Chapter 28: “Things I Absolutely Cannot Yield (Conclusion)”

The fortress greeted the dawn. In this maze-like space, I was focused on the sounds.

I had rushed out of the safe house to find the hero, but this fortress was so disorienting that I couldn’t find my way.

It felt like being a sheep without a shepherd.

Still, I didn’t want to stay idle. Outside, with the crimson sky, was much better than being stuck in this gloomy space.

Of course, it wasn’t all bad. No, in fact, I even felt a bit of joy.

If the hero truly was a good person, and if I had judged him too harshly, maybe, just maybe, everyone could be saved.

The second hero defeated the Demon King.

That was a fact. So, why couldn’t the first hero have done the same? If I could convince the hero, the possibility was undeniably exciting.

But that was assuming I could find him.

“I’m in a storage room underground… where should I go?”

Without divine power, it was dangerous to be alone.

The only thing I could do was burn my life force.

I had to find the hero quickly and join him, but after reaching the underground, I kept wandering without moving to another space.

Could it be that the source of mana is sealed somewhere around here? I thought about it, but the smell of oil in the air quickly disproved that theory.

It was likely the special area with the mana source, and the oil storage right next to it.

It was nice that the hero might be heading there, but in this distorted space, that fact didn’t really matter.

“What, what is that!”

Whoosh. In an instant, a sharp arcane strike sliced through the air and grazed my cheek.

It couldn’t be the Red Tail Tribe, could it? I thought as I turned around…

“Where is the hero, and why is the saint wandering alone? Hehe.”

A man with a repulsive appearance, impossible to believe as a beastman, was smiling with a sinister grin, using his two pairs of arms to throw a curved blade.

Damn it. Why is it that bad thoughts always seem to be right? I muttered a prayer in hopes, but of course, I felt no divine power.

If he had demonic power, my holy fire would be a direct hit.

How incompetent must I be right now? Cold sweat began to run down my face as I sighed.

My expression must have been a picture of despair.

“… Are you alone?”

“Well? Maybe there are others.”

It was a lie. I could faintly hear the sounds of battle from beyond the wall.

There would be no fool who would pull back troops in this situation.

His goal was likely to search for the missing hero or to patrol for me.

The fact that he hadn’t reported back to the chief meant that he was enjoying this situation.

“… Don’t you intend to kill me?”

These types are everywhere. If there are no obstacles, they’ll torment the weak.

He must have thrown that arcane strike after confirming that the hero wasn’t nearby.

This guy seemed to enjoy seeing me in pain.

“Maybe dying would be better… but well, let’s see how fast you can run.”

The guy pulled a spell from his pouch and threw it.

I immediately turned around and started running.

Swish- The sound of the air being sliced by the spell echoed in my ears, and that sound was enough to remind me that a normal wound wouldn’t be the end if I got hit.

The hunt was meant to scare the prey and make them imagine the upcoming pain.

It was truly a sadistic game.

“Haha! To think the great humans are running away!”

The man chased after me, matching my speed, which was slower than his.

With my average, no—below-average physical abilities, there was no way to escape. He grabbed my hair, and I was helpless.

“Ugh..! Let go..!”

Even without saying it, he would let go. But not before giving me a little “gift.”

“Ggh..! Ah.. Ugh..”

He wouldn’t kill me, right? I thought, but then the small dagger he drew stabbed into my side.

The pain was unbearable. Having lived as a saint, I had never experienced such pain before.

Could it be? Am I going to die like this?

As I tried to push myself up, his foot mercilessly stomped on my head.

Then, he pulled out a potion. The liquid that could heal a wound like this poured over me.

“I’ll give you 3 seconds, just 3 seconds, so try running away.”

“Crazy bastard…”

Finally, I understood what he meant. He wasn’t going to kill me yet.

He intended to keep stabbing, beating, strangling, and enjoying seeing me struggle.

“Yeah! That’s exactly it!”

“f*ck..”

But if I stayed still, I’d really die. My body didn’t move, but I had no choice.

In those 3 seconds, as I desperately ran, I heard his voice laughing madly.

That crazy bastard, this damn situation, I needed a way to escape.

Anyway, I couldn’t just keep suffering like this.

“Do you think you can’t find anything useful in the warehouse?! Hehe, saint, you’re cute even when you’re thinking.”

What could be useful here? I hid in a warehouse filled with various items, but it didn’t seem to matter much.

There was only flour and oil here. I couldn’t find anything useful.

“…No? Huh..?”

I had already been stabbed several times and thrown against the wall.

My body was still intact due to the potions, but my mind was falling apart.

I begged desperately, but he just tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

My vision shifted. How long had I lost consciousness this time? How many times had I suffered at his hands? I didn’t have time to analyze it.

“Alright, 3 seconds again.”

Once more, my body was drenched with the potion. Again, I would run desperately and be tormented until I lost consciousness.

Crazy bastard. What the hell did I do wrong? Just days ago, I was healing the villagers.

Now, I was being tortured by the Red Tail Tribe. It didn’t make sense, and it was incredibly unfair.

Alright, f*ck it… I’ll run. I can just run, right?

My head only remembered the pain. But my body was still fine.

Because of that, I realized the ring on my finger. The Tear of Fire.

It was a magical item the hero had secretly given me, providing absolute resistance to fire-based attacks.

He must have enjoyed himself enough by now.

Whether it was slow or fast, staying here would only lead to my death.

So there was no need to think anymore.

I just needed to stand up and head to the oil storage.

“Ggh.. Ugh.. damn…”

Once again, a dagger was lodged in my back, and my body flew.

But it was fine. At least the flour in the warehouse was now a mess.

