༺ His Wish ༻
“Keugh… ruagh…”
Blood spewed from the Demon King’s mouth as her heart was pierced.
Pshhh
Initially, only a trickle of blood emerged, but soon, it transformed into a torrent that formed a large pool around Ruby.
“H-Hero!!!”
“No!!!”
The heroines fiercely attempted to dispel Frey’s barrier, crying out in anger as they could only watch on. ‘
“Frey, you bastard, I’ll kill you!!”
“No… no… this can’t be happening…”
“T-the sun… will the sun disappear…?”
Frey pressed forward, ignoring the heroines who had crumbled down in the face of despair.
Their faces were wrought with desperation as they pounded against the walls and murmured in hopeless voices.
“Ugh… F-Frey…”
“What a cockroach. Indeed, a weakened Demon King is still a Demon King after all,”
He looked coldly at Ruby, who gripped the sword lodged in her heart while groaning in pain.
“Wait, just wait for a moment and listen to me.”
Ruby looked at Frey with a pleading look as she spoke up.
“……”
He stared at her in silence, urging her to continue speaking.
“Listen to me… before you decide whether to kill me or not. I beg of you.”
Ruby anxiously watched Frey’s reaction as she spoke. However, as Frey remained silent, she gradually began to speak.
“Honestly, the reason I wanted to overturn the world… it wasn’t because I was bored with everyday life nor was it in need of something stimulating.”
“Really?”
“Yes! I’m telling the truth. So, could you please… this sword… ”
After it seemed as if Frey began to show some interest in her story, Ruby desperately clawed at the sword in her chest, attempting to remove it.
“…Ugh!”
“Take your hands off.”
However, upon hearing Frey’s stern command, Ruby had no choice but to quickly relinquish her grip on the sword.
“It’s fascinating to see that you’re still alive, even after your heart has been skewered and the blade has utterly mangled everything within.”
“Huff… Huff…”
“I didn’t know that the sword’s efficacy relied on unlocking the awakening of the Hero’s Armament… Well, it doesn’t matter now.”
Whilst observing her with a slightly curious gaze, Frey furrowed his brows as he spoke.
“Keep talking. But if you play any tricks or schemes… I’ll end you immediately.”
“Ah… I got it. I got it, so just listen to me first.”
With Frey’s approval, Ruby took a deep breath and spoke with a trembling voice.
“The reason I wanted to destroy the world… was to defeat the Demon God.”
“Defeat the Demon God?”
“Yeah, you must be aware that your ‘Path of False Evil’ System was given to you by the Demon God, right?”
As Frey nodded slowly in response, the Demon King gave him a knowing look before she continued her story.
“Well, it is quite a cliche story. As you know, the Demon God is an evil god who seeks to control this world and rule it as she pleases.”
“Yeah, I know it all too well.”
“Then, are you also aware that if I defeat you, the Demon God will descend into the world?”
“Of course.”
Demon King responded with a dark expression to Frey’s frank answer.
“In the final battle, I decided to defeat you and bring the Demon God to this world… in order to wipe her from existence.”
“As the Demon King, why do you want to do that to the Demon God?”
“Because that bastard… made me the Demon King.”
Once more, Ruby spewed blood as she spoke, and Frey’s expression began to look slightly surprised.
“It was the Demon God…. who turned me into a Demon King and manipulated me into killing people and, even worse, destroying the world.”
“Hmm.”
“Of course, there’s no way I could fight against the bastard since the gods exist within a dimension beyond my reach… and because of that, I had no choice but to live as her puppet for a long time.”
With a tinge of bitterness, the Demon King spoke while bearing a deep sorrow.
“So, in order to escape this accursed fate… I had no choice but to take this path and make the decisions that I did.”
“Hmm.”
For a moment, Frey blankly stared at the Demon King’s face before his expression gradually changed to a frown as he asked a question.
“I don’t quite understand.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“If that’s truly the case… you could have just let me defeat you, couldn’t you?”
Frey looked confused, tilting his head as he spoke.
“If I win, the Demon God will disappear from the world. In that case, you will also be free. So… why do you still insist on summoning the Demon God?”
“T-That’s…”
“Perhaps, was it because of personal revenge? You don’t care about what happens to the world… and you just did all of this for your own vengeance?”
“U-Ugh… no! That’s not it!”
The Demon King shouted in desperation as Frey twisted his sword once again with a cold expression.
“If you win, the Demon God will be sealed! Imprisoned by the gods in another dimension.”
“…Really? I never knew that.”
