88

Ah.

…Thank goodness.

Really, thank goodness.

"…Hera?"

Athena, staring at me with a blank expression.

She looked as if she were dreaming, then quickly closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

"…There's no way. Is this the afterlife?"

Crack—

Her absurd remark made my blood boil.

Slap!

I struck her other cheek as well, leaving red handprints on both sides of her face.

Holding her stinging cheek, Athena looked at me and let out a faint chuckle.

"…I can even feel the pain. Fascinating."

"Hey!!! Stop joking around!!"

It wasn't until I grabbed her collar and shook her roughly that Athena's expression started to change, her eyes narrowing as she began to grasp reality.

"Hera?"

"Please, get a hold of yourself!!"

Boom!!!

A massive crashing sound came from behind.

When I turned toward the noise, I saw a Carlos flying toward us with a speed that looked like he'd bury himself into the ground. But just before he landed, he spun in the air and landed gracefully on his feet.

The Carlos glanced at Athena briefly, then let out a hearty laugh and gripped his sword again.

"Haha! My friend, I'm relieved to see you're safe."

Athena stared at him with a dazed expression.

"…Carlos?"

"If you've come to your senses, hurry up. We can't hold that monster off much longer."

As expected of a Demon King.

Carlos's condition wasn't good. His body bore numerous small injuries, and his sweat-drenched face was marked with exhaustion.

"That sneaky rat… You've really annoyed me."

From the direction of the chilling voice came the Demon King, her displeasure evident as she slowly approached us.

With every step she took, the oppressive terror in the air grew stronger, crushing us under its weight.

"So fast… yet…"

The Demon King's eyes shifted momentarily—not toward us, but behind me, where Alina and Sephir stood. Her expression hardened as she spoke.

"Sephir… What are you doing there?"

"Eek?!!!"

Sephir jumped like a startled frog at the Demon King's murderous voice.

"M-m-m-m-my Lord! Th-that's not—"

Sephir's eyes darted frantically, unable to focus.

"Enough. Traitors simply need to be killed."

As the Demon King took another step forward, Sephir hid behind me, screaming.

"Eeek!!! S-s-save me!!!"

She trembled like a leaf, flailing her hands until a large dimensional portal appeared behind us.

"Hera!! W-we have to escape—!!"

"Not so fast."

Before Sephir could finish her sentence, the Demon King spread her massive wings and launched herself toward us.

But before she could reach us, the Carlos stepped in front, blocking her path.

He grabbed his sword, closed his eyes for a brief moment, and swung it swiftly into the air.

"Useless…"

The Demon King's voice trailed off as she noticed something odd.

What should have been a futile slash into empty space suddenly transformed into countless sword strikes, slicing toward her.

The Demon King instinctively raised her arms to shield her face, enduring the full brunt of the attack.

"…You. Can you manipulate space?"

The Demon King's voice was laced with anger and disbelief as she glared at the Carlos.

"Take Athena and escape. I'll follow right away."

Saying so, the Sword Saint rushed toward the Demon King.

"What?! But…!"

"Hurry! I can't hold on for long!"

With those words, the Sword Saint resumed swinging his sword at the Demon King.

While I stood there briefly with a confused expression.

"Hera, let's go."

Before I knew it, Athena, now fully healed and looking relatively fine, grabbed me and lifted me up.

"What?! But the Sword Saint…!"

"Don't worry. He has a plan."

Athena shifted her gaze to Mari.

"Hey, kid. When I give the signal, fire a light-element spell at the Demon King."

Mari scrunched up her face in clear reluctance but eventually agreed with a grimace.

"…Fine."

"We're going. Sephir, you go first."

"O-okay!! But you better follow quickly…!"

Sephir, still trembling and unable to calm down, stammered as he spoke.

When Sephir threw himself through the dimensional portal, Athena also pushed off the ground and sprinted toward it.

"You think I'll just let you escape?!"

Dodging the Sword Saint's attacks, the Demon King extended her hand toward us.

Suddenly, black thorns, dark as the abyss, rained down upon us.

"Now."

Athena gave the signal.

"Got it."

As Mari chanted her incantation, a massive pillar of light shot toward the Demon King.

"Lucete."

Athena whispered, extending her hand. Light particles coalesced in her palm, forming the shape of a sword.

Without hesitation, she immediately hurled the sword.

"Carlos! Catch the sword!"

BOOM!

