– Mom. I have something to say.
I stroll through the forest and run ahead.
The fierce wind that follows me brushes against my face.
“Alina… a bit faster..!!”
“Understood. Hold on tight, Miss.”
When Alina flicks the reins, the horse speeds up.
– Athena… I might die soon.
Thud-
Nervously, I grip Alina’s waist tighter.
Since hearing Mari’s words, we’ve been running non-stop.
‘No way.’
That can’t be true.
Athena can’t die.
But suddenly, her changed appearance and the way she let go of me without hesitation nagged at me.
Mari, who had transformed back into a dragon, was perched on my shoulder.
She rubbed her tiny face against my cheek as if telling me to calm down.
“Hah… Hah!! Can’t we slow down a bit..?”
Sephir, flying beside us, gasped for breath.
She was drenched in sweat and looked like she might collapse at any moment.
It wasn’t strange at all. We had been running for hours without a break.
“…..Sorry, Sephir. We’re almost there, so just hang on..!”
I looked ahead again.
Slowly, the outline of Athena’s mansion became visible in the distance.
I never imagined I would return so quickly, but I couldn’t ignore Mari’s words.
‘Just see her face… then leave again.’
It’s not like I wanted to be back here.
I just needed to resolve this lingering feeling and confirm that she was safe before leaving again.
“We’ve arrived, Miss.”
Before I knew it, we stood at the main gate of the mansion.
I hurriedly got off the horse and ran towards it.
But before I could step inside the gate, I encountered someone completely unexpected.
A large figure.
A man in a fluttering, Japanese-style kimono.
“…You are…?”
“It’s been a while, Soje.”
I couldn’t see his face clearly under the brim of his hat, but his bushy beard below and the mysterious aura he exuded already revealed his identity.
“…Swordsman..”
He glanced at Mari, who was perched on my shoulder, with wide eyes, as if astonished.
“….I can’t believe it. To have a dragon, known as a natural disaster, by your side. What on earth is your identity, Soje?”
“Why are you here?”
In response to my question, the swordsman sighed and took out a small piece of paper from his clothing.
“I received a message.”
As he handed me the paper, I saw a phrase that could barely be called writing.
– Don’t look for me.
“……”
“I came here because it was weighing on my mind, but it seems Athena is no longer here.”
The swordsman removed his hat and spoke.
“Soje, did something happen to her?”
He then seemed to be asking himself about it.
But the look in his eyes suggested that he already knew everything.
.
.
.
I told him about what had happened with Athena.
Of course, I didn’t share everything.
I didn’t want to speak about my experiences with Athena.
But I did mention that I couldn’t stay by her side anymore, the color of the spirit that Mari had seen from her, and what it might mean.
He was one of the few people close to Athena, so I felt it was necessary to share at least this much.
“I see.”
The swordsman smiled wryly.
‘This isn’t the time for that.’
The reason the swordsman was here didn’t matter.
What was making my heart race with fear was that Athena was no longer here.
Athena’s sudden change in demeanor, the color of the spirit Mari saw, the note she left for the swordsman.
All these things were making me anxious.
“Athena… do you know where she is?”
As I urgently asked him, he thought deeply for a moment, then sighed and replied.
“I have my suspicions. But…”
A glimmer of hope seemed to appear in his words.
“Where is that?!”
He hesitated for a moment without answering, but upon seeing my desperate expression, he finally spoke.
“Athena wouldn’t take her own life. But she might throw herself into a reckless battle.”
“…A battle?”
“Yes. A life-threatening battle.”
A battle so dangerous it could take Athena’s life.
She was someone even the protagonist couldn’t compete with.
Who could possibly kill her?
“Such a person…”
“There is one. An enemy, a being of overwhelming power.”
His words struck me like lightning.
There was someone.
Even Athena, known as invincible, couldn’t possibly win against them.
“….The Demon King?”
“That’s just a guess. If, as you say, she decided to seek death, that would likely be the most probable option.”
“…..”
“And even if it were true, we have no way to reach her. The demon realm is not easily accessible.”
Thump-thump-
My heart was pounding violently.
Anxiety was slowly becoming a reality, tightening its grip on me.
“No… it can’t be.”
The demon realm.
Not only is it a place where those who aren’t of the demon race can’t enter carelessly, but even if one could get in, surviving there is nearly impossible.
Did she really go there alone?
To seek death?
…No way, Athena.
You can’t be that foolish.
But whether it was true or not, there was no way to confirm it.
According to the swordsman, the demon realm could only be accessed through magic.
If someone were to walk in, they’d need to find a passage known only to certain individuals in the underworld.
“The demon realm… how…”
Just as I was anxiously worrying and biting my nails,
“Um… over there…”
Sephir, who had been quietly standing behind me, cautiously peeked her pink hair out.
“Hm?”
The swordsman frowned at Sephir, then reached for his sword.
Suddenly, sharp energy began swirling around him.
“It seems I have become quite rusty. To not even notice a demon nearby.”
“Eek?! Wait… WAIT?!!!!!”
“Thud!”
“Stop yelling.”
As the swordsman drew his sword, a chilling swish filled the air, revealing a white blade.
“Do… do something to stop that old man, Hera!!”
Sephir, terrified by the swordsman’s aura, quickly darted behind me, trembling.
