Frondier ran for a long time.
He realized the cave was deeper than he had thought. He had already come so far in that the entrance could no longer be seen. No light from outside reached this far, but torches had been installed along the cave walls at regular intervals. Hector and the escort knights had set them up.
'I met Elodie near the cave entrance, and beside her, Revet and Hector were collapsed.'
Judging by that situation, it was only natural to assume that Elodie had knocked out Revet and Hector when they came out to greet Frondier.
In other words, Elodie had not seen the inside of the cave.
'Elodie didn’t block me because she saw the inside of the cave. Yet she still decided I was in danger.'
A way to know what lay inside without looking.
'Did she hear something from one of the five gods?'
It was probably Rudra. He had gone so far as to say he was the closest to Elodie. Of course, he couldn’t be sure, but whoever it was didn’t really matter. What mattered was that Elodie believed what they said.
'So the place I’m heading for now is somewhere the gods already know about.'
On his way here, Frondier had felt that something was guiding him.
As palace knight Pascal had once said, some kind of wind was blowing toward him. Whether that was what people here called fate, or some trial being laid upon Frondier, who did not believe in fate.
In other words, even before Elodie tried to stop him, Frondier already knew he was heading for a place he should not go.
Even knowing that, he could not stop. Atjie’s death had broken his brakes. He had to somehow get the situation under control and restore it.
How long had he run.
A faint unfamiliar sound reached his ears, and Frondier slowed his pace.
'Water?'
From somewhere came the sound of flowing water. He could not see it, but water was running as if weaving through a narrow, narrow water vein.
Drip, drip, as he walked through the cave, he heard water droplets falling around him.
Going a bit farther, the cave widened, and Frondier could see the source of the flowing water.
'......A spring.'
Below where he was standing, a little lower, water was flowing. It seemed that all the springs flowing in the cave collected here, and the water flowed down in one direction.
Frondier naturally let his feet carry him along the direction the water flowed. The spring gradually deepened until it could be called a river, and the path Frondier walked on grew wider, making it easier to walk. In other words, the whole cave was widening.
'There are traces of maintenance work. Too much time has passed, so they’re almost gone.'
The path he was walking on was like that, and so was the river. There were traces that people had once passed through here.
Thud.
As he walked, looking around, something on the ground caught his foot. Frondier looked down.
'......Bones.'
There was a bone lying in front of his foot. He had no knowledge of what kind of animal’s bone it was, so he could not tell.
But he had a hunch.
Frondier made a Wisp and sent it ahead, letting it sweep the ground from his feet onward.
'A skull.'
Soon he discovered a human skull.
He had hoped it wouldn’t be, but in times like that, it was always the other way that proved right.
At this accursed law, Frondier’s eyes tightened in a frown.
'It’s not just one or two. What happened here?'
From bones alone, it was hard to tell how many had died. Even if several were found, there was no way to tell if they belonged to one person or many.
But skulls were different. Frondier had already seen more skulls than he could count on his fingers, and the farther he went, the more their number grew. Now, even with only the sparsely placed torches, they could be seen. The fact that there was no smell was the one small comfort.
Thump.
Just then, Frondier’s eyes twitched at a chilling sensation.
His intuition was at work. But it was different from usual.
The intuition that sensed the supernatural had detected something in this place.
And that intuition, too, was pointing beyond, in the same direction Frondier was heading.
Thump, thump.
Everything Frondier had was leading him in the same direction. Feeling a strange discomfort at that, Frondier moved on.
At last, he stepped into a clearly widened chamber inside the cave.
“......What is this.”
Inside, there was a pillar.
The river that had been flowing beside Frondier wrapped around that pillar in a ring, and there was no other path for it to flow; this was apparently the final destination.
Frondier looked at the pillar. His intuition was directed at this pillar.
He lightly stretched out his hand, and he could understand a little more clearly what his intuition was telling him.
'Something is being sucked into this pillar.'
What was this pillar really. What was it absorbing.
Something his intuition could detect, but which could not be detected by his eyes or any other sense.
As a test, Frondier fired Ecleksis at the pillar.
“Huh.”
His Ecleksis disappeared. No, it was sucked in.
This pillar was absorbing Ecleksis. Slowly but surely, at a rate that even Frondier’s intuition could only perceive after he had come this close.
“What is this pillar really.”
[That’s not a pillar.]
