Chapter 79

There is no path left to victory.

There is no path left for my survival either.

But... I can still force a draw by taking this thing with me.

The staff in my right hand.

I have already infused it with magic power, pushing it to the brink of criticality during my conversation with the evil god.

The uncontrolled release of an attack spell.

...According to the holy maiden, if this uncontrolled release of magic power were to happen, it could blow away an entire mountain with its immense destructive power.

It might be able to erase this thing.

"Wha...!"

The evil god shows a look of shock.

He probably didn't expect me to still have a hidden card at this point.

He might not have even known that such a technique existed.

This thing was probably capable of using attack spells from the beginning, based on the pattern of me and the previous holy person.

Unlike other holy people, it was unlikely to have caused such a situation with attack spells.

Well, it's not like any religious scripture would mention a holy person causing an uncontrolled release of attack magic and blowing themselves up.

Even the Medine religion kept it under wraps.

—I released the magic power I had been building up to the brink of control.

A familiar sensation.

The same feeling I had when I almost lost control during the magic lesson with Fran.

The magic power rapidly intensifies and flows into the staff.

If this goes out of control, I will definitely die.

I didn't want to die, but there's no other way.

I can't let this thing ravage the labyrinth city.

"Tch...!"

The evil god clicks his tongue and swings his sword.

He must have sensed the rise in my magic power.

But it's too late.

Before his sword can split my head, my magic will blow everything away.

I prepare myself for death as the uncontrolled surge of magic power builds up.

"Ah...!"

I closed my eyes.

...Is this what they call a life flashing before one's eyes?

In that instant, various thoughts raced through my mind.

About Elise, about Ruruka, about the holy maiden.

...And about Yuell.

I intended to return.

To finish everything on my own without making Yuell sad or hurt, and return to the labyrinth city unscathed.

I will take the evil god with me.

But if I die here, what kind of face will Yuell make?

Yuell, who said, "I will definitely protect you," will surely be troubled if I end up in a draw with the evil god.

...If it comes to this, maybe I shouldn't have recognized Yuell as a hero.

Yuell is still a child.

And a Dark Elf with a very long lifespan.

If she can forget about my existence, recover, and live a new life in a world without the evil god, that would be for the best.

Such thoughts keep coming to mind.

The uncontrolled release of magic power is beyond my control now.

The evil god's sword is also closing in on me.

I will end my life as a "saint" with my eyes closed.

—But.

A hand gently touched the hand holding my staff.

Then, after a moment, a high-pitched metallic sound rang in my ears.

"Wha...!?"

...The magic doesn't activate.

And the evil god's sword doesn't cut me.

What's going on?

—I opened my eyes.

In front of me stood an incredibly beautiful woman.

She was probably about 170 centimeters tall.

A well-built, beautiful woman with very impressive breasts, even through her clothes, stood in front of me.

Her distinctive tanned skin and the silver, lustrous hair that complemented it.

Long ears protruded from her hair.

...She seems to be a Dark Elf.

This beautiful woman was blocking the evil god's sword in front of me and touching my staff.

I felt my magic power being drained from my hand.

...This beautiful woman stopped my uncontrolled magic release.

But, she is really beautiful.

Her large breasts, lustrous hair, and well-defined features hit the bullseye of my preferences.

For a moment, I forgot about the evil god and was captivated.

"Finally, I have learned. After that, you destroyed the evil god along with yourself, and... died."

The woman in front of me turned slightly and smiled at me.

"Master...?"

"Master" refers to me, right?

...So, I died?

I'm still alive, though.

What is this woman talking about?

"The labyrinth may indeed be a divine intervention device. But the labyrinth is also a wonderful divine device that can even reverse time and grant wishes to those who have overcome trials."

The beautiful Dark Elf said this to the evil god.

"Wha...!?"

The evil god, unable to immediately grasp the meaning of her words, stared at the beautiful Dark Elf in a daze.

Then, regaining his composure, he shouted.

"Did you... did you clear the labyrinth...? That labyrinth...? The one I couldn't clear, you cleared it!?"

The evil god showed open hostility towards the beautiful Dark Elf.

Then, without warning, he released a heat ray from his palm.

—A non-verbal spell.

The heat ray was definitely aimed at piercing the beautiful Dark Elf in front of me.

—I felt I had to protect her.

I tried to jump in front of her to shield her, but the woman instantly created a huge icicle in front of her and somehow reflected the heat ray.

"I will never forgive you for killing Master once."

The evil god dodged the reflected heat ray... and then the battle began.

"Tch!"

The evil god clicked his tongue and swung his sword.

The Dark Elf easily blocked it with a decorated sword.

When the evil god swung his sword, the Dark Elf defended with the two swords in her hands and a large, thick knife.

When the evil god released a powerful non-verbal spell, the Dark Elf countered with a spell of the opposite attribute to neutralize it.

A battle of sword skills and powerful spells.

The evil god's skills are impressive, but the Dark Elf's are no less so.

The battlefield moves at high speed, too fast for my eyes to follow.

It's so high-level that I can't even get involved.

"What should I do...?"

