There's No Point Running Away (4)

"Wait, hold on—we killed the Demon King-sama... Mmph?! W-what are you doing, Kagami-dono!"

As Menou tried to reveal the truth, Kagami hurriedly clamped a hand over Menou's mouth and gestured for him to play along. The Dark Dragon eyed their suspicious behavior, but—

"I killed the Demon King with my own hands. The finishing blow was a gut punch."

Kagami immediately put on an unusually bright, crisp expression, trying to bluff his way out.

'A gut... punch?'

"Yeah. The Demon King never saw it coming. He died screaming, ‘Hogeeeh!’ And he even admitted I was strong, saying, ‘Kagami-san, you’re seriously handsome.’"

'It’s unprecedented for the Demon King to go down like that... Though, now that I think of it, I’ve been wondering: why did that demon over there side with a human like you? This is a place only parties bearing proof that they defeated the Demon King can visit. If that demon is here, then they must have fought too, right?'

"I brainwashed him."

'What... did you say? You brainwashed a demon? I’ve never heard of such a thing... No, wait. Could it be possible?'

"I kept him locked up for about 28 hours and brainwashed him, body and soul, with nonstop slapping, persuasion, and some... sort of power from a Skill. But maybe it was incomplete, because he turned into this dangerous guy who attacks the Demon King even though he still worships him."

Menou gave Kagami a thoroughly unimpressed look at his wildly over-the-top and terribly clumsy cover story. But Kagami kept lying with a perfectly serious expression.

'Well, you certainly did defeat the Demon King... I can no longer sense his mana on the surface from here. He was the only being I could sense from here. If he’s gone, then... that explains it. But it took you quite a while to get here. About two months? ...Well, I suppose it’s only natural that two people would have struggled.'

Hearing that, Kagami realized why the Dark Dragon had misunderstood so neatly. Two months ago, during the battle in Salmaria, Estellera had hidden the Demon King somewhere other than the surface. That was the only explanation.

"So, since you called us here... there’s something you want, right?"

'Of course. I did not call you here merely to praise you. As I said, we have been waiting for the truly strong.'

As it declared this, the Dark Dragon raised its body, which until then had remained motionless except for its face. Even while seated, it had radiated an overwhelming presence; as it rose, the air around it grew even more oppressive.

Then the Dark Dragon moved its long neck, bringing its face right in front of Kagami. It fixed him with a terrifying gaze that seemed powerful enough to paralyze him with a mere look.

'Since you have made it this far, I will grant you one wish—anything that can be done in this world.'

"Any wish?"

The Dark Dragon’s unexpected offer left Kagami bewildered. He couldn’t understand the logic behind making “any wish” come true.

At the very least, it was just as inexplicable as status windows or money appearing when you defeated monsters.

'However... you must choose one of two options.'

"Options? What kind of options?"

'First... have your wish granted, then proceed to the next stage.'

Menou and Kagami couldn’t help holding their breath at this utterly incomprehensible first option.

"What do you mean, the next stage...?"

'Only those who proceed to the next stage have the right to know. But I can tell you one thing... You will be led to a new path of battle, one harsher and more grueling than anything you have faced before.'

Hearing that, Kagami understood instinctively. What he had been searching for lay beyond that point. The Dark Dragon had declared that it knew everything about this world, yet it was withholding that information. That alone told him there was something beyond this place that he could never understand from here.

'But some of you may have been wounded along the way and have no wish to fight. Sending those without the will to fight into a harsher battlefield would only lead to their pointless deaths. Therefore, there is another option.'

"...And that is?"

'After granting your wish, I will return you to the surface with your powers intact, erasing only your memories of fighting to defeat the Demon King, so that your battle-worn minds can recover.'

"What does that mean? So... we’d be sent back to the surface already incredibly strong, even though we’d have no memory of ever fighting and wouldn’t know why?"

'Precisely. Of course, those who know you will also lose their memories of you having fought. And someday, you will return here again. This time... without the mental exhaustion of a long battle.'

"No, wait... What would be the point of that...?"

'Did I not tell you? I exist to “periodically create truly strong people like you,” and I have been waiting for someone as strong as you.'

"No... Wait, what? Then... No, that’s ridiculous. It can’t be..."

Kagami’s heart began pounding faster than ever before.

His face gradually paled, and his voice trembled slightly.

"K-Kagami-dono?"

The revelation was shocking, to be sure, but Menou tilted their head at Kagami’s reaction, wondering if it was really enough to make him so agitated.

"That can’t be... No, there’s no way. That would be... it can’t be allowed."

The Dark Dragon’s words, one by one, were beginning to connect in Kagami’s mind, forming a single truth. But as he sensed that possibility, a chill ran through him.

He was so afraid of it that he couldn’t bear the thought of it being true.

"But if they have no memories, there’s no guarantee they’ll come back here, is there?"

So, to get his question answered, Kagami asked the Dark Dragon directly.

'That is true... But that cannot be helped. It is far more worthwhile to leave open the possibility that they may one day return here with a strong spirit than to lead someone without the will to fight to a pointless death.'

"What if they never come back?"

'That person is not the only one who can become strong.'

"But still! There’s no way to prove how strong they are, is there? The only way to come back here is to gather 10,000 gold, right?"

'Why?'

"Why? Because there shouldn’t be any other way to get here! The Demon King is gone!"

As Kagami grew more frantic, the Dark Dragon continued to answer his questions calmly. And as Kagami desperately pressed on, the Dark Dragon, without changing its expression—

'That is precisely why I erase all of that person’s memories related to fighting.'

"...What are you talking about?!"

'The Demon King will be revived from this point on. No... would it be more accurate to say he will be reset?'

"...Huh?"

The Dark Dragon put into words the worst possibility Kagami had imagined—the truth of this world, utterly cruel and merciless.