Chapter 117 : Slave - 1
Chapter 117: Slave - 1
Magireta continued in an icy tone.
“You really dared to deceive me.”
“W-what…….”
“No, strictly speaking, I guess it can’t exactly be called deception? No. I’m in a bad mood, so let’s call it that.”
“…….”
“Anyway, from today onward, you’re no longer the MVP.”
She lowered her arms comfortably.
And she continued slowly.
“So the rules won’t apply to you anymore.”
“D-don’t talk nonsense! Based on what grounds!”
“Ask my little brother later. Ah, you can’t ask him, can you?”
“…….”
“You’ll become one of the low-rank monsters. You won’t even be able to communicate anymore.”
At that moment, Helena’s entire body trembled violently.
Trembled?
‘Fear?’
How long had it been since I last felt fear?
When I lived as an elf, I had been a king.
I wasn’t someone who occupied a position where I had to fear others.
After becoming the MVP, I had been a king of hell.
There were three other kings, true, but we didn’t invade one another’s domains, so I could still call myself a king of a small nation.
‘Right. The first time I felt fear was……’
When I first faced that unknown being named Magireta.
When she put up that strange Bulletin Board, calling it the first quest.
When she turned another contestant who defied her into a lump of meat.
“Ah. Uah.”
All of a sudden, Helena’s mind went dim.
‘R-run…….’
The moment I thought that, I instinctively realized it.
What if I turned my back right here?
What if I bent my knees to return to the moon?
In that instant, I would die by Magireta’s hand.
Her very presence right now was declaring that.
‘Then.’
I had to kill her.
I had to kill the being before me.
Only then could I live!
In this moment, Helena no longer had Luna’s safety in her head.
She also lost her desire for revenge against Mason’s group.
What remained was only the instinct to survive.
A compulsive belief that I had to kill that unknown being in order to live.
“Uaaagh!”
Helena screamed and her golden eyes flashed.
But even though she was facing Magireta directly, Magireta’s body didn’t change at all.
Helena let out another shout.
It was useless, as expected.
She sent out the few remaining snakes.
They were erased before they even reached Magireta.
“This can’t be. This can’t be happening!”
In the end, what Helena had left was nothing more than childlike flailing.
She swung her arms wide and threw a punch.
In size alone, it was like dropping a meteor onto Magireta.
Tak.
But Magireta stopped that meteor with the palm of her hand.
And she spoke quietly.
“You were far too full of yourself.”
“W-wait…….”
Before Helena could finish saying “stop,”
Magireta flicked her fingers with her thumb and middle finger.
The motion was like flicking a pebble.
But in the next moment—
-Kugwagwagwang.
An overwhelming energy filled the world and exploded from her fingers.
It completely engulfed Helena’s mountain-sized body.
Helena couldn’t offer even the slightest resistance and was swallowed by the force.
When the light and shock finally faded a moment later, nothing remained.
Crack.
Magireta stretched her neck once, then pulled her hood back on.
“I guess I’ll temporarily manage the area Helena was overseeing. When an MVP emerges from this batch of humans, I’ll hand it over to them.”
Maybe that MVP would end up being her little brother.
Mason had acquired less than sixty percent of the first-place reward, but at his current pace, he would easily reach it.
Even in an event match against Edgar, he’d win—if he were her brother.
If so, she felt she could look forward to some very enjoyable days.
She smiled faintly and murmured.
“I’ll be waiting. Little brother.”
Hot.
I snapped back to my senses.
All sorts of thoughts swirled through my head.
They soon arranged themselves in order, and I recalled what had happened at the very last moment.
“I’m sure I turned into stone?”
What about the others?
I hurriedly turned around, and there, all my party members were blinking at me.
There wasn’t a trace left of them having turned to stone.
“Is everyone alright?”
They opened their mouths to say something in reply.
But all I heard was a muffled hum. Not a single word reached me.
Only then did I remember that all of our eardrums had burst together.
A moment later, Armelia came over and used the Light of Healing on everyone.
Before long, voices began to return faintly.
“Mason. Are you unharmed?”
“Well, you look perfectly fine. But… why are you fine? I mean, it’s good you’re safe, but still.”
“I definitely felt my whole body stiffening.”
“Seeing that it’s undone…… did Helena die?”
“I’d think so. Mason said the petrification would be undone if Helena died.”
“That’s correct.”
Finally, Karin fixed her hair and added,
“I didn’t turn to stone. So I saw the last moment.”
“Karin.”
“Magireta appeared and sent us back here. Just like Mason guessed, Helena must not have been the MVP.”
There was a small but unmistakable bitterness in her voice.
I asked cautiously,
“How is your mother?”
“This might sound a bit unfilial if taken the wrong way. But that.”
“…….”
“Magireta said she wouldn’t kill her. She said she’d destroy that body first and then resurrect her as an ordinary monster. Said she’d treat her as a normal game passer.”
Hmm. The destruction of the body.
Seeing that we’re all fine, that alone must have fulfilled the condition for undoing the petrification.
And if Helena became an ordinary monster, then the existence called ‘Medusa’ could be considered gone.
The surroundings grew quiet.
Karin had no memory of her and couldn’t empathize, but Helena had undoubtedly been her mother.
Everyone was bothered by that fact.
Even though, even if time were turned back, we could make no other choice.
Noticing the looks from the group, Karin stomped her foot.
“Quit staring, will you?”
“That’s how you describe us worrying about you? Seriously, you’re rude.”
“Anyone else saying that? Fine. But you? I refuse to accept that.”
“I can’t stand that you can’t stand me.”
The two bickered.
Armelia, who had been quiet, opened her mouth.
“My eldest brother and second brother were exactly like that.”
“Yes?”
