Finally finished.
The headless corpse, the sky clearing from darkness.
As I completely beheaded the Demon King, the space returned to normal.
“I did it.”
The armor that had covered my body disappeared, and the two swords that had merged into one clanked as they fell to the ground.
The Demon King’s transformation is finally over. I was about to lose Pina.
Even if I used the glitch, it was under limited conditions. I suppose I can only use this when fighting the Demon Kings from the Hero Church.
“Licht..?”
“Kai!!”
I heard the voices of familiar people behind me.
One voice buzzed. Another one rushed towards the blond-haired hero and hugged him.
“You idiot!! Why are you fighting alone again!!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But I couldn’t bear to see that Demon King get hurt.”
The hero and the mage finally reunited after defeating the Demon King. The two spoke with red-rimmed eyes.
Their embrace made my stomach churn, but I decided to leave it as is. The trauma that tormented them for so long couldn’t be healed in one go.
‘Since I’ve avenged my enemy.’
People must move forward with scars. A fact that Pina had taught me in my childhood.
As I thought this and looked beside me, Pina was slowly walking toward me.
Is she angry? Or is she worried?
The golden eyes behind the glass helmet widened, and her steps gradually quickened.
Tap, tap turned into thud, thud with growing intensity.
The sight of a heavily armored glass knight rushing toward me would scare someone who didn’t know her.
But I knew her identity.
“Mardol, I took care of it.”
I cheerfully greeted her. As a result, her rushing steps suddenly stopped, and Pina Grancia pointed a finger at my head.
“L-Licht.. your ears.. no.. your tail too?”
“Huh? What are you suddenly talking about?”
Seeing her suddenly flustered, I adjusted the top of my helmet, and something fluffy caught in my hand.
And then, a gigantic fluffy object tapped my back repeatedly.
“Helmet! You now have dog ears and a tail?”
“Hahaha! What’s going on with you, Licht?”
The hero couple next to us began to notice the oddity and laughed as they looked at me. Kainel, who looked like he was about to burst with laughter, was clutching his sides.
Atop my helmet were wolf ears that looked like they were made of cotton.
“Licht. You’ve really become a wolf.”
“Don’t touch me! I feel dazed…”
Pina came closer, fiddling with my ears and tail multiple times, sufficiently amused.
The golden eyes behind the glass helmet grew wide before forming gentle arcs.
Cherishing bonds covered in conviction.
Was it the karma of the Holy Sword that Pina had given me, turning it into my Mind Sword?
If not, was it the price of merging the two swords into one?
So that’s why Emperor Rock said I had wolf ears and a tail in my soul.
Every time she touched my ears and tail, I shivered with ticklishness. How long did that last?
“Oh, it’s gone. It was so cute.”
Before I knew it, the ears and tail had vanished from my head and back. Pina suddenly lowered her head. The white wolf ears and tail inside the armor were evident even without seeing them.
It seems they vanish naturally after using the Mind Sword. I could’ve kept them like this.
“…”
Just then, I let out a short sigh, and a pink status window appeared before me.
[Kainel♡Ariel 75% ‘NEW!’]
The number 75% and hearts spilling over and dropping to the ground.
The text that approached me brought a harsh reminder of reality.
Why wasn’t it 100%?
Naturally, my hand rested on the chin of the helmet.
Kainel’s ultimate move hadn’t been completed yet, so was that why it wasn’t 100%?
‘…From what I remember.’
At the nearly end of [Night Heart], those two confessed their affections for each other.
And Kainel and Ariel were able to use their ultimate moves.
“Ariel, handling the Cyclops was impressive. Your talent for burning my hair when we were kids definitely didn’t fade.”
“What?! Is this for real? Kai, are you joking right now?!!”
Even after nearly dying, they were still joking while worrying about each other. In a way, they really are destined for each other.
The clueless hero and the shy mage spoke openly about their feelings now without hiding anything.
“Now that we’re on the topic… if it weren’t for you, Kai, I would’ve been terrified of using fire magic.”
“What? That was just an accident! Everyone makes mistakes at least once.”
They reminisced about a story from their childhood.
A cherished memory only childhood friends could understand, one that no one else could intrude upon.
When the girl, who had more magical power than others, accidentally burned the boy’s hair, Kainel just laughed it off at the time.
“No, still… the reason I could take down that Demon King today is…”
The red-haired girl hugged the blond boy tightly, whispering something to Kainel, shedding her title as the infamous Flame Mage.
“You were the biggest reason, Kainel.”
Since it was quite an effective attack, Kainel’s ears turned bright red. The rare sight made my lips slightly raise.
[Lee Soo-hyun♡Pina Grancia 39% ‘NEW!!’]
My affection level with Pina increased. I had no idea when that happened.
