The Author's POV

"…Should I say, as expected?"

As I descended from the top of the tower and made my way toward the hall where the main battle was taking place, I was surprised to see that the battle had essentially come to an end on this side.

I wasn't the only one aware that the battle was over.

The demons knew it too, and…

Boom―!

"Argkh!"

Coming down, I could see that there were still some demons that were actively attempting to fight their way out of the tower; however, just as this was supposed to be a prison that was supposed to trap me and the others, it had instead become a prison for all of the demons that were present.

No one could get out, and more blood splattered all over the ground.

"Ren, you're finally here."

A voice called out for me, spotting my arrival. When I turned my head to see who had called out for me, I realized it was Edward.

"How's the situation?"

I asked, curiously looking around. At first glance, it appeared as though we had won by a landslide; however, when I looked down and saw some of the blood that had been spilled on the floor, I realized that this victory wasn't without its flaws.

…We had sustained some losses.

"Don't worry about it."

As if reading my expression and thoughts, Edward patted me on the shoulder.

"Don't beat yourself up because of the losses. Although it is a fact that some of us were killed, from the very beginning, everyone who participated was aware that death was a possibility. Nobody will blame you; on the contrary, most are quite grateful for everything you've done."

After a moment's pause, a grin broke out unexpectedly on his face.

"We… we have won."

He muttered in a low voice.

His words were filled with unmasked joy, and when I looked around and observed the facial expressions of those who were currently fighting, I realized that he wasn't the only one who was feeling pleased with the way things were going.

"You may not understand this very well since you're young, but…"

Edward continued.

"This victory means a great deal more to people my age than you probably realize at this point in time. In contrast to the world in which you were born, the one in which I and the other people of my age live was not nearly as tranquil as the world in which you were raised."

"Our land and our people were subjected to constant destruction at the hands of demons. I've seen the killings and massacres more times than you could possibly imagine… and so have the others."

Edward brought his hand forward, which caused the mana that was all around him to congregate, and a beam shot out from the tip of his finger.

"Akh!"

on top of a demon that was attempting to

me

but Edward's

"It's fine."

patted my shoulder

folks, and for that, you don't have to feel guilty about their death… I'm sure the lot of them are happy knowing that they finally managed to

"Is that so…"

I muttered absentmindedly.

Edward was trying to

the same time,

being a leader has a lot more responsibility than I

the fact that I did not have any feelings of guilt in connection with

and it wasn't exactly the most pleasant thing in the world to realize that I was the reason why they were no

thought of what I'd have to say to their families

"Haaa…"

But this was life…

looked up and let out

if I felt guilty about all

the first time that I had done something similar; in fact,

when I commanded the orcs to fight against the

choices that ended up leading to the deaths of members of both

that the plan was successful, and as a result, I was more aware than

really

was a hypocrite, and despite this realization, I found that it did not affect my sleep

other things that were keeping me from doing

sure

and turned

done on my

even need to look up because

good to know that

unlike before, seemed

since his recuperation, I was still not

who was experiencing these emotions;

was left completely speechless after receiving multiple calls and messages inquiring about Octavious' well-being and

bad was his image before he

provided a sufficient amount of information to

going

me out of my thoughts, and I found myself

I looked at the others who were slaying the last of the demons, and I couldn't help but break into a

"About that…"

forward and looked down at the ground below me. I raised one foot, focused all of my mana into it,

to

into contact with

Booom―!

ground began

***