Outskirts of Solria, Silvia Forest, Rest Area (Halbert POV)

I tightly gripped the handle of my greatsword as every muscle in my body tensed up in preparation. Mana pumped through my body as my kinetic vision sharpened and I watched Zeon, ready to react the moment he moved.

“I apologize, hero, but I’m not particularly fond of fighting directly, and I’m not too confident in my body strengthening magic either... so I hope you don’t mind if I borrow yours for now.” (Zeon)

Zeon’s chuckled and his left eye shone brightly again as he stared at me before slamming the tip of his staff down again, this time cracking the ground beneath it.

“Not too bad.” (Zeon)

… Borrow?... Wait. Magic! It was the same with the illusion magic on my sword earlier!

I yelled out to everyone else as it finally clicked into place. It was his left eye. It was somehow copying our magic!

“Careful! He can steal our magic with his left eye!” (Halbert)

“Oh? Looks like my little secret’s out. I guess I said too much again. It really is a bad habit of mine. Ah, but it’s fine. After all, I’ll be silencing you all right now anyway.” (Zeon)

Zeon pointed the tip of his staff at us and the undead knight immediately started to charge towards us. It stomped against the ground with a hoarse growl, dashing forward as I screamed at everyone.

“Get ready!” (Halbert)

The undead knight was fast, but I've seen someone faster before. Compared to Captain Aria, the undead knight was slow!

The undead knight’s sword flew towards me horizontally from my right side as I channeled mana into my own sword. The tip of my blade stabbed into the ground while I simultaneously activated【Reinforcement】to prepare for impact.

Our only chance is to eliminate it in one go before Zeon can do anything. I’ll block its swing first! Then Regnis and Zane can attack it afterward while Reina and Sophie get to a safe distance to finish it off!

It was the best plan I could think of considering the circumstances, but unfortunately, there was a fatal miscalculation that I failed to take into account.

I've heard about the undead from the high priestess before, which is why I immediately recognized what the knight was. Low-level undead were usually just shambling corpses, barely able to even walk, while the higher-level ones often had somewhat enhanced strength and speed compared to a normal person. However, this particular undead knight was far stronger than any undead I had ever heard about.

Its sword clashed with mine and an insanely strong impact hammered my arms. I was blown away a few feet to my left before the undead knight moved its sword again with dexterity beyond what should be capable for even a high-level undead. It easily parried both attacks from Regnis' glowing spear and Zane’s empowered staff before knocking them away as well.

Luckily, Reina and Sophie managed to make some distance while the undead knight blocked the attacks, but after knocking Regnis and Zane away, it turned towards Reina and Sophie. I grit my teeth and started to dash towards the undead knight again, but the moment I took a step, I heard Zeon’s voice ring out.

“Where do you think you’re going, hero?” (Zeon)

The black crystal on his staff started to glow and instantly, a third-circle darkness spell appeared underneath me. Three black magic circles stacked up on top of each other, slowly rotating as I immediately slammed my leg against the ground and rolled to my right before darkness-element mana surged out of the magic circles to form spikes that shot upwards and pierced the air where I was a moment ago.

Damn! The undead knight!

The first thing I did after getting back up was glance over at everyone else. The undead knight swung its sword at Reina and Sophie, but as it started its swing, Zane managed to chantlessly cast a first-circle earth spell below the knight’s leg. The dirt beneath the small brown magic circle disappeared, shifting the knight’s stance mid-swing while two large magic circles appeared in front of Reina and Sophie. Raging wind filled in the gaps of the green magic circle, forming a circular barrier which the undead knight’s sword smashed against. The wind scratched at the metal sword, and sparks flew off from where the blade made contact as Reina’s wind magic barely blocked the swing. Regnis got up and attacked the knight again from its side as Sophie shot at it with her gun, but the undead knight just turned to its left and held its sword up again to block Regnis’ glowing spear. Regnis’ spear was deflected slightly and shot to the left of the undead knight’s helmet as it scraped against the undead knight's sword. Bits of ice formed as Regnis’ spear technique froze the edge of the sword and immediately afterward, a small explosion of light-element mana hit the undead knight from its right side. Suddenly, it let out an agonizing roar of pain as it almost stopped moving for a moment. Regnis took another step forward and swept the end of his spear at the undead knight’s chest, encasing a part of its armor in ice before Zane struck it with a second-circle wind spell, pushing the undead knight back a few steps.

