It felt reassuring to fight alongside wizards. Their support and cover were impeccable and flawless.
However, I missed the knights who could fight with me back-to-back—the kind of men who rolled in the mud together, covered in filth, and screamed with raw spite.
Those macho sentiments could only be felt when standing with fellow knights.
‘Did I catch this from Huger? I’m not some barbarian warrior.’
I was shaking my head, wondering how I had ended up like this, when someone spoke.
“Richard. Those people haven’t turned into Demons yet.”
Moritz pointed toward the wizards from the Tahar and Typhon Kingdoms. Their eyes were clouded with Demonic Energy, but they hadn’t crossed the line just yet.
“And?”
“What do you mean ‘and’? There is still a chance they could be redeemed…”
I turned my head to look at Moritz. He wore a distorted expression at my blunt response. Come to think of it, this was likely the first time Moritz had experienced a war between humans.
“Young Master Moritz, those people are the most malicious of them all,” Gide said as he stepped up, placing a hand on Moritz’s shoulder. “They joined Markus despite knowing he serves the Dark Island. Even if their individual wills were not in it, they must take responsibility now that they have invaded this place.”
Gide’s gaze toward the enemy was colder than ever. However, the bitter traces hidden within that gaze likely wouldn’t be seen by Moritz, who now had his head bowed low.
“They walked into the Abyss on their own two feet. What greater sin against the Heavens is there?” Alisa added, unable to watch any longer.
War was no game. It was a field of slaughter where lives were at stake, and those men were baring their fangs at us while their bodies were being dyed black.
Taking their circumstances into account would be nothing more than granting mercy by selling the lives of our own allies.
“My allies are more important to me than my enemies. If you feel the same, then lift your sword.”
Hooo, hooo—
Moritz caught his breath in silence. When he lifted his head, the light in his eyes had settled deeply. Instead of words, a clear, bright Aura glowed from his Sacred Dagger.
“I’m sorry. I was being naive.”
I wanted to offer him a few words of comfort, but there was no time left.
The enemy heralds blew their horns with all their might. In response, the Magic Armor Soldiers began to move. Clad in black iron, the Magic Armor Soldiers rushed up the hill.
“Open the gates! Advance the Magic Armor!”
Dorelle raised the castle gates. From the opening, our own Magic Armor Soldiers poured out.
Clang—!
The collision of weapons signaled the start of the battle. The Demonic Energy scattered by the heretics mixed with magic, polluting the atmosphere.
“Fight! Victory will be ours again!”
Even in the face of the enemy swarming like a pack of dogs, our allies’ morale remained unbroken. Instead, they shouted as they unleashed the Light contained within their staves.
“My disciple, this is your chance to complete the instructions I gave you.”
“I see.”
“I’m counting on you. This battle must not be dragged out.”
Alisa gave me a push on the back. I didn’t resist and ran forward. Along with the knights following me, I leaped from the castle wall.
Thump—!
As soon as we landed, the black Magic Armor Soldiers surrounded us.
“Tsk, tsk… It’s been a long time since we’ve done such a reckless charge.”
“Indeed.”
The voices of Gide and Aaron were buried under the heavy noise coming from behind us. A massive unit of Magic Armored Cavalry burst from the gate and swept past us.
Since the pride of Steel Thorn Castle was clearing the way, we only needed to run.
We ran along the wide-open path. After the charge of the Magic Armored Cavalry came the roots of the World Tree, followed by the bombardment of our allied wizards.
Everyone was smoothing the path perfectly before us.
After running for a long time, my eyes met Kabal’s in the distance. He had his lips pulled back in a grin.
Boom—!
Massive magic exploded right in front of us. What started as a single explosion quickly multiplied into dozens. It was an attack that clearly showed his intention to deal with me before the wizards on the castle walls.
“…”
The castle and Kabal’s army were not that far apart. However, the path to get there was treacherous.
Rattle—
The chains that had already blocked dozens of spells emitted a searing heat. With every step forward, menacing magic rained down.
Whir—
As I took another step, a massive Magic Array appeared on the ground. A trap spell—a so-called ‘landmine’—secretly installed by the Tahar wizards exploded.
Kaboom!
Through the dust cloud that surged toward the sky, the heretics’ magic fell once more. The dust, which hadn’t had a chance to settle due to the continuous explosions, was suddenly split in half.
“Agh!”
Slash—!
At the same time, Kabal’s army was also split in half. An overwhelming slash had been unleashed.
“Keke… You persistent bastards!”
Kabal let out a mad laugh. Even though the total assault from Laplace was pounding against his Barrier, he remained entirely focused on Richard.
‘If I just kill him, this castle is nothing!’
Even if Alisa was his sister, she wouldn’t be able to handle this many wizards forever. Mana was always a finite resource.
“Do not stop the bombardment!”
From a crater hollowed out by repeated explosions, the knights climbed out. There were cracks all over the helmet of the knight standing at the very front. The cracks grew longer with every explosion until pieces finally began to fall off.
“Ha! I wondered if there were any real knights in Laplace.”
Kabal glared. The face of the knight revealed beneath the broken helmet was familiar. It was definitely the Bartenberg Bloodline, whom he had seen in a portrait once.
“How dare a sword family of the Northern Continent interfere in the affairs of the Southern Continent!”
Kabal shouted as if enraged, but he was feeling a base sense of relief. It was much better for his dignity to have fought the Bartenbergs rather than having his head nearly taken by a knight from some nameless house. Furthermore, he was certain that he would win this rematch.
