Chapter Index





    The End

    The End

    Thud—

    Amidst the thick cloud of dust, [End], who had broken out of the isolated space, looked around.

    I followed her gaze and slowly surveyed the surroundings.

    Unable to capture it all with my eyes, I expanded my [Ki sense] to paint a picture of the area.

    “…Ah.”

    How could I describe this devastation?

    The land, once so ravaged by my battle with [End] that not a single blade of grass could grow, had simply vanished.

    No, rather than vanished… it would be more accurate to say it had shattered.

    A gaping hole in the earth. A void stretching beneath.

    Above, the shattered sky fell like shards of glass, each piece breaking into glittering snowflakes as it descended.

    A landscape utterly beyond comprehension.

    As I stared blankly at this scene, [End] turned to me. I looked back at her.

    And then.

    “Pfft!”

    Giggle- [End] burst into laughter.

    “Are you crazy?!”

    “W-What…?”

    “What? This, this, this. Why did you do all this?”

    “…I, I don’t know.”

    [End]’s head tilted.

    “You don’t know?”

    “…No.”

    “Really?”

    “R-Really.”

    I really didn’t know.

    In the first place, I’m not one to think much during a fight, and I mostly rely on instinct and senses… so I can’t say for sure what happened during the battle.

    Thinking about it now, it felt like… an enormous explosion erupted from within my body, but, um…

    I slowly exhaled and placed my hand over my heart.

    Thump- Thump- My heart was beating diligently. But it was a faint throb, nothing like the explosion I had felt earlier, barely comparable.

    Whether I pounded it with my fist or stroked it gently, I couldn’t feel that massive explosion again.

    In this frustrating situation where I couldn’t understand anything, the only thing I realized was that.

    That sensation, that power, was something I had felt once before.

    I had no idea when or where I had felt it.

    “You’re really stupid.”

    “I’m not stupid…?”

    “Yes, you are.”

    [End], driving a wedge into my rebuttal, crossed her arms and tapped her lips.

    “Why? Why can’t you know? There’s no way you shouldn’t know. Are you blind?”

    “I can see…”

    “Then, it’s definitely gone too far… Ah. Hey. Come here for a second.”

    “…Why?”

    [End]’s hand went up to her forehead. Then, she wagged her palm from side to side.

    “Let me measure your height.”

    “…Height?”

    “Yeah. Just in case.”

    “Y-You’re not going to ambush me, are you?”

    “Would I?”

    …That’s true.

    I would never ambush her.

    But, to suddenly want to measure my height after fighting so fiercely…?

    “Ah, it’s important, so come here quickly.”

    The greatsword in [End]’s hand disappeared.

    And Thump-Thump- She stamped her feet, vigorously tapping the spot where I should stand.

    “Ugh…”

    Step- Step- I reluctantly stood in front of [End].

    “As I thought… you’re still short.”

    That was true.

    I was looking up at [End] slightly. Just a little. [End] was looking down at me slightly, just a little.

    Of course, there wasn’t much difference.

    “…There’s not much difference.”

    “No, that’s not the problem… It seems the side effects of the [Elixir] haven’t worn off?”

    [Elixir]…?

    She must be talking about Yuria’s [Elixir].

    Surely the side effects were reduced by [End]… no, by ‘me,’ who was controlling my body back then?

    “Wasn’t it just that I got shorter…?”

    “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

    A playful smile appeared on [End]’s face.

    “It seems your intelligence dropped too. That’s why it’s so hard for you to grasp your own power.”

    “…N-No way. That can’t be… I, I was definitely the same.”

    “People never know themselves. And it must have dropped so much that you couldn’t tell. Right now… it seems to be about the same as before you took it.”

    “What…?”

    To refute [End]’s words, I recited multiplication tables in my head. I recited the alphabet too.

    …I got a little confused in the middle, but I definitely remembered it.

    I definitely hadn’t become stupid.

    Intelligence stats couldn’t affect me.

    I could think so clearly, concentrate so well, there was no way my brain had deteriorated. Yeah.

    I sighed in relief and shook my head.

    “See? I’m not stupid.”

    “Even little kids can memorize multiplication tables and the alphabet.”

    Twitch- My body trembled.

    How did she know what I was reciting in my head?

    “I would have said the same thing if I had heard you say that. Of course, that’s the past me. Now, look. I don’t stutter, and I speak clearly, right? That’s what makes me different from you.”

    [End] shrugged.

    Certainly… [End] spoke better than I did.

    Her personality was confident, her voice was loud.

    Her expressions were varied…

    “Well, anyway. This is unexpected and a little strange. To not be able to grasp your own abilities because your intelligence is so low… how stupid do you have to be?”

    [End], muttering quietly, chose her words carefully for a long time before slowly opening her mouth.

    “It’s probably better if you figure out what that power is on your own. It wouldn’t help even if I told you.”

    Then, she raised her hand and waved it dismissively.

    “Let’s just finish what we were doing.”

    I stared at [End] in silence.

    The faint smile on her face. The carefree tone.

    The poignant emotion hidden behind it.

    [End]’s emotions, which she couldn’t hide no matter how hard she tried, made me open my lips.

    “…Um, I have a question.”

    “What is it?”

    [End], who was already swinging the greatsword in her hand, tilted her head.

    “What… do you want to do?”

    Then, she paused- stopped swinging her arm and looked at me.

    At first, she looked as if she was asking why I was asking something so obvious, but that expression quickly disappeared.

