The Final Battle (1)
“Hero-sama!? Why didn’t you dodge!?”
“Come on, Riena. Like I could dodge that. It would’ve hit you—and more importantly, this is Hasumin’s heart we’re talking about.”
“Hasumin-san’s heart…?”
“Yeah. That was the cry of her storming, chaotic soul. She came at me with that much raw emotion—how could I not take it head-on?”
“I sort of get what you’re trying to say, and honestly, I do think there’s something beautiful about how unnecessarily romantic you are for someone who usually seems so cool.”
“…That was a compliment, right?”
“Of course. But Hero-sama, your combat style relies on overwhelming speed and firepower. Even with the divine protection of the goddess Athena, your endurance and defense aren’t built to withstand hits like that.”
“That doesn’t matter anymore… No, now that we’ve come this far, none of that matters.”
“Hero-sama…?”
“Yeah. I’ve already decided—I’m going to accept every last bit of Hasumin’s feelings! So come at me, Hasumin! Let it all out! I’ll show you, right now, that these aren’t just empty words!”
Shouting from the depths of my soul, I stepped forward, closing the distance between us.
“Stop saying all these dramatic things and confusing me! Don’t come any closer! Just die already! Rain of Magic Arrows [Meteor Bullet]!”
Once again, dozens of magical projectiles erupted into being, surging toward me like a tidal wave.
“Gahhh—!!”
And again, I took every last one of them.
I didn’t slow down for a second.
But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.
The silver-white aura cloaking my body began to flicker, its glow wavering.
“Hero-sama! See!? I told you! After taking three full blasts of that kind of high-powered magic—no matter how strong the divine protection from the goddess Athena is—it’s not something even you can just tank!”
“Even so! Even if the blessing gets pierced or torn apart—I’ve already made up my mind! I’m going to take on all of Hasumin’s feelings!”
“…That’s not Hasumin anymore. It’s practically Demon King Kanan now. She’s no longer the girl you love. You have to know that—ever since we saw her, she’s been merging rapidly with Demon King Kanan.”
“How the hell am I supposed to accept that!? That’s Hasumin! She’s not Kanan!”
“No, Hero-sama. You do know. If you fall here, the world will fall with you. Demon King Kanan will destroy everything—your friends, your classmates, your parents. Everyone will die. You understand that, don’t you?”
“I…”
“Your kindness is your greatest strength, Hero-sama. But you can’t let it drown you. It wasn’t like that before, was it? Even when you faced Arlikeion—one of the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Generals, a knight among knights—you didn’t let your emotions cloud your judgment.”
“…Yeah. That happened.”
“Just like then, you have to defeat Demon King Kanan—the enemy of the world. She hasn’t fully awakened yet. If anyone can end this now, it’s you. Shuhei Oda, Hero-sama—the strongest hero in history.”
As the priestess chosen by the divine oracle of the goddess Athena—your partner—
Riena’s voice, filled with unwavering devotion, reached me from behind, carrying the weight of everything she’s stood by me through.
And yet—
“I’m sorry, Riena. But no matter what, I can’t bring myself to kill Hasumin. That’s not the path a hero should take. And more than that… I love her. That’s why—I just can’t do it.”
“Hero-sama…”
Riena’s voice trembled with grief, as if trying to cradle the turmoil in my heart.
Still, this was the one thing I couldn’t give up.
No matter what, I could never be the one to take Hasumin’s life.
Because I could never lay a hand on the girl I love—not ever——