Episode 76

Even the loyalty thought to be eternal found its end, and the days of glory were left in the past as she wished to depart from his side.

The lingering attachment born from not being able to forget the intensity of that day led her to this place, freeing her from the shackles that had always tormented her.

Because she had lived in the void for an unimaginable, eons-long time that humans dare not even dream of.

The passion of just one day, formed by chance, felt dazzling.

“…Merilyn.”

“Just like this.”

Thus, it was something I couldn’t easily shake off.

Even though she thought she was used to enduring and waiting for a long time, anticipating that someone else would fill his place…

Because she had endured for a long time, the desire to act on her urges had been building more and more.

“There’s no way I can send you back. For you…”

“Merilyn, I…”

“I left everything to be with you. My status, loyalty, even my past, everything.”

“……”

“…I know you tried to forget me for my sake.”

He also took the brief encounter of just a day or two seriously, which she could keenly feel through the time they spent together today.

That he had felt the emptiness of her absence and sought a new companion as well.

“But just once…”

So, she didn’t want to let it end like this.

If he still had lingering feelings for her, she didn’t want to give up more.

Even if she wasn’t the first, she wanted to be closer rather than just watching from afar.

“Even if it’s the last time, could you please do as I wish?”

“Merilyn.”

“If I can be slightly fulfilled… then, maybe I could give up.”

Reluctantly, her grip tightened as she became desperate.

The man, facing this desperation, relaxed his body and closed his eyes after a moment of conflict.

Maintaining silence without any response was a sign of compliance with the situation.

Even if he chose not to act on his own will, it was a resolution to calmly accept whatever she would do.

“…Thank you for indulging my insistence.”

He had a steadfast nature in maintaining his heart. Yet his mind was considerate enough not to push her away.

She came to like him for these qualities.

The beating of her heart at this moment surely stemmed from a feeling that could be called love.

No matter how impossible such feelings were said to be for a demon, the fact that her heart raced just by facing him couldn’t be expressed as anything other than love.

“Thank you, truly.”

So, she felt no hesitation in placing her hand on his lips.

After stroking his lips, she did not hesitate to press her own lips against his.

‘It’s warm.’

Her first kiss in life.

This first was felt more intensely than when she first became aware of her desires.

Realizing the ecstasy of not just waiting for someone else to fulfill it but seizing it with her own hands.

Thump.

Yes, to seize…

Now that the days of just watching were over, it was time to be true to her feelings and seize what she desired.

Thump, thump.

Such instincts became a whisper, urging herself on at this moment.

“Uuuuhng, ungh. Hnnngh……!”

The one she desired was right before her at this very moment.

Why suppress such overwhelming emotions and continue to endure?

“Haah, Merilyn. Just wait… Hngh!”

Staying true to her emotions, she covered their connected lips as if layering them, pushing forward step by step.

Advancing beyond the light illuminating the dark alley until his body almost hit the wall… But it wasn’t enough.

After enduring for so long, it was impossible for her to let go of this reward she had sought and grasped by herself.

“Unngh, haah, heugh…♥”

Deepening the kiss, parting those lips, and inserting her tongue, she continued with an intense French kiss.

As she felt the warmth within her seep into him, the saliva from his mouth grew thicker, transmitting it to her.

It was the moment when she knew that he was also experiencing ecstasy from this act.

“I’m sorry, Woo Hyo-sung. I know this shouldn’t be happening…”

“M-Meri…”

“I… I can’t hold back anymore.”

She forcefully held down his flailing hands with hers, dragging his hand to her chest.

Surely to stimulate the desire he might harbor through the fabric.

“Haah, haah… uh, haah♥”

Twisting his wrist, forcibly drawing out strength, and thereafter, simply indulging in her desires without a thought.

Casting aside worries about reality, concerns about the future, and all other trivial matters.

She hoped that he would also immerse himself endlessly in feeling her at this moment.

“Woo Hyo-sung, I like you, Woo Hyo-sung…♡”

As she passionately escalated their interaction, she became immersed in the growing pleasure, whispering her desires faithfully into his ear.

“So please don’t resist.”

Don’t resist me…

If you have even a little lingering affection for me.

“Please… don’t leave me.”

The power of madness stemming from that wish permeated his body, seizing his mind and suppressing any reflexive resistance.

Something dangerous. Even he, with his strong mental strength, must have vaguely sensed it.

“M-Merilyn, I…”

But the faint whispers of desperate pleas during the moment engulfed by forced pleasure…

Were causing him to lose any sense of resistance more than the pleasure he was feeling.

Thud.

His reason was paralyzed by the magic that slipped through his momentary hesitation, his body began to slump as his strength ebbed away.

Maybe he could have enjoyed more time with her, but choosing to lose consciousness might be his final act of defiance, showing he couldn’t prioritize himself.

“Woo Hyo-sung, I’m sorry.”

But for her, that was now of no concern.

The demon, realizing she had what she desired in her hands, didn’t hold back her flowing tears as she leaned her head against his.

Her lips were wet with tears, born from passion and unquenched even by the cold night air, soaked in her happiness.

“I thought I could give up, but it seems impossible now.”

Yes, she was happier now than ever before.

And that made her afraid.

Even the simple daily life she had spent with him today, she foresaw that it would eventually break in this chaotic world…

Before returning to his side, she took some time to wander the world.

She needed the assurance that it was okay to go back to his side.

Because she thought it necessary to verify over a long time that her feelings weren’t just a momentary impulse.

