In the midst of burning disasters.
Lily thrust the sacred sword forward, her purple aura glowing ominously.
“Ha… so unnecessarily strong.”
“I must say so myself, Hero. I can hardly believe you’ve reached this level at your young age.”
At the knight’s words, wrapped in black armor and a dark aura, Lily furrowed her brows.
She immediately kicked off the ground and dashed toward him, swinging her sword, but—
Ching-ching!!
With the sound of their blades clashing several times, she was forced to retreat into another stalemate.
“Tch.”
Seemingly annoyed by the continuously repeating situation, Lily clicked her tongue.
‘I may be transparent, but I can’t win.’
Every time their swords met, it was the knight who was pushed back.
If she were to judge solely by strength, she could say she was slightly superior.
Yet, she still couldn’t end the battle.
The knight’s stance was far too stable; no matter how much they exchanged blows, there seemed to be no opening to exploit.
‘Strong.’
As much as she hated to admit it… the demon race in front of her was powerful.
At least at the level of a teacher, perhaps even beyond that.
If it weren’t for the sacred sword and the power of the hero, she might have been the one being pushed back.
Time was running out.
It had already been several minutes since her sister disappeared.
With her sister out of sight, all kinds of ominous thoughts swirl in her mind.
She had to quickly finish this battle and go to her sister, but this demon wouldn’t give her that chance.
Of course, if she set her mind to it, she could end it quickly.
If she focused solely on attacking without worrying about defense, she could forcibly create an opening.
But doing so meant she’d have to fight with the mindset of sacrificing at least one of her arms.
Crack—
No way.
The moment she lost even one arm, she wouldn’t stand a chance against her opponent.
Athena, who had taken her sister away.
And if there were another powerful one trying to take her sister away, she had to protect her.
The power she had honed for this purpose.
Power she had polished to never lose her sister again.
“If only I could use the sacred sword properly…”
From the moment the sacred sword opened its heart to her, she had instinctively known.
She could only use half of the sacred sword’s power.
“The power of the goddess truly manifests when you have the heart to protect someone.”
Iris’s earlier words echoed in her mind.
She had said she could fully wield the sacred sword when she wished to protect someone.
But if that were true…
Why could she not yet utilize all of the sacred sword’s power?
Above all else, she wanted to protect her sister.
She wanted to always stay by her side, making sure she would not be captured by anyone else.
This feeling was her genuine desire.
“Why…?!”
Fueled by overwhelming emotion, she gripped her sword and charged at the knight.
This time she swung her sword at him faster and more skillfully.
“To put emotion on the line for a sword.”
Once again, the knight, who had been deflecting her attacks, suddenly spun around, aiming a kick at her side.
“Strong, but still young.”
Ultimately, she lost her rational judgment and had to brace herself to take the full impact of his kick.
“Ugh…!”
With tremendous shock, her body flew back and crashed into the ground.
The knight wouldn’t waste the opportunity; he swiftly closed the distance and prepared to bring his sword down on her.
“You’re still far from it, Hero… huh?”
However, before swinging his sword, he suddenly froze, then quickly retreated.
After pausing to concentrate on something, he put his sword away, seeming regretful.
“It seems something unexpected has occurred. Melrum, you heard that too, right?”
“Heh heh… Yeah. Seems I underestimated these kids.”
Before she knew it, the knight had completely regenerated; he vanished into thin air, slowly materializing around the dark knight.
“Retreat.”
Upon hearing the knight’s words, she immediately rushed toward him.
“Who gave you permission!”
“Let us hope for another chance, Hero.”
But just as her sword was about to reach him, Melrum placed a hand on his shoulder, and suddenly, both of their bodies turned into green powder and scattered into the air.
No matter how much she looked around, or how much mana she sensed, there was no trace of them.
It was clearly a missed opportunity.
“…Damn.”
Annoyed, she clicked her tongue.
Looking around, she spotted Iris, who was exhausted and Arielle, who was breathing heavily.
‘…I need to find my sister first.’
The knight clearly said it was a retreat.
So, could it be that the situation was in their favor now?
This wasn’t bad. No, perhaps it was a good thing.
Now she could go protect her sister without any hindrance.
Having finished her thoughts, she kicked off the ground without a second of hesitation, moving toward the direction her sister had gone.
“Stay safe, sister.
I’ll be there right now.”
*
“What are you still doing here?”
As Athena asked, the Demon King had a perplexed expression.
“Are you going to send me back? We have a chance to catch the Demon King here?”
Athena simply smiled at the Demon King’s question.
“Then everyone here would get caught up and perish, right?”
Saying this, she pulled me closer to her once again, dragging me into her embrace.
The Demon King stood still for a moment, a strange smile creeping onto her face as she looked at me.
“You seem to cherish that girl quite a lot.”
“It would be best if you lose interest in her. You don’t want to die at my hands.”
