Blood Moon (3)

If we went into a battle of attrition, it was unconditionally disadvantageous for us. More precisely, it wasn’t us, but the spirits that were assisting our movements. Even if we were Elves blessed by the great nature, we couldn’t be responsible for the stamina of the spirits. From the start, it wasn’t easy for spirits, 90% of whom were made of Mana, to be active inside the Sanctuary.

The spirits couldn’t last 20 minutes and fell asleep. The claws that we could barely avoid by entrusting our bodies to the spirits and performing evasive maneuvers… Unfortunately, we couldn’t avoid them anymore. The twin Demons targeted Lanya first. Although her feet were quick, without the spirits, she was just a walking target.

Her ear was torn, an arrow grazed her side, and her bow broke. She could take hits for attacks she could afford to, but she couldn’t block the entire storm of blades.

She tried her best. But. The more she struggled like this, the more the mage’s reason cackled. Just kill them all. Blow them away, city and all. Even if I imitate a human heart, would my true nature change? Even now, the ‘method to survive’ wouldn’t erase itself from the corner of my mind.

However.

“Mage Yujin. I propose a deal.”

When Lanya collapsed, and my feet were covered in bloody pus. The twin Demons suddenly stopped attacking and proposed a deal to me. It was a simple story. They would save Lanya if I retreated now. A very simple story. They would place an unbreakable Geas on me, preventing me from attacking even after leaving the Sanctuary, and that would be the end of it.

If Lanya died, and I went into an indefinite endurance mode, they would have no choice but to abandon the Sanctuary and run away before reinforcements arrived. Of course. If Lanya died, that is. They knew that I wanted to protect Lanya.

Worries flooded in like the tide. I constantly pondered at the bottom of the submerged sea of thought. Whether accepting that deal was the right choice. Always saying that I am human. Whether letting go of the Demons, the enemies of all life, was truly the right choice.

…I.

I just. Hated others sacrificing themselves. How contradictory it was to want to live as a human while denying the history of sacrifices they had built up. But I still hated it. I didn’t care much about getting hurt myself, but I was afraid that if someone who cared about me died, the mental thread I was barely holding onto would completely snap.

That’s why. I tried to travel alone. It was too late. There’s no use thinking about irreversible matters. The bottom of the sea of thought. I open my eyes and rise. I lift my head above the surface and face the twin Demons.

“The answer?”

“Haa…”

There’s a sentence I think about two or three times a day like an obsession. I will live as me. I will live as a human. Would anything change even if I repeated these things? Well… If you called me, who’s always itching to get beaten up, a ‘normal human,’ it would be a great insult to human history, but anyway. Nothing changed at all-

Nothing.

“No.”

I always acted as I wanted to.

-Pook. As soon as I expressed my refusal, a blade pierced my neck. I pulled out the thorn piercing my neck and immediately activated Reconstruction. The wound heals. I flipped them off with hazy eyes. I don’t know if raising the middle finger is understood as an insult among Demons, but seeing them frown, it had an effect. Pordil glared at me with displeasure as I healed the wound, and Cordil spoke again.

“Again. I propose a deal.”

“No, pe.”

-Kwajik. This time, in the heart. Just before my consciousness faded, I gave up a few body parts and attempted rapid Reconstruction. My right eye rots. I pulled out the blade and laughed, haha.

“Heh. I refuse.”

“You’d give up your life to protect your comrade? If you die, that Elf will die too?”

“Fuck, off.”

“What the hell-“

At that moment.

Footsteps clearly audible in my ear.

“Proxy, Shuriel-nim.”

I chuckled and reconstructed my rotten right eye. I knew it. I knew you’d come. It was a bit annoying that you didn’t come as soon as the beam of light rose.

“Yujin. Just one question. Am I late?”

He seems to know he’s late too.

I spat out blood-mixed saliva and replied.

“Haa. Yes. You’re late. You took 27 minutes. What were you doing to be late?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll explain later.”

“Hakeuk. Okay. After this is over, will you help me pick up the guts later?”

I make a trivial joke. Shuriel kicked off the ground instead of answering and swung his hammer. A blue dragon was engraved on the pure white hammerhead, a weapon I don’t know where he got it from.

