Natalia collapsed on the ground.

However, thanks to her effort in piercing through the Lesser Demonic Beasts, the obstacles blocking the way between her and the Witch had disappeared.

A path had opened before her eyes.

Even if it was a path that would vanish in just a few seconds, it was undeniably there.

Natalia had fulfilled her role perfectly.

As always, once again this time.

Yet, Natalia, having completely carried out her duty by sacrificing her life, showed a look of despair just before her breath ran out.

It was likely because the signs of the Lesser Demonic Beasts trying to appear near the Witch reminded her of the impending failure of the mission.

“Good job. You did well.”

Thus, Leon, who had been waiting behind Natalia, approached her and briefly offered his thanks before dashing forward.

He ran ahead, showing through his actions that Natalia’s sacrifice would not be in vain so that she could close her eyes in peace.

He had not checked for her reaction, so he did not know if his long-time comrade had left, reassured by his thoughts.

However, he did not look back.

What mattered now was not watching the last moment of a long-time comrade but ensuring that her death was not in vain.

So, Leon gritted his teeth and focused ahead, pounding the ground as if it would break.

Then, a sound like the air splitting echoed.

Saying “zero to a hundred” felt ridiculous.

In less than 0.5 seconds, with an explosive acceleration surpassing 100 km/h, Leon became a golden flash and caught up to the sound.

Yet, despite the speed that was justly deserving of the title of the fastest hero, Leon’s expression hardened.

He instinctively knew the moment he took off.

He wouldn’t make it on time at this rate.

‘……This is impossible.’

There was no need for complex calculations.

There was roughly about five seconds left until the Lesser Demonic Beasts would create a wall again.

However, estimating the remaining distance and his speed, it was painfully obvious that he would be obstructed by the wall of Lesser Demonic Beasts.

The only option was to increase his speed further, but it was nearly impossible to push his speed beyond what he was already attaining.

Realizing it would be a race against time where even a second counted, Leon had been at full power since the start, running at the limit his body could endure.

Moreover, it was already a speed that would not be surprising if it harmed his body, making it nearly taboo to surpass his limits.

The moment he crossed that line, his body would break down, and his run would stop.

‘……What a shame, really.’

Leon let out a self-deprecating sigh inwardly.

The excuse that unexpected situations had provided insufficient time was meaningless.

What mattered was whether or not he could accomplish the task despite the grueling circumstances.

But this was ridiculous.

He had shouted confidently to Natalia, who had accomplished her mission no matter what, to trust him, but now he was facing the possibility of failure due to his inadequacy.

Feeling overwhelmed by self-loathing regarding his pathetic self, Leon tried to clench his eyes shut.

As his spirit threatened to break, his legs felt like they were giving way.

But at that moment…

“My dad, my dad was prouder and cooler than anyone else in this world. I’ll remember it that way. Just as I have until now, and forever.”

The words of Leon’s daughter, Leonora, passed through his mind.

It was just a single line, yet that voice, having been etched deep in his brain, made Leon take a look at himself.

There stood a man on the verge of despair, realizing his limits and about to break.

Was this truly the proud and cool dad that his daughter spoke of?

‘……No.’

No, it shouldn’t be like this.

His disorganized thoughts gathered.

Leon envisioned the image of his beloved daughter, the face of his wife whom he adored, and his legs regained strength that threatened to wane.

As a father, the last thing he should show was such a disgraceful appearance.

Until the very end, he had to remain a proud father.

To do that, there were two things he needed to remember.

To look straight at his goal.

And when he felt at his limit, to take one more step.

Leon recalled the words he had shared with his students at the academy and opened his eyes wide.

In the distance, there was the Witch, the target.

Even if it cost him his life, he could see the point he had to reach.

What was needed to reach there was a speed far beyond what he had now.

To achieve that, to put one more step forward from the already reached limit, Leon steeled himself.

‘Kuh!’

Then, pain came rushing in as if to exact the cost of breaching his limits.

His skin could not withstand the increased friction and began to scorch, while his bones and muscles screamed under the intense pressure.

