Chapter 150: Taking a Step (3)

A Magic Armor Soldier leaped from the fortress wall.

Thump.

A heavy sound echoed from below a moment later.

Count Avan blinked in confusion.

The figure looked like a Magic Armor Soldier, but he had clearly heard it speak.

That meant it was a person.

However, the Magic Armor Soldier wasn’t the most important thing right now.

The Count stood up on trembling legs and immediately knelt before Alisa.

“I greet Her Majesty the Queen.”

“The situation is urgent. Pull yourself together and focus on defending the castle.”

Magic arrays were drawn within Alisa’s eyes.

The state of the battlefield was clearly reflected in them.

Many allies had already fallen.

The walls were crumbling in places, and fires that had yet to be extinguished were spreading.

The Count wiped his blood-stained mouth.

“Why has the Queen come to such a battlefield? If something were to happen to you…!”

The Queen had arrived at a battlefield with no chance of victory.

It would be difficult for her alone to fix a battle that had already tilted so far.

“Count Avan. Do you truly think so?”

“… Pardon my bluntness, but unless we have a large army, a reversal is impossible. Please, you must evacuate at once.”

At that moment, enemy magic poured toward the two of them.

Standing tall atop the wall, Alisa was a perfect target for the enemy.

“You were never Marx’s person from the beginning, were you? Since you only saw me when I had lost my eyes, I suppose it is natural for you to think that way.”

Dozens of spells flying toward her and the Count vanished in an instant.

It was Dispel magic.

The spells that had been fired with murderous intent turned into a mere current of Mana, ruffling Alisa’s hair.

“Do I have to issue a Royal Order for you to stand up?”

“… I shall obey your command.”

The Count pushed himself up from his knees.

He saw the ruined walls and the wizards trembling in fear.

To think he had shown such a sight to the Queen.

A delayed sense of shame washed over him.

“You fools, what are you doing! Fight! Protect Homer Castle! The Witch of Victory is with us!”

The Holy Grail’s voice echoed along the walls.

However, the wizards didn’t even pretend to listen to their master’s command.

Even with their bodies trembling, they were staring at the center of the battlefield.

“What in the…”

Just what were they looking at that made them so shocked?

As the Count turned his head to follow their gaze, his mouth slowly fell open.

Shhhhk—!

An alien sound echoed from that direction.

The sound of cold steel rending flesh, and blood pouring from severed meat.

“Aaargh!”

“Kill him! Kill him!”

The enemies, who had been as noble as predators on the hunt, screamed in agony.

Amidst a spray of crimson blood, a single Magic Armor Soldier was visible.

It was the same one that had jumped from the wall moments ago.

While most other Magic Armor Soldiers were rolling on the ground in a wretched state, that one alone fought like a demon.

A sharp sword strike cleaved through a corner of the enemy army.

The skill with which he deflected magic with mysterious swordsmanship was masterful.

“That man is surely…”

On the day the Law was decreed in the Capital, Count Avan had also been present.

Thus, he knew something of the Capital’s guests.

The friend of Young Master Alan and a member of the Bartenberg Bloodline.

There was no mistake.

That man was Richard von Bartenberg.

“I cannot simply remain in his debt.”

Count Avan ran along the wall.

Kicking the rumps of the dazed wizards, he encouraged them to grab their staffs.

***

With a single strike, I cut down ten enemy Magic Armor Soldiers.

The gap was filled in an instant, but I had already burrowed into the heart of the enemy lines.

Swish—!

As if they had been waiting, the enemies unleashed their magic.

From 1-Circle bolts to considerably high-level spells.

Infused with Demonic Energy, those ominous attacks were fired toward me.

I raised my sword.

In a corner of my vision, the words **[Hyper Focus]** appeared.

Huu—

Inhaling deeply, I brought my sword to the magic that had closed the distance.

Ping—

The tip of a bolt spell was diverted behind me along the blade.

P-ping—

A long lance of fire struck the flat of the sword and flew far away.

Ping, ping, ping, ping—

I deflected, parried, and diverted them all.

The attacks aimed at me struck the unfortunate enemies around me.

I walked forward, step by step.

At the end of my path stood a Wizard who appeared to be the Commander.

His face, stained black, was filled with indescribable terror.

A magic array unfolded from the staff he hurriedly raised.

“D-die—!”

This time, the magic was quite powerful.

It was too much to deflect and too burdensome to block.

So, I cut it.

Boom—!

Amidst the explosion that rattled my armor, I kicked off the ground.

Emerging through the thick gray dust, the face of the panicked Commander filled my sight.

Squelch—

A single thin line was drawn across his head.

Pushed by the breeze, half of his head slid off like it was melting.

“Whew…”

As I slowly caught my breath, a roar of cheers reached my ears.

Simultaneously, explosions erupted throughout the enemy lines.

It seemed the wizards of Homer Castle had finally come to their senses.

The battle situation, which had been tilted to the point of collapse, was slowly being straightened.

I raised my head and looked at the sky.

The entity said nothing.

It didn’t even make the gloomy sounds it had been emitting before; it simply fixed its gaze solely on me.

It seemed it didn’t care at all that those who served it were dying.

