My Life Is Not Yours to Take
To say she was spared trouble thanks to the Demon King.
As I quietly watched, utterly unable to comprehend her words, Claudia continued, a smile on her face.
"Because if it weren't for you, I would have had to deal with the entire Hero Party myself."
...Claudia's words felt like a heavy blow to the back of my head.
Why?
Why would The Order target us?
Why would they try to kill us, who killed the Demon King for the sake of the world?
As I stared blankly at Claudia, reeling from the shocking truth,
Bersia, her face contorted with rage, opened her mouth.
"...You truly never change, do you?"
Dark demonic power began to flow from Bersia's body.
The demonic power was so immense that space itself seemed to subtly warp.
Drrr-drrr-drrr—!!
The ground began to vibrate violently.
Bersia slowly advanced towards The Order.
With each step she took, an immense demonic power pressed down, making it difficult to breathe.
Was it the same for The Order's troops?
Bersia continued to approach, but the troops merely stood frozen in place.
"I'll slaughter every last one of you. You're worse than beasts on the street."
"Advance!"
As Claudia extended her spear forward and gave the command, countless soldiers began to march towards Bersia.
Judging by the Divine Power they exuded, the entire force seemed to be composed of elites.
However, Bersia, without any change in expression, raised her sword.
And fiercely swung it towards the advancing troops.
The sword drew an elegant red line.
The red line cleaved through the soldiers.
In an instant, dozens of soldiers were reduced to chunks of flesh, falling from the sky.
At the utterly horrific sight, I instinctively closed and then opened my eyes.
'Insane...'
Just once.
With just a single attack, fear seeped into the soldiers' eyes.
Everyone, except Claudia, was like that.
It was understandable.
Because even I, a Hero, was like that at first.
Of course... I had never directly faced an enraged Bersia before.
"It'll take time for her to use such a powerful attack again anyway! All troops, charge and judge the evil of the world!!"
"...Judge?"
A twisted smile appeared on Bersia's lips.
It was chilling.
A chill I had never witnessed from Bersia before, I felt it now.
"Good. Then, as evil, I shall personally judge you."
Bersia took another step.
"I will judge you, who are false good."
In an instant, Bersia began to swing her sword on the blood-stained battlefield.
Each time her sword drew a red arc, soldiers' lives were extinguished.
So many geysers of blood erupted from the soldiers' necks that it seemed as if a rain of fresh blood was falling from the sky.
Slish!
Even amidst the chaos, Bersia's sword ceaselessly cut down people.
Before one soldier, cleaved in half, could even die, she cut down another.
An overwhelming difference in power.
However, due to the sheer number of troops swarming her, Bersia wasn't entirely unscathed by attacks.
Thwack—!!
A soldier's sword pierced Bersia's back.
Blood oozed from the wound.
Yet, Bersia, without a hint of pain, grabbed the soldier's head and slammed it into the ground.
Instead, a smile appeared on Bersia's lips.
"M-monster...!!"
Bersia, drenched in blood and striding across the battlefield, was truly a monster.
But why?
Even as she smiled like that,
Bersia's appearance strangely seemed sad to me.
It was indescribable... but it was so.
"Did you think escaping was possible?"
Bersia seized the neck of a fleeing soldier.
And then, she pierced the soldier's head straight through.
The soldier died instantly, unable to even scream.
"You will all die here anyway."
"Do you think I'll let that happen?"
Kwagwagwagwa—!!
Claudia, charging on horseback, tried to pierce Bersia with her spear.
The spear spun powerfully.
The impact must have been considerable, as Bersia was pushed back slightly.
Blood was flowing from the arm that had blocked the spear.
"..."
"Well, well. Your attack power might be excellent, but your defense seems terrible, doesn't it?"
Crunch!!
Claudia's spear, which had already pierced her arm, now stabbed Bersia's abdomen.
The spearhead dug into her skin, and red blood flowed out.
"Kuh..."
"Now, the credit for killing the Demon King will be mine alone!"
