Two lights intersect. The holy swords clash, making a fierce sound of battle.
“Ugh…!?”
A crack appears in Lucas’s holy sword. Immediately, he summons another holy sword to counterattack.
Fast, heavy. With each blow from that long sword, Lucas’s arm creaks and goes numb. It felt as if a massive hammer were being swung down with all its force.
The sword dance too fast to see leaves no room for a counterattack. A relentless assault reminiscent of a large beast. Any lapse in concentration would result in being overwhelmed and forced to retreat.
The seemingly eternal battle eventually comes to an end.
Recognizing that she can’t push through, Letinoa steps back, readjusts her stance, and repositions her holy sword.
“I’ll admit it, you’re strong,”
Lucas summons another holy sword and rests his hand on the hilt.
It is a holy sword with the same shape as a sword used in the eastern country—a blade reminiscent of a katana.
“But,”
Letinoa leaps. She moves at a speed that blurs her figure and leaves an afterimage. Silently, without a sound, she disappears into the darkness.
Lucas completely loses sight of Letinoa’s figure. But without panicking, he calmly closes his eyes.
Silence dominates the battlefield.
The air is tense, and the blue flame of the candle flickers—for that brief moment.
“You can’t win against me.”
Unsheathing his sword.
In an instant, the drawn sword slices through the target flawlessly.
Letinoa, emerging from the darkness, falls to the ground with a sound.
There is a deep, dark wound on her abdomen. Although it didn’t completely sever her, the sharp laceration cuts deep into her abdomen, reaching her internal organs.
Coughing, red blood gushes out of her mouth.
The holy sword Letinoa was holding disappears into mist. Power rapidly drains from her body.
–I couldn’t reach it.
She gave it her all. But it was still out of reach.
She can’t even move her fingers anymore. Her vision is pitch black, showing nothing.
Death looming before her, for some reason, Letty felt no fear.
It felt like being in a dream. In that drowsy state, a certain image flickers.
It’s—herself defeating the Demon King and bringing peace to the world.
Everyone is smiling, many people are happy… such a delusional world.
Watching it, Letty realizes.
What she truly desired. Why she was helping people.
She wanted to make people smile, didn’t want them to cry, wanted to prove that these feelings were genuine… those feelings were undoubtedly sincere, but there was something else she was seeking.
—She just wanted to be praised.
To be told she did great, that she tried hard.
She thought if she defeated the Demon King, everyone would praise her, recognize her.
But it didn’t work out. She couldn’t become the hero who could protect everyone.
But she tried. It was tough and scary, but she tried her best.
Will big sister praise her? What will everyone say?
…….
………….
—Shishou.
—Shishou, will you praise me?
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Seeing Letinoa immobilized, Lucas sheathes his holy sword.
Letinoa’s eyes are losing color. Rolling in a sea of blood, only faint breaths can be heard.
Lucas thrusts his holy sword into the ground. Tilting his head slightly, he closes his eyes in silence.
It’s a silent prayer passed down to the Edelf Knight Order. When you defeat a formidable enemy worthy of sincere admiration, it’s the utmost respect shown.
A sacred silence. But, just as the time is being interrupted, a disrespectful figure appears.
“So, she’s finally kicked the bucket, huh? Caused quite a hassle…”
“Well, wait! The vessel exchange is still in progress…”
“I’ll be back soon. But before that, I have to thank this guy–right!”
Seft raises his foot to kick Letinoa’s head away.
“Stop.”
But, a blade is pressed against his neck, forcing him to stop his movements.
“Don’t move.”
Trying to protest, his spine chills with a shudder.
Cold gaze. Sharp hostility that seems to cling to the skin.
“J-J-Just kidding… r-right…?”
Seft breaks out in a cold sweat on his forehead and takes a few steps back, feeling intimidated.
(In the name of chivalry? I hate that crap. You’re just like me.)
He curses silently in his mind. Seft despised idealistic nonsense.
(Well, whatever, it’s over when it’s over. He was just a convenient pawn anyway.)
Seft didn’t care about Lucas’s situation. What mattered was whether he could be used or not. He was an unpleasant pawn who didn’t move as instructed, but he did play his role.
Seft laughed, licking his lips.
