"And the rest is history," Lady Yuusha ended her story. Foreboding hung heavily on the younglings as they absorbed the weight of what was imparted to them.
"Blazes," he heard Simos muttered, and he agreed. The Yuusha's tale was widely-known, ballads, plays, and epics were written and rewritten for the sake of praising the Lady and her bravery. Her life story was even a requisite in one of their lessons, heavily romanticized, it seemed.
He knew that there was more in war than glory, but it was a first for him to hear how dark the realities entailed on her title. And the aftermath was just as astounding.
The 'rest' that she lightly pertained as history was equally ridiculous. Every event was highlighted by outrageous circumstances that his temple started to hurt to the point that he would have killed for a few tablets of aspirins.
In summary, the Hero had declared war against the entirety of the human kingdom.
Not only did she started her rebellion against the Higher Bloods, followed by her call for change and gaining militia for a covert mission, she had also made it her vow to searched for the next Maou which took five years with no results.
Before long, her forces were successful and finally infiltrated the royal palace. And that's where they found the newly-born Maou in the vaulted treasures.
He doesn’t question her actions, but there was something off to her motives.
“Starting from the inside is not enough. Some evil is so rooted, so innate that they leave me no choice.” Did she just sound like some craze justice freak? “I was cleansing the royal palace when I saw Maou-chan being housed at the lower levels. It was beyond my calculations but because of it I was able to save her.”
Lady Yuusha patted the head of the young girl who had clung sheepishly behind her skirt.
Maou-chan had been silent this entire time but it's apparent how strained her nerves were as she jumped at every minute thing that moves.
After the long-winded backstory, Aiven and his party members shared a look of disbelief.
Simos’ expression caught his attention. The blonde was practically drooling. His stare was focused entirely on the lady. The moment Simos had heard of the assassination missions, he had been wrapped up in the Yuusha’s finger.
Great, a hero-fanatic and a recently-turned hero-worshipper.
His party’s future looked grim.
He sighed and tried to focus again at Lady Yuusha. Despite the nagging feeling, he tried to clear his head and calm his doubts. He was trying, with difficulty to sort his thoughts, while Simos continued interrogating the hero. Maou-chan was obviously backing away from the sudden invasion of privacy and continued gripping at the Hero.
Then out of nowhere, Delica shouted, “Y-you are no hero! What you are doing is treason!”
Both Aiven and Simos didn’t expect Delica to flare up. “Can’t you see, Simos? She sided to the Demons! We have to—“
Her hero-image must have taken a hard blow. Aiven was on these thoughts as he waited for the normal bickering between siblings to break out.
Then a blur went passed to the girl.
The foreign object hardly registered to them until he noticed a hole, not larger than a copper coin, appeared on the girl’s forehead.
Her doe-like eyes drained, and she...suddenly fell with a thud.
Hey...D-Delica?
Aiven blanked out, unable to process what happened.
His hands became cold as he felt his blood draining from his face at the sight of Delica falling on the ground. Everything happened so fast, and so silently that, his whole body became stunned.
His sight mechanically traced where the projectile came from and was met with the intense gaze of the Yuusha with a lone rock bullet floating at her fingertips.
The Yuusha—k-killed her?
“Ah, so it was her. That was careless of me.” Her voice sent pain to his chest.
Simos was worse off, he continued staring at his sister with unsteady eyes as if willing the collapsed body to show any signs of life. He was as motionless as his sister and yet he could feel the tremor of murder raging from his friend.
Nobody moved. No one dared to move. Even the air felt thick as if a vacuum hold it all in.
Then Yuusha made one single step closer to Delica.
Within that second, Aiven wielded his dagger, pushing reasons and fear out of his mind, he pointed the dagger to the lady.
Even the thought of Delica was taken out of his head at that one precise second.
There was no time to scream or mourn. The mere existence of the person who had shot Delica further made his blood cold.
If he started thinking again, he’ll start asking why. Why did she kill Delica? Why would the hero, who swore off evil, start massacring them? He doesn’t need them, so he discarded these questions together with the emotions they brought.
He was moving on nothing but calculated reflex.
Simos, with a closed-off expression, followed on his cue.
