16-80. God Keys
※Only the last part will be Satou's point of view this time.
"Yuuki, how's your mana?"
"Still a long way to go."
The two heroes are sprawling in the ruins of Saga Empire's castle.
Hero Seigi asked the question with him facing up at the sky, while Hero Yuuki replied face down.
"Can you move?"
"Don't wanna yet. I've never used so much mana before, even talking is annoying."
Despite saying that, Yuuki grumbled fluently.
"Where's the golden sparkly bunch?"
"Saving people."
"Those girls are tough."
After defeating lamia demon lord [Lamiko-san] with the two Saga Empire's heroes, golden sparkly bunch aka the golden knights and hero Nanashi had gone to the collapsed shelters inside the city to rescue people.
"Since they went pass the castle ruins and all--"
"I think they're leaving this site to us."
"Figured as much~"
Hero Yuuki surveyed the surrounding debris while frowning.
"Should we go look around, Yuuki?"
"Once my mana has recovered, sure."
After giving that reply, he recalled the specialty of his conversation partner.
"--Wait, what about you?"
"I'm only good with bad men."
"You're useless."
Looks like Hero Seigi's Unique Skill [Evil Search (Where's the bad men)] can't be used to look for people buried under the wreckage.
"Huh?"
Hero Seigi noticed pebbles on the ground shaking.
He raised his body and looked around, then he saw a ripple on a puddle nearby.
"What's wrong?"
"Don't you think it's shaking?"
"You're imagining things."
So Hero Yuuki declared after closing his eyes and concentrating.
"Owaah, it's shaking!"
"I told you!"
The shaking was only at about magnitude 1-2, but the two could feel intermittent vibrations on the ground even while they were conversing.
"Ain't this, y'know, bad?"
"Maybe there's still another demon lord underground?"
"Sounds about right."
Hero Seigi said it like it was none of his business.
"Don't 'sounds about right' me you, use your Unique Skill to check it out."
"Whoops, that's right! --Evil Search"
Blue light wrapped Hero Seigi's body.
Hero Seigi closed his eyes and concentrated, then he suddenly opened them wide and shouted out loud.
"There it is! About one kilometer below."
"So deep! Is it lurking in the magma or something?"
Hero Yuuki quipped at Hero Seigi's report.
"There's only one. Real dangerous. I can feel incredible malice and insanity. The threat level is out of this world."
"Are you for real..."
An especially big shaking hit the ground while they were talking.
The two who were sprawling jumped up.
"For now, let's get out of here and call the sparkly and purple here."
"Agreed!"
The two poured the little mana they had left into their Flight Shoes and flew off the mountain of debris.
◇
"O Guardian Spirit (Mitama) of Saga Empire--"
Saga Empire's Emperor called out to the city core while wielding the rainbow-colored orb turned-key like a wand.
Perhaps, due to the excess amount of mana, they key couldn't keep its shape as it kept transforming while producing purple lightning.
Even though the emperor was burned by the lightning and had blood seeping out of the wound, he wouldn't stop the ritual.
"By the force bestowed to me by God's Envoy, manifest the door that shall summon God's Majesty unto this land.
The emperor spun his words while trembling from the high voltage shock electrocuting him.
Blood spilled out of his mouth and nose, the capillary in his fingertips had broken apart with blood gushing out.
Rainbow colored lights converged in front of him, forming into the shape of a door.
Seven key holes appeared on the rainbow door adorned with jewels.
"By the force bestowed to me by God's Envoy, O keys that open the door, come forth unto this land."
With wounds all over his body, the emperor continued the chant with bloodshot eyes.
Blue lights leaked out his wounds, shining purple through the red blood.
The rainbow colored lights transformed into keys one by one.
If someone who had witnessed the gods who materialized in Saga Empire were here, they would have noticed that those key colors represented each of those gods.
"With seven God Keys in hands, I shall fulfill the mission given to me by God's Envoy."
The critically injured emperor swung his arm, and then the seven God Keys floating in the air went into the key holes.
"to the worm, gnawing on the, sacred sagaempire, bringthem destrucTIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNN"
Crystallizations shining bright blue fell off from under the wounds and skin of the emperor who was laughing maniacally.
His figure was similar to that of Hero Meiko who used up too much Unique Skills in her fight against Great Weasel Demon Lord at the weasel empire.
"come, ARISe, SPread, OPen, MATERIALize, maniFEST, o power of, GOD'S MAJESTYYYYYYYYY--"
In accordance to the words of the king who had lost his sanity, the keys that were in the door's key holes began to turn.
Click.
The first blue lock opened.
