Flash!
A brilliant light burst from Shamara’s body.
It was the power she had created, and the power that flowed from these ruins called the Sanctuary.
The magnitude of the power, as felt through the senses, was truly tremendous.
It was enough to shatter the Demon King’s hardened body.
Crack.
The black Demon King’s body split apart,
Rrrrrumble.
And his body collapsed.
From head to toe, the Demon King’s entire body turned to dust.
All that remained where the Demon King had stood was a single black stone.
Before Shamara floated a violet gem that shone with its own light.
It was not as large as the black stones of the other Akzar monsters or the controlled objects, but this black stone was fundamentally different from those.
The pulsing light, the way it floated on its own, the gaze felt from within the black stone.
This black stone was alive.
[Did you use the power of the Sanctuary? Impressive. This is the second time my body has been destroyed since I descended upon this planet.]
On top of that, the Demon King’s voice could be heard.
A voice audible even without a body.
I knew it was a voice created by magic, but even to use magic, a body was necessary.
No brain to calculate formulas, no body to convert energy into magic—and yet magic.
Scientifically, it was an impossible sight.
In any case, I could tell from the Demon King’s calm voice.
That black stone was the Demon King’s true body.
The Demon King’s flesh was nothing more than a shell for activity.
[I would like to praise you for forcing my core into the open, but this won’t do you any good, will it?]
Now the Demon King’s words were no longer echoing in my head, but throughout the entire hall.
The Demon King’s words seemed tinged with ridicule.
And they appeared to be true.
Neither Shamara nor Soph nor the other mages denied his words.
“I know. You are close to immortal. As long as the black stone remains, you can wear any shell again. And… that black stone cannot be broken by any method we know.”
With those words, Shamara placed her hand on the black stone.
“That is why I intend to seal your core, the black stone. Inside my body.”
At Shamara’s words, the Demon King snorted.
[The prophecy was wrong. What nonsense. There is no human who can accept my core and endure it. Their body will collapse immediately. And I will be free again.]
Even as the Demon King spoke, magic circles appeared and disappeared over the shield surrounding the black stone.
The Demon King was not merely using voice magic. Even now, he was trying to break the shield.
Even after hearing the Demon King’s words, Shamara clasped the black stone in both hands.
“That’s right. If I accept you into my body, I will die immediately.”
[Then why?]
The Demon King did not understand what Shamara meant. Neither did I.
Holding the black stone in her hands, Shamara began walking toward the greenhouse.
She said,
“You will not be released even if I die. Because there is a facility inside this hall that fixes time in place.”
[…The greenhouse.]
Just as the Demon King realized it, I also felt I understood what Shamara meant.
As I had seen in the terraforming ruins, the greenhouse within the ruins possessed the power to fix time.
The greenhouse in the terraforming ruins had preserved the research director’s body for over ten thousand years.
“Yes. I will die, but with the power of the Sanctuary, the greenhouse will preserve my corpse. Along with you inside my body.”
Shamara entered the greenhouse.
[So that is why the humans avoided attacking the greenhouse. You were better prepared than I expected. How troublesome. The long-term prophecy was the one that came true.]
She walked to the place where the chair stood and swept the dust from its seat.
“Inside here, you will have to wait for a very long time. Until someone who can erase you arrives.”
[No such human exists. The Lord of Prophecy said it as well. No one in the future can defeat me.]
At the Demon King’s rebuttal, Shamara shook her head.
“You would not know. How trivial prophecy truly is. We look at the future through a hole as small as a needle’s eye. But some people can break the hole itself.”
[Are you saying the human you are waiting for is one such person?]
“Yes. You will be glad to see him too.”
Seated in the chair, Shamara looked out of the greenhouse and smiled.
A smile directed at Soph.
She was speaking of me, but this time, it was unmistakably a smile meant for Soph.
While she conversed with the Demon King and entered the greenhouse, Soph did not stop her.
Rather, he was holding back Esh, who was trying to rush toward the greenhouse.
“Let me go! You never said the Demon King’s vessel would be Shamara! Gibor died, and now Shamara is going to sacrifice herself? This makes no sense!”
Caught by Soph, Esh could not even think of using magic. He struggled to free himself from Soph.
Soph gripped Esh’s shoulders and answered his words.
A rough voice flowed from Soph’s mouth.
“Yeah, this makes no sense. That one person must be sacrificed to save countless others. And strangers I don’t even know, at that.”
“That’s right. This is something that shouldn’t happen. So why are you stopping me…”
Esh, who had been shouting, saw Soph’s face and fell silent.
He had no choice.
I could not see Soph’s face, but I could feel what sort of expression he wore.
I could see what Soph saw, hear what he heard, and feel what he felt.
Rage, despair, pity, self-reproach.
Countless emotions were raging within his heart.
He was angrier than Esh right now, and he wanted to run to her at any moment.
But he could not.
“I saw the future Shamara showed me and swore an oath of my own will. To trust her and follow her words.”
“Why would you make such an oath…”
“Because I believed it was right. And even now, that feeling has not changed.”
