To become a king and a magician

In fact, the three great calamities have now been completely defeated and sealed away.

So what's left is...

"The Naraku Insect, Voodoo."

Satori looked down at the bottomless void below.

The Naraku Insect is among them. Originally, it was unable to appear at will due to the suppression by Kornunos, but now that Kornunos has been defeated, the Naraku Insect should be appearing soon, right?

(Our combat strength has not been damaged at all. At most, my magic power has been overused, but it is not a big problem. With my master here, this amount of power can be replenished at any time.)

(Plus, the master should have already prepared countermeasures against the Naraku Mushi, so now it's just a matter of finishing up, right?)

(However... in this case, the master's plan can be considered a failure.)

With the magic stored in the throne completely depleted and this foundation lost, Natsukawa Torama's plan to transfer the British Isles to Pan-Human History is probably impossible, especially since all the fairies have been wiped out.

Because of the resurgence of Cornunos, Natsukawa Torama's more than two thousand years of planning has completely failed.

(Something feels off.)

Sajou Rei frowned.

She remembered that Natsukawa Torama had said he would deal with Kornunos and the Naraku Insects before the Spirit Particle Transfer, so as not to bring any problems to the pan-human history. However, if defeating Kornunos would require consuming two thousand years of magic power, then only one of the two things, "defeat Kornunos" and "spiritual particle transfer," could be accomplished in the first place.

But Natsukawa Torato said that both could be achieved.

(Is there something else the master is hiding? Let's go down and ask him.)

With that thought in mind, Sajou Rei urged the dragon to fly towards the throne room.

And just as she reached the throne, at the moment she leaped from the dragon's back—

"Pfft!"

A sound of something being pierced reached her ears, and within her vision, Xia Chuanhu, who sat on the throne, had been pierced through the chest by a golden holy sword.

"Thank you all for your hard work."

A voice rang out behind Natsukawa Torata—it was Number Two Torata!

"Whether it's the real me, Zero, Arcueid, or Angelica—thank you all for your hard work in every way. Thanks to you for your painstaking efforts in defeating Cornunos, we can finally be free."

"Liberation...you...don't mean...?"

Seemingly realizing something, Natsukawa Tora quickly placed his hand on the holy sword, trying to break free.

But Tiger Number Two grabbed his arm tightly from behind: "I won't let you leave, my lord. Let's reunite. We've been separated for 2,400 years. It's time to become one again."

"You...stop it..."

"Welcome back, and... I'm back, [Natsukawa Torato]."

Tiger Number Two whispered these words gently in Tiger Natsukawa's ear.

Immediately afterwards, the Star Holy Sword that had pierced through Xia Chuanhu's chest suddenly burst forth with dazzling light!

"Buzz————————————————!"

The dazzling light momentarily blinded everyone.

57. For the sake of what she loves and the world she lives in.

Natsukawa Tora is now very confused.

Standing beneath the full moon and stars, gazing at the Star Sword stuck in front of him, Natsukawa Tora gritted his teeth and stared at his other self, who was looking at him through the sword.

"why?"

That was the only question asked.

Xia Chuanhu could sense that the contract he had made with the planet 2,400 years ago was becoming invalid, because Tiger Number Two had pierced his body with the Holy Sword and returned his own existence to his original body. He could no longer abide by the clause in the contract that stipulated "forever abandoning the Holy Sword".

Therefore, the contract is void, and he will lose the infinite magic he has always possessed, returning to his former state as the Holy Sword Wielder.

As a result, the surveillance magic he set up in the skies over Britain will disappear, the fairies destroyed by his falling stars will no longer be able to be summoned, and all the miracles and great deeds accomplished through his hand will vanish.

"why?"

"Natsukawa Tiger asked again."

Why did Tiger Number Two do this? Why is he still alive, even though he should have been killed by Tiger? Why did he decide to do this?

Xia Chuanhu had many, many questions he wanted to ask, and he wanted to ask many "whys," but in the end, he could only reduce them all to one question.

"why?"

"Your question is quite troublesome to answer. It sounds like one question, but it actually contains several, or even a dozen, questions, right?" Tiger Number Two laughed. "Well, I'll explain it according to my own understanding, and now I can be honest with you about it."

"It all started two thousand four hundred years ago, on the day we split in two."

On that day, Natsukawa Torama became two people. In order to strengthen his determination to save the island of Britain, Natsukawa Torama packaged and split his idea of ​​"wanting to destroy Britain" together with his memories from the Pan-Human History period.

That is the origin of all of Tiger No. 2's actions.

The idea of ​​"wanting to destroy Britain" is not a particularly difficult one to understand, nor is it particularly difficult to control. However, for Tiger Number Two, it was his only thought.

Because he lived alone on the Isle of Ends for two thousand four hundred years.

Such a long period of time caused Tiger No. 2 to develop hatred for Tiger Natsukawa—hatred for abandoning him on the Isle of Ends for two thousand four hundred years without a word.

