episode_0142

“Hera, are you doing well?”

“Huh..?”

While Iris and I were walking down the street together, she put her hand in mine and asked me.

“Just…I think your face brightened up a little.”

“Ah….”

I wonder if it was tea.

Certainly, since meeting Sister Dania, many of the worries and concerns inside me have disappeared.

The dark fantasies that had been tormenting me have also been largely resolved.

It seemed to me a great comfort to know that my sister and Lily would no longer hate me.

“Yeah. That happened.”

As I spoke with a smile, Iris blushed slightly and linked arms with me.

“I like it when Hera becomes brighter..!”

A bright iris naturally brought a smile to my face.

‘..It seems like these days there are only happy things.’

I became close with Lily again, made good friends with Iris and Ariel, and even met my long-awaited older sister Dania.

You could say that this is an overwhelming happiness for me.

Although I didn’t have the kind of relationship I had expected with some people, it’s clear that we still love each other.

‘…I’m just going to maintain this happiness from now on.’

I held Iris’ hand even tighter and made a decision.

A peaceful life in this place where I am possessed, with the people I love. That is the only thing I have ever wished for.

Having made that pledge, I felt hopeful as I thought about the coming tomorrow.

But the heavens are indifferent. Reality is cold.

…..and it didn’t even take a day for me to realize that.

* * *

“Good morning, Sarah.”

Iris, with whom I had been walking down the street holding hands until yesterday, approached me with a smile.

“Yeah, good morning.”

I smiled at her and sat down. Then I noticed Ariel sitting quietly next to me, opening a book.

“Ah..hello Ariel..”

Maybe because of what happened last time, I was a little bit taken aback, but I tried my best not to show it and spoke to her naturally.

“Yeah. Hi Sarah.”

But surprisingly, Ariel accepts my greeting calmly.

She smiled at me once and then started to focus on the book she had placed on the desk again.

Still, I felt relieved because my face seemed to have improved a lot compared to the last time it was so pale.

After taking the morning class with them, lunch time arrived.

As usual, I was eating with Lily, who was waiting in front of the class.

“Iris. What did you and him do this weekend?”

Lily asks with her eyes wide open, and Iris blushes in embarrassment.

After that, Lily started to listen intently to Iris’s bright explanation.

Since then, it has been a peaceful time.

It was a truly lively place, with bright sunshine and the laughter of young people.

As I walked through the gardens of the Academy, it seemed as if bright energy was seeping into me from everywhere.

A sweet couple walking through the garden, holding hands as if embarrassed.

A female student walking diligently while reading a book, concentrating on her studies.

Boys laughing while jumping around with their friends.

And the great black sky that overturns them.

“…..Huh?”

Kuwaaang-

And that vast sky, so easily, covered the peace here with despair.

.

.

.

The smile slowly disappeared from my face.

As if it were played in slow motion, the scene before my eyes was vividly imprinted on my pupils.

A fleeting moment that lasts for just the blink of an eye.

In the meantime.

Hell broke out at the academy.

“Ugh!! My arm..!!”

“Gyah!! Eric!! Eric!!”

“Ahead..!! I can’t see ahead..!!”

I almost lost my mind for a moment.

“Huh…?”

My mind seemed unable to accept the reality before my eyes, and I could only blink blankly.

BANG-!!

While I was standing still, a loud explosion struck my ears from all around me.

Still, I couldn’t move at all.

“What is this..”

It was definitely a lively academy just a moment ago…

In an instant, it turned into hell.

Everywhere, demons were running wild, and blood was spraying out into the air.

“Someone..someone please help..!”

“Hey..Wake up…Wake up! ”

“This is a dream…”

Students are getting hurt.

The peace I was trying to protect was collapsing in an instant.

“Ah..No..”

“Sister!!”

While I was mumbling absentmindedly, Lily ran towards me, grabbed my body, and pushed me behind her.

Kwaaang-!!

Then a huge explosion is heard from ahead.

“Lily…Lily!!”

My heart sank and I looked at Lily in anxiety.

Fortunately, Lily held the holy sword firmly forward.

“Ariel, Iris, and Sarah, evacuate together. I’ll take care of this place.”

