Ah.
…..Thank goodness.
I’m really relieved.
“….Hera?”
Athena looks at me with a blank expression. She looks as if she’s dreaming, then closes her eyes and lets out a sigh.
“….It can’t be. Am I in the Underworld?”
Bzzt-
Her ridiculous words set my anger ablaze.
Smack-!
I slapped her other cheek, leaving my handprint on her flushed face. Athena, now holding her stingy cheek and looking at me, chuckles softly.
“……So I can feel pain, huh? That’s fascinating.”
“Hey!!! Enough already!!”
After I grabbed her collar and shook her around, her reality seemed to sink in as her expression began to scrunch up.
“……Hera?”
“Please, get a grip!!”
BOOM!!!
A massive sound echoed from behind us. When I turned my head toward the noise, I saw a swordsman flying at us with a fierce speed as if he were going to crash into the ground.
But just before the collision, he spun in the air and landed safely on his feet. The swordsman glanced at Athena briefly, then chuckled heartily as he readied his sword.
“Haha!! My friend! I’m glad you’re safe!”
Athena stared at him with a dazed look.
“…Carlos?”
“If you’ve come to your senses, hurry up. I doubt we can hold that monster off much longer.”
Is he actually the Demon King? His current condition clearly wasn’t good. There were small injuries all over his body, and his face was slick with sweat, looking exhausted.
“That rat… irritating me.”
From the direction of that gruff voice, the Demon King approached us slowly, clearly displeased. With each step she took, an overwhelming fear crushed the atmosphere around us.
“Quick but lacks substance…. Hmm?”
The Demon King paused to look at us….. no, to be specific, behind me where Alina and Sephir were, and then she grimaced.
“Sephir… why are you there?”
“Kyaaaaa?!!!!”
Sephir jumped like a frog at the Demon King’s murderous tone.
“M-ma-ma-ma… Mawangnim… it-it’s not what you think…”
Sephir’s eyes began to dart back and forth, unable to find clarity.
“Enough. Kill the traitor, and that’s that.”
As the Demon King took another step forward, Sephir hid behind me and screamed.
“Hiiiii!!! P-please let me live!!!”
She trembled like a quaking leaf, waving her hands, and suddenly a huge portal materialized behind us.
“Hera!! We need to… we have to run-!!”
“Run where?”
Just before Sephir could finish her words, the Demon King spread her enormous wings and charged at us.
But before she could reach us, the swordsman stood in our way.
He gripped his sword, closed his eyes for a moment to concentrate…
SWISH-!
He swung his sword through the air swiftly.
“It won’t work-… Hmm?”
Of course, nothing happened as he swung through empty space. The Demon King paused, looking baffled at him.
“Have you lost your mind? What a foolish act.”
When the Demon King chuckled, the swordsman quickly put his sword back into its sheath and laughed joyfully.
“Even the Demon King doesn’t realize it, huh? It seems my training wasn’t in vain.”
“…What do you mean-”
Slash-!
Numerous sword strikes that had undoubtedly cut through the void appeared instantaneously, slicing the Demon King.
She covered her face with her arms and absorbed all of his strikes.
“You… can manipulate space?”
“Get Athena out of here. I’ll catch up shortly.”
Saying that, the swordsman charged back at the Demon King.
“What?! But….!”
“Hurry up! I can’t hold out much longer!”
With that, the swordsman began to swing his sword again toward the Demon King.
While I wore a confused expression…
“Hera. Let’s go.”
Athena, who seemed to have healed somewhat, grabbed me and lifted me up.
“What?! But the swordsman…!”
“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”
Athena turned her gaze to Mari.
“Kiddo. When I give you the signal, unleash your light magic at the Demon King.”
Mari, looking unwilling, scrunched up her face but ultimately decided to comply.
“…..Alright.”
“Let’s go. Sephir, you go first.”
“Y-yes!! Should I come back quickly…?”
Sephir, still trembling, stumbled over her words. As she leaped into the portal, Athena kicked off the ground and dashed in after her.
“Do you think I’m just going to let you escape?!”
Avoiding the swordsman’s attack, she reached out her hand towards us. Then, black spikes, tinged with darkness, began to rain down.
“Now.”
Athena gave the signal.
“Got it.”
As Mari began to chant her spell, a massive beam of light shot towards the Demon King.
“Rukete.”
