Someone interesting

Chapter 26

Everyone stared at each other for a while.

“What? Already falling for me?” the lady said.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Naoya frowned at her.

“Really now… are you sure you don’t recognize me?”

He was puzzled by her comment, but after taking a closer look, a switch suddenly clicked in his head, and he recognized her from his recurring dreams.

“You! You’re the lady that I’ve been seeing in my dreams since I was a kid! And when I was dying back in Japan!” he exclaimed, taken aback by the realization.

“Ooohhh, so you’ve been dreaming about me already. Where else did you see me, then?” she teased.

“Ummm…” He racked his brain for more, including his Demon Lord memories. “Ahh! You were one of the heroes that defeated me! The Demon Lord, I mean.”

The lady smiled. “There we go, you finally recognize me. So allow me to introduce myself.”

She let go of the umbrella, which simply floated above her as she walked towards Naoya and Ori.

“I am the Mage Hero of the Hero’s Party, and the current Archmage of Valebryn. But just call me Solenne,” she said, staring straight into Naoya’s eyes the whole time.

He found himself drawn into her dark brown irises as well. “Nice to meet you, Miss Archmage. I’m—”

“Shiranui Naoya, yes. Shiranui is the family name. And you’re his best friend Ori,” she said, turning to each of them.

“Yes… you already know us, then?” he asked.

“You were living a great but boring life as a high school student. Great because your family and friends were all wonderful, but boring because you were just somehow good at everything. Then one day, when you were out with your friends, you helped an old lady cross the road… and we already know what happens after that,” she finished with a smug smile.

“Wait, what the… how did you know all that?” Naoya was once again shocked.

“Didn’t you already learn this from Willow’s memory? Whose idea was it to reincarnate the most dangerous Demon Lord in the world into a different one?”

“Yours…”

“Exactly, and I’d have to be irresponsible to just leave you like that. Sure, we completely wiped out your memories, but there’s a possibility you’d just turn into a Demon Lord again in your new incarnation. So, to keep tabs on your activities, I’ve been observing your entire life,” she said.

“Wait, my entire life? You’ve seen everything?!” Naoya asked, fearing the answer.

“Yep, I’ve watched you grow from a cute little baby to a lazy young man. And when I say everything, I do mean everything,” she ominously revealed.

Naoya fell to his knees with a wail, horrified at the thought. He slammed his fist down, embarrassed by what she could have seen. Ori tapped him on the back, remembering Willow’s remark about him earlier.

Well, he might be the Demon Lord, but at least we’re sure he isn’t a pervert.

“Good thing you didn’t bring your weirdness into this world,” Ori said. “Or maybe you’re just too conscious since I’m literally in your hands all the time.”

Naoya looked up at Solenne. “But… I still don’t understand. Why didn’t you just kill me?”

Her expression turned serious for a moment. “That reveal… will have to come later. There’s still a lot of context you need to know, so I’ll just tell you along the way.” She smiled and started walking along the dirt road.

“Along the way? Where are you going?” Naoya asked as he got up.

She looked back at him, confused. “You’re going on a ‘journey of self-discovery,’ aren’t you? I’ll be joining you now as your guide.”

Naoya and Ori gave her a confused look.

“C’mon. I want to introduce you to an old friend,” she said.

“Old friend… you mean the Ranger Hero?”

“Yep. His statue’s right behind you.”

“What?”

Naoya and Ori turned around to see the stone statue of a Faunite man with the ears and tail of a panther, solemnly standing before them. He wore a hooded cloak and pointed his bow into the sky, an unyielding look on his face as he aimed.

“Wha— How did this get here?” Naoya turned back, but the trees and dirt road were nowhere to be found. Instead, they were now standing on a small hill, in front of the statue that watched over an entire town.

“Welcome to New Dustwood. This is your first destination, right?”

“How did we… never mind.” He sighed, giving up on understanding the Archmage’s tricks. “So this is where the Hunter Hero came from.”

“Yep. Why did you want to go here anyway?” she gave him a curious look.

“Well, from the Demon Lord’s memories, this was the first town that he ever attacked, and I want to remember why.”

“You don’t remember your first victims?”

“Okay, first, they’re not my victims, it was the Demon Lord version of me. And second, no, I don’t. I have memories of the events, but sometimes I don’t remember the thoughts or reasoning behind them.”

“Hmmm… probably because it’s too old to remember,” she commented. “I know a ritual we can use to see what really happened in the past, but I’m gonna need your memories for it. Deal?”

“My memories? Am I gonna lose them?”

“Nah, it’s like what Valiansteel did to you in his exam, when he made an illusion of your friend.”

“Ohhh, alright then. As long as there aren’t any weird effects.”

