Ch.137The End (8)

I used the gap that formed before the Demon King could regenerate again to have a brief conversation with my comrades whom I hadn’t seen for a week.

“So why were you all so late?”

“We were discovered by enemies during infiltration.”

“That’s unfortunate. How did you escape?”

“Obviously, we subdued them one by one and got out.”

“That’s exactly what idiots would do.”

So that’s why we hadn’t encountered anyone on our way here? Well, overwhelming with brute force rather than intelligence and technique—that’s certainly their style.

As I was smiling faintly while imagining their clumsy infiltration attempt, Agath suddenly spoke up as if feeling wronged.

“Oh right, there’s something I’m really upset about.”

“What is it?”

“Remember when everyone suspected me of being a traitor? But now it turns out Leo was the traitor, not me. Shouldn’t you all apologize to me?”

“But why did only you guys come? Wouldn’t it be better to bring as many people as possible?”

“When we’re surrounded by traitors, how can we know who to trust?”

“That’s true.”

“…Why are you ignoring what I said?”

Agath glared at us in disbelief for a moment, then smiled brightly again and said:

“Anyway, being here reminds me of the old days. Do you all remember back then?”

“Yeah. Those were some shitty times.”

“Right, even now I get goosebumps thinking about those days.”

“…Do you guys have some grudge against me?”

“I just meant it was difficult fighting back then.”

“I was just saying it was hard because of this cursed precognition ability.”

“…Even if I joke around a lot normally, isn’t this treatment a bit harsh?”

Just as I was about to apologize, that bastard fully regenerated again. I guess the apology will have to wait… actually, I probably won’t ever get to apologize.

Anyway, I wiped the smile off my face, took out a scroll, and gave simple instructions to those who worked well together with me.

“I need your support one last time.”

That rookie hero was so inexperienced that it was a struggle to support him, but this time I had people I could trust watching my back.

So I charged at the Demon King with only one thought in mind—to attack.

He began swinging his sword at me. If I continued charging like this, I’d be cut in half.

But I trusted my comrades behind me and kept charging forward.

CRASH!

The Demon King’s attack collided with Agath’s mace and was completely neutralized.

SWOOSH!

As soon as the Demon King’s attack was deflected, Rebecca’s arrow made of light pierced through his heart.

And I stuffed about five scrolls into the hole that had formed.

“Blast it!”

“Got it!”

As soon as I gave the signal, Agath instantly struck him with her mace, sending him flying high into the air.

Then I immediately activated the scrolls I had placed inside his body.

“Detonate.”

A series of massive explosions erupted from inside his body, instantly splattering his flesh everywhere.

Unfortunately, one of the pieces of flesh that fell to the ground immediately began regenerating into human form.

“Leo? Why is it regenerating?”

“But his attacks are monoton—”

BOOM!

Suddenly, a crimson lightning bolt struck down at us from the sky.

I managed to dodge it. Rebecca also successfully blocked the attack by creating a barrier. But Agath took a direct hit from the lightning.

“Ugh… Didn’t you say… his attacks were monotonous…?”

“They were.”

“…”

Agath gave me an aggrieved look. Why is she looking at me like that when she’s the one who failed to block it?

Just as I was about to ask Rebecca to heal Agath, the Demon King, who had regenerated much faster than before, appeared right in front of Agath.

“Huh?”

And his sword began flying toward Agath’s neck. Fortunately, I was able to recognize that he was about to attack.

So I immediately threw myself forward and blocked the attack with my body.

“Urgh…”

As the Demon King’s sword slashed down on my left shoulder, I pulled out a scroll and attached it to both his legs.

“Freeze.”

After freezing his legs to prevent him from moving, an arrow of light flew toward his head.

He was aware of this attack and tried to pull his sword out of my shoulder to block it, but I had no intention of letting go of the sword and held onto it desperately.

Additionally, Agath struck his waist with her massive mace, making it difficult for him to exert any strength.

Thanks to that, his head was blown off once again. Of course, it would obviously regenerate soon.

Anyway, just as I was about to ask Rebecca to heal me, Agath suddenly handed me a potion and said:

“Drink this and your wounds will disappear.”

“Can’t I just get healed by Rebecca?”

“Then what will she use to recharge her divine power for making arrows?”

“That’s true. But isn’t this ridiculously expensive?”

“That’s rich coming from someone who casually uses scrolls worth hundreds of millions each.”

“The fate of the world is at stake. Does that really matter?”

“But you were the one who—”

“Save the chitchat for later.”

I ignored Agath’s aggrieved look again and gulped down the potion she had given me.

Immediately, all the wounds and fatigue throughout my body disappeared. It certainly lives up to its price.

Anyway, we continued to hold out until that meteor in the sky would reach us.

***

We managed to hold out for quite a while. But the damage was significant.

First, we had used up all those ridiculously expensive potions, so we had no means of recovery except for Rebecca.

