I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 113: The Ascension Ritual (4)

I examined the woman’s face once more.

I’d thought she resembled Atisha before, but after hearing her answer, the similarities became even clearer—the relaxed, almost sleepy eyes, the delicate jawline. Even her voice subtly echoed Atisha’s... If you took the exhaustion off Atisha’s face, this might be the impression you’d get.

“She has a grown daughter with that kind of appearance...? Isn’t that cheating...?” Daeun muttered beside me.

“It’s possible.”

“What’s possible about it! She looks the same age as Atisha, maybe even younger....”

“A mother who looks younger than her daughter? That’s something straight out of a comic book,” Daeun mumbled.

As if she hadn’t already known that demons have long lifespans.

I understood why she was saying it, though. The chief looked young enough that, if you were generous, you might think she was still a minor.

“If my daughter brought you here, then I suppose I can trust you. My name is Justina,” she introduced herself formally.

“Your tone is strange.”

“Impertinent child, do you think you’re in a position to comment on that?”

“Well... you have a point.”

I’d made a fuss over nothing, only to be met with a swift rebuttal. Quite clever—she handled it with the poise expected of a leader.

“Kana. Just call me Kana.”

With Justina’s introduction setting the stage, I, Daeun, and Selene all introduced ourselves in turn. Daeun hesitantly raised her hand.

“Um... how should we address you?”

Her voice was laced with tension.

“Why are you so nervous?”

“...By human standards, this is like meeting a king. Honestly, I’m more amazed at how casually you’re speaking, Kana.”

“Hm... is that so?”

I still didn’t quite understand. After all, none of the people Daeun’s met so far were ordinary.

Take me and Selene, standing beside her—we’re a former knight commander and a saintess-in-training, and she’s even met a vice commander and a prince.

She hadn’t been this nervous back then, so why now—

“Were you underestimating her because the kingdom’s long gone?”

“No, that’s not it!”

I shot her a disappointed look, and she quickly shook her head in denial.

“I already knew you and Selene before I found out who you really were, so I didn’t get that initial shock... With Azie, it honestly didn’t feel real.”

“Hm...”

“I did feel nervous when I talked with Sir Aaron, though... Though it was a different kind of nervous...”

“A different kind?”

“...Uh, let’s just pretend you didn’t hear that.”

Nervous is nervous—what’s with “a different kind of nervous”? I kept probing her for an answer, but Daeun clammed up and refused to say more.

...Suspicious.

But I had to let it go; we weren’t the only ones here, and we couldn’t keep this just between us forever.

“Are you quite done with your chitchat?” Justina cut in, clearly growing impatient as our conversation lulled.

“Humans refer to me as the Demon King, do they not? You may address me as such or call me Lady Justina, as you prefer.”

“Then I’ll call you Lady Justina.”

“Sure. Justina.”

“Where did ‘Lady’ go?”

“It’s over on the Ardina continent.”

Justina gave me a long, considering look before turning her gaze away without another word. Her expression seemed to say, “Better to endure than complain.”

“...If it’s not too urgent,” Justina hesitated, glancing at me before continuing, “could you tell me a bit more about Atisha?”

One sentence about her well-being wasn’t enough to ease a mother’s heart.

“Was it that hard to ask?”

“...To ask after a child I drove away with my own hands... how could that be easy? Anyone with any sense of shame would feel the same.”

“Oh... I’m sorry.”

...That was something I hadn’t known.

Feeling a bit awkward, I scratched my cheek, and Justina let out a sigh deep enough to sink the earth.

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“I didn’t say it to hear an apology, so it’s fine. It’s my own burden—I have no one to blame but myself.”

“Atisha made it sound like she left on her own.”

“That’s just her kindness, trying to shoulder the blame. ...Judging by your look, you’re curious about what happened.”

“To be honest... yes, I am.”

“There’s really nothing extraordinary to tell.”

Though her eyes were on us, she wasn’t really seeing us. Lost in distant memories, Justina began to tell her story.

The previous demon chief—Justina’s husband and Atisha’s father—was the only person to have succeeded in the Ascension Rite, yet he was also a failure.

He believed that, if he went through one more ascension, he could resolve the miasma that filled Raxia.

With that hope, he attempted the ritual again, only to vanish without a trace, swallowed up with a vast amount of miasma.

