“Once you reach a certain level of stupidity—it’s just uncomfortable.” …Mephisto’s sword was far swifter than Ireena’s. She would surely be dismembered, just like Lydia. Which was precisely why… “This time I’m going to save her.” …I lunged, closing the gap at a speed far beyond what Mephisto expected. His eyes widened a little as he said, “Wow…you’ve surpassed yourself at your greatest, my dear.” He stopped his fatal attack, bringing his sword back to protect himself. That devil’s reflexes were impeccable. However… “That won’t save you.” …I swung my black sword…slashing through Mephisto, silver sword and all. His blade shattered like glass, unable to protect him. Mephisto was cleaved through with a diagonal stroke. As the devil broke into two pieces, I said, “That one’s for Olivia.” There was a flash, and I cut through Mephisto over and over, exacting revenge for my surrogate sister, who was collapsed on the ground behind me. Mephisto had destroyed her people, and now he would pay. By the time my black blade’s strokes counted a billion, Mephisto had vanished completely from this world. Not a single cell remained. “W-wow…! You…you finished him so quickly!” Ireena’s voice was filled with surprise and admiration, her eyes wide as saucers. “Focus,” I chided. “Our enemy’s no novice. He wouldn’t die from something like that.” This was Mephisto Yuu Phegor we were talking about, the abomination who made an enemy of everyone in the world, and who forced his will on us. “He’s only disappeared in the physical. That’s barely bought us a few moments.” Darkness formed in the distance as though to confirm my remark. The black fog formed into a humanoid shape… “You surprised me, my darling. I didn’t realize how powerful you’ve become.” The Evil God reformed. As Ireena beheld the abomination, her eyebrows bunched together. “He’s…just like Alvarto.” Alvarto was indeed an immortal of absurd power, but his resurrecting ability was his weakness. If you targeted that function, truly killing him was possible. Not even he could be considered wholly immortal. Ireena likely surmised that something similar would need to be done to win this battle. We needed only to destroy the means of resurrection, take Mephisto’s immortality hostage, and defeat him. This is exactly why she was staring hard at me now, asking me with her eyes how we could defeat him…and I had no concrete plan on how to do it. “I’ll buy some time so you can don the Soul Annihilation Armor. You’re far too weak to face him in your current state.” “Right. I just found that out the hard way,” she said apologetically. There was no need for us to say anything more than that. Ireena trusted that I had a plan. “Come to me once you’re ready. As Rogue predicted, you are the key to winning, Ireena.” “Okay! I understand!” Ireena replied, a little choked up. She looked so glad to be needed. Ireena assumed a battle stance and began her chant. And as I watched her from the corner of my eye, our enemy took a leisurely breath and said, “Ordinarily, I’d give you a head start…but you don’t need a handicap this time, right?” He smirked like a little kid about to pull a prank. Then the next thing I knew, blades the color of darkness appeared, flying at me from all directions. I used my supernatural ability to understand their powers fully. Impossible to block. Impossible to offset. Impossible to dodge. The spell was fundamentally an embodiment of cause and effect. When activated, victory was assured. “You may be a founder and master of sorcery. But you’re not the only one.” The black blades speeding toward us scattered one after the other. “Oh…it looks like you leveled up your supernatural ability as well,” Mephisto said. While he gawked and laughed through his nose, I took off running. As I got closer to him, I summoned a swarm of white blades, meaning to let them fly as I ran… “You’ve made it onto the same stage as me. A battle of magic will be nothing more than an extreme stalemate.” I wasn’t the only one who possessed those supernatural abilities of analysis and control. Mephisto’s powers included my own. The white blades disappeared without a trace before they ever moved. We had the same abilities. One was the first person to spread knowledge of magic in this world. The other firmly established the concept of magic here. The final conflict between the two apex founders… …would inevitably need to be fought by primitive means. In other words, hand-to-hand combat. “I’m going to…dial up the heat…a little!” “Well…I’ll slash you into oblivion!” Black sword and silver sword clashed, unleashing bursts of scalding energy. The impact came off us like ripples on a lake, drowning out all other sounds. “Niiice! Okay, cranking it up to forty percent now!” “Only forty? So arrogant… I’ll make you regret that!” It was a cutthroat duel. Each flash of a blade was the harbinger of tremendous destruction, transforming