As Mari's and the Demon King's magic clashed, a massive shockwave rippled through the surroundings.

Amidst the chaos, Athena's sword shot toward the Sword Saint.

"Mm!"

Catching the sword, the Sword Saint's body glowed briefly before disappearing entirely.

"We're leaving."

After confirming the Sword Saint's disappearance, Athena quickly crossed through the dimensional portal.

The moment everyone had safely crossed, Sephir wasted no time in closing the portal without a second's delay.

As the portal gradually shut, the Demon King's blazing crimson eyes were the last thing I saw, glaring directly at me.

Clap.

"What on earth were you thinking, going there?!"

"..."

Athena, her eyes wide with anger, shouted at me fiercely.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous the Demon Realm is?! What were you thinking, Hera?!"

As I stood there, stunned and speechless, Athena turned her gaze to Mari and growled.

"Mari. What were you doing instead of stopping her? Do you realize you'd be entirely responsible if anything happened to Hera?!"

"What?!"

Mari stared at Athena in disbelief.

"You're a dragon. Act with some wisdom."

That's it.

I couldn't take it anymore.

"If I were—"

"Just shut up already…!!"

I swept her legs out from under her, pushing her down hard. Athena, offering no resistance, collapsed onto the floor with a thud.

Without hesitation, I climbed on top of her, pinning her down before she could move.

"You bastard…"

"…Hera."

Athena looks up at me with a sunken expression.

"You evil woman…! You selfish woman…!"

I vented all the pent-up emotions that had accumulated over time to her.

At my vehement scolding, Athena's eyes began to shake violently.

"You're angry at me..? Are you crazy..?! Why would you crawl in there trying to die…!!"

"…Hera.."

"If you're going to discard me like that, at least you should be living well!! Who gave you the right to try to kill yourself?!!"

Startled, Athena soon shut her eyes tightly and looked up at me with a sad expression, saying.

"It's not that I discarded you. I did it for you."

"Don't spout nonsense!!"

Tears began to well up in my eyes as my words started to tremble.

"You did it for me…? Don't make such absurd claims… Did you think I would be happy if you just died like that..?"

"If you really had my best interests at heart… you should have apologized to the very end."

At my words, her pupils shook fiercely.

"Why can you only ever think of yourself from the start to the finish..?"

"…Tell me to apologize..?"

Grinding her teeth—

Athena, clearly having much to say, began shouting at me with a choked-up expression.

"I wanted to apologize too! I wanted to beg and beg until you would accept, I wanted to ask for your forgiveness. But as you kept dying day by day, what could I do?"

"How many thousands of times I pondered and stayed up nights, the only way was to let you go. Because you hate me enough to wish death upon me."

True.

She wasn't wrong.

As Athena said, I had nowhere the courage to accept her apology.

If Athena hadn't let me go, our relationship would have probably ended.

But still.

Still, I couldn't forgive her trying to commit suicide like this.

Athena, seeing my face without response, continued to speak.

"….I also want to get along well with you again. I want to love again. To start over—"

"Athena."

I cut her off midway. She looked at me, puzzled.

"We can never go back."

"…..I know."

At my words, her eyes flickered for a moment, then darkened deeply.

Yes.

Our relationship could never return to what it was.

It had shattered beyond repair.

But we wouldn't end it like this.

Whether it's a bad connection or not, I will no longer run away.

With my resolve firm, I grabbed her by the collar.

"Athena. I despise you for forcing me to part with the people I love."

"….."

"I loathe you to the point of death for bringing me down to this bottomless pit."

"…..I…"

With every word I spoke, her eyes tightly shut, as if bracing herself.

"I hate you for giving me such deep scars and then trying to run away on your own whim."

"…I see."

Athena looked at me with sorrowful eyes, as if resigned and devoid of hope.

For a moment, I gazed at her like that.

"I hate you. I resent you. Do you even understand how much pain you caused me…?"

"I'm sorry. I promise I'll stay out of your sight from now on—"

"I'm going to take revenge."

"….What?"

Athena's eyes widened in shock, as if she hadn't anticipated those words.

"I'll take revenge. For everything you've done to me…! I'll make you pay for it all."

"That's… impossib—"

"Every scar, every piece of self-loathing you gave me. I'll return it all to you."

Yes.

There was no way to mend our relationship.

But at the same time, there was no way to run away.

If that's the case…

I just had to continue this ill-fated connection.

"So, Athena, I'm asking you this."

"This time, become my slave."