"It's okay, it's okay."
With a chunk of her side hair brutally chopped off, Hecate smiled nonchalantly.
"I'll just die for a moment and come back. Then I'll be revived with my old hair, and we can continue..."
"How can you say something so horrifying?!"
Junior desperately grabbed Hecate, who was staggering towards the exit.
Hecate kept trying to slip away, saying, 'I know many painless ways to die, so it's okay,' while Junior clung to her, pleading, 'I'll try to fix everything, so don't die!'
As the two women struggled, Dusk Bringar blocked Hecate's path with a heavy sigh.
"First, Hecate. I must tell you why I've come here."
At that moment, Junior, who had been clutching at Hecate's hem while lying on the ground, shouted with a face full of injustice.
"It's all because the Duchess suddenly opened the door, causing this mess! Apologize first!"
"That, that was not my intention! Anyway, listen to why I came here!"
Ahem! Dusk Bringar, gathering her breath, looked seriously at Hecate.
"Hecate. Your 'curse' is nearing its end."
At those words, Hecate's red eyes regained focus.
Hecate slowly faced Dusk Bringar, who nodded.
"Since coming to this frontline, you have already died twice."
Once in an accident at a construction site.
Once more during a Wingian raid while saving Ash.
Hecate had died and was revived by the curse.
"I created the curse on you. So, I know."
Dusk Bringar raised her small hand and lifted one finger.
"One more time. If you touch death just once more, the curse on you will dissipate, and you... will end."
One more death would be the third death at this frontline.
At that time, Hecate would end, Dusk Bringar declared calmly.
Junior, with eyes wide open, stuttered.
"W-What do you mean, it ends?"
"It will revive one last time. The problem is what happens after."
Dusk Bringar, crossing her arms, sighed.
"Normally, one gets 'suspended.' Both soul and body preserved, unable to move or decay... just frozen alive."
"Eek."
Junior, swallowing a scream, asked urgently.
"What if she's lucky? Isn't there a better outcome?"
"This is the lucky outcome."
"This is good?! Are you saying there's a worse scenario?"
"Yes. In the unlucky scenario..."
Hecate clenched her fist tightly.
"You become a wraith."
"A wraith? You mean...?"
"Losing all reason, memory, and pride... you would seek to slaughter everything around you."
Dusk Bringar declared calmly.
"Simply put, you become a monster."
"..."
"That's why, when the Glory Knights near suspension, they transfer the curse to a successor and prepare for their end."
"The end, you say..."
"If suspended, you'll be entombed alive; if turned into a monster, your successor will behead you personally."
A sneer formed on Dusk Bringar's lips.
"The curse grants immortality while active. This is a fair price to pay."
"How, how can this be...!"
"Don't be too harsh, young mage. Both this child and I have come too far for that."
Dusk Bringar clicked her tongue as she looked at Hecate's short-cut side hair.
"So, Hecate. Don't waste the last of your lives over something as trivial as hair."
"..."
"Besides... it's not like there's no third option."
Both Hecate and Junior's eyes widened. Dusk Bringar's bitter smile deepened.
"As the inventor of the curse, I've come to make a proposal to you, the last generation of Glory Knights, who can no longer inherit the curse."
Dusk Bringar's amber eyes glittered with a sinister darkness.
"If you dislike the endings of being buried alive or beheaded as a monster... how about it. Will you listen to my proposal?"
***
After ending her 'proposal,' Dusk Bringar left the room.
"I'm sorry about the side hair... Ahem."
With just that, she left.
"..."
As Hecate mulled over Dusk Bringar's 'proposal,' she slumped back into the chair in front of the mirror.
Junior, awkwardly standing behind the thoughtful Hecate, eventually took a deep breath and raised the hairdressing scissors again.
"Hecate."
"Yes?"
"Now that it's come to this... I mean your hair. Why not try something adventurous?"
Hecate looked at Junior in the mirror with curiosity. Junior rambled on.
"After all, that knight Lucas, he doesn't care how hard we try to look good."
"...That's true."
"Then, how about we do the opposite... go all out?!"
"All out?"
"Really bold, just try something new that you haven't done before!"
They were talking about hairstyles.
But it was also about Hecate's curse.
On the brink anyway. Why not boldly seek another path...
'At least it's better than being buried alive or beheaded by comrades.'
Junior unwittingly added more.
"The world is ending anyway!"
"..."
"The world might be doomed soon, right? Of course, we are struggling to prevent that, but still, it's the end of an era! When else to take such bold adventures, right?"
Hecate, who had been blankly listening, finally chuckled.
"That's true."
"Huh?"
"If the world is ending anyway, why hesitate to try things we've never done before."
Hecate closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair.
"Let's do it, an adventure."
"...!"
"Please take care of it, Junior. Make it so bold that... Lucas will have to open his eyes wide."
Junior grinned and adjusted her grip on the scissors.
"Leave it to me!"
As Hecate felt the scissors touch her hair, she asked cautiously.
"But how are you going to make it bold..."
Snip!
Rustle...
The already heavily cut side hair fell off in another bunch.
"...?"
Cold sweat trickled down under Hecate's chin.
"Um, Junior...? Just a moment..."
