Seventy-nine years after Diego went missing...
—Northern Nations, Huvia Mountains—
The blizzard that had engulfed the Northern Nations finally ceased after three full months. During this long winter, Stark spent most of his time training under Kraft and Mabel, further honing his warrior skills.
At the same time, under Frieren's guidance, Fern continuously refined her magical techniques, improving her mana control and learning enhanced anti-demon magic.
Both of them had grown significantly stronger. For this, Kraft specially carved two goddess pendants and gave them to Stark and Fern.
The day of parting arrived soon after.
On the day the wind and snow stopped, the four reached a fork in the road.
"I'll go this way. Looks like we only traveled together this far." Kraft pointed to the path on his right and smiled. "Stark—don't forget what I said. Even though you're already very strong now, never slack off on your warrior training. You still have quite a gap compared to that man."
"Oh—got it!" Stark nodded, cherishing these three months of training deeply.
Hearing Stark's reply, the smile on Kraft's face grew wider. He turned to Fern and performed the distinctive monk's blessing gesture. "Fern, you're an extremely devout and good child. Probably because you grew up beside the Goddess's most beloved monk—Alicia Idlucia. Meeting you here must be the Goddess's guidance. I wish you all safe travels."
"Thank you very much for the praise!" Fern bowed deeply.
Alicia often praised Fern as a good child, so she greatly appreciated Kraft's compliment.
Kraft gently shook his head. Finally he looked at Frieren. His steady voice rang out: "Frieren—I didn't expect you to leave so soon. I thought you'd use the excuse of the blizzard to stay a bit longer!"
"No choice. If we stay in one place too long, Fern will get upset. When she's mad she ignores me… wuu…" Frieren cautiously glanced at Fern, her tone carrying a hint of grievance. Soon she rallied and smiled. "But… I think I'm gradually starting to understand why Dio was always in such a hurry back then—why he always looked so impatient."
Kraft nodded. His gaze was complicated. Slowly he spoke: "Frieren—as fellow elves, I don't believe this will be our last meeting. Before we part, I have one extremely important question I'd like to ask you. I hope you can give me the answer."
"Ask away." Frieren remained expressionless.
"You're that Diego Brando's companion. I want to know—is he still alive somewhere in this world?" Kraft took a deep breath. Though he knew full well how offensive the question was.
"…He no longer exists in any corner of this world. That's why we're going to the Land of Sleeping Souls to see him one last time." Frieren was silent for a moment before giving her answer.
"I see… so my premonition was wrong…" Kraft shouldered his luggage, turned, and waved goodbye as he left. "Frieren—I don't think this will be our last meeting. Let's meet again centuries from now."
＜(´⌯ ⩊ ⌯`)＞!
[We will surely meet again—on the wasteland a hundred years from now…]
Better not say things like that. It feels like something bad might happen.
Frieren recalled the last words Diego spoke before his memories were sealed. A cold sweat broke out.
"I think it's better not to speak in such absolutes."
"Hahahaha—"
Kraft laughed heartily and disappeared from sight.
Frieren let out a long breath, pointed to the left path, and said to Stark and Fern: "We'll go the other way. Next we'll make a stop at Sword Village."
"Eh?! Sword Village still exists? Wasn't the Hero's Sword pulled out and taken away by Lady Alicia?" Fern asked curiously.
"…Well, you'll understand when we get to Sword Village."
"Lady Frieren, don't tease us!"
Stark looked a little dejected and murmured: "If only Master Mabel had come with us too…"
"No helping it. Our route after this doesn't match Mabel's. Besides, she's nocturnal—she's probably still catching up on sleep in the cabin right now." Frieren comforted him.
"Lord Stark really relies on Mabel-sama. Total teacher-con." Fern gave Stark a dissatisfied glance.
Stark panicked and explained: "Eh—no way! I just… suddenly parting with Uncle Kraft plus Master not being here makes me feel a little reluctant!"
"So useless."
"Why though?!!!"
"…"
...
What was called Sword Village was the settlement that had guarded the Hero's Sword for generations.
Not far from the village, in a sacred precinct, stood the Hero's Sword personally bestowed by the Goddess.
Throughout history, no matter how renowned the hero, none had been able to draw that sword—until eighty years ago, when the Holy Hero Alicia was born to subjugate the Demon King. She came to Sword Village, gained the Hero's Sword's recognition, and drew it.
