201: The End of War [1]
Devastating.
The word that fits better than ever finally burst out. The red petals scattering and blooming also wither at so point.
The word End of War
It is sothing that no one can easily utter, but at the very last mont, anyone can easily recognize it. Determining the winner in a battle is a very easy task.
The weak are devoured by the strong. This is the law of nature and the order that has maintained the world for a long ti.
In that sense, I can look at the enemies and say this.
At least this ti, I have not been defeated. It is not I who am being devoured, but you.
Swoosh.
After I blocked the second Apollo’s auto-targeting attack. My masters. Noah and Astrid quickly joined the battlefield.
I also see a few glimpses of Luna, who was already active, and the new mbers.
Demonic human Rick.
That guy is still smiling, but I know all too well what his last move is.
“I didn’t want to go this far. Nox von Reinhaver. Please rember this. Because you made such a fuss, more people have been sacrificed as a result…!”
Rick places his hand on the ground and draws out his mana to the fullest.
But it is futile.
Amdusias.
The 72 demons that guy recently revived cannot be described rely as cunning.
Also, he manipulate words according to his needs and despises humans or anyone even slightly close to humans.
Naturally, Rick is also included in that category.
“Huh?”
A look of confusion escapes Rick’s mouth.
As if it wasn’t what he had expected.
“Why? Did your trash master promise to co to save you if you were in danger?”
“….!”
I look at Rick, whose brow is furrowed, and examine his face, which is tinged with purple. It will soon be over.
He has already absorbed too much demon blood.
“T, this can’t be…! Amdusias-nim! Can’t you hear ? Why is there no response all of a sudden…?”
“Still don’t get it? You’ve been abandoned.”
I calmly convey the truth and begin to approach Rick. With my sword raised, I approach him in the way I have survived in this world so far.
“This… can’t be! I was chosen! I’m not a human… I was just a few days away from becoming a real demon…!”
Is it the fate of a villain to beco ugly in the end?
Or is it just bad luck and misfortune that affects everyone equally? For so reason, I felt a montary pity for him.
To hold the life and death over soone in my hand.
This is to cut off a person’s life, and furthermore, the hearts of all those connected to them. Or to sever the thin thread of hope that a person clings to.
…Yes.
Just like the end, the end of a war.
“Ugh!”
I rember the young lamb wearing a newsboy cap.
The demonic human that betrayed Eleanor and weakened her forces, that trash.
Here, I will kill him and do my best to ensure that such things never happen again.
The only things that will change are just Rick’s death.
And Nox, who I thought was just an extra. His entry into the main story.
“I can’t bring myself to say goodbye. Die.”
The sword that soared high into the sky shines and strikes down. It is a shocking sight. My heart feels like it will stop from the cold swing that even I can’t believe.
Every ti I take soone’s life, I reflect on my own situation, but I have never felt such intense emotions as I do now.
It collapses.
A person’s life.
Swoosh.
Finally, Rick’s head falls, and now even Apollo can no longer fulfill its role.
In an instant, the demon army is crushed by Astrid, Noah, and Luna’s forces. I finally realized that what I needed to do here was done.
Now I can rest a little.
At the sa ti I made up my mind, my body began to tilt.
That was when.
A woman passes by .
A woman who had been pouring out her mana to the limit while looking down at this situation from a high platform passes by and approaches soone. Her pupils narrow, and her eyes are bloodshot.
Why did she co down here?
In fact, this war has practically ended in victory…
“From now on, I, Penelope von Arkheim, will judge the traitor according to the legal laws of the imperial family. As it is warti, I will carry out the execution imdiately. Louis von Arkheim.”
“You bitch… how dare you!”
The chains that restrain Louis’s rushing body. They are undoubtedly the princess’s.
Penelope.
Why? Why is she trying to put an end to a war that is already over?
“Your Highness.”
“Everything, is for the empire.”
Finally, as Penelope raises her hand to attack the first prince Louis, why is that?
I reflexively jump forward and stop her hand.
It feels like I shouldn’t let this go any further. Sohow, I end up holding Penelope’s wrist and facing her. It was a bit uncomfortable, and she was one of the few people who still thought they held my life in their hands. But here, I must speak.
“That’s enough”
“…Nox. There’s no reason for you to stop , is there? The first Prince Louis attacked you. Oppressed you, and because of that, you suffered. So it’s right to end it here. To prevent more people from being sacrificed.”
“You’re right. It might be as you say, Your Highness.”
“Then why are you trying to stop ? You know that if this person is left alive, more people will be sacrificed.”
