn't be so worried.”

Just as Hiromi asked her question, Martha spoke to her, telling her to smile. This made the girl realise that she was still making a grimace. However, her expression quickly changed. She felt blood rushing to her face. She didn’t know how she was supposed to react. Just thinking about it was embarrassing. How could Martha always manage to say such embarrassing things so easily, Hiromi would never know.

“No matter what happens here or anywhere we all will take care of each other. That is what a team does so trust in Auntie Martha, she will do her best to look after us all."”

At hearing Martha’s words, Hiromi felt relieved, but also glad. She felt safer knowing her companions would protect her, were something to happen. A genuine smile found its way to her lips, and she became once again. For some reason, at the exact moment when she overcame her fears, the odd feeling itself disappeared.

Just then, at the menyion of Gaji’s name, she noticed the presece of the lad.

’Who is this? Oh wait, it’s Gaji. Uh no, who is “Gaji”? Ah right. The cleric. No no, did we even have a cleric in our group? Didn’t we have a… uh... a knight? His name was… huh? What am I thinking...? We didn’t have any knight… Right. Gaji was sent with us on the quest since the very beginning. I think I really am going insane… First I start hallucinating things and now I was about to forget our own ally…’

Hiromi got more confused as her memory felt fuzzy.

However, she quickly grew uninterested in the topic, so she just focused on Koyoko who has opened the other side of the tablet.

“Koyoko-san, what did you fi--?”

She didn’t even have the luxury to finish her question when everything inside the room started glowing.

“--nd?”, she finished it under her breath. She was questioning her eyes.

The scene changed suddenly, and drastically. At the sight of what happened to everything around her, Hiromi gasped. She immediately felt a chill run down her spine.

In one word, everything was now... dead.

Honestly, she just wanted to leave this place and run away.

But she couldn't obviously. First they didn't know the exist, that if there even was one in the first place. Second she was intrusted with a mission that she had to fullfill. Third, and most imortantly, she didn't want to leave her teammates behind.

’Calm down, Hiromi. There is no reason to be shocked and scared. Martha-san just said you are not alone!’

She tried to shift her focus once again on somethig else, but this time in a desperate attempt to keep her mind from thinking further about what she was most insecure about.

“Um… Shall we go further then?”, she suggested to her companions.