The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody - Volume 8 - Chapter 100.5

INTERLUDE

The Deathless Monster and a Fleeting Dream III

Instability had come to the space. The pure white zone was creaking, wavering, shaking, and rippling. As the change came upon the area, Kalmia murmured and narrowed her eyes.

“…Not much time left.”

Having heard the anxiety in Kalmia’s voice, Ireena strengthened her conviction.

The end was undoubtedly coming, and Ard was fighting Alvarto.

To put an end to this chapter, to put an end to this long saga.

Ireena wondered: Was it right to leave this to Ard? She was confident he would win. Ard would triumph and save the world. But at the end of this series of events, Kalmia wouldn’t be among those smiling and rejoicing.

Ard’s victory and Ireena’s rescue…would mean tragedy for Kalmia. Was that right? Should she just stay here and not do anything? Ireena pondered that question.

“I…”

She couldn’t find an answer. What she needed to do, what she wanted to do. There was no foundation from which to draw a conclusion.

Like Kalmia, Ireena began to feel a strong sense of unease. She needed to find a solution quickly, or it would all be too late. Alvarto and Ard were now in a situation where they might clash at the very next moment. Perhaps they already were, as the rippling white space began to take on color again.

A scene rapidly formed. It was a bloody spectacle that appeared to be the immediate aftermath of a battle. Enemies and allies alike lay scattered on the ground within a sea of blood. Lucius and Garp looked to Alvarto and smiled.

“Yeah, you’re different from us.”

“B-but…that’s what’s…good about you.”

They regarded him as they might their younger brother. What were they thinking? Before that became clear, the scene in front of Ireena’s eyes was quickly overwritten by another.

“What…is this?” In a large room, Kalmia held a hair ornament of lapis lazuli, her head tilted quizzically.

“It’s a gift. I’m told girls like these sorts of things, right?” Alvarto furrowed his brow and started scratching his head.

“I don’t understand why you would give me a gift.”

“…You helped me the other day. It’s in thanks for that. Don’t make me say it aloud!” Alvarto refused to meet Kalmia’s gaze and instead muttered his reply, leading Kalmia to react with a single word:

“Creepy.”

After her blunt opinion, the two fell into their usual pattern of an argument that escalated to fist-fighting, but…in truth, Kalmia seemed pleased by the gesture. After all, she still wore the hair ornament that Alvarto had given her.

Scenes from the past continued to appear and vanish in succession.

They were all fragments that helped Ireena comprehend what Alvarto felt as he battled Ard.

“…He intends to die.”

It was as though Alvarto were settling accounts with his past. The memories kept appearing, then fading. Appearing, then fading. They were all happy recollections.

The time he spent with the woman he loved. The time he spent with the comrades who had accepted him as one of their own. The time he had spent with his frustrating but beloved best friend.

Always, they vanished as quickly as they came, and then…a long period of darkness began.

Ireena squinted her eyes at the disturbing colors that began to swirl in front of her.

The new shades that made up the new scene were all filled with a haunting amount of malice. The portrait they created…was a dark and depressing one that seemed to hint at the beginning of a great tragedy.

“Ur…gh…!”

Beneath a cloudy sky, a badly injured young man walked alone across a barren wasteland.

Over the years, Alvarto Egzex had grown into a beautiful young man. However, there was no elegance to his bloodstained beauty.

“How did this…?! I should be stronger…than him…!”

Who was “he”? How had Alvarto wound up like this?

Evidently sensing Ireena’s questions, Kalmia quietly began to explain. “A great allied army of rebels centered around the Demon Lord Varvatos and the Champion Lydia. Luminas’s army had been fighting them for a long time by this point.” Her calm tone belied the sharp glint in her eyes as she beheld the battlefield. “Most of the alliance was a disorganized rabble. They weren’t opponents that Luminas and the others would ever lose against. However…Varvatos’s and Lydia’s forces were a different matter.” Kalmia made a tight fist as she went on. “Even common soldiers among their ranks were skilled veterans who could turn the tide of combat independently. Their commanders…were all veritable monsters. And the two in command…were on a completely different plane altogether.”

The Demon Lord and the Champion. The villain and the great hero from fairy tales. Their titles weren’t just for show.

Varvatos was the man who had used his absolute power and ruthless judgment to conquer both humans and demons.

