Chapter 61
That man was selfish.
As long as things went well for him, that was all that mattered.
Thatâs why he never hesitated. He believedâwithout the slightest doubtâthat his way was the right one.
âWhaâwhy the hell is Mello here?â
âMino, youâre still such an idiot! Youâre always overthinking everything, but if you just relied on me, everything would work out!â
ââŚHaaaah?â
He was the strongestâbecause he believed he was the strongest.
And that wasnât a lie. He wasnât trying to deceive anyone.
âIf I just kill these guys, Mino wonât have to die, right? Leave it to me.â
The self-proclaimed strongest said that as he confidently drew his prized black sword and faced the two demons head-on.
ââHe had talent like no other. Thatâs precisely why he never put in the effort.
He didnât need to. Whenever he got serious, most people would tremble in fear and run away.
He had excellent support too. Even when he acted purely on his own whims, there was a girl who would always manage to keep things from ending in disaster.
He had gone through life without ever facing real hardship.
And as a resultâhe was utterly crushed by those who were truly strong: a Sword Saint, a wind swordsman, and others like them.
So now, heâd put in the effort.
Mello couldn't stand not being number one. He couldnât bear the thought of not being the strongest.
The arrogant black sword user challenged the swordsman whoâd defeated him every single day, and slowly stole his technique.
He knew exactly how immense his own talent was. Thatâs why he declared it with prideâthe title of strongest.
âIf youâre thinking of laying a hand on Mino, then youâll have to go through me.â
Todayâs Mello was far stronger than yesterdayâs Mello.
His true gift was the speed and intuition with which he could grasp and master techniques.
He had learned magic just by watching, and developed combat techniques that let him defeat nearly every swordsman in the national armyâwithout ever studying under a master.
âI am the strongestâme.â
ââAnd that same Mello had just spent a full week receiving hands-on training from Fratche, the finest swordsman in the entire nation.
âYou idiot, Mello! If you try to fight the Demon Kingâs army head-on, even someone like Rex could be killedâ!â
Mino didnât know.
She assumed Mello had just thrown another tantrum like always and picked a fight with Fratche.
So she underestimated how strong Melo had actually become.
ââŚThis is gonna be fun!â
There was a sharp whoosh.
The bat leapt into the air, fangs flashing. The Demon King clenched his fist and stepped forward with precision.
âIf youâre so confident, then try dodging this.â
In the very next moment, the Demon Kingâs fist shattered the spot where Melo had been standingâand without a pause, the bat lunged in.
The Demon King, in his own way, found this loudmouthed human oddly likable. The whole reason he picked a fight with the humans in the first place was because he wanted to brawl. In short, he liked scrappy fighters.
Thatâs exactly why he threw a serious punch at Melo from the start. The most devastating blow in the world, aimed directly at him.
ââŚâ
Meanwhile, Mello let his black sword dangle loosely at his side, placing himself between the attack and Mino.
Facing the oncoming deathblow, he stood with his eyes faintly open.
ââMello and the Demon King passed each other at the speed of sound.
âI see. So the so-called strongest swordsman that woman mentioned⌠she was talking about you.â
In that instant, the Demon King recognized Meloâs strength.
All Mello did to avoid the blow was take a half-step to the side. That alone caused the Demon Kingâs fist to veer away and slam uselessly into the floor.
The moment his punch missed, the bat came charging inâ
âHuh. Iâd heard the rumors, but demons really do have blue blood.â
Before anyone realized it, Melo had already swung his black sword, slicing the bat cleanly in two from the core.
âFilthy.â
With just one swing, Mello had taken down a demon far larger than himself.
His eyes shimmered faintly with blue, and his movementsâlike he was cloaked in windâwere light, refined, and razor sharp.
A monster of talent.
Had he undergone proper training, he might have even surpassed Rexâa true genius.
âExplode, Emberchant Song. Burn him to ash.â
And so, the clash between him and the Demon King... was far from a pitiful one-sided beatdown.
The Demon King saw it as a battle worthy of his full strength. Mello proved just how powerful he really was.
