Chapter 95: Compromise

At this moment, I'm about to lose a game of chess.

Some people might think that I should have more important things to do right now, but there's no helping it. I asked Arana and she told me that the wording of 'WHEN the day of fire arrives as opposed to 'IF' means that it's going to happen no matter what. Since Ranna knows a lot about prophecies she might be able to help me come up with a plan, but first I need to know more about what the day of fire is exactly.

And if there's one person that should know, it would be Vilde himself. That's why I came running down here as fast as I could, it certainly took me a lot less time to reach the bottom this time around. But then Vilde reminded me of the deal we made last time, that he would tell me everything he knows if I could beat him at chess. Which is bad...

"And I believe this is checkmate."

...Because it doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon.

"Uh... Since I got a bit closer to winning than last time, could you tell me at least a little bit?"

"You're already aware of the rules. I would not want you to get used to being able to bend them whenever it's convenient for you."

"Convenient for me?! You know that you're the one who's going to die, right?"

"That does seem to be the case, yes."

"Then why are you so calm? I was expecting a bigger reaction when I told you about the prophecy."

"I've already lived far longer than I should have." He says with a shrug of his shoulders. "That said. My demise might indeed bring about some... Problems. And it seems like we're not going to have as much time as I first believed."

"So? Will you-"

"First things first. I need you to share what you already know. Did you say that you've already made yourself acquainted with some demons?"

"Ah, yes. I also wanted you to take a look at this."

I brought the last large chunk of crystalized void mana I have left. My guess is that Vilde might have something to say about it.

"This is..."

"It's void mana."

"I see, I'll take care of it right away."

Without a moment of hesitation, he begins to inject fire mana into the crystal with the apparent aim to destroy it.

"W-wait a moment! Don't destroy it!" I try to grab it back, but he doesn't let me. At least he seems to have stopped breaking it.

"Perhaps you are not aware, but void mana is extremely dangerous. You should always dispose of it as soon as possible if you ever find any."

"I know that it's dangerous, but I need it for my research!"

"Why would you want to research something like that? Void mana is the antithesis to life, nothing good can come from it."

"That's not something I can know for sure unless I properly study it. And even if there are really no benign uses for void magic, I could also find more effective methods to fight against it."

"If you have faced a demon you should have already experienced the nature of their powers. They do not merely attack your body and mind, but also your very soul. Do you not fear that you might end up obtaining knowledge that you are not meant to have?"

"I don't believe in knowledge that I'm not meant to have."

"Mmm, I see."

With a small smile, Vilde passes the crystal back to me.

"Are you really ok with giving this back to me?"

"Why not? You seem to be quite determined in your pursuit of knowledge. And I already had my chance to face the demons a long time ago, a chance that I wasted. I have no right to deny you the opportunity to use your own methods."

"You fought against the void demons?"

"Indeed. I would go as far as to say that fighting demons was my purpose, the reason why I exist. Which I suppose makes me a complete failure. And the demons are also the reason why I had to live for so long."

"The more I hear you talk, the more I think that I need to hear what you know about the void demons."

Something about what I just said seems to have sounded strange, causing Vilde to raise an eyebrow.

"May I ask why you keep referring to them as 'void demons' as opposed to just 'demons'?"

"Oh, I just decided to call them that to differentiate them."

"To differentiate them from what?"

"Ah, that's right. If you have been in this cavern for such a long time, you probably don't know about the manaborn's name change."

"Name change?"

This is the first time I see Vilde look upset. He looks a bit scary like this.

"Well... let me explain."

I told Vilde about the war against the demon king and how everyone started calling the manaborn 'demons'. His mood only seemed to get worse as he listened.

"And the manaborn just accepted that? If this is a jest, it's not funny."

"I'm serious, I know that it sounds weird but it really happened."

"Well, it shouldn't have happened. It would be no wonder if such a wretched name caused the manaborn to become less kind."

"Uh, is the name of a race something that can affect their behavior?"

"Words are a powerful thing, they can easily alter the way we perceive reality. To be given a name with such bad connotations can change the way people think of themselves. And that is especially true for those that are born from mana, after all, mana responds to the feelings of living beings."

"I see..."

I still think that he's exaggerating. Then again, this makes sense. If he dedicated his life to fighting demons, it's normal for him to be upset when learning that his kind is now named after those very same demons.

"You mentioned that you had become an actual queen?"

"Yes, of the demon wasteland."

"It would be preferable to call it the manaborn wasteland. Since you are a queen, you should be able to change the name back to manaborn."

"No, I don't think that I can do that..."

Vilde lets out a sigh.

"Could you promise that you will at least keep it in mind?"

"Uh, sure. But in exchange, could you tell me what you know about the 'day of fire'?"

The former god of fire stops to think for a moment, stroking his goatee.

"I didn't want to burden you with something like that this early, but my imminent death might indeed diminish the time we have available. Perhaps we could reach a compromise."

"A compromise?"

"If you cannot win a game of chess, then how about a fight? I won't tell you everything just yet, but I will share what you need to know."

"Uh, I don't think I want to fight you..."

"Do not fret, it will be a mere friendly match. And I won't even ask that you defeat me. If you manage to hurt me once, I'll be satisfied."

"But if I fight someone as strong as you, I won't be able to afford to hold back. What if I end up hurting you?"

"You talk as if you were afraid of your own power."

"That's because I am! Just imagine if I lost control. With how strong I am, I could kill a lot of people and nobody would be able to stop it. I'm terrified of my power."

"Good, make sure to keep it like that."

"Eh?"

That's not what I was expecting him to say.

"What you said is true, your power is certainly dangerous, but it might also be necessary in the near future. It's good that you fear your power. If that was not the case... Well, let's just say that you might end up locking yourself in some cave for the rest of your life. But that's all the more reason why you should learn how to use it, you need to experience what a serious fight is like. And I'm the perfect opponent for you, after all, I possess the 'immortality' skill, so there's no need to fear hurting me."

"Did you say immortality?"

"Well, that skill is not as absolute as the name suggests. For someone like you, it would be a simple matter to find a way to kill me. But killing me by accident is impossible, you need not worry."

"Uh... If you put it that way I don't seem to have a choice. Alright, I'll fight you."

The moment I accepted the fight, Vilde turned around and covered his mouth in an attempt to stifle a sound... I think that I just heard him squeal, that can't be right...

"Marvelous! It's been so long since I last had the chance to wield Helen."

"Is that... Is that your weapon?"

I don't know where it came from, but Vilde is holding a strange pitchfork with three prongs. Just from looking at it, I can tell that it's made from some powerful materials, I don't think that's just a farming tool.

"Precisely. Do you have weapons and equipment of your own?"

"I do, but nothing that could be considered adequate for our level."

"In that case, I'll let you borrow some of mine. Pick whatever you want from that pile over there."

"You know. If I ever have some time I really should help you organize this room... Actually, are we going to fight in this room? You said that you cannot leave."

"That arena where you fought the hell dragon is as far as I can go. In fact, it was made in case there was someone I needed to fight."

"I see, in that case, I'll start looking for some equipment I can use."

Now that I think about it, this is the first time I'm fighting someone that I'll probably lose against. Uh... now I'm starting to get nervous, I said that I didn't want to hurt him but perhaps I should be more worried about myself.

"Seeing you get so tense over a mere spar is proof that you need this. It would be terrible if the first time you found yourself in a serious fight was against an opponent that actually wanted to kill you."

He's trying to make it sound as if he was only doing this to help me, but he cannot hide how excited he is about the idea of fighting me...

Just what did I get myself into.

forli