Ch.206A World Where Everyone Is Unhappy (1)

# The Demon King is Dead

The Demon King is dead.

That terrifying being who seemed immortal—deflecting Silvia’s countless sword strikes, surviving even decapitation, and regenerating his broken body—has finally perished.

Sister Alice the Saint’s sword.

Sister Maria the Great Mage’s magic.

Hero Silvia’s strength.

Humanity’s answer to the world’s crisis proved to be the correct one, despite the horrifically long period of suffering and countless hardships endured along the way.

In the end, it was the hero who killed the Demon King.

Of course, this Demon King was entirely different from previous ones who had repeatedly threatened humanity.

That’s why, despite our victory, too many wounds remain.

Humans stand on the brink of annihilation, and the demon race faces an equally uncertain future.

Everyone who walks on two legs across this land bears tremendous scars.

“No.”

I shook my head.

There’s no need to drown in sorrow.

We won. We protected what matters.

Though it will take much time, human history hasn’t been severed.

When the goddess’s touch, temporarily absent from the world, eventually returns, this fate will finally return to the right path.

For now, I decided to be grateful for that fact.

“…”

The demon boy kept mindlessly grinding the fragments of the Demon King’s head stuck to the sole of his shoe.

The Demon King we finally defeated ended up like that.

The demon boy assured us with a stern face that he would never resurrect again.

Silvia quietly informed me that he was the son of the previous Demon King, who had been killed by the current one.

Now I understood how he could prevent the Demon King’s resurrection.

His perfect blockage of the Demon King’s revival was revenge for what happened to his father.

The previous Demon King—the boy’s father—would have been Silvia’s enemy in the proper course of fate.

What kind of demon was he?

Does the boy miss his father?

Recalling how the boy retrieved his fallen comrades one by one from the moat filled with a brain-splitting stench, perhaps the saying that demons lack human-like affection isn’t true.

With these thoughts, I turned my gaze away from the demon boy’s bitter profile.

For some reason, my father’s face—who they say has passed away—came to mind.

The demon boy quietly spoke.

“I never thought I’d receive help from humans… No, that’s not right… You didn’t help us, you did everything. We demons… couldn’t do anything.”

“…”

I couldn’t offer hasty words of comfort to the disheartened demon boy.

We had lost too much to tell him that they had also done their best.

No matter how vile a usurper and slaughterer of his own kind the Demon King was, the fact remained that he was still a demon.

I wasn’t generous enough to comfort the demon race that had allowed this situation to escalate by failing to deal with one traitor among their own.

I didn’t want to compare our losses and argue about who suffered more, but the weight of Sister Alice in my arms—fallen into an eternal sleep—was a stark reminder of what we had lost and how much we had sacrificed.

Sister Alice showed no movement.

Her body, with only the upper half remaining, hadn’t recovered, nor had it disappeared, leaving only her heart behind.

I could no longer feel the hot air from her machinery or the faint holy power that had been healing my body.

Only a weight far less than that of an ordinary person—one that even I could lift—remained of her body.

Tears flow.

I recall our days in Goldfield territory.

The scenery from that hill we climbed together—my parents, Laila, Sister Maria, and Sister Alice—appears vividly before my eyes.

“Ah…”

Now no one remains who saw that scenery with me.

Everyone who shared that beautiful view with me that day is dead.

“…Aah, ugh…”

I buried my face in Sister Alice’s neck.

Hot tears fell onto her skin, which had grown so terribly cold.

The faces of my parents, Laila, and Sister Alice swirl in my mind.

I will never forget them.

Because now I’m the only one who remembers them.

*

Before leaving the Demon King’s castle, we exchanged brief farewells with the demon boy.

He decided to stay in this old castle ruin.

Though he could live among humans if he wished, having worked as a merchant among them, he was the rightful owner and successor of this castle.

The boy’s face, as he vowed to restore this land defiled by the Demon King, looked more mature than I remembered.

He had become the new Demon King.

Of course, he made it clear that he had no intention of being hostile toward humanity.

He joked that after seeing Silvia fight, he wouldn’t dare challenge her—though he later clarified with a stern face that it wasn’t a joke at all.

After exchanging a few pleasantries and well-wishes, we slowly began our journey.

Finally, we’re going back.

To the cottage by the lake watched over by the Green Lady.

“…Ash, how are you feeling?”

While walking, Silvia asked with a worried expression.

I nodded and answered.

“I can manage.”

“Don’t lie. Just let me carry her.”

Silvia was referring to Sister Alice’s body, which I was carrying with both hands.

But I shook my head.

“Sorry, I don’t want to.”

“Ash, isn’t this uncomfortable for you?”

“…”

She was right—our current appearance was somewhat ridiculous.

I was carrying Sister Alice’s body with both hands like a sack of rice, walking with extremely slow, awkward steps, while Silvia held my shoulder firmly with one hand, matching my slow pace with hesitant steps.

Pia and Sister Maria were slowly following behind us.

We looked like we were playing a train game.

But it couldn’t be helped.

Though Sister Alice’s healing had improved my condition somewhat, my body was a mess due to fatigue, aftereffects, and a considerable amount of demonic energy.

Much of the forest’s demonic energy had dissipated with the Demon King’s death, but enough remained that Silvia had to keep her hand on me, infusing me with holy power.

“Ash, I understand how you feel, but… how are you going to make it all the way back like this? Remember, we had to climb up and down cliffs along the way. At this pace, we won’t make it. Alice will rot—”

“…”

“She’ll decompose. Just hand Alice over to me and walk while holding my hand.”

Silvia, unusually aware of her slip of tongue, corrected herself.

I already knew she didn’t think highly of Sister Alice.

