Episode 35. Last Words (4)

I recall the memories of that day.

The day the sky turned red.

I remember the warmth that grew cold in my arms.

“Why…?”

The battle against the Devil God’s army.

Realizing there was no chance of victory in a fight where we were overwhelmingly outmatched, I told my comrades to leave me behind and run.

It wasn’t some grand, heroic sacrifice worthy of being called “noble.”

After all, I was an immortal being who would just come back to life even if I died.

If my life alone could help us overcome this crisis, I thought it was the right thing to do.

Of course, if I were captured by the Devil God’s army, it wouldn’t just end with my “life”—there would be horrific torture and suffering to follow.

But so what?

Pain doesn’t kill me.

Suffering doesn’t end me.

Even if my body is torn to shreds, burned to ashes, or turned to dust.

I don’t die.

So.

I had no complaints about staying behind alone to act as bait.

In fact, I thought it was an extremely wise and intelligent choice.

Until Iris, who I thought had run away, came back to save me.

“Why… why did you do it! Why did you come back!”

I screamed at Iris, who was bleeding and gasping for breath.

Iris, who I thought had fled with the others, had secretly returned and used a “miracle” at the cost of her own life.

To save my life, of all people.

Why, why, why, why, why.

My mind was filled with nothing but questions.

You came back to save my life?

How could that even make sense?

To me, life is like a pebble by the river.

Countless, unnoticed if lost, and something I can discard at any time.

That was the value of my life.

But.

You sacrificed your own life to save a worthless pebble like me?

Why would you make such a meaningless, foolish choice?

“Heh, hehe.”

Gently stroking my tear-streaked cheek, she struggled to speak.

“I’m… glad.”

“Glad? What? What are you glad about?”

There was nothing to be glad about.

She would lose her life due to the aftereffects of using the miracle, humanity would lose the hope of the “Saint,” and the Devil God’s army would rage even more fiercely.

All we gained in return was my single life.

Out of thousands, tens of thousands of deaths, only one life remained.

How could you call that “glad”?

But.

Even so.

“Really… I’m… glad.”

She smiled brightly as she said that.

As if she had no regrets, no lingering attachments.

So peacefully.

She closed her eyes.

* * *

A space shrouded in a purple veil.

Inside a barrier where even the horrific screams and monstrous roars echoing through the school couldn’t be heard.

The pink-haired Saint with seven eyes glared fiercely at the man before her, breathing heavily.

“…You damn bastard.”

A crude curse that you wouldn’t expect to come from the Saint’s mouth.

“Oh my, isn’t it a bit rude to say that to your professor?”

The man with dark brown hair and a gentle expression smiled softly as he looked at the panting Saint.

“Shut up! What kind of professor are you?!”

“Haha. Please don’t use such strong language.”

Morpheus shrugged with a bitter smirk.

“I don’t want to torment you unnecessarily.”

Snap.

Morpheus flicked his fingers, and a purple aura enveloped her body.

“Ahhhh!”

A scream erupted.

Iris felt as if her entire body was being crushed and fell to one knee.

“You’ve been so noisy since earlier.”

Tsk tsk. Morpheus clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Can’t you be quiet like Candidate Camila over there?”

Morpheus’ gaze turned to where Camila, the orphanage children, and Priest Antonio lay on the floor, their eyes dazed as if drugged.

“Ah, ugh.”

Iris endured the pain crushing her entire body and glared fiercely at Morpheus.

Suddenly.

As Iris glared at Morpheus, her eyes turned rainbow-colored, and the purple aura surrounding her body dissipated like smoke.

“Haa, haa!”

Freed from the aura, Iris gasped for breath.

“Ha. Just by ‘looking,’ you neutralize my magic… Truly, the power of the Seven Eyes is awe-inspiring.”

A deep greed shone in Morpheus’ eyes.

“You can’t even imagine how much effort I’ve put into obtaining those eyes.”

“Ha, and that effort involved unleashing monsters at the festival?”

“No. This incident wasn’t part of my original plan. I don’t particularly like such barbaric methods.”

Morpheus sighed and shook his head.

“But some nameless troublemaker ruined my plans. I feel quite sorry for Candidate Iris.”

“…Sorry?”

“Originally, I planned to take them slowly, without any pain, so that even she wouldn’t know the cause.”

The plan he had spent so long preparing was destroyed overnight by the sudden appearance of an uninvited guest.

“In the end, I had no choice but to resort to a more… crude method to obtain the Seven Eyes.”

“Crude method…?”

“Physical extraction.”

Morpheus smiled gently as he spoke those horrifying words.

Iris’ face turned pale.

“W-what are you saying?”

