YM778.TV Chapter 386: Despair and Hope
Chapter 386: Despair and Hope
“F-Frey…”
Someone crouched there, muttering Frey’s name with a look of despair.
“No…”
Her name was none other than Roswyn.
The moment she received the flower from Frey during the Fourth Ordeal, she was exiled to this incomprehensible space.
“Y-Your soul. Frey’s soul…”
This space wasn’t where the gods or Glare were, nor was it the reality where the heroines existed. It was an utterly unknown space where she was confined.
Before her, the spectator system of the system window she always looked into floated.- Frey. Just wait a bit. I’ll save you somehow. Even if it means raising you again as a child, I’ll…
- As expected… It would be better if we tell her…
-But can we really bring closure to the story of the boy and the girl who knew nothing but tragedy? Do we even have the right to do that?
- That…
The system displayed Ruby gently holding and stroking the cold, lifeless body of Frey, with two goddesses looking at them with helpless eyes.
- But still…! We can’t leave her like that forever!
- Sigh…
It might look quite ridiculous at a glance, but for those who knew the full situation, it was a heartbreaking scene.
“Ugh, ugh…”
Roswyn, trembling while watching the scene, flinched and looked around.
“Wh-where is this place…”
According to the light from the system, she had been in this space for days.
She had walked and walked for a long time, but saw neither an exit nor a glimmer of light.
“I-I’m scared…”
Trembling in fear, she lowered her gaze back to the system window.
“…”
But the system window still displayed the despairing situation.
“I want to help…”
Looking at the system window plunged her into despair, and looking around engulfed her in fear. Stuck in this dilemma, Roswyn crawled on.
“Like back then…”
She mumbled in a voice filled with regret, bowing her head deeply.
“Like in the zeroth cycle… I want to help them again… help everyo– ugh.”
At that moment, she bumped into something, clutching her head as she tumbled.
“…Wh-what!? What is it?”
Initially blinking in surprise, she soon widened her eyes and headed towards it.
It was something she had found after days.
For her, exhausted by continuous darkness and despairing records, it was a golden moment.
“H-Huh…?”
But even she had to step back and squint her eyes as a light began to emanate from the place she had bumped into.
“It’s blinding…”
With her eyes squinted, she flailed around in the air for a while.
“Is the light coming from here…?”
She then noticed that the crack of an ordinary-looking door was the source of the light and stood before it.
Debug Room
“What… does it say…?”
She made a wary face at the letters carved next to the door.
“Oh, whatever…”
But the darkness filling the surroundings scared her more, so she gritted her teeth and stepped inside.
“I can’t run away forever.”
Confirmation of the End of the Ordeal
Automatic synchronization of records in progress…
And with that small message, a quiet stillness began to flow around for a while.
- Crackle…!
Until a very small light seeped out.
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“Ugh, ugh…”
“F-Frey…? Are you awake?”
In a mysterious space where the goddesses, Ruby, and Frey were staying.
“…?”
“Frey!”
Frey opened his eyes wide and started looking around.
“Where…?”
Looking curiously at the mysterious energy floating around, he glanced at his chest with trembling eyes and fumbled.
“Am I… alive?”
He mumbled dazedly.
- Hug…!
“Ugh.”
Ruby hugged him tightly, rubbing her cheeks against him.
“R-Ruby…? I can’t breathe…”
“Shut up.”
As Frey spoke quietly, noticing her expression, Ruby replied coldly.
“You bastard… How dare you try to die in my place. I almost went mad.”
“…”
“Do you think I can live without you? Do you think I’ll be grateful if you sacrifice yourself for me? Nonsense! I’m the Demon King.”
“Sorry…”
“If you do that again, I’ll kill you. Really.”
As the cold voice mixed with sobs, Frey began to smile bitterly.
“But how did I survive?”
“The Star God intervened just before the Ordeal ended.”
Ruby began to explain, stroking Frey’s head as he asked with a curious expression.
“Thanks to that, a system error occurred just before your death and annihilation, and the Ordeal was forcibly ended.”
“I see…”
“Thanks to that, our system that should have returned is now down.”
Frey, hearing her words, brought up the ‘The Path of False Evil’ system before his eyes.
Error:999
System Recovery D-7
※ Please note that some functions of the system are deactivated. ※
“You’re right…”
Seeing it with his own eyes, Frey’s gaze wavered.
