Chapter 494
She was the daughter of a nearby forester. She had originally intended to walk toward the old quarry near the pond, but suddenly saw a fishing rod raised on the bank of the pond below. So she stopped and leaned over a crooked Willow Tree, parted the branches with her hand, and saw Alexei fishing.
"What are you yelling about? You've scared all the fish away."
"Just your appearance alone would have scared the fish away long ago. Besides, how can you catch fish in broad daylight? Look at you, such a capable fisherman!"
Alexei felt he was trying his best to be polite, but this guy went too far. If it weren't for the Teacher... Teacher? Strange, where did I Teacher? The Priest at school beat me and Ostrovsky up because I asked each other a question, and later we were expelled for throwing ashes together at Easter.
Shaking his head, Alexei stood up, pulled his hat up to his forehead, and chose the most polite words possible before speaking;
"Miss, would you please move aside?"
The girl narrowed her eyes, smiled slightly, and said, "Am I bothering you?"
"It's nothing. If you want to look, then go ahead. It's not that I'm unwilling to give you a seat."
London, Clock Tower headquarters.
That happened several months ago.
Anastasia now realized that she didn't really like the silent corridor, and that the lessons taught here were far more safe and health-conscious than those taught by the absent teacher, which frankly made her feel disappointed.
Where did that guy run off to? He even abandoned his own child, but now he says the child was found...
She no longer has any information to provide the specifics.
As for what happened that day, he only occasionally thought about it, and a bitter smile would occasionally cross his lips.
"Thank you so much for this transaction. Oh dear, that bastard dad was supposed to come, but something seems to have happened that caused him and mom to disappear. But don't worry, the all-powerful, beautiful secretary-type rabbit will clean up after that good-for-nothing dad."
"And Erice, what you wanted, I've found Dad's blood. Don't underestimate the sharp teeth of this all-powerful rabbit."
And so, Nikolai's family survived, forgetting everything about being Romanov. And as Novia had predicted, after Scathach consulted with the confused Nikolai, the family was sent to Crimea... not far away in Ukraine.
Perhaps due to the highest-level contract Anastasia and Romanov at the last moment, or for some other reason, she did not lose her memory. Instead, she came to the Clock Tower to study with the silver-haired Erice. Originally, the two planned to go to the Lostbelt Sea, but since only one of them could go per year, they decided not to separate for the time being.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Anastasia."
The silver-haired girl who graduated from the basic sciences department called out to Anastasia.
Then, the princess, who was already 'dead,' smiled and called out the real name that the girl had remembered since that day.
"Yes, let's go together, Chitose."
Chapter 510 The Lonely Erice.
It seems some people call me 'Death God'.
I've been doing this job for five years now, and countless Servant and Phantasmal Species have died at my hands, so it's only natural that I'm called that.
The Stars twinkled, reflecting in the night sky, their dim light dazzling along the coastline of the tourist City.
Just then, a sea breeze blew by, Erice pressed her Baseball Cap tightly to keep it from being blown away. The gentle touch that brushed against Erice's neck was delicate and pitiful, and her bright, light blue eyes flashed briefly through her slightly long bangs.
"Team leader, it's time to make a move!"
Woof woof woof!
Yama, the India Death God of death, let out a muffled groan as he sped towards Erice above, pleading for help.
As the first person to die in Indian Mythology, and later the Death God, whose influence extended to the Deity of different countries, he has indeed been defeated many times in history. However, from the past to the present, even if Deity is defeated, it does not mean that he will be afraid to ask for help.
However, the enemy he now faces—
"Roar!"
With skin so black it seemed to blend into the night, exuding a demonic aura, and roaring with enormous fangs as sharp as blades, the Great Serpent Phantasmal Species —the Serpentine Phantasmal Species Demon Throne from Russia —closely pursued the running Yama and the canine Anubis.
How could a mere Phantasmal Species Demon Throne manage to catch up with two Deity?
That's because they're now no different from ordinary people or dogs, since all their strength has been taken away by Mot. In order to make a living, they formed a Night Watch with Erice and Alice, which are similar to auxiliary police officers.
The Spirit Origin of Deity Present World is incomparable to ordinary Od. Although the City cannot detect it, its essence is there. In addition, the two people, who have no power, are like children walking down the street with gold bricks. Therefore, desire and Greed become the driving force for the Demon Throne that attacks the City, and it closely follows behind the two people.
