Chapter 14: Past, Maybe Future Memories (2)

Theonar stopped speaking after that.

Occasionally, he mumbled as if lost in thought, but all of it was incomprehensible.

“Just what is this…”

Ever since I started feeling this unease, I’ve been pondering continuously.

Why did he lose his memory?

And what exactly is this “presence” he casually mentioned?

“It’s too subjective.”

Isn’t that true?

Presence isn’t something neatly divided into measurable units.

What are the criteria? 

Who determines it?

Without clear knowledge, wouldn’t baseless speculation run rampant?

After he lost his memory, and following an additional month of journeying, we reunited with the rest of our comrades at the place we were initially scattered from.

We were relieved to see everyone alive, but that didn’t mean everyone was unscathed.

Rozennia’s one eye was hollow and empty.

Isabel’s arm was brutally torn below the elbow.

Venice couldn’t stop coughing up blood, a side effect of excessively drawing on her divine power.

The only ones relatively intact were Ian, Theonar, and me.

“Ian, something about you seems different.”

“…There was an incident. What about you all?”

“Shh, no need to say it. It doesn’t matter anyway.”

Their wounds were beyond Venice’s saintly powers of healing.

Too much time had passed, and her divine power wasn’t as abundant as before.

“…I see.”

Even so, the journey to defeat the Demon God continued.

If we gave up, there would be no hope left for this world.

After that, we tried to converse as if nothing had happened, to maintain relationships like before.

We joked, teased, and laughed, trying to lighten the mood and endure the grim situation.

But.

Even after two weeks of reuniting with everyone, Theonar still remained silent.

“What’s up with him?”

“…There’s something going on.”

“Well… he’ll handle himself anyway, so I’m not worried.”

Though the others found his behavior odd, they didn’t have the luxury to dwell on it.

“Isabel!”

“I’m on it, stop pestering me.”

“Ian, fall back!”

“Damn, it’s large-scale magic. Retreat!”

After all, there were over ten battles a day.

We advanced in days filled with despair, snatching brief moments of rest.

Every day was a close call, a relentless struggle.

Thoughts crossed my mind:

Could we truly defeat the Demon God?

Would we all perish before even reaching him?

Countless fears swirled in my head,

But no one voiced them aloud.

***

“Finally…”

In what felt like an unending sea of despair,

We finally reached the Demon God.

The cursed being that drove this world to ruin.

Up to that point, we believed we could do it.

That if we were willing to risk our lives, we could defeat him.

That we could finally put an end to this dreadful journey.

But upon witnessing him firsthand,all our petty confidence was shattered completely.

“How… is this possible…”

Facing it, it felt as if the air around us froze in an instant.

No, more accurately, it felt like the air itself ceased to exist.

It wasn’t mere fear.

It was a sensation as if the very fabric of the world was being distorted.

My vision blurred, and even standing upright was a struggle.

The thick, suffocating miasma that filled my lungs evoked endless darkness and terror.

The Demon God didn’t move.

Simply being there, he overwhelmed everything.

The shifting shadows of his colossal figure made it impossible to grasp his exact form, a being beyond human comprehension, an indescribable enigma.

This was the Demon God.

“Everyone, snap out of it!”

Breaking the suffocating silence was none other than Teonar.

While the others froze, sensing only death and the end upon seeing him, he was different.

As Teonar moved, the rest of us gradually began to as well.

The Demon God’s gaze fell upon us.

Even his gaze alone felt like it tore at our very souls, a sensation like sinking into an abyssal swamp.

“…Let’s go.”

Despite knowing it would plunge us into even deeper despair, we had no choice but to move forward.

.

.

.

.

.

The battle against the Demon God was anything but easy.

The creatures he summoned were overwhelmingly powerful, and even dealing with them was a struggle.

Yet, there was one positive aspect.

“Theonar!”

“Don’t worry, idiot.”

Me, Venice, Rozennia, and Isabel were fighting the creations of the Demon God, while Ian and Theonar held the Demon God at bay on their own.

“We need to finish this quickly and help them.”

Watching that scene, we poured our full strength into defeating the creatures, one by one.

It seemed others shared the same determination, sparing no effort despite the cost-

Even as sides were torn, ankles shattered beyond recognition, We did not stop.

“I can’t let them die. Please…”

I didn’t want to lose my comrades.

I couldn’t let them perish.

No matter how it ended,

I wished for everyone to smile.

Even if the empire vanished,

Even if only a few survived,

That would be enough.