Athena opened her palm and muttered, gathering particles of light into the shape of a sword. Without hesitation, she dropped that sword toward the swordsman.
“Carlos! Grab the sword!”
BOOM-!!
As Mari’s and the Demon King’s magic collided, a gigantic shockwave expanded around us.
Amidst that, Athena’s sword raced forward.
“Ugh!”
As the swordsman caught the sword, his body briefly glowed and then vanished.
“I’m out of here.”
Confirming that the swordsman had disappeared, Athena stepped through the portal, and once Sephir verified we all made it through, she slammed the portal shut without hesitation.
As the portal slowly closed, only the Demon King’s fiery red eyes were left staring at me.
Clap-
…………
“What on earth was that place!!!”
Athena shouted at me with wide eyes.
“Do you even know how dangerous the Demon Realm is!!! What were you thinking, Hera!!”
As I stood there with a blank face, Athena glared at Mari.
“Mari, what were you doing? If Hera had gotten hurt, it would’ve all been your fault!”
“….”
Mari looked at Athena in disbelief.
“Act like the dragon you are and make wise judgments.”
I couldn’t take it any longer.
“That was me—”
“Shut up..!!”
I kicked her legs, causing Athena, who had offered no real resistance, to flop onto the ground.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I climbed on top of her to keep her down.
“You bastard…”
“….Hera.”
Athena looked up at me with a solemn expression.
“You selfish… spiteful girl…!”
I poured out all the pent-up feelings I had for her. Athena’s eyes began to shake intensely as I embraced her furious diatribe.
“You’re mad at me? Are you insane?! Why did you think it was okay to crawl into that place…!!”
“…Hera…”
“After you abandoned me like that, at least you should’ve been fine!! Do you think I’d be okay if you went and killed yourself?!!”
Athena, flustered, eventually squeezed her eyes shut and looked up at me with a sad expression.
“I didn’t abandon you. I did it for you—”
“Don’t give me that crap!!”
With my heart boiling, my eyes burned, and my voice began to tremble.
“You did it for me…? Don’t spout nonsense. Did you really think I’d be okay with you killing yourself?!”
“…..”
“If you’re really concerned about me… then instead of running away, you should’ve at least apologized to me.”
Her eyes shook violently at my words.
“Why is it that you can only think of yourself from beginning to end…?”
“…..You want me to apologize?”
Grind-
Athena, who had so much to say, glared at me with tears welling in her eyes.
“I wanted to apologize too! I wanted to plead and beg until you could accept it! But you were dying, and what was I supposed to do?!”
“…..”
“No matter how much I thought about it, the only way was to let you go. You resented me… to the point where you wanted me dead.”
…Yeah.
She wasn’t wrong.
As she said, I didn’t have the courage to accept her apology.
If Athena hadn’t let me go, our relationship probably would’ve headed toward its end ultimately.
But even so.
Even so, I couldn’t forgive her for trying to commit suicide like this.
Athena glanced at my silent face and continued.
“I also want to be close to you again. I want to love again. Again—”
“Athena.”
As I interrupted, she looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“We can never go back.”
“…..I know.”
At my words, her eyes trembled for a moment, and then they darkened.
Yeah.
Our relationship could never go back to how it was.
It had shattered into pieces that could not be put back together.
But it wouldn’t end like this.
Whether it was a fateful connection or whatever, I wouldn’t run away any longer.
Resolved, I firmly grasped her collar.
“Athena. I hate you for forcing me to part from those I love.”
“…..”
“I detest you for bringing me to this low point in my life.”
“…..I—”
With every word I spoke, her eyes tightened.
“I find you utterly loathsome for hurting me deeply and then trying to run away on your own.”
“….Yeah.”
Athena seemed to have succumbed, looking at me with despair in her eyes.
I gazed at her for a moment.
“I hate you. I resent you. Do you even realize how hard this has been for me?”
“I’m sorry. I’ll stay out of your sight—”
“I’ll take my revenge.”
“…What?”
Athena’s eyes went wide, clearly caught off guard by my unexpected words.
“I’m going to take my revenge. Everything you’ve done to me…! I’ll return it all.”
“…..What does that—”
“I’m going to return to you all the pain, all the feelings of self-hatred you’ve caused me.”
Yeah.
Our relationship could never turn back.
But at the same time, I could no longer run away.
So, I just had to keep this horrible bond alive.
“So please, Athena.”
“This time, be my slave.”
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