“How laughable! I shall take this as a declaration of war from Bartenberg toward Markus!”
“Then try and take it.”
A chilling voice echoed across the battlefield. Even more piercing was the freezing gaze that seemed to hack Kabal apart.
“It doesn’t matter how you take it, because all of you are going to die here anyway.”
*Spit—*
I muttered as I spat out blood-tinged saliva. Four stars flew through the air. The bodies of the heretics caught in their trajectories collapsed one by one.
Their magic could not pierce the wall of chains, and the sword I swung unleashed crescent-shaped slashes.
The heretics trembled at the sight of my unyielding spirit. In their eyes, I looked like a Grim Reaper.
“Ugh! A monster-like brat…!”
Markus’s wizards alone were nearly eight legions strong. Including the forces of the Tahar and Typhon Kingdoms, it was a massive army approaching 40,000.
Despite the continuous focused fire of such a vast army, they couldn’t take down a single Richard.
Even the knights following behind him were perfectly fine. No, they were starting to run wild as if they were possessed.
The thrusts of two Paladins pierced through the chests of several wizards. A knight who had snuck into the main camp—who knew when—was busy assassinating the commanders.
The sight of massive tree trunks crashing down was like watching a Dragon’s tail.
“Graaaah!”
“He-help me!”
The battlefield, which had been filled only with the sound of explosions, was now flooded with screams.
The sight of only four knights slaughtering an army of 40,000 wizards was unbelievable, even when seen with one’s own eyes. Red and black blood stained the earth.
“…”
I forced my way through the Barrier the enemy had deployed and tore them apart. Once the wizards maintaining the Barrier were dead, the enemy’s shield was gone.
Boom—!
The magic from Steel Thorn Castle exploded among the enemy without any interference. I stood still and looked around.
The blackened heretics were trembling in fear. They looked at me as if I were a monster and offered prayers to the heavens like oppressed weaklings. The tide of battle had turned far too easily.
‘It shouldn’t be this hollow.’
I turned my head to find Kabal. He was also glaring at me.
“Impressive. I shall praise you, Bartenberg.”
Clap, clap, clap.
The sound of applause rang out, completely out of place on a battlefield.
“You certainly seem to be favored by Eodom. If not, there’s no way you could display such horrific majesty.”
“Favored, huh…”
“Hehe, but I, too, have come to receive God’s favor.”
Kabal was talking a lot for a loser. As I watched him ramble about things I hadn’t asked, I suddenly looked at the ground.
The black and red blood spilled by the heretics was crawling along the earth. Like snakes, it wriggled and climbed up Kabal’s ankles.
“A-Aya!”
Demonic Energy flowed out from the bodies of the dead heretics and was sucked into Kabal. Immediately after, a sickening sight unfolded.
Squish, crackle—
Kabal’s body bloated and swelled unnaturally. His cracked skin vomited out inner flesh, and that deep red flesh spewed forth Demonic Energy.
This was…
I expected he had some scheme, but this scene was more unpleasant than I thought.
A gloomy wailing could be heard from somewhere. Whenever it sounded, Kabal flinched and laughed.
“Isn’t it beautiful? I am becoming the Light. I am at the opposite pole of you, who received the blessing of darkness.”
“I might only be at the middle level, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use the phrase ‘opposite pole’ with someone like you. It makes it sound like we’re equals.”
I caught my breath. I spoke that way, but the presence I felt from the monster Kabal had become was unusual.
“Kehu, kehuhehu…”
Splat—!
Blood burst from his bloated body. The blood that surged high into the sky fell back down like rain. It looked like a balloon that had burst from being overfilled with air. Even so, he laughed.
Boom—!
I fired a 4th-Circle spell. I thrust four stars into him. However, they were deflected before they could even touch the monster’s body.
—Uwaaaa… unyonyo…
Alarm bells rang in my head. I realized belatedly that Kabal’s appearance resembled ‘that.’
“…Yeah. It needs to be at this level to be called the opposite pole.”
Bad Bond trembled slightly. It was as if a ghost were bowing to its king.
“That” twisted its head. Bone segments protruded from its neck, which had rotated a full circle.
“Uuu… Father…”
The corners of its blood-dripping mouth curled up to its ears. That was no longer Kabal.
“Father… nyeh.”
After imitating a God, should I call this a descent? Having sacrificed so many deaths as an offering, there was no evil more malicious than this.
“Father, father, father, father, father, father, father, father!”
Whenever it twisted its body, it made a *squelch* sound. Foul Demonic Energy fell from the burst lumps of flesh like droplets of blood.
“I missed you. I believed you would return. I waited. I, I waited. Hug me. Please hug me. Please come back. This world is not needed by Father. I will destroy it. Let’s make it our house. Kill all the bugs.”
Madness overflowed.
“It was stolen. This world stole Father. We weren’t abandoned. We were robbed. Isn’t that right? Answer me. Answer me.”
The Demon King approached. The veins bulging from him soaked his body.
“I know. I know it all. Father worried about us. That’s why he left. Only I know. Still, I hate it. You must be with us forever. Everyone can die for all I care. But Father said he hates it. If you do this, it means you’ve abandoned us, right? No? Is that right? Then we were robbed. If this world is gone, you’ll come back to us, won’t you?”
Answer me.
The thing shoved its face toward mine. Perhaps because of the horribly disgusting smell of blood, my head felt dizzy.