I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 406

It was then, as I was repeatedly using [Commanding Eye] while spitting up blood.

《Stop it, Ash! Please!》

Salome, who had collapsed behind me, cried out in a tearful voice.

《You have a wish, don’t you! That small wish to deliver words of encouragement to that little child!》

“……”

《Are you going to give up on that wish and die here?!》

I chuckled.

“…My wish has changed.”

《What?》

“You said it yourself, Salome. If the essence changes, the purpose changes too. It’s just like that. My wish has already changed.”

Salome was right.

I have changed since coming to this world. So, there’s no way my wish would remain the same as before.

At first, my wish was simple.

To save that one child.

But as I fought alongside many people in this world, my wish gradually changed.

What I desire now is… to save the people within my reach.

More broadly, more extensively.

To save everyone I can. That is my wish.

Therefore, to save more people, I must kill that plague here… Raven.

“Salome. I doubted you. I thought there was no way a monster like you could sincerely care for me.”

I smiled at Salome and nodded.

“But you fought for me, risking your life. I trust you now.”

《Ash…》

“You’re the only one who has seen my past. You’re the only one I can entrust with my last request.”

I calmly asked Salome, who was looking at me with trembling eyes.

“Use [Reality Escape] to get out of here. And, please cooperate with the people of Crossroads.”

With her unique escape skill, [Reality Escape], she should be able to escape this plague-ridden hell.

As a spiritual entity, she should also be able to recover from physical injuries in the spirit realm.

Since she has gone to such lengths for me, I can trust and entrust her with the people of Crossroads.

“And someday, when the people of Crossroads defeat the Demon King and this world reaches its true ending…”

It will be a long and arduous path, but.

If those who inherit my flag eventually succeed.

“In my stead, fulfill my first wish. Deliver my encouragement to that child.”

I grinned.

“The words of encouragement I wanted to give that child are…”

I couldn’t finish my sentence.

Because Salome suddenly rushed at me and unexpectedly embraced me head-on.

Her slender arms wrapped around my neck, and her peach-colored lips drew closer, until-

My lips met Salome’s.

‘Huh?’

So.

Salome kissed me.

I was momentarily flustered by the soft, warm sensation of her lips and stiffened, and then….

*Chuuuup!*

Salome suddenly sucked on my lips with a loud smack.

Only then did I snap back to my senses. I widened my eyes in shock. This girl, is she seriously doing this now?!

‘Essence Drain?!’

She had used the succubi’s energy absorption skill – [Essence Drain] – on me, pretending it was a sudden kiss! What on earth is she doing in this situation, this damned succubus?!

But the skill had already taken effect, and all the last bit of energy left in my body was completely sucked away by Salome… This, this, crazy….

《Puhah!》

After a long kiss, Salome pulled away, wearing an expression like an old man who had just downed a shot of good liquor.

《Kya! That’s good! Wow~ That was really delicious. Ash, you’re a bit sweet? Thanks to you, I’m fully recovered!》

“Y-you… you damned succubus…”

I trembled, kneeling on one knee on the floor, completely drained of strength.

“Essence Drain in this situation, what on earth were you thinking…”

《Hehe, don’t be silly. Succubi always aim for the lips of their victims, you know?》

Salome crossed her arms with a triumphant look and declared confidently.

《From the beginning, my only goal was your lips!》

Come to think of it, when we first met, this girl suddenly tried to kiss me too…!

Unable to properly support myself, I laughed in disbelief.

I don’t know whether I should be angry at being backstabbed at the very last moment, or angry at having my… first kiss stolen by a succubus… I just don’t know….

Salome gave me a bashful smile.

《Ash. You should deliver the words of encouragement to that child yourself.》

“What…?”

《I don’t understand human hearts. I steal hearts, I take hearts, I devour hearts, but I can only imitate them. I don’t know why they move like that, or how they can move like that.》

Why is it?

Even though she says she doesn’t understand human hearts, Salome’s face as she looks at me… looks more human than anyone else.

《I can’t understand your wish. So, I can’t act as your proxy either. It’s something too small and beautiful for me to convey on your behalf.》

“……”

《You should deliver it yourself. Carrying your flag, walk to the very end, and… deliver it yourself.》

Your heart.

Your wish, deliver it.

Having said that, Salome reached out and grabbed me. Immediately, her horns and tail began to glow white.

“Salome? What are you trying to do…?”

《Even though I got lost and fell into this darkness, I know. You’re the kind of person who won’t give up even when lost. The kind of person who paves the way forward.》

I felt myself floating into the air.

When I looked down at my body in confusion, the parts of my body around where Salome’s hands touched were turning transparent.

This is, could it be…?!?

《Because I realized your wish. Because I reclaimed your flag. I’m sure I can find out who the real you is, too.》

“Salome, wait a minute…!”

《Surely, even in any darkness. You’ll be able to find your way.》

[Reality Escape].

A unique skill of the succubi that allows them to directly escape to the other side – the spirit realm.

Salome used it not on herself, but… on me.

《Darkness is gathering outside. If this continues, even if you defeat Raven, it will be difficult for you to survive here. So, this is the only way.》

Salome’s clear laughter tickled my ears.

《Don’t worry. I’ll finish off Raven. You just focus on finding yourself there.》

Salome’s index finger came up to my lips as I tried to say something.

She leaned closer to me and whispered slowly.

