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On the night Frey declared a full-scale attack, the Hero Party secretly began their operation to ambush the Demon King\'s Castle.

"How many Demon King’s Army are guarding the castle? Are they really defending with their full force?"

Ruby, who returned to the Hero Party with Aria, gritted her teeth and tried to ask calmly.

"That\'s..."

"Why, what\'s wrong?"

"I don\'t see anyone."

"What?"

Ruby\'s eyes widened as she listened to the report she received.

"There\'s... not a single Demon King’s Army stationed."

"...Is this a trap?"

Leaving behind the uneasy child reporting, she stepped forward and quietly extended her hand.

"Hmm?"

But soon Ruby frowned.

She had used the highest-level detection magic she could perform, but she couldn’t detect any ambushes or traps.

Let alone defending the Demon King\'s Castle, there was no one guarding even the entrance.

"Uh, what should we do..."

"...What can we do?"

As the students flustered in confusion, Aria, standing beside Ruby, moved with a determined look in her eyes.

"It\'s too late to turn back now."

"..."

"We\'re going in."

Leaving those words behind, Aria quietly started walking, followed closely by Ruby.

"...Let\'s go."

"Yeah."

The Hero Party, bonded by the sorrowful camaraderie of sharing a terrible secret, began to follow them one by one towards the Demon King\'s Castle.

"There were traces of preparation for defense... but they disappeared suddenly."

"Whose doing do you think it is, Ruby?"

"There\'s only one person who could do such a thing."

Analyzing the surroundings with sharp eyes, Ruby eventually spoke with a subdued voice.

"It\'s Frey, it’s his doing."

"As expected..."

At the mention of Frey\'s name, the Hero Party flinched.

However, Aria, who had already spent years alongside Ruby and organized her thoughts, continued to walk without batting an eye.

"M-Miss Aria! Just in case, maybe we should wait–"

- Boom!

Despite the protests, Aria violently kicked on the gates of the Demon King\'s Castle.

"Don\'t try to stop me now."

Then, turning around with a dark look in her eyes, she spoke.

"I just want to... end everything quickly."

With that, Aria finished her sentence and leaped into the Demon King\'s Castle without giving anyone a chance to stop her.

"...!"

Ruby hastily followed her, afraid something might happen to her.

But the sight that unfolded before the Hero Party\'s eyes made them rooted to the spot.

"Uh, uh..."

"Since when did you... notice?"

"M-My body won\'t move..."

The heroines were trembling on the ground at Frey\'s feet.

“I already noticed that you guys were acting strange.”

Frey spoke with a chilling gaze, the ring on his right finger shone brightly. Then he stared at the Hero Party that had just entered the Demon King\'s Castle.

"Your fate will be decided after I\'ve dealt with the guests."

"...Understood."

"Then, follow me."

Frey, who successfully suppressed the rebellion of the women who had devoted their souls to him with the \'Ring of Oath’ he received from Isolet, gestured to the Hero Party and whispered.

"There\'s a good place for our final confrontation."

"But before that, I have a question."

Ruby, who was blocking Aria from bursting out immediately, asked him a question.

“By any chance… Did you do something to Roswyn?”

"Why do you ask?"

"I can\'t find her no matter how hard I look."

"Hmm."

Frey began to scratch his head upon hearing that.

"She came to me once, asking for a flower. It wasn\'t too difficult, so I made her one with magic, but as soon as she received it, she vanished before my eyes."

"...Are you telling me to believe that?"

"She muttered something about being banished or whatever just before disappearing. Think what you will. It doesn’t matter."

After saying so, Frey attempted to move on, but Ruby threw another question at him.

"Where did the Demon King’s Army go?"

"I took care of them all."

"Why?"

Frey smirked upon hearing that question.

"It\'s more fun this way."

"..."

"Stop hesitating and follow me."

Looking at the stiff expression of the Hero Party, he added with a smile.

"We need to settle the score."

"..."

Upon hearing his words,Ruby and Aria\'s eyes began to sparkle.

.

.

.

.

.

- Crackle!

"Aria, now!!"

"Ah-!"

About half a day later, on the partially destroyed top floor of the Demon King\'s Castle.

- Crack, Crack...

"Communicating hand signals verbally, how pathetic."

The lengthy battle was nearing its end.

“Ugh, uh.....”

“Cough, cough…”

"..."

