Once upon a time, there was a period when I crazily hunted down demons.
It all began when I heard the news that my family was murdered by the Demon King’s army.
With nothing left, the young Sertia wandered aimlessly.
What’s the use of being a prodigy from the Academy? Graduating as the top student with unprecedented grades?
She had already lost her place to return to.
Sertia’s old hometown was a small village near the magic realm.
She went to the Empire for learning, but when she graduated and returned, the village had burned to the ground.
Driven by a thirst for revenge, she set off on a journey. A path solely to kill demons.
She had talent. Literally, she had awakened her abilities as if she was born to slay demons.
She killed demons and hunted monsters. Like a madwoman, she endlessly repeated the same actions.
It seemed this would continue until every demon on the continent was exterminated. As she killed demons, she collected the Empire’s bounty, converting it all into potions to plunge back into war.
She hardly felt the limitations of her body back then.
Directionless in life, she sought the purpose of her existence.
The only thing she knew how to do was kill demons, so that’s what she did.
Otherwise, it felt like her very existence was being denied.
About two years passed, I suppose.
That was when Sertia beheaded a commander of the Demon King’s army all alone.
Someone came to find her. A man with black hair and a gigantic sword.
“What is it? Did you come to laugh at my life drenched in blood?”
After graduating from the Academy, no human had sought her out, so she became wary of him.
The man claimed to be a hero and proposed that Sertia join him as a companion for his journey.
He said he could end this tragedy. So, wouldn’t she help him?
He could decapitate the Demon King and bring peace to the continent, he said.
“…”
At first, she thought it was a ridiculous notion. Did he genuinely believe he could kill a being that had reigned over the magic realm for over a thousand years?
It was madness and a one-way ticket to death.
But there was certainty in his expression. It was as if he had no doubts about the path he was walking.
He dreamed of the impossible. His steps towards that goal oddly didn’t seem so bad at the time.
“Alright. I don’t know how far I’ll go.”
Her life was no longer that important to her.
She thought it was fine to follow him and kill demons, even if it meant dying. If she was going to die, she thought it was better to die on the battlefield.
She was only grouping her regular demon hunts with someone else.
With the Saint joining the party, the team had three members. Two people started following her on a journey that began alone.
The three could kill far more demons than she could when alone. Sertia learned much by being next to Elion, the hero.
From how to overcome sorrow to how to live anew in this harsh world.
She learned that killing demons wasn’t everything. Protecting something had more value than just exterminating evil beings.
She thought she’d lost everything, but now she had something to protect. She gained new companions after losing her family.
Just that was enough for Sertia to think life was worth living a little longer.
At least until she faced the final battle that would decide the future of humanity.
The hero party fell along with the Demon King. Elion died in the last battle.
Not long after, Karen also perished.
The Demon King, who stole away her first family, took her second family as well.
The purpose she had found in life and the precious connections that supported her all disappeared from that day onward.
Thus, for Sertia, the Demon King was the root of all her tragedies.
He had killed her family, slain the hero, cursed Karen, and now he was eating away at her with a curse.
Demon King Echidna.
How long would he continue to take away from her?
How long would she continue to be taken from?
“If only you didn’t exist.”
At least, it wouldn’t have been this miserable.
Sertia raised her head to see the Demon King’s avatar.
She saw the form of the Demon King, split into hundreds of pieces, now returning in a new shape.
She thought her tears had long since dried up, but a single drop rolled down her cheek.
Sertia drew forth vast mana and ignited countless spells.
“…If only you had not existed.”
Surely, her new name was Iria.
She claimed to hold no ill feelings, but in reality, she hated him.
Perhaps she would bring forth a similar tragedy to a new Demon King.
And Sertia said.
“Back Alley Monster Iria.”
She grasped the spell that once pierced the heart of the Demon King.
“I’m stronger than you.”
The surrounding terrain crumbled under the weight of her immense power.
Her library, as grand as the Empire’s tower, began to collapse.
*
The ground shattered, and the terrain was carved away.
A battle of monsters transcending human levels occurred.
The earth melted under the soaring flames, and where the Red Sword passed, a clean slice was left behind.
As the library collapsed, Iria was catapulted out, gripping her sword with a blood-soaked body.
She had never felt this overwhelmed even after exhausting all her magical energy.
Broken bones ached her body.
Half of her body burned away, and it was hard to even speak now.
Is this what the sorceress, feared by the Demon King’s remnants, was like?
Before Iria stood Sertia, still clad in blood-like her.
Her cold gaze, sharp and menacing, had not changed.
“…”
“…”
Iria wiped the blood from her face, and Sertia prepared to cast a spell once more.
