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“…Su…zaku..?”
“..! Da’at! You’re awake! Just hold on there, I’m almost…”

While weak, everyone had heard Da’at Criferd’s voice.
That filled Suzaku with renewed hope, bracing his arms to keep going.

“No, you don’t have to. I just remembered everything…”

Shaking her head, she looked down, a shadow looming over her eyes.

“She…she’s right. I used to be the Da’at Criferd that accompanied the first emperor Eurelia. Then I decided to let go of it all, I’m just the useless empty shell left behind since then.”

At first she was a really shy spirit, always timidly hiding behind her older sister, Da’at Seyfert.
That changed when the first emperor, the Red Lion Emperor Aurelia Argent came and said that she needed Da’at Criferd by her side, gaining her trust and adoration.
With time…the emperor’s life also came to an end, and Da’at Criferd mourned her to a crippling degree.

After the emperor’s death, people seemed to forget about her almost overnight, something Da’at found unforgivable.
Soon people also began to embellish and reinvent the stories of the emperor’s life.
New rulers came, who largely had no idea of the empire’s true history, while using its glory for their own gain.
There were exceptions too, and not everyone did it on purpose, Da’at Criferd’s nature as the seed of the Underworld Tree made her especially sensitive to such negative thoughts.
…And when it became too much to bear, she sealed away her memories and her power.
The burden of that separation put her in a deep sleep, waking up as an amnesiac and innocent little girl, wandering around aimlessly. That was all she could do to protect this world shaped by the emperor.

The story came out through short sentences, as Da’at just looked down, looking lifeless and like she had given up on everything.

“…in the end it didn’t work. Everything I sealed away woke up as Belial. All I did in my ignorance moved forward the process to bring back the Underworld Tree. I just ruined everything. At this rate I’ll become the Underworld Tree, so please, Suzaku, kill me before-”
“…I’ve had enough with your stupid garbage!”
“Hyah?!”

*SLAM!!*

The whole barrier shook violently as Suzaku punched it with all his might, startling Da’at.

“When did you start acting so selfless and righteous? I’ve never heard you say you’re useless or you’re gone or you’re giving up!!”
“Hey…Suzaku! She just woke up, why are you being so mean to her?!”

He continued pummeling the barrier protecting Da’at Criferd, who was starting to get riled up from the unexpected reaction.

“You want me to kill you? You want to die? You? I don’t believe that at all!!”
“B-But…”
“If you really want that, why is there a barrier in front of you!!”

Her body twitched again, as the thunderous hits repeated.
But…to Suzaku that looked like she was reacting to his words.

“I…”
“Say it!”
“I want…”
“What! Tell me, just like all your selfish requests!”

Continuously rattled by the hits to the barrier…Da’at finally seemed to break down as she raised her voice.

“…I want to live! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to become the Underworld Tree!! I want to travel with you again..!!”

It was like a visceral cry directly from her heart…and the barrier around her shattered, as the caster no longer wished it to be there.

“…Really? Then I’ll become a proper seed, be a good girl and die now.”
“Huh…”
“Be-?!”

The shards of light from the barrier had not faded fully when Belial appeared behind Da’at, moving faster than Suzaku, Crim, and the rest could react.
They just watched in shock, almost like everything turned into slow motion, as Belial’s thorn clad hand plunged into Da’at’s defenseless back, just where her heart would be if she was human.
*SHINK!*

“…What?!”

Everyone thought Belial’s fingers were already inside Da’at’s back…but they bounced off at the last possible moment, stopped by a glowing barrier.

“…I knew it was worth waiting for the right moment.”
“…Shao?!”

Crim rushed forward to cover Da’at, while glaring at the person who had suddenly joined the scene.
Suzaku’s shadow stirred and morphed, and one person emerged from it…the leader of Lan Canglong, Shao, who originally was not with their group.

“You’re the blue one… Why are you here?!”

Belial was clearly displeased that her perfect chance had been thwarted, staring daggers at the one responsible for stopping her, while he merely shrugged like it was of little importance.

“That’s easy, I enjoy being annoying.”

His lips curled into a mischievous grin as he stared back at Belial, giving a simple explanation.

“Actually, I was tracking them since before the fight started. I really wanted to trip up Crim at the worst moment for her, but then I was persuaded to intervene if they lowered their guard like this. I know how much you enjoy low blows, so I used shadow-walking to wait for this moment.”
“You really are the worst..!”
“Thank you, I’ll take that as a compliment. A loser’s tears are the sweetest after all, especially if they act just as I predicted.”

Shao looked more than pleased with himself as he laughed about it, while Crim and the rest were half thankful for him, and half annoyed just like Belial.

