CH 667

-Clang!

Countless times, his wrist had shattered.

Just enduring the sword pressure carried by the Void Sword caused his wrist, shoulder, and arm to break.

If it hadn't been for Tiamata's regenerative power, he would have died the moment they crossed blades.

He was accustomed to pain.

Having died thousands of times in his dreams, he was familiar with death, and pain was no stranger to him.

-...

Ellen slowly approached him, having been flung away.

She wasn't hasty.

Her movements took into account that he couldn't avoid this battle.

Thus, she approached neither leisurely nor hastily.

Her slow and calm advance suffocated him on its own.

A blue aura and a faint gray energy flickered all over Ellen's body.

He hadn't even been able to defeat the Ellen he had imagined in his dreams.

He had thought the real Ellen would be different, and the Ellen who had even acquired the power of the vengeful spirits would be even stronger.

He had never underestimated her.

He had thought she would be stronger than anything he could imagine.

But he couldn't bring himself to kill Ellen.

He dared not even entertain such a thought.

And so, he couldn't give his all.

But that was arrogance.

Even if he put in all his effort.

Even if he employed every means possible.

He realized that he couldn't defeat Ellen.

Ellen, who had been walking slowly, closed the distance in just a few strides as it narrowed.

-Crash!

The moment the Void Sword and Alsbringer clashed, the ground was torn apart by the shockwave.

-Bang! Clang!

Two consecutive strikes.

And then.

-Thud!

"Ugh... Hngh!"

She knocked him away with a knee strike to his solar plexus.

His rib was shattered.

-Uuung!

He recovered with Tiamata's power.

He had pushed his magic regeneration to its limit.

Even so, the moment he withstood a single exchange, he was destroyed by the overwhelming force.

The gap was too large.

He had thought he had grown strong enough to rival anyone.

But Ellen was too strong.

The gap wasn't as wide as it used to be.

It wasn't like he would lose his grip on his sword while blocking Ellen's attacks.

However, each time their swords clashed, the bones and muscles protected by his aura shattered and tore.

The gap was still that wide.

Ellen in her right mind.

This was not the Ellen who had felt guilty for even pointing her sword at him, the one who had only taken hits during Charlotte's execution ceremony.

If she weren't in that state, could he not even land a single effective blow on Ellen?

The one born with all kinds of talents had the strongest weapon and the strongest armor, and even possessed countless vengeful spirits.

Was it impossible for him to defeat her when all that was pitted against him?

It wasn't just close combat.

-Whoom!

A flash of flame, like lightning, grazed his cheek.

The flames emitted from the Sun Cloak, not just the Void Sword, penetrated his defenses.

-Sizzle

The sound that should not have come from human skin accompanied the healing of the wound.

The only thing he could rely on was his regenerative power.

And the power of Alsbringer, which heightened his abilities against stronger opponents.

Ellen had grown stronger through the power of the divine relic, but without a divine relic, he couldn't even engage in this battle.

His wrist would have broken and he would have dropped his sword in the first exchange, and his neck would have flown off with the third attack.

If not for Tiamata, he would have died long ago.

The Void Sword and Tiamata clashed.

-Clang!

As the Void Sword and the holy sword collided, producing sparks, his attempt to push Ellen to the right was thwarted as she twisted his wrist, causing him to stumble.

No, to be more precise.

From the moment he lunged, she knew exactly how he would react.

She had read him like an open book.

-Thud!

"…!"

In an instant, his chest was pierced, and his lung was skewered before he could even react.

Before her sword could cut through his body, he kicked Ellen's body and retreated.

"Ugh…ugh!"

-Woosh!

Tiamata's divine power healed his fatal wound.

Without a divine relic, one could not block the attack of the Void Sword.

Although he was used to pain and his concentration did not waver, the sensation of a sword entering his chest was always unsettling.

She attacked relentlessly.

-Bang! Crash! Clang!

In the suffocating onslaught, one misstep would lead to a fatal injury and death.

The problem was not just that.

Ellen had no weaknesses.

In fact, she had too many.

Ellen, who focused solely on offense, did not defend at all.

-Screech!

"Kuh…ugh!"

But when I tried to exploit that opening, I only felt a pain so intense that it seemed as if my whole body would shatter due to the powerful backlash.

It wasn't because of the aura armor Ellen wore, but rather the backlash created by the Sun's Cloak itself.

It wasn't that she didn't defend.

