“Then… goodbye….”
In the burning streets of the city, I was uttering words devoid of meaning. A scene I had once witnessed and could never forget.
‘I can’t be with you.’
—I want to always be together.
‘I have to leave.’
—I don’t want to leave my friends behind.
Even though I knew it was a dream, the emotions from that moment were vividly felt. After struggling with conflicting emotions, I ultimately chose to vanish from their sides forever.
It was something I had to do, and so this painful farewell was the result. Though I desperately wanted to see her expression until the very last moment, I turned my back intentionally to hide my own.
Still, since it was a dream, I thought her face might as well appear—but my dream relied solely on my memory, so my vision remained turned away from her.
“Ahhh, no! Don’t go, please…!”
Behind me, her voice grew fainter as I began to slowly awaken from the dream.
“Seli…”
“Long time no see, El.”
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Selian’s face.
Though three years had passed, and there were slight changes, it wasn’t enough time for me not to recognize her.
Judging by the lingering numb feeling at the back of my head, it didn’t seem I had been unconscious for long—only a few minutes at most.
Trying to move in case I could escape, my body wouldn’t budge an inch. Looking down from where I was staring at Selian, I saw that my arms and legs were tied tightly to one of the chairs abandoned inside the cabin. The ropes were tied so securely that there was no way I could break them with brute force.
“Would asking you to untie me be out of the question?”
I tentatively inquired, but Selian’s silent smile only sent shivers down my spine. If she had been angry, it might have been less frightening, but her genuine smile was enough to terrify.
“Ah, if the ropes are too tight and hurting, just wait a moment.”
Another voice came from behind Selian—it was Mariel, whose voice I’d heard right before I lost consciousness. As Mariel approached me, a bright light emanated from her hands, surrounding my body and quickly relieving the ache at the back of my head. Though my wrists and ankles weren’t particularly sore, I was grateful that the numbness was gone.
Only then did I begin to take in the situation around me. The place was the same cabin where I had killed a Lower Demon earlier. I was tied to a chair, and my friends stood watching me.
“El!”
Before the awkward silence could settle in, Anne leapt forward and tightly embraced me from a step behind.
“You idiot! You moron! El is such a fool!”
Anne hadn’t grown a bit in these three years and remained small. She pulled her face away from where she had buried it, broke the hug, and hurled cute insults at me. Simultaneously, she was playfully punching my chest with tiny fists.
As adorable as it looked from the outside, she was punching hard enough to make real ‘punch’ sounds. She was likely overwhelmed by emotion and unable to control her strength—or perhaps this was her honest sentiment.
“Cough, cough! Anne, stop hitting me…”
I barely regained my senses, but the long-missed brute force of Anne’s punches made me feel like I might pass out again. I pleaded with her, but her tantrum drowned out any chance of my voice reaching her ears.
“Anne.”
Fortunately, even if my voice didn’t reach her, the hand that rested on her shoulder from behind clearly did. Punching me, Anne hesitantly stopped and stepped back.
In the meantime, Mariel continued to use recovery magic on me from the other side. She asked…
“El, do you even realize how stupid your actions were?”
“You can’t say you have no regrets, right? But even so… If given the chance to go back, I’d make the same choice.”
“Why… Why are you so determined to leave us? Why do you trust us so little?”
Yuli’s trembling voice. If she had shown even the slightest hint of resentment towards me, I might have felt better—but her scolding voice carried no trace of resentment.
“This isn’t about trust…”
“No!”
Yuli interrupted my excuses with a loud voice, enough to make the cabin shake. It was hard to believe this was the same Yuli who had always stayed a step behind, harboring deep timidity within herself. Her powerful demeanor made me truly feel the span of three years that had passed.
“We all know, El. We know everything! What you did, why you left!”
“Even if it’s supposed to be El’s confession, since he already fled and wouldn’t confess even if we met again…”
Selian, who had remained silent, interjected. No one except for Selian, who had been a hero before me, would know the events from my past life. Yet, it seems Selian had disclosed everything to the others.
Despite the incredulity of the story, it appears they fully trusted Selian’s explanation without doubt.
“So… I can’t drag you guys into more danger.”
Her knowing the truth doesn’t change anything. Even if she knows my sins, it won’t lessen my punishment.
What right do I have to ask those I’ve already caused harm to sacrifice their lives for me again?
“Do you know, El?”
But Yuli approached until our faces were almost touching and quietly met my eyes.
“You’re really selfish, El.”
So cold, coming from the usually innocent Yuli.