But it still wasn’t enough.

Even when he had pushed his limits to the max, it was insufficient.

It was truly a despairing situation however…

Amidst that anguish and desperation, Leon found himself smiling unexpectedly.

It was a feeling he had become quite accustomed to.

‘It reminds me of the old days.’

Back when he was a student at the Academy.

There was a time when Leon was treated as a mere talentless person who could not bring out his abilities.

Yet there had been one woman who always supported him even when he struggled to improve despite his efforts. That woman was his wife, who was now gone.

Leon had overcome the pain and despair like now with one single thought: to become a man worthy of her.

The reason he could do that was entirely thanks to the feeling of love that empowered him.

Yes, for the sake of his beloved wife, he had already crossed numerous limits.

So for the daughter he loved more than anyone…

‘That limit? I’ll overcome it as many times as I need to.’

With that, Leon bared his teeth and smiled.

He took another step forward, towards the limits.

Repeating it, again and again.

Thud—

Of course, it was a nonsensical strain, and his body began to break down.

His whole body was in a nonsensical sprint, one that could easily shatter him at any moment.

Yet he endured.

Leon held on, thinking he only needed to run for a few more seconds.

He poured all of his accumulated magic power from long training solely into maintaining that surge of speed.

Not to protect his body but to delay the collapse.

Holding on to severed muscles and forcibly stabilizing bones that had disintegrated into dust.

He poured everything.

His life, soul, existence, and pride.

That extended moment allowed Leon to surpass his previous self.

And transcend his limits.

Finally, he reached the end.

At a speed of 1230 km/h.

Beyond the speed of sound.

He reached a realm where sound chased after him.

───!

He couldn’t even recognize if he had shouted out something, such was the perfect state of being lost in the moment.

It didn’t matter what Leon had shouted.

It was partly due to the fact that his hearing had long been impaired.

The other reason was that his shout had been left behind, and he couldn’t hear that sound anymore.

Thus, Leon arrived before the Witch, faster than his own shout.

■■■■■■─!!

At that moment, several Lesser Demonic Beasts appeared earlier than expected and blocked Leon’s path.

However, that number of Lesser Demonic Beasts couldn’t stop Leon‘s rush.

Boom─!

The shockwave created by simply running rang out like thunder, sending the blocking Lesser Demonic Beasts flying away.

The golden spear piercing through the wall of Lesser Demonic Beasts surged forward at incredible speed, like the force of a thunderstorm.

However, that advance was…

Thwump—

Eventually halted by the hundreds of tentacles sprouting from the Witch’s body.

Like the thick iron bars of a prison, the tentacles blocked Leon‘s surroundings.

Some of those tentacles coiled around Leon, who found himself unable to move, attempting to seal him off.

But those tentacles soon realized that what they were doing was in vain.

By the time Leon reached the Witch, he had already stopped breathing.

As his body lost the strength to maintain its form, it rapidly darkened and began to disintegrate into magic.

However, the Witch of Gluttony likely did not see this.

Before transforming into magic and vanishing, Leon’s face wore a satisfied smile as if he had completed everything he needed to do.

Inside the prison made of tentacle bars.

From the body of Leon, who was turning into magic, a small bluebird fluttered its wings and soared towards the bars.

Peep—!

The bluebird was quickly shot down by a tentacle circling the Witch, bursting apart with a shower of blue feathers.

Yet the scattered blue feathers began to dissolve into the air as if they had never been there.

“……I caught it.”

Beneath the massive form of the Witch of Gluttony stood Eve, wearing a bittersweet expression.

Eve mourned the sacrifices of Leon and Natalia, who brought her here and cleared the path, placing her hand upon the Witch’s body to ensure their sacrifices were not in vain.

“……Poor thing.”

The moment she placed her hand on it, Eve learned about the Witch’s past through her abilities and murmured as she gazed up at the Witch with sympathetic eyes.

Although the Witch of Gluttony was a malicious being that had devoured numerous people, Eve thought that had she not met good people first, she very well might have become the same.