â...Huh? Wha...?â
Watching Mello go toe-to-toe with the Demon King left Mino completely speechless, her jaw slack with disbelief.
Mello was strong, no doubt about that. But against true elite warriors like Rex or Fratche, he should have been a tier below.
This Demon King, who defeated Rex, and whose power dwarfed even that demon general, should have been someone Mello had zero chance against.
And yetâthere he was, trading blows, unscathed, his sword dancing through the air.
â...Hmph! Hmmm... I see. These movements... like that womanâs.â
âTch. You're tough, Iâll give you that, Demon King. But thatâs all. Youâve got no technique, no finesse.â
They clashed several times, blades flashing, each exchange careful and measured. Still testing one another, eyes locked in silent confrontation. Yet their skills were evenly matched.
What shocked Mino most was Melloâs movement. To her eyes, his swordplay had always looked like an amateur fast-forwarded to absurd speedâunnatural and crude.
But nowâ
âIf the Sword Demon King were still alive, heâd have begged to fight you. Swordsmanshipâs a hell of an art.â
âThereâs nothing impressive about this. Your techniqueâs just so childish it makes mine look good.â
He moved like the true swordsmen Mino knew wellâlike Laurel, like Rex. Natural. As if the sword were just another limb.
A human, physically weaker than demons, was dodging and parrying the Demon Kingâs blows through sheer technique alone.
âI donât need technique! A demonâs weapon is his own body!â
âHa! Then keep thinking that, you brainless brute!â
Mello roared. The Demon Kingâs step thundered through the ground.
The black swordsman closed the distance with a sharp leap, gliding in low toward the Demon King.
He brushed off a punch that missed but still roared like an explosion, then launched a searing flame spell straight for the demonâs face.
The spell landed cleanâbut the Demon King didnât flinch. He didnât even show signs of being singed. In truth, Melloâs rudimentary magic wouldnât leave so much as a burn mark on him.
But Mello didnât stop. Magic might be uselessâbut he still had his black sword.
He pushed his speed to the limit. Their weapons clashed in a flurry of blinding motion. The Demon King went for the kill, caring little for defense. Mello dropped magic entirely and fought back with the sword alone.
âWhat... whatâs even happening right now?â
The strategistâMinoâcould only stare in shock at the battle between monsters.
Nothing was going according to plan. Her gaze, filled with confusion, only seemed to fuel Melloâs determination further.
âWhy is Mello suddenly...?â
âI heard about the coup and knew things were bad! Thatâs why I came, Mino!â
Upon hearing of Pennyâs uprising, he had abandoned his post and raced for the throne, heedless of anything else. Ignoring Minoâs orders, he charged in just before the barrier closed off the area.
âI told you not to do anything reckless! I explicitly said not to leave the wall!â
âShut up! I decide what I do!â
It was always like this. No matter how carefully Mino crafted her plans, Mello would storm in on his own terms and throw everything into chaos.
There was no longer any need for Mello to fight. The Demon King was already sealed in. Heâd die even without a battle.
In fact, this was a meaningless death for Mello. Even if he somehow won, Mino still had no way to escape this barrier. Sheâd be dead within monthsâand Mello would die alone, abandoned and in despair.
âSo incredibly stupid...â
âAnd youâre calling me stupid, Mino?! Youâre the real idiot here!â
He didnât care what she thought. He acted however he pleased. And it always, always made things worse.
âDid you hear what the Demon King and I said? I donât have much time left. Thereâs no point in saving me now.â
âWho said there had to be a point? Iâll decide that!â
âStill doing whatever you want, even at the end...â
Even while locked in deadly combat with the Demon King, Mello shouted at Mino at the top of his lungs.
âYouâre mine, Mino! You hear me?! So who the hell gave you permission to go off and die on your own, you idiot woman?!â
âI didnât want to be called an idiot... not by you. Anyone but you.â
âShut up, you colossal moron!!â
His voice came out in an angry yellâalmost a curse. Yet Mino was the one holding back her fury.
She owed Mello. Sheâd done her best to shape the world into a place where he could live in peace.
