CHAPTER 510: IF STORY - A WORLD WHERE ONLY THE HERO AND THE DEMON KING REMAIN (2)

0% As I dragged Frey out of the dark chamber and into the ruins of the imperial palace, I introduced him to its new appearance.

“How do you like it, Hero? The new look of the palace? I decorate it myself.”

“...”

He had grown eerily silent.

“I mean, a pristine and orderly palace is nice and all, but don’t you think there’s a certain charm to it like this? Broken, covered in blood...”

Strolling through the corridors of the palace with my dear hero—it was absolutely delightful.

Watching his once noble and resolute expression slowly crumble?

That was even more enjoyable.

— Throb...!

“...Mmh.”

If only it weren’t for this splitting headache, everything would be perfect.

I had never experienced something like this before.

Why now, of all times, in the middle of such a wonderful moment?

Maybe I was just getting too excited?

Every time I looked at Frey, my heart pounded uncontrollably.

That had to be the reason.

“Ta-da! What do you think?”

“...!”

Alright, I need to calm down and stay focused.

Because the moment I’ve been waiting for—the best moment—is happening right now.

“This place...”

“It’s the Empire! Thanks to the curse fueled by Clana’s heart, it will burn forever.”

I transported us straight to the heart of the capital, now a living hell, and showed Frey the sight.

“The people... what happened to them...?”

“The Empire is completely ablaze. Naturally, they all perished.”

“No... That... that can’t be...”

“They couldn’t even escape. Every single one of them burned alive.”

Of course, the truth was different.

The citizens had safely escaped to another continent just before the curse consumed the Empire.

All thanks to Irina and Ferloche, who had sacrificed their own lives in the final moments to make that escape possible.

“Children, the elderly, the sick—no exceptions.”

“Ugh... Ugh...”

“Their screams echoed across the Empire for minutes... how do you like them?”

But facts didn’t matter.

What I needed right now was not truth but a carefully crafted illusion.

After all, in this world, the only living beings left were just him and me.

“Uuuuuugh...”

Frey, caught in my illusion magic, clutched his ears and trembled, tears spilling down his face.

“Stop... Please stop...”

“You’re making quite the pained expression.”

“Please... I beg you... stop this...”

And then, he began to plead.

“This... I can’t watch this anymore...”

“Aww, how adorable.”

A part of me wondered if he was breaking too quickly, but well—adorable was adorable.

“I don’t want to see it anymore...”

“Oh no, that won’t do, Frey.”

I leaned in closer, whispering sweetly.

“We’re just getting started.”

If I wanted to see the falling of the star—something I had longed for all my life—I couldn’t stop here.

“Our next destination is the Western Continent.”

“No... I don’t want to...”

“Hold on tight, okay?”

I cradled him in my arms, gently running my fingers through his hair as I whispered.

“If you slip, you might get hurt again... just like last time.”

— Throb...!

“...Kh?”

Another sharp pain shot through my skull.

But I decided to ignore it.

“...Hehe.”

Just holding him—watching my precious, falling star so close to breaking—was enough to make any pain disappear.

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“This was once the Western Continent. Now it’s nothing more than a giant chunk of ice.”

“The... The whole Western Continent...?”

“You can probably guess who lost control and caused this, right?”

Our intimate world tour continued.

I was making sure to prove to Frey, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he and I were the only ones left in this world.

“This is where the Eastern Continent used to be.”

“...What?”

“They resisted too much, so I just sank the whole thing beneath the sea.”

Honestly, it was easier than I expected.

“And here... was the final sanctuary of the last survivors.”

“...”

“As you can see, I went ahead and severed each of their heads, one by one.”

To my surprise, Frey wasn’t resisting.

Instead, he quietly watched the ruins of the world from my embrace.

“After getting rid of all of them, my servants started to feel like an eyesore, too.”

“...No way...”

“Oh? Did you think I was lying before?”

For a hero whose sole purpose in life was to protect everything, this sight must have been even more agonizing than I had anticipated.

“In this paradise meant for just the two of us, there’s no place for them.”

“...”

“No other life forms are allowed. Just you and me, Frey. That’s enough.”

The brilliant star was plummeting—faster than I had expected.

“So, tell me... after touring this ruined world, how do you feel?”

With the tour complete, we returned to the shattered imperial throne room.

“By now, you must have realized it, haven’t you? This isn’t an illusion—it’s all real...”

I reached out to the silent Frey, who had collapsed to the floor, a smirk curling on my lips.

“...What are you doing?”

Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, Frey lunged at me.

I blinked in confusion.

He knew everything was already over.

So why was he acting like this?

I didn’t understand.

—Thud...!

Curious to see what he was trying to do, I let him move freely.

He grabbed a jagged stone from who-knows-where and, with all his might, shoved it into my chest.

—Crunch...!

Well, not that it would kill me.

But at least he had succeeded in making me feel a tiny bit of pain.