The two monsters continued their battle for a long time without resolution.
“Didn’t you say you had no ill feelings?”
“…I don’t.”
“Sounds like you do.”
“…”
Had she unconsciously revealed her feelings? Sertia stepped back.
She locked eyes with Iria.
‘Why?’
To Sertia, Iria seemed incredibly fascinating.
Her skin tore, and bones shattered. She was clearly bleeding and had likely aimed for her vital points.
Yet, why was she not dead?
She had faced monsters with exceptional regenerative abilities before.
But the monster before her was fundamentally different from the others she had encountered.
‘It’s not that it has incredible regeneration…’
Perhaps it was because it had no weaknesses at all.
By the measure of damage, Sertia had fared better. Overall, she had the upper hand during the blood-soaked battle.
However, it was dangerous.
Her vision turned red.
As she released the mana within her body, she could no longer suppress the spreading curse.
She began to fall apart in real-time. She was fighting with a body that shouldn’t even be fighting.
At this rate, it would be Sertia, not Iria, who would die.
Even if she hadn’t fought this battle, she was doomed to die soon anyway.
But in her current state, she couldn’t possibly kill the monster in front of her. The effects of her spells weakened as time passed.
The curse constricting her body made even standing difficult now.
Ultimately, the sorceress forgotten by history knelt in her final battlefield. And before her stood Iria.
“I won.”
“…”
“Not always does the strong win. It’s said that it’s not the strong who survive, but the survivors who are strong.”
The Red Sword aimed at her. The sword that had cleaved the earth in one stroke, now turned towards a person.
There was no thought of mercy. Regardless of any reasoning, she was a person who was going to die anyway.
Even without Iria swinging her sword, she should be dead by tomorrow. Ultimately, the terminally ill sorceress had merely shown her last resistance.
“Why do you want to…”
“Why do I only take from you?”
Iria asked, finally breaking through Sertia’s mental defenses. It was a response born from reading her thoughts.
For someone on borrowed time, even a fleeting moment was precious, making this something of a consideration.
The gazes of the two beings intertwined.
“Let me repeat, I’m not the existence you think I am. I’ve just fallen too, you know. You’re not the only one who’s pitiful.”
“…”
“Though it’s unfortunate, I’m not in a position to pity anyone either.”
After that, a long silence ensued.
Sertia had her head bowed, but even without seeing her face, it was clear she was deep in thought.
While she contemplated, the curse enveloped Sertia’s body. The rationality maintaining her state began to fade.
Had the former Saint Karen also transformed like this? Accepting the magic within her and slowly losing her mind like sinking into the depths of the sea.
Sertia lifted her head one last time. She looked at Iria’s face. Iria gazed down at her with an impassive expression.
Brilliantly shining red irises.
The eyes of a monster that indicated she was not human.
Now, she realized she too had the same eyes. Only on the brink of death could Sertia completely abandon her humanity and become a monster.
Only monsters could understand monsters. She realized she wasn’t the only one cursed.
Perhaps Iria’s curse was harsher than her own.
“…I suppose I’ve won.”
If so, then it was not Iria who won but herself.
“You, unlike me, are still not free.”
Sertia finally let go of all her burdens and closed her eyes.
And Iria, however, was not so free.
Iria was cursed before Sertia and had become a monster.
The life of a monster was full of torment rather than death, so Iria had not truly emerged victorious in any battle.
Hearing these words, Iria chewed her lip. She couldn’t entirely deny the words of Sertia, who stood on the brink of death.
“…What will you do then?”
Sertia asked.
“You need to decide quickly. If you don’t kill me here, you might go on a rampage like you did before. If that happened, the one who dies won’t be me but you. Perhaps the resurrected Demon King will be me.”
“…”
“In the end, one of us must inevitably die. It’s up to you to choose who will be the true meaning of liberation.”
Whether to kill Sertia or allow her to live and die herself.
The choice belonged to Iria. There was no escape from the selection. She had to choose one of the two.
This time, Iria was deeply contemplative. As someone who had lived as a monster for so long, it was hard for her to remain unshaken by such words.
“…”
But ultimately, she resolved herself.
She knew that even if Sertia became a monster, she wouldn’t die.
Sertia couldn’t kill Iria either. Only starlight could bring about her death. This was a realization taken from her battle with Sertia.
After making her choice, Iria plunged the Red Sword straight into Sertia’s heart.
Thud, with a sound, crimson blood splattered everywhere.
Before long, Sertia took her last breath. The forgotten sorceress was killed by a monster.
“…Are you happy to have won?”
Iria had yet to break free from her nightmare.
She was still very much alive.
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