I had started counseling for the mental care of the members, but recently, I had been intensively caring for Bayard.
The reason was that among the other members, Bayard’s mental state was the most unstable.
Clara and Ruby weren’t in good condition either, but they didn’t show symptoms as visible as Bayard’s.
So, I frequently counseled Bayard.
Fortunately, Bayard really enjoyed the training conducted here.
She especially appreciated Helia’s tenacity in constantly charging forward without getting tired, even when she was knocked down and beaten up.
I think there were other reasons too, from my perspective.
Other than that, as time passed, there were signs of gradual improvement, but there was one thing that didn’t change no matter how much time passed.
That was her nightmare.
[Every night, nightmares appear. I, with my own hands, my comrades who have become grotesque… And in the end…]
Bayard said she had nightmares every day.
A terrible dream where she killed her own comrades, who had transformed grotesquely, with her own hands.
She was so mentally fixated on it.
I thought it was natural, so I consulted with Cluna and prescribed medicine suitable for her.
The medicine was nothing more than something to help change her mood, but it was better than nothing.
Fortunately, as time passed, Bayard’s condition greatly improved.
I had forgotten about it like that, but for some reason, why was Bayard’s nightmare suddenly coming to my mind now?
Her hair swayed as it drew a line as if she was having a nightmare.
Her tightly closed eyes opened again.
Soon, bloodshot red eyes revealed themselves.
It was obvious at a glance that her condition was not normal. But at that moment, time stopped.
Everything around me was dyed gray.
I realized that time had stopped.
“Damn it.”
And I could see it.
Her palm had approached right in front of my eyes.
I hurriedly dodged that spot.
At the same time, time stop was released and her body moved again.
Kwaaang!!!
As if a meteor had fallen where I was, a huge crater was created.
I was hit by the fragments and was greatly pushed back. But thanks to that, I was able to gain some distance.
[The current commander is retreating for now to assess the situation! But not immediately beheading the former commander, isn’t that almost like showing courtesy to a senior?!]
Inside the tent, his annoying voice resounded.
I was already thinking of killing her right away.
Because it was out of the question for me to return that woman to her original state now.
I kicked off the ground and ran.
As I quickly closed the distance, her gaze turned towards me.
Her movements were closer to a beast than a knight.
It felt like her mind was being controlled.
If I were a hero, I could have saved her. But unfortunately, I wasn’t a hero.
So, let’s just kill her cleanly here. And then everything around me turned gray.
“Right now!”
Thanks to time stopping at an appropriate moment, I was able to strike the neck of the former commander right in front of me.
I hadn’t been idle for the past two months either.
I had diligently trained, and I had also obtained the best weapon I could get right away.
As proof, look.
The moment it collided with the former commander’s scale-covered neck, even when a tremendous impact was transmitted, it didn’t break.
Clang!
It really felt like I had struck steel with a sword.
Cluna said it was a famous sword that could even cut steel.
In other words, did that mean that her neck was tougher than steel?
No, this wasn’t the time for that.
I quickly released time stop.
If I lingered here any longer, the cooldown would become too long.
The time I just consumed was 3 seconds.
In other words, I had to endure for 6 seconds.
Kwajik!
At the same time, the former commander’s grip grabbed my head and slammed it into the ground.
I almost lost consciousness for a moment.
But before I could come to my senses, my instincts moved my body first.
If I hadn’t rolled to the side, my head would have been trampled by the former commander’s foot, spilling out all of my brain matter.
I gritted my teeth.
My vision turned red.
What the hell is this?
[Oh! This is another interesting development! The current commander’s sword stopped right next to the former commander’s neck! I think the current commander must have noticed!]
“That fucking bastard, seriously.”
[That’s right! Unlike the other hateful Royal Knights members, the commander is a special guest! He is, of course, alive!]
“…”
[But to notice it before killing her! As expected, he has the caliber befitting a commander! That’s why it’s becoming even more interesting, isn’t it?!]
If someone heard it, they would think it was some kind of sports broadcast.
I staggered to my feet.
I could tell from that attack just now.
