I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

145. End of the story (5)

A fierce battle continues.

This was a battle even more desperate than the final battle five years ago and one where the fate of the future was at stake.

Every time they exchange swords, the earth splits, a gust of wind blows, and the sky shakes.

Just by lightly touching each other’s swords, they had an impact on the world.

No hero or demon king has ever reached this level.

“Why don’t you really surrender this time?”

Alfred happily watched the battle and spoke to the queen.

We can already predict what the results will be.

The only thing left for him and the queen was to accept the result.

Will you follow the consequences of your choice, or will you not follow them and fight until the end?

Of course, I knew this without having to ask.

I was able to instinctively feel what choices each other would make because they were similar and similar.

“If we surrender, won’t we destroy the world? Then it would be right to fight to the end as a human being.”

Despite facing Alfred, who had even summoned her demon lord, the queen took pains to answer clearly and calmly.

The demon king brought back to life by Alfred is certainly powerful.

It is normal for a life that originally had great power to become weaker when resurrected as an undead, but Alfred made even the Demon King stronger than when he was alive.

He became the strongest warrior by absorbing the power of past warriors, but if he was pushed down by the Demon King, he would do everything he could.

“Besides, how long do you think that will last?”

However, although the hero trembles in fear and repeatedly retreats, he calmly defends all of the demon king’s attacks.

“No matter how afraid your body is, if you experience it often, you will get used to it and get used to it. Do you really think you can resurrect the dead and defeat the living?”

Rather, in terms of power output, the hero is slightly ahead for a moment.

The sword skills using the vast magical power and the strongest sword, the Holy Sword, could not be compared with anything else.

Even though the warrior is smaller than the Demon King, he steadfastly receives the great sword, and although the Demon King is surprisingly faster, there is still not much of a difference.

As expected, what clearly highlights the difference is the level of weapons the two prosecutors are carrying.

Also, the characteristics of those who are alive and those who are already dead gradually allow the warrior to move ahead.

However, the devil may overwhelm and kill the hero before that, and there is no clear answer yet.

“No? Of course I can’t win.”

Nevertheless, Alfred casually said that the devil could not defeat the hero.

From the beginning, the results of all this have already come out.

Alfred laughed, saying that he had anticipated all of this from the beginning and had summoned the Demon King.

“…You are a person whose true feelings are unknown to the end.”

“I could see clearly because you were empty inside.”

Alfred said, remembering the hole in the queen’s chest.

“…It would be good to see who will laugh at the end.”

In the end, the queen glared at Alfred and disappeared as if running away.

Now that the hero is captured by the Demon King, if Alfred tries to harm him, he seems to do so because he has no means of protecting himself.

“Whoa, it’s finally turned off.”

Only then did Alfred slump down in his seat.

He thumps his shoulder or waist as if he is in pain and watches the fight between the hero and the demon king that he was unable to complete before.

“I heard they’re both horribly good at managing people. “Aren’t they supposed to be the CEOs of some evil company instead of being warriors in their past lives?”

The destination is right in front of you, with the flag that says “Arrived” Fluttering, and now all that’s left is one step toward reaching your destination.

With that, she comes to the end of her entire journey and what she has to do.

If it’s long, it’s long, if it’s short, it’s short.

Alfred sat down on her dirt floor, where he would never normally sit, and reminisced about his past with her.

At first, inside the burning school.

She worked hard to rescue the students inside the academy without knowing that it was Alfred who started the fire.

The dumbfounded expression on his face when he found out who the culprit was was so good that I wanted to see it again.

Another time, when we were raiding a city with orcs, right before we gave a nobleman food to orcs, she appeared and got really angry.

Is it because they threw tens of thousands of skeletons covered in bugs and sticky slime as a gift?

Fortunately, she seemed to like the gift and left angrily, saying that she would definitely kill her the next time they met.

To kill her with her own hands.

Those were words that Alfred liked very much.

Isn’t it a story that we will meet again no matter what happens?

Whether you resent each other, hate each other, or love each other, all of these are precious emotions that can only be realized when you meet.

She was grateful that she could even get that opportunity.

“Then when will our sleeping hero wake up?”

And five years after the day of the decisive battle.

She thought she had gone away forever, but she came to find herself once again.

Whether it was voluntarily or fate led him to Alfred, the important thing is that he came back.

-Ah, you must be…-

Although he looked very tired and sad, he was okay.

As long as you’re alive, anything is okay.

Even if your life so far has been full of sad and painful things, you can fill your future path with happy and enjoyable things.

Moreover, the time he spent with her made him happy and enjoyable.

It was a satisfaction that could not be exchanged for anything in the world, to the point where I regretted not knowing this until now.

Her

It was fun to comfort her when she was honestly devastated.

Even though an uninvited guest who was close to her came to visit her, it was fun to make fun of her in its own way.

These are all things she was able to obtain because she was with her.

“…No, at least I have to see the face.”

So wait.

Until Arcel wakes up on his own.

Alfred hoped that the sleeping hero would wake up quickly and meet him as usual.

I want you to wake up as soon as possible.

Maybe it was because I exercised too vigorously, which I don’t usually do, but I started to fall asleep little by little.

