Episode 155
"Hmm..."
The Imperial Palace located at the heart of the Empire.
And at the very top floor of that Imperial Palace, the throne.
There, Ruby sat with her legs crossed, wearing a bored expression, before slowly leaning her body forward.
"Are you tired?"
As Ruby asked casually while examining Frey in that leaned position, Frey let out a hollow laugh.
"Well, I suppose you would be. You must have cut down precious people to get here."
"........."
"Wait, looking at the absence of blood on your clothes... it seems you only subdued them all?"
Ruby, who had been staring blankly at such a Frey.
"You really are amusing."
Eventually said with an arrogant smile.
"So... I find myself wanting to make you mine after all."
"......."
At those words, Frey glared at Ruby with a cold expression.
However, Ruby merely looked down at him, finding even such a reaction from Frey as cute as a child throwing a tantrum.
"This is my final proposal, Frey."
The silence flowing between the two, one with cold eyes and the other with loving eyes staring at each other for a while.
"Become mine."
Was broken once again by Ruby, who had opened her eyes half-closed.
"Why do you make such an expression? Perhaps, having awakened the Hero's Armament, you think I'm foolish for acting so arrogantly?"
When Frey showed no reaction even after the silence was broken, Ruby casually threw out a question.
"True, if you're thinking that... I can understand why you wouldn't take my proposal seriously."
Of course, Frey didn't even answer that question, but Ruby continued speaking without caring, swirling her wine glass.
"Aren't you curious? Why I didn't fight together with those guys and waited for you on the top floor."
"...Did you have them guard in your stead, waiting for more Hypocrite Points to accumulate."
"That's right, exactly that."
At Frey finally speaking up, she.
Smiled brightly.
[There is a notification from the Hypocrite Point Investment System.]
[The main body's awakening level has reached 100%.]
[The final scenario has been unlocked.]
She looked at the system window that had floated before her eyes just a few minutes ago.
[Main Quest: The Final Battle]
- Kill or corrupt the Hero.
Reward: Descent of the Demon God.
"Then I suppose... I should show you my true form."
The Demon King, who had been looking at the translucent window floating in the air with a satisfied expression for a while, suddenly began to wrap ruby-colored demonic energy around her body.
- Gooooooo...
After that fleeting moment passed.
When the ruby-colored energy enveloping the Demon King's body disappeared, her body had clearly changed.
"How is it."
Discarding the cute and innocent appearance of young Ruby.
The Demon King, revealing her true form with a sensual body and mature appearance, spoke while tilting her head slightly.
"Does it pique your interest?"
However, Frey still showed no reaction.
"...Surely you don't think you can defeat me?"
At that, the Demon King asked with an expression of disbelief.
"Though you've awakened the Hero's Armament, you're still merely human."
"Is that so?"
"It is. And I am the strongest Demon King, incomparable even to the previous Demon King, so strong that even the gods cannot handle me carelessly."
Looking at Frey who still didn't remove his soulless expression.
"If it was until just now when the 'Special System' preventing attacks on the other party was active, you might have had a chance."
The Demon King continued with an arrogant voice.
"But now that the awakening is complete and that system has been neutralized, even with the Hero's Armament awakened, you have no chance of winning."
"...Hm."
"Between you who has only just obtained transcendent power, and me who has been using transcendent power freely all along but was only briefly restricted... who do you think has a higher probability of winning?"
Even after saying all that, Frey still showed no reaction.
The Demon King, looking at him with a frustrated expression, raised her voice slightly.
"To summarize, the difference in experience is overwhelmingly absolute."
"Well, I'm not really sure."
When Frey continued to play dumb to the end, the Demon King frowned.
"Honestly speaking, I liked you, Frey."
Eventually, she began to make her final proposal.
"In my boring lifetime, there was no one as stimulating as you."
"Stimulating?"
"Everything was just boring. A boring life where everyone would freeze in fear upon seeing me, and those who dared to oppose me would be torn apart with just a flick of my finger. Such a life was truly tedious."
The Demon King, watching Frey's expression gradually distort at those words.
"So watching someone less than an ant crawling and squirming all the way up here... was truly stimulating."
"......."
"So, I came to want to possess such a you."
She continued, smacking her lips.
"Therefore, become a doll that grovels beneath me and wails. If you do, at least your life will be..."
"That's right, you did all this just because you wanted to see something stimulating."
Frey, cutting off the Demon King's words, began to speak in a cold voice.
"A boring and peaceful daily life. You felt sick of such things... so you overturned the world."
"So, will you accept my proposal? If you do..."
"I, throughout countless regressions, wanted so desperately... a boring and peaceful daily life, but hated it."
Before long, Frey, who lowered his voice to mutter so, began to emit terrible killing intent in all directions.
"I would have preferred not to inflict wounds, but."
The Demon King made a cold expression.
"Well, one of the conditions to end 'The Final Battle' is corrupting you..."
She dipped her finger slightly into the wine glass filled with wine and spoke.
"...After breaking you, I'll rape you until your mind collapses and turn you into a doll."
- Fwoosh!!
And then, the next moment.
Wine droplets flicked by the Demon King's finger grazed past Frey's face.
"You can't even dodge that, yet you want to fight me... how truly pitiful."
As blood began to flow from Frey's cheek, the Demon King sneered while levitating the wine glass in the air.
"Your courage is admirable, but unfortunately, I'm confident I can defeat you with just this wine glass."