No matter how much pain I felt, no matter how battered my body was, he wouldn’t kill me right away.

He’d use potions again and keep enjoying this miserable game.

“Alright, this is the last one.”

As expected, he had had enough fun and poured another potion on my body before choking me.

I must have been delirious from the pain, but it seemed like he wanted me to suffer even more until the very end.

“I’ve worked under humans after leaving the safe zone, you know? Even if I worked all day, the amount of money I earned was half, no, even less than that of the others.”

“Keugh… ugh….”

The arm of the man with bulging veins tightened around my neck.

My lungs and head screamed for air, but the breath wouldn’t come.

I desperately tried to reach for his hand with my arms, but they were stopped by another pair of hands.

One day, there was a big fire.

No one told me about it, and they all ran away first.

But do you know what those bastards said? They said that I should be thankful for the work they gave me, and that it wasn’t their responsibility!”

“Keugh… ugh…”

“Where was that great god while I was suffering? Where was the saint who should have been taking care of everyone!?”

His voice was filled with resentment, but there was a hint of sadness in it.

Ah, I see. This bastard probably just wanted to hear an apology.

His face, badly burned and covered with severe scarring, looked even more grotesque after turning into a demon, and now, he no longer seemed like the same living being.

But still, it seemed this warrior wanted to hear an apology directly from me.

As proof, when our eyes met, he quietly loosened his grip around my neck. Just one word. He let me speak just one word.

“Do you have something to say?”

But even if I apologized, he wasn’t going to spare me.

It was already too late for words. I had come too far.

Besides, I couldn’t bring myself to apologize for something I hadn’t even done wrong.

He wasn’t foolish enough not to tell a false apology.

So, the only thing I could say was one thing.

“Go to hell, you bastard.”

With that, I decided to light a small fire.

If it were divine flame, it wouldn’t work, but the real fire I could make by burning my own life force would be tiny.

But, as long as it was real fire, that didn’t matter.

The area was already filled with flour, and the oil was spilling everywhere.

All I needed now was a small ignition point.

With a huge explosion, the underground exploded.

Whether I was strangled to death or burned alive, it didn’t matter.

Either way, I was going to die. So, I chose the option that gave me the slightest chance of survival.

I survived…

And thankfully, it seemed that the dice of fate were still on my side.

In the remaining flames, I was only slightly scorched in my nun’s habit.

There were no other injuries. Instead, the red ring the warrior had given me had shattered.

It was unbelievable, but before I jumped into the river, just as the warrior had tried to protect me, the gift he gave me protected me again.

From the warrior’s perspective, it would have been troublesome if I had died, but did it really need to go this far? Holding the shattered ring tightly in my hand, I decided I would think about the warrior again.

At that moment.

Before I met the warrior, who was walking toward the magic stone, after the explosion had knocked down the walls and knocked Laura and Natalia out.

“What are you doing now?”

I tried to trust the warrior.

I wanted to believe that the warrior was a good person.

After all, the image of the warrior trembling, trying to save me with his hands shaking, was still vivid in my mind.

But trust was cruelly betrayed, and what I saw before me was the warrior trying to seize the magic stone.

I should have let the warrior die back then.

I shouldn’t have saved him.

This was the first time I regretted my choice so much.

The traces of battle remained everywhere.

Especially the many holes in the underground made by Laura’s magic.

And through those holes, light began to seep in. Morning had arrived.

The warrior stood still, gazing at my figure in the light.

His jet-black eyes gleamed like obsidian in the sunlight.

His long brown hair, as peaceful as it looked, comforted me. His flawless, pale skin seemed untouched by any wounds.

Only his nun’s habit was scorched here and there.

Overall, he looked much better than when he had fallen into the river, and the warrior seemed relieved.

“I’m sorry, I had no choice.”

“This is enough.”

That’s what the warrior thought as he spoke his final words to me.

Though summoned from another world, the warrior had no intention of abandoning his duties.

When he first saw the moon here, the beautiful atmosphere and the vibrantly alive colors made him realize that this world, too, was a place where people lived.

And for that reason, he had no complaints about saving this world.

If there was any flaw, it was the unwanted hypnotic power.

But even that, he was satisfied with, having discovered the only hope—me, Serah—who wasn’t affected by the hypnosis.

“… I am the warrior.”

How many times did he appreciate his beautiful appearance? The warrior finally opened his mouth, barely ignoring my gaze.

“…Because I’m a warrior? Because I have no choice? Yeah, that’s the premise…”

A faint voice came from me, but he didn’t care.

The magic stone with the power of the Demon King was his responsibility to handle.

He wasn’t willing to let anyone take it from him.

It was better not to continue the conversation.

If he spoke with me any longer, his resolve might waver.

“That bastard, deceiving me?”

Serah… No, don’t!!

At that moment, as the warrior slowly walked toward the magic stone while glancing back at me, what he saw was me running toward the magic stone.

Why? What was going on? Those thoughts crossed his mind briefly, but soon after, he forced his exhausted body to move and sprinted toward the magic stone.

He couldn’t let me take the magic stone.

If it was sealed inside me, the Demon King’s power would overpower me, and I would die before I could escape.

But contrary to his wishes, I reached the magic stone first.

I stood firm, unyielding, determined not to let it be taken away from me.

I began to bite the magic stone.

“This… I will never give this up!!”

The magic stone shattered, turning into powder. Gradually, the power of the Demon King entered my body.

Despite the pain, I seemed strangely satisfied.

That day, the surviving soldiers and adventurers saw the power of the Demon King.

The fallen saint, who had sealed the power inside her body, and the warrior, screaming in agony.