Lydia was the woman who rivaled Varvatos in strength and possessed a charisma that endeared her to all.

Kalmia explained that no one could defeat that pair.

However, while Varvatos was an overwhelmingly powerful foe, Alvarto was still able to hold his own against him.

Unfortunately…

“…This was the fourth time that Lydia had completely dominated Alvarto on the battlefield.”

…Alvarto had never lost so many times to the same opponent before. He was so strong that even the Demon Lord had problems dealing with him, and he was a presence worthy of being hailed as the greatest warrior in Luminas’s army.

Yet he kept getting overwhelmed and utterly crushed by an opponent who was, at best, equal to Varvatos and possibly even a step beneath him.

“Damn…it…! Talking down to me like that…!”

At that moment, her voice sounded in Ireena’s head. It was the woman known as the greatest hero in history, Champion Lydia.

“You’re just a damned mewling, spoiled little brat.”

“You can’t do a damn thing on your own.”

“You’re living by putting someone other than yourself in your heart and clinging to them for meaning.”

“Of course, I’m not going to lose to a loser like that.”

That must have been what Lydia had said to him.

Ireena was able to grasp what Lydia was trying to say, if only vaguely. To Alvarto, though, it all sounded like mockery.

“Haff…! Haff…! Dammit…! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit…!”

Alvarto ground his teeth together and sobbed. Eventually, he ran out of energy and fell to his knees. Amid the barren wasteland, he shed bitter tears of rage. Then Kalmia approached.

Like Alvarto, she, too, was grievously injured.

“I’m sorry, Kalmia… It’s my fault that you’re hurt…”

“…How unlike you. You should laugh at me as always, telling me that I look terrible.”

“I can’t manage that… At least, not now…”

There was a deep sadness in her eyes as she looked down at Alvarto. Both the Kalmia of Alvarto’s memories and the one standing next to Ireena had the same cast to their gazes as they peered down upon their partner.

“…Say, Al. Can you give a clear answer on why you fight?”

“Huh?”

Alvarto spent a moment considering the inquiry. “I want to see Lady Luminas smile. That’s why. Whenever I do well, she always—”

“I believe that’s why you lose.” Alvarto looked shocked at the fact that Kalmia seemingly rejected his reasoning. He stared wide-eyed at her. “That isn’t something that can be called a cause or a belief. It’s not enough of a purpose to fight. Al…I think Lydia Viigensgeight is right. Right now, you’re just a damned mewling—a spoiled little brat.”

Why would she say such a thing?

As Alvarto stared at Kalmia, his expression turned sad and disappointed. While on the surface, they spent all their time bickering, he had believed that the truth was different, deep down. The pair had spent a long time together and had started to understand each other. Which was why…

…Alvarto had thought Kalmia was his best friend and the partner he could trust without reservation.

“How…? How can you say such a terrible thing…?”

Kalmia knew that Luminas was everything to him, yet she had dismissed the importance of that feeling. It wasn’t something he could forgive.

“If you’re done with me, then say so clearly! Why would you go to such lengths to delegitimize my entire existence…?! How can you do such a terrible thing…?!” Alvarto spat venomous recriminations at Kalmia and glared balefully at her. In response, Kalmia narrowed her eyes.

There wasn’t anger there, only sorrow—a deep sadness that her words hadn’t reached her friend.

“I don’t deny your purpose or your existence. I just want…you to grow up. From a child to an adult. From a frail boy to a proper man. I have faith that you can do it. If you can, then you can do for Luminas what…”

It was here that Kalmia’s words failed her. Perhaps because she was a woman, Ireena was able to intuit Kalmia’s emotions. Regrettably, Alvarto clearly hadn’t comprehended.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying in the slightest, Kalmia!”

Ireena reflexively clenched her hands into fists. It felt like she had discovered a hint of what she needed to do, what she wanted to do.

It was just then that someone suddenly appeared near Alvarto and Kalmia. From her perspective as a third-person observer, Ireena was able to see the identity of the newcomer clearly.

But Alvarto didn’t notice her until it was too late.

“—Ah?!”

He took a hand chop to the back of his head and immediately lost consciousness.

Immediately, the scene underwent a drastic shift.

It became a warm grassy plain in spring bloom. Yet although the vista seemed beautiful, the sky was an ominous reddish-black. In that inexplicable place, countless shards floated in the air.

