Ash Flower⑤・Wof’s Defeat.
There’s a genre of games known as die-and-retry games.
They’re called die-and-retry games because the difficulty is high, and you learn by dying.
That die-and-retry game had lots of weapons.
There was a rich variety of swords, axes, and spears, as well as whips, clubs, staves, scythes, knuckles, and more.
With so many weapons available, I wanted to try using various ones.
Using weapons according to my mood.
It worked fine against the small fry around. It was fun.
But it didn’t work against the bosses.
No matter how many times I tried, no matter how many times, no matter how many times, I couldn’t defeat them.
Reluctantly, I’d pick up the weapon I always used.
And defeat them with that.
With that, I could defeat them.
That’s why I could defeat them.
I could only defeat them with that.
It made me feel really frustrated, thinking I was bad at games.
I remembered that feeling just now.
The Black Knight moved for the first time. It came towards me.
My 【Vanish】 hit, and part of its body disappeared.
Even so, the Black Knight didn’t flinch or show fear, readied its sword, and entered my range.
I used my sixth Relic.
“[Arms of the Cosmos]…”
The cosmos enveloped my arm. The Black Knight’s sword strike aimed for me with unerring accuracy.
I followed it with my eyes and blocked it with the [Arms of the Cosmos].
The Black Knight was already battered thanks to 【Vanish】.
Yet, the Black Knight displayed terrifying swordsmanship.
I was certain.
This Black Knight was a Low-rank 【Treasure Class】 Monster.
The lowest rank of the highest class of Monsters.
Low-rank, but it possessed the power to destroy a nation all by itself.
“…I hate having to admit that, in the end, this is the only way.”
I struck the Black Knight with the [Arms of the Cosmos].
The Black Knight was blown back and collapsed.
Its limbs were bent in unnatural directions, and about half of its body had vanished.
It was over.
At that moment, my eyes met the Black Knight’s.
They weren’t ghost lights. It had beautiful blue eyes.
(…I… offer my thanks… to you…)
“Eh?”
That voice just now?
The Black Knight slowly crumbled, its ashes scattering like flower petals.
…
Ash flowers.
I felt so frustrated I almost cried, but I held that back.
“It’s my loss.”
That much, I could endure.
The sound of a Whistle echoed. Beyond the bridge lay an Abandoned Village.
No one was there. Most of the houses had collapsed.
The only building left standing was a church. The Whistle’s sound came from there.
The church was bronze-colored, its stained glass faded.
When I opened the creaking door, the Whistle’s sound grew slightly louder.
Entering, I found myself immediately in a chapel, directly beneath a statue of the Goddess Holy Mother.
On the red, dust-covered altar sat a Chalice. The Whistle’s sound came from it.
…
There were several skeletons on the chapel pews.
Among them were the Bones of children.
…
Something happened here once. That must be the cause of everything.
I don’t know what happened. But it must have been horrific and tragic.
…
Before me. On the dusty red altar, there was just one Chalice.
It was a small Chalice, sized for a child. A smooth, silver Chalice.
Inside the Chalice was a crimson liquid.
From its thick, viscous appearance, it was a very deep red.
…
I don’t know what it is. And I don’t want to know.
From deep within that red liquid, the Whistle’s sound echoed.
It sounded cheerful, yet somehow dark and discordant— This wasn’t the sound of a Whistle.
“…It was human voices…?”
And many of them—screams and cries. Wailing, shrieking, and angry roars.
They overlapped and echoed, sounding like a discordant Whistle.
Why had it become like this?
Why could I hear the screams and cries of so many people from the bottom of the Chalice?
…
I understood one thing. This Chalice was Legendary.
Beyond that, I couldn’t say anything.
But I knew what absolutely had to be done.
This Chalice couldn’t be left as it was.
I held my hand out towards the Chalice.
“…No.”
I considered erasing it with 【Vanish】 but stopped.
Somehow, I felt that wouldn’t save them.
That’s an execution.
That wouldn’t save them.
Save them… Save them?
“…I see.”
I want to save them.
I want to save these many screams and cries, this sorrow and pain.
From the depths of my pouch, I took out an Egg-shaped Container.
I opened the lid and dropped the contents into the small Chalice.
The moment the Elixir touched the thick, red liquid—no, the instant it touched the Chalice itself.
The Chalice dissolved into countless particles of light and vanished.
And the sound stopped.
…
What happened here in the past, and why did things turn out like this?
I don’t know.
But whatever began from that will surely never happen again.
The resentment will no longer echo like the sound of a Whistle.
It’s over.
I left the church and departed from the Abandoned Village.
I returned home near evening.
Ahh, I’m tired. Really tired.