“Find the Master quickly!!!”
Something was off. Helia sensed it and quickly gave orders to everyone. It was a matter of urgency. But her words didn’t make them move at all.
As if they were looking at something. They just stared blankly into the air. Frustrated, Helia almost let out a curse but swallowed it down and was about to shout again.
If only someone hadn’t grabbed her shoulder. Annoyed, Helia whipped her head around to shake off the hand. But in that moment, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Before joining the Master, back when Helia was just a girl with no power. A figure kept appearing in her mind repeatedly, even now at times. Her father was standing right in front of her.
Though he looked a bit different from her memories. In her recollections, her father was quite young, yet now he had aged, with wrinkles and white hair.
“Ah, Virgil?”
But even with the changed appearance, was it ultimately blood that connected them? She recognized him at once. Her father wore a gentle smile and opened his mouth.
“Hang in there, our daughter.”
“You can do it.”
“Mom? Dad? What’s going on…?”
“What do you mean suddenly? Today is your ceremony as Commander of the Knights.”
Commander of the Knights. That word triggered a rush of memories. Like a dam bursting, memories flooded in. Yes, that’s right. Coming from a rural village, she was a genius with a natural talent for swordsmanship.
By coincidence, she caught the attention of knights passing through her village, and eventually became one. Of course, there had been many crises, but she overcame them all and rose to the rank of Commander.
It felt like a fairy tale, everything was going smoothly. Perhaps it was thanks to her abilities that finally made all those who were jealous and envious of her acknowledge her. Or was there some other reason? She couldn’t figure it out.
Before she knew it, Helia was clad in armor of the Human Kingdom. Human Kingdom? No, that wasn’t the name. Was it the Krabel Kingdom? Helia clicked her tongue. How could she forget her homeland’s name…?
All of this felt like a sweet dream. However, just as she was about to step outside, Helia suddenly turned around. Her parents tilted their heads in confusion at her reaction.
“What’s wrong?”
“Mom, Dad. Wait a second. I feel like I’ve forgotten something.”
“Oh really? What did you forget?”
“I don’t know.”
Today was certainly a meaningful day. The girl from a rural village would be recognized for her abilities. A day to prove her worth in front of everyone. Overcoming all jealousy and envy, a day of ultimate victory.
“It feels like I’ve forgotten something extremely precious to me.”
If that’s the case, it should be a day filled with joy, and indeed, it wasn’t without happiness. Yet Helia felt a void as if half her heart had been ripped out. She had forgotten something, something…
Something she could give her very life for.
Something very, very precious.
*
“So, what kind of nonsense is this?”
Hans wiped the blood flowing from his mouth. Before he knew it, his prosthetic arm was in ruins. In a fleeting moment, Hans attacked time. But he was bounced back by something unknown.
His prosthetic was destroyed by that backlash. The shock still lingered, leaving him unable to move. But time simply watched over Hans, as if finding him adorable.
“Yeah, you never gave up till the end, my hero.”
“What nonsense have you been babbling since earlier?”
“You wouldn’t comprehend now. You have no memories left.”
This wasn’t normal. Well, if it were normal, he wouldn’t be in such a situation. Hans wobbled but forced himself to his feet. His body swayed from the shock, yet he glared at time before him.
“You just used a Time Stop, didn’t you?”
“……!!!”
“How cute. Did you think that would work on me?”
Time approached Hans slowly, chuckling. Unintentionally, Hans took a step back. His body, enhanced by Dragon Heart, and all the powers of time didn’t phase this transcendent opponent.
That was time itself. What should he do? How could he deal with it? This was the first opponent he had no answer for. Hans frantically racked his brain. The conclusion he reached was simply that he had no answer.
So what now?
Had any of the answers been easy up to now? Hans steadied his shaking mentality. If he had no teeth, he would use his gums; with that thought, he began to measure the distance between himself and time.
Time seemed completely nonchalant, casually sauntering towards him without doing anything. And when he felt the distance was right, Hans swung his fist.
However, Hans’s punch was effortlessly stopped by time’s palm. Then time reached out and gently patted Hans on the head, like a parent praising their child.
“Good job, you did your role well.”
“What on earth are you doing this for?”
“Because I love you, of course.”
Was she serious? Stunned, Hans stared at time. But her crimson eyes were fixed solely on him. It seemed sincere.
“Crazy.”
But the cynical expletive that escaped Hans’s lips was all he could manage. Naturally, Hans found it absurd. Love? Was this the same entity that had been doing such things until now?
“Can you really say you love me after stealing my body and taking my heart?”
“There’s a saying that goes, ‘A couple is a half of a soul.’”
“…….”
“I think so. Surprisingly, the soul is a weak entity, so it’s not something to rely on.”
Her form gradually changed. It morphed into the body Hans had given up. Her heart, eyes, and arms. Hans gritted his teeth. He’d only given up three parts, and yet this transformation…?
“So there must be proof that you can be called my other half. Yeah, like a wedding ring.”
“You’re completely insane.”
“Now you can’t escape. The heart, the source of life, is mine. What you see, I see too. And, you can even touch me with your own hands.”
Hans grimaced as he looked at time blushing while caressing her own genitals with his own hand. It was disgusting, but he had to endure it for now. First, he needed to assess the safety of his comrades…
“They won’t be able to come to you.”
“If you do anything to those kids…”
“I already know. You care about your comrades.”
“Then what the hell did you do?”
“I made those kids happy.”
What kind of nonsense was this? At first, Hans thought so. But soon he realized that it wasn’t nonsense. Scenes appearing behind time came into Hans’s view.
There was Helia, who had become a Commander of the Knights, Ruby, who had become a renowned artisan in the Dwarf Republic, and Yuren, the Dragon Lord governing the Sky Island. The radiant figures of his comrades were vividly portrayed.
Yet they all shared a commonality. They were all alive with their families and friends, looking happy. Watching that, Hans felt his legs weaken. If… I were to kill time.
Then, all that happiness of those kids. No, the happiness of this world itself would be shattered. If that’s the case… what choice should I make? Is it right to break this with my own selfishness?
“……If I just give up, will those kids be able to be happy?”
“Of course.”
Even if he didn’t know them, he might’ve pondered over it, but witnessing the happy faces of the Royal Knights members, he didn’t need to think long. Time smiled and embraced Hans.
As expected, he made a choice worthy of a hero. Especially for the comrades he loved, he would make decisions that let him give up anything. The lost child from before was here again.
He would not lose them again. He planned the story here. And for the end, he would choose himself. And, he gained complete possession of it. Now this child would never escape again.
“Surprisingly, human emotions and memories aren’t that weak.”
A voice echoed from somewhere. It was a familiar voice. It was Lua, daughter of the Vampire Lord. Hearing it, Hans reacted. As soon as Hans lifted his head, a loud noise erupted.
Crash!!!
It was the sound of breaking glass. With his head raised, Hans saw it. His comrades breaking through the window of happiness and leaping towards him, their silhouettes.
“Don’t arbitrarily decide other people’s happiness.”
Helia, breaking through the window first, pointed her sword at time. One by one, the comrades flanked Hans. Why? Hadn’t they rejected such a happy life?
“Of course, that’s only natural.”
“The future we chose lies here.”
“Then let’s start the final battle for real.”
All the Royal Knights reassembled in one place.
