The End of the Story
Stories always come to an end, someday.
I had found that line in a battered imperial history book back when I was still a cadet.
Under that worn old creed, the Empire had trampled the nonhuman races beneath blood and steel, and I had always stood at the very front of it all.
It may have been only natural that I had nodded along to the meaning hidden within those words. The ending point differed from story to story, but the fact that every story ended was an unchanging truth.
And then—
So this is my ending.
The instant the silver blade extending from the waist of one of my subordinates flickered into view.
The instant that blade appeared through the chaos of my blurred vision. For some reason, that line flashed through my mind.
Needless to say, I was no monster as the Empire defined them.
Quite the opposite.
The sword demon of House Erche, with a blood-red sun burning in his chest. The blade that guarded the Emperor.
A demon of slaughter who had stained the battlefield with blood for the glory of the Empire.
That was the path Evan Erche had walked.
No one would have guessed that the final page of that life would be written by the tip of a sword from the imperial knights I had trusted most.
“…Why?”
The words came out trembling on their own. Even to my own ears, my voice sounded pathetically unsteady.
All sorts of emotions swirled through my mind, impossible to name as one thing.
Shock, rage, confusion, emptiness.
Then—
Stab.
“Kh—!”
And last of all, agony.
A sensation cold and hot at once spread from the pit of my stomach through my body like spilled ink.
As I lowered my head against the burning pain, I saw the silver-white sword buried deep in my chest. It was a blade bearing the familiar insignia of the imperial knights.
“You should’ve chosen your side better.”
The low voice that drifted to my ears belonged to the vice-captain whose back I had trusted until barely an hour ago.
“…Cough.”
With the cough came a spray of hot blood.
The familiar tang of iron filled my mouth, and my vision dimmed further with every passing second.
I strained with all my might to cling to my fading consciousness, but it was no use. The strength was leaving my body, and I could not stop it. It was too late to realize it, but it seemed this very space had been laced with some kind of sorcery.
Betrayal… when did this start…?
Swoosh—
As if cutting off my thoughts, another blow from behind pierced my chest.
“Phew. No matter how good the captain is, this should finish him off.”
“Of course. It’s medicine made from grinding up every high-class monster we bagged in this extermination. Even an ancient one won’t keep its head straight after this.”
Again, it was a silver-white longsword engraved with the symbol of the knights.
Perhaps because my senses had gone numb, I could no longer feel even the pain properly.
“Why…?”
With the last of my strength, I lifted my head.
The dependable comrades who had stood at my side until moments ago—no, the bastards I had believed were comrades—looked down at me with empty eyes. The dying sky reflected off their silver armor.
“Our dear captain really is stubborn, isn’t he? I told you already. You chose the wrong side.”
“Side…?”
“Let’s finish this already. If we drag it out, people will start suspecting something.”
“Still, I’d like to see the last breath leave him.”
The murmur of their voices drifted farther and farther away, as though I were sinking beneath water. They were not moving away from me. My consciousness was drifting away from them.
Then suddenly, a woman’s voice rang in my ears.
Don’t trust just anyone so easily. There’s no such thing as someone who’ll stay on your side forever. You know how terrifying this world is.
Silvia.
My lover. The one reason I had to live.
“Oh, right. Want to hear some good news before you die?”
One of the fading voices suddenly cut through the haze, sharp and clear beside my ear. It sounded as if someone had leaned close to whisper it there. I couldn’t even tell whose voice it was anymore, but the words were clear enough to make my bones go cold.
“We’re not far off from sending the princess you care about so much to join you, so don’t be too lonely in the afterlife.”
Thump.
…What did you say?
“Ghh…!”
Against my will, only a low, beastlike groan escaped my throat. From somewhere beyond that, I could hear the others snickering.
Silvi… ah…!
“Kh—!”
“That’s enough. Thank you for all your hard work, Captain Evan Erche.”
Thud—!
Along with the voice offering that final farewell, I felt the hard impact of a military boot slamming into my chest. The sword buried in me drove deeper, crushing my ribs as it went.
The last thing my widening eyes caught was the backs of the silver-armored figures moving away from me. They had been my subordinates, my comrades, my friends—so I had believed.
Silvia….
And yet, at the very end, the face that surfaced in my mind was still hers.
Silvia Bernice.
My lovely fiancée, and the Third Princess of the Bernice Empire.
She was in danger.
“Ah… ahh…!”
With Silvia’s smiling face, the last thing I ever saw, the flame of life guttered out across my entire body.
And then came perfect darkness.
There was nothing left to see, nothing left to hear, nothing left to feel.
That was the ending of my story.
And then—
With a thirst more agonizing than anything I had ever felt before, and the pounding of a heart beating more vividly than ever in my life,
“Hah!”
I opened my eyes again.
---