My previous life.
To put it another way, when I roamed the world with the Evil Ghost.
My goal, no matter the reason, had been to rip apart at least one more demon from this world.
Looking back, there was nothing left in my heart aside from that, and yet—
I had known all too well since some point that I could never live a normal life.
But if such a grand cause had taken root in my heart, and I had become a warrior with no path to salvation, what use were all the gold, silver, treasures, and honor in the world?
Thus, I had no choice but to live following nothing but power.
To me, power was her.
Never once vanished from history,
the Demon Fox.
There was no one else.
So I always poured all my mental strength into controlling the Evil Ghost harbored within my body.
For if I ever let my guard down, she would try to annihilate my soul within my flesh and seize control at any moment.
Her existence was no ordinary nuisance, but—
after I stubbornly endured for months, for years on end,
she eventually said something that slightly acknowledged me.
"…Tch. Balter. You truly are a man who knows not how to give up. I thought you wouldn't get far, but I, too, have grown weary of that stubbornness."
"Shut up. I don't have the strength to speak."
"Is that so?"
Corpses of the enemy formed mountains,
and blood filled the oceans—in the center of such a battlefield.
When I needed power the most to break through that crisis,
("If you would just give up now and hand over your body, I shall somehow get us out. Would that not make it easier for you, Balter, to achieve your impertinent goal?")
—while consistently speaking in such a manner, pressing my mind so harshly that I could not tell whether she was friend or foe.
But having endured even that and managed to properly support my body,
she had finally grown tired of my ways.
"So, a child who has worked hard deserves a reward."
"A reward…?"
"The jade pendant hanging from the neck of the demon commander at your feet. I shall permit you to take that pendant."
"…You call this a reward? Nothing more than looting spoils of war? It clearly doesn't even contain any demonic energy; it looks like something sold at a craft shop somewhere. Do I look blind?"
"I suppose they do appear that way. It has no distinguishing features whatsoever."
The ridiculous thing was,
when I had discovered excellent items—actual legendary-grade treasures found while raiding temples—
she had thrown a fit like a nagging wife, saying, ("I am far better than such trinkets. I cannot permit it.")
yet now she brought up letting me have such a worthless item as if she were doing me some tremendous favor, which I found utterly disagreeable.
"Tch…"
Snap—.
However, if I complained any further, she seemed like she would genuinely sulk and refuse to come out of the sword for three or four days, so I took it for now.
Thinking back, there were words she had spoken then.
"Well, as you say, it may be nothing special for now. But that is because you, Balter, have not the faintest idea what it means to have earned my acknowledgment."
"What are you talking about?"
"I am a legend. A yokai fox from a living myth. For one such as I, is it not only natural that the path I walk is the correct one?"
As she spoke those words,
she smiled a sinister smile that seemed to suggest she was in a good mood.
"Well, what that means is that even such a worthless jade pendant, by the mere fact that you possess it, shall become a legendary treasure in a future hundreds of years from now."
"You fool. By then, I won't be here. Unlike you, I cannot live for eternity. It remains meaningless all the same."
"Ehehe, mortals are indeed pitiful and wretched… To think I shall not be able to witness such a thing. A pity, is it not?"
"Damn it."
"—Well, you look sorrowful, so I shall bestow an oracle upon you. From now on, this pendant shall be named the 'Blood Jade.' Know that I, the master of the blood demon arts, am stepping in personally because of your whining."
"Blood Jade, you say? What kind of effect does it have?"
"Even I do not know that. It will be perhaps fifty years before any sign of its power becomes visible."
Anyway, as she said such demoralizing things,
I was about to sulk, having no strength left to ask further.
The Evil Ghost, seeming quite amused by that sight, began crafting such items one by one from then on to adorn me.
And with genuine malice, no less.
So—
the moment I felt the aura emanating from the evil spirit that had messed with me, I could tell immediately.
Though she had crafted many things for me,
even now, because of the desperation I had felt then, I knew inside and out what each item was and where it had been made.
Because it was a fact that unfolded before me even when I simply closed my eyes.
"Now, look into my eyes and answer properly."
"Y-yes, S-Sword Gh-ghost—."
Whack—!!
"What did I tell you to call me?"
"L-Lord Balter! Lord Balter!"
