The scene quickly shifts to show Teresa, Menelapie, and Shia waving in front of numerous knights.
[He-hee… There are too many people..]
[But it’s good that we came out, right?]
[Not really…]
[Huhuh, Kaitlyn. Now that you’ve become the royal mage, you should be getting used to this.]
[Your, Your Majesty… that’s…]
[I said you can speak comfortably when it’s just us. Right, Menelapie?]
[That is correct. You are a pillar supporting this world. Shia and I believe in you, so you have nothing to be ashamed of. Hold your head up high and chest out as you move forward.]
[I’ll do my best…!]
[Good, that’s enough.]
[Oh, it’s time for the speech. Should I go this time, Menelapie?]
[Did you memorize the speech I wrote for you?]
[Of course I did.]
As Shia approached the podium, there were deafening cheers from countless humans echoing.
It wasn’t a grand and flourishing empire. They stood in front of the barracks of the legion stationed on the plains, yet the people seemed to draw strength just from the presence of the great Emperor, the Saintess, and the Black Witch.
[Waaaah!!]
[Saintess, you look great today!]
[You crazy fool!]
[Long live the Saintess!]
In this seemingly endless, dreadful battlefield, the most encouraging thing was the encouragement from the Emperor and the Saintess.
Even if the situation was dire, and they might die in the battle tomorrow, at least they could die with a smile.
My death won’t be in vain.
Someone will remember my death.
For them, for the humans, showing that their own deaths held value was the existence of Mangja Seongnyeo Shia.
And behind them, Teresa looked at Shia’s back with envy.
[……]
[What are you thinking so deeply about?]
[Please don’t mind me, Your Majesty.]
It was inevitable that the relationship between Teresa and Menelapie was not as harmonious as that of Shia.
Although Teresa hadn’t done it herself, her family, the Kaitlyn house, studied taboos and acted as the demon king’s minion. Because of this, the Emperor, Menelapie, had to purge the Kaitlyn house.
Teresa wasn’t affected since she had already left her family, but even if their relationship was tied through Shia, it remained awkward.
[….Shia is amazing…]
[Huhuh, Teresa. Shia wasn’t so confident from the start.]
[Is that so?]
[There were times she stuttered while giving speeches and even skipped dinner to memorize the speech because she couldn’t remember it, despite loving wyvern meat soup. But that was still seen as cute and holy, so I and the soldiers cheered for her, and now Shia’s confident demeanor is also the result of her hard work.]
[……]
Teresa blinked as she watched Shia, who was receiving cheers from numerous soldiers while encouraging them.
I want to be like her.
Not as the Black Witch who spreads plagues and taboos, but as someone who helps people and receives cheers… And someday, I want to stand proudly next to Shia.
As if sensing Teresa’s feelings, Menelapie chuckled and patted her shoulder.
[Theresa Kaitlyn, you are already a companion of me and Shia.]
[But I know that…]
[Shia would think the same, so don’t be too self-deprecating.]
[………]
Yeah, if it’s Shia, I guess she would…
“How nice of them.”
Seeing the three of them bonding while fighting, Yeonhwa turned her head.
Then the time flowed once more, and the scene shifted.
Days turned to seconds. People died. The Demon King’s forces surged again, and battles erupted.
Far more people died than Yeonhwa had imagined, and the battles, fierce and brutal, felt endless.
Buildings crumbled, mountains and land were reshaped, and the sky fell…
“What the hell is this?”
What lay before Yeonhwa was a world on the brink of destruction.
“Why…?”
This wasn’t the memory of her sister and Ms. Menelapie…?
The world wasn’t saved.
The Demon King was still alive.
No, it was more than alive; he was amassing even greater power.
The crumbling world, the disintegrating buildings, and the heaps of humans turned to ashes swirled like a sandstorm in the air.
Life on earth was dying, and water had dried up.
The once blue sea was now filled with the foul, dark ichor of a malicious entity, and the once radiant sun was obscured by malicious black clouds, casting darkness instead of light upon everything.
Many died. Many nations fell, and countless deaths lingered in this land.
Everything in the world was destined for destruction by the Demon King.
Elves, dwarves, dragons, beast folk—everyone perished.
All that remained was the remnants of the imperial forces, akin to defeated soldiers.
“This is nonsense…”
Yeonhwa had once accessed the consultation records of Shia and Menelapie stored in the Returnee Management Bureau.
Not everyone could access it, but the memories of returnees were processed into visuals and stored in a database through Thought-Acquisition.
To learn about Shia and Menelapie, who had been Shia’s long-time companions, Yeonhwa even utilized her authority as an S-grade Hunter to experience their stored memories directly from the management bureau.
Yet the ‘previous world’ in Shia and Menelapie’s memories did not match what Teresa was now showing.
Is this the empire…?
This crumbling world is what they call an empire?
What of the lives Shia saved?
Where have all those powerful imperial armies and knights led by Ms. Menelapie gone, filled only with refugees and exiles?
