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"For me, Kouki-kun was truly a prince charming, a hero who saved me from the brink of despair.
Days spent losing my father and constantly being denied by my mother. I had thought I would live properly for my father's sake, but before I knew it, I started thinking that it should have been me who died, not my father.
And yet..."
"Die! Everyone die! Die, die, die, die, die! Just die!!"
"Kouki, Ryutaro, don't even let it graze you!"
"Ah!"
"Oh!"
Black blades of wind raged from Eri's right arm. Kouki and the others dodged them, slipping through the gaps.
Even a devil's blow, which would be fatal if it so much as grazed them, was simplistic and easy to read when delivered by Eri, who was losing her mind.
"Hey, why won't you stay with me? I didn't need anything else if I just had you..."
Just having you by my side was enough. Truly, that was all.
"You guys, you won't make it in time if you wait to react to the vanguard's support! Always predict two steps ahead and act!"
" "Yes!!" "
From the rear, Kaori and Suzu's support increased the momentum of Kouki and the others' attacks. They precisely defended against attacks that Kouki and the others couldn't fully react to.
The skeletons remaining around them were completely suppressed by Cattleya's monsters, unable to support Eri.
Furthermore, what was hindering Eri's offense was the magic Cattleya herself unleashed. It seemed to be a superior version of what they had seen in the Orcus Great Labyrinth, petrifying even insubstantial skeletons, which were then easily shattered by the monsters.
'My "Stigma" wouldn't let something like that through,' she thought, but Eri, without allies to protect her back, would face certain defeat the moment she was incapacitated. Because of this, she couldn't take any rash actions.
"Cattleya, you're entrusting your back to her, so why not me? I know so much more about Kouki-kun."
"I'll deliver a blow! Ryutaro!"
"Leave it to me! Kouki, you make sure to finish it too!!"
"Yeah! Ryutaro, don't mess up!!"
Ryutaro ran ahead, followed by Shizuku and Kouki.
Seeing this, Eri chose a frontal intercept.
"Perish, all of you!!"
A massive flash, unleashed without a motion, swallowed the three. That torrent of light surged far into the distance. Once swallowed, it was a deadly flash capable of pulverizing every single cell.
Under normal circumstances, that is.
"Uwoooooooh!!"
Ryutaro, who had been leading, crossed his arms and continued to push through, tearing apart the torrent of light.
"Wha, why!?"
"Don't underestimate me!! This much is nothing! Not compared to losing a friend!!"
Friend? No, I never thought of you that way. You, with nothing but muscle in your brain, were truly difficult to handle. If you weren't Kouki-kun's best friend, you're the kind of person I'd never want to associate with.
"Eri! Get ready!!"
Shizuku, who had been following behind Ryutaro, leaped up and placed her hand on the hilt of the katana at her waist.
"Is that all you've got, you idiot? It won't work!"
Eri spread the "Stigma" on her right arm, dyeing eighty percent of her body white. 'Your attacks won't penetrate this armor. It's a futile struggle.'
" 'Yaegashi Style Hilt Strike, Armor Piercer' "
"Gaaah!?"
The hilt of the black blade, struck out at divine speed, slammed into Eri's flank, assaulting her with a shock so intense she thought her consciousness would fly. Spitting blood, Eri gritted her teeth and glared at Shizuku.
"Ho-how did you... my 'Stigma'...!"
"No matter how powerful that ability is, the inside is still human, right? If so, there's a way!"
'Yaegashi Style Hilt Strike, Armor Piercer'
A technique where the hilt of a swiftly drawn katana is struck against the opponent's abdomen while passing by. As the name suggests, it penetrates the armor worn by the enemy, dealing direct damage to the bare flesh.
When their blades first clashed, Shizuku realized from the sensation that Eri wasn't transforming her arm itself, but rather enveloping it in magic like armor.
It was a gamble whether it would work on magical armor, but Shizuku seemed to have won her bet.
The pain loosened the control of her "Stigma," and her skin color returned to normal.
"This makes us even for all the things you said."
"Shizukuuuu!!"
I always envied you, who Kouki-kun always relied on. I couldn't understand you, who, despite complaining, would never abandon Kouki-kun.
"Eri!!"
"Kouki Amanogawaaaa!!"
Kouki, who had been hidden in Shizuku's shadow, appeared, raising his holy sword overhead. A dazzling light, as if splitting the heavens, erupted from the raised holy sword.
"I'll definitely save you! So, just bear with it a little longer!!"
"Don't mess with me! Who do you think you are?!"
"HAAAAAAAH!!"
The dazzling flash contracted, creating a blade made of light. It slashed through Eri.
"!!"