“If she is only sealed and not utterly annihilated, while the Demon God can’t interfere with this world anymore, she’d still be able to manipulate me.”
Ruby stared at Frey, who had stopped twisting his sword, with trembling eyes and continued her explanation.
“If I could have found peace by being defeated by you, I would have willingly died.”
“But?”
“However, even if I die here at your hands, the Demon God still won’t leave me alone.”
Tears began to well up in Ruby’s eyes as she spoke.
“As someone who possesses the vessel of the strongest Demon King in history… the Demon God would resurrect me back into this world over and over again. Even if she is sealed, the Demon God still possesses such immense power that reviving me would be just a piece of cake for her.”
“Hmm…”
“That’s why I had no choice but to try to defeat you and summon the Demon God to this world. So, please…”
“How did you plan to defeat such a powerful Demon God?”
Ruby swallowed hard before responding again when Frey asked her such an obvious yet profound question.
“Since I am someone who has been directly endowed with power by the Demon God, I can retaliate against her using that very same power.”
“This is merely your assumption, yes? Nothing’s certain here.”
“…Right, it’s just my assumption.”
Ruby closed her eyes wearily at Frey’s sharp deduction.
“While it may just be an utterly insane guess from me… it doesn’t mean we can’t put our hopes in it.”
She answered in a shaky voice.
“I’m tired of living as a puppet. I’m tired of hurting people, setting the world on fire, and living a life of hypocrisy.”
“Tired… you say?”
“Yeah, you look exhausted as well.”
Ruby smiled faintly as Frey’s gaze faltered upon hearing the word ‘tired’.
“We are two sides of the same coin, made of the same metal. Undoubtedly, you must have been so incredibly tired, just like me. Tired of living like a puppet, living just to hurt people, and… living a life full of false evil.”
“……..”
“Judging from that, it seems we share unexpected similarities.”
With her voice fading, Ruby struggled to continue.
“With that, may I propose one last thing?”
Frey looked down at her expressionlessly.
“Let me corrupt you.”
“…Corrupt?”
“Yes, since I just revealed everything to you, the Demon God may have already caught on to my plan. However, if we join forces, there may be a chance.”
She presented her final proposition.
“Originally, I didn’t include you in my plans because I thought you’d be much weaker than me, even after your awakening. However… for some reason, you are much stronger than me, almost incomparably so.”
“…Hmm.”
“Therefore, let’s fight the bitch together.”
With these words, Ruby gradually extended her hand to Frey.
“If you take this hand… it means you agree to join me in the destruction of the Demon God.”
She concluded her speech with a genuine smile.
“Phew…”
Hearing those words, Frey, who had been observing Ruby’s outstretched hand, gradually reached out to grasp it.
“I understand.”
At the same time, Frey looked at Ruby’s face.
“Well then…”
He wore the same sincere smile as her.
“Let’s do this together.”
He took Ruby’s hand.
“I think it’s not a bad thing if we can save the world together…”
“Pfft.”
At that moment.
Crackle!
The deadly magic that Ruby had been secretly gathering in her hands since the very beginning surged into Frey’s chest.
“Keughhh!!”
The resulting shockwave created a fatal wound.
“Ugh…”
Ruby observed the impact of her attack. Frey was propelled backwards, colliding with the barrier he had erected, and emitted a faint groan.
“Pfftt… pffffttt…. pffffffttttt…”
She burst into laughter with the sword still pierced in her heart.
“How foolish of you. I truly never expected you to fall for some bullshit I made up on the spot.”
“…What?”
Ruby laughed for a long time. Then, she spoke in her usual arrogant voice, causing Frey’s expression to morph into a confused look.
“Everything I said before was a lie so I could land that one blow.”
“W-What…”
“As someone who is close to the Demon God, why would I pick a fight with her? It seems you let your guard down because you thought you had already won.”
Ruby looked at Frey mockingly, her hand reaching toward the sword impaled in her heart as she continued to speak.
“But you see… I won’t die just because my heart is pierced. Even if you slit my throat, I still won’t die. To let your guard down without even knowing that… you are truly such a pathetic soul.”
“Urgh…!”
Upon hearing those words, Frey tried to get up from his position while gritting his teeth, but at that moment, a dagger was thrust into Frey’s side.
“…..!!!”
“G-Go die…!”
Through the hole that the heroines had painstakingly formed in the barrier, a dagger pierced Frey below his ribs. The owner of this dagger was Roswyn.
“You monstrous bastard!!”
