Chapter 221 : Final Battle(2)
“Seems you’re the type who lacks the capacity to learn.”
The bombardment did not stop. Yet not a single one of them pierced Jason’s barrier.
They were fairly sharp, flashy, and hot—but that was all.
They were nowhere near the level that could break his wall and burn out his heart.
What was in their heads was obvious. A scheme to sap even a little of his strength. In truth, there wasn’t a single decisive blow powerful enough to breach his shield, but the shelling was not something he could simply ignore.
Still, what they did not know was that even if they kept this up for months, his demonic power would not run dry.
Then, the bombardment stopped.
His puzzlement lasted only a moment before Jason came face-to-face with six heroes, one princess, and the chimera she raised, all approaching him.
He smiled.
“So you are Hillan Cargill. It’s an honor to meet you in person.”
“You know me?”
“Now that Balraf Dislode is dead, who wouldn’t know the greatest hero? And you’re Berje’s dog, aren’t you. Ah, was I not supposed to say that?”
Jason shrugged.
“What does it matter? Everyone here must have had some sort of deal going back and forth with Berje.”
“We are heroes. There’s no way we would become a Demon King’s underlings.”
“If you insist on denying it to the end, there’s nothing to be done. Frankly, it isn’t that important.”
Because—
“Today, all of you will die here.”
A fireball exploded right in front of Jason’s face.
“You’re quite ill-mannered.”
“We’re not obligated to listen to a Demon King’s bullshit all the way through.”
“I see. Those who handle fire are always that quick-tempered.”
“Done talking? Then I just melt that tongue, right?”
Hillan Cargill stepped in front of Rozel.
“Why are you stopping me?”
“Because it feels off.”
“Off?”
“Why did you fly here alone?”
Many monsters had died, but even more monsters were still standing. The island had been half-destroyed by indiscriminate bombardment, yet the high-ranking demons were still intact.
And yet Jason had deliberately flown here alone—pushing back the monsters attacking the alliance, leaving the island’s demons behind.
“Because there is no need.”
“So you’re confident?”
“Is there any other reason?”
“This bastard—!”
Rozel burned with rage. Space split. A gigantic sun began to descend slowly.
“This is a bit hot.”
“I don’t know where that confidence comes from, but—”
If he let his guard down, all the better.
Strength gathered in Hillan’s hand, gripping his sword. Crackle—small sparks wrapped the blade. Keenly honed aura rippled.
Hillan vanished. 0.1 seconds. He was already in front of Jason, thrusting his sword.
It was fast and sharp like lightning.
Aura and demonic power collided. Aura took the upper hand, shattering the tightly condensed demonic power and carving a wound into Jason’s hand.
“That sword.”
Jason’s eyes gleamed with interest.
“It’s not ordinary.”
“When facing the oldest Demon King, this much is the minimum.”
Hillan vanished again. In that instant, the falling sun struck Jason head-on.
An explosion erupted. Aina raised a wall of water, and Ralph steadied his shield. Behind them, the Stars hid their bodies.
──!
The blast wave shook one edge of the lake.
For a brief moment, the explosive force and heat surpassed Jason’s black sphere. Yet none of the Stars believed he was dead.
Who would?
Even within heat that was evaporating the lake, he was still radiating such distinct presence.
“And yet, is Ernan not stepping in?”
He asked as he calmly brushed flames off himself.
“If she did, there might be some chance, at least.”
“That’s not your concern.”
“I’m not worried for your sake. I’m worried for mine. That way, the name I earn for killing all of you will rise even higher, won’t it?”
“What did you say?”
“Why do you think I’m facing you alone?”
Because he was stupid? Because his subordinates were scared?
No.
Because he was confident.
“Confident I can kill all of you.”
And because he had to.
“Because only then will humans be swallowed by even greater fear and despair.”
A Demon King who slaughtered six Stars by himself. In the thousand-year history since Demon Kings began to descend upon Arein, it had never happened even once.
That was why the shock humans would feel would be beyond anything in a thousand years.
“Keep dreaming.”
“Does it seem like a dream? No. I’ll show you the proof. Ah, though you won’t be able to see it, of cou—”
Jason’s words cut off.
A massive fist slammed into his face, forcing his body one step back.
Standing atop the chimera’s shoulder, Lavinia Arkan muttered.
“Talk… too much.”
“So you are Lavinia Arkan.”
Jason adjusted his crooked monocle.
