[One Possible Spacetime] Final Chapter

Countless gold flakes, as if alive, attacked Duncan once again.

Hmm, the attack is getting stronger and stronger.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

However, thanks to calmly observing its movements, I was able to handle it.

Actually, I was the one who was most shocked by this.

Macht is indeed very strong; his mastery of magic far surpasses mine.

But I also realized that this strength was not beyond my imagination.

Memories of my youth are truly incredible.

Just like the adults in my memory all looked like adults.

In my memory, you will always be that teacher I can never surpass.

My previous statement that "it's not that I think I can't beat you" was just bluffing.

He dodged his trident, took to the air again, and unleashed three Ordinary Attack Magic.

I never felt I had any chance of defeating you.

Ordinary Attack Magic grazed Macht again.

However, there might actually be a sliver of hope in this battle...

Hope...

Macht bent his knees slightly, squatted on the ground, and gathered his strength.

Moment.

Duncan, suspended in mid-air, only had time to gather magic and hold his staff horizontally in front of him.

However, the staff was pierced through and split in two.

He himself was also pierced through the abdomen by a trident.

Blood was everywhere.

Hmm.

This speed is comparable to that of Demons general, right? Well, they don't actually have strict job classifications over there.

Duncan looked at Macht.

Macht looked at Duncan.

Duncan slowly fell from the air, barely managing to sit up, clutching his stomach. "... I was thinking that at least we could die together."

Duncan must be having a hard time even speaking right now...

But even so, his fighting spirit remained undiminished...

"That's enough, Duncan."

"Whoosh!"

It's not offensive magic.

Frieren's silver twin tails swayed in the wind.

The Goldification light on the surrounding ground slowly faded.

In the distance, the Golden Land.

Hmm, it should be, fortified city, Weise.

"What happened... Frieren... I never thought you actually cracked my 'Diagoldze, you actually..." Teacher Ma muttered.

"Whoosh."

A swift, solidified Killing Magic pierced its chest.

Duncan lowered his right hand weakly. "This is the first time I've seen you slip up."

"Compressed Killing Magic... How is this possible? A flaw? I don't think I was careless at all..." Macht stared at his empty chest. He wasn't one to be careless in battle. "I could use such powerful magic, yet until now..."

"You save your real trump card for last, when you're absolutely certain you can win..." Duncan clutched his stomach. "That's what you taught me."

"Teacher... now we're going to die together."

Duncan clutched his stomach and looked at Macht.

Macht clutched his chest and looked at Duncan.

"The analysis is complete. The Golden Land will now return to normal."

"Amazing! So you were analyzing the magic of Diagoldze while fighting me?" Ms. Solitär laughed. "Why would you do that? Even if it affects the battle over there, it won't affect our fight either..."

"You're not expecting Weise to send some experts to help that old man, are you?"

"Could it be that..."

"You've discovered it too late, it's already over, Solitär." The elf's cool voice rang out.

She tried to defend herself, but it was too late.

Solitär's chest was pierced by the compressed Ordinary Attack Magic.

She looked up.

The figure of the purple-haired girl appeared in the air.

She was a cautious Demons, but those who were Goldification were like those who were sealed away, making them very difficult to kill, just like Qual, who was killed during the eighty years he was sealed away.

"Well done, you've been a great help." Frieren smiled.

The purple-haired girl swayed as she barely managed to land on the ground; she had only a tiny bit of magic left.

"An ultra-long-range Compressed Killing Magic shot beyond the range of magic detection... Unexpected..." Solitär's chest area began to slowly dissipate into magic power. "Fantastic... Ha, hahaha... I didn't expect this... But, to have... Demons -like end... is quite interesting..."

Frieren raised her staff. "Weren't you going to kneel down and beg for mercy?"

"Haha... do you want to hear it? If you do..." Solitär laughed.

"... No need."

The Ordinary Attack Magic dodged.

The Great Demons Solitär has fallen.

"Looks like the battle is over there too. Looks like we don't need to go help."

"Teacher, we've both perished."

Duncan fell to the ground.

Macht wore a slightly forlorn expression.

He ignored Duncan on the ground, a demon, staggering and even leaning against the wall, and began... to escape.

We need to regroup... and find a place to recover...

... Frieren is still alive.

He emerged from the alley and saw the people he had Goldification, who had already returned to their former appearance.

They had no memory of being Goldification and thought it was decades ago, conversing as if nothing had happened.

"Lord Macht! Are you alright...?" A man noticed the hole in its chest. "How did you get such a serious injury...?"

The woman next to him covered her mouth in disbelief.

"Lord Macht..."

"Lord Macht!"

"I'm fine."

"Quickly! Find the monks, find the friars! Report to the knight and the lord..."

The man behind him looked at Macht with a worried expression.

Macht ignored him and continued forward.

He leaned against the wall and walked into another alley.

... What kind of feeling is this?

Solitär...

Ugh, he's dead.

(Remember)

"Then let's begin, for the sake of the Demons..." the girl in the dress said with a smile.

"Wait," Macht called out to her.

The girl in the dress turned around, her expression a little bewildered.

"Why are you helping me?" Macht didn't believe her. "Since you think coexisting with humans is just wishful thinking..."

"I'm trying to change your mind," the girl in the dress smiled. "Even if you're uncomfortable with this fact, you can't deny that the former Demon King Lord did share your thoughts. Because the Demon King Lord's desire to coexist with humans ultimately sparked a full-scale war against them."

"To me, that war was utterly boring. It's worthless compared to the experiments of communicating with humans," she continued. "Most importantly, all of Solitär's friends, except for the Demon King Lord, perished in that war."

"Coexistence is a very dangerous idea..."

"The Demons was almost completely wiped out by humans."

"That's not an answer," Macht questioned. "If that's really what you're thinking, just kill me here. That would be far more efficient than trying to change my mind."