Just then, the extreme fire spell released by the evil god and the extreme ice spell released by the Dark Elf collided.

The aftereffects of the spells brushed against my cheek.

"What the hell! Who are you! You're not even from another world, why are you interfering with me! What purpose do you have for being here!"

The battle paused for a moment.

...The evil god is out of breath.

Perhaps his magic power is running out.

After all, he fought a horde of monsters and his resurrection wasn't complete.

He can't afford a prolonged battle.

"I will never allow a world where Master dies."

"Shut up!!"

The Dark Elf's response made the evil god look extremely irritated.

Then, the evil god turned his palm towards me.

...Ah, this is bad.

I tried to duck, but it was just a bit too late.

The heat ray pierced me.

—That's what I thought, at that moment.

A huge icicle rose in front of me again.

It reflected the heat ray, which then bounced back at the evil god as an even larger heat ray.

The huge heat ray carved through the ground.

And the evil god... was swallowed by the heat ray.

When the heat ray disappeared, there was nothing left.

The evil god had vanished without a trace.

...Is it over?

The evil god, who could crush a baby's hand like a twig, was defeated.

Who is this Dark Elf?

No, I have one idea.

But the content is so outlandish that my mind can't accept it even if my head understands it.

...But her appearance.

And the way she calls me "Master."

And the familiar sword the Dark Elf is holding.

That sword is the one I promised to get from the church with Yuell...

While thinking about this, the Dark Elf ran over.

"Master...!"

She stood in front of me, tears welling up in her eyes as if she couldn't hold them back.

"I missed you so much! I wanted to see you so much!!"

Then, she started crying.

This crying face.

It overlapped with Yuell's face.

"Could it be... Yuell?"

"Yes, Master!"

This woman... no, Yuell said she cleared the labyrinth.

She said the labyrinth can reverse time and grant wishes.

And she said I died here.

...I think I understand.

I probably died here once, along with the evil god.

But... Yuell didn't accept the ending where I died.

"Master, I worked really hard. I wanted to see you again so badly, I worked really hard. I worked hard to clear the labyrinth and save you from the evil god! Finally... I finally managed to save you."

Yuell hugged me.

Her head touched my shoulder.

She is much taller than the Yuell I know.

She has a fully grown adult appearance.

"It's really you... it's really you, Master..."

Yuell touched my face and hands, looking at me as if savoring something.

Her expression showed joy, sadness, a sense of accomplishment... various emotions.

The beautiful woman who defeated the evil god was Yuell.

I can't even imagine it.

...How much time did she spend training to achieve such skill?

How much perseverance did it take to clear that long, deep labyrinth that no one has ever cleared?

While thinking about this, Yuell slightly raised her face and looked into my eyes.

Then, she whispered.

"Master, I worked really hard. You said if I worked hard, you would give me a reward. ...Back when we were exploring the labyrinth together."

"Ah, yeah, sure. What do you want?"

Did I say that?

I don't remember.

But if she wants something, I should give it to her.

She really worked hard.

It's hard to believe, but it seems I was saved by this Yuell, who was supposed to die.

Then, as I said, "What do you want?" Yuell's face suddenly got close to mine.

"Master, I love you too!"

And with that voice...

—Her tongue entered my mouth.

That was the first thing I felt.

I was being kissed.

By Yuell.

"Mmm... hmm..."

"Nh, nhnh...!?"

She kissed me over and over, as if trying to reclaim something she had lost, greedily.

Her chest, which had grown from being flat, pressed against me, and she kissed me repeatedly.

She looked happy and content as she kissed me over and over.

...I started to feel strange.

N-no, this is Yuell.

That's definitely wrong.

...N-no, is it okay because she's an adult now?

B-but it's still Yuell.

It feels wrong, somehow.

But why does it feel wrong?

There shouldn't be anything wrong if she's an adult.

While I was struggling with these thoughts...

"Hey, isn't... isn't she glowing?"

Yuell started to glow faintly.

And her outline seemed to become blurry and indistinct.

"Are you okay, Yuell!?"

"...I might cease to exist."

When I asked, Yuell answered.

"Cease to exist?"

"I knew. If Master doesn't die, I... won't exist."

If I don't die, Yuell won't exist.

She knew that...?

That means, she came to save me, even at the cost of her own existence...

"I'm happy that I could see you one last time. I'm really, really happy to be with you right now."

The amount of light surrounding Yuell increased.

Her outline became even more indistinct.

"...Please give the rest of the reward to my younger self."

"Yuell...!!"

I hugged Yuell tightly.

The sensation of Yuell.

But it quickly dissipated into particles of light.

...The evil god was easily defeated by Yuell.

Because of this sudden intervention, I was saved.

But, what kind of feelings did the grown-up Yuell have when she came to save me?

How much effort did it take to clear the labyrinth?

I had so many questions.

There were probably many things we should have talked about.

But Yuell had already disappeared into particles of light.

There was no way to confirm anything now.

What kind of feelings did Yuell have?

On the plain where the evil god and Yuell were gone... I thought about nothing but that.

The next chapter will be the conclusion.

The update will be in about three days.