Blade before tears. What do you do when faced with a formidable force that suddenly turned hostile? You fight. Forcing it, hoping it will deal you a killing blow so you are no longer alive when it feasts on your bones.
It was suicide but maybe with this, their death might be swift.
He saw Simos appeared behind the lady, it was lightning fast that he can't keep with the type of skill he used to brandish his halberd. His expression was that of a demon, with his mana chaotically concentrated on his feet and hands, completely stripped off the boy he once knew, and intently aiming for the kill.
Then all of a sudden their bodies got pinned on the floor.
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An oppressing aura, heavier than they ever felt before came down on them as she released her bloodthirst. He can’t even scream in despair.
Not even sparing a glance. The gap was too much.
“Poor, poor child. You must have suffered greatly.” The Yuusha whispered, directing a mournful prayer towards the girl.
Aiven groaned in pain. A heavy step was heard and a pillar of earth erupted beneath Delica, piercing her left hand. The Yuusha took another step that reverberated within the halls and with it another pillar went through Delica's right hand. Then a third step, and he saw a thicker earth pillar plunged to her chest. Simos screams, not knowing where he found the strength to beg the Yuusha to stop and leave his sister alone.
"Rest now dear Delica." She announced.
A sharp shrill emerged from the girl's lips. The girl convulsed as erratic screams deafened his ears.
She's still alive!? H-how?
Slowly, a ball of murky miasma rolled out of Delica's ear. The Yuusha brought her heel down the miasma that already turned into a spider. And beneath her feet, a circle of rune suddenly appeared and faded into particles.
He was still confused when the Yuusha's spell retracted from the cold body. Delica's wounds were slowly closing up with holy light.
"Truly, how vile would man fall, to desecrate her like this?" A single tear fell from her eyes as she silently touched Delica's cheek.
"What did you do to her?!" Simos finally broke out in anger as if he was possessed.
"I purified her," her tone was still solemn. "She's already been long gone, I cannot save her."
An illusion cracked surrounding the corpse, and Delica's body suddenly aged, the stench of incense oil and foul preservatives assaulted their nostrils.
"Her soul was shattered and her body was used as a spying mechanism. They, no...it seems she is here for you, sempai." They seem to be aware of you. Her words said to Aiven. "And now, they know where I am." Her expression saddened and with tranquility added a small farewell, "may her shadow find its way to the Threads."
Someone used Delica as a Corpse Spy!?
Forbidden magic, used to forcibly split the soul of a person. The body would start to rot but it would be free to roam, personality and memories still intact as if nothing happened, with the other half of the soul being used to track whatever the body sees, hear or feel.
A half-dead.
His face crumpled in agony, his sight never left the collapsed body of Delica. Her glamour had long faded but her reddish-blonde hair softly swayed with the passing wind. The only thing about her, that seemed to have retained it's glow.
Now, that he had taken a moment for himself, the reality of it all came crushing to him leaving him breathless and a string of sob almost broke down from his throat but he forcibly stopped it.
He had no right to cry. Not for her, he scolded himself.
Fuck. Someone murdered his friend so they could spy on...him? He is just a normal---no he is not normal. He's a reincarnated, the same abnormality of the champions that roamed the surface and changed the course of histories.
It took a few conscious breathe when he realized that his fist had been clenched too tight at his side that it was drawing blood.
Whoever was pulling the strings behind the summoning of heroes would not overlook his existence. They probably still trying to assess his alignment when Aiven met the Yuusha who noticed her curse.
"Who is your enemy?"
"Humans."
You are human! Curses, the Yuusha was just as clueless as he was.
Simos scrambled to his feet and went beside his sister but a small voice stopped him.
"Please...her soul is screaming." It was the Maou. It's the first time she ever spoke a word. They looked at her and the Demon Lord tentatively separated from the Yuusha towards Simos.
Simos was staring at his sister blankly, there were tears brimming on his eyes but refuses to fall. His halberd was still dangerously on his hand, but he looked too hollowed, that he completely disregarded the approach of the girl and didn't even bother to raise his eyes away from Delica.
"Please, she wants to thank you," this time her words came out broken. "Please, she wants you to please don't hate her for asking this."
