“So you’re gone then, Platos… I did say you were free to do as you pleased, but I did not mean like this.”
At the back of the imperial castle, in the throne room, sat the Demon Queen. She muttered something the moment she saw us and wore the same black robe we had seen her in before, only the veil hiding her face was now gone. In her hand was a crystal dirtied in dark-red blood, likely Platos’s core.
As planned, Claire stood at the front of our formation. With us were Manaria and Lilly, for a total of four. The pope, Yu, and Misha were at the castle gate recovering their stamina from the fight with Platos, and Rod and the twins were getting the Focalizer ready.
Claire gave the Demon Queen a stern look. “Rei…no, Demon Queen. As you’ve surmised, we’ve defeated Platos. All that’s left is you and Socrat.”
“So it would seem. And what of it?”
“Would you be willing to give up on bringing an end to humanity?”
“So you’ve heard, then. From TAIM, I presume?”
“Yes.”
“I see…”
Both Claire and the Demon Queen were quiet for some time.
“Demon Queen, it’s not too late. Please reconsider.”
“I cannot, Miss Claire. This is the only option I have left.”
“That can’t be true. If we put our heads together with everyone, we can—”
“I’ve tried, and it didn’t work. Do you have any idea how many things I’ve tried, how much time I’ve spent? But no matter what I do, my conclusion remains the same: I have to bring an end to it all.”
“Demon Queen…” Claire murmured sadly. “You once said I hadn’t changed a bit, but I could say the exact same thing to you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve always been the type to try to shoulder everything alone, as well as to rush to your own conclusions.”
For a brief moment, the Demon Queen winced at Claire’s words. …It wasn’t really a big deal, but I couldn’t help but feel I was kind of being sidelined here at the climax.
The next to speak was Manaria. “Whatever your reasons may be, we still have to stop you. No hard feelings, I hope?”
“It’s okay, Lady Manaria. I had an inkling we’d fight one day anyway,” the Demon Queen said.
“Aw, don’t say that. I mean, I don’t want to lay a hand on someone who looks just like the woman I love, not if I can help it… No, that’s not quite right, is it? You’re Rae herself, in a sense, not just some lookalike.”
“You’re free to turn back if you’re so reluctant.”
“Given my position, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
Manaria traded these somewhat-intimate words with the Demon Queen while I was, again, being sidelined.
“D-don’t worry, Rae! I only have eyes for you!” Lilly said, noticing my plight.
“You’re so nice, Miss Lilly. If it weren’t for Miss Claire, I might’ve fallen head over heels for you,” I said, patting her head.
“Wait, but doesn’t that just mean there’s no hope for me?” she said, growing teary-eyed.
She was cute, but I only had room in my heart for Claire. Jeez, Miss Claire. You’re such a heartbreaker.
“It’s simple, then,” the Demon Queen said. “If you defeat me, I’ll die, and humanity will continue repeating the same events forever. If I defeat you all, humanity will meet its end.”
“Is there no room for negotiation?” Claire asked.
“There is not.”
“I see…” Claire’s face twisted with grief.
I was getting fed up. “What are you putting this tragic heroine act on for, other-me? You’re welcome to indulge your little fantasies on your own time, but don’t go dragging Miss Claire down with you.” The Demon Queen seemed annoyed by my words, so I continued to run my mouth. “All this just because your feelings for Miss Claire started cooling off? Pathetic. How can we even be related? And to think your idea of a solution is to end the world? I can be quite the pain in the rear end at times, but you’re on a whole new level!”
“Don’t speak like you understand me,” the Demon Queen said.
“Oh, but I do understand you; we’re the same person! You’ve lived too long and have started going senile, right? Oh, dear, oh, dear. I’m frightened to think I might start losing it like you in the future.” I stuck my tongue out at the Demon Queen as meanly as I could.
“If you’d experienced what I had, you’d understand.”
“I don’t care for your excuses. I am who I am right now. I love Miss Claire, I love the world that has Miss Claire in it, and I love everything Miss Claire loves. I couldn’t care less about what happens in the future.”
“I can’t believe my own self could infuriate me so much.”
“That makes two of us, then.” Seriously, I’d had it up to here with the Demon Queen.
“I’d say this conversation has run its course,” she said. “Let’s begin, shall we?”
“Demon Queen! Surely, there has to be another way…” Claire said.
“Miss Claire, please don’t resist,” the Demon Queen said. “I’ll try and make this as painless as possible.”
Her words marked the end of our little discussion. We snapped straight into combat.
“Rae, Sister!” Claire yelled.
“On it!”
“Yep.”
I used my earth spell Muddy Soil to turn the throne room’s walls and ceiling into mud.
“Flare Blast!” Manaria swiftly cast a high-aptitude fire spell and blasted away our muddied surroundings, as well as part of the upper floor above. Thanks to Manaria’s excellent magic control, we remained unscathed through the massive explosion. The scattered fragments that rained down were batted away by Lilly’s swords. The end result: The once magnificent throne room was now exposed to the elements.
The Demon Queen quickly saw through our intent. Her magic barrier was already up, but Rod’s long-distance attack would be able to break it. The sights of the Focalizer were at this moment narrowing in on the Demon Queen.
But something unexpected occurred.
“That’s impossible!”
“You’re kidding me…”
“Wh-what is this?!”
“This might be bad…”
The barrier the Demon Queen had deployed was orders of magnitude larger and denser than before. It was a pitch-black deeper than darkness, as though the world simply ceased to exist past its radius.
“So that’s what Platos meant!” Claire bitterly bit her lip.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Platos must have given the Demon Queen his magic energy. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so weak—it didn’t make sense.”
“Well deduced, Miss Claire,” the Demon Queen said from within the darkness. “Master Rod’s attack the other day surpassed my expectations. So I looked into some countermeasures.”
“Damn,” I cursed. I still had a faint hope the Focalizer could break her barrier. In fact, at that very moment, the Focalizer finished aiming and readied to fire.
But things could never be easy.
“Of course, I didn’t take just one countermeasure,” the Demon Queen said.
“What do you mean?” Claire demanded.
The Demon Queen’s intent soon became clear.
“Our Queen means to say that your weak minds are but an open book to her,” a hoarse, elderly voice said from behind. The space before Rod and the girls contorted, and a giant insect-like apparition appeared.
“Socrat!” Claire yelled.
“Hold it, Miss Claire. Don’t think I’ll just let you leave to help them. You all have to keep me company,” the Demon Queen said.
The Focalizer’s line of fire was blocked, and we couldn’t go back up Rod and the twins. My mind raced trying to think of a way out of our situation when a young voice called out from behind.
“Mama Claire, Mama Rae!”
“Don’t worry about us! May and I will handle it!”
It was May and Aleah. They brandished the magic wand and sword Dorothea had bequeathed to them and stood before the Focalizer with Rod.
“Run away, dears!” Claire called.
“Quickly!” I yelled.
“Impossible. I have been ordered to spare none.” Socrat laughed, his voice mocking.
“Now then…shall we begin our final battle?”
The Demon Queen’s words sounded like nothing but a death sentence.