“It’s a chaotic world. Humans, and even demons, are swept away to no avail.”

She witnessed signs of collapse in the Demon King’s army and encountered uncontrollable demons leaving the ranks to cause unforeseen problems.

She saw the Furry Tribe, considered enemies of humanity, facing annihilation by the undead legion.

She even thought of venturing beyond the continent, but the calamities there were so severe that she couldn’t dare to step foot.

If the Demon King could stop it, she wouldn’t have left his side in the first place.

And that realization brought her to enlightenment.

The time spent on this land, filled with more chaos than any other dimension she had tread, was the last amusement allowed to her before its impending doom.

“There’s no place I could return to now. There’s only one place I could move forward to.”

Lost in such memories, the demon, wandering aimlessly, realized she had arrived at a place she shared with the precious person in her arms.

A slum area where a criminal organization had been situated until a few months ago.

But after angering a mage, all of them were annihilated, turning it into a ghost town as even the squatters fled.

“With you.”

This place, enveloped only in serene silence, seemed sufficient for a rest before moving on.

Realizing that, the demon entered the abandoned ruins, laid him down on an old bed that existed there, and stroked his face.

“I thought moving forward with you was the only path allowed for me, having left everything behind.”

Unaware and asleep.

His face, illuminated by the moonlit night, seemed so endearingly lovely.

“I long for you.”

If allowed, she wanted to gaze at it for a lifetime.

“You, who freed me from the chains that should have bound me forever…”

Just like this, not leaving her.

To the extent that she even wished he would never awaken, being consumed by her magic.

“…But this, too, will eventually end as just a fleeting dream, won’t it?”

Knowing that even this was an unrealistic wish in this chaotic world, a sense of urgency began to overwhelm her heart.

Even the Demon King’s army, having lost its center, was now facing imminent collapse.

Many other groups were fighting to protect themselves, but eventually, a moment of resignation to the ever-growing disaster would come.

“Woo Hyo-sung, just like this.”

That realization was enough to link even the barely grasped happiness to a fear that it wouldn’t last forever.

“Just like this, without thinking of anything, shall we do whatever our hearts desire?”

If the magic from her madness, born from such impulses, seeped into his body, he wouldn’t be able to think of anything thereafter.

If consumed by madness, there was no need to think or suffer.

No matter how tough and painful her life had been, its end would be intense and delightful, without despair or regret…

Like being intoxicated, losing reason and indulging in pleasure might be ‘the happiest ending’ they could have in this bleak world.

Crackle.

Her fingertips halted, sensing a disconcerting feeling as she became enveloped in such impulses.

Although Merilyn sensed a presence outside the abandoned house, raising her guard, she calmly pulled her cloak over her head.

“…It seems we have an uninvited guest.”

Was it a prior visitor to this place or a pursuer?

Either way, if it was something threatening them both, she couldn’t just end it by running away.

“Don’t worry, Woo Hyo-sung. I’ll finish this quickly and return.”

After kissing the forehead of her dear one, Merilyn quietly left his side and exited the abandoned house.

When she moved onto the road, a sense of bleakness overcame her, and she suddenly felt a slight vibration at the spot where she stood.

Was it an earthquake?

Buzz.

No, this was a physical reaction caused by magic.

Feeling a sense of danger, Merilyn quickly moved back, and as the ground lit up, a form began to materialize.

Shatter!

Sharp crystal blades sprung from the ground. Had she remained there, her body would have been split in two.

But the danger didn’t end there.

Boom!

A beam of light rushed down from the center of the dark night sky.

Like meteors falling, the attacks hit where she stood, causing an explosion, and dirt and dust spread in all directions.

Whoever it was, they weren’t attacking with a half-hearted intention.

Crackle!

The moment she realized it and stepped back, crystal formations surged up from where she had just been standing.

Merilyn grimaced, biting her lip as she sensed each magical reaction around her.

‘This is not an ambush. It’s a trap…’

A trap set by someone ahead of time.

A trap not triggered by stepping on it but set to activate at a predetermined time—a ‘time-delayed’ trap.

A trap that could only be set with the ‘prediction’ that the targeted individual would be at that spot at a specific time.

“…This is a warning.”

As she realized this, she began to sense a faint light from the other side of the dark street.

“If you don’t back off from here, I’ll attack you with the intent to kill.”

A woman holding a magic-imbued crystal ball threatened her.

Sensing that the presence was far from naive, Merilyn asked her in a tense voice.

“…What are you aiming for?”

Preferably, she wanted to avoid a fight for his sake.

So, if the other party had a demand, she thought to comply broadly and leave the place.

“Get away from that person.”

What came out of her mouth was, ironically, aimed at the very person she most wanted to protect.

Yes, it must be so.

In this area, where a criminal organization disappeared overnight, and even the squatters ran away in fear, there was only one person worth mentioning other than herself.

“…I don’t understand. Could you say that again?”

“Get away from my man!!”

The moment her shout echoed in response to the doubtful question…

Merilyn’s face hardened, but then she began to smile as she recognized the face illuminated by the light of the crystal ball.

“Ah, I see. You are…”

Airi Haven.

The one chosen by the man she wished to spend the rest of her life with to be his eternal companion in her stead.

“It seems a lot has happened in my absence.”

The demon was confronted with such a being.

Facing this revelation, the demon’s eyes shone clearer than any constellation in the sky.

“Can you handle what you just said?”

It was this woman.

The one trying to steal her ‘last’ moment.