“Isha.”
Isha opened her eyes wide. Tears continued to flow from her reddened eyes. I gently lifted her light body and sat her down. She looked different from the image before I entered the portal. There were no wounds on her body. Her clothes were unchanged. However, her face looked agonized, as if she had been stabbed with a knife.
“Isha.”
Afraid my forced smile might disappear if I kept looking at her pained face, I forced my mouth to curl up even more. Not anymore. Not for how much she loved the world. Not for how much she loved me.`
“Don’t cry.”
Uttering those words, I wiped away the tears streaming down Isha’s eyes. She stared with widened eyes, then slowly opened her mouth with great effort.
“How did you…learn that name?”
I smiled without saying a word. The judgment was left to Isha. She would need some time to think. However, unexpectedly, Isha, who couldn’t make a cold judgment as usual, just hiccupped, suppressing her tears. I sat before her since leaving her like this wouldn’t do any good.
“I guess the previous version of…myself told you.”
Her lips curled up slightly. The emotions I could sense from her were not relief or joy but only guilt.
“I couldn’t…stop you.”
Isha’s crying didn’t stop. Trembling, she gripped the hem of my clothes and began to cry more pitifully. As her unexpected reaction unfolded, I embraced her.
“The Elroy of the first world.”
At the words that came out of my mouth, Isha, still shaking, recoiled away from me. It seemed that this was quite a shocking revelation, even for her.
“I guess I’m the ‘second.’”
I pointed at myself and laughed. There was no longer a sense of guilt on Isha’s face. Instead, it was filled with a mixture of surprise and disbelief. Awkwardly, I smiled, remembering that time.
“As long as you continue to fight here, I will resent you.”
My words formed. Memories came to mind.
“I’ll resent the one who created the gaps in my memory and chose to fight in solitude. Even if I forget my memories, Isha, I will remember your existence like this.”
Isha’s eyes widened gradually as my words continued. Then, she started shedding tears again. This time, it was evident that these tears carried a different kind of emotion.
“Do you… resent me?”
“I resented you. Quite a bit.”
Various emotions crossed Isha’s face. Finally, the conclusion reached was gratitude. Isha embraced me at last. Her hand on my back was strong, warm, and desperately held onto me as if trying to grasp my existence forever.
“I’ve heard your apology; it’s enough.”
I spoke as I pushed away from Isha. Then, I turned and looked into the abyss, where the reprieve I created by piercing through was running out. The grip of the evil gods was slowly tearing through the emptiness. I raised my sword.
“I won’t let you fight alone from now on.”
Strangely, the horde of impending doom I had feared so much didn’t feel like a significant threat to me now. It was as if a lumberjack faced with a massive tree. I felt a sense of inevitability. But I had things to push me forward—the life of the “original” Eloy, Isha’s happiness, and my goals as the Hero.
“I won’t fight alone either.”
I could bear the burden alone if I wanted to. I might get entangled in the delusion of saving Isha and falter. But I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t follow Isha’s path. Rescuing her ultimately meant resolving her lingering feelings and dealing with the burdens we would take together.
“Let’s do this.”
I grinned and turned to Isha. She was still looking at me quietly. No tears flowed from her eyes now. Her gaze, freed from distress and guilt, began to shine.
[■■■■]
An incomprehensible scream echoed. The evil gods, acknowledging my presence, were converging into a massive shadow. They realized I could pose a considerable threat.
[This… ■■is…going to■…happen…]
It seemed like the unified amalgamation was crying out in agony. Its “face” looked grotesquely contorted. I faced it with a stern expression.
[Destruction is inevitable. Eternity does not exist…!]
An enraged scream echoed through the air. The evil gods completely shattered the barrier, revealing its form at the world’s edge. It was a monstrous sight—four arms, a melting jaw, an angular and massive upper body, and a long serpentine lower body. Confronting it, I raised my sword.
[Do not resist… Submit to the order….]
The monsters charged in first. Behind them, the amalgamation tore through space, each swipe causing surrounding stars to cling to it. Facing the approaching arms, I lifted my sword.
“At least…”
I swung the sword as the hand descended toward me. Star fragments filling the air rearranged and split along my sword’s path. The tail of my black sword sparkled like a galaxy. My sword clashed with the amalgamation’s hand amid the cosmic turmoil. My sword couldn’t sever its hand, and it couldn’t overpower my sword. In the aftermath of the collision, the stars shattered once again.
“To you, we shall not yield!”
Order? Death and the end never came with the order. If that were indeed the end of everything, then neither I, nor Isha, nor the first Isha and Elroy would exist. I finally understood what the Doomsday Cultists believed in and how misguided their thoughts were.
[Accept us—!]
“You won’t bring destruction to this world.”
Facing the approaching black arms, I cut through space, countering with my sword. I swung the sword, thinking of what I had left behind, the things I had to protect. I cut through the flying stars and sliced the shadows surging forward. Through time and space, the world clashed and collided. Then, different parts of the amalgamation fell. They had familiar appearances.
A Serpent, a swarm of Locusts, a Kraken, a Giant.