the area around us in the blink of an eye. The beautiful scenery created by Verda’s magic quickly became a wasteland once again. “HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Ohhh, this is fun! What a world! I didn’t know I could play with it like this!” Euphoria of a new kind showed in Mephisto’s every move. Yet it didn’t distract him, and because of this, he came to understand the truth behind my strength. “My love, ever since your upgrade, your Original has been in perpetual activation, right?” I continued to fight, rather than answer. That seemed to strengthen Mephisto’s conviction. As our swords met, he said, “An Original is ultra-powerful. But in exchange, it drains magic considerably. That’s why it’s used as a trump card, and I’m no exception. The magic within me may seem unlimited, but it is finite. By comparison, your magic never runs out.” While his words sounded like praise, they were actually an assertion of his superiority. “Let me put it another way. You’ve already used your last resort. This is the limit of your power. You have nowhere else to go.” “Yeah…that’s right. I’ve already reached my combat ceiling. Defeating you on my own is certainly impossible.” That gave me no reason to despair, though. Because this fight wasn’t like the others. I couldn’t trample this enemy all by myself. So I’d face this supreme foe with my friends, instead. Armed with that conviction, I replied, “Yes, I’ve already used my trump card. But…who cares? Mephisto Yuu Phegor, I never intended to fight you alone.” I had an ally with me. “Mephistooo!!!” She arrived right on time to vindicate my statement, clad in silvery-white armor, complete and perfect in both mind and body. “RAHH!” A sword streaked for the Evil God. Mephisto barely blocked Ireena’s attack. “Now I get it. You’re potential personified,” he said. He spoke to her like a god testing a human. “All right, show me. Show me just how powerful the heart of Ireena Olhyde is.” Mephisto turned up the pressure, yet Ireena only grew more invigorated in turn. “Face me, Mephisto!” As Ireena cried out and assumed a battle stance, the devil sped for her. The sharpness, speed, and power of his sword were beyond anything Ireena could hope to counter ordinarily. “Grrrrf!” Still, she blocked inescapable death. What’s more… “HAH!!!” …she even managed a counterattack. “You’re good, little Ireena…” Mephisto lunged, seizing the opening following Ireena’s slash. His blade thrust in a straight line for her throat. The tip of his weapon moved even quicker than it had before. “But I don’t think you can dodge this.” Ireena gritted her teeth the moment before impact, enduring through sheer spirit. Mephisto laughed at her vulnerability, but I believed she could still win. Because she was Ireena Olhyde. Sure enough, the devil’s blade struck my best friend’s neck— “Nope! Didn’t work. Sorry.” She should’ve been run through. That sword should’ve taken her life. However, it had stopped after just managing to prick one layer of Ireena’s skin. “Okay…my turn now.” Batting the weapon away, Ireena delivered a ruthless volley of sword thrusts. Her bladework was reckless, and Mephisto undoubtedly believed she’d never hit him. Not only was her skill underdeveloped, but the two were on wildly different levels. However…the power of imagination suppressed all petty rationale. That’s who Ireena was. “HIT THE TARGETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!” “MMF?!” Swiftly. Sharply. Powerfully. With each breakneck swing, the sword felt stronger in Ireena’s grip. Finally, her weapon managed to graze Mephisto’s cheek. The devil, utterly shocked by this unexpected development, blinked widely and shot himself backward. Upon landing, he wiped the blood from his face. “We share the same supernatural ability… I knew that already, but I didn’t think you could wield yours to such an extent.” Curiosity twinkled in Mephisto’s eyes. It was the first time he’d ever regarded Ireena as a proper threat. He hung his head and muttered, “Aww, this sucks… Now I feel like doing something totally random again… But I can’t help it… I’m just too curious for my own good…” Mephisto lifted his head. He now wore a peaceful smile. “I wonder how much damage your group’s potential can really do to me? Ugh, I really, really wanna know. I’m gonna go crazy. I can’t hold back. From this point on, I’m going to try to kill you in earnest.” With that declaration, he began a chant. “One who ascends to the apex, a warrior matched against thousands, the solitary absolute being.” This was the first time Mephisto had ever used his Original. He truly was serious. “Ireena!” “I know!” The next thing I knew, I was moving. I have to stop him. I have to stop him. I have to stop him. I can’t let him get any further. We won’t be able to win, no matter what we do. I couldn’t even imagine what Mephisto’s greatest weapon would be