Ch.136The End (7)

Ju-an tried to intervene in the fight between Leo and the Demon King, but like a shrimp caught between fighting whales, he was threatened by both sides and driven away.

Now that Leo couldn’t even distinguish between allies and enemies, did this mean we would truly have to fight against him?

If that were the case, I’d rather Leo died at the hands of the Demon King. Of course, it would be best if everyone survived and had a happy ending, but at the very least, I hoped we wouldn’t have to fight amongst ourselves.

“Lite, so is he an enemy? Or an ally?”

“…I don’t know.”

To be honest, Leo now looked no different from the Demon King. Both in appearance and in his actions.

Tearing out an enemy’s organs with sharp claws or ripping them apart with teeth—these were things only a Demon King would do.

And he immediately regenerated after having his arm torn off. Who could tell which one was the Demon King now?

At least he wasn’t attacking us yet, which was fortunate. How wonderful would it be if this could all end peacefully?

But there was nothing I could do, so I was just desperately praying to the Goddess when suddenly they stopped fighting. Surely they weren’t going to join forces?

With that thought, I looked toward the battlefield and saw Leo holding a sword so severely damaged that only the handle remained.

It would have been good if it ended there, but to make matters worse, Leo was on the verge of death. This wasn’t just a figure of speech—Leo was literally turning to ash.

Why did this happen so suddenly? Had he pushed himself too hard without any lifespan left?

While I was thinking this, Leo was rapidly turning to ashes.

I had said I didn’t want to fight Leo, but I never wished for our beacon of hope to turn to ashes…

Anyway, now that Leo was gone, we would be the Demon King’s next target. Death was truly at our doorstep now.

Earlier, even when Ju-an fell, there was someone who could buy us time, but now there was no one left to fight in our place if we fell, which made the situation feel even more desperate.

And separately, it was heartbreaking to see Leo disappear like this. After a life filled with nothing but pain, was this how it would end so meaninglessly?

If only Leo had been given just a little more time, could things have been different? If I hadn’t been kidnapped then, maybe we could have fought a little longer.

If only he had a bit more lifespan left…

…There was a way to extend his lifespan. I could transfer my entire lifespan to Leo. But that would be no different from gambling.

Even if Leo survived, if he continued to rampage without reason, the situation would become so hopeless that it might be better if he died meaninglessly now.

But if by luck Leo regained his senses, things might work out smoothly. No, how could he regain his senses just from having his lifespan extended a little?

While I continued to deliberate, time kept flowing. I needed to make a decision as quickly as possible.

“…Ju-an? Do you think Leo could regain his senses?”

“Honestly… no.”

“Why?”

“You just saw it yourself.”

Rationally speaking, there was no reason to save Leo. Even if he survived, the possibility that he would continue to rampage without reason remained extremely high.

But my emotions moved in the exact opposite direction of what reason dictated, and I forcibly moved my immobile arm to transfer all my lifespan to Leo.

Ah, screw it, I don’t know anymore. We had no chance of winning on our own anyway, so I might as well take this gamble.

Besides, the condition for having our wish granted was defeating the Demon King. So if Leo defeated the Demon King first, whatever happened afterward wouldn’t matter.

Anyway, after transferring all my lifespan, I could clearly feel death approaching. So before I went, I wanted to land one last hit on that bastard.

“Ju-an… make sure… you win…”

I forcibly raised my arm that couldn’t even feel pain anymore, aimed it at the Demon King, and prepared to use everything I had left as a bullet.

Blood, skin, vital organs like the heart—essentially my entire body was packed into this bullet.

So its power would be considerable. At least it could buy us 10 seconds.

A life in exchange for just 10 seconds—isn’t that too inefficient? No, with this broken body, I should be grateful if I could even manage that much.

With such absurd thoughts, I pulled the trigger one last time.

***

I remember stabbing the sword into my heart, and then gaining power far too excessive for this body.

But I don’t remember anything after that. I seem to have done something, but all memories related to that time feel completely erased.

Well, it doesn’t matter since I’ll be free now. No, it’s still disappointing to die without completing my revenge.

As my miserable life flashed before my eyes like a panorama, suddenly my vision cleared.

—Bang!

Along with the familiar sound of a gunshot. Had I finally arrived in hell?

With that thought, I opened my eyes again and saw the damn Demon King with a massive hole in his body.

So this was still reality. Then how was I still alive?

