“I Know What They’ve Done”
Princess Merian called Tiana and her companions for an urgent meeting.
“Hero Sion met a tragic end in battle against the Demon King, and I know the truth of it all.”
“…!”
Tiana held her breath.
As expected, they had been discovered.
Or perhaps, everything had been uncovered.
The fact that Tiana and the other three caused Zion to explode and buried the Demon King with him…
“Princess, we don’t understand what you’re insinuating…”
“Silence!”
In response to Tiana’s evasive answer, Merian shouted.
The gentle and meek woman was displaying incredible anger.
“How dare you do that to my beloved Sion… How dare you…!”
“Please, calm down. The princess is mistaken…”
“Shut up!”
Merian’s gaze no longer reflected anger but rather a desire to kill.
“I will announce this immediately at the World Union meeting. You are not the heroes who defeated the Demon King. You are criminals who killed the hero!”
They could no longer hide the fact that they killed Sion.
However, they must avoid at all costs being held accountable.
They should emphasize the achievement that “Tiana and her companions saved the world by defeating the Demon King.”
“The worst part is that they didn’t even do that right, as the Demon King is still alive.”
“Eh?”
Tiana was astonished at Merian’s words.
“Yesterday, our scouts near the Demon King’s Kingdom reported detecting a unique magical energy signal attributed to the Demon King.”
As feared… Katrea’s thoughts were confirmed; the Demon King Vilarzord was still alive.
The battle is not over.
The world still needs the hero’s power.
However, they took the life of the hero, Sion.
“So, was everything we did in vain…?!”
“Don’t you understand? You murdered the hero. And that represents a major setback in the battle against the Demon King’s army. It’s a loss for all humanity.”
“Ugh…”
Tiana couldn’t articulate a response.
(This is bad. Bad, bad, bad, bad…)
Her heart is filled with anxiety.
“However, only the princess knows about this…”
Tiana suddenly changed her expression.
She felt a dark emotion growing deep within her.
It was a desire to kill.
With a metallic sound, Tiana unsheathed her sword.
“W-Wait, Tiana-san! What are you doing?!”
“You’re going too far, Tiana!”
“This is bad…”
Her companions tried to stop her.
“We’ve come this far… there’s no other option!”
Tiana shouted.
“If the princess accuses us, we’ll all be criminals. Here and now, we’ll kill her!”
“W-Wait!”
Merian stepped back.
“I won’t let you escape.”
Tiana approached with the sword in hand.
“Ku…! [Dragon Summoning]!”
Merian shouted.
A ring on her right hand emitted a dazzling light.
“That ring… A dragon summoning magical tool?!”
As expected of royalty, she seemed to have a rare defensive magical device.
*Woosh*
The wall behind collapsed, and three enormous dragons appeared to protect Merian from the other side.
“[Fire Explosion]”
Efemia cast a high-level fire spell and took down one of the dragons.
Two more remained…
“Fly swiftly!”
Merian mounted one of them.
The dragon spread its wings and soared.
“I won’t let her escape!”
Ingrid quickly drew her bow and shot a barrage of arrows.
The dragons were hit in the left and right wings, causing one of them to start falling.
“[Extended Restraint]”
Katrea cast a high-level restraint spell and bound Merian.
“This is the end for you.”
Tiana raised her sword high.
Around her, the smell of blood filled the air.
“We managed to silence her somehow!”
With a single strike that turned her into a silent corpse, Tiana looked down at the princess and whispered.
The other three girls had pale faces.
“What’s wrong?”
“Are you seriously asking?! We’ve committed the crime of killing the princess!”
“We crossed that line a long time ago. We’re already tainted by the crime of killing the hero.”
Tiana scoffed.
“A crime like killing a princess at this point? In disgrace, even the dish tastes like poison.”
At that moment, she didn’t realize.
There was no future for them.
They were only continuing down the path of self-destruction.
