I Became the Childhood Friend Who Commits Sui**de

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It felt like I had a long dream.

But no matter how hard I tried to recall its contents, they eluded me.

Still, I was captivated by its aftertaste.

It was only later that I realized I was shedding tears.

Wiping my eyes, I surveyed my surroundings.

Gradually, I began to accept the reality of the situation.

“…Hana.”

I called out to the girl still sleeping right in front of me.

It seemed that I had dozed off while keeping watch by her side for a moment.

Looking back, it truly had been a tumultuous day.

Just like when I lost Hana six months ago.

Yet the outcome was entirely different from that day.

Although there were many events, I had ultimately regained Hana.

Now, it was almost over.

If I could just push a little further, it would all be finished.

I had no idea what lay beyond, but one thing was certain: I would continue to act for Hana’s happiness.

I glanced down at the girl’s serene face.

It had been so long since I had looked at her this closely that I couldn’t even remember.

No matter how you looked at it, she was a girl who should have been living a life full of pure and simple happiness.

She was a being that utterly clashed with the current desperate situation.

It’s okay. Once we return to the academy and deal with the board,

we can live happily without a care in the world.

“It’s quite a dedication.”

At the voice coming from behind, I immediately tensed up.

I glared at the Black Goat who had just entered through the door.

“…What’s going on?”

“My companions have awakened.”

“Hana is still sleeping.”

“Must you wait for her to wake up? Isn’t it better to let her rest here and not take her into a dangerous battlefield?”

“That’s…”

It wasn’t that I disagreed with the statement.

There was no denying it wasn’t wrong.

Was there really a need for Hana to accompany us back to the academy?

It might be better for her to safely rest here instead.

“Of course, that would be ideal…, but didn’t you need Hana’s abilities?”

“Looking for the god’s spirit is insufficient anyway. I need to prepare more materials.”

There he goes again.

The vaguely defined summoning plan was hard to grasp.

What perplexed me the most was what gain the demon would receive from summoning a god.

“What other materials are needed? Surely, no one has to shed blood over there, right?”

“The offering is already perfectly prepared. That’s what we’ve been preparing for all this time.”

“…So all that slaughtering was for this?”

“It’s different. It’d be faster to show you directly. If you’re curious, follow me.”

Saying that, the Black Goat opened the door and stepped outside.

I awkwardly got up from the chair, briefly hesitating.

Was it really the right choice to leave Hana behind and follow that guy?

But if I didn’t go now, I might never get another chance.

I needed to confirm it before Hana woke up.

Whether staying here was indeed the right choice.

Though I said that, I already knew the answer.

The apostles were definitely close to evil, on par with the board.

If seen from the outside, they appeared even worse.

A significant portion of humanity had already perished due to the apostles’ massacres.

The academy, the last bastion, was almost in ruins.

Regardless of who was more at fault, it was clear that the apostles first started the war.

An overwhelming amount of blood was shed due to them.

As I walked down the corridor following the Black Goat, I contemplated.

I decided not to desire too much.

The situation was too dire to concern myself with concepts of good and evil.

All I needed to focus on was which option would be better for Hana.

When I put it that way, this shrine seemed to offer a much better choice than the academy.

At the very least, the apostles appeared to treat Hana as a companion, unlike the board.

Besides, the Black Goat had promised. He would make Hana happy.

Wasn’t that enough?

“There are three main preparations to summon a god. The first is the god’s spirit.”

As we walked down the corridor, he began to explain.

“The second is the god’s body. And the last is the god’s soul.”

“Aren’t spirit and soul the same thing?”

“They’re different. The spirit is the consciousness that thinks for itself. The soul represents vitality itself.”

I roughly grasped the difference, but when he laid it out like that, it seemed simpler yet still overwhelming.

“How do we obtain that?”

“We have a perfect substitute for the spirit at the academy. The soul can be summoned through a ceremony after preparing the spirit and the body.”

“What about the body?”

