The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

EP9. ■■

Darkness swept in. The old Ainzel looked at the scenery and said.

“…What the heck is that?”

Sein also didn’t know anything about that scenery. It wasn’t even mentioned in the records of the Holy Sword. That meant that what he was seeing before his eyes must have been a problem that originated from Ainzel’s inner self.

The most likely thing is… it was probably the demon lord’s black magic incarnated.

When Sein drew his sword, Ainzel saw him and said.

“Hmm… Seeing you draw your sword gives me a strange feeling. It reminds me of my comrades.”

Sein didn’t say anything. It wasn’t that he wanted to ignore Ainzel, but because he didn’t know what would happen if he opened his mouth.

Instead, she tightened her grip on the sword.

And then she noticed something strange.

‘The amount of available magic power has been significantly reduced.’

What Ainzel meant by inner world was that, unlike the state in the outside world, his fighting power was determined purely by mental power.

That is to say, the magic power from outside doesn’t mean much here.

However, it was a story that didn’t matter. The name ‘Transcendence Realm’ wasn’t given simply because of the amount of magical power.

Sein blew his sword. It was a technique that only a swordsman who had reached the rank of Grand Master could use.

Ainzel saw that sight and smiled.

“At that age, you were on a higher level than me… Well, whatever. That’s not what’s important right now.”

Sein looked into Ainzel’s eyes and said, “Oh no.” For some reason, he seemed to feel a little regretful.

However, he could not just sit there and look into Ainzel’s eyes. Sein continued to swing his sword at the dark creatures that were approaching him.

How much time had passed? Before he knew it, the number of dark creatures was starting to decrease. Se-in’s eyes became relieved.

And then, at that moment, a human figure appeared in the darkness.

At that moment, Se-in couldn’t help but open his eyes wide.

White hair. Red eyes. Sein knew who it was in an instant.

This was Ainzel’s current appearance.

But… it was different. It was quite different from the Ainzel she remembered.

It seemed as if a strange aura was dripping from his entire body, and his eyes seemed to sparkle with desire. The fact that he was naked and not wearing any clothes made the feeling even more suspicious. Above all, the fact that his body had no shadows at all made it impossible to believe that he was a real being.

When Sein looked around, the snowfield was nowhere to be found, and even the old Ainzel had disappeared. All he could see were black monsters and the pitch-black surroundings.

“…Who are you?”

Sein thrust his sword and spoke. Then the man in the form of Ainzel clapped his hands and spoke.

“Well, I can tell you as much as you want, but… how about we just take care of these guys first?”

Sein glared at the man for a moment, then had no choice but to take down the dark creatures first. After the dark creatures disappeared, the man opened his mouth.

“First of all, I would like to thank you for coming here to save Ainzel. The main character probably didn’t want you to come to save him, so I can only express my gratitude on his behalf.”

Se-in frowned when he heard that and then said.

“I didn’t come here to hear thanks from an unidentifiable monster like you.”

Hearing that, the man smiled and said,

“Hmm… That’s strange. I don’t think I’ve done anything to deserve that from you yet.”

Se-in continued speaking without letting her guard down towards the man at all.

“Well, your eyes are flashing with a strange light right now. And every single feeling that makes up your body resembles that of the Demon King. Is there even one reason why I should be nice to you?”

“Hmm… It’s disappointing when it comes to things like that. I guess I’m also a part of Ainzel.”

“what?”

Se-in narrowed her eyes and approached the man.

Then, Sein pointed his sword at the man and said.

“What are you talking about? You’d better speak quickly.”

The man was smiling and keeping a calm expression even when a knife was thrust into his throat. Se-in did not like that fact.

“Speak quickly. I am about to lose my patience.”

Then the man leaned back slightly with a sly expression and said.

“Is it okay for you to come this close to a naked man? I think it would be better to talk from a distance.”

Se-in distorted his face and shouted.

“Don’t play with words!”

Then the man looked at Se-in carefully. For some reason, his eyes seemed to be filled with desire. Se-in thought that the sticky gaze that seemed to scan him was a little creepy.

“I am Ainzel’s desire.”

“what?”

Sein said with a frown on his face. It was nonsense. That a part of Ainzel had such a sinister aura, that only desire was separate from his inner world.

But the man continued speaking without the slightest wavering.

“To be exact… Ainzel is the crystallization of the desires that the master of this inner world had abandoned, and was born from being contaminated by the Demon King’s black magic. He has abandoned many things. The desires that were a part of him… including appetite, s*xual desire… and the desire to survive. He is already seriously disqualified as a living being. Even microorganisms desire to reproduce and survive, but from the moment he gave up such desires, he is no more than a sentient… system.”

Sein frowned. The man continued to smile and kept his mouth open.

“And he thought that desire had completely disappeared, but that wasn’t the case. Somewhere inside him, those discarded things were still alive and breathing. And… he was contaminated by the Demon King’s black magic. That’s how I was born. I am the one who embraced all the desires, regrets, and hatred that he had discarded.”

“Does that mean you are the cause of this situation?”

“No, that’s not it. Even if he’s been tainted by the Demon King’s black magic, I’m still saying that his desires are fundamental. Common sense tells me that becoming a monster and going berserk is not helpful for survival at all. Yeah, let’s say… If he had gone berserk the way I wanted, Ainzel would have gone mad with his desires. He would have killed all the people he hated, and he would have killed all the people who stood in his way. And…”

The man looked around and said.

“You must have lived a life true to your desires. Material things, fame, … even women.”

When Se-in heard that, he looked at the man quietly. The man let out a snicker.

“But what can I do? Unfortunately, Ainzel didn’t go berserk the way I wanted. Do you see the chains around my ankles?”

Sein looked at the man’s ankles. He saw the broken chains.

“Originally, these shackles weren’t supposed to break, they had to come off. I was going to have to make Ainzel, the main body, break the shackles that were binding me, or I was going to build up strength within myself to break them. And I almost did. … If it weren’t for those damned warlocks.”

“Warlock?”

Se-in looked at the man. The man shrugged and continued speaking.

“Yes, warlocks. You know? The warlocks were going crazy to collect sacrifices. At that time, I don’t know what happened, but the result that the warlocks wanted happened… and the owner of this body was hit directly by an energy that resembled the Demon King. As a result, these shackles that were on the verge of being released were forcibly broken. This is not the result that I wanted.”

“…Is that so.”

“Yes. From the beginning, Ainzel was too foolish to hold out. He didn’t realize that his reason was already at its limit, or that it had been there long ago. He almost lost his reason several times, but do you think he’d be fine right away just because he defeated the Demon King? It would have gotten worse, but it wouldn’t have gotten any better, right?”

“So then, how should we resolve this situation?”

As Se-in frowned and spoke, the man smiled broadly and said.

“We have to find the main body.”

“The main body? How?”

“I don’t know much about that. I think you can probably figure out the main body. Right now, the main body is hiding in a certain part of the mental world and pretending to have forgotten everything. I can’t find it on my own. So first, I’ll find the main body… and then I’ll make it break these chains.”

“Does that mean you’re going to make Ainzel fall into desire?”

“No… After these shackles are released from Ainzel’s hands… one of two outcomes will occur. Either he will become a beast struggling with desire like you said… or he will regain all of his emotions. Or, he will not release these shackles and remain as he is now… and his reason will gradually be eroded again. Either way, we need to find the main body first, so how about we cooperate?”

Sein nodded after thinking about it for a while. With a small hope that maybe he could get Ainzel back completely.