Chapter 51

"Negus, they're coming from the side too!"

"Roger, got it!"

In the underground laboratory ruins of a church located in the northwest of the kingdom, Sera and Negus were battling a giant spider-like monster. The spider, however, had a head shaped like a horse, and countless tentacles sprouted from its mouth, making it far from a normal creature. The room was unusually large, as it had been used for experiments. For Negus, protecting Sera while fighting was not particularly difficult. Dodging the whip-like tentacles from the side, he pulled Sera close, extended his hand forward, and cast a spell.

"Tornado Illegal Formula!"

Whooo—Gooo, Gagagaga! A massive tornado, generated by the excessive use of magic, enveloped the two. Its power gradually increased over time, eventually becoming an invincible wall that sliced through all the enemies.

"Giiii! Gii! Giiii!"

Perhaps due to their low intelligence, the two monsters that had inserted half of their bodies into the tornado let out agonized cries. Still, they desperately tried to grab their prey, extending purple tentacles from their mouths. However, before they could reach Negus, something cracked and shattered.

"Giiyaaaaa!"

The monster, spewing mucus from its horse-like mouth, screamed. Another one, reaching its limit of endurance, was cut in half from the middle of its torso.

"Still not dead!?"

Sera couldn't help but exclaim. The creature, even with half its body gone, continued to approach. She felt a slight fear at its tenacity and vitality. Negus, remaining calm, said,

"Meltedarkness"

A black sphere the size of a fist emerged from his palm and was launched at the monster's head. It floated like a soap bubble and, upon contact, rapidly expanded to envelop the head. Inside, the dark magic was dissolving the skin and flesh. When the darkness dissipated, only the bones remained. With its brain destroyed, the monster collapsed and stopped moving.

"Phew..."

Negus exhaled. It was still manageable to defeat them, but as the time of the laboratory's use approached the present, the monsters were definitely getting stronger. Monsters that could withstand such powerful spells were rarely seen in the wild. If this progress continued, they might eventually be able to withstand spells cast by someone of Negus's caliber. Or perhaps, even at this point—

"Negus, you're hurt on your hand!"

Negus, who had been deep in thought, suddenly looked relaxed when Sera touched him. Despite being exasperated by her, Sera used a healing spell on the wound that had appeared on the back of his hand without her noticing.

"When did that happen?"

"Be careful, the enemies are getting stronger."

"Well, if Sera worries about me, getting hurt isn't so bad..."

"If you get too cocky, I'll leave you behind."

Sera walked out of the room alone, saying this coldly.

"Oh, come on, I was just joking. Wait, Sera!"

Negus chased after her, jogging. When they walked side by side, he returned to his serious expression and began to speak.

"Still, the fact that they die so obediently when their heads are crushed means they've lost their Origin-like qualities compared to the beginning."

"Indeed, the wounds don't twist anymore. But they look more and more disgusting."

"Chimera... The research to create powerful weapons by connecting the bodies of various monsters and giving them suitable cores... It's a deep, dark path, really."

"Moreover, they're getting stronger for sure. I wonder what they're making in the currently active laboratories."

Sera imagined various animals and monsters combined in her mind, feeling a bit queasy. She stuck out her tongue and shook her head to dispel the image. Seeing her, Negus smiled.

"If it weren't for Sera, I wouldn't have known the location of this laboratory. I'm really grateful."

"What's with that sudden gratitude? Trying to boost your likability?"

"Why do I get such harsh words when I'm occasionally nice?"

"Karma, I guess."

Negus couldn't argue with the undeniable truth, feeling a pang of guilt. In reality, without the information Sera provided, she would have continued investigating unrelated ruins indefinitely. Sera, on the other hand, had found the documents in the church by chance while looking for the herb "Kiarali" for Leech, never imagining that the location mentioned would be the site of the Chimera laboratory.

"But someone with Negus's skill in wind magic could probably find the location of the laboratory using the airflow from underground, right?"

