The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned

35. Will (4)

I recall the memories of that day.

The day the sky turned crimson.

I remember the warmth that grew cold as it lay in my arms.

“Why…?”

The battle against the demon army.

Realizing there was no chance of victory in the overwhelmingly unfavorable battle, I told my comrades to leave me and flee.

It wasn’t a grand act worthy of being called a noble sacrifice.

After all, I was an immortal being who would soon revive even if I died.

If my mere life could overcome the crisis, I judged it to be the right thing to do.

Of course, if I were captured by the demon army, it wouldn’t just end with my ‘life’; terrible torture and pain would follow.

But, so what?

Just because it hurts doesn’t mean you die.

Just because it’s painful doesn’t mean it ends.

Even if my body is torn to shreds, set ablaze, or scattered into dust.

I do not die.

Therefore.

I had no complaints about being left alone to act as bait.

Rather, I thought it was an extremely wise and intelligent choice.

Until Iris, who I thought had fled, returned to save me.

“Why… why did you do it! Why did you come back!”

I cried out, looking at Iris, who was bleeding and gasping for breath.

Iris, who I thought had escaped with the other comrades, had returned without my knowledge and used a ‘miracle’ at the cost of her own life.

To save my life, no one else’s.

Why, why, why, why, why.

Questions filled my mind.

She came back to save my life?

How could that be a reasonable action?

To me, life was like the pebbles scattered by the riverside.

Countless, and even if they disappeared, no one would care, something that could be discarded at any time.

That was the value of my life.

But.

Sacrificing one’s life just to obtain such a worthless pebble?

Why make such a meaningless, utterly foolish choice?

“Heh, hehe.”

Gently stroking my tear-streaked cheek, she struggled to speak.

“Thank… goodness.”

“Thank goodness? For what? What on earth is there to be thankful for?”

There was nothing to be thankful for.

She would lose her life due to the aftereffects of using the miracle, humanity would lose the hope known as the ‘Saintess,’ and the demon army would rampage even more fiercely.

All that was gained in return was my single life.

Out of thousands, tens of thousands of deaths, only one life remained.

How could one say ‘thank goodness’ in such a situation?

But.

Even so.

“Really… thank… goodness.”

She said this with a bright smile.

As if she had no regrets, no remorse.

So peacefully.

She closed her eyes.

* * *

A space shrouded in a violet curtain.

Within the barrier where even the terrible screams and wails that echoed through the school could not be heard.

The Saintess of the Seven Stars, with her light pink hair, was glaring fiercely at the man before her, gasping for breath.

“…You b*stard.”

A harsh curse that one would never expect from the Saintess’s mouth.

“Oh my, no matter what, isn’t it a bit much to say that to a professor?”

The man with dark brown hair and a gentle impression smiled brightly as he looked at the panting Saintess.

“Shut up! How can someone like you be a professor?!”

“Haha. Please don’t use such strong words.”

Morpheus shrugged with a sardonic smile.

“Doesn’t it make you want to torment me even more?”

Snap.

As Morpheus’s hand flicked, a purple halo wrapped around her body.

“Ahhh!”

A scream burst forth.

Iris felt a pain as if her entire body was being crushed and fell to one knee.

“You’ve been noisy since earlier.”

Tsk tsk. Morpheus clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Can’t you be quiet like Cadet Camilla over there?”

Where Morpheus’s gaze fell, Camilla, the orphanage children, and Father Antonio lay on the floor with dazed eyes, as if drugged.

“Ah, ugh.”

Iris glared fiercely at Morpheus, enduring the pain that constricted her entire body.

In an instant.

Iris’s eyes, glaring at Morpheus, turned rainbow-colored, and the purple halo that had wrapped around her body dissipated into smoke.

“Hah, hah!”

Freed from the halo, Iris panted heavily.

“Ha. To neutralize my magic just by ‘seeing’ it… Indeed, the power of the Seven Eyes is more and more astonishing.”

A deep light of greed settled in Morpheus’s eyes.

“You can’t even imagine how much effort I’ve put into obtaining those eyes.”

“Ha, was that effort releasing a demon at the festival?”

“No. This incident wasn’t originally part of my plan. I don’t like barbaric methods.”

Morpheus sighed and shook his head.

“But because of some unknown meddler, the plan went awry. I feel truly sorry for Cadet Iris.”

“…Sorry?”

“Originally, I intended to take them slowly, without any pain, so that even she wouldn’t know the cause.”

A plan that had been prepared with great care over a long time was suddenly ruined by the presence of an unexpected intruder.

“In the end, I had no choice but to take the Seven Eyes by somewhat rough means.”

“Rough means…?”

“Physical extraction.”

Morpheus spoke the cruelest words with his usual gentle smile.

Iris’s face turned pale.

“Are you making a sound right now?”

