Free Web Novel“Captain Luna, look up at the sky!”
The straw-hat boy Kare suddenly straightened, pointing at the ever-changing night sky, and swallowed hard.
“Something’s happening!”
Yuancherin brushed back her tea-colored hair and rushed forward excitedly. “In the builder’s diary we found in the shrine, it says that the creator of this reincarnation formation covering all of Mount Aisa was none other than the Demon King who died here three years ago.”
“We already guessed that.” said Pus.
“Yeah, Miss Lin, that wasn’t exactly a hard secret to figure out,” Kare added. “I mean, who else could’ve made a time-space reincarnation field this massive if not that Demon {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} King?”
“No, that’s not my point.” Yuancherin irritably ran her fingers through her hair. “Aren’t you at all curious why the Demon King would bother leaving behind that diary?”
“Because staying here was too boring?” Kare guessed earnestly.
“No!”
Yuancherin said, “Aren’t you curious why Mount Aisa showed no abnormal signs for three full years, and only now started acting up?”
“Uh...” Kare scratched under his hat, unable to figure it out.
But the others all went pale. Luna, who had spoken less and less since Vieya’s disappearance, murmured in a low voice, “Someone wants to use our hands to tear open what’s sealed here. We... no, the entire Adventurers’ Guild is being used as a sword.”
“Exactly!” said Yuancherin. “The diary states that the Demon King’s original intention was to create a completely closed special space. And according to the later entries—she actually succeeded!”
“But now, we’ve entered it...” Yuancherin spoke softly, her tone low, yet it made everyone present shiver.
“So you’re saying... the Demon King isn’t dead, and she’s been moving around in this town all along?” Kare asked, trembling.
“You just realized that. Congratulations.” Pus said with sarcastic calm. freēwēbnovel.com
Kare no longer felt like arguing. “Then where is she? Why haven’t we seen her anywhere on the way here?”
“She’s probably hiding. After what happened back then, even the Chief Hero died here. Even if the Demon King somehow survived, she must’ve been severely wounded, unable to move freely.”
Yuancherin thought aloud, “And... she must’ve foreseen that this day would come—that we would arrive here...” She lifted her head toward the night sky, which looked as if it were being torn apart by an invisible hand. “So she’s been preparing all this time—leaving clues, leaving that diary...”
“Could it be... that Sister Vieya was captured by the Demon King?” Liufir clasped her small hands to her chest, her voice trembling. “Right, Sister Vieya’s a Cleric—those monsters hate Heroes and Clerics most of all, the ones whose powers suppress theirs... The Demon King would be no exception...”
“Don’t worry too much, little Liufir.” Yuancherin, for once, tried to comfort someone. “Judging from the sky’s anomaly, I’d bet Menesis and her group have made a major breakthrough.”
“How can you be so sure?” Luna asked, looking at her. “As far as I know, we haven’t received any intel like that.”
“No...”
Yuancherin’s face turned strange, as if she had eaten mango fried with pineapple. “Actually, I suspect the Hero we saw might’ve been the Demon King in disguise...”
“What?”
Kare jumped up on the spot like a startled frog. “The Demon King disguised as a Hero? Miss Lin, do you even hear yourself?! That Hero was using a Holy Sword—you know what that means? The kind of divine weapon that cuts through monsters like slicing meat! The Demon King using a Holy Sword—that’s ridiculous!”
“Enough... even if the Hero is the Demon King in disguise, either way, it’s an unknown hostile.” Luna paused, then looked back at Yuancherin.
“But tell me—how are you sure this is Menesis and her group’s doing?”
“Because the Hero hasn’t appeared again. And according to the last message from Menesis, they were trying to break through the Hero’s defenses from the underground mine tunnels.” Yuancherin spoke quietly. “If we think optimistically, it means their plan succeeded.”
“So that’s what it is?” Kare muttered, finally getting it—but by then, the cracks in the sky were widening.
At the same time, within the darkness of Mount Aisa Town came the echoing howls of beasts, rising and falling.
But if one listened closely, those voices—were human.
“Oh no...”
Hearing them, Arc’s face hardened. “The commotion in the sky must’ve awakened the original residents. All our careful stealth was for nothing!”
“According to the Demon King’s diary, every variant of this town resets once every seven days. Only the Hero exists as a singular being across all timelines—he alone can freely cross between them.” Yuancherin explained.
Then, a worn-out miner in tattered work clothes appeared before them. His eyes glowed red, an iron pick in his hand, and a number was stamped on his shoulder—9527.
Clearly, he wasn’t the first, and wouldn’t be the last. Soon more miners would awaken...
The situation was turning grim.
“......”
Luna drew the massive sword strapped to her back. Standing before the group, she spoke quietly, her voice reaching every member of Fairy’s Wings with perfect clarity.
“Prepare for battle.”
......
Elsewhere—
“Vieya! So you and this Hero are old acquaintances! Why didn’t you say so earlier? You had me worrying for nothing!” said Menesis in disbelief.
Vieya glanced at the expressionless Rania and sighed. “Don’t talk nonsense. We’re just ordinary friends—and we had a bit of a falling-out not long ago.”
“Vieya...”
Rania suddenly spoke. Though her face showed little emotion, her violet eyes brimmed with urgency.
“...There are questions I’ve wanted to ask you for a long time, but never found the chance. After this is over, could you give me some time?”
“......”
Seeing her expression, Vieya roughly guessed what her former student wanted to ask.
After all, she’d been my closest disciple once. She’s probably realized there’s something between me and the Chief Hero that can’t be easily explained...
Too bad.
The Chief Hero is me. You could rack your brain forever and never figure it out.
“Vieya, what’s that look in your eyes?” Rania’s gaze had never once left the white-haired girl. “Is that pity? Or are you about to lie to me again?”
“You’re mistaken. I never meant to deceive you before.”
Vieya felt awkward. Does my face really make me look that suspicious? “I was just wondering why you came here at all... Weren’t you supposed to be recovering? Are you healed?”
“I am. Thanks to you.” Rania replied.
Menesis, sensing something off in their atmosphere, hesitated before interjecting, “Uh, if you two have unresolved issues, maybe you could talk about them after we leave Mount Aisa?”
“Fine,” said Rania, glancing at the Holy Sword in Vieya’s hand. “Then let’s combine our sword techniques and break through this temporal barrier together.”
