Volume 7 Chapter 25 Atonement
"'Long time no see.'"
"..."
Noire, who had the face of Hinata, was looking down.
Recognizing the familiar cherry blossom-colored hair and dense magic power.
I could tell in an instant, even from a distance.
It was the magic power of "Paranoize Lord" - Noire Toare.
But there was something strange.
At the same time, I faintly felt a presence.
It belonged to Hinata Yukari, my junior.
And standing here, I realized it.
I don't know what happened, but Noire's soul is inside Hinata's body. Noire's body must have been killed by Shikin.
But still, having two souls inside one body is unheard of. The relationship between the soul and the body is crucial for magicians. They both influence each other.
"'Is Hinata still there?'"
In the worst case, Hinata's personality may be erased by Noire.
But the response came from a different place.
"Hey, hey! You're doing it all of a sudden!"
Turning around, a man, whose hand severed, was holding the severed part and shouting.
He's not a demon. I can also sense Kushina's presence, and he might be one of the members of the Try Order.
This guy is quite unusual himself. He seems to have something different in his right arm. That's why I cut it off.
"Do you think if you cut it away, will it be over?"
I don't feel any threatening magic power coming from the man.
Instead, there is a black arm that has fallen to the ground. It is still emitting a sinister magic power.
Will it keep moving even without a host?
"That thing is inside my body and I controlled it. But I don't know what happens when it's released——"
He couldn't finish his word to the end.
After all, tentacles extended from the black arm and pierced the man's body.
And like a chameleon, it pulled the man's body and swallowed it.
What?
What appeared there was a black silhouette.
It was as if a shadow had risen up as it was, a sense of incongruity.
It's not the magic power of a human or a demon, but something else.
Inside the shadow, multiple eyes opened, and they looked at me. They squirmed and wriggled as if they were peering through something, then stopped.
Immediately after, countless tentacles spread out like wings from his back.
I see, he seems like a troublesome opponent if touched.
I hold my sword in my right hand and flow spiral magic power.
Try Order. Besides Shikin, there are still many creatures like this.
But sorry.
"'Now, I don't have time to deal with you.'"
I casually step into the torrential rain of attacking tentacles.
"'Mika (Storm)――'"
The sword goes wild.
The jade sword flash strikes countless slashes visible to the eye, and then slashes even more on top of them.
If it moves even after being slashed, I'll just keep slashing until it stops moving.
"'Tia (Sword)‼'"
The storm swept everything away.
Not a single particle of black magic power remained, and the shadows had disappeared.
What is this? I think it was already dead, but it had a strange sensation.
However, there was no time to explore that sense of discomfort.
After all.
"Long time no see?"
A pressure trampled on me.
Not on my body, but on my soul itself, a weight that feels like it's about to crush everything.
Even while activating "My True Name," it creaks.
There's no need to think about whose magic it is.
Even if she become just a soul, will she still be able to use this power?
"Is Hinata still there...?"
The voice that comes from behind seems to carry weight, as if it were a physical object.
At least, the first contact was completely wrong.
"'Noire——'"
As soon as I turned around, I was hit by even more pressure.
Ugh...
I couldn't stand, so I put my knee on the ground. The surroundings collapsed, and cracks appeared.
Now, with a terrifying look, she was staring at me.
"Are you supposed to say that?"
"'...'"
No, I understand.
No, no, I'm not sure. Even though I was unsure of what to say, I ended up saying the wrong thing.
"'I see, you were alive?'"
Gotcha! The weight increased even more.
Apparently, it's wrong. I raised my magical power output and managed to counter it.
Remember, Noire's last words. How we met and parted.
'Yuusuke, Noire will be waiting for you.'
That's right.
In the end, our relationship broke down.
Because of being a Hero and Lord. Because of being human and demon.
No matter how many reasons I come up with, the fundamental cause is not there. I couldn't accept it.
So, I threw everything into that vague ideal of defeating the Demon Lord, thinking it would solve everything. Without fulfilling my promise to Noire, I returned to Earth.
"'I'm sorry.'"
I lied to you, leaving you behind.
"――!"
Flames roared around me. Unable to move, my armor was burning.
It's Lord's magic. Even if I activate My True Name, I can't protect myself from it.
No, that's not it. Noire's feelings are so strong that it won't be an obstacle.
"You know, I've been waiting for you! As the demon traitor, all alone in that empty castle!"
The flames burned fiercely in response to Noire's words, hot and piercing, showing her anger.
"Why did you——"
In my mind, I saw a girl looking out of the window all by herself. Towards the distant human lands, on a road where no one should come.
"Why did you leave Noire behind?"
The moment I heard those words, I keenly felt my own foolishness.
Noire wiped away her tears and said in a cold voice.
"I no longer know what is right. That day, when I couldn't kill you, I fell in love with you instead of the Demon Lord. But was that the right thing to do? I don't know anymore. Should I kill you here, as atonement with my own life?"
"'...'"
I listened to Noire's story in silence.
I finally understood why Noire was easily killed by Shikin. Her magic, 'Märchenmine,' is a powerful magic, but it directly reflects her mental state.
Perhaps she couldn't give her all because she had doubts.
I left behind the girl who said she liked me and ended up driving her to her death.
Noire's anger is justified.
So, the solution should be simple.
"'What do you intend to do?'"
Omori (Heavy Love) is released.
I raised my lighter body and looked at Noire.
"I'm asking what your intentions are!"
The pressure of her tremendous magic power is overwhelming. Just standing in front of her makes me feel like I'm about to lose consciousness.
But I can't collapse at this level. Noire's anger and sadness are not something that can be easily dismissed.
So, I said, with a voice that had lost all its power.
"'I can only thank you. That's all I could do. So at least...'"
I removed 'My True Name', and became the real me, Yamamoto Yuusuke. I spread my arms wide.
"Do your best until you're satisfied."
In an instant.
"Eh——!"
I was punched straight in the face by her.
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