Volume 12 Chapter 21 Is The Circus Burning(Ask)
I, who've had my fate stolen twice, have gotten used to the feeling of my fate coming back.
"..."
I slowly open my eyes. Then, Sandra's face is right in front of me.
"Good, you're awake."
"Your face is way too close."
"I love you, that's why."
"I love you too. But can you back off a bit?"
"No way."
"You're such a spoiled wife."
I have no choice, so I give Sandra a peck on the lips and hold her tight while checking the situation.
It turns out that not only Sandra, but also Ice and Toxy are right next to me, their worried eyes fixed on me.
"Wade! Are you okay? I, uh, healed all your wounds, and they just started recovering on their own halfway through...!"
"I'm fine, Toxy. Don't worry about it."
"I'm so relieved...! I won't worry you again, I promise...!"
Toxy starts crying and clings to me while patting my back. I give a wry smile and apologize, holding Toxy tight as well.
Then, I look at Ice. Ice is biting her lip, her serious eyes fixed on me.
"...Sorry, Ice. I worried you too."
"―――No, it's okay. I'm just glad I could protect you, Wade-kun...! But, Wade-kun, I have something I want to talk to you about."
"What is it?"
When I respond, Ice takes a deep breath and starts talking.
"That's right, Wade-kun. When you lost to Fenrir-kun, you were watching..."
As she says this, my heart skips a beat. "W-what...?" I stutter, and Ice looks at me with a strong gaze, saying "Wade-kun...! That's right, isn't it?"
So, we heard a massive destruction sound and turned around simultaneously.
"...What?"
The bazaar, which had been turned into rubble by Fenrir, was now in an even more shocking state. The destruction before our eyes was on a completely different scale.
It was a snake. A pure white snake with a head on both ends of its body instead of a tail.
It was enormous, with a body that was probably over ten kilometers long, and was rampaging wildly.
"...!"
Even from a distance, it was clear that the snake was on a completely different scale compared to the circus area below, making it look like a miniature.
"No way, that's too huge! Even Sur and Fenrir were pretty big, but that thing is...!"
I had been dealing with mythological creatures from the start, but now the situation had escalated to a mythological scale, and I couldn't help but swallow my saliva nervously.
Then, I sharply instructed the other 3.
"Sorry, Ice. We'll talk later. All 3 of you, hurry to the circus first! We'll assess the situation and give instructions, so follow them!"
"R-right, got it!"
Ice and Toxy stuttered, while Sandra nodded as usual, and we stood up.
"Everyone, can you handle the impact?! Object Point Shift!"
I cast gravity magic on all 4 of us, including myself, and we fell from the sky together.
"Ahhh, ahhh, ahh!" "Whoa, this is way more unstable than I thought!" "This is fun!"
Ice let out a scream, Toxy was flustered, and Sandra was enjoying herself with a blank expression. I thought to myself, "Each of them is showing their unique personality," as I adjusted my magic to increase our speed even more.
So, we reached the circus in less than ten seconds. After cutting off the magic, I landed, and Ice had her ice bird catch her, while Toxy and Sandra landed on their own.
The circus was in a state of utter destruction, far worse than I had imagined.
A gigantic snake, probably several hundred times bigger than Fenrir, had ravaged the city, and more than half of it had already been reduced to rubble.
Fires were burning everywhere, and there were piles of corpses lining the streets, even more than in a slum. Even the demons who could revive were panicking, screaming and shouting in anger.
"Get out of the way!"
I used gravity magic to grab a demon that was charging at me and slammed it into a wall, then looked around and gave orders.
"It looks like the demons around here will become enemies soon. Ice, can you ride on your ice bird and take us up? I want to assess the situation slowly."
"U-un...!"
The 4 of us got on the massive ice bird created by Ice. The ice bird jumped high and then slowly circled around in the air.
The slum and bazaar had already been affected by the disaster, and a large number of demons had gathered in the circus. It seemed that Jormungand's sudden appearance had sent them into a state of panic.
As I analyzed the chaos on the ground, I looked up.
There, covering the entire field of vision, was Jormungand, his 2 heads flailing about wildly. He didn't have a tail, and his 2 heads were attached to either end of his body, as if they were devouring each other.
"...Wait, is this what Jormungand is like? I've never heard of it having 2 heads..."
"That's right, isn't it? I've heard the same thing, Wade. Jormungand is just a huge snake, and that's it. I didn't know he had 2 heads and was fighting himself."
I thought about it, supplementing Toxy's explanation.
