Chapter 9 Episode 23: The Dragon Inheritor 1

Instead of picking up from the events from before, we start off with narration from Solomon. So, his father once told him that he is a demon/dragon. That was on the day he awakened, in the world surrounded by walls. And there, his father was with him.

At that time, his father put what he calls a little crown on his head. Mononobe’s silhouette shows up, and he tells him to never take it off. He can’t ever lose it either, because there is only one of it. When Solomon asked why, Mononobe told him that it’s meant to tie him to one vessel. It would do so even if he were to be composed of 72 defeated beings from other worlds put into one frame.

Mononobe tells Solomon that whatever his name was in wherever he was from, it’s been forgotten and he now lives as a new demon. He also tells him to be careful, because if he ever loses it he’ll fall apart again.

Solomon doesn’t understand much of it, but he somehow understands the falling apart thing. He gets it as a painful thing to happen, which he starts shaking in fear at the thought of. And before long, despite knowing how shameful it looks, he started crying.

He wondered why something so frightening would happen. Did he do something wrong? Solomon then asks Mononobe to tell him what he is, what a demon is. He does so, patting him on the head gently first before holding him tenderly and explaining.

Mononobe asks whether Solomon remembers anything about his past. Solomon does not. Mononobe then tells him that he is what’s called dragons, the term for the loneliest demons in the world.

Solomon asked if demons/dragons are evil. Mononobe says that some of them are. The loneliest of them are probably the evilest of them all. Wherever he went, that’s what he saw. He just...didn’t want to believe that.

Because of that Mononobe decided to give Solomon a name that wasn’t Demon. Whatever the name was, was too much for him to remember as he was at the time though. And so, the name was shortened to Li’l Salomon. It was his name, a name only for him. Even now he can remember how happy he was when he felt that time.

Flashback narration ends as a little bit of time skips after the Warmongers’ attack as Musashi comes up to see you off after the post battle clean up. Everyone else has already apparently left or something. Anyways you either greet the guy or ask where he went when everything was going down.

Going B, he says he was doing lots of different things behind the scenes. Stuff like being Kurogane’s herald and clearing out foes hiding in the shadows, that sort of thing. He then says it’s not an exaggeration to say that things went alright this time thanks to his young man self. Musashi then says he doesn’t have the excuse of prioritizing the safety of his bosses though. He asks that you think of it as him thinking it’ll be fine if you take care of things since you were able to hold up against him earlier.

Musashi then changes the subject and says it seems like you’ve really changed the way your expression looks. You wonder or say maybe so. Either way he says you look like you seem refreshed, unburdened. If something ever happens again, give him a call. Maybe he’ll help depending on the circumstances. You either agree or say you’ll think about it.

Whichever way you go, you decide to ask Musashi one other thing. He doesn’t mind and considers it a way of keeping a door open for a possible future employer, which could pay off one day. Then he asks what the question is.

You can either ask if his five selves ever fight, ask if it’d be better to be just one person, or if his selves ever disagreed. He thinks it’s a weird question, but after thinking on it tells you that there are plenty of times when they don’t see eye to eye and fight over it. Disagreements are pretty constant too. He’s never actually thought about becoming one person though.

Musashi does say that maybe fusing everyone together into one person might make things easier. It’d stop all the fighting and would make things more efficient. But on the other hand...turning into one person would be boring. For the young man self in the driver’s seat at the moment? Things are fun when he’s with the others, not when he’s alone. While they may fight, they watch each others’ backs.

You either agree after a moment, ask if there’s someone who has their memories mixed, or stay quiet. Going B if it matters, Musashi asks if you mean the memories coming from an artifact’s previous owner. He thinks it’s no big deal. So long as you know, you should just do whatever you want. If you decide to continue with someone else’s life knowing what you’re doing, that’s your business. But he does tell you that, if it’s a continuation of someone who has died, to not think that it’s the same life as theirs.

Musashi sums up what he wants to say as “it’s fine to decide after you understand everything.” Like where you own self begins and ends, what you have, and what’s different from other people...even if it comes to an identical sibling you’ve been separated from for life. Even if there was someone who perfectly imitated him. Or a kind of robot that looks exactly like oneself. Or a shadow that’s so much better than you despite looking like you. Or for a final example, the original of your amnesiac self.

