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“Really, you were so reckless.”

Looking at the fainted Sei, Castor grinned. Although Sei was still immature, Castor was honestly impressed by a youth with such prospects. It wasn’t easy for one to realize his own power was insufficient and yet refuse to give up, finding a way to breakthrough. His power and experience were lacking, but if he had a good mentor…perhaps he would become a monster.

Thinking so, Castor looked forward to Sei’s growth in the future. However, now was not the time to dwell on that. Sei had sacrificed himself to create an opportunity, therefore it was the responsibility of their guardian to turn that opportunity into victory.

“Storm Pressure!”

The mana released by Castor turned into winds above the lamia and the dryad. It then became a heavy air pressure that crushed the opponents and rendered them unable to move. The army had already been scattered by Castor, while the spiderkin had been defeated by Sei. In other words, if these two were defeated as well, the battle would be over.

“Wh—What is it?! I can’t move…”

“Ugh, crap…This…”

The dryad and the lamia were desperately trying to escape, but unfortunately, the level difference was too great. Castor moved his finger to bind them together with an invisible wind rope, completely neutralizing them.

“Well, let’s leave it like this.”

“As expected, this is what it means to be the Twelve Stars huh?”

Jean praised Castor for suppressing the enemies. Castor responded with a smile…but in the next moment, his expression became stiff. There was no need for explanation. This was because Sagittarius appeared before them in the next instant.

No, it wasn’t just him. Libra, Scorpius, Aigokeros, and Karkinos were with him as well. All of them had suffered considerable damage.

“Wh—What?!”

“Ev—Everyone…?! What actually…”

Their sudden appearances surprised Gants and agitated Virgo. They weren’t surprised merely because of their sudden appearances. While there was that, what truly shocked them was the extent of the injuries they had sustained.

The Twelve Stars were walking disasters, essentially a group of monsters that could individually challenge an entire country. It was unbelievable that several of them were chased to this place. Libra looked around and immediately grasped the present situation.

“This is…the demihuman village? It seems you have helped us, Sagittarius.”

Until just before, Libra and the others were fighting Leon in Tyrfing, but they were here now because of Sagittarius’ ability. By using the skill Alnasl which would surely hit the target, Sagittarius rescued the Twelve Stars by instantly moving them to the target location just as they were about to be struck by Leon. This also implied that he was not really following Leon according to his own heart.

“Thank you, Sagittarius! Me and the others were nearly annihilated.”

“…No need to thank me.”

In response to Karkinos’ words of thanks, Sagittarius turned his face away. Perhaps, he was feeling guilty about betraying Ruphas and the other Twelve Stars. Even if it was an act of impulse, he was standing on their side now. It couldn’t be helped anymore. At least, Leon would have considered his action to mean that he was now an enemy.

“Sagittarius-sama!”

“Derby? And those fallen over there are Sarjes and the others…? What happened here?”

When Derby called out to him, Sagittarius looked at the village in disbelief. There were obvious signs of battle, not to mention the captive demihumans. Moreover, there was even the spiderkin Sarjes, who was the executive of the demihuman alliance. It was obvious that something had happened in the village.

“That’s my line. You people should be in Tyrfing, so why are you here? Moreover, you’re together with Sagittarius…Can you tell me what is the current situation?”

Likewise, Castor and the others were also unable to grasp the situation. To them, it seemed the members who should have been in Tyrfing just suddenly showed up here.

Libra said, “Hmm,” and decided that firstly, it seemed necessary for them to try and grasp the current situation.

“That’s true. Then, let’s start by exchanging information.”

♌

Aries leaned against the ruined wall and squatted down.

He really wanted to follow Leon right away, but since he knew that he had no chance of victory, he just couldn’t move his legs. This wasn’t just a matter of his will and courage. It was also an instinct of what might happen to him if he opposed the ultimate predator, Leon.

The difference in rank was determined at the moment of birth. Aries was born a weakling who couldn’t win against anyone, destined to be a prey that would be eaten. Therefore, it should be impossible. For Aries to challenge Leon, it would be a violation of nature.

Predator and prey, strong and weak. This huge difference existed even if they were both magical beasts. This was a natural gap that would be difficult to bridge. Unlike the other Twelve Stars, he alone was different.

The Twelve Stars were a group of monsters, each of whom were named the strongest in their own ways. Before serving Ruphas, some of them had dominated vast territories of their own.

The Devil King of Hell (Aigokeros), the Queen of Poison (Scorpius), the Strongest Golem (Libra), the Toughest Magical Beast (Karkinos), the Manager of the Sanctuary (Parthenos), the Fairy Princess (Pollux), her other half the Strongest Male Fairy (Castor), and the World’s Best Archer (Sagittarius).

The Son of the Goddess (Pisces), the King of the Labyrinth (Taurus), the Empress of the Sea (Aquarius), and—the Lion King, Leon.

What was he even doing among them? Who was he actually?

All of the other Twelve Stars were strong from the start. They rightfully had their seats among the powerful. They had inherent abilities that Ruphas desired, so they became her subordinates.

However, he…he alone was different. He was allowed to take the seat. It was given to him.

Leon was right. He couldn’t think of any way to deny it. His power, position, and skills were all given to him by Ruphas. None of them were gained by himself. After all, a sheep was still a sheep, and a weakling remained a weakling.

If it was the Seven Luminaries, he could still manage somehow. But if he was faced with a truly strong opponent, his false mask would be peeled off and his inherent weakness would be exposed. Originally, Aries was not a combat-oriented magical beast, so his will to fight was naturally weak.

That was why there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t defeat Leon. He couldn’t do anything. Surely, Aigokeros and the others would do something about it this time. After all, they were strong, unlike himself.