“Light! Its weakness is light magic!” (Sophie)

Sophie yelled out to everyone else right after she figured out light magic could stun the undead knight temporarily, but unfortunately, I was forced to shift my attention away from them as Zeon’s voice drowned out the sound of the wind and clanging metal in the background.

“Oh? How rude, hero. You shouldn’t ignore others when they’re speaking to you.” (Zeon)

It seemed like Zeon wasn’t going to let me go help everyone else so easily. I turned to him and he walked a little closer to me as I tightened my grip on my greatsword.

“Now that’s more like it.” (Zeon)

So he’s coming after me, huh?… That’s fine though. I’ll keep him busy while everyone else runs!

Zeon came to a stop about a dozen feet away from me. His black cloak ruffled in the breeze as we stared at each other for a moment before suddenly, Zeon pointed the tip of his staff at me and instantly he cast seven second-circle darkness spells. I felt mana gather in the air to form rotating black magic circles behind him, and arrows made of darkness element mana emerged from the circles before shooting towards me.

Covered in a hazy white glow, my sword swung in an arc in front of me, shattering three of the seven arrows while I dodged the rest by jumping to the left.

I need to close the distance between us!

After landing, I pivoted on my left leg, shifting my body to face Zeon and charging forward with a yell, but before I even made it halfway to him, another third-circle darkness spell appeared in front of me.

Crap!

A hazy white light once again covered my blade as I channeled mana into my blade, activating reinforcement to shield myself by holding the flat of my sword against the magic circle. Spikes made of mana stabbed towards me, slamming against my sword as another strong impact knocked me back a few feet. There wasn’t even a moment of respite as seven more magic arrows shot at me immediately afterward. Then, Zeon’s crazed laughter echoed out before he started chanting in order to cast a higher-level spell.

Three swift slashes with my sword barely intercepted the new volley of arrows, and as my last swing finished, Zeon was also about to finish his short chant. However, right before he finished, the tip of a metal staff swung towards him from his left.

“Shadow beyond the blackest pitch, reveal thyself and- Kuh!” (Zeon)

“Uwooooh!” (Zane)

Zeon’s chant was interrupted by Zane’s yell as he thrust his staff towards Zeon’s head and the clang of metal sounded out as their staves made contact. Zeon managed to block the swing from Zane’s staff with his own, but it seemed like Zane didn't just charge in without a plan because right behind him there were four green magic circles lined up and rotating in unison. Zane’s body was blocking the fourth-circle wind spell from Zeon’s field of vision so he couldn't copy it!

Zeon still had my body strengthening magic active so he shoved Zane away easily after blocking his attack, but right as he was shoved out of the way, Zane activated the same earth spell he did before, caving in the ground beneath Zeon’s right leg and breaking his balance. And the moment Zane was out of the line of fire, Reina finished her chant and activated her wind spell.

“【Gale Lance】!” (Reina)

The four magic circles spun rapidly as the surrounding air converged to create a lance made of razor sharp wind blades. It hurtled towards Zeon, but somehow he was able to react in time as his left eye shone with a green light again while he held his staff up to cast another spell. Three third-circle darkness spells lined up in front of him and mana burst forward from the magic circles, forming three barriers as the lance of wind shredded through the first two before just barely being stopped by the third one.

Zane and Reina's plan didn't work, but... thanks to them, I had an opening!

Blue bolts of lightning coursed through my blade as I channeled lightning-element mana into my sword and dashed past Zane, finally closing the distance between me and Zeon before I swung my sword at him with every last bit of strength in my arms.

Zeon twisted his head to look at me and held up his staff as I swung straight down at him from above. Darkness-element mana gathered in the air again, forming another two barriers to block my sword technique. The two barriers were shattered by the explosion of blue lightning, but it stopped my sword for a moment, long enough for Zeon to leap back a bit.

