Fran and Urushi start to run once again, chasing after the Pseudo Fanatic Sword that slipped past us.

Fran also seemed to be quite eager and fired off some ranged magic at it. The surface of the lake was swirling like a storm due to our attack. And if there were any ships around, they would have capsized.

We had already traveled a great distance. We must have gone very deep into the middle of the lake, which was about the size of a small country.

I wondered where in the world the Pseudo Fanatic Sword was going.

But it was just after I wondered about it.

『Fran! Stop!』

「!!」

Fran reacted immediately to my voice and tried to perform a sudden stop. But she couldn’t just stop instantly, and her heels skidded on the surface of the lake.

The water splashed violently like a fountain.

And despite getting herself drenched, Fran managed to come to a stop.

『Fran, let’s get some more distance for now』

「Nn」

「Woof!」

『Urushi, welcome back』

Both Fran and Urushi must have already noticed. They followed my words and moved back about 30 meters from the spot.

『So this is the place, huh?』

My various detection skills are telling me not to go any further. I couldn’t see anything on the surface of the water. However, there were signs of what seemed like countless magic beasts in the water.

「The Vivian Guardians」

『Yeah, no doubt』

This must be the Guardian’s domain, where the Vivian Guardians would attack if anyone tried to enter.

I didn’t sense any hostility. As I recalled, they would only block our way if we had accidentally entered the area. I guess we were still at that stage.

「But what about that sword? Moreover, will it be fine to pass through this area?」

『Hmmm… Maybe it’s because that sword is an inorganic thing, or maybe it was because that sword doesn’t have a presence… I’ll give it a try』

「You sure?」

『Well, I’ll run right away if it getting dangerous』

「Nn. Be careful」

「Woof」

『Ou!』

I moved slowly toward the area where I could sense the presence of the Vivian Guardian, with Fran and Urushi looking over me.

In normal circumstances, I was sure they’d let a single inorganic sword pass…

However, I soon realized that this attempt would fail.

After all, I could tell that the gazes of the surrounding Vivian Guardians were focused solely on me.

They must have noticed me.

Nevertheless, I broke into the Guardian’s territory with a ray of hope.

Immediately after, a pure white magic beast with a form similar to a squid stood in front of me. Not just one, but five of these guardians used their bodies as walls to block my way.

『Hmm, so they won’t let me pass, huh?』

I tried to block out as much magic as possible for now. It now seemed like I was nothing but a lump of metal, with almost no magic power.

But that didn’t work. I took a detour, but the Vivian Guardian still came in front of me.

『Their detection ability shouldn’t have been that good, though…』

Then how about this.

I activated my dimension shift and tried again. Although I was visible, I was just an inorganic thing and had no signs of life. Right now, I should be in a state similar to that Pseudo Fanatic Sword when it uses its permeability ability―――.

『Go!』

As I’d thought, the Vivian Guardians did not move at all, it seemed that they couldn’t react to an opponent in another space.

If I kept going forward like this―――.

「Stop right there」

『Eh?』

「You’ve gone quite far, haven’t you?」

『Rhyn?』

「Yeah」

It wasn’t a Vivian Guardian who suddenly appeared in front of me. It was the familiar, odd-eyed girl.

As usual, I couldn’t feel her presence, but I could see her figure.

「You shouldn’t go any further than this yet」

『You know what that sword is, don’t you? And what’s up ahead?』

「…You have to stop Zelyse. At this rate, we won’t be able to stop the tragedy」

『Tragedy!? H-hey, did you mean the tragedy that you told us before?』

Rhyn shook her head with a sad expression to my question.

「One of the tragedies has been avoided. But a new meddler is standing in your way」

『And this meddler, was Zelyse?』

「Yes. Because of him, the future I knew is beginning to change drastically. You may have avoided the tragedy that stemmed from you, but Zelyse will eventually cause a tragedy to happen」

『When you say tragedy… Can you tell me the specifics!』

「If the path has changed this much, I guess it can’t be helped… There’s a great magic beast sealed in this lake. You know that, right? But because of Zelyse, the seal of that beast is very shaky right now」

『I knew it!』

「If the great magic beast is resurrected, this country won’t be able to do anything for itself. Even Fran, who is nearby, will lose her life」

So that was the tragedy!? But after hearing it, a new question came to my mind.

『Why would my complete adaptation to my sword body lead to a tragedy? Is there any connection between me and the great magic beast’s seal?』

「It’s related, Romio, that child has the power of the Magnolia. With him, no matter what Zelyse does, the resurrection can be stopped. But that didn’t happen before」

『Before…?』

She had said it a few times already but Rhyn didn’t answer that.

「With you becoming a sword, Fran is going to change a lot. She will become desperate and more aggressive. You, who should have been the one to stop her outbursts, had stopped saying anything」

That seemed to be a possible future. It was an undeniable fact that Fran adored me. What would happen if I became an emotionless sword? That would be terrible.

「As a result, Fran will fight and defeat Zelos Reed. They end up in a fierce battle that engulfs everyone around them. Romio, who lost his only protector, Zelos Reed, went out of control in his disappointment, and the seal on the great magic beast failed」

I see. If that had happened, the great magic beast would be resurrected and Fran would be affected.

So, it was a tragedy for us and those around us.

「Zelyse is up ahead. He has already reached the seal by taking advantage of the guardians’ anomalies」

It was Zelyse who had caused the Vivian Guardians to go berserk by pouring a lot of waste liquid from the Scarlet Waterweed potion into the lake, but it seemed that he had already achieved his goal.

『If that’s the case, shouldn’t we―――』

「No, don’t. I won’t stop you if you can definitely win against him. But when that guy is cornered, that guy won’t hesitate to resurrect the great magic beast. And it seems, he already figured out how to do that」

It was indeed difficult to win against him for sure.

「That man is still playing around now. He’s not even going to resurrect the great magic beast yet. There’s still time」

『In the meantime, you want us to get ready to take him down?』

「I’ll leave that to you. But we don’t want any serious harm to come to any humans. We just want to prevent that from happening somehow」

『I’ll do my best for Fran’s sake』

「That’s fine. You should cherish those you care about」

Rhyn smiled at the end and disappeared as if dissolving into the water. She was a spirit after all.

『Aah! I forgot to ask what she meant by “before” again!』

Did Sierra, who seemed to be deeply involved in this matter, know what that meant?

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