Click. Click.
The second, third, yellow and orange color opened.
Click. Click. Click.
The locks opened one by one, and the last key--.
◇
"--What's the matter, Arisa?"
Liza called out to Arisa worryingly.
Arisa who had been energetically telling the girls the location of those needed saving with space magic suddenly stopped moving and went silent.
"Did something happen to Master?"
Lulu asked.
"U-unn. My Familiar Link with Master has gone out of range."
The girls turned their sight at Arisa all at once hearing that.
No, Tama alone was flopping on top of the Floating Fort with a carefree expression, saying, "Don't worry be happy~".
"We have to go to Master's rescue, so I insist."
"Where is it? Arisa! Do you know where is it?"
Liza who reacted to Nana who said that expressionlessly pressed on Arisa in frantic.
"Calm down."
"That's right! Liza-san, please compose yourself."
Mia murmured, as Lulu stopped Liza who caught Arisa's shoulders in a hurry.
"Everyone, please calm down. Don't worry, Satou is surely fine."
Hikaru put her hands on the panicking Pochi's head, and said that to everyone as she broke out the best smile she could muster.
"Arisa-chan, do you know where the last known location the comm came from?"
"U-unn. It's the Temple of Heroes in Saga Empire's old capital--ah."
In the middle of her speech Arisa's expression changed.
"Master! Are you OK? Are you hurt anywhere? If you need our help--"
While she was talking, Arisa informed the girls, "It's from Master. Looks like he's alright."
Acting like she was unconsciously holding a telephone on her mouth as she did that must have been a habit from before she reincarnated.
Arisa got back to the Satou's Familiar Link while gesturing an apology to the girls who fell down in exhaustion.
"--Un, I got it. We're all fine here. You've gotta beat gobu king for sure this time!"
After she's done with the call, Arisa informs the girls about Satou's situation.
"Master has finally located 『Goblin Demon Lord』's stronghold."
The girls cheered when they heard that.
"He had to teleport to observation satellite in order to find that stronghold, that was when the link was cut off temporarily."
Apparently even the Familiar Link with its transcendental range would get cut off when Satou moved through a long distance with Unit Arrangement.
"He was watching the demon lord from satellite orbit?"
Hikaru murmured in amazement.
"He had to move far outside detection range since gobu king was a vigilant one. I guess even gobu king would have never guessed that Master could move to satellite orbit with zero mana consumption."
"That means, Master is going to wage war at the enemy location?"
"Un, that's what he said."
Arisa confirmed Liza's question.
"That's why he won't be able to respond to the Familiar Link for a while."
Despite saying that, Arisa believed that Satou would abandon his fight with Gobu King and go to their rescue were she would just call for him in desperation.
"Then, should we not go help Master?"
"No help needed he said."
Arisa shook her head at Liza's insistence.
"But, isn't 『Goblin Demon Lord』 one of the Great Demon Lord that stands at the top along with 『Dog-Head Demon Lord』 and 『Golden Wild Boar King』 in all history?"
"It's o'kay~"
"The possibility of Master losing in a normal combat is zero, so I inform."
"Nn, invincible."
Tama, Nana and Mia dismissed Liza's worries.
Lulu and the other girls were worried as well, but they believed that Satou wouldn't lose.
Tama's ears twitched inside the golden helmet.
"Nyu?"
"It's the hero kids nanodesu."
As Pochi said that, the girls turned around.
"Oyy!"
Hero Seigi and Yuuki came flying with Flight Shoes.
"Is there something wrong?"
A dome of light manifested behind the heroes as Arisa muttered that.
Seven keys of light appeared on top of the dome.
"That looks like bad news."
As Arisa murmured that, the other girls nodded in agreement.
"We should call Master..."
"We can't."
Arisa immediately rejected Lulu's proposal.
"Master's thoughts have been getting transmitted to me for a while now, and it's fully committed in the fight. I think, the fight with the gobu king is reaching its climax."
The girls had worried looks on their faces when they heard that.
"It's okay, Master is doing fine. It feels frantic, but it's not like he's getting cornered, see."
Arisa followed up.
"Then, let's deal with this ourselves. Just so you know, I was second to none in Force Magic in my heydays."
"Nn, help."
As if trying to sweep away the girls' anxiety, Hikaru made a wand-swinging pose along with Mia who did the same pose next to her.
"Anyhow, let's observe it from a safe distance for now!"
◇
"Although quite malformed, those are keys to unlock God's Seal huh... No way Kurou would go and unseal Moon Demon God, then I guess this is Gorou's antic?"
A lone young man standing near the light dome that had shown up in the Imperial Castle's ruins muttered.
