Chapter 28 – A promise from younger days

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This chapter is told from Labrys’ point of view.

“Sniff… Sniff… I’m sorry, big brother Chrom.”

Labrys cried while sitting on the ground.

In front of her stood a boy, who frantically tried to get her to stop.

…This was something Labrys remembered from when she was a child.

A dream from when she got lost in the woods and was attacked by a monster.

Labrys had been praised as a prodigy with the sword from a very young age, but when a monster appeared in front of her, all she could do was tremble before it.

And the person who came to her rescue was none other than the weak Chrom.

“Labrys, it’s all right.
I’m here.”

He was weaker than anyone, and more scared than anyone, but he had the same kind smile on his face he always had.

He stood against the monster with no hope of winning, just to protect Labrys.

“…I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

He lost a lot of blood.

When it looked like he could die, it was scarier than the monster.

In the end, although his body was left covered with wounds, he managed to drive away the monster.

But Labrys was still crying.

“L-Labrys… The monster’s gone…! See? I’m fine.
Stop crying…”

“Sniff… Big brother Chrom… Dying…”

“H-hum… What do I do…”

The boy looked at Labrys, but could do nothing but panic.

“I-I know.”

He placed his hand on her head.

“…Eh?”

“Mister Sirius does this a lot when I cry.”

He pat her head.

It fell nice and warm, and for some reason his hand made her feel calmer.

“…I’m sorry, I worried you because I’m so weak.
It was scary uh? If I was stronger… Then you wouldn’t have to cry like this…”

‘No, I’m weak’, is what Labrys wanted to say, but it got muffled by her sobbing.

“…I don’t think I can stay with you forever because I’m so weak.
I’ll probably be too weak to even protect people anyway.
But still, I promise.”

“…P-promise?”

“Yes.”

The boy nodded and raised his little finger.

“When you cry, I’ll be there to save you.
And one day I’ll be so strong that you don’t even have to cry.”

The boy smiled, with his ragged, wounded face.

“So… Smile, Labrys.”

Labrys put her little finger around the boy’s.

Surely he didn’t remember this promise anymore, but to Labrys, it was still something she held close to her heart…

“…Uu…”

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It was then that Labrys woke up.

Her mind felt very hazy.

She felt chilly, and there was a damp, chemical smell in the air.

She tried to move, but found her wrists were bound above her head.

(That’s right… I was kidnapped.)

She remembered the attack of the first-class mages, but had no idea how much time passed since then.

She figured they hadn’t done anything to her yet, since there weren’t really any wounds on her body.

But since they took away her sword, which she also used to cast spells, she couldn’t really use magic.

(What… Are they after?)

She squinted and looked around.

It was dark, but her eyes were getting used to it.

(This is…)

The stone walls without windows, the chemical smell, the bubbling sounds…

She reached the conclusion that she was probably in some sort of underground laboratory of the Sorcerer Association.

She wondered if she was actually inside a dungeon, since this underground place was so spacious, but what really caught her eye in this room were the many pale blue lights.

…No…

(W-what is this…?)

She almost yelled, but managed to hold it back.

It was something she definitely was not supposed to see.

(Are all these… Cultivation tanks?)

The lights were coming from the lines of cylindrical cultivation tanks.

She couldn’t tell how many there were, but she could tell there were probably hundreds or thousands.

In these tanks was luminous pale blue cultivation fluid, and as for what was being cultivated…

(…Monsters!)

They seemed to be infant monsters, curled like embryos.

The tubes coming out of these cultivation tanks extended to a giant magic stone in the middle of the room, that appeared to be almost like a heart.

That magic stone was most likely the nucleus of this dungeon.
The energy source of the dungeon, which absorbed magic energy from magic veins underground.

(Are they… Using this dungeon’s magic energy to make monsters?)

That kind of research was very clearly taboo.

What would happen if all these monsters were released?

…Stampede…”

That word crossed Labrys’ mind.

(Wait, was yesterday’s stampede…)

That was when she heard multiple footsteps coming from between the cultivation tanks.

“…!”

It was the same group of first-class mages that attacked her.

They wore the same robes, hid their faces with the same masks, and held the same staves.

But there were fewer of them this time, and she didn’t see the crest of the twelve sages.

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As long as they were around, escape would be impossible.

“Now, ‘vessels’…”

It was with these words that Labrys noticed some people to her right.

They appeared to also be people from the Sorcerer Association.
They wore the same robes as the first-class mages and masks, and were lined in a row.

But unlike Labrys, they weren’t restrained.
It was as though they were there voluntarily.

“Rejoice, for you are very fortunate.
You may be able to become the second demon king.”

One of the first-class mages stepped forward, and spoke pretentiously.

“Surely you all know.
A demon king appears once every few centuries, and is a calamity that becomes a turning point in history.
Our plan is to create man-made demon kings, and to carry on with our ‘demon king transformation project’, we use…”

The mage shook a syringe in his hand.

“These demon king cells.”

Rolling inside this syringe was a pale blue liquid, like the one in the cultivation tanks.

It was like a tiny cultivation tank.

A chill ran down Labrys’ spine as she imagined what it could be used for.