"The kingdom has an excessive number of buried ruins, making it hard to distinguish them."

"Why are there so many?"

"Probably a remnant from the time when they were fighting Origin."

"...Fighting Origin?"

Negus stopped, looking visibly flustered.

"Was the kingdom fighting Origin?"

"I, um... It's just a figure of speech..."

"Is it a secret again? Fine, you won't tell me anything anyway."

Negus, feeling guilty, clutched his chest and groaned.

"I thought we had become close through our journey, but it seems I was the only one who thought so."

"Ugh...!"

"Ah, I thought we could share a bath at tonight's inn. Since you begged so much, I thought it was time to let you, but with all the secrets, it's difficult..."

Negus struggled and agonized. He really wanted to take a bath, so much so that he considered prostrating himself. However, was it right to prioritize his desires and reveal the secrets of the demon race? No, it was definitely wrong. But to achieve his ideal, he had to go beyond the norm. Moreover, it seemed unfair to involve Sera so much without telling her about Origin—

"Muuaaa! Fine, I'll tell you what I can! I'm fed up with this, to hell with the secrets! So, can we please share a bath!?"

Negus prostrated himself in a superhuman manner, begging. Sera, of course, was taken aback.

◇◇◇

The two of them took a room at an inn in the nearby town of Noweis. After entering the room and taking off their robes, Negus was floating like a child, saying "bath, bath!" Sera, on the other hand, was regretting her decision. She didn't need to sell her body; a little hug would have been enough to get the information about Origin. But since she had made a promise, she had to follow through, which is why they took a more expensive room with a private bath.

Thus, it was bath time. The bath towels were immediately stripped off, and Sera was seated on Negus's lap in the bathtub. She had been hugged and harassed many times before, but direct skin contact was a different matter. In the steamy atmosphere, she blushed and huddled up. Negus, on the other hand, was hugging her happily.

"Hehe... Hehe... Dehehe..."

"Please stop that creepy laugh."

"Eee? I can't, because I'm in the bath with Sera-chan!"

"Don't forget the promise to tell me about Origin."

"I remember that part, don't worry. So, where should I start?"

It seemed she intended to talk in the bath, probably to prolong the time they spent together. Sera, though annoyed, had no choice but to listen.

"I want to hear about the kingdom fighting Origin."

"That's not the kingdom, but rather humans and demons. So, there are many ruins in demon territories too."

"Did humans and demons... cooperate?"

"Of course. Even with resistance to Origin, they couldn't win without working together."

"Resistance?"

"Yes, resistance. Since Origin's birth, the creatures on this planet have rapidly evolved. They acquired 'attributes' and the ability to use magic as part of that evolution."

"Can they really evolve so conveniently?"

"Perhaps a force, called the 'will of the planet,' worked to prevent the extinction of life on this planet. The old humans evolved into humans and demons to create diversity, ensuring that if one side perished, the other could survive."

The scale was too large for Sera to fully grasp.

"To understand this, you need to know what Origin is."

"That's what I want to know the most."

"Then, let me ask you this, Sera-chan. What do you think should be done to eliminate conflict from this world?"

Sera, thinking it was an unrelated question, was surprised, but Negus's tone was serious. This must be related to Origin. She put her finger to her lower lip and pondered, "A thorough moral education for everyone, perhaps?"

"More practical than I thought..."

"Is that wrong?"

"Indeed, that might be ideal, but the person who created Origin thought differently."

Negus whispered into Sera's small ear.

"Connect all living beings' brains and make them one life."

Sera shivered. The tone of her voice made her spine freeze, but upon further thought—

"Do you really need to say that so close?"

"Ruin the mood, why don't you? Atmosphere is important."

"Cut the crap and just tell me the facts."

She pouted, adding silently, "If you didn't do unnecessary things, you'd be a nice older sister."

"By the way, what does connecting brains mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. Without others, there can be no conflict. Also, it seems that the circuit of human consciousness generates energy continuously, creating an infinite machine that grows indefinitely."

