A single shadow crumpled to the floor before a girl in light armor, who stood gasping for air with her shoulders heaving.
"Did... I do it?"
Whether she still couldn't grasp the reality of her victory or was haunted by something else entirely, Hikari—the Hero—maintained a somber expression despite finally defeating her long-pursued nemesis.
"Well done, Hikari! You’ve finally seen it through!"
"She shouldn't be able to stand again. This is your... no, this is our victory."
"I don't really care about all that, but I have urgent business in the treasury. Can I head over?"
"Laguna, Falce... Hapty, please have some decorum."
As the companions who had braved countless hardships to reach this summit spoke, Hikari finally allowed the tension to drain from her shoulders. Yet, her clouded expression remained.
"We still have to deal with the remnants of her army, but for now, this is—"
"Laguna."
"What is it, Hikari? You have a look of dread about you."
"Was the Demon King... truly an evil existence?"
"What?"
The words spilled out softly. This was the question harbored by the girl hailed as the Hero, who had fought across the world only to find herself doubting the nature of the final foe she had just struck down. Hikari turned toward Laguna, who wore a bewildered look. Perhaps because she hadn't yet organized her own thoughts, the Hero spoke with a lack of confidence.
"Everyone saw it too, didn't they? The towns and villages we passed through on our way here... certainly, there were horrific massacres and looting in some places. But..."
"Most of them were peaceful—or if not peaceful, the humans were at least not being oppressed."
As if finding a point of agreement, the Elf Mage, Falce, muttered with a pensive look.
"Yes. And the prisoners we found in this castle... they were being treated properly as prisoners of war."
"Hmm, it's true I realize she wasn't some senseless beast... and that final battle was fought fair and square. But still..."
"It’s more than that. The Demon King’s eyes... they weren't the eyes of someone fighting for their own desires. There was a resolve there, as if she were swinging her blade for the sake of someone else. It's been weighing on me."
Hearing Hikari’s words, her companions’ faces flickered with traces of unease. They understood her point, and when laid out like that, it was difficult to argue. However, none of them knew how to reconcile that truth with the war they had just finished.
Then, it happened.
"!!"
Laguna, Falce, and Hikari spun around toward the spot where the Demon King lay. They had sensed the sudden arrival of an overwhelming presence—one that had appeared before they even realized it.
"Fia... why? Why did you do this?"
"Chro...me...-sama..."
A girl had appeared out of nowhere. She slowly gathered the fallen Demon King into her arms, calling her name with tears shimmering in her eyes. The Demon King seemed to have a faint spark of consciousness remaining; at the girl’s call, she opened her eyes slightly and let out a raspy, broken voice.
"What would I do... if you died, Fia? I don't want that... I’d be so sad. I'd be so lonely..."
"Ah... aahh... Chrome-sama... I... I am..."
"I'm so sorry... It's because I didn't speak to you properly... Because of me, you..."
"No... you're wrong... I did this of my own will... I... ah, aaah... Chrome-sama is crying... because of me..."
As they watched Kuromueina weep while cradling Fia—no, from the very moment Kuromueina had materialized—Hikari and her party had been frozen. They were unable to move an inch, unable to even blink.
"What... in the world... is that 'monster'?"
Laguna muttered in a trembling, strained voice. Hikari and Falce felt the same cold dread. They had defeated the Demon King, a being who possessed power so immense it lived up to her terrifying title—a narrow victory snatched at the end of a desperate death match.
And yet, it felt like a cruel joke. The power radiating from the girl who had just appeared was so absolute it made the Demon King seem like a mere infant. To Hikari and her friends, it was pure despair. Their instincts screamed with terrifying intensity that they could never, ever defeat this being.
However, Kuromueina didn't even look at them. She exchanged a few more pained words with Fia, and after Fia lost consciousness, she closed her eyes in sorrow.