Originally, Rollo's demon group was supposed to devour their own split bodies and manifest as mythological monsters to kill us.
But now, Jormungand has revived in an incomplete state and doesn't even glance at us.
Something's definitely going on with Rollo's group too. That's what I think.
Just then, Ice shouted, "Ah...!"
"Everyone, look! Rollo-chan and Kyrie-san are over there!"
"Where?!"
I looked down at the place Ice was pointing to. I saw Kyrie desperately running away and Rollo casually chasing after her.
"Let's go down! Anyone who can keep up, provide support!"
"I'll go!"
I immediately jumped down, and Sandra quickly followed. We free-fell, using magic to slow ourselves down just above the ground, and landed.
We found ourselves right between Kyrie and Rollo. Our sudden appearance made both Rollo and Kyrie's eyes widen in surprise.
"Wa~♡ Master, do you still love Rollo? Moo~, Master loves Rollo so much, after all~!"
"Ue, Wade! Why are you here?! No, help! That guy's attacking Kyrie!"
Next, Toxy spread her Hydra wings and descended. I hesitated for a moment before shouting, "Everyone!"
"Protect Kyrie and get as far away as you can! I'll take care of Rollo!"
"I understand!"
Sandra, who was the closest, swiftly approached Kyrie and scooped her up, then took off running. Toxy and Ice followed, increasing the distance between us.
And so, I faced off against Rollo. Rollo was still the same, looking at me with a provoking, taunting smile.
"If you want to be alone with Rollo, all you have to do is say so~♡ You're not very honest, Master~♡."
Rollo was swaying her body back and forth as she spoke, saying such ridiculous things. It was as if we weren't even enemies this morning.
―――No way.
Probably, Rollo and the others didn't really intend to become our enemies.
I said,
"...You're the one who's not honest, Rollo."
My words caused Rollo to freeze, and then she looked like she was thinking for a moment before asking me.
"Master, how much do you know...?"
"...That you guys have a hidden agenda. That's why you're moving within certain limits. And...this battle is just an act."
I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but Rollo and the others aren't our enemies. We didn't become enemies just because we had a weird encounter when we reunited with Hel.
Rollo and the others are fighting us with a clear head and a clear intention.
That's one thing I'm certain of. Rollo didn't suddenly go crazy. She has a purpose, and that's why she's standing in our way.
As I glared at her, Rollo smiled.
"Are you still going to believe in Rollo at this point? ...I'm so happy. After all, Master is kind, and a wonderful person♡."
But Rollo says,
"I'm not lying, Rollo isn't! If I kill all of you Masters and make you demons, we can all be happy friends! That's not a lie. That's one of my goals."
When I hear that, I let out a wry smile.
"Well, I had a feeling you were thinking that way."
"Hehehe~♡ Rollo and Master are on the same wavelength~♡."
It's a strange feeling, I think. I don't hate her. I don't feel any hostility towards her. Instead, I feel a sense of affection towards her, like she's family. But here we are, facing each other as enemies.
"But, Master's plan isn't entirely wrong, is it? ...Yeah, it's not entirely wrong. I wouldn't say it's correct, but..."
"That's right. So, you're hiding it."
"Yeah~♡ I'll hide it. I'll never tell about it~♡ That's something I'll keep secret, even after this battle is over, absolutely."
"What's with that? If you lose, you'll tell me, right?"
"No way, I won't~♡ Why would I tell you? ."
"...I do feel like you're being ambiguous about it, but if you're going to tell me, then tell me."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Hehehe, Rollo laughs.
"It's because I'm a bit of a troublemaker~♡."
Rollo snaps her fingers. Immediately after, Rollo disappears without a trace.
"―――――"
I got done in. I look around, but I can't sense Rollo's presence.
"Brahma!"
I activate my second eye, the Ajna Chakra. Then, I realize that Rollo is with the 3 people who escaped with Kyrie in the distance.
"Damn it! I've been completely deceived! This must be the illusion created by Chiero, the leader! I need to use Ajna Chakra against Rollo at all times."
But it's not like I'm far away from her. The moment I tried to chase after her, I sensed a killing intent and jumped back using gravity magic.
Jormungand's mouth opened wide, swallowing the entire area where I was standing. That one attack created a crater, erasing a city block in an instant.
"...I was so careless. I can't just leave him alone, after all."
This is an unprecedentedly enormous enemy. The other head, looking up, was so far away it was hidden in the clouds. Jormungand was rampaging through the vast land of the circus, as if it was a small garden.
I gripped my greatsword, Durandal, and faced off against the World Serpent.
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