Fragments of the Demon King dug into Richard’s body.
Every time that chilly footstep left a footprint inside him, Richard coughed up blood. His body howled in intense pain.
— Ugh…
The Demon King also cried.
Richard did not know what kind of emotion was contained in that crying sound. The creature just cried meaninglessly.
Ssssss—
The darkness, which had been rummaging through his body for a long time, dyed his left hand black. It was proof that Light and Eodom could not coexist, so Richard’s hand began to resemble that of a Demon.
Blood burst out and soaked his front. It was dark, dead blood.
[You have committed the Sin of Defying Heaven !]
[The alignment of your Divine Grace is changing to Chaos]
[Quickly remove the darkness inside your body]
The glowing letters blurred before his eyes. As if he had done something that should never be done, the System Window urged him to eliminate the darkness within.
Richard waved his hand to scatter the warning messages. Even that simple movement caused a sharp pain that was hard to endure.
‘I can only imagine what kind of chaos would erupt if I triggered the Light…’
Just thinking about it made him frown involuntarily. He had only gathered a fragment of the darkness made of Light, yet it was this painful. It was a moment that made the title of the One True God seem meaningless.
The fact that it was perfectly compatible with Light meant that it was also ‘something’ equivalent to the Light of the One True God.
“What have you done?” Kalgos asked then.
His tone suggested he could hardly believe what he had seen with his own eyes.
“Why did you embrace the darkness? You, who would never accept us, why on earth?”
At a glance, he even seemed angry. Over the thousands of years that had passed, Kalgos was the only one who had abandoned the belief that Hor’s Envoy would accept them.
That was why he had appointed the Demon King as his king and led the invasion of this world. He had chosen coercion and force instead of understanding.
And yet, to embrace the darkness now. It was a choice that was far too late. Or so he thought.
“I am only doing what I must do,” Richard replied calmly to Kalgos’s boiling voice.
***
The battle at the Steel Thorn Castle ended.
However, the cheers that usually erupted were nowhere to be heard. Alisa Marx, holding her Spirit Staff low, narrowed her eyes. Everyone’s gaze was drawn to one place, and Alisa’s head naturally turned there as well.
It was Richard, whose left hand was dyed black.
The Wizards whispered about him. The loyal Knights ran to Richard and spoke in worried voices. Some even showed agitation at the sight of his hideously transformed left hand.
However, Alisa saw something different.
Darkness was tangled around the giant Cross. If it were Richard, he could easily shake off that darkness, yet he was simply enduring it. She could not fathom what he was thinking at all.
“Back off a bit. You smell of dirt.”
“S—Saint!”
Richard, who had dismissed the Knights, turned around and met Alisa’s eyes.
Although the battle at the Steel Thorn Castle had ended in victory, the army led by the Second Prince was currently invading another fortress. The heat of battle had not yet cooled, and his intense gaze was urging her on.
Alisa nodded. Even at this moment, the troops of her country were likely being sacrificed.
“Clean up the battlefield. The Knights and I will head to Haman Fortress.”
Having quickly issued instructions, she approached Richard.
Peeeeeee—
A “Crying Bird” large enough for Richard, the Knights, Adele, and Marga to board was summoned in an instant.
“Get on.”
The bird took flight in a hurry, as if searing beans on a lightning bolt, and cut through the air. On the way to Haman Fortress, Alisa glanced back.
“My disciple. I do not know what you are thinking.”
Her fair hand grabbed his hideous one. Richard flinched and tried to pull his hand away, but she held on tight and did not let go.
“It is cold. Your hand, which used to be so warm, has become this cold. Why do you not remove that darkness?”
Originally, Richard’s body temperature resembled the sunlight. But now, his hand was colder than the chill of winter.
Richard looked down at his hand in silence. Whenever he did, the Knights behind him raised a clamor.
“Ha… Do you intend to worry this old man to death?”
“Saint. Please, explain the plan to us as well. And do not overexert yourself alone again!”
Richard let out a sigh at their irritable tone. However, he did not open his mouth until the end.
“…Everything is for the sake of peace.”
By the time he finally spoke, Haman Fortress was beginning to come into view in the distance. To Alisa’s ears, those words sounded exactly as if he were going to sacrifice himself for peace.
Because he had said it once before. He had said that peace is something overlaid upon someone else’s pain.
Richard knew what peace was, yet he seemed unable to recognize the worried gazes of his comrades.
***
It was painful.
His hand felt like it would not only freeze but also crack and rot. The chills covering his entire body made his teeth chatter. Alisa’s constant glances and the worried stares of his comrades, which wouldn’t leave him, made his heart uncomfortable.
On the blade of Bad Bond, the crimson Giant was rolling his eyes. If he had something to say, he should say it quickly and disappear.
Richard wanted to snap at him, but the atmosphere made it difficult to even open his mouth. Everyone grew quieter as they approached Haman Fortress.