Staring at that Demon King, I channeled the Light.

The cheers behind me grew louder, and the enemies in front of me took hesitant steps backward.

It was ridiculous.

To them, I must look like the leader of evil.

I must feel like a darkness with no end.

“Look. The God you serve does not look after you.”

There was no response.

I took a step forward, deflecting the magic being fired at me.

“Do you wish for a miracle? Do you want protection? Do you truly believe you can obtain such things?”

I continued in a cold tone.

Then, there was a reaction.

— Hor… Go…!

I didn’t look up at the sky.

I had no desire to look at a thing that perched in a high place as if it were a god, looking down on those below.

“O God!”

“Please kill that thing!”

The heretics cried out to their god.

Pointing at me, they wished for Heaven’s Wrath to descend.

Slash—!

But the god of the heretics abandoned them.

Even when a believer’s head flew through the air, even when black blood spurted out, that persistent gaze only followed me.

— Hor! Hor—!!

Anger, hatred, resentment.

All sorts of negative emotions poured from the sky.

“It seems your god is not impartial. Seeing as he doesn’t even care when his followers die.”

As if I truly felt pity, I clicked my tongue.

The stares of the heretics, looking at something they couldn’t understand, pierced me.

They were entirely red and black.

It reminded me of the first world I had ever created.

Back then, and even now.

I didn’t want to make things that were red and black. It wasn’t the color I wanted.

Since it wasn’t what I wanted, I didn’t want to look after them.

Because they were the opposite of me, impure things, I couldn’t look after them even if I wanted to.

So, I gave up.

Tremble—

The Sword Hilt in my hand vibrated.

It felt as if the Giant within ‘Bad Bond’ was enraged.

Bloodshot veins appeared in the eye fixed in the sky.

“You are heretics. You’ve become black to the very core, so no other color can be painted over you.”

I saw one man turn around and flee.

Judging by his ornate clothing, he was likely one of the frontline commanders.

Clang—

The chains on my wrist surged out and snatched the man.

“P-please, spare me—”

“I gave up on you. I have deemed you enemies that must be killed.”

The commander, wrapped tightly in chains, squirmed.

Then, shortly after, he became a headless corpse.

“Darkness. That is the only flaw in the Progenitor becoming omnipotent.”

Light could do almost anything.

However, it could not enlighten the darkness.

It could not turn darkness into light.

Killing it was the only answer.

Especially when that darkness was struggling to crawl out into the light.

Thump, thump, boom!

The earth shook.

The forces of Homer Castle, their morale soaring, were advancing their own Magic Armor Soldiers.

Only then did I look up at the sky.

The Demon King was crying.

Even if it wasn’t the main body but merely a trace, it was definitely crying.

Unfortunately, its tears were essentially the essence of evil itself.

Even a supreme being like a Dragon would become a Light Dragon if it were doused in these tears.

What would happen if a heretic were doused in them?

I didn’t even want to know.

A single drop of crimson tear formed and fell toward the battlefield.

In response, I fired a beam of Light upward.

As if blinded, the giant red eye blinked repeatedly.

“My disciple. Are you all right?”

Before I knew it, Alisa was beside me.

The Eye of Laplace reflected me perfectly.

“You look to be in a very foul mood.”

“Who would be in a good mood when blood is rampant and so many people are dying?”

“That is true. This is what war is.”

Alisa spoke bitterly.

“But the tide of battle has finally turned in our favor. For the sake of the troops, it would be best not to let your complicated emotions show.”

Light rose from her staff.

Countless magic arrays were drawn in the air, and powerful spells poured down like rain.

Rumble—!

The sky cried, and the earth trembled.

The heretics caught in between died while screaming for a Holy Miracle.

“Why are you just leaving your Circles idle?”

Alisa, who had shown incredible might in an instant, chided me.

At that, I reached out my hand and spun the rings.

The three rings of Light, which had grown in number before I knew it, began to resonate repeatedly.

Whirrrr—!

A spear of fire, burning white, cut through the enemy camp.

Leaving a trail of flames on the ground, the heretics retreated in a swarm.

My stomach churned.

Since I had long ago lost the Crown of Ice that always kept me calm, I had to bear the full weight of this slaughter.

In truth, this was the first time I had ever experienced a war against humans.

Gritting my teeth, I met the eye in the sky once more.

— Father.

A gloomy mutter.

A hint of yearning.

Even after making a mess of this world, it seemed the thing was craving affection.

— Father!

The sky wailed.

The cry of love and hate echoed throughout the battlefield.

Heat seeped into the gloominess. The yearning began to twist bit by bit.

— Ugh, uuuuh…!

It was close to a sob, or perhaps a baby’s babbling.

A mass of crushed emotions poured out without filter.

As it did, the trembling of Bad Bond grew stronger.

‘You are cruel.’

‘You are far too cruel…’

A voice mixed with resentment shook my mind.

‘Are you not our father!’

‘Were we not the lives of the Progenitor that you personally crafted!’

‘Why, for what reason, do you treat us so miserably?’

The sword shook as if it would bend, screaming in a frenzy.

As I endured the raw anger, I forced my mouth open.