Does a Doll Deserve to Live a Happy Life? (Patreon)

Chapter 33: Until the World Ends

Demiplane — Several Hours Later

For several hours straight, the sounds of battle echoed and trembled across the far edge of the island, sending shockwaves rippling through the entire landmass.

Everyone in the Mansion felt it. Tamamo had already raised a barrier around the home, not only to keep Eri from being hit by stray shockwaves, but more importantly so the little girl wouldn’t panic thinking Sieg and Scáthach were actually fighting for real. A task that grew harder with each passing hour.

Tamamo, with Kiara and Artoria’s help, had spent the whole day keeping the little unicorn distracted, playing games, watching movies, helping her practice her ukulele. Things Sieg normally handled effortlessly were now being done by the three women, who, for once, weren’t even arguing, all of them quietly worried as the training session stretched on far longer and far fiercer than usual.

“Tsk… just what is that woman trying to achieve by fighting Sieg-kun this intensely?” Tamamo muttered, worrying her lower lip as she stared into the distance where the spar was still raging.

“If they’re still going at it after this long, she must have a reason,” Artoria said as she stepped beside her, arms crossed beneath her breasts. Breasts that had finally grown a cup or two, making it impossible to hide the fact that she had been a woman all along.

“I just hope they aren’t too injured when they finish,” Kiara added, casting a worried look toward the distant battlefield.

“Hmph. Even if that woman is really strong, if she truly harms my Sieg-kun, I won’t stay silent.” Tamamo huffed, puffing her cheeks as she planted her hands on her hips, tails ruffled behind her.

Neither Artoria nor Kiara had anything to respond to that. Instead, Artoria turned toward Kiara with a raised brow.

“By the way, Kiara… where’s little Eri? You were with her last.”

“She’s napping. She tired herself out helping me in the garden,” Kiara said, a gentle smile forming at the mention of Eri.

A sudden shockwave rolled over them, strong enough to ruffle their hair, snapping all three back to attention.

“…They’re not slowing down,” Artoria murmured with a small frown, unable to hide the worry in her eyes.

“Sieg-kun…” Tamamo whispered, biting her thumb as her anxiety deepened.

=====

Sieg & Scáthach

I was bleeding, sweating, and panting… but one thing never changed as I clashed again and again with Scáthach.

The grin on my face.

In complete contrast to the worried thoughts back at the Mansion, I was having the time of my life going all out against someone stronger than me, someone who could take everything I threw at her and give it back just as hard.

Ever since our battle began hours ago, I’d been pushing my body and magic past their limits over and over just to keep up with Scáthach’s relentless assault. She’d been dead serious about not holding back, and the dried blood on my ripped clothes was proof enough after I failed to dodge several of her blows.

If it weren’t for my passive regeneration and absurd durability, this fight would have ended not long after it began.

Not that I hadn’t gotten my own hits in. The multiple tears in Scáthach’s skintight outfit showed that well enough, revealing tantalizing glimpses of skin that had already earned me a few cuts after I stared a little too long.

The real problem was that Scáthach knew exactly what her body did to me. She even let herself get struck in certain places just to distract me, all while teasing me in that playful tone of hers as she added yet another wound to my body for losing focus. By now, there were tears just below or beside her chest showing hints of her breasts, some across her abdomen revealing her perfectly smooth stomach, and others along her thighs and over her butt.

All that exposed skin, and she acted as if nothing was wrong, even looking amused at my reactions. Keeping my head straight and not letting my thoughts wander into the gutter was turning into a battle all its own.

But as the fight went on, I began to notice something strange.

Something made me remember a line once said by Ichigo Kurosaki, that every time he clashed blades with someone, he could feel the intent behind their strike. He could sense whether someone wanted to kill, protect, or anything in between.

Now that I think about it… that idea pops up in a lot of anime I vaguely remember hearing about.

And something similar was happening to me now. Every time Scáthach and I crossed weapons, I picked up more and more from her. For the first few hours, nothing stood out… but slowly, I started catching hints. Until I was almost certain.

‘Longing?’ I thought silently, forcing my expression to stay neutral, and probably failing, since Scáthach was annoyingly good at reading me to my growing embarrassment.

There’s something else too… what is it?

Curious, I rushed her again, forcing our weapons to connect once more. She blocked the strike easily, but that was fine, the intent was clearer.

There’s definitely more. Is that… pride and… lust?

I nearly lost my footing at the last one and took a heel to the cheek for it, sending me crashing into the ground.