like, but I understood that everything would end once he finished invoking his Original. This was a critical moment. If we stopped his chant, created an opening, and followed the plan, we would win. Anything else would mean Mephisto’s victory. Ireena and I rushed for the Evil God to seize control of this final phase. Darkness surrounded the devil, perhaps as a harbinger of his Original. Blackness. All was painted, devoured, extinguished by shadow. As we rushed in for the attack, the darkness reached out to us with terrifying force. “Dodge it, Ireena!” “Obviously!” I couldn’t analyze or control it. Such was the blackness consuming everything around us. What would happen if we died here? The unknown possibilities were endless. Unable to even skim the surface of understanding, Ireena and I dodged the shadows, kicking off the ground with all our might as we ran. Meanwhile… “All of creation, in the palm of my hand.” …Mephisto’s chant continued. Chasms carved themselves into the ground in answer. The world was loudly announcing its own destruction. While we beheld the bleak sight, I said, “Ireena! Forgive me, but I’m about to say something very pathetic!” I bit my lip. “I don’t have a plan to stop this… You’re our only hope now, Ireena! Please, find a way to give me an opening!” It was a first for me. I’d never been this vulnerable with someone before. I was ashamed of how pathetic I was, and I hated myself for being so weak. However… “Ard…” With a big smile as bright as the sun, Ireena replied, “You can count on me!” The power in her legs increased tenfold, and her steps left deep footprints in the ground. Bravery and recklessness had been condensed into a run. In other words, she gave up on evasion. She wouldn’t reach Mephisto in time if she tried to dodge the darkness. So she elected to dash in a straight line and take the hits directly. “Sweet Ireena…you are beyond insane.” This was so unexpected that Mephisto paused his chant, utterly captivated. “This stupid darkness! Won’t! Work! On! MEEEEEEEEE!!!” Ireena collided with the shadows head-on and burst through, extinguishing them as she went. Externally, she was unharmed, but internally, her spirit—her life force—was surely scarred. Lines of anguish formed on her pure face. Yet the pain did not stop her. Ireena Olhyde’s feet never faltered. “MEPHISTOOOOO!” Finally, she reached the devil, and her blade raced to greet him. “HRAHHHHHHHHH!” She screamed to fight back the agony devouring her. It was an attack to end it all. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!” Her form was absurd, worse than an amateur’s. It was painful to watch, but overflowing with possibility. The power of imagination, of determination, welcoming a miracle. There was no telling what damage even a graze might do. Mephisto tasted true fear. “None contain thee, none rival th— Whoa, there!” Dammit. Just a bit closer, and she would have had him. Ireena’s powers were fast approaching that of an Evil God’s. She’d stopped Mephisto’s invocation, that was proof enough. “Okay…this is crazy… Seriously.” It took everything Mephisto had just to keep from being struck down. However, that wouldn’t last. There were no vulnerabilities for Ireena to exploit. Slowly, the pace of the clash was shifting, perhaps due to a difference in experience. If I stayed out of it, the situation would only worsen. However, I didn’t rush to help. I just waited. I trusted Ireena, fully and completely. And she proved to me that I made the right call. “Demise-Argis!” She summoned a second Holy Sword into her free hand, the one Sylphy had wielded only minutes before. Embodying her surrogate sister’s feelings, Ireena charged like the raging wind. “HIT HIM, HIT HIM, HIT HIM, HIT HIM! HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM!!!” All she did was increase the number of swords, yet things were shifting back in Ireena’s favor. Her abilities were starting to surpass Mephisto’s. “It would seem…that I underestimated you, little Ireena.” She had amazed the devil countless times now. However, Mephisto smiled. “You truly are quite a force to be reckoned with. But…you’re still far too young.” His smug, victorious voice hung in the air. Darkness stretched beneath Ireena’s feet. The surprise attack hit her directly, flooding her with pain. It wasn’t a fatal wound. She could still move, but that pause was enough to create a functional reset. The moment Ireena stopped charging, Mephisto retreated and spread his arms wide. “There are four lines left in my chant. In the time it takes me to recite them, you will not—” “I know I won’t make it to you in time.” Ireena spoke with such quiet calm that it seemed her fiery passion from a moment earlier had been a lie. “I failed. But that doesn’t matter. I mean, this is exactly what we planned. Everything I did…was meant to distract you.” A savage grin spread on her face. “Now, Kalmia!” Ireena