Chapter 99 – Parting is Always Sad

“Hmm.”

Gazing at the slowly cooling corpse of the enemy, the Guardian General, Etendal, let out a groan.

A long groove had been gouged into the center of his shield. What’s more, a rather large wound had been carved into his chest.

And that wasn’t all. The saber that had delivered the final blow to the fiend had also sustained injuries that could hardly be called minor.

‘Too strong, considering it was the death throes of a dying man.’

Goosebumps rose on his skin. Two of the Empire’s top Espers had teamed up to attack.

They had succeeded in driving him into a corner and were certain they would capture him without any major issues.

But at the last moment, when the demon had properly started to thrash, even his shield had become practically useless.

A demon was a demon. Possessing the monstrous strength one would expect of those who raised monsters like beasts.

Strong. Damnably strong, really. Truly deserving to be called a calamity.

It was frankly unbelievable that Deus had returned intact after facing such beings.

“Guardian General. Are you alright?”

“I can manage. Sir Shabel?”

“Hahaha! Well, this…my legs hurt too much to walk properly!”

There were deep cuts in her legs. Blood was constantly pouring out between them.

Those who would provide treatment would arrive soon, but judging from the extent of the injuries, it would be difficult for her to move immediately.

It seemed impossible for her to be deployed on other missions or provide support.

“According to Deus, or more precisely, according to the demon Astaroth who surrendered to the Empire… demons of a similar rank to himself would never be able to come here.”

“That’s right.”

“Then, the fiend who fought us was of a lower rank. Yet he inflicted this much damage in his last stand.”

The entire area had been devastated. If there had been a village nearby, what would have happened… He didn’t even want to imagine it.

“Hard to believe just how monstrous those devils truly are. And makes you wonder just how strong that Deus, our junior, really is to be facing them.”

“Heeheehee. Told you, didn’t I? Even going all-out, it felt like I’d be handling it all alone, so I gave it up.”

That day, I saw. And I felt it. I was sure of it. Deus was absolutely not just some strong human.

There was something that instinctively made others shrink back. Whether it was his unique aura, or his overwhelming physique. Or maybe it was his fierce face, I don’t know, but still.

“The medical team is here.”

“Good! Hurry and fix these damned legs of mine and then right away… Ughhh!”

Shabel screams. The reason was Etenndall lightly touched her leg.

“What, what do you think you’re doing!”

“Look at you. You’re practically dying from the pain, and you’re talking about offering support? Give it up. Just get treated quietly and return when you’re ready.”

“But! I need to help my juniors!”

“Those juniors of yours are handling things just fine on their own. How long are you going to keep looking after them? You’ll end up hindering their growth.”

Shabel bit her lip, seemingly at a loss for words at Etenndall’s words.

“Let them be. They’ll manage just fine. I saw them last time, all working so hard.”

“Even so—”

“And. If it really looks like there’s going to be a problem, won’t that junior of ours rush in?”

Isn’t he far better than we are? Shabel smiled at Etenndall’s question.

And then they concluded, ‘That junior is worth more than our ten combined.’

*

The battle between Poos and Eurisia ended with both suffering severe injuries.

One was trying to escape, and the other was trying to kill him no matter what.

However, Poos had lost his sight, his face half-smashed by Eurisia’s direct hit, and conversely, Eurisia’s side wound was so deep that she couldn’t move anymore.

“Kruuu! Ughhh! My eye! My eye!”

If he were a devil of a higher level, he would have strengthened his other senses rather than relying on his lost sight.

Hearing, to listen for the opponent’s breath and footsteps. And smell, to detect the scent of blood, since he was injured.

However, Poos had invested more in escaping than in fighting until now.

“….”

Eurisia wanted to finish off that Poos, but her injury was too severe.

Moving any further here could have a deadly effect. She might never be able to move her body again.

‘Just one more time. Please, just once.’

She struggled to move, but her vision kept turning white, and her legs were frozen and unmoving. This was the limit. Her body was simply pushed to the edge and couldn’t do anything.

Frustrating. So frustrating that it felt like her head would explode. If she just did a little bit more, a little bit more, she could catch that devil alone. It could be another step towards reaching Deus!

