Chapter 33

Tila immediately headed home, Kade coming along with her. Whole Nordeux wasn't that far from Demon Lands; it would still take more than a couple of days through the regular methods. They needed to head there immediately.

“We’ve contacted our allies near Kozori… but Tila… the Demon Lands?”

“Yes, father! Our friends need help!”

Tila’s status as a noble meant that they had access to the brand-new magic engine-powered carriage. Taking it would be much quicker compared to regular carriages. Tila had begged her father to let them use it to go to Demon Lands.

“But… are you sure?”

The war technically ended ten years ago, and no rule prohibited people from crossing into Demon Lands. Still, it was a risky endeavour. They understood it well.

“Please!”

Tila’s father looked doubtful, but eventually he relented under the condition that some of their guards would be allowed to accompany her, and that she would return if the condition ever got too dangerous.

“Thank you, father!”

“Thank you!”

Kade and Tila met up with the team that would be taking them. Their carriage had been equipped with a magic engine, allowing them to go faster and longer compared to regular horse-drawn carriages. They should be able to reach the borders within two days. Linda had contacted Tila, saying that the spear had corrupted Meline. Meline went on a rampage, forcing both the demon army and the wolfkins to retreat. She said that Meline was still fighting for control over the body.

She should be able to hold out for a while, but it wouldn’t be long before the spear fully corrupted her. They needed to get there as fast as possible.

Thus, they set off straight for Demon Lands.

Kade anxiously looked out the window. He struggled to see anything outside thanks to the darkness. Clouds blocked the moon and the stars. Traveling through the night was risky, but it was their only option. They didn’t have enough time to wait until dawn.

“Meline…” Kade murmured, his voice full of concern. This carriage was already traveling close to twice the speed of regular carriages, but it still felt slow. Kade watched as the scenery passed, wishing they could go faster.

“Get some rest, Kade,” Tila said. “You’ll have a lot to do once we arrive.”

“It will be a while before we arrive, though.”

“Unfortunately, yes, but make sure you’re in top condition when we do. Worrying wouldn’t make us go any faster.”

Waiting made Kade realize just how much he had taken Meline’s teleportation for granted. Ever since arriving in this world, he has never had to wait hours within a vehicle.

“We’ll get there eventually.”

Tila tried reassuring him, but from her face, Kade could tell that she was worried for Meline as well.

“How are the others?”

“Thanks to Kalou, they suffered minimal casualties. Linda broke a leg, but it should be healable with magic. Kalou and Letosis managed to escape harm.”

“What are they doing now?”

“... They’re hiding.”

Meline’s current state wasn’t one that could be reasoned with. Both she and the soul within the spear were struggling to take control of her body. Since neither side had full control, the body didn’t know how to differentiate friend from foe. It attacked everyone equally, forcing both sides to retreat and hide.

Kade clenched his fist, regretting the fact that he wasn’t there to help. He didn’t know how he could help, but that didn’t matter. He wasn’t there.

“Look, for now, just rest, okay?”

“... Yes.”

Kade closed his eyes. He struggled to sleep, but the fatigue caught up to him, and he drifted away.

•••

“Kade…”

“...?” Kade opened his eyes. She had returned, smiling warmly upon him.

“... Is it the time?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “I didn’t think it would reach this point, because you’ve successfully prevented the spear from unleashing its full potential, but I was wrong.”

“... What do you mean? What did you think was going to happen?”

Kade never had the chance to ask. He was happy for any chance to escape his old life; thus, he accepted the mission. Despite that, he knew that there were many things she didn’t tell him. Whether about his powers, whether about the truth of this world.

“I thought it should be safe to let Meline around the hero’s sword?”

“You see, the hero sword’s no longer a problem.”

“Then…?”

“You understood how wills work, right?”

Kade nodded.

“The hero’s sword carries the will of its original creator. That will is the creation of a peaceful world.”

That goal aligned with Meline’s goal. Meline believed that if she fought the hero, then that peaceful world would be achieved.

“There’s more to the tale, isn’t there?”

She nodded. “The soul within the third spear had been waiting.”

“It wasn’t Meline’s grandmother?”

She shook her head. “It was several generations before her.”

Kade couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It took a whole lot of patience to exist for several centuries inside a spear, unable to do anything.

“That soul wanted the destruction of the human race, as a revenge for what the humans did to them many, many years ago. But that soul knew that they couldn’t fight the humans within their time. They were too weak back then. Thus, they entered the spear and bided their time.”

It was a level of patience Kade couldn’t imagine himself having.

“And part of keeping the peace would be sending such souls into the afterlife. That was why the hero’s sword had an extra will in place. A magic that was capable of pulling souls out of the objects.”

In of itself, a mini Keystar.

“But the spear wasn’t a regular spear. It didn’t just carry a soul, it carried a will. And the will was to link the soul with the spear, and the spear with the demon lord.

“So… If they fought… the hero’s sword would expel the soul from the spear, but the spear’s will would allow it to take over Meline’s body?”

“That is true. However, that would only happen if the hit happened hard enough. Since it was just a tap, the will of the hero’s sword was incomplete, preventing the soul from fully escaping.”

Hence, why instead of taking over Meline, the soul continued within the spear and flew away.

“It would be great if the story ended there, but unfortunately, the soul immediately realized why they weren’t released.”

“... So they attacked Kalou?”

“Precisely.”

Kade gasped. He shouldn’t have let Meline take Kalou with her.