“Every time they saw each other, they were desperate to tear each other apart. They were rivals for the imperial succession.”
“The future of the Empire looks bleak.”
“Let’s worry about the future of our party instead.”
Aina responded to her.
“It’s fine as long as she stays quiet. Just her.”
“She? Hey. I’m older than you.”
“Oh, sorry. Did you want to be treated like an older sister?”
“You little—”
Maybe because of Armelia’s comment, but they really felt like actual sisters.
I stopped them and shifted the topic.
“Anyway, it seems Magireta handled things well. The danger has finally passed.”
The Diary Book naturally chimed in.
[That’s right. You’ve worked hard.]
‘Yes, you too.’
[Exactly. I worked hard as well.]
‘I keep saying this, but when you answer like that, all the gratitude evaporates.’
[Anyway, please check this.]
[You have safely overcome the Sudden Quest ‘Medusa’.]
[The records during the Sudden Quest ‘Medusa’ have been altered.]
[Some parts of the Future Diary have been revised accordingly.]
[Diary Book’s ‘Shop lv.6’ feature is being upgraded.]
[You achieved the Sudden Quest: Armelia’s survival. Reward: 100 points.]
[You achieved the Sudden Quest: Aina’s survival. Reward: 100 points.]
[You achieved the Sudden Quest: Berseum’s survival. Reward: 100 points.]
[You achieved the Sudden Quest: Sienne’s survival. Reward: 100 points.]
[You achieved the Sudden Quest: Benjamin’s survival. Reward: 100 points.]
[You achieved the Sudden Quest: Karin’s survival. Reward: 100 points.]
[Current points: 1,732]
Hearing this made the fact that it was truly over finally sink in.
And suddenly, strength left my legs.
I staggered and collapsed onto a chair.
“Mason?”
“No. It’s just that once I felt like everything was finished, all the tension left me.”
“Fufu. Same here.”
Armelia sat beside me.
The other companions also each found a seat and sat down.
Benjamin spoke.
“Anyway, things somehow ended well this time…… but I don’t know about the future.”
“Why are you suddenly saying something so ominous?”
“There are supposedly three more beings like that Helena. Those MVP or whatever they’re called.”
“It doesn’t matter whether there are more of them. It’s not like we have to fight them.”
This time had only been a perfect intertwining of Edgar’s sabotage and Karin’s family circumstances.
Helena hadn’t descended to the world because Edgar coaxed her.
If we recalled their earlier conversation, she didn’t even seem to have listened to Edgar’s request to the very end.
Everyone nodded as though convinced.
Sienne said,
“Come to think of it, that’s true. I feel a bit more hopeful now.”
“Yes. Now what we need to do is clear.”
“And that is?”
I stretched out my legs and answered.
“Rest.”
I really felt like I was going to die from exhaustion.
Louis, whose eyes were all swollen from crying, opened them wide.
The shattered stone fragments that had once been Edgar’s form returned.
They had looked like a lump of meat for a moment, but……
“Haa.”
Soon, they returned to Edgar’s complete human form.
Louis blinked several times before suddenly throwing herself into his arms.
“Arcane. You’re alive.”
“Louis? What is going on?”
“What do you mean what? Do you know how much I cried because of you?”
Edgar stroked Louis’s back and pieced his memories together.
He had tried to ask Helena to deal with Mason, only for his body to suddenly harden.
After that, realizing he had been petrified, he poured all of his strength into binding his soul to that stone statue.
‘And now that I’m revived……’
Did Helena undo the petrification?
No—more likely Mason killed Helena.
Even if Mason hadn’t done it with his own hands, he probably used his usual clever tricks to survive yet another crisis.
‘Unbelievable. He even dealt with a manager of hell.’
He let out a small sigh.
Then, as he held Louis tightly in his arms, he said,
“You stayed by my side the whole time. Thank you, Louis.”
“Of—of course. We’re married.”
“I shouldn’t have made you cry. It pains my heart.”
“……Then don’t ever pull something that reckless again.”
She sniffled as she continued.
“Let’s go back.”
“Yes?”
“Why. Were you planning to start something again?”
Louis’s eyes sharpened.
Edgar swallowed the words ‘Let’s go meet the other managers of hell.’
If he said that now, they would definitely have a fight.
“No. You’re right. We should go back. I’m tired.”
“Mm. I’ll make us dinner. Though I don’t know whether it’ll be dinner or breakfast in this world.”
She took out a teleportation bead.
Fwieek.
Before disappearing, Edgar looked back once at the scenery of hell.
Determined that he would return soon.
Days passed even after the Sudden Quest Medusa ended.
We were spending peaceful days.
Just as I’d written in the Future Diary, Karin had now blended naturally into the group.
“Hey. If you’re not eating that, give it to me.”
“I’m going to eat it. Just try touching it.”
“I know you haven’t had any meat for days, you know? I thought elves lived eating only leaves.”
“Who said that. I’m human!”
Yes. She blended in just fine.
Berseum watched Aina and Karin’s argument with a pleased expression, as if watching his granddaughters play.
Then he turned his gaze to me.
“Isn’t it about time we take on the next quest?”
“You’re right.”
“That’s a relaxed answer. You always prepared in advance, looking ahead to the future.”
“That’s true. I guess I got a bit complacent.”
I thanked Berseum.
Maybe the upheaval from that huge incident had made me loosen up.
Taking the chance, I immediately asked the Diary Book.
‘Alright then. Time to check the last page.’
[Yes. Just a moment.]
[Opening the final page.]
[Point cost: 50]
[Remaining points: 1,682]
Let’s see.
The original last page of my Diary Book had been January 10th, Year 327.
But because of the Medusa Sudden Quest, it had been changed to February 9th, Year 325.