“Junior! Stop!”

Nefertis, who had somehow flown all the way here, grabbed Eurisia, almost clinging to her.

She wasn’t in great shape either. Covered in large and small injuries, and more than anything, she had pushed her abilities to the limit, leaving her physically exhausted.

“If you move any more, something truly awful will happen! Don’t move! There’s too much blood loss!”

Even her abilities couldn’t do anything about this. People would have to come and take care of the treatment.

“Senior.”

“Yes, Junior. Are you alright?”

“That devil from before.”

That worried her endlessly. She was concerned that something might have happened if she was no longer there.

But Yurisya just grinned, pointing to the side with a finger.

“Hee… hee… that damned inferior lifeform…”

Seyre wasn’t dead. But nearly half of her body was gone.

Luciel’s strike had landed true. She’d tried to dodge, but dodging a sword that reached the heavens was near impossible to begin with.

“Seniors.”

Luciel approached, now wielding a normal sized blade, because she barely had any strength left to lengthen or shorten her weapon.

They were all pushed to their limits, but so were their enemies. They needed to finish this, and quickly.

But there was one thing they had forgotten. Those before them were demons.

Not just strong, but willing to use any means necessary to achieve their goals.

“Kyak!”

Puhs, who was writhing around after losing both eyes, suddenly screamed and twisted his body.

In an instant, his body shriveled and withered, becoming a corpse.

“Se, Seyre! You! When…!”

“From the very beginning.”

When the three were decided upon, Seyre had planted a seed within Puhs, the weakest of them all.

The purpose was to have it germinate at the very last moment, and absorb a portion of his energy.

She normally wouldn’t use such a tactic, but in this situation, she couldn’t afford to be picky.

“Kuhhh!”

Full regeneration was impossible. They had all suffered critical wounds, and all were nearly out of energy.

Still, a portion of Seyre’s upper body, which had been nearly obliterated, recovered. A strange tentacle had grown in place of her arm, but it could still serve as a substitute.

“You’re really! Making it hard for me till the end!”

Luciel, the most mobile of the three, swung her sword and drove Seyre back.

But her blade was fading, as if it were about to extinguish. Her ability and stamina were, as expected, at their limit. It was a miracle she was holding on this long, having used her ultimate technique already.

“President! Take your junior and get out of here!”

“Are you out of your mind?!”

“I’m the only one who can fight in this situation!”

It wasn’t about setting an example as a senior, or taking the lead as a royal.

It was simply, objectively, that she was the only one who could fight even a little bit more.

“So just go, already!”

But Seyre had no intention of letting them escape.

She deftly avoided Luciel’s attacks, who was trying to keep her in check, and moved closer and closer to Nefertis and Yurisya. Because of that, Luciel was forced to take a few unnecessary injuries, her heart growing increasingly impatient.

‘Got it. I’ve got them.’

When the three attacked in perfect unison, she couldn’t do anything. But if even one axis crumbled, then she could relentlessly target that weakened point.

Then the others who could still fight would try to protect it, even at their own sacrifice.

The weakness of inferior lifeforms. That they couldn’t abandon what they should just throw away. Seyre recalled that, and tried to target Nefertis and Yurisya even more relentlessly.

“Huh.”

Suddenly, the tentacle that had grown in place of her arm was yanked backwards.

—Whoosh!

Her body flew straight up into the air, then slammed into the ground. This was repeated two or three times.

Pain aside, she had no idea what was happening. She hadn’t sensed anything approaching!

― *Kwajik! Kwajik!!*

Only after being slammed against the earth several more times did Seir find himself able to roll across the ground.

A groan escaped his lips, a choked *eok, eok.* His entire body felt crushed, as if every bone had shattered.

A glance revealed his tentacle, mangled and twitching. He couldn’t even discern what had crushed it so.

What in the world was happening? As he finally gathered his wits to understand, he could only let out a sigh.

“Ha, haha…”

Already, the long night was coming to an end. Dawn was breaking.

From beyond the horizon, through the break of dawn, the sound of trumpets blared.

*

“You held out well. Boy.”

Ah. No, not that line here?

“You held out well. Maidens.”