"......Oh my."
After the battle concluded.
Ermes, Lucius, and Helc made their way to the site of the fight. There they found—
"He's... not dead yet. ...I have to say, even I'm impressed—by my own body."
Karma lay sprawled on his back. Nearly his entire body had been frozen solid and crumbled away, and yet.
Even so, he still clung to consciousness, speaking with a mixture of exasperation and admiration.
That said, the fact remained that he would not survive much longer. One could tell from the sensation of his magic power, and from his appearance alone—it was unmistakable.
The only reason he was still alive at all was Karma's extraordinary life force. Those who possessed great power naturally required a corresponding amount of time to perish—that was only reasonable.
...Well, in a sense, that worked out conveniently.
Having reached that judgment, and with little time to spare, Ermes got straight to the point.
"I have something I'd like to ask. If you don't mind?"
"Sure~"
Karma's reply was surprisingly nonchalant. Ermes faltered slightly at the casual tone, but chose his words carefully and continued.
"——What...
are you?"
"Ahaha~ That's a pretty vague question. ...But I get what you really want to know. What kind of being am I, what's my purpose, and why did I appear here at this particular moment—something along those lines?"
What followed was startling.
That was exactly it... but what surprised Ermes was that Karma had seen through him so completely. The Karma he had known until now was, in a sense, shallow in his thinking and simple in his motivations—not the kind of being who would carry out such deep reflection and insight. Presumably, in the short time it had taken to settle things with Helc, even that aspect of him had 'evolved.'
...Once again, I'm relieved we managed to defeat him now.
As Ermes let out that mental sigh of relief, Karma spoke up in a friendly tone.
"Even so, I'm afraid I don't have any more information to share. Everything I told you during the fight is all there is."
"......"
"I'm a Monster. My purpose is the retrieval of all magic used by humans, and the extermination of humans who wield magic unjustly. That is what the magic that created me dictated. Running into you all was pure coincidence—I simply spotted humans using magic, went to kill them, and things ended up like this."
There was no trace of a lie. Confirming this, Ermes pressed further.
"...That 'magic that created you'—what is it?"
"Sorry, I can't answer that either. I vaguely sense that 'something like that exists,' but I don't actually know any details. ...Ah, but—"
The answer was roughly what he had expected. Ermes had hoped for some kind of clue going forward, and was about to feel disappointed when—
Karma answered.
"Probably, though. —The people currently in the Royal Capital... they should know the answer."
"!"
No one present failed to understand what that referred to.
"Lord Laplace... you mean the members of the 'Organization,' correct? Do you have some connection with them as well?"
"Hm, so that's what they're called. No connection—though I did know that there were very powerful humans with strong magic watching me from a distance in the Royal Capital. I was thinking of going to kill them after dealing with you all, but..."
He paused there.
And then—with what might have been a first for him—Karma hesitated, choosing his words carefully. Nevertheless, he spoke.
"...With my senses sharper than ever, I can tell now. Those people—they know what I am. Because I can feel it.
Inside the Royal Capital—
There are
two of
the beings I
despise the most."
"! ...That's not simply because they're 'human'?"
"No. If they were just ordinary humans, I'd simply dislike them. But those are... how should I put it... it's closer to something like contempt for one's own kind."
...They had obtained information that would require considerable consideration.
The 'two' was also worth noting—they should keep that in mind.
"That word 'own kind' reminded me of something."
A different voice spoke up. This time it was Lucius, building on Karma's answer.
"This is something I'd rather not think about, honestly... but are there other Monsters like you—beings of extraordinary power who can understand language?"
"Yeah, I think so."
A chill ran down everyone's spines.
But Karma continued.
"But they're different from whoever's in the Royal Capital. If they were truly 'one's own kind' in that sense, I'd feel some sense of camaraderie."
"...Then where are they right now?"
"I don't know that far... but I think you probably don't need to worry."
Lucius's eyes widened slightly.
"Those people aren't going to show up anytime soon. From what you've telling me, your kind is fighting among themselves right now, right? So they're probably just hiding somewhere, letting things play out the way they want... aren't they?"
"...Is that what makes them different from you?"
"Yeah. I acted the way I did because I was also commanded to 'retrieve magic,' but if you think about those others without that directive, it fits. If they wanted to annihilate humanity, they'd actually welcome infighting—and meanwhile, they'd be rebuilding their own forces."
"......"
That was, in its own way, a situation that could not be ignored.
But if, as Karma said, there was no worry of them appearing anytime soon... then at least it was not something they needed to focus on now.
Above all.
"...For the time being, we should focus on reclaiming the throne. That's the conclusion, isn't it?"
Ermes brought things to a close. No objections were raised—their course of action, updated with the new information they had obtained, remained unchanged.
Just as that was confirmed... the crumbling of Karma's body finally reached his head.
"Time's up, I guess. ...What a waste."
As if aware of it himself, Karma murmured with a ting of melancholy.
"Because I'm not bound by magic, I could do anything by using more than just magic. Because I was born lacking everything, I could think for myself and evolve.
...That humans are like that—that your way of being is the true essence... If I had known sooner, I could have become a slightly more wonderful version of myself."
His words carried none of the condescension or venom that had been present before. There was only pure admiration, respect, and an innocent regret at having been unable to become that.
...Surely, this was closer to who he really was—this boy's true nature. He had only ever dealt with the nobles of this country—nobles whose entire worldview was defined by what had been given to them—and so he had simply used his natural adaptability to become just like them.
"...Well, it might sound strange coming from me, but... do your best."
Leaving those words hanging in the air, Karma continued.
"I hate humans, but among humans, I like you lot. The ones who just watch from afar—I hate them even more. So I'm glad you won."
"...Yes."
"......And... if. In some form or another... I were to be born again..."
His voice growing faint, Karma turned his gaze toward Helc.
"...When that time comes... teach me more. About the way humans fight. Especially you."
"——I refuse. I want absolutely nothing to do with the likes of you again, not if I had a hundred lives to spare."
Helc responded with those blunt words, wearing an expression of distaste just as ugly as his tone. And then, as an afterthought—
"If you truly wish for that, then first swear yourself to me as my vassal. Swear that you will not kill, and be prepared to be worked to the bone as my hands and feet—then I might teach you. Otherwise, someone like you is far too dangerous, and I wouldn't keep you under my watch."
"...Ahaha."
Plain, unadorned words—with just a hint of concession.
Hearing them, Karma laughed brightly.
"True... that would be really, really awful..."
Yet his expression told a different story—one of understanding, relief, and satisfaction.
He had given them much—fear, despair, and in the end, a final hint.
And then the Monster boy vanished.
With all manner of information now revealed, the preliminary battle on the road to the Royal Capital comes to its final curtain.
Next time will be an interlude chapter—I hope you'll give it a read!