The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
"This... this can't be happening... guh!"
Lin fell to her knees on the ground, gasping for breath.
From time to time, she coughed up a black liquid.
It was probably blood.
Her transformation into a demon had turned even her blood black—she had completely abandoned her humanity.
"I... someone like me... can't end like this...!"
Lin tried to stand up, but her body refused to move.
And it was no surprise.
A deep gash ran from her right shoulder down to her chest, cut open by Kamui.
Her left arm was entirely gone, blown off from the shoulder.
Beyond that, she had severe wounds all over her body.
Honestly, it was a wonder she was still alive.
If she hadn’t turned into a demon, she would have died instantly.
"It's over."
Once, I had been in a party with Lin.
She had treated me terribly, but even so, she was still a comrade.
I thought I might feel some sympathy for her.
But I didn't.
And yet, I also didn’t feel the urge to mock her or say she deserved this.
I simply felt... pity.
A once-proud member of the Hero’s Party had fallen so far...
Now, she would meet her end in this desolate place.
It was just... pitiful.
"What’s with that look...!"
Even on the verge of collapse, her spirit remained unbroken.
Lin glared at me, eyes burning with fury, and screamed.
"Stop looking at me like that!"
"…Lin…"
"Why the hell should I be pitied by you?! Someone like you—some weakling—there’s no way I would ever accept that! No, I’m strong! I am strong! I gained power! So there's no way—no way I'd ever let anyone look at me like that again…!"
With what little remained of her soul, she spat out those words along with more of her dark blood.
Watching her, I started to understand.
She was beyond saving.
But in her own way, she had something she refused to let go of.
Something important to her.
And to protect it, she had become so aggressive, so ruthless.
Acting like a tyrant had become the only way she knew how to defend what she cherished.
I didn’t know the details.
I didn’t know her well enough.
We had never shared anything personal.
"If only..."
If I had spoken with Lin more—if we had actually talked—
Would things have ended differently?
It was a pointless thought.
And yet, I couldn't stop myself from thinking about it.
"But..."
I raised Kamui.
After everything Lin had done, letting her escape wasn’t an option.
And now that she had become a demon, there was only one choice left.
Even if I captured her, she would find a way to escape.
She had to be put down.
"This is the end, Lin."
"Ghh... ughhhh...! No, no...! I won’t die here, I refuse! I won’t accept such a ridiculous ending! No, no, no, I—!!!"
At that moment—
A deep, resounding thud echoed, like the beat of a heart.
"Huh?"
Lin's face twisted in confusion.
Then—
"Ah... AAAAAAAHHH! Ghhh... AAAAAAAAAH!!!?"
She screamed in agony.
Her body convulsed, shaking violently as she clutched herself, letting out a wretched, ear-piercing cry.
"Rain, I have a really bad feeling about this!"
Kanade, the one with the sharpest instincts, wore a tense expression.
"Gugigigi... Gyaaah! Aaaaah! Auuugh!?"
From Lin’s wounds, black tendrils burst forth.
They wriggled and slithered, closing her wounds as they began forming a new right arm.
But it didn’t stop there.
The black tendrils coiled around Lin’s body, wrapping her tightly.
Reshaping her—
Into a form more suited for battle.
Into a form more suited for a weapon.
It was as if some dark will was remolding her entirely.
Lin was being swallowed by the writhing mass of tendrils.
She couldn't seem to resist it, her tear-filled eyes looking at me as she desperately reached out.
"Help...!"
"Lin, you..."
"No! I—I am... I am—!!!"
I tightened my grip on Kamui.
Lin was beyond saving.
I hadn’t forgotten all the things she had done in the past.
I still felt anger at times.
And yet, even now, all I could feel was pity.
There was no sympathy.
But still...
As a former comrade—
I could at least grant her this final mercy.
"Kanade."
"Yeah."
She immediately understood my intentions and reached out her hand.
I took it, drawing strength from her.
Kamui’s blade turned red-hot, glowing with heat.
But this wasn’t enough.
To put an end to Lin now—
I needed even more power.
More.
More.
Even more.
I gathered every last ounce of strength, focusing it, condensing it.
And when I reached my absolute limit—
The blade was ready.
"I am... I will stay... myself... Ah!?"
"This ends now."
I raised Kamui high—
"Before you become a complete monster... sleep as a human."
With the borrowed strength of Kanade’s awakened form, I unleashed a strike beyond my limits.
It didn’t just destroy Lin’s body—
It reached deep inside—
And shattered her very soul into dust.
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