Charles crossed the holy sword she wielded and swung it down heavily.
Jinzou counterattacked with the body of the Demon King. Bang! A shockwave erupted from his fierce punch.
Each time he did, Pal’s joints rang as muscle fibers tore, and the skin on his palm was scraped off from the friction heat, but he couldn’t let go of the holy sword.
Every time he realized that the moving body wasn’t him but that this sword was his true self, he felt chills.
Not that it was precious, though.
No matter how many times it broke, he would just wake up elsewhere still holding it. It was no different from a hateful prison.
Jinzou. He had faced that guy countless times. Fighting against three secret bodies at once was a first. It felt a little overwhelming.
Riche’s body still hadn’t fully grown, and more importantly, his eyes were dull. The weak eye muscles made his reaction speed sluggish, which was quite inconvenient in battle.
‘For now, I have to fight.’
Still, it was different than last time when he swung the sword at the demon race the moment he saw them, like Pavlov’s dog.
There was a reason.
He was fighting alongside Lars, after all.
This time, he had also returned with him. The past had already changed a long time ago.
Maybe this time, they could really defeat the Demon King without the world ending.
Seeing Lars and Acella happily bickering on the first floor of the clock tower made him think so.
‘…Seriously.’
How did Lars get involved with that wicked woman? It seemed to be a cruel fate.
He had witnessed Lars dying because of Acella dozens of times now.
It wasn’t just him always witnessing the world’s end; there had been times with Riche as well, so in reality, it must have been many times more.
So, somehow, he wanted to stop it. It was clear Lars was going to die by Acella’s hand again.
More than anything.
‘I wanted Lars for myself.’
In the hero party, no. Including the first life where he barely remembered being Riche.
Despite searching high and low, there was no one he could truly call a friend besides that.
But.
‘So what does that matter?’
Lars was already on Acella’s side.
His betrothed and attending physician.
Whether he had awareness of it or was intentionally pretending not to, it was clear he liked Acella.
Charles didn’t want to be part of that at all.
‘Let’s say I stole Lars away.’
It would be fortunate if a miracle happened; the Demon King was defeated, and the world didn’t end.
Even if they lived happily together enjoying luxuries and died old.
Then what comes next?
Wouldn’t he just come back here again?
‘That’s something I absolutely hate.’
At that moment, Charles knew he wouldn’t have the strength to endure.
He would be shattered and destroyed, mentally breaking into a million pieces.
He would likely stand there numbly until the demon race severed his head.
So now.
While he still had a little strength left to move.
‘I need to find a way to escape this prison.’
It had been a long time since Charles stopped chasing after any forced hope in front of him.
When it came to fighting, he would fight. Because he was a hero.
But if he had the opportunity. Even if it meant destroying the history of this timeline and bringing the world to ruin, if his journey could end.
He was ready to break the holy sword without hesitation.
He had actually broken it several times.
That was the reason why Charles was moving now.
‘Charles, the name.’
When was it? When Lars first gave him that alias, he was happy. The sound of it was pleasing.
But on the flip side, it also meant that he was no longer the hero Riche.
This Riche of this timeline… how should he say it?
Was it because it was the first time seeing his present self from a third-person perspective? It made him think a lot.
Ah, I used to be like that, he thought.
Seeing him call his sister “Sister” was cute.
He was naïve as a sucker, fulfilling not a single obligation while neglecting his own rights.
And yet his beliefs were firm. He raised his voice when he needed to stand his ground.
When Riche defied Acella, Charles was sure of it.
That was distinctly a hero’s nature to rebel against villains.
Feeling a bit jealous, he let that poison seep out.
Though it was just a matter of teaching a few bad habits.
But he also taught her enough fighting skills, so wouldn’t that make him a good older brother?
…How did I end up like this?
‘By the way.’
This girl fell for Lars at first sight.
…Did I do that too?
It didn’t seem like it.
Of course, as an older sister, he thought it would be great if Riche ended up with Lars.
—Swoosh!!!
A torrential downpour fell from the sky.
It was magic conjured by Acella.
Watching Lars and Acella exchanging loving gazes, Charles thought it was already hopeless.
“Bat, this isn’t even a situation to talk about. If you hadn’t caught me here, you could have died a lot cooler.”
Slice!
Charles decapitated a Jinzou spear-wielder while speaking.
Fizzle and he vanished into ashes.
Jinzou, in the body of the Demon King, bitterly smiled.
“That’s true. Is there any greater sorrow than losing a human you thought you had in your grasp?”
“Hey, what does a demon know to talk back?”
Charles picked up speed. Water splashed all around as his steps quickened.
“I may be a demon, but I know humans well. Don’t you humans care about the quality of your prey?”
“Haha, that’s funny.”
“I once loved a human too.”
Charles frowned at Jinzou’s penetrating words.
“I revealed my true self to a human and offered her gifts. But I didn’t receive a good response.”
“So you killed her?”
“Of course not. I became curious. Why don’t humans understand demons? What thoughts do humans have, and what kind of reasoning do they use?”