With the kneeling Simos protectively cradling his sister, the Maou chanted a rune older than the origin. A glyph opened beneath them, encompassing the siblings and the little girl stretched her arms, a dark liquid materialized on her palm and compressed. The shockwave released was enough to drive Simos from the circle, leaving Delica's body with the Demon Lord.
When the Maou opened her eyes, she placed the sphere on Delica's mouth and the circle grew brighter.
The corpse's eyelids opened, showing white which slowly turned back to its normal bright blue eyes, the skin began to thicken and became duller as her veins receded until it reflected the same artificial feel of the Maou's skin.
When the chanting stopped, signaling the end of the spell, the corpse started to sit up, then a familiar squeal was heard.
D-Delica?
His eyes focused on its every movement, apprehension filled his chest. It seemed to be checking itself and when it was satisfied, it hugged the Maou. "Thank you! Ah~ I'm finally free! Thank you for fulfilling my wish! Aya~ you really are adorable!"
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Simos emerged from the rubble, not minding the dust and debris resting on his armor.
"D-Delica?" Simos blinked as if questioning whether his eyes were playing tricks on him. He didn't expect to be taken out of his own misery and be welcomed by the scene of his supposedly-dead sister hugging the Demon Lord.
"Simos!"
"You're dead..."
"Undead," she corrected.
"We almost died! What the blazes---an undead? Oi, are you okay? Quick, check your status."
"Right, right. Here, wait," she said then as an afterthought she started complaining about how stupid they were for trying to attack Lady Yuusha.
Hearing her voice once again, Aiven's legs buckled and he collapsed on his knees. He can't help but be amazed at the conflicting emotions he was feeling.
He took long strides towards Delica and just as she was ranting, he started pulling her both cheek.
"Awawawawa, waaaah, what is your problem, Aiven!"
[You are scolding us for trying to avenge your death? Isn't there is something utterly wrong about this set-up.]
Bring me back my grievances, you ungrateful spoiled brat! He wanted to add. From the start, he didn't want revenge. He admits that there were anger and hate, but the only reason he went berserk was to speed up the process, praying for a quick and painless death against this monster of a hero.
"Avenging me by jumping to your own death!? Don't make me laugh. If you want to commit suicide then don't pester Lady Yuusha for it!"
Gugh, they've been had, He felt his head explode at this ungrateful girl, but when he studied her expression, all his resentment drained.
"You should have escaped!" She started whining again but each word was punctuated so much raw pain that her throat became coarse, even Simos was flabbergasted. "Why do you have to seek your death for another one's death! Are you two stupid...d-didn't we...already had an agreement?![/i]
She hiccuped and slapped his shoulders repeatedly in a tantrum, "if one of us die, no one looks back! You two broke your promises! You broke it, friends don't break their...promises!" Then she cried, two falls of liquid miasma flowed to her eyes.
Simos didn't know what to do that he took her in his arms and started smoothing her hair, and he started smiling, as if everything is all right, "it's fine now, Delica, I'm sorry. We're sorry, we're still here. Next time, we'll definitely leave you alone, okay?"
Delica pouted and glared at him, and Simos burst out laughing at the familiar pathetic face of his sister.
"Ah, what a happy reunion."
No, it is not! His eyes sharpened at the Yuusha who was smiling innocently as she praised Maou-chan for doing such splendid spellcasting.
She just killed Delica! Well, she was already cursed with half-dead and can be considered as a walking carcass already.
But you can't deny that the hero almost killed them! Again! Though, he also can't deny that they did most of the attacking (or failure of it) and she didn't even raise a finger in retaliation. Still, that bloodthirst was really deadly.
Lady Yuusha placed her hand on Aiven's trembling shoulder and said <
He still found it hard to settle with this world's common sense, maybe on their side, they could see it as something as normal.
To be resurrected. To die. It was her, but not her, only the liveliness of its eyes remained from the state it was currently in.
"Oh, deities!" Delica shrieked, wide-eyed.
"Um, wha—"
Delica rushed to her feet and made an imposing smile as she rubbed the miasma out of eyes. With shaking voice, she said, "I-I think I just became a lich." Her eyes widen and she started to tremble. ,
Everyone's eyes shifted towards Maou-chan.
With how excited she looked, he was amazed she didn't pledge her loyalty to the Demon Lord right there and then. Afterall, Delica had always dreamed of becoming a necromancer.