I thought that would be the end of the status window’s messages and was about to look away when—
[Warning.]
The pink status window that had shown my affection level until just now was replaced by the same red status window I saw before.
[Penalty for Grand Route Failure will be revealed.]
The wavy, ominous writing that looked as if it was written with fatigue started to unravel.
[Failure: Demon Transformation]
A bitter taste flooded my mouth, and my entire body felt as though the screws had come loose.
Was this what the creator had been warning me about continuously?
The existence of the Demon God wasn’t even in the lorebook.
At best, it was the name of the war waged before the Demon Kings from the Hero Church fell into corruption. It wouldn’t end until the Ten Heroes appeared.
Clenching my teeth against the countless remaining hardships.
I had just barely tackled the second Demon King. How much longer would I need to struggle to catch the ultimate boss, Magic Hat?
‘…Demon God.’
The image of black-haired Pina Grancia from my dreams lingered in my mind. The sadness in her eyes when looking at me, and the red-ringed eyelids. A fragrance of roses so thick it took my breath away.
Would I turn into a Demon God, or would Pina?
“Licht.. you’re sweating cold. Are you okay?”
Pina placed her hand on my forehead and then took it away. She seemed to be checking if I had a fever. I couldn’t hide the fear creeping through me.
“I’m fine.”
I forced my helmet’s facial part down to hide my expression. Pina’s hand, which exhaled a short sigh, receded without making contact.
How should I overcome this? How on earth…
Even if I tell her I’m becoming a Demon God, ultimately, it wouldn’t remove the root cause. It would probably have something to do with the Demon Kings from the Hero Church.
If it’s prophesied that Pina defeats the Demon God and the Hero Church aims to suppress her, that makes sense.
Confirming the kill. After stripping away all her powers and turning her into the Nameless Saintess, they could eliminate her without leaving behind any traces.
“….”
At that moment, something flashed in my mind. The blood-stained memo I saw in the Library of Truth.
“Pina, how long will it take to get to Pantos Shrine from here?”
I grabbed Pina by both shoulders and spoke. If she’s the Conviction’s Hero and needs to awaken, there couldn’t be a better place than this.
God of Emotion. The sand spirit, Pantoze. There must be answers in the shrine where emotions weave into a labyrinth.
*
Time passed, and we found ourselves back in Calisium Valley, where we originally were.
The rocky ground felt beneath my toes. The surroundings were in disarray from the water that had flooded in and then receded.
Off in the distance, I could see Kuer lying split in half.
He must have been sacrificed while trying to stop Finn and Intinium.
Glurgh.
With a heavy heart, I approached Kuer, who was barely managing to breathe while handing me a branch. Did he know I was the Hero of Conviction?
Or perhaps he desired revenge. As I took the branch that resembled a keepsake, I attempted to cast healing magic on him.
“I’ve already surpassed my limits. Licht…”
Pina shook her head as she looked at me. It meant healing magic was impossible because he was effectively already dead.
I bit down on my lower lip. In the meantime, the professors discovered us, raising their voices.
“Licht-kun..?”
“Kainel, Ariel students! Where have you been?”
It seemed everyone had been worried about us.
Looking up at the blue sky, the sun was out. The battle dragged on so long that morning had arrived.
The professors rushed over to check for any injuries and began to barrage us with questions about what had happened.
“Can you spare a moment, Professor Dennis?”
I called out specifically to Dennis and moved aside.
After confirming the soundproofing magic, I shared the previous events away from the academy students.
“..It truly was the work of the Hero Church. The rain was also a part of their scheme.”
“Yes, that is correct, Professor Dennis.”
With Kuer dead, an unsettling emotion surged within me. I felt it was too dangerous to say everything that happened there.
“I was barely able to cast the 3D Magic Circles to protect the students, but…”
Dennis tilted his head.
He seemed to notice something strange, as he examined the students who traveled to the valley.
“How did the Hero Church know we were heading to Calisium Valley?”
His hands paused as he scanned the names written on the parchment floating in the air.
“There’s a spy within. One name has disappeared from the list of instructors.”
“….”
The empty spot for Drake’s instructor should have been Blanc. I had wondered where this creepy woman had gone.
“..Magic Hat?”
“It seems that way, Licht-kun.”
She had concealed her appearance and revealed our location. With the power of lies erasing her name from records, only I could remember Blanc’s existence.
“Let’s switch the train, Professor Dennis.”
“..Where to? Back to the academy?”
If I were to teleport with Dennis’s power, we might be followed like the last time. But it would be slow if we used a carriage.
I thought further until I glanced at the train in front of me. It was the transportation prepared especially for us by the Emperor.
No matter how far the shrine is, I can—
“No, head towards Pantos Shrine, please.”
If it’s a magically powered train, we should be able to arrive before the Hero Church.