A voice answered Frondier’s muttering.
For an instant he thought Elodie had caught up.
But it was a man’s voice.
And it was a voice Frondier knew.
[Been a while, Frondier. Is this only the second time we’ve faced each other?]
When he confirmed the face, Frondier’s eyes filled with killing intent.
“You. How are you here?”
Frondier shifted into a combat stance, facing the man standing behind him.
Black angel wings, a gentlemanly yet insolent smile.
Satan.
He was standing in front of Frondier.
'Like in the palace, did someone summon him? No, that can’t be.'
[No need to tense up so much.]
Satan cut off Frondier’s thoughts and spoke. His manner of speaking was even lighter than when they had first met. As if he were dealing with a friend. That only made Frondier more disgusted.
[It’s only because this place is what it is that you’re able to meet me.]
“This place?”
[Yeah. What you just called a ‘pillar’.]
Satan pointed with his finger at the pillar Frondier had been looking at.
[That’s not a pillar, it’s a tree.]
A tree?
At that, Frondier examined the pillar more closely.
With no branches or roots, it simply stretched straight from the cave floor to the ceiling.
But looking carefully, the grain of the pillar was not just smoothly simple; it had a peculiar wood grain.
So this really was a tree?
[We call it Yggdrasil.]
“What?”
Yggdrasil. The World Tree that ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) appeared in Norse mythology.
In Norse myth, the nine worlds all hung from Yggdrasil like fruit. And one could travel between those nine worlds through Yggdrasil.
[Yggdrasil exists in this same form in every world.]
According to Satan, Yggdrasil was not something limited to Norse mythology alone.
[So at least here, even if we’re in different worlds, we can meet and talk. We just can’t touch each other.]
Sssshh!
The moment Satan finished speaking, Frondier fired Heukcheon to skewer Satan’s body.
But Heukcheon returned to its place without any gain, and Satan stood there unharmed.
“......I see.”
[Haha. I like that habit of confirming things firsthand. Or did you just feel like attacking me?]
Of course, both.
[This works out nicely. If it weren’t for a place like this, I doubt I’d ever get a chance to talk to you for the rest of my life.]
That much was true.
The moment Frondier met Satan, he would try to kill him.
“A conversation. You want to talk with me?”
[Of course. You’ll find you need it too.]
Satan spread his hands and shrugged.
[You want to save Atjie, don’t you.]
“......How do you know that.”
The one who had opened the gate from the demon realm was on the Palma side. On the Falind continent, and within the Empire at that, Satan should not have been able to observe.
But Satan only smiled.
[That’s not what matters. What matters to you right now is the method.]
As Satan said that, someone else appeared from behind the pillar.
[So this is your plan, Satan.]
It was not just one person.
Three women appeared, side by side, from behind the pillar.
Frondier had never seen any of their faces before, but Satan greeted them gladly.
[Oh, Moirai. All three of you coming personally, how surprising.]
Satan feigned innocence, and the three women frowned at him.
Moirai, the three goddesses of fate.
They glanced briefly at Frondier, then turned back to Satan.
The woman on the left spoke.
[Sending this foolish one here to remove the thorn in the sides of both demons and gods. That is the bargain you proposed?]
[If you’re gods, surely you can handle one Frondier, can’t you?]
Satan said that, then winked at Frondier. As if he were offering Frondier a very good deal.
The woman in the middle spoke.
[Then the fact that Thanatos failed to kill Atjie, that too was within your expectations?]
[That part was fifty-fifty. If he died, he died. If he survived, he survived. Either way, the path Frondier would take was decided.]
Satan spoke nonchalantly right in front of Frondier.
At that, flames shot up in Frondier’s eyes.
“......Satan, you bastard, did you instigate him to kill Atjie?”
[Frondier, I keep telling you, that’s not what matters.]
Satan shook his head, as if it were nothing.
[The method, the method. I’m saying I’m about to tell you how to save Atjie.]
If Atjie came back to life, wouldn’t there be no problem. That was what Satan’s words implied.
Satan looked to the three women.
[So then, I’m going to tell Frondier the method now. Grant your permission.]
The woman on the right spoke.
[......Hmph. As if you needed our permission.]
[Of course not.]
Satan nodded with a deep smile.
He turned to Frondier.
[Frondier, Atjie’s soul is heading for Tartaros right now.]
“Tartaros?”