Without time stop, I couldn’t fight properly.
I didn’t notice until the moment that woman grabbed my head and smashed it into the ground.
That’s how much of a skill gap there was.
Well, she was the former Commander of the Royal Knights after all.
I guess it was only natural.
Anyway, there was no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation.
So, the only option was to use underhanded methods with time stop.
Then, when I see an opportunity, I either run away or kill her.
At least, rather than being toyed with by a piece of trash who mutilated her own members, it would be salvation for her if I killed her with my own hands.
At that moment, she moved.
I immediately stopped time.
Fortunately, her movements were straightforward and consistent, so it was easy to time it.
I, who had stopped time, aimed for her eyes this time and thrust the tip of my sword.
Cutting her neck had failed.
But if it was her eyes which didn’t have scales, I could definitely pierce through them.
Kaaang!!
There was a time when I thought that way too.
I thrust with all my heart.
A thrust that I threw with enough force to push the dirt away collided with something as if it had hit steel, and was pushed back with a clang.
There wasn’t even a scratch on the eyes.
Huh?
Is this for real?
Damn it.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
It may sound like empty words, but I like humans.
I sincerely respect the literature they create.
I sincerely like the fighting spirit and love they show.
Although other demons looked down on them as the weakest race, that was ignorance stemming from them not knowing anything about them.
If they read their literature even once, if they witnessed the love they showed even once, then wouldn’t they have no choice but to love even their foolishness?
Look at them even now!
Struggling to save their former comrade for whom there seems to be no hope…!!
Look at those awkward movements.
With skills that can’t be called commander-level of the Royal Knights at all.
But I understand.
Because their comrade is alive.
Because they’re just in a brainwashed state.
They must think they can somehow bring them back.
Excellent.
Truly excellent!
That’s just like the noble and excellent knight from classic literature!
Yes! That’s how it should be! If your comrade is alive, you have to save them somehow!!
Isn’t that futile struggle the greatest joy imaginable?
In fact, the audience seems satisfied too with the current commander’s foolish choice!
Look at that noble but meaningless struggle!
Isn’t it a movement that firmly believes they can truly save their comrade?
Otherwise, there’s no way they would be swinging their sword like a mere security guard!
“The audience is longing for it! The end of that noble and foolish knight!”
Having them die at the hands of the comrade they tried to save somehow?
It didn’t seem like a bad idea, but something was lacking.
The audience wasn’t that satisfied either.
It was just a direction that could be seen anywhere.
Then what should be done?
How should that story be ended to get a good response?
It wouldn’t be bad to try an adventure. But it was hard to go on an adventure for the satisfaction of the audience.
They were the audience who came to see this joyful stage by consuming their own time.
Of course, as a director, showing them a joyful stage accordingly was the perfect reward, wasn’t it?
So, let’s go with the basics here.
It snapped its fingers.
At the same time, she, who had been rampaging like a beast, came to her senses.
She was a dragon, the strongest race in the world that couldn’t be completely controlled even in a weakened state.
At best, all it could do was make her attack everything around her making it seem as if she was a beast.
Fortunately, the experiment it had done on that bear before came in quite handy here.
Thanks to that, the beginning, middle, and climax were all set.
First, it sent out her comrades who were no different from corpses to heat up the stage.
Then, it sent the somewhat intact commander as the highlight to make it even hotter.
Now, all that was left was the ending.
As its fingers snapped, the state of her rampaging like a beast stopped as if it were an illusion.
Her mind had returned to normal.
At that sight, the current commander’s movements stopped.
Yes, right now.
Kwajik.
A gruesome sound rang out.
The sound of a heart bursting.
The sound of her collapsing while bleeding.
This was the final ending.
The person he tried so hard to save ultimately died mercilessly before his eyes.
It may sound like empty words, but I like humans.
I especially love human tragedies so much.
Through tragedy, humans end their trivial lives as splendid tapestries of art.
So, how could I not love them?
Now, show me.
That face drenched in despair and sorrow.
However, it couldn’t see that face.
At some point, he had disappeared along with her collapsed form.