My swing ended up hitting nothing but the air and the moment the barriers shattered I realized that I just fell for the same trick Zane just used on Zeon. Since the barrier was made of black mana, I couldn't see the third-circle spell behind it that Zeon had chantlessly cast.

I leaned backward immediately and sent a kick at Zeon’s stomach before pulling my sword up to block just as the spell activated. More spikes shot out of the magic circle, scraping against my sword and armor, but I managed to get out relatively unscathed whereas Zeon was blown back a good distance by my kick.

What? Why did he get knocked back so far? He has the same body strengthening magic as me. Wait, he copied Reina’s spell and now he’s suddenly weaker. Did he lose my body strengthening magic? Can his eye only steal one spell at a time!?

I lowered my sword after blocking Zeon’s spell, but what met my eyes was a fourth circle wind spell. It was the same spell Reina had just used only this time, it was aimed at me. I pumped mana into my legs and kicked against the ground, shoving my body to the left. I managed to barely dodge the spell, but even though I dodged it, Zane didn’t. The lance of wind smashed into the ground next to where Zane was and blew him away.

Zane!

Zane’s body bounced along the ground as Zeon started to chant again.

“Come forth, cursed hands of the fallen!【Shadow Grip】!” (Zeon)

Instantly, a few dozen small magic circles surrounded me. They were all arranged to form fifth-circle spells and clawed hands with a wispy look to them shot out from the circles, grabbing my limbs, throat, and torso to hold me in place. The hands even drained my mana slowly as they held onto me. I glanced behind me and Zane was being held against the ground by a few hands too as Zeon walked up to me.

“Well, I must admit, hero, you and your friends gave me a little trouble, but I do believe that our fight is now finished. I’ve had enough fun and you have lost… Darkness as-” (Zeon)

Zeon held his open hand out towards me and started to chant again as the spectral claws held me down in place, but before he even got two words out of his mouth, a yellow ball hit the left side of his body, followed instantly by an explosion of light-element mana.

“Insolent pests!” (Zeon)

Zeon roared out in anger after Sophie shot him, and pointed his staff at the rest of the class fighting the undead knight.

A fourth-circle darkness spell appeared on the ground in between the undead knight and the rest of the class. Regnis jumped backward, while Reina created another barrier of wind to protect her and Sophie before an explosion of darkness-element mana razed the ground. Shards of rock from the shattered earth shot out from the center of the explosion as everyone was blown away in separate directions. Regnis was mostly fine thanks to his quick reaction and body strengthening magic while a good portion of the explosion was blocked by Reina’s barrier. Despite the barrier absorbing the brunt of the explosion though, Sophie was still nicked in the leg by one of the rocks.

However, Sophie’s injury was probably the least of her worries. The only reason they could even fight with the undead knight in the first place was because Reina and Sophie had been keeping it stunned with light magic while Regnis kept attacking it to force it to continuously block, but that entire plan crumbled with just one spell from Zeon.

The constant assault from the three of them had stopped, and the undead knight was now free to move.

It let out a bestial roar and charged towards Sophie as Regnis sprinted forward desperately to try and intercept it, but it was already too late. Regnis wasn’t going to make it in time.

It was like time slowed down as I helplessly watched the nightmare unfold before my eyes.

Sophie was going to die. She was going to die and it would be because of me. She had nothing to do with Zeon. She's not a hero. She doesn’t even know about any of this demon lord stuff. She was dragged into this all because of me.

... It’s all my fault...

Stop.

Stop!

STOP!!!

I screamed desperately in my head for the undead knight to stop over and over again, but it was useless. All I could do was watch the undead knight slowly get closer until finally, it reached Sophie and swung its blade diagonally downward towards her as she sat on the floor with a scared look in her eyes.

Then, I saw another figure appear.

He was fast. Unbelievably fast. I didn’t even see him clearly until he suddenly appeared in front of Sophie.

A long red coat covered his body while white hair tied into a ponytail fluttered in the wind as he finally stopped in place before holding up his left arm. The undead knight’s sword made contact with the sleeve of his coat and the screech of grinding metal echoed out as sparks flew off the point of contact. The ground beneath him fractured from the force of the impact, but despite all this, he didn’t move. Not even one single step.

