---

After deciding to think carefully about the name of the ship, I decided to simply refer to this flying craft as a “Carrier.”

“While there are swimming pools and other cultural facilities, the real purpose of this Carrier is the transportation of Spirit Devices.”

I pointed to the empty space on the Carrier, right above the swimming pool, which took up the most extensive area.

“This is where we can store the Spirit Devices. It would be preferable not to summon the Spirit Devices, but if we must, we’ll minimize the time it takes to do so.”

“Are you saying that if a Hero summons the Spirit Device near the Carrier, it will be summoned faster?”

“Exactly. It’s like taking tools out of a toolbox instead of fetching them from a storage area—it’s much quicker.”

Spirit Devices can be summoned using the Holy Sword, and although they can be summoned from anywhere in the world, the time taken to summon them naturally correlates with the distance.

“No matter how much the Spirit Device defies the laws of physics when summoned, it’s obvious that if there’s a physical distance involved, it will take time. Hence, we transport the Spirit Devices here.”

“If something like what happened with Belselphia occurs…”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Belselphia is special; other Spirit Devices are typically stored away somewhere. For example…”

I conjured a flame.

“Where’s the Holy Flame Sword Spirit Device?”

“Um… the hottest place on this land?”

“Or maybe the place that receives the most sunlight year-round?”

“It’s stashed inside a volcano.”

When summoned, the Holy Flame Sword emerges grandly with arms crossed from within the magma.

“The Water Spirit Device used to be in a deep-sea temple, but that temple has transformed into Belselphia now. Originally, it would have been somewhere like ancient ruins, covered in coral and seaweed.”

Celsius was sincere about polishing and decorating the Spirit Device, which is why it looked so clean when I summoned it outside. Typically, when summoning it for the first time, it remains in an unmanaged state.

“This hangar is where we clean and maintain the appearance of the Spirit Devices. The Wind Spirit Device has likely been neglected for so long that now, after Lucius awakens it, it will just need a little tidying up.”

“Do we… have to clean it?”

“No, not really. Typically, sealed artifacts that have been sleeping for a long time reappear in their former states upon awakening, just like what happened with the Holy Sword. Lucius, do you remember when you released the seal on the Holy Sword?”

“It was covered in rust and dirt, but it disappeared in an instant.”

“Oh, now that you mention it…”

Droniel nodded, clapping his hands.

As the only one in this party who witnessed Lucius’s Hero awakening, he would know what state the Holy Wind Sword, which had been considered merely a tourist attraction for 500 years, was in when it was just stuck in the plaza.

“The rust disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place.”

“Right. It’s similar to a thin protection barrier made of mana. Before awakening, all the foreign materials stuck outside the protection barrier fallen away in an instant—those foreign materials were sticking there due to magical effects.”

Those foreign materials were known as the Demon Lord’s seal.

“Well, not every Holy Sword or Spirit Device will be like the Holy Wind Sword. The reason the Holy Wind Sword is special is simply that it hasn’t been handled by people for a long time; there’s no other reason.”

“That’s true. Except for the fact that it appeared 500 years ago… it seems like the Holy Wind Sword hardly ever made an appearance before that.”

That makes sense.

It’s an item obtained by a woman from another world through very special means.

I don’t even know how it was obtained. I only learned where it originally was when it was sealed at the last moment.

“I think that among the owners of the Holy Sword, there were probably those who disliked the Holy Sword itself.”

“Huh?”

“Because the power of the Holy Sword is so strong, some people might have lost themselves to it or lost everything because of it. While the Holy Sword has been passed down as a sacred sword for a long time, it may have been a cursed sword for someone.”

Having immense power could lead to a broken previous life and fall into despair—a fate more common than one might think.

Take Lucius, for example. If I didn’t care for him, he might become infatuated with other women, wield the Holy Sword for them, and end up discarded like a fool used for a lifetime.

“It’s true that a good Hero is often the one who gets backstabbed.”

Who knows?

Even if he saved the world, he could be struck by the curse of petrification by someone and never wake up.

“So, the owner of the Holy Wind Sword… perhaps the previous owner, Ascalon, had similar thoughts. While other Holy Swords may be different, he probably wished that this Holy Sword, which he was the owner of, wouldn’t roam the world and destroy someone’s life.”

“…It feels a bit sad to say this, but I think it’s a shame.”

“From a global perspective, it’s unfortunate, but we can’t know what the owner of the Holy Sword thought when making that judgment. Now, here’s a question.”

I shaped the flames I had conjured in the air into a key, a lock, and a door.

“There’s a door that can only be entered with a key from the outside. Then, after the person with the key opened the door and entered, they locked it and died, leaving the key inside. How can the next person open the door?”

“…They can’t open it, obviously. Ah.”

“The Holy Sword is the key.”