Weren’t they victorious against the Demon King?
Sister Shia was trapped in the Gongheo Gungjeon. During that time, Ms. Menelapie and Teresa bought time from the Demon King directly, and later, thanks to the sacrifices of the knights, Shia escaped from the Gongheo Gungjeon and defeated the Demon King.
That was the shared memory of Shia and Menelapie that Yeonhwa knew, and she had crossed-verified it.
“Only Teresa’s memories seem strange…”
From the very beginning, there had been something off.
In Shia and Menelapie’s memories, many racial nations fell, yet the empire remained intact, and those of different races were still alive, combining to fight against the Demon King.
Since Menelapie’s and Shia’s memories had been cross-validated, Yeonhwa firmly believed in their recollections. However, in Teresa’s memories, not only all human nations but all sentient races had perished.
The world itself was on the brink of annihilation by the Demon King.
Furthermore, the time Teresa met Shia was also suspicious.
In Shia’s memory, Shia was the one to seek Teresa out first while she was disguised as a minion of the Demon King.
But what is this? What could be happening here?
However, it was impossible for either side to have lied.
Thought-Acquisition literally pulls the memories and emotions of the subjects, allowing them to maintain objectivity even if they distort their own memories.
“For now, let’s just observe.”
Despite the world nearing destruction, people were still willing to fight.
They built makeshift towns and set up electric wires to confront the army of despair.
Like little seeds of hope blooming amid despair, the people were still igniting their fighting spirit.
Under Menelapie’s command, the knights continued to wield their worn-out swords persistently, while mana-depleted combat mages burnt their life force to maintain the front lines.
Refugees were sewing clothes and providing food and equipment to support those fighting on the battlefield.
Of course, there was a limit to this.
[Great Slash – Rose Cut]
Kwa-Kwa-Kwa-Kwa!
[Hah, hah, hah, hah…!]
Menelapie hadn’t slept for days. She stood at the front line against the Demon King’s overwhelming army, fighting tirelessly…
[Aah, ugh… hang in there, hang in there!!]
The once timid Black Witch no longer hesitated. She summoned puppets and cast all kinds of magic simultaneously, setting the Demon King’s forces ablaze.
[Miracle – Holy Destruction]!
Kuung!
And Shia, drenched in fatigue, was tearing apart the entities of malice.
Even with enormous destructive miracles erupting here and there, it seemed insufficient. The army of malice kept pouring in like ants.
The once mighty Shia…
The noble Shia, who seemed stronger than anyone, now wore a face that looked like she might collapse at any moment, causing Yeonhwa’s heart to tighten, even though she knew it was just a memory.
[The Saintess watches over us, do not retreat!]
[If not for salvation, then death!]
[Protect! If we falter here, everyone dies!]
To protect the few remaining people, the two were utterly exhausted from battling the Demon King’s forces on the front lines.
It felt like more than two weeks of continuous fighting was reflected in how time flowed in memory.
They fought, fought, and fought some more.
The people died.
And not once did the hero, the Saintess, or the Witch spare a moment to mourn the fallen.
Yet, eventually, their limit was reached.
The earth rotted, and darkness descended from the sky.
All life across all races perished.
And the complete form of the Demon King descended before them.
From the Demon King’s perspective, all he needed to do was eliminate those three.
Though they had already lost everything, Shia, Teresa, and Menelapie confronted the Demon King.
And they lost.
It took only a moment of carelessness.
No, they had been fighting an endless army without a break, so it was no wonder they were at the brink of death.
Still, they stood against the Demon King. The accumulated injuries and fatigue wilted the hero’s golden rose, and the once weak Black Witch was spiraling deeper into desperation.
The hero’s sword was severed, and the Black Witch’s army of puppets crumbled into dust.
And the last one standing was the Mangja Seongnyeo.
In her final, utmost moment, Shia managed to reach the point of overcoming the Demon King.
[Let’s go together…!]
[Ugh!? Menelapie?! Teresa!! Get awa—!!!]
But the Demon King began to annihilate everything except Shia, unleashing darkness filled with malice and hatred.
With the annihilation of all races, the very existence of the world was trembling, and it was perhaps to be expected.
The sudden cataclysm was something even Shia could not prepare for.
Shia had long depleted her Seongnyeok even before confronting the Demon King; breathing was difficult, and she was on the verge of madness due to starvation.
It was only because she continually clawed and fought for survival that she managed to remain human and wish to stay a Saintess.
Yet at that moment of doom, Shia could no longer cast miracles, and Teresa’s puppets and mana had also run out.
As she sensed death approaching, the hero rose, knowing there was no way she could succeed.
[I’m sorry.]
That was Menelapie’s last words to Shia and Teresa.
Menelapie sacrificed herself to shield Shia and Teresa from the Demon King’s attack.
As the final bloom of the golden rose wilted, the world fell back into darkness.
Only Shia and Teresa remained in that darkness.
