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The hero and the Dragon Priestess defeated the Demon King.

From that day onward, the forces of the Demon King, which had been causing chaos in the world, began to dwindle. The situation on the front line gradually stabilized, and the dead rising again, as well as the demons enslaved by the Demon King mingling among the people to cause havoc, also came to an end.

Now, the only problems were monsters appearing or goblins causing a ruckus. Even those could be handled by a few soldiers.

Thus, the weary humans, exhausted from their battles against the Demon King’s army, were able to survive thanks to the heroic efforts of the hero and the Dragon Priestess.

In this way, peace returned to the world.

—

It would have been nice if it had ended there.

But not everything leads to a happy ending.

With the hero’s sword in hand, the Dragon Priestess Alice succeeded in piercing the Demon King’s throne.

Normally, one wouldn’t even dream of approaching the Demon King’s magical power, but Alice managed to withstand it and pierce the throne that represented the Demon King’s essence with the hero’s sword.

However, this was not the end, but the beginning.

[At last, the time has come for me to reclaim what is mine.]

The moment the hero’s sword pierced the throne, a crack appeared, and the Demon King’s power exploded forth.

The Demon King’s power, containing deep darkness, surged out. Alice resisted as best she could against the storm of this power, but it not only pushed her away but also stuck to her, slowly seeping into her body.

If it had been ordinary magical power, she could have resisted it. But this power… was anything but ordinary.

[How long have I been waiting for this moment…?]

The dark power was not just any magic; it composed the very essence of the Demon King’s spirit. It was the power that sustained the Demon King’s existence, which had now only its spiritual form left.

[By reclaiming that body, I will become whole. I shall break free from all restrictions. Finally! I shall be complete!!]

“Ugh!!! Get away!!!”

Alice tried to push the Demon King away with all her might, but the Demon King’s power would not easily let go.

In fact, it was slowly seeping into her body.

“You were planning this from the start…!”

[Heh. What being would willingly embrace death after giving up everything? Isn’t that the teaching of the Goddess of Life you serve?]

“This, this is…!!”

Alice desperately resisted, but the Demon King’s magic that had already seeped into her was impossible to extract again.

It was as if it was becoming a natural part of her body, blending in as if it belonged.

“Ugh… if it’s come to this…!”

[Hmm? Are you still resisting? Face reality. It is only natural that your body becomes one with my spirit. It was something that should have happened from the start.]

“Shut up! My body is mine! You think I’d give it to the likes of you?!”

[What can you do about it? You cannot peel me off with your current power, can you?]

The Demon King’s power that had seeped into Alice was gradually starting to dominate her flesh. Spreading through her veins, it began to seize her heart, body, and even her soul.

“I have to do something…!”

Alice began to quickly think of a way. How could she shake off this Demon King? How could she expel this dark magic? How? How?

In that moment.

Alice looked at the hero’s sword in her hand.

The very sword that had pierced the throne of the Demon King, that absorbed magic and sealed darkness.

“Damn it… isn’t there another way…!”

“Alice…?”

Ignoring Eric’s voice, Alice clicked her tongue and forced her immobile body to move.

Holding the sword upside down, with the blade pointing toward herself, Alice gripped the hilt tightly.

Blood dripped from her hand, soaking the sword’s grip.

An incredibly sharp blade. If she were to be cut by it… it would hurt. It would be painful. It would be excruciating to the point of death.

Perhaps, she might even truly die.

Even so, she couldn’t think of any other way.

From the moment the Demon King had possessed her, the voice that had always lent her wisdom had gone silent.

Alice couldn’t come up with another plan.

“Alice?! Stop!!! What are you trying to do?!”

“There’s no other way!”

“What?!”

“There’s no way to drive out the Demon King that has entered me!!! So!!!!”

Suppressing her anxious heart, Alice forced a smile toward Eric.

“I’m sorry.”

“Alice?!”

Then, the cold blade pierced through her body.

—

The hero Eric returned to the Church of Life headquarters with the Dragon Priestess Alice.

How they used some means to return from the Demon King’s castle, where his forces were gathered, remains unknown.

At some point, a priest discovered the two in the garden located in the central area of the Church of Life.

Some speculated that they had used some magic to return from the Demon King’s castle, but many mages denied that such magic could instantly cover such a long distance, leading to discussions that they must have used some other means.

It was hypothesized that perhaps the Goddess of Life had lent some assistance.

Thus, though the hero and the Dragon Priestess had defeated the Demon King, neither were unscathed.

