Vol 1 Chapter 20: It Began for Peace (Great Labyrinth Arc)

“There was a blank moment, but the teleportation worked, I guess.”

One moment I was enveloped in light, and the next, I found myself standing in a dark space alongside Nio.

As a storm of emotions raged in my mind, Nio created a sphere of light on the ceiling, illuminating the dark room.

“…A throne?”

Bathed in the light, I saw a throne covered in dust and draped in cobwebs.

Nio walked over to it, but instead of sitting down, she reached out and touched it fondly.

“I haven’t been here in, like, hundreds of years—oh well. And, long time no see, Kaim. It’s been about two years, huh…”

I grabbed Nio by the collar with one arm and glared at her, as if she’d nonchalantly spoken to me just a few days ago, completely unchanged.

I searched for words, but none came out immediately. There was simply too much I needed to say.

Nio, unlike her usual carefree expression, now wore a serious look—as if waiting for me to speak.

What exactly should I ask—what did you do, and how?

What did you do? What happened? What have you been up to? No, everything I need to know is…

“…What is it that I don’t know…?”

“…First, let me thank you. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for coming all this way. Thank you so much for being on my side.”

“You… Could it be that you planned all of this?! Teaching me swordsmanship, entrusting me with Asterion, letting me leave the village—was it all so I could help you?!”

“Not even a god could pull that off. But I did bet on you. Since Asterion recognized your worth, I always expected you’d come here someday, having gained enough power to defeat the Demon King.”

The Demon King. Yes, the Demon King. What Yuu and Nio know—and I don’t—is exactly who the Demon King is.

Yuu called Nio the Demon King. But Sieg, our supposed ally, referred to the guy in this room as the Demon King.

I didn’t know how to ask, so I voiced the mystery as it was.

“Who are you?”

“…In a word, I’d say—once, I was the Demon King.”

“Tch! So you were the Demon King, huh?! Since when? Since when have you led the demons as the Demon King?! When did you step down?! And Yuu said you sealed her away! If that’s true, then why did you seal her away?!”

“Who the hell is that dark bastard?” “Were you the one who concocted that absurd scheme?” “Why did you appear in my village?” “Why were you chased by monsters?” “Why were you sealed away?”

Once I started, the barrage of mysterious questions wouldn’t stop, and Nio simply took it all in silence.

She didn’t dodge with her smooth tongue at all until I finished speaking; once I was done, she had something she needed to tell me.

“—I’m sorry. Because I met you, I ended up dragging you into the dark folds of history—the twisted history between demons and humans that continues even now.”

She answered without a single lie. After speaking calmly, she began, “Once…”

“It must have been about 500 years ago. At that time, demons, humans, and demi-humans were on the brink of an explosive crisis. I, as the leader of the demons, was here—in this very room of the labyrinth—pondering if I could somehow stop the conflict.”

So, it turns out I go back 500 years, just as Yuu said—

“You can figure it out from all this. Yes, back then, I was called the Demon King. Not because it was an official title, but because I was the strongest among the demons—no one dared defy me, so I existed as their leader.”

“Are you saying you were nothing more than a figurehead?”

“No, the actions of the entire demon race were left to my discretion. Both humans and demi-humans called me the King of Demons. That eventually evolved into the name ‘Demon King.’ And being merely a figurehead suited me just fine—I issued orders under that name, keeping conflicts at bay.”

But that, too, eventually reached its limit. Nio sighed and uttered the name “Grain.”

“To put it simply, that dark bastard—second only to me in strength and utterly devoted to his own desires—began rallying the inherently belligerent demons and even tried to start wars with other races, all just to bask in the pleasure of dominance. To stop him, before he could consolidate all his power as Grain, I proposed a solution to the human king.”

“Could it be that this is why the Ancient Elves were used?”

That explanation was surprisingly quick, which was a relief. When Nio confirmed it, I realized that what Yuu had been saying was likely true, and I was about to explode in anger, demanding to know why they had been exploited in such a way.

Perhaps sensing my anger—or knowing I’d be suspicious—she began to talk about the relationship with the Ancient Elves.