Slice!
Jinzou’s fist grazed Charles’s forehead. Just barely, she managed to hold on to the holy sword, rolling back a full turn.
Jinzou brushed the dust off his face and said, “That’s why I made her into a child body. I entered her body with my spirit and tried to understand her.”
“Ugh, seriously.”
Charles made a gagging gesture and charged forward again.
Their exchange continued.
“Through long exploration, I learned much about humans.”
“Oh, really? I’ve observed demons for a long time too. Cruel and unfeeling.”
Charles scoffed. Having pierced his heart countless times, Jinzou’s words felt entirely hollow.
Yet he overlooked the fact that he had never experienced an exchange quite like this, nor had Riche ever exited purposefully when the holy sword resonated.
—Slice! The strike landed, delivering a deep blow to Jinzou’s arm. One of his arms was now useless. The body of the Demon King was as good as unarmed.
Charles grinned with victory, but Jinzou had the same expression.
“I see. That sword is your soul.”
“What?”
In that instant, Charles felt a chill.
Could it be that the sudden mention of love wasn’t just random words?
Perhaps Jinzou truly knew about humans well enough to understand her.
“Hero.”
He spoke with a charming smile that seemed to draw her in.
“It’s not a sin to be tired, is it?”
Words that muddled the mind.
Before she could grasp his true intention—
—Boom!!!
A massive explosion erupted beneath them, so immense it couldn’t be described in words.
Startled, Charles finally looked around. The knights that had surrounding them were now retreating in a hastily formed formation.
Lars and Acella were nowhere to be seen.
The source of the explosion was Jinzou’s body.
That very place, previously inaccessible due to defensive magic, was now collapsing into the underground.
“Hmm—”
Shock crossed Jinzou’s face as he realized he had been attacked. But it was already too late. The ground crumbled and he dropped below.
An unexpected strike. It had to be Lars.
“Ah.”
The explosion’s range was larger than he thought. The ground Charles stood on cracked and shattered in an instant.
Feeling the acceleration of his falling, he readied himself for landing.
*
“Evacuate, evacuate!!”
I dashed through the underground waterway and patted Tanya on the shoulder. The power of the dynamite was more than I had anticipated.
Rumble!
Debris and dust began to rain down from above, threatening to cover us. At this rate, the entire fountain plaza must have turned into a mess.
Once we reached the safe area and the tremors finally subsided, Tanya spoke.
“Wasn’t the plan to just knock down Jinzou’s body and ambush him?”
“I didn’t expect the bomb to be this powerful.”
“Considering it was made from my hair, it had to have this sort of power.”
Acella complained to me while rubbing the back of her head. Despite borrowing only a few strands, she scolded me for a while.
Then, she insisted on bringing the knights to that smelly sewer and personally directing them.
“I can’t believe such power came from that small stick.”
“The bomb materials are rare, and it would take months to prepare this amount…”
“Your knowledge of Alchemy is impressive as well.”
The knights from Moonlight Palace gasped at the ruins of the passage. I clicked my fingers.
“No time to dawdle. We need to find Jinzou before he escapes.”
“Right. Let’s take advantage of the chance while he’s separated from the sorcerer and end his life.”
Under Acella’s command, we began exploring the underground tunnel. Since using torches would be dangerous due to gas, we utilized light magic so the knights could quickly advance.
Crash!
Sounds echoed from the darkness. As we descended the steps, a wide-open chamber appeared.
A shiny white sword glimmered without a speck of dirt.
The figure wielding it was Charles.
“Haah!”
Her sword clashed with Jinzou’s claws. But there was something off about it.
She looked more fatigued than usual. She seemed like she could fall asleep at any moment.
―――――――――――
Target: Charles
Stress Stabilization ■■■■■■■□ Tension
Autonomic Nervous System Parasympathetic ■■■□□□□□ Sympathy
Blood / Health Health ■■■■■■■□ Fatigue
―――――――――――
Her condition was bad. Did she suffer a mental attack?
“Charles, tag out with Riche!”
Ignoring my words, Charles continued fighting.
Was it finally reaching her limit? Her arms noticeably slowed.
In an instant, Jinzou found an opening and struck with his claws.
“Ah…!”
It was an angle she couldn’t block unless she reversed her sword’s grip. But Charles couldn’t let go of the sword for even a moment.
Twisting her arm in desperation—
Slice!
She took a powerful blow and fell out awkwardly.
Clang!
The holy sword dropped to the ground.
The hero sprang to her feet, refocused. Her gaze had changed. It was Riche.
She quickly assessed the situation and tried to grab the holy sword again, but Jinzou kicked it into a corner, keeping it out of her reach.
There was no way to win without a weapon. After a hit, Riche stepped back.
“Tanya.”
“Yes.”
I pulled a sword from the waist of a knight beside me and handed it to her.
“Deliver this to the hero. You two hold him off for a moment.”
Tanya responded to my command, grabbed the two swords, and dashed forward. I dashed in the opposite direction.
To the holy sword, for Charles.
