It was a counseling session conducted for the mental care of the comrades.

Lately, I had been focusing my care on Bayard. The reason was that among the other comrades, Bayard’s mind was the most unstable. Clara and Ruby weren’t doing great either, but they didn’t show symptoms as visibly as Bayard did. So, I frequently had sessions with Bayard. Fortunately, he really enjoyed the training here.

Especially, no matter how much he got knocked down, he never got tired and kept getting back up. Helia really admired that tenacity. From my perspective, I felt like there was another reason behind it, but…

As time went on, there were signs of improvement, but there was one thing that never changed, no matter how much time passed: her nightmares.

“[I have nightmares every night. I… I see my comrades transformed grotesquely, and in the end…].”

Bayard said she had nightmares every night, in which she killed her grotesquely transformed comrades with her own hands. A truly horrifying dream. That’s how deep her mental state was.

I thought it was only natural, so I consulted with Cluna and prescribed her a suitable medicine. The “medicine” was just enough to provide a mood change. But hey, it was better than nothing.

Fortunately, as time passed, Bayard’s condition significantly improved. I completely forgot about the nightmares until now. Why is it suddenly coming back to mind?

Her black hair swayed like it was drawing a line in the air, as if she were having a nightmare. Her tightly shut eyes suddenly opened. Soon, bloodshot red pupils appeared.

It was clear that her condition was far from normal. But at that moment, time stopped. Everything around me turned gray. I realized that time had stopped.

“Crazy.”

And then I saw it. Her palm coming right towards me. I hurriedly dodged out of the way. At the same time, the time stop was lifted, and her body moved again.

Boom!!!

In the spot I had just occupied, it was as if a meteor had fallen, creating a massive crater. I got hit by debris and was thrown back. But thanks to that, I could create some distance.

“[The Current Commander is backing away to assess the situation! But isn’t it almost preferential treatment that the Former Commander didn’t immediately behead him?!]”

Inside the tent, that annoying voice echoed. I was already thinking of killing him on the spot. Turning him back to his original state was out of the question right now.

I kicked off the ground and dashed forward. As I quickly closed the distance, her gaze turned towards me. Her movements were closer to that of a beast than a knight. I felt like I was being controlled mentally.

If I were a hero, I could have saved her. But sadly, I’m not a hero. So, I might as well die cleanly here. And everything around me turned gray.

“Right now!”

Thanks to stopping time at the right moment, I could strike at the Former Commander’s neck that was right in front of me. In the past two months, I hadn’t just been slacking off. I had been training hard.

Also, I had just secured the best weapon I could find. Look at this! The moment my sword collided with the Former Commander’s scaly neck, an incredible shock resonated, but it didn’t break.

Clang!

I wasn’t lying; it felt like my sword had struck steel. Cluna had mentioned it could even cut through steel. In other words, was that neck tougher than steel?

No, this isn’t the time for that.

I quickly lifted the time stop. If I lingered any longer, the cooldown would be too long. The time I just spent was 3 seconds. In other words, I had to endure a total of 6 seconds.

Snap!

At that moment, the Former Commander’s grasp caught my head and slammed it into the ground. I almost lost consciousness. But before I could even recover my senses, my instincts kicked in, and my body moved.

If I hadn’t rolled to the side, my head would have been crushed under the Former Commander’s foot, splattering my brain everywhere. I gritted my teeth. My vision turned red. What the hell is this?

“[Oh! This is an interesting development! The Current Commander’s sword has stopped right by the Former Commander’s neck! It seems like the Current Commander might have noticed something!]”

“That bastard, really.”

“[Exactly! Unlike the other disgustingly annoying Royal Knights, the Commander is a special guest! So, naturally, he’s alive and kicking!]”

“…….”

“[Still, noticing that before killing him! It really shows he’s worthy of being a Commander! That makes it even more entertaining, doesn’t it?!]”

Anyone would think it sounds like a sports commentary. I staggered and got back up. From that last attack, I realized that without the time stop, I couldn’t fight properly.

I didn’t realize until the moment he slammed my head into the ground, how large the skill gap was. After all, he was the former leader of the Royal Knights. That makes sense.

Anyway, I had no chance in a direct confrontation. So, I had no choice but to use my time-stopping trick. In the meantime, I could either escape or try to kill him.

At the very least, it would be a rescue for Bayard to kill that trash who had turned her into this!

Then she moved.

I stopped time again. Her movements were linear and repetitive, so getting the timing right was easy. With time stopped, I aimed for her eyes and thrust my sword.

I failed to cut her throat.

But I could easily penetrate an eye without scales.

Shink!!

There was a time when I thought like that too.

It was a sincere thrust. The force I put into it pushed dirt away like I was striking steel. It felt like I had just hit metal and ricocheted off. There wasn’t even a scratch on her eye. Huh?

Is this for real? Damn.

*

It might sound like empty words, but I genuinely like humans.

I truly admire the literature they create. I wholeheartedly love the spirit and love they show. Although the other demons look down on them as the weakest race, it’s nothing but ignorance stemming from their ignorance.

If one were to read their literature even once or witness their love just once…

Then one can’t help but love even their foolishness, right? Even now, look! That sight of someone struggling to save their former comrade who seems hopeless…!!

Look at those awkward movements.

They can’t remotely be called the skills of a Royal Knights Commander.

But I understand.

Because their comrade is alive.

They’re merely brainwashed.

They must be thinking they can somehow bring it all back.

Wonderful. Truly wonderful! That is like the image of a noble knight from classic literature! Yes! If your comrade is alive, you must save them however you can!!

That futile struggle is the ultimate joy! The audience is satisfied too. With the foolishness of the Current Commander’s choices! Look at that noble yet meaningless struggle!

Isn’t it that movement where they genuinely believe they can save their comrade without a doubt? Otherwise, they wouldn’t swing their sword like a mere guard, would they!

“The audience hopes for it! The downfall of that noble yet foolish knight!”

Killing the very comrade they tried so hard to save? Not bad. But it felt something was missing. The audience wasn’t completely satisfied. It was just a performance you could see anywhere.

So, what should I do? How can I end this story in a way that gets a good response? It wouldn’t be bad to take a risk. But taking risks just for the audience’s satisfaction was tough.

These are the audience who spent their time to witness this enjoyable stage. Naturally, as the director, showing them a delightful stage is the perfect reward, right?

So,

Let’s go by the book here.

I snapped my fingers. At the same time, she, who had been rampaging like a beast, regained her senses. She was a dragon, the strongest race that couldn’t perfectly dominate even in a weakened state.

At best, she could just make everything around her, which looked like monsters, attack indiscriminately. That was a relief. The experiment I had done on that bear before had worked quite well here.

Thanks to that, everything was set up till the climax. First, I would send out my almost lifeless comrades to heat up the stage. And as a highlight, I’d send out the remaining intact Commander to raise the temperature further.

Now, all that was left was the ending, right?

When I snapped my fingers, the state of her, who had been rampaging like a beast, stopped like a lie. Her mind returned to normal. In that moment, the Current Commander’s movements halted. Yes, right now.

Snap!

A chilling sound. The sound of a heart bursting. The sound of her collapsing as blood flowed. This is the final act. The person who tried so hard to save her ends up mercilessly dying right in front of her.

It may sound like an empty claim, but I really love humans.

I especially love their tragedies.

Through tragedies, humans turn their insignificant lives into magnificent art.

So, how could I not love them?

Now, show me that face soaked in despair and sorrow.

However, I could not see that face.

At some moment, she collapsed, and along with her, he disappeared.