There was no pain. No bleeding. But at the same time, she felt something within her being lost. That light didn't hurt Eri at all; instead, it wrapped around her warmly—
"I don't need it!! Not that kind of warmth now!!"
Whipping her body, which felt like it was about to surrender to the sweet temptation and close its eyes, she glared at Kouki, who was frozen with his holy sword swung down.
"Your existence was my only reason for living. If you weren't here, I would have taken my own life long ago. So... please, just me..."
"Dieeee!!"
The "Cursed Ring" activated from her left arm, creating a sinister-looking sword that attacked Kouki.
Just as the blade was about to cleave Kouki's body in two, it appeared.
'Sacred Absolution'
Kaori's chanted "Sacred Absolution" completely blocked Eri's "Cursed Ring." Eri, half-hysterically, screamed at the renewed interference.
"Kaoriii!! How long are you going to keep getting in my way?!"
"Until Eri comes back! Because we're friends, right?!"
It irritates me. I hated you the most. You, who Kouki-kun wanted by his side just because you were childhood friends... You, who were wanted but tried to leave...
"But, still, I guess it should be left to my best friend in the end, huh?!"
"Huh? ...!?"
Eri, who didn't understand what Kaori was shouting, quickly realized.
(Where's Suzu?)
Suzu, who had been supporting the three vanguards next to Kaori, was gone. Where she had been just a moment ago, there was only Kaori, still deploying "Sacred Absolution," and Cattleya, wearing a cynical smile.
At that moment, Eri remembered. The time she was cornered by Cattleya in the Orcus Great Labyrinth.
'Why were we cornered? It's simple. Cattleya had hidden the form of her monsters with her unique magic, "Camouflage," causing us to misjudge the difference in strength.
Then why hadn't Cattleya used that unique magic on the monsters until now? If she had used it from the beginning, she could have gained an advantage in the battle...'
"—!? No way!!"
As Eri realized something, a shadow fell over her face.
Eri hurriedly looked up to see Suzu falling towards her, fist raised.
Behind her, a gigantic three-legged crow spread its wings, flying through the air as if to assert its presence.
"My unique magic 'Camouflage' also affects what it touches. Have you forgotten?"
"Damn—"
"Uwooooooh!! Grit your teeth!! You big idiot!!"
Suzu's full-force right hook slammed into Eri's cheek.
Amidst her fading consciousness, Eri desperately reached out her hand.
Suzu... I was always fed up with your carefree nature. I never thought of you as a best friend... But, I... I too...
She felt as if someone had grabbed her outstretched hand.
" ...Seriously, do you punch a girl in the face? Shouldn't it at least be an open hand?"
"Because Eri seemed perfectly fine after a slap, and you're in one piece, so don't complain."
"Since when did Suzu become so violent?"
"You said so many crazy things to me that I just let loose."
Eri, who had taken Suzu's full-force right hook, momentarily lost consciousness but woke up within a few minutes. However, when she awoke, she was already bound tightly with ropes and unable to move. The ropes, thoughtfully made of a special material, had the ability to dissipate magic, meaning that even if she tried to cast a spell, her magic would dissipate before it could take form.
The first thing Eri saw, lying bundled on the ground, was Suzu's smiling face looking down at her. Kouki and the others were observing from a slight distance, seemingly leaving it to Suzu first.
"So, Suzu and the others won. Now, as promised, come back."
"I don't recall making any such promise?"
"Well, they say the winner gets to decide whether to let live or kill, right? So, Eri, you have no right to refuse."
"Isn't that a bit too overbearing?"
The casual conversation between Suzu and Eri showed no trace of the madness they had just displayed. It was as if Suzu's punch had blown away the darkness that had nested in her heart, leaving her serene.
The two stared at each other in silence for a while, then Suzu tentatively spoke.
"Hey, Eri. Suzu, well, I've been thinking a lot since then."
"...About what?"
"Whether I could truly proudly say I was Eri's best friend. I realized I didn't know that much about Eri."
"That's obvious. No matter how friendly you act, you're still strangers. You can never truly understand each other from the bottom of your hearts."
Even blood relatives are like that...
Eri's muttered words, though unheard by Kouki and the others, reached Suzu's ears.
"Yeah, you're right. I guess you can never know everything about someone. Everyone has one or two secrets. But, we can try to understand each other."
"Sophistry. That's just self-satisfaction."
Eri curtly dismissed Suzu's words.
Even if you try to understand, does the other person truly want it? Even as friends, there are boundaries that shouldn't be crossed. Isn't it something that should be avoided precisely because you're friends?
Suzu agreed with Eri's continued statement, saying, "I think that's right too."
"No, there's no right answer in the first place. No one can perfectly grasp another's heart. That's why everyone keeps making mistakes."
"Keep making mistakes?"