"It must be because I see the shadow of an old friend in you, after all, I couldn't stop the Demon King either." The girl said sincerely.

Macht looked at her expressionlessly, with disdain.

It's as if it's saying, "Are you kidding me?"

Oh, a liar?

Okay, he's not human, Solitär thought.

If it weren't for the fact that I couldn't beat you, who wouldn't want to kill you?

"Okay, okay, I lied to you." She had no choice but to confess, "I really did come here with the intention of killing you."

But I've started to fear fighting you... I'm no match for you.

"I'm not so fanatical as to risk my life for the continuation of my race, even if there's only a sliver of a chance of winning."

The girl once again made a cute praying gesture.

"No matter how much they think, no matter how strange or extreme their outcast status..."

"We are Demons after all."

"Whether it's the Demon King or Scharlach, you are no exception."

"Even though we look different, we can't escape our Demons nature."

"That's enough for you to understand at this stage." The girl lowered her eyes, revealing a slightly sad expression.

Macht remained silent.

(End of flashback)

Macht continued to hold onto the wall, taking one step at a time as he fled.

... Demons, what pathetic creatures. The moment I put on the Dominating Stone Ring, I thought I was no longer afraid of death...

If it's for feelings they can't understand, for coexistence with humanity... for waiting for "retribution"...

I would gladly lose my life...

However, in reality...

I'm desperately running away to save my life.

How am I any different from other Demons in doing this...?

Escape...

Run away...

Where can I escape to?

My magic is draining from my body uncontrollably... There's nowhere safe to recover...

I'm beyond saving...

At this point, where can I escape to...?

He stopped on the street.

Because he saw that familiar man.

The man leaning on his cane, whose statue was turned into gold decades ago.

Gluck looked at Macht.

Macht looked at Gluck.

"... Macht."

"... Yes." Macht knelt on one knee.

"Your injury?"

"... Looks like my 'karma' is about to begin." He gave a slight smile.

"... I see." The man took out a cigarette, lit it, and leaned against the wall with Macht.

He offered Macht a cigarette. "Want one?"

Macht didn't speak, he just slightly opened his mouth.

Gluck crouched down and Macht.

The two of them exhaled smoke.

"In the end, I still don't understand anything..." Macht said expressionlessly, leaning against the wall and smoking.

"... I'm sorry, but I made a promise with you that I'd accompany you to the very end, even to the very depths of hell, until you figured out those feelings." Gluck puffed on his cigarette, watching Macht's slowly dissipating body. "That was my honest opinion."

Macht remained silent for a moment.

"Of course I know, I've been dealing with you for thirty years."

"... Yeah."

Monocle; brown hair.

Duncan staggered over, leaning against the wall for support.

Did he miss a vital spot, or did Macht show mercy?

"You're really persistent..." Macht laughed.

"... It's Duncan, isn't it?" Gluck, taking a drag on his cigarette.

"If you take one more step closer..." Macht threatened Duncan, "I'll kill this man..."

"... I see, my dear friend." Gluck's eyes held a hint of sadness. "Looks like you really are leaving..."

Macht's eyes held a hint of melancholy.

Gluck patted him on the shoulder.

Why would he utter such a completely non-threatening statement?

Could it be to keep me from being sad for him? Haha.

"Duncan, please, just give him a quick death."

"Whoosh."

The strongest of the Seven Sages of Destruction, Macht, has fallen.

His body dissipated, and the Dominating Stone Ring worn for decades slowly fell to the ground with a soft sound.

"Lord Gluck! What happened...?" Several knights rushed over.

"You must cure him." Gluck helped his son-in-law, who seemed much older than him, up. "He's the hero who saved Weise."

"My dear friend... my old friend..." He looked at the body that had dissipated into mere fragments by the wall, "And this journey with you... I have truly enjoyed it."

An unfamiliar ceiling.

Duncan woke up in bed.

"... here it is?"

"This is the church in Weise," a priest answered at the door.

Duncan glanced at him.

How long did I sleep?

"Exactly three days."

"... I see."

"I'll go inform Lord Gluck that you've woken up."

Duncan looked out the window at the people coming and going.

"Looks like it wasn't a mutual destruction, I won."

"You're finally back, Weise."

Soon, the door was opened.

"Father-in-law."

"Frieren has already told me everything." Gluck sat on the edge of the bed, very close to it. "Although I told you not to come back to see me so often, I never imagined half a century would pass."

"You are the hero who saved Weise."

Duncan remained silent for a moment.

"I can't save Weise on my own."

"Lairen and Edel risked their lives to obtain Macht's memories, transferred them to Frieren, analyzed them, and deciphered them... I only managed to defeat my teacher by sheer luck with their help."

"... Indeed." Gluck closed his eyes and chuckled softly. "You certainly have a good group of friends."

Duncan looked at Gluck.

"The misdeeds of the Weise nobles will be exposed to the world, and so will mine, Duncan."

"... Is this alright, Father-in-law?"

What do you think?

"Indeed, you seem quite happy."

"You're now Court Mage can influence the nation, I'm so happy." Gluck seemed to see his righteous child in him. "After waiting so long, I've finally witnessed the day when justice is served. Nothing makes me happier than this."

"Yeah."

In the study, Lektüre covered the sleeping Duncan with a blanket.

At the banquet, Lektüre danced with Duncan.

On the high platform, Lektüre and Duncan gazed into the distance, dreaming of the future.

Lektüre was by the bedside, her hand held by Duncan.

"I always thought, 'There's always time later, there's always time later...' and that's how I kept putting it off until now..."

Duncan stood before his beloved wife's tombstone.

He was so many years late, but he still came.

"Lektüre..."

"I am coming..."

"I... I struggled ugly to the very end..."