“Who asked me to worry about them? My life… My existence. Isn’t it mine? Dangerous, you say? Who doesn’t know? When we all vowed to slay the Demon King, did any of us think it would be safe? Why do you think you can change my choices for me? Do you think I’d be happy with that? ‘It’s dangerous, so you hide in a safe place while I deal with the Demon King myself—would that make me happy?'”
Yuli’s calm voice gradually grew louder until she screamed, or rather, shrieked.
“In the previous life, you stabbed my heart, right? But do you know what? If you had only stabbed me in the previous life, this time around, you’ve torn my heart to shreds! Even if stabbed by a sword, it wouldn’t hurt this badly! ‘I’m sorry’ … ‘I’ve committed sins that cannot be repaid’… If you’ve committed such heinous sins, why are you leaving without permission? I haven’t forgiven you, so who are you to flee like this? Why? Why!! Why!! Why!!”
Yuli’s crying outpour of emotions accumulated deep within her heart over these three years, as she clutched my collar and sobbed. It was difficult to witness, but I didn’t deserve to close my eyes or turn away.
If they could forget by thinking I was just unfortunate, why had Yuli and the others come this far to find me? Was it too shallow an excuse for me to simply say I didn’t realize you could hurt this much because of me?
Before I could even attempt an excuse, with my mouth opening and closing hesitantly, Mariel broke the silence and spoke.
“Uh, guys, we have a Demon approaching… Judging from the malevolent energy, it’s probably a High Demon.”
Though the Demon was far away, even I, sensitive to detecting auras, couldn’t sense it. If only I had my Holy Sword, or at least the one at my waist, I could detect the Demon’s presence, but it was neatly placed in the corner of the room.
Given it comes from a Saint, whose sensitivity to demonic energies excels above all, the others quickly adopted a combat stance without hesitation and guarded the outside.
“…According to the Ghosts, there are others besides the Demon. Two humans and an Elf. And two Golems that seem to be Servants. They’re not Minions or Monsters, but their cooperation with the Demon suggests caution is necessary.”
Even Yuli’s reconnaissance seems confirmed.
“A Demon coming to rescue a comrade? I’ve never heard of such a thing among Demons…”
Anne tilted her head in confusion, dragging her broadsword, heading outside. Yuli quietly released her grip on my collar, wiped her tears with her sleeve, and followed Anne outside.
Even Mariel, whose weapon I wasn’t sure was really hers, clutched the mace at her waist and followed the other two slowly.
“A while ago, Yuli was harsh, but please don’t hate her. El might not be able to imagine how much she suffered…”
With everyone gone, leaving Selian and me in the cabin. Selian lightly stroked my cheek with her fingertips and spoke. She then fetched something and gagged my mouth.
“Just in case El screams and alerts the enemy, they might take you hostage if they feel cornered. I trust you, but as a precaution, please understand.”
“Mmmph…!”
I wanted to argue in this tightly bound state why I would do such a thing, but the gag already muffled my voice, leaving me only garbled sounds.
“Well, then. We’ll continue the conversation later.”
Saying that, Selian followed the others outside.
Now, I was alone in the cabin, unable to move or make a sound.
Soon enough, from outside the cabin, the sounds of a great commotion began. The loud clashing suggested quite a significant battle was taking place.
Still, a Demon rescuing a comrade. As Anne said, it’s unheard of. Demons are inherently selfish creatures. Driven by desires, they pursue only strength. Even higher-ranking Demons obey only the logic of power.
A Demon coming to save a comrade? How absurd. And the combination of their allies is equally absurd. Not Minions or Monsters, but Elves and Humans?
Haha, the passing dog would laugh… wait?
Um…
Hold on…
One Elf, two Humans, and one Demon. Even two Golems?
It’s a setup I’ve seen before. To be precise, if we add one more Human here, it would form the combination I’m thinking of—but assuming that extra person is being held somewhere, this exactly matches the group I have in mind.
—No, it can’t be, surely not.
I tried to deny reality.
However, with the sudden reunion with friends, I had overlooked the location of Freesia through our Contract, which now confirmed my suspicion.
“Mphbphb!!”
I shouted with all my might for the battle to stop, but my voice was only muffled against the gag, reverberating uselessly in my mouth. My desperate struggles against the ropes were futile—they had bound me far too tightly. Only an unsteady tipping of the chair resulted from my attempts.
I squirmed and bounced like a fish flopping out of water. Sometimes flipping backward but gradually inching forward bit by bit.
I had to warn them before someone got hurt or worse.
