Chapter 659

TENKEN 659 The future in Rhyn's grasp.

「Did you know Sierra and the others when they first came here?」

「Yes, of course」

They probably had no idea that they had been noticed that long ago. Sierra's eyes widened in surprise.

「And when I found them, I tried to contact them to see into their past」

「Eh?」

Sierra raises a dumb voice and had a confused look on his face.

Most likely, he had no memory of Rhyn.

「At first, I hid myself as a spirit, so they wouldn't have noticed me. And after that, it was just a matter of changing my appearance and greeted him」

It's only recently that I've been able to detect spirits. It's still not perfect. If the spirit I was talking to consciously erased their presence, I might not be able to tell even now.

Sierra and Zelos Reed must not have noticed Rhyn either.

It was the Rhyn of that timeline who had first decided to gamble on this plan――or rather, on the slightest possibility of salvation. Her intuition must have whispered to her that contact with Sierra and Fran from the other timeline might help her avoid ruin.

Rhyn sent Sierra, Zelos Reed and Zelyse from one place to the other to make the faint hope a reality.

And the Rhyn in this timeline took over that hope by making contact with Sierra.

「There is no such thing as an ending where no one is unhappy, neither here nor there. There is no such thing. But what if we could reach such a future? Don't you think it's worth risking everything I have?」

Rhyn said that she was determined. She was determined that she would save everyone.

「Things have only recently started to move though」

Zelyse's whereabouts were unknown, and there was no telling where Fran and the others were. In the end, she had no choice but to wait for the time to come while assisting Sierra from the shadows.

「We were being helped without our knowing...?」

Sierra muttered in astonishment.

I could care less about the process, as long as I avoided the destruction that was to come for Fran. Even if the whole thing was set up by Rhyn. Fran would not be convinced. After all the fierce battles and adventures she had been through, she might not have been able to do it all by herself.

It was the same fact that could shake Sierra's self-confidence that he had built up over the years after all.

「Just so you know, my help is minimal. I've only directly interfered with him three times in the past. First, when I led a Guild member to his weakened body. The other time when he was surrounded by dangerous magical beasts, I helped him escape by distracting them just a little bit. And the other time, when he almost died from an illness, I used my healing power to restore his strength. That's about it, isn't it?」

Whether it's insignificant or not, Rhyn didn't seem to give him an upper hand in any way.

「...I see」

Sierra seemed satisfied. It was probably because Rhyn's help was less frequent than he had imagined.

Well, I guess by saying that she hasn't helped him directly means that she has helped him indirectly many times. I'll keep my mouth shut because it might complicate things.

「When Zelyse showed up and started to make a move in the dark, things finally began to move」

Rhyn said that she opened a stall in order to get in touch with Fran. She said she wanted to talk to Fran and get to know her.

The reason for this is that Rhyn's influence can only target those who are close to her. To put it simply, the closer you are to Rhyn, the easier it is for Rhyn's influence to work.

For this reason, Rhyn decided to have a chat with Fran and form a strong connection with her.

「? Rhyn had a chat with me?」

「Well, in my case, I barely know anyone but Weena Rhyn. But even that was enough for me」

In other words, because Rhyn is a loner, even a small conversation with her would qualify anyone as her friend?

But I guess that contact was still meaningful for us.

「It was really hard after that. Sierra, Fran, Romio, Weena, and Zelyse. I had to keep an eye on everyone's behavior as much as possible and move around to avoid the worst developments...」

It is difficult for Rhyn to handle everyone directly. In the first place, she can't wield so much power due to the fact that she is using her power to choose the future.

Therefore, only when the worst comes to the worst does she makes a slight alteration to the flow of history. The result of this lonely struggle is the history we have today.

For that matter, she was concerned about the fact that she had left Zelyse unattended, but after thinking about it, Zelyse's behavior wasn't necessarily the worst thing for Rhyn. On the contrary, an incompletely resurrected great magic beast might provide an opportunity to be exploited.

The worst thing for Rhyn is not the resurrection of the great magic beast, but the death of Weena Rhyn and the transformation of her personality due to her lack of mental stability.

Considering the fact that even Weena Rhyn's life would be in danger if the great magic beast were to be fully resurrected, it might have even been a blessing if Zelyse was able to resurrect the great magic beast incompletely.

「I never thought I'd be able to achieve such great results」

「Is it for the best?」

『Both Weena and Rhyn are looking very worn out... Weena also says that she won't be able to regain her powers back for years, but it must be the same for Rhyn, right?』

Rhyn's weariness was more than just a temporary loss of power. No matter how I looked at her, she had become a lower grade spirit.

She used to be classified as a high-level spirit, but now she was only at the level of medium-level spirit.

「No, I'm fine. The great magic beast has gone, we managed to separate me and Weena without losing our lives. What's more could I ask for?」

『Well, that's true...』

「Romio, Sierra, and Zelos Reed were safe, and neither Fran nor Sword-san had gone out of control. The only thing I was worried about was Zelyse losing his life, which had a positive effect on us over there. The country did not fall, and the damage to the people was minimal. It would be greed to want more than that」

Rhyn must have excluded the option of everyone being safe from the beginning. She must have thought that it would be better if some of us survived than if everyone including herself died and the great magic beast was left on the loose.

『Surely, after dealing with such a monster, it would be too greedy to ask for more...』