Except for Ruby and Aria, the rest of the Hero Party were either injured and lying on the ground or unconscious.

Although they had ample preparation time, their defeat was inevitable. Most of their talented members like Aishi, Alice and Eurelia already left the Hero Party.

"He’s coming...!"

"I know, Ruby!"

In the end, only Ruby, Aria, and Frey left standing.

- Crackle! Crackle!

Frey\'s unique demonic energy, purple mixed with silver, relentlessly attacked the two girls.

"Heukk...!"

"That was close."

Fortunately, they managed to twist their bodies to avoid the attacks just before they landed.

Until now, they had not allowed a single of Frey’s attacks to connect.

That meant that even the slightest damage at this point would lead to an immediate defeat.

"Now... we must end this. Put an end to this tragedy, to everything..."

Aria focused solely on the fight while pondering this fact.

Something\'s off.

However, amidst this, Ruby vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

There\'s no way he couldn’t land a single hit.

Despite their considerable growth through relentless training until now, Frey in his Demon King form was not an easy opponent.

Yet, he hasn’t managed to land a single hit on them?

"You’re quite something... Haha."

Moreover, Frey had already taken several effective hits.

If this continued, there would undoubtedly be openings...

"Sigh..."

- Wobble...!

As Ruby thought this, Frey, who had been laughing leisurely, staggered.

- Swooshh...!

Not missing this opportunity, Ruby and Aria immediately sprung forward.

With Ruby\'s stretched out hand infused with mana and Aria clad in Hero’s Armament, they launched an attack on Frey.

"...!"

However, the expressions of the two girls hardened almost immediately.

- Crackle… Crackle!

"Got you..."

In an instant, Frey twisted his body and regained his footing, and unleashed a powerful attack towards the girls.

"Darn it..."

"Ugh, ugh..."

The fact that he staggered in the first place was a trap in itself.

Could it be that he had been delaying this moment to create a single opportunity to unleash his finishing move?

- Swoooshhhh!

Such thoughts were futile now.

The attack, infused with terrifying demonic energy, was already closing in on them.

"C-Careful...!"

In what seemed like an attack that could potentially incapacitate them, Ruby, determined to protect Aria at all costs, pushed her out of harm\'s way.

- Crackle...

"...Huh."

Frey\'s attack momentarily halted.

That insanely brief moment that an ordinary person wouldn\'t even notice.

But from Ruby\'s perspective, at this moment when everything seemed to be coming to an end, that foolish gap seemed like a golden opportunity.

"Haaaaaaa!!"

"Geuhhh..."

Seizing the opportunity, Ruby unleashed her ultimate move with all her might directly at Frey.

Please... let it hit...

She prayed fervently, hoping that this wasn\'t another one of his traps.

- Boom, boom...!

"Geuhh, ugh..."

Fortunately, Ruby\'s gamble paid off.

She had been holding off from using her ultimate move, but thankfully, it hit Frey directly.

- Drip...

A move that was the complete opposite of Frey\'s ultimate move, it rendered the target combat capabilities ineffective regardless of who it was.

However, using it would leave the user completely drained, and simply dodging it would render the ultimate move completely useless, so she has reserved it as a last resort.

"I-I did it..."

Of course, the seemingly defeated Frey before them was the Demon King with infinite power. If left alone, he would surely recover his strength and body.

"We did it... Aria."

"..."

But when Aria plunged the Hero’s Armament into his heart, he wouldn’t be able to recover.

"We won."

Yes.

The Hero Party, with Ruby and Aria at the forefront, had finally succeeded in their quest to defeat the Demon King.

"We won... ugh."

Ruby, murmuring with a despondent expression, staggered and sat down on the ground.

Due to the side effects of her ultimate move, her energy started to drain off.

"..."

Suddenly, fear began to creep into her.

"...It\'s over."

Not only her, but fear was also creeping up on Aria.

"It\'s really over."

It was time to put an end to this tragedy.

"...Ruby, please leave me alone for a moment."

"Aria..."

"I\'m asking you. Just for this final moment... let me handle it alone."

As Aria quietly stared at her, Ruby nodded silently and began to leave the top floor.

...What was that?

She pondered the doubts that had been lingering in her mind since earlier.

Why did Frey... at the last moment...

"Miss Ruby, wait!!"

"...Hm?"

As Ruby was about to leave the top floor, someone rushed desperately towards her.

