After Rhyn suggested that I not go any further, I went back to Fran.

She said it should be fine for now as Zelyse was still playing around right now, but it also depended on his mood, which is the least stable thing in the world.

We should talk to Sierra and ask for Weena Rhyns help as soon as possible

So, you want me to talk to Sierra?

Yeah. In all likelihood, Sierra seems to knows something

If it hadnt been for that Pseudo Fanatic Sword earlier, we would have been able to get something out of him.

A little more

It looks like were getting closer

We had traveled quite a distance, but we were making our way towards each other. At this rate, we should be able to meet up soon.

Urus.h.i.+, das.h.!.+

Woof!

We were able to meet up with Sierra soon after. However, he seemed to be exhausted.

Haah, haah That, sword?

It got away

I see

It must have been hard for Sierra to keep running on the water. Both his magic and physical strength seemed to be exhausted. But since he thought that sword must have something to do with Zelyse, he must have pushed himself to run.

I didnt think he would fall over any time soon, but he needed a break.

We decided to move to an island that we could see in the distance. The island was a rocky chunk about ten meters in diameter.

When he landed on it, Sierra felt weak and sat down involuntarily. Apparently, after weighing his fatigue against his pride, he had become relaxed enough to even show his ugly side in front of Fran.

We waited for a few minutes, and when Sierra had caught his breath enough, Fran opened her mouth.

Tell me everything you know

We didnt know where to start asking questions, so we decided to just let him tell us everything. I wanted to know who Sierra was, what he knew about Zelyse, and all sorts of things he knows.

After a few seconds of silence, Sierra suddenly opened his mouth.

Do you think its possible to cross through time?

Time?

Yeah

Hmm?

Fran pondered for a moment and tilted her head. I guess she didnt quite understand the meaning of his words.

You in the present, under the influence of some force, suddenly travels to the past. Do you think thats possible?

Thats impossible

You think so?

Not unless you have a G.o.ds power or something

Yeah. But it was surprisingly possible. There are already three people who have experienced it after all

I see! So that was what was going on!

Fran tilted her head, but after hearing Sierras words, I understood what was going on to a certain extent.

When I thought of it as a time travel from the future to the past, then it made sense that there would be two Romio!

I briefly explained it to Fran.

So youre Romio whos traveled through time?

Yes. Im the present little Romio who get back eight years into the past and had grown older

It seemed that it was not the adult Romio who crossed time but was the present Romio who got back as a young boy and grew up.

So, this must have been the meaning of the before that Rhyn mentioned to me. I explained this to Fran, but it was just simply unbelievable. It was just like a time slip, wasnt it?

I see

You believe me?

But Fran didnt seem to be surprised.

You have the same eyes

Eyes?

Now that she mentioned it, she said something like that before. She said that when Romio and Sierra glared at her, their eyes looked the same.

Sierra himself was not quite convinced. Well, it was because she said he had the same eyes after all. He then groaned and stroked his own eyes.

However, he decided to accept it, for the time being, thinking that it was okay since she believed him.

Well, it doesnt matter as long as you believed me

Then what happened?

It has already been 8 years ago for me, but you guys of now have become a lot different from the people I had known, so the same thing that happened before might not happen anymore

Sierra slowly told her what had happened to him before as if he was recalling it himself.

It happened eight years ago for them.

It seemed that Romio and Zelos Reed had escaped to this country at that time as well. However, the timeline had changed drastically between the current Romio and Zelos Reed and the one from the past.

This Romio from the past said that they were captured by Zelyse in this country before. I never thought that someone as strong as Zelos Reed could get caught.

It was because he took me hostage

As a result, Zelos Reed was at the mercy of Zelyse and had become the subjects of various kinds of human experimentation.

Experiments on human?

He was implanted with a magic stone, a Pseudo Fanatic Sword, and given a wide variety of drugs. I was so young at that time that all I could do was watch my uncles physical form change

Uncle, huh It seemed that the relations.h.i.+p between Romio and Zelos Reed was good even in another timeline. So, he got caught and became an experiment subject, huh But the Romio that was under the protection of the academy never said anything like that, didnt he?

Not like the Romio over here?

It was because we were the ones who led them into their current situation

In their timeline, they ran away from the adventurers from the Belios Kingdom and Weena Rhyn but ended up being captured by Zelyse. But in this timeline, Sierra dared to leak the information about Romio and Zelos Reeds whereabouts to the Adventurers Guild that led them to their current situation.

We knew that Weena Rhyn wouldnt simply kill us before. If that was the case, it was far better than being played around by Zelyse

I see

Romio and Zelos Reed from another timeline then continued to be used by Zelyse for good. But it seemed that it was Romio alone that was protected by Weena Rhyn.

Zelyse, who was investigating the seal of the great magic beast, was detected by Weena Rhyn and his hideout was raided.

Thats when I learned about my bloodline and the power that lies in it. I also learned that I was bound with my uncle without his knowledge

However, a few days after Romeo was taken into care by Weena Rhyn, things suddenly changed. Zelyse appeared at the site of the seal, aiming to resurrect the great magic beast.

It was Weena Rhyn and her hired help, Fran, who worked to stop him.

Fran, who had been targeting Zelos Reed as her revenge, attacked him without listening to the warnings of those around her when she saw him. In the aftermath of that fierce battle, the Commercial Fleet was said to have been destroyed.

That was the same as what Rhyn had said to me before. I guess I had turned into a mere sword and there was no one to stop Fran. No, there was someone who could have stopped her.

Weena Rhyn didnt stop me?

Even if it means shed abandon the commercial fleet, she made a priority to keep my uncle out of her reach

It seemed that while Fran was holding back Zelos Reed, Weena Rhyn tried to reseal the great magic beast, which had begun to resurrect. At the cost of Romios life.

Magnolias power can be used to absorb the power of an evil person. Normally, it would go straight to the users power, but Weena Rhyn decided to use it in a special way

The power of the Sacrament of the Evil G.o.d was hidden in the blood of the Magnolia family. With this power, she absorbed the power of the Evil G.o.ds shards that were captured in the great magic beast and used the absorbed power to use a large-scale sealing technique.

In other words, it is a way to weaken the great magic beast and use its power to seal itself.

I wouldnt have a problem if it was a matter of absorbing the evil power within something of a goblin size. But that time, the opponent was really bad. If she continued to absorb power from the Evil G.o.ds shards and then let them act as a channel for the sealing technique, the young Romio would not have been able to withstand it and would have died

However, Weena Rhyn still didnt want to stop the process. No matter what the cost, she was going to seal the great magic beast.

I can only understand her reason now too. So, I wont blame her

Even though he had been sacrificed, Sierras voice showed no sign of resentment. He seemed to have accepted that it was inevitable.

But there was someone who couldnt accept Romios death. That was Zelos Reed. He tried to save Romio somehow, but when he showed an opening, he was cut down by Fran.

To be honest, I dont remember what happened after that either. As soon as I decided to save my uncle somehow, my powers went out of control, and

He found himself lying alone in the woods.

After saying that much, Sierra then pulled out the sword at his waist.

There was no one else there. Just this sword that had fallen beside me