Appearances suggested they were fragments of broken glass, and each of them reflected a different event. They were Alvarto’s memories. The precious days he had spent with Luminas shone in the constellation of glittering shards.

“What is this…?”

As confusion took hold, what came next happened abruptly.

All of the fragments hovering in the air began to audibly shatter.

Ireena couldn’t consciously divine the meaning, but she intuitively comprehended that something frightening was about to occur.

And when the final shard splintered…

“I’m sorry. I’ve reached my limit, Alvarto.”

…Luminas’s voice echoed through the entire area, and again, the scene transformed.

Alvarto had regained consciousness and was presently lying in his bed in the Gladsheim palace. All of the wounds he’d taken during his latest encounter with Lydia had healed, leaving Alvarto wondering for a moment if it had all been a dream.

“Al…!”

His partner’s voice brought him back to reality. Her tone informed him that it had been no illusion. He turned his head and saw Kalmia. Sadness and anxiety showed plainly on her face, just as it had in her voice earlier.

“Please…! You’re the only one who can…!”

She was like a terrified child. Her features were pale, and her teeth clattered in fear. He had never seen Kalmia like this.

“…What happened?”

As the words left his lips, she replied simply, “Please, stop Luminas…!”

The moment he heard that, Alvarto found himself leaping from the bed, his body moving unconsciously. Something terrifying was happening. He needed to help. Pulled by that strong urge, Alvarto hurried to his destination, the small room dedicated to tea parties.

He nearly tore the door off its hinges before he leaped inside. And there…

“Alas. You woke up.”

…Luminas sat with a cup in hand, her expression blank.

There was something truly off about the way she was sipping tea on her own. It was obvious from a single glance at her clothing. She wasn’t wearing her usual crimson military uniform.

Instead, her body was covered in a heavy outfit that was lavishly decorated. The fabric was a dark red that bordered upon black. This attire held a special meaning within Luminas’s army. It was the garb of death, designed for warriors who were about to set off for a suicidal mission.

Luminas had dressed herself in something thoroughly foreboding.

“What…? Why…?”

This was beyond Alvarto’s comprehension. How could Luminas don such a thing? Why did she look at him and sigh? There was no way this was—

“Indeed. Well, if this is how it is, then there is nothing to do about it.”

Luminas set her cup on the table and stood, making her way to Alvarto. There was no hostility or malice in her face. If anything, her features expressed love and compassion for him.

“Thou truly hast grown into a fine man.” She tipped her chin up slightly to gaze at Alvarto, presumably taking pride in her child’s progress. “When thou first arrived here, thou truly were a small boy. And now… Heh. Thou hast grown so much that I need to peer up to see thy face.”

Why that expression? Why those words? Something was off. Something was completely, truly wrong.

“…This is the whim of the fates. Sit down. Then, I shall tell thee everything.”

Luminas made her way to the shelf by the window, retrieved a single teacup, then returned to her seat. Alvarto, following her lead, walked to the table and sat down.

“It will be a bit of a long story, but…let us begin with me revealing who I am.” Luminas took a sip of tea, wetting her throat, before she began to tell her story. “As the name ‘Outer One’ implies, we are beings that originally had no connection to this world. We are all entities that have come from other worlds…and we’re similar to humans at our core.”

Luminas then added that this meant they were not gods, creators, or anything exceptional.

“While in this world, we all reign as rulers…most of us lived completely different lives in our original worlds. I am no exception.”

She then began to describe her own upbringing.

“The land I was born to was called South German. Together with the northern region, it had once been known as the German Empire, but that had long since passed by the time I was born.” Luminas narrowed her crimson eyes and smiled as she fondly recalled the past. Her homeland had been like hell, however. “It had once been a single country, one of the most advanced in the world, but…once divided into northern and southern halves, it devolved into a truly foolish, blood-soaked place. A land of constant conflict.”

There was no longer a single soul there who could recall the reason for the battle, making the fighting meaningless, and yet…

“People don’t always value logic. After centuries of death, the hatred had grown as high as the mountains. The Germani no longer sought any purpose or meaning from combat. The ends and the means had completely swapped places. We fought not to gain anything. Instead, we tried to gain things to keep the conflict going. All had become irredeemable warmongers.”

…it was within this nightmare that Luminas had been born to a family known for its great warriors.