I had started counseling for the mental care of the members, but recently, I had been intensively caring for Bayard.
The reason was that among the other members, Bayard’s mental state was the most unstable.
Clara and Ruby weren’t in good condition either, but they didn’t show symptoms as visible as Bayard’s.
So, I frequently counseled Bayard.
Fortunately, Bayard really enjoyed the training conducted here.
She especially appreciated Helia’s tenacity in constantly charging forward without getting tired, even when she was knocked down and beaten up.
I think there were other reasons too, from my perspective.
Other than that, as time passed, there were signs of gradual improvement, but there was one thing that didn’t change no matter how much time passed.
That was her nightmare.
[Every night, nightmares appear. I, with my own hands, my comrades who have become grotesque… And in the end…]
Bayard said she had nightmares every day.
A terrible dream where she killed her own comrades, who had transformed grotesquely, with her own hands.
She was so mentally fixated on it.
I thought it was natural, so I consulted with Cluna and prescribed medicine suitable for her.
The medicine was nothing more than something to help change her mood, but it was better than nothing.
Fortunately, as time passed, Bayard’s condition greatly improved.
I had forgotten about it like that, but for some reason, why was Bayard’s nightmare suddenly coming to my mind now?
Her hair swayed as it drew a line as if she was having a nightmare.
Her tightly closed eyes opened again.
Soon, bloodshot red eyes revealed themselves.
It was obvious at a glance that her condition was not normal. But at that moment, time stopped.
Everything around me was dyed gray.
I realized that time had stopped.
“Damn it.”
And I could see it.
Her palm had approached right in front of my eyes.
I hurriedly dodged that spot.
At the same time, time stop was released and her body moved again.
Kwaaang!!!
As if a meteor had fallen where I was, a huge crater was created.
I was hit by the fragments and was greatly pushed back. But thanks to that, I was able to gain some distance.
[The current commander is retreating for now to assess the situation! But not immediately beheading the former commander, isn’t that almost like showing courtesy to a senior?!]
Inside the tent, his annoying voice resounded.
I was already thinking of killing her right away.
Because it was out of the question for me to return that woman to her original state now.
I kicked off the ground and ran.
As I quickly closed the distance, her gaze turned towards me.
Her movements were closer to a beast than a knight.
It felt like her mind was being controlled.
If I were a hero, I could have saved her. But unfortunately, I wasn’t a hero.
So, let’s just kill her cleanly here. And then everything around me turned gray.
“Right now!”
Thanks to time stopping at an appropriate moment, I was able to strike the neck of the former commander right in front of me.
I hadn’t been idle for the past two months either.
I had diligently trained, and I had also obtained the best weapon I could get right away.
As proof, look.
The moment it collided with the former commander’s scale-covered neck, even when a tremendous impact was transmitted, it didn’t break.
Clang!
It really felt like I had struck steel with a sword.
Cluna said it was a famous sword that could even cut steel.
In other words, did that mean that her neck was tougher than steel?
No, this wasn’t the time for that.
I quickly released time stop.
If I lingered here any longer, the cooldown would become too long.
The time I just consumed was 3 seconds.
In other words, I had to endure for 6 seconds.
Kwajik!
At the same time, the former commander’s grip grabbed my head and slammed it into the ground.
I almost lost consciousness for a moment.
But before I could come to my senses, my instincts moved my body first.
If I hadn’t rolled to the side, my head would have been trampled by the former commander’s foot, spilling out all of my brain matter.
I gritted my teeth.
My vision turned red.
What the hell is this?
[Oh! This is another interesting development! The current commander’s sword stopped right next to the former commander’s neck! I think the current commander must have noticed!]
“That fucking bastard, seriously.”
[That’s right! Unlike the other hateful Royal Knights members, the commander is a special guest! He is, of course, alive!]
“…”
[But to notice it before killing her! As expected, he has the caliber befitting a commander! That’s why it’s becoming even more interesting, isn’t it?!]
If someone heard it, they would think it was some kind of sports broadcast.
I staggered to my feet.
I could tell from that attack just now.
