After the battle ended, the castle was filled with celebration.
People laughed.
Someone shouted the hero's name.
Confetti filled the throne hall.
But Dia couldn't see any of it clearly.
Her eyes were searching for only one person.
"Satou-kun…?"
She looked around the hall.
He wasn't there.
A small feeling of unease crawled into her chest.
That was strange.
He should have been here. He always stayed near the back line… near her.
She walked toward the group of porters.
"Excuse me," she asked quickly, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Have you seen Satou-kun?"
One of them scratched his head.
"Oh, that guy? Yeah, I saw him earlier."
Dia's heart skipped.
"Where did he go?"
"I think he walked out of the throne room… toward the hallway."
Her unease deepened.
"Thank you."
Without another word, she hurried out of the hall.
---
The further she walked away from the celebration, the quieter the castle became.
Her footsteps echoed through the empty corridors.
Why did he leave…?
Her fingers tightened around her staff.
Why would he leave after the fight?
They had won.
The Demon King was dead.
Everything was supposed to end happily.
So why…?
Her thoughts stopped when she noticed something unusual.
A small crack in the stone wall.
It looked like part of the wall had been broken open recently.
Dia frowned slightly.
"…?"
For some reason, she felt drawn to it.
Carefully, she slipped through the gap.
On the other side was a hidden chamber.
Moonlight poured down from an opening above, bathing the area in a pale silver glow.
In the center stood a small, dying tree.
Its branches were thin and crooked.
Most of its leaves had already fallen, leaving only a few fragile ones trembling in the night breeze.
The ground was quiet.
Lonely.
Forgotten.
It felt like a place the world itself had abandoned.
And beneath that dying tree—
Someone was sitting there.
"…Satou-kun?"
Relief filled her chest.
He was leaning against the tree.
Just like he was resting.
She began walking toward him.
But then—
She stopped.
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Then—
Thwack.
A wet, violent sound echoed through the chamber.
Dia's eyes widened.
Blood suddenly poured from Satou's mouth.
His body jerked once.
Then went still.
For a moment…
Her mind couldn't understand what she was seeing.
"N-no…"
Her voice trembled.
Then she screamed.
"NO!!"
She ran toward him as fast as she could.
Her legs almost collapsed beneath her as she reached him.
"Satou-kun!!"
She grabbed his shoulders.
His head rolled slightly to the side.
His eyes were open.
But there was no light inside them anymore.
They were empty.
Dead.
The warmth of life that had always been there… was gone.
Her hands trembled violently.
"N-no… no… no…"
Tears flooded down her face.
"Satou-kun, what happened to you?!"
Her panic exploded.
"H-Heal!"
Golden light burst from her hands.
The healing spell surrounded his body.
But nothing happened.
"HEAL!"
She cast it again.
And again.
"Heal! Heal! Heal!!"
Her voice broke into desperate screams.
"WHY ISN'T IT WORKING?!"
The light slowly faded.
Her magic was exhausted.
Her hands were covered in his blood.
Shaking uncontrollably, she leaned forward until her forehead touched his.
Her tears fell onto his face.
"…no…"
Something inside her snapped.
Her grief twisted into something darker.
Something unstable.
Who did this…?
Why is he dead here…?
No…
Her breathing became erratic.
He can't leave me.
Her nails dug into his clothes.
He promised.
Her thoughts spiraled.
He promised he would come back.
He promised he would stay with me.
He promised to marry me.
Her lips trembled.
"There's no way…"
Her eyes widened with madness.
"There's no way he's dead."
Her voice turned into a whisper.
"He can't leave me."
"He can't."
"He belongs to me."
Then—
Click.
Someone flicked their fingers.
The world suddenly stopped.
The wind froze.
The falling leaves stopped in midair.
Even Dia's tears hung motionless before slowly falling again.
A strange dimensional crack opened above her.
From it stepped a man wearing a brown suit.
He looked like a businessman.
But his smile was twisted.
"Kekeke…"
He looked down at the scene with amusement.
"He died right in front of his lover."
"How laughable."
Dia glared at him.
"Who… are you?"
"Keke… you don't need to know."
The man walked toward Satou's body.
"Now then…"
"Time to collect his soul."
A small glowing sphere began emerging from Satou's chest.
It looked like a floating ball of white fire.
Dia's eyes widened.
"N-NO!!"
She lunged forward.
"THAT'S MINE!"
Her voice turned feral.
"You can't take his soul!"
"Satou-kun is mine!!"
The demon stopped.
He tilted his head slightly.
"Oh?"
Then he chuckled.
"Kekeke… this guy made a deal with me."
"As part of the deal, his soul will go to another world."
"To begin a new life… just as he wanted."
Dia froze.
Another world…?
Her breathing shook.
"…That means…"
"…Satou-kun is still alive somewhere."
Hope flickered inside her madness.
She looked straight at the demon.
"Take me to him."
Her voice was desperate.
"I need him in my life."
"I can't live without him."
"I'll do anything."
"Please…"
"Let me live with him."
The demon stared at her.
Then slowly smiled.
"…Hmm?"
"Kekeke… what interesting emotions."
"So much hatred… despair… obsession."
"No normal human has something like this."
He snapped his fingers.
A scroll appeared in his hand.
"You've caught my interest."
"I'll give you an offer."
He showed her the scroll.
"If you sign this…"
"Who knows?"
"You might be able to meet him again."
Dia stepped forward instantly.
"Then I'll sig—"
The demon raised a finger.
"But."
His grin widened.
"The moment you sign this…"
"Your soul will be bound to him forever."
"For eternity."
"Kekeke."
Dia stared at the contract.
Her mind was empty.
Then she grabbed the pen.
Without hesitation—
She signed it.
The demon blinked.
"…Oh?"
Dia began laughing softly.
"Ahaha…"
Then louder.
"Ahahahaha…"
Her eyes were empty.
"That's exactly what I wanted."
For the first time…
The demon looked slightly surprised.
"…How interesting."
"Very well."
"You'll learn more about the deal in the future."
"You can die now, kekeke."
He snapped his fingers.
Time resumed.
Footsteps suddenly approached.
The porter she spoke to earlier ran toward her.
"Miss priestess—"
He froze.
"A-AAARGH! What happened to this guy?!"
In that moment—
Dia grabbed and swung her staff.
CRACK.
The staff smashed into his head.
The porter collapsed instantly.
Dia calmly grabbed the dagger from his backpack.
Then she began laughing.
"Ufufu…"
"Ahahahaha!!"
Her laughter echoed through the chamber.
"I'm coming to you, Satou-kun."
"You can't leave me yet."
Without hesitation—
She stabbed the dagger into her chest.
Blood spilled across the ground.
She fell forward—
Directly onto Satou's body.
Her arms wrapped around him tightly.
"I love you so much…"
She gently kissed his lips.
"Satou-kun."
Blood soaked both of them.
Above them, the demon watched with amusement.
"Kekeke…"
"This is getting interesting."
He collected their souls.
Then disappeared into the darkness.
And thus—
This was also the end of her first life.