She didn't need to defend.

Even an all-out attack couldn't get through.

There was a reason she had been slaughtering monsters alone at the deepest parts of the battlefield.

A sword that could cut through anything.

A shield that could block any attack.

He knew Ellen was strong.

But to this extent?

He couldn't even touch a single hair on her head with his all-out attack.

On top of that, the difference in the level of their divine relics was too great.

Against Ellen, who wielded two relics specialized in offense and defense, he had no chance of reaching her.

-Bang! Crash! Clang!

He was barely able to dodge Ellen's relentless attacks.

There was a fundamental gap between them. His attacks couldn't touch her, and even one wrong move against her attacks would cost him his life.

-Screech!

"Kuh…!"

With a single powerful kick, he felt as if all the bones in his body were breaking as he was sent flying helplessly backward.

At least he could recover from non-fatal injuries.

The power of healing.

Tiamata's divine power that allowed him to regenerate no matter how injured he was.

But in this situation, it only prolonged his life a little.

With an emotionless expression, she stared at him as he was flung far away.

-Swoosh!

Her emotionless gaze was heart-wrenching.

Could he not defeat her?

From the day they met, was this destined to happen?

Was he fated to be defeated here?

What had he been doing all this time?

In the end, he couldn't surpass her.

Was the story of the Demon King being defeated by the Hero always waiting for him?

He didn't endure all this pain and struggle just to die here.

And it's not just him who will die, but her as well, if she killed him.

He didn't know.

Somehow, he had managed to avoid fatal injuries, but soon his life would be lost.

Luck wouldn't last forever.

—---

As it measured the distance, it silently opened its mouth.

"Is it unfair?"

"..."

There was clearly a will within it.

I didn't know exactly how it worked.

But I knew that conversation wasn't impossible.

"I saw you trying to protect the humans."

So, it must have seen everything.

"Now, we also know that you tried to protect the humans."

It must know that I was doing all of this for a reason.

It just turned out this way.

It knew my intentions were not directed towards evil.

It asked me.

"Even so, is it unfair that it ended up like this?"

How could it not be unfair?

Many people had died, but due to the altered progression of events from the original story, the allied forces' losses were relatively minor in comparison.

There was only one step left.

Just one more step.

All I needed to do was reclaim Ellen.

If I could do that, I would have no more wishes.

No more greed.

But in the end, I didn't reclaim Ellen and died.

I couldn't even match my opponent in battle.

How could that not be unfair?

I just needed to take one more step, but I couldn't.

I might have to lose everything because of my defeat in the final battle.

"Of course."

I didn't want to say it wasn't unfair.

I couldn't bring myself to say it wasn't unfair.

All these things.

All the days I'd spent so far.

I thought I might be able to find her.

And sometimes.

After everything returned to normal, occasionally living as we used to.

Really, just occasionally.

I had imagined that.

All those days.

It was heartbreaking.

Was that all?

"By the time I came to my senses, I was the frail prince of a demon race, on the verge of extinction."

"With no memory at all."

"Knowing only that the world was soon to end."

"Desperately not wanting to die, relying solely on a weak disguise magic that could be undone with a single dispel, I fell to the Imperial Capital."

"Until now…"

"Trying somehow to save everyone, the world ended up like this because of me."

"Still, I clenched my teeth and came this far."

"Now, you just need to come to your senses."

"But you're on the verge of death, and I can't bear to see it."

"Isn't it unfair?"

In fact, everything happened because of me.

It seemed like I would die with only the last step remaining in the conclusion of everything.

Wouldn't it be strange if I didn't feel this was unfair and heartbreaking?

I was angry, indignant, and heartbroken.

How did I come this far?

To die after coming this far.

Amidst my appeal of unfairness, which didn't fit my current situation, it didn't ridicule me.

"How pitiful......"

It neither reproached nor criticized my confession.

It just.

Closed its eyes in the rain.

The rainwater flowed down its eyes, endlessly.

Countless raindrops fell onto its head, streaming down its face and eyes, pooling in puddles.

Were those tears?

It should be the downpour summoned by Liana.

-Ssaaaaaaah

-Urrrrrrr

I felt as if this torrential rain was the tears it shed.

If the whole world was crying, and its tears became rain.

In this miserable downpour that seemed like that.

It spoke amidst the world's sobbing rain.

"Then, what shall we do?"

I couldn't tell how many of "we" there were anymore.