cried. Another presence appeared behind Mephisto, piercing through his chest with her right hand. “Nn— GAHH!” Mephisto looked over his shoulder as crimson ran from his mouth. “What a…surprise…that someone so staunchly loyal…would listen to anyone…but Alvarto.” A manifestation of one of the Three Holy Swords, Dilga Zervatis—Kalmia—had impaled the devil with a spear. “I have not accepted Ireena Olhyde as my master… I simply deemed it suitable to assist her,” Kalmia answered, casting a cool glance at her enemy. Her words were proof of how incredible my best friend was. Ireena Olhyde was the first of her kind. No one in history had ever wielded all Three Holy Swords, and none ever would again. Only Ireena could have accomplished this. And that achievement granted me the perfect chance. “Sorry, baby, there’s no golden opportunity here.” Mephisto’s languid demeanor remained intact, even as he bled. The reason became clear soon enough. “This isn’t my true body. It’s a piece of junk made from cloning magic.” Mephisto disappeared before our eyes. And then… “O, great expanse, sink into the ceaseless darkness, and thus, know my lamentations.” …despair rained down from above. He’d been up there all along, standing directly beneath the clouds, looking down at us. And the look in his eyes as he watched us betrayed his thoughts. “Okay, one more line, and it’s done.” “So, how are you going to attack my Original?” “I can’t wait to see, honey.” I can’t stop him. There’s no interrupting him now. The devil’s lips moved. He would speak the final line and unleash unknown terrors. But before he could… “Giga Flare!!!” …fierce hellfire encased Mephisto. It was too abrupt. No one, not me, not Ireena, not even Mephisto, could have foreseen this. I never would’ve dreamed they’d come. “Okay! Fire, fire, and fire some more!” “You don’t need to inflict any damage! Just distract him!” “We have a debt to pay for all the grief we caused you, son!” My parents and Ireena’s father were here, and they’d come with my schoolmates. “I-is that an Evil God…?!” “My magic isn’t doing shit!” “Don’t freak out!” Elrado shouted to the sniveling students. “We’re all just links in a chain, got it?! Just pass the baton. That’s all you need to do!” “This one’s for Daddy!” “We’ve got this!” The twin spirits Lumi and Lami had arrived. “You’ve really gone too far, you selfish little brat!” “Curse you for making me hurt Ard!” Veronica and Carmilla, two girls once deceived by Mephisto, joined the fray. And they were joined by… “Soooo, I’ve done just about all the distracting I can dooo! I’m rustyyyyyy!” …Nemesis, the artificial sprite who became our friend after some trouble. Although she hurled magic attacks with the others, she wasn’t looking at Mephisto. “Hurry and go! Masterrrrrrr!” The person she called to sprang into action. “Geh-heh-heh! All according to plaaaaaaaaan! Oh, you know it! I am transcendent! I am supreme! I AM GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!” Verda must have returned everyone to normal on her way here. She’d realized what Rogue and I were trying to do and saw a future where we failed. So she’d devised a secret plan and executed it with impeccable timing. Mephisto hadn’t considered anything like this, and while his thoughts strayed… …they tied it all together. “It appears our trickery has succeeded.” Lizer Bellphoenix was speaking of how he and the others had fooled Mephisto, but also of how he’d fooled Ireena and me. To deceive your foe, you must first deceive your friends. Had we known their intention, Mephisto would have picked up on it. That’s why they’d executed this tactic in secret. “Allow me to make the next move.” A patch of flowers blooming beneath Lizer’s feet danced into the air, soaring high. The petals, controlled and strengthened by Lizer’s supernatural ability, were too swift for Mephisto to evade. And in that moment of vulnerability… …phase two began. “Allow me to give you a taste of the powers of my storied clan!” Ginny, who was a mess of wounds only a moment ago, had been healed by Verda while I wasn’t looking. She planted her feet firmly on the ground and glared at Mephisto. A bewitching twinkle shone in her pupils. Her Charming Demon Eye had activated. Memories of my first days at the academy flooded my brain. Her Charming Demon Eye was so ultra-powerful that it had nearly made me her victim in bed one night. To charm a target, to put them under your control, and to manipulate them was a succubus’s special power. And she used her magic now to force Mephisto’s mouth shut before he could utter the final line of his chant. “Die.” Olivia appeared behind the devil, and her Demon Blade flashed, cutting through him. Just as her feet touched the earth… “Vel! Stena—Olvidius!” “Vasq helgeqia vol nagan—GALVA QUESARRRRR!” …Sylphy Marheaven and Alvarto Egzex released great beams of light from their Holy Swords. “And