“A titan that literally flies through the sky, without even clumping air with aura like the others. Astonishing. It must be thanks to that single wing—does it belong to a dragon?”
“Your heart.”
Jason turned his head to Hillan Cargill.
“What is she saying?”
No answer came back.
Instead, lightning fangs steeped in draconic power.
Scales that had surged up over his arm blocked the blade.
“To ambush like that, from someone who calls himself a hero.”
“Bullshit. In killing and being killed, where’s the ‘cowardice’?”
A spear of flame aimed for his blind spot.
The other Stars who had been silent also began to move.
Droplets drawn up from the lake surged in from every direction, and Watton Colo and Pablo Barkat charged in.
Kagagak—
The spear of flame and the droplets were stopped by a translucent barrier.
Blades and spears smashed through it and lunged in—only to be caught in Jason’s two hands.
Between them, a flash shot out.
Target: the heart.
A hastily formed shield was severed without a trace. But just before that beam bored into his chest, his body split on its own, opening a hole.
A blue flash cleaved the air.
“······!”
“Did you think I couldn’t dodge?”
Kwaang!
A brutal kick sent Hillan’s body flying back.
“All of this…”
It’s pathetic.
Flames transferred along the captured blade engulfed Watton and Pablo.
A black demonic spear shot from a slightly parted maw intercepted the two mages.
Water and fire barriers annihilated each other with the demonic spear. They did not injure each other, but for that brief moment, the mages’ actions stopped.
And in that opening, claws that suddenly shot out slashed down toward Pablo.
“Damn it!”
Pablo’s sword rattled. The shock running through the blade made his muscles scream.
Concise, fast, and ferocious. Pablo was driven into a corner in an instant, to the point it was hard to believe such power could come from that ordinary-looking body.
“H-hey! Help me!”
“Go.”
The one who answered that scream was Lavinia.
A massive fist dropped from above.
Jason raised his arms to block, but his body was driven a full meter downward.
“Interesting.”
Up close, he rapidly swept his gaze over Cher’s entire body.
“How on earth did you create such a masterpiece? It’s not something you can do just because you have materials, is it?”
“You.”
“What about me?”
“Together.”
“I can’t understand. And I don’t particularly want to.”
Gigigigik—
Jason forced Cher’s fist back with sheer strength. Cher’s face flushed red.
“I’ll just knock you out and hear it later.”
Another fist struck Cher’s chest.
A scream that felt like it squeezed out his lungs echoed across the entire lake.
“You’re fairly sturdy. Then this much… I’d like to learn a little more, but don’t we have quite a lot of uninvited guests?”
Jjeoeoeok-
A thick shield was caught in Jason’s hand.
His arm muscles writhed and tore under the heavy aura, but they quickly returned to their original state.
“You crazy monster bastard!”
“Correct, I’m a monster. And you plucked a sleeping monster’s nose hair.”
Then it happened.
A small fist struck Jason’s head.
─────!
A tremendous boom rang out. His neck twisted halfway around.
“Cher, hurt. You, bad.”
His body fell beneath the lake. Aina formed a water shield under Lavinia’s body as she was about to fall with him.
“···What is she, that princess?”
“Crazy.”
The Stars were aghast, but it was brief. Before the spray had even settled, a new spray erupted.
If it had absorbed before, now it spat out.
A huge black hand that stirred up a torrent swept over the Stars.
It was utterly ominous and chilling, and heavy.
Hwarureuk-
The grand spellfire Rozel manifested melted the hand. Relief lasted only a moment—at a far faster speed it regenerated, restoring its original form, then changed course and covered a hero.
“Keuheok…!”
Realizing he could not dodge, Watton raised his sword. His aura was smashed apart, and a shock that churned his organs made him vomit blood.
‘This is insane…!’
This was a Demon King?
Just once. Just once was enough.
It was enough for Watton Colo to feel the gap and take despair into himself.
The confidence with which he had swaggered as a Star plunged straight to the bottom.
‘I-I have to run!’
There was no way to win by fighting a monster like this.
This was a Demon King? Then let Demon Kings fight Demon Kings.
Why did the Demon King sit still while those called heroes fought instead?
‘A Demon King should be killed by a Demon King. A hero is… huh? A hero is…’
If Demon Kings killed Demon Kings, why did heroes exist?
Realizing the vicious contradiction, Watton Colo muttered blankly.
“What are you doing!”