“Hmm? Was it difficult to understand? I meant that I would take Iris candidate’s eyeballs. Here, I even brought the tools.”

What Morpheus took out of his pocket was a round metal object shaped like a spoon.

The metal object, which looked like a tool for scooping ice cream from a container, had a sharp blade at the end.

“If you just stick this in and scoop it out, you can cleanly extract the eyeball.”

“……”

“Compared to absorbing power magically, there is a high risk that some of the power contained in the ‘Seven Eyes’ will be lost… but given the situation, there’s no other choice.”

Absorbing the power of the ‘Seven Eyes’ completely is important.

But more important is erasing the ‘Seven Eyes’ itself from this world.

“The power you possess is too much of an obstacle to our wish.”

“…Wish?”

“Haha. When it comes to a demon’s wish, there’s only one, isn’t there?”

The resurrection of the demon sealed by the five great heroes 500 years ago.

“If his seal is broken, the damned heroes… and your detestable Seven Gods will all disappear from this world.”

Morpheus spread his arms with an excited expression, as if intoxicated.

“How about it? Do you understand now why I’m going through all this trouble to get your eyes?”

“…Crazy b*stard.”

Iris glared at Morpheus with fierce eyes.

“Well, you can curse all you want. It won’t change anything anyway.”

Morpheus moved his steps with a gentle smile on his lips.

“Oh, don’t come!”

“It would be better for you to stay still. If you make any clumsy resistance…”

Snap.

Once again, Morpheus snapped his fingers.

A purple magic spread widely, covering the bodies of the children and Camilla lying on the floor like a blanket.

“Because the precious people of Iris candidate will die.”

“You, you b*stard! If you lay a finger on Camilla and the kids! I won’t let you…”

“Haha. It’s a joke, a joke. Don’t get so angry.”

Morpheus chuckled, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

“A joke… you say?”

“If you resist, your loved ones will die. Doesn’t that sound like something a cheap villain would say? I just said it because the situation seemed fitting, so don’t take it to heart.”

“……”

“Even if you don’t resist, everyone here will die anyway. Ah, of course. That includes Cadet Iris.”

“What are you saying right now…?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Morpheus smiled gently with his eyes.

“Didn’t you learn in school? ‘Kill the demons without mercy.’ If that’s the case, the opposite must be true as well.”

If the enemy of a hero is a demon, then the enemy of a demon is a hero.

“Wait a minute! Then the children have nothing to do with this!”

“Hmm? Now that you mention it, that’s true. But, well, is there really a need to bother with such details?”

Morpheus chuckled and took a step forward.

“Just being unlucky enough to be here today is reason enough to die, isn’t it?”

“……”

Iris bit her lip, her face pale.

The ‘demons’ she had only learned about through books until now.

The vivid malice of a demon in human disguise was choking her.

“Ah, ugh.”

Click, click, click.

Her body trembled uncontrollably with fear that seeped into her heart like poison.

‘Scared.’

She was revered by many as a saint, but behind the name of the saint was just a 20-year-old woman who hadn’t even graduated from school yet.

“Help, someone please…”

Why was it?

In such a moment, it wasn’t the face of a professor that came to mind first, but that of a fellow cadet.

“Haha. I understand how you feel, but no one will come to help. The barrier surrounding this area is literally made by sacrificing lives.”

Morpheus looked back at the purple curtain with a satisfied smile.

“Sacrificing lives? No way…”

“Hmm. About 200 people, perhaps? Each and every one of them was a cherished subordinate… It’s a pity.”

Morpheus shrugged nonchalantly.

“You… you’re insane.”

“Compared to the value of the seven eyes, that level of sacrifice is nothing.”

To obtain the eyes blessed by the seven gods, he could offer even more than this.

“Well then, shall we begin?”

Morpheus roughly grabbed Iris’s chin.

“If you struggle, it’ll hurt more, so try to endure it, okay?”

As the tip of the metal, sharpened like a blade, approached the corner of her eye.

Thud.

Like dropping water on a calm lakeside, ripples spread through the surrounding purple veil.

“Hmm? Did someone find the barrier?”

But what would it matter if they did?

“The ‘Veil of Illusions’ requires at least an hour to dispel, even if all the professors of the Magic Department work together…”

“An hour, my foot.”

Boom!

A white lightning bolt shot through the purple veil, striking Morpheus.

“Ugh!”

Morpheus swallowed a groan and hastily backed away.

His hand, which had been holding the metal, was half severed and spewing blood.

“…What!”

Morpheus’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Standing before Iris, as if to protect her, was a cadet with dark gray hair.

“Finally found you, b*stard.”

Deep green eyes glared at him.

“So, you were here?”

Dale twisted his lips into a fierce smile as he stepped towards Morpheus… no, Ashtaroth.