“...Hehe.”

But what truly fascinated me was his eyes.

Eyes that had been gradually losing their light were now blazing with fury, as if making one final desperate stand.

Like the hellish flames that would burn this empire for eternity.

“Die...”

“You’re so precious, Frey.”

His face twisted into a monstrous snarl as he swung the stone at me again and again, his own hand splitting open with each impact.

“...Mm, but you’re being a bit rough.”

“Shut up...”

“Couldn’t you be a little gentler?”

“I said shut up...”

His hatred, his rage, his devotion—they all seeped into me through the blood pouring from my chest.

“...Why...”

As I stood still, basking in this feeling of fullness, Frey suddenly collapsed, breathing heavily.

“...Why...?”

He sank to his knees, staring up at me, exhausted and defeated.

“Why did you do all this...?”

Ah, he finally asked.

No one had ever asked me that before.

The Demon King’s Army simply followed me, assuming whatever they wanted about my goals.

The world saw me as nothing more than an absolute evil that had to be destroyed.

No one ever bothered to ask why—

No one except for him.

“Why did you do this?”

I was glad to finally tell him.

“It’s simple.”

I just wanted to see a star fall.

“I was bored.”

“...What?”

“A peaceful world was so dull, I was going mad. So I destroyed it.”

As I whispered and smiled, Frey’s face drained of all color.

“All of this... just because you were bored...?”

“Well, that was my old reason.”

Before he could react, I reached out and gently covered his lips, my gaze locking onto his silver eyes.

“At first, I never intended to destroy the world completely.”

“Then why...”

“But then, I met a certain boy, and my goal changed.”

“...Nngh.”

“A boy with the purest, kindest soul in the world. The moment I laid eyes on you, I knew.”

It was fate.

The one being who could kill me—the Demon King.

And that very being, the hero, turned out to be the one thing I had always been searching for—

A perfectly pure soul.

“I wanted to own you.”

“...Mmfh.”

“I wanted to break you.”

As I leaned over him, pressing him down beneath me, Frey’s body stiffened.

“I wanted to conquer you. I wanted to devour you. I wanted to make you mine.”

Something inside him snapped as he realized the cause of all this destruction—

Was himself.

“...What should I even call this feeling I have for you?”

The sight of him, breaking apart, was so adorable, I couldn’t help myself.

I sank my teeth into his neck.

—Nibble...

“...”

Even though I bit down gently, he didn’t react.

As I pulled him into my embrace, I whispered softly,

“You know... maybe I’m just a weird demon.”

“...”

“Demons aren’t supposed to feel love.”

His hollow, lifeless eyes, paradoxically, had never shone more beautifully.

“I love you, Hero.”

It was a moment of pure bliss—so devastatingly beautiful.

“Let’s stay here forever, just the two of us, in this ruined world.”

At last, I understood what this strange feeling toward him was.

—Slide...

Then, as if accepting his fate, Frey silently wrapped his arms around my waist.

The brightest star, once radiant beyond compare—

Had finally fallen, wretched and broken.

It was the most perfect moment of my life.

—Throb...!

“Ah—!?”

And yet—

All of a sudden, the entire world shattered.

“M-My head... Agh, AAAAAH—!”

A searing pain, unlike anything I had ever felt before, ripped through me—

And just like that, my consciousness was consumed by darkness.

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Hey, brat.

Look at those stars in the sky.

They twinkle just like your eyes.

Huh? You say they’ll disappear when morning comes?

Brat, you’re such a fool.

In the daylight, they’re just hidden from view—those stars are always there.

Then what about the stars that fall and vanish?

You saw them with your own eyes?

Silly thing.

Those are shooting stars.

Oh? You don’t believe me?

Now you’re even about to cry.

Honestly, you little crybaby...

Sigh.

Don’t worry too much.

Even if you ever fall—

I will become the jewel that catches you.

So, let’s stay together forever.

You, my star.

And I, your ruby.

No matter what happens—

Never forget.

Never...

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“Ah.”

With a gasp, Ruby jolted awake, cold sweat dripping down her pale face as her trembling hands wiped it away.

“...Frey.”

At last, she found his hand, her fingers quivering as she began to speak.

“I had... a nightmare.”

“...”

“In it, I followed the prophecy and became the Demon King... I forgot you, forgot all of them... and destroyed the world.”

Her uneasy gaze turned toward the man lying beside her.

“That kind of horrible—“

And then, in the next moment—

“A nightmare... I...”

Her words trailed off, her expression freezing over.

“Haha... ha...”

Frey, still drenched in blood, lay there with a broken smile.

“...”

All around them, the world continued to slowly fade away.

“...You’re joking, right?”

The ruins of the shattered imperial palace.

The crimson-stained remnants of a battlefield.

“...Frey?”

The moment Ruby’s memories returned—

It was the moment the star she so dearly loved had finally fallen.