It was precisely because the two of them were used as bait that Erise, who had a special attack Erice Servant due to her 'Evil Spirit', also became a killer of Phantasmal Species.
Upon hearing the cries of a person and a dog, Erice sighed deeply, then, bored—
The Black-Haired Girl's leap from the lamppost and the gesture of throwing her Baseball Cap at the raging Demon Throne were both clean and swift, without any unnecessary movements. The pitch-black mud wrapped around her arms, which was as black as blood, was transformed by Branches Erice into gauntlets that covered her arms—becoming "Branch Fist."
A crimson light flashed in the Demon Throne's eyes—
"Roar!"
The roar of the sea beyond Akihabara crashed against Erice's entire body. This was why her previous Servant had been defeated. The Demon Throne truly believed that no human or Servant could remain unmoved by such instinctive fear.
And as it seemed to have predicted, this human began to behave strangely.
The massive, three-story-high structure, without hesitation, prepared to smash directly into Erice, who was falling from the sky.
"To be honest, you're weak, and look like a monster. Ha, that's just how Russia are, no wonder they don't even have a Marseille Mosaic City. Your courage is commendable. But frankly, it's incredibly frustrating that you think you can defeat me with such methods. It's truly a failure of my life."
In the eyes of the Demon Throne, it seemed as if Erice was the prey, yet even with the prey reflected in those fleeting blue eyes, there was still no emotion shown.
The Evil Spirit Erice Erice heart and became excited.
If the Demon Throne could speak, it would surely say, "Impossible, impossible!"
However, it goes without saying that...
Now, it is dominated only by fear.
"Aaaaaah!"
It swung its tail and other parts, trying to shake off the black-haired human who was hitting it from above, but its silent screams were drowned out by the clamor of the waves. The blood-stained Erice shattered the Demon Throne's skull with a single blow, and then tore its limbs from head to tail, tearing out white flesh and fat.
Seeing Erice Se do this, Yama and Anubis exchanged a glance, but didn't think much of it; they were used to it.
The man and the dog were just lamenting that they'd probably be cleaning up the corpses for a long time tonight when suddenly Yama coughed at Anubis. The person kneeling beside him reached out and gently patted his back, implying that Anubis should just eat him and that he'd treat him to steak another day.
In response, Anubis shook his body instead of giving a verbal reply, while simultaneously slapping Yama's face with one of his front paws.
"Wait a minute!? Anu, you ran faster than me! I was the one who asked the team leader to save you! If it weren't for me, you would have already kicked the bucket."
Seeing that Yama had no intention of shutting up his incessant chatter, Anubis turned over in annoyance, wanting to retort, but the next second he saw Erice walking slowly over, so he obediently shut his mouth.
"Shut up, don't make a sound."
Erice's words carried an unyielding, forceful tone, and just then she reached out and took the flying Baseball Cap, putting it back on.
"Why didn't Kuchiki make a move?"
The Kuchiki is Dionysus, who at this moment appears to be a wandering singer, but in reality, like Yama, he assists the Night Watch.
"Of course, team leader. At this hour, even Kuchiki is drowning in his Wine, sleeping like a log, impossible to move, even Anu couldn't wake him by biting him. There's nothing we can do about it..."
Before Yama could finish speaking, Erice turned and headed towards the city center. "Oh, it's almost time. I'll leave the rest to you."
A few seconds later, Yama could no longer be seen from Erice's side. She never turned around until the very end, as if she were the Death God who had been guarding this city forever.
On the brightly lit streets, Erice sighed, lightly touched a strand of bangs with her fingertips, and reactivated the Magic Circuits that had been set to reject incoming calls, sending a call to another person.
"... Your work should be finished by now, Kuonji."
"Um."
This is the most common conversation Erice and Aoko Aozaki over the years.
The subtle vibrations are transmitted directly into the inner ear, where they are perceived as sound. This communication method, which does not involve electromagnetic waves, is derived from the automatic note-taking Magecraft. Other citizens do not need it; it is one of Erice's little tricks.
"My Demon Throne is dead, and you should have driven away the Servant who logged in without permission, right? I heard it was quite troublesome. If you want to thoroughly scan those improperly used Leyline by the sea, I can lend you a hand."
"The previous scan shouldn't have detected anything, I don't know why, it seems to have been hidden in some way, but it's been resolved now."
"I see... I guess I've been too nosy. I'm so sorry."
No, we're in the same boat.
