That Peace Is Now A Distant Memory

I walked toward Lyle.

“Ugh… guh…”

There was no sign of other Heroes approaching. This time, it was truly one-on-one. Ludmila seemed unable to move; I could deal with her later. First—I settle things with Lyle.

“Hiieee! Help me…”

Lyle backed away, Laevateinn in hand.

“I-I was possessed…! That wasn’t my true self, believe me…!”

“Begging for your life now?”

“Master, please!”

Lyle’s face twisted—a weak, fragile expression, as if he were about to burst into tears. Looking at me, pleading for forgiveness—.

“…No.”

I unleashed a mana shockwave. Lyle was sent flying over ten meters, bouncing across the ground multiple times. His right arm was bent at a grotesque angle.

“Guuuuu, oooooh…!”

“Next is the left arm.”

I stepped toward him and spoke quietly. I unleashed another shockwave.

“Gyaaaaaah…!”

The blast sent him tumbling, and his left arm snapped just like his right. Laevateinn fell to the side, stuck in the earth. He could no longer even hold a Miracle Armament.

“Next, your legs.”

“N-no… noooo! I-I don’t want to dieeeeee!”

Lyle screamed, his face a mess of tears and snot, driven by either pain or terror.

“You killed me. Now, I kill you—”

In that instant, a black radiance flooded the area.

“What…!?”

“This is…!?”

The voices of confusion came from both Lyle and me simultaneously. An eerie pressure settled over the surroundings. A lukewarm sweat dripped down my body.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Lyle howled. Something glowing black rose from his chest. A small metal fragment. Emitting purple sparks, that shard was releasing a staggering amount of magical power. It wasn’t a Miracle Armament. Rather, it had a sinister aura similar to that of a demon. An aura I remembered from somewhere. Right, it was…

“A fragment of Radis…!?”

The aura was identical to the Demon Lord’s symbolic blade. Why did Lyle have it?

“Gaaaaaah… aaaaaaaah…!”

Lyle roared again, and the fragment was absorbed into the Laevateinn in his hand.

“Hahahaha! What is this?! I can feel power surging through me!”

Lyle cried out in delight and stood up. His broken arms had somehow returned to normal, and he gripped his sword firmly.

“I don’t know what’s happening, but this is overwhelming power! Master… no, Fried! I don’t feel like I’d lose to you now!”

So, he’s obtained the power of a Demon Lord’s blade fragment.

“Howl, Laevateinn—lend me your strength to slay the Demon Lord.”

Lyle swung his sword back. The crimson blade was dyed jet black, and small, fang-like blades sprouted from various parts of it. For a holy weapon, it now radiated an aura far too malevolent.

“Now, burn to ash! Demon Lord Fried!”

A torrent of flames spiraled toward me.

“Aqua Wall.”

I created a wall of water.

“…!?”

In that moment, an anomaly occurred. Just by casting the spell, I felt an intense wave of exhaustion. The flaming slash collided with the wall—and tore through it with ease.

“This power—”

It was clearly different from the previous Laevateinn.

“Water Bullet.”

I fired bullets of water toward the flaming slash. The water bullets collided with the fire and both were extinguished.

“Tch, his spell activation is fast as expected—”

Lyle clicked his tongue and charged with his sword.

“Then, in close combat!”

“Come, Radis!”

I summoned my own blade. The Demon Lord’s sword against a Miracle Armament housing a fragment of that very sword—. Our blades clashed, scattering violent sparks.

“Haaaaaaaaah!”

With a roar of spirit, Lyle swung his greatsword. His power and speed had increased; his slashes were far sharper than ever before. I parried with my blade, slowly being pushed back.

“Guh…!?”

There was that sensation again. Just by clashing blades, my physical and magical energy were being rapidly drained. The consumption was far too extreme—.

“Thunder Arrow!”

I fired an arrow of lightning while our blades remained locked.

“Useless!”

Lyle blew it away with a slash. As I thought, the power is dropping—!? Is it because he holds a fragment of the Demon Lord’s blade?

“Look at you! What happened to that momentum from before?!”

Lyle laughed as he swung his sword.

“Aren’t you getting weaker, Demon Lord? Then hurry up and fall! By my—Blade of Justice!”

Faced with an ever-intensifying storm of slashes, I was forced completely onto the defensive. At this rate, I wouldn’t be able to counter-attack and would be overwhelmed.

—The Demon Lord’s power doesn’t manifest its full strength against him. In that case, what do I do? I stared at his Laevateinn. If I could do something about that sword housing the fragment—.

I leapt back a great distance.

“You’re not escaping!”

Lyle lunged at me. I reached into my coat.

“? What are you—”

Facing a puzzled Lyle, I leveled my gun. A gunshot and a roar.

“Guh…!?”

Lyle let out a small cry of pain. This wasn’t the Demon Lord’s power. It was just a physical gunshot. That shot knocked Laevateinn out of Lyle’s hand.

“D-dammit…!”

As he panicked, I unleashed a mana shockwave.

‘Hey, Master. That’s really cool.’

‘The gun? It can’t deliver a deciding blow against demons, though.’

‘I want one too!’

‘Haha, it’s hard for a kid to handle. When you’re a bit older, I’ll give it to you.’

“…When you were a child, you begged for this gun once, didn’t you?”

I looked down at the fallen Lyle. Perhaps because Laevateinn had left his hand, the sensation of my strength draining had vanished.

“It is cool, isn’t it? A gun…”

Lyle gave a slight laugh through his pained breaths.

“It wasn’t very practical, so I never ended up taking it…”

Is he remembering those days? No, I might be the only one drowning in sentimentality. The time I spent with him gave me a great deal of peace. But that is an illusion that passed into the distant past long ago.

I cut off my sentimentality and looked down at Lyle.

“I will give you two punishments.”

I summoned the spell list and searched for the most appropriate spell to use against Lyle.

“P-punishment…?” Lyle whispered fearfully.

“Guilty Pain.”

I chanted it with a sigh.

“Ah…!? Guah, gah… aaaaah…! Aaaaaaaah!”

Instantly, Lyle’s face twisted in agony.

“I-it hurts… it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts IT HURTS!”

Guilty Pain. The person afflicted is assaulted by a ceaseless, excruciating pain. The effect lasts a lifetime. They aren’t even permitted to have their mind break from the agony; it continues until the moment their life ends—.

“I cannot make you feel the pain in my heart, but you will live your life carrying this pain. From here on, forever… understood?”

“Damn youuuu, Frieddddd…! It hurts, it hurts so bad…! Agugugugugugugugu…! Ooooooooh!”

Lyle glared at me with bloodshot eyes.

“If you attempt to tell anyone my true identity, that pain will increase hundreds or thousands of times over. I’ve set it that way. The same applies if you try to write it on paper. You’d better be careful.”

“I’ll kill you… you bastard, one day, for sure… I’m not the kind of man to end in a place like this…”

“It’s over, everything. As long as you have that pain, you won’t even be able to lead a normal daily life.”

I spoke coldly.

“And, with the next punishment, I will crush your ambition. For eternity—”