“Uh…? Baldy!! Breathe, breathe! Hey!! Breathe!! Damn it!! Hey… hey! You said you would pay me back for the money you borrowed!!! Huh… ugh…”
The first to rush out was Delia, checking Heinzel’s breath with the magical power spread around.
“Heinzel!”
Yuria also summoned plants around Heinzel, covering his body.
And lastly.
Feeling Heinzel’s condition through the sense of existence, Hermila took a deep breath and slowly turned her back.
Heinzel’s condition, transferred by Ser’s spirit, was terrible.
An armor without form.
Broken teeth.
Blood soaking his entire body.
Did his bones crumble? His legs sank heavily.
A twisted and bent prosthetic arm.
And, a heart that no longer beats.
Seeing this, Hermila clenched her teeth as if to crush them and closed her eyes.
“Is Kalt… Kalt down?”
Amid Delia’s screaming cries, Hermila’s low voice mixed in.
“…Yes. It has been confirmed that he is completely annihilated…”
After receiving Jur’s report, Yuria barely managed to control her trembling voice.
“It seems Kalt didn’t have any soul left to absorb into consciousness since he had already died once.”
With an indifferent voice, Ser approached Hermila with a smile.
“That’s truly fortunate. The most troublesome enemy has been annihilated.”
“Fortunate…?”
Even amidst the howls, Delia’s distorted face glared at Ser as she clung to Heinzel.
“You just said… fortunate…?”
“Yes, I did say fortunate. According to what Noah said, to strike Kalt, one must hit at the precise moment he attacks. About 0.2 seconds. For long-range folks like Delia and me, that was nearly impossible. And if we tried a melee approach, the other masters wouldn’t sit quietly, so it must have been headache-inducing. Yet, miraculously, thanks to Mistilteinn, we could kill Kalt. If that hadn’t been there, Heinzel would have—”
Crack!
Sharp electricity spread around Ser.
“…Shut up.”
“Heinzel would have died without achieving anything.”
“SHUT UP!!!”
BOOM!
With Delia’s voice, a massive lion form manifested.
But Ser lightly waved his hand and erased Delia’s magic.
“Hah… Delia. Have I not always said this? A wizard should not be swayed by emotions. Magic is easily influenced by feelings. So, always be rational—”
“Ser! Please… stop saying that… Heinzel was our comrade and family. So… so please give us a moment to grieve… I know we don’t have time right now… but I beg you.”
Eventually, after Yuria hugged Delia, who wailed as if the sky was falling, tears streaming down her face, Ser’s voice ceased.
By the time Delia and Yuria’s sobs subsided, Ser’s voice, tinged with laughter, filled the air.
“Hmph… to think you have comrades who care for you so much. For the first time, I feel envy for you, Heinzel. Hehe…”
KHAKHAKHA!
The sound of Heinzel’s boisterous laughter resonated across the battlefield, even though his heart had stopped.
“AAAAAARGH!!!!”
SLAP!
Delia, burying her face in Heinzel’s chest, was startled by his sudden laughter and slapped his bald head.
“AHAHAHAH!!!”
She hit him hard enough to leave a bright red handprint, but Heinzel only laughed louder, as if enjoying it.
“Ha, Heinzel.”
At that moment, Hermila, unable to control her heightened emotions, dropped tears and staggered toward him.
“Are you… alive…?”
“Yep! Just playing a bit with Ser!”
“Really… alive…? This isn’t a blessing that brought you back… You’re truly alive, right?”
“Correct! A kid like me could never lose to the likes of you! HAHHAHAHA!”
Finally unable to contain her bursting tears, Hermila’s face was drenched.
Then she said.
“Really, you all…”
“Hmm…? Hermila?”
With a fist clenched to the limit.
“Your jokes… are too much.”
“Oh, oh no! Wait! If I get hit again, I might really die! Hey! Ser! Stop Hermila—”
THWACK!
She slapped Heinzel’s face.
*
CRUNCH- CRUNCH-
“Hey! Wake up!”
CREAK- CRACK-!
“Gah?! Huh!”
Immediately awakening, Heinzel held his cheek where Hermila had hit him and stood up.
“Could it be that I fainted from a hit by Hermila?”
“Yeah. You should’ve restrained yourself a bit.”
“Oh! Charlotte! Long time no see!”
“Hey, dumbass! Call me princess in public, you hear?!”
“Um, right… My bad, princess.”
“Forget the honorifics! Just call me by my name. It’s not like I’m a princess now, anyway.”
Roughly ruffling her hair while holding a magic herb in her mouth, Charlotte turned to view the battlefield.
A chaotic ruin overshadowed by heavy war intent.