"Weren't we pitiful?"

"Simply swept away in your stories, we had to disappear."

"We."

"We had no role to play. We couldn't resist."

"By monsters."

"Sometimes by humanity."

"Sometimes."

"By you."

"Because of your reasons alone."

"The 'I' that had to disappear."

"Our trampled lives."

"Shouldn't we feel more wronged than you?"

"With just the words 'it couldn't be helped.'"

"Should we accept that?"

With eyes closed, the mingled voices spoke dispassionately, not shouting in rage and despair, but conveying a profound sadness.

They had not dreamed of anything.

They were crushed and vanished because of the dreams of others.

More precisely, because of the dream I had.

No matter how much I say that wasn't my intention, the deaths that occurred because of me are undeniable.

Their grief and anger are natural, and undoubtedly justified.

For me to complain about my own grief to them would be unbearable and unjust for them as well.

"There's nothing we can do about our sadness."

"There's nothing we can do about our grievances."

"Just like how we died amidst those words."

"Your Majesty."

"If you cannot restore our lives to us."

"If you cannot return everything you took from us."

"In grievances and sorrow, and within anger."

"Embrace your inevitable death."

"Only by dying like that."

"Will you at least receive the minimal recompense."

"For all the deaths that have occurred because of you."

Restoring lives was impossible.

Both it and I knew that.

So, I had to die too.

One step short of achieving everything, with only one step left.

In agony and despair, in grievances and anger.

Only by dying amidst sorrow could it be the slightest atonement.

I shouldn't be alive.

Trying to live is excessive greed.

It looked at me with its eyes open.

"But your heart, we understand."

—---

Had time refined it somehow?

It didn't appear as if it was engulfed in intense emotions like when it first appeared.

Or had it, in Ellen's body, come to resemble her calm demeanor?

Its gaze.

Its eyes, once filled with emptiness and abyss, now.

Looked like a frozen, deep lake.

Not warm.

Not without animosity.

Just serene.

"We have no intention of forgiving you, nor of sparing your life."

"But at the very least, out of respect for you."

"Let's make a deal."

It acknowledged me but couldn't spare my life.

I had to pay the price. Knowing my intention didn't change the outcome, and the dead didn't come back to life.

I had to pay the price.

But it seemed to have a proposal.

A deal, it said.

"Just die."

It was a simple and cruel statement.

"Your loved ones."

"Your precious people."

"Everything you want to protect."

"We will spare everyone except you."

"Even from this child you loved, we will depart."

"And then, disappear."

"You will never see with your own eyes how everyone you loved lives on."

"To such a world of insensitivity. Come with us."

"Filled with sorrow, resentment, and rage."

"Becoming a being like us."

"Vanishing from the world."

So that's what it was.

I finally understood.

What that 'future' meant.

The scene where I was killed, and Ellen committed suicide.

That future wasn't a future of defeat.

It wasn't about losing a battle.

It wasn't about dying in combat.

I saw the scene after this deal.

Since I could solve everything with my life, I would have accepted this deal.

Even if I fought, I'd lose.

I knew I would die anyway.

If I hadn't seen the next scene.

I would have definitely accepted this deal.

------

What I saw in the preview was my lifeless body and Ellen taking her own life.

It wasn't my appearance after defeat.

It was the aftermath of accepting the deal to die and end everything.

If I didn't accept the deal, it wouldn't just kill me.

Not just me, but everyone, including Harriet and Olivia.

It would start killing everyone who sided with the Demon King.

And eventually, it would kill Ellen, who it was possessing.

But if I died quietly now, it would vanish.

If I hadn't seen that future, I would have accepted the deal.

Because that would have been the best choice I could make.

Dying in a meaningless struggle, and everyone I loved dying too.

Or just me dying.

It was obvious which one to choose.

There was no need to die with others for nothing.

It wasn't lying.

It was sincere when it said it would kill only me and then disappear.

The reason Ellen took her own life in the future I saw was because she realized she had killed me with her own hands.

The promise would be kept.

But there was one truth I knew because I knew the future.

It wasn't just me dying, but Ellen, who killed me, would also die.

This wasn't a deal where only I died.

Demon King and the Hero.

If, in the end, only the two of them die, would peace come to those who remain?

Would vanishing with it be the only ending allowed for me?

I might have been able to beat Ellen if I used the Alsbringer, but even if I did, Ellen and I would die together, so it would be pointless.