Not just one, but thousands of Disasters descended. The Giants took the lead, followed by a swarm of Locusts. A single one passing me could spell the end of the world. I adjusted my posture, preparing to endure. No, I had to overcome them all.
“Your posture is too tense.”
And then, at that moment,
“Ease off on the strength and bring the sword back.”
A gentle hand was placed on my shoulder. Despite her continued crying, her voice, as if having found tranquility, didn’t waver. Isha approached my side and adjusted my posture with the sword. The gleaming Holy Sword shone in her left hand as if it were brand new.
“The essence of your sword lies not in cutting but in protecting. Focus your energy. Don’t rush forward aggressively; wait for the right moment to strike. Are you planning to forget everything I taught you?”
Even though Isha’s eyes were already quite red, they turned completely crimson, including the whites, after crying so much. Seeing her telling me what to do in such a state, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“…What’s with that laughter?”
“If only we had a mirror.”
Isha quickly raised the Holy Sword. Seeing her own reflection in the mirror, her face blushed slightly. Having never seen such an expression of emotions before, I found it quite refreshing and laughed again.
“…Concentrate. It’s going to be a very long fight. I’ve been fighting for almost an eternity. It might take as long as the time you left behind until the world disappears completely and is recreated.”
I gripped the sword even more tightly. Isha placed her hand on my cheek and asked,
“Are you really okay with not going back? Won’t you regret it?”
“I’ve already decided on that.”
“Even if you decide to return now, I won’t stop you. I won’t hold any resentment. I’ve already found my redemption.”
“You know it’s not going to work.”
Isha chuckled bitterly.
“To be honest, I do have the desire for you to go back, but I also have the wish for you to stay. You can curse and resent the selfish me; that’s fine.”
“That selfishness proves you are a living being, not merely a sword or some god.”
Isha widened her eyes, then bit her lip.
“…I.”
And then, she chuckled as if there was no other choice.
“Indeed. In your world, there’s no being that cannot find redemption.”
Isha turned forward and raised her sword.
“You won, Eloy. In the end, you saved me.”
I stood by Isha’s side. Our swords trembled as they resonated with each other. Even though the Disasters and their minions were approaching, I strangely wasn’t overly concerned. Isha raised her sword first. A fierce light gleamed in her smile.
“Follow me.”
“As much as you want.”
And then, Isha’s sword cut through the minions of calamity.
***
“…The weather is nice today.”
A month has passed since Elroy disappeared. In that room, he turned into a burst of light and vanished. People who watched it together were astonished, but recalling his words, they left the room where Elroy had stayed open. It meant that he could come back anytime. People decided to wait for him. A few lilies, somehow brought from somewhere, were placed before the statue erected in the North.
Daphne and Marianne were still staying there. Since they couldn’t continue to be treated as guests, Daphne became a magic consultant for the Northern Army, and Marianne remained at the church, handling exorcisms and baptisms. Occasionally, they also provided education to Karen, the daughter of the Archduke Quenor.
“Shall we go for a short walk today?”
Daphne and Karen had become quite close during this time. Karen nodded with a smile at Daphne’s words. In the past six months, Karen had grown quite a bit. Her sword skills, too, had developed to the point where Marianne was surprised.
“Should we buy some flowers today?”
“…Yes.”
Karen’s smile, with mature features that occasionally surprised Daphne, held a warm hope like spring. Although Karen missed Elroy, she didn’t show it. Just as he kept his promise to come back, it seemed like she believed he would keep that promise this time, too.
They headed to the flower shop as soon as they left the mansion. There was only one flower shop open in winter. Despite advancements in magical technology, bringing flowers to this cold land took a lot of work. It was the place where they had bought the floral crown during the summer festival.
“I have prepared them.”
The owner of the flower shop immediately took out two lilies. For the past month, the two had visited the flower shop once weekly to buy flowers and place them at Elroy’s statue.
“With these flowers, it looks like someone has died.”
“It’s a sign that we won’t forget him.”
Daphne laughed at the florist’s joke. Karen, cradling the yellow lily preciously, began to walk away from the flower shop.
Daphne took a deep breath as she looked at Elroy’s statue. After Karen placed the flowers at the statue’s base, she stepped back.
“…Still, come back soon.”
Perhaps she wasn’t the only one who made that wish.
***
Several years.
A span of time that couldn’t be dismissed as just a few years had passed. Tens of thousands of years? Millions of years? Perhaps more than a billion years had passed. Even then, an immense and incomprehensible interval of time had elapsed. It was a gap so long and heavy that it could be compared to the death and rebirth of an entire universe.
The evil gods were defeated. The shadow darker than darkness disintegrated and disappeared at the hands of my and Isha’s swords. Even after winning, we couldn’t say a word. After the fragments of the stars scattered and disappeared, the world where it had lingered was utterly empty.
We didn’t speak to each other. Perhaps we lost the ability to. Isha and I no longer communicated with words. We could understand everything we wanted to say by feeling each other’s eyes and presence.
A long time passed after defeating the evil gods. Since the exit to leave this world had closed, we could only wait.
And eventually, in front of us, a ‘door’ opened.