Under the Goddess's mighty power, the sword transformed into the Salvation Staff. With this weapon, Hero Alicia slew the Demon King and brought long-lasting peace to humanity.
This was the most widely spread and deeply influential legend of Sword Village in human lands.
"…So this legend is fake?" Fern's eyes widened in disbelief.
Frieren was slightly surprised by Fern's reaction: "Yes. Didn't Alicia tell you?"
Fern gently shook her head. Clearly she had never asked about it, and Alicia had never mentioned it either.
The village soon appeared before the three. A pink-haired little girl led a group of villagers waiting at the entrance. She excitedly waved and shouted toward them: "Lady Frieren—we've been waiting for you!"
"Welcome to Sword Village!"
Frieren walked up to the little girl and bent down to meet her eyes. The girl stood on tiptoe, desperately trying to reach the same level as Frieren.
"Are you the current village chief?"
"Yes—I'm the forty-ninth generation chief."
"You're really young!"
"Because the position is hereditary. This way it's easier to uphold the promise we made with Lord Dio back then."
"I see. Then take us to the sword."
"Please follow me!"
The little girl took Frieren's hand like a proper adult and walked ahead of the three. With her free hand she kept pointing toward the sword's direction.
"Eh?"
Fern looked around curiously. Suddenly realizing something, she let out a surprised sound.
"What's wrong?" Frieren turned back.
"There's no wanted poster of Lord Diego in this village!" Fern's little mouth opened slightly in shock. "And the chief just mentioned Lord Diego with such excitement!"
"What's there to be excited about? You'll have to get used to it, Fern—the farther north we go, the more common this will become!" Frieren's lips curved slightly. Her cool voice carried a hint of barely concealed joy. "Ever since Dio went missing and Alicia faked her death, the demons have risen again. The situation in the north has grown increasingly dire. More and more people who once received favors from Dio have come to realize: the peace back then was hard-won—carved out single-handedly by the most infamous criminal in human history through slaughter.
"The farther north you go, the stronger the demons become—and the fewer adventurers capable of dealing with them. That's why most people in the Northern Nations personally witnessed Dio's battles back then. Though Dio's goal wasn't to save them, those indirectly saved by his demon-slaying still kept that gratitude in their hearts.
"The Empire didn't need a story of an infamous criminal defeating the Demon King—so Alicia became the inheritor of Dio's achievements. But now, this sentiment will only grow stronger with time—until it completely shatters the Empire's lies and lets Dio's name as Savior resound across the entire continent. That is the power of human hearts."
As she spoke, Frieren didn't notice her own footsteps growing lighter.
"Ah—speaking of Lord Dio, the little mountain lord he left behind is still guarding the entrance to the Hero's Sword cave!" The pink-haired little girl was extremely excited. She let go of Frieren's hand and ran ahead, bouncing as she planned to show the three around.
Soon they arrived at the cave where the Hero's Sword was embedded. A dozens-of-meters-tall Tyrannosaurus sat in front of the entrance, wearing sunglasses, legs crossed, leisurely sunbathing.
"Little Mountain Lord!" The pink-haired girl rushed straight to the T-Rex's belly, rubbing her head against it excitedly. "Listen, everyone—Little Mountain Lord is so amazing! For these eighty years he's eaten every single monster that came! He's our village's guardian deity!"
Seeing the little girl arrive, the T-Rex rose from in front of the cave and lowered its head to nuzzle her affectionately, making her giggle.
"Little Mountain Lord, stop—that tickles!"
"Dio… Mountain Lord…" Frieren gazed at the T-Rex in a daze. Unconsciously she reached out and patted its head, a nostalgic smile appearing. "This texture… really brings back memories. It's good to see you here."
The T-Rex stared blankly at Frieren for a while, shaking its head as though trying to remember. If its arms weren't so short, it would've scratched its head raw.
In the end, Little Mountain Lord simply felt her scent was especially familiar. It leaned close to Frieren, slowly but firmly called out:
"Yee?!"
"Why does it have to be 'little'…" Fern's face was covered in black lines as she stared dumbfounded at the mountain-sized T-Rex.
Frieren patted the T-Rex's head. From the corner of her eye she noticed a red figure moving. She asked: "Stark—where are you going?"
In the midst of the laughter, Stark—who had been silent the entire journey—suddenly walked toward the cave entrance.
