CH 54

“I’m in no condition to help…Nadia right now …So, let me heal Fran and Kelly first, both of them..”

Lou muttered…then began to focus his thoughts.

Vine…

He was a fearsome devil who could read the True Names of wizards and manipulate them as his servants as he wished.

Since Vine knew Fran’s and Kelturi’s True Names…

Lou needed to use a certain Secret Technique ・・・・ called the Forbidden Spell.

To do so, he must borrow the great power of the ‘other entity’ that now existed inside Lou.

Lou called out the name of that descent with familiarity and reverence.

『Can you hear my voice? Lucifer!』

『I get it. If Vine committed the crime, I’m only and partially to blame.』

What was the True Name that Vine read in the first place?

The full names that they were currently using were the so-called aliases.  

It was just a temporary name.

True Name was…

It was the name given by the Creator, who ruled the universe, to each and every life with his blessing.　

In other words, a True Name, known only to the Creator, was a title that represented an individual.

Meanwhile, if a True Name was known to a third party…

The absolute power of the Creator in his name would deprive him of all his will.

That was to say, it was a frightening name that could allow a third party who knew someone’s True Name to control him at will.

『There’s no time to waste, I beg you as a contractor! The spell, please.』

『Mmm! I understand, Lou. I will rewrite the True Names bestowed to them by the Creator with the power of Lucifer, but only with their consent.』

『Okay, I’ll call directly to their souls and persuade them. In the meantime, I’ll have Moral protect everyone’s bodies…Moral! You’ve heard my telepathy, haven’t you? From the Spirit World, come forth! And do as I command!』　

After Lou chanted the Kotodama, miasma drifted about, and a space cracked.

The Present World and the Spirit World were now connected.

From the space, Lou’s follower, Moral, appeared in a kneeling position with her left hand on her chest.

“As you wish! I will protect Master Lou and the three women’s bodies.”

Lou  nodded to Moral and extended a hand to Fran’s chest first.

It was to touch the soul that dwelled in her heart.

Fran’s shapely breasts transmitted their suppleness to Lou’s hand.

As he closed his eyes and chanted a kotodama, he heard Fran’s voice in his soul.

It was a voice desperately calling and crying out for Lou.

『Lou! Where are you? Don’t leave me here! I don’t want to be alone anymore! I don’t want to be so sad!』

As if in response to Fran’s voice, Lou sent a message through Telepathy directly from his hand to her soul.

Lou’s magic wave aura, which was much stronger than normal Telepathy, permeated Fran’s soul.

『It’s okay, Fran. I’m here! There’s nothing to worry about. Will you trust me to take care of everything?』

A wave and a heartbeat came from Fran’s soul, who was relieved to be touched by Lou’s magic power wave.

The next thing Lou heard was her undying trust in him.

『…I owe you my life, Lou. I have faith in you! Please! Lead me!』

『Okay, Fran! I know you can feel my wave motion. I’ll get you out of this. Don’t waver…Lucifer, please!』

As soon as Lou’s voice and the magic wave were cut off…

Another magic wave, overwhelmingly huge, came pouring into Fran’s soul.

Then followed by a solemn voice, completely unfamiliar to her.

『O woman! I shall change thy True Name, which was bestowed to you by the Creator, once again. But this is a breach of the laws. Do you dare to accept this taboo?』

『Y-Y-You, who are you…?』

When Fran heard Lucifer’s voice, she was momentarily confused.

However!

In the blink of an eye, her words turned into trust.

『Yes, you are the other Lou ・・・・・・・I know…I can tell! Please, lead the way!』

Fran had no doubts about Lucifer, as she promised Lou.

She was leaving everything to Lou.

Lucifer couldn’t help but marvel.

『Whoa! Brilliant, woman! Did you intuit the connection between me and Lou? Very well! I’ll do you a favor.』

As soon as Lucifer’s voice sounded, Fran’s consciousness sank deeper and deeper…

◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ 

“L-Lou!”

…Fran wondered, How long have I been unconscious?

When she came to her senses, she saw the devil girl she had met before, Moral, in front of her.

And further away…

Lou was resting his hand on Kelturi’s chest. She, too, had fallen unconscious.

“H-HUUUUUH!”