“According to my dear father, our line had the blood of the Vikings, a great group of raiding peoples. That helped us rationalize who and what we were. No doubt, the madness within us came from our blood.”

She described her entire lineage with a single descriptive phrase, effectively labeling them deranged war junkies.

“We were put to sleep with the shouts and cries of the battlefield as our lullabies, and we were nurtured by the blood and flesh of our enemies. All of our kin were the same. I, too, am no different. If there was one thing that set me apart, it was my tendency for sentimentality.”

Luminas explained that her attitude, aesthetic principles, and philosophy toward conflict were particularly complex and distinct. She was explaining her own personality and character.

“To me, fighting is the greatest method of communication. Upon the battlefield, people discard everything of artifice. The shackles that come from living as an intelligent creature. Ethics. Morality. They cast off these things and act purely on instinct. They slaughter, invade, and pillage. Opponents that let me bring those primitive desires to bear were my dearest friends.”

It was nearly impossible to understand. Alvarto simply listened to Luminas speak and wasn’t able to grasp the core of what she was telling him. It seemed Luminas was aware of that fact and chuckled rather self-deprecatingly.

“Yes, thine reaction is natural. Alvarto. I am not asking that thou comprehend me. If anything, I believe that thou should stay that way. No, I should rephrase it. I believe that is how thou must always be.” Luminas paused to take a deep breath. “Regardless. To me, my enemies were my friends in ways no ally ever could be. To kill and be killed, to hate and be hated, to wrong and to be wronged… It was only against such foes that I could feel friendship. I am that much of a horrendous, broken creature, dear Alvarto.”

With a cold smile, she confessed this was why she had always been consumed by terrible isolation.

“The objects of my admiration were my opponents. There was no way for the relationship to last, and so I slew those I considered my friends. Even the only man I have ever loved fell by my hand. Despite thinking I didn’t want to, that was always how it ended. As I struggled with that maddening self-contradiction, I…began to wish for death.”

A sharp pang. The words had gouged a wound into Alvarto’s heart.

“Lady Luminas…! You…!”

Luminas glanced down to avoid seeing Alvarto’s frightened trembling.

“In my own world, I continued to engage in suicidal conflicts. Yet, as thou can see, I survived. If all I wished for was my destruction, there were plenty of ways to do it. Unfortunately, I had my pride and principles as a warrior. I couldn’t simply commit suicide. It had to be a death in battle. A struggle where I fought with all of my might and failed. That was the only method I could accept. If that was not how I died…I would not be able to go to Valhalla, the warrior’s paradise.”

Valhalla. Stories of that mythical place had been passed down in her family. It was a realm for those who died honorably.

“There, I would reunite with the people that I had been separated from and indulge in a never-ending war. That was my only wish and my only hope.”

As Luminas gazed up at the ceiling and sighed, Alvarto replied with trembling lips. “There’s no way such a place could…”

No such world rightly existed. Salvation after death could not be real in such a ruthless world.

“…Heh. Yes, I know. Of course it is a fantasy. But even then…I want to cling to that impossible dream.”

“Why would you…?!” Alvarto wheezed out the words. It was hard for him to speak. In reply, Luminas gave a thin, exhausted smile.

“In the end, there were no warriors who could slay me. Later, a quirk of fate brought me to this world…and I sought the same thing here.”

War. War. War.

Luminas had continued to fight, taking on the Old Gods who had ruled at the time, seeking her own destruction. However, even the powers of a different world were unable to slay her.

“And with that realization, my heart was nearing its limit. It was around that time that I met Kalmia.”

The extraordinary existence that was Kalmia had been the first being with which Luminas was able to form an ordinary, healthy friendship.

“To me, she was hope. I prayed that her presence would let me turn away from my madness, to find some sense of normalcy… Alvarto, thou art the same. Thou art the first being I was able to properly love in all of my life.”

Kalmia and Alvarto. The two had soothed Luminas’s soul and had restrained her madness.

“But it wasn’t enough. I couldn’t change.”

Her words of resignation brought Alvarto a fresh sense of despair. All her days with him held no meaning. Before he knew it, Alvarto was weeping as he realized the implication of Luminas’s words. She dropped her gaze to the floor, perhaps to avoid the sight of him. The next moment, more words came. Suddenly, completely unexpectedly. They hammered Alvarto anew.

“…Just a little earlier, Lucius and Garp fell.”

