Poor Judgment
Poor Judgment
Tudududuk——
A terrible tearing sound was heard.
In Bersia's hand was the Knight's head, torn from their body.
"......."
The Knight's mouth gaped open as if trying to say something.
But without a neck, no sound came out.
The focus slowly faded from their eyes.
The Knight's eyes, staring at Bersia's grotesque, smiling face.
Soon, the light in their eyes completely vanished.
Bersia casually tossed the Knight's head she was holding.
The Knight's head rolled over the corpses of fallen soldiers in the clearing.
"Bersia......!!!"
"What can you do? You are weak."
Bersia, still with that grotesque smile, pressed her index finger firmly into the center of my chest and whispered.
"It is your fault for failing to kill me. My Hero."
Rage boiled within me, making me feel like I was going insane.
I wanted to immediately plunge my sword into that damn mouth.
......But I couldn't.
The Order's military power is formidable.
The Order's legions alone are comparable to the military might of an entire nation.
Yet, seeing her single-handedly wipe out The Order's elite soldiers....
Though I hated to admit it, I was not someone who could harm Bersia right now.
"...Someday, I will kill you."
"You've become much calmer. Yes. Being able to control your emotions is important."
Bersia returned to her usual expressionless face and patted my shoulder.
"Go forth, my Hero. Before I stain these hands with more blood... kill me quickly."
"Don't worry. Whenever it may be, I will take your life."
"I look forward to it."
With her final words, Bersia entered the castle.
Only then did I feel like I could breathe.
"Haaah......"
The magic flowing from Bersia's body after the recent battle was so oppressive that even I, a Hero....
No, it was ridiculously powerful, to the point where I felt fear.
That wasn't a Demon King.
It felt like a Demon God itself.
"......What method must I use to kill that thing?"
Even pouring out all my magic, I could only inflict a few small wounds at best.
And even those wounds were only possible after tens of thousands of Regressions.
A monster with no discernible weaknesses.
"Is there really no other way than a direct assault...."
For now, with no other methods coming to mind, I decided to start training.
By cutting down the Low-level Demons around the Demon King's castle.
***
Leaving the main gate and circling the castle, three unmarked graves appeared.
The graves of those who were once my comrades.
I slowly extended my hand towards them and opened my mouth.
"Rise."
As I spoke, ominous magic surged, and a red thread extending from my fingertips pierced the leftmost grave.
As the thread pierced it, a hand began to reach out from the grave, which had started to twitch slightly.
Soon, a corpse that had become a complete skeleton emerged.
"...It's been a long time, Beryl."
Beryl, who had become a Skeleton Knight, stood still and gazed at me.
He was clearly confused.
Because Beryl, reborn as a Skeleton Knight and now my subordinate, could read my thoughts.
...He had probably seen my life, which had continued through tens of thousands of Regressions until now.
Several minutes of silence passed.
Moving his jaw, which had turned completely to bone, Beryl spoke.
[......It must have been hard.]
At Beryl's first words, an indescribable emotion surged from deep within my chest.
It was too intense to bear, and eventually manifested as tears.
"...Yes. It's been very hard."
Beryl let out a deep sigh and gently patted my shoulder.
[What a beautiful love story. To give up your life for your beloved.]
"......And I've stained my hands with so much blood. Irreversibly so."
I lowered my head and looked at my hands; they were stained red.
It was natural.
Just moments ago, I had crushed hundreds of lives with my own hands.
[Yes. It can't be undone.]
"...Yes. Even with Regression."
[People can't go back to the past, Bersia.]
At Beryl's words, I raised my head.
Beryl, whose face was serious, unlike his usual playful expression.
[And people... cannot make the right choice every single time.]
"Is that so...?"
[Yes. Because choices made believing them to be the best can sometimes lead to the worst outcomes.]
Beryl looked at the axe he was holding and added a word.
[...I've had such times myself.]
"I never knew you had such a past, Beryl... because you always made the best judgments on the battlefield."