Without time stop, I couldn’t fight properly.
I didn’t notice until the moment that woman grabbed my head and smashed it into the ground.
That’s how much of a skill gap there was.
Well, she was the former Commander of the Royal Knights after all.
I guess it was only natural.
Anyway, there was no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation.
So, the only option was to use underhanded methods with time stop.
Then, when I see an opportunity, I either run away or kill her.
At least, rather than being toyed with by a piece of trash who mutilated her own members, it would be salvation for her if I killed her with my own hands.
At that moment, she moved.
I immediately stopped time.
Fortunately, her movements were straightforward and consistent, so it was easy to time it.
I, who had stopped time, aimed for her eyes this time and thrust the tip of my sword.
Cutting her neck had failed.
But if it was her eyes which didn’t have scales, I could definitely pierce through them.
Kaaang!!
There was a time when I thought that way too.
I thrust with all my heart.
A thrust that I threw with enough force to push the dirt away collided with something as if it had hit steel, and was pushed back with a clang.
There wasn’t even a scratch on the eyes.
Huh?
Is this for real?
Damn it.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
It may sound like empty words, but I like humans.
I sincerely respect the literature they create.
I sincerely like the fighting spirit and love they show.
Although other demons looked down on them as the weakest race, that was ignorance stemming from them not knowing anything about them.
If they read their literature even once, if they witnessed the love they showed even once, then wouldn’t they have no choice but to love even their foolishness?
Look at them even now!
Struggling to save their former comrade for whom there seems to be no hope…!!
Look at those awkward movements.
With skills that can’t be called commander-level of the Royal Knights at all.
But I understand.
Because their comrade is alive.
Because they’re just in a brainwashed state.
They must think they can somehow bring them back.
Excellent.
Truly excellent!
That’s just like the noble and excellent knight from classic literature!
Yes! That’s how it should be! If your comrade is alive, you have to save them somehow!!
Isn’t that futile struggle the greatest joy imaginable?
In fact, the audience seems satisfied too with the current commander’s foolish choice!
Look at that noble but meaningless struggle!
Isn’t it a movement that firmly believes they can truly save their comrade?
Otherwise, there’s no way they would be swinging their sword like a mere security guard!
“The audience is longing for it! The end of that noble and foolish knight!”
Having them die at the hands of the comrade they tried to save somehow?
It didn’t seem like a bad idea, but something was lacking.
The audience wasn’t that satisfied either.
It was just a direction that could be seen anywhere.
Then what should be done?
How should that story be ended to get a good response?
It wouldn’t be bad to try an adventure. But it was hard to go on an adventure for the satisfaction of the audience.
They were the audience who came to see this joyful stage by consuming their own time.
Of course, as a director, showing them a joyful stage accordingly was the perfect reward, wasn’t it?
So, let’s go with the basics here.
It snapped its fingers.
At the same time, she, who had been rampaging like a beast, came to her senses.
She was a dragon, the strongest race in the world that couldn’t be completely controlled even in a weakened state.
At best, all it could do was make her attack everything around her making it seem as if she was a beast.
Fortunately, the experiment it had done on that bear before came in quite handy here.
Thanks to that, the beginning, middle, and climax were all set.
First, it sent out her comrades who were no different from corpses to heat up the stage.
Then, it sent the somewhat intact commander as the highlight to make it even hotter.
Now, all that was left was the ending.
As its fingers snapped, the state of her rampaging like a beast stopped as if it were an illusion.
Her mind had returned to normal.
At that sight, the current commander’s movements stopped.
Yes, right now.
Kwajik.
A gruesome sound rang out.
The sound of a heart bursting.
The sound of her collapsing while bleeding.
This was the final ending.
The person he tried so hard to save ultimately died mercilessly before his eyes.
It may sound like empty words, but I like humans.
I especially love human tragedies so much.
Through tragedy, humans end their trivial lives as splendid tapestries of art.
So, how could I not love them?
Now, show me.
That face drenched in despair and sorrow.
However, it couldn’t see that face.
At some point, he had disappeared along with her collapsed form.