And now, in the end, heâd gone and sabotaged her final plan. A high-ranking general had died in vain. That kind of ending was a disgraceâa stain on her legacy as a strategist.
She had enough complaints to fill volumes. She had held back so many until now. But fine. If thatâs how it was going to be, sheâd let him hear every last one.
Coming to a place like this, picking a pointless fight with the Demon KingâMino hurled her resentment at such an impossible "fool."
"...Hey, Melloâ"
With eyes like ice, Mino finally spoke.
"Even if I only have a few months left!! I still want to be with you!!"
Upon hearing those words from Mello, she froze once again.
"...Huh?"
"I had a bad feeling about it, you know. Youâve been looking worse lately, distancing yourself from everyone."
"..."
"I figured you were up to something again, so I kept an eye on you. But I never imagined youâd be planning something this damn stupid!!"
Clang! Melloâs black sword clashed against the Demon Kingâs arm. It didnât even leave a scratch, and he was batted away, the distance between them growing wide again.
"You followed me, traveled with meâdo you have any idea how grateful Iâve been for that!? Do you even understand why I never once tried to seriously confess to you!?"
"Eh. Ah... no, I..."
"Because Iâm head over heels for you! Iâve always loved you!! And still... still, what the hell is this, you goddamn idiot!!"
The Demon Kingâs fist cleaved the air. The shockwave blasted Mello back, slamming him into the wall.
But Mello took the hit in a breakfall, absorbing the impact, and was already back on his feet, sword in hand, ready to counterattack.
"Donât mess with me, Mino! You think I can just accept this!? What the hell am I supposed to do in a world without you!?"
"Ah..."
"Youâre going to live. Even if itâs only for a few more months, youâre mineâmine alone until your very last breath."
Blazing flames scorched the throne. In the sudden explosion, the Demon King's vision was clouded, and for a brief moment, he lost sight of Mello.
"So letâs go home, Mino."
Mello pictured it clearly in his mindâthe ideal sword strike.
The sword form he memorized exactly as taught by Fratche, the same he witnessed when facing off against Rex.
"Ugh...!"
Catching the Demon King off guard, Mello swung his blade with pure instinct into the back of his head.
And for the first timeâagainst the Demon Kingâs absurdly tough armored bodyâ
"...Blood. Thatâs... my blood?"
"Finally cut you, huh. Damn, youâre ridiculously tough."
A clean sword wound was visible. Golden hair soaked in blue fluid clung to his skin.
"ââââ!!"
"Whatâs that face for? You scared, you weakling?"
At that moment, Mello ascendedâbecoming someone capable of killing even the Demon King on his own.
Mello, the man who embodied the supreme talent of battle itself. His talent, without a doubt... was the strongest humanity had ever seen.
They could win. They would win.
Mello could even defeat the Demon King.
"âŚHaha."
I see now. The fool was me.
If Mello could beat the Demon King on his own⌠then there was no need to sacrifice the king. No need for elaborate traps. No need to attack the painstakingly rebuilt castle town. Humanity could have triumphed over the Demon Kingâs army without all that.
Mino had underestimated her comradeâs strengthâand only ended up causing unnecessary casualties.
"âŚIf victory were certain, that is."
But that kind of hindsight doesnât matter.
Even if Mino had fully grasped Meloâs strength, she still wouldnât have chosen a different path.
Individual power isnât something you can measure. It fluctuates wildly with oneâs condition or mental state on any given day.
Thatâs whyâno matter how many times she relived this war, even a hundred timesâMino would make the same choices a hundred times over.
Because her reason was this:
"Reducing casualties, even by one. A tacticianâs job isnât to seek the best outcomeâitâs to aim for the best expected outcome."
There was a high chance the Demon King would fall into their trap. Mino had prepared multiple areas besides the throne room, each rigged with similar enchantments.
If the Demon King could be dealt with without a direct fightâif she could avoid the gamble of a duelâthen she would gladly become a sacrificial piece, again and again.
That was the decision of someone responsible for leading the people.
"âââââAnd besidesâŚ"
There was one more hidden reason. One truth she never voiced.
It wasâ
"âŚI donât want to see you get hurt, Mello."
