I finally reached the crystal.
It was a massive crystalline structure pulsing with a pale blue light. And there, inside, she waited.
A petite girl lay within, her eyes closed and her body bare.
"Hey, Aristia..."
There was no answer, but a sharp crack suddenly echoed through the chamber.
Countless fissures began to spider-web across the surface of the crystal. Most likely, Verdict’s mana had been the only thing maintaining the seal. Now that he was gone, the structure was beginning to collapse.
Before long, the cracks multiplied at a dizzying pace until—
The crystal shattered.
As the pale fragments danced through the air, Aristia’s body succumbed to gravity and began to fall.
Ignoring the sting of the shards against my skin, I lunged forward and caught her in my arms. Her body was frighteningly cold, as if I were cradling a block of ice.
However, she gave a small, weak cough and began to breathe.
She was alive.
Eventually, Aristia’s eyelids fluttered open. Her purple eyes stared blankly up at me, unfocused. She didn't seem to understand where she was or what had happened yet.
Good grief. Even now, she didn't act the part of a Demon King at all.
"I told you 'see you tomorrow,' didn't I? So, I came to get you."
A spark of recognition lit up her eyes. Her gaze snapped into focus, locking onto mine. Then, her usual downer smile slowly spread across her face.
"Uhehehe... you really did come for me... thank you..."
Her weak arms reached out to cling to my body. There was almost no strength behind the gesture, but I could feel warmth beginning to return to her. Little by little, color seeped back into her frozen fingertips.
I held her tight in return.
It was finally over. I had defeated Verdict and I had brought Aristia back.
No, that wasn't right. This was only the beginning. I still had to pull the rampaging Vessel of the Demon King away from Leon and the others and find a way to move it. For that matter, how was I supposed to put Aristia back into the Vessel in the first place?
It wasn't over at all! This was just the start of a massive pain in the ass!
Now that the immediate pressure was off, I grumbled to myself—good grief, here we go again—but then...
Aristia’s body gave a violent jolt.
"Ngh... ah... g-ugh...!"
A cry of pure agony escaped her lips. The hands that had been clutching me fell away as she desperately grabbed at her own chest.
"What is it?! What’s wrong?!"
Instead of an answer, a horrific sight met my eyes.
Aristia’s fingertips were dissolving into shimmering particles of light. From her nails to her fingers to her palms, she was simply crumbling away into a soft radiance.
"What... what is happening?"
What was this?
"It looks like... the Vessel... lost..."
Though her face was contorted in pain, Aristia’s voice was strangely serene. She sounded like someone who had found clarity, or perhaps simply resigned herself to the inevitable.
"Lost...?"
Did Leon and his party defeat it?
"The Vessel and I... share a single destiny. If the Vessel dies... I die, too."
I reflexively rejected those words.
"Don't talk like that! Don't you dare die on me, Aristia!"
But my desperate pleas meant nothing. The collapse was accelerating. Her arms had already vanished past the elbows. Her toes were beginning to dissipate as well. Shimmering dust fell from her like light from a dying star.
"Hey... Albert-kun."
"What? I'm here."
"It was so much fun... researching magic together... having snowball fights... even taking baths together... uhehehe..."
The existence known as Aristia was fading from the world.
"I'd never... had a friend before..."
"Stop it! Don't disappear! Don't you dare leave me!"
Now, only her chest and head remained.
A cold dread gripped my heart. I couldn't stop this. No one could save her. The Lazy Demon King who had shared my research and my life was about to vanish forever.
Aristia’s eyes gazed up at me, her smile one of quiet contentment.
"Bye-bye... Albert-kun."
Her voice sounded like it was coming from somewhere far away.
"I want to say... 'see you later'... but I'm sorry."
At the very last...
"Uhehehe."
With one final laugh, Aristia turned into light and vanished.
My hands grasped at nothing but empty air.
Nothing remained. Not her warmth, nor her weight, nor her voice, nor her smile. Everything was gone. She had been right there just a second ago. She had been holding onto me. I had felt her heart beating.