“At first, even the human king, not wanting a full-scale war, went along with my plan. I secretly contacted the Ancient Elves, and an alliance was formed behind the scenes. She—Yuu, I believe—had been there from the beginning. So, they knew that the power of the Ancient Elves could avert a war. They even lent us their strength… all while we had no idea that a coup was brewing among the demons.”

A coup. What Nio described was Grain’s plan to use the Ancient Elves’ power for averting war to eliminate the demons who wouldn’t follow him.

It was all about seizing control and sitting on the Demon King’s throne, simply to revel in that pleasure. For that very reason, the human king was assassinated, and someone in league with Grain became the new king.

And eventually, unable to suppress the forces that sought to expel me, I was forced to flee from the Grimoires’ Great Labyrinth—the stronghold of the demons.

It’s said that some demons had even followed Nio. With their combined strength, they might have been able to take down Grain.

But Nio chose to reveal the truth to the Ancient Elves as quickly as possible. Determined to avoid conflict, she feared having to bare her fangs against her own kind—and above all, she moved to preempt the looming exploitation of the Ancient Elves.

With a self-mocking tone, Nio later admitted she had acted too hastily. She dashed off to the Elven Forest to avoid a fight with Grain’s pursuing underlings, but by then the Ancient Elves had already split up and been dispatched to various regions, leaving no one to hear her out.

In that very gap, all information concerning Nio was wiped clean. All that remained was the single fact: “the Demon King had schemed to exploit the Ancient Elves.”

Even that was later concealed by the time the demi-humans had ceased their resistance—leaving only a select few, those who benefited from the “scenario” devised by Grain and the kings, aware of the truth.

Every factor that might have worked against them was eliminated… disposed of. Those who knew the truth were killed, one by one, until only Nio remained—labeled by both humans and demons as “the sole enemy of the kings of both races.” Her appearance, even her gender, was hidden, known only to those pursuing her on Grain’s orders.

They feared that if the humans ever found out, the current balance of power would collapse.

That left me with one question.

“After forming a secret alliance for 500 years, why didn’t you let the humans know?”

Even though it’s only been two years, I devoured every history book I could get my hands on—and I recall not a single mention of Nio.

But then again, if they’d known, Sieg and the others—who had gathered under the banner of defeating the Demon King—could have been sent after Nio.

I don’t know exactly how powerful Grain is, but I do know Sieg’s strength. Everyone chosen by the oracle ritual is insanely strong.

Had such people been set on her trail, it would have been even easier to either kill Nio or keep her alive.

I asked about it, and Nio replied that it was an ironic result.

“Making secret alliances and sipping on the sweet nectar behind closed doors is fine, but those kept in the dark naturally harbor hostility. Especially among intelligent humans—heroes, who were only meant to play the role of perpetual peacemakers, eventually began to emerge with powers even Grain and the kings hadn’t anticipated.”

I immediately thought of Sieg. Certainly, Sieg never struck me as someone content to just whisper sweet nothings behind the scenes. He’s playing the role of hero now because it’s more advantageous—but if he were to learn the truth, it wouldn’t be surprising if he tried to exploit it.

“Heroes were expected to have a level of clarity and strength that even ordinary people could recognize. But before long, heroes became wiser than anyone else—even stronger than Grain. If you were to spill even a little about me to such people, and if they ended up joining forces with me, it would be catastrophic. If they allied with me, they might even try to tear this world apart.”

Sieg—the current hero—seems to be a prime example. If he learns the truth, he’d use even those chosen by the oracle, and perhaps Grain himself, to track down Nio, corner her, strip her of her power, and then demand an alliance.

If Sieg—driven by sheer self-interest—were to seize all the truth and Nio’s power, the 500-year-long history would come to an end. For both races, it would mean birthing not one but two of their worst enemies, and before long, conflicts would erupt everywhere.

For Krein, who had been thoroughly enjoying being worshipped as Demon King, unnecessary conflict was no longer desirable—in fact, it was a situation that needed to be prevented. That’s why no information about Nio was ever passed on to the humans.

And thanks to that, Nio managed to slip away. Even while battling her pursuers and growing utterly exhausted, she somehow kept on escaping.

All of it was in search of a way to dispel the darkness that envelops this world. And that power—she said—was none other than Asterion.

