[Who are you?]
[Good evening. The girl is Teresa Kaitlyn.]
[Uh, um… I don’t know who you are, but hi!]
Shia, whom I met again, was still bright and cheerful.
It would be reasonable to be cautious upon seeing the Black Witch appearing out of the blue at this hour. However, Shia approached Teresa without a hint of wariness.
Even if you don’t remember me, that’s okay.
The girl will remember you.
So it’s alright.
So it’s alright.
[Let’s start over.]
[Huh, what?]
[You… are…]
[It’s nothing. I’m just the Black Witch who came to help you and His Majesty fight against the Demon King.]
Thus, Teresa looked up at the sky and, while gazing at the world, started to plan again.
The painting she attempted to create of the night—using it as a canvas—was tremendously clumsy.
Yet Teresa began to paint the picture she desired again, even if her strokes were a chaotic mess.
Sometimes she received help from Shia, and other times from Menelapie.
A picture where we are all together.
A picture where we stand, complete, happy, and peacefully.
It’s okay even if you don’t remember me.
It’s okay even if you look at me suspiciously.
Of course, reversing time isn’t as simple as it sounds.
Even Teresa, who was called the most brilliant Black Witch, experienced the nonsensical miracle of time reversing, but she couldn’t even begin to guess how it was possible. What had been preserved were only Teresa’s own soul and memories.
And those memories, since Teresa was human, didn’t consist of every minute detail from the previous loop.
She sometimes suffered setbacks by forgetting crucial events and wars.
Moreover, at the moment when time reversed, all the magic she had achieved, the magical theories she had created, and all the powerful and rare dolls ceased to exist.
But that’s okay.
At least, it wasn’t too hard to recreate something she had already accomplished once.
The Void Palace, which she couldn’t complete in the previous world, she would somehow finish this time.
She squeezed her memories and manufactured shadow dolls, which she could only make five years after the war in the previous world, immediately upon her return to aid in the war.
She brought forth the high-level magic she had produced in the previous world, leading her side to victory in the war. She identified the traits and weaknesses of the Demon King’s minions, turning the unfavorable tide of battle.
This time, more people survived than in the previous world.
Thus, Teresa…
[We’re the only ones left…]
Shia, Menelapie, and Teresa herself…
The three of them survived.
Even though the Demon King was a perilous and terrifying existence just by being, they defeated him.
However, all that remained above the world turned to black ash was just the three of them.
No nation, no trees, no sky, no sea, no humans, no life… remained.
They defeated the Demon King and survived, but they couldn’t save the world.
[There’s no one here.]
[………..]
[No one was saved after all.]
Shia-chan, you saved me.
Why do you say no one could be saved?
Ah, I see.
This was a failure.
Ah, it’s so sad.
In this world of ashes, we stand.
Treading upon the dust that was once humanity, we drift aimlessly, waiting to die beneath the crumbling ruins and buildings.
Time passing by wears us down, and as darkness descends upon the world, we can no longer hold each other’s hands.
Fighting to die.
Battling to save.
Struggling and writhing to no end…!
And this is the outcome!
Gone are the splendid Empire and Royal Palace.
No crowd grateful for our saviors among us.
[It wasn’t my wish to bathe in riches or to eternally rule over a world we saved.]
We just wanted…
After we defeated the Demon King…
[We just wanted to live happily together….]
That was all we wanted…
I’m sorry, Shia-chan.
Did I fail again…?
‘Everything will be alright.’
No, it won’t.
Shia-chan didn’t send me back to meet such an ending.
[What the girl wanted was not this…!]
[Tereza?]
I looked at Shia-chan, who was brushing the dust off my shoulder.
Meeting her innocent gaze felt as if she were forgiving me for not saving the world.
[Shia-chan, will you believe me?]
[…I will always believe in you.]
[… Teresa.]
Even the perceptive His Majesty doesn’t yet know what I’m planning.
However, he might have sensed that something was off, as he is secretly clutching the sword.
Ah, that’s understandable.
In this loop, I suddenly appeared whimsically looking for Shia-chan and His Majesty.
