"Good work, darling." I offered my hand to my fallen little succubus. Her eyes were utterly blank, as if she had witnessed something… nihilistic.
Despite my carefulness, she had been thrown back half a kilometer from me. She was a talented student, but her ability to learn was exceptional, grasping complex concepts quickly while struggling with simpler ones… she was pretty similar to Eddy.
In this final spar of ours, she had mastered the art of using every weapon in her arsenal and combined magic with her swordplay.
This ultimately made her a true magic swordsman, and the synergy of both abilities was what defined them, so getting a glimpse of Balance was also a good thing.
"Haaa… Haaa…"
She not only understood the basics but also achieved something even more challenging during this spar.
Once again, she demonstrated her knack for learning difficult things before mastering the simple ones.
'I referred to these certain aspects of oneself as [Characteristics] as it was simply part of her nature.'
She had begun to grasp the initial concept of [Balance]: a principle that involved harmonizing basic elements and extending that balance to all higher planes simultaneously, much like what Yuri was doing in my absence right now.
'To start, Balance was what signified 'equilibrium'. And to end, it was the gateway to the [{(Finality)}].'
Balance was essential, yet it wasn't about achieving perfect equilibrium as one might understand it. For a world to function properly, unbalanced elements were absolutely necessary. But that wasn't the topic at hand.
All those things would be something She and 'we' learn in the academy as time goes by.
"You... come down," she ordered in a low voice when I stood before her, and I smiled at her in amusement.
I appreciated this calm yet forceful side of her, the way she could command me even while blushing from head to toe.
'It was simply adorable how she pushed herself to do it.'
Slowly, I laid down beside her and rested my head on her open arm.
"Mmm…"
As I gazed into her magical succubus eyes, which resembled an endless purple sky now, an amused smile spread across my face.
"What's wrong? You did far better than most could ever imagine.
You figured out how to use magic with your sword, achieved partial harmony with your elements, and more than that, you made me lift my sword." Even though I was going easy, these were achievements even the current Monarchs had skipped when they first started walking on THEIR paths.
"These are remarkable accomplishments for most beings, the Monarchs even. So… why are you sad?" She was simply staring blankly at the sky.
After that last attack, she didn't even attempt to get up; she lay there as if utterly defeated. It wasn't as if she were hurt or anything like that, so I couldn't understand why she was so quiet since earlier.
"Why... are you so strong?" she asked with those same blank eyes, which seemed to hold no thoughts other than this simple question.
"Why am I so strong...?" Even I murmured under my breath as I pondered the reason behind my strength.
Why was I so strong… it was quite the question.
'One could attribute their countless experiences, their abundance of knowledge, their deep understanding of the world, or something like an innate gift to answer that question.'
But, the me in this life, at the very least, has not gone through any troubles.
'I've not faced any challenges yet, I've not learned anything that I did not know of before, I have not yet decided on any goal, and I do not have the most important thing that drives one forward: Ambitions.'
Then, the question of why I was so strong… certainly invoked quite a lot of emotions within me that I thought had long been left behind me.
'If someone had asked me this before I became the overlord, I might not have known the answer. Yet now, I understand that possessing such power could sometimes be a curse.'
Being the strongest held little meaning; I realized this only after achieving everything.
When I had it all, that was when I truly comprehended… "Because I am a fool… a greedy fool who wanted nothing more than revenge.
My strength does not come from experience, talent, knowledge, or anything like that. The power I possess… this strength… is not even pure; though vast and deep, it is not something for which I can express gratitude to anyone."
These sudden words surprised her, catching her completely off guard.
"Yes, I do not regret having it; still... It is born from my unrivaled hate, greed, anger, and negative emotions.
Strength… in fact, should be used to protect others; while I have protected some, death is something I could not prevent… ever."
So ultimately, I'm strong because I'm a fool.
This was the first time I had shared such personal thoughts since my talk with Molly five centuries before my Death.
It felt strange yet… liberating to do so with someone like her—someone who could understand these feelings without judgment.
"Haaaaa."
As I looked back at her, tears glistened in the eyes of my adorable succubus.
She gazed deeply into mine as if searching for the right words to respond, but to her surprise, she did not find any comfort in mine. Just… loneliness of the Old past.
"I'm... sorry. I-I... didn't mean to..." she stammered, struggling to find words and appearing flustered.
She thought she had touched upon something sensitive and wanted to apologize; however, I understood what her emotions conveyed.
"Zora…"
She sensed the loneliness in my words– the anger and sorrow intertwined with that strange warmth– and wanted to reassure me. And, just that thought of her was enough to lift up my mood.
"You did well. Don't worry; right now… I'm only here, with you." Those lines were undeniably cheesy, and she felt that too which, made her feel awkward for a moment.
"Ptfff."
Shaking my head gently to ease her discomfort, I moved closer to this beautiful girl and pressed my lips against hers softly.