"T-There’s something you need to see for yourself...!"

It was none other than Olivia, Ruby\'s secretary.

"What ar–"

"Hurry, please!!"

"Uh, huh?"

Responding to her urgent call from behind, Ruby, despite her tired body, began to follow her towards wherever she was leading.

.

.

.

.

.

"This place is...?"

“This is the Demon King’s room that the scouting team found.”

"I see..."

"Yes, Miss K-Kadia unsealed this room with her power of purification."

Arriving with Olivia, Ruby found herself in a familiar space. It was the room where she had spent countless hours before awakening her system.

Days when she was sick and tired from terrible boredom, and her desire for destruction increased day by day.

"W-Why are we here?"

Shaking her head at the terrifying memories, Ruby asked in a trembling voice, and Olivia replied in a subdued tone.

"You need to see for yourself."

- Creak...

After Olivia\'s words, she opened the door.

"Huh..."

Once a throne room shrouded in darkness and eerie ambiance, the Demon King’s room now resembled an ordinary office.

"That’s...?"

However, the change wasn\'t what Ruby focused on.

Her gaze was fixed on one thing.

"T-To me, that painting looks like... Miss Ruby."

It was peculiar indeed, Frey\'s room had a lot of drawings of a girl who clearly looked like Ruby.

- Step, step...

Entering with a dazed expression, Ruby wandered around the room blankly.

"They\'re all... smiling."

There were numerous paintings in the room.

She saw herself stargazing with someone, sharing bread, handing over a necklace-like item, and leaning on a silver-haired boy\'s shoulder.

All the depictions of herself were smiling with the boy.

"This...?"

They bore a striking resemblance to the images she had seen when she read Frey\'s soul a long time ago.

"Huh..."

After moments of speechlessness, Ruby slowly turned her gaze.

"Y-Young Master, I… Must tell everyone..."

"Sister, what\'s wrong! Sister...!"

Then, she noticed Kania, who had been shivering in the corner of the room, and Kadia, who was holding her, looking quite pitiful.

“...”

And the handkerchiefs on the desk.

"It can’t be."

Carefully picking up the handkerchief, Ruby murmured as she looked at the ugly silver cat drawn in the center.

"He... recovered his memories?"

At the same time she uttered those words, Ruby\'s mind began to spin rapidly.

“The reason he didn’t do anything after that day...? The reason he didn’t attack...? The reason he eliminated the Demon King’s Army and hesitated at the end....”

As the pieces of the puzzle fell into place one by one, the picture became clearer to Ruby.

"No..."

Realizing the truth, Ruby\'s face turned pale.

"No, no, no, no..."

"M-Miss Ruby?"

Despite her body and mind on the verge of collapse, she desperately ran, trembling all the way.

"Please, please, please..."

She thought that her tears had dried up long ago, but at this moment, the corners of her eyes gleamed with tears.

- Bang!!!

"Please… let me be on tim–"

With a determined expression, Ruby quickly reached the top floor and kicked the door open.

"...Ah."

But then, her gaze wavered.

"R-Ruby, I finally did it."

Aria was shedding tears and trembling uncontrollably.

"...Finally, it\'s all over."

Just before Ruby rushed in, Aria plunged the Hero’s Armament into Frey’s heart.

"Ah..."

"I-It\'s all thanks to you. Ruby... Without you, I couldn\'t have come this far."

Approaching Ruby slowly, leaving Frey behind with a sword piercing through his heart, Aria smiled sadly.

"...Thank you, Ruby."

- Thud...

"R-Ruby?"

Watching the scene before here, Ruby slumped limply with a despairing expression.

"Why... why are you like this?"

"Ugh..."

Aria\'s incomprehensible voice and Frey\'s increasingly weaker groans began to echo fleetingly through the top floor of the Demon King’s Castle.

.

.

.

.

.

"F-Frey..."

Ruby crawled towards the dying Frey, her face filled with despair.

"Ugh..."

"I-If you can, please answer..."

Desperately, she touched his cheek and asked.

"You... You did this on purpose, right?"

"..."

"Not leaving the Demon King’s Castle, defeating the Demon King’s Army, hesitating to attack us... It was all intentional, wasn\'t it?"

As Ruby asked, Frey, with fading eyes, gazed at her and spoke.

"Why suddenly... ask that?"

"I saw everything."

"What...?"

"The paintings and handkerchief in your room. I saw it all."