She smiled and approached him with no regard for his personal space, and he leaned back as she got closer. Her mild, flowery scent filled his senses, her charming face dangerously close, her breath brushing his chest, her eyes looking deep into his.

She placed her finger on his temple, and a long, white strand of light came out of his head as she pulled her hand away. She stepped back and hovered with her legs crossed as she started the ritual, using the strand of memory from Naoya’s temple. After a series of intricate steps involving glyphs, gestures, and sand, among other things, Solenne opened her eyes, and in her hand was a glowing yellow disk.

“You guys ready to watch?” Solenne said as she summoned a sofa and a table of snacks beside them.

“Oh, we’re watching a movie now?” Naoya commented as he and Ori sat down, the fairy taking out their food storage from Willow’s place.

“Movie? Oh, right. That’s what you call it in the other world.”

She took the disk and slowly pushed it into the air in front of them, disappearing as if it were being inserted into a CD player. Once it was gone, a wave pulsed forward and changed the view in front of them, giving them a glimpse of its past.

…

The younger form of the Hunter Hero kneeled on the ground and bowed his head, along with his fellow villagers. All of them felt the heat from burning houses, their bodies covered in soot and dust, with some bloody and bruised. All they could do was keep still and try to survive, as their entire village turned to ash around them.

The fires illuminated their surroundings despite the overcast sky, but darker still was the shadow cast over them by the massive castle floating above the village. It had arrived without warning, and the voice of a young man announced that all of them must submit to his rule. But after denying the invader’s demands, an army of armored steel golems descended from the castle and laid waste to the town with their massive battleaxes. Despite their best attempts, the villagers’ defenses were no match, and no family was spared from the sudden descent of destruction.

That same army now surrounded the remaining survivors, which did not include children, the elderly, or the weak. In an ironic twist of fate, everyone who survived were the ones supposed to protect them.

From the castle above, a pillar of purple fire descended, and a young man with blonde hair appeared, lazily fixing his fingerless gloves as he scanned his surroundings with sharp red eyes. He wore refined clothing fit for royalty in light shades of blue and silver, as well as a black coat draped over his shoulders.

A sapphire flame burned in his chest, flowing onto his shoulders and trailing behind him, painting the image of a leader in his grandest form. He did not look physically imposing, but he exuded an aura of cold intellect, and every villager immediately recognized the power of this man.

“Well, it seems that you people are now in dire need of help, seeing that you have lost your ‘peaceful lives.’ So allow me to lay down my offer again,” the man addressed them. “Pledge your loyalty to me, and I will make sure you will have everything you will ever need.”

The young Hero, along with his fellow villagers, responded with hateful glares.

He approached an old man at the front.

“What is your decision, Mr. Mayor?”

“We will never submit to someone who took everything from us,” the mayor answered with hard conviction.

The man closed his eyes, trying to contain his anger.

“Alright then… enlighten me. Why are you refusing this generous offer of mine? Why did you think I came here in the first place? I am giving irredeemable outlaws like yourselves a second chance. A better life under my service, infinitely better than this lawless town you have, where you’re not even safe from your neighbors. All I’m asking in return are your remarkable skills and your eternal loyalty, to aid me in my quest for knowledge. It’s a great deal. Only stupid people would refuse it.”

His speech was only met with vengeful stares, and he scoffed.

“Hah, I think I get it now. This isn’t because my offer is bad... It’s because you people think you can defeat me. Fine then.”

He snapped his fingers, and the dark bindings restraining everyone disappeared.

“Anyone who wants to try their luck, you’re free to do so. But I am warning you: defeat means submission,” he told them with a sharp stare.

Half of the villagers immediately charged at him, and the young Hero’s anger almost caused him to join them, but deep down, he already knew that none of them stood a chance.

The vengeful crowd was blown away by an unseen force, but it did not stop them from continuing their assault. The man did not even lift a finger. He simply closed his eyes as he fought every single one of them with his magic, defeating them one by one.

He opened his eyes as the challengers lay motionless around him, turned to the remaining villagers who did not participate, and gave them a small smile.

“Welcome, one and all, to the Demon Lord’s Empire. I look forward to everyone’s undying service.”

A pillar of purple fire descended once again, and the man disappeared. At the same time, a glyph suddenly appeared on the ground below everyone, slowly growing brighter.

The young Ranger accepted his fate—for now. But he vowed that one day, he would take down this tyrant at all costs.

For the memory of his family, and everyone who lost their lives that day.

…

The recollection ended, and the yellow disk emerged from the air in front of them, shooting towards Solenne. The view of the city returned to the present, and they turned to each other with different reactions.

“Wow, I did not expect that level of evil,” Ori told Naoya, surprised by what she saw.

“I was THAT evil?!” he asked Solenne, horrified.

“Yep, you were that evil,” she nodded.