"Hm~ So this is freedom after a thousand years."
Aurora, finally freed from her restraints, stretched her body, happily moving her arms and legs.
"A thousand years?"
"I'm not sure, but at least that long."
"Seriously? That's really awful."
Leon spoke with sympathy.
He glanced at the place where Aurora had been bound.
Chained there for a thousand years, unable to move—Leon couldn't even imagine how torturous that must have been.
Even without physical torment, time itself becomes the most terrifying instrument of torture. He felt it would be nearly impossible to remain sane, not to lose one's mind.
"Ara ara~ Don't look at me like that. I was unconscious most of the time, so while it was boring, it wasn't so boring that I went mad."
"Oh, Aurora, you're Diablos, right?"
"That change of subject was sudden. Yes, I was called that a very long time ago."
Aurora spoke with a wry smile—she had many names, and not all of them were compliments.
Leon looked straight into her violet eyes and said:
"Tell me more about yourself. I want to know more about Aurora."
"Oh? Is this a love confession?"
"Nah, I'm just curious."
"Haha, but my memories in this body aren't complete. After all, only my left arm was sealed here in this sanctuary."
Aurora walked closer to Leon, naturally taking his arm.
"Anyway, let's talk while we walk. I've never walked here myself, but I know the way forward in the sanctuary. You don't want to stay in the same spot with me forever, do you?"
"If I had the company of a beautiful woman like you, I wouldn't be bored even for a thousand years… but freedom is still better."
"Hey, you're pretty good with women."
Leon shrugged and didn't deny it.
In truth, he could have destroyed the sanctuary with brute force.
But the moment he entered this place, he sensed the aura of Alpha and the others.
It made sense. Though their locations were different, they were all inside separate spaces known as Sacred Domains. Leon's spatial perception told him their positions were normal.
They were probably investigating the sanctuary right now.
If he destroyed it recklessly, who knew what the consequences would be? Besides, Leon wasn't the type of person who just smashed through walls when he couldn't solve a maze.
"Then please, show the way, Aurora."
After that, Aurora began to tell many stories.
At first, she had just been an ordinary little girl.
But one day, she was captured by cultists, subjected to countless horrifying experiments, and eventually absorbed a particularly terrifying power.
After a fusion and mutation of the two—
In the end, Aurora became an incredible being with immense strength.
At that time, she was known as the "Witch of Calamity."
Then, much time passed.
Aurora's power kept growing and growing, until she finally reached a critical point. She lost her reason, fled, and transformed into a terrifying monster.
After that, the world began calling her "Demon Diablos."
Aurora: "That's basically it. In the end, I lost my reason and was defeated by three heroes. My body was cut into many pieces and sealed in different places, forming numerous sacred grounds, and my left arm was sealed here."
Leon: "So that's how it was…"
Aurora: "Is there something you don't understand?"
Leon: "No, I understand perfectly. To put it simply—it's all the Cult of Diablos' fault."
Originally, he had thought the cult was founded after the birth of Diablos, but he now discovered it existed beforehand.
And moreover, the reason the demon was born at all was because of the cult's human experiments. The so-called Demon Diablos was merely an accidental byproduct of their research.
"Hey, is there any way I can save you?" Leon asked.
"Ara? You want to save me?"
Aurora seemed surprised.
"Yeah, what's the problem?"
Leon tilted his head.
"You don't have a reason to save me."
"A reason? Isn't it obvious? Because I pity you, and I don't like tragic stories. So I want to change that."
Leon said it casually as he lifted his hand to pat the witch's head.
He was a willful prince—when he disliked something, he changed it. Simple as that.
Aurora was taken aback by his purely selfless reason.
After a few seconds of silence—
The witch couldn't help but smile.
"Haha~ You really are a special person."
"Is that a compliment?"
"It is."
"Then I'll accept it. Thanks."
Perhaps it was because this witch resembled him—black hair, violet eyes, an elegant and noble air, and overwhelming strength—
Leon and Aurora got along very well.
"By the way, you're the first person to touch my head. You dared touch the head of the witch who nearly destroyed the world. How very bold of you."
"Really? Sorry if you didn't like it. I guess I did it out of habit."
"Haha, I don't hate it. It feels wonderful, so keep touching. Hm, what a marvelous experience."
Aurora took Leon's hand, placed it on her head, and rubbed it against herself.
Leon couldn't help but think of another green-haired witch in his castle—though she was a tsundere.
Unlike C.C., who had a cute face but was cold and arrogant, Aurora, with her cold and arrogant looks, was actually gentle and flirtatious.
At the same time—
The scene inside the sanctuary shifted.
"Is this your memory?"
Leon looked around.
They saw a girl locked inside an artificial garden, crying. On the outside, several cultists watched her as though she were a specimen.
"That girl looks a lot like you."
"She's not me."
"The mole under her mouth is in the same place."
"She's just a crybaby."
Aurora glanced at her younger self with disdain.
That was what she had been like when captured by the cult and treated as an experiment. She could do nothing but curl up on the ground and cry.
She walked up to her younger self.
Abruptly, she lifted her chin.
"Crying won't change anything."
Smack!
Aurora slapped her loli self hard. Leon frowned, but he understood.
After all, everyone feels like going back and scolding their past selves for their weakness.
Still, watching a little girl version of her get slapped was unpleasant.
"Don't be so harsh on a child."
"It doesn't matter—it's me anyway."
"So you admit it in the end."
But just then—
CRACK!
With a shattering sound, the scene around them broke like a mirror, as though Aurora's slap hadn't struck her younger self—
But the very world itself.
"What an interesting phenomenon," Leon remarked.
"Because this is my memory. If you want to move forward, you must defeat me within the memory. After some time, you'll eventually reach the end."
Aurora gave one last glance at her younger, broken self, then rose, took Leon's hand, and moved onward.
Together, they arrived at the next memory scene.
This was the battlefield where the witch would be defeated.
---
End of Chapter
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."