†††

Arcel continued a fierce battle with the Demon King in her consciousness.

Although it was only a part of a memory and not the full power of the Demon King, the Demon King was still strong and even though Arcel fought desperately, he could barely overcome it.

I thought I had become much stronger, both externally and internally, since the final battle five years ago, but even so, I don’t think I can reach the Demon King yet.

“Why are you doing that? “If you don’t have a holy sword, that’s all you can do!”

The lack of a holy sword also played a part in the reason.

The sword that Arcel is currently holding was not a sword given by a god with the power to purify demons.

Still, if he could barely survive in the past thanks to the Holy Sword, now Arcel was able to stand on par with the Demon King with his own strength.

Even though there is no holy sword.

Even if you are not a hero, you can fight against the devil.

“Do not rely on the holy sword, do not rely on fate, you are not a hero!”

That is why I will move forward on my own.

I have lived my whole life chasing only destiny.

“What are you, the real you?”

The devil asked.

A demon lord who deliberately chose to be defeated even though he could have been easily cut down in the past.

I didn’t remember it before, but as Arcel joined forces with the Demon King, the memories of that time began to come back to me little by little.

-Are you saying Alfred is alive?-

-We… Didn’t kill him… He surrendered on purpose… He probably knew that we wouldn’t be able to overcome you, the Demon Lord…-

At the last moment, the Demon King said this.

At first, Arcel thought that Alfred had sent him to the Demon King on purpose to tell him to die.

But when the Demon King heard that Alfred was alive and that he had sent a hero to him on purpose, he seemed lost in thought.

-Then cut off my head with that sword. My role ends here. The time has come for this long, cursed fate to finally come to an end. –

Even then, the reason was unknown.

Why does the Demon King choose his own death?

Arcelo at the time did not know what meaning was contained in Alfred’s choice.

-I thought about driving this world to destruction with that cursed fate, but maybe you, the last hero, might bring a better ending.-

Now I understand.

What did they live for?

What did you come here for?

I learned what meaning my life had.

“What fate is left for you who are not a hero?”

The devil asked.

Arsel closed his eyes for a moment and thought, then quietly opened his mouth in consciousness.

“…There is nothing left. But-“

At that time, the sword Arcel was holding emitted a brilliant light that brightened the entire deep sea.

Dispels the darkness in consciousness and shines the light of salvation.

The water swirls and the end of fate is visible.

What awaits at the end?

What will be the conclusion of this long, long fate?

Arsel wanted to decide the outcome himself.

“Now, I will create it myself with my own choices.”

With those words, Arcel cut down the Demon King.

The devil is cut down and the sea splits.

The deep sea of consciousness splits, and the light of the sun finally reaches the deepest part of the sea.

And Arcel opened his eyes.

“…!”

As expected, there was a demon king in front of me.

It was indeed a long road.

Arsel held the holy sword again this time.

Clearly, the demon king in front of me was larger and had stronger magical power than the demon king I met during the ceremony.

Still, there were no problems.

Suddenly!

The light of the Holy Sword sparkled, truly putting an end to the Demon King.

The demon king whose head was cut seemed to be somehow satisfied that it was finally over.

“Arcel!”

“Alfred…?”

Alfred ran to Arcel and hugged him, calling his name.

“I thought you would wake up! “I have eyes for people!”

Alfred no longer called Arcel a warrior.

Now there is no need to use the name warrior.

Because just a little while ago, the long fate of the hero and the demon king came to an end.

“That devil just now-“

“Oh, that? If you can’t wake up, I just summoned you to eliminate half of the life forms in this world. Do not care about it. “I never intended to destroy or exterminate them all.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, when have you seen me lie?”

“You don’t do anything except lie.”

“I’m a bit like that.”

It was hard to believe what he said, but it was still good for Arcel to see Alfred once again.

I can’t believe we can meet again while smiling like this.

Although it was only a few hours, Arcel felt as if he had been trapped in that space of consciousness for dozens of days.

Of course, she received help from Alfred there too.

Until the very end, Alfred was always by her side, watching her journey and serving as a guidepost for her.

“Alfred.”

Arsel wants to return that gratitude.

But unfortunately, since she was Arcel, who had spent her entire life working as a warrior, she did not know how to express her feelings in any other way.

She had already done this a few times before, but Arcel always put her sincerity into it.

“Huh? “What else do you have to say?”

“It’s not words, but it’s something you do with your lips.”

“Ah…”

We kiss again.

I held onto Alfred tightly to prevent him from falling.

Now that he had no reason to be a warrior anymore, he was able to greet him without caring about the fate of the warrior.

For a while, Arcel tried not to break the link with Alfred.

If possible, it would have been nice if time had stopped like this…

“I love you, Alfred. “More than anything else in this world.”

“…Why are you doing this again? “It’s the same for me.”

Once the sword was drawn, it had to be finished.

“How… Can this be possible…!”

Arcel’s eyes turned to her queen, who was now glaring at them with great anger.

“Did they use dirty and despicable methods to the end?”

But it wasn’t just the queen who was angry.

Arsel was also angry.