CH 322

Sarkegaar joined the battlefield, transforming into the appearance of one of the Holy Knights. He pretended to join forces with Riverrier Lanze and stabbed him in the back.

The strike pierced right through his heart.

It was a fatal wound.

However, I witnessed an even more horrifying spectacle that followed.

"Gah... Huff!"

-Crack!

Riverrier Lanze, grasping the situation, repelled Sarkegaar with his divine power. Sarkegaar, who was at a disadvantage against divine power compared to me, was flung far away, panting as he slowly got back up.

Riverrier Lanze clutched at his own heart, crimson blood gushing out.

-Woosh

The wound began to heal.

Whether his shattered heart had regenerated or not, Riverrier Lanze was coming back to life, even as blood trickled down the corners of his mouth.

"Insane... Are you even human?"

"Your Majesty, what are you talking about?" Cried Sarkegaar.

Riverrier Lanze wiped the blood from his mouth with an expression as cold as steel.

"This is what it means to be human."

Having repaired his broken heart and prepared for battle once again, Riverrier Lanze looked at me and spoke.

"God accepts my faith and makes the impossible possible. This is something only humans can do. It is possible because God loves humans."

Riverrier Lanze seemed to think that divine power was a privilege exclusive to humans.

"So, it is my mission and duty to reclaim the sacred artifact from an unholy existence like you as soon as possible. And it is the way to repay God's love."

Riverrier Lanze's fanaticism differed from that of Lydia.

Lydia Schmitt's fanaticism was intense, but Riverrier Lanze's was a refined madness.

A cold fanaticism devoid of excitement, impatience, or anger, carefully chiseled and forged. Riverrier Lanze looked at Sarkegaar, who had been swept away by the torrent of divine power and was now disguised as a Holy Knight once again.

"An existence that wears the skin of another being, what a despicable minion you are."

"..."

I had expected Riverrier Lanze to be extraordinarily strong.

But I never imagined it would be to this extent. He recovered even after his heart was pierced. Unless his head was severed, he seemed to be an unkillable creature.

Now, I even doubted whether it was possible to exhaust his stamina amidst the pouring lightning.

At this rate, should Loyar and even Sarkegaar join forces with me? Is that the only viable option?

The dreadfulness of the Holy Knights.

I experienced it in the worst possible way.

They enhance their bodies, protect themselves with divine power, shoot divine power from their swords, and even recover from near-fatal injuries.

If that's not a zombie, then what is?

Not all Holy Knights would be like this, but Riverrier Lanze was the pinnacle of those who met all the aforementioned conditions.

Riverrier Lanze began to attack Sarkegaar and me once again.

-Boom! Crash! Bang!

"Kruut!"

The monster before us was none other than Riverrier Lanze.

As if we didn't know what to do in the face of the rampaging beast's explosive attack, we were only focused on dodging his fierce assaults.

Tchak!

Sarkegaar's attack was capable of penetrating his defenses, but Riverrier Lanze wouldn't allow any surprise assaults.

The black blade-like weapon Sarkegaar created by transforming part of his body could indeed penetrate Riverrier Lanze's defenses.

However, even if the attack succeeded by chance, nothing would change.

Uuuung!

It absolutely wouldn't allow a fatal wound, and even if he was injured, he would recover in no time.

We couldn't even begin to fathom the limits of that creature's divine power.

Our only chance of victory lay in a war of attrition, but whether or not I could survive Riverrier Lanze's attacks until then was uncertain.

"Your Highness! You must also consider retreating!"

Sarkegaar's cry caught my ear.

Yes.

I could put an end to this chaos and retreat. I was well aware that it was time to consider that option.

I had succeeded in rescuing Olivia and Adriana, and I had done so in the name of Valier.

But as a result, Adriana and Olivia would be in danger again.

In the end, there would undoubtedly be those who suspected that the demons had saved Adriana and Olivia. Even if the two were innocent, people's misunderstandings and suspicions could lead to even worse outcomes.

Or perhaps Riverrier Lanze would turn a blind eye to this fact and try to manipulate Olivia once again.

If I couldn't kill Riverrier Lanze here and now, today's actions would be worse than doing nothing at all.

"No, either this bastard dies or I die today. One of us has to die."

So, I won't back down.

"Do you think you have a chance? Demon King."

Riverrier Lanze looked at me with cautious eyes.

"Yes. I won't die here. I'll kill you and survive."

"On what basis are you so sure?"

Riverrier Lanze had faith, and so did I.

"Just because. That's how it's meant to be in this world."

A miracle that always happens for my sake will happen again this time.

Of course.

Self-suggestion?

