“Huh……………………?”
It was cold, frigid. I had woken up due to the intense cold. Where was I? What had happened to me? I remembered falling… Am I on the ground? Asleep? What…!?
“Gu… ah…………”
As I inhaled the musty air, my last memory came rushing back. The moment when I thought I had lost my friends, my companions, and even my own life. But…
“Why… am I alive…?”
The feeling of my life being drained still lingered in my body. That’s why I was certain I had died, yet here I was, alive.
Was it the whim of the Demon King? Speaking of which, the Demon King had the same face as me… Was there a reason he couldn’t kill me? But that final blow was definitely merciless.
Did he fail to kill me? I didn’t know the reason. I didn’t know, but…
“Haha, it seems I’m the odd one out till the bitter end…”
With weak and sarcastic amusement, I gazed at the three heads rolling on the floor. In the end, I had been powerless. I couldn’t save anyone, and I couldn’t die alongside them.
“An outsider remains an outsider… until the end… whoops.”
Struggling to my feet, I picked up the bag that had been thrown in a corner of the hall. I transferred a few pieces of preserved food into a bag at my waist, then emptied the rest onto the floor and returned to where everyone was.
“I can’t… leave them here…”
Slowly, carefully, I tried to place the three heads into my bag. However, the moment I touched them, the heads crumbled into dust.
“Ah! Ah, ah! Ahhhhh…”
I frantically tried to gather the dust, but it slipped through my fingers and dissolved into the air, disappearing. Following suit, the remaining heads and bodies also turned to dust and vanished from this world without a trace, without even a gust of wind.
All that remained was a dark red stain on the floor. There was nothing left here.
“Ha, haha… haha…ha…”
Tears streaming down my cheeks, I sank to my knees. Wasn’t I even allowed to mourn? Wasn’t I allowed to keep them? I was… I was…
“I am… alone…”
I let out a soundless cry, gazing up at the sky and shedding tears. My chest ached, my throat was parched, and as my tears finally dried up, I rose unsteadily to my feet and walked toward the exit.
No one was around. Although I was deep within the Demon King’s castle, there were no guards, not even a sign of the Demon King himself.
But, I didn’t concern myself with those details. I walked with a shaky stride, moving forward unsteadily. I left the Demon King’s castle without encountering anyone, and traversed the Demon King’s territory without encountering any opposition.
There was a purple swamp, bubbling and gurgling. There was a brown, withered forest. There was a ruined town… Ah, this was where Gonzo had stayed behind to ensure that Alexis and I could escape. At that time, we had been pursued by a vast army of the Demon King. Now, only traces of the conflict remained.
I followed the path. I forged a path through the pathless. After walking and walking, I arrived at an expansive plain that stretched out before the wilderness. Was the undergrowth and ground turned black from the blood of the demonic beasts? Or perhaps…
“Rouge…”
Certainly, Rouge must have fought to the bitter end here. She had incinerated and slaughtered countless armies of the Demon King, and ultimately, Rouge herself…
“Ugh…”
I instinctively covered my mouth, though there was nothing to vomit. By the way, the distance from the Demon King’s castle to here should have been considerable. Yet, I had no memory of resting or eating. Curiously, when I checked my waist bag, the preserved food was gone, so I must have consumed a fair amount unconsciously… well, it didn’t matter.
“Haaa”
I was weary. Utterly exhausted. For some reason, I yearned to rest and surveyed my surroundings. And there, I spotted a sizable rock not too far away.
Ah, that spot seemed inviting. I would rest there. I would sit down there… and bring it all to an end…
Seating myself beside the waist-high rock, I leaned against it and looked up at the sky. Memories of my adventures flashed before me beyond the expanse of blue.
“It was tough in the beginning… but so much happened…”
Only memories after arriving in this world came to mind. Even though my previous world had claimed a much larger portion of my life, I couldn’t recall a single memory from there.
“Shouldn’t you be remembering your parents at a time like this?”
I couldn’t help but wryly smile at my own fickleness. I vividly remembered the faces of my comrades, whom I had known for just three years. However, the faces of my parents, with whom I had supposedly spent twenty years, remained elusive. I believed we were a close-knit family…
“…I’m feeling sleepy.”
Leaning against the rock, I slowly closed my eyes. I could sense the quiet culmination of my existence—powerless, incompetent, and meaningless. I felt incapable of doing anything, unable to achieve anything.
[Really, how long are you going to keep that miserable face! Get up now!]
“No, no, it’s impossible now.”
Rouge’s voice echoed from somewhere, and I weakly chuckled, denying her words.
[I trained you myself, you’re not the kind of kid who would give in to this, are you?]
“Sorry, I’m really at my limit. Can you forgive me?”
Gonzo’s voice resounded from somewhere, and I managed a weak laugh as I apologized.
[Do you intend to disappoint me? I thought you could do a little more.]
“Don’t ask the impossible. I’m just a porter, you know?”
Alexis’s voice came from somewhere, and I sneered as I denied his words.
[It’s okay! You can still reach it now. So try harder!]
“But even if I try harder… Huh?”
