Chapter 63
Prea was the most zealous of all those who belonged to the latter group.
She herself had once been ‘One Abandoned by the Goddess,’ so she knew all too well how much pain that stigma could bring into a person’s life.
“Th-This can’t be happening…….”
But that wasn’t why Prea had fallen into despair.
If divine power didn’t work on Yubel, that meant she couldn’t heal her. It meant she had to watch her friend slowly die here.
Prea was so overcome by helplessness that she could barely keep herself upright.
Why did someone like you have to suffer so much? Is this really what reality is like? A world where villains like me are fine, while good people like you are hurt and made to suffer? Ah, this place must be hell. So please, please don’t smile at me like that. I’m begging you. Please don’t be kind to me. I can’t heal you. I’m a witch.
Prea wept endlessly.
The more she learned about Yubel, the more she hated herself and this world, until she didn’t know what to do.
She really was a witch.
The most hideous, filthy witch in the world—the one who’d inflicted such terrible pain on her friend.
It was the title that suited her best: she had given Yubel hope that she could be saved, only to crush it.
And to make matters worse,
“I won’t let you…… That’s my mom……”
The Witch of the Bitter Cold woke up.
She was a monster, impaled by the Holy Lance and on the verge of death, who’d managed to wake up through sheer obsession with Yubel. Judging by her condition, she didn’t seem to have much mana left.
Kududududugh!
But she was squeezing out her last strength, preparing to sink this ice castle. She intended to kill everyone inside.
If she couldn’t have it, she’d kill it.
That was the desperation behind her final struggle.
“Damn it……! We need to get Yubel out of here first……”
Se-on quickly assessed the situation and tried to give everyone orders, but when he saw the grim expressions on Prea and Riella’s faces, he couldn’t bring himself to continue.
He felt the same way. Even so, he couldn’t abandon his companions as their leader.
That was the burden of leading a party.
“……”
In the end, the Hero’s party stood as if frozen in place, unable to say a word. Their overwhelming despair and helplessness had overcome their instinct to survive.
And one person reacted with utter exasperation.
“Ugh, why is that thing still getting up? Hey! You there, the guy who looks like a Hero! Get me out of here!”
It was the Holy Sword embedded in a statue.
Se-on turned his gaze toward it.
“A talking sword……? Could it be…….”
“That’s right, I’m the Holy Sword. So hurry up and grab me, then stop that lunatic!”
Se-on was taken aback by the Holy Sword’s sudden appearance, but he couldn’t think of any other option, so he immediately grasped it.
“Hah, this feeling of being grabbed by the lower half…… It’s been two hundred years……”
“……Keep it down a little.”
“Is this really the time to be making snide remarks? What are you waiting for? Hurry up and cut that witch’s head off!”
“I want to, too, but the moment I approach her, my body will freeze solid. We need to stay calm and—”
“How frustrating! Why’s a Hero being so cautious? Just trust me and charge! Chaaaarge!!!!”
“……”
Tap!
Thinking the Holy Sword must have a reason for being so insistent, Se-on kicked off the ground and closed in on the witch in an instant.
Then he felt as if his body were freezing.
‘Damn, I was right—huh?’
The sensation lasted only a moment. Then his body moved as if nothing had happened, and Se-on seized the chance to swing his sword.
“Kardin!! How could you do this to me—!”
Shhk!
A red line appeared across the witch, cleaving her head from her body. Her snow-white hair slid down first, followed by her head.
The ice castle’s vibrations soon came to a stop, too.
No spectacular fountain of blood burst from her neck. Even the blood seemed to freeze in an instant, as befitted the Witch of the Bitter Cold.
And so the Witch of the Bitter Cold breathed her last on the cold ice floor.
That was the end of the witch who had tormented Yubel.
It should have been a moment for celebration, but no one there relaxed their grim expression.
Except one…… no, one being.
“Kwahaha! With me here, any harmful effect will be purified in no time! This is the power of yours truly, the Holy Sword! What do you think, Hero? You’d better treat me well from now on…… shouldn’t…… you……? Hmm…… I guess I’m…… not very perceptive.”
The Holy Sword quickly shut its mouth, having read the mood.
Holding the Holy Sword, Se-on returned to where Yubel lay and gently raised her back.
Yubel lay there, breathing in faint, wheezy gasps, as if she’d run out of strength. Her breaths were growing weaker. Looking at her, Se-on couldn’t help thinking that…… these might be Yubel’s final moments. No, they probably were.
“Hah, that horrible psycho bitch…… She was torturing the girl lying here, calling her her mother. I’ve never had such a repulsive experience in my life. It was so awful that even I couldn’t stand watching from the side……”
“……”
“What, is this your first time losing a companion? Why’s the mood so heavy? I’m getting indigestion just looking at you all.”
“……”
“……Tsk, I think I’ll take a nap.”
The Holy Sword quietly swallowed the brilliant light it had been emitting.
The Hero’s party fell even deeper into gloom.
Riella stroked her bow and quietly lowered her head.
Prea curled up and sobbed, trying to hide the tears streaming down her face.
Se-on said nothing. He simply drew Yubel closer into his arms.
Each of them fell silent in their own way.
And slowly, they looked back on what had happened.
“……”
Everything had happened so suddenly.
After an unexpected explosion on the snowy mountain, Yubel had been kidnapped by the witch. They’d run into the Masked Cat by chance and heard a shocking story, only to finally arrive here and find Yubel slowly dying.
People said farewells came when you least expected them, but wasn’t this too much? They hadn’t even been together all that long.
They hadn’t even had the bare minimum of time to prepare themselves.
Who on earth was there to blame for this wounded heart?
Prea, for withdrawing her divine power? He needed to hear her reasons for that, of course, but now wasn’t the time.