“Was the Star God this powerful…”
“Anyway, thanks to that, I could escape with you. You were on the brink of death, but you didn’t die.”
Ruby, smiling softly, caressed Frey’s cheek as he lay on the floor, then began to look puzzled.
“But it’s strange. Just a moment ago, it seemed hopeless.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Even though your death and annihilation weren’t confirmed, you were almost like a corpse.”
Ruby’s face filled with deep concern as she spoke.
“No matter what healing magic I tried, nothing worked. Honestly, I was starting to lose hope and even thought about finding a noose for myself.”
Saying that, Ruby’s eyes reddened.
“But… somehow, a miracle happened.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You opened your eyes. I don’t know what miracle allowed you to revive, but… you’re alive, and that’s what matters.”
Ruby’s face lit up with happiness as she patted Frey’s head.
“The remaining years ahead, I’ll make you happy…”
But soon, her expression began to twist.
“…Why is your soul like that, Frey?”
Even though Frey was alive, his soul was still shattered.
“Huh?”
“My soul… how is it intact?”
On the other hand, Ruby’s soul was intact.
“This is strange… this shouldn’t be…”
It was strange.
The Star God intervened, so his soul should have been restored.
But it remained as it was.
“T-this is…”
Realizing something was wrong, Ruby stood up abruptly.
- Crackle…!
“Agh…”
“Frey?”
Frey suddenly twisted his body, emitting a black aura.
“Why, why… why is this happening?”
“Gr-r-r…”
“N-No way. Demonification…?”
Ruby, examining him in panic, murmured with a horrified expression.
“Wait, Frey. I’ll figure something out…”
“…Excuse me.”
As Ruby was flustered and reached out to Frey, the Sun God, who had been observing quietly, approached them, trembling.
- Thump…!
“I have something to say.”
Then she reached out her hand to stabilize Frey’s demonification.
“Then–”
“Just the two of us, me and Frey.”
After that, a brief silence ensued.
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“Re-really… is it really nothing…?”
“Yes, really. I talked with the Sun God, and there’s no problem.”
Sometime later, in the mysterious space.
“Let’s prepare to go down. It’s time to return.”
“…Okay.”
Frey, who spoke with a bright expression beside the Sun God, then started walking towards Ruby.
“Come on, let’s… ugh.”
But he collapsed to the ground before taking a single step.
- Buzz…
His rotting left arm was transforming into that of a demonic monster.
It wasn’t just that.
Frey’s veins and skin were starting to change to that of a demonic monster.
“Whew…”
Using a somewhat complex breathing technique, Frey began to drive away the demonic monster’s energy.
“See, it’s really nothing.”
A moment later, having successfully expelled the demonification, Frey smiled brightly.
“Go down ahead. Take care of the Hero Party and my sister.”
“…”
“Join the main heroines and return to the empire.”
“…Okay!”
Seeing his expression, Ruby finally felt reassured and nodded her head with her tail wagging.
“I’ll drive away the Hero Party and call them first! You take your time to prepare!”
Leaving those words, Ruby hurriedly disappeared into the real world.
- Thud…!
At the same time, the Sun God knelt before Frey.
“I’m sorry…”
Then she crawled to his feet and prostrated herself.
“I’m sorry for being incompetent…”
“…It’s okay.”
“Sob, sob…”
Looking at the Sun God with gentle eyes, Frey reached out his hand.
“I’ll give up my divinity. I’ll become your slave right now…”
“You know that’s not right.”
As his hand touched the Sun God’s hand, she started crying and began to speak.
“But… I’m trash. I’m trash who can’t even grant your wish.”
Hearing her words, Frey bit his lip quietly, and the Sun God, still prostrated, began to tremble all over and speak.
“Your soul… is completely shattered. To the point where it’s irreparable.”
“…”
“Honestly, it’s a miracle you’re moving in this state. I have no idea how it’s possible… but you’ll soon reach your limit.”
“My limit…”
“You’ll be devoured by the demonification, or your lifespan will end… or you’ll perish with the Demon King.”
One of those three things would inevitably happen.
In other words, Frey’s fate was already sealed.
“When you die from one of those three, that’ll be the end. There’s no way to revive you…”
“Hmm.”
“I’m sorry… I’m really sorry… I’m so sorry…”
The Sun God’s tearful voice and the smoke from the Moon God’s intense smoking filled the surroundings.
