20-5
I Just Wanted to Go Home
Translator : PolterGlast
Thus, holding our
respective roles, we brothers parted ways, and I descended the labyrinth of
stakes together with the adventurers. However, it was different from the
labyrinth capture I experienced with Kachua back then. This is an all-out war between the Abyss
and Ratatosk City. The adventurers intercepted the army of the Abyss
overflowing from the labyrinth, and escorted the trump card that was me to the
deepest part of the labyrinth, the source of the outbreak. Striking the source
as quickly as possible through a forced breakthrough was the answer to keeping
the damage to a minimum.
「Go, Shinza!」
「Below
those stairs is the deepest part! Hurry up and stop the labyrinth with that
ridiculous power of yours!」
For paths that
looked like they could be shortcutted, we dug through the walls and proceeded.
And so, at a much higher tempo than expected, our breach unit was able to
arrive right before the lowest floor. But this place was already like being
directly in front of a floodgate. With monsters of the Abyss appearing
one after another, it was difficult to break through even for renowned
adventurers.
「Thanks
for taking care of me. If peace comes, I will definitely invite you guys to our
Empire. ...So don't die.」
「Never
mind that, just go quickly!!」
Running through the
opened breakthrough, I stepped into the place closest to the Abyss.
『Be
careful, Father. That guy is beyond the door...』
「You
were quite quiet. You could have helped me along the way, you know.」
『Wagahai
was preserving my power. There's no way they would obediently let us seal the
door to the surface. Be careful...』
Resting the shovel
on my shoulder, the warm-up was long past, but I lightly cracked my shoulders.
Calming my breathing, when I touched the giant door, I felt a chill as if
caterpillars were crawling all over my skin. There's definitely something
there... Moreover, it's an exceptionally big catch.
Making up my mind, I
jumped beyond the door, and there was a giant face there.
「It
seems you have learned the truth, Prince Ashley. No, existence identical
to the First Emperor Ausar.」
True to his words,
it was a giant face. An old man's face possessing tentacles was thrusting only
its neck out from the rift between dimensions, looking this way. I must
absolutely not let it come to this side. Its existence was something so
horrifying and cursed that my intuition warned me so.
「You...
could you be the White Duke?」
「Indeed.
My name is the Ruler of the Abyss, Venombreed. Pardon me for
being in such a form, Prince Ashley.」
「Father,
this is bad... If even that guy resurrects onto the surface, it won't just be a
civil war anymore...!」
Zirant was
intensely shaken, but to me, the White Duke was a pitiful old man, an opponent
I didn't want to fight very much. He, who had turned into a horrifying monster
of the Abyss, and the sacred him who were once in the heavens, were
intermingling right before my eyes.
「I'll
ask just in case before we fight, but what is your aim?」
「About
that, you don't need to mind us. Together with your brother, now is the time
you should strike down the foolish royalty and revive the true A-Zir
Empire. Once I pass through here, I will withdraw the army from this land.」
Even if you say that
looking like that... Isn't this what they call the climax in the books of the
other world? If it were a story, this is where the resurrecting demon king is
defeated for a happy ending.
「I'll
ask once more, what is your aim in returning to the surface?」
「Fufu...
you ask that. Prince Ashley, our wish will forever remain unchanged no
matter if infinite time passes. The return to the heavens. That itself is our
eternal wish...」
「Let me
tell you, Father, stop with the weird sympathy, we absolutely must not let this
guy go. In the heavens――a power that can burn away the world slumbers!」
Zirant is
irritated. At the sight of me hesitating to engage in combat. The White Duke is
a gentleman who can be reasoned with, but... this time, no matter how much it's
him, he probably won't yield.
「Will
you use that to burn away the world?」
「Of
course not. We highly evaluate the races that Samael created. We have no
intention of destroying them.」
「Father!
Their minds have been contaminated by the Abyss. Do not trust him!」
I hesitated even
further. Just by standing around like this, danger approaches the guys who let
me pass, and I would be allowing his resurrection.
「By the
way, did you know, Prince. This labyrinth of stakes was originally a regulating
device to seal the Abyss.」
Whether he wanted to
buy time, he suddenly started a tangential conversation.
「The
victory of the surface races strengthens the seal of the Abyss, and
their defeat hastens the release of the seal. It was originally a land of
sealing where rituals of such mechanisms were repeated. Therefore, we――」
「Ashley,
defeat him! If you don't want to defeat him, I understand, so close that door!」
「We
changed our method. We let the wealth of the demon realm flow into the
labyrinth, manipulating humans to flock to this labyrinth of stakes. As a
result, it took a long time, but finally, we are to be released from the curse
of the Abyss like this.」
I cannot call the
adventurers fools blinded by the labyrinth's treasures. As long as humans are
living creatures, as long as it's a society where wealth turns into sustenance,
there was probably no way to prevent it.
「Specifically,
how many years did that take?」
「In
human senses, about a thousand years.」
「That
is, once again, a terrifyingly steady plan...」
「Eei,
if it comes to this, Wagahai will fight alone, Father!」
Along with light, Zirant
took the form of a giant dragon and blew a breath of ice toward the White Duke
who was only a neck. But the old man who was only a neck didn't freeze. Even
while shedding grotesque black blood from the blades of ice, he extended a
tremendous number of tentacles toward Zirant. I knew from the start that
the negotiations would break down. I decided to fight the old man who had let
me return alive from the Abyss.