The fact that Sister Alice confessed her love to me just before dying must have been quite irritating to Silvia.

But there was no hostility toward Sister Alice in Silvia’s voice or attitude.

She was genuinely worried about me.

She was anxious that I might collapse along the way.

“…No.”

But even understanding Silvia’s concern, I had to refuse.

If I held hands with Silvia, she would have to carry Sister Alice over her shoulder with one hand.

Though it wouldn’t be difficult for Silvia, I couldn’t bear to see Sister Alice carried like a bundle.

“…Ash.”

“Sigh… I’m sorry. I know I’m being stubborn, but…”

“…”

Silvia closed her eyes tightly and sighed.

I staggered forward.

That’s when it happened.

My vision spun, and my legs suddenly gave out.

Fortunately, before I fell, Silvia caught me under my arms and lifted me up.

“See! You can’t even walk properly anymore.”

“Haa… huff…”

“Listen to me, Ash. Please.”

Was there really no other way?

As Silvia said, the path back to the cottage wasn’t easy.

There were cliffs to climb and ravines to jump across.

It was a path that would be challenging even for me in good condition, let alone in my current state.

As I caught my breath and racked my brain, Sister Maria spoke up.

“Ash, how much of your magical power has recovered?”

“Huh?”

“Your magical power. That’s all you need, right?”

I realized what Sister Maria was saying.

Naturally, my gaze turned to Pia.

Pia tilted her head, meeting my gaze.

“Teleport…”

“Yes. I thought you already knew, but you didn’t?”

Sister Maria asked me with a somewhat surprised tone.

“…I didn’t know.”

“Your honesty makes me angry, you stupid little brother.”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier…”

“I was keeping quiet because you didn’t have any magical power right now, and I was the one who used up all your magic anyway, so I felt awkward. But I didn’t think you wouldn’t even consider it.”

“…”

Sister Maria shot back at me with her characteristic know-it-all tone.

Does she think everyone is as brilliant as she is?

No, this time it wasn’t her being smart—it was me being stupid.

With a self-reproachful sigh, I called out to Pia.

“Pia…”

“Ash, I can’t. No magical power.”

“I know. But we can work around that, right?”

I struggled to hold Sister Alice tightly with one arm while extending my other arm to Pia.

While spirit arts basically consume my magical power, I could substitute other resources—like my blood.

“Ash, do you know what condition your body is in? Are you asking me to drink your blood too?”

Pia shouted angrily with an offended voice.

My physical condition was indeed very poor.

The occasional flashes in my vision suggested I might be briefly losing consciousness.

But there was no other option now.

Or rather, it was precisely because of my terrible condition that I needed Pia’s help more than ever.

“Please, Pia. Let’s go back to that cottage.”

“Ash, if you do this, you might really…”

“Die. But do we have any other choice? Besides, at this rate, I might die before we even reach the cottage.”

“…Hah, you’re always like this, Ash. Always making these demands. You keep creating situations where I might end up killing you.”

Pia’s voice, as she hung her head and grumbled, was thick with tears.

Looking at her, I said:

“Well, I’m always dying, so…”

“Do you know how sad that makes me? How helpless I feel?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“No matter what I choose, you’re always dying. What does that make me? Just someone who chooses how you die.”

“I’m not dead yet.”

“That’s the only good thing! But you’re in danger of dying again!”

Pia exploded.

Coincidentally, everything Pia said was true.

Whether Silvia knew or was pretending not to know, I was dying at this very moment, in real time.

The demonic energy accumulated in my body was steadily eating away at my life with each passing moment.

Walking to the cottage in this condition would be tantamount to suicide.

Of course, having my blood drained wouldn’t be good either.

“Pia.”

“…”

“If I’m going to die, I’d rather it be at the cottage than on the road. The Green Lady is there, and Laila’s grave is nearby.”

“Ash!”

It was Silvia who shouted, not Pia.

Sister Maria was also slightly grimacing.

But I continued regardless.

“Let’s think of it this way. You know the Green Lady has removed all the demonic energy around the lake, right? Even if it’s a strain, getting to the lakeside as quickly as possible would be better for my body. Don’t you agree?”

“…That’s true, but—”

“Please, Pia.”

“…Hmm.”

Pia was wavering at my persuasion.

Her shifting pupils were proof of that.

Reaching the limit of supporting Sister Alice with one arm, I cradled her again with both hands and waited for Pia’s answer.

After a moment, Pia, with her eyes tightly shut, answered briefly.

“Still… I don’t want to.”

“Pia…”

“I’m not saying I won’t do it. But I won’t drink your blood.”

“…What do you mean?”

Pia hung her head low and slowly spoke with a trembling voice.

“I don’t really know spirit arts either. When I want to do something for Ash, the things I can do just come to mind. Even though I’m a spirit, I don’t know much. I’ve never been taught.”

“…Yes.”

Sister Maria nodded at Pia’s words.

It seemed spirits naturally discover their abilities when faced with certain situations.

Humans too don’t exactly learn how to move their arms or walk on two feet—they just know when the time comes.

Pia was a very young spirit.

She still had much to learn and discover.

Of course, the same was true for Sister Alice, who was essentially just born as a spirit.

“So… this is just a hypothesis.”

“Yes…?”

Pia continued, stumbling over her words.

“Maybe blood isn’t necessary.”

“Then…?”

Pia couldn’t answer readily.

With her head bowed, gripping the hem of the leather clothes I had made for her with both hands, she looked somewhat like a shy girl.

I was about to open my mouth to urge the hesitating Pia when—

“…Ah, don’t tell me.”

Silvia exclaimed as if she had realized something.

Somehow, there seemed to be a hint of anger in her exclamation.

Silvia continued, furrowing her brow sharply.

“These two, taking turns…”