“The Hero’s true power provides overwhelming strength, but it doesn’t provide any ‘defensive power’, does it? I realized that from our fight just now.”
“Ugh…”
“That’s why, I deliberately threw you in that direction. As expected, those girls didn’t let me down.”
As Ruby finished her speech, Roswyn began to stab at Frey once more.
Thud!! Thud!!
Crash!! Crash!!
“Argh…!”
While leaning against the barrier, Frey crumpled and succumbed to the attacks from the heroines that began to pour in through the breach.
Shaaaah…
Frey desperately attempted to mend the cracks in the barrier using his stellar mana.
“Heu, Heuuuu…”
But it was too late. The heroines’ ambush had found their mark..
“It’s my victory, Frey.”
Frey collapsed to the ground, covered in blood. Ruby watched on with a satisfied expression.
“Your bursts of offensive power are devastating, yet your stamina and defensive might are virtually nonexistent.
According to my calculations, you are already on the brink of death.”
Ruby continued to speak arrogantly.
“If there are more holes opened in this barrier, you’ll have to fight against the other heroines once more.”
“Demon King…”
“Additionally, while you had let your guard down, I have been diligently preparing more attacks so… it can be said that there’s no hope left for you.”
Frey lowered his head as Ruby continued to mock him.
“While we’re on the subject, why didn’t you obediently become my sex slave and let me rape you? It would have, at the very least, saved your life.”
She chuckled as she grabbed onto the handle of the sword.
“Well, what’s done is done. Since you made the wrong choice, now you’ll have to face the consequences. It’s time for your miserable death.”
Ruby continued mocking Frey.
“Now then… I’ll quickly remove this annoying sword…”
She moved to pull out the Hero’s Sword impaling her heart. However, her expression soon became puzzled.
“…..?”
“…..???”
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t muster any strength throughout her body. Ruby couldn’t even let out a voice as she started to break out in a cold sweat.
“So, how is it? The feeling of helplessness, where you can’t even lift a finger.”
At that moment, Frey, who was collapsed on the ground, began to speak in a cold voice.
“I’m sorry, but I knew from the beginning that what you said was a lie.”
“…..!”
“There was a time when I fell for the nonsense you said. I wasted multiple regressions, engaging in foolishness, no thanks to you.”
Frey sighed as he spoke.
“So, while pretending to listen attentively to your words… I also prepared another spell as well.”
Ruby’s eyes widened.
“Yes, the moment I took your hand… I triggered the ‘Mark of Slowness’ on you.”
Frey smiled as he spoke.
“Since I’ve currently reduced the intensity, only your body will slow down, while your consciousness is fine… but if I maximize the intensity, even your consciousness will weaken as time will feel infinitely slower for you than it does in reality.”
“W-Wait.”
“At this point, you should know what I’m going to do, right?”
Ignoring Ruby, who even used telepathic magic in her urgency, Frey kept hammering the nail in the coffin.
“From now on, I will awaken the Hero’s Sword lodged within you, which will kill us both. It’s unfortunate, but there’s no other way to kill you.”
“You…”
“I, at least, have my stellar mana to shield me from the pain, but the demonic mana you possess will force you to die in immense agony.”
“No way…!”
With a satisfied expression, Frey continued to speak.
“But if such a fatality comes that quickly… it would ultimately come to be a loss for me, who has suffered countless regressions because of you, right?
“Are you…?!”
“Yes. That’s why the moment I awaken the Hero’s Sword, I will slow your consciousness as well.”
As Frey smirked, Ruby’s desperate cries rang through his head.
“You will slowly experience a gradually increasing amount of excruciating pain within the abyss of eternity, as you slowly meet your demise for eons to come.”
“No, don’t…”
“What did you mean by ‘don’t’? For your own amusement, you have attempted to destroy the world an incalculable number of times and caused an infinite amount of people to suffer across countless timelines. It is time for you to pay the price of your sins.”
“No…!!!”
Frey carried on with determination, finally seeing the finish line ahead of him.
“I heard that when demons and devils die, they go into endless purgatory instead of the fires of hell. Consider this practice for your inevitable future.”
Frey slowly got up.
“Now then…”
Arrrghhh…
As he watched her scream silently, Frey began infusing his remaining life force to awaken the Hero’s Sword.
“…Ugh.”
But suddenly, he turned around and froze.
All the heroines that he had protected across countless regressions were gazing at him with disgust as they furiously attacked through the openings of the barrier.
“Ugh…”
Caught off guard, Frey’s hand unconsciously trembled as he drew his backup sword. It was time for one final act.
