With a loud thud, the ground shook as I dashed forward, the scenery rushing past me like a blur.
As I ran, flames scattered behind me, painting a part of the Rocky Mountain in red.
Spreading flames around me while running was my method to uncover Beatrice, who had cloaked herself from sight.
Even if she was invisible, if I covered a certain area with flames, I should be able to locate her hiding place.
However,
“Hehe, it’s been 10 minutes~.”
It took me only 10 minutes to realize that this wasn’t a great method.
Curiosity drew my gaze upwards; towering high above was the Rocky Mountain.
I hadn’t even made it beyond the foothills as I was searching meticulously for Beatrice, who could be hiding anywhere.
In other words, out of Beatrice’s designated 30-minute limit, I had used a third of it, yet the area I still needed to examine was several times larger than what I had covered.
“Ugh…”
At least it was clear that my current method made a thorough search of the Rocky Mountain impossible.
“Since we’re going to fight anyway, why the hell are we playing hide-and-seek, damn it…!”
Even as I complained about the absurdity of this game, I couldn’t stop my legs from moving.
Even if I succeeded in defeating Beatrice, it would be pointless if she didn’t reveal the location of the Sacred Remnants.
From what I’d seen, Beatrice wouldn’t spill the beans on their location, even if I captured and tortured her.
In short, I had to find Beatrice’s hiding place within the time limit.
The problem was that the time I had left was ridiculously short compared to the area I needed to cover.
To find Beatrice on time, I had to brainstorm for solutions as quickly as possible.
“Think… of a good method…”
I tried wracking my brain, but no special solutions came to mind.
If it had been possible, I wouldn’t be worrying like this.
Ultimately, all I could do was push myself harder to spread the flames as broadly as possible.
“Where are you… Where could you possibly be…”
I gnawed my lip as I tried to scatter the flames as wide as I could.
But even with the wide spread of flames, there was still no sign of Beatrice.
I couldn’t help but feel anxious.
“[15 minutes, half gone~. If you don’t hurry, it’ll be a loss for Eva!]”
“I know, damn it…!”
Beatrice’s voice echoed mockingly at regular intervals.
15 minutes had passed, and with only 15 minutes left on my clock, time felt like it was tightening around my heart.
With every beat of my heart, the stress mounted; I realized that there were still many areas untouched by my flames.
Thoughts of ‘This is impossible’ kept rising in my mind.
Yet, every time such thoughts tried to anchor my legs,
-■■■■■■■■■■!!
I opened my ears to the deafening roar of the Giant Demonic Beast in the distance.
It was the sound that told me Yoon Si-woo was still fighting.
A reminder that he was facing an immense challenge head-on.
With Yoon Si-woo risking his life in battle,
“…How could I ever give up?”
Every time I had a pessimistic thought, I drew strength from that roar.
Yoon Si-woo would definitely win and make his way back here.
So I believed in Yoon Si-woo and kept doing what I had to do.
With that thought in my mind, I kept searching the Rocky Mountain without pause.
But a strong will alone didn’t solve everything.
“[5 minutes remaining~.]”
“…”
Just 5 minutes left.
And I hadn’t even made it halfway up the mountain.
Given how many areas remained unexplored, hoping to find Beatrice’s hiding place in this time was akin to wishing for a miracle.
I gazed momentarily at the vast Rocky Mountain and then halted my running, lowering my head.
“[I was hoping, but I see you can’t find me. Huh, you’re Eva, but not really Eva.]”
Seeing me stop as if I had given up, Beatrice slurred those words, signaling that she thought it was impossible for me to find her.
“[Well then, give it your all for the remaining 5 minutes. After that, I’ll finish it off.]”
With an indifferent tone, Beatrice declared the end for me.
Hearing those words,
“…I see.”
Muttering in acknowledgment, I lifted my head and began running again.
I stopped scattering flames and concentrated all my energy toward one point.
It felt almost as if I had received a revelation, drawn toward a certain direction.
I charged madly towards that point.
How long did I run like this?
“Hah… huh…”
Out of breath after that wild dash, I arrived at the mountain’s summit.
At this dizzying height was a small basin.
Standing alone, I gazed at the empty center of the basin and spoke.
“…Is this it?”
With conviction.
“She’s hiding here, isn’t she?”
My voice echoed into the void.
The sound reverberated, leaving a small echo before fading away.
No response came, but I was certain.
I scattered flames into the empty center of the basin,
And watched as my flames flickered and disappeared, revealing a figure.
With a smile, I murmured, “…Found you, Beatrice.”
Beatrice, having revealed herself, stared at me for a moment.
Her gaze was nonchalant as usual, but upon closer inspection, I could see faint emotions flickering in her eyes.