Suggestion?

I don't know about that.

But this is just the truth, beyond belief or disbelief.

My second life is punishment.

There's no way my given punishment would end by just dying here at the hands of Riverrier Lanze.

There's more.

A bigger punishment awaits me.

There's more I have to endure.

There's more sorrow and pain I have to experience.

If I die like this, if a miracle doesn't happen.

I'll be disappointed that my punishment was nothing more than this.

"There's just too much prepared for me before I die."

I won't be killed before I taste all of it.

Though I may collapse, be trampled, go mad, or die amidst it all.

Even if I can seize happiness by breaking through everything,

I am not yet in that place.

"Even if the Five Great Gods descend upon this place to kill me, I won't die. Riverrier Lanze."

This is neither faith nor a hint, but simply a fact. With that level of conviction, a different light shone in Riverrier Lanze's eyes than before.

"You have crossed the line of blasphemy, Demon King."

Contempt.

Fanaticism faces another fanaticism and feels contempt. Now, he feels the same thing towards me as I do towards him.

I will not die until the prepared stage is fully set.

I will make sure that Olivia is no longer forced to suffer.

I will not let Olivia, shackled by the yoke of a saint, return to a life where she cannot even wonder who she truly is.

For Adriana, and for Olivia as well.

I will show them what it means to be truly saved from the pit of gods, faith, and belief.

Though all places where humans live, all realms where humans exist, may be slums for their own reasons, I will make them realize that slums are not the only things that exist.

I will give both of them the gift of freedom.

I will let them live a life of contemplation and choice, not adapting and submitting to what is forced upon them, but choosing at the end of their own struggles.

Adriana, Olivia.

I have decided to give them true freedom in every sense of the word.

"I will."

"Kill."

"You."

I make a more chilling vow than any I have made so far.

Riverrier Lanze clenches his sword at my words.

He doesn't say anything like it being impossible.

He seemed to feel that something had changed in my demeanor.

Let it happen again.

Miracle.

Come to me.

Don't I still have many things I want?

Because I have many things to go through.

Isn't that why you're sending me up, to bring me down?

I haven't gone all the way up yet.

A miracle that allows me to take the life of Riverrier Lanze, an enemy I can never stand against at my current level.

I want it.

I prepare for the miracle.

Rage.

Burning the fuel called rage to generate the result called a miracle.

I must be angry.

My will has always backed me up whenever I have to surpass my actual limits.

Riverrier Lanze despises me. As if he no longer wants to even speak to me, he prepares for another attack.

"Die, Demon King!"

-Karddruk!

With one stroke of Riverrier Lanze's sword, an explosive shockwave distorted the ground. I narrowly avoided a direct hit but had to roll several times on the ground. Sarkegaar was casting a spell, but it only left small scratches; the iron wall called Riverrier Lanze was solid.

An iron wall that collapses and rebuilds itself.

Blue and white light begins to concentrate in his sword.

An explosive release of magic and divine power. As Saviolin Turner showed, it's not just magicians who can launch area attacks. He was about to strike me down in one blow and leave this area.

He prepares a powerful blow.

Tiamata may be the source of my sacred power, but I cannot draw upon it from within myself.

I can only harness the power of Tiamata under specific conditions.

Riverrier Lanze, the Holy Knight of Tu'an.

Tiamata, the sacred relic of Tu'an.

In the end, we both use the same kind of power, and I am at a disadvantage.

Simply put, it's a battle of equal forces. Thus, as long as we use the same kind of power, I will inevitably lose in a battle of output.

Whether he is a fallen priest or a crazed fanatic, the time and experience he has accumulated cannot be fake.

"Disappear with the light."

That is what a war hero, who returned victorious from the Great Demon War, would say.

I must surpass the genuine time he has built up.

He's a madman who won't die unless it's a fatal blow that severs his neck.

Then, in the end, I must rely on my own power.

Anger.

And.

Faith (self-suggestion) and words (word magic).

And the fate that will be given to me.

Since it hasn't arrived yet, I will not die.

The miracle that can kill this monster.

I know what it is.

Facing him as he prepares for a powerful attack, I grasp Tiamata with both hands.

It is impossible to infuse power while holding it, but.

I speak.

With determination and anger.

"Tiamata."

As he strikes down with a powerful blow, and the storm of divine power with physical force tries to swallow me up.

I command Tiamata, releasing the boiling divine power in all directions.

"Become a demon sword."

-Krrrrrng!

"!"

The white light that boiled from Tiamata turned into darkness that incinerates light.

Naturally, to kill the monster that regenerates infinitely with the power of Tu'an.

All too obviously.