「Zirant,
take your distance, I will stand in front!」
「If so,
Wagahai shall lend my power to Father. Now that Father has become the
master of the underground empire, this level is no trouble.」
Wondering what she
would do for me, it was the power of ice that had once defeated the Abyss
Ant. Sweeping the shovel imbued with the power of ice, the cursed tentacles
froze and shattered. The White Duke groaned. Even while raising a voice of
agony from his giant mouth, he tried to defeat me with the single-minded desire
to return to the heavens.
「Father,
did I not say not to sympathize!」
「You're
right... As for me personally, I'd rather root for you, but―― I'm still uneasy
about handing over a power that can destroy the world to you guys. I can't let
you go.」
We fought him.
Smashing numerous tentacles, smashing the bones thrusting out like spears from
his shoulders, and the flapping of Zirant's wings neutralized his poison
breath. That figure is no longer a god but a monster. Zirant's words
might have been correct. We cannot let such a monster go to the heavens.
「Samael...
Samael... Please let me pass there, let me go to that land once more,
once more...」
「Do not
lend him an ear, Father! Father is Ashley, the Emperor of the A-Zir
underground empire, are you not!」
The White Duke's
words were gentle, calm, and mixed with the sound of an entreaty. But the
offense and defense were extremely fierce. The noble old man I held goodwill
toward, and the one that turned into a monster of the Abyss, these two
things were intermingled.
「No,
Father! Do not listen any further!」
What is... this?
Little by little, a strange memory surfaced within me. In a warm world
overflowing with light and greenery, I, possessing wings, was flying around the
sky. The me of that time was the exact opposite of the detested Ashley,
and was loved by the people living in that shining world. That is the memory of
the foolish angel Samael. Samael was created to be loved by the
gods, merely being doted upon, living a peaceful life every day. But the dragon
Zirant, who crosses dimensions, drifted there, and out of excessive
fear, the gods tried to kill Zirant. That itself was the beginning of
the tragedy in the heavens. The angel, who was not given proper intelligence,
merely to protect a friend named Zirant, ended up betraying his masters
as a result.
「Samael,
oh Samael... I beg of you, take me to the heavens... to the heavens once
more... Samael...」
「...Sorry,
you've got the wrong person. I am Ashley, Ashley Gnos Urgos. The
son of the A-Zir Emperor.」
The nostalgic and
happy daydream blew away at the point where Samael robbed the heavenly
hidden treasure from his masters and banished them to the Abyss. Things
like this are dreams or delusions. Completely warding off the fierce attack, I
pierced the White Duke's face with my ancestor's black shovel.
「Samael...
my, Samael...」
「I
don't hate you. But forgive me, our interests don't align at all...」
Beyond the tip of
the blade, I feel a strong clump of something. Perhaps if I pierce that, I
might be able to destroy this existence.
「That
is this guy's true body, destroy it, Father!」
When told that, it
makes me want to defy it... I pulled back the pierced shovel and faced the
pitiful ruin.
「...Do
you really just want to return to the heavens?」
Then, what do you
know, the White Duke who had turned into a monster returned to the old man in
the wheelchair I met that day.
「I want
to return... If you say you cannot trust me, you can accompany me, I don't
mind. Returning to the heavens... that itself is everything to us.」
「Father,
Father must return to the Imperial Capital and end the civil war. Father
returning even a moment sooner will result in saving many lives. Do not
hesitate, pierce that guy, Father!」
「Then
let me go. Never again will we commit a mistake. ...The one who chooses the
conclusion is you.」
「...Then,
as Samael's descendant, I will say it in his stead. That betrayal was a
mistake. Surely Samael must have regretted it deeply as well. But, I
still can't let you go, forgive me.」
I pierced the god
who once reigned in the heavens, and brought it to an end. He wasn't surprised
in the least. It was as if he knew it would turn out like this from the very
beginning.
「You
made a good, decision... Ahh... How, vexing. With just one more step, I could
return, to that land, once again...」
The hand he raised
to the heavens crumbled into ash and fell, disappearing from the world without
being able to leave his words to the end. He had not been telling any lies.
Closing the gate to the Abyss, I turned back to Zirant, who had
returned to the figure of a young girl before I knew it. Looking at her, who
possesses the same dragon's eyes as me, my spirits returned little by little.
「Let's
return to the Imperial Capital. To the real Imperial Capital.」
She didn't say
anything. Partly because I was sympathetic to the White Duke, she seemed to be
inquiring into my state of mind.
「Don't
make me worry too much... You are not Samael, just a gluttonous prince, Ashley.」
「Yeah,
I know. If we don't hurry back, the Imperial Capital will be swallowed by the
fires of war and I won't be able to eat the auntie's kebab sandwich anymore.」
「Umu,
that is a serious matter. Let us hurry and return, Father. Once it becomes
peaceful, it will be just us parent and child.」
「I want
to go back to our old dynamic, though...」
I once again turned
my eyes to the place where that pitiful old man disappeared, and exited the
labyrinth where the forces of the Abyss had vanished.
……………………。
I had completely
thought that at this point, by defeating the ringleader, the incidents related
to the Abyss would draw to a close, but that was actually not the case.
The White Knight had robbed 108 Cherubim Armors and disappeared from the
battlefield. Even after losing their leader, they had not given up on returning
to the heavens.
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