Sparks continued to leap around Soph’s body.
Now I, too, could feel the oath engraved into Soph’s body.
A faint brand.
It was a brand Soph could break easily enough.
But Soph did not break the oath.
At Soph’s words, Esh stared at him with a devastated expression.
Behind the two of them, Jafmel watched Soph and Shamara with a sorrowful face.
Soph looked at Shamara again, and Shamara smiled as she pressed the black stone into her chest.
Sssrrr.
The black stone began to seep into her chest.
At that moment.
Kyaaaaaaaak!
A monster’s scream rang through the entire hall.
It was a dreadful sound.
Dust surged up, and the greenhouse trembled.
That monstrous shriek seemed to reveal the true nature of the Demon King, who resembled a human.
The mages grimaced and covered their ears, but Shamara did not stop.
The black stone vanished little by little.
At last, the black stone could no longer be seen.
Kyaak…
The scream also cut off abruptly.
The dreadful energy that had filled the hall could no longer be felt.
Now, Shamara was simply sitting among the twisted plants.
Could it be over just like this?
The instant I had that thought, Shamara’s body swayed.
Thud.
As if all strength had left her, both her arms fell limply downward.
Shamara looked down at her own arms.
Her arms were changing.
Her arms cracked and split apart.
They were hidden by her clothes, but the same must have been happening elsewhere.
Just as the Demon King had said, her body had not endured even for a moment.
Seeing her cracked arms, Shamara raised her head.
And she bowed to everyone.
“I am sorry, everyone. And thank you. For coming with me, even though I hid so much from you.”
Shamara raised her head again and looked at Esh.
“Thank you so much, Esh. You followed this difficult path well. There will be many hardships ahead, but I believe you will still do well. And you will end up dating a woman far more wonderful than me, so don’t be sad that I’m gone.”
“What are you talking about!”
Esh shouted at Shamara, wiping away the tears pouring down his face.
She smiled once more at the shouting Esh, then looked at Jafmel.
“And Jafmel, I am truly sorry.”
At Shamara’s words, the next master of the Magic Tower shook his head.
“You are making me say what Gibor already said. You do not need to apologize anymore.”
At his words, Shamara bowed her head again.
Now cracks could be seen on her lowered neck.
The fractures had climbed up to her neck.
She raised her head with difficulty.
Shamara looking at Soph. And Soph looking at Shamara.
Soph opened his mouth.
“I’ll follow you soon.”
At Soph’s words, Shamara shook her head.
“Come slowly. In about ten thousand years. And…”
Shamara continued with a difficult smile.
“I love you…”
With those words, Shamara closed her eyes.
Her head lowered, she looked as though she had fallen peacefully asleep.
But even without confirming it through my senses, I knew.
Shamara was dead.
Thump!
Violet light rippled from her chest, and the black stone tried to burst out.
It seemed the Demon King had also realized she was dead.
The Demon King’s black stone could not come out.
Flaaaash!
The moment she died, the seal she had laid activated.
A magic circle rose from the shelf before the greenhouse.
The magic circle drawn on the ceiling of the hall also scattered light.
With my knowledge, I could not understand how these magic circles were constructed.
But I could immediately tell what they were doing.
The magic circles gathered all the dark energy of the planet drawn in by this Sanctuary, these terraforming ruins, and cast magic. Magic to strengthen the greenhouse’s power and protect the Sanctuary.
They placed a shield over the Sanctuary and strengthened the glass of the greenhouse, but the most important magic was to protect the Guardian and maintain the greenhouse’s function.
Since the Guardian was already dead, it had become magic that protected a corpse, but there was no magic greater than that for sealing the Demon King.
The black stone that had tried to burst out quieted again, and Shamara’s collapsing body returned to its original state.
The cracks on her arms and neck disappeared, and luster returned to her skin.
She looked even more like she was sleeping than before.
Moisture began to gather on the greenhouse glass.
Shamara’s form was gradually obscured.
Soph stood before the greenhouse and watched her until the very end.
At last, the greenhouse was covered in moisture.
Shamara could no longer be seen.
Soph placed his hand on the surface of the glass.
Cold moisture ran down his palm.
The air pressure inside felt ever so slightly different.
A heartbeat slipped out of rhythm for a single beat.
The sound of something inside catching its breath.
A resonance that might have been imagination brushed past my ears.
At that moment.
Flaaaash!
The world was engulfed in white light.
I had returned to reality.
The smell of reality returned.
Dust, white blood, the stench of monster corpses.
The sound of someone swallowing echoed loudly through the hall.
The greenhouse appeared before my eyes again.
A greenhouse whose interior could be seen now that the moisture had cleared.
There were twisted grasses and trees, and Shamara seated in the chair.
Her appearance had not changed from ten thousand years ago.
The Guardian of this planet, eyes closed with a smile like a sleeping princess.
As I looked at her, Soph’s voice reached me.
[Truly, it took ten thousand years.]
His tone was calm, but his voice was trembling.
Seal (4)