The moment our eyes met, I knew.
He is the natural enemy of mages.
And magic is the world of imagination.
Because he has no mana, mages cannot even imagine his death.
In what way will he attack? What habits does a person without mana have in battle? What abilities can such an overwhelmingly powerful body produce…
And what action will he take next?
…
It looks like things have wrapped up over there too.
Serie came back to her senses and saw only Frieren and the other two collapsed on the ground, along with Diego standing to the side, his expression unreadable.
What exactly happened during the time Serie was lost in recollection?!
…
"Frieren, soundproof magic. Alicia, secrecy magic. Set them up. There's something important to discuss…"
"Ah, okay." Frieren waved her staff, and a massive soundproof barrier enveloped the four of them.
Diego looked at Alicia and Mabel—both teary-eyed—and hid the tenderness in his gaze, reverting to his usual fierce expression.
But now that the moment had truly come, Diego found himself at a loss for words. He gave an awkward wave. "Long time no see, everyone."
Mabel and Alicia could no longer hold back their longing. They rushed forward and clung tightly to Diego, refusing to let go.
"Dio, I missed you so much!"
A thousand unspoken words of longing choked in their throats—impossible to say, impossible to swallow.
In the end, all he could do was gently pat their backs to comfort them.
"Let's not talk about that yet. Dio, where have you been these past few months? If you're fine, why didn't you come back?" Frieren, true to form, completely failed to read the room.
Diego fell silent for a moment, a lonely look crossing his face before he slowly spoke: "Time is limited. I'll explain as quickly as I can."
The next moment, the mood shifted completely.
"Let go, let go, let go." Diego forcefully shook Mabel off his arm. "Get off me—this is Sui's body. Hugging like this feels weird…"
After prying Mabel away, Diego straightened his expression and said gravely: "Ahem. What I'm about to tell you—don't be scared, okay?"
The three exchanged glances, then replied: "We're the party that subjugated the Demon King. We won't be scared."
"I was in midair. Right before the Demon King died, it tried to take me down with it and self-destructed. But I didn't die. When I woke up… I was in another world." Diego took a deep breath and solemnly recounted his experiences in the other world.
"Pfft…" Mabel burst out laughing.
"What are you laughing at?" Diego spread his hands and stared at her.
"I remembered something funny."
"What funny thing?"
"I can mooch off the credit for killing the Demon King for the rest of my life…"
"Tch, come on, I'm being serious!" Diego shook his head and put on a straight face. "Right now, my real body is in another world."
"I'm only projecting my consciousness here through the Cosmic Stone rings I gave you. When the little dinosaur inside the ring dies, I'll return—and this ring will lose its power." Diego showed them the ring on Sui's finger.
"I talked with the space sprite. It said the Demon King's self-destruction tore open a spatial rift for an instant, and I was sucked inside."
"Did the space sprite tell you how to come back?" Though skeptical, Frieren believed Diego wouldn't speak without reason. "Or how we can find you…"
"…" Diego opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to.
No—that won't do. I can't say those words to them.
It would become 『shackles』 binding them forever.
I have to do something…
If I don't… they'll keep waiting for me…
Mabel seemed to sense something. She rushed over and grabbed Diego's hand.
"Dio… you have a way, don't you? I saw you hesitate."
"…" Diego stayed silent. His eyes darkened slightly. He pointed toward the sky—and a meteor streaked across the heavens following the path of his finger.
"This is the prelude to the half-century meteor shower. A meteor shower that comes once every fifty years. Legend says that when the half-century meteor shower crosses the sky again, everything in the world will replay itself." Diego patted Mabel's head, signaling her to let go. "Beautiful, right?"
"…It's beautiful. But what does that have to do with finding you?" Mabel asked, puzzled.
"It will replay… Meaning, one hundred years from today, when the meteor shower crosses the sky again, the spatial rift will reopen. That will be the moment we reunite."
"Speaking of which… I never properly told you all how I feel…" Diego beckoned Alicia and Frieren, who were standing a little farther away. "Can you come a bit closer?"
High above, meteors streaked faster and faster.
The two hesitated but approached Diego.
"Mabel."
"Here."
"Even though you're a useless shut-in who trembles at the sight of enemies and always wants to run away…"
"Ugh… don't say it!" Mabel's face flushed red as she frantically tried to cover Diego's mouth.
"But you really made these five years of travel so much more fun. Without you, our journey to subjugate the Demon King would definitely—definitely—have been unbearably boring."
"♪~♪~"
Diego hummed a short melody, his eyes full of nostalgia.
"Do you remember? This is the song you sang for me when I was really lonely. It felt just like… the songs my mom used to sing when I had a fever as a kid."
As always, Diego gently scratched under her chin like petting a cat—but even so, he couldn't hide the tremor in his voice.
"Thank you so much. Sewing up your beast robes was the happiest time for me. For the first time in forever, I felt truly fulfilled…"
"Dio… what are you saying? I've never regretted meeting you either…"
…
"Alicia." Diego spoke again. His body trembled slightly, his voice low and hoarse.
