The day after the incident in the treasure room, it was the day Yuka was setting off for the human continent. Izayoi was in the basement.
In front of a gravestone, Izayoi sipped the liquor he had found the previous day. The rich, uncomplicated flavor flowed down his throat.
It had been a while, but it wasn't bad. If only he had someone to share a drink and a meal with, it would have been perfect.
He glanced at the cup, left casually in front of the gravestone, without anyone to drink from it.
"Really... she's too sharp..."
Izayoi grumbled, recalling the conversation from that morning.
"I'll be going then."
Yuka, fully prepared with the armor that Izayoi had adjusted, said. Izayoi just nodded.
"...I'd rather not leave you alone if I could."
"Are you my mother?"
Unable to resist retorting at Yuka, who had a worried expression like a mother worried about her child.
"But, well, I can't say it's impossible."
So, Yuka continued.
"――I won't forcibly forget."
With that, Yuka smiled slightly, turned her back, and started walking away. It was as if she was telling Izayoi to follow her.
Yuka seemed almost telepathic, Izayoi thought seriously. Indeed, when she said those words, he felt like she saw right through him. He sighed, downing the liquor in one go.
"Well then..."
He placed the empty cup down and faced the gravestone.
It was somewhat pathetic to be enlightened by a young girl, but it was much better than not realizing at all.
"――I won't forcibly forget."
Exactly.
Izayoi had been stubbornly trying to restart everything. To discard everything and reset it like a game, even though it was impossible.
Realizing this, Izayoi's determination solidified.
Forget the past, throw everything away. No, that's not it. He was going to draw the curtain on this unfinished tale.
Carrying the past, the mistakes, everything, he was going to settle things. That was the duty he had to fulfill, the only way Izayoi could put an end to it.
――So, there was no more hesitation.
He took off the cloak and ornaments he was wearing and placed them next to the gravestone. Instead, he donned a black robe that was beside him, and carried the prepared gold coins and sword.
"I'm going. I don't think I'll come back here... but when everything is over, I'll come to you by any means. So――"
He fluttered the robe and turned his back on the gravestone.
"――wait for me."
With a solemn resolution in his heart, Izayoi took a step forward.
Standing atop the massive castle gates, the entrance and exit of the castle, Izayoi surveyed the sprawling wilderness, specifically looking for Yuka.
It hadn't been long since she left. If he strained his eyes from this high vantage point, he should be able to find her.
After searching for Yuka for a while, Izayoi finally spotted her.
"Let's give her a little surprise."
Maybe because of the alcohol, or just a playful spirit, Izayoi decided to use a spell.
It was a spell he and Rem had created while playing hide and seek in the Demon King's castle.
――Illusion Magic.
A spell that made the user invisible or created illusions by manipulating light refraction. But it only deceived the eyes. It couldn’t hide sound or presence, and it was easily seen through by Gynos with his sharp sixth sense, and Rem, a genius of magic. Therefore, it was a near-useless spell for Izayoi.
The space around Izayoi distorted slightly due to the spell, making him invisible.
Next, he formed footholds in the air using magic. This was also a spell he and Rem had created half in jest because they wanted to fly.
But this formation only created invisible footholds in the air; it didn't allow for flying, only jumping through the air.
The original plan was to fly, but Izayoi's knowledge was limited to a high school sophomore level. He didn’t understand the principles of flight, so compressing the atmosphere to form a foothold was the limit.
After such twists and turns, the foothold formation was born.
He kicked off the invisible foothold and jumped high into the air. But he soon lost momentum and began to fall due to gravity. Before that, he formed a new foothold and jumped again.
Kick, form foothold, kick, form foothold, he repeated. Performing Illusion Magic and continuous foothold formation, something that would overwhelm an ordinary mage’s brain, was easy for him.
This was not due to the numerical experience of fighting for hundreds of years, but the gift of genuine experience.
He approached Yuka swiftly, moving freely through the air. Yuka, not even dreaming that Izayoi was rapidly approaching, was walking through the wilderness with surprisingly heavy steps.
He rushed past her like the wind, causing a whirlwind and raising the dust around.
"Uwah, sand in my eyes..."
Yuka flinched at the sudden gust. In the meantime, Izayoi revealed himself by dispelling the magic.