"Frieren—the Hero's Sword is still inside, right?" Stark stopped and turned back to ask.
"The Hero's Sword… what's going on?" Fern turned into a curious baby.
Frieren nodded, giving an affirmative answer.
Seeing this, Stark walked into the sacred precinct without hesitation, leaving behind a resolute declaration: "I'm going to pull out the Hero's Sword…"
His mind was racing, recalling last night's scene.
[Stark—the Hero's Sword is still in Sword Village. Go pull it out.]
[Eh? Me? The sword that even Master and Lady Alicia couldn't draw—how could I possibly do it?]
[No problem. Precisely because it's you, the Hero's Sword can be drawn. Remember—you're this Dio's disciple. Nothing can stump you. This is ko no Dio's confidence for you—take it!]
[The dinosaur mark on the back of Stark's axe handle suddenly changed. A claw extended from it and pierced into his body.]
[Stark's pupils instantly turned vertical…]
While Frieren wasn't paying attention, Stark had already completed his dinosaur transformation.
Now Stark had MAX courage! MAX confidence! ProMAX combat power! Version.
Snap!
He walked up to the holy sword, gripped the hilt tightly, and slowly applied force to pull…
...
Meanwhile, in the everyday world.
"That Hero's Sword? You're still curious about it?"
Diego chuckled lightly and released a memory. Takanashi Rikka and Dekomori Sanae immediately focused intently.
"Dio banzai!"
"Boss banzai!"
The memory screen slowly displayed scenes from many years ago when Diego led his team to Sword Village.
"Legend says whoever draws this Hero's Sword can end the human-demon war and easily slay the Demon King?" Diego looked at the young village chief of Sword Village—the grandmother of the pink-haired little girl—with surprise.
This version of the tale was the most popular one before Diego went missing.
"Yes." The young woman nodded enthusiastically and explained: "More precisely—only a hero capable of overcoming a catastrophe great enough to destroy the world can draw this Hero's Sword."
"Interesting. I'm not interested in ending the human-demon war, but the Demon King stands in this Dio's way. To me he's the greatest trial—an existence that must be eradicated. Take me to see that sword!" Diego unceremoniously ordered the young woman around. Then he turned and shouted to the four beside Mountain Lord: "Alicia—you come too. After all, you're the Holy Hero personally appointed by the Empire. Maybe you'll have some wonderful reaction with this sword."
"Yes!" Alicia responded softly with a blush and jogged after them, waving.
"As for Frieren and you three… just wait here. ko no Dio will bring the sword back. Take good care of Mountain Lord."
After saying this, Diego—eager to speed up—tucked the young village chief and Alicia under his arms and left the village.
"Okay—" ×3
Back then Mountain Lord was only as tall as a person—still a little one. None of them could have imagined it would grow to dozens of meters in the future.
With the village chief guiding the way plus Diego's speed, the memory scenes jumped rapidly. In an instant they arrived in front of the cave.
Diego stood before the sacred precinct, observing the Hero's Sword inside with interest.
"The Hero's Sword…" Diego raised his hand and stepped forward into the cave.
The moment he entered, a phenomenon occurred!
Zzt zzt!
Diego's right hand touched the powerful barrier protecting the Hero's Sword at the edge of the sacred precinct first. A burst of intense electric current erupted.
In that instant, Diego's expression turned grave!
He jerked his right hand back. His eyes widened in disbelief. His pupils contracted sharply. His gaze locked dead on the barrier before him.
His right hand was in terrible condition—skin torn open by electricity, black smoke rising, trembling uncontrollably.
This barrier had special defense against magical beasts and prevented them from approaching the holy sword. Other races were unaffected.
Yet now Diego was blocked outside. The sacred precinct seemed to descend divine punishment, halting his advance.
"..."
This Dio… is being rejected?!
"What was that sound?!" Alicia—beside the Hero's Sword—heard the noise and hurried back to Diego's side with concern. "Dio—are you okay?! I just heard electricity!"
Noticing Alicia approaching, Diego quickly hid his right hand behind his back. He whistled casually: "What could happen to this Dio? Just now some blind magical beast tried to barge in. I used the barrier to take care of it."
"I see… I'm glad you're okay, Dio." Alicia placed both hands in front of her and smiled sweetly.
"You go in first. I'll deal with the magical beasts around here." Diego found an excuse to send Alicia away.
"Okay. I'll wait for you inside. Come quickly."
