Chapter 359: The Fourth Trial

"..."

Ruby knelt amidst the devastated cabin with a pale expression.

After a moment of silence, she finally fixed her gaze on the letter.

Hero, you were under Frey's control. We couldn't bear to watch that sight. So, when you momentarily disappeared from the cabin, we attacked Frey.

"What..."

Ruby's eyes began to dim upon reading the letter.

If this letter was true, did it mean that an attack occurred when she left this place?

If it was true, she couldn't bear it, as this meant that this was her fault again.

So it must be false.

- Buzz...

Desperately, she sent demonic energy out around her, thinking it might be one of Frey's pranks, but there were no life forms detected.

Just a few fish swimming by the riverside.

As a result, Frey was subdued and detained by us. It turned out that the anonymous report that Frey had actually lost his powers was true.

Realizing this, Ruby suddenly stood up with a blank expression.

Currently, we plan to interrogate Frey to find out how he subdued you and the method of mind control that prevents you from resisting him.

"No, no..."

Cold sweat began to trickle down her face.

In case of unforeseen circumstances, the entire Hero Party was dispatched to subdue Frey, so they might not be able to come out to meet you. Instead, we will provide you with the coordinates of our current location, so if you come, we will protect you immediately...

"No, no, no!"

Ruby started to run towards the exit of the cabin, screaming.

"Frey! No! Nooo!"

The button mushrooms that Ruby had painstakingly chosen and negotiated for tens of minutes were trampled under her feet.

"Is this my fault? Is this my fault again?"

But without even acknowledging that Ruby opened the door and rushed outside, and began to cast teleportation magic in panic.

- Fizz!

"Ugh!"

However, soon tears of blood flowed from her eyes as she collapsed.

Using teleportation magic required a high concentration, so it was only natural that she failed to cast it in a state of great panic.

- Zzt, zzt! Zzzt!

"Uh, uh..."

She tried several times afterward, but her mind couldn’t focus at all, and eventually, blood began to flow from her body due to the strain.

"I had to go as fast as possible... hurry."

Unfazed by the damage to her body, she calculated the coordinates, and soon she looked up at the sky.

- Whoosh...!

She unfolded her wings.

“I can get there in 10 minutes. Frey, hang in there.”

Fortunately, the Hero Party's temporary residence was not far from here.

If she flew as fast as possible, she might be able to prevent a disaster.

"...It doesn't matter."

For a moment, Ruby thought about what would happen if her identity were exposed, but she quickly shook her head.

Frey, who barely survived soul annihilation by a miracle, was in danger.

If he died, wasn’t it all over anyway?

- Flutter...!

With that thought in mind, Ruby soared into the sky, her hand tightly clenched to the letter sent by Vener.

"I can stop it. I can stop it. I can stop it."

Luckily, the wind was blowing towards where the Hero Party was located.

She estimated she could arrive within 5 to 6 minutes.

"I can stop it..."

She kept reassuring herself with a forced smile. However, her expression soon stiffened when she remembered the state of the cabin.

"..."

She just remembered that the blood in the cabin had already dried up.

- Wobble...!

Ruby's body, flying at high speed, began to wobble in mid-air.

.

.

.

.

.

A few minutes later, at the temporary residence of the Hero Party.

"Huh? What's that over there?"

"Wha-what is that?"

Alice and Arianne, who were sitting around the residence for a break, looked up at the sky with puzzled expressions.

The glimmering dot from the sky was getting bigger and bigger.

"Is that... coming this way?"

"Uh, uh?"

The moment the two girls realized that it was heading towards them...

- Boom!!!

"Aah!"

"A-Are we under attack!?"

The dot crashed in front of them at a terrifying speed.

"Cough, cough..."

"B-Be careful. It could be one of Frey's minions..."

The two girls were dazed momentarily and covered in dust. They hesitated for a moment before assuming a combat stance.

"..."

"Huh?"

"Hero?"

But the figure emerging from the dust cloud was none other than Ruby.

"Ho-how did this..."

"Where's Frey?"

"What?"

Approaching Ruby with a bewildered expression, the two girls listened to Ruby's murderous words filled with killing intent before answering with a confused expression.

"Uh, well... right now, Ms. Vener..."

"He's in the basement..."

- Step, Step, Step...!

"Hero! Where are you going!? It's dangerous!!"

Upon hearing the word 'basement', Ruby urgently rushed inside.

"Ms. Ruby...?"

"W-what's happening?"

"You came?"

Then, the children who had been sitting in the conference room stood up and began to look at Ruby.

"Ho-how do you get to the basement?"

"What?"

"How do you get to the basement!!"

As Ruby screamed at the children, they began to exchange glances with each other.

"Ms. Ruby, please calm down."

"You seem very tired, why don't you rest..."

Gradually, their eyes softened as they looked at her.

It seemed they still thought that Frey was in control of her.

"Frey is currently being interrogated by Ms. Vener. So..."

"...Since when?"

"Uh, well..."

As she looked at them, Ruby felt her heart boil with rage.

"Since yesterday dawn, right after we successfully subdued Frey..."

"No, noooo!!"

"Fre–"

However, she stopped suddenly, her eyes becoming vacant.