I heard a voice from somewhere, causing me to open my half-closed eyes. Whose voice was that? Could I reach it?
“What…is that?”
I turned my gaze towards the source of the voice and spotted a sword standing on the ground. There was something intriguing about it, so I slowly stood up and walked towards the sword.
“This is…?”
What lay before me was a silver sword that glimmered in the sunlight. The single-edged sword had six wings on its back, appearing as if it were flickering like an illusion. It was hard to believe it was real.
“Can I touch it…?”
I quietly extended my hand towards the sword, gripping the hilt of the illusion. In that moment, my world was connected.
“Ah, ah, ah, ah, aaaaaaaaa!?!?!?!?!”
A searing heat coursed through me, and my thoughts became jumbled. Memories of another flooded in like a tsunami, threatening to overwhelm my own.
“No! I… won’t hand this over!”
Gritting my teeth, I fought back against the invading consciousness with the strength of my soul. Even if my memories were merely one of countless iterations for someone else… I wouldn’t allow anyone to trample on my memories with my comrades!
Push it in! Burn it in! Never forget! Even if I recall everything…
“I am… ME!!!!!!!!”
A scream that reverberated through the world. The new shell shattered, merging with the old. But it didn’t end there. The severely distorted, tattered shell was gently wrapped by the tenderness of my companion, protecting the determination not to lose against the Demon King.
“…Ah”
I remembered. I remembered it all. I was saved once again this time… and now, I could join them.
But there was something I needed to do before that. Despite the Demon King’s power, I couldn’t let it end in defeat.
“I’m sorry, Tia. Please wait a bit longer.”
With a surge of strength, I yanked out the sword I held. The sword with wings that could alter fate was now in my grasp.
“Fly, Sword of Silver Wings!”
Once upon a time, Tia had chased me with a fragment of this sword. With the power of this sword, carrying the concept of “crossing the world”…
Boom!
One of the six wings vanished, replaced by my sword tearing through reality. If I leaped into that rift… there lay a place I hadn’t been able to reach. If I could traverse even the walls of the world, then leaping to the past within the same world… was as simple as pie.
“What!?”
Before me stood thousands of Demon King’s troops. Beside me, my comrade wore a look of astonishment.
“Ed!? Where did you–”
“I apologize, Rouge. I believe this is likely the most exhilarating moment of your life… However, it’s my prerogative to determine its conclusion. I prefer the messy everyday life that continues as normal over a grand climax at the end. So…”
I cut my words short, grinning as I aimed my sword at the Demon King’s army.
“It’s far too early for the final credits. I’m going to disrupt the final act”
“Huh……………………?”
It was cold, frigid. I had woken up due to the intense cold. Where was I? What had happened to me? I remembered falling… Am I on the ground? Asleep? What…!?
“Gu… ah…………”
As I inhaled the musty air, my last memory came rushing back. The moment when I thought I had lost my friends, my companions, and even my own life. But…
“Why… am I alive…?”
The feeling of my life being drained still lingered in my body. That’s why I was certain I had died, yet here I was, alive.
Was it the whim of the Demon King? Speaking of which, the Demon King had the same face as me… Was there a reason he couldn’t kill me? But that final blow was definitely merciless.
Did he fail to kill me? I didn’t know the reason. I didn’t know, but…
“Haha, it seems I’m the odd one out till the bitter end…”
With weak and sarcastic amusement, I gazed at the three heads rolling on the floor. In the end, I had been powerless. I couldn’t save anyone, and I couldn’t die alongside them.
“An outsider remains an outsider… until the end… whoops.”
Struggling to my feet, I picked up the bag that had been thrown in a corner of the hall. I transferred a few pieces of preserved food into a bag at my waist, then emptied the rest onto the floor and returned to where everyone was.
“I can’t… leave them here…”
Slowly, carefully, I tried to place the three heads into my bag. However, the moment I touched them, the heads crumbled into dust.
“Ah! Ah, ah! Ahhhhh…”
I frantically tried to gather the dust, but it slipped through my fingers and dissolved into the air, disappearing. Following suit, the remaining heads and bodies also turned to dust and vanished from this world without a trace, without even a gust of wind.
All that remained was a dark red stain on the floor. There was nothing left here.
“Ha, haha… haha…ha…”
Tears streaming down my cheeks, I sank to my knees. Wasn’t I even allowed to mourn? Wasn’t I allowed to keep them? I was… I was…
“I am… alone…”
I let out a soundless cry, gazing up at the sky and shedding tears. My chest ached, my throat was parched, and as my tears finally dried up, I rose unsteadily to my feet and walked toward the exit.
No one was around. Although I was deep within the Demon King’s castle, there were no guards, not even a sign of the Demon King himself.
But, I didn’t concern myself with those details. I walked with a shaky stride, moving forward unsteadily. I left the Demon King’s castle without encountering anyone, and traversed the Demon King’s territory without encountering any opposition.
There was a purple swamp, bubbling and gurgling. There was a brown, withered forest. There was a ruined town… Ah, this was where Gonzo had stayed behind to ensure that Alexis and I could escape. At that time, we had been pursued by a vast army of the Demon King. Now, only traces of the conflict remained.
