An All Too Early Farewell
Their attack had, in truth, begun long ago. It started from the day Tia told me she would grow busier and our time together would shrink, and from the day of that minor incident with Cartoria. Yuda had simply been the first to reach the Demon King’s Castle. After he began his assault, the great army that had already commenced its advance had been waging a fierce war against the monsters, pushing forward little by little from the edge of the Demon Realm all the way to the castle.
Yes. Even if I had saved Yuda that day, the outcome would not have changed. Humanity would still have led their great army here. Had Tia foreseen even that? Was she trying to prevent my words from losing all power and my ideals from losing their light? No—by now, regardless, humanity had drawn close enough for their forms to be visible from the castle itself. Their advance, armed with new weapons I had never seen before, was slow, yet why did it feel so unstoppable? At the heart of their formation stood a single cannon barrel of terrifying power, something I could never have imagined during my time among them. An army nearing ten million strong pressed forward, using humans as shields. Without mercy. Without reason. Just as the heroes had done—solely to slay the Demon King.
“……”
Once the hero and then the heroes had failed, the kings of the Seven Kingdoms—the leaders of humanity—must have made their decision. There was no other way left. That was why, with swift resolve, they had launched a preemptive strike before Tia could even begin her own invasion. And Tia—
“…Keep your subordinates in peak condition. They have decided to settle this once and for all.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
She had gone to the front lines without a word to me. Now she sat upon her throne, giving orders with only a crude bandage wrapped around a deep wound in her abdomen.
“Kibotos, remain in the rear and conserve the power of your eye. Chrislis, reduce the human numbers on the front as much as possible… Cartoria, prepare for a siege.”
Before the gathered officers, Tia spoke while pressing one hand to her wound.
“It will not be as difficult as fighting the human heroes, yet the true strength of their new weapons remains unknown… Do not let your guard down.”
““Yes, Your Majesty.””
Her face showed no obvious pain, but I could feel it. She had seen something. She had gone somewhere and witnessed something, even at the cost of being stabbed in the abdomen. If she had truly gone to the battlefield, she would have returned without a single scratch after destroying everything. For her to sustain wounds like this after leaving the castle… what had she been trying to do?
“……”
I stood quietly before Tia, motionless amid the officers who moved with swift efficiency. Why? Why had she whispered to me last night, in that pained voice, that she would protect me? As I wondered, Tia closed her eyes for a moment, leaned forward slightly, and when I carefully approached her, she spoke.
“Why are you here?”
“If you stay here, I cannot even allow myself to feel pain in peace……”
“What happened?”
Tia grasped my wrist as I drew near the throne and lowered her head deeply, yet she still gave no answer.
“It is nothing… Go to Kibotos at once.”
Instead, I seized the Demon King’s wrist firmly and replied.
“No.”
“……”
To Tia, who remained curled up in pain, I spoke.
“I will never let you lose here. For the sake of my ideals, you must win this war.”
Let me do something. Anything. Let me help.
“Even if fate demands we part, do not keep pushing me away as you have from the beginning. I can help you.”
“You are closer to a cold realist who shatters ideals… so you know better than anyone that you need me.”
Then the Demon King, whose wrist I held, twitched her fingertips for a moment before chuckling softly.
“Hahaha.”
With a faint laugh, she reached out and gently stroked my cheek—slowly, warmly.
“The wildcat I tried to raise… has already become a tiger on her own.”
She erased the pleased smile from her face and began to speak.
“For some time now, I found it strange how quickly humanity was gathering forces and preparing to march… far beyond any of our predictions, they were readying an advance decades ahead of schedule. It was deeply unsettling.”
Tia rose carefully from the throne, leaning on my arm as I supported her, and walked toward the great window.
“I had to confirm it. Why they could decide so quickly… how humanity, still grieving the loss of their heroes, could recover so fast.”
She told me.
“In the end, I disguised myself as a human and slipped among them. After all, humanity distinguishes demons from humans by horns, tails, and wings.”
That was when she had disappeared without a word—using humanity’s blind spots to infiltrate them.
“Of course, I kept the perception-hindering magic active the entire time. And then… I discovered it.”
What she had found there.
“They have invented not only firearms, but new technology unlike anything we have ever seen… things that should never have been created at their current rate of development. Yet a single engineer produced them.”
And what happened there.
“I had to find that engineer. She seemed destined to become a great threat to demonkind, so I thought I should deal with her early.”
I listened quietly while supporting her.
“I eventually found the woman. Just as I was about to ambush her from behind without anyone noticing, she sensed me.”
I looked at Tia’s abdomen.
“In that instant—before I could even react—she drew a small firearm and fired a magitech bullet into my abdomen… Whether because of that bullet or not, I felt my magical power begin to flow backward from the wound. I was left completely exposed before them. But fortunately, the disguise magic did not break. The woman, mistaking me for a human, apologized and tried to help me up. In that moment, I recovered my magic and escaped.”
As if recalling the sensation of that day, she furrowed her brow and flexed her fingers.
“In all my life, I had never felt anything like it.”
She spoke of the new technology called magitech.
“Integrating magic into human machinery… I still do not know exactly what it is, but it is far too dangerous.”
She told me about this war.
“This advance, too, relies on that magitech technology—pouring troops behind the protection of that massive cannon. Even so, if we win this war thanks to that, the tide will truly turn in our favor. If we lose, as time passes, demonkind’s defeat will only grow clearer. If we win, we can crush their magitech before it develops further, securing both momentum and victory.”
“……You will remain here and not go to the front lines.”
Tia, who had been gazing out the window, suddenly gripped my shoulders tightly and pulled me into a strong embrace.
“Magitech is too dangerous… I do not know if I can protect you in such peril.”
I looked at her worried face for a moment, then spoke to ease her concern.
“You did not turn me into this body just to send me to the battlefield, did you?”
With a playful expression, I leaned back at the waist as if I were truly a woman, then straightened and spoke seriously.
“…Don’t worry. Unless you are in danger, I will not step forward.”
I gently touched her wounded abdomen and whispered.
“So do not push yourself too hard… Please judge coolly, Your Majesty. In this critical wartime situation, you must focus as much as possible. As always, you can win.”
I never thought I would say such words. But for this war, it had to be so—until the battlefield where I would eventually step forward arrived. Yet who could have known that Tia, smiling with both satisfaction and relief as she went to receive treatment, would so quickly break my advice?
“Your Majesty! The cannon is aiming at the top of the Demon King’s Castle—at Lady Karia—!!”
“……”
The promise I made to stay by her side was about to be torn apart far too soon.
“Kariaaaa——!!”
It was my fault. My figure had been reflected in the window, and that had ultimately given us away. They must have mistaken me for the Demon King in Tia’s place and fired. But why had she, who had gone outside, returned to me and desperately reached out her hand? I could have survived even if I died. It should have been that way.
“Tia, why——”
BOOOOOOM———!!
It was probably my fault after all.