“Typical of a demon to be cowardly. Hiding behind a good person. It won’t help. My sword can reach anywhere.”
“Wait?!!! Hold on!!!!!”
“Don’t worry, Soje. It’ll all be over in an instant.”
“…Swordsman, wait-”
Just as I attempted to explain, Sephir, sweating bullets, shook her head vigorously and screamed with her eyes shut tight.
“If it’s the demon realm, I can take you there!!!!”
“….Huh?”
“What?”
Both the swordsman and I exclaimed in unison.
I stared wide-eyed at Sephir, prompting her to urgently continue.
“I… though I may look like this, I was once a commander! Opening a passage to the demon realm is easy for me!!!”
“…Now that you mention it, I do recall seeing you somewhere.”
The swordsman scrutinized Sephir for a moment before turning back to me.
“Soje, do you know her?”
I wasn’t intentionally ignoring the swordsman, but I was distracted by Sephir’s statement.
I quickly grabbed Sephir’s shoulders and asked her.
“Sephir..! Can you take us to the demon realm right now?”
Her words brought a glimmer of hope.
Once the swordsman lowered his aura, she let out a sigh of relief and replied.
“I can take you. But it’s really dangerous, Hera.”
The moment Sephir’s statement ended, Mari jumped down from my shoulders and transformed back into a girl.
“I can protect you.”
She looked up at me with determination in her eyes.
“We need to go, Mom. Right?”
“Mari…”
Mari was right.
If we could go, there was no reason to hesitate.
Even if Athena wasn’t there, I had to confirm it.
And this unsettling feeling that kept gnawing at me was urging me not to waste any more time.
I spoke earnestly to Sephir.
“Sephir. Take us there now.”
“Okay…”
Sephir hesitated for a moment.
The swordsman stepped closer to us, sheathing his sword.
“I’ll go with you. With me around, your life will be preserved.”
“…Swordsman.”
He looked down at me with a somewhat curious expression.
“It seems you have a strange charm that bewitches life.”
“….What?”
“Never mind. Hurry now. I have a bad feeling about this.”
Sephir, looking determined, firmly grasped my hand.
“Okay. But Hera, promise me this.”
Her expression was serious as she warned me.
“If you find yourself in a dangerous situation, I will open the portal again, and you must run away immediately. Understand?”
There was no time to dawdle.
I immediately replied to her.
“Yes, I understand.”
“And if by any chance you encounter the Demon King, you must not look back and escape.”
“Okay.”
The name of the Demon King sent a jolt to my heart, but it was overshadowed by my anxiety about Athena.
With her warnings finished, Sephir took a short breath, releasing her magic into the air.
The scattered mana soon began to resonate, transforming into a door-like shape.
Beyond that door lay an expansive crimson sky.
Without hesitation, I dashed toward the door.
Praying fervently that the swordsman’s assumptions were wrong.
But such ominous feelings always have a way of being dreadfully accurate.
*
“Huh…? Why is the Demon King’s Castle…?”
Sephir’s trembling gaze fell upon the destruction in front of us.
What once could be called a castle was now nothing but ruins.
“Here.”
Was I sensing it because I had once housed her mana?
I felt it.
Her vibrant mana.
It told me she was right in front of me.
I ran.
Without looking back.
I dashed toward the source of her mana.
And finally, I stopped where I found her.
“Ah… Athena…”
A woman with red hair and giant wings spread wide.
And beneath her, Athena lay sprawled on the ground, bleeding and breathing shallowly with her eyes closed.
“Athena!!!!!”
After that, my instincts took over.
I ran.
Even as Sephir and Alina shouted my name, I continued to sprint.
I knew what I was doing.
Charging unarmed into the demon king’s presence.
If I had any caution left, I wouldn’t have made such a choice.
But seeing Athena’s condition, ripe for death, narrowed my vision and made my mind go blank.
The Demon King turned to look at me.
With red eyes similar to mine but darker and deeper, theirs widened as they stared at me.
But that was only for a moment.
“Please take care of Athena.”
With those brief words, the swordsman dashed forward at a speed that was almost unfathomable.
He collided with the Demon King, and in an instant, they both shot off into the distance like a bullet.
I dashed toward where Athena lay.
Rushing to check her condition.
Her body was a mess.
A puddle of blood formed beneath her, and her eyes were tightly shut, unmoving.
“No… no… Athena… Athena!!!”
There was no response.
Despite shaking her body and calling her name repeatedly,
Only the faintest breath escaped her lips, and her eyes remained peacefully closed.
“Please… Athena!!!”
Fear threatened to bring tears to my eyes, but I held back and called her once more.
“Heal.”
Mari, who had come to my side, placed her hand on Athena’s body, starting to heal her.
“Mom, we need to wake her up first.”
Without hesitation, I called her name again.
But no matter how many times I called or shook her, her eyes remained closed.
Swallowing hard-
Anger flared within me as I saw her like that.
Who gave anyone the right to drop a fireball into someone else’s heart and recklessly try to die?
In the end, I couldn’t hold it in.
“Hey, you bad bastard!!!!!!”
Whack-!!
With enough force to leave a handprint, I slapped her cheek.
And then…
“……Hera…?”
Her golden eyes slowly fluttered open once more.
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