The power of the opposite extreme is needed.

-Krrrrrrrrng!

It's not over with just incineration. In the midst of the waves of light pouring down upon me, I penetrate the waves, cloaked in darkness.

"You...! What have you done to Tiamata?!"

I charge towards Riverrier Lanze's astonished outcry.

My plan was correct.

I couldn't defeat Riverrier Lanze with the same power. So, I summoned the power of the opposite extreme and penetrated through it.

With this contrasting power, I can break through his ironclad defense and cut off his breath.

It's a single opportunity.

I cut off his breath before he grasps the situation.

As I break through the pouring light.

Cloaked in darkness that light cannot penetrate, I instantly reach Riverrier Lanze, who is in shock.

In just one moment, life and death are twisted, and history is reversed. I know this.

The line between life and death is ultimately a matter of moments.

Retreat.

[Using 1,000 achievement points.]

And then.

Clad in the power of the demon, I shout at Riverrier Lanze, who retracts his greatsword and tries to stab me in response.

Word magic.

"Stop!"

"Kuh! This... this is...!"

One step.

One inch.

Life and death can be determined by such small differences.

Bound by my spell, Riverrier Lanze's movements were momentarily restricted.

Whoosh!

"Guh… Ugh!"

I succeeded in plunging the demon sword Tiamata into his heart.

------

I had transformed Tiamata into a demon sword.

That was the miracle I had wished for.

Using the power of my word magic, I strengthened the spell and managed to halt Riverrier Lanze's movements at the crucial moment.

As a result, Riverrier Lanze was dealt a fatal blow.

This time, it truly was a fatal wound.

"Ku, Kuh... Kuh!"

He clutched at the demon sword Tiamata embedded in his heart, but could only spit out blood.

The Holy Knights were already weakening as time passed. Having reached their limits, they began to flee as they witnessed Riverrier Lanze on his knees with his heart pierced.

They must have thought it better to survive and report this situation than to prolong a lost battle.

"Kuh... Kuh... Kuh..."

"Persistent, aren't you?"

Even after his heart was penetrated by the demon sword, Riverrier Lanze did not die easily.

From the swirling white lights surrounding his body, it was clear that he was clinging to life using his divine power.

Despite being hit directly with the power of my word magic, he could still use his innate power, albeit weakly.

I hadn't anticipated that he would be such a monstrous opponent.

"Ho...w... Tia... Tiamata... How..."

However, he must have reached his limit, as he struggled to fight off the corrosive power of the demonic energy coursing through his body.

Although born from the same existence, the power of my word magic was too great.

Riverrier Lanze might have survived Sarkegaar's attack, but he could not withstand the corrupting power flowing through the demon sword Tiamata.

He was merely clinging to life with his last desperate breath.

I simply looked down at Riverrier Lanze, who had fallen to his knees, trying to remove the demon sword from his heart but unable to move even a fingertip.

As I watched Riverrier Lanze's last moments, Loyar, in the form of Lycan, approached me.

"Your Majesty, I shall pursue the fleeing Holy Knights."

"Good. Go with Sarkegaar."

Sarkegaar was also shocked to see me transform the divine sword into a demon sword and fight, but he didn't forget what needed to be done right now.

"Don't let a single one escape. No one must know that I wielded Tiamata."

"Yes."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

To be precise, Olivia shouldn't have seen the Demon King wielding the divine sword. Sarkegaar must have taken her far away. It was unlikely that Olivia saw what happened here.

"You... Who are you...?"

Riverrier Lanze murmured through the blood spilling from his mouth.

"The Demon King."

"Why did you... No... Why did you attack us...? You... Why did you save Olivia...?"

Facing death, Riverrier Lanze seemed to finally have doubts.

He wondered why the self-proclaimed Demon King had saved Olivia and Adriana. What was the story behind Miss Temple?

He spoke in a dying voice.

"Let's... cooperate... Demon Lord..."

"What did you say?"

Riverrier Lanze whispered in his dying voice.

"You... desire the reconstruction of the demon world... don't you? If so... the division of the empire... would be helpful to you... If we cooperate... a common goal... would be an irresistible offer... for you as well..."

It was impossible not to be astonished by his words.

"You should have said that earlier."

To discuss such a humiliating compromise only when faced with death.

"It's like you're begging for your life."

"You'll... need me... as well..."

If he had said this while in his right mind, it might have seemed like fanaticism, as if he would betray humanity for the sake of the Holy Empire.

But now, with his life hanging by a thread, Riverrier Lanze's words were nothing more than a desperate struggle.

He had laid everything bare in the face of imminent death.