“I know. I’m not trying to judge whether the thod is right or wrong. I just believe that it wouldn’t be good for you to break and lose the person you once were.”
As calmly as possible, I draw the Stormbringer tied at my waist again. It’s not an appropriate act to show in front of the princess, but at that mont, my body moved on its own. This is the best I can do now.
Every mont and situation was telling so.
I swung the drawn sword as it is. The princess didn’t even close her eyes, but at that mont, she continued to stare at intently.
Puhwat!
Blood splatters.
Naturally, it is neither mine nor Penelope’s.
The first Prince Louis. His neck is precisely pierced. It’s more accurate to say it was stabbed rather than slashed.
But even after seeing that cruel scene, she only says to
“What are you doing?”
“I rely did what you should have done, Your Highness.”
“This is overstepping. You do not have the authority to carry out an imdiate execution on a mber of the imperial family. This could be seen as treason.”
“Being hated.”
At that mont, I don’t rember exactly what I said.
But I only chose the best words I could think of to comfort the person I know as Princess Penelope von Arkheim.
That is all I have seen over a long ti, in 27 gas.
And for the short connection I have built with Princess Penelope von Arkheim since possessing this body…
It is everything.
“I am more familiar with it than you.”
**********
The princess called benevolent. Penelope von Arkheim has one secret.
It is about the ‘justice’ that the court mages and knights talked about in her childhood.
Justice.
What a thrilling word it is.
And what on earth does it an?
But she never got a proper answer.
It is obvious that it is not easy to give a clear answer to sothing as abstract and unford as this.
Moreover, most people forget such vague aspirations and the emotions tied to them as they grow up. It can’t be achieved anyway. As they gradually realize this, they give up on their dreams.
A young person who wanted to beco a great knight, after realizing their humble talents, gives up and becos just another thief.
A child who devoured magic books to beco a mage, eventually hitting their innate limits and heading towards the worst situation.
But for a girl who carried not only her own life but countless others on her shoulders, that dream was sothing she couldn’t easily give up.
It was after Esteban beca a great ruler. From that mont, problems began to arise. Many people starved, died in war, or were killed by bandits.
The people’s hearts falling into despair is, in a way, a natural result.
But her father did not return to his forr wise self. As if bewitched, he kept repeating the sa words.
— I must take it back….
— I must take it back….
What on earth did it an?
It’s not sothing I think about now, but such worries were enough to shake the young Penelope.
Her father was called a great ruler.
He was respected by everyone. Almost everyone followed him.
But he was not perfect either.
Sotis he showed cruelty, sotis the appearance of a great leader, and sotis other aspects.
Even she, who thought she could resemble her wise father as she grew and improved, could only sigh at this point.
You can’t always take the sa stance and deal with soone, and face an enemy country.
That fact was deeply unsatisfactory.
Even when studying governance, she kept thinking.
And soon she reached her own conclusion.
'Yes. The best is to save as many people as possible.’
Utilitarianism.
It was extre utilitarianism.
While it might seem like a great political direction that saves many people on the surface, it’s not sothing that can be said to be true to its core. In other words, it’s like saying it’s okay to ignore the opinions of the minority.
But she thought the greater cause was more important than that.
That alone is justice.
And she knew that the beginning of it was herself.
Abandoning benevolence.
Judging every situation coldly and chanically.
Then no one will be shaken.
If you handle everything according to the manual, according to the laws of the imperial family.
At least then, the current tragedy won’t happen.
“Step aside.”
So she says.
To Nox von Reinhaver in front of her, to step aside.
If necessary, I will even strike you down. But Nox just holds her wrist and quietly looks into her eyes. As if stripped bare, he seems to see through everything.
When looking at those lavender, mysterious, subtle eyes, the sa thought always cos.
But today, it was especially strong.
At that mont, he finally spits it out.
“Being hated. I am more familiar with it than you….So.”
Nox von Reinhaver gradually loosens his grip on her wrist and lets his hair, tangled with the blood of all sorts of people, flow down.
With a voice that seems to fade and break as if losing consciousness, he staggers and says.
“You are enough as you are now. Penelope von Arkheim.”
At the sight of Nox calling her by her na, not with the title of princess, she couldn’t hide her slight surprise. Her pupils narrowed, and her body trembled.
She recalls the broad back that once looked at her with benevolent eyes. The person she always wanted to resemble. Her father, the first emperor who deserved everyone’s respect, Esteban von Arkheim.
Unknowingly, she embraced the collapsing Nox just because of that.
Because she saw a figure overlapping with her father.
Just….
Just, that’s all.
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