Right now, as Mino watched the broken fragments of Melloâs armor scattered from the last attack, silent tears began to fall.
"I donât want to see the person I love suffer⌠Mello."
Beneath the surface, out of sight, she had always been extremely overprotective of him.
She told herself it was the politically correct decision. That was how she justified desperately keeping Mello away from the most dangerous battles.
She prioritized easier enemies for him, always shielding his pride.
"I'm really⌠such a half-measure, aren't I?"
It wasnât the wrong decision, not when the goal was protecting the nation. Within the limits of what was still a âcorrectâ answer, it was a selfish choiceâone only a strategist like her had the freedom to make.
Melo had been protected all along.
"Maybe not protecting you⌠wouldâve been better for you in the long run."
And thatâthat was Minoâs greatest flaw. The fatal flaw of the woman hailed by Laurel as the "Supreme Strategist," whoâd grown up without ever being truly accepted by those around her.
The essence of her strategies, the root of her worldviewâ
"If only Iâd had more faith in you."
âââââOther people arenât worth trusting.
Until now, she hadnât truly trusted anyoneânot even herself.
She was always convinced someone would make a critical mistake. Always planning for the worst. Just like how sheâd prepared a contingency plan in case Swordmaster Rex lost, she had always chosen the safest route to avoid catastrophe.
Minoâs distrust of others extended even to Melloâthe man she had feelings for, and his strength.
No⌠she refused to change. Because the one person whoâd validated her cold but reliable methodsâwas Mello himself.
"âŚWin this."
But all of that ends here.
No matter how this battle ends, the broader situation wonât change. Someone will be trapped in this space until deathâwhether that someone is Melo or the Demon King.
"Do your best, Mello."
So Mino cast aside all extraneous thoughts. She spoke only from the heart.
"If Iâm going to die anywayâââââ"
Let these words reach him.
"âââââThen I want to be with you."
And in response to those words⌠the black swordsman gave a silent nod.
"âââââAh, I see now. I think Iâm starting to get the trick."
But thenâ
"So I was being guided without even realizing it. I get it, I get it. So thatâs how it is."
Reality was cruel.
"Amazing. Every single move you made was a meaningful feint, a lure, a setup. And yet, you never let your true intent show."
"âŚâŚ"
"This is swordsmanship, huh? No wonder the Demon Sword King was so obsessed with you. That was one hell of a technique."
âââââIt was true. Mello had grown.
In just one week of nonstop sparring under Flatcheâs watchful eye, his skills had improved dramatically.
Howeverâswordsmanship, as an art, is not something one can master in a mere week, no matter how talented.
All Mello had done was cleverly mimic Flatcheâs movements. But looked at another way, that meant his style was nothing more than a copyâkazanagi techniques, not techniques made for Mello himself.
And that unnaturalness became his downfall.
"Which means⌠by reading your setups, I can read your intentions too."
The embodiment of battleâthe Demon Kingâhad intuitively grasped Melloâs movements. And the moment he understood, he changed the angle of his strike and tore through Melloâs intestines as the boy tried to evade.
And thenâââââ
"Alright, thatâs a win. Man, that was a good fight."
Just like that, he grabbed Melloâs limp, unconscious body, flung it into the air, and struck it with full force.
With the sound of space itself groaning, the fragile body of Mello crashed into the barrier wall, creating a massive fissure as if evaporating on impact.
"âââââMello?"
Mello had fought valiantly. Against an overwhelmingly powerful enemy, one he should never have had a chance against, he never took a step back.
Even if the outcome wasnât what heâd hoped for, his desperate struggle deserved nothing but praise.
"A-ah⌠Mello⌠Mello?"
And so, Mino had to praise him. She had to honor what heâd done.
And yetâ
"Aah⌠AaaaahâŚ"
Faced with the obliterated remains of the one she lovedâtaken by sheer, unthinkable forceâthe terminally ill strategist broke down in loud sobs.
She had no way to stop her tears.
"âŚWell then. Guess Iâll crush you next."
Having finished his fight, the Demon King slowly turned to face Mino.