Kelly’s?!

Lou’s hand is on Kelly’s chest?!

Fran stuttered again as Lou put his hand on the unconscious Kelturi’s chest and moved it.

“Francisca-sama … please be quiet.”

“Huh?”

Moral put her index finger to her lips and warned Fran.

“Master Lou is concentrating now. Don’t be dismayed, you were saved the same way too.”

Before long…

Moral laughed mischievously as Kelturi’s figure was enveloped in a blinding white light.

“Giggle, looks like she’s made it.”

“Is K-Kelly going to be okay?”

“Yes, she will.”

“P-Phew! Thank God!”

“For a long time now…Kelturi-sama has maintained a stubborn attitude toward Master Lou, but ultimately, she believes in him from the bottom of her heart.”

A few moments later, Kelturi woke up.

It was just as Moral had said.

After staring at Lou, she clung to him and began to cry without fear of public scrutiny.

◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ 

“Well then, I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Very well, I will take care of the three of them.”

Henceforth, Lou…

Lou said he was going to the Ancient Ruins to save Adelaide and Giselle, whose souls were trapped by the devil Vine.

He said he had to defeat Vine and free their souls.

Fran was worried about them, and wanted to accompany him, too.

However, it was clear that she would only be a burden to him.

The same was true for Kelturi.

Her pride kept her head down, because of what had happened just now.

What worried her even more was Nadia, who Vine had taken as a vessel.

She’s been asleep since a while ago.

The key to Nadia’s recovery must be in Vine’s hands.

According to Moral…

That strange being named Vine was one of the sovereigns of the underworld, and his title was Count.

He was one of the most powerful devils in the world.

Besides being skilled at magic, manipulating the weather, and various other abilities, his ability to read True Names was particularly troublesome.

Fortunately, Vine’s power seemed to be magic.

The only way to counter it was to completely block the magic itself, or to defeat Vine before his spell was activated.

If given no other choice, make him incapable of fighting.

Lou swept a glance at Fran and Kelturi, then at Nadia, who was still down, with a stern expression on his face.

Fran’s voice sprang in an instant.

“Please, Lou! Save my mother!”

“I got it, Fran. I’m on it!”　

Lou smiled at her, nodded and waved his hand…

He took a long leap and walked into the Ruins.

Meanwhile…

Vine was so terrified that he escaped from Nadia’s body, which he had only used as his vessel.

He has now returned to his original body in the Ruins.

He was the lion-headed sovereign, astride a jet-black horse and holding a poisonous viper in his hand.

He had a grim expression on his face, and a question kept swirling in his head.

“What’s with th-th-that voice? There’s no doubt it’s His Excellency…”

’The Morning Star’, ‘He Who Holds The Light’…He was once known by many names.

He was once a loyal apostle in the service of the absolute omniscient and omnipotent being, the Creator.

On a certain day, a certain idea came to him, and he expressed his opinion and preached to the Creator.

But he failed miserably.

The Creator labeled him as ‘arrogant’ and tried to punish him for his opinion.

He found the punishment unreasonable and challenged the Creator to a battle…

As a result, however, he was sealed off.

His noble soul and immortal strong body…

He had been tethered to Cocytus, the lowest level of the underworld.

But was it the whim of the Creator?

He was suddenly incarnated as the ruler of a human country.

He reunited and led the former apostles, known as the 72 Pillars, who had lost their ambition and were divided.

At that time, Vine found immense joy in serving as his loyal servant again.

However, he was reincarnated as a human being, a creature, after all…

When the former apostles died and perished in the midst of their ambitions again, they split up and each one of them behaved according to their own desires and selfishness…

『Vine!』

Without a warning, someone called his name.

『Release the women whose souls you have captured, and fight me. This…is an order.”

There was no doubt about it.

Vine had no idea why that voice was coming out of a human boy’s mouth, but…

Just as Vine had thought, it was ‘his’ voice that called out again for the first time in thousands of years.

Translator Notes: I may have translated Moral as a demon before, I’m just confused which term best suit. Anyway, henceforth, Moral will be a devil…The orcs, goblins, etc…will just be the demons/monsters…

PS: This is getting interesting!! It came as a surprise that there would be Lucifer here (“⌒∇⌒”)