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“Mirae!!”

I’m chasing after Mirae, calling her name in a panic, but there was no way she could hear me in this life-threatening situation.

If it had just been a simple chase, I would have caught up to her by now.

But I still hadn’t caught up to Mirae.

The reason is none other than—

– Ding!

“Tch, not again…”

There are obstacles in my way.

Whenever I near the distance where I can almost grab Mirae, a throwing knife comes flying out of nowhere.

I thought it would be troublesome to be caught so easily, but they’ve sent out a distraction as well.

If that’s the case, I’ll go through them with—No Resistance…!

As I attempted to break the sound barrier and rush towards the spot where Mirae is, a figure appears, blocking my path head-on.

I underestimated this guy, thinking he would only be someone who throws knives, yet he reacts to my speed and stands in my way.

‘Not bad for a punk, but I’ll make you regret it.’

With swift speed and wielding a dagger,

No matter how high-ranking an officer of the Demon King’s army he is, he shouldn’t have much stamina for that type; a single strike from the Holy Sword will finish him off.

“Swallowing Sandworm!”

A nearly simultaneous full-direction attack with the fastest and numerous strikes.

To the target, it feels like a swarm of teeth is relentlessly bearing down on them, reminiscent of a sandworm’s maw.

I just need to get a single hit in and quickly eliminate this obstacle.

Even a small injury from the Holy Sword should hinder his agile movements.

– Kaahhng!!

‘?!’

What did this guy just do? A sword block? With a dagger?

Every single attack I launched was repelled all at once, and the sounds of explosions rang out around me with a deafening echo.

And as he deflected my attack, he quickly slipped away to hide, and I realized how far Mirae had gotten.

It felt as if he had an attitude that said if I didn’t hurry, I’d lose her.

It’s infuriating, but I had no choice but to chase after Mirae.

‘So this is what it means to be a high-ranking officer in the Demon King’s army. A full directional parry…’

I was too complacent. There’s no way they’d assign someone to distract me who would fall that easily.

I need to calm down and analyze these guys’ patterns.

First, Mirae’s tactics are predictable; she’s only running away.

With this distance, if I concentrate to cast space magic, I could immediately catch up and slice her.

Of course, if another distraction comes in at that moment, she might use Space Movement to escape, but considering Mirae hasn’t attempted to teleport, she likely thinks this support won’t arrive in time.

Knowing that if I used Space Movement, I’d completely lose Mirae is precisely what the Demon King said he didn’t want.

Has Mirae truly been abandoned by the Demon King?

And looking closely, even though Mirae is definitely flying away, she isn’t able to gain altitude.

Could it be… that distraction is preventing her from escaping as well?

Indeed, the distraction’s goal is to make me chase Mirae for as long as possible.

The distraction circles around Mirae, always calculating the distance perfectly. Whenever it narrows, it throws something to keep her at bay, and when I attempt to break through with No Resistance, it cuts me off.

Its interference is just enough to prevent me from losing Mirae.

If I were to face off closely against them, even if dozens of their officers attacked, I would be confident I could win, but right now, the situation is undeniably skewed in their favor.

To win, I have to either catch Mirae or seize a brief gap to deal with the distraction, and that’s a particularly tricky condition.

What’s worse is their skill and intelligence are substantial.

Should I try a few more things…?

“No Resistance.”

As I dash toward Mirae at supersonic speed, the distraction blocks me again.

If quick attacks won’t work, then I guess I’ll have to try a heavier strike.

If speed is their specialty, let’s see if they can handle this!

“Thunder!!”

An overcharged slash that pierces through space. If they can stop this with physical power, they might as well be the Demon King themselves.

If the distraction’s skill is enough to fend this off, I’ll give up on catching Mirae.

“…….”

“!!!”

That punk…!

As I lift my sword for a full powered attack, it has already begun to evade.

My attack sails through the air, and the guy vanishes from sight again.

Big attacks have noticeable aftereffects, and that was all the time he needed to escape.

As I close the gap that had opened due to my attack, small distractions start up again.

If only I could tell them to just die if they’d hand over Mirae, but a bunch of demons wouldn’t take such a generous offer lightly.

What does it even mean to be a hero cherished by the world?

I can’t even choose to die freely.

I must fight to end my life; I need to earn that right.

Looking back, it has always been like this, and I just now realized it.

What a tedious and irritating situation.

If I were to abandon Mirae and return through the Gate, wouldn’t they be caught off guard and come after me?

No, Mirae has been discarded by the Demon King, so she probably wouldn’t return through the Gate.

I’ve got to finish this once and for all.

Right, anyway, once I catch Mirae, I’ll follow Teacher Hop.

So, it’s fine if everything goes wrong now.

This is my last chance anyway…

“No Resistance.”

Gathering my resolve, I break through the sound barrier again. But once again, that guy stands in my way.

If attacks won’t work…

‘Then I’ll just plow through!’

Ignoring him, I bypass him to the side.

He must have been thrown off guard this time.

But he quickly responds.

A flurry of dagger stabs comes to stop me, but—

“Ugh…!”

I only do the bare minimum to evade the vital points and joints, heading straight for him even as I take a hit.

His blades pierce my left side, leaving a hole, but I don’t care.