But Junior's eyes, reflected in the mirror, had already entered a state of magical concentration.
Hecate watched her beige hair fall in small pieces, screaming silently inside.
***
After the conversation with the Scalian. Evening.
I took the heroes from the lord's mansion to a restaurant downtown because Evangeline had been whining about wanting to eat out.
"The world is ending, I'm going to eat everything I want! Let's go out and eat!"
"Really, using the end of the world as a cheat code to throw a tantrum, do I have to indulge everything?"
Of course, I was indulging her. Damn it.
Once we sat in a cafeteria (chosen by Evangeline), she picked up the menu chattering.
"This place is delicious! They arrange New Terra cuisine in Southern style, and there's not a single bad dish!"
Basically, they make Seoul cuisine spicy like the Southern style.
"Is there ever a dish you find unpalatable?"
Ignoring my quip, Evangeline called over a waiter and started ordering.
A young waiter earnestly nodded as he took down Evangeline's endless meat orders.
"So, how was it, my lord."
Lucas, who had been satisfied watching Evangeline's meaty orders, suddenly asked me.
"You mean the talk with the Scalian?"
"Yes. I'm curious if you got the answers you wanted."
"Yeah... it was enough."
The Scalian had faithfully answered my questions.
The strengths and weaknesses of the Ipian, hidden elements.
Each of the three heads' personalities, the rare location of the Ipian, especially what to watch out for, and more...
'It matches the information in the game. No, it was even more detailed.'
Thanks to that, I could establish tactics for confronting the Ipian. The Scalian was definitely cooperative.
However... I still couldn't trust the Scalian.
Of course, it's foolish to trust a surrendered enemy commander right away. But more than that, I felt a certain eeriness from him.
'What is it?'
Naturally, we use each other as needed. If the Scalian proves helpful in the Ipian raid, and then Night Bringer raid, I'll milk him dry.
But what are his true intentions?
What really is... his reason for cooperating with us?
"People are beings who strive to understand each other."
Lucas suddenly uttered, and I quickly looked his way.
"This is the definition of a person you gave on this frontline."
"..."
"Are you going to apply that rule to the monsters too?"
If Scalian truly tries to be on our side, would I see him not as a monster I need to kill, but as a person I need to protect?
That was Lucas's question.
"How much darkness... are you willing to embrace?"
"..."
I couldn't answer easily. Lucas was about to ask something more with a serious look on his face when—
"Ah, you were all here!"
Junior's voice came from the direction of the street. I exclaimed, 'Oh,' and looked over.
"The Grand Sorceress of Water and Wind has arrived. Good timing. Let's grab some food toge—"
I stopped mid-sentence.
Behind Junior, an utterly transformed Hecate was approaching, not knowing what to do with herself.
"Uh, Hecate, your hair has... changed?"
It used to be long and lush beige right after arriving at the frontline.
It turned into a bob cut reaching below her neck after being burnt in Wingian battle.
Now, it was a sharp, ear-revealing, pixie cut as if drawn in a picture.
"Does it look strange...?"
Hecate seemed awkward with her significantly shorter hair, and I gave a thumbs up.
"No, no! It suits you perfectly!"
Since I was partly to blame for Hecate's hair burning, I exaggeratedly raised my thumb. It actually looked quite splendid...
Just then, Junior, raising her nose, chimed in, "I did the cutting—"
"It's not easy for a woman to pull off a short cut!"
"That's true, it's not easy."
"It was one of my dreams, but I knew it wouldn't suit me. I wanted to see it look good on someone else... Fortunately, Lady Hecate was there. Hehe, I took the chance to fulfill a personal desire!" (TL note: Look up images of "Pixie cut shaved sides")
"Good job, good job."
But what mattered wasn't mine or Junior's opinion, but Hecate's and her object of interest—Lucas's opinion.
And surprisingly,
"No, Hecate!"
Lucas was incredibly pleased.
"You look absolutely cool!"
"Eh? Oh, uh..."
A startled Hecate blushed.
Lucas ran up to inspect Hecate's hair and nodded in satisfaction.
"A knight's hairstyle should be functional after all."
"...?"
"Stylish as it is now, how about going even shorter next time? If you want, I'll shave it myself with a razor blade."
"..."
Listening to this, we all swallowed hard.
Could it be...
This knight thinks Hecate looks cooler because her hair is shorter than before...?
"You look totally cool, Hecate! This is the coolest look I've ever seen on you!"
With a smile, Hecate began to tremble, then clenched her fists. She spat out,
"Even if the world ends..."
"Huh?"
"Even if the world ends, you're still clueless, you jerk—!"
Hecate grabbed Lucas by the collar and started a scuffle, and the surrounding heroes rushed to intervene. The cafeteria instantly turned into a battleground.
Junior, with a pale face, muttered softly.
"...Did I do something wrong?"
"No, no."
I handed Junior one of the drinks the waiter had just brought out, took a sip from my own glass, and murmured,
"It's because the world is ending, just..."
Still.
I secretly wished to see this peaceful scene last just a bit longer.
Smiling wryly, I chuckled.
***
A few days later.
The equipment made from Wingian's magic core was completed.
Simultaneously, the preparations for the Ipian raid were also finished.