But Mino didnât care. None of that mattered anymore. All she felt was grief.
That Melo, doing as he pleased until the very end, had died reaping the consequences of his own recklessnessâthat was what broke her.
Because, deep down, what Mino truly wantedâ
"I just⌠wanted to see you smileâŚ"
A hopelessly foolish man. A selfish, arrogant brat.
Someone she couldnât even explain why sheâd fallen for.
"I just wanted you to be happyâââââ"
She had only wished that he could live a happy lifeâfor her share too, since she was the one who would die first.
"âââââHey, where the hell are you looking, big guy?"
"Hah?"
With a twitch, she turned toward the direction of that feeble voice.
It came from the floor, a short distance away from the crack in the barrier where the Demon King had struck. There, Mello stood up, using his black sword as a crutchâhis body battered and broken.
He wasnât dead. Mello, though on the brink, was still alive.
"O-ohhh, not bad! So you deflected that final blow after all."
"Shut up... Donât lay a hand on that girl. Your fightâs with me first."
But that was all. Mello was barely holding himself upâmoving even a single hand took everything he had.
"Stop, donât talk! Youâll choke from the pressure in your throat!! Iâll heal your wounds, just hang on!"
"Oh? So you can use healing magic?"
"What of it? Demon King, if you kill me and Mello now, youâre just going to be bored afterward, right? Give me time to treatâ"
"You really think I will?"
The Demon King didnât even glance her way. He simply started walking straight toward Mino.
"You sure about this? Killing me and Mello so easilyâare you really okay with that?"
"I donât care. Iâll need time to figure out a way to escape anyway. If anything, Iâd rather deal with you both now and get it over with."
"I already told youâthere is no way out of here."
"Like hell Iâd trust a word you say."
Fair enough, Mino muttered to herself. But the truth wasâshe really didnât know how to escape this place.
Humans are weak. Mino didnât even fully trust herself.
If she learned the escape method, she might risk being brainwashed⌠or suddenly value her life too much⌠or break under torture. Thatâs why she chose not to know.
And if even Minoâthe one here with the most knowledge of magicâcouldnât escape, then the Demon King had no chance of figuring it out, not in a lifetime.
Sheâd heard this barrier even incorporated Clarisâ barrier theories. Even if someone explained every detail, Mino wasnât confident she could understand it all.
âââââThatâs why. In the end, for the Demon King, Mino, and Melloâthere were no options left except death.
"...Huh?"
The sound of Melloâs ragged cries. The approaching shadow of the Demon King.
This was the end. Mino would die here, trapped in this small space with the Demon King. Thatâs how it was supposed to go.
"...Wait, what!?"
What ruined it all was Mino being too perceptive. Too educated in not only healing magic but also the basics of support magic.
And she noticed something she shouldnât have: the crack in the barrier created by the Demon King⌠wasnât closing.
(...No. No way. That canât be happening.)
It shouldnât have been possible. This space was sealed off, isolated from the world in a completely different phase. A crack in the barrier shouldnât even be possible.
But right there, a massive rupture split the wall behind the throneâand beyond it, Mino could faintly sense the hues and presence of the âoutside world.â
(Itâs impossible by theory, and yetââââ)
And so, Mino reached her conclusion:
âThis barrier can be brokenâby the Demon King.â
A chill ran down her spine as cold sweat trickled along her back. The entire premise of the death trap she had entrusted her life to⌠had collapsed.
This was supposed to be an unbreakable wall. But the monster before her had just shattered that notion with raw strength.
Noâhe had already broken through it. Laurel, who fled the fortress immediately, hadnât seen it happenâand thus never told Mino.
This barrier was of the same kind as the âLove Barrier Super Shieldâ Claris had used in their fight. And the Demon King had already destroyed that one with a single punch.
From the beginning, for someone like him, a barrier like this might as well not exist. The Demon King was simply too abnormal.
Sure, this one was slightly sturdierâbeing a complete isolation barrier that cut off space itself from the world. But even so, if the core magic circle sustaining it was destroyedâŚ
If the Demon King thrashed around carelessly and happened to smash that circleâââââheâd be free again, and Mino and Melloâs deaths wouldâve been for nothing.
