Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

After comforting the Hero, we continued on our way, and before long, we started to hear strange sounds. Brynhild, who had narrowed the distance between us, pointed her sword.

‘The light is brighter.’

It felt like the light emanating from the Holy Sword was a little brighter than before.

No, if I felt it, it was definitely brighter. The Holy Sword was said to emit brighter and more vivid light as the synchronization rate with the Hero increased, so it seemed my words had worked.

On the other hand, it also meant that Brynhild had been feeling burdened by her status as a Hero. Maybe that’s why she disliked being called ‘Heroic Knight’ when we first met.

“The Flame Bear and Ice Bear are definitely dead. What could it be this time?”

“How would I know? It’s definitely not an ally, so let’s get ready to fight.”

“I agree.”

It was a lie. I knew what the sound was.

The Demon King, Elysier. It was the sound of the fear of the people of this world.

“I’ll take the lead this time.”

As we prepared to fight, Brynhild took a position in front of me. Then she turned around and smiled slyly.

“I can’t protect everyone, but I can protect the important ones. I’m a Hero, after all.”

She seemed to be more impressed than I expected, as she was already using the lines I had just taught her, and I was a little surprised. Brynhild, realizing how I might interpret her actions, panicked and stammered.

“Th, that’s not what I meant! I meant as friends, just as friends! Friends!”

“I know, I know. Of course, as friends. What else could there be between us?”

“……Chee. Somehow, I feel like I’m at a loss.”

Brynhild pouted, dissatisfied, and gripped the Holy Sword tighter, turning her body. A bluish mana flowed from her.

“Uh……?”

However, her confident demeanor didn’t last long.

Brynhild’s body stiffened as she sensed something amiss. Her arms and legs began to tremble slightly, and the tip of her sword wavered.

‘……This is more than I expected.’

I also felt the same, even though I knew Elysier was coming. The sense of oppression wasn’t a problem, but the problem was that the lance wanted to burst out of my body against my will. I involuntarily gripped Eternity tighter.

-Clack.

The sound of high heels rang out. Brynhild’s trembling intensified at the sound, and her breathing became rougher. The tip of her sword trembled in sync.

Just as Brynhild’s tension reached its peak…

“What an interesting conversation you’re having, Hero.”

Elysier, holding the Demon Sword, appeared from the thousands of shards of rocks without making a sound.

Her face, which I had never seen like that before, was cold, and she fixed her gaze on me without any change in expression.

“Is that your important person, as you said?”

“……”

Brynhild’s trembling intensified to the point of madness. I was also desperately holding onto Eternity behind her. Not because I was scared or afraid, but because I was afraid that if I loosened my grip, the lance would burst out on its own.

‘I did ask her for a favor, though……’

When we were planning, I had asked Elysier for a favor: to spar with me and attack with all her might.

And Elysier seemed to be faithfully fulfilling my request. Brynhild’s trembling confirmed it. The red stone-like Demon Sword in her left hand was glowing with an ominous light.

Brynhild took a step back, flinching. It suddenly occurred to me how defenseless Elysier had been when I first met her. If she had come like that, she would have been discovered for sure.

‘……Don’t think about it. I have to endure. No matter what.’

I clenched my teeth and controlled the lance, which was trying to burst out on its own as it sensed the power of the Demon King.

At the same time, I repeated to myself over and over again that Elysier was just an unfortunate reincarnator trapped in this work, not the Elysier the Demon King. So I told him to stay put.

“Heu…… Heu……”

When I suddenly turned around, I realized that Brynhild was reacting even more strongly than me. The tip of her sword trembled as if she had Parkinson’s, and the back of her neck was soaked with cold sweat. I cautiously approached her.

“Heup…… Heuuu……”

Brynhild was crying.

She was trying to bite her lip to hold back, but her lower lip was already torn, and blood was flowing down, mixing with the tears from her eyes. Elysier’s confused expression caught my eye.

‘Should I continue?’

Elysier asked with her eyes. I first signaled with my lips to stay put, then immediately supported Brynhild and leaned her against a nearby rock.

I didn’t forget to cast a spell to create an illusion, so they wouldn’t notice me.

“Brynhild, are you okay?”

“Mi, Mira…… Wh, what’s that……? Wh, what is that……? Th, that’s……? The Demon King, is it……?”

Even after the Demon King disappeared from her sight, her trembling didn’t stop. It was almost like a seizure or convulsion.

