“How is this even possible?!” the Great Demon King cried.
Because of Ferd’s extraordinary strength, the King had focused all his attention on trying to kill the Hero, but that was very much a bad move. While he was preoccupied with Ferd, Elrica and the rest reached the Great Demon King’s pitch-black cranium and all struck it with their full strength. A light that was toxic even to the Great Demon King shone. An imperceptible katana slashed. A Null fist thrust. A blue spear pierced.
“Agh! Ouuuch!” This onslaught wouldn’t have been nearly enough seventy years ago, but the replica’s head had already been torn open by Lara’s attack, so this new wave of violence left it in clear pain.
Please don’t turn into your third form! Max prayed for this to be the end of it, since the situation would become a major hassle if the Great Demon King transformed any further. But his prayers weren’t answered. Shit! Max’s face went pale as he watched the giant start shrinking rapidly. This was an omen of that fearsome third form.
Looks like I have no choice but to do this! No living creature could stand against attacks from the third form onward. Therefore, Ferd had decided it was time to cross a line that he had first crossed seventy years ago, where he’d transformed into the very concept of life and the brilliance of all existence. Of course, it was a miracle that he was still alive after treading that domain the first time; he couldn’t expect a second miracle.
“I’ll admit it. Ferd, Elrica, Sazaki, Lara, Stein, Max. You six are actually fighting me to the death... Hold on, what happened to Erhard?” The shrinking mass of darkness praised the heroes, but then, there was a clear confusion. The Great Demon King noticed that Erhard—the Dark Knight and last member of the Hero’s party—was nowhere to be found, even though he should have definitely been present.
“I keep telling you! You already lost seventy years ago and the Hero’s party disbanded! Erhard is resting in peace somewhere out there!” Ferd shouted angrily.
“Huh? Wait, what? Is that you, Ferd? What’s going on? I could never mistake you for someone else. But why are you so old? Are those the side effects of the power of light?” The Great Demon King collapsed with a thud. “No, that’s not right. Wait, wait, wait. Actually, what’s wrong with me? Why didn’t I know that Ferd turned into an old man? How many decades has it been since then? You’re telling me I have missing memories? Ferd said I was defeated. Not to mention my power is weak. Was I revived imperfectly? Or am I just a re-creation?”
The reproduction has gotten too complex! all members of the Hero’s party thought in unison.
The Great Demon King had continued being re-created far beyond the mirror’s ability, but as a result, he finally realized that it was strange that his archenemies were old, and that he had been unable to realize this until now. Furthermore, as he thought back to Ferd’s earlier words and confirmed that he was clearly weaker, he arrived at the correct conclusion that he himself was only a relic of the past. As the Great Demon King realized that he was only an imitation of his past self, the strength quickly left his body.
“Seventy years ago, you were the one who said that we had to settle things! Everything ended long ago, so just go back to sleep!” Ferd swung his sword down, keeping as much light inside him as possible while barely maintaining his human form. Elrica, Sazaki, Lara, Stein, and Max also attacked with all their might at the same time.
“Tsk!” The black sphere—who was unable to establish his own existence and had started crumbling away—could only click his tongue in response. The next moment, the attacks of the Hero’s party, still unquestionably the strongest group in the world, landed, engulfing the Great Demon King in the torrent of power.
“Seventy years ago—nearly a century. Damn it... I suppose a loss is a loss...” The Great Demon King grasped that it had been nearly a century since his defeat based on what Ferd and the others looked like, and that very few people could have woken him up at this point. Therefore, the Great Demon King vanished, muttering an inexpressible complaint to one of his former subordinates—the most likely candidate for the current state of affairs.
This time, the virtual world itself came apart.
“I for sure just lost several years of my life...around ten of them.” Now back in reality, Max collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
“Then your funeral should be today or tomorrow. We need to hurry with the preparations.” Stein sat down and went along with Max’s joke.
“It’s been a while since I felt this tired. Lara, do you have any booze?”
“There’s a bit in the small bottle.”
“For real?! Yippee!”
Sazaki and Lara shared one of their unique exchanges, as usual.
“That was exhausting, dearest...”
“It truly was, honey...”
Ferd and Elrica returned to being a tottering old couple.
✦ ✦ ✦
Everyone dreamed of these things: the blue sky, symbol of life, the continuation of life, the light of life. It was obvious to everyone how precious those things were. But there were those who ignored them, slighted them, belittled them! All of you did the same! That was exactly why he was asked, implored, and begged to fulfill so many dying wishes to destroy it all.