So, Origin doesn't stop. It continues to expand by replenishing its own energy, until it is destroyed.

"That sounds so lonely."

Staring at the rippling water, Sera said.

"True, conflict might end if we were alone, but... we wouldn't be able to love anyone."

"Sera-chan..."

A sensitive reaction, typical of her. A drop of water from her chin seemed to symbolize her sadness. Negus, moved, tightened his embrace. After a moment of silence, the only sound in the quiet bathroom was the water. Then, Negus said,

"Is that a roundabout way of confessing to me?"

"You're ruining the mood."

The mood was indeed ruined. Sera stood up without a word and left the bathtub.

"Wait, I didn't mean it that way!"

Negus tried to grab her foot, but slipped and fell. The dream bath time was over.

◇◇◇

After the bath, Sera sat in front of the mirror in the room. Negus stood behind her, drying and brushing her hair with wind magic.

"But it's all so strange. Humans and demons used to cooperate, so why are they so hostile now?"

"Negus and I get along so well."

"Maybe because there are more people like Negus."

"Sera's sharpness knows no bounds..."

"Again, it's your own fault."

Negus was entirely to blame. She was aware of it. Her tendency to joke even during serious conversations was a bad habit from long ago.

"Putting aside the jokes, the decision to distance ourselves from demons was originally a human request."

"Why would they do that?"

"Humans are creatures of desire. They might eventually seek the power to unseal Origin. So, the first hero who sealed Origin asked the demons to protect it, so it wouldn't be taken by future humans."

Demons, unlike humans, have fewer desires and are fewer in number. This is why they can survive in the barren northern lands where crops don't grow well.

"New facts keep coming up. So, is Origin sealed in the Demon King's Castle? And there have been other heroes besides Kiril?"

"Since we're at this point, I'll tell you. It's sealed in the basement of the Demon King's Castle, or rather, the castle was built on top of Origin."

"...Origin seems much bigger than I thought."

"It is. Heroes appear every few hundred years."

But in an era without Origin, they are just "very strong adventurers." Heroes truly shine when Origin is revived, or—

"Could it be that Kiril was sent to the Demon King's Castle by Origin's command?"

"To unseal it."

"Crafty. Maybe Flamm was chosen for a similar reason?"

"I don't know, but I'm glad she's far away. She probably wouldn't use it for anything good."

Negus knew about Flamm's attribute "Reversal," the only ability to destroy cores. She suspected this was the reason, but without proof, she couldn't say it outright.

"Wait, we haven't heard why humans and demons became enemies. What you said earlier only explains why they had little interaction."

"Actually, the exact reason is unknown. About fifty years ago, the ceasefire agreement between humans and demons was unilaterally broken, and books and stories within the kingdom began to portray demons as villains."

"Wouldn't that require a coordinated effort by the state?"

"Indeed."

"Could it be Origin's doing?"

"Probably. The church, which has strong ties to the king, is conducting organized research using Origin cores. Perhaps the king and the pope have already been brainwashed."

Negus touched Sera's golden hair, which was now dry. Sera smiled at her in the mirror, saying, "Thanks."

"By the way, humans and demons have resistance, so why are they affected by 'cores' now?"

Sera moved to the edge of the bed, and Negus slipped into the futon, replying,

"There are various possibilities. Maybe the current humans and demons with resistance have been newly connected to Origin and learned how to deal with it."

"If that's the cause, the person who can contact Origin is the culprit. It's hard to say, but... could there be a traitor among the demons?"

"Demons have no reason to side with Origin, and there's no evidence of it."

The only ones who could contact Origin and cover their tracks were Siethum, Tsaiyon, or Diza. Imagining them as traitors, she quickly dismissed the thought as absurd.

"There are so many unknowns."

"We just have to keep working on it. First, to find the source of the power contained in the cores, we need to locate the active Chimera laboratory."

Negus, with her eyes closed, looked at the ceiling. Despite her usual joking demeanor, she had a very beautiful face. When