Parallel World
"Huh?"
That familiar sensation I'd felt before. But something different from usual caught my eye.
"This is..."
Four colossal monsters. Every last one a raid monster that rivaled S-Class. Yet they were already dying, their entire bodies seared with burn marks as if something had struck them down.
An unbelievable feat. Who on this tiny peninsula could possibly pull off something like that?
Honestly, saying it out loud would just be a waste of breath.
"Must be the Hero's party."
Failing to subjugate Morgan wouldn't have been strange. An SSS-Class raid boss wasn't some goblin you just happened to pass on the road. But S-Class raid bosses? The Hero's party could chew through those and still have room left over...
[Stoooooooooop!!!]
"...Hecate?"
A familiar voice—Hecate's. But the urgency in it was something I'd never heard before, rising from below.
[It's enough now... Everyone, everyone tried their best, im. Sunwoo, Seiren, Ran, Shinpung, and even this body! Everyone... everyone gave it their all! Enough that anyone would acknowledge it!]
[...Not yet, Hecate.]
"And that... don't tell me that's me?"
On an empty beach, a figure that looked like me stood unsteadily in the sand. "Not normal" didn't even begin to cover it. One eye was half-burst, the shape of it crushed. His left arm had been torn clean off, white bone exposed. A massive claw mark raked across his chest, and a huge, sharp thorn was driven through his belly, bright crimson entrails spilling out between the wound. His lower body looked a little better at first glance—until you saw the crushed muscle and bone, scarlet blood seeping out in thick trails.
A state where dying on the spot wouldn't have been strange. He was only barely holding on because he was a high-rank awakener. Even if he fled this place, death looked certain.
[Still. There's one left.]
But even that short remaining life, "I" had already lost. High above, beyond the clouds, a colossal azure dragon was visible in the faint moonlight. He burned what was left of his already finished body—his very soul—into mana, setting his whole being ablaze.
[This body told you... only up to those ones! I said I wouldn't help beyond that even if it meant breaking the contract!]
[Fine. Then let's break the contract.]
[Wha—! That's not... that's not what I meant by that!]
[Hecate.]
"...Hmm."
Me, trying to step forward. Hecate, blocking the way. Then Hecate, with an expression she'd never shown before, threw her arms around my body and held me back.
[No... I don't want this...! Don't die... don't go off to die!!!]
[....I'm sorry.]
"..........."
She was crying. Hecate, who had never seemed like she would shed a single tear, was weeping with her whole heart. Crying until her face broke, until her entire body melted into light. Only because she didn't want me to go. Only because she didn't want me to die.
[But I have to go. If I don't, everyone dies.]
[What do you even have left after protecting them like that?! The NTR Party? What good is a party that still exists! They all treat Sunwoo like a slave! Why does Sunwoo have to sacrifice himself for those pieces of shit!]
[Hecate. Don't say that. They're all my friends and comrades.]
[How can you look at that and call them friends—uh....!!]
Hecate lifted her head as if to argue. Then her eyes met "mine," and her expression slowly hardened.
[Ah... so that's...]
The face that had been full of tears turned to shock and astonishment.
[No... yeah... so that was it...]
To regret and despair.
The spirit born of light began to darken, staining black.
[It was me... it was because of me. I was the one who broke Sunwoo...]
[Don't say that. We only made it this far thanks to you.]
[...Because of me. This is where it ends.]
[Hecate.]
As if letting something go, Hecate released the arms that had been holding "me." Then she stood silently at "my" side and tightly clasped my right hand.
[So. Yeah. Let me take responsibility too.]
[............]
"I" interlaced fingers with Hecate.
[...It's a perfect day to die.]
[!...Yeah.]
"I" and Hecate watched the azure dragon drawing steadily closer.
[I love you, Sunwoo.]
[──!!]
One last line from Hecate before they left. "I" rounded my eyes, then answered with a smile that looked ready to shatter.
[...I love you too.]
A confession far removed from ordinary affection—yet filled with every scrap of heart they had. "I" and Hecate faced each other and slowly pressed their lips together.
"Oh......!"
Pure white light blooming from "my" body. Dark, black light flowing from Hecate's. They merged and overlapped. The vessel called "flesh" blurred, and pure "mana" alone became one and mixed. But no matter how clean it became, a body laden with karma could never fully accept it. In the end, the flesh that was "me" was left behind, and only the soul departed, oxidizing into mana.
[─────]
The collapsed body. Before it, "us," condensed into mana, into spirit. It shot straight toward the azure dragon in the sky—
...
..
.
"───Ah."