“In this syringe, we have ‘demon king cells’ taken from the fossilized original demon king, Ancestral Dragon Verboros.
The ancestral dragon had a special function as demon king, 《Level Up》… Basically, a being that takes in these cells evolves, and the ones compatible with them have the potential to even become demon kings.”

Labrys could hear the ecstatic breathing coming from the people lined-up next to her.

(W-what’s with these people…?)

It was like she wandered into a meeting of an evil cult.

She couldn’t understand, and it was all very off-putting.

“Eliminate inferior beings who cannot use magic well, and let the world be ruled by evolved humans and demon kings.
That is our ideal new world.
Well then everyone, shall we begin the evolution of this world?”

Said the mage, before injecting the mage furthest to the right on the neck.

This person suddenly burst.

“…Eh?”

Blood flew everywhere, and stained the walls.

The reaction was delayed, but a second later, the robe and mask the mage was wearing fell to the ground.

“It seems this one was not compatible.
Next.”

“…Wha…”

A person died.
That person burst.

But no one there seemed to care.

The first-class mages, the people lined-up… Everyone sounded ecstatic.

(W-what is going on…)

The next person in line was injected, and a moist sounding explosion echoed throughout the room.

“Next.”

Another person was injected, and another person exploded.

“Next.”

Another person was injected, and another person burst.

“Next.”

Another person was injected, and another person burst.

“Next.”

The syringe kept getting closer and closer to Labrys.

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Seven more people.
Six.
Five…

“…N-no…”

She felt she was losing her mind.

The smell of blood made her gag, and she felt gastric juices in her throat.

(A-at this rate… I’m going to be killed.)

But even if she tried to escape, it was not like the restraints binding her arms were simple restraints.
They were very secure due to magic.

Labrys had no way of undoing them, since she could barely even use magic in this state.

But still, if she didn’t run… She would be killed.

(N-no…!)

Labrys struggled and struggled, but then…

“Next.”

The voice came from right in front of her.

She fearfully looked up, and saw…

“…Ah…”

The syringe was in front of her.

There was no one left to her right, save for robes and pools of blood covering the floor.

“…This is the last one? It’s hard to find good vessels.”

“But this one caught Mister Cradle’s eye.”

“I wanted a pawn from the association to become demon king, but I guess it can’t be helped.”

The mages whispered as they crept towards Labrys.

“N-no… Stop…”

Labrys said with a shaking voice.

“Why are you making that face? You act as though… We are some sort of evil secret organization.”

Said a mage while chuckling.

“Rejoice.
This is a happy moment for you.”

Labrys couldn’t see the mage’s face through the mask, but that didn’t sound like a joke.

This mage clearly believed every word.

“Hey, stop struggling.
I can’t inject you well like this.”

“S-someone help…”

“Ah? No one will.
He’s dead already.”

“…Eh?”

Labrys didn’t understand exactly what that meant, but felt it sounded ominous, and somehow knew she didn’t want to hear any more.

Still, the mage continued, as though purposefully deepening her despair.

“The rumored ‘hero’ came to this base alone.
I hear he did well considering he was alone… But he was still only human.
Sadly, he was no match for us.”

“…‘Hero’.”

She figured they were probably talking about that boy that looked like Chrom.

If that person chose to attack the mages’ base right at this time, that surely meant…

(…Was it to save me?)

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Only one person would do that.

“When you cry, I’ll be there to save you.”

He was weaker than anyone, but kinder than anyone.

He always came to her rescue when she cried.

And now… He was dead.

“You’re..
Lying…”

Every bit of strength Labrys still had, left her body.

The mage holding the syringe saw this as an opportunity to strike.

“Uu…”

The needle stabbed Labrys’ white nape, but she didn’t have the strength to resist.

“Become a demon king, or die… Those are the two reactions to demon king cells.
What will it be? Aren’t you excited?”

“…N-no…”

Demon king.

The name of a calamity that would go down in history.

If she didn’t become one, she would die, and she was shown more than enough proof of this fact.

But if she did become a demon king… The people she loved, the town she loved… It all raced through Labrys’ mind.

All of that would be destroyed, and she hated that even more.

“Rejoice.
I’m sure you can become the second demon king.”

The mage put his finger on the plunger, to slowly inject the demon king cells.

“…Help.”

Labrys mumbled to no one.

That day, when she was too weak to do anything besides sobbing… She decided she would be strong.

She wanted to be strong enough to never cry again, and never need to be saved again.

If she cried, he would come to her rescue.
And he would fight, and get hurt a lot.

She didn’t want that, but couldn’t stop it anymore.

“…Help me… Big brother Chrom.”

A tear fell from Labrys’ eye, and when that transparent tear hit the floor…

“Gehaa!?”

The mages were all blown away, as if there was an explosion.

They slammed into cultivation tanks, and limply fell to the ground.

“…Eh?”

It all happened in a second.

It was so fast, that she couldn’t tell what was going on.

But before she knew it, a boy stood in front of her.

He took the hood covering his face off his head.

Although his back was turned, there was no mistaking who he was.

“Labrys.”

The boy turned around, and his kind smile was like a ray of sunshine.

“It’s all right.
I’m here.