A pure white flash illuminates us.

Kuuung!!! Pordil, unable to receive the hammer completely, screamed and lashed out with his claws. But. He couldn’t reach. Shuriel twisted the hammer handle and lightly blocked it. His appearance seemed twice as powerful as it was in the Labyrinth.

I dragged the fallen Lanya to a safe place. With Shuriel’s arrival, it would be difficult to pay attention to Lanya. After hiding Lanya, I returned to the chaos of battle.

“Damn you, humans!!!”

“Shut up. God’s mongrel. What did we do to be hated so much?”

“We were born that way! That’s fate! What do you know to spout such nonsense?!”

“Ha! A Demon making fatalistic remarks!”

Anger collides with anger. Shuriel swung his hammer and pushed even harder. The total amount of Aura he emitted far exceeded Pordil’s. Along with the pure white light emitted by the hammer. Shuriel’s Aura mixed with Lushellini’s, creating a sacred blue flame.

Paaang!! The flames erupting from the back of the hammer were clearly divine power. Although it subsided as soon as it came out, it couldn’t nullify the output and acceleration coming from within. A hammer flying at a speed that transcended humans. Pordil’s claws, which blocked it, were bent, broken, and a mess.

The world dyed in red moonlight was soon submerged in blue flames, illuminating the eyes. The twin Demons gnashed their teeth at the divine power felt even within the Sanctuary, desperately blocking it.

But that was only for a moment. Shuriel spun the hammer around, then added strength and slammed it into the ground. With all his might, and to the point where the building swayed. Kuung! The floor, unable to withstand the force, cracked with blue fissures. I had to float in the air for a moment, suspended by the impact.

Shuriel plunged the hammer handle into the blue fissure. Then, divine power spread instantly. A divine barrier unfolded around the hammer. He drew his beloved sword Caravan and recited a prayer. It was the blessing of the Crusader given by the black-haired priest Serti.

Semi-transparent, shimmering white lines. The afterimage of divine power visible behind him resembled wings. He opened his eyes, which had turned white, and charged. Spreading his wings, he soared into the sky.

Born as Lushellini’s Demon hunter. A decisive weapon created by the Holy See. He was the Proxy. God’s representative.

“Aaaaaaak!!! H, how did you do that?! Cordiiiiil!!”

He unfolded divine power within the Sanctuary. This meant that ‘power’ enough to surpass the Sanctuary was enveloping Shuriel. As an Archmage, I could only describe it as a ‘monster.’

Cordil, hearing Pordil’s scream, waved his hands around in the air, but the divine power emitted by Shuriel showed no signs of fading. Cordil said with a pale face.

“Pordil. I have to解除 the Sanctuary to use magic. Is that okay?”

“I don’t care! Do something!”

Pordil’s body, with only the soul and shell remaining, was gradually crumbling from the continuous attacks. Eventually. Cordil gave up the Sanctuary. The sleeping spirits woke up and clung to my body.

Cordil, having given up the Sanctuary, crossed his hands and created a giant pillar of fire. Hot flames soared between Pordil and Shuriel. Shuriel, who had been indiscriminately swinging his longsword, had no choice but to retreat from the suddenly rising pillar of fire, and in the meantime, the twin Demons chose to flee.

“Ha.”

The distance widens. They run away far away, with the pillar of light behind them. I rubbed my forehead with my reconstructed right hand and laughed in vain.

What they chose after giving up the Sanctuary was just.

To run away?

I stopped Shuriel, who was trying to chase the Demons, with telekinesis, and muttered softly. There’s no need to. He was about to express his annoyance at being stopped, but he shut his mouth and put away his sword at the aura of power emanating from me.

Kugug…

The view gradually rises. We were rising into the sky. No. The ground we were standing on was rising. Not only that. The buildings were floating in the air with their roots pulled out, and the altitude continued to rise to the point where the city visible below became faint. Only the Dwarf old man’s house remained in place, not being pulled out.

“There’s one thing I learned while analyzing the space transfer formation…”

I lifted the entire area around here.

“That.”