It must be bewildering.
After all, His Majesty is still trusting me but also suspicious at the same time.
He’s smart, unlike Shia-chan… so, well, I expected that might happen.
I embraced Shia-chan tightly.
[Shia-chan, everything will be alright.]
You told me, didn’t you?
‘Everything will be alright.’
I’ll return those words to you just as they are.
[This ending doesn’t suit us.]
[We, Menelapie, Shia-chan, deserve a better ending.]
[So… please believe in me.]
The pain is only temporary.
Gag!
[Ah…]
[Shia!!]
And then I pulled out Shia-chan’s heart.
The necklace that the Shia-chan from the first world gave me shone brightly.
The conditions have been met.
We can turn back again.
[Tereza…!]
Ah, no.
I feel like throwing up.
I feel like crying.
Why does this hurt more than pulling out Shia-chan’s heart?
It shouldn’t be like this… Shia-chan must be hurting so, so much more…
The moment I confronted Shia-chan’s face, I couldn’t think of anything.
I’m sorry.
I’m sorry.
I’m sorry.
I’m sorry, Shia-chan…
[B]
[B]
[B]
[TERESA KAITLYN!!!!!!!!!!!!]
His Majesty seems to despise me.
That’s understandable.
I pulled out Shia-chan’s heart.
Normally, Shia-chan could regenerate even with her heart pulled out, but what I did wasn’t just a physical act; I extracted her soul with dark mana making regeneration impossible… I did an irreversible deed.
You look like you’re in a lot of pain.
You look like you’re suffering greatly.
Yet what hurt me even more is the expression on Shia-chan’s face as if she had been betrayed.
But this is the only way.
Menelapie’s sword was approaching to behead me from behind, but that wasn’t what mattered now.
[This time, it will be different.]
[This time, I will do it differently, Shia-chan.]
So…
So…
I’m sorry, I’m sorry…
[Menelapie, stop…]
[What… Shia?! What’s going on?]
[It’s okay… It’s all okay.]
[…I’m sorry.]
Please don’t forgive me.
[Tereza.]
I don’t even deserve to cry.
[Tereza?]
I’ve already harmed you, after all.
[I’ll forgive you.]
[Ah…]
That was the last time I saw Shia-chan’s face.
I will not call her the Shia-chan of the second loop.
That would make it sound like a mass-produced item.
To me, she is always Shia-chan.
Shia-chan.
Shia-chan.
Why do you forgive me?
Why do you forgive me, the failing me…
No, from Shia-chan’s perspective, I’m the betrayer who suddenly pulled out her heart…
Why do you forgive me?
Ah, I don’t know. I don’t know.
But…
[This time, this time it will really be different.]
It’s okay even if you don’t remember me.
The girl will remember you.
So it’s okay.
This time, even more thoroughly.
More thoroughly…!
Not just for Shia-chan and Menelapie, let’s save others too.
Let’s leave behind a world that is truly, fully happy.
So…
[Starting with the traitor, let’s kill them all.]
This iteration, let’s start with my parents.
They went insane with taboo research and turned their back on humanity, selling their souls to the Demon King, didn’t they?
Now they haven’t crossed the taboo yet, but… still, they must die.
Those who shall be saved must be saved.
And those who must die shall die.
Alright, let’s kill them.
For the world.
For us.
For Shia-chan.
The third world…
[No, no… It’s meaningless to have only a few knights and refugees survive. To save the world, it must be complete, more thoroughly, more certainly…!]
The 14th world…
[No, no, no. Shia-chan, Shia-chan. Why are you doing this? Menelapie could withstand that attack! No, don’t take that hit for me! You can’t!]
[This isn’t it. This isn’t it!]
[You damned traitors!!! AAAGH!! Why did you betray me then?! We were so close! We were so close!!!]
The 35th world…
[More thoroughly. More thoroughly. Let’s kill all the traitors… Let’s erase all villages that will turn into minions of the Demon King! Shall we spread plagues in the cities that will serve the Demon King? Yeah, that’s a good idea. Let’s make a plague that can even devour the Demon King!]