"I'm here."
"Even though your personality really isn't suited for adventuring—you're clumsy, you show mercy to enemies, and you kept getting in the way of my actions…"
"I'm sorry, Dio…" Alicia fidgeted with her hands like a child who had done something wrong and bowed her head in apology.
"But I have to admit—sometimes you were right. Without you, I probably would've fallen completely into a spiral of mindless violence. You're truly gentle…"
Diego crouched slightly, pressing his forehead to hers, gazing into her eyes, speaking softly.
"I love that gentleness of yours. It's just like a mother's. For these five years, you've been a solid support—countless times healing my wounds after battle. You've been a huge help."
"Ahaha… stop it." Alicia blushed furiously and waved her hands wildly.
"If only we had more time… I still haven't figured out your memories from before age nine… I promised I'd find your family…"
Diego's voice cracked with emotion as he choked out:
"I'm sorry. I lied to you. Back then—if it had been you—you could have pulled out the Hero's Sword. But because of my own selfishness, I made you choose the 『Salvation Wand』 instead."
"The true power of the 『Salvation Wand』… is life-sharing. Right now, you who hold that wand…"
…
"And Sui—or what you all call the elf lady." Diego pressed his hand to his forehead and slowly lowered his head.
"I don't know if you're conscious right now, but I hope this reaches you."
"You… always acted like you hated me. But whenever it came time for us to part, you were the most anxious—anxious in a way no elf should be."
"I heard the Elga royal family is an oddity among elves. Among long-lived beings who feel emotions so faintly, your clan has the richest feelings. That's why you live in seclusion."
"Your people can't even bear to part with old objects. Even a princess like you ventured out into the world just to collect ancient magical tools…"
"During our adventures, you'd nag me endlessly over the tiniest things. So annoying it gave me headaches."
"And yet… I could never hate it. In fact—you filled the void left by my mother's nagging. My dead heart came back to life."
"If it weren't for you, I think my heart would have died again. For someone as insignificant as me to have a 『purpose』 to live… I'm truly grateful."
"The road to subjugating the Demon King was really hard. Having you support me the whole way… meant everything."
…
"I've always cared deeply about all of you. These five years of adventure were truly happy ones…"
"Dio, this isn't like you—"
Slap!
In an instant, two hands landed on Mabel's and Alicia's heads. Diego's eyes were full of pain as he cried out regretfully:
"『Memory Oblivion』!"
Thud!
Mabel and Alicia collapsed to the ground.
Frieren summoned her staff and stared fixedly at Diego.
Diego raised a hand to stop her. "Wait, Frieren. I have no reason to erase your memory."
Seeing Frieren remain unmoved, Diego grew anxious.
"With your personality, you have no reason to help them recover memories of me." He spoke again, then shifted his tone. "Besides, a hundred years is just a blink for you."
"But the Ice Tribe is different. Though their lifespans are still long, their perception of time is the same as short-lived species like humans."
"Alicia is the same. Am I supposed to let them waste an entire lifetime searching and waiting for someone like me?!"
"But for elves it's different. A hundred years is only an instant for you." Diego turned his back and spread his arms wide like wings. "Are there any other races that can do that?"
"Besides, I still owe you grimoires—so I won't erase your memory. You know me. I hate owing people more than anything."
"…" Frieren's stance relaxed slightly. She still held her staff but spoke gravely: "You're lying!"
"I'm telling the truth. I, Dio, cannot deceive women!" Diego put on a pitiful expression and gazed at Frieren.
"…Fine. I'll believe you this once. You've never lied to me before." Frieren lowered her arms, and her staff vanished.
"Even if we're not in the same world, our souls can still connect through this ring." Diego showed the ring on his hand and gave a gentle smile—so full of joy. "We will meet again. Let's reunite in the wilderness one hundred years from now…"
"Okay…"
A large hand appeared on Frieren's face.
What?!
When did he move?! This speed can't even be described as fast!!
Frieren summoned her staff—but she was one step too slow.
"『Memory…』"
In that moment, Frieren's mind achieved unprecedented clarity. She made the most correct decision possible.
She completely abandoned defending her memories and instead cast an unknown spell on herself.
"『…Oblivion』!"
Thud!
You schemed against me… Dio…
This isn't what we agreed on…
Frieren fell to the ground after the others.
But she didn't fully lose consciousness. She struggled to make out Diego's final words.
Her eyelids drooped uncontrollably. She could only vaguely see Diego's lips moving.
Now I can finally… sleep well?
Frieren… just keep going… on that journey of yours so long it's unimaginable?
I will forever… love… you all?
Until my death…?
"You all have to be happy…"
Drip…
In the final moment before losing consciousness, Frieren heard the sound of a water droplet.
Is someone… crying?
(As for why there's no solo monologue for Frieren—haha, she wouldn't understand it anyway.)