The Truth

The emperor looked just as grotesque and disgusting as I imagined from his voice.

He was obese and wore a gold-laced robe that stretched all the way to the floor and made no attempt to hide his rotund shape. On his head was a very ugly hat that looked like a dead bird, hiding nothing about his wrinkly face covered in more warts and pimples than a toad. His eyes looked too small for his face and his mouth too wide.

However, that appearance probably belied his true skills. He was protected by powerful magic—one that was activated even despite our surprise attack.

I could immediately tell it was an improved version of the normal defensive spell that even I could cast. Furthermore, it seemed that this one remained active all the time. Which was astounding.

Saga made another swipe, causing the barrier to glow and reject her once again, then leapt back.

Just to make sure, I shot a light cantrip as well, but it bounced off harmlessly.

Seeing my attempt, the emperor’s freakish smile grew even larger.

“Ihihihi! Uninvited you may be, but I still welcome you, friends! Your attacks, unfortunately, are not quite up to snuff. Still, I did not expect for us to meet so soon! Did Mana somehow get you in here, that sly girl?”

I decided to answer his question; talking to him might buy us enough time to think about a new plan.

“We… we found a secret door,” I said. “Into the library.”

“Oh? Three’s secret underground entrance into the library?” the emperor confirmed my thoughts. So it was set there by Three himself, then? “I see, that’s how, yes, that would work. Ahaha, I see, I see, that explains so much!”

“I… what are you even…” I mumbled. I had to think of something to say, but my mind was strangely feeling burnt out.

“D-do something!” Mana called from within her cage. “Please! You have to do something, before Three returns! K-kill the emperor!”

Hearing her words, the emperor actually laughed. “Kill me? They won’t be able to. —But perhaps I need to make an attempt of my own to shake things up. I see this is still not enough!”

The emperor then stretched out both hands. I could already feel what would be coming and take action before that.

An actual volley of fireballs came from his fingertips, one from each finger.

I hurriedly erected the magical defense around me—the one I copied from the emperor himself—so I was saved, but had no time to do the same for my comrades.

“Damn!” yelled Kai as he leapt away and hopefully saved.

Saga, meanwhile, did something quite unbelievable—she swung her sword right through an incoming fireball, actually cleaving through it.

Come to think about it, this wasn’t the first time I saw her doing something like that.

I dropped the shield while carefully watching the emperor—that technique was rather intensive on my energy. Did he really leave it turned on all the time?

“Ohohoh, so you can use that barrier as well… yes, it’s just like I expected,” said the emperor, widening his already wide reptilian smile. “I thought about trying to get rid of these eyesores, but perhaps there’s no need for that. How about we sit down and talk?”

“Talk?” said the shocked Kai. “Talk about what, exactly? You sick freak! Do you think we haven’t heard and seen what happens in your kingdom?”

“Hahaha, don’t be like that. Why, I want to hear all about your adventures. I can even give you a tour of the castle, if you wish.”

I couldn’t understand what he was saying at all.

There was something else I realized in the meanwhile, however. There was a rather easy way to beat the emperor. But we’d probably get only one shot at this, and I couldn’t directly let him know what was going on; it was important to catch him by surprise, because he possibly had no countermeasures for it.

“What do you mean?” I asked him, briefly glancing at Kai and hoping he would somehow get my meaning. I should have asked Jarred to teach me some telepathy spell or something. “A tour? Are you kidding me?”

“Not at all,” said the emperor, spreading his arms, voluminous sleeves swaying. “What would you like to see? Even here in the underground section we have plenty of points of interest, ahaha. For example, Two’s studio, where she made those infernal devices of hers. By the way, thank you for getting rid of her—I always hated that crazy bitch.

“Or would you like to see where we conducted experiments to create beasts for One’s domain? He, too, was a strange person—well, he wasn’t a real person, ehehehe.”

While he did introduce some items I’d been curious about for a while now, that only caused the meaning of his words to elude me even further.

Meanwhile, Saga was apparently not interested in either talking or listening to him at all—despite the situation, she lunged at him for another attack.

Kicking at the nearby wall and spinning in the air, she landed behind the emperor and thrust her sword—which got blocked just like before.

He turned around to try and follow her movements with his wide smile, but she kept attacking him from various angles, with different speeds and stances.

Tarisha was powerful and unique, but it wasn’t made of mogage or anything, so it was obviously unable to pierce through that ultimate defense.

“What an amusing girl. I still have no idea why she’s here, though, but I suppose that makes it more fun this way. Three will desire her for sure,” he chuckled. “But aren’t we all wasting our time here? When Three’s return is so imminent?”

“No!” screamed Mana.

“You keep talking about that,” said Kai, still nocking an arrow but not firing it, “but how is he going to return, anyway? And why did you want Mana to summon us?!”

“Summon you? Hmm, that’s a mistake,” the Emperor said, his dark eyes narrowing. “While it is an amusing coincidence, people got the so-called prophecy all wrong, ihihihi. Don’t you see? It was never about Three Warriors or anything like that—from the very beginning, the prophecy referred to a warrior called Three!”

It felt like I was struck by lightning. Like my mind was torn wide open.

At that moment I realized everything. My folly and my own plan. Everything I’d been through here in this world.

I understood the truth. With my mouth, eyes and mind all wide open, I spoke it.

“This whole time… I was Three?”