Before this, Kokoro would indeed have angrily attacked the hero.
But at this moment, Shinnaru was very calm.
Then, Shinnaru slowly opened her mouth:
"There is no place in this world that can accommodate me."
Now, you also need to answer a question for me.
What am I to you?
A challenge? Or a plaything?
Kokoro thought it would take time to think, but she didn't expect the hero's answer to be so quick.
"It's not just a challenge, it's a goal I must overcome!"
Regardless of your beliefs, you are pursuing your goals; we are the same kind of people.
"That's right... After fighting like this for so long, it's impossible for us to stop fighting and coexist peacefully."
Then... burn brightly yourself! Fight me... once more!
As the hero listened to Shinnaru's final declaration, a complex mix of emotions welled up within him.
"Yes, I will do that..."
A sword and a shield, a bow and a hero.
Every move, every style, a lifetime of demon kings.
As Kokoro watched the hero, whose strength had evolved to the point of overwhelming him, he unleashed his final glory, only to be cut down by the hero's sword, and he too fell from grace.
He knelt on one knee in pain, clutching his wound, and looked up as the hero, wielding the legendary sword and the shield of hope, approached.
"It's over. Your reign of terror will end today."
"Yes...you are right, all existence is destined to end."
But the hero shook his head and set his sword and shield aside.
"No, it is destined to keep moving forward."
"Whatever... I hope you're proud of me, and I'll express my approval of you through my failures."
"Thank you, your recognition will stay with me for life."
As the Demon King Kokoro slowly closed his eyes and began to accept his death, the hero solemnly picked up his legendary sword.
It stabbed towards Shinnaru's chest!
Shinnaru looked pained, but instead of shouting, she chose to remain silent... to end her life in silence.
This is the life of Shinnaraku, a life trapped as the Eternal Demon King.
However... Kokoro is very grateful to this hero, because as an awakened and thoughtful demon king, he sits eternally alone on the throne, unable to leave the demon king's castle.
Perhaps death is the best ending for me.
......
After an unknown amount of time, footsteps echoed once again in the deserted Demon King's Palace.
An elderly man, wielding a legendary sword and a shield of hope, walked step by step to this place.
He pushed open the heavy door and looked at the tombstone he had carved for the Demon King Shinnaru.
He then stepped forward and placed down the flowers he brought every year.
However... this time, the old hero did not choose to leave. Instead, he closed the door, and the purple flames in the hall rose again. The old hero fused the Shield of Hope into the door, and holding the legendary sword, he walked up the steps and sat on the throne where the Demon King Shinnaku once sat.
"Old friend..."
I once thought that as long as your reign of terror ended, order would return to normal.
I once made a bold statement, vowing to eradicate all evil in the world.
In the end, I was wounded countless times, but I wiped out all the monsters in the Demon King's castle. Your attacks killed me countless times.
But I never imagined that evil is never a tangible entity; order always crumbles into the abyss after stabilization, and those who hurt me most... in the end, would be my own people.
As he spoke, the old hero's eyes were unfocused, and he placed the legendary sword in front of the throne, his right hand resting on the hilt, his strength gradually dissipating.
"This world imposes too many limitations on us..."
The things I want to do are things I can't get. I once asked you... what are you afraid of?
Now I understand a little bit about how you feel.
Lost themselves? Or abandoned?
No... it's the loneliness that comes after seeing everything clearly...
Whether it was a misperception or an illusion, the old hero actually saw the scenes after his last few dozen defeats and deaths.
However, after the hero died, Kokoro held him in his arms for longer and longer periods of time.
Even until the very last time, when he returned, the Demon King Naraku, with his back turned, still held his dead self in his arms...
The old hero remained silent; these fragments continued to unfold...
It is said that before a person dies, they will see their glorious life, and ultimately, they will quietly pass away, immersed in beautiful memories...
Ah... So my best memories are from this period of suffering?
Why is it from Kokoro's perspective?
I never expected this... In human terms, you were a tsundere after all... It's a pity... I couldn't save you back then, couldn't take you away, and had to choose to end your life...
Forgive me... my eternal rival... Shinnaro.
The hero's hand slipped from the hilt of the sword, but the legendary sword stood before the throne, and the hero, like the former Demon King Naraku, leaned against the throne and closed his eyes forever.
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