Immediately after, the ceiling of the castle vanished as if it had been erased from existence, and an impossibly massive dragon's face peered down into the room. It didn't stop there. A woman integrated with a colossal tree, a girl suspended in a soft glow, a giant beast of roaring flames, and a hooded figure whose face remained a void... six overwhelming existences manifested at once.
"Ah... aah..."
Whose voice had let that cry slip? It was as if a mountain of despair had been piled atop their already breaking spirits. Before the trembling Hero’s party, Kuromueina slowly wiped her tears and stood up.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Hero of the Human Realm. My name is Kuromueina... and I would like you to sit with us for a while."
Her voice resonated with a haunting beauty, filled with the unmistakable and terrifying majesty of a King.
"Are you truly going?"
"Yes."
Several months had passed since the existence of the Demon Realm had been relayed to the humans through the Hero, and a ceasefire agreement had been signed. Fia, whose wounds had been healed through treatment, was preparing to leave without seeing Kuromueina, who was currently occupied with diplomatic negotiations.
Ein, who had come to see her off, wore a troubled expression.
"Chrome-sama... would not wish for this, you know?"
"Even so, I have no right to face Chrome-sama. Not anymore."
"I see."
During her recovery, Fia had heard the truth from Kuromueina and finally realized the magnitude of her mistake. She regretted it with every fiber of her being—but no matter how much she grieved, she had no way to turn back time. She understood that she had to accept her sins and carry the weight of that burning regret for the rest of her life.
With a deep bow to Ein, Fia walked away from her family.
Kuromueina and the others... they had all tried to shield her. They tried to protect her and welcome her back. But to Fia, that kindness—the unconditional love of her family—was too painful to bear. She told herself that never returning to her beloved family was a part of her punishment.
As she set out on a journey of atonement without a destination, a shadow blocked her path.
"Shaltier-sama..."
"Let me be clear. I will not forgive you for the chaos you brought upon the Demon Realm. Even if you 'held back so as not to take human lives,' the responsibility for the idiocy of the subordinates you gathered rests solely on your shoulders."
"Yes."
"Normally, I would have executed you myself. However, out of respect for Kuro-san, who bowed her head to me and begged for your life, I will let you go just this once."
Shaltier had been the only one among the Six Kings who had insisted to the end that Fia should be put to death. Naturally, even she felt a shred of affection for her family—but she was a woman who would discard even that if the situation demanded it. As someone who prioritized the whole over the individual, she was not satisfied with this outcome.
However, she could not simply ignore Kuromueina’s tearful pleas. Thus, she had reached the compromise of sparing Fia's life.
"There won't be a next time. If you ever bring chaos to the world again, I will be the one to kill you."
"Yes. Thank you very much, Shaltier-sama."
"What a strange girl. You say 'thank you' after being told you'll be killed?"
"To the me of right now... your harsh words are a comfort."
"..."
Because Fia believed she should never be forgiven, the kindness of her family was agonizing, making Shaltier's cold warning a mercy. Fia bowed deeply once more and turned to leave, but Shaltier’s voice stopped her one last time.
"There is no salvation at the end of the path you are taking."
"I know. That's fine... That is as it should be."
Perhaps if Fia had the weakness to run from her sins, the outcome would have been different. But she refused to avert her eyes. She accepted her guilt and swore to spend her life atoning for it.
"Though... if 'someone were to forcibly pull you away from that path'... If some singular, peculiar existence were to appear who wished for your happiness even while acknowledging your sins... then perhaps the result might change."
Shaltier muttered the words to herself long after Fia had vanished from sight.
As far as she knew, no such person existed. Even the Hero girl would be unable to do it, for she could no longer truly confront Fia. If there were any possibility of salvation, it would have to come from someone who knew the full extent of her crimes, accepted them, and yet still chose to respect and save the woman she had become.
Such a person was nowhere to be found. But perhaps, someday...
Shaltier offered a fleeting prayer for the miracle she herself had been waiting for, hoping it might one day reach the sister who had walked away into the night. Then, she vanished.