All else in the world had faded into shadows and ashes.
But even Shia and Teresa were standing on the brink of annihilation.
Shia was on the verge of losing her sanity to hunger, wounds, sorrow, and pain, and her end was imminent.
Perhaps, in just a little while, Shia’s reason would completely fade, leaving only a monster driven mad with hunger behind.
[I’m sorry, Teresa. I’m sorry, Menelapie. I’m sorry… I’m sorry…]
[No, Shia… you did your best… you really did…]
Shia’s skin cracked slowly like glass shattering.
It was a sign that her sanity was gradually disappearing.
Now that the Demon King was gone, the world was filled only with malice and ashes, and soon Shia would become a monster consumed by hunger.
[If I am with Shia… it’s not too bad to be together until the very end…]
With a despondent smile, Teresa cried.
She wanted to make things right.
She wanted to see the world they protected with Shia someday.
Teresa wept.
It was my fault.
It’s because I hesitated.
I joined the human side too late.
I, I, I…
I have always been hesitant, indecisive.
If only I had acted a little earlier, saved even one more person…
Then, then… maybe this ending wouldn’t have happened?
[Teresa….]
[Yes, yes. Black…]
And Shia took Teresa’s crumbling hand.
Shia pressed into Teresa’s hand the necklace she always carried.
It was a white jewel created by compressing Shia’s white Seongnyeok.
[……God, oh God.]
[Shia…?]
[I’ll pray like this. I beseech you. Please, please…..]
[Shia, why…]
[Please save Teresa alone.]
[Huh?]
[So, I shall offer myself.]
Krack!!
In that moment, Shia’s tentacles burst forth, sparkling as they emerged from her spine.
Even in the darkness, the tentacles twisted and reached out into the world, while Shia’s sanity faded.
[Shia!! What are you doing!! Shia!!!]
[……]
[I’d rather die! Let me die too! I want to die with you, Shia! What are you doing!! I didn’t want this…! I don’t want to be the only one left ugly alive!!]
[Teresa…]
[No! Don’t do it. I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but you can’t do this, Shia!! You can’t!!]
And Shia smiled faintly.
In the moment when her sanity shattered, and she offered her soul to something…
Shia smiled sadly at Teresa.
That smile was undoubtedly the saddest yet happiest smile in a world teetering on the brink of destruction.
[It’s okay.]
[No, no!!]
[It’s going to be okay.]
And the moment Shia reached out to touch Teresa’s cheek…
Everything returned to square one.
[Ah…………]
“…..Where is this..?”
Yeonhwa found herself in the middle of the forest that she first saw through Teresa’s memories.
This was the forest where Shia had found Teresa hiding in a workshop, holding her hand and leading her.
As the world on the brink of annihilation halted and the crumbling as if rewinding itself, the world began to be painted green again, and the dead life returned.
Once broken ground grew a radiant civilization again, and the earth, seas, and skies shone brightly once more.
It was as if time in the world rewound in the blink of an eye.
[Ah, ah. A….AAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!]
[I, I-I, I-I!! AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! Shia, Shia, Shia! Menelapie! Shia, Menelapie!! Shia, ah, A, why, why, why are you like this!!]
[Ah, ahhhhh, ahhhhhhh!!]
[Only I, only I survived!! Only I, I alone, the most lacking and insufficient me, Ah, AAAAAAAAAAH!!!!]
She wailed.
As the sounds of her desperate cries flooded the quiet forest, startled birds flew away, and the indifferent wind brushed against Teresa’s cheek.
She wept and wept like a devil who had crawled up from hell.
After a long while of crying and mourning… night arrived once again.
Time continued to flow.
Behind Yeonhwa stood Teresa, cloaked in a purple hood.
Her eyes, devouring the darkness of the night, glowed with a deep abyss and darkness.
It was as though she passed right through Yeonhwa’s body, unaware of her presence.
Yet, Yeonhwa could not forget Teresa’s eyes hidden beneath the hood.
For Teresa’s eyes harbored a darkness and abyss deeper than despair.
[Shia….]
She remembered.
Our defeat.
Our despair.
Our disgrace.
Our deaths.
The ruin of our world.
That was why, this time, Teresa moved forward first.
Before Shia reached her hand out to her.
[This time, it will be different….]
And the world within the memory stopped.
“Not much to see, huh?”
“….!”
A voice reached Yeonhwa, confused and uncertain.
“Sometimes, I feel like the world I live in is just filled with the malicious pranks of some author, and that they deliberately want to torture us.”
The voice of Teresa echoed close by, laced with self-mocking laughter.
“You noticed, huh? You’ve got a sharper mind than Shia. Or maybe it would have been odd not to realize it after being shown so blatantly…”
Before she knew it, the voice came even closer to Yeonhwa’s ear.
“Each time I relive this time, it feels like my inner standards are completely being shattered. I was originally a noble lady, you know?”
“…………”
“Yeah, just as you guessed.”
“This is our first loop.”
