On that day, the boy had become the Demon King. The only path that had been before him was one of despair great enough to tear apart his soul. He hadn’t possessed the qualities to withstand such an onslaught. He’d been so, so very weak.
This self-assessment hadn’t ever changed. Perhaps the possibility of change had existed at some point. However, that future had been cruelly cut off, leaving him with no path but the one of the Demon King.
So long as he lacked the strength to withstand the overwhelming sea of despair, he had to make up for it by expending his existence. If he didn’t have enough fuel, he would use his own body as kindling to keep going. His final destination guaranteed his fall to ruin.
However, if he had one wish...
“If possible, when I die, I would’ve liked it to be by Senpai’s hands.”
The boy laughed inappropriately as he muttered to himself. That was wrong. That end didn’t suit him. There was no hope of it being granted. He would die with nothing but despair in his grasp. That was a death appropriate for one who’d acted with such malice, apathetic to the sacrifices along the way.
His resolve had never been stronger. He had no regrets. Well, he’d had one thing that might’ve become a regret, but that was probably fine too. He’d left it to him, so it was fine for now. Hence, it was time to go. It was time to meet his end with no hope for salvation.
✦ ✦ ✦
And so, the Demon King joined the fray. Fortunately, having been dragged to the domain close to the Sea of Unconsciousness by the first savior, he had a grasp of the situation. Also, having been expelled from the fabricated world, the geographical hindrances preventing him from gathering his army were gone.
The Army of Darkness charged. Naturally, the one leading the army as the Demon King’s speartip was the most devoted of his servants, the shadowy girl Dora. However, she wasn’t the first to act. In her stead, three of his servants had burst into action before he could give the command.
Let us make it in time. Let us make it in time. Let us make it in time. With such thoughts in mind, they’d torn off the Demon King’s collars. And without those collars, Kudou Riku had no way of stopping them. He had no intention to, anyway.
“The contract must be fulfilled, after all.”
Kudou Riku had been driven to become the Demon King because of humanity’s weakness and repulsiveness. Thus, he had no mercy for them. He detested the visitors who possessed such immense power yet were so weak at heart. However, he viewed those with a deep inner strength as worthy.
In truth, there were several people he hadn’t laid a hand on. This was because he’d acknowledged them. Majima Takahiro was one easy-to-see example. So, the same applied here. Even if they’d been mistaken, even if they’d failed to protect what they’d wanted to protect, if they could remember that wish and had the strength to bet everything on it...
“The time has come. Fulfill your true desire.”
Thus, everything began moving to meet a certain end.
✦ ✦ ✦
The instant after unleashing the attack that would reduce Majima Takahiro’s group to cinders...
“What?!”
Raising his voice in shock, Nakajima Kojirou leaped backward. A figure had come out of the shadow at his feet and attacked him with bladed arms.
“You’re...”
“My king commands it! Be still and die!”
This was the shadowy girl, the fourth servant to have been given a name by the Demon King, Dora. The ability to traverse shadow to shadow to launch a surprise attack was her trump card. Even the Sword of Light had been at a disadvantage against an ambush timed to match the moment he unleashed his attack.
“Ha ha! So you had that kind of power too? What a surprise!” Nakajima Kojirou laughed in delight even as he was thrown off-balance.
Refusing to let this once-in-a-lifetime chance pass her by, Dora’s shadowy blades came in from every angle. The faster monsters like wolves and bears came rushing in one after the other. That said, it was still uncertain if this was enough to defeat him. So he judged, not by logic, but by instinct.
On the contrary, the prospect of victory was quite low. However, this had bought him more than enough time. He had to fulfill his duty while he could. With that, the first to have ripped off the Demon King’s collar—the Mad Beast—looked down at the girl before him.
“No way...” the girl muttered.
She was in a horrible state. Her mimicry had been undone, her body half liquid and unable to properly maintain its human form. Even through such torment, she had survived. Nakajima Kojirou had unleashed his Sword of Light, but she hadn’t been reduced to cinders. The instant before that torrent of light could engulf her, the Mad Beast had shielded her with his body.
The Mad Beast had been the fastest to take action, moving before Dora could even launch her surprise attack. There was no way he was fine, of course.
“Ah... Gah...”
Blood and saliva spilled from his jaws in vast quantities, splashing to the ground. The strike from the Sword of Light had been terrifyingly powerful. However, the Mad Beast’s armor of swelling muscles had just barely held back the destructive force. In exchange, his muscles were torn, his innards were burned, and his bones were exposed through his back. Still, the attack hadn’t made it past him. This hadn’t been a command from his master. This had been his own will.
“Why...?” the girl asked him, astonishment clear in her voice.
The Mad Beast didn’t possess the intellect to reply. However, one thing remained in his mind—the promise he’d exchanged with the master of his collar.
“I promise you. If you become mine and work for me, I’ll grant your wish one day.”
Today was that day. Using his one remaining muscular arm, the Mad Beast grabbed the girl. She was unable to resist his strength. It was hard to believe he was on the verge of death. The Mad Beast was free to do whatever he wanted to her. Having regained the faintest bit of reason in this tiny instant, he thus questioned himself. What exactly was his wish? He remembered the contract he’d made with the master of his collar.
“My king, what are you thinking...?
“You claim the second king is not your enemy, but then you promise to grant this mad beast’s wish. Which statement is true?”
Anton had asked this question. She’d had a point. Before becoming the Mad Beast, he’d gone on a rampage out of a desire for Mizushima Miho. So, was it his wish to “obtain” the girl before his eyes now?
No. That wasn’t right. The moment he’d leaped out to shield her from death, he’d become sure of it.
“You give it some thought too.”
Inside that fabricated world, the master of his collar had told him this. As he was now, he understood the true meaning behind those words. After all, even the intense pain that was soon to kill him was nothing compared to the relief he felt at seeing the girl before him safe and sound.
“The time has come. Fulfill your true desire.”
What was the true desire that he’d lost sight of after being shaken by fear and falling to madness? The boy who’d once been known as Takaya Jun had tried to protect his first love, Mizushima Miho. However, this had been a false love. He’d unconsciously deceived himself to protect himself from the anxieties of being in another world.
People were capable of putting in effort so long as they had a reason to, but he’d created a reason to spur himself onward. He’d convinced himself that he’d gained power to protect his first love. He hadn’t tried to protect his childhood friend because he was in love with her. He’d needed a reason to protect something and had thus fallen in love. His first love was a lie. That was an undeniable truth.
However, that didn’t mean that everything about his caring for her was a lie. After all, Takaya Jun hadn’t been that strong. That one false emotion hadn’t been enough for him to chase the expeditionary force for help, starving and enduring his fear on a journey through the Woodlands all on his own. Before needing his first love as an excuse, before being crushed by anxiety, before falling to madness, he’d had a childhood friend who was like a big sister to him.
“I’ll protect Miho.”
He remembered those words. This one emotion was no lie. Because he knew this, this was farewell.
“Ooooooh!”
He let out a bloody roar. Using the last of his life, the beast threw the girl—he threw her toward the companions who treated her so dearly.
“Jun...”
He heard a nostalgic voice. The girl was reaching out her hand in tears. Her fingertips were getting farther and farther away. But that was fine. This time, he managed to protect her.
The last of his strength was vanishing. He was satisfied that his childhood friend would still shed tears at his death. Hearing a dragon’s roar immediately following that, he felt relief that he could leave the rest to someone else. Having regained what was dear to him in the very end, the beast collapsed.