“But the soul is under a state of instability thanks to the first tap. Even after the second tap, it couldn’t take over Meline’s body completely.”

Hence, the current situation.

“What should I do?”

“Do you remember that I mentioned something along the lines of a secret effect?”

Kade recalled their last meeting. With how much things had happened, that meeting felt like ages ago.

“Well, this secret effect is actually very powerful. It's the reason why you collapse after using lorem ipsum.”

“Really?” Kade asked, curious. For a spell that changed letters, it did have an extreme toll. Meline could teleport large distances without collapsing, but even she couldn't handle just a few minutes of lorem ipsum.

Why name it lorem ipsum in the first place?

Had Kade not known the context of those words, he wouldn't have found it funny. The name acted as a distraction. He wished whoever called it that, called it something different.

Anyway…

“Once unlocked, lorem ipsum could rip through dimensions.”

“H- huh?” Kade couldn't believe what he was hearing. “How… what?”

“So basically, the scrolls you read were gibberish. Outside of the lorem ipsum, the author used ancient letters in a random way, which is why none of it made sense. She stored the actual version of the scrolls in a different dimension, so when you used lorem ipsum, you ripped apart through the dimensions to reach the actual scrolls.”

Seemed like a lot of cool terminology just to read a bunch of text.

“... Is that why both Meline and I couldn't handle the fallout?”

She nodded. “Precisely. It's a spell much, much harder compared to teleportation, after all.”

“Then… can it…”

“Yep, it can.” She nodded, despite not hearing the full question. “You can use it to teleport.”

He could use the spell to teleport straight to where Meline was, but it would take him out for a day at minimum. To make matters worse, the last time they used it, Meline was linked to him, and she too got knocked out. If he used it, would it knock out her body? Or would it knock out her soul instead? Would she faint? Or would her soul faint, allowing the other soul full control of her body?

Using it to teleport was too risky.

Unless…

“You said it can rip through dimensions, right?”

“Yes.”

“Does that mean… I can return to Earth?”

“Yes.”

Kade considered the option, but immediately rejected it. He couldn't risk using it while Meline was out. Besides, if he really did return to Earth, that didn't guarantee he could bring anything on the way back.

Plus, with how long he would be out, they might as well arrive at their destination before he woke up. The time saved by getting a car would be worthless.

But, if he could teleport all the way to Earth…

“Does that mean… I can teleport into Meline as well?”

“To Meline?”

“No. Into Meline.” Into her body, help her fight against the invading soul. It wasn't an option he would pick. There was no way he could help if he fainted immediately after arriving.

“I mean… You could… but that'll mean three souls fighting for control. You didn't think it was going to be like this, did you?”

“... It's not?”

“No. It's like being in your current body, but not being able to control your limbs.”

In a way, it was scarier than he expected. Meline must be suffering, seeing what she destroyed. What her body was used for, but she was unable to do anything.

But… surely there was a way to help her.

“Is that all lorem ipsum could do?”

“Well… I can unlock more of its potential, but-”

“Please do.”

“... Do you know what you're asking for?” She asked, her expression stern. Kade didn't back down. He couldn't back down.

“Yes.”

“The full potential of this spell may allow you to do wonderful things, things that no other person can do, yet it will come with extreme consequences.”

“I'll endure it.”

“... Even if you suffer great pain?”

“Yes.”

“Even if your body is ripped apart, and your mind tortured?”

“If it's for Meline, I'll give it everything I got.”

She gazed at him, and her gaze softened.

“There's no changing your mind, is there?” She sighed. “Very well. Lorem ipsum full potential allows you to alter the very core of reality itself. Altering reality is no small feat, hence why I'll only let you do this for a short amount of time. Thirty minutes. Any more than that, then there's a risk of damaging the core of the world.”

She spoke in unfamiliar terms, but he understood the gist of it. Having the spell active for too long, the entire world would be destroyed.

“Altering reality isn't something a human is supposed to do, so even within that thirty-minute time period, the toll on your body will be indescribable. You'll have to endure the pain. If you can't, cancel the spell, or else you'll die.”

Kade was confident he could. He would do anything to help Meline.

“I can’t believe I’m talking about lorem ipsum with someone else…” She let out a wry smile.

“... Was there more to the spell?”

“Well, there are a lot of things that you didn’t need to know, Kade,” she said. “Some secrets are better kept secrets…” she spoke with melancholy. Something must have happened in the past. Kade didn’t want to butt in. She provided him with this was already a great help.

“Lorem ipsum can act as a spell similar to Keystar. It altered reality, much like Keystar does, but on a much grander scale. You can also control it so it doesn’t harm Meline. That’s why it’s going to be painful. It’s not something someone like you can use.”

“I see.”

“I can flood your brain with the information you need, but it will be painful.”

Unlike when he was given knowledge of this world, of its language and systems, the information about lorem ipsum was much heavier. Much harsher. It wasn’t something a regular human should know about, after all.

“Do you want it?”

“Yes.”

Any bit of information could help. No matter how little. No matter how insignificant. If it contained a clue about how to help Meline, he wanted it.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Alright… This is your choice, so remember that.”

“I’m ready for it.”

“I'm going to be sending you back.”

“... Thank you. I’ll do my best.”

“Remember, thirty minutes, alright? No more than that.”

“I will.”

I’ll endure everything if it’s for Meline.

“Good luck, Kade.”

“Thank you very much.”