Final Episode – I… feel the same way about you…

“Yu…to…?”

Raiga’s voice trembled with disbelief.

“Why are you here…?”

“Raiga. Do you remember?”

I ignored his question and asked one of my own.

“You must’ve seen it before. The Stigma that appeared on your arm. Back on Earth.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you remember?”

As he stared in a daze, I smiled.

“During swimming class. We were shirtless, remember? I had a very distinctive birthmark on my left chest. It drew a lot of attention from the class, and I was pretty embarrassed.”

“—!?”

“Looking back, that was the Stigma.”

I paused for a moment.

“You understand now, don’t you? I’m the real ‘Hero.’ —I don’t know why I turned into a girl, but… you were just caught up in all of this.”

Then I turned to face Miss Karen.

“Miss Karen’s Stigma transferred to Raiga. I’m sorry I couldn’t bring myself to say anything sooner.”

“Then… why did you keep it hidden…?”

Stunned, she asked. I answered plainly.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you, but… keeping quiet was just more convenient. Raiga had superhuman powers, after all.”

I glanced over briefly — the Demon Dragon wasn’t moving.

It looked like it hadn’t figured out what was going on either.

“When I said I was afraid of blood… that was true on Earth, but in this world? It was a lie. ‘I’m fine if the thing’s already dead’? Like it’s that convenient. Back in Elna Village, when I puked my guts out, I kinda already knew. But it hit me for real — the goddess had messed with my mind.”

That moment had been a real shock.

I felt firsthand just how terrifying a goddess who could tamper with my existence truly was, and the revulsion consumed my whole body.

“Myudy said it, didn’t she? ‘Your body won’t withstand the release of your power.’”

“Yeah… she did. So it really was you… you’re the ‘Hero’ after all.”

“That aura I felt from you at the start… was that it too…?”

Their eyes were on me. I gave a weak smile.

“Haha… sorry, okay? But it’s true — I’m weak. My magic’s weak too. Honestly, I’m not even sure I could’ve beaten that first goblin we met.”

That was no exaggeration.

For some reason — whatever the goddess’s goal was — this body was only good at manipulating magic. In every other way, I was no different from a regular person.

“So if I ever released my power, I’d die instantly. The power’s just way too strong for my body to handle. I realized that right away when I practiced magic here. I understood it instinctively.”

Everyone around me was holding their breath. But I ignored that and kept talking.

“That’s why I lied to everyone. I didn’t want to die, so if I could win without releasing it, that was fine by me. And even if I had to release it, I couldn’t do it alone — I needed all of you to help me get that far.”

“Why… why would you go so far…? Why risk your life to fight!?”

Karen-san shouted.

She’s the princess of the Elf Kingdom — can she really say something like that?

…Yeah, I think she can.

Because she’s my friend.

“At first, I was going to run away. It’s pathetic, but I really was. But the thought of more kids like me… kids who had to say goodbye to their parents forever… I couldn’t stand it. The parade was the final straw. After that, I just… made my peace with it.”

And so—

“This is goodbye. I’m sorry, Raiga. From the start, I never intended to keep that promise with you.”

“—!”

Raiga tried to stop me.

But he was too late.

Not that it would’ve mattered — I wasn’t going to stop either way.

I surrendered myself to the voice echoing in my head — and released my power.

The ribbon tying up my ponytail snapped, and my hair danced around me.

Then it began to change color — silver strands spreading out.

Wings sprouted from my back. It sounds silly to say it myself, but in that moment, I probably looked like an angel.

I grabbed Galatine from the ground and poured all my magic into it.

Galatine responded to the Hero’s magic — transforming.

Its blade grew sharper and began to shine with radiant light.

Its hilt reshaped into something resembling angel wings.

And then — it trembled, as if rejoicing at returning to its rightful master.

The Demon Dragon seemed to recognize me as the greatest threat, and resumed its assault.

Its tendrils lunged toward me all at once.

Was it afraid?

Even the tendrils that had been forming a perimeter to cut off my escape were now joining the attack.

But it was utterly futile.

With a single swing of Galatine, now restored to its true form, I unleashed a mighty shockwave. The tendrils were effortlessly shredded into fine pieces, collapsing lifelessly to the ground.

Strangely, I could intuitively sense exactly where to strike to make every blow most effective.

Thinking back, maybe the reason I could so easily dismantle deer and birds before… was just a glimpse of this power.

But the Demon Dragon wasn’t finished.

It gathered miasma from its eight mouths, compressing it into a dense, dark breath—then unleashed it.

Each blast intertwined with the others, amplifying their force.

Not eight times the power—eight to the power of eight. A mass of miasma so dense that, if it hit directly, it would gouge out even the mighty Elefia mountain range.

And yet—

Before me, it was no more than a child’s tantrum.

“[Shining Protect]”

Without a chant, a wall of light appeared before me—and instantly erased the attack.

No matter how powerful the darkness, it will always be dispelled before the light.

That is simply the law of nature.

But where there is light, shadows are born.

That, too, is natural law.

However, that only applies when there is something to block the light.

If you erase everything in a single blow, there’s nothing left to cast shadows.

Now it was my turn.

I mimicked the Demon Dragon—concentrating the magic of light and simply letting it burst.

“[Supernova]”

Only after firing it did I realize… this was apparently the highest-tier light spell—an Ancient Spell.

It shattered even the barriers meant to counteract magic and engulfed the Demon Dragon, whose power was said to include ultra-regeneration—erasing it completely without a trace.

“…With that, my role is finished.”

I murmured, and my body began crumbling—starting from the fingertips.

A normal person would probably be terrified… paralyzed with fear.

But this phenomenon stirred nothing in me.

The only thought that came to my mind… was of my best friend who came to this world with me.

He never realized I was using him, and still showed me nothing but sincerity.

And yet, I…

“…I’m sorry, Raiga. I… I feel the same way…”

My arm was gone. Now my torso. My consciousness was starting to black out—or maybe white out would be more accurate.

“…Remember this, damn goddess…”

And then—my awareness was swallowed by darkness.