Ch.198Maria (3)

*

Sylvia’s specially crafted sword was unlike ordinary swords, being exceptionally heavy.

Of course, Sylvia could wield it as freely as her own limbs, but because its specifications differed greatly from conventional swords, her stance and timing when swinging it had subtle yet distinct differences compared to others.

Due to Sylvia’s unique pattern, ordinary mages found it difficult to support her.

In fact, among the soldiers who accompanied the hero’s party, mages primarily took on the role of clearing miscellaneous magical beasts with area-of-effect spells rather than supporting Sylvia.

Only Maria could provide support that matched Sylvia’s subtle patterns.

Naturally, a mage of Maria’s caliber would be capable of using powerful magic as well.

But Maria knew all too well that no magic in this world was more powerful than Sylvia’s sword.

That’s why Sylvia no longer doubted the fact that Maria had been resurrected.

Cutting, dodging, cutting again—magical support coming in perfectly during each brief moment, allowing her to simply focus on slashing the enemy before her—a battle so comfortable.

Only Maria was capable of this.

Although Sylvia had mistakenly called Ash by Maria’s name in that moment when Ash had entangled the Demon Lord’s feet, comparing them now made it clear that Maria possessed skills on an entirely different level from Ash.

“…”

Memories of times spent with Maria flashed through Sylvia’s mind like scenery passing outside a moving carriage, but Sylvia gritted her teeth and ignored those beautiful images.

This was no time to indulge in sentimentality, and she was also worried sick about Ash who had collapsed after being struck by her sword.

Above all, she was deeply concerned about the Demon Lord’s condition, who refused to fall despite her continuous sword strikes.

The Demon Lord, looking several times more hideous than before, writhed violently in pain each time Sylvia’s sword cut through its body, but those convulsions never subsided.

That repulsive mass of flesh never collapsed, seeming far from any ordinary living being as it continued its bizarre contortions.

“Damn it!”

Sylvia momentarily stopped, gritting her teeth as she felt the pain in her overworked shoulders and waist, furrowing her brow.

In truth, her entire body ached.

She had merely grown accustomed to it due to the curse that prevented her from dying, but the pain was definitely spreading throughout her body.

Not just her waist and shoulders, but also her ankles from pushing hard against the ground as she ran, her thighs that supported her strong upper body.

Even her fingers, which had to absorb the impact transmitted through the sword, were tingling.

As she adjusted her grip on the sword with her other hand, momentarily clenching and unclenching her fist, Maria’s hazy form, which had somehow approached Sylvia’s side, spoke.

“Hmm, it’s no use.”

“…”

“What’s wrong? Why are you like that?”

“…”

Her lips simply wouldn’t part.

It’s good to see you.

I really missed you, I wanted to see you so much.

Thank you.

I’m sorry.

I’ve thought countless times how much better it would have been if I had died instead of you.

No, then you would have had to endure the terrible time I went through, so I’ve also thought many times that perhaps this was for the best.

I would wake up every night seeing you die.

It was so frightening and painful, but I loved seeing your face even in that way, and so I killed myself hundreds of times in my mind as I fell asleep.

“…”

She had so many things she wanted to say if she ever saw Maria again.

In fact, she had been falling apart during that long period before Ash appeared, just thinking about such things.

Yet now, with Maria right before her eyes, Sylvia couldn’t utter a single word.

Unlike Sylvia, Maria chattered away with a voice like birdsong that rings every morning.

“Ah, fortunately Ash is still alive. No danger to her life. It’ll hurt, but she’ll be fine.”

“…Ah.”

“There you go again. It’s not your fault. That’s always been your problem. Blaming yourself. Even if you’re a hero, you don’t need to solve or take responsibility for everything in the world, right? You can’t, and you’re not smart enough to shoulder all those worries—how many times have I told you that?”

“But—”

“Cut the crap and pick up your sword. And Ash can take a few hits. She still secretly puts lizards on my back and runs away, you know?”

“No…”

“What the hell? So she only does that to me and Alice? That little shit.”

At Maria’s playful outburst, Sylvia shifted her sword back to her right hand.

Glancing behind her, she saw Ash sitting up.

Seeing that Ash had regained consciousness, Sylvia felt a small but definite sense of relief.

However, for some reason, the sword she gripped again felt heavier than before.

Ash and Maria.

Perhaps it was the weight of her heart, growing with the number of people she needed to protect.

“Was it… like this before too?”

“What? Oh, I was beautiful before too. Have you forgotten my face? Has it been that long since I died?”

“No, I mean the Demon Lord. I was wondering if it stayed intact even after being cut like this before.”

“Ah… Back then, we couldn’t even fight like this. It was difficult to even approach because it kept firing strange magic spells we’d never seen before.”

“That’s right… When we fought before, the only time I got close was that moment when I cut its neck.”

“Huh? You cut its neck?”

Maria spoke with a startled expression.

Sylvia thought that if only her form wasn’t so hazy, she would have been able to see those eyes wide open like a fool’s.

“What? You defeated the Demon Lord?”

“…If I had, the Demon Lord wouldn’t be alive over there now. It’s complicated to explain. And a long story.”

