Chapter 250

Stratagem

“So Plato’s passed… When I said I’d give him leave, that’s not quite what I meant…”

Deep within the imperial palace, the Demon Queen who sat solemnly on the throne seemed to whisper that as we entered her vision .

As before, the Demon Queen was wrapped in a black ceremonial robe, but her face was no longer covered by a veil .

In her hand, she held a dark black crystal smeared in blood .

That was likely Plato’s .

As we had planned, Claire-sama was positioned up front .

At present, only Claire-sama, Manaria-sama, Lily-sama and I were in the throne room .

The Pope and the others who were still drained from their fight with Plato were resting at the gate . Rodd-sama and the remaining others were preparing the Magi Shibley .

Claire-sama shot a sharp stare at the Demon Queen before speaking .

“Rei… no, Demon Queen . As you say, Plato has been defeated . All that remains is you and Rates . ”

“It appears so . What of it?”

“Have you still not given up on ending humanity’s history?”

“… So you already know . Was it TAIM?”

“That’s right . ”

“Is that so…”

For a few moments, there was only silence between the two .

“Demon Queen, even now it is not too late . Please think this over . ”

“Impossible, Claire-sama . This is the only option I have left . ”

“That’s not true, if we all think about it together, surely, surely there’s a better―”

“Yes, there was a time that I thought that as well . However, it was pointless . Do you even know how many times I’ve tried and failed before reaching this conclusion? No matter how much time I spent, the result was always the same . There’s no choice but to end it, all of it . ”

“Demon Queen…”

Claire-sama sadly murmured .

“… You said that I hadn’t changed, but I believe that you’re the one who truly hasn’t changed . ”

“Which part of me?”

“The part where you come to your own conclusion, and then try to bear everything on your own shoulders . ”

“…”

In response to Claire’s words, the Demon Queen’s face momentarily distorted .

I don’t really care, but could you not leave me behind and move on to the climax?

The one who spoke next was Manaria-sama .

“Regardless, we must stop you . Please don’t think ill of us . ”

“It’s fine, Manaria-sama . I was sure that it would eventually come down to this between us . ”

“Please don’t say something so sad . It is I that must raise my hand against someone that looks just like… no, against another individual whom I deeply care for . ”

“Then why not just, not?”

“Considering my position, that’s not something I can do . ”

The Demon Queen spoke intimately with Manaria-sama as well .

It seems that I was being left behind here as well .

“R-rei-san, to me, you’re my only Rei-san!”

“Lily-sama, you really are a nice person . If I didn’t have Claire-sama, I might have actually fallen for you . ”

“So basically, doesn’t that just mean that I still don’t have a chance…!”

As tears formed in Lily-sama’s eyes, I pat her head .

Lily-sama really was cute, but I still only had eyes for Claire-sama .

Claire-sama, what a sinful woman .

“It’s straightforward . If you all win and I die, human history will continue to repeat as before . If I win, human history will find its end . Extremely simple . ”

“Is there any chance to negotiate?”

“There is not, Claire-sama . ”

“Is that so…”

Claire-sama’s face twisted in pain .

I was at my limits .

“Just look at me, playing the role of the tragic heroine . It’s fine if I’ve lost it, but I ask that Claire-sama not be dragged in . ”

“…”

In response to my words the Demon Queen seemed to feel ashamed .

Without pause, I continued .

“I mean simply put, you’ve just lost your passion for Claire-sama, isn’t that it? Pathetic . Are you really me? And as if that’s not enough, you’d use that as a reason to end the world? Admittedly I tend to be a bit of a nuisance, but I’m nowhere near your level . ”

“As if you could understand . ”

“Of course I understand, this is about me after all . It seems that I lived far too long and went senile . Aah jeez . Even thinking that this is one of my possible futures makes me shudder . ”

Putting everything into it, I stuck my tongue out at the Demon Queen .

“… You too would come to understand, if you were to tread the same path as I . ”

“I won’t listen to your excuses . Now, I am the one living my life . Right now, I absolutely love Claire-sama, I love the world that Claire-sama lives in, and I love those who love Claire-sama . That is me . I couldn’t care less about the future . ”

“… What a frustrating stance, to think I’d hear it from myself . ”

“That’s mutual . ”

I too was quite fed up with this so-called Demon Queen .

“It seems we have no words left to exchange . Then, shall we begin?”

“… ! Demon Queen!”

“Claire-sama, I ask that you don’t resist . Then, I’ll be able to give you a painless death . ”

Those words signaled the beginning of our final fight .

“Rei! Onee-sama!”

“Yes!”

“I got it . ”

I cast the earth magic, Muddy Soil, turning the throne room walls and ceiling into mud .

“Flare Blast!”

Manaria-sama followed up with high affinity fire magic, blowing it all away in an instant .

Including the upper floor .

To have caused such a large explosion without harming any of her allies, I had no choice but to praise Manaria-sama’s fine control over magic .

Additionally, Lily-sama had cut down any shards that happened to fly our way .

The magnificently built throne room had become the one part of the palace that had collapsed, exposing it to the outside .

“…”

It seems that the Demon Queen was aware of our aim .

She had already deployed a magic barrier .

We were to destroy that with a Rodd-sama’s long distance attack .

The Magi Shibley’s sights had already been aligned to point here .

However, there was one thing that we hadn’t expected .

“Wha…!?”

“Uhh!?”

“This…”

“Could be bad . ”

The barrier that the Demon Queen had generated was magnitudes thicker than it had been .

The walls, which were a deeper black than darkness itself, almost seemed to sever off the rest of the world .

“So this was what Plato was talking about…”

Claire-sama bit her lip in frustration .

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just a conjecture, but it’s likely the Demon Queen absorbed magical energy from Plato . Otherwise, it’s difficult to explain why Plato was so weak . ”

“That’s correct, Claire-sama . ”

The Demon Queen replied to Claire-sama’s deduction from the other side of the darkness .

“Rodd-sama’s attack during the previous fight had caught me by surprise . So, I took the liberty of preparing some countermeasures .

“… Khh . ”

Even then, there was a faint hope that the Magi Shibley would be able to break through .

In truth, the weapon was already aimed . All that was left was to clear the path .

In spite of that,

“Ah, I should say, my countermeasures don’t end there . ”

“What was that?”

It was immediately obvious what the Demon Queen was trying to say .

“Your foolish plans, the Demon Queen has already seen through them . ”

A hoarse elderly voice came from behind us .

As though in cue, the space right in front of Rodd-sama and the others distorted, spawning an imposing giant insect .

“Rates!”

“Oh? I recommend that you don’t carelessly rush off . You all are going to keep me company, isn’t that right, Claire-sama?”

“Khh…”

Our forces had been divided .

With this Rodd-sama’s Magi Shibley would not reach the Demon Queen .

We were also unable to rejoin with Rodd-sama and the others .

What could we do…?

It was then that we heard young voices call out to us from behind .

“Claire-okaasama, Rei-okaasama!”

“Don’t worry yourselves about us! Mei and I will do something about it!”

It was Mei and Alea .

The two held the wand and sword that they had each inherited from Dorothea, standing alongside Rodd-sama to protect the Magi Shibley .

“Please run!”

“Run!”

“No, it’s pointless . After all, I was commanded to not allow even one escape . ”

As though mocking Claire-sama’s and my own words, Rates laughed .

“Well then… as you’ve all said, should we proceed with the final fight?”

The Demon Queen’s words sounded like a death sentence .