Alvarto’s tears stopped. “What?” As he stared in open-mouthed shock, Luminas took a sip of tea and continued.

“It was immediately after I put thee to sleep. The pair pushed deep into enemy territory and…they met a glorious end at the hands of the Demon Lord and his right arm.” The reality that Luminas’s statement crafted left Alvarto in stunned silence. She regarded him sadly, but went on. “Demons were created using the genetic information from us, the Outer Ones. In a sense, they are truly my own children. Maybe that’s why all of the people in my army have a death wish. Lucius and Garp were particularly notable among them. The two were like a mirror for my heart. They always sought a place to die… And at last, they have found it.”

Luminas drank down the rest of the tea.

“…The place of their death can, at the same time, be mine as well. After a long time, after an eternity of waiting, he has finally come. He is the one. The Demon Lord. He will be my final opponent.”

Those words meant that…

“…No! I refuse to allow it! I refuse!” Alvarto cried with an extraordinary amount of longing and conviction. It was the same emotion that Kalmia had shown earlier. He would stop her. At all costs. Whatever it took.

“Alas, so I expected. That’s why I had put thee to sleep. But…it seems the gods truly do hate me.”

Luminas and Alvarto sighed and stood. Then each took several paces…and stopped. They leveled glares at one another.

“For things to go as I wish, this is the only option.”

Luminas spread her arms and smiled as though inviting Alvarto to her. “Come, Alvarto.”

And so, it began. A battle where each sought to impose their will upon the other. They clashed at full strength. The scene was one out of legends. No palace could endure the exchange of overwhelming power unscathed, and the gorgeous structure was an utter mess in no time at all.

After which, the pair continued their battle, switching stages several times… It was in the middle of the plain where the duel was decided.

Luminas was only fighting for herself. Meanwhile, Alvarto carried the hopes of two people—himself and Kalmia. He had thought that, with their feelings combined, even Luminas wouldn’t be able to break through. Yet when the struggle concluded, Alvarto was the one lying on the ground.

“Urr… Ah…” He couldn’t move a single finger. It was hard to even speak. Despite that, Alvarto watched her, even as his vision grew hazy. “La—dy…Lumi…nas…” He tried to reach out to her, but his body refused to listen. “…I’m sorry.”

How did she react? Alvarto’s vision was so blurry that he could not say. The woman who had saved him from hell and turned him from beast to man began to walk away. She was the only person he loved in all the world…

“Wa…it… Wa…”

…and she was leaving him. Her body. Her heart. Alvarto despaired at his inability to hold her here, weeping bitterly. His flickering awareness eventually sank into darkness.

“Urrgh… Ah… Ahmph…”

A tear fell from his cheek to the ground. He wasn’t able to maintain a clear consciousness, which was why…the word he called next came from his very soul.

“Mother…!”

It was the first time he had called her that. While he had always thought of her that way, in the end, he hadn’t been able to say it to her. It was the only term that could express what Luminas meant to Alvarto.

She stopped in her tracks.

“…”

Her shoulders trembled, her lips quivered, and she clenched her fists. However, the doubt in her heart must have been fleeting.

“…I’m sorry. I truly am.”

Love was, in the end, unable to overcome ego.

“Ah… Ah…”

Alvarto slipped away at last. And by the time that light returned to the world, it was all over.

Someone must have carried him there. Alvarto once again awoke in his room in Gladsheim palace. He pushed aside the pain that had been carved into every inch of his body and leaped out of bed.

He felt it. His presence. Her presence. Varvatos and Luminas were close by. They were in the courtyard.

Alvarto felt the faintest sliver of hope that Varvatos had talked sense into Luminas and that she had chosen to live… Perhaps they’d created the alliance of humans and demons that Varvatos had yearned for.

The courtyard was filled with all the military officers and bureaucrats from the palace, who stared at the spectacle before them.

Their mistress was in the arms of the beautiful Demon Lord.

Luminas looked as though she were sleeping, her eyes gently closed. She remained as still as a doll and as pale as a corpse.

“Warriors. Your mistress was a great woman.” Varvatos called, his even voice tinged with feelings of regret. “Her character was just and fair. There was much to learn from her rule. She preached the value of democracy and equality…which is why I had always felt we shared the same values… I will now communicate her final wishes.”

Final wishes. Her desires for the world after her departure.

