Watching the figure of the black-haired girl fall along with the collapsing suspension bridge, a heavy sense of urgency — or rather, a sense of fear — began to tighten its grip on Histori’s heart.
…No, she had no way to bear the burden of another person’s life or death.
If she truly let Amir fall and shatter into pieces, then for the rest of her life, no matter where she went, whether in dreams or awake, this scene would probably play on repeat in her mind.
Fortunately, whether it was because Histori’s will was too strong at that moment or because the power of the Demon King’s remnant soul could only last for a brief instant, the force forcibly controlling her body vanished without a trace the second the rope snapped.
“…Amir!!!”
Before she even had time to think after reclaiming control of her body, her limbs reacted ahead of her brain.
She suddenly spread the wings on her back and dove down toward Amir’s figure without a second thought.
***
“Huff, huff, huff…”
She had…
She had saved her.
Although the posture she used to struggle back up was quite pathetic, she had managed to pull Amir back onto the cliff before the girl’s figure could be completely swallowed by the darkness.
The series of actions just now had truly exceeded the limit of Histori’s body.
After laying Amir on the ground, she immediately collapsed flat on her back beside her.
It had been a long time since she had run laps on a track; she had forgotten that after excessive exercise, even one’s breath would carry a metallic scent of blood.
Histori clutched her chest, panting heavily as she stared at the sky.
However, before she could catch her breath, a massive force suddenly struck from Histori’s side, pinning her hard against the cold, gravelly ground.
The black-haired girl she had just risked her life to save was now pressing her knee into Histori’s chest.
Amir’s usual calm and indifferent expression was gone; her face, which was always peaceful, was now filled with resentment and fury.
Gritting her teeth, Amir kept one hand on the hilt of the sword behind her while the other tightly squeezed Histori’s slender neck.
“You… you…”
For some reason, Amir’s entire body, even her fingertips, was trembling slightly.
Looking into Amir’s resentful eyes, Histori sighed helplessly in her heart.
‘…Yeah, that makes sense.’
After all, Amir had seen it with her own eyes — Histori had personally swung the Blood Blade and cut those two ropes.
The irrefutable facts were right before her.
At this point, it was impossible to suddenly come up with an excuse and say she just wanted to play a prank on Amir, or that bungee jumping without a rope was actually beneficial for mental health, right?
She tried to reach out and move Amir’s iron-grip-like hand away, but with her current strength, she couldn’t budge the Hero in the slightest.
…
The feeling of suffocation was becoming more and more intense.
Histori, unable to utter a single word, closed her eyes with a bitter smile and gave up her undignified resistance.
‘Damn, is this really how I’m going to die in the end?’
First pushing the Hero off the bridge, then risking her life to save her, and finally being strangled to death on the ground by the enraged Hero…
No matter how she looked at it, this way of dying was a bit too ridiculous.
‘But fine. Let’s consider this retribution for freeloading in the Demon King’s Castle for two months. At least I was quite happy during that time.’
Her consciousness was beginning to blur…
Just when Histori thought she was truly about to pass away, the pressure on her neck suddenly loosened.
“Cough! Cough, cough, cough…!”
Fresh air instantly rushed into her lungs, making Histori cough violently as tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
…She…
She didn’t die?
Although the feeling of suffocation still lingered in her throat, and she felt as if her neck had been snapped even after dry-heaving a couple of times while kneeling on the ground, at least she was still alive.
Before Histori could celebrate for long, a cold, metallic sensation touched her shoulder.
It was the blade of Amir’s pitch-black Heavy Sword.
“Histori.”
Amir’s voice was as cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice.
She forced Histori to face her, staring intently into her eyes from a distance of only twenty centimeters.
“Just what… were you doing just now?”
“…Save…”
“Answer my question!”
Histori swallowed hard and looked up, meeting Amir’s gaze with her tear-stained, blood-red eyes.
“…Saving you… up.”
“Saving me?”
As if she had heard a preposterous joke, Amir sneered, the fire of rage in her eyes burning even brighter.
“You were the one who cut the ropes with your own hands and let me fall from the bridge! And now you have the nerve to say you ‘saved’ me!? I think you knew—”
“Hero…”
Histori’s mind raced, and then she took a deep breath, as if finally making a decision.
She no longer looked away but met Amir’s gaze directly, forcing a bleak smile onto her face.
“This is… the Curse I am suffering from.”
Amir’s hand, which was gripping Histori’s collar, stiffened slightly. “Curse?”
“…Yes. The Curse that the Demon King placed on me was never as simple as just ‘turning into a member of the Demon Race.'”
Histori slowly raised her right hand, showing the red mark left on her wrist when she had tried to stop herself.
“This Curse actually controls my body frequently, making me do things I don’t want to do at all. Just like earlier, I clearly just wanted to walk to your side, but my right hand was controlled by another will and cut the ropes of the bridge.”
Looking at the red mark on Histori’s wrist, Amir frowned slightly.
“If such a thing was happening, why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“…Because I was afraid.”
Histori lowered her eyes, her voice dropping to a whisper.
“I was afraid that if you knew, you would think of me as a dangerous freak — a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment — and that you would no longer be willing to help me, leaving me to fend for myself in that Demon King’s Castle.”
“…”
“To tell you the truth, Hero, that time last night… I didn’t actually want to give you cake.”
Histori gave Amir a bitter grin.
“…At the time, a voice that didn’t belong to me was screaming in my head. It forced me to climb on top of you, wanting to use my Demon Race fangs to suck your blood.”
Amir remained silent, looking at her fingers, clearly recalling the scene from last night that was obviously unnatural.
“Scary, isn’t it? I also find this version of myself disgusting and terrifying.”
Histori slowly climbed up from the ground.
She brushed the dust off her skirt and then gave the black-haired girl a deep bow.
“I’m sorry… it was selfish of me to keep this information a secret and cause you so much trouble. Amir, thank you for being willing to accompany me this far.”
Histori straightened up, a serene smile appearing on her face.
“Next, just as I said in the Demon King’s Castle, the journey from here to the Human Realm is long and arduous. I wish you a safe journey ahead.”
With those words, she gracefully removed her dark gray cloak and turned away decisively, preparing to fly toward the other side of the abyss.
“…Stop right there.”
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