The Doctor Cured The Villainess And Ran Away

“Hmm…!”

Jinzou, attacked by Charles’s soul, twisted his body. He had backed away from Lars, cornered at the edge of the cliff.

Behind him, the sewer tunnel ended. The pitch-black underground below, where the ground was invisible, seemed to foreshadow the future that was approaching him.

Everyone present could see Jinzou’s soul shattered and sublimated at the back of his head.

‘Charles stole Jinzou’s abilities.’

Lars turned to look at Jinzou’s main body.

Charles had occupied Jinzou’s main body. Just as he used Lishe’s body, he shoved his own soul through the Holy Sword that pierced the abdomen.

‘This feels strange.’

Charles was feeling a bizarre discomfort.

The physical pain from the wound inflicted by the Holy Sword wasn’t that severe. As a member of the Demon Race, the sacredness of the Holy Sword was rather unsettling.

Even the impending collapse of the body that comes at a price.

All of those sensations were too vivid and intact.

As if they were his own.

‘…I, right now.’

It was clear that his previously trapped soul had separated from the Holy Sword.

He had completely detached from Jinzou’s body, using it as a new physical form.

He had escaped from his prison.

Charles wanted to have confidence. Pulling the Holy Sword out from his abdomen would reveal whether this discomfort was real or not.

If he had not fully escaped, his soul would be trapped back in the sword at that moment.

But doing so would mean losing the Jinzou he had just captured. That couldn’t happen.

Defeating Jinzou came first.

‘I can guess the cause. It’s because of Jinzou’s ability.’

Jinzou had the power to manipulate souls.

He could control not just his own soul, but also the souls of those who had been marked with blood.
It operated on the same principle as the ability to infect minions: a pathogen infecting the soul.

The moment his blood soaked the Holy Sword by piercing through his main body, Charles’s soul became connected due to Jinzou’s mark being engraved on it.

‘I’ve fought Jinzou many times, but I’ve never faced something like this.’

Until now, while subduing Jinzou, he’d utilized Lishe’s body to strike him down. Jinzou, despite controlling a Child Body, had rarely fully vacated his own main body like this.

Held by someone who wasn’t Lishe, he was directly stabbing the empty Jinzou’s soul and taking his body.

Experiencing such a unique situation had certainly never happened before.

‘By occupying his body, I’ve also taken his abilities.’

Charles immediately realized how to use the abilities and tried to manipulate Jinzou’s soul.

The resistance was strong. He, too, was a long-lived being, having accumulated a tremendous weight of soul.

“But.”

Charles, injured but smiling.

“I’m stronger.”

Compared to everything he had been through, Jinzou’s weight was nothing.

He tightened his fist even more and twisted it halfway. Jinzou, struggling, tried to bounce out of Tanya’s body.

“Sis!”

Lishe shouted, worried about Charles.

Charles subtly shifted his gaze and signaled an answer.

Just a little longer. Since she called him ‘sis,’ he would probably show off a magnificent scene at least once.

At that moment, a golden witch who had just arrived appeared a little distance away.

He didn’t like her standing there with an entourage of knights, looking secure.

But perhaps he could give her a compliment for making it this far.

Lars had vouched for her. Surely she wouldn’t foolishly mistake him for an enemy and intervene.

Lars.

He was preparing to take something out from his pocket while caressing the forearm that Jinzou had bitten.

It had been mere seconds since he was bitten.
It was impressive to see how calm he was even while potentially losing his body.

…Why hasn’t Lars lost his body?

Charles clearly understood Jinzou’s abilities.
This power could only ensnare or repel souls of supposedly lower rank than his.

He could do that. No matter how much Jinzou was a long-lived species, he would surely lack experience in desperately fighting through death.

The weight of the burden on their shoulders was different.

But Lars, if Lars’s soul also has that kind of weight…

Could it be that he had memories of the future from the very beginning?

…Or perhaps not just once.
He might be carrying all his memories.

That would make sense for him to possess the weight of a soul that could terrify the first vampire.

While I only appear when the Holy Sword calls,
There’s no way Lars has experienced all those destructions and deaths, all the way from beginning to end, all by himself, is there?

‘That’s absurd.’

No one could possibly handle such a thing with a sound mind.

Even now, I want to give up.
I’ve erased the fake words like “hope” from my mind long ago.

But if Lars is indeed repeating this,
No, if he must be repeating it,

…A lot starts to make sense.

‘I see now.’

Charles understood.
It made sense that Lars hadn’t talked to him about his regressive experience.

If failures are repeated, one must inevitably reduce variables. The only thing you can control is yourself.

It was the same for Charles, who had never confessed such things since no one would believe him.

‘Perhaps because of me… he might have failed even more.’

Looking back, there were many such instances.
At times when it became tough, when anger increased.
He would have been tempted to destroy the Holy Sword and escape at the slightest upset.

What thoughts would he have had witnessing that?
Would he have resented me?
Would he have stopped holding any expectations?

Being a hero like this, he would certainly have been disappointed.

‘But you still don’t give up, huh?’

To somehow turn Lishe into a complete hero, he put forth his best effort against the disease that was Charles, which had sprung up.

Even with that wicked woman controlling him, he must have been tied up.

It seems that his persistence may have even charmed Acella.

Once again, Charles came to deeply feel that he was unworthy.

When the marks of a hero or whatever dwelled in his left hand, he should have severed that hand without showing it to anyone.

Regret filled him.

“Opening.”

Jinzou, losing consciousness, muttered weakly.

“Your knees.”

—Crack!

