chapter_0136

‘Why…… How……’

The strength left her hands, and her legs trembled uncontrollably against her will. Unbeknownst to her, tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Leona’s mental state was rapidly deteriorating.

The Demon King. A symbol of terror for humanity and a source of trauma etched into Leona’s mind.

The encounter with the Demon King in the cave still lingered vividly in her memory, and the sense of dread she felt then was as fresh as if it were yesterday.

Her survival that day had been entirely due to Mira and the Holy Sword. Leona had been helpless, doing nothing but watch as Mira begged her to run while dying.

“Haa, haa, haa, haa……”

As she recalled the diagonally split upper half of Mira’s body and the vivid red blood, her breath quickened. She tried to grasp the Holy Sword that kept slipping from her grasp, but the blade continued to point towards the ground.

No, I can’t give up here. I’m the hero. I’m Leona Brynhild, the hero. I have to snap out of it and face the Demon King. I have to endure.

But she couldn’t.

The primal fear imprinted in her instincts reduced Leona from the Light Hero to a mere country girl. Her breath, tinged with terror, escaped through her pale blue lips.

“Are you trembling, hero?”

A voice she never wanted to hear at a moment like this pierced her ears. Hearing the Demon King’s voice, Leona slumped to the ground. Her legs had given out, and she couldn’t stand.

Leona awkwardly flailed her legs, trying to back away, but her weakened limbs only slid along the ground, kicking up clouds of dust without moving her body.

Just as the Demon King took her first step towards the hero, who had barely moved from her initial position,

“Hero!”

One of the Royal Guards bravely charged forward.

However, their attack, enhanced with both physical strength and mana, was effortlessly blocked by the Demon King’s bare hand. The pink eyes turned towards the Royal Guard, who was now squirming like an insect trapped in the Demon King’s grip.

“Pitiful, insignificant, and worthless. Did you truly believe you could reach me?”

A one-sided slaughter ensued. The Demon Sword, a top-tier weapon even by the Empire’s standards, effortlessly sliced through the Royal Guard’s armor as if it were butter. Limbs were severed, and blood splattered across the floor.

Ironically, it was the sight of blood that snapped Leona out of her panic and her futile attempts to flee.

‘What’s going on?’

A strange thought crossed her mind. The Demon King before her was undoubtedly powerful. Their strength was evident as they held the Royal Guard in one hand, preventing any resistance.

Yet, unlike during their encounter in the cave, Leona did not feel the overwhelming sense of absolute dominance.

Back then, it had felt like an unstoppable force of nature, but now, she believed that with enough effort, she could win. It was an unimaginable thought.

Once she noticed this strangeness, her ragged breathing gradually stabilized. As Leona regained her composure, the Demon King finished dismembering the Royal Guard and took a step forward.

Horrifically, the Royal Guard was still alive, their body reduced to half its original volume. One of the Tower Masters, sensing the Demon King’s attention elsewhere, used healing magic. The agonizing screams slowly subsided.

‘I might be able to do it.’

Leona reached out and grasped the Holy Sword she had dropped. I can do it. Even if I can’t, I have to. Whether this Demon King is fake or real, Leona Brynhild, the hero, must believe it’s a fake.

After all, she no longer felt the same overwhelming fear as before.

“Ho? You rise again, hero? You do not know your place.” The Demon King mocked as they watched Leona slowly get to her feet, using the sword to support herself.

Leona thought of Mira. The person who had made her who she was, both as a hero and as a woman. Mira had fought the real Demon King, and Leona, following in her footsteps, had no reason to be afraid of this fake.

“I won’t lose to a fake like you.”

“A fake……” The Demon King scoffed and swung their arm. Over a dozen Royal Guards surrounding them were instantly sliced into pieces. The Tower Masters frantically cast healing magic.

“Repeat what you just said. Do you still think I’m a fake after seeing this?”

As the Demon King stood, her magic seeped out from her legs, corrupting the surrounding earth. The atmosphere and all organic matter began to rot. The Tower Masters and Royal Guards could no longer hold back their coughs and retreated.

Only Leona remained unflinching.

“Yes, you’re a fake. I don’t feel the same sense of helplessness as when I faced you before.”

“Before?” The Demon King murmured, sounding perplexed.

“You don’t know, do you?” Leona said with certainty.

“If you are the real Demon King, you wouldn’t forget meeting me, the hero. You wouldn’t be able to.”

The Holy Sword responded to its wielder’s will and shone brilliantly once more. Golden wings, identical to the ones that appeared when she faced Mahbat, sprouted from Leona’s back.

Light illuminated the area, healing the Tower Masters and Royal Guards who had been suffering from the Demon King’s magic. Even severed limbs regrew; it was nothing short of a miracle.

“I will never lose to a fake like you.”

Then, in the midst of the night, day arrived.

.

