Chapter 87

"Hey, Dick. Why did you want to join the Demon King extermination team?"

I wonder when it was.

It was on the way back to the capital after the journey to defeat the Demon King. It must have been the night we stayed in a town at the border between the Kingdom of Albein and the Demon Kingdom of Elsain.

Usually, we would separate into male and female rooms as much as possible, so I wouldn’t see the women at night. But that day, Miralca followed me when I went for a night walk.

At that time, I recognized Miralca as an excellent magician, but I still found it difficult to talk to her one-on-one. It’s hard to feel good about someone who tells you that you look unimpressive at first meeting.

However, she was only twelve years old then, and in her nightgown, she looked like a lovable little sister I wanted to protect. Of course, once she opened her mouth, it was a storm of sarcasm.

Miralca, who had followed me up to the town’s high ground, was complaining about being bitten by insects, so I protected her with magic. I think she said "thank you," but I remember it was in a very small voice.

"Why did you want to become a hero? It doesn’t suit you."

"It doesn’t suit me, you say. At that time, I just felt like volunteering."

"Volunteering on a whim isn’t something you can do lightly. We are the only ones in this country recognized as SSS rank. That means we can become anything we want. So, why choose to fight the Demon King?"

Miralca’s point was sharp. But I also thought it was a child’s way of thinking. Because, in a way, she was saying that it was unnatural for her to volunteer for the Demon King’s extermination as well.

Perhaps she didn’t like that I seemed to consider myself more mature than I actually was, which she had noticed at the time.

"You don’t seem to like being in the spotlight. So, was it okay to do something so conspicuous?"

I usually would have dodged the question without giving a serious answer, but the situation was different this time.

I thought it might be okay to tell Miralca a little of what I really thought.

"…The Demon King wasn’t that bad. Monsters do harm humans, but if you take the right measures, it can be managed. We understood this because we infiltrated the Demon Kingdom in a small group. If the kingdom’s army had moved, it would have turned into a war, and the border would have changed."

"Did you want to defeat the Demon King yourself because you didn’t want people to die?"

"Of course, no one likes it. Well, I don’t want to die either. I don’t like people who romanticize self-sacrifice."

It didn’t feel good to see people crying when we set off, knowing they were crying out of sympathy because they thought we might die.

Even at thirteen, I could tell. We were feared for our power, but adults felt superior because we were children.

After defeating the Demon King and returning, Yuma and Miralca had various experiences, such as relatives they didn’t know trying to ingratiate themselves. After they consulted me, I used the guild’s power to quietly silence such people.

Money and power drive people mad. If I had known that from the beginning, I wouldn’t have been disappointed, and it would have been better to protect Yuma and Miralca from seeing the ugly side of people.

—While thinking such things, I ended up hurting Miralca by being misunderstood about Aileen and making Yuma feel lonely by not visiting her.

What I was doing was contradictory. Miralca must have noticed this long ago and felt frustrated, I realize now.

"You should speak more about what you’re thinking. If you keep quiet, no matter how good you do, people won’t understand."

"Not necessarily. Miralca and everyone else will vouch for me. I made the Demon King promise a ceasefire by entrusting him with a talisman for five years, but I don’t think this can be called a good deed."

"Keeping something important as collateral isn’t a kind method. You really are…."

Miralca tried to say something but stopped. Was she going to say something like, "You’re really stupid"?

"…Hey. Are you not going to return to your hometown after we get back to the capital?"

"No, I’m not. I have my reasons, but I’ll keep them secret."

"Right… Then, I can keep an eye on you for the time being."

"Keep an eye on me? Keep an eye on me, Miralca?"

Confused, I asked, and Miralca, sitting on a wooden fence on the high ground, stroked her golden hair, which shone in the moonlight, and said,

"Because if I leave you alone, you might do something like fighting the Demon King alone."

"Like… I don’t think there will be another enemy as strong as the Demon King."

"It’s fine. You will. Since it can’t be helped, I’ll keep an eye on you. Even if you do something reckless and I end up hating you, I’ll keep watching you while hating you."

I really wondered if Miralca was younger than me. Her mental age, as a precocious genius, could have been the same as mine or even higher.

"What would make you hate me?"

Miralca blinked, perhaps not expecting the question. Then her face turned red to the ears.

"…I won’t say. If I tell you, you’ll get too confident."

"Haha… I see. If I remember, I’ll ask you again someday."

"You don’t have to remember forever. That’s what being too confident means."

Miralca seemed to have gotten angry and went down the hill first. Although there was no real danger to her, I followed to make sure I didn’t lose her.

Miralca had one misunderstanding.

That I would never fight the Demon King alone.

If I were the only one who could fight, it might be different.

But I had already met them.

Even I, who am confident that I can do anything, know that there are things I can’t do better than my companions in their respective fields.

I can’t become the strongest in the world alone.

That’s why I don’t fight alone. I know that a group is stronger than an individual.

The reason I wanted to form a guild after parting ways with the four members of the Demon King extermination team.

It was because I wanted to have companions. I knew I would never forget the journey we took together.

—Darkness.

I am at the bottom of the darkness.

My arms still move. My eyes are open, and in my right hand, I hold a broken sword.

In my left hand, I hold the fairy sword that my master possessed. I grip it, and with both swords in hand, I stand up.

A giant, a lamia, and the upper body of a woman embedded in the head of the ‘Snake’ look down at me.

The faint magical connection with my companions tells me they are safe, but there is no sign of them getting up.

"Creature of the earth. Why do you stand, knowing you cannot win?"

"…I can’t do much alone."

I answer, but it’s meaningless to the ‘Snake.’ It’s fine; I don’t need it to understand.