Whether Ellen killed me and then committed suicide or I killed Ellen with the power of the divine artifact and died as a result, it was ultimately the same thing.

The future I saw was not a matter of the result of the battle but a matter of choice.

If I refused, I would have to fight it, and if I lost, it would kill everyone I loved.

If I accepted, only Ellen and I would die, and everything else would be left to those who remained.

Even without me, everyone would somehow survive.

Some would grieve, and most people would cheer that the Hero had defeated the Demon King.

How ridiculous.

The Great Demon War ended with the mutual annihilation of the Hero and the Demon King.

And even now, beyond time, were the Hero and the Demon King destined to vanish together?

Was it always the fate of the Hero and the Demon King to die together?

I proved that I have done all this not to destroy something but to protect something.

By giving up everything and dying at its hand at the very end, I prove it.

Even when reaching the end of everything, I shouldn't have anything.

If I were alone, it would be fine.

If it were just me.

It would be alright.

In the end, I saw the image of Ellen, who killed me with her own hands and looked confused as she regained her senses.

And then I saw Ellen, who ultimately chose death.

Numerous times.

Dozens of times.

Hundreds of times.

Whenever my will weakened. Whenever my determination wavered.

I saw that sight and clenched my teeth.

I didn't accumulate this time to see such a future, I vowed and did something.

I was killed by Ellen in my dreams.

I tried desperately to hold up the collapsing world.

But in the end, I have to choose the future I never wanted to see?

I've talked too much about things that can't be helped.

It can't be helped.

So let's do it this way now.

I must accept it.

Those unavoidable things.

This time, I want to try somehow.

I don't want to choose the obvious option, at least not this time.

I might lose, but I won't necessarily lose.

I won't necessarily die.

There isn't only the possibility that I'll lose.

Just as I can't buy my happiness with someone else's misfortune.

I can't buy someone else’s happiness with my misfortune, can I?

It's a horrible and cruel thing to say.

But can't I be happy now too?

In the end.

I don't want to die.

Dying is scary.

I'm afraid of the situation after my death.

Ellen, who will take her own life, and those left behind.

—---

Though I've only seen Ellen's appearance, I'm afraid and trembling at the thought of imagining the thoughts and emotions of those I haven't seen.

That's why.

This time, I will make a choice that shouldn't be made.

I'll choose, even knowing that it's an option that shouldn't be chosen.

"No."

I shake my head.

Yes.

Let's think of it simply.

"I made a promise."

I definitely made a promise.

There were countless days when I almost died.

I've encountered enemies I couldn't defeat in battle.

There was a time when I survived in front of such an enemy, just because of a single promise.

"I won't make you sad."

Luna Artorious.

The only reason she saved me was that.

I wouldn't make Ellen sad.

I said I'd try to do something about the later events.

"I made a promise with your mother."

She didn't believe my words.

Just as I knew this would happen, Luna knew too.

But in the end, if I die by Ellen's hand and Ellen takes her own life, that promise will be broken.

She was not an ordinary being.

It's a promise I made with the gods’ incarnation.

So, I must keep it.

No, I want to keep it.

"So, even if I want to die for you, I can't."

The moment I said that.

Suddenly.

Really suddenly.

The world stopped.

And turned red.

"What... is this?"

Everything stopped, and only I could move.

Even the falling rain had stopped.

In a world where time had stopped, something had changed.

The sky, which had been full of dark clouds, had cleared.

And there was a huge hole.

A black hole pierced through the center of the sun, which had become dozens of times larger than usual.

No.

It wasn't a hole.

Something was blocking the sun.

The sun, which was dozens of times larger than usual.

And the moon, which covered it.

"A solar... eclipse?"

The world stopped with an unexpected solar eclipse.

And then.

Between the suspended raindrops, something that had never been there before appeared in front of me.

"You haven't forgotten the promise."

At the sudden appearance of someone's voice, familiar and yet nostalgic, I turned my head.

I couldn't help but doubt my eyes.

The person I thought I would never see again in my lifetime was there.

The moon.

And the sun.

I knew someone related to those two.

And as far as I knew, there was only one person who could cause such a miracle.

"Mother...?"

Luna Artorious.

The person who had appeared in the moonlight now stood before me, accompanied by a massive solar eclipse.

"Didn't I tell you?"

The words she said when she let me go back then.

"The blessings of the moon and the sun will be with you."

Was that not a promise, but a prophecy?