Editing Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha:Volume 3 Epilogue (section)

===Part 2===


—In this place, was a very heavy atmosphere.
It was dark, and none of the noise from outside could be heard — at the same time, it was also the cruel truth that none of the sound in here would leak to the outside. Thus —

“…Uh…guh…ahh…!”

No matter how much Zolgear groaned in pain while he was on the floor, there would be no one to rescue him. —After Lars attacked Zolgear when he fled, he didn’t take his life straight away. In order for him to get revenge for his comrades that he treated as siblings, Lars used a device which could restrain Zolgear by preventing him from using magic, and then took him to a place without any people, a place that seemed to be located underground. This was the hideout that he had prepared in case anything happened during his mission to observe Naruse Mio. Like this – Zolgear had been here for a few hours now. After going through both physical and magical torture, he was already on the verge of death.

“Kuh…ooh…gah, uh…ah…”

Zolgear was crawling on the ground, and his entire body was in so much pain that it felt like it was on fire. He had lost his right arm because of Naruse Mio, and his abdomen had been injured by Lars before he reached this place; that was nothing compared to his state right now in which many of his bones were broken and he was heavily bleeding everywhere. While in such an agonising state where it was difficult for him to move—

…I-It’s not over yet…

Zolgear still had not given up on escaping from this place. Perhaps Lars wanted him to feel pain for just a little longer, and did not continue to torture him. Thus, Zolgear gathered strength in his body, and became vigilant for an opportunity to escape. At that time.

“…Finally here.”

Lars suddenly said that with a low volume, and then turned around. Then, the sound of slow footsteps reverberated throughout the silent space.

“! …Who is it…?”

His imprisonment and torture here was only for Lars’ personal revenge, there was no need for a third party. After Zolgear moaned this question—

“No…actually, there was someone who said that they absolutely wanted to watch you die.”

Lars shrugged with a smile as he said that. After hearing that—

…Could it be…

Lars had previously said that there were many people in the Moderates Faction who admired Mio’s parents, among them, there should be who had adoptive parents like Lars, who were from the same orphanage. It was highly possible that he called people who similarly hated Zolgear to this place. —On the other hand, could it be Zest? Did she come to witness the fate of the man who called her trash and attempted to kill her?

It couldn’t be.

Zolgear suddenly felt a sharp feeling of anxiety in his heart. No matter who it was that came, there would be another pair of eyes watching him, which would greatly reduce his chances of escaping.

…No, not necessarily…

Nevertheless, Zolgear still did not give up on his chances of survival. If there were more people on the other side, it would also increase the opportunities for confusion when he made his move. If they came here with hatred, then they would be easily manipulated, and could lose their cool.

…I’ll wait and see.

The blood covered Zolgear secretly laughed and vowed to escape from this place, then slaughter all of the people who put him in this miserable state. Then, the visitor that Zolgear welcomed because he treated them as an opportunity—

“……W-What…?”

He was stunned by the person who finally appeared. That person wasn’t a demon from the Moderates Faction, nor was it Zest. In fact — it wasn’t even a demon. The one who appeared before his eyes was—

“…Toujou…Basara…?”

Zolgear cried his name out when he saw something that was unbelievable.

“———”

But Basara made a quick glance towards the dying Zolgear who lay on the floor and then walked over to Lars’ side and began talking to him whilst ignoring his existence.

“Sorry, Takigawa…I’m a little late.”

“As you say, Bassachi, I almost couldn’t stop myself from finishing it.”

“I’m sorry…getting away from Mio and the others was more difficult than I imagined.”

Seeing Basara’s apologetic expression, Lars made a wry smile as he said

“Come on…you were definitely doing some erotic things right? Geez, this handsome guy really makes people envious.”

“…Let me make it clear first, I was nearly killed by them.”

Basara then sighed. The scene of the two people having a natural conversation—

“…………?”