Just a little more, just a little more and his wish would come true. Eternal life and an indestructible body would be his.
How many hundreds of people had he sacrificed? He had made meticulous preparations for this day. He had stolen the power of heroes with 【Steal】, continued to steal vast amounts of life force and magic power from unspecified individuals with Soul Disease, and even incited a certain merchant to capture a demon in an attempt to absorb the power of demons.
As a result, he failed to incorporate the demon… but still, he obtained an excess of life force. With this body that he had created with all of it, he could withstand the use of the stolen power of heroes.
Uncontrollable laughter welled up within him.
What to do with that power? First, let’s go on a killing spree to test it out. Oh, but I won’t kill the pretty women. While lurking in Kaas, there was a stunning woman in this town. With black and aqua hair, those two will be made slaves and serve by my side.
He dreamt like a boy. It was the best feeling, the absolute best feeling.
And then it happened.
“Huh?”
Something hit Seft’s head, and he rubbed it irritably.
Looking around, chunks of earth were falling from the ceiling to the ground.
“…What’s this?”
Muttering, Seft immediately felt a sense of unease at his feet.
The ground was trembling.
Normally, it would have been a faint tremor that he wouldn’t have paid attention to. But it gradually gained momentum, becoming a violent tremor that made it difficult to even stand, let alone think.
The origin was above— “up.”
Something was approaching. And at an incredible speed, in a straight line.
“Lucas, right now—”
Set up a barrier! Before he could shout, he was interrupted.
An ear-splitting crashing sound. The ceiling collapsed simultaneously with a catastrophic roar.
Seft instinctively curled up his body, trying to protect his head from the incoming large chunks of rock and earth. But he was powerless to protect himself from the onslaught, as the stones that he couldn’t defend against mercilessly struck his torso and abdomen, the sound of bones breaking resonating.
A cloud of dust rose, and Seft coughed violently as he inhaled the choking smell of dirt.
Spitting out blood, when the smoke subsided, Seft finally raised his head.
“What the—”
But he couldn’t even finish his words.
A fist was thrust into his own face.
Seft was violently punched, bouncing off the ground multiple times, hitting the wall before finally stopping.
“Ouch… damn, that’s enough. It hurts too much to keep punching. And this place is too deep… the ground is too hard…”
The man who had punched him rubbed his right hand and complained.
“Sorry, I’m late, Letty.”
The familiar voice momentarily brought Letty, who was almost unconscious, back to her senses.
“Shi… Shishou…”
Raising her head, the man said.
“I’m going to save you right now.”
“Here it comes,”
the red-haired man, Lucas, muttered as he looked at me, as if he had anticipated my arrival.
I didn’t respond and tried to rush to Letty, who was lying on the ground… but Lucas blocked my way, and I glared at him with hostility.
“I’ll deal with you later, move.”
“If it’s an attack, it’s useless. Her life force is almost gone.”
“I told you, move.”
///
scene transition
///
“…Well, whatever.”
Lucas snorted and stepped aside. I kneeled beside Letty, placing my hand on her forehead, using magic to check her condition.
And then, a fact emerged, and I swallowed hard.
Her internal magic power was almost nonexistent.
Except for special cases where there was no internal magic power from the beginning, all creatures lose all of their internal magic power when they die of old age. Even if 【Resurrection】 or 【Healing】 is performed after the magic power has completely disappeared, the lost internal magic power will not return. It is impossible to resist death by old age.
It was almost nonexistent. In other words, Letty’s life was on the brink of extinction.
The situation was surprisingly dire. Her whole body was in tatters, covered in lacerations, and her abdomen was dyed a dark red. The faint rising and falling of her chest indicated weak breathing, as if it might stop at any moment. her eyes were vacant, unfocused, simply gazing into the sky like a lifeless doll.
Using “Heal” as a stop-gap measure, I treated her entire body, closing the wounds. However, her labored breath did not heal, and her life seemed to be fading away. It was necessary to replenish her internal magical energy as quickly as possible to prolong her life temporarily, but during that time, I would be defenseless.
I lifted Letty into a more comfortable position and was amazed at how light she was.
The weight of a child, different from that of an adult. I realized it again.
—She’s still a child.
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