Thus, pity and sorrow took precedence over hatred and resentment.

“……At least on the other side, may you live happily without hunger.”

Therefore, Eve squeezed out all her strength and prepared an illusion for the Witch of Gluttony.

A world filled with warmth where she wouldn’t have to be hungry anymore, for the one who had suffered a lifetime from hunger and loneliness.

In that illusion, she would be able to live happily in a warm home with Myeong.

At least that was the best Eve could do for the Witch of Gluttony.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■─!!!!

Yet, whether the Witch of Gluttony was aware of Eve‘s intentions or not, she emitted a bizarre power as if resisting it, launching the tentacles that sprouted from her body towards Eve.

“……Gah.”

Exhausted from creating an illusion to contain the Witch of Gluttony, Eve couldn’t resist the tentacles and was pierced.

But there was no significant problem.

For she could see the body of the Witch of Gluttony gradually melting into the air.

Perhaps due to Leon and Natalia’s sacrifices, her powers had successfully operated, with enough strength remaining.

The Witch of Gluttony would enter into the world of illusion.

And with Eve’s death, she would live in that world for the rest of her life.

As Eve thought this, gazing at her body darkening as she was pierced by the tentacles, she let out a faint smile.

It felt as though death, which seemed so distant, was finally reaching out its hand toward her.

“……So, I’m going to die now.”

Eve murmured softly.

She did not tremble in fear as death approached her.

She had always been waiting for death.

“Although it’s not the form I longed for, finally.”

Eve had lived a long life.

With the passage of time, humans eventually die.

And Eve had witnessed their passing.

Among them were those who felt like family, and those whom she cherished as irreplaceable friends.

When they left, Eve remained.

That was somewhat a lonely occurrence for her.

Of course, living long wasn’t a bad thing.

With partings, there are new encounters.

Meeting new students always brought Eve joy.

Yet, those too would eventually leave the world ahead of her, just like those she had bid farewell to.

Thus, such occurrences sometimes brought loneliness to Eve.

As a witch who was not human, she felt this profound sense of being different from everyone else.

So, having always lived among humans and yearning for them, one day Eve thought.

She wished to die naturally, like other humans who age and depart.

But for her, being a witch, that was impossible, so she devised an alternative.

That was the method of starving to death.

All living beings die when they no longer have the energy to sustain life.

Eve chose this as a substitute for natural death.

“Honestly, if I were to die, this is how I wanted it…”

Thus, after her friends Aegis and Viola had left, Eve had continued living without replenishing the power exhausted from fighting the Witch of Gluttony.

Consciously suppressing the magic that her body produced naturally and enduring the horrific hunger that occasionally surged within her.

In fact, she thought her time would come soon, but then such a situation unfolded—it was quite a laughable scenario.

Yet, she felt no regret.

Though she hadn’t met the death she wished for, she was able to protect her precious students.

Eve looked off toward her distant students and then back at the Witch of Gluttony.

Though she couldn’t say she felt no disappointment.

While watching the furious Witch of Gluttony as she melted into the illusion, Eve spoke.

“So please don’t be too angry with me. Let’s call it even…”

With that, Eve continued to watch the Witch of Gluttony vanish while murmuring before spitting lightly.

Gradually, she felt her strength ebbing away.

So, this is death.

The notion that you think of old memories just before dying, is truly real.

With that thought, Eve softly murmured at the fleeting memories of old connections.

Aegis, Viola.

In just a moment, she would see their faces again after such a long time.

Emily.

Will you still look like a girl over there?

And, and…

It was Peter, who once told her she could become a much better teacher than him.

“Teacher, I honestly didn’t think I could become that.”

Yet, she had put in considerable effort.

So, would you respond to me?

“I… I wonder if I was a good teacher?”

With that small utterance, Eve quietly closed her eyes.

*

Only a slight ripple left behind in the place where both Eve and the Witch of Gluttony vanished.

It was the moment when the calamity known as the Witch of Gluttony was sealed due to the sacrifices of the two heroes and one witch.