The undead knight’s swing, the same swing that blew me away easily, was blocked by Professor Kyle.

Outskirts of Solria, Silvia Forest, Rest Area (Kyle POV)

A strange feeling rose up inside of me as I stood there blocking the blade that would have killed Sophie had I been late even a single moment. It was regret, it was sadness, it was relief, and in the depths of my heart there was even a sick sense of excitement, but after a moment... it was all drowned out by anger.

I glanced around me.

To my right, Regnis was in the middle of sprinting forward, covered in dirt and scrapes, while Reina reached out in desperation towards Sophie. To my left, Halbert and Zane were being held down by several hands from some sort of magic. And although I didn’t turn around to look, I knew that sitting on the ground behind me was Sophie. She had fear in her eyes, and amongst the small scratches and cuts, there was a large bleeding wound on her leg.

In front of me stood an enemy dressed in a suit of armor. I could see the soulfire in its hollow eyes through its helmet. It was an undead, just a mere soulless puppet, commanded by who I assume was the black-robed man standing in front of Halbert a few dozen feet to my left.

And it was this necromancer and his undead that had attacked my precious students.

It was because of these two that Sophie had a bleeding cut across her leg, that Zane was pinned to the floor, that Halbert was being held down, that Regnis was injured, that Reina had a hopeless look in her eyes.

A furious glint appeared in my eyes before I shifted my left hand forward. The sudden motion knocked the sword away, and I grabbed the undead’s right arm, pulling it to my left side while stepping forward. It started to fall forward and my cold voice rang out as my right hand formed a fist.

“【Impact】, full power cast, touch-trigger activation.” (Kyle)

My legs rotated to turn me to my left, and the force from the instant shift traveled through my torso up to my arm before my fist smashed into the undead’s chest, right where its center of gravity was. The force that had built itself up starting from that initial rotation of my legs exploded as it made contact with the undead, and its metal armor was crushed by my punch before the glove on my hand shone with a white glow.

The alchemy circle activated, and an insane amount of force rushed out of my fist. The undead was blown away straight towards the necromancer before a crazed wind burst out from where I had hit it.

The necromancer barely managed to react in time and dodge as the undead shot into the forest behind him, smashing through about four or five trees before coming to an unmoving stop. Then I reached into my holster and pulled out a throwing knife before my left hand shifted, and a knife shot towards the necromancer.

“【Thunderbolt Spear】, full power cast, activate.” (Kyle)

The alchemy circle on the knife shone with a piercing blue light before thick bolts of lightning burst out from the knife, forming the vague shape of a spear, but as it flew towards the necromancer, his left eye shone with a green light and the alchemy circle for【Thunderbolt Spear】appeared in front of him. It immediately activated and an identical spear of blue lightning emerged before shooting towards my throwing knife. The two spears of lightning collided in mid-air and the resulting explosion of electricity charred the grass around it before my knife fell on the ground below the explosion.

“Watch out! He can steal your alchemy with his left eye!” (Halbert)

Halbert’s distressed voice rang out and I stood there for a moment while the necromancer watched me with an alert look on his face.

He can steal my alchemy... which means my best option is…

My right hand reached behind me and grasped the handle of my longsword. A melancholic feeling bubbled up inside of me, but it was overpowered by my anger as I thought about the consequences of my actions.

Are you too scared to even unsheathe your sword? To save the people you care about?

What are you afraid of? Just move, you goddamn coward.

Air entered my lungs as I took a deep breath.

Strength entered my hands, and I finally pulled out my longsword and held it towards the necromancer. The sunlight shone off the tip of the blade giving it a silverish grey gleam, and a terrifyingly familiar feeling bubbled up inside of me again... but this time, I didn’t reject it.

I exhaled, and my grip on the handle tightened before I took a stance.

My left leg moved forward half a step as my right hand held the longsword softly at my side with the tip of my blade and the fingers of my loosely open left hand pointed in the same direction, towards the necromancer. It was my personal stance, just a lazy variation of my master’s stance that I modified slightly to fit my own sword style, but despite my lackluster stance, my swordsmanship was anything but normal.