As he retreats, Mirae comes into closer view.

“What, what are you saying?!”

“Mirae!!”

I sever a wing from Mirae as she tries to escape.

“Ughhhh!!”

Losing one wing, she suddenly becomes unbalanced and crashes to the ground.

As she rolls across the ground with tremendous momentum—

“Gahhh!!”

I kick her side to stop her and then—

“Gaaahhh!!!”

I pin her remaining wing to the ground with the Holy Sword.

“Ugh, damn. That wound is deep…!”

I quickly pull out a potion from my pocket and gulp it down.

Having taken the attack from a high-ranking member of the Demon King’s army without any counter, I’ve sustained serious damage, but since this is just a dagger wound, the area isn’t too large, meaning I can continue fighting as long as I can stop the bleeding.

“Are you still getting in my way?!”

I yell at the distraction, who has been silently observing the situation.

If it charges at me before the potion takes effect, I’ll have to prepare for a severe blood loss, but facing me head-on will also require a decent amount of guts from that punk.

“…….”

And fortunately, that guy remains silent, not showing himself any longer.

Has he retreated? Did he achieve his goal through the sufficient distraction of Mirae?

In any case, if he’s not attacking now, what’s left is…

“Hero…!”

Looking down at the floor, I see Mirae has transformed into a neatly tied-up nurse maid uniform, trembling nervously.

She looked just as she had in my memories—Mirae, the right hand and secretary of Teacher Hop, and head nurse at the Kingdom Rehabilitation Center.

“W-where am I? My whole body hurts! What on earth happened to me…!”

Her tears and trembling made her look pitiful.

Is she pretending to have lost control or some kind of memory?

“Mirae…”

“Yes…, yes, Hero!”

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Did I do something? I don’t remember anything. What am I…!?”

It was getting difficult to listen further, so I twisted the Holy Sword embedded in the ground, entangling one of her wings.

“Gahhhh!!”

Mirae’s face contorted in pain as she screamed.

I don’t know exactly how Mirae could become human, but that wing couldn’t have been put there since the Holy Sword was touching it.

“If you don’t remember, then die not knowing, Mirae. I’m not remotely curious about what happened to you.”

Whether Mirae is a demon or a human, whether she remembers or not, whether it was intentional or not, whether she was under control, possessed, or brainwashed…

The fact that she killed Teacher Hop doesn’t change.

Mirae must die here because of that alone.

My everything, Teacher Hop,

taken down by such trash…

“Damn it!!”

– Spit.

As Mirae reaches out and attempts to cast a spell, I pull the Holy Sword out and slice through her arms and neck, lifting her off the ground.

Her head, unable to finish the incantation, rolls on the floor, and soon it ignites from the Holy Sword’s light, turning to ash and vanishing.

Mirae’s torso, now headless and lying on the ground, burns up in the same manner.

With that final act, nothing was left in this place.

‘It’s over.’

I feel all the strength leave my body as I naturally kneel.

I don’t feel happy or sad.

They say that revenge leaves nothing behind, only emptiness.

I’ve heard it many times, but experiencing revenge firsthand doesn’t particularly make that saying feel more genuine.

Because I’ve had nothing from the start.

The reason revenge feels empty is that only those who’ve lost everything cling to it.

When Teacher Hop died, I lost everything, and now what exactly am I supposed to do…

‘Finally, I can follow Teacher Hop.’

I grasp the hilt of the Holy Sword with both hands, keeping my hands on my knees as I turn the blade up, pointing it at my neck.

This way, the blade will find its way into my throat.

I’ve done this before, you know.

Back then, Serin interrupted me, but this time, no one can stop me.

No one can touch my Holy Sword now. And above all, nobody is even here.

Wouldn’t it have been better if I had died back then?

When Teacher Hop died, I resented the Creator every day.

Why did you show me the taste of happiness and then take it all away?

If I had died back then, without knowing any happiness, having been abandoned, my life would have ended without ever knowing.

I would never have met Teacher Hop and wouldn’t have undergone rehabilitation training or been in love.

I wouldn’t have danced together, wouldn’t have known how lovers confirm their love, wouldn’t have visited Hanamana’s village together…

Together, together…

“Ugh…”

Thinking back on the happy memories with Teacher Hop, I unconsciously shed tears.

Because Teacher Hop is dead, those memories have turned into painful ones for me.

So, would it have been better if I didn’t have those memories?

Would it have been better not to know this happiness?

If that had been the case, I wouldn’t be in this much pain, but would that have been alright for me?

“No… that can’t be…”

At the very last moment,

I finally realize.

I’ve resented and hurt so much, yet…

I’ve cried countless times and suffered…

“The time I spent with Teacher… it can’t be something I wish had never been…”

Right now, those moments meant so much to me, and I feel grateful beyond measure.

I only realize this at the very end.

The moments I spent with Teacher Hop were indeed precious and beautiful blessings to me.

To be able to realize this, to have this last moment of happiness… I’m truly grateful.

Since I’m about to meet Teacher Hop, how could I not be happy?

I grip the sword tightly and drive the blade into my throat.

I am now casting aside my life and transcending this world to go to Teacher Hop.

Wait for me, Teacher Hop.

I will come soon…

 

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