(What do I do...?)
What now? If the Demon King escaped this barrier, the human forces outsideâunprepared for a surprise attack from behindâwould suffer massive losses.
This was, after all, the very heart of the royal capital. Just beyond this room lay the inner city of the castle, where ordinary citizens lived within armâs reach. Nearby stood the palaces of nobles, royalty, and the administrative officers who kept the country running.
If those key figures were wiped out, and the unarmed populace was slaughtered en masse⌠the nation itself would collapse.
For her, that was an outcome she absolutely could not allow.
Think. Think. Thinkâââââ Even in this extreme situation, Mino forced her mind to its limits.
"...Alright. Then how about this."
And finally, the conclusion reached by the female tactician was this:
"Iâll tell you how to escape this barrier. Just let me treat Mello first..."
She chose to willingly reveal the escape method to the Demon King.
The worst-case scenario was letting the Demon King escape after brutally killing both of them. That would leave the nationâs chain of command shattered, its main fighting force crippled, and humanity forced to face the Demon King under the worst possible conditions. That alone had to be avoided.
Right now, Mello was someone with a real chance of defeating the Demon King. And if someone on Rexâs level joined the fight as backup, their odds would be solid.
As long as Mello survived, there was still hope. Fratche had been deployed to the fortress, but Rex was still outside.
"Iâll let you out of here, Demon King."
Now that she knew the Demon King could break out on his own, there was little point in trying to contain him. The smarter choice was to prioritize Melloâs survival and negotiate. That was the conclusion Mino had reached.
"I donât trust you, Mino. Who would? You liar. Even if I wait till you treat him, youâll just keep your mouth shut, wonât you?"
"Iâm not lying. Iâll really tell you."
"Oh yeah? Then say it first. If youâre telling the truthâIâll let you heal him."
I have to save him. I have to give Mello every possible chance to kill the Demon King.
Mino didnât know how to break the barrier. But with her knowledge of magic, she could guess.
(If they amplified the spell with the patterns engraved into the throne and then covered the floor's magic circle with that carpet...)
Recalling the basic structure of barrier magic, she used her innate calculation ability to work backward from the shape of the crack in the barrier, slowly deducing the âorigin pointâ of the spell. She pinpointed where the elite court mages under her command would likely have drawn the core formation.
"There. Four meters in front of the throneâpunch straight down into the ground, with everything youâve got. Demon King, I mean all of your strength."
"...Huh?"
"That spot is the weak point in the barrier."
And the conclusion Mino reached⌠was undeniably correct.
Thud.
A single strike warps the world. The moment his fist hits the throne room floor, the barrier crumples like paper.
"Oh. Itâs really working."
"Thatâs enough. The worldâs phase has already been restored. Now, just punch any part of the barrierâwith your strength, you should be able to break it."
"Got it."
ââââAn explosion echoes through the throne room.
When Mino informs him, the Demon King rejoicesâshattering the supposedly indestructible spatial barrier with a single clenched fist.
And just like that, her once-in-a-lifetime stratagem crumbles to nothing.
"Well then, why donât you go ahead and ambush us from behind as planned? Iâll take my time healing him here."
"...Right."
But Mello was saved. That alone means heâll live.
Itâs a shame the damage will be severe, but at least theyâve managed to preserve the forces capable of defeating the Demon Kingâ
ââââNo, wait.
What did Mino just do?
"...Hmm, what should I do?"
The Demon King steps in front of Mino as she tries to rush to Melloâs side, feigning hesitation. Of courseâthereâs no reason for the Demon King to keep any promise to Mino.
What in the world has she just done?
"...Nah, Iâll just kill you all here."
"Ahâ"
That was the most natural conclusion.
Exhaustion, delirium, too little time to react to an unforeseen situationâtruly, the worst possible conditions for Mino.
But this was unacceptable. This was the one thing she should never have done.
(Why did I tell the Demon King how to escape?)
It was utterly meaningless. All it did was hasten his escape.