Athena’s aura suddenly turned deadly.
Yet, the Demon King only continued to smile in that deadly atmosphere.
“I’m sorry. I’ve developed a deep interest in that girl.”
“You…”
Ignoring Athena’s growls, the Demon King fixed her gaze on me and spoke.
“What do you think? About the proposal from earlier?”
“…Huh?”
As I looked at the Demon King from behind Athena, the blood-red energy swirling in her eyes sent a shiver down my spine.
“Become the puppet of the Lady. Given the situation, I’ll change the terms for you.”
The Demon King extended her hand toward me, continuing her speech.
“While you are the Lady’s puppet, she will not harm any living beings. That is, if you come to me, peace will be restored to the world.”
“Peace…?”
“Yes. A world where no one gets hurt.”
For a moment, I stared blankly at her words.
Peace for everyone. The very thing I had longed for.
A world where my loved ones could live only in joy.
The Demon King claims she could make that happen. And it would be so easy.
I knew it wasn’t bluster.
If the Demon King really controlled all the demon race, peace could indeed come.
All threats in this world stemmed from the demons.
The world I had always dreamed of.
Could such a world truly come?
If…
If I were to sacrifice myself, would everyone really—
“Ha.”
Guuk—
“Huah!?”
The sensation of someone pressing their fingers into my lower abdomen jolted my body, snapping me out of my thoughts.
Startled, I looked at the fingers resting on my stomach, seeing Athena glaring at me with a displeased expression.
“Hera, you’re not seriously considering that nonsense, are you?”
“Uh…uh?”
At my reaction, Athena sighed, then pinched my cheek painfully.
“Ow…!”
“You really… Ha.”
As I rubbed my sore cheek and looked at her in shock, Athena looked down at me with a disappointed expression.
“Hera, do you think that if you disappear, peace will come to this world?”
“Uh… yes?”
“I’m convinced that it will lead to a far greater catastrophe.”
…Huh?
In an instant, I couldn’t understand her words.
The Demon King declared she would cease her invasion, so where could the reason for catastrophe lie?
…Could it be that there are other threats I’m unaware of?
Suddenly filled with foreboding, I looked up at Athena and asked.
“Why…? Why? Is there something else?”
“……”
At my question, Athena stared at me with cold eyes for a long time. Eventually, seeming resigned, she closed her eyes and turned to the Demon King.
“It will never happen, so wake up.”
“…Hmm. Well, I suppose there are many chances.”
The Demon King looked at me, a hint of disappointment crossing her face as she raised her hand high.
Suddenly, the sky emitted a grotesque sound and split open, creating a massive rift, exuding an ominous atmosphere.
Immediately, all the demons who had scattered began to get sucked into that rift, including the Demon King, who was being lifted toward it.
If viewed in reverse, it looked like a giant invasion was about to occur.
However, thankfully, they were retreating, not invading.
As the Demon King rose high into the sky, she looked at me and spoke.
“You’d best brace yourself. The next time, I won’t show mercy.”
With those final words, the Demon King vanished in an instant, along with her countless minions.
The situation ended far too swiftly.
As I stared blankly at the sky, having witnessed a sight I had never seen before, Athena pulled me close to her.
“Hera, it’s been two years since we last met. Give me a kiss.”
“What…? Hey..!”
I looked at her with a confused expression, but Athena merely shrugged.
“If I hadn’t come, the academy would have been destroyed. Can’t you give me at least that much?”
“Uh…uh?”
“Come on, Hera. I’ll keep still.”
Having said that, she closed her eyes, seemingly waiting for something.
She wanted a kiss.
“Ah… no… Athena..! Hey…!!”
But no matter how much I called out to her, Athena held me tight, her eyes closed.
My face heated up with embarrassment.
This isn’t the time for this…
Though the threat had retreated, I needed to assess the situation.
I had to check if there were any monsters left… or if anyone was injured.
But Athena’s hold on my body rendered me unable to move at all.
“…Ugh… alright…!”
In the end, I gave in and leaned closer to her.
…It was a bit… no, extremely embarrassing.
But I thought of it as a gesture of gratitude toward Athena for saving me.
If she hadn’t shown up, I might have found myself right in the middle of the demon realm among the demon race.
Just the thought of it sent chills down my spine.
Given that she saved me… could I not at least give her a kiss?
With that thought, I gently wrapped my arms around Athena’s waist, lifting myself just enough to bring my lips to hers.
Ch kiss—
Our lips brushed lightly against each other.
It was nothing compared to the intense kiss we had shared before, yet it sent an even more ticklish sensation through my heart.
Just as I was about to slowly part her lips—
“Are you there, sister?”
The sudden voice from the side made my eyes widen in shock.
For some reason, a chilling sense of fear crept over me as I turned to see.
Lily, staring at me with an empty expression.
“What are you doing right now?”
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