Ugh...

What do you think of that?! Do you see now, my Hans's power?!

......

I really do feel a bit bad for Hans, this time...

Seria, don't say anything more...

Karl...

Tsch...

......

What's wrong, guys?

Nothing, nothing at all.

So, Kalon. How about the trial's results?

Do you acknowledge my friend's power?

...indeed.

You...no, all of you may be able to become...

...the "hope" longed for and awaited so long...

She?

The one you call Oracle Maiden.

Have you spoken with the Oracle Maiden?!

I am the demon that guards the seal. She is the key to the seal.

Of course I am acquainted with her.

So why is this idiot the hope that she waits on?

Lugi, Hans is everyone's hope!

Tilith, this will take forever otherwise, so can you rein it in a little?

Aww!

Before we can speak of that...

...I must tell you of the time when Karna Masta came to this land.

So it's going to end up taking forever anyway...

Shut up and listen. Kalon, keep talking.

You are aware that after being cast out to this land, Karna Masta was sealed by demons, correct?

Yes, Mora told us.

And that Lucius's one-time disciple Melord arranged it all.

And Ark told us that Melord used the power of Ilia, the Oracle Maiden.

That's right.

Melord used Ilia's god-sealing power and the demon's powers...

...to seal Karna Masta's powers and body in different places.

That's how immensely powerful Karna Masta was.

Yes, such that he cannot be sealed in one location.

Karna Masta's body and power were split using Ilia's power...

...and his body was sealed in this land, while his power was divided into eighths.

And by using the demon's "shadow" powers, his divided powers...

...could only just be sealed in locations across this realm.

So we're trying to unseal the thing you demons put so much effort into sealing.

I get why you want to stop us.

But, if you've given up on stopping us...

...is this "hope" of Ilia's connected to that in some way?

......

Naturally, monitoring was a necessity even after sealing Karna Masta's powers across the land.

However, the demons did not trust one another.

That is why I was selected to monitor the seals, with my power to divide myself.

Power...to divide yourself?

I can create copies of myself that share my powers and memories.

I sent copies to the locations of the seals...

...so that the other demons would not betray one another.

So what you're saying is, there was a copy of you in every land we've come through so far.

That's correct.

The "me" that Ark and Lugina met was only a copy of me.

My body and shadow have remained in Menon the entire time.

Hold on a second! The numbers don't add up, if that's the case.

This is the ninth location we've visited since coming to Ishgria, right?

......

There is a hidden secret to the seal on Karna Masta's true power, unknown to the other demons.

Another seal, created through faith in Ilia's hope.

Another seal?

Melord hid Ilia's existence from the other demons...

...and while the foundation of the seal was explained to the other demons as Melord's magic...

...I noticed shortly afterward, as I watched over the various seals...

...another power was at work. A non-demonic power.

When one of my copies questioned Melord...

...he laughed, and immediately told me of Ilia's existence.

At the time, he hid Ilia's existence...

...and intended to return to Grand Gaia with the demons deceived...

...but likely became desperate, on learning that Lucius had cast him aside.

......

I sent one of my copies to Mildran, from which I sensed the same power I sensed in the seals across the lands.

There I met Ilia, who was still conscious.

So here's where the Oracle Maiden finally comes in.

Shut up and listen.

I thought that she was attempting to use us, the demons, again.

However, it was quite the opposite. She was attempting to sacrifice herself to protect us.

We split Karna Masta's body and powers and sealed them...

...but having done that, should one have attempted to seize other demons' powers as Mora did...

...Ilia thought there was a risk that the seal would break...

...and thus was attempting to seal Karna Masta's soul with her own.

Even as she knew that doing so would place her in the same sealed state.

......

So what you're saying is, there are actually three seals on Karna Masta.

The first is on his body.

That one sealed Menon, and opens with the powers of the majority of the demons that created it.

The second is on his power.

Those seals were created by eight demons in the lands that Hans and the others...

...have come through so far.

And the third is on his soul.

That seal was created with the soul of Oracle Maiden Ilia, in Mildran.

Have I got it right, Kalon?

For the most part, but I must add something.

Ilia created the seal on his soul in Mildran...

...but the seal itself was accomplished through my shadow.

A double seal...

It's sealing away a dangerous soul. I guess that's natural.

Also, Ilia's power lingers around all of the seals on Karna Masta.

Ilia's power...lingers? What does that mean?

Before she was sealed at the same moment that she sealed Karna Masta's soul...

...she hid her powers within each of the seals.

For the day that her "hope" would finally come.

Things just keep getting more and more complicated... But I finally understand it.

How to destroy Karna Masta...

...... It's too complex, I don't get it at all.

Tilith, do you understand?

Huh? What are we talking about?

You weren't listening at all, were you?

Well, here's a short version.

Just in case anything happened at each place...

...Ilia hid her power in each of the seals' locations.

So that when the "hope" she talked about came one day, her power would activate...

...and lend that person strength.

So, if we're able to use Ilia's power that's hidden in this land...

...we might be able to slay Karna Masta's body.

...Hans, without you even realizing it...

...Ilia may have helped you in other places already.

Okay... I'm getting it bit by bit. But there's still something I don't understand.

How do we use that power here?

And how do you figure Hans is this "hope"?

Have you even met the Oracle Maiden, Hans?

It's because Hans is Hans!

Tilith, stay quiet for a bit.

Hmph!

Seria, both of your questions are probably connected to Ark.

So that's it!

You got it too, Paris?!

So that just leaves two people now who don't get it.

I've known since the beginning!

You're lying!

Goddesses don't lie!

Ark has acknowledged Hans.

So the girl that Ark loves...

...will lend Hans her power.

If you knew that, you should have said it at the start!

Huh? I've been saying it the whole time!

Haven't I been telling you? Hans is amazing!

That doesn't tell us anything!

Anyway, that's more or less it.

But, isn't Ilia's power hidden within the barrier around Karna Masta?

Not only that, but pretty deep inside.

To awaken it, instead of Hans...

...we'll need Ark.

...and everything the old guys said finally makes sense.

Everything about this irritates me to the core.

Karna Masta is so dangerous both before and after being sealed...

...that things need to be this complex, and this carefully done.

In all likelihood, this will be the final chance to defeat Karna Masta.

The power of the Oracle Maiden to seal gods, the power to awaken it, the Oracle Knight...

...and the hope, acknowledged by the Oracle Knight.

These factors will not all come into alignment again...

The final chance...

Tsch...

That is all I can say. I entrust the rest to all of you.

When you see him, please tell Ark what Ilia said.

They're gone...

Then I shall begin my final duties, as the demon who watched over the seal.

Aaron...

...soon, we will be able to speak again after so long.