It reminded me of Priscilla, who had said she felt cold when the warmth was gone when I wasn’t around.

‘……Did she meet the Demon King too soon?’

It was currently the middle of the first semester of the first grade.

In the original story, Brynhild and Aria left Bellium Academy at the end of the first year, which was the conclusion of Part 1, and Part 2 continued for another year.

In other words, Brynhild was meeting the Demon King almost two years earlier than she was supposed to. And this time, she was meeting the Demon King, who was trying to kill her with all her might, just like in the final battle.

Moreover, she hadn’t even had a chance to grow properly.

“Mi, Mira…… I, I can’t breathe…… Save me…… I can’t…… I feel like I’m suffocating…… I think I’m going to……”

Brynhild was about to hyperventilate. I first blocked her mouth and nose with my sleeve. I could feel her hot breath through the sleeve.

“It’s okay. Look at me and breathe calmly. Slowly. There’s no need to worry. Everything will be fine.”

However, even taking that into account, the current situation was clearly abnormal. It had been mentioned in this plan that Brynhild was meeting the Demon King earlier than in the original story.

Elysier had said she would be scared, but as she was fundamentally a Hero, there shouldn’t be a big problem. So, something unexpected must have happened.

“Ah, no…… I have to fight…… I’m a Hero…… I have to protect the important people…… But I can’t win…… How can I beat that……?”

For now, calming Brynhild down was the top priority. Her hyperventilation seemed to have subsided, but her mind was still in a state of panic. I grabbed her shoulders firmly and brought my face close to hers.

“Look at me, Brynhild.”

“We have to run away…… We’ll die……”

“Brynhild.”

“I don’t want to…… I don’t want to die like this……”

“Leona!”

When I forcefully called her name, some life returned to Brynhild’s eyes, which were filled with tears.

“Mi, Mira……”

“Listen carefully, Leona. I’ll handle this place, so you retreat first. Got it? Go and call for support.”

“Ah, no…… I’ll die…… I’ll die…… I’ll protect you…… I’m a Hero……”

“Shut up and do as I say. Are you going to fight in that state?”

At my blunt refusal, Brynhild’s body shrank back. I gently stroked her head as she shrunk and smiled lightly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get you out of here somehow.”

Finally, I removed the strands of hair that had stuck to her cheeks due to the cold sweat, and stood up.

It wasn’t an empty promise. I couldn’t leave Brynhild here. But I also couldn’t defeat or retreat the Demon King here. If I did, Brynhild would truly become a Hero who was incapable of growing.

It was much better to send Brynhild away first and then pretend to be seriously injured and follow her.

“Mira…… Miraaaaaa!”

I ignored the desperate scream from behind and ran towards the spot where Elysier had emerged, brandishing Eternity. Brynhild screamed my name, sobbing.

-Kwaaaang!

Elysier, who had been waiting for me to charge, split the rocks and blocked Eternity with the Demon Sword.

Sparks of ominous colors flew where the two blades met. I asked, creating a flashy magic spell to destroy the surroundings and draw attention away from us.

“What happened? You said there wouldn’t be a problem.”

“……I apologize. It is my fault.”

“I’m not trying to blame you. Unexpected situations can always arise. But tell me why she was so scared. If you don’t know, then there’s nothing we can do.”

“I know the cause. To be precise, the current Hero is not afraid of the Demon King. She is afraid of the Demon Sword she wields.”

“The Demon Sword?”

I glanced at the crude, stone-like, ominous sword that was pressed against Eternity. The Demon King nodded.

“Ever since it saw the owner of the Holy Sword, my sword has been uncontrollably emitting a fierce killing intent against her. It’s several times stronger than the killing intent the Hero released during her last struggle in the final battle. Even then, the Hero, who was at her peak just before the conclusion, hesitated for a moment. What do you think would happen now that the Hero is much weaker and the killing intent is stronger?”

“Why won’t it listen to you?”

“……Because I know that the current Hero is much weaker than you. It keeps whispering to me that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kill the owner of the Holy Sword. Even if I tell it to stop, it won’t listen, and that’s probably why. It’s my fault. I have nothing more to say. I didn’t realize that the Demon Sword could emit such a dense killing intent.”

Elysier shriveled up, feeling dejected.

It was unavoidable. All of Elysier’s judgments were based on her 89 cycles of regression, and since she had never experienced this situation before, it was natural for her to make a mistake.