Justina became the chief in his place.

“As he did, so did I attempt the Ascension Rite. After all, a leader should bear the responsibilities of their position.”

Atisha hadn’t been pleased with Justina’s decision, but she hadn’t opposed it either. After all, she was a demon too—she understood her mother’s sense of duty.

“On the day I was performing the Ascension Rite, a monster known as a Dimensional Beast appeared.”

“...Huh?”

I tilted my head, surprised as I listened.

“When was that?”

“I can’t remember exactly, but it must have been several decades ago. Why do you ask?”

“I was just curious.”

The first time a Dimensional Beast appeared on the Ardina continent was only a few decades ago, so that doesn’t match up.

‘Is time flowing differently between the Ardina continent and here?’

I chuckled at the thought.

‘There’s no way.’

I’d assumed the first Dimensional Beast to appear in the world was the one in Silya several decades back, but maybe that wasn’t true. Perhaps, due to the accumulated miasma here, it was more susceptible.

Justina resumed her story, which had paused at my question.

“But I was in the midst of the Ascension Rite, and news of the creature’s appearance only reached me later. Had it appeared a bit sooner or later, I would have dealt with it myself....”

If the timing hadn’t been so perfect, Justina, the strongest among them, would have handled the threat personally. But it had come just as she was occupied, leaving her unable to act.

In her stead, Atisha had stepped forward.

“Because of that battle, Atisha lost one of her horns. For us demons, horns are a vital source of life. Even though she wanted to stay here, Raxia’s environment was too harsh for her to survive with just one horn.”

So Justina made the decision to exile Atisha to Ardina, against her will, to save her.

It was a decision made not just as a chief of the Purifiers, but as a mother.

“How could I watch my daughter waste away before my eyes? I simply couldn’t. She was all I had left.”

“I see.”

“Do you think that response sounds a bit dry?”

“Would you prefer I cried?”

“...No, that would just feel forced.”

It wasn’t a matter of sensitivity on my part.

This wasn’t a sad story—it was only natural to respond without excessive emotion.

“Atisha regretted losing her horn but said she was proud of it.”

“...What does that mean?”

“Just what it sounds like.”

She had fought a formidable foe and protected her kin. Her broken horn served as proof of that battle, a badge of honor, Atisha had said.

“If she’s proud of it, wouldn’t it be more of an insult to pity her?”

“...You’re right, you impertinent child.”

“Was ‘impertinent child’ necessary?”

“You left behind what you ought to have brought, so I attached it.”

“...Petty.”

She still held a grudge over my refusal to call her ‘Lady.’

“Anyway, that concludes my story.”

She seemed to be waiting for something, expecting me to speak now.

I tugged on Daeun’s sleeve.

“Journey. It’s your turn.”

“...Huh? For what?”

“She wants to hear more about Atisha. Go on.”

“Me?”

I don’t care much for spilling all the details myself.

Daeun looked uncomfortable at the sudden shift, but Justina’s expectant gaze nudged her to start speaking reluctantly.

She recounted everything from her first meeting with Atisha to how she’d guided us to Raxia.

Though I didn’t think much of these events, Daeun had a talent for embellishing the ordinary, making it captivating enough even for me to listen with interest.

Is this a talent for broadcasting?

My assessment that she’d make a great bard became more convincing.

But...

‘Isn’t she making this a bit too dramatic?’

I twisted a strand of my hair awkwardly.

She was describing me as a hero of the village, someone who fought off the shadow at the cost of my own body.

Hearing such praise made me feel a little uncomfortable.

“Surprisingly noble of her,” Justina mused.

“Of course! Kana is incredibly kind.”

“No, I think you saw her quite accurately.”

See? Even Justina agrees.

I wasn’t sacrificing myself for the demons—I’d simply overextended myself in the fight.

If anyone had truly sacrificed themselves, it was Daeun, not me.

“She fought against the breath to save a child.”

“Oh...”

“It was sheer recklessness...”

“Even if it was reckless, risking your life for others isn’t something just anyone can do. You should be proud of that.”

After hearing about Daeun’s bravery and Selene’s tireless healing efforts day and night, Justina’s gaze softened noticeably.

I was grateful that all the compliments, however exaggerated, seemed to have a positive effect.