"No problem—this battle will be even 'faster' than stopped time!" Diego flashed a smile and reached out with his left hand to ruffle Alicia's head.
Her face flushed instantly. Her gaze darted away shyly. She turned into a steaming girl and stumbled back into the cave.
After confirming Alicia could no longer see him, Diego slowly dropped his smile. He spat Ugly Treasure from his mouth.
He took out a pair of gloves from Ugly Treasure's mouth, put them on, then drew the Inverted Spear of Heaven and tucked it at his waist before putting Ugly Treasure away.
Hmph—no one can reject this Dio!
Diego's gaze turned cold. He gripped the Inverted Spear of Heaven and slashed fiercely at the barrier.
Forced release of active magic!
The barrier was torn to shreds by the casually swung Inverted Spear. Diego tested carefully, confirmed it was safe, and strode inside.
"Dio—you're here. The Hero's Sword is right there." Alicia pointed forward.
"So this is the Hero's Sword… doesn't look particularly special…" Diego lifted his chin high. His eyes were full of contempt. "Whatever—let this Dio draw this sword and see what it's about!"
With that, Diego gripped the hilt and slowly increased force to pull.
The Hero's Sword rose a few centimeters from its stone sheath before stopping. But this wasn't because Diego couldn't draw it—rather, a flood of information suddenly appeared deep in his mind. So he paused and fell into thought.
[Kill Diego Brando!]
Diego paused. Then he carefully savored the words. He felt no offense at the sword's audacity—in fact he even laughed.
After a long while, the corners of his mouth curved up. He had fully understood the situation.
So this is the true nature of the Hero's Sword…
Condition One: The Hero's Sword cannot be drawn at any time—only when a catastrophe great enough to destroy the world appears, or when biological survival drops below 10%, can the Hero's Sword be drawn.
No wonder all the challengers throughout history failed. That trash Demon King didn't even meet the sword's standard!
But it's really strange…
I never planned to destroy this world…
Why would I be considered the great catastrophe the Hero's Sword speaks of…
Condition Two: Under the Hero's Sword's amplification, the individual must possess baseline strength sufficient to overcome this catastrophe.
This is easy to understand. A completely talentless person—even if they drew the sword—couldn't deal with the catastrophe. Worse, the sword recognizing its master might prevent a truly capable candidate from working with it, leading to the world's destruction.
The Goddess wants someone who can save the world—not just any random person. Under this hard condition, only true powerhouses can gain the Hero's Sword's approval.
The sword's strength requirement isn't fixed—it varies with the severity of the catastrophe.
However—since the condition is to kill this Dio, the selection standard must skyrocket exponentially.
Condition Three: Must accept the Hero's Sword's demand—for example, to kill a certain person.
This shares the same underlying logic as Condition Two. If the person who draws the Hero's Sword doesn't want to save the world—if they instead plan to aid evil—then all the Goddess's arrangements would be in vain.
What Hero's Sword—it's clearly a Salvation Sword. As long as these three conditions are met, anyone can draw it.
At that moment, Alicia's voice suddenly called from beside him.
"Dio… Dio…"
"Are you okay?"
Seeing Diego motionless for so long, Alicia couldn't help worrying.
"Yeah—I'm fine." Diego snapped back.
Alicia continued: "Can you draw it? If not, let me try. Maybe I can pull it out and defeat the Demon King!"
"…" The corners of Diego's mouth curved into a playful arc. "Dear Alicia—remember this well: in this world, there is nothing this Dio cannot do!"
[The prerequisite conditions for drawing the Hero's Sword have been met. If Alicia draws it, she will have accepted the task of killing me—and I will be forced to kill Alicia…]
[No—Alicia would never turn against me…]
[Then… shall I gamble? Bet that she won't betray this Dio? No—can't put it that way. She's just a monk I captured and forced to travel with me. In essence she isn't loyal to me.]
[Forget it. Don't test human nature in extreme circumstances. In the same position—even I might be blinded by power and choose to backstab.]
[It's just a weapon. This Dio can easily get her a better one. When we explored the Tomb of the Fallen King earlier—I remember there was a staff deep inside. That's the one!]
After complex inner turmoil, Diego slowly turned. His gaze fixed straight on Alicia—empty and dazed.
"Dio, you…" The unfamiliar stare made Alicia uncomfortable. She reached out as usual and tugged Diego's sleeve.
Snap...
