Chapter 242 – The [End]

“Well, anyway, that’s how I found out. There’s no need to dig too deep. You already know a bit about what my unique ability is, right?”

Her hair swayed gently as her head bobbed, looking as if she was in a good mood. At the same time, the sticky emotions clouding her face faded away.

Amid it all, there was a small, giggling laugh.

I listened to it and searched my memory.

When we subjugated Tylant in Ursphere, the unique ability ‘I’ used.

When I first held Kartia’s sword, the ‘me’ and Rubia within those memories that flowed in.

Remembering those things, those emotions, made it impossible for me to stay still.

“…Why, why did you… do it?”

I had to hear the reason.

But.

“It had to be done.”

The [End] replied almost before I could finish asking.

“To save Rubia.”

“But, “

“It’s not “but.””

The [End] shrugged her shoulders.

“A lot happened. But in the end, you made it here, didn’t you? Who knows what’ll happen next, but at least for now, things worked out. You made it to the end. Not me, you.”

Then, she reached her hand out toward me. Slowly.

She didn’t look like she wanted jelly, so I cautiously reached out to her as well.

Thud!

Before I knew it, The [End]’s hand closed around mine just a moment faster.

“A handshake for comfort. You did well.”

Her hand gently held mine and moved up and down. Her hand was rougher, drier, and colder than mine.

“But did your hands get smaller since you shrank? They seem a bit smaller than mine.”

Only for a moment, The [End] let go and spread her palm in front of me.

“Let’s compare.”

My hand, which almost moved automatically, hesitated in front of my chest.

“…Ru-Rubia said not to put out my hand if someone random asks…”

“Huh? Hey, are we strangers…? Are… are we… Are we strangers?! Huh?!”

The [End] yelled in protest.

She looked at me with genuine hurt.

Well… we’re not strangers.

We’re just… people who lived different lives, but in the end, we’re still the same.

If anything, we’re farther than anyone, but closer than anyone else… I guess.

“Uh, um… I guess… we’re not strangers…?”

“Right? So hurry up and put it here! Hehe.”

Though her face looked relaxed, The [End]’s hand trembled slightly.

“…Okay.”

Feeling a bit sorry for that trembling, I quickly reached out my hand.

Then.

“It really is small.”

“Come on… It’s not that different…”

“No way! Look, there’s a huge difference.”

She wiggled her fingers, trying to emphasize that her hand was bigger.

…It was true, mine was a little smaller.

But honestly, it was such a tiny difference you’d only notice by feel; you’d never spot it by just looking.

“Loosen up, will you? Still, if the only side effect is shrinking, you got off easy.”

Side effect?

What side effect is she talking about…

“Ah… right. In Ursphere…”

“Do you know how hard I worked to reduce your side effects back then? If it wasn’t for me, you’d have been too weak to even lift a greatsword! Or your mind might’ve been so messed up you wouldn’t even recognize Rubia.”

The [End], chin slightly raised in pride, reached out her hand again.

“…No matter what, I’d never forget Rubia.”

“Haha, true.”

I put a handful of jelly on her palm, and then another for good measure. Then I undid the bag at my waist and set it down between us.

“About what happened back then… I’m grateful. Really…”

With her hands full of jelly, The [End] looked between me and the bag and smiled brightly.

Then she split half the jelly in her hands back onto my palm.

“That’s enough.”

Tap, our hands bumped.

* * *

“…You really ate it all.”

“Yeah… I thought I packed a ton…”

We talked and talked until all the jelly in the bag was gone.

Of course, it was all trivial stuff.

Which city had the best food, what clothes we liked, which regions had the prettiest scenery, just idle chatter.

Mixed in were stories from ‘my’ days before becoming The [End].

Stories that followed the game’s plot exactly, ‘my’ story.

There were also stories about Hermilla and Serr.

Of course, stories about Rubia as well.

What we clicked with most was, unsurprisingly, anything to do with Rubia.

The most fascinating thing was how different Rubia’s personality seemed. My Rubia was a bit mischievous and playful, while ‘my’ Rubia seemed very gentle and mature.

Hmm… maybe what they had in common was both liked to tease in a naughty way.

Though even those pranks were a bit different.

Rubia would tease openly, but ‘Rubia’ was… much more calculating and sneaky with her pranks.

And then.

Hermilla, Serr, Yuria, Hephaestus, Charlotte.

Stories about my friends and others didn’t quite match up.

Especially Serr… She was nothing like the Serr I knew.

“Still, looks like you made a lot of friends.”

“…Yeah.”

“Seems like there are plenty of people who want to help you, too.”

The [End] smiled faintly.

Watching that smile, I hesitated for a while before finally opening my mouth.

“What about you?”

“Me?”

The [End] closed her eyes. Wearing a mysterious smile, as if savoring old memories, she quietly spoke.