Tilting her head in curiosity, she asked, “[…How did you find me? I thought I concealed my presence perfectly.]”
I replied to her question.
“…I didn’t find you that way. It was obvious when I thought about it.”
It truly was obvious.
“Beatrice, if you wanted to kill me before, you could have easily done it. Yet you chose to play hide-and-seek and lured me here. You showed me that you were here on purpose.”
It was ridiculous that I had only just realized such an obvious fact.
“But then, suddenly you use abilities to conceal yourself from being found? Would someone like you really want an absurd outcome of me not finding you?”
There was no way that could be true.
“No, you must have wanted me to find you from the very beginning.”
Ultimately, Beatrice had wanted me to discover her.
For someone capable of hiding perfectly if she wanted to, that was likely the more entertaining option.
“And if you were hiding on this Rocky Mountain, it would be obvious.”
The most noticeable and detectable spot on this mountain was, without a doubt,
“Right here, at the summit. The place that stands out the most and has the highest chance of being found. Isn’t that right, Beatrice?”
When I asked, Beatrice seemed to fidget slightly, her demeanor wavering.
“Wanted to be found…? Me? I wasn’t like that before…”
“Did you think I’d get disappointed since I couldn’t find you, and now you’re saying ‘I’m done with this?’ I realized that too, didn’t I? Or was it some subconscious thing?”
Seeing her act as if she had never done such a thing baffled me.
Beatrice paused for a moment, then muttered.
“Hehe, maybe that’s true…”
Beatrice responded with some inexplicable reaction, glancing at me before saying,
“…Anyway, congratulations on finding me. But you should know that finding isn’t everything.”
As she spoke, the atmosphere shifted again; Beatrice began to emanate her hidden power.
It was like she was saying that to get what you want, you’d have to defeat her, and I shouted, unleashing flames from my body.
“Even without you saying that… I know─!!”
With a thunderous boom, flames exploded where Beatrice had stood.
This was flames fiercer than usual.
And why wouldn’t it be?
After all, Beatrice was the one who unleashed demonic beasts in the gym, putting my friends in danger and causing me to lose my arm.
That wasn’t even the end of it.
She was also responsible for bringing the cocoon with demonic beasts into the city, leading to the loss of many lives.
Not only was she a threat to everyone’s lives beyond just the Sacred Remnants,
But she was also the enemy that left vivid memories of Evangeline, etched in my mind as if I had experienced it myself.
In short, she was someone I absolutely could not forgive.
Yet no matter how passionately I shot my flames at her,
“Hehe, it’s useless, Eva.”
Even if I attacked with all my might,
“Your attacks won’t work on me.”
My flames barely left a scratch on Beatrice’s body.
It was an overwhelming gap in power and ability.
Like an invulnerable demon king.
I wondered how I must look in Beatrice’s eyes.
Would I be seen like a tiny ant charging at her?
Or perhaps even less than that.
At least an ant could sting and inflict pain.
I desperately spat flame after flame towards Beatrice.
Yet, even the massive pillar of fire that could engulf the entire basin was meaningless to her.
“I’ll give you credit for finding me.”
From within the fire pillar, her voice came forth.
“No matter how much you flail about, this is as far as it goes.”
When I looked at her with a bored expression, she stepped out of the fire pillar with a nonchalant face.
“You can’t defeat me. It’s only natural, you see. It’s just the way the world is.”
With a peculiar expression, she gazed at me, slowly extending her hand and saying,
“So let’s end this here.”
With those words, her hand—capable of erasing everything it touched—crept closer to me.
Yet in that paralyzing moment,
“…You’re smiling?”
I laughed.
Thinking I’d gone mad, Beatrice frowned and muttered.
But my laughter wasn’t born from fear.
“Hey, Beatrice. You seem to have been too distracted by me to notice.”
So I spoke to reveal that to the oblivious Beatrice.
“Don’t you get it?”
I pointed my fingers at my ears.
“It’s been quiet for a while now.”
And it seemed Beatrice didn’t understand what I meant, tilting her head before slowly hardening her expression.
She must have realized by now.
“…Bea.”
The sound of the demonic beasts roaring just a while ago had vanished at some point.
My earlier efforts to unleash fire must have had a purpose.
That towering pillar of flames would have been visible from afar.
-■■■■■■■■■■!!
From below the mountain, a fireball soared upward, flapping its wings.
I locked eyes with the person atop it and called out to Beatrice.
“And in the first place.”
At that moment, a meteor tainted with darkness suddenly fell from the fiery projectile.
Directly above Beatrice, who stood before me.
The boy’s sword encompassed everything and crashed against the girl’s shield that rejected everything.
I spoke to the astonished Beatrice, her eyes wide open in shock.
“Your opponent isn’t me.”
After all, a demon king’s opponent was always a hero.
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