“Correct.”

The previous Wind Hero, the Holy Sword user, arrived at the Sky Island.

“He must have arrived at the Sky Island. The way there can be managed solo by a Hero of the Holy Sword. But after arriving… what he did, specifically, is unknown, but he tossed the Holy Sword into the Sky Island and vanished.”

“…Isn’t that strange?”

“Indeed, it is strange. If that were the case, then no one would be able to hold the key inside the door and come out. So, the Holy Wind Sword is a bit unique and special.”

It’s a somewhat irritating story.

“The story from 500 years ago. You know that the Demon Lord Belphegor secured all the other Holy Swords, right?”

“Yes. Leaving the Holy Wind Sword last… he defeated all the other Heroes.”

“Exactly. Six Holy Swords were gathered. Whether the Demon Lord knew where the Holy Wind Sword was at that time is uncertain, but…”

He didn’t know.

“…At the very least, after some time, he would have realized that it was somewhere. Who do you think was worried about that?”

“There must have been many concerned people, but… by what you just said, it means someone who knew where the Holy Wind Sword was was worried, right?”

“Yes. Correct. Someone who knew the Holy Wind Sword was on the Sky Island and who could give it to the Heroes of that time… No, someone who could hand the Holy Wind Sword to make a Hero.”

An entity that is a cheat in itself.

But one who went to such lengths as to pay a price to stop my world conquest.

“The Goddess intervened. She personally retrieved the Holy Wind Sword and chose a Hero to defeat the Demon Lord.”

“The Goddess…!”

“It’s not the Moon Goddess.”

Yan’s eyes sparkled for a moment before sinking immediately.

“It’s the Red Moon Goddess.”

Not the Blue Moon Goddess, who is currently overflowing with faith.

She’s a being known only to exist in history, with hardly any faith left.

“The fall of the Red Moon Goddess Church was due to a lack of Divine Power, right? That all occurred 500 years ago when the Red Moon Goddess intervened in the Intermediate Realm.”

A religion that barely maintains its lineage, weakened to the point of being less influential than local folk beliefs.

…Only I know the truth about her, a secret of the world that I cannot share with anyone.

“The Red Moon Goddess descended to reclaim the Holy Sword to defeat the Demon Lord.”

“……That’s unbelievable. If the Goddess acted like that, why has no one known until now?”

“The Goddess can’t directly intervene in the Intermediate Realm. It’s the same for the Demon Race, but it’s rare for parties from the Celestial Realm and Demon World to arrive directly, right?”

Angels from the Celestial Realm appear in the Intermediate Realm based on faith.

Demons from the Demon World materialize in the Intermediate Realm through contracts, forming physical bodies.

The reason they take such inconvenient paths is one.

“The Celestial Realm and Demon World cannot directly intervene in the Intermediate Realm. A broad barrier protecting the world stretches across the Intermediate Realm, and to breach that barrier, one would need to exert such strength that it’s practically like changing one’s own body.”

“A barrier? No matter how strong it is, a barrier…”

“It’s a barrier formed by the powers of the seven Holy Swords brought together as one. It’s a barrier that separates the worlds.”

“……That seems impossible.”

Because those who have seen the power of the Holy Swords and are Heroes of the Holy Swords have no choice but to believe what I say.

What will they do if they don’t believe?

“Only the living beings of nature that exist in this land can survive. A system has been established to prevent anyone from crossing over from other worlds. Far away, in the night sky, there exists an invisible barrier that we can’t see. This is a term from the Demon Race, but… they called it the ‘O-ZONE.'”

“What?”

“Ozone. All the mana flowing from this land rises into the sky, forming a barrier that protects this land. If that were to disappear… whether Celestials or Demons, they could easily come and go into the Intermediate Realm. And if the seven Holy Swords were gathered, they could easily eliminate the Ozone.”

“Ah…”

“Do you understand? If the Demon Lord gathers the seven Holy Swords, it means that the Demons can come into the Intermediate Realm without any restrictions. The same goes for the Celestials, but then, the Intermediate Realm would become a battlefield for the Celestial Horse War.”

500 years ago.

The Wind Hero attempted to destroy the Ozone.

He intended to shake the atmosphere and cause all the Holy Swords I held to rampage before using himself as a core to completely alter the planet’s atmosphere.

People would struggle to breathe due to the altered concentration and properties of mana.

The protective barrier securing the world would be destroyed, and beings from another dimension would come through one by one to dominate the Intermediate Realm.

“The Sky Island lies within the Ozone.”

The Holy Wind Sword.

Ascalon.

“In a way, we’re at the frontline protecting the Intermediate Realm from alien invasions. We’re going there.”

On this ship.

“Just about 20 kilometers straight up is all we need to go.”

Towards the night sky.

 

---