Claudia, seemingly certain of victory, smiled brightly and pulled out her spear.
And this time, Claudia thrust her spear towards Bersia's neck.
However, Bersia grabbed the spear and spoke.
"...Do you know why I didn't dodge?"
"What, this strength...!!"
"Because there was no need to dodge."
Bersia, still holding the spear, slammed Claudia directly into the ground.
Kwaaaang—!!
Along with the roar, the ground vibrated as if an earthquake had struck.
It was an incredible impact.
A force powerful enough to instantly kill most knights upon impact.
Claudia, too, seemed to have taken a significant blow, as she couldn't get up from the center of the cratered ground and was spitting up blood.
Her silver-shining armor was shattered to pieces, almost completely destroyed.
"Ugh... Haaah..."
"You're quite dramatic. I threw you just enough not to kill you."
And that was her holding back her strength.
The thought that I could have ended up like that sent a shiver down my spine.
"K-heh... Do you think I'd die from just this much?"
"...?"
"This is merely... a clone!"
At the same time as she spoke, Claudia's body scattered like dust.
The real Claudia appeared behind Bersia.
"I'll kill you! Demon King!"
Thwack—!!
This time, Claudia's spear pierced Bersia's back.
Bersia coughed up a gush of blood from the attack, which would have been fatal if it had been just slightly to the side.
"The Order will not lose to evil!"
Shouting, Claudia repeatedly stabbed her spear into Bersia's body.
Thwack! Thwack!!
Bersia's body gradually accumulated more wounds.
Bersia's blood painted over the blood of the fallen soldiers.
'No.'
Bersia must die by my hand.
I couldn't let some nobody take Bersia's life.
So, just as I was about to step forward,
Swoosh.
Bersia's hand reached out towards me.
As if telling me not to interfere.
"Will not lose to evil, you say..."
Bersia, her entire body stained red, stood up, gripping the spear that had pierced her abdomen.
"Then this will be the first time."
Bersia concentrated demonic power into her fist.
Then, she turned and plunged it into Claudia.
Kwang!
As soon as her fist struck Claudia, a sound like a cannon firing echoed.
Claudia, struck by the fist, was sent flying.
Bersia caught Claudia in mid-air and plunged her fist into her again.
Crunch! Crunch!
The sound of Claudia's bones being crushed could be heard.
"Ugh! Choke...!!"
"My life is not for you to dare take."
"S-sa...ve..."
Even as Claudia begged for her life, Bersia continued to unleash her fists.
Claudia, with almost all the bones in her body pulverized...
breathed her last right there.
"..."
After confirming Claudia's death, Bersia turned her head towards me.
She wore the same gentle smile I had seen before.
"Isn't that right, Rubel?"
"...How long have you known?"
"I placed a tracking spell on you, so I knew from the start. I just didn't stop you."
Bersia slowly approached me.
There were several large holes in her abdomen.
Her once white skin was completely covered in blood, red and battered.
"I kept my promise, Rubel."
"...What promise?"
"The promise that I wouldn't die by anyone else's hand but yours."
...I thought it was a promise half-made in jest.
But now, I was certain.
That Bersia would not die by anyone else's hand before dying by mine.
"...By the way, it's a pity. Since you used your chance to kill me earlier, you can't kill me now."
"What if... I break that promise and try to kill you now?"
"Well... that too would be my fate."
Stumble—
Bersia lost her balance and collapsed into my arms.
Blood gushed from her perforated abdomen.
"Bersia...!"
"This much... is nothing. I'll be fine after a little rest, so don't worry. And..."
Bersia, breathing heavily, met my gaze and continued.
"...Don't forget that you are my enemy, Rubel. You must... kill me."
Why?
Why did her plea to be killed feel so poignant?
...The warmth of a lover, residing deep within my memories,
why did it feel strangely similar to Bersia's?
'...I don't know.'
I tried to recall, but nothing came to mind.
All I could do was stare at Bersia.