“What? What happened?”

“You don’t know… because you di—”

Because you died.

Sylvia barely stopped her careless tongue from uttering those words, clamping her mouth shut as if she might bite her tongue off.

‘Mother…’

The image of Maria dying flashed before her eyes.

That scene, still embedded in her mind and tormenting her, gradually filled her thoughts.

“…”

What did Maria know, and what didn’t she know?

What happened after she died, how painfully I lived alone.

How many times that scene of your death repeated in my dreams.

How much I love Ash, who appeared to me like a miracle.

How Ash and I became lovers.

“Hah…”

There was so much she wanted to say, but there was no time.

Maria, perhaps understanding Sylvia’s feelings, didn’t press the matter further.

“…So what do we do now?”

That was it.

That mature attitude hidden behind her playful demeanor was Maria’s true charm.

Was it because she had both parents who indulged her childish whims and a younger brother she had to take responsibility for and care for that she developed such a multifaceted personality?

Sylvia unconsciously smiled slightly, and Maria opened her mouth toward her.

“The good thing is… at least it’s not firing magic spells like last time. Even someone as simple as you should understand what that means, Sylvia?”

“It’s not in its complete physical state, it seems.”

“Correct. Ugh, you can tell just by looking at it. It looks disgusting.”

Maria continued, making an exaggerated gagging sound.

“Like a shiny lizard made of moldy clay.”

“That’s a very you-like expression, Maria.”

“Its voice is shit and its appearance is shit.”

“…I agree.”

“It’s like dicks are creeping into my ears, and dicks are slowly approaching my eyeballs.”

“Stop.”

Maria made a small giggling sound and said:

“Come to think of it, you never liked this kind of talk, did you? Looking at your face, I wonder if you’ve barely even held hands with Ash?”

“…”

“…Hmm?”

“…”

“Sylvia?”

“The Demon Lord can’t be killed, but it doesn’t have the power to overwhelm us either. That’s the current situation.”

“…Eh?”

Sylvia tightly gripped her sword and muttered while glaring at the Demon Lord.

“Yes, this is actually better. Don’t fall too easily.”

Those painful past few years, so vivid even from just a brief recollection.

Why the Demon Lord wouldn’t die—that was something she could think about later.

At least it was in pain.

For Sylvia, that was enough.

“I still have a long way to go before I can pay you back.”

Sylvia tensed her legs as if she might leap off the ground at any moment.

Maria spoke to her quietly in a somewhat embarrassed voice.

“Um, sorry to interrupt your fighting spirit.”

“…?”

“I don’t have much magical power left.”

“What…? You run out of magical power? You always said managing magical power was the most basic principle…”

“Did you forget that this isn’t my magical power but Ash’s? I’m a spirit now. That spirit Pia was already using Ash’s magical power too.”

“Ah…”

Maria’s hazy form tilted her head.

That gesture unique to her whenever she was contemplating something.

Sylvia could clearly recognize it.

“If it can’t die anyway, we can’t waste any more magical power. It’s nothing but a war of attrition.”

“What are you going to do?”

“For now, you keep attacking. It can’t resurrect infinitely, so wear it down a bit. I’ll conserve my magical power for a while.”

“How much are you lacking?”

“I haven’t used it all up yet. But I need to preserve some for a critical moment, and above all, I want to maintain the defensive magic…”

“…Ah.”

Defensive magic.

Even now, Maria’s defensive magic was wrapped around Sylvia’s body.

“Dying hurts a lot. Take this advice from someone with experience.”

Maria spoke in a light tone, but to Sylvia, who knew all too well where she had gained that experience, it sounded incredibly heavy and solemn.

Sylvia raised her sword-wielding hand and said:

“Alright, please take care of Ash then.”

“Got it. Of course, I’ll join in if things look dangerous.”

“It’s fine. No need for that.”

“…Don’t be too overconf—”

Before Maria could finish, Sylvia shot forward.

She grabbed the Demon Lord’s neck with her bare hand, pushed it against the wall, and struck its head with the hilt of her sword.

A cluster of sharp tentacles erupted from the Demon Lord’s chest, but Sylvia gripped the blade of her sword with her bare hand and deflected them within the shortened distance.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

Countless tentacles burst forth from the Demon Lord’s body, which was bulging like tadpole eggs packed inside a thin membrane.

Some grazed Sylvia’s cheeks, some pierced her waist and thighs, but most were cut off by her sword.

The severed tentacles writhed, spraying yellowish liquid from their cross-sections in all directions.

Sylvia thrust her fist into the mass of writhing tentacles.

The Demon Lord’s body was pushed back hard again, hitting the wall and bouncing off.

Sylvia planted her sword into the Demon Lord’s sagging body, pinning it to the wall.

Then she began pounding the pinned Demon Lord’s face with both hands.

“Endure it. I’ll cut and beat you until you die.”

“Kuaaak,”

“If you don’t die, I’ll cut and beat you forever.”

The Demon Lord’s hideous face, mercilessly crushed under Sylvia’s iron gauntlets, sneered through its mangled mouth and muttered:

“You fool.”

.