Chapter 538: Chapter 534

Bear-san and Cereille

I left the man to Cereille, whom she had been harboring her vendetta about for many years. Whether capturing or killing the man, I think it has to be done by Cereille’s hands. Even if I defeat the man, I don’t think that his defeat by my hands will completely appease Cereille’s heart. All I could do was set the situation up for her.

However, I left Swaying Bear with her, but I’m still worried about Cereille.

I’ll kill all the monsters here as soon as possible and go to Cereille’s side.

!!

“Hugging Bear, if there are any monsters that come near the bear house, take them out. I’ll handle the others.” (Yuna)

`Ku~u ~ n’

Hugging Bear squealed with a “leave it to me” expression. Both Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were so reliable.

“But don’t push yourself too hard.” (Yuna)

If a strong monster appears, I will deal with it.

The monsters may have been holding back until now. They might have thought that we had taken their bait Keith, or that new baits, me and Hugging Bear, had arrived. They attacked us with drool all over their faces even though Hugging Bear nor I looked tasty.

To teach them how dangerous it was to attack me, I unleashed my wind blade magic on the monsters around the bear house, taking down several wolves and goblins.

“If you run away, I won’t chase you, but if you attack, I won’t hold back.” (Yuna)

I said to the remaining monsters, but there was no way the monsters could understand me, so they climbed over the monster corpses and attacked me and Hugging Bear.

I defeated the monsters that attacked me one after another. They were not strong, just numerous. If I keep casting magic, I can defeat them.

As we are steadily reducing the number of monsters, Hugging Bear, behind me, cried out.

“Thank you, Hugging Bear. I know, so it’s okay.” (Yuna)

The only monsters in the way were wyverns. While dealing with goblins, wolves, and orcs, we checked the wyverns’ positions in the sky.

The wyverns glided in.

Such opponents with whom I had fought many times. I’m accustomed to their movements. I sent the bear’s claws flying with wind magic at close range as they glided toward me, and quickly defeated a wyvern.

The remaining wyverns that kept coming at us were also killed.

Experience helps. I was able to defeat them with less difficulty than the first time I faced them.

And speaking of the rest of the monsters, they ran away when the wyverns attacked. Apparently, they were more frightened at wyverns rather than Hugging Bear and I.

The monsters in the vicinity of the bear house had disappeared.

I didn’t chase after the fleeing monsters. That was not my role. My role was to protect Keith and defeat the monsters that attacked us.

The monsters were no longer being manipulated, and I had destroyed the magic stone that the man hid, so there was no need for them to go to town. Then there was no need to chase after them and defeat them.

Now, the monster that had been attacking us was gone. However, it seems that there was still a big one left. As I was wondering what to do, the ground shook.

The ground rose.

It looks like I don’t have to dig it up.

A colossal worm emerged from the ground.

I’ve already confirmed it with my detection skills.

Everything he did was a second attempt at the same thing as that mage who tried to attack the capital. However, it was a degraded version of the original attack.

“Hugging Bear. Stand back.” (Yuna)

`Ku~u ~ n’

When the worm emerged from the ground, it opened its large, disgusting maw and checked its surroundings. When it found me, it opened its maw wide and attacked.

It’s like telling me to attack that part since it’s exposing its weakness.

I created fire bears and made them charge into the worm’s maw. The fire bears walked inside the worm’s body and burned its body from the inside. The worm suffered for a while and it collapsed.

“It’s dangerous to put everything in your mouth mindlessly.” (Yuna)

With this, I’ve completed the elimination of the monsters in the surrounding area. The monsters that had left the vicinity of the bear house and were in the distance seemed to have fled on instinct when the worm appeared.

Now my work is done. All that is left is Cereille’s side.

I asked Kumakyu to take care of the bear house and Keith, and then I headed for Cereille’s place.

I’ll beat him myself if they don’t seem to have beaten him yet.

=====

-Cereille’s POV-

The worm emerged from the ground.

The worm’s body was huge, and it was not an easy monster to defeat. It was a monster that rarely appears, and most people never see it.

The worm stood in front, overshadowing Yuna, who was dressed as a bear.

“Yuna!” (Cereille)

I screamed.

If she doesn’t run away, she’ll be in danger. The worm opened its big maw and attacked Yuna. But Yuna didn’t even try to escape.

“Fufu, I hope you die with regrets for making fun of me!” (Man)

The moment I thought Yuna was eaten, she cast fire magic? I think it was fire magic because it looked red. I think she shot it into the worm’s mouth. The worm started suffering ,and after wriggling its body many times, it stopped moving.

I couldn’t understand what had transpired, but there was no doubt that Yuna had defeated the worm.

The man looked at Yuna as if he saw something unbelievable and started laughing like crazy.

“Fu-ha-ha. My decade. Vanished like a bubble because of one girl dressed as a bear?” (Man)

I too, cannot believe what Yuna did. I would have run up to Yuna celebrating if it weren’t for this man.