[Shia-chan, just stay there. I’ll handle everything.]
[Menelapie, I’m done with this. Shia is safe, so could you back off? How do I know your name? You don’t need to know.]
[Yeah, if it’s the corpses of high elves, I can make strong dolls…!]
[Hehe, yeah. That works! Before Shia fights the Demon King, I’ll kill the Demon King! Let’s uproot it!!!]
[Ah, why? Why are you attacking me, Shia-chan?]
[Ah, ah, ah. I’m not… I’m not that… I was just trying to save the world, I wanted to gift you that world…!]
[Shia-chan, Shia-chan, Shia-chan?]
[Ah……]
[I’m sorry. It seems this isn’t it.]
[This isn’t how it was supposed to go…]
The 66th…
[Ugh, ha-ha-ha… Ha-ha..]
[Ugh, h-h-h, Hahaha, my Shia-chan. My Shia. My Shia…]
The 000th…
[Shia, Shia? Why? Why? This time I’ve saved you, right? Why are you consuming Menelapie?]
[Shia?]
[Damn this hunger!! AAAGH! Give Shia back! I want her back! I want her back, you starlight debris!!!!]
[AAAGH!!! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! Don’t do this, Shia-chan! Pull yourself together! Shia….!!!]
The OOOOth world…
[Have you forgotten me? Are you peaceful without me? Are you happy now that you don’t meet me?]
Ah, ah…
How mournful.
“I saved you.”
Even if it’s an incomplete salvation.
I saved you.
And yet you don’t even know that. What I say is nothing but a madman’s ramblings and foul muck.
I saved the world. I saved you.
And that surpassed dozens, hundreds.
And thus I’m exhausted.
With hundreds of imperfect saves, is it too much to ask to think during the thousandth loop that it’s okay to destroy you?
I tried to save you.
No, I wanted to save Shia.
So, thus, thus, is it weird to think that once, I might just want to obliterate you?
[“Is the girl… is the girl lacking something?”]
[“The girl has saved you… your people many times…”]
[“I tried to save more, but it just didn’t go well.”]
[“Ugh, he-he… he-he.. Regardless, I want to be with you…”]
[“But… but why did it come to this?”]
Ah, this won’t do?
But I’m also struggling.
I’m exhausted.
Really…
I’m so very tired.
I feel insane.
Maybe I’ve been insane all along?
Perhaps the regression or the loops never even happened?
You know, Shia.
You know, Menelapie.
You know, you guys.
Answer me.
Is anyone there?
[“You said, you’d always be with me…”]
Why am I alone?
[“Shia, Shia, Shia. You said it would be alright.” ]
In a world where only the indifferent moonlight shines, I stand alone.
Now, the darkness, which has become as familiar to me as my own limbs, descends. I was on the verge of giving up.
[“I, I, I saved you…”]
[Ah, how sorrowful. Oh, how mournful. Oh, my heart is on fire.]
Salvation became despair.
Questions became doubts.
Why did you save me?
Shia, Shia.
Why did you save me?
[Why did you save the most lacking and foolish version of me, Shia?]
I, I…
Didn’t save you.
I said I would, yet in the end, I couldn’t save you.
I promised, to be together, yet couldn’t keep it.
Huff, heh, hahahaha…
So let’s do it again.
Let’s do it again.
Again…
Again…
Let’s do it again!!!!
No, let’s not do it again.
I’m tired of this.
I’m tired!!
It’s horrifying. I want to vomit. I’m nauseous. I feel like dying. It hurts. I hate this. I’m tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired. Tired.
I want to give up on everything.
So let it be.
This time, let’s cause destruction.
Instead of the Demon King, I shall.
In whichever world, I became the Demon King.
Why did I become the Demon King?
When did I become the Demon King?
I can’t even remember.
Ahahahahahaha.
Is killing people enjoyable?
What about spreading plagues?
Neither is enjoyable.
Neither is fulfilling.
It’s slightly different though.
[Why did you save me—!!!!!!!]