.

.

“How much more do you plan to surprise me?”

“What do you mean?”

As I stood outside the former Demon King’s Castle, now half-rotten, petting Ghost Horse, Dullahan expressed exasperation.

“We’re ghosts, so it’s natural that we don’t get tired. But you, a human, show no signs of exhaustion either.”

It wasn’t an unusual reaction. After using Demon Sword Techniques from morning to evening without rest, my breath was only slightly ragged. For someone who had done far worse in my previous world, it was surprising in a different way. It felt like my body was slowly reverting to its former state.

“Hmm, it’s difficult to explain one’s own strength. I understand.”

Without waiting for my response, Dullahan dismounted from Ghost Horse. The ghost cavalry that had been trailing us like morning mist melted and merged into Dullahan’s body, disappearing from view.

“Won’t your subordinates be fighting with us?”

“Are you suggesting I fight inside the castle while riding a horse?”

“Impossible.”

Whether it was truly impossible or simply unwilling, the firm response meant little difference in practice. We opened the castle gates and stepped inside.

Aside from the rotting flesh that covered the Demon King’s Castle, there was nothing unusual about it.

“This traitor! How dare he defile the Demon King’s castle!”

Dullahan’s extreme anger at the state of the castle was the only notable event. They raged about grinding the traitor’s bones and scattering them in the goblin stables.

“Hurry! We cannot allow the Demon King’s castle to be further defiled!”

“Yes, yes.”

Elysier would probably have found this amusing and relished the sight.

Following the enraged Dullahan, we made our way towards the throne room deep within the castle. Despite our long trek, we hadn’t encountered a single undead creature, not even a sound.

“It’s annoyingly quiet.”

“Indeed.”

The tens of thousands of Death Knights and Death Worms the size of skyscrapers we had faced on the plains seemed like a lie. Even Dullahan, usually so composed, had calmed down.

It was a bad omen for us. It meant that something was amiss.

“Right, I forgot to ask earlier, but do you know where the Life Vessel is?”

“No.”

“Then, how do we kill him? You didn’t come here without knowing how to kill him, did you?”

“I only followed my honor and rushed here!”

“Honor? You’re lucky if you don’t end up dead.”

As expected, it was a hopeless case. I had wondered if he had a separate plan when he insisted on coming straight here, but it seemed he had none.

Now, the question was how to kill Elder Lich. It was unlikely that he would leave the Life Vessel in the same place where it was discovered. Should I really burn him with the Holy Sword?

Dullahan, undeterred by my rebuke, marched forward, shouting about honor. I sighed and followed. I should have kept a tighter rein on him instead of letting him do as he pleased.

-Kwaaaang!

Dullahan kicked down the door and strode inside, and I followed, drawing the Dragon Tooth Sword. In the distance, Elder Lich sat on a throne made of bones.

“Have you come… First Commander… And next to you is a human… How surprising… To bring a mere human into the Demon King’s Castle…”

“Mere human? Unlike a traitor like you, he knows honor!”

“Honor…? Is that so… Were you the one killing demons in the far east… I didn’t expect you to be human…”

The Elder Lich cackled, his bones clattering.

“I assume you came here to talk to me… Since you know that as long as the Life Vessel exists, I cannot truly die…”

No, he just barged in without thinking.

“Nonsense! I have no interest in conversing with a traitor! How dare you pretend to be the Demon King!”

“Pretend…? Interesting… If you can show me proof that the Demon King is truly dead, would you believe me, First Commander…?”

‘Proof? What proof?’

The question caught me off guard. How could there be proof of death when the Demon King was very much alive and hiding among humans?

“Behold… See that your loyalty is meaningless… If this is not proof, then what is…?”

Elder Lich raised his bony right hand and pulled something out of thin air. As the object in his hand exuded a sinister aura, Dullahan’s body stiffened.

It was the Demon Sword.

The distinct aura of the Demon Sword seeped out, and Dullahan’s armored body began to tremble. He couldn’t steady his sword or his helmet.

‘I knew it. I knew it would show up again someday…’

Unlike Dullahan, whose mind seemed to have completely shut down, I had been waiting for this moment, knowing that it would reappear someday. But I paused as I noticed something odd.

The Demon Sword in Elder Lich’s hand seemed slightly different from the ones I had seen before.

While the overall feel was similar, a closer inspection revealed clear distinctions. The one in Elder Lich’s hand was noticeably fainter.

‘Well, well.’

I inwardly smirked, realizing their intention. So, they were trying to trick us.

‘At least they tried to be clever.’

As the First Commander of the Demon King’s Army, Dullahan’s reaction was proof enough that most demons wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. That was why Elder Lich proudly brandished the fake.

What Elder Lich didn’t know was that standing right before him was someone who had not only heard about the Demon Swords from the possessed but also from the Demon King herself.