“Don’t worry too much about what you didn’t know. Let’s focus on getting Brynhild out of here first. And let’s spar a bit while we’re at it.”

I comforted Elysier, who was feeling dejected, and then, with a little force on his arm, pushed her. Elysier obediently moved back as I pushed.

“Oh, and don’t forget that last thing.”

“……”

Elysier nodded, still looking reluctant.

.

.

.

Brynhild had a strong affection for Mira. Whether it was romantic or platonic, I wasn’t sure, but that was the case.

That was probably why she had seemed to struggle with maintaining a proper distance.

Brynhild knew that her actions were not something a man and a woman would do to each other. Even if she had no friends other than Aria, she wouldn’t be so clueless.

She felt comfortable with Mira, so she stuck close without hesitation. With other men? Hmm. A handshake out of courtesy would probably be the most she’d done.

So, when Mira stood up to protect her as she trembled with fear at the sight of the Demon King, she felt an inexplicable warmth, and when her head and cheeks were stroked, she felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

And when Mira stood in front of the Demon King instead of her, frozen with fear, her heart felt like it would burst.

At the same time, she felt endless self-loathing. It was because of her that Mira was in this situation. She was a pathetic Hero who cried, trembled, and whined at the sight of the Demon King, and now Mira was sacrificing himself to save her.

‘I have to help.’

But, despite knowing this in her head, her body wouldn’t move. All Brynhild could do was watch Mira’s back as he fought the Demon King, changing the nearby terrain.

At first, she had such thoughts. Maybe Mira would solve this too. Maybe Mira would somehow manage it again. Maybe he would even defeat the Demon King.

Because Brynhild knew that Mira had always done so.

-Crack!

When the Demon Sword cut off Mira’s right arm, those sweet thoughts were shattered. The red blood spurting from the severed shoulder snapped Brynhild out of her fantasy and back to reality.

“Mi…… Ra……?”

The attack didn’t stop there. The Demon Sword, which had pierced his abdomen, tore through his body and emerged from his left shoulder, splitting his body in half. Flesh, intestines, and blood splattered from the torn opening.

“Ugh…… Ugh.”

Brynhild, who was rolling on the ground, vomited. The Demon King kicked Mira’s body, and with a thud, it collided with a nearby rock. Cluck, a chunk of intestine mixed with blood spat out from his mouth.

Brynhild also vomited, but unlike Mira, who had vomited what shouldn’t be vomited, nothing came out of her mouth.

Mira’s appearance was terrible. His right arm was completely severed, and from his abdomen to his left shoulder, his body had been torn apart, causing his left half to hang limply.

Blood gushed from the torn opening, staining his uniform and face.

‘I have to run…… I have to run away…… Mira told me to run.’

Brynhild finally remembered Mira’s words, but it was too late. The Demon King was already approaching her. She had failed to use the time that Mira had bought with his life.

‘I don’t want to.’

No. That couldn’t happen. Mira had sacrificed himself to save her, so she couldn’t die here. She had to live for Mira’s sake.

But at the same time, she was also scared.

Brynhild knew how strong and talented Mira was. How could she, a mere Hero wannabe, stand a chance against the Demon King when even Mira couldn’t hold his own for long?

No matter how she thought about it, the answer was ‘no.’

‘……I don’t want to.’

She gritted her teeth. She hated herself. She hated that even in this life-or-death situation, she was still hesitating to fight, and that she had been crying, trembling, and whining until now.

Mira had tried to help her until the end.

He had taught her that a Hero didn’t need to sacrifice herself, that she was Leona Brynhild before she was a Hero, that it was okay to lean on others when things got tough.

Yet, in the end, she couldn’t even protect the one person who had been by her side. Brynhild hated herself for that.

“That’s…… not…… okay.”

As she realized this, she saw the Holy Sword lying on the ground nearby. Brynhild slowly reached for the hilt. Fortunately, the Demon King didn’t interfere as she picked up the Holy Sword.

Brynhild, holding the Holy Sword, slowly stood up. It was time to return the favor. Although there were no important people left to protect, there was still something else to do.

She had to cut.

She had to destroy.

She had to defeat the Demon King with the Holy Sword.

Because she was a Hero.

Because she was Leona Brynhild, a Hero.

-!!!!!!

As she realized this, a brilliant light began to radiate from the Holy Sword.