- Blink, blink, blink...

Frey's ring was flashing incessantly.

It seemed like it would turn off in a few minutes.

"Hero, it's dangerous here..."

- Grasp...!

"...Uh?"

Watching quietly, Ruby reached out and grabbed Vener, who was reaching out to her.

"Frey, who did this to you?"

"Disgustingly, he kept shouting your name and fought until the end. Of course, he fainted from exerting all his strength during the battle, so we were able to bring him here.”

"...The knife stuck in his side?"

"We were interrogating him. Hero, by the way, we need to check for the charm magi–-"

With that, she couldn't see Vener in the room anymore.

"Huuuuek!?"

Grabbing her arm with vacant eyes, Ruby threw her with enough force to fling her into the corridor outside the basement.

- Thud...! BOOM!!!

"The system probably protected her..."

Still muttering with vacant eyes as she watched her roll down the corridor and hit the wall, Ruby then turned her gaze to Aria.

"...E-Everyone! It's dangerous!"

She was already heading towards the children who were trying to enter the basement.

- Thud...!

Seeing this, Ruby kneeled on the floor and started crawling towards Frey.

"Frey, I'm here."

"Hehe, Ruby."

Frey replied with a small smile and a soft voice.

"No, no, don't. Don't speak. Don't exert yourself. Just listen."

As the ring was about to go off, Ruby hugged him, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Frey, consume my soul. It might stabilize yours."

Then, Ruby offered him a bead mixed with red and silver.

“...What would happen if I recovered from eating that?”

"Of course, if you recover, you will come back to life. So hurry-"

"But then, you'll die right?"

"...What?"

Hearing this, Ruby made a puzzled expression instead of handing him the bead.

"In the end, the Hero will perish along with the Demon King. It's the last verse of the prophecy."

Frey looked directly into her eyes.

"T-That's right. So let's die together, Frey. Consume my soul, recover, and then live happily ever

after. And in the end... we will perish together."

"No."

"...?"

Frey responded with a stern expression, then he smiled and whispered.

"Ruby, I recovered... my memories."

"M-Memories?"

“Yeah, the memories I had with you.”

“...!!!”

Ruby's eyes widened at his words.

Then, Frey closed his eyes and continued.

"Memories of us meeting for the first time, going to the academy together, our first night, and how you got corrupted in my place.”

"F-Frey."

“When you were attacked and disappeared in front of me... Do you remember how I kept shouting your name? Funny, isn't it?"

Ruby's eyes began to fill with tears hotter than ever before as Frey chuckled.

"Don't... don't leave me!"

As tears streamed down Ruby's cheeks and wet Frey's knees, she desperately shouted.

She desperately shouted as her tears soaked Frey’s knees.

"If you won't consume my soul willingly, I'll force you. You'll definitely–"

"When I recover and be the Hero again, you'll eventually be killed by me."

"Isn't that obvious? I'm the Demon King!! It's natural for you to kill me!!!"

"No, it's not."

With a gentle smile, Frey met Ruby's eyes.

"I've gone through countless regressions just to save you. It's the worst ending if you die without living for even a few years."

"But, but... I've already rejected the Purification Quest!!"

Ruby wailed and cried out.

"I'm sorry, Frey... If only I had accepted it... I ruined everything like a fool... I, I..."

"What if there's a way?"

"What?"

"There's a very simple way."

Ruby’s expression turned blank upon hearing Frey’s words.

"I'll become the Demon King in your stead."

"...What?"

Ruby let out a stunned voice.

“Do you know what is floating in front of me right now?”

"...No way."

"As expected, you're smart. You're truly my lover."

"Stop."

Realizing what would happen next, Ruby paled and grabbed Frey's hand.

[Sudden Quest - Corruption]

[Reward: Everything]

"If you failed the Purification Quest, I'll just accept the Corruption Quest. Right?"

"Stop. Stop it. Don't."

Desperately, Ruby shook Frey's body with a frantic expression.

She wanted to knock him out if possible, but if she did, Frey's soul would be extinguished, so Ruby could only plead with him.

"While it says the reward is everything... I only need one thing."

"I told you not to. Frey, do you want me to get angry? Do you want to see the wrath of the Demon King!?"

"You need to live happily, Ruby."

Saying so, Frey shed tears and gently caressed Ruby's cheek.

"I-I'll try to find a way to bring back the Purification quest! I'll negotiate with the Demon God...!"

"If I'm corrupted and become the Demon King, you'll become the Hero and kill me. It'll be very easy for you."

"No!!! Stop it!!!"

"That's the only solution to break this vicious cycle of sad ending."

"Stoppp!!!"

Despite Ruby's desperate cries, Frey eventually made his decision.

[Accept]

"I love you forever, Ruby."

"Aaaahhhhhhh!!!!"

Ruby screamed to the heavens and completely lost her mind when she saw Frey close his eyes after professing his love for her one last time.

[Retry checkpoint designated]

At the same time, the system window began to appear automatically.

[Error: Owner of the unique ability [Retry] not found]

[Initiating eligible candidate search...]

Under the numerous lines written in the air, only one sentence appeared at the very bottom.

[The Fourth Ordeal begins.]

At that moment, the sky began to darken.