Groaning, I pushed myself up and immediately leapt back, barely dodging the fire tornado that erupted where I had just been standing, one of her fire runes detonating with murderous enthusiasm.

“I thought you’d have learned your lesson by now about getting distracted in the middle of battle.” Scáthach’s voice reached me, sounding chiding. Normally, I would have taken that seriously… but one look at her face told me everything I needed to know.

She was enjoying it.

The way her eyes crinkled in amusement, the way she subtly pushed out her chest through the tears in her clothing showing a bit of sideboob, the way she moved just enough to tease glimpses of her thighs or her butt, she knew exactly what she was doing.

The only reason I wasn’t getting distracted again was because I was too focused on deciphering the intent behind her strikes, and on trying to process the realization that she genuinely felt lust toward me.

Casting a quick glance down at my own torso, though… I shouldn’t have been that surprised. My clothes were shredded, especially around my chest, leaving only a strip across my upper torso intact. Everything else was on full display, the results of my training and the Company’s enhancements carved into every line of muscle.

“Won’t happen again,” I muttered, before launching myself at her once more this time feeling her intent clearly and refusing to react to it.

Satisfied, Scáthach said nothing, and we resumed our vicious dance for a few more minutes before her voice cut through the air with a seriousness I hadn’t heard before.

“It’s time we end this, Sieg.” She called me by my first name, the very first time she ever had. “Show me your strongest attack… and pray it is enough to stop mine.”

She dismissed one of her spears and held the remaining one in her right hand, mana flooding into it at a terrifying rate.

“This spear is an embodiment of who I am. And I am the epitome of the spear.”

My eyes widened in panic and I quickly gained distance. ‘Is she really going to release her Noble Phantasm here!? If it didn’t kill us, it would at least level half the island,' until I noticed the barrier she threw up around us.

‘So, she cast a barrier at the last second. Tsk. No time to think about it… I’ll just respond in kind.’

Pushing aside every worrying thought, I tightened my grip on my spear.

“So be it then,” I declared, channeling just as much mana into my weapon, the space around me warping from the sheer output. I prepared to unleash my own Noble Phantasm to meet hers head-on.

“Here I come. I will be taking your heart.”

Time seemed to freeze as we stared at each other across the battlefield. And in her red eyes, I could now clearly see the longing and pride that her attacks had been hinting at all along.

The moment shattered.

We unleashed our attacks, two strikes that reversed causality the moment their names were spoken, ensuring they would always pierce the heart.

“Gáe Bolg Alternative!”

“Gáe Bolg!”

In slow motion, I watched as Gáe Bolg traced red paths through the air, streaks meant to pierce Scáthach’s heart. But because both weapons were forbidden magical spears, both thorns of death carved identical trajectories and collided in the middle, a phenomenon that might never occur again.

Moments later, I blinked in mild bewilderment at what had just happened. I even patted my chest to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating or already skewered. When I felt nothing wrong, I exhaled in relief.

“…Was that supposed to happen?” I muttered, confused, turning toward Scáthach for an answer.

That was when my eyes widened again, she suddenly appeared before me, spear already mid-swing and aimed directly at my heart.

Acting on pure instinct, I activated my Incarnation of the Raptor, granting myself godlike speed to evade her thrust. I manifested Balmung in my right hand and, in the same breath, counterattacked, aiming a precise strike at her own heart.

I expected her to dodge my attack like always. I didn’t hold back my speed or strength at all.

Which was why I was utterly confused when something wet splattered across my cheek, followed by a small grunt of pain and the unmistakable scent of copper.

What… what just happened?

Blinking, I deactivated the Raptor, letting my perception return to normal. I slowly looked down, brain running on autopilot as I felt Balmung stuck on something, and felt my fingers grow wet with… something.

…This sensation…

My gaze lowered further, and I was met with a wall of purple, hair I had come to know extremely well over the past several months.

Realization crept in slowly… horribly. A cold sweat broke across my skin, and suddenly I struggled to breathe, forcing myself to take deep gulps of air.

Please let me be wrong. Please…

A second later, my fears were confirmed when a pair of crimson eyes looked up at me, belonging to the beautiful face now marred by a thin trickle of blood at the corner of her lips.

“T-Teacher… why?” I managed, numb and unable to think of anything else to say.

Why hadn’t she dodged when she easily could have? Why force me to attack when we both knew she was immortal, that something like this couldn’t truly kill her, only send her body back to the Land of Shadows where I could reach her? Why force this outcome when she already knew all of this?