“Are you not going to fight?”

Hearing a voice, Aries raised his head. It was Dina, who came back some time ago. During the battle, she was the first to leave after seeing the threat posed by Leon, but it seemed she had returned. Dina crouched before Aries and looked into his eyes.

“Leon-sama went after everyone.”

“…I know.”

Why is she preaching even though she ran away herself?

Aries thought so, but he didn’t say it aloud. It was a fact that he was a coward who did not join the battle. In that case, it couldn’t be helped no matter what was said about him.

“Even if I go there…it’s meaningless. I won’t be able to do anything. There’s no way I can defeat Leon.”

“Oh, but that’s not the case at all. Isn’t Leon-sama most frightened of Aries-sama?”

Although Dina seemed to be talking nonsense, Aries did not change his expression at all. Flattery was a common practice, but if there was too much, it would be exposed as a white lie. It would be really disheartening.

It was like motivating a child…It was like having a strong man tell a kid, who was playing with a papier-mâché toy sword, “Wow—Amazing, so amazing. You could kill even the Demon King in one hit.” He would feel like he was being played for a fool and just couldn’t take it seriously.

“The fire given to you by Ruphas-sama is an incomparable flame that shouldn’t normally exist and can vary its power according to the vitality of the opponent. No matter how powerful the opponent is, the threat you pose to him is always the same. The stronger your opponent, the stronger your flame will be, scaling in power without limits. Ruphas-sama devised this in order to break the existence that is remotely high above. The god-killing flame is given to you alone.”

“…Such flattery is gushing out of you so smoothly.”

“That’s because it’s true.”

Aries looked at Dina in a daze, while the latter had a smile on her face as usual. He still couldn’t understand what she was thinking, but her casual attitude was unwavering.

I don’t know her true character, Aries thought once again.

In his current memories, she indeed existed two hundred years ago. However, Libra said that it was a false memory that was planted by Dina. In that case, who was she truly? What was she doing here?

“But it’s impossible. You saw Leon’s power earlier, right? He was strong to begin with, then something strange happened…I can’t do anything about that.”

“Oh, the Goddess’ modification (One Pattern), right? It’s certainly annoying…but it’s okay. It actually isn’t as strong as it looks.”

Dina smiled and then said something really outrageous.

“That’s because—he’s the type of man that the Goddess hates most. It’s natural that it should be given. It’s natural that he should be blessed. There’s no appreciation at all. He just thinks that it’s his natural right to receive all these things. People like that are just fools. Because of them, the Goddess had to stop saving people and think of new methods. There’s no real power in him. She won’t be pouring any love into him.”

It was as if she was really familiar with what the Goddess liked.

“If Leon-sama wins and defeats Ruphas-sama and the rest, it would be very convenient for the Goddess. That’s why she is doing this…Her feelings must be really complicated right now, since this was an act of denial. That’s why the power she bestowed was just a small portion, a fragmentary piece. If he wins, it would be convenient. On the other hand, she thinks that he should lose. She wants him to lose.”

It was as if she was reading the thoughts of the Goddess.

“That guy doesn’t deserve to win. A deserving person is one who doesn’t bring shame to the name of the hero, a brave child who is nurtured to become the protagonist of the story…Therefore, technically, it’s fine even if Leon-sama loses. If he’s lucky, he can get rid of one or two members of the Twelve Stars. She doesn’t hope for any more than this. In the worst case scenario, it’s fine even if Leon-sama, who is the strongest of the Twelve Stars, continues to accumulate hatred and ends up dying without accomplishing anything. She isn’t expecting much from him to begin with, so she won’t have given him a lot of power.”

It was as if she knew what the goals of the Goddess were…

“A man like this is not needed.”

—That sounded as if she was the Goddess herself.

For the first time, Aries became cautious about Dina. He had been warned by Libra before, but he had thought sweetly of her in his heart. He couldn’t really consider her an enemy.

But it was different now. He felt perplexed that she might actually be an enemy. His suspicion of Dina was growing.

“Dina-san…Who are you, seriously?”

“Who am I, huh? I’m not really an existence that’s worth mentioning. But if I have to say, I’m someone who’s unable to become anyone.”

As she said this, Dina smiled as if she was mocking herself. And then, she stood up and raised her palm towards Aries. A variety of buff effects was applied to Aries, raising all his statuses.

“This is…”

“It’s nothing like the Goddess’ modification, but it’s still my full-powered buff with divine magic. This should make it a bit better. Now then, get going. Your battlefield is not here.”

“What about Dina-san?”

“I won’t be fighting, you know. After all, I’m just a weak girl.”

She smiled as she confidently said that she wouldn’t be joining the fight and then created a fracture in space. Apparently, she was fully intending to skip out on it. However, this was strangely just like her. Aries felt like he couldn’t say anything about it.

“Well then. Good luck.”

After those final words, Dina vanished completely. Aries was left there with a face like a foolish raccoon. Eventually, he looked up and leaped in the direction where Leon had leaped.

I’m not sure, but it seems my fear of Leon has diminished. Or maybe Dina did something I don’t know about.

Anyway, he would think about it later. Right now, he needed to head to the battlefield where his comrades were waiting.

Honestly, he was still anxious about whether he could fight on the same battlefield. But still, if he could use his power a bit more effectively…No, He didn’t believe in his own power. But he believed in Ruphas. And he possessed the power given by Ruphas. In that case…In that case, it should be possible to use it effectively. It would be impossible not to do so.

As Leon said, this fire was given to him by his master, so it wouldn’t be inferior to the power of the Goddess. He believed this. There was no doubt.

Therefore, Aries leaped. He didn’t want his master’s power to be considered inferior just because he was afraid.

Image from Light Novel Volume 5