I noticed that Atashi was there.
A dark, empty space. A world where you're alone.
There's nobody else. I'm just alone.
That's when he showed up in front of me.
"Um, nice to meet you!
It is a happy girl with golden hair who can still be seen as a shallow person after taking a sword.
But what surprised me more than that was that the girl spoke up without fear of Atashi.
"You live in this temple... a monster, right?"
Yes, the claws at this time were just monsters.
Golden Beast. Golden wolf. A patron beast of legacy. Fang Demon King. One of the world's worst seven beasts.
It has a variety of names, the simplest of which is the SS rank monster, Sun Wolf Scale.
"... Atashi, I'm here because I really want to see you after hearing your rumors. My brother didn't have the title of a brave man yet, but I heard your rumors and I didn't think he was such an evil monster."
From this point on, I thought this girl who talked to Atashi was a strange girl.
Monsters are evil.
Even so, monsters exist to be crushed by humans.
Why is there so much food in this world for monsters?
And most of the world's resources come from defeating monsters?
It's all part of the rationale for defeating monsters.
Therefore the monster is evil to be defeated. This world needs evil.
However, he is a strange kid who doubts it and even asks the monster.
I didn't want to attack an immature person like her from the beginning, but while listening to her, I noticed that our poison was completely gone, and I sat still listening to the girl's questionable talk.
"Um, can I come here again?
After a brief conversation, the girl asked.
Atashi stared quietly at the girl without just answering.
Did the girl accept the silence as affirmative? After lowering her head, she simply said that she would come again.
It was a really weird day after that.
The girl comes to Atashi every day.
At first, I was asking questions about Atashi and about the monster, but when I felt that Atashi was not willing to answer, it gradually turned to the girl herself.
What were you born and raised, where you went and what did you do, and what did you feel there?
Families, having a brother, parents no longer wanting to live up to their brother's expectations.
At first I slaughtered many monsters to aim for the hero, but gradually I wondered what the monsters were for.
Why are people and monsters hostile in the first place?
Since when?
What is the Brave System for?
When I asked such a question, I heard rumors of a monster.
It's a rumor of a legendary SS ranked monster in a hidden ruin in the woods of his hometown.
And to let the monster return alive without killing the heroes and adventurers who have challenged him to defeat himself.
It's as if you're confronting people with will.
And I was always interested in the monster and wanted to meet it at a glance.
"See you later. I think so. Earn points by hunting monsters to be brave. I wonder if that's really necessary. I wonder if I can't hunt monsters as long as I live. People and monsters are alive, and if people and monsters can live together, that's the best part."
A girl who says such a strange thing.
How good would it be if it could be done?
But that's not the role this world wants from monsters.
The monsters, especially the SS ranks, should be defeated by people.
Because it is a monster that exists as one of the demon kings that should be defeated as the ultimate goal.
When the girl answered the question for the first time, the girl pointed her face at her with a surprise from the bottom of her heart.
"Bi, I'm surprised. Ah, you talked. I was surprised because it was sudden."
That's what the girl told me, and I realized later that it was true.
Someday, I got used to spending time with this girl and didn't know what I was thinking.
However, I still think that the girl I've been talking to is a lot more natural while thinking that I can't talk.
But the girl laughed brightly because it had nothing to do with it.
"But I'm glad it's the first time I've talked to you. I might be glad to hear your voice again."
After that, Atashi looked forward to seeing the girl come somewhere in her heart.
Behind the ruins is a battle in the name of a challenge to a human visiting it.
That was the only role I had.
It's the role given to all SS ranked monsters, not just Atashi.
It is exactly the role of the Demon King, and some are given the role of the Demon King itself.
Atashi may one day fall into that role if necessary.
That's why it was said that athletes did not need all the concepts that people had.
It was a so-called family, a friend, a lover, and love itself.
At the same time, however, I envy people with such concepts.
One of the factors that makes them stronger is that one of them always existed.
They shine for their families, for their friends, for their parents, for their brothers, for their lovers, for their thought-provokers.
I envied the radiance.
So...
"Hey, Scoll. Will you be friends with Atashi?
I will not forget the shock of a girl speaking the word.
I am the natural enemy of mankind, and disaster itself.
The king of evil monsters to be defeated by men, the one who holds the corner.
The girl spoke to me like that without fear.
Can't you?
In response to the girl's question, Atashi tells.
Play your part. One day, one must defeat oneself if one is to defeat oneself.
You can't make friendships with yourself like that.
"That's not true! You'll never hurt Skoll, and if anyone hurts Skoll, I'll protect you!
A girl who is supposed to be much weaker than herself.
The girl widens her body so that she can stand up for herself.
"Besides, I don't know about that kind of role, but I think that the world where people and monsters coexist is much better than the world where people defeat monsters. One day, you break the bond between two races, and you believe that such a person will show up in this world. And then you can help him."
It is a feat that humans born and raised in this world would never be able to do.
But if you could create a world like that...
"So, let's just become friends with Atashi and Skoll towards such a world. Even so, you're already my friend!
That's how the girl reached out with a smile.
