Chapter 162: The Second Grand War of Saints and Demons (4)

The red and dark world shattered into pieces.

“Are you finally awake?”

As soon as I escaped the illusion, Arahel’s crimson eyes greeted me.

Looking into those eyes, where madness and malice swirled together, made the headache that hadn’t yet subsided feel even more intense.

*Ahem.*

She suddenly buried her face in my neck and inhaled my scent.

After doing that for a long while, she tilted her head in confusion.

“The scent of First Brother…?”

Arahel, her brow furrowed at the missing scent of darkness, let out a thin breath.

“It was too much to carry around. I happened to find a rather good warehouse for it.”

As I spoke, a small sense of resignation flickered in those red eyes.

“How was the Demon Realm I showed you?”

“It was exactly as it was back then, without a hint of fabrication.”

I turned my head away from Arahel, who was asking despite having already halfway given up.

What entered my vision was the battle between the Undead and the humans.

It felt like I had been in the illusion for quite some time, but in reality, it seemed not much time had passed.

The number of headless corpses strewn across the ground remained almost the same.

“Father.”

“Your lovely daughter has asked you a question.”

Arahel pressed for an answer.

I turned my head back toward her.

“Hmm, yes. It was a quite meaningful time.”

Thanks to that, I was able to have a useful conversation with Kalgos.

I looked at the words floating in a corner of my vision.

[The darkness nestled within your body has been removed.]

[The Chaos alignment returns to the Light alignment.]

Breathing became easier.

The headache that had been pricking my mind vanished, and my shoulders, which felt as if they were weighed down by boulders, felt much lighter.

It felt as though I had finally changed into clothes that fit me perfectly.

However, I couldn’t simply rejoice, as the expression of the Demon Race member before me was incredibly cold.

“Even after seeing everything…”

“Is that… is that really all you have to say in response to my question?”

As if it wasn’t the answer she expected.

As if it could never be the right answer, she glared at me venomously.

Then what kind of answer did she want?

Did she want me to say I was sorry, or to beg for forgiveness?

“I already knew you all had been waiting for me for hundreds of years. Just because I looked into the past now doesn’t change our positions.”

Saying so, I lifted Bad Bond.

Half of the blade, which used to be pure white, was now stained pitch black.

*Ssssss—*

I placed my hand on the other side of the blade and emitted Light.

The Light and Darkness were divided, centered on the middle of the sword.

*Clang—*

The black-and-white tip of the sword was pointed at her.

Seen through the Eye of Laplace, Arahel was glaring at me as if she were facing a mortal enemy.

“To think you would manifest as a mere human…”

“Father, it seems you have truly become a human yourself.”

“A God who only cares for humans, a God who is nothing but unfair!”

Yes, that’s right.

I am a human, so what was I supposed to do?

I tilted my head, signaling that I had nothing more to say.

Then, she spread her wings wide.

From those pitch-black wings, round particles scattered like mist.

It would be troublesome if those particles spread across the battlefield.

If they caused mass hallucinations right in front of the Undead, it would truly be a festival of corpses.

To prevent the parasites from spreading on the wind, I had to annihilate them in a single strike.

And I had the power to make that possible.

*Rumble—*

The black and white of Bad Bond began to mix little by little.

Like pouring white paint into black.

Like pouring black paint into white.

The two colors slowly began to cross each other’s boundaries.

“Ash-colored…?”

“What on earth is that energy?”

Did she feel the ominous aura?

Arahel asked as she retreated.

The knights who were struggling with the Undead also looked this way as if they were possessed.

Originally, Light and Darkness could not be mixed.

No one had told me this, but I knew it instinctively.

Therefore, I could also easily tell that this energy of Light, surging through Bad Bond, was a power that shouldn’t exist in this world.

*Creeeeeak—*

The space touched by the ash-colored light twisted strangely.

The pressure transmitted through the sword hilt was so immense that it felt like my hand would be crushed.

“Ha… haaa…”

My teeth chattered as if I were shivering from a chill.

Cold breath leaked out incessantly, yet my body was drenched in sweat.

I couldn’t tell if I was currently cold or hot.

The price for mixing what should not be mixed.

Blood trickled down from my nose and mouth.

“……Arahel. I hope you don’t show up as a fake like this next time.”

I swung the sword with all my might at the woman standing dazed.

There was no sound.

No wind from the slash, and no particular miracle occurred, to the point that one wouldn’t know I had swung the sword without seeing it directly.

However, the aftermath was incredibly fierce.

A single line was drawn across the ground and the sky that lay in the trajectory of the slash.

The clouds, split in half, scattered away like dust.

The ground below split wide open.

Between the opened earth and the split sky, a line also appeared on Arahel’s body.

She mouthed something.

However, before she could finish, her physical body scattered like dust.

***

“Cough!”

At the same time I felt certain that the fake Arahel had been annihilated, I coughed up a handful of blood.

I repeatedly exhaled and inhaled.

Chaos was a power more powerful than I thought.

And it was a power with a risk just as massive.

‘If I had tried this with my own body as that bastard Kalgos suggested, I would have been bedridden.’

I looked back for a moment at the place where Chaos had clawed through.

A power that split the heaven and earth with just one swing.

Would this truly work against that fellow as well?

As I estimated it internally, my fist clenched on its own.

It would work.

While it was undeniable that it was a double-edged sword, this power would surely reach even the Demon King.

A sharp tooth that would decide the fight with the Demon King.

“Saint!”

“Aaron?”

As I stood in the middle of the battlefield, Aaron came running quickly.

