As the Hero’s sword pierced her body and sliced through her, I let out a breath. It was all over.
I’d encountered stubborn people before, but no one had ever given me as much trouble as she had.
“It truly is a shame...”
I lacked the heart to watch her figure crumple to the ground. If this was what I had to see, then I should never have restored my sight. I closed my eyes and turned away. If I witnessed the viscera leaking out of her slender body, it would sully the respect I held for her. I almost wanted to cover my ears, even, but that really would be dishonorable of me.
Even as a mere human, she’d faced me head-on with her pure and simple appeal. I owed it to her to mourn her with dignity and to carve her glory into my heart, never to be forgotten.
“Cion...” I addressed the Hero at my side with the same affectionate nickname the now-dead bride had called her by. I was about to have her bring the corpse to me, when—
“Wh—?”
—a chill ran through my entire body. My eyes widened involuntarily, and I frantically turned toward the presence I felt; such was the overwhelming terror that seized me.
This sensation, this aura of pure death, could only be—
“My Lord—!”
No, that was impossible. He was dead; even that man had said so. There was no way he could be here. As I searched around, trying to make sense of the situation, I saw the bride’s body melting away. Like candy losing its shape in the hot sun, she dissolved into the shadows at our feet...
“Ah—?!”
By the time I noticed, it was already too late. A blade slashed up in a clean line, slicing my field of vision in two. The pain was too intense to keep standing; I fell over backward, sprawled on the ground. In a panic, I tried to send new orders to the Hero, but—
“Don’t bother.”
—the shadow-clad bride that had appeared before me raised up a hand to devour the flow of mana—to devour those threads that she shouldn’t even have been able to see.
“No... You’re... This isn’t—!”
I began praying, casting formula after formula to produce countless divine weapons all around her, but—
“Your prayers shall not be answered.”
—they were erased in an instant, swept away by the fourfold tails that spread out behind her. I followed them with more orisons, but she dissipated those as well, devouring the mana as it scattered.
The bride gazed down at me with an expression of utter disdain. She really did look just like him.
“Wh-What are you?”
“I’m the Hero-Killing Bride.”
The bride dispassionately raised a hand, extending crimson-stained fingers toward the Hero. With just that simple gesture, the bond tying the Hero to me was effortlessly broken, and I could sense the bride’s control enveloping her in place of mine.
“The Hero belongs with the bride.”
As though obeying her words, the Hero raised her weapon and held it at my throat.
“Checkmate,” the bride declared.
I’d been defeated, completely and utterly.