“Oh? Another one? Ah, but I can’t exactly call you a pest, can I? After all, you’re not like the rest of them. You’re strong. I can’t afford to go easy on you.” (Necromancer)

The moment he finished speaking, the necromancer pointed his staff towards me and three fourth-circle spells appeared in the air before spears made of darkness-element mana shot out towards me.

“Stop!” (Reina)

“Professor Kyle!” (Sophie)

“Watch out!” (Regnis)

Worried voices echoed out from behind me and I could see in the distance that the punch earlier wasn’t enough to finish off the undead either. There was a large dent in its armor, but it got back up and roared before charging towards me again.

My body was screaming at me. Just taking a stance wasn’t enough. It wanted to move. It wanted to swing a sword. It wanted to fight again. And so... I let it.

It was an almost instantaneous flash of steel. I took a step forward and my sword swung outwards, striking the tip of the first spear aimed at my chest. A strong impact entered my arm through my sword, but my arm slightly shifted, transmitting the force through my body and nullifying as much as I could using a series of small rotations before driving the rest into the ground with my legs. The ground beneath me cracked slightly and my sword smashed through the first spear, shattering it into particles of mana as I grabbed the second spear with my left hand. The spearhead grinded against my palm and once again, I nullified the momentum again before gripping my hand into a fist, crushing the second spear. Then my right arm moved again and the last spear was shattered by my sword just like the first one as the necromancer finished casting his next spell.

“Spectral warrior from an ancient abyss, emerge and indulge thyself once more in battle.【Guardian of Dusk】!” (Necromancer)

A seventh-circle spell materialized on the undead’s chest plate and darkness-element mana flooded out of the circle, completely devouring the undead before the mass of mana started molding itself, taking the same form as the undead knight. Wispy black mana radiated off the newly born specter, and blood-red flames ignited in the visor of the helmet as a blade of mana formed in its hand.

The necromancer’s left eye shone as he stared at the specter before another seven-layered magic circle appeared in front of him a second, identical specter emerged. The new specter moved to guard the necromancer as the first one dashed towards me, but the moment it kicked off the ground, I already arrived in front of it.

My leg smashed into the ground in front of the specter, stopping my momentum as I rotated my torso to shift the momentum from my legs to my sword. My sword thrust forward towards its heart and the specter held its blade in front of its chest to block it, but right as the tip of my blade was about to make contact with the specter’s blade, my sword suddenly shifted. My initial thrust instantly transformed into a swing, then back into a thrust as the tip of my blade slipped past the specter’s sword and pierced its neck. Then I took another step forward, transitioning into a swing again and just like that, it was dead. I separated the specter’s head from its body and it dissipated into black wisps of mana. Strength poured into my leg as I was about to dash towards the necromancer, but the moment I turned towards him, I froze.

The necromancer held his staff out. The tip was pointed towards Halbert’s head and he turned to me as I stood in place.

“Oh? You work fast, don’t you? That was my ace in the hole, but it barely took you a second to kill it, so the second one probably won’t give you much trouble either. I do wonder though, are you faster than my magic? Unfortunately, I’m running a little low on mana, so there’s no doubt in my mind that I would lose if I fought you now, but I assure you, I have more than enough for one or two more spells.” (Necromancer)

The necromancer let out a chuckle before turning to Halbert again as his left eye lit up.

“Ah, this whole meeting really was a mess. But it’s over now, isn’t it? Well, aren’t you lucky, hero? You’ve escaped death this time, but remember this, as long as you hold that sword, I, Zeon, will find you all again. And next time, it will be different. Your deaths are no longer just a favor to be repaid to her highness, it is now also his majesty’s will that you all die. And as his faithful servant, it is my duty to execute his command, no matter the cost. In due time, his majesty, the True God of Death shall descend and drown this world in eternal calamity once more. So rejoice. It is the greatest honor for lowly beings such as yourselves to contribute to his majesty’s divine reawakening” (Zeon)

Zeon’s wicked laughter echoed around the clearing and I lowered my head to stare at the ground in front of me.