Alvarto gasped.

Final wishes? Final wishes?! What was he going on about?! How could he speak as though Luminas was dead? She was right there! Alvarto could see her!

“…Luminas wol Croft does not desire for you to continue resisting. After you pay respects to her body, her hope was that you would join my forces.” With that, Varvatos laid Luminas’s body upon the grass. “…I pray that you will follow your mistress’s last request.”

Having said all he could, Varvatos vanished.

“…No, that’s not possible.”

One day and one night. Two days and two nights. The silence and stillness dragged on forever.

No one approached or spoke to Luminas. They turned from the reality they could not face. Yet no matter how much they resisted, some finally succumbed and accepted it. There were two responses.

“Glory to Lady Luminas…!” Some shed great tears, shouting praise of their leader before they plunged daggers into their chests.

“Gather the entire army! It’s time to prepare for a great war!” Others vented all their anger and readied for battle.

While many struggled with what to do next…

…Alvarto didn’t hesitate for a moment, biting off his own tongue.

Excruciating pain and massive bleeding. He eventually drowned in his own blood and was unable to breathe… His consciousness ebbed away. Death approached, but he did not fear it. If anything, he wanted to die and disappear as quickly as possible.

The despair and sadness that filled his chest were too intense to express… Yet at the moment that an ordinary person would have accepted their demise…

…the scenery around Alvarto dramatically changed. He had glimpsed this realm once before, when he had lost consciousness to a blow from Luminas.

Alvarto stood alone in the chilly air of a featureless plain beneath a red-black sky. He retained a clear sense of awareness and was now totally unharmed.

“Where…?” He was confused for a moment. Then…hope sprouted within him. “Could this be…Valhalla…?”

The afterlife that he had dismissed. A dream that shouldn’t exist. If it was real…

“Lady Luminas…?”

…she had to be here. No, he wanted her to be here. Alvarto was about to start exploring this mysterious space, with hope simmering in his chest, when…

“Nope. Wrong. This isn’t the sort of place you think it is.”

…a voice rang out.

It was familiar, but not at all welcome, for it was that of the devil he had wished never to meet again.

“Mephisto Yuu Phegor…”

Alvarto reflexively spoke the name and turned to face the one who had spoken to him. There stood the devil with an amused smile on his lips.

“Your wish will never, ever come true.” The irritating grin on Mephisto’s lips steadily widened. “Here you are. It’s the continuation of your nightmare, Alvarto. Amuse me with your suffering.”

Immediately after the devil waved his hand in a parting greeting, everything returned to normal. The scenery around him. His own body’s state. It all became as it was before.

Alvarto was now standing in the palace courtyard. Around him were the bodies of his comrades who had voluntarily ended their lives. He was the only one unharmed.

“…No, that can’t be.”

Having guessed at the situation, Alvarto felt a cold shiver run down his spine. In a desperate attempt to reject the despair, he bit off his tongue again. Unfortunately…the results were unchanged. He awoke in an eerie place, then returned to where he’d been a moment before. That meant…

“N-no…! I can’t…! I can’t accept that!”

…he killed himself once more, and the result was the same. Even then, Alvarto could not accept it. To know that the salvation of death was beyond him was…too much to bear. Thus, he committed suicide.

Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide.

There was no purpose in living in a world without her. Only the end of his existence could bring him peace. However, some mechanism that devil had created repeatedly denied him his dearest wish. No matter how many times he perished, Alvarto could not stay dead.

He would wake up in that mysterious location, then return to reality. It was an endless repetition.

Eventually, he gave up on suicide and threw himself into combat.

The remaining warriors had slain the messenger sent to negotiate peace and an alliance with the remnants of Luminas’s army. They set out wearing death suits and intended to fight to the last man.

Although they had lost their leader, Luminas’s forces remained mighty and peerless. Everyone had built themselves into the best state of their lives for the approaching final battle. Yet they were thoroughly bested at the hands of the Demon Lord.

Varvatos faced the entirety of Luminas’s army, a force numbering over twenty thousand alone. Although he suffered countless wounds, he paid his respects to the souls of the enemy, never backing down. Ultimately, countless fighters perish…and one man remained. Alvarto rose as the only survivor amidst an ocean of blood.