"The strongest swordsman, the strongest martial artist, the strongest magician, the strongest cleric. The other three can do things I can’t. Everyone has something like that."

"…But you are powerless. No matter how many hands you gather, you will never…."

"Reach me. I will make it reach. I know the way to do it."

The ‘Core’ I kept in my chest stirs.

The core I obtained after defeating the Legion Dragon. The core of a monster can be used to gain the characteristics of the monster, either by processing it into a tool or using it as is.

The characteristic of the ‘Spirit Dragon,’ a dragon of the dead, is to gather the power of countless spirits, turn it into armor, and use it as a source of strength.

What would happen if I, a living being, did the same?

Everyone is still alive. If they respond to my call—then I can fight.

(Everyone, please… just for a moment, lend me your strength…!)

In response, the magical connection with the entire party is revived, and one by one, the power flows into me.

The sword spirit of Cordy compensates for the broken sword. I feel a profound respect for the immense power of the light sword.

The magic covering my body is a mixture of demon and human—this is the state of demonization. An uncontrollable urge to fight and the strength to destroy everything reside in my limbs.

The only reason I can maintain my sanity in the midst of this raging consciousness is thanks to Yuma. My soul is calmed, and I can remain calm and face an enemy with no chance of winning.

"—What can you change by gathering your strength? Do you think you can protect something?"

The snake raised its voice for the first time. I am certain that it feels threatened by my current power.

As if to condemn my resistance, the snake orders the giant. Facing the giant’s massive sword, I simply swing the fairy sword in my left hand.

—Sixty-sixth Style: Demon God Shattering Slash—

The giant’s sword stops before it reaches me. In the next moment, it shatters into fine particles and the destruction spreads to the giant’s arm.

The lamia releases a beam from her eyes, but it doesn’t reach me, covered in the magic of a demon god. This time, I don’t use my sword for a counterattack; I just cast a spell.

—Dual Serpent Erosion—

I combine the ‘Unsatisfied One’ summoned by Verlene and the ‘Phantom Twin Serpents’ used by Sherry. By using the power of the snake’s spirit, I can summon two ‘Unsatisfied Ones’ at once, even though I can normally summon only one at a time.

The ‘Unsatisfied Ones’ devour and take the lamia’s spear and shield. Deprived of her equipment, the lamia is no longer a match for me. No matter how many beams she shoots at me, they disperse.

—By understanding the mechanism of the beams while being hit, I alter the barrier to reflect them, striking through the lamia’s mask. The mask shatters, and the lamia collapses, bleeding from her forehead.

"Only you are left. Let’s end this."

The snake said nothing. It gathered all its magic in its head and opened its jaw, coming at me.

A desperate charge. Whether I can withstand it and subdue it with all my strength is a gamble, even for me now, but there is no option to retreat.

I can’t show a pathetic figure, even though I am borrowing everyone’s power.

I hear Miralca’s voice—she says she has a special technique she has been researching for just such a moment.

Without hesitation, I use it.

The knowledge flowing into me from Miralca—combined with her speed, my thinking speed triples. I can now instantly complete an array spell.

"—Wooooo…!"

—Zero Style: Ultimate Destruction: Reverse Cross—

With all the power I possess, I reinforce the two swords.

While using a teleportation spell to pierce the snake’s jaw, I swing the swords in a cross.

The destruction array simultaneously fired destroys the snake from the inside—once the chain reaction of self-destruction begins, it will not stop until everything is destroyed.

This is the ‘Zero Style: Absolute Destruction Array.’ It was created to completely destroy a specific enemy, but it was a secret array spell that Miralca had never used before.

Why I remained unharmed even after being hit by the snake’s power—its magic was more concentrated than the first time. Still, the power I borrowed from everyone was enough to overcome it.

Looking back in the air, the snake, collapsing, lowers its head to the ground—there, it runs out of strength.

I approach the fading ‘her.’

"…I lost… to a creature of the earth… to a mere human…"

I wondered what words I should use.

Just created to move the floating island, and following the vague command to ‘destroy those who look like humans’—and now, disappearing.

Before I could say anything, my master, who had barely managed to stand up, walked over.

My master, who had already begun to collapse, lifted ‘her’ body and shed tears.

"I’m sorry… If I had been there in that era… If I had…."

No matter how hard she strained her voice, ‘she’ did not respond.

But those eyes, which had seen nothing, turned to my master—and for a moment, they regained a faint light, as if waking from a long dream.

"…No… You don’t have to apologize…."

"…!"

‘Her’ remaining right hand moved and touched my master’s cheek.

Not the ‘Snake’ that had lost its self and awakened to destroy humans, but the ‘her’ who had once been human, was finally freed and returned to my master.

"…I’m the one… I’m sorry… for leaving you alone…."

"No… It’s not your fault… It’s not your fault…."

My master’s only companion for a thousand years was ‘her,’ who was born on the same floating island.

But to seal the will of destruction and become one with the snake, one of them had to become the snake’s sacrifice.

And she offered herself to the snake when she joined the party of the first King of Albein.

My master must have seen that scene. But it was impossible to remember.

The ‘remaining people’ who had pushed everything onto the two of them had disappeared. If the city had remained intact, it was unlikely that everyone had died.

My master must have hated everything that led to this fate. Perhaps she searched for her companions.

But she couldn’t find them, and in despair, the only thing left was the desire to die.

For that, she found me, raised me, and wished for me to kill her—something I couldn’t do, and she fell into madness.

—And now, I have taken away my master’s best friend. Even if it was the only way to free her.

I always make my master cry. Now, I can only watch as she cries, unable to wipe away her tears.

‘She’ who is about to disappear looks at me.

The same hair and eye color as