Musashi says all of those hypothetical people are all other people. Even amongst himselves, his young man self, his neutral polite self, and his old man self have different names for each other and are different people to each other. But he says that no matter where you go, people define person as a single being. But it’s because of that that he thinks it’s fun, and he asks if you think so too.

You take a sec to digest that and say you know, thanking him. He wonders if what he told you answers your question and says it’s good if it did. What you decide is your own path. What you choose and how it ends...is stuff you can decide however you like. You agree and say you’ll see him later. Before you do go, Musashi decides to ask who are you. Who is it that stands in front of them? You tell him you want to know that too, which is why you came here.

Musashi comments that when you don’t know about other things much, you start to understand yourself. Then he changes topics and asks you to tell Shuuichi hi from him if you get the chance and waves you later.

Scene shifts over to wherever the East guild and the Tokyo Cathedral is as no real world location goes by that name far as I could tell. The guild itself though gets described as a gathering of instructors and transcendents. Some angels approach Michael and kneel before him as they report something, then asks what he’ll do. Michael says it’s okay to lead That Guest here.

Arslan and the head dark angel mob from Aoyama both show up, and Arslan voices his surprise at how easily he was let in since this is their stronghold and all. Michael says it’s Arslan’s treasure sword. Michael is bound by his class to give the utmost respect to its owner so long as they have it.

Michael says it’s the sword that belonged to the wise king, the one who has the hexagram star and the Narrator of Wisdom and Poetry. It was for the one Michael had recognized as having royal authority, and as Arslan is the memory inheritor, he’s treating him as such. It’s also why the angels at Aoyama listen to him and treat him as a king.

Arslan says if that’s really the only reason why, it’s kind of sad. He admits there’s some truth to it though. He says he’s seen a lot of angels besides the ones in Aoyama even before he came over there. Arslan does say Michael is wrong about one thing, which is that he is Aoyama’s guardian and not its king.

Michael agrees and says he’s known that really well for a long time, longer than he has. He then starts talking about the legitimate guildmaster of the Missionaries, the human who has inherited the memories of angels. Or an angel, I dunno. But Michael says they’ve just exchanged hostilities with them at their (Michael’s side) portal earlier.

Michael says the Invaders are having problems, and he’s heard the Warmongers are currently being bothered by them too. Arslan is surprised and starts cackling about how crazy Jacob is being. Michael starts talking about how he wants the Missionaries to just roll over and be under his command. The Warmongers and Invaders are expanding their own power too after all.

Michael says it’d be fastest if Arslan went back to tell the remaining Missionaries that. Arslan says he already mentioned being a king once, but he’s handed over the reins to the young ones already and will only be watching them take their path. They’re standing on their own feet now, Maria, Jacob, and everyone else in Tokyo.

Michael’s face twitches for a moment when Arslan mentions those names. Arslan then asks what the point of pushing an old lion into an old world is. The Missionaries no longer need him to guide them. Michael calls it disappointing and says he’ll have to show off his strength then to force the Missionaries to join him.

Arslan comments on the part about it being just Michael and not Michael and the others. He says Michael’s methods are too severe, where he’ll leave everyone in ignorance and try to teach them all himself. He then asks if that is what Eden wishes for.

Michael says Arslan got the order of things wrong. As its World Representative, what Michael wants is what Eden wants. He knows his brother’s mistake, so he won’t be repeating it himself. Therefore everyone will be given eternal ignorance and happiness. He won’t be deviating from this plan, he says. And if Arslan wants to stop him his treasure sword won’t help, because if he doesn’t have that king’s Ring it won’t serve him.

According to Michael, the possessor can get any angel, any demon, and even the strongest of dragons to serve them. That ring can even take the fallen demons of other worlds and make 72 Pillars that can be bound into one vessel. And if I understand him right, that ring can only work in one dimension. It is a vessel for Rules that are too strong in the Tokyo War.

Arslan comes out and says the ring belonged to King Solomon, the Narrator of Wisdom and Poetry. It’s the ring Michael personally gave to him. If that ring were to be given back to Michael, or any of the World Representatives really...if that ring were to be entrusted to another from its possessor and mastered, Arslan says it would be a terrifying secret weapon.

Michael says that since Arslan is the one who has inherited a fragment of King Solomon’s memory, he should know of course. Arslan confirms that, saying it would never be handed to someone who wishes for an eternal world. Michael confirms that on his end as well, saying it’s been made a safety valve and placed in a location the World Representatives could never reach. Even if they know about it, they can’t get to it.