Well, that’s not really important. I just need to buy time until the magic activates.

So I tried to draw my sword with my supernatural power, but for some reason, I couldn’t access it.

No, it felt like supernatural power had completely disappeared from my body.

Figuring that understanding the current situation was urgent, I quickly looked around for anything helpful and spotted the new Hero.

I immediately ran up to him and asked directly.

“Hey. Do you know what’s going on?”

The new Hero showed great agitation and stammered out a response.

“L-Lite… transferred all her lifespan… to you… to save you…”

Though brief, his statement was truly helpful in understanding the current situation.

It explained why he was so agitated, the gunshot sound earlier, and how I was still alive.

The disappearance of my supernatural power must be a side effect of using my third power. No wonder it was so overwhelmingly strong.

Well, I’m still a “Mage,” so I can fight somehow even with bare hands.

I wanted to cooperate with the new Hero to fight, but his condition was terrible.

I know well how painful it is to lose someone precious. But that doesn’t mean I’ll show him any consideration.

This isn’t a funeral—it’s a battlefield where we kill each other to survive.

“Hey. You said you could make a wish if you defeat the Demon King, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Then you know what you need to do if you want to save her.”

If he acts properly here, he can regain what he lost. But if he messes up, he’ll only lose more. Now that he understands this fact, he should fight well.

As soon as our conversation ended, the Demon King, who had regenerated instantly, charged at us.

I immediately took out a scroll to strike him with lightning, but my plan was foiled because the new Hero clumsily rushed at him.

Still, he’s a Hero, so he should be able to subdue him properly. But mocking my complacent thinking, he too easily gave the Demon King an opening.

Thanks to that, the Demon King tried to bring down a sword emanating ominous energy through that gap.

“Damn it…”

I quickly modified the scroll’s structure to emit a strong wind instead of electricity, and deflected his attack.

The Hero then slashed the Demon King to pieces with an emotionally charged attack.

Showing such obvious openings and making attacks that only waste energy—he’s still inexperienced.

Well, can he really handle losing someone precious? He’s just a rookie who became a Hero only a month ago, so this behavior is expected.

Still, he’s better than nothing. With such thoughts, I continued to support this clumsy fighter as best I could.

However, since he couldn’t properly control his power, he soon depleted all his mana.

“Hey. Just go back.”

“My physical strength is still fine.”

“But you have no mana left.”

“My body is well-trained enough.”

He retorted with visible impatience and anxiety. Until now, I had been supporting him because of his abilities, but now that they were gone, there was no reason to keep him around.

“You’re just in the way even standing still.”

“Then I’ll definitely be of help…”

With no choice, I prepared to send him away by attaching a teleport scroll I had been keeping for emergency escapes.

“W-what is this?”

“Come back later and bury this here.”

I handed the new Hero Zoe’s broken cross necklace as I spoke.

I wanted to ask him to bury it in a grave, but since I would obviously disappear without a trace here, this was the best I could do.

Before he could answer, he completely vanished from my sight. Now I could finally concentrate.

Just before the fight began, the Demon King mocked me and asked:

“What do you think you can do alone?”

I answered while pulling out the scrolls piled in my pocket:

“Revenge.”

As soon as our brief exchange ended, he charged at me. I scattered scrolls around me to counter.

“Chain Explosion.”

With a simple incantation, the scrolls all began to glow and activated the magic I had hastily modified.

I could never use such modified magic in everyday life, but at least in this situation, being able to cast quickly was helpful. With such thoughts, I watched as the magic activated.

Boom!

A massive explosion occurred as the scrolls disappeared.

I charged through the explosion with my whole body, approached right in front of him, and pulled out several more scrolls.

“Lightning Strike.”

The scrolls glowed again, and he was engulfed in electricity, burning black.

However, his regeneration speed was much faster than the electrocution, so his fist soon came flying toward my head.

If I changed course here, I might get away with just losing my left arm. With that thought, I quickly turned my body, when—

Whoosh!

A brilliantly shining golden arrow pierced his head. Then someone rapidly approached my side…

Crack!

With the crisp sound of bones shattering, the Demon King was sent flying far away.

“…Leo? Is it really you?”

The familiar Knight asked a question to which he already knew the answer.

“What brings you here?”

And the familiar voice of the Saint, sounding somewhat pleased, was also heard.

At least we could buy more time now. With that thought, I smiled and said:

“I came to test a new magic I created.”