Lily spoke calmly in a situation where it wouldn’t have been strange to be confused.

Perhaps her confident spirit was conveyed. Ariel and Iris also held back their trembling spirits and stood next to Lily, taking a fighting stance.

“I’ll help you, Lily.”

“….Sarah. Don’t go anywhere and stand behind us. I’ll protect you.”

Their strong energy also brought me back to my senses.

‘…This is not the time.’

My younger siblings were also ahead of me, so I couldn’t do this.

So first of all, I calmed my confused heart and looked forward. I could see a large figure wrapped in a cloak.

No.. can you call him a person?

[Kuuu… This energy is the holy sword… You are a warrior…]

A strange and creepy voice spread throughout the place.

A large figure, wearing a huge cloak, who appears to be three times the size of an average man.

But what was inside the cloak was not a living thing.

“Mel….room…”

A skeleton made up entirely of bones, with no sign of life whatsoever.

A lich who can bring death with a single breath, and who has reached the end of all dark magic, spreading his infamy far and wide.

The strongest undead that has lived for thousands of years.

Third Corps Commander, Immortal King Melum.

He was literally staring at Lily with blank eyes right in front of him.

[This body will personally take your life, warrior, hahahahaha!!!]

As he looked up at the sky and let out a strange scream, a huge green fog began to roll in around us.

“Stand behind me!”

But just before the mysterious fog reached us, Iris stood in front of us and held out her hand, and a pure white barrier came to protect us.

And then, without hesitation, Lily ran forward, holding the holy sword tightly in her hands.

“Die.”

Lily quickly approached Melum, raised the holy sword, and pushed down hard.

Choaaaak-

Lily’s sword lightly cuts through Melum’s body.

But unfortunately, Melum still held onto Lily’s holy sword with an evil smile on his face.

[You still can’t use the power of the holy sword properly. You’re a child.]

“…..!!”

Lily, who was squinting her eyes at Melum, felt something and immediately spun around and raised the holy sword to the side of her body.

After that, I was hit by a heavy sword strike from somewhere and was sent flying to the side like a bullet.

“Lily!!”

I looked at him and screamed in despair.

In the direction of the swordsmanship, there was a being who looked like a knight, wearing armor as black as darkness.

That being is also a strong person who knows very well.

He is the most powerful of the legion commanders, and if we are to judge by pure force alone, he is a being who can compete with the Demon King.

Dark Knight Tyros, Commander of the 1st Legion.

I tried to run straight to Lily, but a curtain of green fog rose up in front of my eyes and blocked my steps.

[Don’t bother the two of you and come play with me.]

Melum slowly approaches us, his voice trailing off in a gloomy manner.

Although he was clearly just a skinny skeleton without a single bit of flesh, the air around him was becoming increasingly suffocated by the aura of death that was emanating from him.

“Don’t come near me.”

“Don’t come near me.”

Iris and Ariel speak at the same time.

As soon as they finished speaking, a powerful heat wave and golden spears descended from the sky and flew towards Melum.

Pavabak–!

Bam–!

Melum’s body is torn apart again.

But this time too, he just looked at us with that gloomy smile on his face.

I stood in front of Ariel, who frowned as if she had not expected this, and looked at Melum.

“Is the Demon King here too?”

I was afraid even at the moment of speaking.

I prayed in my heart that it would not be so.

[Hmm..?]

Melum tilted his head, looking at me as if I was curious.

‘Please, just the Demon King…’

I still don’t understand what the heck is going on, but I do know that it’s an attack.

The 1st and 3rd Corps Commanders. There’s a high probability that the 2nd Corps Commander is somewhere too.

Why on earth did it turn out like this?

There has never been a case in which legion commanders moved as a group like this, even in novels.

But regardless of the reason, the most important thing was whether the Demon King had come here.

If she had come here.

Because at that time, it was a desperate situation with no way out.

‘Please… please, just not the Demon King…’

But contrary to my earnest wishes, Melum looked at me and revealed his rusty teeth.

[I have a pretty good feeling. Yes.. Today, all the sprouts here, including the warriors, will disappear like dust.]

My last shred of hope was shattered so easily.

“Ah…no…”

earthly..

What on earth should I do?