Charles suddenly lost strength and slammed his right knee to the ground.

“Ugh?!”

Jinzou opened his eyes. Life returned to his pupils.

Charles realized his mistake.
His mental strength was waning. A gap had formed in his mind, distracting his concentration.

Of all people, it had to be him.
If it were Lars, or even rather Lishe, they wouldn’t have lost against such a foe.

But it was too late.
His body was becoming sluggish. He felt Jinzou’s soul pressing him, trying to reclaim his body.

Sigh.

Struggling like this against just one demon is pathetic.

It’s infuriating.

Even blaming his complacency wouldn’t improve the situation. His eyelids were growing heavier, and he was on the verge of losing Jinzou’s main body again.

“Charles.”

There was a hand gripping his cheek.
A large, warm sensation. It was the hand that once caught him and urged him to regain his senses.

Lars looked directly into Charles’s eyes and spoke.

“It’s counseling.”

“Coun… seling.”

It was a pleasant word. Every time he talked with Lars, Charles had only pleasant memories.

Lars spoke.

“It’s about human hope.”

“Hope.”

Charles blinked at that word.

“More precisely, it could be called motivation. Let’s say you set a goal to reach the top of Mount Tai right from the start.”

Lars raised his palm at eye level.

“It’s going to take time. For a long time, you’ll just feel frustration and fatigue.”

“That’s… true.”

“No one can climb Mount Tai overnight. Not even you, Hero. It’s not just you who can’t. The human mindset and nervous system aren’t built to endure that.”

Carefully, Lars spoke to Charles, lowering the position of his palm.

“You need to set short-term goals and reward yourself each time. Humans can only sustain motivation when the dopamine reward system of the nervous system is activated.”

“…I don’t really understand.”

“So, right now, forget about stopping the world’s destruction, fighting the Demon King’s army, and everything else.”

Lars smiled broadly at Charles.
“If you beat that guy, I’ll get you a fantastic drink afterwards.”

Hearing that, strength returned to Charles’s eyes.

“Isn’t that hope?”

Charles unconsciously licked his lips.
How delicious must the drink be if Lars was that confident?

“Is it for real?”

“Then, you can trust me.”

Lars gently patted Charles’s shoulder.

…Strangely, an energy that he thought was nowhere to be found surged within him.

His knees grew strong once more.
He straightened up and fixed his gaze.

Clench, when he tightened his fist and pulled back,

It felt as though Jinzou was being gripped by the collar, choking and losing strength.

“…Ugh.”

Jinzou groaned.
He gritted his teeth.
Just moments ago, he had had a chance to turn the tables. He could have reclaimed his body.

But Gothberg played a trick, and the hero’s soul, which had been dying out, reignited like a flame.

Conversely, his own soul, faced with its limits, began to fade.

“Beautiful.”

Jinzou was satisfied.

Being a demon, he could never comprehend the emotional exchanges humans shared until the very end, even after consuming countless human bodies and souls.

Finally witnessing even a fragment of that beauty before him, Jinzou neatly admitted his defeat.

He acknowledged this, and thus decided to fulfill his duty.

As a demon, as one belonging to the Demon King’s army.

When death drew near, he would take as many humans as possible for his companions.

For the cause of the Demon King’s army.

“Oooooh!!”

Jinzou squeezed out his last strength.
He unleashed the limits hidden deep within his soul. He returned everything he had built up throughout his life as a price.

—Boom!!

A rough aura erupted from Tanya’s body.
A whirlwind. It possessed enough power to stir a storm all the way to the sky.

“What…!”

“Danger!”

The knights immediately sprawled into a defensive formation to protect Acella.

Acella too realized the danger and began constructing a defensive magic circle, but it was already too late.

Lars.

Lars was too close to Jinzou. It was clear he would get caught up in it.

“Aura…!”

Lishe instantly reacted, charging towards Jinzou to grab the sword from him.

Lars’s judgment wasn’t different either. Without a sword, the aura couldn’t be unleashed.

They never imagined it would resort to self-destruction in such a desperate situation.

If he had sacrificed himself to the extent of using a Swordmaster’s aura, this guy would surely perish with this strike.

Charles also quickly grasped the situation.

If that aura were to explode, it was a given that everyone in this underground passage would die.

The underground was wide-spread beneath the martial arts conference arena.

There were caves below, and if it collapsed down there, the whole city might sink as well.

The casualties would surely reach tens of thousands.

‘…Yes.’

If you ask why that happened,

Charles, no.

He could only answer that it was because Lishe, who was human, was like that.

Like a fool, fulfilling obligations without claiming any rights.

What does it even mean to be a hero?

—Boom!

Charles drew the Holy Sword that was embedded in him.

At this juncture, 0.7 seconds before Jinzou’s explosion.

He prepared for the strike with a familiar motion.

In that final moment, he locked eyes with Lars, who was charging toward Jinzou.

After all, I gave up a long time ago, so you better reach him.

I wanted to say a few things like to take care of your sister.

But instead, he said.

“It’s a shame I can’t drink.”

He said this with a smile.

—Slice!

He drew a clean arc with the Holy Sword.

Thud.

Jinzou’s main body was cleaved in two, collapsing to the ground.

At the same moment, as if all energy had been switched off, Tanya fell unconscious.

The aura that was about to explode vanished without a trace at the same time.

“Charles.”

Lishe, who rushed to catch Tanya’s body, turned her head only after hearing Lars’s voice.

“…Sis?”

The corpse of Jinzou lay there without any movement.

Below it, the Holy Sword sparkled white as if nothing had happened.

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