“I wasn’t unhappy, either.”

“…I see.”

I knew what she left unsaid.

I, too, swallowed back the same words as her.

So, instead of saying more, I tapped the blade of the greatsword laid out in front of me.

For a moment.

“What about everyone else?”

The [End], who had closed her eyes, opened them.

Her eyes had gone cold.

“Not everyone was kind to you, right?”

“St-still… in their own way…”

“Alrba must’ve been warm. But after leaving there?”

I remembered the knights of Erden I met in the eastern ruins. I remembered, for the first time, feeling a true urge to kill. I remembered the cold, dry gazes, the whispering, the atmosphere in Roholon.

“The knights of Erden you met in the eastern ruins. Yeah, at least the knights fought alongside you. But what about the battle at Roholon? The adventurers there didn’t help you. Maybe at first, but in the end? All but one abandoned Rubia and ran away. So… you must’ve seen what happened to Rubia.”

I heard the grinding of teeth.

I didn’t have time to wonder if it was from me or The [End], she continued speaking.

“And that’s not all. What about the villagers? After you risked your life to save them, when Carpeng appeared, they told you to fight outside the village. Not even a glass of water, not even a word of encouragement, they drove you out. So, what happened? Luchi died. Heinzel lost his arm. What do you think would’ve happened if the villagers or adventurers had helped you then?”

As if urging me to reflect, The [End] fell silent.

I wanted to stop thinking, but I couldn’t.

My mind had already reached a conclusion.

If everyone had helped, Luchi wouldn’t have died.

“Then Ursphere. Do you know how many tried to stop the avalanche Tylant summoned? Just six. If you’d been there instead of me, Yuria would have died. If you tried to kill Tylant, who tore Hephaestus apart, you’d have died even more miserably. Eventually, the imperial knights would’ve come to subjugate Tylant. Maybe they would’ve failed, since Tylant’s seal was completely undone.”

The [End], voice rising, let out a small sigh. She gently stroked a trembling flower in front of her.

“The tower Sirin destroyed, too. If Sirin hadn’t broken the rules, hadn’t brought down the tower, maybe… you would’ve been kidnapped. You could’ve been tortured, experimented on, hurt and alone, with no help. Serr wouldn’t have been able to save you back then, either.”

Snap.

The flower beneath The [End]’s hand broke. The shriveled petals were swept by the wind and brushed my cheek.

“This world has never been kind. Not even once.”

Again and again, my lips parted, but then closed.

I couldn’t argue against her words.

“And. It’s not just this world that wasn’t kind.”

Brushing the crushed stem from her hand, The [End] continued.

“The world we lived in before, and the people there, they turned their backs on us, too.”

The [End]’s eyes met mine.

In a world sketched out by ki sense, colorless, a flash of red streaked through.

“Do you still want to protect a world full of people like that?”

She’s right, about everything.

I know there were countless unseen hands helping me along the way.

I know I wouldn’t be here now without that help.

Because there were people who helped me.

Because I was able to receive help from them.

I was able to become stronger, able to make it here.

But.

“It wasn’t… all bad.”

The Liberation Army in Alrba.

Hephaestus and the one adventurer in Roholon.

Rebuge and Charlotte in Ursphere.

The residents and adventurers of Cartia.

“There were people. For sure.”

There were people who chose to save others.

People who risked their lives to save the world.

One in a million.

No, one in ten million, even so, they existed.

And then.

“Things changed.”

The world ‘I’ lived in, and the world I had come to live in, they became different worlds.

They reached different endings.

Even if there was help I couldn’t see.

It changed.

Everything.

So.

“I… believe.”

In this world.

In people.

And, 

“In you, and in Rubia.”

Those who gave everything to change the world.

Those who wanted to change a world full of despair.

I believe in you. I believe in Rubia.

“Aha… you believe in us…”

The [End] giggled and stood up.

“So, your answer?”

I picked up the greatsword laid before me and stood up as well.

“I’ll protect it.”

For those who have already died.

For those who remain in this world.

For the Liberation Army in Cartia, still fighting even now.

And, 

“Rubia said she wants to travel. So, I have to protect it. The world Rubia fell in love with.”

For Rubia.

“Is that so?”

The [End] gripped the greatsword.

An indescribable power surged. The darkness of the Black Sun gathered around The [End]. A piercing, metallic screech rang to the sky’s end. The earth writhed, and all the mana in the area vanished.

Darkness draped like a curtain.

Within it, not red, but a pair of radiant golden eyes like Rubia’s divine power shone.

“Then, you’ll have to protect it.”

Looking into those eyes, 

Looking into eyes filled with divine power, I raised my greatsword.

“Yeah. I will.”

Even if it means dying.

Even if no one remembers me.

No matter what.