On an Empty Stage (1)

  Those who were left behind didn’t accept the fact that Evan was gone for a while. It was all too sudden. Well, what was sudden was the battle with the Devil. The Demons hurried the descent, so the party was thrown into battle. They managed to summon the Devil, but they ran away after a bit. Perhaps they would run wild somewhere until they ran out of energy and disappeared.

  “Are there any surviving Demons?”


  “Some seem to have fled beyond the Demon Realm. The gate is…”


  The gate had been destroyed. To be exact, the doors to all other dimensions were forced to close when the Devil was sealed. In other words, only the tactful among the Demons fled to the Demon Realm in advance, and the rest of them who were tactless and unlucky remained on this land and were killed.

  “…This silence.”


  “I don’t even feel a single demon. It’s all because it’s sealed…”


  It was a place where such a fierce battle took place, but now it was calm as if nothing had happened. It was because the Demon Realm and the cracks in the Mana Realm were closed, leaving only the energy of Middle Earth. Then, Mirole, who was staring blankly at only the traces of the gate that had gone in, suddenly looked up.

  “My mother…”


  “Mother? Do you mean the World Tree?”


  “Yes, my mother…she’s up.”


  She had been lying down all this time. Just as Leo was going to ask so tactlessly, everyone realized what Mirole meant-

  Finally!-

  It’s been a long wait…but now you’re free to run around!

  – There are fairies in this frozen land, but…it’s so cold!

  Even though they were in the Eternal Glacier, the warm breeze from the far south tickled their cheeks warmly. Any Elf could hear the voices of the spirits mixed in the wind.

  “The spirits that were protected in the ancient forest…began to spread throughout the continent.”


  “Even in the Eternal Glacier?”


  “It may still be difficult here. It’s an area that has an extreme yin in nature…the spirits that originally lived here…”


  Mirole, who was speaking, suddenly squinted. As she began looking around for something, she muttered with a small smile.

  “She ran away; I don’t know where or how she ran away.”


  “Ran away…? No, then what should I do?”


  Realizing that Mirole had no intention of explaining the situation to others, Leo shrugged and turned to his wife. Aria looked at her husband whilst wearing a ridiculous expression.

  “We are the guests of this world now, Leo. We don’t have to do anything on our own, and we can’t do that. We’re going to use this artifact to…all you have to think about is going back to your hometown.”


  “No, but people shouldn’t do that. Even if the magic is sealed and the cracks in this world are closed, it’s still a chaotic world. At least, let’s get these guys a seat,” Leo said that, pointing to a group of Allies troops recovering their casualties.

  “It’s arrogance, Leo. They’re strong enough. So let it go…”


  “Well, wait a minute.”


  Aria shook her head and blamed Leo. Some wondered if the Allies’ faces exchanged glances with each other, and one of the human beings, who claimed to be the representative, tilted his head and replied, “We’re coming with you.”


  “Together? Where?”


  “Aren’t you going to see Zero?”


  Leo nodded nonchalantly to affirm.

  “Well, there you go.”


  “Then, of course, we should go, too. He’s the only god we have.”


  “…”


  What were they talking about? You’re going to follow Evan through the battle, and now you’re going to follow him to modern Sherden?

  “No.”


  Aria answered firmly on Leo’s behalf.

  “You are the people of this age, of this time. Breaking that order isn’t right.”


  “We have to follow you, then.”


  It was the witch Sharay who had said that.

  “The things God has given us were out of place in this day and age. When he first passed on his abilities to us, he probably expected us to be consumed by fighting with the demons. But…”


  “Ah…”


  Most battles were fought only by the strong, and even early in the battle, the gods came forward and swept away the demons, allowing the Allies to fight in a relatively safe environment. Nevertheless, the fact that there were casualties proved to be a bumpy ride in the battle, but it was still true that the composition was quite different from Evan’s initial expectations.

  “Um…”


  Aria was lost in thought for a moment with the Allies of different races in front of them. They were, of course, weaker than Aria or Leo, but it was also clear that they would become the leading force in the world if they were all armed with dragon weapons. Unless she would kill them here, she thought that maybe taking them to the future would be the best option.

  “Of course, not everyone wants to stay. I’m looking to get some support.”


  “Uhm, it is also important to stay in this world and spread his doctrine.”


  “Do you perform god’s mission yourself, or do you stay here to spread his doctrine…either way, it’s a critical mission!”


  “All our land fairies will follow him. If you’re not with him, you’re not dealing with this much material.”


  “No, there may still be mysteries hidden in this earth!”


  “Well, then our forest fairies…”


  “We have to protect the Mother Tree!”


  “Ha, but since he is the king of the forest, shouldn’t we protect him, too?”


  The Allies began making noise and splitting between the resident and the expedition group. However, many elves fell on their stomach while wriggling in despair as Mirole, the head of the elves, declared that all forest fairies should live near the World Water in the forest.

  “My queen, are you doing that because you couldn’t go with him?”


  “The queen was dumped, but we still don’t know if we were dumped or not.”


  “Hmph, you’ve been beaten.”


  “…What did you just say?”