The Dragon Priestess lay unconscious, while the hero had lost the hero’s sword.

It was likely that even the two who were stronger than anyone else could only defeat the Demon King after enduring such losses.

A month passed after defeating the Demon King, and just as peace began to settle and the world stabilized—

The Dragon Priestess, who had long been unconscious, slowly opened her eyes.

—

“Alice…?”

The hero Eric, entering the room with a basin filled with clean water and cloth, accidentally dropped the basin upon discovering the awakened Dragon Priestess.

Clean water splashed everywhere, and the wooden basin clattered as it fell, but all of this went unnoticed by the hero.

In Eric’s eyes, only the Dragon Priestess, who had awakened, existed.

“Is it… finally time? Alice…?”

For a month—a time that felt both long and short—she hadn’t opened her eyes at all.

Seeing her finally awaken, the hero Eric felt joy for the moment he had been eagerly awaiting, but he also held a faint sense of anxiety.

If he thought about why she had stabbed herself with the hero’s sword… why the hero’s sword had inexplicably shrunk in size and ended up remaining inside her body…

His anxiety could not be brushed aside.

He could not tell whether the one awakening now was the Dragon Priestess Alice or the Demon King.

“Alice…?”

Eric called out Alice’s name once more.

He prayed she would answer. He hoped she would respond to her own name.

That she would awaken, not as the Demon King, but as herself. That he could finally retrieve her.

But.

“I am… not Alice.”

At those words, Eric immediately fell into a battle-ready stance. Although he was without the hero’s sword, he could still face most monsters even with his bare hands.

However.

“Yet I am not the Demon King either.”

The being that had taken residence within Alice’s body continued to speak in a subdued voice.

“Neither Alice nor the Demon King…”

“It seems this is the second time we are speaking directly, Hero Eric.”

The second time? Despite speaking in Alice’s voice, it was not the same being as her.

That voice reminded Eric of a forgotten memory.

“If it’s the second time… could it be… the Goddess of Life…?”

“Hmm. It seems you remember.”

The being controlling Alice’s body smiled gently at Eric.

A smile that was somehow different from Alice’s, like a parent looking down at their child.

“Why… are you not Alice?”

“Hm. It’s a complicated story…”

The Goddess of Life paused for a moment to collect her thoughts before speaking.

“Alice and the Demon King are currently fighting inside this body for control.”

“Control of the body?”

“Yes. It’s a matter of who will possess this flesh. Originally, the Demon King should have had the upper hand, but because Alice drove the hero’s sword into her own heart, the situation has become unclear.”

The Goddess of Life said this and then shook her head lightly.

“Alice’s spiritual defensive power was extremely low, so she was likely overwhelmed in an instant. But using the hero’s sword, she forced it down to a level of equality. It was a moment of quick wit, and I can say it was quite clever.”

“B-but… the fact that she hasn’t woken up yet…”

The Goddess of Life looked at the hero Eric and said.

“Though Alice has been brought down to an equal level, it does not mean she has gained the upper hand. So, here’s what I ask of you.”

With Alice’s face, yet bearing a different expression, she continued to speak.

“Would you not drive out the Demon King who has intruded upon Alice?”

“Drive out the Demon King…?”

“Yes. If you do that, you can save Alice again.”

At those words, Eric nodded slightly.

He wanted to save Alice again. That was all he wished for.

However, driving out the Demon King within Alice meant… that the Demon King would reappear, didn’t it?

Wasn’t it the same as disturbing the world that was finally beginning to stabilize once more?

“How do we do it?”

That was not even a consideration for Eric.

What he desired was simply to help her, the one he couldn’t save.

“Well. First, we’ll need to find a way to weaken the Demon King and strengthen Alice. To drive the Demon King out from within her body, you see. The specifics… I’ll need to think a bit more.”

The Goddess of Life, moving in Alice’s body, slowly got off the bed and stood on the floor.

“Until that moment comes, I shall move her body.”

“A-Understood… So, Alice?”

Eric called out to the being controlling Alice’s body, but the Goddess of Life shook her head slightly.

“I am not Alice. That name is a name I gave for her. So I am…”

The Goddess of Life, moving in Alice’s body, calmly spoke.

“Loreina. Please call me Loreina.”

“Loreina?”

“Yes. To her, I was likely like an older sister.”

The Goddess of Life, Loreina, moving in Alice’s body, smiled faintly.

That smile bore some resemblance to Alice’s.

 

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