Afterwards, both Kuonji and Erice fell silent, leaving much to the imagination.
A strange atmosphere filled the space between the two.
For Erice and Alice, transmitting images to the communication loop was certainly possible; not only images, but even sensory sensations could be transmitted directly. However, neither of them liked this kind of work method that offered no privacy.
"—Understood. We can discuss the details of the report in person later."
"I'm on my way back to the Kuonji residence now, I'll be there soon."
"... Is that so?"
For some reason, Erice felt that Aoko Aozaki had paused for a moment to calm herself down. "I'm a little unwell right now and won't be able to get home for a while. By the time I get back, it will probably be quite late. If possible, let's report back tomorrow."
"Good."
"Thank you for your hard work this time, Erice. Goodnight."
"Um."
After shutting down the communication, Erice walked towards the dark mountains.
Aoko Aozaki always polite and courteous to me. It was rather strange to return the courtesy of "Goodnight" to someone who didn't know what real sleep was. I was used to staying up late, sleeping two or three hours every day and then sleeping in the lecture hall until school was over. But that wasn't the point. Actually, I wanted to get along with her and have some heartfelt conversations, but... for some reason, it was a bit difficult. Over time, I just didn't care anymore. If that girl were still here, things would probably be much better.
"Haha, Erice, you can actually fight?"
"Because..."
Before meeting the Demon King, Erice had a big fight at school.
As the only human without Command Spell, her classmates and Teacher indulged her. Even so, she still beat someone up because she misunderstood her classmate's good intentions, got into an argument, and then beat the person up. Afterwards, she was not blamed at all, and the people around her were willing to accept this outcome.
The classmate, who was clearly the victim, bowed his head and apologized to Erice, saying that he hadn't thought things through.
Erice didn't even have a chance to come up with an embarrassing reason to defend herself. At that moment, she really felt like she had been hit hard by a hammer. Everyone was willing to hurt themselves in order to make her try to fit in, as if whatever she did was right.
But the Demon King is different.
Only the Demon King understood her regret.
"Okay, when we win the championship, I will use your body to apologize to that classmate you misunderstood."
"Are you kidding me...?"
"This is one of the Servant's wishes."
"But you're not Servant."
"If I say so, then so be it."
It doesn't matter if you're not Servant, as long as you say that, I can keep going. I'm not lonely at all.
Although the Demon King is not Servant, Erice believes he will always be by her side until that day.
"It seems the Demon King has disappeared. I'm sorry, Erice."
The girl then knew that separation would suddenly arrive on an ordinary day.
She couldn't say anything, and remained silent as if she had been mentally prepared for it all along. But in fact, she wanted to cry, but the tears just wouldn't come out, just like when she was four years old and her Grandmother, Chitose, accidentally cut a big slit in her ear.
Gradually, Erice became extremely uneasy, wondering what she had done to the Demon King.
He has no friends, and in daily life, he always argues with Ye, always quarrels with him, and does everything against his wishes to make him feel bad.
Am I far from the child I envision? Behind every joke he makes, does he think I'm a nuisance?
Anxiety and fear easily overwhelmed Erice's lonely heart, and her distress led her to imagine the worst in every possible scenario.
The day you went to Kuonji, was it because you thought I was annoying? When you were with Kuonji, was it simply because you didn't want to see me? Your cold and willful attitude towards those who watch over you is just what you deserve. I see. It's normal for me to be lonely.
Her last memory of the Demon King was of him fighting with his own body.
She did nothing, feeling Shame to offer encouragement, so she did nothing and turned her back to the Demon King who had always supported her.
Why did I do nothing back then...?
Over the years, Erice has been internally blaming herself: the Demon King must have been disappointed by her lack of response, so he chose to leave, secretly cursing her to die, so that he could truly obtain a body that could walk in the human world.
Erice didn't want to die; she wanted to live on, no matter what. Therefore, she sometimes wondered if she would fight back when the Demon King reappeared and prepared to kill her and take her body. Or should she just die now? But was choosing to die like that really the right thing to do?
At that time, the haggard girl could only hug herself, curl up in bed, and make hollow sounds that blended into the lonely darkness.
"I'm sorry, I really don't want to... die."
In the dark and profound infinite Universe, under the shimmering night sky, Erice walked through the shadowy mountains toward the Kuonji residence. She couldn't help but look down; there was still no Command Spell on the back of her hand.
From the time I was born until now, from the time the Demon King disappeared until now, it has always been like this.