  Mirole, who wasn’t very happy because she had to let Evan go, found a target to relieve her stress temporarily. Aria sighed as she watched the noisy scene. It occurred to her that the part where they naturally engaged in nonsense looked very much like Evan, who they followed. Then Sharay, who was still staring at her, and Aria, who made eye contact with her, said, “No way.”


  “…No, Sharay. Don’t tell me you’re going to follow us.”


  “Well, I’m…”


  Sharay was one of two witches who played the role of sealing the spell. So, she would irresponsibly follow them into modern times? Aria wondered about the idea, but the situation was straightforward.

  “I tied myself up there.”


  “Are…you talking about this necklace?”


  “Yes, the Necklace World.”


  That constraint was natural to gain the power to seal the Devil. The Devil had to be killed to be lifted entirely. Until then, Sharay could neither escape the side of Miraseul’s Necklace nor use Magic.

  “…You, don’t tell me.”


  But Aria maintained her suspicious expression.

  “Somehow…you didn’t tie yourself to the necklace to be with Zero, did you?”


  Sharay didn’t answer; she just smiled a little. What kind of a girl was this? Evan would have freaked out.

  “There will be no problem with the seal. Isn’t that right, Arpa?”


  “Yes, hmph, if I knew this would happen, I’d tie myself to the necklace…”


  “Someone had to stay. I’m sorry, Arpa.”


  “Well, I didn’t have a crush on god Oppa from the beginning anyway, so it’s okay.”


  “Really?”


  “…I wish he were my real brother, but that’s all!”


  Aria tilted her head when she heard the conversation between the two. Both placed restrictions on themselves, allowing them to exercise their magic beyond humans only before the Devil. By the way…Sharay’s super-strong approach to tying her existence to the Necklace World made it possible, but what did Arpa offer for not doing so? But Arpa, noticing her gaze, replied with a snort.

  “Why do you look at me like that? I’m not going to teach you. I didn’t even teach god Oppa.”


  “…Stop. You, don’t tell me.”


  Aria, who noticed something, opened her mouth wide open. But now that it didn’t mean anything to tell Arpa, she just gulped and sulked alone.

  “Oh, you got a good one, Naz?”


  “…Yes.”


  At that time, Arpa, who was rubbing the spot where Evan left, picked something up from the floor and called out Naz’s name. Naz, the youngest of three witch sisters, the only child who hadn’t mastered constraint magic. It was impossible for her to deal directly with the Devil or help with the seal, and on this battlefield, she focused on supporting those who fought the Demon Tribes. Even if she couldn’t use the magic, she also caught a large number of dragons and went through a colossal level-up, so the number of lives she saved was immeasurable.

  “I think you should have this.”


  “Why, all of a sudden…oh.”


  Naz, who received the goods from Arpa, opened her eyes wide. It was a fragment of the glove that Evan was wearing. The gloves were finally torn apart as the battle between Evan and Devil was an equal battle of divinity. In the meantime, incorporating the runes on the gloves into their weapons was a mixture of the divinity of other gods so that the gloves couldn’t remain intact.

  “Zero…without this, will he be okay?”


  “Then from now on, you’re going to work on this. So that your descendants can help god Oppa with the power of this text.”


  Naz blinked at Arpa’s words. “My descendants?”


  “Isn’t it obvious? Sharay’s all tied up there.”


  Sharay, who was beckoned by Arpa, turned her head. The other men were secretly showing their disapproval.

  “I’ll be like this for the time being.”


  Anyone listening to the conversation thought so but eventually couldn’t ask.

  “So, you’re the only one who can leave our blood.”


  “Yes, uh, but.”


  “Please, can you do it?”


  “…Ugh, ugh.”


  Naz nodded, looking like she was about to cry. Arpa then gave a light kiss on her sister’s forehead.

  “Okay, then I’ll go ahead.”


  “Where?”


  Arpa replied with a playful smile at Sharay’s question. “Well, I’m just going to hide.”


  Then she thought of something and added, “But I’ll probably be back by the time the Devil is resurrected. See you then, Sharay…unnie.”


  “Arpa!”


  With that word, she magically disappeared from the spot.

  “…Wasn’t she good at magic?”


  “The restrictions on that kid were a little different. Of course, she still can’t use magic to attack the enemy, but other magic can be used depending on the field.”


  It was probably to protect herself from being left in this world; only after hearing it did Aria find out that these witches weren’t very confident. conditions should be lost, the two put different constraints on themselves to assist Evan in the worst-case scenario. As a result, they were able to seal the Devil successfully, and the two shared the responsibilities of the seal and headed to different places.

  “Huh, what a mysterious charm she has. But don’t you think you’ve seen it somewhere before, Aria?”


  “What’s attractive about that?”


  “No, that’s not what I’m saying now!”


  At the last minute, Leo felt something strange with his senses and asked Aria, who glared back at him with murder in her eyes. Naz and Sharay smiled bitterly at each other as they watched Arpa’s departure.

  Soon after, Naz hid a fragment of Evan’s glove, and Sharay couldn’t help but click her tongue.