He's clad in a deep purple robe, his black hair is swaying in the wind coming from the dome.
At a spot slightly away from the young man, warriors clad in golden armor--Arisa and the girls teleported in.
"--Black hair?"
"Master?"
"No."
Arisa declared.
"You over there, who are you?!"
The young man turned around as Arisa asked for his identity.
Since the dazzling light coming from the dome acted as a backlight, the girls couldn't make out the young man's face.
"I'm 『Guardian of Little Girls』--if that doesn't roll well on tongue, feel free to call me 『Guardian』 or 『Onii-chan』, whichever is fine."
"--Haa?"
Arisa's frowned at the smokescreen-sounding words the young man uttered.
"Arisa-chan, could you appraise him?"
"Unnyaa, it's no good."
It's very rare for the appraisal of reincarnated people and heroes to fail as they bear the divine gift appraisal.
"Goes off~?"
"Ah! Hold it right there!"
Ignoring Arisa's call to halt, the young man stepped toward the dome.
"Was that your doing?"
Liza went around with Flickering Steps, but the young man's cold gaze made her body freeze up.
"Bad things no no~?"
"You shouldn't do bad things nanodesuyo."
"I shall not let you pass, so I report."
Apparently, the young man's gaze only affected Liza as Tama, Pochi and Nana stood before him with their weapons at the ready.
"Oh I won't do anything bad. I'm just here to stop a big idiot from undoing the Demon God's seal."
After saying that, the young man instantaneously moved to the opposite of the beast girls.
"<>"
As the man murmured so, the light dome that looked like it was about to start up anytime instantly disappeared.
"<>"
The man murmured and made a swing with his arm, and then the Saga Empire's emperor who was bloody all over appeared in front of him.
"w-what? The secret art TO DEFEAT demon lord's"
"<>"
The emperor couldn't speak anymore after that word.
"Has he been brainwashed by Gorou I wonder? Well, the successor should pop up even if I eliminate him here."
After glancing at the emperor once, the young man nonchalantly snapped his fingers.
A moment later, the emperor turned into a charred remain without as much as a scream, scattering away into grey particles.
"See you again. Heroes of present time."
After saying that, the man waved his hands behind and disappeared without turning around.
"J-just what was all that..."
Arisa muttered with a bewildered look on her face.
That was when Satou called her, informing her about the goblin king's defeat.
◇◇◇ Satou ◇◇◇
"A black haired man who couldn't be appraised huh..."
After hearing about a young man with transcendental powers, I dropped by Saga Empire's capital with Unit Arrangement.
Not sure whether he's a new demon lord or an existence in line with God, but considering he stopped Saga Empire who was attempting to undo [Demon God's Seal], it's probably safe to assume that he's the type of force that maintains order.
...Rather, don't even joke about [Demon God's Revival], please.
"That reminds me, how's Parion Temple at the Old Capital?"
Apparently, the imperial capital's Parion Temple has been turned into a mountain of rubble.
Why would she talk about Parion Temple now--Just when that thought flashed on my mind, I recalled that we originally came to Saga Empire to take on [God Parion's Trial].
"The temple over there is a mountain of rubble too now. Oh dear..."
The temple itself can be quickly rebuilt with magic, but restoring the sanctuary needed to do the God Mingle ritual probably can't be done that easily.
"Nyu~?"
Tama suddenly looked up at the sky.
Looking up in reflex, I saw a pure faint blue light coming down.
--Thank you
Felt like I could faintly hear a small voice.
>Title [Liberator] is Acquired.
>Title [Mark of Parion] Acquired.
>Title [One Approved by Parion] Acquired.
>Title [Parion's Saint] Acquired.
>Title [Parion's Apostle] Acquired.
I got these titles on the Log before I knew it.
Since I hadn't been informed of what she wanted me to do yet, this God Parion's Trial was apparently treated as done either because we managed to stop Gobu King's ploy or because I liberated God Parion's [Fragments] captured by Gobu King.
I don't need to do some annoying fetch quest this time, lucky me.
"Master, what was that?"
"Aah, it's a reward for settling down the turmoil she said."
When I think about it, the voice that warned me back then was that one just now.
I thought it was either the mysterious little girl's or gobu king's trap.
Now that I've got all the marks, I suppose I can finally accomplish my original goal, that is interviewing the gods.
But well, first I'd love to have a long vacation before going on a journey to the world of gods.
※ The final chapter is scheduled to start with the next update.
The next update is planned for 1/6, but it's possible that it may be postponed for a whole month, and will resume once I've written everything to the end.