Ah, I’m tired.
So tired.
[…..]
[Let me ask you, Saint of the Dead! Why did you curse me with salvation?! Why did you revive me? Why did you throw me into a world worse than hell? Why did you tell me to save you?!!!!]
[Me?]
With blood all over her, Shia tilted her head, still cute.
And I crawled desperately on the ground and shouted at her.
It’s only natural for the Saint of the Dead to kill the Demon King.
And in this world, the Demon King is me?
How this happened, I can’t remember.
I forgot the cause-and-effect.
Ah, how sorrowful.
Shia, I’m tired.
Please end this here.
So you can kill me!
No matter if you kill me, the world will still fall.
Plagues have defiled the land. The skies have become polluted, and I’ve torn apart the boundaries of dimensions, so soon the world will collapse.
So let’s end it here.
Let’s end it together.
The cold season passing.
The painful time passing.
The cruel wind brushing against my fingertips is tiresome too.
I’m sorry for failing to uphold promises.
I’m sorry. Always sorry.
So I want to give up now.
I’m exhausted.
[Well, I’m not sure about any of it, but….]
[……..]
[Hold my hand.]
[……..What?]
[Hold my hand.]
Why?
In this world, I am the Demon King.
I AM the Demon King!
I spread plagues and taboos.
This world, which I’ve seen countless times, this one where I have thrown into the abyss of hell this time, it’s me.
So you should kill me!
[Why are you reaching out your hand to a Demon King—!!!]
[………]
[You’ve always been like this! You foolish, silly Saint!!! No matter what I did, you always smiled so lightly. Even when I betrayed you, even when I pulled out your heart, you just smiled at me. And you forgave me. So casually! Why is that?! Because you feel pity for me? Because I anger you so greatly? No, I’m not even worthy of your anger! No matter how many times I repeat this cycle, no matter how many times I die, I can’t figure out why, AAAAAH!!!]
[Is there a need for a reason when a person saves another?]
What?
[……Am I… a person?]
[Yeah, a really pretty person.]
[Right now, I’m the Demon King. I’m evil. I’m a Malicious Entity!!! What nonsense are you spouting?!]
[The Demon King I know doesn’t cry.]
Ah, the warmth is so comforting.
A warmth I’ve felt thousands of times but always feels fresh and exhilarating.
The fragments of the Demon King engraved in my body no longer hurt.
The agony that tears at my soul is no longer felt.
[The Demon King I know doesn’t feel sadness.]
[………….]
[The Demon King I know doesn’t suffer from guilt.]
[……]
[So don’t cry.]
Regardless of her admonition, tears always flowed.
Every time Shia said that.
I could never keep her words.
I just cried.
I always cried.
[And you’ve done this more than once, haven’t you?]
Ah, Shia can see through lies.
I’ve spoken too much… too much, and Shia caught on.
[………]
[Regardless of what choices I made in the past, and how you will feel in the future… I don’t know about myself right now.]
Why… why would you forgive me?
Why did you extend your hand to me, who has fallen to this state?
Why forgive me once more?
Why offer your hand again?
[But it will be alright.]
Shall we try to fix things together?
[Oh, God.]
Please, don’t cry.
[I’ll dedicate myself.]
For there are no eternally separations.
There is no eternal sorrow.
There is no eternal pain.
[Please save Teresa.]
I will save you across time…
Now, now I will truly save you.
Just as you saved me.
I will save you…
Thank you, Shia.
Even in the OOOOth world…
No, even if the world is overturned millions of times… more than that…
Ah, I see now. You didn’t curse me with a blessing.
Shia, I understand now.
No, I’ve probably known all along but pretended not to… You never asked me to save the world.
It was simply Shia…
Being naive and foolish, as always… You just wanted to save me.
So…
I also…
Selfishly…
“I’ll save you my way.”
“I’ll save us my way.”
“The world, the people, this land, the Elves, the Dwarves, the Dragons, the forests, the nameless people, everything, and Menelapie, and Shia. All the salvation you wish for.”
I won’t give up.
Thank you.