Of course, this wasn’t the desired outcome. Alvarto hadn’t come seeking vengeance. Varvatos was a man he’d clashed with countless times, and the Demon Lord had proved to be the ultimate adversary. To one so great, surely deathlessness was only a minor setback he would swiftly overcome.

That was why Alvarto had given such a show of fighting and, naturally, was defeated. He sank into the crimson river that flowed from his comrades.

He was battered and no longer able to fight, but death eluded him still. Alvarto clung to the belief that the man who had carved fear into his heart would yet be able to finish the job. He gazed up at Varvatos with that faith in his eyes.

“…” The Demon Lord looked down in silence as Alvarto lay sprawled upon the ground. When he took a step forward…

“Stop…”

…a girl appeared between the two of them. It was Kalmia. Her beautiful features were twisted in anger as she stood before Varvatos.

“I won’t forgive you if you approach any closer…” She spread her arms to protect Alvarto, who lay behind her.

Peering up at Kalmia, Alvarto muttered flatly, “Stay out of this.” Plainly and without affectation, he pleaded, “Varvatos. I beg you. Kill me. Please. Please kill me. Now.” There was no way for Alvarto to know what expression Kalmia wore at that. The broken man was focused on his own wish, and he saw only the one capable of granting it. “You’re the only one who can kill me. So please. Kill me. Now…”

As he pleaded for mercy, the Demon Lord responded coolly, “No.”

Alvarto was shocked at the devastatingly curt refusal. “…What?”

“Your presence is necessary to rule Gladsheim. From here on, you will join my army and take rulership of Gladsheim—”

“Screw that!” Soul-rending agony tore through Alvarto as he forced himself to sit up.

“Al…”

He made no effort to respond, for he was unable to care about what Kalmia felt as she ran over to him. Alvarto shoved her aside, glaring at Varvatos as he shouted, “You! This was all your fault! This happened because you took her from us! She was everything to me! There’s no value to this world without her! Which is why—” Alvarto crumpled and fell forward again. “Please…kill me… I can’t do this…” He cried like a child, no pride left in him.

Varvatos’s reply…

“Change your sadness to hatred, Alvarto Egzex. That is what you need to do, what you must do. Despise the man who took your mistress from you. Throw all of your anger at me. Stand by me as my closest adviser and look for the moment, the opportunity to kill me…and choose to live in this world.”

…made it evident he held no intention of granting his wish. Sadness seemed to cross the Demon Lord’s face. Then he appeared to hesitate, and contradicted his statement. “When my ideals come to fruition. When all of the conflict is done. If you still desire death…”

Then.

“…then, I will kill you.”

Once Varvatos had departed, Alvarto wept and thrashed around as though madness had finally claimed him.

“Al…”

When he had exhausted himself and was unable to move, Kalmia picked him up and carried him on her back. And having returned to Gladsheim, he met with the remaining bureaucrats. After some deliberation and a convoluted process, he was chosen as the new ruler. The officials had elected to respect Luminas’s last wishes.

On the following day, Luminas’s death was revealed to the residents of the city. In the morning, people gathered in the city’s great square, and all of them gazed up at the top of the palace. They watched him as he stood upon the platform that stretched from a spire. A man dressed in the crimson outfit that Luminas had once worn. Those assembled waited for the words of their new king with bated breath.

He peered down upon them with Kalmia at his side. Alvarto forced a smile onto his lips, as his mistress once had.

“Ahh, a beautiful sight, is it not? A beautiful sight indeed. Don’t you agree, Kalmia?”

“…Yes.”

He spoke like her. He behaved like her. Like her. Like her. Like her.

“The scenery I see through a mask is quite peaceful…and thoroughly irritating.” The fate of having to live despite being driven by a deep desire for death. There was no way to bear that fate while retaining a normal mindset. Thus, Alvarto had chosen insanity. He donned the guise of madness and played the part of someone else. “Now, let’s tell the people what my wishes are. The birth of a new king. The birth of a new self.”

The madness eased the pain. The madness stopped the tears from flowing.

And so, Alvarto…

“My people! I’m sure that your hearts are filled with great anxiety and fear! But rest easy! There is nothing in this world that is without end! In time, your hearts will heal!”

…wore his facade and made his declaration.

“Until the day my lifeblood is exhausted, when my eyes dry and can no longer see, I…I will enjoy this living hell.”

This marked the end of the memories.

The world immediately lost all of its color and returned to the white, featureless space.