Ah… so that’s why he was attacking them… I understand now…

He said it himself, didn’t he? He’s nothing more than a faithful servant of the True God of Death. He’s a deluded lunatic who was drawn to my legacy. He almost killed the class as a part of his vain attempt to ‘revive’ me, and he would no doubt hunt them down again if it meant he would be a little closer to his goal.

Everyone was attacked because of me. Everyone was injured because of me. Everyone almost died because of me.

It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. Everything is because of me.

It was because I left them alone. It was because I decided to even come out here in the first place just to make some pocket change.

They should have been safe and sound in the classroom. They should have been going through another peaceful day.

Their wounds, their pain, their fear...

... It's all my fault...

Again and again... A thousand years ago... and even now...

... It’s always because of me...

… Atonement? What a joke.

I can lie to myself all I want about atonement, but in the end... I know the truth better than anyone else, don’t I?

Only when these accursed hands are stained with blood, can they ever hold anything close. It’s always been that way.

Nothing’s changed.

I opened my mouth, and broken laughter echoed out to match Zeon before he stopped to look at me while I muttered quietly to myself.

“... You know, despite all my talk about atonement, I’m really just selfish, aren’t I?... But that’s fine… If it means I can see the people I care about smile happily again… what are a few more sins?...” (Kyle)

“Oh? Is there something I’m missing? Or have you actually started to lose your mind?” (Zeon)

Zeon stared at me with a puzzled look on his face, but I just ignored him as I slowly called out to the rest of the class with the most gentle voice I could currently muster.

“I’m sorry, guys. It’s all my fault... But don’t worry, we’ll be back home soon. I promise... so just do me a favor and look away for a moment... Professor Kyle’s about to be a little scary...” (Kyle)

As soon as I finished speaking, I closed my eyes. My fake smile was replaced with a cold expression, and then, I released it.

The class was still nearby, so I couldn’t release the full extent of my bloodlust, but this much it was enough. The bloodlust I had been holding back burst outward, and what met Zeon’s stare was a pair of piercing golden eyes, tinged with a hint of frenzied, murderous rage.

My bloodlust swirled around me before I concentrated it directly on Zeon.

Then Zeon fell to his knees, clutching his throat as he struggled to breathe.

I gripped the handle of my sword and moved forward. In an instant, I was in front of the specter.

Sword swing from the top left.

The specter’s sword swung downwards toward me from the left, but it was too slow. My left hand shot forward, grabbing its helmet while my sword flashed diagonally upward to the right. The specter’s blade scraped against the shoulder of my coat, while my blade smashed into its side, crushing its armor at the point of impact before ripping straight through and slicing the specter completely in half. Then I let go of its head and its upper torso fell on the ground as it dissipated into wispy black mana before I took another step.

Zeon shakily held his hand out towards Halbert, barely managing to choke out a few words to cast a third-circle spell at him as my voice simultaneously rang out.

“【D-Dark Spike】!” (Zeon)

“【Radiant Barrier】, full power cast, activate.” (Kyle)

A throwing knife stabbed into the ground at an angle in front of Halbert, and a brilliant yellow light shone from the alchemy circle etched into the blade of the knife as a large shield of light instantly formed in front of him.

Pulses of mana continuously rippled through the shield of light as the tips of the mana spikes scraped against it while Zeon’s eye lit up.

I arrived in front of Zeon and my sword flipped around in my hand to point down before I held it with both hands and stabbed downward towards him. He leaned back slightly, raising his head to look up at me as the same barrier I had just used to block his spell materialized above him. Pulses of mana rippled through the shield as it stopped my blade for a moment before my cold voice rang out again like a death sentence.

“【Accel】, full power cast, activate.” (Kyle)

A white light shone from the glove on my left hand, and my sword violently burst downward at an incredible speed. The sound of glass shattering reached my ears as my sword pierced the shield and just like that, it was over.

The blade went straight through Zeon’s chest, impaling him and pinning him to the floor before I finally restrained my bloodlust again.

The clawed hands holding Halbert and Zane down disappeared, and silence returned to the forest.

Zeon weakly reached up to the sky with his hand and quietly whispered as blood poured out of his mouth.

“... y-your... m-majesty…” (Zeon)

He was calling out to his god.

He was calling out to me.