He had an intuition. The Knights behind him were very angry right now.
The reason was obvious. They probably thought he wasn’t relying on them. But that wasn’t really the case.
‘How can I tell them? That I am going to absorb all the darkness of the Demon Realm.’
It was better to receive these misunderstood looks than to have his comrades fall into despair because of the decision he had already made.
No, perhaps he was simply afraid. He feared that if he told them everything, he would be swayed by their persuasion to stop him.
Ultimately, the essence of his existence was ‘Human’.
The sound of explosions rang in his ears. When he snapped back to his senses, they had already arrived in the airspace above Haman Fortress, where the battle was ongoing.
“Now.”
He gripped Bad Bond and jumped off the Crying Bird. A single Star woven from Holy Power swelled to a massive size.
The target was the vanguard of the enemy army, the Second Prince of Markus.
[Exploding Star — Activated]
It was time to check the results of his training.
Holding the tip of the Star toward the man, he pulled his arm back. The trick to Exploding Star was expansion and compression. The Star, which had swelled to its limit, began to compress in an instant.
When it finally transformed into a handful of light fragments, he threw it with all his might.
The Second Prince shuddered and looked up. However, the explosive Star had already left Richard’s hand.
K-Boom!—
A massive explosion occurred in the center of the battlefield. Scattering dust and stone fragments pelted his breastplate.
“Cough!”
Regrettably, his attack was not perfect. At the last moment, the Demonic Energy inside his body had twitched, causing him to slip.
As he landed and gasped for breath, a flash of light gleamed through the dust cloud.
“Who are you?”
When the thick dust cleared, the Second Prince appeared to be in fairly good shape. Except for his tattered robes and his bleeding forehead.
“How many layers of Barrier did he deploy in that short time?”
He truly was of Markus’s blood. His casting speed was incredibly fast.
Suddenly, the man narrowed his eyes. The curve of his lips held clear interest.
“I feel a disgusting darkness. And yet, a brilliant light resides within you as well. That must surely be Divine Grace.”
In this case, the darkness would be Hor’s holiness, and the light would refer to the fragment of the Demon King. Richard had no intention of engaging in conversation.
He lifted Bad Bond while letting his left hand hang limp.
“Ah, what a contradictory existence! You, state your name. I have taken an interest in you.”
Ignoring the man’s exaggerated tone, Richard rushed at him. The more he made large movements and the more he utilized the Light, the greater the pain in his left hand became.
— Ugh…
And when the Demon King’s voice was heard faintly, his body came to a sudden halt. It was only for a fraction of a second, but the Second Prince had already retreated far back.
“I see words won’t work. I’ll have to tear off your limbs and make you my trophy.”
Naturally, he also possessed the Dregs of the Demon King. The boiling Demonic Energy transformed his body into a Demon in an instant. Black flames lunged at Richard without warning.
It was just as he bent his knees to avoid them.
Phut—
Aaron’s spear sliced between him and the flames. Amidst the sparks of fire scattering like paper, Richard met Aaron’s eyes. His gaze was colder than he had ever seen it.
“Please rest. We will take him down.”
Aaron dashed forward. With a spear strike sharper than ever before, the Second Prince’s Barrier was torn like a sheet of paper.
The Second Prince used Blink to escape Aaron’s range, but Aaron was not Richard’s only Knight.
Slash!
An attack from Moritz, who had suppressed his presence, cut deeply into the man’s back.
Whish—Thud!
The spear Gide threw with all his strength pierced the man’s thigh.
“You, you bastards—!”
The infuriated Second Prince’s magic was never completed. Every time a Magic Array was drawn, a Piercing Aura stabbed into it.
The combined attack of Aaron, Gide, and Moritz did not let the fight even become a fight. It was closer to one-sided violence.
“…Are they venting their anger?”
Or perhaps they were shouting to him with their entire bodies. That they were also strong. That he should rely on them instead of carrying the burden alone. It was clearly an attack aimed at the Second Prince, but the emotions contained within it were directed at Richard.
Tingle—
A sudden surge of pain made him clutch his left hand. This darkness had nothing to do with the question of being strong or weak, so their outcry would not be able to change him.
‘Still, thank you.’
Righteous character and a kind nature. He wanted to create a Heaven for people like them. He wanted to create a world overflowing only with Light, but for that, darkness was indispensable.
“I will embrace all the darkness. God will lose His light, and the darkness will embrace the Light.”
The balance of Light and darkness. The places assigned to each from the beginning. He intended to scramble it all from one to ten.
That was the atonement of the ignorant and complacent ‘Hor’, and the price the Five Creations had to pay. However, it was still too early to tell his comrades that fact.
“…Saint.”
The Knights looked back at him. The bloodied Second Prince was collapsed on the ground.
Richard approached the man and reached out his left hand.
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