It felt like I'd had a nightmare. My mind was foggy. My heart beat quiet and hard. A strong thump. Then another thump. The sensation of every blood vessel in my body pounding with pressure flooded through me, vivid and complete.
".....Mm."
Strange. I'd been dreaming almost every night lately, but never had one risen this vividly.
Abandon the flesh and transform into mana.
Through that, one is reborn as a complete spirit. Then was the reason the previous union had failed the "limit of the vessel" that the human called "me" possessed? If the logic was that by abandoning the vessel entirely one could be reborn...
"What are you thinking so hard about, im?"
"Hm? Ah, well, you see..."
Thud. Hecate popped out without warning. She looked up at me steadily, then grabbed both my cheeks and squished them hard.
"...Uwaah? (What are you doing?)"
"You've got the look of someone thinking weird things, im."
Forget all of it.
Just erase everything.
"Nine out of ten things Sunwoo thinks are useless, im. Use that time to sleep more instead, im."
"...But today's the day we promised, isn't it?"
"Just because it's a promise doesn't mean waking up three hours early to prepare is justified, im."
So sleep more.
Sleeping one more hour won't kill you.
Hecate pressed both hands against my body and pushed me firmly back down onto the bed.
"Sunwoo's problem is being too sincere, im. Among the ones who call themselves justice, I've never seen a single one who was actually just. You think it's normal for those types to spout 'justice'? A crow-tit trying to follow a crane and tearing its crotch is already foolish, but a crow-tit that hears how a crane walks and decides to copy it is both foolish and stupid, im."
"You're awfully talkative today."
"...Look at Sunwoo's face right now, im. Does it look like I should be talking less?"
So sleep. Sleep. Hurry. Quickly.
Her tiny hands pressed my face firmly into the pillow. Being taken care of like this didn't feel bad.
Preparing three hours early really was overkill, huh...
Come to think of it, I did feel a little tired.
—Grrrroooowl...
"...I'm hungry."
"Stay right there, im. I'll get milk from the fridge."
Hecate left the bed at once and pitter-pattered off toward the kitchen where the refrigerator was. The sight of her tiny feet scurrying along— I knew I shouldn't think it, but it looked adorable.
Having a daughter like that would be pretty fun.
Hecate kindly poured milk into a glass and brought it to my side herself.
"Drink it, im. Then sleep. Sleep like a panda, dead to the world, im!"
"...Thanks, Hecate."
"Wha—?!"
I took the glass of milk and ruffled her hair.
"............"
"...Ah. Come to think of it, you used to hate this, didn't you?"
I remembered once stroking Hecate's head and getting scolded that you don't put your hands on someone destined to be Spirit King. I lifted my hand from her hair and apologized quietly.
"Sorry. Next time I'll be caref—"
"—Keep going, im."
"....What?"
Did I mishear? I turned toward Hecate, and she placed my removed hand back on top of her head as she answered.
"I said I hated it... before. But it's fine now, im."
"....Well, damn."
What on earth did she want? I stroked Hecate's hair while finishing the milk. As my empty stomach filled a little, the roaring of my belly quieted somewhat.
"............"
Even after I finished the milk, Hecate still accepted my hand. Both eyes tightly shut, her brows trembling faintly. A subtle smile as if she felt good, tilting her head to follow wherever my hand went. It felt like watching a well-trained puppy.
"...Hecate."
"?"
Before I knew it, I asked her a question.
"If I said I was going off to die, what would you do?"
"............"
Ah.
That expression.
"No... wait....?"
The expression I'd seen in the dream. A face that looked ready to shatter at any moment.
"I just figured, with four girls and only me as the guy, I might get socially murdered or something."
"....Ugh, are you seriously an idiot?!"
I changed the subject. Dodged it. Thinking I'd been joking, Hecate thumped both fists against my chest. I pulled her into my arms to soothe her, yet I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from twitching.
I really know I shouldn't feel this way...
So why did it feel this good?
"Let go...! I can't breathe....!!"
Feeling Hecate squirm ticklishly in my arms, I drifted back to sleep. Fortunately I woke properly after an hour, and managed to sleep deeply without any more dreams.
As a side note.
"............."
"...You really were tired, im. You idiot Sunwoo."
When Sunwoo fell asleep again, Hecate carefully gathered him into her arms and stroked his hair.
"Don't go saying things about going off to die, im."
You idiot.
Idiot.
You absolute king-of-idiots dumbass Sunwoo.
".........."
Hecate gazed quietly at the sleeping Sunwoo.
"....Never. I will never forgive you."
Once more, tightly.
Hecate held Sunwoo in her arms.