Chapter 103: Chapter 86: Return of Temperance

 

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I was horrified, watching from the VIP box above the Arena our group was at a loss. Worried for the woman I loved I nearly ran out to save her, only to be stopped by Malaise as she asked me to wait and see what happened; if we rushed out we could make matters worse with our limited power and as such we had initially stayed put, expecting the stronger fighters nearby to put an end to this. Instead what had happened was worse than we could have possibly imagined.

Rocked by an explosion the Arena trembled from the shockwave, dust and rock crumbling off the ceiling onto our frozen group.

[We can't wait anymore! We have to get down there!] - Karen

[Agreed! Shade and Karen will take the front and rear respectively while Veronica and I take the middle. We'll try to meet up with Annabelle on the way but our objective is to assist Rose. Let's go!] - Malaise

[Got it!] - Veronica

[...Protect Precious Person.] - Shade

[Come on!] - Karen

Forced into action by the changing situation the four of us paused at the door, the sound of screaming outside causing us to glance at Malaise for a suggestion. It wouldn't do to leave here only to get separated by the crowd on our way out; we'd never help anyone in that situation.

Malaise, nodding seriously, closed her eyes after agreeing to our course of action before opening them once more and barking marching orders. This basic formation, with the two physically inclined fighters on either side, would allow them to more easily push through the chaotic crowds and keep together. On top of that both of them had shape-changing abilities which would further enhance their chances.
In agreement, everyone nodded, opening the door to reveal complete and utter chaos.

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This was it! Initially concerned about moving around and making myself an easy target I'd changed my mind after getting attacked by those assassins. As someone with a limited amount of power, only equivalent to an A-Rank Adventurer, the help I'd be against a powerful foe such as the Summoned Hero was dubious at best and my guards, while powerful, were trained from a young age to prioritize my own safety above all others. In that condition it was unlikely they'd be able to deal a decisive blow to the Hero if he became serious.

So instead I decided to change the stage slightly. If we wouldn't be helpful in this situation as it was then all we needed to do was make the situation more beneficial.

And here we were, nearly 5 minutes later heading for one of the various exits. Our plan? To break the blockade from within. Now I was unsure what the exact situation was outside the Arena but my instincts told me that our forces were, as of this moment, most likely already trying to break through the enemy forces. It may be that our added power would tip the battle in our favor and we could then overrun the enemy from all sides.

And as for the explosives? Miriam was already working on a solution. Reasoning that the explosives were being detonated by a signal of some kind, possibly activated by the Summoned Hero, she had moved off on her own to track down where the signal was coming from using mana to follow the trails left by its activation a few minutes prior. She’d initially been quite reluctant to leave until I’d reminded her that neutralizing the explosives would make everyone— myself included—safer. Now we only had to hope the Summoned Hero didn't get twitchy fingers.

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An explosion rocked the corridor I was in. As a maid I'd always been only adequate, my cleaning and cooking ability only serving as a backup to my true occupation. Instead my skills, honed over many many years of combat, were focused on silently killing my opponent with a unique magic of my own. It was an ability that allowed me to call weapons into reality from seemingly nowhere. It was also this ability that was being used when the shockwave knocked me off balance, the blow I'd been aiming at a City Guard deflecting off his armor harmlessly as we went down in a pile.

[Shit! What was tha- Ah! She's here everyone! She's he- Grrk!] - Nameless Guard

[Damn! What WAS that? It felt like the entire Arena exploded above me?] - Annabelle

[There she is! Quick stop her!] - Random Guard

[Seems this will be more difficult than expected, please be safe Young Miss... Rose...] - Annabelle

 

Quickly righting myself I made short work of the man that had gotten lucky just a few seconds before. Unfortunately not fast enough to stay undetected however as the trash squealed like a stuck pig as I stabbed his neck.

Briefly pausing as I checked the man for movement I pondered the shockwave from earlier; something must have happened above her for such a large reaction this deep underground. I had originally planned to wait within the Young Miss' preparatory room, ready to rush out in case something happened. At least, that had been the plan. Unfortunately, I'd spotted something deeply concerning: groups of guardsmen, sneering at the surrounding demis and moving down through the various stairwells, all of them seemingly heading for a single location.

Worried that such a strange event was connected to the ongoing plan I'd initially followed them with the intention to discover their destination only to change my mind when an overheard comment about killing a few demi that had left alone in the chaos forced her into action. It was obvious this group was somehow connected to what was going on and as such they deserved no mercy.

Contemplating what they could possibly be hiding I turned the corner only for a group of three guardsmen to glimpse my hurried form, my murmured prayer hopefully answered as I dealt with the newcomers, my path heading for a door protected by two guards in the distance.

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Dirt. Sky. Dirt. Sky. A second before I'd been standing, both feet planted firmly on the ground only for the supposedly weak Demon Lord to suddenly appear next to me, her punch spinning my body like a top as I flew through the air.

Hitting the wall at high speed I gasped in pain as a sharp heat spread through me body as I righted myself, that shitty furry still motionless after she had thrown me like a ragdoll. Shit! I was stronger than her! After all I could still see her sta-

[Wait Analyze isn't working anymore!] - Keitaro

[RAAAAAAAAAAH!] - Rose

 

Pausing to use one of my Hero Skills, Analyze, I tried to confirm that her ability was still beneath mine, I'd secretly checked when we first met after all. However, instead of nice neat numbers I was met with jumbled characters and rapidly fluctuating stats that made no sense, even her name was a jumble of nonsense with no rhyme or reason. It made no sense!