now the final blow! Eat this! Elder Breath!” Elzard’s massive spell sent azure fire surging high into the heavens. Mephisto was swallowed by the three massive attacks, but survived. “Ard!” Ireena’s call told me this was my chance. Everyone’s feelings, all the memories we’d woven together, everything had brought us to this moment. “…Let’s end this.” I jumped into the sky to finally bring down the curtain. It only took a moment to reach him. I beheld Mephisto as I floated before him. Then I looked down to my friends watching my every move. “Everyone…” I looked at my beloved, irreplaceable comrades. And delivered my final words. “…thank you.” I took my battered enemy into my arms. “This battle is over……you win again, Mephisto Yuu Phegor.” I pressed us together in an embrace. We flew into the rift between the clouds. Once we passed through, Mephisto and I would… …extinguish our own existences from the world. Never to be seen by anyone. Ever again. “…Ard?” Ireena’s eyes trembled with apprehension. “You’re okay…right?” There’s no way Ard would lose. He’s finishing Mephisto off in the clouds. He’ll be right back. He’ll come back to me. To his friends. I’m sure of it. So why…? Why did she get the dreadful sense in her heart that she’d never see him again? A moment later, Lizer confirmed her worst fear. “Ard Meteor…chose to crown the wrong winner.” Ireena’s eyes went wide. “…What? He…crowned the wrong winner?” “Correct. He has disappeared from this world.” “………………What…are you even saying?” She couldn’t believe it. Ireena couldn’t accept Lizer’s words. “I thought…that I was ready to face this possibility…but it’s still pretty tough,” Verda whispered, all traces of former levity gone. “I just lost two loved ones at the same time.” She went silent, resembling a mourner offering a prayer to the dead. Olivia hung her head. “Do you think…we made the right choice?” “No. We made the wrong choice. That much is obvious,” Alvarto answered, sneering at the sky. “But…it was the only option we had. There was no perfect, happy ending waiting for us.” “C’mon…this can’t be happening,” Sylphy said, bewildered. “Ard Meteor…you were truly…truly a pain in the ass. I mean…who just up and leaves right after making friends with someone? No one, you dumbass.” Elzard’s words shivered. Tears dampened the corners of her eyes. Meanwhile, those who’d arrived from the academy had yet to grasp what had transpired. “Dang, Ard sure is taking his time. What’s the holdup?” Elrado wondered, oblivious. “Well, when he gets baaaack…” “He’s gonna praise me first!” Lumi and Lami were busy dreaming of a moment that would never come. “M-maybe if we apologize for what we did when we were mind-controlled?” “Oh, we could both get on our hands and knees and beg for forgiveness? But…he’d forgive us even if we didn’t, I’m sure.” As Carmilla and Veronica gazed at the sky, their hearts yearned for an impossible future. Meanwhile, the two great mages and the hero… “I saw it coming… I knew that someday, we’d part ways.” “Me too. But…” “I didn’t think it would happen like this.” They understood, but refused to accept it. Some were bewildered. Others were incapable of comprehension. A few embraced defeat. All fell into one of the three categories except for two people. Ireena and Ginny were the only exceptions. “No……he’s coming back.” “Yes, I’m sure of it.” They stood side by side, looked at each other, and nodded firmly, their hearts firm with conviction. “I don’t care who says I’m wrong,” Ireena said. “There’s no use trying to make any sense of it,” Ginny agreed. “Ard will never…” “My Ard will never…” The pair gazed up into the heavens. …He’ll never leave me all alone. He’ll always be there. Always. We were in the space between worlds. In the past, the Outer Ones traversed this place to reach my world. And yet, this was no mere passage. Hidden in this white, expansive void, lurked a unique danger. The moment someone was seized by it, this void became their eternal prison. I’d used unique magic to bring us here… …to spend eternity here, with my archnemesis. “This is my second time here and…yeah, it’s boring. Literally hell.” Mephisto delighted in the tragedies and comedies of human intelligence. That was his reason for existing. No such fun existed here. This dimension had nothing. Even gravity and all other elements of physics were absent. All one could do here was float and wait forever. To Mephisto, there was no worse place. Yet he made no attempts to escape. And there was only one reason why. “My dearest wish has finally come true, my love. Now, I can have you—all of you—to myself. The thought of it makes this feel like heaven.” Indeed, his every action had been in service of the goal to spend eternity with me. Naturally…I didn’t want to let him have that. That’s why I initially hoped to end this battle by taking his life. