Ch.135The End (6)

The nauseating scent of blood stinging my nose, the sensation of cutting through someone that makes me want to vomit, the horrific sight that makes me want to tear out my eyes, the death screams that could split my ears.

I never wanted to experience those cruel things again. Yet here I am, having arrived at this place of my own volition.

Honestly, I don’t want to fight. I’m in a situation where I don’t care who wins—I even have a part of me that wishes the Demon King would destroy this world.

Everyone else is enjoying peace, laughing happily as if war never happened, while I alone remain stranded on the battlefield. That’s too unfair, isn’t it?

If it’s going to be like this, they might as well grant me death. Why am I the only one left behind in this damned hell?

No, perhaps I’m already dead and have fallen into hell. That would explain why I’m suffering like this.

Still, I can escape this hell soon enough. Though I’ll just be going from one hell to another.

Suffering while alive and suffering after death—did I destroy the world in my past life or something?

With these pathetic thoughts running through my mind, I’m once again wielding a sword to take someone’s life.

I kept swinging my sword at the Demon King, trying to kill him by drawing on those disgusting memories from the past, but no matter how many times I cut him, he regenerated again and again.

Still, I can feel the magical energy around him decreasing slightly each time he regenerates. So if I keep stalling like this, I might be able to do something with that magic.

But my body isn’t suited for fighting. It’s more like a walking corpse with less than six months to live.

Right now I’m somehow moving with the help of magic that supports my movements, but I can clearly feel the durability of this magic gradually decreasing.

On top of that, it’s been so long since I fought a strong opponent that my body movements feel unfamiliar. Of course, the more I fight, the more past memories surface, making it feel more natural.

But since these are memories I never wanted to recall, my concentration wavers, and I end up back at square one.

Still, I can maintain the upper hand against him. No, I could.

As time passes, he seems to be getting more accustomed to his power. His attacks are becoming stronger, faster, and more varied in pattern.

Until just a moment ago, his attacks carried the habits of the one who was my master, but suddenly he’s using skilled martial arts, firing magical energy from a distance—his attacks change completely each time as if he’s become a different person.

Because of this, facing him has become incredibly difficult. Well, I suppose that’s to be expected when fighting the Demon King.

Facing this opponent who employs all kinds of techniques, I finally collapsed as my body gave out, completely overwhelmed.

And then he glared at Lite, who was healing our allies, with a gaze full of deep hatred, and slowly began walking toward her.

It seems this will end with the Demon King’s victory. I suppose it was inevitable—there’s no way a hero could grow that much in just one month.

Even I, who was considered above average among heroes, spent about 15 years just fighting and had to sacrifice my lifespan to gain power comparable to the previous Demon King, who was weaker than this one.

As I was thinking this, waiting for death to come, I felt something strange in my chest.

Wondering what it was, I turned my head to see a completely shattered cross necklace.

Zoe’s keepsake that I had cherished so much was destroyed beyond repair. That precious necklace containing their will had been completely broken by him.

Because of this, I felt an urge to tear him apart, though I didn’t fully understand why I was so angry.

What meaning does a keepsake like this have when they’re no longer in this world anyway?

They’ve become beings I can never see again, no matter how much I long for them. So this longing truly has no meaning.

No matter how much the living try to assign value to the dead, it won’t bring them back.

But I still can’t forget them. I can never forget them.

I could never forget Adrian, who always irritated me with his slick attitude but was someone I could rely on, or Zoe, whom I still truly love no matter how much time has passed.

Ah, so that’s why I came here to fight him. I just… No, that’s not it.

I came here to vent the sorrow and anger of losing someone precious.

The reason I’ve stayed alive all this time wasn’t for my comrades, but to kill him.

Yes, I’m returning everything in kind. I’ll return all this pain that we received, exactly as it was given.

Just as our future and lives were taken away, I’ll take everything from him.

Even if what I’m doing now leads the entire world to ruin, I don’t care. As long as I can drag him to hell, that’s enough for me.

“…Haha.”

I can’t help but laugh with joy now that I’ve finally realized what I wanted. It feels like everything that was weighing me down has completely disappeared.

Because of this, my hesitation about killing someone has completely vanished. No, rather, I feel consumed by the desire to kill him.

Of course, my opponent is overwhelmingly strong. But I have power too.

If I use my third supernatural power that awakened thanks to that bastard long ago, I should be able to match him.

My third power is basically an enhanced version of my second one. It grants enormous power in exchange for my life.

No, perhaps it’s more of a regression than an enhancement. With such thoughts, I moved my completely crushed arm and pointed the Holy Sword toward my heart.

The Holy Sword—Zoe named it with the meaning of cutting down evil. Well, now it can truly live up to its name.

“Zoe, I’m sorry. It seems I won’t be able to keep my promise after all.”

I plunged the sword into the heart of this disgusting murderer. Immediately, pain like my entire body was melting washed over me.

At the same time, blood flowed from my eyes down my cheeks. And paradoxically, laughter kept bursting from my throat.