Diego laughed softly. His left hand pressed down on Alicia's hat. His right hand gripped the hilt again and pulled hard.
Shing!
The Hero's Sword was yanked out. Diego held the hilt and spun a beautiful sword flower in front of Alicia.
"What the—it's completely no different from an ordinary sword…" Diego drew a contemptuous smile and mocked aloud. "Alicia—let's go. This sword is just exaggerated garbage from legends. Its only feature is that it's basically impossible to draw. It's no help at all in killing the Demon King."
"Eh?!" Alicia covered her mouth lightly with both hands. Her tone was full of disbelief. "So this is the true nature of the Hero's Sword?"
"Well—things hyped beyond their worth are common. You go back first. I'll stick this junk back in." Diego waved her off. "I know a labyrinth with a weapon suited for you. After crossing the Huvia Mountains I'll go get it."
Alicia nodded and soon returned to Sword Village.
After she left, Diego no longer forced himself to hold it together. His hand holding the Hero's Sword trembled. Suddenly it thrust uncontrollably toward his own throat.
The blade sliced open his carotid artery. Blood sprayed uncontrollably. Minutes later the flow slowed. Diego entered a near-death state.
Condition for killing Diego Brando achieved (fake). The Hero's Sword's restraint loosened. Diego seized the chance to thrust the sword back into the sacred precinct's base stone.
Shua!
"Pfft…"
Diego's face was ugly. He spat another mouthful of blood and stared fixedly at his uncontrollable trembling right hand.
The air was thick with the smell of blood. Hot blood melted the snow on the ground—making the sacred precinct appear eerily bizarre.
His right hand was in terrible shape—once impressively muscular tissue had atrophied. If he hadn't thrust the sword back in time, the condition would have spread to his whole body. This was backlash from forcibly violating the contract.
"Hoo—"
Diego let out a long breath. He relaxed his hold on Mahoraga. Reverse Heaven's regenerative power instantly appeared in his body. He lightly brushed his throat—the wound healed instantly. The muscles in his right hand swelled back up.
His gaze turned cold as he pondered destroying the sword.
[The Hero's Sword… once drawn, it must save the world.]
[Originally I didn't think a mere sword could achieve that—but the test just now seems to confirm it.]
[As expected—this sword has nothing to do with heroes. The moment I accepted its condition, I drew it without issue.]
[From the instant it came into being it sensed my existence and urged me to kill myself.]
[I violated that contract and didn't act—so I received punishment. It tried to manipulate this Dio into suicide to eliminate me. Destroying my hand was just incidental…]
[Luckily this sword has no intelligence—it only follows rigid rules. I acted out a play and easily fooled the thing.]
[Hmph… I'll leave it here for now. Someday this Dio will come back to reclaim it!]
...
Meanwhile, on Stark's side...
[Adventurer—a catastrophe capable of exterminating humanity has appeared. Diego Brando will slaughter all humans in the future. Now—draw the holy sword with the purpose of killing Diego Brando. Kill him in advance to prevent this catastrophe.]
"..."
After receiving the information in his mind, Stark's movement halted. His hand hovered in midair—unable to lower.
Why… does Master want me to kill him?
Stark staggered back two steps. His eyes were full of disbelief.
No—no!
Master must not know the prerequisite condition—it has to be that!
"What a joke!" Stark roared. He kicked the sword hard and resolutely rejected the Hero's Sword's demand. "You actually want me to kill Master! What kind of trash Hero's Sword is this! No wonder no one could draw it for so long—it really is fake!"
"Master is the one who defeated the Demon King and won half a century of peace for humanity—and you say he'll exterminate humanity!"
"A broken sword nobody wants—stop embarrassing yourself!"
Unlike Diego, the Hero's Sword's attitude toward Stark could only be described as fawning lapdog. To put it bluntly—if he wanted to, he could draw the sword with zero resistance.
But Stark still refused. This was also the first time he had defied his Master's order—rejecting this easily obtainable immense power. He turned resolutely and left without hesitation or lingering attachment.
Don't test human nature in extreme circumstances—this applies to most people, including Diego himself.
Yet he never expected that his own companion and disciple did not belong to that category.
Back then—if Alicia had drawn the sword—the result would likely have been much the same.
(Subsequent event: Diego decided not to speak to Stark for three days… You couldn't even draw the Hero's Sword—you don't deserve to be this Dio's disciple!!)