And now, there wasn't a single trace left to prove she had ever existed.
A sharp, burning pain rose in my throat and nose. I had saved her. I had fought so hard to save her, and yet I had failed. There was no joy in this victory—only a freezing, hollow regret that threatened to shatter my heart.
My clenched fists shook uncontrollably. No matter how hard I squeezed, no matter how much my knuckles creaked, the trembling wouldn't stop.
I had no choice but to lie to myself.
I had to believe that, at the very least, it was a good thing she had passed away looking so happy.
Under a clear, brilliant sky...
Leon’s Holy Sword was buried deep in the Demon King’s chest.
Leon himself was a wreck. his left arm was broken and useless, and his left eye had been lost. His entire body was a map of horrific wounds, his skin stained a dark, uniform crimson by his own blood.
Slowly, the Demon King’s body began to disintegrate. It broke apart into particles of light, scattering into the wind.
The sight of the Demon King’s fall brought a surge of absolute certainty to the students watching from the school buildings. A tidal wave of cheers erupted from every direction.
"Wooooooo! We won! We actually won!"
"Leon! Leon, you're the true Hero!"
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
The roar of the crowd was deafening, but Leon felt nothing. He simply acknowledged the fact of his victory.
He had struck down the Demon King. Even having fulfilled that monumental purpose, no joy reached his heart.
With a hollow spirit, Leon looked back on the moments just before the end.
The battle between the Demon King and Hero Leon, who had embodied Divinity Descent, had been savage. It had reached the point where the next blow would decide everything.
At that final moment, the Demon King’s movements had faltered. It was as if her mind had wandered to some distant place. Leon didn't know the reason, but the opening was more than enough. That single strike had decided the war.
What was that strange hesitation?
He wondered briefly, but he didn't have the energy to dwell on it. Hero Leon—an existence forged solely to kill the Demon King—had fulfilled his duty. Nothing else mattered.
The Holy Sword followed the Demon King’s lead, turning into light and returning to the heavens. So too did the power of the Divinity Descent. The Golden Radiance that had enshrouded Leon flickered and died.
But Leon could not return to being the person he once was. His Human Vessel was utterly broken. Even without the lethal strain of the divine power, his wounds were already far beyond help.
As the light faded, Leon scanned the battlefield.
A short distance away, two bodies lay still.
One was a woman with platinum blonde hair. Her eyes were closed, her expression serene as if she were enjoying a peaceful dream.
The other was a girl with chestnut hair. She also looked at peace, her face quiet, as if she had finished everything she set out to do.
Leon stumbled toward them on failing legs. With every step, he felt his strength draining away. His vision blurred, and he could feel his very soul spilling out of his body.
Still, he didn't stop. Because they were there, he had to keep moving.
He sank down to the ground between them.
He couldn't remember their names. He had no memory of the days they had shared. Every piece of his past had been burned away.
And yet... looking at them, a profound warmth filled his chest. It wasn't based on logic or reason. His soul simply remembered that they were the most precious things in the world to him. His body knew. In the final moments he had left, this was exactly where he wanted to be.
He pulled the platinum blonde woman close with his right arm. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he forced his shattered left arm to move so he could grasp the chestnut-haired girl’s hand.
That simple contact was enough to soothe his heart.
He didn't know why, but words began to spill from his lips.
"Thank you... for supporting... someone as unreliable... as me."
He didn't even know who he was talking to.
"I'm sorry... I couldn't... protect you... to the very end."
His fingers brushed against the platinum blonde hair. The sensation brought him a strange, final comfort.
"But... I did it. I fulfilled... my role."
He turned his gaze toward the chestnut-haired girl.
"This... was the right way for it to end... wasn't it?"
He had given everything. He had fulfilled his mission. There was nothing left to do.
Using the last of his fading life force, Leon looked up at the sky. A clear, beautiful winter blue stretched out forever.
With that azure sky burned into his eyes, Leon slowly let them close.
Even after his consciousness slipped into the eternal dark, the Hero did not let go of the two girls' hands. He fell into his final sleep with a look of perfect contentment on his face.