“Anyway, I can still make a wish, right?”
“…Yes?”
“Then that’s good enough.”
Looking at them calmly, Frey asked, then slowly moved towards the portal the two goddesses had created.
“I’ll limit my existence to only being a hero.”
“…!!”
“When the time comes, please take care of it.”
“Wait, please!!”
“Frey, wait!! We’ll give up our divinity to share our lifespan with you…”
Ignoring the urgent calls of the two goddesses, Frey threw himself into the portal.
“…This really is a shitty game.”
With tears in his eyes, Frey whispered, a relieved smile appearing on his lips.
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A few minutes later.
“…”
The atmosphere inside the tent was heavier and gloomier than ever.
“…This really is a shitty game.”
Kania said with a lifeless voice, and the mood sank even further.
“These are the thoughts and words that the Young Master expressed.”
Inside the tent were none other than the five main heroines.
They had just learned the whole truth about the Fourth Ordeal and the zeroth cycle through Kania’s testimony, who was connected to Frey.
- Rustle…
At that moment, a sound of movement was heard, and everyone turned their dead eyes towards it.
“Hmm, hmm. I’m nervous. Hehe. How should I approach them? Friendly? No, they must have lost their memories again. So…”
As the voice, filled with excitement and somewhat familiar, reached their ears, all five girls flinched.
- Flutter…
“Hey, you lot, it may be sudden, but you have to follow this noble self.”
Appearing before them was Ruby, who was firmly convinced that Frey had fully revived.
“Hmm, hmm. I’ve taken Frey hostage. If you come quietly, he won’t get hurt.”
“…”
“W-what are you doing? Hurry up and follow me… hmm?”
As Ruby urged the unresponsive five girls, she tilted her head in confusion.
“What’s going on?”
Ferloche, biting her nails and trembling, was showing a weakened state for the first time.
Serena was like a stone statue, shedding endless tears.
Clana and Irina couldn’t meet Ruby’s eyes, holding their heads or tightly closing their eyes.
And Kania was exhausted from having to deal with all the physical pain while also telling everything she had experienced.
“G-Guys?”
Seeing them, Ruby unknowingly wore a worried expression.
“Y-you all–”
“Everyone!!”
Someone else burst into the tent.
“C-Could it be that you remembered too?”
“Do you all remember…”
As the people in the tent listened blankly to their incoherent words…
“…Sister.”
Lulu interrupted, looking at Ruby as she spoke.
“W-what?”
“You’re my sister… right?”
The five main heroines, who had learned the truth.
Along with the sub-heroines and Hero Party, who began to regain their memories in the order of their connections due to memory synchronization.
※ Please note, some functions of the system are deactivated ※
Fortunately, the disabled functions of the broken system seemed to include penalties.
System Recovery D-7
However, the deactivation was only temporary.
“No…”
Seeing the penalty and hell awaiting in a week, Ruby’s face turned pale.
“B-brother? Did I ever… what was I going to say?”
“D-Did I ever make a knight’s oath to you?”
“Ugh, ugh…”
Immediately after returning to reality with a relieved smile, Frey was surrounded by the Hero Party.
Mental Strength deterioration LV MAX
“Get away from me…”
“…?”
“You, you’re too scary…”
The Curse of Mental Weakness reactivated, causing Frey to show a panicked expression instead of a smile.
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Meanwhile, at that moment.
> Answer me. (Failed to send)
> Answer me, Hero. (Failed to send)
> I like you, Hero. (Failed to send)
> I love you, Hero. (Failed to send)
A girl sitting at the edge of a remote mountain in the Eastern Continent was continuously sending messages to Frey in the chat window.
> Hero. (Failed to send)
> Heroherohero. (Failed to send)
> Heroheroheroheroheroheroheroheroheroheroherohero (Failed to send)
Her eyes were swollen from crying, and her fingers were red from typing, but she continued to type.
> I haven’t repaid my debt yet… (Failed to send)
But as the messages failed to be sent repeatedly, her trembling eyes lost their light.
> Fool. Idiot. Cucumber head.
“…!”
However, as she continued to type, the message finally went through, and she stood up with wide eyes.
“I’m coming to repay my debt now, Hero.”
Wiping away the tears that rolled down her plump cheeks with her sleeve, the girl, Glare, began to mutter.
“…No, Frey.”
A girl’s act of gratitude had begun.