Chapter 42: Ron: The Determination to Keep the Promise

“Isis~ Did you see that!?”

In the spiritual world, Casalima was excitedly rubbing her small hands together.

In the darkness before them, aside from the lawn and camp Casalima had conjured, a screen like a movie curtain hung against the pitch-black backdrop, currently playing out everything happening in the outside world.

“This Mr. Ron… he’s really decisive and ruthless, isn’t he~”

Casalima sidled up to Isis, grinning as she made her evaluation.

“I like him, I like him~”

“Hey, Isis, what do you think about turning him into a demon race after we fuse?”

The tiny flying Demon King bit her index finger with her canine tooth, squinting as she daydreamed about her plans after fusing with the Hero.

‘That stupid expression again—who are you trying to impress?’

Though she appeared smug and confident, Casalima’s peripheral vision never left Isis’s face.

“Heh~”

Her wings fluttered twice. Casalima knew Isis’s heart was far from as calm as she appeared on the surface. With a disdainful snort, she put on a smile and continued to provoke.

“Such a wonderful show, and you don’t even react? At least give me a little comment~”

“Can you see it, Isis? This Mr. Ron just now was seriously saying he’d keep his promise, that he’d bring the Child of Destiny to save you in the future.”

“And now… all I see in his eyes is greed and covetousness~”

Of course, Casalima had used a subconscious interference mental attack on Ron, but she had no intention of showing that part to Isis.

“Isis, haven’t you seen through the ugly, detestable face of humanity yet?”

The diminutive Demon King, like a younger sister concerned for her older sister, hugged Isis’s arm and shook it incessantly.

“Shut up.”

Isis spat out the two words one by one. It was the first time she had spoken since earlier, and she closed her eyes as she did so.

This was both her way of resisting the Demon King’s temptation and her refusal to watch the scene unfolding outside.

“I had already planned to meet my master again…”

Isis said so.

“Really?”

Casalima’s leisurely retort cut off Isis’s declaration of resolve.

As a Demon King who had risen from the nightmare demon clan, she was born a master of manipulating minds and souls.

Even though only a part of her remnant soul resided within Isis’s body, she had always maintained the upper hand in the Hero’s soul world.

Through constant interference, temptation, and erosion, she had already come infinitely close to breaking Isis and fusing with this long-coveted Hero’s body.

Isis refused to answer.

“Well~”

“If you’re really that resigned to it, Isis, I don’t mind either~”

Casalima blinked and shrugged her shoulders, which were connected to her wings, as if she truly didn’t care.

“But honestly, Brave Lady, you’re still as naive and easy to fool as ever!”

Sitting down in midair, Casalima sensed Isis’s mental state becoming noticeably unstable and began swinging her legs.

“That’s right. Even the master you trusted so much deceived you…”

“And on top of that, this obviously calculating man—how could he keep such an unreliable promise… cough!”

Before Casalima could finish, Isis’s hand grabbed her slender neck.

“Don’t talk about my master.”

Even knowing such an action was meaningless in the spiritual world, she still slammed the noisy Demon King’s form heavily onto the pitch-black ground.

“Ugh—”

“Ow, ow, ow…”

Casalima rubbed her butt as she got back up from the ground. Seeing that her pitiful act earned no sympathy or attention from Isis, she stopped pretending.

“Fine, I’ll shut up.”

Together with Isis, she looked at the reality projection screen, a triumphant smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

‘Isis… your heart is wavering. That’s good. I won’t need to use my trump card. Let us become one~’

Hardly able to contain her anticipation and impulse, Casalima stared intently at the screen. Ron’s raised dagger hovered over Isis—no more than a dozen centimeters away.

“Teacher!?”

Lifa reached out and touched Ron’s arm. He had been in that position for a long time now, neither acting nor responding to her.

‘Could it be that Teacher is also infected by the curse?’

Lifa’s eyes widened as she looked down at Isis lying on her lap, her worry growing.

And this time, in a sense, Lifa’s guess was correct.

Casalima’s psychological suggestion toward Ron had collided with the fear from the previous save, and the chemical reaction between the two quickly plunged Ron into the mindset the Demon King had anticipated.

Security, a legend grade weapon, an origin crystal…

The tangible benefits of killing Isis flashed through Ron’s mind.

He even thought of an explanation for Lifa—he could blame it all on the demon’s curse; Lifa’s personality would let her forget it completely after a while!

Ron’s eyes sharpened. He raised the dagger, the preliminary motion for stabbing it into Isis’s heart.

“Teacher, did you and Sister Ash talk about something just now?”

“!”

Lifa suddenly spoke up. She had seen Ron finally move and remembered that while she was resting, her teacher had been outside, so she asked casually.

– “Mr. Ron… I’ll be waiting for you and Lifa.”

Pulling back from the brink, Ron caught the dagger and stopped it midair.

He looked up coldly to meet Lifa’s gaze, his wrist still trembling.

– “Isis Kenamening… my name. Do whatever you want with my body.”

The slave girl who had crawled out of her cage wore a look of despair.

– “If I can succeed in my revenge, you… you’ll be Isis’s master for life.”

The adorable young girl pretending to be mature was awkward beyond measure.

– “A hero? Can someone like me really be one?”

Hugging her knees, Isis, who had just stopped crying, wiped away her tears.

– “The reward for completing this mission? Master… can you hold me?”

At an age similar to Lifa’s, the elegant female swordsman lowered her blushing cheeks.

– “Isis doesn’t want to be a hero anymore. Get up, let’s go home!”

After the decisive battle with Casalima, the beautiful and powerful Hero was completely broken.

It was as if the photo frame Ron kept had been activated.

Every memory of Isis materialized in his mind, finally coalescing into a face with white hair and red pupils—a face that used coldness to seal away pain and exhaustion.

– “You… won’t lie to me, will you?”

“This time… I’ll keep my promise.”

Ron murmured to himself. He had just realized that some force had been interfering with his thoughts.

“A demon king remnant soul?”

Ron raised the dagger again without changing his expression.

But this time, it was aimed at his own shoulder.