"Yeah. Making mistakes over and over, clashing over and over, that's how I think people get to know each other... I was scared. I didn't want to be disliked, so I always smiled. By doing that, I never got too close to anyone, but I was always near someone. It was the easiest way, and I wasn't lonely..."
"..."
Eri didn't respond to Suzu's monologue. Eri, who had easily manipulated those around her, had noticed that Suzu was playing the role of a crowd-pleaser, never showing her true self. She just hadn't pointed it out because Suzu's carefree personality was convenient.
"But that's not good enough. If you want to know someone, you have to show yourself first. So, Suzu wants to start over with Eri. I want you to tell me what you're thinking and what you want to do."
"Do you really think we can start over? Me, the enemy of humanity?"
"Of course."
Eri, who had been staring intently at Suzu's unhesitating nod, sighed and then began to speak in a fragmented way.
" ...When I was little, my father got hit by a car while protecting me—"
What followed was a grotesquely ugly and terrifying experience for a five-year-old.
Kouki, who had once stopped Eri from attempting suicide, had heard a highly abridged version of the explanation, but he realized that what he had thought he understood was a terribly childish and foolish misunderstanding, and he clenched his fists tightly. His anger was directed at his past self.
However, even if he had heard every detail, it would have been hard for the Kouki of that time to believe that a mother would further torment a daughter who had just lost her father before her eyes and was engulfed in grief.
"But, betraying everything, becoming the enemy of humanity, what would my father think about that? Lately, those thoughts just keep going through my head."
"...Is that why you seemed a bit strange?"
"...His daughter, whom he saved at the cost of his life, becomes a rebel against the world... How would he feel?"
Suzu didn't know how to answer those words.
'That's not true. Eri's father must still be wishing for Eri's happiness.'
It was easy to say in words. However, to Eri, who had been betrayed by her mother, a thoughtless remark just because he was her father wouldn't reach her.
And yet, Suzu and the others had no way of knowing what Eri's father, whom they had never met, had thought or wished for.
A silence fell between Suzu, who was speechless and didn't know what to say, and Eri, who had finished telling her story.
Perhaps, that was the turning point of fate.
"So, I'm just tired now..."
"...Huh?"
Words murmured so softly that even Suzu, who was beside her, almost missed them.
As Suzu tilted her head, about to ask what she had said, Eri spoke, cutting her off.
"Eri, what did you just—"
" 'Divine Punishment, here now.' "
The moment Eri quietly uttered those words, red blood splattered across Suzu's cheek.
"......Huh?"
Suzu's cheek was stained with blood, but Suzu herself had not a single scratch. That was because the blood was spray-back from her...
—A shining blade pierced Eri's chest.
"Gah!"
"Eriiiiii!!"
After floating slightly from the impact, Eri's body slumped weakly, and Suzu frantically supported her. Kouki and the others, who had been watching from a distance, rushed over, their faces pale.
"Eri!? Eri!?"
"What the hell!? Where did that attack come from!?"
"No way!? I didn't feel a thing!?"
"Who is it!? Who did this to Eri...!!"
"Calm down, all of you! You! Kaori, was it? Start healing immediately! The rest of you, guard the surroundings!"
"O-okay!!"
Following Cattleya's instructions, Kouki and the others formed a tight circle around Eri, back to back, and Kaori immediately activated regeneration magic.
It should have taken effect immediately, but it only emitted a faint light, causing no change.
"Why!? The regeneration magic is activating!? Why isn't it healing!?"
"Eri!? Hold on!? Eri!?"
The fact that regeneration magic was not working brought a certain presence to Cattleya's mind.
(An event powerful enough to negate Divine Magic. That's not something a mere grunt can do. The only one capable of this is...!)
Cattleya glared intently at the sky. There, a god was clashing with her beloved master, radiating intense flashes of light.
(I can't imagine he'd waste his awareness on us while fighting Lord Aldias. This means the magic wasn't fired from outside, but was embedded in the body from the very beginning!)
In the first place, the Demonfolk, like Cattleya, were more skilled at handling magic than humans and were thus more sensitive to sensing magical power. Even Cattleya hadn't noticed any magical reaction from the "outside." However, if it was activated from the "inside," that was a different story.
Eri had been fitted with special restraints that inhibited the activation of magic, but it wasn't expected to work against a god.
As Kaori desperately continued to activate her regeneration magic and Suzu frantically called out to her, Eri vaguely gazed at Schbass, who was fighting high in the sky. There was no anger or resentment in her eyes, only profound apology and gratitude.
(Thank you, Lord Schbass. For granting my selfish wish...)
She recalled the conversation four hours before the battle began.
"If I ever give up on everything... I want Lord Spassto end it."
That god certainly hated humanity. But at the same time, he loved humanity from the bottom of his heart. Love begets hatred, and hatred begets love. What a contradiction.