“I… ‘cough’… used that handy ability of yours that you gifted me, Toggle, I believe, to turn off my immortality.” She muttered it as if she were reading my thoughts, which honestly wouldn’t surprise me.

Her answer shattered the numbness consuming me. Panic surged in its place. I immediately dropped to my knees, bringing her body down with me and cradling her gently, careful not to worsen her wound.

“…Why?” I whispered again, voice trembling as I stared down at the ever-aloof, ever-proud Scáthach, now bleeding in my arms.

And feeling a tight, awful twist in my chest.

With surprising strength, Scáthach lifted her hand and gently cupped my cheek, giving me a soft smile. “Don’t make that face… cough… it doesn’t suit you. I simply wanted to experience what it was like to die once… at the hands of my most cherished pupil.”

Holding her hand against my cheek, I couldn’t help but notice how the warmth was fading from her fingers. “Is that your wish, Teacher? To die?” I asked quietly, not knowing what else to say, only feeling a terrible emptiness at the idea.

“…Yes,” she whispered, her eyes drifting far away. “To be more precise, I want to die in battle, and preferably at the hands of my most talented and beloved pupil. That’s you, in case you have any doubts.”

Hearing her say she wanted to die made my chest ache, my expression tightening. “…Is this because of your immortality?”

“Correct. I am a being who has parted ways with death. I have lost the opportunity to die, and for that reason, I am neither of the living nor of the dead.” She paused as a coughing fit overtook her, and I immediately tore what remained of my shirt to wipe the blood from her beautiful face, earning a soft look in return.

“For the longest time, I believed I would continue to exist until everything in and outside the world disappeared. So yes… I desire death.” She spoke solemnly, then offered another gentle smile before leaning up and pressing a soft kiss to my lips. Pulling back only an inch, she kept her gaze locked on mine.

“And if possible, I pray that when that time comes, the one who grants it will be you, Sieg. Someone who not only has the power to truly kill me… but is also the greatest pupil I will ever have.”

I swallowed hard, my lips still tingling from her kiss, thoughts racing as I desperately tried to find a way to steer her off that path. My mind still numb, my mouth opened on its own.

“Then let’s make a deal,” I said seriously, even as my thoughts scrambled to catch up and my resolve hardened.

Raising a perfect eyebrow, Scáthach studied my eyes for several long seconds before smiling and nodding. “Alright. What is it?”

“I have many tough battles ahead of me, monsters, devils, Gods, beings from beyond the stars. I both want and need you at my side for the foreseeable future, because I can’t say for certain I’ll make it out alive.” I muttered, thinking of the horrors awaiting us during the Grand Order.

Scáthach stayed silent, waiting, so I continued after licking my dry lips.

“If we make it out alive at the end of our journey… and your wish hasn’t changed…” I paused, closing my eyes as I forced myself to say the next words aloud.

Opening them again, I spoke. “Then I will grant it. I will… k-kill you with my own two hands.”

Scáthach tilted her head, silently studying me. Whatever she saw made her smile softly. “Hoh. Then it seems we have a—”

“I’m not done.” I cut in, causing her eyebrow to rise again. “Until that time comes, you have to promise me you won’t distance yourself from me or the others. Live every day to the fullest.”

I activated the Incarnation of Youth, my body glowing with divine gold light. Scáthach’s eyes flicked to it briefly before returning to my face.

“Most important of all… you have to swear this. Stay at my side, no matter what. Even if life is ending. Even if the world is ending. Even if it means battling every god in existence. Stay with me… forever.” My voice rang with all my intent to the world, and especially to the woman beneath me.

I knew I was playing dirty by cornering her with a vow like that. If she agreed, she would bind herself to remain by my side no matter what. That’s not even mentioning whatever the effects of the Stamp will have on her the more time she spent with me.

But I didn’t care. I wanted Scáthach in my life, and if the day ever came where she asked me to end hers… I knew I would follow after her soon after.

Something I didn’t voice aloud.

I could never live with myself if I killed someone so dear to me.

Scáthach stared at me for a long moment, dissecting every word. Then an amused glint appeared in her eyes.

“You don’t play fair, do you, my student?” she murmured with a fond sigh. “Very well. I swear it.”

The moment the words left her lips, I didn’t waste a second. I leaned in and claimed her lips again, granting her my divine protection and healing her at the same time.

Her lips are as soft as I imagined…