SELEIYU
A wyrm appeared from below the ground. Based on its monolithic size, I knew this foe would not be easy to defeat. They rarely appeared, and few had witnessed them in person.
The wyrm towered over Yuna’s small bear-shaped form.
“Yuna!” I shouted.
She had to run. The wyrm opened its gigantic maw and fell upon Yuna. However, Yuna showed no sign of retreat.
“Ha ha. Bet you regret making a fool of me now. Die!”
The moment I thought Yuna would be eaten...had she used fire magic? It had been red in color, so I assumed it was a spell. I saw her send the flames into the wyrm’s mouth, then the monster started to writhe in pain. After swerving back and forth a number of times, it fell, never to move again. I had no idea what had happened, except that Yuna had defeated the wyrm.
The man stared at Yuna as if he had witnessed the impossible. Then a maniacal smile appeared on his face.
“Ha ha! Ah ha ha! A small girl…dressed as a bear…singlehandedly destroyed a decade’s worth of work.”
I couldn’t believe what Yuna had done either. Had the man not been here, I likely would have run up to her in joy.
“It’s all over. It’s time to pay for your crimes.”
I pointed my sword at the man. Then Kumayuru came up to me.
“Cwoon.”
Kumayuru held the collar out with their mouth. The man had said this device could seal one’s mana.
“Thank you, Kumayuru. I’m going to have you wear this collar.”
I took the collar from Kumayuru.
“You’re not going to kill me? I’ve spent all my mana and my life force controlling the wyrm. I don’t have long to live. If you want to deal the finishing blow, you’ll need to do it now.”
Sweat formed on his brow, and he seemed to struggle even to talk. I pointed the tip of my sword at him, but he didn’t move. He closed his eyes, ready to die. If I killed him here and now, everything would finally be over, but... I wasn’t the only one who had cared for my mother.
“I won’t kill you yet. I’ll take you to Father.”
Father was always filled with grief whenever the anniversary of my mother’s death came. He needed to see the man for himself to find closure for Mother’s death.
“I cannot have you using more mana and hastening your death, so you’ll need to wear the collar to seal your magic.”
“I’ll pass.”
The man attempted to stand, despite clearly being in pain—then touched his chest pocket and pulled something from within. As soon as I realized it was a knife, I acted without thinking and ran him through with my sword.
Blood splattered from his mouth.
“Ha ha. I don’t want to see your father’s face. If I’m going to die, I’d rather it be by your hands.”
He laughed even as he faced death.
“I killed the woman I loved and have been killed by you, the one dear to me. Nothing could make me happier. It’s only too bad that I couldn’t be with you.”
“You’re a fool. Mother wasn’t the only woman in the world.”
“But she was the only one for me. And as I saw you grow, I was drawn to you as well. I needed to have you for myself by any means necessary.”
“Everything you did, you took the wrong approach.”
“It was the only approach I knew.”
I had no response. Father loved Mother. Mother loved Father. No one could have come between them. I couldn’t tell him he should have tried harder.
“In the end, I’ll rejoin your mother, Shulia, before he can.”
As he laughed, blood spluttered from his mouth, and he collapsed to the ground.
Until I met the man who had murdered my mother, I had wanted to avenge her. Even when he appeared before me, I had resented him, hated him, and wanted to murder him. Now, he was dead.
Serenity returned to me, and I began to weep.
I had been relieved of the heavy weight that I had been carrying since my mother’s passing. It felt as though I had lost something.
The strength left my hands, and my sword fell from my grasp. Finally, it was all over.
“Cwoon.”
Kumayuru shuffled toward me, as though to show their concern.
“I’m all right. Thank you for worrying about me.”
Kumayuru’s call had brought me back to reality. In that moment, I remembered that Yuna had been fighting all the monsters on her own.
“That’s right. Where’s Yuna?”
“Me?”
I heard Yuna calling from behind me, so I turned around and saw her in her bear costume.
“Yuna! Are you all right? You weren’t hurt?!”
I ran to her and looked her over. My only observation was that she was very much still a bear.
“I’m fine. Looks like you did your part too.”
I was flabbergasted, as she truly seemed to be no worse for wear. When I saw her in her bear costume, this whole thing felt like a dream.
“Yes.”
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