Arslan says that in any case, King Solomon has let go of the ring. When he starts talking about the meaning of it, Michael finishes his sentence for him. The holder of the ring must do so because it is the price for its power. If it were ever destroyed, it might turn into a huge disaster. Michael says that King Solomon no longer exists, because he has been exiled from the world.

Scene then shifts back to your side as you meet Furufumi outside the old schoolhouse. He welcomes you, and you say you’ve returned as you bow to him. He sighs about having told you not to come back, but says he’ll lead the way as a library committee member.

You’re surprised by this and either ask if he’s not going to chase you away or ask if it’s okay to go in. He says you’d go in even if he tried because you have business here. He knows the type.

You say you have something you need to know and nod firmly. As he looks at you, he seems to remember something for a moment and leans in. You try to talk to him and point out the leaning in thing. He says it’s nothing and says you two should get going. You ask again if it’s okay to go in and point out the security tape.

Furufumi says he’s been entrusted with managing the old schoolhouse library by a teacher, and that teacher has given you permission. He tells you it’s fine. You wonder which teacher it could be, but Furufumi doesn’t say as he gets out the keys and opens the door.

Scene shifts to another narration zone flashback by Solomon. He and Mononobe would read the book he was given together, and little by little he learned about the ways of this world. There are many people and many events, and they would repeat endlessly.

The time Solomon spent with Mononobe was fun, and he would excitedly turn the pages. He studied so much and learned so much. When he learned about death, the disappearance of his self, he cried in fear. He always thought about it, and of the day it would come. It became all he could think about.

Until then, he wondered what he would do in the world, how would he live. He asked Mononobe to teach him that, and when he did, Mononobe said he had to figure that part for himself. It isn’t something anyone can give him.

When he heard that, Solomon worried. After all, as far as he could ever see there was no one that was like him. There was no one he could consult like he was reading a book. And as he worried about that, Mononobe showed him someone. It was a certain person who appeared on the world of the other side of the wall. It was someone who was just born into the world, like him. Someone all alone, with no one resembling them around.

Solomon couldn’t take their eyes off them when Mononobe spoke to him. He said that person was the same as him. It’s him, on the other side of the world. His true self and his self in the world could not exist unless they were separate pieces. If That did not forget that they were a dragon, they could not have lived in the world of man. And until they gained the strength to remember that, Mononobe wanted them to be protected and live.

Solomon narrates that he didn’t understand much of what Mononobe said. He did grasp the most important part though, that they were a demon/dragon same as him. Someone the same as him on the other side of the wall, who he could never take his eyes off of.

Mononobe brushed Solomon on the head as he spoke more. He asked Solomon to help them, get close to them, and to serve them. It’s fine for Solomon to do that up until he finds what he really wants to do himself.

Solomon admits he was dissatisfied with that a little. He was the senpai here after all, so why should he work for the other one? But he decides it’s fine because he’s the senpai. If he can do that he can look better as an adult. But honestly? He was happy about it. Even if he were to go past the walls, the days he spent with them were fun. Today he still waits to be called, to hear his name. And when it happens, his Shadow will pass through the hexagram star and fly to where his master is.

Scene shifts back to where you are, now inside the old library. Furufumi leads the way with an old lantern, and he asks if you have a way of finding what it is you want to know. Even if you know the book title it could take a lot of time to find it. You say it should be fine and you have a lead as you summon your sword.

Furufumi is surprised you’d pull a sword out in a place like this, but he’s even more surprised when it starts making noise in reaction to something. You figured this would happen as Shirou had thought about that.

Flashback starts up as Shirou talks to you, surprised you also went to the old schoolhouse. He tells you he also went there before, even before he drew out Yog-Sothoth’s memories. He seemed to resonate with the Necronomicon then, and he remembers feeling like something pulled him in. He compares it to a premonition, telling him he’d go back again.

Back to the present you say the sword is guiding you that way and ask Furufumi to lead. He understands and asks you to follow him. Sometime later you figure which book it is and point it out. Furufumi shouts in surprise when he sees it, saying it was the book Mononobe was reading that day. You either read off the name Ars Almadel Salomonis or be surprised at what Furufumi said.

Before anything else happens a light flares up as things start flying out of the book. Shadow dragons appear, and they approach you. It seems as if they’re attacking, but narration says they’re moving to return to you. And then the episode battle begins.