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Arna didn’t buy into that story.

Even if the hero thought he wanted to return to the original world, he didn’t necessarily have to die to do it. No matter how much he came from another world, he was still young.

He had earned the right to enjoy everything he accomplished in this world.

At the very least, shouldn’t he receive a thank-you?

Rather than some foolish person who thought he could do everything his party members could, he was the one who truly deserved all the rewards.

And…

When considering the value of something, it’s obvious that rarity is worth much more than abundance.

If sacrificing something more common can protect something rarer and more precious, then that’s a good thing.

“Arna!”

In the very last moment.

As the party predicted, the Demon King made his last desperate stand.

The body of the Demon King was killed by the might of the holy sword stronger than at any moment in history. What remained now was the mere existence of ‘evil’ itself, devoid of even a shred of reason.

Dana couldn’t find a way to stop it until the very end.

She didn’t think it was wrong. There was simply too little time. If a few more years passed, Dana would surely find a way. Even if it couldn’t be used today, someday in the distant future, when the Demon King was reborn, they might be able to fight without sacrifices.

Kalia had collapsed on the ground after taking an attack meant for the hero. Her role was sufficient. Thanks to her, the hero was able to strike down the Demon King’s body. The Saintess, right beside her, was pouring in Divine Power, so Kalia would definitely rise again.

Thus, there was no one left but Arna.

Moreover, this was something only Arna could do.

The reason elves couldn’t confront the demon race directly was that the powers of magic wielded by the demon race and elves were completely opposite. Furthermore, the number of elves was too small, and their habit of taking too long with everything made them ill-prepared to fight.

But the elves, unable to sit idly by, devised a method over the past few thousand years.

To select one exceptional elf and channel all the power of the World Tree into them.

Using the unity among elves to bet everything on one elf to confront the Demon King directly.

The reason Arna could walk freely on the demon-corrupted land and not lose her senses before demons was all thanks to that.

And if she drew all that power here…

Sure, the elves might suffer for a while. But that wouldn’t put their lives in jeopardy. They would be in a state of exhaustion for some time, and the pace at which the World Tree would grow would noticeably slow down, but their lives would not come to an end.

Someday, the World Tree would recover, and in a world without the Demon King, the elves’ territory would prosper again.

Arna executed what she had practiced over the last few months.

Just like the hero, who stood before the Demon King wielding the holy sword, Arna’s body shone brightly.

The last magic of the Demon King, which was about to engulf everything there, shrank back for a moment in the presence of that light.

“Arna…?”

A soft voice came from behind her. It was Pia, the Saintess.

Arna took a step forward.

—In that moment.

Just for that one instant, fear of death flashed through Arna’s mind.

It was death, something she hadn’t feared even once in the past 150 years. For her, the concept of death had always been infinitely distant. She was an elf, destined to live forever unless killed by someone. Now she felt for the first time that death was close right before her.

But still, it was just a moment. That fleeting instant was definitely too short to even be considered a mistake in her calculations.

……It shouldn’t have been.

Just one moment.

An instant that was hardly enough time to blink.

Because the will that had never hesitated even for that moment was right beside her, her calculations went awry.

Because of that brief hesitation—

Arna had to witness one of the most intense and beautiful lives burning away right before her eyes.

*

Though called a ‘holy sword’, it couldn’t be said to be entirely different from other swords that surrounded Divine Power.

The sword used by the esteemed Holy Knight emanated Divine Power over a long time. After countless times of accumulating Divine Power, at some point, the sword itself became imbued with it.

When the knight who wielded that sword died, it was broken down. From those pieces, only the most divinely-infused fragments were gathered.

That way, the pieces collected over hundreds of years were melted and tempered with the Divine Water to create the holy sword.

For an ordinary knight, it would just be an average sword. It might be more advantageous for slaying demons, but the amount of Divine Power required to wield it was overwhelmingly more than that of swords used by regular knights, making it only more exhausting to use.

But for a hero, overflowing with Divine Power, it was a sword of justice that could be wielded perfectly.

…However, in essence, it was not that different from other swords.

Thanks to the hero, who dived into the heart of evil, completely cloaked in Divine Power, the remaining party members were all able to survive.

However, the hero could not.

He couldn’t even leave behind a corpse.

Just the holy sword, which had been strong enough to not be consumed by the demon, clattered to the ground.

The holy sword, did not seem worthy of its name, lay melted and fused. The once finely etched patterns and the royal emblem set in the center of the blade were no longer visible.

Yet, the unimpressive melted sword shone brighter than ever.

As if it were proving that it had been held by the hero in that final moment.

“……”

Arna knelt down.

There was a loud sound as she hit the hard floor. Pain surged in.

It wasn’t just her knees. Because she was intercepting the hordes of monsters in the final battle against the Demon King, her whole body was torn and bleeding. None of those remaining could be considered unscathed.

But even all the physical pain couldn’t compare to the shock she felt in her heart.

With trembling hands, she crawled towards where the hero had stood just moments ago.

The brilliant light that had shone from Arna was now gone. Arna’s spirit was not intact enough to gather the unity of the elves anymore.

Crawling toward the holy sword, she grasped it with her trembling hands.

Despite its melted appearance, the sword felt very cold. As if it were a corpse that had turned cold.

She raised the divine sword, its edge too dull to cut even when gripped by the hands.

The Divine Power radiating from the sword embraced her gently.

Every single wound on her body was healed one by one. The pain vanished in an instant.

It was truly miraculous. No relic in the world could accomplish such a feat.

“……”

Without saying a word, she simply looked down at the holy sword in her hands when she heard someone approaching behind her.

“Arna…”

Pia’s voice called out, and soon something soft touched Arna from behind.

Pia was hugging Arna from behind.

That warmth was the most intense sensation amidst everything else Arna was feeling right now.

“Ah, aaah…”

A sound escaped from Arna’s mouth.

Others came up beside her. It was Dana and Kalia.

Like Pia, the two embraced Arna without saying anything.

“……Aaaah!”

Arna screamed.

Always so rational, always so calculating.

The one who acted as if she was looking at the world like a formula, now let her emotions take over and thrashed about.

It was the remaining three who held her up. If they hadn’t been there, surely Arna would have collapsed and rolled on the floor. She wouldn’t even have been able to think of how ridiculous and foolish that would have looked.

But even amidst that, the deepest part of her heart whispered gently.

It’s your fault.

Indeed, it was because of her.

If she hadn’t felt the fear of death in that final moment…

No, if only she could have dismissed it.

Surely there would have been a hero left here, instead of Arna.

Unintelligible screams and shouts escaped Arna’s lips again and again.

But none of those supporting her withdrew their bodies. They said nothing, simply holding her up so that she could scream to her heart’s content.

Arna tightly embraced the melted holy sword in her arms.

The light emanating from the holy sword never dimmed, gently enveloping the bodies of the remaining companions who had risked their lives to protect the hero.

Thus, their struggle came to an end.

And so, the hero died.