"Ha!"
I snapped awake.
My hands flew to the spots where the blade had carved into me moments ago. Finding no wounds, I let out a jagged breath. I had successfully triggered a Return by Death.
What exactly is happening here?
My mind was a whirlwind of confusion. Holy Knight Kanaria had murdered Hero Eligion. It hadn't been a sudden impulse; judging by her cold precision, it was a calculated assassination. She must have been biding her time, waiting for the perfect opening inside that carriage to strike.
And then there was Demon King Zoga. He should have been dead, yet he had emerged from that same carriage. I had no idea what had transpired within those wooden walls, but one thing was certain: Holy Knight Kanaria had brought him back to life.
She was a traitor.
Still, uncovering that fact was a significant lead. I had finally caught a glimmer of hope—perhaps there was a way to prevent Zoga’s resurrection after all.
◆
"Hey! Just what do you think you're doing?!"
Hero Eligion roared, his voice thick with rage as he hauled me up by my collar.
"I apologize for acting without orders, but this was necessary to prevent the Demon King's resurrection," I replied steadily.
I had followed the script of the previous timeline right up until the moment the Hero struck the killing blow. Then, I had taken matters into my own hands, defying his wishes. I had burned the Demon King's corpse—head and all.
"The Demon King's body is vital evidence of our victory!" Eligion snarled, tightening his grip. "Do you have any idea what it means to destroy it?"
In the last timeline, Eligion had said it was fine to burn the body as long as we kept the head to prove the war was over. But leaving the head intact had allowed Demon King Zoga to return. If that was the anchor, I had to burn it alongside the torso.
"If the Demon King returns, all of your efforts will be for nothing. Please, Hero, try to understand."
"The Demon King returning? That’s impossible! The people need to see that head to truly feel at ease... dammit!" The Hero clicked his tongue and scratched his head violently.
To be honest, I didn't care how much of the Hero's resentment I incurred as long as it stopped the cycle of destruction.
Shortly after, just as before, Holy Knight Kanaria arrived. She looked down at the charred, unrecognizable remains of the Demon King.
"I see. You have certainly taken quite a lot of liberties," she remarked, her voice sharp with clinical disapproval.
I watched her closely, wondering what she was really thinking. Was she seething because I’d ruined her plan? Or did she not care? If burning the body didn't stop her, I was in serious trouble. I prayed fervently that my actions had truly hindered her.
◆
We regrouped with the rest of the party and exited the Dungeon via a Teleportation Circle. Even after being torched, the Demon King's remains—the scorched bones—persisted. Since they could serve as a bare minimum of proof, we gathered them to take back.
A victory banquet began in Kataroff Village, but the atmosphere felt hollow. Perhaps it was the lack of a gruesome trophy, but the festivities seemed far more subdued than in the previous timeline.
In the midst of the celebration, a nagging thought haunted me: Could he be brought back from just the bones?
When Kanaria had looked at the burning corpse, she hadn't looked shocked—only annoyed. She looked like someone confident that the fire was a mere inconvenience rather than a total failure.
The more I thought about it, the more certain I became. I had to go further.
In the dead of night, while the villagers slept off their wine, I slipped away.
"There it is."
I found the wooden box containing the Demon King's remains. It had been left carelessly in a prominent spot in the center of the village, likely because no one imagined a person would want to steal a pile of cursed bones.
I checked the contents, confirmed the remains were there, and fled into the dark.
"Haa... haa... haa..."
I finally stopped at a distance where I felt safe, my lungs burning from the sprint. I pulled the bones from the box and set to work, using my sword to grind them into fine powder.
It was grueling, tedious work. No matter how much I crushed them, I felt a lingering anxiety that it wasn't enough. By the time I had reduced the remains to mere dust, the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon.
"Surely, this has to be enough."
I looked at the pile of fine white ash and scattered it into a nearby pond. I had burned the body and pulverized the bones. I had done everything humanly possible.
Now, I just have to pray he stays dead.
A sudden, heavy flapping of wings broke the silence. A violent gust of wind slammed into me as a dragon descended from the sky.
"Hmm. To think someone would be out here doing something so peculiar."
The voice was unmistakable. The figure leaped from the dragon's back and landed gracefully before me.
"Kanaria...!" I spat the name.
How had she tracked me? The question burned in my mind, but I stood my ground. The task was already done.
"I know what you're planning," I said.
"Oh? And what might that be?"
"You're trying to resurrect the Demon King."
Kanaria’s eyes widened, and she took a sharp step back. Her composure cracked. Serves her right—she was clearly shaken that I knew her secret.
"But you're too late! I've destroyed the remains! There's nothing left for you to use! Your plan is over!"
I felt a surge of triumph. I had won.
"I'm impressed," Kanaria said, her voice regaining its chilling calm. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a ring set with a brilliant, glowing gemstone. "To think there was a hidden variable like you in this village. However, this ring was crafted by my Lord. Its power is Resurrection—and it does not require a physical medium."
The moment she finished speaking, the ring flared with an blinding light and shattered with a sharp crack.
"Phew. Well, this is an interesting situation."
The voice came from directly behind me. My blood ran cold. I knew that voice. It was impossible... but I turned anyway.
"You assumed a corpse was a requirement for the ritual," Kanaria said, her tone mocking. "Unfortunately for you, that was an error in judgment. All of your desperate efforts were in vain."
It was a crushing, impossible reality.
"So, what do you want me to do?" the Demon King asked, stretching his limbs.
"Please kill him," Kanaria requested, bowing her head.
"Understood."
The Demon King’s lips curled into a brutal grin. In the same instant, his fist slammed into my chest.
"Agah!"
The air was punched out of my lungs as I was sent hurtling backward. Trees snapped like dry twigs as my body plowed through the forest. I crashed into the dirt, coughing up thick, metallic-tasting blood.
"What? Still alive?"
Zoga walked over and casually hoisted me up by my head. I had no strength left to fight back. He slammed me against a jagged rock, and the world dissolved into darkness.