Deathly blood was smeared all over his handsome face, showing how much he had been wading through the corpses.

“Ar-Are you alright? Your condition was already poor…!”

“I’m fine. I can endure it.”

He looked at me with complicated eyes, then lowered his gaze.

He was looking at Bad Bond, which was now black and white.

Unlike Arahel, Aaron’s face brightened when he saw the black color of Bad Bond.

“Saint, did you perhaps put the darkness from your body into the sword?”

“Yes.”

I even took off my glove to show him my left hand.

My hand, which had transformed hideously, had regained its natural flesh color.

“There is no more darkness in my body. So don’t worry too much.”

Even though I had only entrusted it to Kalgos for a while.

There was no need to tell my comrades that beforehand.

At my words, Aaron smiled brightly, like Huger greeting Mary.

Seeing him let out deep sighs of relief, saying a great burden had been lifted, a bitter smile formed on my lips.

“Since you’ve dealt with the enemy commander, please take a rest. We will finish the rest quickly.”

Before I could say anything to stop him, Aaron ran off.

It had been a while since I’d seen Aaron so energetic.

Watching his retreating figure, I walked toward the rear where the wizards were stationed.

“Dad!”

“Father.”

The World Trees, who had been sweeping away the Undead using trees, ran over like puppies.

I suppose I have shown a lot of physical weakness lately.

Worry was dripping from the gazes of Adele and Mar.

“Dad, it’s better not to use that gray light too much. It’s too dangerous.”

“It is no different from twisting one’s neck backward while the body is facing forward. Eventually, your neck bone will break.”

“Mar! Isn’t that a bit of a strange metaphor?”

“Hmm. I thought it was quite appropriate.”

The two World Trees chattered away.

I gave them a warning and then observed the atmosphere of the battlefield.

“They are corpses moved by darkness! Inquisitors, burn them all! Purify those filthy bodies with the flames of Light!”

On one side, pale white flames soared.

Alan scattered the fire, and the wizards spread the flames using wind magic.

“Wooooh!”

On another side, the knights used all their strength to decapitate the corpses.

Those who had defended Riot Castle were very skilled at fighting the Undead.

They had experienced their fallen comrades becoming corpses and attacking them.

They had skillfully taken the heads of those corpses that were once their comrades.

Since they had walked a rough path of thorns only to fall in a place like this, the battle began to be wrapped up quickly.

***

Thus, we crossed the fortress that had been full of the Undead.

We passed through several villages and advanced forward while facing numerous corpses.

Regrettably, no big shots like Arahel or Mamon appeared along that path.

“Richard.”

“Yes?”

“……That, is it truly trustworthy?”

On the way marching toward the capital of Typhon.

Alisa Marx glanced at Bad Bond with a stern face.

She was even using the Eye of Laplace.

“Hmph! Even at a glance, that fellow’s nature is not kind. I was already uneasy about darkness accumulating in your body, but this guy is not far behind! He’s a demon, a demon!”

For some reason, she glared at the sword and ground her teeth.

If it were Alisa, she would be able to see the soul inside the sword.

I didn’t know exactly why, but there must be a reason why she, who was usually gentle, showed such a reaction.

[Eye of Laplace – Activated.]

A strange sensation dwelled in my eyes.

Then, the image of the Red Giant appeared faintly on the blade that had been only black.

‘This crazy bastard.’

Kalgos’s appearance, with his eyes rolled back and his foul tongue constantly flickering, was quite a sight.

*Hehehe—*

Even his unpleasant laughter reached my ears.

“Disciple, this fellow keeps mocking me.”

Looking at Alisa, whose hands were trembling with irritation, I felt apologetic for no reason.

Why did she have to look into the sword?

“Ah… I am sorry. It seems his old madness has returned as he regained a little bit of strength.”

“Then wouldn’t it be dangerous? That’s truly a time bomb.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

I covered the white blade with my hand.

Then, I infused it with a much larger amount of Light than the darkness Kalgos held.

*Hummmm—*

Then, Kalgos’s image faded faintly, and the soul of the Hero, which had been buried under Kalgos’s bloated ego, gradually grew brighter.

**[Lord Hor…]**

The Hero, Albert, revealed himself from within the blade after a long time.

“It’s hard to see your face, Albert.”

He bowed his head deeply as if he were sorry.

It seemed he had no face to show me, as he had been unable to move at all after being pushed aside by Kalgos.

“Even for you, there’s nothing you could have done against Kalgos, who has lived for thousands of years. It’s fine.”

As I said that, Albert clasped his hands together with a moved expression.

**[Lord Hor, I wish to be of help to you.]**

‘I just need you to keep Kalgos in check…’

I wanted to reply like that, but for some reason, his expression was overflowing with determination.

“What can you do?”

I didn’t expect much, but I asked out of politeness.

[Do you remember the Sacred Sword I used to wield, Tempest?]

I nodded.

There was no way I wouldn’t remember it.

A sword with such excellent abilities was rare.

It was very lamentable that Tempest’s unique ability had disappeared during the process of mixing it with White Ghost…

[It seems that as the swords merged, Tempest’s ability became subordinate to me.]

[If I help you, you will be able to use that ability as well, Lord Hor.]

I came to a dead stop.

“Hey, Albert.”

My neck felt stiff, as if it would make a creaking sound.

“Why… are you… telling me… this now?”

Then, the Hero looked cowed.

[That is… Kalgos didn’t give me any chance to speak at all.]

[Everything is the fault of this deficient Hero!]

[I-I will accept any punishment you give me!]