The hell of Greek mythology. Where gods who had committed great sins or humans who rebelled flowed after death.
[It’s Thanatos’s ability. His Ecleksis. Whoever it hits has their soul and body forcibly separated, and the soul heads for Tartaros. Quite fitting for Thanatos, the god of death.]
When Frondier had seen Atjie, he had certainly looked dead, even if he could not be touched. Because his soul had left.
Satan went on.
[In truth, at that point he’s practically as good as dead. That’s what the ability is for. But as you know, Ecleksis is not a power that gives ‘death’ itself. No matter how close Thanatos is to that.]
That was true. Frondier knew that as well.
That was why, when he saw Atjie’s corpse, he realized Thanatos had tried somehow to kill Atjie through pure combat.
In the end, knowing that his Ecleksis was different from simple death, he had come this far.
[Once Atjie’s soul reaches Tartaros, it’s over. You have to finish this before that.]
“What do I have to do?”
At Frondier’s question, Satan smiled faintly and pointed downward with a finger.
Where he pointed, the river that flowed encircling Yggdrasil ran.
[Drink.]
“......What?”
[You’ve more or less guessed it, haven’t you. Right now, the only way for you to save Atjie is to cross worlds. But that’s impossible with a human body.]
“......So this river’s water is......”
[Yeah, if you drink it, you die.]
Satan spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
[Once you die, your soul will travel along Yggdrasil. From there, you head to Tartaros and grab hold of Atjie’s soul on its way.]
“And once I grab it, then what?”
[What do you mean, then what. You send him back to the human world, of course. Atjie’s body and soul have been separated, but he’s not dead. That’s the weak point of Thanatos’s power. The cause and result of death are reversed. He puts out the result of ‘the body and soul are separated’ first, and only after entering Tartaros does he undergo the ‘process’ of fully dying. So if you skip that process, he can come back.]
Frondier’s eyes narrowed at Satan’s words.
How much of what Satan said could he believe. That depended on Frondier’s own heart.
But even if he believed this story one hundred percent, a problem remained.
“......If I do that and return Atjie, then I.”
[You go where you naturally should.]
Where he naturally should.
In other words, death.
[I told you. If you drink this water, you die. This isn’t some sleight of hand like Thanatos’s power. To die by your own hand and then ask to be revived, isn’t that being a bit too spoiled?]
In other words, in exchange for the chance to save Atjie, Frondier would die for certain.
“So that was the deal.”
[That’s right. Demons and gods, with a common enemy named Frondier. The two sides joined hands for the first time in history to kill a single human. Congratulations, Frondier. In all the long ages, you’ll probably be the only human who ever made them do something like that.]
Clap, clap, clap.
Satan’s applause rang dryly.
The plan by which Satan had talked to the Moirai and used Thanatos to separate Atjie’s soul.
This was a strategy that could only be used to kill Frondier.
It could not be used on an ordinary human.
'To demand a life in exchange for the chance to save someone else. That’s not a choice a normal human would make.'
Satan had been watching Frondier since the day his plan had collapsed at the imperial palace.
Not just that day. Every time Frondier appeared, Satan’s plans had been shattered again and again.
At first, he had thought it was because Frondier was abnormally strong.
Then he had thought it was thanks to the strength of the companions around him.
And now.
At last, Satan understood.
'Frondier doesn’t care about his own life. More than a demon does.'
Frondier, who had always broken Satan’s expectations.
The reason was that Frondier did not think like a normal human.
'It’s a little different from the ‘courage’ that overcomes fear of death. I don’t see anything so noble in Frondier.'
He had seen many heroes with courage. They, too, surprised Satan, but Frondier was different.
'Frondier does not think about death.'
It was a sense even Satan could not understand, but Frondier simply did not include death in the list of things to consider.
Not just death. Frondier behaved like someone who stood half a step removed from all fear and pain.
He did not know how that was possible. But if he knew that was how Frondier thought, then even if he couldn’t understand it, he could exploit it.
Satan added one more line.
[Well, there’s a tiny chance you might become a god. How about betting on that?]
When humans achieved great feats and were praised by people, they could be elevated to gods.
The “Zodiac” that the Empire had set at twelve in number in the first place was a name born of that desire.
But the chances were vanishingly small.
And for a human like Frondier, who was far from “praise,” that probability approached zero.
'Even if I didn’t bother saying this, Frondier would choose death anyway.'