Atashi was taken away by the friendship she showed.
That's the second mistake Atashi made.
The first mistake was to meet her in the first place.
You didn't reject her in the first place.
Later, Atashi will know that it was a big mistake.
It was unusual for a girl to arrive late that day.
When I realized that I remembered the anxiety and loneliness that she would not come, I was surprised at the change in my mood.
On that day, however, the girl and several adventurers seized her.
"I can't believe the rumors were real....."
"Oh, it's an SS ranked monster."
Say, the men find out who they are, and each of them gets a weapon.
Previously, these belligerents twisted lightly and threw them at the entrance to the ruins.
But it didn't work this time, because...
"Whoa, don't move! I know you're close to this woman! If you move, I'll cut this woman's neck off!
One of them was holding the girl and pointing a sword at her neck.
Atashi obeyed the instructions as he was told.
"This guy is amazing. I don't know if you really have feelings for this little girl, but this kind of monster happens."
"Oh, I can't believe it, but it's convenient for me. Now we can crush the legendary SS-ranked monster!
"Ah! If we crush the SS ranks, we'll get the title of Seven Brave Class immediately!
"Last month, for the first time, there was someone who defeated a SS-ranked monster on his own and played the role of the Seven Braves, right? Were you a hero? Contains a heroic title from a single adventurer. We missed our first SS Rank Crusade, but if we do this, we'll all be able to upgrade to that class at once!
Say, each weapon wounds his/her body one after the other, spitting a shallow line about his/her honor, status, or subsequent reward.
Originally, it was supposed to be defeated by the hands of people one day, but it is difficult to say that when I defeated the athlete in this way, I made a contribution to people and the world.
But it would still be cheap if it could save my friend's life.
After all, it's just a role, a token, prepared for the world, such as your life.
But is the opponent's arm immature, or is Atashi's presence too strong?
There are no fatal wounds and literally too much time for twitching.
It is also a problem that it is too strong at times like this.
With that in mind, one of the leaders of the frustrated adventurer stabbed his sword around his chest, and it finally penetrated the flesh and dripped blood.
"Heh! The monster! You finally stabbed me! Don't move, I'll let your heart rip like this!!
That's how the sword pierces the donkey flesh and pounds it into your body, and a lot of blood comes out.
Is this the end of your role?
I think so, the moment I try to close my eyes, the wooden spirit screams.
"Stop it!!!!
When I saw it, I was alarmed that I could take the life of Atashi. The man who was supposed to have caught the girl was relieved, and I walked away from him and approached the man whose sword the girl was pointing at his chest.
Tighten his back with wings and throw the man out of the sword.
"Stop it!! Stay away from my friends!!
"Oh, my God! Motherfucker! Get off me!
A girl approaching to knock down a man and pull out a sword stabbed by a claw.
"Wait, Scoll. I'm here to help....."
The usual gentle smile.
Calling Atashi a friend, she takes the sword that remains stuck in the Atashi and pulls it out of her chest.
A reassuring girl's smile.
The next moment, I saw blood flowing from her back.
"... ah, let me..."
The girl fell with a smile on her face without a sound.
Behind her stood a man with his sword down.
"You idiot! What are you killing?
"I don't care! Those monsters will die from their wounds! I don't want hostages anymore! We can kill enough!
"... that's right. Hey, I'm gonna stab you!
I could not hear the men surrounding me.
Atashi embraced the fallen girl and did not forget her last smile and her words.
"... thank you... for being my friend with me..."
That was Lily's last words.
Atashi regretted it.
I made a mistake.
The first is that I met her.
The second thing is that I became friends with her.
And the last three, if Atashi really wanted to kill these guys without saying anything from the beginning, he didn't even give him time to kill him, and he made the wrong choice to save him.
Atashi had three ways to save his life, leaving it all to his own emotions to give up.
That's why I killed this kid.
My foolish and shallow choice killed this child.
I can't forgive you.
The wrath was not directed at this child, but at himself.
Yes, I was supposed to die.
When she realized it, in the bloody body, Atashi wept for the first time with Lily in her arms.
This child must not be killed alone.
It's a mistake for a token prepared to be killed like herself to live and kill the existence that a world like hers wanted.
Yes, this is a mistake.
It was Atashi who died that time.
SS rank monster Sunwolf Scoll is dead.
This child, Lily, is not dead.
That's the truth.
The fact that Lily is dead cannot be allowed to happen.
When I noticed it, I noticed a change in my appearance.
Originally, the ability to humanize with SS ranked monsters.
Many didn't even use it, but if necessary, they can change to their own shape.
So Atashi chose Lily.
Her appearance and memory.
The trajectory she's been telling me since she was born.
Everything about her personality.
Atashi erased himself.
I erased myself from being a monster.
Because this is where the SS ranked monster died.
It was Lily who survived.
She keeps on living. Whatever. From now on.
Then, my brother picked up the stick wandering in the woods.
There were no previous or subsequent memories and many lack of memories, but they were also involved in some sort of incident.
After receiving support from his brother, Atashi received the title of hero as Lily and then met Kyo.