Hero Skills, unlike their normal analogues, were supposed to be flawless. Not constrained by strength and immune to outside influence each of them were meant to be the best in the world. They were, after all, given by the God of Light. However none of his skills were doing a single thing. His Analyze was useless and he'd been using Evil Eye to try and afflict the Demon Lord with debuffs since they had started; none of it seemed to affect her in the slightest!

She jerked her head at the sound of my voice and I couldn't help shuddering at her empty stare. Then, she opened her mouth and bellowed another inhuman roar, the black flames around her whipping into a frenzy as they reformed a pair of fiery wings.

 

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[Fuck, this bitch is looking down on me!] - Keitaro

[RAAAAAAAAH!] - Rose

[Fuck you! Furry piece of shit!] - Keitaro

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I couldn't think. Somehow, in spite of my semi unconscious state however, I was still able to vaguely register that time was passing. How much of it was still a mystery but the fact that my mind still was able to perceive anything at all was a surprise. I'd given up, allowed someone more qualified to take over for me and it was only right that my sense of self fade into nothing as a result. So why was I still aware?!? Why could I still feel pain?!?

Flashing memories tormenting me I felt my mind struggling between the desire for nothingness and the desire to return.

Flash. There, a memory of my parents when they found out they were having a baby girl.

Flash. A happy memory this time of the first time I met Karen, her smiling face as we discovered a common interest.

Flash. A memory from years later when they finally gave up on my schooling.

Flash. Another happy memory; this one filling me with pride as my little sister aced all her exams, her little body jumping into my arms with joy on her face.

Flash. This time a sad memory, one that took place immediately after returning home to discover my sister beaten and bruised by my parents.

Flash. A happy one again. The look on my little sisters face when I unveiled our new home away from our parents.

Flash. A sad one, this one unfamiliar. A scene in a funeral, my sister crying her eyes out over a closed coffin that I somehow knew was my own.

Flash. One from my new life now. This one was when my new mother gushed to her friends about how proud she was of me when she thought I wasn't looking.

Flash. Another sad one, this time a memory of directly after I had killed for the first time.

On and on they went, each of them another memory, another pain, another small bit of happiness. Each of them leading to who I was today. Some of them were painful—most of them painful, but the ones that weren't pulled me. The ones with those people I cared for, the ones of those waiting for me, the ones that showed people that would miss me. All of them told me one thing: this was MY life, no one else's. I wasn't allowed to give up now, not after all I'd been through.

Now fully awake, I realized that I still floated aimlessly in an endless sea of darkness, my conscious state seemingly not being enough to pull me out of it this time.

It was strange, a while ago I'd been fully prepared to give up my life to Wrath, to let her live it for me. I'd even willingly allowed myself to fade into the darkness. Yet here I was fighting to escape that same emptiness, the fuzzy feeling of apathy I'd been filled with slowly ebbed away as my mind regained clarity once more. It was like all my self-blame had been directed at me at once, all of the feelings I'd repressed over the years piled up in an instant. And now that I was free of them I could once again think clearly.

The problem was that I had no idea how to leave...

[I decided this... of course it's too late to take it back.] - Rose

[....t's... no... oo... ate....] - ???

[Huh? Who's there?] - Rose

Filled once more with self-blame I nearly gave up once more, the hopelessness of my current situation eating at me as if it were attacking my sense of self. Then, a voice, indistinct and without direction came from all around me. The familiar voice, garbled and unintelligible, sparked my hope once more as if they, whomever they were, could reach me then I could do the same.

[It's... n... too... ate...] - Logic

[Logic? Is that you?!? Where are you?!?] - Rose

[...ou... worl... you.. contro... ....a door.] - Logic

The voice, once more speaking in a tone I recognized as my alter ego Logic, was still garbled beyond comprehension, the only thing I could gather from it being something about a door. Was there supposed to be a door? Was I meant to make one?!?

[I-I don't understand. A door? What are you telling me?] - Rose

[Mak.... a... oor.... ....too late...] - Logic

[I-I don't...] - Rose

[....l....] - Logic

Logic's voice, fading as it spoke, tried to repeat whatever he was trying to tell me, my mind struggling to comprehend the garbled sentence as that too faded into silence.

[A door? Answer me! What am I supposed to do with a-] - Rose

A white door. Materializing directly in front of me as I thought of it, the thought that I might still be within my realm crossing my mind as soon as I saw it. Reaching out towards the door handle I hesitated. If I did this I'd have to face a lot of hardships; I'd been outed as a Demon Lord Successor and was the cause of a large number of deaths, even if I hadn't directly participated in them. I'd most likely be ostracized, even jailed. They may even execute me or turn me in to the Church of Light.

Was I truly willing to take on all those negatives? Would I be willing to live through that so that my parents, my friends and everyone else that cared for me didn't miss me? Was I willing to- Yes. And with that I opened the door into the light, into reality. No matter the pain, no matter the suffering, it was still my life, and I wasn't willing to give it all up quite yet!

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