I followed the path. I forged a path through the pathless. After walking and walking, I arrived at an expansive plain that stretched out before the wilderness. Was the undergrowth and ground turned black from the blood of the demonic beasts? Or perhaps…
“Rouge…”
Certainly, Rouge must have fought to the bitter end here. She had incinerated and slaughtered countless armies of the Demon King, and ultimately, Rouge herself…
“Ugh…”
I instinctively covered my mouth, though there was nothing to vomit. By the way, the distance from the Demon King’s castle to here should have been considerable. Yet, I had no memory of resting or eating. Curiously, when I checked my waist bag, the preserved food was gone, so I must have consumed a fair amount unconsciously… well, it didn’t matter.
“Haaa”
I was weary. Utterly exhausted. For some reason, I yearned to rest and surveyed my surroundings. And there, I spotted a sizable rock not too far away.
Ah, that spot seemed inviting. I would rest there. I would sit down there… and bring it all to an end…
Seating myself beside the waist-high rock, I leaned against it and looked up at the sky. Memories of my adventures flashed before me beyond the expanse of blue.
“It was tough in the beginning… but so much happened…”
Only memories after arriving in this world came to mind. Even though my previous world had claimed a much larger portion of my life, I couldn’t recall a single memory from there.
“Shouldn’t you be remembering your parents at a time like this?”
I couldn’t help but wryly smile at my own fickleness. I vividly remembered the faces of my comrades, whom I had known for just three years. However, the faces of my parents, with whom I had supposedly spent twenty years, remained elusive. I believed we were a close-knit family…
“…I’m feeling sleepy.”
Leaning against the rock, I slowly closed my eyes. I could sense the quiet culmination of my existence—powerless, incompetent, and meaningless. I felt incapable of doing anything, unable to achieve anything.
[Really, how long are you going to keep that miserable face! Get up now!]
“No, no, it’s impossible now.”
Rouge’s voice echoed from somewhere, and I weakly chuckled, denying her words.
[I trained you myself, you’re not the kind of kid who would give in to this, are you?]
“Sorry, I’m really at my limit. Can you forgive me?”
Gonzo’s voice resounded from somewhere, and I managed a weak laugh as I apologized.
[Do you intend to disappoint me? I thought you could do a little more.]
“Don’t ask the impossible. I’m just a porter, you know?”
Alexis’s voice came from somewhere, and I sneered as I denied his words.
[It’s okay! You can still reach it now. So try harder!]
“But even if I try harder… Huh?”
I heard a voice from somewhere, causing me to open my half-closed eyes. Whose voice was that? Could I reach it?
“What…is that?”
I turned my gaze towards the source of the voice and spotted a sword standing on the ground. There was something intriguing about it, so I slowly stood up and walked towards the sword.
“This is…?”
What lay before me was a silver sword that glimmered in the sunlight. The single-edged sword had six wings on its back, appearing as if it were flickering like an illusion. It was hard to believe it was real.
“Can I touch it…?”
I quietly extended my hand towards the sword, gripping the hilt of the illusion. In that moment, my world was connected.
“Ah, ah, ah, ah, aaaaaaaaa!?!?!?!?!”
A searing heat coursed through me, and my thoughts became jumbled. Memories of another flooded in like a tsunami, threatening to overwhelm my own.
“No! I… won’t hand this over!”
Gritting my teeth, I fought back against the invading consciousness with the strength of my soul. Even if my memories were merely one of countless iterations for someone else… I wouldn’t allow anyone to trample on my memories with my comrades!
Push it in! Burn it in! Never forget! Even if I recall everything…
“I am… ME!!!!!!!!”
A scream that reverberated through the world. The new shell shattered, merging with the old. But it didn’t end there. The severely distorted, tattered shell was gently wrapped by the tenderness of my companion, protecting the determination not to lose against the Demon King.
“…Ah”
I remembered. I remembered it all. I was saved once again this time… and now, I could join them.
But there was something I needed to do before that. Despite the Demon King’s power, I couldn’t let it end in defeat.
“I’m sorry, Tia. Please wait a bit longer.”
With a surge of strength, I yanked out the sword I held. The sword with wings that could alter fate was now in my grasp.
“Fly, Sword of Silver Wings!”
Once upon a time, Tia had chased me with a fragment of this sword. With the power of this sword, carrying the concept of “crossing the world”…
Boom!
One of the six wings vanished, replaced by my sword tearing through reality. If I leaped into that rift… there lay a place I hadn’t been able to reach. If I could traverse even the walls of the world, then leaping to the past within the same world… was as simple as pie.
“What!?”
Before me stood thousands of Demon King’s troops. Beside me, my comrade wore a look of astonishment.
“Ed!? Where did you–”
“I apologize, Rouge. I believe this is likely the most exhilarating moment of your life… However, it’s my prerogative to determine its conclusion. I prefer the messy everyday life that continues as normal over a grand climax at the end. So…”
I cut my words short, grinning as I aimed my sword at the Demon King’s army.
“It’s far too early for the final credits. I’m going to disrupt the final act”
