Chapter 276 (1/2)

「…Sword…!!」

It was a familiar location.

A familiar scene.

Smaller than even myself, perhaps around the size of a doll.

I held a sense of unease towards that small adorable existence. I began concentrating on collecting together what little magic power I had left in my worn-out body.

My words were nothing but a bluff, and my magic would prove to be nothing but futile resistance.

That sword shone with a brilliance that will cut all of that into pieces.

Ah, yes, I knew.

That brilliance was the brilliance of the world. It existed for the very purpose of erasing me.

It represented the wishes and prayers of many. It was built through people’s sadness, anger… and kindness as it made its way through its journey of many encounters.

All solely for the sake of killing me on this very day.

「Heroooooooo!!」

「Shukuloooousss!!」

I reached out my arm and released magic of the ultimate darkness against the Hero who was charging straight for me.

But the sword cut through even that.

「You’re… finished!!」

The shining sword drove right into me.

It was over.

It was burning.

My country and my towns were burning.

Raising the flag of justice, those people were killing my beloved citizens.

They were claiming today would be the day we would be released from the evil curse.

They set fire to my country and my citizens.

Why? What have we done to deserve this?

You did not wish to affiliate with us and rejected us. That is why we kept our distance and avoided making ourselves public.

But even so, we hoped for the day we would come to an understanding.

That is why I cured the illness that was spreading amongst those of you who were limited to bodies of flesh.

So, why? What evil deeds have us Elements done to deserve this?

We did not understand those people with hate-filled eyes shouting out cries of justice.

Ahh, humans, Metalios, Sylphids. We were all born of the same humanity.

You must be making some kind of misunderstanding.

「I found you! Spirit King Ystia!」

「Evil Spirit King! We will destroy you!」

They aren’t reaching them. My words aren’t reaching them.

I’m speaking the same language as they are, so why?

The flames of hatred enveloped me as I asked myself that question.

It was over.

It was over.

It was over.

And then, Ykslaas awoke.

She simply silently opened her eyes and understood that she was in a personal room somewhere in the Demon King Castle that was assigned to her.

「…That was the worst thing I could ever wake up from.」

She slowly got out of bed. With her head still a bit foggy, she opened up the windows. She was greeted with a pitch-black sky along with the illumination magic scattered about the town of Arkverm.

「Geez, it’s still the middle of the night.」

Ykslaas let out a sigh as she absentmindedly gazed at the scenery outside.

She was essentially reaffirming that this place was where she was right now.

Ykslaas closed her eyes as the slightly cold wind blew against her.

「…That was the first time I’ve ever seen a dream of the past.」

It was from before Ykslaas became Ykslaas.

Demon King Shukulous.

Spirit King Ystia.

And various bits from before that.

The past that consisted of her being accused of evil.

The current Ykslaas had a portion of those memories.

And she understood that those were memories from before she became her current self.

But they still felt as if they were far-off memories of hers. It was as if someone showed her a portrait from an extremely long time ago and told her 「This is you.」

That was why she saw these memories as nothing more than simply memories.

That was why she didn’t dream about them.