The Hero's Descendant
As I leveled up the trait during the subjugation of Grillish, a flood of information about the Divine Archer rushed through my mind. At the same time, The possession time has increased too. For some reason, I felt certain I could maintain the possession far longer than before. Even so, that didn't mean I had much time remaining. Though it was more relaxed than last time, the situation was still clearly unfavorable. At best, it seemed I'd only get a single opportunity.
“Miss Luden.”
“Uh, y-yes?”
“The opportunity I can create is only once. Will you be able to defeat that demon?”
“Mm-hmm. I can.”
Luden nodded with a face full of confidence. It looked like she had finally steadied her heart completely.
“I will give the signal, so I leave the rest to you.”
“Got it.”
I drew in mana with another deep breath. Then I slowly organized my thoughts. Don't try to force control over the mana.
Before, I had attempted to forcibly dominate the mana drifting in the atmosphere. But after raising one more characteristic of the Divine Archer, I realized something. Control was indeed necessary, but there was no need to force it. I simply had to guide the ambient mana as naturally as if it were part of my own body.
Wooooong.
In an instant, the mana in the air began to resonate. Seeing this, Grillish shouted urgently.
“Ignore those underlings and get over here now!”
At his command, Cain rushed forward. But Ppiyak-i had no intention of allowing it.
“And where dost thou think thou art going!”
Ppiyak-i spewed flames and blocked his path. Eventually, Grillish could no longer stand by and charged toward me. Yet, just as I had anticipated, Luden appeared in front of him. Grillish frowned at the interference.
“Out of my way!”
“Would you step aside if you were in my position?”
While Luden held him off, blue mana erupted from my body. To any observer, it would appear to originate from me. In truth, it was pure mana borrowed from the outside world itself.
This should be enough preparation.
There wasn't much possession time left to waste on arrows. The finale would have to be entrusted entirely to Luden.
Luden will handle it well.
With that thought, I slowly extended my hand. The moment I seized the ambient mana, I clenched my fist tight.
Jolt!
“What?!”
The movements of both Cain and Grillish halted abruptly. Grillish couldn't conceal his bewilderment. It was as if time itself had frozen; his entire body refused to budge. Just what had I done?
“Looks like that's the signal.”
At that moment, Luden poured every ounce of her mana into her sword.
Crackle!
She had infused so much power that golden sparks flew from the blade. Luden approached slowly.
Step. Step.
It wasn't a fast pace. The speed was agonizingly slow, as though time had truly stopped. Yet with every step she took closer, the feeling of approaching death grew stronger.
Whoosh!
In a flash, Luden's sword streaked toward him, as if this moment was what she had been waiting for all along. Her strike contained no wasted motion whatsoever. She was no swordsman, but the sheer amount of effort she had invested was clear even to my eyes. Watching that sword arc, a flurry of memories flashed through Grillish's mind. The realization that he should never have let his guard down the last time he faced her long ago. That he should have killed her quickly.
Regret surged through him, but—
Squelch!
It was far too late. Her sword had already pierced his heart. A wound to the heart was difficult to regenerate from under normal circumstances. Yet because of her mana, he now seemed to have no hope of survival at all.
“Haa...”
Luden, having finished Grillish, let out a shallow sigh. She withdrew her sword and asked.
“Well, let me ask you one thing.”
“Ugh!”
“Why did you target our family... no, our village? We're nothing more than a remote frontier noble house.”
She genuinely couldn't understand it. Her village was merely a backwater settlement. It wasn't even located on any critical route the demon army would need to threaten. At her reaction, Grillish let out a hollow laugh. He found it absurd that the woman before him had no idea what blood flowed in her veins.
“To die at the hands of someone who doesn't even know whose descendant she is. Kugh!”
“Descendant?”
“Your ancestor was a hero.”
“What?”
Luden's eyes flew wide open. She had never imagined the word “hero” would emerge from a demon's mouth.
“With the blood of a hero in your veins, there was never any chance we demons would leave you or your family alone. Naturally, making your house our highest priority for destruction is only to be expected. Hehehe...”
With those final words, Grillish scattered into ash and vanished. She stood stunned for a moment, but on the other hand, it all made sense. Why her family had always been pushed to the farthest frontier. Why the Demon King's army had singled out her house for annihilation. Everything clicked into place.
But more than that... my brother...
Luden quietly turned her head. There, Cain was slowly fading away, transformed into petals of flame. I walked over to her as she watched him.
“Are you alright, Miss Luden?”
“Huh?”
“I thought perhaps you should give a proper farewell, since this is the last time.”
In truth, I already knew about Luden's past. That was why I asked. Whether she shouldn't offer a proper goodbye while she still could. But even Luden seemed unsure what to do. The Cain before her was clearly an illusion. Yet somehow, it didn't feel entirely like one.
“Go on, Miss Luden.”
“Mm.”
She approached the gradually vanishing Cain. He turned his head toward her without a word. She had no idea what to say. After all, the last words she had spoken to him when he had staked his life were I hate you, brother. Simply looking at his face filled her with even deeper guilt. What must he have felt in those final moments? She could never know. But one thing was certain: it couldn't have been anything good.
Just as she opened her mouth, unsure how to begin—
Pat.
Cain quietly placed his hand on top of her head. Luden slowly lifted her gaze. There was Cain, smiling gently. Tears began to pool in her eyes. In a voice thick with emotion, she said,
“I'm sorry, brother... I shouldn't have said those words at the end.”
“......”
“Did it hurt a lot?”
Cain didn't answer. Or more precisely, since he was an illusion, he couldn't speak. Even so, the warmth in his eyes told her everything. What he wanted to say.
It's alright. An older brother is used to being hated by his little sister, after all. She imagined those were the words he would have spoken.
His body was now almost completely gone. Only his face remained. As she wiped her tears and turned away—
Luden, do your best.
Cain's warm voice brushed past her ear. She whipped her head around, but his illusion had already vanished completely from sight.
Then, at that exact moment—
Crash!
The illusory world that had trapped the two of us shattered entirely.
Having witnessed the entire scene, I felt a strange emotion. Because...
So it really wasn't just an illusion.
The Cain Grillish had summoned had been the real one. When I had scanned him earlier with Mind's Eye, I had been uncertain. An illusion using mana of light had seemed impossible. But seeing it clearly now, I understood. Within the illusion Grillish created, Cain's very soul had been sealed.
He must have found it difficult to refuse Grillish's orders.
Otherwise, there would have been no reason for Cain to attack Luden. Thinking that, I approached her. This time, I gently wiped away her tears with my own hand.
“Did you bid him a proper farewell?”
“Yeah.”
She nodded slowly. From her reaction, it seemed she had managed a decent goodbye after all.
Just then—
Whiiiish! Boom!
Fireworks suddenly burst across the sky. Oh, right. They had mentioned setting them off tonight. We had been fighting for our lives until moments ago, so I had completely forgotten.
Luden carefully drew closer to my side. Then she spoke softly.
“How is it? Pretty, right?”
She rested her head quietly on my shoulder as she asked. I turned my head. There she was, leaning against me and looking up with those eyes. I had always believed I saw her clearly. Yet today, for some reason, she looked especially beautiful.
I answered her question while gazing at her.
“Yes, it's beautiful.”
With those words, the two of us blushed and quietly watched the fireworks together.
You have cleared the Main Episode of Part 2!
You have succeeded in encountering the hidden route: Cain!
As a reward, you have gained experience points, 10,000 points, and the Key of the Beginning!