In that moment, someone grabbed the back of his neck and yanked him. Black, hideous claws barely grazed past the tip of his nose. Hair was cut, and the scent of blood from a faint scratch tickled his nose.
Only then did Watton come to his senses.
“H-Hillan.”
“Do not look away in the middle of battle. Do you want to die?”
“B-but there’s no way we can deal with that monster!”
“It’s not that we can’t. It’s that we must.”
“······.”
“If you’re afraid, then at least get out of the way so you don’t interfere.”
After shoving Watton aside, Hillan ran, scattering flashes of light.
Seogeok—
One finger was severed. Black blood sprayed, polluting the lake.
“Ah.”
In that brilliance, Watton felt his own powerlessness.
He realized that was what a true hero was.
‘He shines.’
He wanted to follow that back.
He wanted to become like him.
Watton tightened his grip on his sword. Forcing down his churning insides, he drew out aura again.
‘I am a hero.’
So he fought the Demon King. He did not cower and retreat. That was his role.
He ran as well.
Regardless of Watton’s brief anguish, the battle was only beginning now.
“You truly are rather troublesome.”
The False Demon King who rose from the water was different from before. Five pairs of wings tore out from his back, and his skin hardened, covered in scales.
Hands like a human’s would, whenever he wished, turn into a demon’s, swelling as they clawed at the Stars.
Watton Colo, who had boldly steeled his fighting spirit, was the first to go down. With muscles torn all over his body, he could not even move.
Leaning on the ice Aina had made, he could only stare blankly at the battlefield.
“Kraaaagh!”
“Sir Pablo!”
“Where are you looking?”
Pablo Barkat’s sword snapped. His chest pierced by claws, he bled and sank into the lake.
“Aina!”
“I’ll save him!”
Aina dove into the water.
In an instant, three were out.
“We should settle this before they return.”
At the Demon King’s laughter, Hillan bared his teeth.
‘Attacks aren’t useless.’
He had to be more careful than usual, and it took more effort, but he could injure him. That was enough.
Once. Just once, he had to pierce the throat.
But alone, it was impossible.
He could tell from the short but fierce battle. That bizarre body, changing freely, was unlike any demon race.
It felt like variables stacked on variables, and alone, it was nothing but suicide.
“Rozel.”
“Speak.”
“I want you to just stay at range and pour down magic without holding back.”
“Fine.”
“Ralph. Can you endure more?”
“A few times is plenty.”
“Then stay right behind me. And…”
“When it’s needed, I’ll protect you.”
“Thank you. And Lavinia.”
“Yeah.”
“Is Cher alright?”
“Hurt. Demon King, bad. Kill.”
“Let’s go together.”
“Yeah.”
Lavinia nodded.
“Are you done with your war council?”
“Thank you for giving us the room.”
“I like you. Even if it’s just pretense, you’re polite.”
It began with Rozel’s flames. A refined dragon of fire roared. An expanded black hand went out to meet it.
Kwarureureureuk-
The flames scattered. Demonic power burned. In that gap, two heroes and the princess charged.
Kraaaah—
Cher roared. Squeezed demonic power compressed and spewed out. A breath. The authority of dragons was recreated through him.
“···Haha, you’re firing a breath attack? Lavinia, I pay my respects to your talent!”
Jason roared with laughter. His hand, already returned to a human’s again, swept through the air.
Space split. The rift swallowed the breath.
Keoek—
Jason let out a thick belch.
“···The purity of the demonic power is quite high. Flame. Is it a byproduct of a Red Dragon?”
Before Lavinia could answer, lightning struck.
It stabbed down vertically into Jason’s head, paralyzing his body for a moment. In that slit of time, a sword thrust in.
It did not arrive before the black gap closed. The blade was knocked away, and black flames covered Hillan—no, they covered the hero with the shield who stood between them.
While the shield bore everything in his place, Hillan himself, was no longer there.
There was no need to search where he was.
Pajijijijik—
A savage lightning energy that tore even space itself was making a noisy chatter.
But even noticing it, the speed was too fast to block.
First, a claw was severed.
Second, a long wound was carved from the back of the hand up to the shoulder.
The third time, the flank was ripped open. The gushing blood was scorched by lightning, releasing a reeking smoke.
And fourth times—the sword cleaved the air. The Demon King’s claw struck Hillan’s abdomen.
Kagagak—
The sword he barely raised screamed. The unresolved impact surged straight into Hillan.