Right now, the remnants of the Demon Kingâs army swarm outside the castle. If the Demon King ambushes them from behind in this state, the kingdomâs forces will be caught in a pincer and thrown into chaos.
Thatâs why buying even a little more timeâuntil the Demon King appearsâwas crucial. Mello and Mino were supposed to stall for time at the cost of their lives, creating enough delay to prevent the pincer attack.
And yetâwhat in the world has Mino done?
"DONâT YOU DARE LAY A HAND ON MINO!!"
The half-dead swordsman crawls toward her, but the Demon King pays him no mind, raising his fist toward Mino.
"Healers die first. Thatâs how it goes, right?"
"Stop it, STOP!!"
In the end, the Demon Kingâwho never had any intention of keeping his wordâkills her.
"Ah, I messed upââââ"
Minoâs eyes widen as she curses her own pathetic, disgraceful choice.
"...Fool. Imbecile. Weakling. Worthless. Pathetic!!"
She knows why. She knows exactly why she made such a stupid decision.
"Iâat the very last moment, Iâ!!"
Mino wasnât calm. Her emotions had boiled her brain. The driving force behind her actionsâher infatuationâhad sent her spiraling out of control.
Her vision had narrowed. She had scrambled for any excuse to prioritize saving the one she loved.
In the final moments of her life, she had abandoned her role as a strategist and reverted to nothing more than a foolish girl.
"Ah, ahhââââ"
Her conviction shattered. The pillar she had built her life uponâgone.
This was the result of yielding to emotion. Of letting her feelings for a man drive her to make a weak, childish choiceâonly to end up a grotesque lump of flesh before the one she loved.
In the end, she protected neither her people nor her beloved. She would go down in history as the worst strategist to ever live.
"Ah, ahh, aahh..."
She failed. Her entire life was a failure.
Noâmaybe, as someone once said, it wouldâve been better if she had never been born at all.
"I canât take it anymore. Someone..."
The Demon King raises his fist and roars.
He kicks off the ground, charging toward the disheveled, emaciated woman who can no longer even stand.
"Someone... save me."
Her life was already forfeit. She shouldnât have had any regrets left.
Yet she never imaginedâthat by her own hand, she would lose everything she had ever built.
"Someone... please save meââââ"
This was not a cry for her life to be spared.
It was the scream of a soul begging for salvationâthe scream of a girl who had failed to become Mino, the strategist who pursued the nation's interests.
It was a plea for someone to protect the precious things she was about to lose through her own mistakes.
"...Ah."
Yet she knew.
That no help would come. That this was simply the consequence of every choice she had ever made, now crashing down upon her.
.
.
ââââ"I'll save you."
What followed was a bizarre sight.
The monstrous golden fiend, mid-swing of his fistâ
ââââjust as it was about to strike Mino, suddenly launched himself straight upward, spinning wildly off-balance before crashing headfirst into the wall behind the throne and embedding himself in it.
"â!?"
The Demon King, abruptly slammed into the wall, blinked in shock as his eyes darted toward the intruder.
Someone had slipped between him and Mino without him noticing.
A slender frame, standing at least a head shorter than the weeping strategist slumped beside her.
A chipped and battered shortsword, wearing only the bare minimum of armor.
A girl with no notable muscle to speak of, glaring at the Demon King through piercing blue cat-like eyes.
She was one of the few in this kingdomâa hidden trump card capable of felling even the Demon King.
"Why... are youâ?"
"I told you, Mino."
Clack. With a deliberate step, the swordswoman nudged Mino with her foot, urging her to heal Mello. Standing between the Demon Kingâstill embedded in the wallâand the broken strategist, she leveled her blade at the bewildered fiend and spoke.
The wind swirling around her, the swordswoman turned her head slightly toward the sniveling girl behind her and said:
"My sword exists for the sake of those who cry before me."
"Now then," she smirked, flicking her blade toward the Demon King. "Shall we finish our last match, you pathetic demon?"
Flatche, the Divine Sword. The most skilled fencer in the kingdom.
One of humanity's strongestâa warrior capable of slaying even the Demon King.
Comments (2)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.