“Hm? Was it hard to understand? I’m going to take Candidate Iris’ eyes. Here, I even brought the tools.”

What Morpheus pulled from his pocket was a round metal spoon.

The metal tool, shaped like an ice cream scoop, had a sharp blade at the end.

“Just stick this in, scoop, and the eye will come out cleanly.”

“……”

“Compared to magically absorbing the power, there’s a greater risk of losing some of the power within the ‘Seven Eyes’… but given the situation, it can’t be helped.”

While fully absorbing the power of the ‘Seven Eyes’ is important.

What’s more important is erasing the Seven Eyes from this world entirely.

“Your power is too great an obstacle to our wish.”

“…Wish?”

“Haha. If I say it’s the wish of the Mine, there’s only one, right?”

The revival of the Devil God, sealed 500 years ago by the Five Great Heroes.

“If that seal is broken, even those damn heroes… and your disgusting Seven Gods will disappear from this world.”

Morpheus spread his arms with a drunken, elated expression.

“How about it? Now do you understand why I’m going through all this trouble to obtain your eyes?”

“…You’re insane.”

Iris glared at Morpheus with fierce eyes.

“Well, feel free to curse all you want. It won’t change anything anyway.”

Morpheus smiled gently as he took a step forward.

“D-don’t come any closer!”

“You’d better stay still. If you resist clumsily…”

Snap.

Morpheus flicked his fingers again.

A purple magic spread out, covering the fallen children and Camila like a blanket.

“Your precious people will die, Candidate Iris.”

“You, you bastard! If you lay a finger on Camila and the kids, I’ll never let you…!”

“Haha. Just kidding, kidding. Don’t get so angry.”

Morpheus chuckled, his shoulders shaking as if something was funny.

“Kidding…?”

“All that ‘if you resist, your precious people will die’ stuff. Sounds like something a cheap villain would say, right? I just said it because the situation called for it. Don’t mind it.”

“……”

“Even if you don’t resist, I’ll kill everyone here anyway. Ah, of course. Including you, Candidate Iris.”

“What are you…?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Morpheus smiled gently.

“Didn’t you learn at school? ‘Always kill the Mine.’ Well, the opposite is true too.”

If the enemy of heroes is the Mine, then the enemy of the Mine is the hero.

“W-wait! Then the kids have nothing to do with this!”

“Hm? You’re right. But, well, is there really a need to bother with that?”

Morpheus chuckled as he took another step.

“Let’s just say they were unlucky enough to be here today. That’s reason enough to die, isn’t it?”

“……”

Iris bit her lip, her face pale.

The existence of the ‘Mine,’ which she had only read about in books.

The vivid malice of a devil wearing a human guise tightened around her throat.

“Ah, ugh.”

Clack clack clack.

Her body trembled with fear that seeped into her heart like poison.

‘I’m scared.’

Though she was called the Saint and revered by countless people, behind the title was just a 20-year-old woman who hadn’t even graduated from school yet.

“H-help me. Someone, please…!”

Why was it?

At a time like this, it wasn’t the professor’s face that came to mind first, but the face of a fellow candidate.

“Haha. I understand how you feel, but no one’s coming to help. The barrier surrounding this place is literally made by grinding lives.”

Morpheus smiled contentedly as he looked at the purple veil.

“Grinding lives? You don’t mean…?”

“Hmm. About 200 people, I’d say? Each one was a cherished subordinate… It’s a shame.”

Morpheus shrugged nonchalantly.

“You… you’re insane.”

“Compared to the value of the Seven Eyes, that level of sacrifice is nothing.”

For the sake of obtaining the eyes blessed by the Seven Gods, he could offer even more.

“Now, let’s get started.”

Morpheus roughly grabbed Iris’ chin.

“It’ll hurt more if you struggle, so try to bear with it, okay?”

As the sharp metal blade approached her eye.

Thud.

Like a drop of water falling into a calm lake, ripples spread across the purple veil surrounding them.

“Hm? Did someone find the barrier?”

But what difference would it make if they did?

“Even if all the professors from the Magic Department came, it would take at least an hour to break the ‘Dreaming Veil’…”

“An hour, my ass.”

Kwaaaang!

A white lightning bolt flew through the purple veil and struck toward Morpheus.

“Kuh!”

Morpheus swallowed a groan and quickly stepped back.

The hand holding the metal tool was half-severed, spurting blood.

“…What the!”

Morpheus’ eyes widened in disbelief.

His gaze turned to where a candidate with dark gray hair stood protectively in front of Iris.

“Finally found you, bastard.”

Deep green eyes locked onto him.

“So you were here?”

Dale stepped toward Morpheus—no, Ashtaroth—with a fierce grin twisting his lips.