An arm that stretched longer slammed Hillan all the way to the lakebed.
“You!”
Ralph Schmitz’s shield smashed into the arm. The shield cut the arm off. The severed arm fell limply.
“Die.”
Cher, fingers interlaced, appeared above Jason’s head.
──!
He blocked it.
This time, Lavinia’s fist fell on top.
──!
Jason’s muscles tore. His arm bent at a grotesque angle.
“···I’ve changed my mind. Your body interests me more than your chimera.”
“You, hate.”
Cher grabbed the bent arm. After tightening his grip so Jason could not flee, he opened his mouth.
“Cher, hurt. You, more hurt.”
Breath spewed straight into his face.
At the same time, a flash of lightning erupted from the lakebed.
From above, flames—below, lightning—engulfed Jason.
“Eat this, you fucking bastard!”
And over it all, the grand magic of the archmage, etched with eight Sigils, fell.
────!
The explosion born from the collision of three forces swallowed everything.
* * *
“Your Grace! It’s dangerous!”
“Evade!”
The aftermath of the explosion covered the entire lake.
A shockwave surged, and waves rose. The ship rocked, swaying as if it would sink.
“···This isn’t human combat.”
Neither the Demon King, nor the heroes opposing him.
That was why the Demon King was something heroes had to face. There was no other way. The strongest of heroes was humanity’s strongest.
“There’s nothing we can do.”
If the mana cannons could show destructive power beyond grand magic, perhaps—but right now it was impossible.
Most humans could not run across the lake’s surface and fight like they did. Even if they rushed in by ship, they would only be caught in the battle’s aftermath and sink.
Of course, they could fight if they insisted, but they would have to accept immense sacrifice.
‘Even so, we can’t retreat like th—’
That was when it happened.
- Are you the human called Duke Olten, or whatever?
It was a water spirit. Duke Olten knew it was something Ernan had sent.
“That’s right. Great spirit.”
- I’m the high-grade spirit, Nairuniel. I came to deliver a message at Ernan’s request.
“What is it?”
- Retreat at once.
- The battle will become more intense, and it will no longer be at a level you can handle.
It wasn’t that they could not fight at all.
They could fight too. They might even leave a fatal wound. But the result would be, at minimum, more than half dead.
Ernan did not want that. Nor was it what Berje wanted.
“But we can fight as well.”
Compared to the Stars they fell short, but there were still fighters close to that level.
- Ernan hasn’t even joined that battle yet.
- If Lady Naias and Ernan fight together, it will become a battlefield that exceeds your common sense.
- Let me tell you one thing: Ernan has not once fought at full power.
“That…”
Olten ran out of words.
He could not dare imagine the might of the Spirit King. Much less, the Water Spirit King upon a vast lake.
Even calling it a disaster would not be enough.
And before disaster, no matter how great a fleet was, it would sink easily.
- This is advice for you.
- Withdraw.
“···Understood.”
Olten nodded. The water spirit vanished.
“Will you comply?”
“We must. You all feel it, don’t you? That place is not somewhere we can easily set foot. I have no intention of making a road with human blood.”
But he was not giving up completely.
“Retreat and pull back beyond the lake. With waves of that magnitude, we’ll clearly feel it even from outside the lake. From there, we prepare for contingencies.”
“Yes.”
Retreat!
When the retreat order fell, the soldiers—already uneasy at the surging lake—began withdrawing quickly.
It took a long while before all the ships moored along the lakeshore. Even then, the pulsing waves from the center did not diminish at all.
That was when it happened.
──────!
It was dreadful demonic power—on an entirely different level from before.
A massive wave flooded in. Soldiers paled at a tsunami over ten meters tall.
“Mages!”
“Raise a barrier!”
“Stop it!”
Nearly a thousand mages rushed to it.
But just before the wave reached the shore, it all returned to the lake.
It was the water spirits. It was Ernan.
W-we lived!
Long live Ernan Hilderan!
Long live the water spirits!
The soldiers shouted in cheers.
But even then, Duke Olten’s gaze was fixed far away, toward the battlefield—toward that chilling space where the demonic power had grown beyond measure.
“···It feels like the nature of the demonic power has changed.”
Was it an illusion?
He muttered softly.
* * *
“Berje? Is it really Berje?”
At the very center of the lake.
Duke Olten’s senses were not wrong.
A Demon King met a Demon King.