“I’ve left most of the other functions. What you do from here on is up to you. If you are afraid, then stay hidden in your tent. With that said, I will not allow you to forfeit.”
And then the god declared arrogantly.
“Fight and die. That is all that I’ll allow.”
At the cold words, Salia grew crimson with rage.
This shameless, selfish man before her…a man who was unworthy of even being called an opponent…
“Stop. Salia.”
“This time, I cannot listen to you.”
“I am telling you to stop!”
She turned around to face the bitter expression of the dragon.
There was pain in those eyes, which now looked at the hollow shell of the boy who might as well have been dead.
“It’s true that he is rotten to the core. And I would like nothing more than to tear him apart and feed him to the dung eaters that lurk at the bottom of the Demon Realm. However, what would change by doing that?”
Berganda slowly turned away from the motionless Hero.
Sheto also followed his lead, and they left the battlefield.
“I knew there was a chance his heart would be shattered. And yet I did it anyway. I fired that final, poisoned arrow.”
“You too, Dragon God!”
“I did hope that this would not be the outcome, you know? At least…things would have been different, had he understood…had he cared more about his pieces.”
It was a hollow ending. There was no other way to describe it.
The Hero’s army had already ceased to function, without a battle ever being fought.
Both the Hero and the god had been shattered by the dragon’s poison. There was no longer any means to sustain it.
It was what Salia had wanted.
A quiet ending without bloodshed.
The Hero would not last long. What remained was to find a way to let the others escape, and once the Demon General was slain, victory would belong to Sheto and herself.
And yet…
‘Salia.’
On the other side of the water mirror, the kobold had turned back to look at her.
‘You. Stupid.’
Sheto shook his head and looked at her.
‘The battle, over now. Hero, over. We win. Is that wrong?’
“You are right. Exactly right. But…can this really be called a victory?”
It was utterly ridiculous. She knew full well that this was nothing but hypocrisy. And yet, she could not help herself from speaking.
“Just as you punished the Hero who burned down your homeland, I cannot simply ignore someone who has been crushed by the game.”
‘We, enemies. Everyone. Back then, we talked about it. Gods, Demon Kings. Hunt them all.’
“Aye. That is true.”
‘Hey… Sheto, where are you going?’
He left Berganda, who was walking away, and moved towards the Hero. The two soldiers who supported him looked tense.
‘No. I have no, business with him. But Salia, does.’
‘So the goddess who shattered the Hero’s heart through vile scheming is now bestowing her pity on him?’
“Pity? Do not misunderstand.”
What she was about to do now was out of selfishness.
One mistake, and it might result in the complete destruction of the child in front of her.
Still, she had decided to go through with it.
“Stand up! How long do you intend to lie there!”
‘Stop! Even if you are a goddess on the other side, this has gone too far…!’
“Was your grandfather the kind of man who would collapse in tears over such a small setback?”
The boy’s back jerked violently at those words.