“I’ll show you now.”

He continued to lead me upward.

Though it was called a shrine, the building, resembling a castle, grew narrower as we ascended toward the tower at the top.

“Do you know about the apocalypse?”

“Apoca… what?”

A word hard to find in common knowledge.

Yet it sounded familiar because of the memories still fresh in my mind from just earlier.

“That board guy mentioned it at the church, right?”

“Correct.”

I briefly retraced my thoughts and tried to recall the exact content.

Due to the tense situation, the details didn’t come to mind immediately, but I could somewhat recall it.

“The prophecy that humanity will face extinction… Isn’t that just nonsense?”

“No. It’s the truth.”

His calm acknowledgment of the truth made my face scrunch up unconsciously.

Human extinction, huh.

When you truly think about it, it seemed like a distant problem.

Now that I mention it, that man I met in the white room also spoke of humanity’s extinction.

Could that be related to what’s happening now?

Of course, it was clear that the situation was so desperate that the world could collapse anytime.

No matter how hard heroes tried, the demons and gates only kept multiplying without end.

Even just keeping up with the pace of dealing with them was overwhelming.

What if a powerful demon appeared that even heroes couldn’t defeat?

It wasn’t just an unfounded paranoia.

The demon that emerged during the early days of the gate catastrophe was still regarded as the worst and most powerful demon ever.

Many renowned S-class heroes supported the subjugation, but it was nearly impossible to defeat that demon.

In the end, the strongest hero at that time had to sacrifice his life to capture it.

What would happen if such a demon appeared now?

Given the current state after the war with the demons, most heroes had perished, leading to a devastated situation where it was uncertain if we could defeat it.

“The appearance of demons and gates is a consequence of human karma.”

“…Karma?”

“Armageddon. It’s the divine punishment to end the wicked world and usher in a new era.”

I understood the meaning of that phrase belatedly, but accepting it was difficult.

“So you’re saying that the state of the world is God’s will?”

“Certainly, God provided options. If humans had repented for their mistakes, demons would have disappeared. In other words, humans and demons are interconnected, just like light and shadow.”

Suddenly, I recalled what the priest had said in the church.

“So, demons represent humanity’s original sin. As long as humanity remains imperfect, demons will never vanish.”

“Then did the board intend to sacrifice Hana to eliminate the demons?”

“They aimed for something beyond that. They tried to approach the divine level, just like the first humans did.”

The old man had said this.

To transcend time and space, life and death, and become beings close to God.

In his eyes, there was a madness that sparkled with unwavering belief.

He and the board were genuinely attempting to prevent humanity’s extinction and ensure its survival.

Though the means may have been utterly wrong.

“How did you come to know all of this?”

“Some few have always known this fact. The apocalypse was discovered long before now.”

He, shrouded in mystery, seemed to be envisioning the past beyond his mask.

“Of course, it wasn’t until the first gate incident happened that I truly began to believe the prophecy. Since then, a select few have constantly pondered about how to escape the prophecy and prevent humanity’s extinction.”

“So that’s the result of the board’s plan?”

“Exactly. They set up the academy, waiting for the coming Messiah, still waiting to this day.”

Since he knew so much in detail, did that mean he belonged to the same select few or the roots of the board?

“Then what is your true identity? Why are you trying to summon God as a demon?”

“I’ll explain that next time when I have the chance.”

The Black Goat avoided my question and halted his steps.

Before me stood a firmly locked door at the top of the tower.

“The god’s body mustn’t be randomly chosen. You must adhere to strict conditions to please the god that will descend.”

“…Is the god’s body beyond that door?”

Upon entering the room, I found a simple coffin placed in the center.

There was someone inside it, so I approached to get a better look at their face.

“A being cherished by the god. The nobility capable of containing the god’s vessel. The girl who sacrificed herself for her beloved.”

I stared quietly into the face of the girl lying in the coffin.

A girl with red hair, her left chest pierced, eyes closed.

“…Sophie?”