My Hero
In the end, I couldn't kill Bersia and returned to my room.
Inside the room, where no one was present, it was utterly silent.
I carefully sat on the bed and took out the pants that were placed on one side.
And as I put my hand into the pants pocket,
my hand grasped an old piece of paper.
It was a drawing of me and my comrades from a very long time ago, before we set out.
"......."
Seeing us all laughing with our arms around each other's shoulders, my heart ached.
Because I knew that I could no longer return to that truly happy past.
"...Only I am still alive, just as before. Whether in my past life... or this current life."
I quietly recalled memories that had now become a distant past.
Beryl. Priel. Gwen.
And... my lover, whom I loved more than anything in the world.
"......."
Perhaps it was because I had come too far now.
I couldn't quite remember my lover's name.
No matter how much I tried to search through my memories, her name wouldn't come to mind.
Only the memory of her being an endlessly gentle and warm person, like spring, remained.
As if someone had completely excised the memory....
My memories of my lover... barely existed.
"I wish I could at least... remember her name."
I fumbled through old memories located deep within my mind.
The 10,000th Regression. The 1,000th Regression. The 100th Regression......
And the 0th Regression.
I recalled memories from the timeline before I had regressed.
The time when I was a man.
When I was first formed into a Hero Party......
Zing——
"Ugh...!!"
As I tried to recall the memory, a sudden headache surged, and I clutched my head.
A terrible, intense pain, as if my head was being forcefully stabbed with a knife.
"Haa... Haa......!!"
Only after gasping for breath for a long time did the headache subside.
Nevertheless, because the pain had been so intense, my head still felt numb from the lingering after-effects.
But......
"...What was I doing?"
I was clearly trying to find some memory, and that's how this happened, but...
I couldn't quite remember.
***
...The Memory Erasure Magic cast on Rubel was not that simple.
In the past, during the 99th Regression.
For some reason, the magic had been undone, and Rubel, whose memories had fully returned,
in the end, couldn't kill me.
How wonderful would it have been if it had been a happy ending where they lived happily ever after with their comrades who had regained their memories...
Cruel and relentless fate did not want our ending to be a happy one.
The Essence of the Demon King, when absorbed, grants immense power, and at the same time,
it corrupts a person's mind.
My mind was no different.
For now, I'm somehow preventing the corruption with the remaining Divine Power,
but the moment my Divine Power runs out, my mind will rapidly become corrupted.
In essence, my body was like a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.
If that corruption were to happen......
I would no longer exist as myself.
Furthermore, I would become a monster wielding a sword, remembering nothing.
Because that couldn't happen, after completely erasing Rubel's 99th Regression,
I took my own life and continued the cycle of Regression.
The 100th Regression. The 200th Regression. The 300th Regression....
While continuously regressing without any problems,
when I reached the 999th Regression, Rubel's memories had returned once again.
Though many more Regressions had passed since then,
the memory of that time was still unforgettable.
At that time, Rubel despaired.
They resented themselves for not remembering me.
After suffering, they eventually plunged a sword into their own heart, ending their life.
- Bersia. Please forgive me, who wandered blindly....
It hurt.
Watching my lover choose death themselves, unable to overcome the pain....
It was more heartbreaking than anything else in the world.
Therefore, in the next Regression, I cast an even stronger Memory Erasure Magic.
So that Rubel wouldn't suffer because of the past.
So that I wouldn't break down and could protect Rubel.
I erased my existence from the world.
If they ever tried to recall a memory, I made them forget what they were even trying to remember.
It's sad, but it can't be helped.
My Hero.
My love.
Because if I can just protect Rubel... I would gladly give up everything.
'Rubel.'
So please, may you never remember me.
For I will gladly become your fertilizer.
May you grow beautifully as a flower and shine brilliantly.
'I love you.'
I pressed down the unspoken truth deep within my heart.
"......."
As I wiped away the tears streaming down my cheeks and tried to return to my usual expression,
someone entered with a small knock.
"Demon King-nim."
It was Karmīna.
"...I believe I told you not to open the door until I told you to come in."
"I apologize. However... the matter is quite urgent..."
"Speak. But if it's nothing important, I will kill you."
"Well, according to intelligence, The Order plans to come to subjugate Demon King-nim with an even larger army than before."
...So it won't end with just one time, after all.
Filthy bastards.
Even after tens of thousands of Regressions, they have never changed, not once.
"I understand. I will keep it in mind."
"Um... how do you plan to deal with The Order...? Wouldn't it be better to gather even the Low-level Demons?"
"Summon only some of the High-ranking Demons. I will go out to meet them myself."
***
After the intense pain subsided.
I sat in the room, staring blankly into space.
It was because I had clearly tried to think of something, but I couldn't remember it at all.
What exactly have I forgotten?
What did I forget that makes me feel so empty?
I asked myself countless questions, but there was no answer.
Only the emotion of sadness resided deep within my heart.
As I continued to sit, troubled by the lack of clear answers to anything,
Creak——
Bersia entered with the sound of the door opening.
"Rubel."
"...Bersia."
"I'll tell you some rather good news. You probably won't see me for quite a while."
"Suddenly?"
Bersia slowly nodded her head.
"Yes. I have somewhere to go for a bit."
"......You're not trying to escape from me, are you?"
"Is there any creature that runs away from a being weaker than itself?"
...Though I was greatly annoyed, it was true.
Bersia, who could kill me with a flick of her wrist, had no reason to avoid me.
"Rest assured. It will take some time, but I will return."
"Good. I will definitely kill you hag with my own hands."
"Phew.... Don't worry. I have no intention of dying by anyone's hand but yours."
Bersia smiled, pulled my hand, and placed it on her chest.
"My heart... is solely yours. My Hero."
The smile on Bersia's lips somehow looked soft.
The kind that would appear when looking at a lover.
Such a soft smile.
Perhaps that's why it felt even more unpleasant.
"...I believe I warned you not to call me by that title."
"Huhu... The sound of it is so pleasant. The words just keep coming out without me realizing it."
...That damn bastard.
She was doing that on purpose, knowing that my lover used to call me that in the past.
"Someday, I will tear you to death. I will definitely do it."
"...Yes. Keep moving forward, just as you have until now."
Bersia patted my shoulder and left the room.
Looking outside through the window, I could see Bersia meeting with a small number of demons.
Judging by their magic, they were all High-ranking Demons.
It seemed the place Bersia was going wasn't an ordinary one.
'...I should follow her.'
So, after secretly casting an invisibility spell on myself,
I immediately left the room and followed, maintaining a distance that would prevent the demons from noticing me.
How much time passed as I followed?
From a distant place, I saw countless knights approaching.
Looking at their flags, they were The Order's forces.
'...I think The Order came last time too.'
Did they come again because they couldn't deal with Bersia last time?
One thing was certain: seeing them come armed with such forces,
it seemed they were prepared for war, at the very least.
"......."
Bersia silently watched the approaching figures, then drew her sword.
At the same time, Bersia grew wings and a black crown appeared on her head.
"It seems the Hero Party has failed, by the looks of it."
The person standing at the very front of the forces stared at Bersia and spoke.
It was a face I had seen before.
It was Claudia, who held the epithet 'Spear of Judgment' within The Order.
Seeing that they even brought Claudia, it seemed The Order had truly drawn its sword.
"Yes. The Hero Party was annihilated."
Devastating news from Bersia's lips.
It was clearly devastating news, yet....
a smile hung on Claudia's lips.
"...Thanks to the Demon King, our efforts have been lessened."
...What?