But to make it even more certain.
Frondier was the kind of human who, if there were even a one percent chance someone precious would be hurt, would not do it.
But if there were a ninety-nine point nine percent chance he would die himself, he wouldn’t care.
“.......”
Frondier knew what Satan wanted.
That he was predicting Frondier’s actions.
But just as Satan predicted, Frondier now had no choice but to move.
'If I drink this water.'
He would die.
Only with a very small chance of being elevated to a god.
Neither option held anything good for Frondier. Tossing away his life for the sake of a single chance to save Atjie.
......However.
Atjie was not his real brother.
He was a game character.
Should he throw his life away for a mere character.
He didn’t want a pointless death.
He didn’t want to die.
It was just a game.
Just a character in a game.
There had to be some other route to clear this game.
Ssshh?
While thinking that in his head, Frondier knelt on one knee at the riverbank.
The three women’s eyes widened slightly at the sight.
'Satan was telling the truth. Frondier is not normal.'
When they first heard Satan’s plan, they had thought it could not succeed.
There were certainly humans who would throw away their lives to save someone.
But there were none who would die for a faint chance that they might or might not be able to save someone.
So they had assumed it would fail, but even if it did, there was no loss, so they went along. Frondier’s death was something many gods and the Moirai themselves desired.
To think they could kill Frondier this easily.
Splash?
Frondier’s hand entered the water.
Ugh!
He felt it then. The stench of death filling the water. Just by putting his hand in, it felt like his whole body was rotting.
It wasn’t that death was mixed into the water. Death was pretending to be water.
'I see. I really will die.'
Frondier cupped his hands and scooped up the water.
After drinking this water, he would enter Yggdrasil, head for Tartaros, and save Atjie’s soul.
What came after that.
......He would think about later.
He had to save Atjie.
With that simple thought, as he slowly lifted his hands,
[Ah.................................................]
......A very.
Exhausted-sounding voice let out a long sigh.
[Ah, can you hear me?]
It was neither Satan nor the Moirai.
Someone who did not show themselves was transmitting only their voice.
But it was a voice he had definitely heard somewhere before.
“Who......?”
[Good. Seems you can hear me. It’s been so long since I tried this that I got confused.]
Then the voice continued in the same leisurely tone.
[Hey, Frondier. You mustn’t do that. You mustn’t fall for such an obvious lie. How terribly disappointing. I didn’t teach you like that, you know.]
A slightly longer line reached his ears.
A voice that spoke as if it knew Frondier.
That shameless tone that got on people’s nerves.
Frondier blinked, then his eyes flew wide open.
“......Bel—”
[Belphegor!]
Satan recognized him at once; his once-relaxed expression changed.
[How are you here! I burned the Yggdrasil in Nastrond! It should take at least a few hundred years to grow back......!]
[Ah, yeah. Just like you said, it burned nicely and only ash was left. You really are pointlessly thorough. Do you not understand the concept of “too much trouble”?]
Belphegor’s words had yawns mixed in between. That alone was enough to ruin Satan’s mood.
[So instead of Yggdrasil, I used another method. Well, to be honest, this was the method I intended to use from the start.]
[What......?]
[I drew a magic circle. A pretty good one. With this, when Frondier got to Yggdrasil, I’d be able to contact him.]
At Belphegor’s words, Satan’s eyes narrowed.
Frondier understood almost nothing of what Belphegor was saying.
In a confused voice, Satan spoke.
[No, that’s impossible! That magic circle can’t be sustained. Unless Frondier knew in advance, it’s impossible! Even with chanting, it would only last a few minutes!]
[Haha, you’re saying strange things, Satan. If Frondier doesn’t know in advance, I just have to repeat the chant until he gets there, that’s all.]
Belphegor spoke as if stating the obvious.
Satan’s mouth fell open.
[Repeat the chant indefinitely until Frondier gets here......?]
[Satan, do you not know who I am?]
Laughter tinged Belphegor’s voice.
[Even if I’ve been demoted from the rank of the Seven Deadly Sins, I am still Belphegor, the demon of sloth.]
For a moment, Satan could see Belphegor.
Not only that, the three Moirai and Frondier saw the same image.
It was surely nothing more than an illusion.
Belphegor sat in a chair with one leg crossed over the other, leaning as if he might fall asleep at any moment.
[This body prefers to enjoy sloth, you see.]