I raised my hand high and clenched my fist. After lifting the ground, I prepared a space transfer incantation. A magic made by appropriately mixing Parsih’s transfer incantation and the ultra-long-distance transfer magic formation I saw at the Holy See.

“I can imitate it similarly.”

Space changes. The horizon of the city visible beyond disappears, and only the vast ocean is reflected. The twin Demons, who were running away, were frightened by the fact that they would have fallen into the sea if they had taken one more step and sat down.

“What, what kind of. Magic, is this?”

“Kyahuk. W, what is it?!”

There’s no place to escape. It’s a vast ocean 6000km away from the nearest land. They’ll be too tired to fly that far and die. I smiled brightly and said to Shuriel.

“The sea is so beautiful. Isn’t it, Doryeon-nim?”

“…”

“I wanted to come to a place like this at least once after having a child.”

After finishing speaking, I lightly flicked my hand, lifting the house where the Dwarf old man was hiding whole. The Dwarf old man begged, “W, what is this?! P, please don’t kill me!” Ignoring his cries, I gathered all the survivors here, including Lanya and Shuriel, and made them stand in front of me.

“I’ll go back later, so please go in first.”

“…What about the Demons?”

“I’ll take care of those guys, so don’t worry, Doryeon-nim.”

Shuriel, having retrieved his hammer, sat down with a sullen expression. For reference, I knocked out the Dwarf old man. He was crying and making a fuss too much. He was acting inappropriately for his age.

“Then…”

I lightly greeted and flicked my finger. They disappear in an instant. I set the coordinates to be in front of the old inn in Barhaia. I’m a little worried about the rampaging AINs, but I don’t think they’re weak enough to be defeated by such riffraff…

Now. Let’s do the final cleanup.

“I never thought you’d give up the Sanctuary and run away. If it were me, I would have kept enduring there even if I had to die.”

“D, don’t, come.”

“Did you think you could escape?”

A giant fireball is created in the sky. Intense flames gather and become one sphere. Its size was so large and fierce that it resembled the sun.

“M, mage Yujin. I propose a deal-!”

Cordil shouted, dripping with sweat.

I shyly covered my mouth and said.

“No.”

Just like that.

I drop the fireball.

“Ah, ah.”

“Haa… It’s warm. Isn’t it?”

In fact, it was so hot that my skin would burn if I didn’t wear a barrier. The ground heats up as the meteor shower gets closer. I prepared a teleportation incantation and prepared to escape.

But.

-Ttalang.

“…?”

A three-headed cat with a bell on its neck came to my side and rubbed against me. Its size far exceeded a pony, making it feel strange, but the cute cat’s appearance remained the same, so it didn’t look that strange. A cat version of Cerberus?

Wait.

Isn’t this the three-headed cat Kud?

Before I could counterattack, Kud bit my neck and put me on its back. For a moment, I considered killing it, but the history books said it was a stupid cat that hadn’t killed a single human, so I decided to leave it alone. There’s more to lose than gain by killing a guy who foretells the harbinger of disaster. And, I didn’t feel any murderous intent, so I just decided to ride on its back quietly.

Kud, carrying me on its back, flew high into the sky, far away from the meteor shower. I could hear the twin Demons’ desperate screams, but Kud didn’t even pretend to listen.

Like that.

Kud and I felt the raging sea breeze on the vast ocean. I watched the meteor shower falling on the floating island and shook my legs. Meteor, boasting the ultimate in fire-type magic. The twin Demons, who looked like ants here, were kneeling and facing the fiercely falling fireball.

-Kuuuoooong!!!!!

The island floating in the air was divided into exactly 27 parts and submerged under the sea. I yawned, clearly watching their end. I’m tired. Long-distance teleportation was not something to do. The consumption of mental power was excessively high.

‘…I don’t want to meet them again.’

My determination to dissect and study those guys turned to dust, but… still. I felt good that I had reached the end of the long chase. I leaned my chin on Kud’s head and muttered.

“You… aren’t you a Demon?”

…Clearly, the history books said it was a talkative cat.

-Ttalang.

Instead of speaking, Kud only shook its bell, making a clear sound.