Elysia Frentz’s funeral was conducted quietly. Several factors contributed to this, the most significant being that Elysia was an orphan. Although she had been a noble lady from a prestigious family ten years ago, she was now merely an orphan with no ties to even distant nobility. Consequently, not a single family member came to mourn her, and the only ones left to handle her funeral were Selian, who would forever owe her a debt, and the academy that had allowed intruders in.

Of course, as Selian was a Hero, there were numerous discussions among the high-ranking folk about holding a grand funeral for Elysia, who had saved Selian’s life. However, in the end, it turned into a small ceremony attended only by a few acquaintances, mainly Selian, Yuli, and Anne, along with a handful of classmates and professors, plus some lofty figures who were there in name only.

“El….”

“Hic….”

Even after the funeral, her friends struggled to accept the death of their friend. Tears were flowing abundantly, with Selian, who had witnessed Elysia’s death, turning into a person devoid of any expression but tears.

“It seems revealing the identity of the culprit after Selian was targeted will be somewhat difficult.”

She wanted to at least take revenge for Elysia, but all they found on the charred corpse was an unusable scroll with scorched edges. There were no clues to identify the assailant from their remains.

To make matters worse, Yuli and Anne tried to comfort Selian, but they too were equally downcast, deepening their shared sorrow.

As time passed at the academy, one would think her longing for Elysia would fade, but instead, every step she took reminded her of joyful memories shared with Elysia, torturing her further. She wasn’t strong enough to simply miss Elysia as if she had moved on. The memories of her time with Elysia stirred her soul, as she was still just a young girl.

Thus, it was only natural that Selian would eventually drop out of the academy.

Knowing her state of mind, Yuli and Anne could only offer comforting words and couldn’t hold her back.

What followed was far from good news.

To be precise, not only was it unfavored news for her, but it was also for the entire continent.

The Demon King regained power, and full-scale invasion began.

Dreaming of the day when she would discover the identity of the assassin who targeted her, the same assassin who had killed Elysia, Selian’s sword was directed not towards the unknown assassin’s guild but at the Demonic Race.

Her party heading to the Demon King’s castle was modest. Hero Selian and Saint Mariel. All other aides were locals recruited as needed. In truth, the party consisted solely of Selian and Mariel. It was a terribly flimsy hero party.

The hero party she had once dreamt of could never come to fruition, so it was impossible for her to accept any of the recommendations from those around her. Of course, Selian thought of her promised friends, Anne and Yuli, but Anne was fulfilling her role as guardian in her territory, and Yuli lacked the strength to accompany them in defeating the Demon King.

Moreover, every time she thought of her friends, one person’s face flashed before her. If they were by her side, the empty space beside her would feel overwhelmingly large. She feared the loneliness and emptiness that would wash over her at that moment much more than the chaos caused by the Demon King’s forces or the unpredictable overwhelming power of the Demon King.

If at least Mariel, who had equal say in decision-making as a Saint, had opposed her, perhaps things could have turned out differently. But Mariel, knowing what Selian had gone through at the academy, respected her opinion despite understanding the dangers of this adventure.

The only things keeping this precarious party from crumbling were Selian’s quite decent swordsmanship, nearing the level of a Sword Master, her Holy Sword imbued with divine power, and the overwhelming divine magic support from Saint Mariel.

However, balancing on a tightrope could not last forever. No matter how strong they might be for their age, age twenty just can’t keep going. Consequently, her adventure, the Hero’s adventure, was bound to reach its end. Naturally, not in a favorable direction.

While the strength of the two could deal with upper-level demonic beings, the Four Heavenly Kings they faced were on a different level entirely compared to any demonic creature they had fought before. The continuously advancing demonic minions were one thing, but the power of the Four Heavenly Kings surpassed their expectations. The aides who had readily joined them out of a sense of justice were already lifeless corpses sprawled on the ground.

Perhaps if they had been given just a bit more time to gather strength, they might have had the power to defeat the Four Heavenly Kings in the future, but that time was not now.

The holy barrier protecting Mariel, who was fending off the mindless minions, was easily destroyed by a powerful blow from the Four Heavenly Kings, who used the lesser demons as bait, and Mariel was instantly killed. If one were to think of the fates that befell women when captured by demons, it may actually have been a mercy.

And now that Mariel was dead, Selian felt the effects of the sacred magic Mariel had bestowed upon her before her demise fading away.

Her arms trembling from weariness, her legs barely able to stand, and her vision blurring from blood loss. She instinctively knew this was the end.

“El….”

The face that floated to her mind was once again that of her friend who had sustained her life when she should have died that day. She felt as though the beating heart within her chest wasn’t her own but Elysia’s, continuing to beat for her. Thinking of it that way brought her a faint sense of connection to Elysia.

It made her feel guilty that she was about to die when Elysia had sacrificed so much to save her. Yet, at the same time, she felt a flicker of joy at the thought of finally being able to meet her.

“Haah!”

Death was certain, and falling at any moment wouldn’t be strange. Yet she refused to give up.

Even though this body might die here, she couldn’t collapse. No matter how broken she was, she was still a Hero. A Hero could not just fall to the ground like a rag doll. And so she swung her sword until the very end, ultimately managing to slash through every demon except for the Four Heavenly Kings.

“Damn it…”

“Cough!”

Glen, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, had impaled her heart completely with his tentacle. The peak of the Sword Master level reached through her deranged frenzy in battle clung to the very edge of her life, yet it was the last flicker of light that wouldn’t last for long. Glen’s insult, “damn it,” was but a kind of homage to her as an adversary who had pushed her to this point.

Ultimately, Selian’s eyes slowly began to close. The fact that she had held on until now was itself impressive. Her knees, which had become too weak to stand, buckled to the ground, causing her Holy Sword to clink and fall.

Confirming that Selian had weakened beyond the point of resistance, Glen’s tentacle shot toward her at blinding speed. Both Glen and Selian knew this would be the final strike.

However, no matter how fast it was, Selian could still feel Glen’s tentacle slowly targeting her head. Was this what they called a galloping horse? Instead of the tentacle aimed at her head, countless memories flashed before her eyes.

Memories of her family who had sent her off on her adventure with worried expressions, versus the memories she had shared at the academy with her friends, filled her up. Guilt and gratitude towards Elysia, along with a myriad of emotions that words could not encapsulate, had long since consumed her. This was Elysia’s curse…and blessing, stronger than anything.

And finally, as her eyes closed, just before Glen’s tentacle crushed her head, a peaceful smile adorned her weary face, which she had borne since that day.

   

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