“And also…I really hate bad endings the most. I can’t stand knowing there’s someone out there other than me gloating about getting away with ruining everything.”
“I despise bad endings just as much, but I’m not sure I agree with that reasoning…”

The way Shao described his distaste felt a bit misplaced to Crim, but the three Demon Lords moved into position to face off against Belial.

“Alright, should we do it then?”
“…Better not, I’ll just give up this time.”

With Crim and Sorleon surrounding her, she understood there was nothing she could do and quickly vanished from there.
After verifying that she really was gone, Crim and the rest finally lowered their weapons.

“Well… I believe we’ve done everything we can here.”

Shao walked away, while signaling at Crim and the rest to do the same.
They all followed him without questions, knowing that it was best to give Suzaku and Da’at some time alone.

“Hm…somehow things got really complicated…”
“Well, that’s nothing new for us.”
“You think so? Hahah…I guess you’re right.”

The two left behind watched as everyone else left, chuckling nervously for a moment.
Somehow all of the events had left both of them completely calm.

“So…do you think you’ll be able to resist the Underworld Tree?”

She replied by shaking her head. A mass of wriggling roots had already taken hold of her feet, exuding a crystalline amber that began swallowing her and everything around her.

“At the First Emperor’s eleventh hour, she rescinded her control of this power, deciding that it was the people of this land who should decide what to do with it instead. With the help of *those who commanded the power of the first Qliphoth*, she sealed the mass of spent mana…that which would flow to the Underworld Tree otherwise, beneath the old imperial capital.”

Da’at revealed that all the power that normally would be spent to turn the World Tree into the Underworld Tree remained locked away beneath the old imperial capital, but it was only a matter of time before the seal would break, as that power was stirred the moment the seed within Da’at was awakened.

“I can already tell that once free, all that mana will flow through the Leylines from the old capital all the way here.”

If that was allowed to happen, nothing would be able to stop the seed from sprouting and growing… Da’at’s voice was calm as she explained it all, but her face showed she was suffering, struggling to keep that power at bay herself. All Suzaku could do was bite his lip and listen to her words.

“I really don’t want to become the Underworld Tree. I’ll seal myself away so I can delay that from happening, so please…”

Her body was about to be fully enveloped by the amber crystals when Da’at Criferd voiced her final plea.

“Please…Suzaku… Save me..!!”
“Heh, so you finally said it… Alright, if that’s what you want.”

Hearing her desperate supplication, the hero acted as usual, like he had no other option, and accepted her request.

“So basically all I have to do is go and somehow deal with all that power locked away. I’ll come back to fetch you once that’s taken care of…so just hold on tight until then!”

The crystals were already around her neck as Suzaku somehow managed to get those words out.
Hearing him, tears welled up in Da’at’s eyes, but she still let out a smile and nodded firmly.

“Mhm…I’ll be waiting for you. I know you’ll save me…I believe in you, Suzaku!!”
“Yeah, I promise!! I’ll make sure to come wake you up when it’s safe again…so just take it easy and sleep there!!”

As soon as he was done saying that…the crystals completely engulfed the girl, sealing her away.
There was only a tall amber pillar in front of the World Tree now, with Da’at Criferd’s smile and tears frozen within. Suzaku stood there, clenching his fists.

“Silly girl…at least put on a better face if you’ll get frozen in time.”
“Then you better hurry up and wake her up, right Suzaku?”

Haru stood next to him, also looking at Da’at’s present state, and Suzaku nodded firmly.
He no longer looked like the uncaring guy that just went with the flow, his eyes were burning with determination.

“But…we’ll still have to wait three months first.”

He glanced at the corner of his eye, where the countdown until the barrier blocking access to the old imperial capital had appeared.
That area was going to unlock in March of the next year…right around the first anniversary since Destiny Unchain Online went live.
Taking note of that, he took a deep breath to calm his impatience and went to pick up his sword, as he had dropped it earlier. Then he went up to Sorleon, who was watching everything unfold from a distance with the rest.

“Sorleon, I have a request for you, the Black Demon Lord and leader of the strongest guild of the first server.”

Saying that, he brandished his incomplete sword, Demonic Sword Gram (Apocrypha), and lowered his head.

“Train me, make me as strong as I can be in three months, when the way to the old imperial capital unlocks. Please.”
“Does that mean you want to come with us on raids so you can get a share of stronger material drops?”
“That, and anything else you can think of.”

Suzaku raised his head saying that…and Sorleon let out a chuckle seeing him, reaching out for a handshake.

“Heh, alright. If you think I’m the right person, I’ll help you out.”
“…Thank you.”

Hearing Sorleon’s response, Suzaku could not stop himself from shedding a tear as he bowed again…