“…Ireena Olhyde. There’s really no time left.”

Ireena nodded, noting the anxiety plain on Kalmia’s features.

“Yes… Their battle has started.”

Ireena had no proof, but she was convinced. Ard and Alvarto’s duel had begun. Were she to continue here idly, it would end in a way that neither she nor Kalmia wanted.

“Once again, I ask you to save Al. I’ll give you anything you desire if you would only accept. So—”

Don’t let him die. The desperate plea and Kalmia’s determination to do whatever needed to be done. Ireena wanted to help, but she still had a lingering question.

“Why me? I’m sure Ard would be able to…”

She had been wondering as much for a while. Why her and not Ard? Why would Kalmia seek her assistance when she was not nearly as capable?

Kalmia answered that question without any hesitation or pause. “You and that man view life and death differently. In the ancient world, everyone sought salvation in the concept of death. That’s true of both Al and that man. They have experienced similar lives, and that is the issue. He believes that death will bring Al peace.”

After hearing Kalmia’s answer, Ireena…

“But being born in the modern world, you don’t carry that notion. You can say with certainty that death isn’t salvation. It’s because you trust that so powerfully that I believe you can help Al.”

…felt a strong surge of doubt, and a new question began to form in her mind. As she dissected Kalmia’s statement, she couldn’t help but conclude that Ard had been born in the ancient world. What did that mean?

“Admittedly, that is only half of the reason why I entreat you. I also…refuse to ever bow my head for a favor from the man who killed Luminas.”

Kalmia answered the question before Ireena could pose it. She clarified the mystery concerning this string of events and all the secrets surrounding Ard.

Why he was so powerful.

Why he was so gentle.

Why he was so frightening.

Why…he was so alone.

“—I see. Ard’s the reborn Demon Lord.”

Ireena didn’t feel much surprise or shock. At some point, she had begun to suspect it. The first time had been right after he’d resolved the incident with Sylphy at the Academy Festival. Once the daily routine had returned to the academy, Ginny had asked if Ard was the Demon Lord.

He’d denied it, of course, and Ginny seemed to accept that answer, yet…Ireena had felt it. She, who had been by his side for longer than anyone, couldn’t help but sense the lie.

“At the time, I thought it was impossible that Ard was…well, you know…” Still, the more she compared the two, the more it made sense.

Ard was the reincarnated Demon Lord. There had been nothing to prove that hypothesis until now, but…she had felt somewhere in her heart that it was the truth. And now that she had the evidence, the only thing to do was accept reality.

“…Yes. If Ard was the Demon Lord, that’s what he’d do.”

Ireena had constantly watched Ard accomplish great things. She understood that he was far too dismissive and uninterested in his life. Ard took on any risk if it meant winning. People who continued to fight that way all had some sort of death wish. Undoubtedly, he had become like that because he had sought his own demise in the past. Once, it had been like salvation, which is why Ard would kill Alvarto. He thought it would grant the other man peace. While convinced he was doing the right thing, he was about to commit a terrible crime.

“…This might be the first time that I’ve wanted to reject Ard’s plan.”

Ireena let out a soft huff before she looked Kalmia in the eyes. She made certain of what they both wanted.

“You’re fine with me doing it, right? You want me to help Alvarto. That’s what you’re saying, right?”

“Affirmative. You are the only one who can resolve this situation. Which is why—”

“No. I can’t.” Kalmia stared in mute shock at Ireena’s interjection. The elf peered into her eyes. “As I watched those memories, I kept thinking that you really needed to be more honest about your feelings. If you had, maybe it wouldn’t have come to this.”

It seemed that struck close to home for Kalmia. She offered no response, instead pursing her lips and falling silent.

“I have no intention of granting your wish. Not this fake one.”

There was no Alvarto in Ireena’s mind. He was not the one before her. No, the only person there…was a pitiable girl.

Ireena looked solely at her and proudly puffed out her chest.

“Kalmia. I’ll save you. You have my word.”

The result that this girl wanted. The daily life that she sought to reclaim. Ireena Olhyde would give it back to her. Ard’s wants didn’t matter. She would not disappoint the one who had come to her. Kalmia’s tears would cease.

“Besides, I’ve got a whole lot of things I want to say and do.” Ireena beamed at Kalmia. Dedication and resolve swelled within her.

“Leave everything to me.”