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t think of a way to make it happen. If I tried to kill him, he might destroy all of existence on a whim. That made my choice clear. I had to sacrifice myself. Giving Mephisto what he wanted meant my friends would survive, at the very least. Mephisto sighed. “Y’know…this still isn’t perfect. You aren’t even looking at me. Your heart and gaze are locked on your friends.” His eyes narrowed to slits, and there was a faint anger in his tone. “Your friends were amazing people, I mean it. And that’s why I’m so upset. They’ve grabbed your heart, and they won’t let go. As long as they’re still out there, you’ll never completely be mine. And you know…I kinda hate you for that.” “Why won’t you look at me?” “You’re all I have.” His emotions were like a little child’s, the sort who bullied their crush for attention. Realizing that everything he’d done was fueled by such an immature motive astounded me. It made me angry. But at the same time…I pitied him. “You haven’t forgotten what Ireena said before the battle, have you?” I asked. Mephisto shook his head. “Nope. She said she wasn’t gonna save me. So what?” “Wrong. She said she gave up on saving you. She never said she didn’t want to. She entrusted that hope to me.” “Oh, wow… She really is an angel,” Mephisto replied. He paused for a moment, then said, “You’re not going to tell me I ought to praise and worship her, are you?” Glaring into his eyes, I answered, “Unlike Ireena, I have no mercy in my heart for you, Mephisto Yuu Phegor. You are pitiful. I can pity parts of you. But that’s not enough—nowhere near enough for me to forgive everything you’ve done. I will never, never save you.” Mephisto laughed off my statement. “You know by now that I’m a truly self-centered person. No matter what you think, bringing us here is all the salvation I need. Besides…once we’ve spent an eternity together, I suspect your soul might break a little for me.” The devil smiled. Then the unique element that made this place an endless prison manifested. Dimensional parasites. No words could describe their surreal appearance. They weren’t here to attack, for they didn’t know how. Instead, these creatures appeared whenever anyone entered this place, and they multiplied endlessly. That was their sole purpose. There was no end to them. Once they surrounded you, they would keep respawning forever until you were dead. The speed at which they multiplied was akin to the expansion of the universe. If you were caught, there was no escape. Not for me. Not for Mephisto. Neither of us would ever leave. “Even if millions…billions of years pass…even if my heart is frozen, I can promise you with utter confidence that I will never take your hand.” Mephisto giggled. “Are you sure? Waiting to find out will be entertaining, if nothing else.” My field of vision went dark. I have no regrets… I had accepted my fate. My friends still lived in my heart. An eternity with the most wicked being in existence wouldn’t break me, so long as I knew that much. I’d never be with them again, but I saw their smiles when I closed my eyes. That was enough. “Oh, stop being a hero, you big lonely baby.” A sight I dared not believe appeared before my eyes. Mephisto surely felt the same way about it. His eyes were wide at this sudden turn of events. “Um, excuse me… I gave my darling two choices: save his friends by abandoning them, or die with them.” A third choice had emerged… …manifesting from my body with a ray of light. The glittering light, illuminating the sea of jet-black, soon took human shape. She stood between Mephisto and me. We called her name in unison. ““Lydia…!”” I’d never mistake her. My best friend, the one I thought I’d lost forever, was here before my very eyes. Radiance surrounded her as she looked at me. “Hey there. Long time no see, Var.” Her sunny smile, that expression that lived only in my memory, shone upon me. “Then again, it hasn’t exactly been a long time for me, you know. After all, I’ve been inside you all this time.” ……! Oh…now I understand. I know where this phenomenon came from. “Fusing with Rogue…restored your spirit! That’s what brought you back to reality!” After I’d killed Lydia, I pitifully searched for traces of her existence. Doing so transferred her spirit into me the moment before she vanished from existence. Had I been able to save her spirit in its complete form, I could have preserved Lydia’s persona inside me. But when I slew her, it left her spirit in poor shape. Fusing with Rogue had restored it. “You took too damn long, ya jackass.” “Oof!” She punched me in the gut. I was too bewildered to fight back. “Nn—grrr! Y-you little bitch…! Is that any way to greet me after all these years?! C’mon, take something seriously for once!” “You freeze up when you get in your head. Only a swift whack can fix you.” “Am I a broken toy?! You really are so…so…” My words failed me. Tears were rolling down my