"Geez, what the..."
Annoyed, Yuka brushed off the sand and stopped in her tracks.
She blinked, rubbed between her eyebrows, and even pinched her cheeks. Only after doing all that did she finally realize the reality and opened her eyes wide.
"W-when did you!?"
"Well, who knows? Hehe."
"Don’t laugh, idiot!"
Yuka’s reaction didn’t disappoint, and she blushed and snapped as he smiled. Izayoi brushed her off casually and started walking. "Hey, wait a minute!"
Halting at the voice of restraint thrown at his back, Izayoi turns his head slightly to look back.
"What is it?"
"Are you alright?"
"If I wasn’t alright, I wouldn’t be here, would I?"
"But…"
Yuka, wearing an apologetic, pained expression, probably thinks she has pushed Izayoi too hard.
Really, this girl…
On Yuka’s head, who doesn’t try to meet his eyes, Izayoi places his palm.
"Don’t worry about it. Nothing would have changed if things stayed as they were. Thanks to Yuka, I was able to step forward."
"Izayoi…"
Whether his words somewhat lightened her mood, Yuka lifts her face. In response, Izayoi breaks into a grin.
"Besides, I’d worry about leaving a crybaby hero alone."
"Give me back my emotional moment!"
Yuka, who rushes at him screaming, is easily dodged by Izayoi. Irritated, she persistently chases after him.
Deciding to keep her company until she tires, Izayoi plays tag with her for a while, then suddenly stops.
"…What is this…"
A faint vibration from the ground. Izayoi turns his eyes toward its source.
"What are you doing…?"
Breathing heavily, Yuka is puzzled by Izayoi who abruptly stopped. But his attention is elsewhere. He is fixedly staring at one point— the Demon King’s castle.
"What on earth…—eh?"
Following Izayoi’s gaze, Yuka lets out a gasp of astonishment.
"Why is it crumbling…!?"
True to her words, the Demon King’s castle was on a path of destruction, crumbling with a roaring sound.
"Did you do this yourself?"
"Where would you find a Demon King who destroys his own castle?"
Denying Yuka’s suspicion flatly, Izayoi watches the falling castle.
Before the Demon King’s castle that was losing its shape with rumbling noise, Izayoi’s heart was surprisingly calm. The castle, with which he had spent hundreds of years, should hold some attachment.
However, emotions such as sadness didn’t arise, although there was a sense of deep emotion. To Izayoi, it seemed as though the castle was blessing his departure.
—Take care.
After confirming that the Demon King’s castle was swallowed by the rising dust and had completely collapsed, Izayoi starts walking again. His steps, somehow, felt lighter than before.
"How long are you going to stand there dumbfounded?"
Yuka, who was staring blankly at the pillar of dust, snaps back to her senses at Izayoi’s voice and hurries to walk beside him.
"…Is this okay?"
"What do you mean, okay? It’s already collapsed; nothing can be done."
Replying so, Yuka wears a complex expression.
"Isn’t it full of memories?"
"Well, yes. But I can’t cling to them forever. Memories aren’t something to be left in form. It’s enough to keep them here."
Saying that, Izayoi points to his chest with his thumb.
"…What’s with that? Trying to act cool even though you’re a Demon King…"
Yuka turns away, seemingly displeased. But even from her profile, it was evident that she was smiling happily. Izayoi, too, lets out a smile naturally.
Side by side, the two walk through the desolate wasteland.
▽
"I didn’t expect 'she' would intervene to this extent~. I’m a bit surprised~."
A figure that could be either a boy or a girl, with a somewhat charming face and excessively revealing attire. Topping it off are a pair of twisted horns growing from the temples and bat-like wings from the back.
This somewhat impish being, watching the scene before it with enjoyment, says,
"What should I do~? Should I erase it~?"
Voicing its thoughts joyfully, it seems to be contemplating, but in reality, its mind is already made up.
"Yeah, let’s leave it be! It seems more interesting this way, and I’m getting bored~."
In the end, it all comes down to this.
"The castle falls, and the Demon King is defeated by the hero. The story begins from there… Hehe, nice~."
Distorting its face in delight, it frolics like a child with a new toy.
"Don’t bore me, you two."
Leaving behind a chilling laughter, it disappears without a trace.