“Asterion is a ‘mythical weapon’ that’s existed since ancient times. I felt it when I stood before the sealed room—didn’t it employ magic on a mythic scale? Asterion is that power, forged into the shape of a sword.”

I never imagined it could be such an extraordinary thing. When I held out my hand, Asterion flew straight to my grasp like a loyal puppy.

“I never thought it was just any ordinary trinket, but I never expected it to be such a magnificent sword. But then, why didn’t you use it? Or rather, it seems you couldn’t.”

“Who knows? There are only a few mythical weapons around, and humans and demons hide them so that no one individual can wield their raw power. Well, considering that I—a demon—couldn’t use it, or that it repels ill-intentioned humans, maybe it really was created by a god.”

“So a goddess or something foresaw this future and left it behind? And you just happened to stumble upon it and carry it around?”

“No. Asterion was originally kept by the demons. Think about it—even though demons can never wield it, a human with a pure heart can harness overwhelming power from it. Even I, when I led the demons, couldn’t bring it into the world, which was a real problem. But once I became a hunted outcast, it transformed into ‘hope’—a hope to cut off Grain and his cronies’ ambitions.”

That slender ray of hope, over the years, became Nio’s will and words, which were then passed on to me—and I, too, adopted them as my own. There isn’t much difference between us in that regard. The only difference is that I can wield Asterion.

That said, I’m currently down to one arm, and the only Ancient Elf with sufficient power is Yuu. I’m not even sure if Yuu—or her lost arm—are even safe. Nio isn’t in top form either, and there’s little chance she can beat Grain.

As I began to worry about what to do, Nio asked me with a note of resignation,

  “If you’re with me, we can escape Grain without being detected. With you—the Sword Saint—we might be able to deliver the truth to the world. If we succeed, you’ll be nothing less than the hero who dispelled the darkness of this world.”

“So, what do you say?” she asked. But there was no need for further deliberation.

  “No way. If we run, who’s going to save Yuu?”

  “…I don’t think she’ll be killed, you know? Her power is meant to be kept in reserve for these irregular situations. Sure, she might be sealed again, but someday the chance to save her will come.”

  “When someday? When, exactly?”

Honestly, to ask that… Nio, you’re really a downer.

  “I have a responsibility to help Yuu get back on her feet. I even feel responsible for the way I hurt her earlier. And if I run away now, Yuu will never be able to smile again.”

  “You know it’s not just about saving her, but also about convincing her, right? And you’re well aware that it’s no mere stroll down the path of carnage, aren’t you?”

  “Of course. If you can’t even save one girl, then what kind of hero are you? What kind of Sword Saint of Hope? I know it sounds lofty, but if you can’t even manage that, then I’d rather not have that kind of fame attached to me.”

I was about to snap back at Nio, “Don’t you get it?” when I noticed that her face was wearing the same mischievous smile as before.

Could she…?

  “So you really tried to test me, huh!?”

  “Not really. I merely laid out the truth. If it makes you feel as though you’ve been deceived or anything, then in my book, you just ‘fell on your own.’”

I let out a deep, exasperated sigh as I pictured Nio’s inner turmoil.

She never intended to run away in the first place—even though she wasn’t exactly strong. But with that sharp tongue of hers, if I were to run, she’d be sure to set things in motion to force me into a fight. More than anything, she wanted to see how much I had changed in these two years since I was entrusted with Asterion.

I thought I could outmaneuver her, but it turns out I wasn’t even close to matching someone who’s lived for several hundred years.

  “…Well, whatever—it works out in my favor. If you’re saying all that, then you’re coming along to save Yuu too, aren’t you?”

  “Of course. I’m the one who started this tragedy. The responsibility to save her from it—to end this tragedy—falls on me.”

  “Don’t get cocky! I, as the Sword Saint, also have a duty to save her. The burden I bear is far greater.”

“No, it’s definitely on me. No, it’s on me… No, it’s on me…” After bantering back and forth like that for a while, we both shrugged and decided it was time to call it quits, amused by the nostalgia of our exchange.

  “Alright then, we don’t have much time—let’s get down to planning.”

Saving a single female elf—even though we possess the power to save the world and risk our lives doing so—is, to anyone, an utterly foolish act.

But what can you do? I’ve been fighting on for that dreamy, foolish fool all this time.