《Lastly, I’ll tell you the ‘secret’ I learned while examining your soul.》

“…?”

《Actually, you are-…》

I widened my eyes after hearing all of her whispers.

“What, what does that mean…?”

I wanted to ask more, but there was no time.

In an instant, my body turned into a spirit body, and I was sucked into the other side, just like when I fell from the teleport gate.

“Salome, wa…!”

《Goodbye. My prince.》

The last thing I saw was the succubus queen waving her hand at me.

《I laughed at your small wish, but maybe I fell for you because of that small wish.》

With an expression that was hard to tell whether she was smiling or crying.

《…I’ll cheer for you too.》

She said that.

《Good luck.》

Following that, I felt as if my whole body was being swept away by a torrent.

*Splash…!*

I sank into the pitch-black darkness…

To the other side, I sank.

***

Ash disappeared.

Salome collapsed weakly to the floor.

With the use of [Reality Escape], Salome had exhausted all of her remaining strength.

Not only the energy she had absorbed from Ash, but also all of the last reserves she had stored within her.

Raven slowly approached Salome, who was breathing heavily.

《Actually, I didn’t want to part ways.》

Salome murmured weakly.

《I wanted to stay by your side. Even if I was scolded, even if I heard harsh words, I still wanted to… stay by your side.》

《…》

《If this was a dream world, if it was… could I have loved that person?》

Salome tightly gripped her chest with her hand.

《It hurts. It hurts like a hole has been cut out of the center of my chest.》

《…》

《Just the fact that I can’t see him anymore… it hurts.》

Raven sneered.

《Is that all you gained by risking your life, you great harlot? How foolish.》

《…You’re the one who doesn’t know anything, Raven.》

Through her disheveled pink hair, Salome’s eyes were filled with blurry tears.

《This pain is what I’ve been searching for my whole life.》

Raven, as if he didn’t need to listen anymore, stirred up the plague’s energy.

《It’s all in vain, Salome. You, and that man, will both die, unable to overcome my plague!》

Raven was confident of his victory.

The only way to kill him in this place was Ash’s Commanding Eye.

But Salome had sent Ash to the spirit realm, unable to watch him die.

Now, all that remained here was a succubus who had exhausted all of her strength.

Both Ash and Salome were already infected with the plague. If left alone, both of them would eventually die.

《As long as my ego, my thoughts, my malice remain! My plague will not disappear. You have not defeated me. This time, this world will succumb to the plague…!》

《…Did you forget already, Raven?》

Salome chuckled at Raven, who was shouting confidently.

《It’s a succubus’s job to devour ‘hearts’.》

She slowly reached out her hand and touched Raven’s swirling mist.

Raven’s body, made of mist, flinched greatly.

It felt as if something cold and eerie was piercing through the inside of his chest, where nothing should exist.

《W-what, what is this…?》

《If what moves your plague is your malice, your heart…》

Salome’s hand clenched tightly in the air.

《Then that means it’s my food.》

《…!》

Salome grabbed Raven’s ‘heart’.

And, with the succubus’s power, she began to absorb it.

Raven’s ego was rotten to its core. It was contaminated and corrupted by immense malice.

As she forcibly absorbed it, an immediate reaction appeared in Salome’s body.

Blood flowed from her peach-colored lips, and her white skin began to discolor.

《S-stop it…》

Raven’s voice was filled with an emotion he had never shown before.

It was fear.

He had neither a body nor a soul now.

Raven, the plague itself, who was only sustaining and binding himself with pure malice, felt his existence fading away. He screamed.

《Stop it! You’ll die too, Salome! My malice, my corruption, you can’t handle it!》

《…》

《I am the essence of the plague itself! If you absorb me, you, a spiritual entity, will be corrupted! You’ll suffer the most terrible pain imaginable!》

《It’s okay.》

At the same time as the absorption, excruciating pain ran through her entire body. But Salome smiled calmly.

《I fell in love.》

Salome didn’t know what love was.

Even at this moment, when she was prepared to die, she couldn’t clearly define what it was.

But there was one thing she was sure of.

This pain in her chest.

This absence, as if a hole had been cut out.

This pain, this emptiness, this sense of loss – this was the undeniable proof that love had taken root in her heart.

This act of being able to die for someone else… this was the proof of true love.

Even amidst the burning pain in her body, Salome smiled brightly.

It didn’t hurt at all.

Compared to the pain etched in her heart.

Compared to this first love, which was clearer than anything else.

At the end of a long and desperate scream, Raven’s cries subsided.

Salome, having absorbed all of Raven’s malice, leaned her back against the collapsed stone wall.

Looking at the empty space, she slowly opened her mouth and recited.

A line from an old play she had seen in Ash’s memories… a play with the same name as her.

“I have kissed thy mouth.”

“There was a bitter taste on thy lips.”

“Was it the taste of blood?”

“Nay; but perchance it was the taste of love.”

“They say that love hath a bitter taste.”

“But what matter? what matter?”

“I have kissed thy mouth.”

《…I’m not as good as you are.》

A shy smile appeared on Salome’s blood-soaked lips.

《Thank you, Ash.》

And, she slowly closed her eyes.

《For… teaching me love…》

In her fading consciousness, Salome wished for one last thing.

If, just if.

If she were to have a happy dream instead of a nightmare after this.

She wanted to dream of loving that man….

***

Salome had loved.

A heartbreaking, yet brilliant love.

A true love that she had given her whole life to.