I thrusted the Sword of Severance Deltoros into the ground.
He still carried in his heart the emptiness of that day when he lost Reno.
For two thousand years.
In that tragedy.
I turned on my heel, and took a few steps away from Shin.
“You remember your promise, right?” (Anos)
Shun stood up and gently picked up the Sword of Severance.
Half-conscious, he looked at me with his Magic Eyes.
“Try and take this right arm of mine. If this is going to be your final moment, you may rest in peace after regaining your dignity as a sword. I will send you to the same place as her.” (Anos)
“For me, who has nothing to carry with me on my journey to the land of the dead, this is the greatest parting gift I could ask for. Anos-sama, you have my deepest gratitude for your mercy.” (Shin)
The area turned quiet.
The magic power of the man who relaxedly readied his sword vanished from my sight.
Having synchronized his body with his demon sword to the point it became one with his source, Shin let out a small sigh.
“Sword of Severance — Third secret: End.” (Shin)
Deltoros, a cursed demon sword that absorbed magic power.
Using that sword secret meant having your own source absorbed into the sword, turning it into a blade.
It was a cursed technique that reduced the lifespan of the user’s source, but right now, this wasn’t going to stop Shin.
This was his final moment — which was precisely why he put his entire source into Deltoros.
Shiveringly cold and unimaginably beautiful, the Sword of Severance Deltoros had become a supernatural blade that couldn’t be cut.
“This is the sword of my soul that I have polished my whole life.” (Shin)
“Hmm. Well then…” (Anos)
I slowly moved my right arm forward and showed the back of my hand to Shin.
“Give it your best shot.” (Anos)
Shin slightly shifted his center of gravity to his right leg.
Without any tricks, he would challenge me head-on, and slice my arm off.
Putting all of his soul into it, as nothing more than a sword in the last moment of his life—
“Here I come.” (Shin)
Shin kicked the ground, and he moved like a flash.
He was going so fast he was invisible to the naked eye, but my Magic Eyes caught a clear sight of the man challenging me head-on.
With refined and efficient movements, he raised his Sword of Severance, and swung it down on my right arm with all his might.
Shin’s body was clad in a faint, jet-black aura.
This was the final glow indicating the collapse of his source.
In exchange for his life, his dying body exerted power that surpassed that of any living being.
The one who was powerful enough to be praised as the strongest swordsman of all demonkind could only reach the faraway peak of swordsmanship by discarding everything else.
The flash of his blade was truly a miraculous work…
“……” (Anos)
But despite this…
Even after putting his entire soul into it, my arm never fell.
I couldn’t afford to lose it.
“You couldn’t chop it off, Shin. Even at the cost of your own life.” (Anos)
The Sword of Severance he swung down dug into my arm, and the blade reached my bone.
However, I successfully stopped it.
“…I suppose… I could never accomplish it…” (Shin)
Those words slipped out of his mouth somewhat sadly.
“No, the Demon King’s right hand risked his life to do it. If so, then there’s no way this arm of mine wouldn’t drop.” (Anos)
Shin let go of the hilt, as if he was out of strength.
He didn’t have enough strength left to even hold his sword.
“Then do you know why you failed to slice it?” (Anos)
He didn’t reply, and could only stare into my Magic Eyes, dumbfounded.
“It’s because you wanted to be a demon. Your heart refused for you to be a sword.” (Anos)
Shin didn’t react to my statement.
All he did was look at me with his cold eyes, as if he had made up his mind.
“You’ve lived with that void in your heart for two thousand years. You’ve lived in disgrace, and probably even seen hell. And yet, nothing would be more cruel than to command you to live on.” (Anos)
Sometimes, death was the best salvation of all.
There were things in this world that were more painful than demise.
“Giving the coup de grace to my poor subordinate is the least compassion I can offer. I’m not so merciless as to force back into hell someone who has lived to this day seeking salvation.” (Anos)
I pulled out the Sword of Severance that had dug into my arm, crushed the blade with my grip, and snapped it off.
“At least, that’s what I would’ve done two thousand years ago.” (Anos)
Shin, who had channeled the magic power of his source into his demon sword, dropped to his knees on the spot, and fell forward like a puppet whose strings were cut.
I extracted the source that the Sword of Severance had absorbed out of the broken tip of the blade, and returned it to Shin.
Then, I spoke to him as he prostrated himself on the floor.
“I have a father in this era.” (Anos)
I could feel the corners of my mouth relaxing naturally.
“And what a dolt he is. He doesn’t just live in disgrace, his life itself is a disgrace. But you know what, Shin?” (Anos)
Like simply stating facts as they were, I told him the following.
“I don’t care about it. My father loves me. No matter the time, no matter what sorts of foolishness I’m up to, it’s the one fact that will never change. And that’s what matters the most. Even if my father was in the very depths of hell, and even if I hadn’t yet found the means to save him from there…” (Anos)
I would tell all of this to Shin.
Not as the Demon King, but as a child with kind-hearted parents.
“I could never say ‘Let him die with pride.’” (Anos)
Shin slightly moved his face.
His gaze was definitely directed at me.
“I want him to live. Even if it means living in shame. I want him to speak to me as my father. No matter how painful it is to live, I don’t want him to die.” (Anos)
I gently put my hands in front of Shin’s eyes.
“Live on, Shin. You’re not going to take Misa’s father away from her, are you?” (Anos)
Shin clenched his fists tightly.
I felt like there was a faint glow in his eyes.
“Even if this world was hell, you still have to live on. You have to look for love. And do so until Misa tells you that you don’t need it, or that it’s okay for you to pass away.” (Anos)
Shin’s lips trembled.
“…Will she… truly…” (Shin)
Then, in a frightened voice that sounded forcibly squeezed out, he asked.
“…accept me… as her father…?” (Shin)
“Who else but you is her father? If you, the one who gave up everything he had to save her life, aren’t her father, who else could be?” (Anos)
At my words, Shin fell silent.
I drew a magic circle, and pulled out a demon sword from it.
The Pillage Sword Gilionojes, which I thrusted into the ground.
“Misa was always gazing at the half of this demon sword you gave her. She said it was a message from her father, who couldn’t say anything to her. She thought it was her father’s way of telling her to wait for him, and that he’d come for her.” (Anos)
Shin put a considerable amount of strength into his arms, and raised himself up.
“…Two thousand years have passed, and nothing has ever remained the same anywhere…” (Shin)
He sounded as if something possessing him had left his body.
“My Lord, you have become stronger, harsher, and gentler than ever before.” Shin said as he firmly grabbed my hand.