[I'm not as great a person as you think. Compared to Rubel, who was the next Sword Saint, you, who were a Saintess, Gwen, the 7-star Archmage, and Prien, the continent's foremost pharmacist... I'm truly ordinary. I was just a mercenary who only picked fights.]
I was a little surprised to hear that.
Because throughout all the Regressions, Beryl had never once brought up his past until now.
[If it were you, people far greater than me... if you had just a little more time, you would have made much better judgments than I did.]
Beryl took his gaze off the axe and looked up at the sky.
After a moment of silence, Beryl called out to me.
[So, Bersia.]
"Yes."
[I don't think you made a wrong judgment. More than anything, the 'me's of past lives know that you are a good person.]
Beryl grinned.
[So, I believe that even in this life, you won't make a wrong judgment.]
"Beryl......."
Tears suddenly gushed out.
Even though I tried to maintain my composure as usual, the tears simply wouldn't stop.
[Perhaps it's because I've aged so much through multiple lives. I seem to have become a bit more tearful.]
"Are you making jokes even in this situation...?"
[You know my personality, why ask?]
Beryl chuckled and rested his axe on his shoulder.
Then he extended one hand to me and said.
[Then bring me my coat, Bersia.]
"......Why a coat all of a sudden?"
[I'm going to fight my rival after a long time, so I have to look good.]
Beryl already knew he was going to fight Rubel.
A heartfelt battle with an old comrade.
It would not be an easy decision for anyone.
However, Beryl made his decision quickly.
As if it were his duty.
[Don't worry, Bersia. I will definitely make that fellow grow.]
"...If it's you, I suppose I can trust you with it."
[Yes.]
Beryl nodded and started walking in the direction of Rubel.
[I'll at least raise him enough to land an effective blow on you.]
I stood still, watching Beryl walk away, his coat fluttering.
It was the same reliable back, unwavering then as it was now.
***
Skkrt!!
While dealing with the Low-level Demons relentlessly swarming the outskirts of the Demon King's castle.
Feeling a strong magical presence, I turned around.
A Skeleton Knight slowly approaching me from a distance.
"......."
My stomach churned slightly.
Because the Skeleton Knight's appearance strangely overlapped with Beryl's.
Two massive axes.
And a black coat fluttering in the wind.
No matter how I looked, it was too similar to Beryl's.
'...It can't be.'
I forced down my uneasy feelings and drew my sword.
An opponent who, at a glance, should not be underestimated.
Feeling a different class from the Low-level Demons I had seen so far, I tensed up and gripped my sword tighter.
Waiting for him to approach, the moment he reached a certain distance, I was about to strike.
"......!!!"
In an instant, the Skeleton Knight's figure vanished.
A dizzying killing intent felt from behind.
As I immediately twisted my body into a defensive stance, my sword and his axe violently collided.
Chae-a-a-ang——!!
A sharp metallic sound echoed.
'He's strong...!'
I knew it just from that single clash.
The Skeleton Knight was so strong that all the Low-level Demons I had faced until now combined couldn't even compare.
"...Where did such a demon beast suddenly appear from?"
The Skeleton Knight did not answer.
Instead, he immediately followed up with an attack, bringing his massive axe down on my sword.
Kagagagak!!
"Ugh!"
It was heavy.
Each time I parried an attack, it felt like my arm was being hammered.
However, it wasn't so heavy that I couldn't parry it, so I deflected the strong attacks and attempted to counter him.
Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!
Sword and axe clashed ceaselessly.
The distracting thoughts I expected to disappear during battle grew stronger as the offense and defense continued.
The thought, 'No way,' was strongly imprinted in my mind.
It was a technique I had seen far too many times.
Thus, it was a technique I could not forget.
My comrade-in-arms. My companion.
"......Beryl?"
When I called his name, the Skeleton Knight twitched ever so slightly.
I knew from that reaction.
That this damn, murderous bitch.
Had finally turned my comrade into a monster.
"BERSIA!!!!!"