face. I didn’t want to cry, but I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want her to see me looking so pathetic… “BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! You always were such a crybaby!” “Sh-shut up! I’m not, I mean, there’s something in my eye! That’s all!” “Something in your eye? Could you be more cliché?!” Lydia clutched her belly and cackled, looking every bit the way she had in life. Mephisto and I knew just by looking at her what she was here to do. “I see…so this is how you’ll take your revenge on me.” The devil tried to stop it, but his Attack spell passed right through her. That’s when Lydia finally looked at Mephisto. “Just sit back like a little bitch and watch. Like I had to, when you killed my mom.” When her gaze returned to me, I said, “If you’re back…if you’re really here to stay, then—” Her fist interrupted me. I could’ve dodged if I wanted to, but I happily chose not to. My cheek was hot where she hit it, but it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation. Somehow, that blow was filled with the love of a mother scolding her child. “C’mon, Var. Deep down, you know what you’re supposed to do. That’s why you didn’t dodge my punch.” She unclenched her fist and patted my head. “I thought getting blasted to the past and going through all that shit finally helped you get over me?” “I thought it did. But now that I’m seeing you again…well, look at me.” I couldn’t stop the surge of love I felt for her. I didn’t want to stop it. “Lydia…I couldn’t save you. I failed because of my own stupidity.” “Forget about it. Remember what I told you? I don’t hold any grudges against you. C’mon… I think it’s time to stop hating yourself,” Lydia said, her hand still gently caressing my hair. I looked her straight in the eye. “Lydia.” “Yeah, what?” “Marry me.” “…………………………Huh?” Her hand froze on my head. She opened her eyes wide and tensed. “…………………………What…did you just say?” “I said marry me.” “Oh no. That fight must’ve given you brain damage—” “It didn’t. I mean it. I love you, Lydia.” Had I only been able to bare my soul in the past, I never would’ve lost her. At least I could tell her now. I guess that was part of growing up. And because I was able to be honest with her, I realized I cared dearly for all my friends just as much as I did for Lydia. They’d made me into the man I was. “Hah! You fickle flirt.” “You’re one to talk.” “I’ve always been loyal. I only had a kid with one person.” “…………………………Yeah, about that. This is kind of a gross question, but who’s the other parent? A man? A woman? I understand why you kept it a secret all this time. If some old devil found out about your kid, terrible things would happen. But there’s no need to hide it anymore. Who the hell was the fathe—?” “You.” “………Huh?” This time, I was the one who froze. Mephisto did the same. That prompted the Evil God to finally break his silence. “Whoa, whoa. Hang on, I can’t let that slide. I’ve watched my darling twenty-four seven, so I should know. You kids would never do that.” “Could you not be so gross? Just die already,” I spat. Then I faced Lydia again. “Never mind him. Who did you have a child with?” “Um, I already said it was you. Don’t make me say it again. It’s awkward.” “I……don’t remember doing that.” “I don’t remember it, either,” Mephisto added. “Of course you don’t remember. We didn’t make the kid by doing the deed.” “…………You don’t mean—?” “Yeah, a homunculus. I asked Verda to make it.” A homunculus was a human manufactured from two or more people’s genetic codes and spirits. In ancient times, people reproduced through sexual intercourse and sorcery, that much was common knowledge. “…………So in other words, if I’m hearing you right, we’re already…” “Yeah, we’re basically married, I guess.” Lydia scratched her cheek. It was red, but not from the scratching. “I thought that when I was no longer around…you’d be left all alone. So I made one for you. That way, you’d have hope. And I left a hint to let’cha know about it, but you never freakin’ noticed, so you got all depressed. Then there was the reincarnation, and well, you found her eventually, so I guess it all worked out.” Ireena. Ireena Olhyde. She was my hope all along. I always thought of her as a daughter, and it turned out she was truly my own flesh and blood all along. An indescribable feeling flooded my heart. Meanwhile… “Okay…catching up has been lovely, but I’ve had enough chitchat.” Lydia took a deep breath. Then she raised her right arm and pointed at the infinitely spawning dimensional parasites. A beam of light shot from Lydia’s finger, pushing the parasites aside and creating a hole to another dimension. “Get out there, Var. Take care of your world. Take care of your friends. And… “…Take care of your family.” As the words left her mouth, my body was sucked through the hole of light. “Darling…!” Mephisto cried.
Chapter 204
30 min read