"Firstly, it's not pure to beg for your life from the enemy when you're at the brink of death."

"It's not about not choosing the means for the purpose, but the fact that the means change depending on the situation shows that your intentions aren't pure either."

"Riverrier Lanze, you're disqualified to serve the Divine Tu’an in too many ways."

At my words, Riverrier Lanze stared at me with dying eyes.

"Do you really... think you're the champion Tu’an...?"

"Well, do you think otherwise?"

Riverrier Lanze struggled to look up at me.

He stared into my eyes.

"Is that... so...?"

As if trying to find something he had lost in my eyes.

"Yes... the champion of Tu’an was originally... an existence that punished humans."

Champion of Tu’an.

They were originally human hunters, not demons or undead.

They had been responsible for hunting down corrupt dark mages and heretics for generations, and my predecessor, the last champion of Tu’an, had been killed in battle with heretics.

The champion of Tu’an was originally one who killed humans, not demons or the undead.

"It may not be... so strange... that the Demon King is the champion of Tu’an... after all..."

He looked up at me.

Only when faced with death did he accept that I was the champion of Tu’an.

Did he accept everything due to his own defeat? Did he think his defeat was the will of Tu’an?

God is right.

Thus, I am facing death because God has abandoned me.

So, I am wrong.

His fanaticism remained steadfast even in the face of death.

Even Tiamata, transformed into a demon sword, seemed to have no choice but to accept it in the face of death.

If Tu’an was truly on his side, he wouldn't have been defeated.

In the end, he had to admit that I could only be the champion of Tu’an, above all his doubts.

I pulled the Tiamata embedded in his heart and pointed it at the kneeling Riverrier Lanze's throat.

He spoke.

"I believed... I was pure."

It seemed like an excuse, but it was not.

The champion of Tu'an, wielding Tiamata, had come to kill a paladin who served the Goddess of Purity.

Therefore, he believed himself to be pure, leaving behind a final excuse.

He could have truly been pure.

He could have believed that the justice he followed was the right path.

That's why he left his excuse as his last testament.

Slash!

With a downward stroke of Tiamata, I severed Riverrier Lanze's life completely.

The life of a corrupted priest was taken by a corrupted relic.

In the end, Riverrier Lanze fell twice to the same person.

I stood blankly in the ruined, burnt-out monastery.

It was a place where the world had trembled and chaos had ensued.

But now, only the ashes of the fire, the rising smoke, and the pale moonlight of winter shone upon the world.

Ignoring the headless corpse of the former Commander of the Holy Knights and the rolling head, I looked up at the sky blankly.

In the end, I couldn't go where I needed to be.

What should I say?

That I couldn't be there because of another unavoidable situation.

What would Ellen say?

No, do I even have the right to say such a thing?

I planned and succeeded in the incredible feat of annihilating the secret religious organization and the former Commander of the Holy Knights to prevent the empire's division.

I pondered what excuse I should give to Ellen.

This situation should have been absurd, but it didn't feel that way at all.

"..."

Beneath the winter night sky, a message appeared before my eyes.

[Special Achievement Unlocked - Turning Point of History]

[The death of a major character who should have existed in the original worldline (Riverrier Lanze) has been confirmed.]

A turning point in history caused by killing someone.

This was the first time.

[As a reward for the special achievement, you have acquired the 'Apostle' trait.]

Trait: Apostle

Description: You have become the true master of Tiamata.

It was simple.

But I felt like I knew what it meant.

As a demon sword, Tiamata; as a divine sword, Tiamata.

For the first time in history, I became the true champion of Tu'an, capable of wielding both.

------

Deep in the night.

The still feverish atmosphere of the Miss & Mister Temple contest venue was filled with thunderous cheers.

The long contest had come to an end, and only the announcement of the winners remained.

Sparkling pollen scattered from the ceiling of the hall.

Olivia Lanze, who had been a strong contender for the win, did not participate.

Her reason for not attending was unknown.

“This year's Miss Temple is a first-year student of the Royal Class! Congratulations to Ellen!”

However, Ellen triumphed over the fierce competition and was gloriously crowned this year's Miss Temple.

Amidst the applause and cheers of the crowd, a crown and bouquet were presented to Ellen, who was wearing a white dress.

The fellow students of the Royal Class were also applauding and congratulating Ellen.

However, Ellen's expression was frozen as she held the glorious crown and bouquet that signified her victory. She simply stared blankly downwards.

Ellen, who needed just one vote, received a large number of votes.

Excluding that single vote, she received the majority of the votes.

Despite being chosen by numerous people,

Ellen couldn't shake the feeling that the world had abandoned her.