"How?"
"Like this."
At Frey's question, the Demon King, wearing a confident smile.
- BOOM!!!
Threw the wine glass at Frey at an unbelievable speed.
- CLANG!!
However.
"...Hm?"
Frey simply nodded his head, avoiding the attack all too simply.
"You always started your attacks by throwing the wine glass. It was always the same."
He who had evaded an attack impossible for human reflexes to respond to.
"By the way, what did you say earlier?"
As the Demon King began to look at him with a slightly flustered expression.
"Did you say the difference in experience was overwhelming?"
Frey whispered with a bloodthirsty expression.
"Do you really think so?"
.
- RUMBLE!! BOOM!!
The Imperial forces and sub-heroines on the ground stopped fighting and looked up at the sky.
"The sun is... shaking."
Just as the Holy Knight, who had been fighting at the very front, said, the sun floating in the sky was shaking unstably.
"That's because the Final Battle has begun."
To the people looking at that sight anxiously.
Perloche, who had escaped the Imperial Palace with the main heroines and was continuing the fight against the combat executives, began to convey information.
"If the Hero wins the battle, the sun will regain stability, and if the Demon King Frey wins, the sun will lose its light."
At those words, people's expressions darkened.
"But don't worry, how strong is Ruby-nim?"
When Perloche soothed them with a devout smile, people began to chime in.
"R-right, Ruby wouldn't lose."
"That's right, since she succeeded in 'awakening'... she wouldn't be defeated."
"True, trash like Frey couldn't possibly defeat the Hero who carries our wishes."
Although the words they spoke were hopeful.
"".........""
The expressions they made after finishing their words were considerably colored with tension.
- Gooooooo...
Because, from the already destroyed top floor of the Imperial Palace.
An enormous amount of ruby-colored and silver-colored mixed energy, enough to overwhelm just by looking at it, was spreading in all directions.
"Mmh, ugh..."
"Just a little... just a little more strength."
That powerful energy, rumored to have been sighted not only in the Southern Continent where the Sunrise Empire would be located in the future, but also in the Western and Eastern Continents.
Upward, it split the sky and went far beyond, its end immeasurable.
Downward, it was shattering the Sunrise Imperial Palace that had various ancient magics cast upon it.
Sideways, even with the five main heroines and sub-heroines exerting all their power to emit energy, it could only be temporarily blocked.
"Just hold on a little more... surely Ruby-nim will..."
But even in such a situation, the people led by Perloche were desperately blocking the energy.
"...save the world."
Because they firmly believed that their Hero, Ruby, would save the world.
"So everyone, just a little more...!"
At that moment when Perloche raised her voice while looking at the people wearing pained expressions.
- CRASH!!!
A roar rang out from the top floor of the Imperial Palace.
Then someone, began to fall downward.
"F-finally the Hero has done..."
Seeing that sight, people began to wear hopeful expressions thinking Ruby had finally defeated Frey, but.
".....!!!"
Before long, they froze upon confirming who the person who fell to the ground at a spot slightly away from them was.
"Cough, cough... ugh..."
The fallen person was not Frey.
It was Ruby, who had returned to the form of a human girl at some point.
"Why is that, Ruby? You were the one who said I had no chance."
"H-how...? Why on earth did I...?"
At Frey, who was relatively unharmed, looking down at her coldly.
"It's simple."
"...Guh!"
Frey, who had been looking down at her coldly, began to whisper while stomping on her stomach with all his might.
"Among the countless rounds, I spent quite a lot of time trying to defeat you without the Hero's Armament."
"What, what did you say?"
"Whether it was frustration from countless failures or whether I went mad, I don't remember well. But the memories of challenging you countless times with not even the Hero's Armament but just a single sword in hand are vivid."
"What on earth are you saying... ugh!"
Frey, who stomped even harder on Ruby's stomach as she tried to ask a question with a bewildered expression at the incomprehensible words, cutting off her speech.
"Eventually, I realized the fact that without the 'Hero's Armament', I could neither injure nor kill you, and gave up... but it wasn't without gain."
He continued speaking with a terrifying expression enough to overwhelm just by looking at it.
"Ah... ugh..."
"By the time I stopped fighting you, there were times I unilaterally beat you for three days straight."
The Demon King, who had never allowed an attack thanks to her overwhelming strength.
And thanks to that, the Demon King who had no immunity to pain.
Frey, continuing to speak while trampling her as painfully as possible.
"To summarize, the difference in experience is overwhelmingly absolute."
Raising the Hero's sword high while stepping on the Demon King, he returned the exact words she had said.
"H-help me!"
Then the Demon King with a pale expression.
No, the girl Ruby.
"I need your strength!"
Carefully gathering mana in her hand to use some kind of magic.
She began to request help from the heroines far away.
"H-Hero-nim!!"
"Get away from the Hero-nim!! You damn bastard!!"
"I'm coming, just hold on a little..."
Then the girls, who had left behind the already fallen combat executives, quickly ran to where they were or began launching attacks at Frey, but.
- SHAAAAAH...!
At that moment.
A barrier created from star magic that Frey used spread around him and Ruby.
"W-wait. Frey, I have something to say..."
In that situation, Ruby, who was sweating cold sweat, opened her mouth with an urgent expression, but.
- THUD...!
"...Hah!"
At that moment, Frey's sword pierced her heart.
"""............"""
And, a cold silence began to flow through the garden of the Imperial Palace.