Even if arms were severed, legs torn,

As long as we lived,

If we could laugh and talk like before,

“That would’ve been enough…”

We succeeded in defeating the Demon God’s creations.

Turning to where the Demon God stood,

“…Huh?”

Words caught in my throat.

The scene before my eyes was beyond belief.

“Nooooo!”

Ian’s sword, which should’ve been aimed at the Demon God, had pierced Theonar’s chest.

Black blood dripped from his blade, and Theonar collapsed to his knees, coughing up blood.

“Cough… urgh…”

His voice grew weaker until he crumpled to the ground.

“You crazy bastard!”

We stared at Ian in disbelief.

But his gaze was unshaken, cold, as if he had calculated everything.

“Why!”

My trembling voice called out to Ian, the sword slipping from my grip.

It was incomprehensible.

How could he betray a comrade he had fought alongside for years?

Who could have imagined this?

“I’m sorry.”

Ian, who had been silent, lifted his head.

His calm tone belied the words he spoke.

“Why do you wear that expression? Why… did you kill Theo?”

He sighed, lowering his sword slowly as he looked at us.

“I saw the truth.”

Then, in a voice trembling with anger, he declared,

“To create the world I want, this one must be destroyed.”

Ian’s resolute expression returned as he gripped his sword firmly.

“You can’t do this… What are you thinking?!”

Even as I cried out in sorrow, his face remained unchanged.

“Why? Why? Why? Why?”

My body shook. 

Overwhelmed by anger, shock, and the betrayal that crushed my spirit, I saw no trace of the Ian I once knew in the murderous gaze he now directed at us.

“I’ve made my choice. For my world, I will abandon you.”

Perhaps it was fitting for a man once called a hero.

Facing his relentless attack, we were utterly defeated. 

***

“Urgh… gah…”

The night sky, once dark, was dyed crimson with blood,

And the cold ground beneath made my plight even more miserable.

“Why… why…”

In the end, I couldn’t hold back my tears.

Was it because of the betrayal?

Or the excruciating pain?

“No… no.”

It wasn’t that. I was just furious-

At my weakness.

At my helplessness.

“If only I had been stronger…”

If I had been, this wouldn’t have happened.

“Bastard.”

Even as Ian fought us, he held back his strength.

He muttered nonsense about how we couldn’t die until the Demon God was defeated.

If I had just died, I wouldn’t have to feel this wretched despair.

“Hah… If I’d known it would end like this, I would’ve said all the things I’d buried deep inside.”

As I regretted the words left unsaid, watching Ian’s back as he faced the Demon God,

“…What… in the world…”

A voice, carried on the wind, reached my ears.

Even amidst the chaotic battlefield that shook heaven and earth,

It was unmistakable-an all-too-familiar voice.

‘This is…!’

There was no doubt.

That soft yet sharp tone.

The voice that, the more I heard it, the more comfort it brought.

How could I not recognize it?

It belonged to the one I had longed to hear so much.

“Ugh, couldn’t you stab a little more gently, you brute.”

He staggered to his feet, picking up his sword from the ground, and began walking slowly.

“So, this is why the story’s ending was always incomplete? Because you broke the draft like this?”

He headed toward the battlefield where the Demon God and Ian were fighting.

“If I knew it’d come to this, I should’ve used it from the start. Kind of feels like I saved it for nothing.”

He murmured to himself, straightening his disheveled posture.

“Ah, whatever. Let it be.”

But that wasn’t all.

“So, in the end, all that talk about divine blood or whatever was just wordplay.”

A fierce surge of mana that split the skies and tore the earth apart.

“Would things have been different if I’d realized a bit earlier?”

A mana explosion, so overwhelming, it completely surpassed Ian, the so-called hero.

“Well, whatever. Now that I’m here. I’ll go all out without regrets.”

An overwhelming aura began to emanate from him, making him feel like an entirely different person.

“W-what? How are you alive? I’m sure I destroyed your heart…”

Ian, seeing him standing tall and exuding immense power, was struck with utter shock.

“Shut up, you bastard. A so-called protagonist? You don’t even deserve that title, you idiot.”

His sword moved toward Ian without the slightest hesitation, and with no energy left after fighting the Demon God, Ian, Squelch was decapitated on the spot.

“Truth? What a joke. You’re just a coward who ran away from reality, yet you dare flap your mouth here?”

His eyes, drenched in the fountain of blood gushing from Ian’s neck, carried no emotion.