"Good. My newly acquired little sister is trembling in fear over there, so it would be troublesome if you called me Sword Ghost out of nowhere."
"I have thoroughly memorized it! I shall never again commit such a foolish mistake!!"
So, the moment I said I would beat him black and blue for daring to lay a hand on Ia—
at this point in time, six times the fifty years she had mentioned had passed since then, and I had been quite curious about how powerful our little Jade pendant had grown,
but seeing a guy who was supposed to be an evil spirit yet put up barely any resistance, crumpling into a mess like grain being ground in a water mill even in physical form, took some wind out of my sails.
However, one thing seemed certain.
This fellow seems truly sincere in seeing me as his master.
That is why he did not resist,
and why he would respectfully roll over and show his belly even if I acted recklessly.
"I'm tired."
And so, needing a chair to rest my aching legs, I sat in stately dignity atop the kneeling man, using him as a seat.
At that,
he let out a groan of overwhelming reverence, as if even that moved him deeply.
"Aah… Aah, the weight of Lord Balter whom I revere. Was it ever this light? Never in the days when I hung from your neck could I have dreamed such a day would come."
"Cut the perverted crap, Jade."
"You have memorized my name already…!"
"It's such a simple name; why wouldn't I remember it? You look exactly like a villain boss."
"I am moved!! I, Jade, have had a great fire ignite in the brazier of reverence I have held my entire life."
"………Sure. Do what you want."
Well, having broken his will to resist to this extent, it seemed I could now calm the terrified Ia and call her back, but—
for him to have declared his submission so quickly,
it would likely seem strange even to Ia, who knew nothing.
Since it had come to this,
I decided to ask a few questions to pass the time.
Among the things he had said—
there was something that bothered me.
"Anyway, Jade, as I've told you, you know by now that I was reincarnated three hundred years into the future by that Evil Ghost."
"Aah—. The Fox Lady…! Just as she taught…!"
As expected, he wore an expression of knowing something.
I simply furrowed my brow and spoke.
"…But I cannot know what on earth happened during that time. I simply opened my eyes after being ambushed by Seradion and crossing through time."
"—If that is the case, I, Jade, shall answer anything and everything I know, devoting my whole heart and mind."
"What is this 'Blood Apostle' you spoke of? Seeing as you called me your true master, they must be followers of mine."
At those words,
Jade spoke without a moment's hesitation.
"They are beings like myself. Having received the oracle of the Fox Lady, hung upon Lord Balter's body, followed the footsteps of your great deeds, and finally obtained physical bodies. Beings who awaited the day of your return."
I had expected as much, but—
it seemed that was indeed how it was.
I hated to admit it, but that was what three hundred years meant.
The oracle she had granted was merely a trivial whim, something the Evil Ghost did while messing with me,
but the snowball that had rolled across that long span of time had now grown too large to stop.
"In other words, a secret society or an underground organization? Seradion kicked up quite the storm, so my past self wasn't exactly welcomed by humans."
"…Those foolish humans know not a thing about Lord Balter, so we wished you would trust only us. To answer your question, that is correct."
Then, he showed me the fangs branded red upon the back of his hand.
"All those who bear this mark are Blood Apostles. During the Great Revolution, when your great deeds were trampled upon. As those who personally followed those very footsteps, they stood against Seradion."
"Are they all still alive? Quite some time has passed."
"Many have perished, and many more have been sealed as I was, but most remain. The 'brothers' forged by my lord are not weak."
"Good. They should be, if they're going to follow me."
"Aah…!"
When I offered Jade such meager praise,
he sniffled as if his entire life of struggle had been rewarded, all while pinned beneath me.
I had no desire to entertain his sentimental display,
and moreover, if he trembled like that, the quality of the seat would hardly be pleasant.
So I roughly ignored him, stood up from his back, and spoke.
As I looked down at him,
Jade knelt respectfully.
"So. Is the Evil Ghost alive?"
"You mean…the Fox Lady?"
"That's right. I'm looking for her. It's the first thing I must do. Because…that's the right thing."
"Of course! She has been waiting for you. Even now, after three hundred years, constantly."
And then,
a brief look of delight crossed my face.
At that moment,
the sound of small footsteps rapidly approached.
"Drop dead!"
Thwack—.
A stone crashed into the defenseless Jade's head.
It was Ia.