It caused Zolgear to raise his head from the floor in surprise. He was able to understand the reason for Lars’ actions. That was because Lars was the one who brought him here, and beat him up. —But Basara was different. Zolgear was stained with blood, his arm and legs were twisted abnormally, and he looked as though he could die at any time. Yet, Toujou Basara was still conversing with Lars calmly. It was simply too strange. Zolgear was unable to comprehend what was happening in front of him. At that time—

“I said before, I told you about the secret place where Naruse Mio was imprisoned and also rescued Maria’s family member, in exchange for the chance to personally kill you — but in reality, we had another agreement.”

Lars then began to explain what the current situation was.

“After this incident, Naruse Mio will eventually find out about my true identity, it’s just that — I accidentally stimulated her in the past, causing Wilbert’s power to go out of control, and also gave Bassachi a bit of trouble. Afterwards, although that guy started seeking my cooperation because of that incident, Naruse-san and Nonaka-san who adore Bassachi couldn’t do that. So, taking this into account, I needed someone to help cover me; and for that, it was most effective for Bassachi to take on that role.”

Then—

“In contrast, Bassachi wanted to eliminate the enemy that he let go because of the possibility that he would be threatened again — with this guy’s words, that probability would drop to zero.”

In other words—

“He wants to use his own eyes to see you when you’re completely dead.”

“! —You…you, how…!”

Zolgear raised his head in amazement. At that time, he finally made eye contact with Basara.

“———”

The look in his eyes was cold. The stare emitted from his eyes seemed to completely deny his existence—

“……!”

Zolgear’s heart almost froze, and he couldn’t stop himself from shivering.

…There was actually…such a thing…!

Zolgear began to curse his own miscalculations. I was too careless, I was completely wrong, how did I underestimate Toujou Basara — no, I completely misread him. He believed that he was just a good-hearted, and kind youth with a strong sense of justice — but that wasn’t the case, that youth wasn’t just kind. Zolgear had the opportunity to perceive this possibility.

[[Image:Shinmai v03 305.jpg|thumb]]

Zolgear really wanted Basara’s unknown elimination ability, and would naturally request that Maria tell him all of that information. He once allowed his power to lose control, which eliminated the bodies of his comrades, and also caused him to be exiled from the Heroes. After meeting the successor of the former Demon Lord who had inherited his blood, Mio, he picked up his sword again in order to protect her. Then — Basara, who had once suffered a tragedy, vowed that he would never lose anything precious to him again. In order to protect things as he had vowed, he would be as cruel as he needed to be, so he made this promise with sorrow. If someone with such determination joined hands with Lars—

“S-Since it’s like this…Toujou Basara…do you want to make a deal with me…?”

Zolgear desperately tried to win Basara over to his side.

“…If a high-class demon like me is kept alive…I’ll be able to get all sorts of information from the current Demon Lord Leohart-heika, or the other high-class demons who are part of the Council, I’ll be able to obtain secrets that would be impossible even for Lars here.”

So—

“As long as she still has Wilbert’s power, Naruse Mio will not be able to have a single day of peace…since protecting her is your first priority, you should realise that my information will be—”

Very useful. That was what Zolgear wanted to say, but he couldn’t say it. That was because Basara stared at him with such cold eyes that he found himself unable to continue. Next—

“Well, I’m already tired of seeing that rotten face, it’s about time to kill him — may I, Bassachi?”

“Yeah…”

After Takigawa obtained Basara’s consent, he slowly walked towards Zolgear. The moment of Zolgear’s death approached him step by step. Despite this—

“————”

Up until this point, Toujou Basara still had not spoken a single word to Zolgear. Cursing, contempt, ridicule, he didn’t give any of that. He simply watched Zolgear with silent, cold eyes; it seemed as if it was just as Lars had described, that he was here only to witness his death.

…Damn it! Then there’s no…there’s no way…!

Zolgear desperately looked for a chance of survival, but death was already in front of his eyes.

“! ——…!”

His eyes were filled with despair. The next instant — the shockwave that Lars released from his hand ended Zolgear’s long life.