The Truth About the Order (5K)

"So, you should know my purpose, right?" she said casually.

"Hmm, I know, you want to regain your freedom."

"Yes, that's right. Shall we work together from now on?"

Aurora stretched out her delicate, fragile hand toward him, as if it would shatter at the slightest touch, like a work of art.

Mahiro didn't grasp the outstretched hand, but instead asked:

"Cooperation is no problem, but what will I get in return?"

"... What do you want?"

Mahiro and replied, "I came to the Sanctuary for only two purposes, one of which is to obtain this bottle of aged wine from you."

Aurora: "..."

"That's quite a bold statement, asking me, an old witch from a thousand years ago, to do that."

Aurora's tone was flippant, but her heart skipped a beat.

A thousand years ago, no one had ever said such words to her. She never imagined that after dying and living for a thousand years, she would hear such words from a young man.

Is this a confession of love?

This could be considered a confession of love, right?

How wonderful it would be if someone had said these words to me a thousand years ago, when I was still alive!

Unbeknownst to her, Yotsuba Mahiro had developed a filter in her eyes, but she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed inside.

After all, what appeared here was merely the remnant of her death; if it weren't for the Sanctuary's protection, she would probably have vanished completely long ago.

But she wasn't a witch for nothing; she quickly recovered.

"And what about the other objective?"

"Obtain Diablos's life essence."

"...?!"

Aurora parted her cherry lips slightly, looking at him in utter shock.

"Of course, what I want is not your blood. Since you've mentioned that word, you should understand that what I want is the blood of the Fourth Demon King, Diablos."

Of course she knows!

That's why I'm so shocked!

The Fourth Demon King, Diablos, is Demon King from another realm. His mere presence caused countless deaths. The magic of this world and the symptoms of so-called "Demonic Possession" originate from Diablos's genes!

In the end, it was Olivier severed one of the Demon King's arms, allowing the Order to reliably obtain Diablos's blood essence.

However, all of this was kept completely secret, and no one outside the Knights of the Rounds knew anything about it.

But the person in front of me knew everything...

"So, Miss Aurora, what's your answer?"

"I still don't know your name..."

"My name is Yotsuba Mahiro, a Kamen Rider who happened to be passing by, who is also the master of the Shadow Garden and the swordsmanship instructor of the Midgar Royal Spellsword Academy."

"Alright, I agree to your terms."

Aurora chose to compromise.

To be precise, it wouldn't matter even if I agreed, because in the end, I could never obtain either of those Mahiro.

Because once the Sanctuary is liberated, she will dissipate.

And Diablos's essence...

It's simply impossible to find it here.

With that thought in mind, Aurora opened the sealed door without hesitation.

With a heavy rustling sound, the first thing you feel is a cool breeze, mixed with the fresh scent of trees.

Then, a dense forest came into view; it was the botanical garden at dawn.

Sunlight streamed through the tree branches, making the dew-drenched grass blades shimmer.

The people walking around were all children wearing the same white robes as Aurora from before, and several people in white coats were writing something down in a notebook.

These children, without exception, were all experimental subjects.

"Speaking of which, why are you the only one here in this Sanctuary? Where are Olivier and Lili?"

Mahiro casually struck up a conversation as he walked past the child.

But Aurora smiled and said:

"Isn't Yotsuba Clan someone who claims to know everything? How could he not know about their situation?"

"I know everything, including your intentions, but that doesn't mean I know everything, okay?"

Mahiro complained with dead fish eyes.

"Hehe."

Aurora was amused by his words, laughing heartily and seemingly very happy.

After laughing for a while, he explained:

"Actually, I don't know much about their situation either."

A look of nostalgia appeared in Aurora's eyes.

"Yotsuba Clan, you should know that those two, like me, were also experimental subjects in this Sanctuary ... But the difference is that after my death, my memories were imprisoned and wander in this corridor of memories, while theirs became part of the defense mechanism... or rather, there should only be one Olivier."

"And what about Lili?"

"There are remnants of Lili's memories here, but not many. I don't understand why she responded to you, even at the very end..."

Aurora's words ended abruptly there.

Even their steps suddenly stopped.

Because right in front of a pavilion in this botanical garden, a little girl was squatting there, her shoulders trembling slightly.

She's crying.

"Yes."

Aurora replied dismissively.

He then walked expressionlessly toward the little girl, who had a face exactly like Aurora's, with large tears constantly welling up in her violet eyes.

"Looking at it this way, you two seem like mother and daughter."

"It's only somewhat similar."

"Aren't you going to try to comfort her?"

"There's no need for that; it's probably just bedwetting."

Miss Violet brushed it off casually.

The little girl didn't cry out loud; she just quietly shed tears.

The bruises on her body were quite noticeable, as if she had just undergone some kind of experiment.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"If you want to move on, all you have to do is end this memory."

"Just as I expected."

Mahiro sighed softly.

But Aurora ignored him and instead said to the little girl:

Even if you cry, it won't change anything.

As she said this, she raised her delicate hand towards the little girl.

Snap!

That wasn't the sound of a slap; Aurora's hand, which was about to fall, was grabbed by Mahiro.

"?"

She slowly turned her head, her gaze towards Mahiro filled with a hint of doubt.

But under that gaze, Mahiro knelt down and gently stroked the little girl's long, flowing hair down her back.

"Crying won't change anything, but simply taking revenge on the memories won't change anything either."

He said this.

The little girl felt his gentle touch, slowly raised her head, and blinked her big, teary eyes, looking puzzled.

"Want some candy? Eating candy will make all your pain disappear!"

Mahiro extended a hand to the girl, and in his slowly opening palm lay a bright and tempting candy, as if by magic.

"Can... can I eat this?"

"Of course, once you eat it, you won't be allowed to cry anymore, and you won't feel any pain either."

"Um!"

The girl nodded vigorously, wiped away her tears with her sleeve, then took the candy from his hand, unwrapped it, and carefully put it in her mouth.

"So sweet..."

The sweet aroma filling her mouth made her large purple eyes sparkle brightly.

"Big brother, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Under his gaze, the little girl who ate the candy gradually turned into glimmers of light and vanished.

Then, the world shattered.

The ground beneath their feet, the morning forest scene, shattered like a broken mirror, disappearing into the deep darkness.

"... I didn't expect you to be so gentle."

"Is that so? That's what everyone says."

Mahiro said nonchalantly, "But actually, I'm a great Demon King who does whatever I want and is capable of any evil. I've even done things that destroy the world."

So please don't think I'm very gentle; that's just my disguise.

"That's really scary."

Aurora replied.

But her pace involuntarily slowed down.

Looking at Yotsuba Mahiro's solitary figure carrying a long sword ahead, her eyes revealed complex emotions.

How terrifying can a man be who is so gentle with children?

When she looked back at the path she had walked, she found it was already pitch black.

Only faint sighs lingered and dissipated in the air.

"The me I remember was truly happy..."

Chapter 217 The Truth About the Order (5K)

Following in Aurora's footsteps, he didn't know how long he had walked in this dark void.

The only thing he knew was that the rate at which his magical energy was draining away was getting faster and faster.

Other than that, I couldn't feel anything.

Even the tactile sensation of walking on the ground is ambiguous, making it almost impossible to distinguish up from down from left from right.

Until a bright orange light enveloped them.

"Huh... this is also part of your memories?"