    Had she realized the intention behind my question?

    [End] closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them.

    And said.

    “To save Rubia.”

    The smile on her face was still there.

    Her carefree voice was still there.

    But the emotion hidden behind it was thicker than before.

    To save Rubia.

    That was the common goal between me and [End].

    Between me and ‘me.’

    Even if she and I had lived different times, lived different lives, seen and experienced different things, it was an unchangeable goal.

    But [End] said she had failed.

    Said she regretted it. Said it was over.

    Even so, [End] said she would save Rubia.

    To others, it might sound like a foolish obsession, but I could tell that [End]’s words were not an obsession. I could feel it.

    Because I understood her the most.

    Of course, I didn’t have the arrogant idea that I understood her completely.

    But, at least, when it came to Rubia.

    She and I would be the same. Definitely.

    Therefore, I nodded at her words.

    I understood her words. I accepted them.

    What she had entrusted to me.

    What she had left to me.

    What she had passed on to me.

    I shouldered it.

    It wasn’t that I had to shoulder it.

    I wanted to shoulder it.

    So, I would save Rubia.

    Not in [End]’s way, but in my own way.

    Not on the path you left behind, but on my own path.

    Because that was the path of [Benevolence] I had chosen.

    Because that was.

    A happy ending where ‘everyone’ could smile.

    I hoped she wouldn’t have any complaints.

    If she did, then.

    Later, in the distant future.

    If we ever met again.

    Then. I hoped she would tell me then.

    That way, we could laugh and talk to each other.

    We would be so overwhelmed with happiness that we wouldn’t be able to express our complaints.

    Maybe we would be so busy playing that we would forget. Yes. Probably, we would.

    Imagining such a future made me giggle.

    I hid my laughter and drew my greatsword.

    And nodded.

    I spoke. I answered. I declared.

    “…Okay.”

    Now, I wouldn’t hesitate any longer.

    I wouldn’t doubt. I wouldn’t tremble with fear.

    I wouldn’t look back. I wouldn’t stop.

    I wouldn’t cry. I wouldn’t despair.

    If there was no path, I would create one.

    If something stood in my way, I would break it.

    And so, continuing, forward, forward, at the end of my journey.

    Rubia.

    ‘Me.’

    Everyone.

    I would save them.

    I would save them.

    Me.

    The protagonist of this story, me.

    I would make it so.

    ―Thump. A violent pulse.

    ―Thump. The pulse that had stopped at once before.

    ―Thump. The explosion, the light, the soul, the [Aura] that was gradually growing larger within my body, I could feel it.

    I closed my eyes and quietly felt it.

    I recalled the familiar power within it.

    I remembered.

    And.

    I realized.

    What this power was.

    And so, what I could do.

    What I could achieve.

    I knew.

    Then, an uncontrollable smile spread across my face. Even through my tightly closed lips, an uncontrollable giggle burst out.

    [End], who was watching me, must have felt something, because she frowned.

    “Are you… crazy?”

    She must have immediately realized what I was thinking.

    She was unnecessarily perceptive.

    “…I’m not crazy.”

    “Then, why. Why on earth are you thinking that way? You’ve been doing so well so far. You can finish this well. But, why!”

    [End], unable to control her surging emotions, shouted, gripping the hilt of her greatsword so tightly that it seemed like it would crumble.

    “You said you wanted to live, you wanted to be happy, so why are you trying to make that choice? Just save Rubia, just save Rubia. I… that’s all I need.”

    Grind- A harsh sound came from between [End]’s teeth.

    A viscous anger gleamed in her wide eyes.

    A rough breath, growled out.

    After that, [End]’s voice, having suppressed her emotions a little, just a little, could be heard.

    “Don’t think nonsense. Don’t have unnecessary sympathy. It’s the path I chose, and it’s the ending I chose. Don’t you dare… try to judge it.”

    To that, I answered, very lightly.

    “No.”

    “…What?”

    “You changed me without permission, too. So, I’m going to… do whatever I want.”

    [End]’s face twisted strangely.

    Not crying, not angry, not laughing, just a really, really weird expression.

    Because of that expression, I burst out laughing again.

    “…Don’t be ridiculous. Even if you save Rubia, saving me too… is impossible. I’m already―”

    “No, it’s possible.”

    “What do you know to spout such nonsense!”

    “I’m doing it because I don’t know anything.”

    I don’t know anything.

    I don’t know the truth of this world.

    I don’t know how ‘I’ ended up like this.

    I don’t know what preparations ‘I’ and Rubia made and how they restarted the world. I can’t know.

    But, it’s okay.

    I. ‘I.’ We.

    Until now.

    “We defeated all the bosses without knowing anything.”

    Without looking up any guides.

    Stubborn as can be.

    No matter what penalties we had.

    No matter what strange weapons we wielded.

    We defeated all the bosses.

    We reached the end.

    And so, we are standing here.

    So, we.

    “We can do it.”

    And.

    “I really want to… trick Serr just once.”

    “What does that…”

    [End], who couldn’t speak for a while, didn’t refute my words any further.

    She just glared at me with anger-filled eyes.

    And trailed her greatsword behind her.

    “You’re a stubborn, stupid, idiotic brat.”

    I also trailed my greatsword behind me and answered [End]’s words.

    “…I’m going to tell Rubia everything.”

    “Ha. I have Rubia too.”

    With those words.

    Each other’s greatswords were swung.


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