Upon seeing that Pauline had succeeded in sealing Lucifer, I fell with Auroa to the bottom of Hades.
I slowly closed my eyes to the shrinking light. I wonder if this ditch will ever end. It’s cold, dark, and quiet. I can’t hear the howling blizzard that was so loud near my ears anymore, nor Auroa’s angry voice, nor anything at all.
Am I alive? No, maybe I’m already dead. Perhaps it’s because I’ve become a soul, I can’t feel anything. Soon, this cold will disappear, and I’ll be trapped in nothingness for eternity.
I continue to fall in the darkness, as if I’ve been cast into space.
Just then, I heard the sound of wings flapping from below. My premonition struck, and I reflexively opened my eyes. Could it be that it’s still here? Perhaps it regenerated its wings and is flying up.
I twisted my body in mid-air. A large shadow was rising from below. Or rather, it was approaching me. A large winged creature with a horned head – this isn’t Auroa. It’s a Wyvern!
Why is it in a place like this?! Could it have been waiting here all along to eat anything that fell into the ditch? I had no idea there was a demonic beast that made this place its home. The Wyvern approached me rapidly, puffing white breath from its nostrils.
But this is a chance. If I can somehow grab onto it, I might be able to climb up. The flame of my life, which I had almost given up on, felt like it grew brighter again.
I reached out my hand towards the Wyvern. In the moment we passed each other, I clung to its long neck. The Wyvern shook its head, as if annoyed by me, without opening its mouth.
My frozen hands couldn’t match its speed, and I couldn’t hold on!
“Damn it!”
I slammed into its neck and slid down to its shoulder. Then I hit it again and spun, the pain slowing me down. I desperately gripped the stiff fur growing on its back. My teeth chattered from the cold and tension, and I couldn’t muster any strength in my body.
If I let go of this hand, I’ll die! I have to hold on with all my might!
The thought “Whatever it takes, absolutely do not fall!” echoed repeatedly in my exhausted mind. Just do anything, but absolutely do not fall!
The Wyvern broke free of the ditch in an instant. The blizzard raging across the surface of Cocytus slammed into my entire body. In the midst of it, I caught a glimpse of Lucifer. Philiana’s sword was deeply embedded in his abdomen.
And nearby, Pauline lay fallen.
“Hey, there, over there! Go there!”
I climbed up the Wyvern’s back and reached for its wings. Due to Lucifer’s influence, the ground was still trembling. I had to help them quickly. Fragments of broken icicles were constantly raining down from above.
However, my words were of no use to the Wyvern, and the dragon continued to ascend rapidly. It was as if the dragon itself was also panicked by the cold, as it retraced our path against the blizzard.
“Hey! Listen to me, please!”
Pauline was drifting away. A particularly large chunk of ice fell from above, and her figure disappeared.
“Pauline!!”
A dull thud and rising white smoke. I was stunned. The strength drained from my body as if a thread had snapped.
I had let my last companion die.
“How does it feel to live even at the cost of your comrades?”
Auroa’s laughter echoed in my head. I survived, sacrificing everyone’s lives. What kind of hero am I? I’m just a murderer.
“You’re the same as me, aren’t you? Or am I wrong?”
“The same…”
“That’s right. That’s what surviving means. Right, Brave Arisugawa Hiroaki?”
I see, I understand. I can’t leave everyone in a place like this. I can’t return to the ground and live leisurely as if nothing happened.
I’m coming to you now. Then there will be no more sadness. Let’s end everything. After all, I was supposed to fall and end it all back there.
I slowly released my hands from the fur. If I fell, I would be slammed into the hard ground and eventually die of cold.
It’s okay now, isn’t it? I’ve tried hard enough. I don’t need to feel this pain anymore.
“Hey.”
Suddenly, a voice came from somewhere, and I stopped loosening my grip. A round head emerged from the shaggy fur.
“Ah, you’re…”
It’s the child of the human-faced bird. I thought it had disappeared somewhere, but here we are reunited.
“Why are you here? Didn’t you go home…? Could it be that you brought me here?”
The child opened its mouth wide, buffeted by the wind. What, are you demanding compensation at a time like this?
“Sorry, but I can’t right now. I’ll do it later.”
When I refused, the child bent its mouth into a frown, looking very displeased. While this was happening, the Wyvern escaped Cocytus and was flying rapidly towards the upper levels.
In the end, I survived pathetically, lacking even the courage to die.