There, five challengers and the spirit mage stood waiting.
“No matter how I think about it, it’s strange. It should be well past the arrival time, why aren’t they showing up?”
“They might be taking a break on the way?”
“No way, even with Jur’s clairvoyance, we can’t find them. What’s that sneaky thing they’re plotting…?”
CRUNCH- CRUNCH-
“It might be a sign of needing to poop.”
“Does that make any sense?”
CRUNCH- CRUNCH-
“But… what are you doing?”
“Looking for intact armor to wear.”
“Why?”
“Because I have to fight to help them.”
CLANG- CLANG- CRUNCH-
“Stop talking rubbish and just lie down.”
“Can’t do that.”
“Are you completely unaware of your condition?”
“I know.”
“Then just shut up and lie down—”
CLANG!
Finally, clad in his armor, Heinzel gazed at Charlotte with deep eyes.
“I’ll be fine. Charlotte. I can’t die before arm-wrestling with Kiddo.”
“What…? Arm-wrestling?”
“Yep. This time, I must keep my promise.”
Then, as if trying to hide his feelings, he let out a loud laugh and shook his shoulders.
Watching this with blank eyes, Charlotte immediately stood up.
After a slight stumble, Charlotte straightened herself and started preparing her armor.
“Then, I’ll go too.”
“You can’t.”
“Nope. I’m going.”
HUG!
Heinzel grabbed Charlotte by the shoulders.
“If everything ends and peace comes, there needs to be an emperor to lead this empire.”
“Forget it. I’m not interested in that—”
“And there must be someone to remember the heroes who brought that peace and preserve their tales for future generations.”
“…Nope.”
“Charlotte.”
As always, with his refreshing smile exposing broken teeth, Heinzel said.
“Watch over the heroes. Remember their beginning and their end.”
And.
“Please don’t forget us.”
“Please, Charlotte. This is something only you can do.”
Charlotte couldn’t reject that earnest plea.
Knowing that all the royal bloodlines except her were entangled with Erden.
If this war ended in victory for the liberation army, she knew she would be the last of the royal bloodline left.
And above all.
Heroes must be remembered.
“I… I…”
“It’s okay. Charlotte, you are more suited for the throne than anyone else.”
The cold prosthetic arm, devoid of human warmth, roughly ruffled Charlotte’s hair.
“Think about how to start the first tale of the heroes. I’ll be back soon.”
The overflowing emotions made Charlotte cover her eyes.
In her ears echoed.
The soft breathing of the sleeping Rubia.
The fading sound of armor.
And.
The colossal BOOM! announcing the start of battle.
*
The battle began with the sudden appearance of a massive beast’s maw.
Fenrir, the beast swallowing the world.
That beast’s mouth opened wide.
And.
“Alex!”
“You finally came!”
CRACK!
Countless steel spikes created by Alex were jammed between those jaws.
Simultaneously, a massive spear-shaped arrow hanging on Mia’s bowstring was shot towards the revealed masters.
Just as the arrow was about to reach the masters.
Ser’s gesture altered its trajectory.
It soared upward.
Guided by the wind, the massive arrow rose high. CRACK! Splitting into myriad shards. Falling apart. Raining down on the battlefield like razor-sharp bolts.
Yet, it did not reach the masters.
Thanks to Aran, the master wielding a colossal shield.
Confirming that events flowed as they had drawn, Hermila immediately dashed ahead, trailing a deep purple tail.
Hiding her existence in darkness.
Silencing her sounds with the wind.
Deceiving their vision with light.
Arriving in the midst of the enemy, as the rain of arrows ceased, Hermila unleashed the technique of destruction aimed at the nape of Aran.
But CLANG! an intangible dual sword, unnoticed, blocked her punch.
Immediately, two swirling blades surged toward Hermila’s neck.
Cannot evade. Cannot block. Cannot bleed.
The owner of the assured blades, Master Kaluso, unleashed a technique of execution.
WHOOSH- The sharp slicing sound echoed across the battlefield where the rain of arrows had ceased, drawing a line through the chaotic ruin and shattering Hermila’s formation.
And, BAM!
From the collapsing Hermila’s body, brilliant light erupted and transformed into particles of light.
A phantom created by Ser’s spirit and Delia’s magic.
Amidst that, the real Hermila’s punch flew towards Aaron’s heart.
Just before Hermila’s punch reached Aaron.
Ser’s trembling voice changed the course of the battlefield.
“Why are there only five of you…?”
At the same time, with a ROAR!, a dreadful sound of tremendous gravity pressed down upon the earth echoed.
The source of that sound was.
Ruby, who was sleeping in the rear.