The wounded areas became engulfed in flames and healed instantly, and my body, which had been difficult to move due to my depleted lifespan, now moved more smoothly than ever before.

My mind feels clearer than ever. Thanks to this, I feel like I can now clash with him at full power.

Before I could even finish that thought, my body was already rushing toward him.

“…!”

As he looked at me with surprised eyes, I swung my sword and cut him in half with a single stroke.

But I couldn’t be satisfied with just that. So I continued swinging my sword until his original form was unrecognizable.

However, making my actions meaningless, he regenerated in the blink of an eye and then cut off my right arm that was holding the sword.

My arm fell to the ground with a thud, but since my left arm was still intact, I immediately shoved it into his abdomen and ripped out his intestines, scattering them into the air.

But once again, he regenerated as if nothing had happened and tore off my left arm as well.

Fortunately, I still had my head, so I immediately used my sharp teeth to tear at his neck.

And of course, he regenerated instantly this time too.

“Annoyingly tough.”

No matter what I do, my opponent doesn’t weaken. I like that now.

It means I can continue to inflict pain on him over and over again.

By the way, I’m feeling alive with every fiber of my being right now.

The sweet, fragrant scent of blood, the heavy satisfaction of cutting someone, and the beautiful sight like a masterpiece painting—all these things seem to prove my existence.

This moment feels so much more enjoyable compared to my previous life, which was no different from being a corpse. I feel like I existed solely for this moment.

Finally, finally, our cursed journey is ending. By killing the Demon King now with my own hands—the one I couldn’t defeat back then.

So, to make sure I kill him, I thrust my sword into his heart with my right hand.

Wait, wasn’t my arm just cut off? Well, whatever the process, as long as the result is good.

With such thoughts, I continued to enjoy this sweet pain.

***

It was good that Leo joined us in the fight. But now, I almost wish he hadn’t.

The current Leo looked more like an enemy than an ally.

First, Leo’s wings, which initially looked like angel wings, have gradually lost their feather-like appearance over time, now resembling demon wings.

His hands and teeth, which looked human, have become sharp and pointed like those of a beast.

Red horns were growing from Leo’s head where there clearly had been nothing before. These weren’t there until he stabbed himself in the heart.

And decisively, Leo is regenerating rapidly just like the Demon King. But Leo is supposed to be human.

Anyway, Leo, now looking no different from a demon, continues to tear at the fallen body of the Demon King.

Seeing that form, which looked no different from when I first saw the Demon King, a thought crossed my mind.

If the Demon King disappears, will Leo attack us next?

With such ominous thoughts, I once again healed Ju-an, who had collapsed on the ground, by sacrificing my lifespan.

Separately, healing Ha-eun and Tae-yang didn’t require much effort. Ha-eun had simply fainted from overusing her mind, and Tae-yang had fainted from fear.

“So you can’t fight anymore?”

“No… I think my brain is overloaded…”

Ha-eun spoke with difficulty, her expression pained as if she might collapse at any moment. Sharing thoughts between duplicates must be quite a mental burden.

In a way, it’s natural. Creating 10 duplicates means having to think 10 times more than usual.

“Alright, then go back and rest.”

“Okay… But aren’t you coming, senior?”

“I’m still fine.”

“But senior, you look terrible…”

Ha-eun took out a mirror and showed me my face, which looked no different from a corpse.

I must have used too much of my lifespan. Even though I still had quite a bit left.

“It’s just the backlash from using too much lifespan. So don’t worry and just go back.”

“But…”

“It’s okay, even if I die, I can ask to be revived with a wish.”

I reassured Ha-eun, since I could eventually restore my remaining lifespan anyway.

“And on your way, please take the unconscious Tae-yang with you.”

“…Then good luck, senior.”

Ha-eun looked at me anxiously, then opened a scroll and took the unconscious Tae-yang, who had foam at his mouth, back with her.

Not long after they left, Ju-an regained consciousness.

“Lite?”

Ju-an became greatly confused when he saw my miserable state.

“Are, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I can restore it anyway. And look, my body is perfectly…”

I tried to wave my arm to prove I was fine, but my body no longer listened to me. The fact that I can’t feel pain is probably thanks to this ribbon. I should really thank that dragon person later.

“…Even if I can’t move my body, I’m fine.”

“Why are you like this? What if you die…”

“Even if I die, I can come back to life. And if you’re that worried about me, why don’t you defeat the Demon King and fix my body?”

Ju-an seemed to realize that worrying wouldn’t help, so he gripped his sword tightly and turned his head toward the source of the noise, ready to fight the Demon King again.

“…”

Then, with an expression of great shock, he asked me:

“What, what is that?”

“Leo.”

“Why has the former hero ended up like that? And what’s that meteor floating in the sky? If that falls to this world…”

“I don’t think now is the time to talk about that.”

“…”

The situation is certainly chaotic. But it’s also true that we don’t have the luxury to think about such things.

So Ju-an stood still for a moment, took three deep breaths, and then spoke again in a serious voice:

“Then I’ll be going.”

And Ju-an joined that chaos too. I really hope this ends well…