To ask such a kindperson for a final blow, my nature truly must be rotten. But... I'm sorry. I can't try anymore. Because I have nothing.
I had realized it long ago. Even if I destroyed everything and obtained Kouki-kun, it wouldn't be what I truly desired. The boy who saved me that day wasn't someone who could be obtained like that.
But then, what should I have done? My kind father died, and my kind mother disappeared. Those happy days from that time would never return. What was I supposed to do?
How could I have been happy?
Or perhaps, I was never meant to be happy from the start. Perhaps I, who killed my father, had no right to happiness.
If that were the case, they should have told me from the beginning. If I had known that, I wouldn't have expected anything. I could have been beaten and insulted by my mother, and ended my life quietly, without being remembered by anyone.
I wouldn't have had to hold onto hope...
—Ah... truly, it was a lonely life.
"Eri!!"
"!"...Suzu?"
Eri, who had almost closed her eyelids, widened her eyes slightly at the sight that jumped into view.
"Are you... crying?"
Suzu, her face a mess with tears, desperately gripped Eri's hand and continued to call out to her. Eri was bewildered by the sight.
"No! Don't die!? Please don't die!?"
"Suzu..."
"Please!! Get better! Get better!!"
"Kaori..."
Next to her, Kaori was also crying, but desperately casting her magic. Even though it was useless, why were they trying so hard...?
"Kaori! Can't you do something!? Please, please...!"
"Damn, damn, damn, you bastardsss!! Who the hell is itttt!!"
"Don't hide, come out! I won't forgive you! I will never forgive you!!"
"Shizuku... Ryutaro... Kouki-kun..."
She couldn't see their faces since their backs were turned, but their voices were trembling immensely, and their shoulders were heaving violently. She could even hear faint sniffles.
"Why... are you all crying?"
"T-that's... that's because we don't want Eri to die, of course!!"
"...If I... die, will you be... sad?"
"Of course!! Eri is Suzu's precious best friend!!"
"...Best friend."
Eri was stunned by Suzu's words, accepting the scene before her as if it were someone else's.
At the same time, she remembered the conversation after Spasshad done his work.
"—And with that, it will automatically activate by simply speaking the 'keyword'... However, remember one thing: the value of a person is ultimately vague. Even you cannot clearly judge it."
"What are you trying to say?"
"If you ever use this magic, it's alright. Burn the surrounding scenery into your eyes. Perhaps a different view might unfold than what you see now."
"...Wouldn't they be relieved that a traitor has died?"
"Do you truly think so?"
"..."
"If even one person grieves your death, then that is proof that your life was never in vain."
"...Hmph, there's no point in knowing that after I'm dead."
"Indeed. Truly... living is a difficult thing."
(Lord Schbass... it seems my life wasn't in vain after all.)
She finally realized. She finally understood.
She had thought she had nothing. She had lost her family, lost happiness, lost her everyday life. From that day on, she had lost everything, a pitiful child abandoned by fate.
But, it seemed even such a child was blessed with friends.
Ryutaro, always acting like an idiot, yet always trying to protect everyone.
Shizuku, always walking ahead, yet thoughtfully looking out for those behind her.
Kaori, who would rush to someone's side the moment they were hurt.
Kouki, who was always desperate to help someone, and would always reach out a hand.
And Suzu, who had stayed by her side all along.
Going to school normally, attending classes, getting excited over silly conversations during breaks, and taking detours on the way home after school.
She had, in a way, loved that ordinary everyday life.
No one knows what the future holds. It probably isn't uncommon for friends who saw each other every day during their school days to drift apart for no reason once they become adults.
But for now... just for this moment, without thinking about anything...
The scene spread before Eri's eyes. The connection between herself and them, which she hadn't felt even a shred of before, was now clearly visible.
(I... wasn't alone anymore.)
Eri inwardly scoffed at her own foolishness.
What had she been looking at all this time? So that's it, what I truly wanted was already within my reach. And I was about to crush it without realizing.
Eri desperately opened her mouth amidst her fading consciousness. She wanted to convey just this one last thing.
"Suzu... the time I spent with you all. Well, it wasn't... bad..."
"Eri! No! Don't say things like that, like it's your last words!!"
Even at a time like this, her unpleasant personality, which let out sarcastic remarks, made her sigh in self-disgust.
Seriously, can't I just express my feelings directly for once at the end? I'm truly twisted...
Feeling her consciousness sinking into the deep earth, Eri thought of the god who had given her a chance, the one who was still all alone.
(Ah, if only... may that person at least have someone by their side in the end...)
With that last wish, Eri closed her eyelids.
"Eriiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!"
Suzu's sorrowful scream echoed across the battlefield.
============
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