You can pray, you can beg, you can cry, but in the end, you’ll receive no salvation from the gods of this world. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the gods of Aias have no sympathy... and that includes me.

So... I’ll see you on the other side, Zeon.

After a moment, Zeon’s hand fell to his side as the last bits of life in him faded.

Outskirts of Solria, Silvia Forest, Rest Area (Halbert POV)

The moment Zeon’s hand fell, a green light shone from his left eye again. What looked like a small green ball of light rose up from Zeon’s left eye, floating in mid-air for a moment before green flames burst out, completely devouring it. It burned away into nothingness. Then it was once again silent. The only evidence that there was even a fight were the holes around the clearing and Zeon’s body. Peace returned to the forest and Zane walked up to my side.

“... He’s dead…” (Zane)

“... Yeah…” (Halbert)

It was all over.

I finally lowered my sword as I felt a sense of relief flood my system before turning to Professor Kyle, but he just silently stood there until Zane called out to him.

“...Ky-” (Zane)

But before Zane could even finish a word, an arm wrapped around me and I was pulled into a hug along with Zane as Professor Kyle whispered to us.

“Thank God you’re still alive...” (Kyle)

The arm hugging me was soft and it felt like any slight movement from me would let me easily break away, however, I couldn’t help but look over Professor Kyle’s shoulder at Zeon’s corpse. In front of me was a reminder of just what the same arm currently hugging me was capable of, and a chill ran down my spine as I thought about the insane bloodlust I felt from Professor Kyle just a few moments ago.

It was like light and day. It felt like I could barely breathe before, but now…

Professor Kyle had a worried look on his face, but other than that, he was back to his normal self. And after a moment, he let go of me and Zane before running over to the rest of the class. We silently walked behind him as I stared at my open hand.

If Professor Kyle hadn’t returned in time, if he wasn’t strong enough to save Sophie, if he wasn’t strong enough to kill Zeon, everyone would have died. If I was stronger this wouldn’t have happened. If I was stronger no one else would have been hurt.

My right hand slowly closed into a tight fist as I grit my teeth and swallowed my anger at my own weakness.

Goddess of Chaos’ Divine Domain, Throne Room (Goddess of Chaos POV)

In front of me was a small green ball of light, glowing softly as I held in between my fingers. It was something that shouldn’t exist according to the laws of this world. It was my second greatest creation, an artificial divine spark, a heretical imitation of the world will’s gift. The Sin of Envy, one in a set of seven sin sparks that I had created to raise the new demon lord, and the fact that it had returned to me meant that the chosen possessor of the Sin of Envy, Zeon, had perished. But I couldn’t care less about his death right now.

Zeon was a traitor. And despite being chosen by me as a potential candidate for the new demon lord, he was loyal to another god. No, I should say that he envied another god. His deluded obsession was to the point that instead of competing with the other Sins for the title of demon lord, he sought out his god’s divine relics in a pitiful endeavor to steal his god’s identity. He revered that god so much that he himself wanted to become that god, and that was exactly what made him the perfect Sin of Envy despite his lack of loyalty to me.

Ah, but it’s fine. With his death, Zeon’s sin spark had returned to me, its creator, along with something else.

I held the sin spark in my hand, and the natural laws of chaos enveloped it before a mirror materialized in front of me. Illusions played out in the mirror recounting Zeon’s last moments, and in those illusions, there was a certain man. His long hair was a pure white color, tied into a ponytail, and he was dressed in a red coat while holding a longsword in his right hand.

A pair of sharp golden eyes peered at me from inside the illusions like they had seen beyond even dimensions to gaze into my very soul as a long-dead feeling reignited inside of me again.

Was it love?... No, it was more like ecstasy.

A twisted smile made its way onto my face.

I found him. I found him. I finally found him again.

My greatest creation, The Tyrant of Eternal Calamity.

It’s such beautiful irony though, isn’t it? The very same god Zeon revered was the one who extinguished him in the end.

“Now, what will you do? It’s all crashing down around you again, isn’t it? But don’t worry, I’ll always be here for you. Now and forever. So keep me captivated again this time, my dearest Ky.” (Goddess of Chaos)