Editing Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha:Volume 8 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 4===
All of them froze in response to Sheera’s words.

“—”

Nonaka Kurumi trembled as if in response to a cold hand gripping onto her heart. Kurumi wasn’t the only one. The faces of the other four people also turned pale. In such a place

“I know that you girls aren’t stupid. Surely, you’ve become aware of it bit by bit, and even begun to feel afraid. Basara-kun’s nature, that is.”

Sheera then began to speak with a quiet voice, while maintaining her strict expression.

“The outcome of a battle is greatly influenced by the circumstances and even luck at the time. It is not merely something that can be determined based on strength alone…but even so, Gardo and Leohart were opponents that Basara-kun would normally not stand a chance against. However, if he sees that it is necessary, he will look for a way to accomplish it, and find a path forward against all odds.”

After saying that, Sheera sighed deeply. And as if she was reminiscing about something, she shifted her gaze down towards the ground of Oldora Forest.

“If you consider his <<Banishing Shift>> ability… it eliminates a target’s root of existence, the [Origin]. It is not something that an ordinary human could do, and even for us, all we can do is bear witness to it. There isn’t anyone among the Hero Clan who could possibly imitate it.”

“………”

In response to Sheera’s words, the silence of Kurumi and Yuki served as affirmation.

“It’s probably an ability of the special blood that flows through him…and precisely because he has such a unique ability, he’ll do anything to protect what’s precious to him, no matter how difficult it is. By choosing such a path, he willingly exposes his own life to danger.”

Most likely

“Because of the trauma that he experienced when he was young, he was a strong feeling of rejection against losing something that is precious to him…no, I guess it’s a sense of fear. That’s why he’s been able to fight with such desperation, and so far that has worked well for him. You could say that luck was on his side.”

However, Sheera’s tone shifted strongly as she spoke her next words.

“—The next time around, he may not necessarily be safe.”

Her declaration was almost like an oracle.

“That’s…”

Kurumi immediately tried to retort. It was obviously something that she wanted to refute. ''I definitely won’t allow something like that to happen'' — but before she could reply

“Although that’s bad, there’s still another problem…”

Sheera voiced another one of her concerns.

“If anything were to happen to you girls whom he holds so dearly in his mind…Basara-kun will surely be unable to forgive himself.”

And with a confident tone, she continued

“And so…eventually, Basara-kun will no longer be the same as he is now. I’ve seen someone embrace all of the precious things around them, and then languish at its loss…he changed as feelings of hatred and regret were born within his heart, but nothing could truly fulfill him. I’m sure you ladies could all understand and imagine what might happen if you were to lose Basara-kun due to a lack of strength.”

After that was said

“……………………”

The silence that arose from Kurumi and the others was long and heavy. And then

“By the way, that person who ‘changed’…I think everyone aside from Kurumi-chan would know him.”

“Eh…?”

Whilst Kurumi let out a gasp of surprise, everyone else aside from her looked at each other.

“It can’t be, then—…”

It finally dawned on Maria. And then Sheera spoke the name of that man.

“That’s right — Zolgear.” 

Naruse Maria was dumbstruck upon hearing the man’s name that came out from her own mother’s mouth.  He was an abominable enemy whom she couldn’t possibly forget.

“…That man…”

She uttered in disbelief as a reaction to the unexpected mention of that name.

“I guess that’s a natural reaction, isn’t it…but, Zolgear wasn’t always like that from the beginning.”

With a wry smile, Sheera continued

“He was a surprisingly nice guy a long time ago…but after losing the woman whom he cherished more than anything, he changed. In a desperate effort to bring her back to life, he examined all kinds of previous literature on that topic and tested a variety of forbidden spells.”

Sheera suddenly directed her eyes into the empty sky. Her gaze seemed to peer at something far away, as if she was reminiscing about the distant past.

“He incurred a countless number of injuries and curses along the way, but even so, he never stopped. Even when his appearance became ugly, he simply continued to seek strength…and so, he eventually reached the unparalleled pinnacle of magical life forms in the Demon Realm.”

Sheera then said

“And one of his creations, Zest-chan — was you.”

“……………”

Standing next to Zest who was silent in the face of this revelation of truth, Naruse Maria was reminded of something.

''…Then, could that be…?''

What came to Maria’s mind was something that happened when Sheera was still held captive. Maria snuck into Zolgear’s room whilst he was absent from it in order to search for any hints that could lead to the whereabouts of Sheera, and she found an old image projection which appeared to show Zest. It wasn’t Zest, but a woman who was important to Zolgear, just as Sheera mentioned.

“But, no matter how successful he was, it was simply impossible for him to bring the dead back to life…and so, when he realized that what was lost could never return, he was no longer able to find value in anything. And so, when he gave up on everything, he created a playground in the Demon Realm where he drowned himself in constant pleasure.”

Sheera continued

“I don’t understand even now…he became an incarnation of lust, but perhaps he didn’t lay a hand on Zest-chan because it was the last strand of conscience that remained in him. Even though they were different existences who shared the same appearance, he might have thought that he was unworthy of touching the woman who was once important to him since he had already become so corrupt.”

Whilst Sheera continued to speak with a distant expression in her eyes, everyone who didn’t know about the past maintained a heavy silence.

“……It doesn’t matter, something like that.”

One of the girls said as she grabbed Zest’s hands. It was Kurumi. She could only say that because she was the only person who didn’t have any direct contact with Zolgear.

“No matter what the circumstances of his past were, it didn’t give him the right to treat Zest poorly, nor did it excuse him from killing Mio’s parents…this story about the person who controlled Zest is all over now. There’s absolutely no need to worry about it right now.”

“Kurumi-san…”

Zest widened her eyes in surprise at Kurumi’s resolute tone.

“That’s right. Speaking about that guy’s past is just me being sentimental. To you girls, Zolgear was nothing more than a nuisance. That is all.”

Sheera continued

“Zest…you, you should think about the existence that pours love into you, and cherish them. Because that is your happiness.”

“Yes…it’s okay, Sheera-sama.”

Zest replied with a firm tone.

“As I am right now — I already belong to Basara-sama.”

“That is fine. It’s just that…if he loses any of you, do remember that there is a possibility that Basara-kun may turn out like Zolgear.”

“It’s fine…that will never happen to Basara.”

Yuki replied with a firm tone, but Sheera spoke back with an unpleasant expression on her face.

“Ara…is that so? The succubus’ Master-Servant contract that you girls have with him right now and the things that Zolgear made for his girls aren’t so different in my eyes.”

After Sheera said that—

“…Please don’t try to compare Basara to that man.”

Mio said with a trembling voice.

“Mio-sama…”

Maria couldn’t help but murmur her name. Meanwhile, her piercing glare — Mio stared directly at Sheera as she bit her lip.