“It’s over. You will pay for your sins.” (Cereille)

I pointed my sword at the man.

And to my words, Swaying Bear came to me.

`Ku~u ~ n’

Swaying Bear was holding a collar in its mouth.

The man said it was a collar that seals out magic power.

I received the collar from Swaying Bear.

“Thanks. Now then, I will have you wear this collar.” (Cereille)

“You’re not going to kill me? By giving the order to Worm, it took both my magic power and my life force. My life is not long. If you are going, to kill me, do it now.” (Man)

The man’s forehead was soaked with sweat and he seemed to be struggling to open his mouth.

I pointed my sword at the man, but the man didn’t move.

He closed his eyes as if he was prepared to die.

It will all be over if I kill this man here and now.

But……. I’m not the only one who thinks of my mother.

“I’m not killing you right now. I’ll bring you to my father.” (Cereille)

My father was also grieving when the day of my mother’s death came. My father also needed to meet this man and make closure with my mother.

“I don’t want you to die from using the rest of your magic before meeting father, so I’m going to use this collar to seal your magic.” (Cereille)

“I shall refrain from doing that.” (Man)

The man stood up with a pained look on his face, reached into his pocket, and tried to take something out. When I realized it was a knife, my body involuntarily moved, and I stabbed him with the sword I was holding.

The man vomited blood from his mouth.

“Fufu, I don’t want to see your father’s face. If I’m dying anyway, I’ll die with your hands.” (Man)

The man was laughing even though he was about to die.

“I have killed the woman I loved, and you, whom I thought loved me, have killed me. Nothing could make me happier. What a pity that I cannot be with you.” (Man)

“You are an idiot. My mother was not the only woman in the world.” (Cereille)

“She was the only one for me. And when I saw you growing up, I was attracted to you. I really wanted to have you.” (Man)

“You’re doing it wrong.” (Cereille)

“This was the only way I knew how.” (Man)

I couldn’t say anything.

Mother loved Father. Father loved Mother. No one can come between them.

Of course, I can’t say do your best.

“I will go to Shuria, to your mother, before he does.” (Man)

The man laughed, vomited blood from his mouth, and fell to the ground.

I wanted to avenge my mother until I met the man who killed her. When he appeared before me, Something seemed to have overcame me, and I felt the urge to kill him. That man is now dead.

Silence returned, and tears streamed down my eyes.

Something seems to have caught up to me after the long-standing pressure of my mother’s death had disappeared.

Whatever I was holding in my hand fell off as if I had lost my strength.

Now, finally, everything was over.

`Ku~u ~ n’

Swaying Bear snuggled up to me as if saying it was worried about me.

“I’m fine now. Thanks for worrying about me.” (Cereille)

I was brought back to reality when Swaying Bear called out to me.

The moment my mind recovered, I remembered that Yuna was fighting the monsters all alone.

“That’s right. What about Yuna?” (Cereille)

“You called?” (Yuna)

I heard Yuna’s voice from behind me and I turned around to see her dressed as a bear.

“Yuna! Are you okay? Are you injured?” (Cereille)

I ran over to Yuna and checked her body.

It’s a bear.

“I’m fine. Looks like you’re done there, too.” (Yuna)

It’s like nothing really happened. I was astonished. Yuna’s bear outfit makes me think it was just a dream.

“Yes.” (Cereille)

I regret that I could not take the man before my father, but it’s all over now.

“Is he dead?” (Yuna)

“Yes, I tried to capture him, but he pulled out a knife and my body moved on its own.” (Cereille)

I explained the situation.

“I’m sorry to hear that, but Cereille’s life is more important. Besides, the man didn’t seem to have intended to get caught either.” (Yuna)

“I appreciate you saying so.” (Cereille)

If I had not taken out my sword at that time, I would have been stabbed by his knife.

“But now it’s all over.” (Yuna)

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you, Yuna.” (Cereille)

I can’t begin to express just how grateful I am to Yuna for her help. If it had not been for Yuna, I would have been unable to do anything, the man would have captured me, monsters would have attacked the town, and I don’t know what would have happened to Keith.

“As long as Cereille and Keith are safe. It was the man’s fault in the first place.” (Yuna)

“That’s right. What about Keith?” (Cereille)

She was reminded of him when Keith’s name came up.

“Keith is sleeping in the house, so he’ll be fine. No monster can break into that house, and Hugging Bear is watching over him.” (Yuna)

I was relieved to hear that.

It all ended safely, thanks to the mysterious girl dressed as a bear.

=====

Author’s Note:

I was worried about what to do with the man until the end.

Would he die in front of her father, would he kill himself, or would Cereille kill him? In the end, the man chose to die voluntarily and was killed by the hands of Cereille.

The rest will be the epilogue.