At the mention of the \'handkerchief,\' Aria trembled, while Frey sighed and mumbled.

"... I got caught, huh."

"T-Tell me! You did it on purpose, didn\'t you?!"

"I didn\'t do it on purpose."

Finally, with a smile, Frey spoke.

"Then... Why didn\'t you attack us?"

"Haa..."

Frey sighed before explaining.

"No matter how much I tried to attack... for some reason, my strength drained away before I could attack you two. What can I do?"

"...!!!"

Ruby and Aria\'s eyes widened at his words.

"R-Ruby... I told you."

Struggling to breathe, Frey continued.

"When I first regained consciousness, I had no memories. I only had the desire to destroy everything..."

"Just that?"

"For some reason, after that day, your face kept coming to my mind."

Tears started to flow from Ruby\'s eyes upon hearing his words.

"It was truly strange. Despite the seven girls and the Hero Party around me, and despite thinking of only mundane information about others... why was it that only your smiling faces kept appearing in my mind?"

"Frey..."

"Ruby… you’re a strange woman."

After taking a moment to catch his breath, Frey closed his eyes and continued.

"As I kept thinking of you, vague memories started surfacing in my mind. I couldn\'t help but recall them.”

“T-That’s-”

“I couldn\'t focus on anything else, and I tried hard to remember your faces… but ultimately, I failed.”

"Fa-Failed...?"

"No matter how hard I tried, all I could vaguely remember was the little boy that was always there next to you."

Frey chuckled, then hardened his expression.

"Still, it wasn\'t all in vain. At least I knew roughly what to do."

"You... you..."

"Though vague, I realized I needed to die as soon as possible. So, I invited you two, who could kill me, by declaring war on the world."

"Brother...!!!"

As Aria, having heard enough, started searching Frey\'s pocket with trembling hands…

- Rustle…

"A-ah..."

Then a piece of the handkerchief he had burned came out of his pocket.

"It was quite a hassle to find it again."

Frey coughed and reached out with trembling hands.

"Recently, I vaguely recalled memories about you... Could it be that we were really family?"

"Brother, no. No, no..."

"...You\'re strong. Well done."

As Frey gently stroked Aria\'s head. She clutched the sword embedded in his chest with a pale expression.

"T-this... I\'ll find a way to...!"

"There\'s no need... It’s already over... for me."

"S-Stop talking. It can\'t be true. It can\'t be–"

"Although I didn\'t fully recover my memories, there was one thing I wanted to tell you."

Continuing to gently stroke Aria\'s head, Frey looked at Ruby and Aria with a sorrowful look and said his final words.

"I... I love... you... forever..."

"Brother!!! Don\'t go!! Don\'t gooo!!"

"F-Frey..."

Now, Aria was having seizures, and Ruby stared at Frey with a blank expression.

"...Live happily now."

At the end, Frey looked at them with an earnest and innocent expression. Then he slowly closed his eyes.

"..."

After that, there was a long silence.

"Frey..."

Later, when the Hero Party woke up, they grabbed the frenzied Aria and dragged her away.

The heroines, who saw the Demon King\'s room a step too late, finally arrived at the top floor and discovered the scene unfolding before them before collapsing on the spot.

"..."

Ruby, who had been sitting quietly, gently touched Frey.

"Ah…"

His cheeks were cold.

Of course, it was natural. He had just died.

Pierced with the Hero’s Armament by his sister\'s hands, he faced complete death.

"..."

Frey didn\'t come back to life screaming \'Ta-da!\',\' there were no miraculous resurrections.

Nothing happened as if this was the end.

"...Hm."

For the first time, Ferloche’s poker face cracked.

"Could it be that the clear conditions changed...?"

She murmured, absentmindedly stroking her belly.

But now wasn\'t the time to pay attention to her muttering.

"Frey..."

On an unusually bitterly cold day, peace came to the world after the Demon King\'s death.

"I could have undone it all... It was entirely possible..."

But peace didn’t come for Ruby. She missed countless chances to change everything and ultimately faced the worst ending.

"...I killed Frey."

She eventually spoke those words and closed her eyes before losing consciousness.

"Aaaah!"

"..."

Leaving behind the heroines slumped on the floor in utter despair and the somber-faced Hero Party.

And Aria, who had gone mad from the unbearable truth.

Meanwhile, the sun rose more melancholically than ever before.