Then what about the Masked Cat, who’d blocked their path?
They’d certainly arrived late because of the Cat, but it had only been a brief delay. Not enough to cause a serious problem, at least.
Ah. Then was it the witch who’d driven Yubel to the brink of death?
That was certainly the closest thing to the right answer. If that bitch hadn’t been here, Yubel wouldn’t have ended up like this.
Ended up like this……
“Ah.”
But……
This was my responsibility, too.
Why had I come here in the first place? Wasn’t it because I’d dragged my companions up this snowy mountain, saying we should look for the Holy Sword?
Prea withdrawing her divine power, encountering the Masked Cat, fighting the witch, and Yubel being horribly wounded—perhaps all of it had stemmed from me.
‘Ah, Yubel would hate it if I thought this way.’
Yubel was always worried about us, and whenever we fell into pessimism, she’d lighten the mood with her uniquely airheaded behavior.
Maybe that was what I liked about her.
Maybe I’d been drawn to her without realizing it because she reminded me of the childhood friend I’d once been close to.
No, what do I mean, “maybe”?
I did like her. I had been drawn to her.
And yet, I hadn’t managed to say even one word about how I felt.
I hadn’t even told her I loved her.
I’m an idiot.
I was foolish and inadequate.
So inadequate I couldn’t even tell her how I felt.
“I love you……”
I held Yubel close and murmured the words.
I whispered them softly in her ear, hoping they’d reach her. Please…… If miracles really do exist, turn back time—
“Hmph, tell that to the person in question herself later. Hehe, I’m sorry I got to hear it first, Hero.”
“……”
Yubel woke up.
No, the demon woke up.
“Yu-Yubel……?”
“Huh, wha……? Wh-What’s going on……?”
The remarkable thing was that she’d opened her eyes without hesitation, despite Riella and Prea being there.
Could that demon really be trying to ruin even Yubel’s final moments?
My hands trembled with indescribable fury.
Then a question suddenly occurred to me.
Yubel had said she couldn’t hear, hadn’t she? So why had the demon sharing her body reacted to my words? Could it be……
“Hehe, just wait a moment.”
Snap!
As if answering my question, the demon snapped her fingers, and Yubel’s body began to return to normal.
New flesh covered the exposed muscle, and the limbs she’d lost were grotesquely reconstructed in the blink of an eye.
We watched it all in a daze.
That miracle.
“Hehe, come to think of it, I’m late in introducing myself to you all. Hmm, I am a demon. I’d be pleased if you called me the Demon of Lust. I’d rather you didn’t call me a parasite.”
“A demon……!”
“Why is there a demon inside Lady Yubel?!”
“Calm yourselves. I’ve even healed her wounds, yet this is hardly a warm welcome. Hehe……”
Prea and Riella wore complicated expressions.
They didn’t know whether they should be happy or angry. Of course, I felt the same way.
“……Guys. I’ll explain everything properly later, so please calm down for now.”
When I stepped in front of my companions, Riella and Prea, who both looked like they had plenty to say, glanced at each other, then sat down where they were with uneasy expressions.
“We’re going to hear about it later!”
“Yes, you’d better explain everything properly.”
Urgh.
It was a relief that Yubel’s wounds had healed, but explaining the demon was going to be a real headache.
Why had that demon chosen to reveal herself now?
After going to such lengths to keep her existence a secret.
I got an answer to that question right away.
“You’re wondering why I revealed my true identity, Hero.”
“……Yeah.”
“This time, too, it’s to warn you.”
A warning?
What could it possibly be this time……?
“You were planning to destroy me with that Holy Sword.”
“Yeah……”
It wasn’t surprising.
I already had the Holy Sword in my hand, and it would’ve been far stranger to think the demon hadn’t noticed by now.
All I had to do was find the demon’s heart and kill the demon inside Yubel. Then Yubel could go back to living a normal life……
“Even if that means Yubel will die, too?”
“……What?”
“Yubel and I are already practically one. We’re inseparable now.”
Hehe.
The demon let out a scornful laugh.
“D-Do you think I’ll believe that—”
“Do you remember the vow we made? It’s still in effect. I suppose I won’t be able to lie to you for the rest of my life.”
“……”
“Hehe, how does it feel to realize all your effort was for nothing, Hero? I’m in a wonderful mood, but looking at your eyes, I can’t bring myself to laugh too much. Hehehe.”
Damn it.
I didn’t even know what expression I was making.
Despair? Regret? Whatever it was, it couldn’t be a good expression.
Had everything I’d done up until now been for nothing?
My head began to ache.
“……Well, don’t be too disheartened. If you win the bet, I intend to disappear without a trace.”
“……A bet?”
“Have you already forgotten? The bet about making Yubel…… fall in love.”
Was that what the bet was about?
It sounded a little different from what I remembered, but I nodded.
If she’d disappear on her own if I won the bet……
Right now, I couldn’t think of any way to get rid of the demon, so I wasn’t about to argue with her.
“Hehe, then let’s change locations.”
“……When are you giving Yubel back?”
“Don’t be so impatient. I still have something to tell you.”
“If you’re just going to play another stupid joke……”
“I want to tell you about Yubel’s past.”
“!!!”
Her past?
Even Prea and Riella, who’d been quietly listening to the demon, widened their eyes. They’d never heard Yubel’s story from her directly.
And now that demon was going to tell them.
“Th-That can’t be! Something like that has to come from her herself—”
“You’ll never be able to hear it.”
Never.
“What does that mean—”
“Do you know the last thing Yubel heard from her mother?”
We all knew what it meant to hear the ‘last words’ from her mother.
Her final words.
The word circled in our minds, and, as if we’d planned it, we all listened closely to the demon.
‘I should never have given birth to someone like you.’ That’s what she said.”