But even Rebecca seemed to be running low on divine power, as she couldn’t properly heal us anymore.

As a result, Agath was completely battered. This was partly because she had taken most of the hits meant for me.

Anyway, I said to Agath, who was now pushed to her limit:

“You should go back now.”

“As much as I’d like to keep fighting… I’d just be in the way if I stayed here…”

Agath obediently unfolded a scroll and returned somewhere. At least she was aware of her own condition, which was fortunate.

“By the way, how much divine power do you have left?”

“Just a moment.”

Rebecca shot an arrow made of faint light, inflicting minimal damage on the Demon King.

She must have used up too much divine power. While I was thinking this, Rebecca said:

“I’m out now.”

“Then you should follow her and go back too.”

“But will you be alright alone?”

“Would anything change if you stayed here?”

She also understood her situation, so she took out a scroll and said in a worried tone:

“Please make sure you come back alive.”

With Rebecca gone too, I was now truly alone.

Honestly, I don’t think I can accomplish anything by myself. But I still need to hold out somehow.

So I steeled my resolve and reached into my pocket for another scroll… but there were none left.

Still, my body was intact. So I just had to hold out somehow.

***

When he attacks, my priority is to dodge.

Even if an opportunity to attack arises, I retreat first to create a situation where I can avoid future attacks.

If I find myself in a situation where I’ll definitely take a hit, I counter-attack to at least buy some time.

Fighting with the focus on buying time rather than neutralizing him, the meteor finally approached right before us. At last, the end is near.

While I was thinking this, he unnecessarily deployed a barrier. I wonder how this stupid bastard would react if he knew the true nature of this magic.

Anyway, the meteor that had almost reached the ground disappeared without a trace.

“…”

He deactivated the barrier he had created and looked at me with obvious confusion.

“You fool, did you really think I could create such a meteor by myself?”

What had been falling from the sky all this time was merely an illusion created to appear that way.

Originally, such a meteor would require over 100 magicians gathering and planning for several years to create, given its high difficulty of production.

I did spout nonsense about it being a pure mana mass and whatnot, but if I had enough mana to create something like that, I wouldn’t have wasted it on such a thing but would have used it on my supernatural power instead.

Still, thanks to that illusion distracting him, the magic I was truly preparing was now ready.

If he had paid attention to the ground below rather than the sky above, it would have been a real problem, but I was lucky this time.

Anyway, to activate that magic, I lifted my leg and stomped hard on the ground with my foot.

CRASH!

The ground began to collapse entirely, and both the Demon King and I started being sucked into a void-like mass, similar to a black hole.

This is a dangerous magic that completely erases everything it touches. And as dangerous as it is, it’s also incredibly difficult to create.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t created by me but by that mysterious girl, so even I don’t know exactly what it is.

By the way, who exactly is that guy? Not only does he have exceptional knowledge of magic, but he can use magic that’s far ahead of our time. Could he possibly be from the future?

Well, none of that matters now. It’s all over anyway.

As I was relaxing my body and falling to the ground with that thought, I saw the Demon King trying to escape using wings that had suddenly appeared.

“…You crazy bastard, you’re incredibly persistent.”

I needed to tear off his wings immediately. If I didn’t, everything we had fought for would obviously be meaningless.

But no suitable method came to mind. My supernatural power was completely gone, and I had run out of scrolls for casting magic.

What I needed was a magic that could be cast quickly. It didn’t need to be grand in scale. As long as it could disrupt those wing movements, it would be enough.

Ah, I remembered that magic. It’s not suitable for attacks, but it can be used in combat.

As soon as I made my decision, I squeezed out as much remaining mana as possible, concentrated it on my right index finger, and roughly drew a magic circle in my mind.

Of course, no one in their right mind would memorize such magic circles. But if it’s a magic you created yourself, you’d typically have at least a rough memory of it.

Thanks to that, I could draw that magic in my mind smoothly. It’s not particularly powerful, but it’s enough to kill a person.

As soon as the preparation for the magic was complete, I cast the magic I had created myself toward him.

FLASH!

A red beam of light from my finger pierced through the joint of his wing. He seemed not to have expected such an attack from someone nearly dead, and he glared at me with an angry face.

So in return, I provoked him with a sardonic smile.

“How does it feel to be hit by a beam used for welding?”

Eventually, both the Demon King and I began to be sucked into the void abyss.

Finally, finally, my—our—cursed journey has ended. At last, I’ve achieved my revenge from back then.

But I don’t feel happy. Is it because I’m on the verge of death now and have lost all my precious people?

No, I did gain new precious people. Though I’m about to part with them again, as always.

Well, at least I can rest now. Thinking about it that way, my miserable feelings improved a little.

It would be nice if I could meet those guys who left before me again, but I’ll probably fall into hell because of the blood on my hands, so that’s unlikely.

Still, if possible, I’d like to meet you all again.

With this wish that’s too good for me, my body gradually crumbled, and I completely disappeared from this world.