Actually, even just meeting with him periodically would be fine, just to let Tiger Number Two know that Xia Chuanhu and he are still in contact. But this has not happened even once in 2,400 years.

He was regarded as something unnecessary, utterly abandoned, just like this Lostbelt abandoned by pan-human history.

Hatred was born from this, and under its influence, the idea of ​​destroying Britain gradually grew stronger. The desire to destroy Britain, to avenge himself against Natsukawa Tiger who had abandoned him—these thoughts filled Tiger Number Two's mind.

Then, after the end of the Mors War in the 1000th year of the Elven calendar, Vortigern, who was planning his third manifestation, cooperated with Tiger No. 2.

“Vortigern wants to destroy Britain, and so do I; our goals are aligned. Moreover, to achieve the goal of destroying Britain, defeating you is a necessary step, which also aligns with my thinking.”

"So we cooperated—and the results were pretty good. You used up all your stored magic to fight Kornunos, and because you were so focused, you didn't notice my counterattack, nor did you notice my resurrection. After all, you and I are the same person. How could I die if you didn't? Plus, Vortigern was keeping me alive, so I had to destroy the evidence."

"So... all your methods are gone now. How does that feel? The taste of two thousand four hundred years of effort going up in flames."

Although it was the same person, Tiger Number Two now looked like a villain who had succeeded in his scheme, grinning maliciously at Xia Chuanhu.

Xia Chuanhu did not try to compete with him.

He will soon disappear completely from the world, because he separated from his own body, and with the return of the Holy Sword, he also returns his existence to Xia Chuanhu.

Moreover, there's no point in struggling with yourself.

Seeing Natsukawa Tiger's indifferent expression, Tiger Number Two put away his ferocious grin and instead showed a normal, habitual smile: "How boring... It's a bit boring when you make that face."

"Well then, it's time to say goodbye. From now on, you'll have to figure out how to clean up the mess I left you on your own. [I] - Also, this is advice from my own Pan-Human History self: you'd better respond properly to those women who are chasing after you."

“You don’t feel it, but I do. You’ve placed your feelings for them on my side, and now I’m giving them back to you. Remember to apologize to them one by one then, because those words of abandonment are quite hurtful.”

After saying this, Tiger Number Two's body completely dissipated, turning into countless points of light that flowed into the Holy Sword.

Next, as long as Xia Chuanhu grasps the Holy Sword, everything he had given up in the past will return to his hands, and everything he now possesses will vanish.

Everything from 2,400 years ago can disappear with just a gentle touch.

Furthermore, Natsukawa Torato could not refuse.

No, it should be said that he could not refuse, because he had no right to refuse, nor any choice to refuse. He could only passively accept the return of the Holy Sword and his memories to his body.

"hateful......"

Xia Chuanhu cursed under his breath.

He failed. He failed. He failed to keep his promise to Morgan. Britain is about to perish. The appearance of the Naraku Worm will devour the entire land of Britain. This is an unchangeable fact.

"Then... what was the point of all that I gave up in the past...?"

His hands were clenched so tightly that his nails almost dug into his palms.

If he fails at this point, wouldn't everything he's done in the past be for nothing? So why did he stay in this Lostbelt for 2,400 years? Why did he make the decision to abandon everything?

What kind of determination does he have?

I want to cry.

Tears seemed to be welling up in his eyes, and Natsukawa Tiger could feel the emotions surging in his chest.

Anger, sadness, resentment, regret, disappointment... countless emotions mixed together, causing extreme confusion, like a disgusting mixture formed by mashing all the ingredients and stuffing them into a crucible.

Perhaps it would feel better to tear my chest open.

"How long are you going to stand there like that?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out behind me.

Without turning around, Xia Chuanhu paused slightly upon hearing the voice, then couldn't help but give a bitter laugh: "You... are you here to mock me?"

"I suppose so. After all, you're like a clown right now, giving it your all and then regretting a mistake you made, a complete idiot clown who doesn't even think about how to make amends." The voice continued, "Although you've lost everything now, you've regained everything from the past. Since that's the case, why not give it another shot?"

"Strive for it?"

"Yes, try—use the power that has saved the world countless times to try and win a chance to save the island of Britain."

"!"

Xia Chuanhu raised his head and looked at the holy sword in front of him.

Does he... still have a chance?

"Have you forgotten because you've been here too long? You used to be the strongest we all knew, a savior even the Beast, who tried to destroy human history, acknowledged, a true savior who saved the world."

"Someone like you could never be unable to save a mere island, so—"

A hand was placed on Xia Chuanhu's back, forcefully pushing him towards the Holy Sword.

"Go for it one more time, we'll all help you."

"—My dearest King."

Xia Chuanhu quickly turned around, but there was no one behind him.

Hallucination? Auditory hallucination? Or has he already left?

With a wry smile, Natsukawa Torama shrugged: "I understand... I'll try my best again, and please lend me your power once more, Excalibur."

Xia Chuanhu reached out and grasped the hilt of the holy sword.