“Ughhh…!”
Frey’s despair emitted a terrifying aura.
“No, no, no, no.”
He opened the ‘Store’ whilst maintaining the inhuman patience he had obtained across countless timelines.
[Store]
– Inspect Lv2: 300pt
Description: The Inspect skill has a function that displays a person’s disposition on the status window.
“P-Purchase.”
Frey finally obtained the skill he previously deemed unnecessary. The one skill he had always avoided purchasing.
Ding…!
While gritting his teeth in desperation, he gazed at his status window.
“………”
Frey stood motionless for a moment, gazing blankly at the status window.
“I knew it.”
For a long time, Frey stared intensely at his ‘Disposition’.
– Slideeeeee…!
He awakened the Hero’s Sword that was piercing the Demon King’s heart.
A-Ahhh…
At the same time, he activated the spell that would make the Demon King experience the level of infinite torment she would eventually suffer in purgatory.
“Even now… I am…”
To ensure that no harmful aftermath resulted from his full power escaping, he reinforced his barrier with an extra layer of stellar mana.
“…still a Hero.”
Frey closed his eyes calmly.
[Disposition: Hero]
Even after all this time. Even after his emotions have long died away. Even after breaking and going insane. Even after so many atrocities. His disposition was still the same.
Gooooo…
The frenzied rampage of his true power, which was relentlessly battering the barrier, gradually subsided.
Clank!!!
At the same time, the very last remaining layer of stellar mana shattered.
“A-Arrghh…”
As the heroines looked within the barrier, their gazes were filled in despair.
“…….”
Within the barrier, Ruby lay lifeless, her body mutilated.
“Hmmm.”
Meanwhile, Frey was standing unfazed.
“Good, I still have time to end everything.”
Frey briefly gazed at his body in awe before shifting his gaze towards the heroines who were now inside the broken barrier.
“All of you…”
Boom!! –
Frey attempted to speak, but he was shocked into silence by an attack.
“…..!”
“You… because of you…”
“This bastard!”
“Because of you… the sun…!”
Ferloche, who was standing at the forefront of the heroines, had plunged a blade into his heart and had even used the ‘Blessing of the Sun God’ on him.
“The sun has lost its light…!”
At Frey’s despairing expression, Ferloche shed tears while speaking fiercely.
“…Huh?”
Slowly, Ferloche began to look puzzled.
“Why is the sun…”
Until just a moment ago, the sun had dimmed, trembling intensely.
“… not losing its light?”
Unexpectedly, however, the sun was now shining brighter than ever.
“Still, in the end…”
As Ferloche gradually became flustered, Frey gazed at her with subtle pain.
“I wanted to leave some final words, but…”
His face filled with disappointment and sorrow.
Shaaa…
And then, finally, Frey transformed into countless particles of light and scattered.
“H-Huh?”
Ferloche and all the heroines could sense that something was wrong.
“…What is going on?”
It was right at the moment.
“Um.”
Frey, after transforming into light particles and vanishing, now found himself in a completely different dimension.
“…What is this?”
Even though he was surprised, he slowly scanned the area.
“H-Hello…”
Frey looked around the dreamy wide space, which held a mysterious air.
“…Sir Frey.”
“Who are you?”
He tilted his head as he looked at the dazzlingly beautiful woman before him.
“I-I am… the Sun God.”
“Ah.”
The identity of the woman in front of him was clearly heard from her very lips, as she responded bashfully.
“Sir Frey, I’m honestly at a loss for words, but if I may dare to say it… please give me a chance to honor you…”
“I want to rest now.”
Frey smiled widely as he spoke.
“Yes, I understand. You certainly have the right to that, Sir Frey. Then, with all my best abilities, I shall ensure that you finally have a peaceful rest.”
As she looked at Frey with a pitiful gaze, the Sun God cautiously approached him to fulfill his wish.
“Forever.”
“…What?”
However, she froze in place as Frey interrupted her in a quiet voice.
“Please… put an end to my existence.”
“W-What are you saying…!”
Frey turned his gaze toward the Sun God, his eyes pleading desperately for his long-awaited desire.
“Please.”
Frey shed a tear from his eye, something he had not done for eons through his regressions.
“…I’m saying that I’m exhausted. I’ve had enough.”
Frey’s voice choked in his throat, as he felt the emotions that he had sealed away briefly return.
“…Ah.”
As a profound silence ensued, the goddess, who had a gloomy expression, made a strange noise.
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