episode_0047

“Pfft— Ugh! Blaargh!”

This time, thick clumps of blood poured from Arina’s mouth, which had been trickling with blood just moments before. After forcing herself to wield dark energy, she collapsed unconscious immediately after delivering her final blow, and Marin caught her, lifting her onto his back.

For some reason, the Holy Maiden, who had withdrawn her divine magic, was struck and sent flying.

As Marin prepared to leave with Arina in tow, the Knight Commander, Grace, arrived belatedly. Still brimming with fighting spirit, he moved to block their path, but Marin simply gestured toward Marika with his fingers.

Upon seeing Marika’s condition, Grace hurriedly called out to the Holy Maiden and rushed to her side.

Meanwhile, the Hero was still approaching. Marin tightened his grip on Arina and ran.

“Hero!”

Yuria, who had been chasing after Arina, stopped at the sound of someone calling her. The voice belonged to Grace.

“Hmm… The new Knight Commander, was it? I’m busy right now. Got something to say? Make it quick.”

“This is no time for that! The Holy Maiden is severely injured!”

“Marika? But I’m not a healer…”

This was precisely why she had been fixated on chasing Arina despite the dying groans of the knights piling up at her feet.

She knew there were many wounded, but there wasn’t much she could do for them. Still, she couldn’t ignore a fallen comrade, so Yuria approached Marika—and gasped.

“Huh?! What the hell is this?!”

Marika’s skin was tainted with dark energy, turning entirely pitch-black. Her face, her hands—nothing was unharmed. Seeing the charred flesh spreading down her neck made it obvious what lay beneath her clothes.

An ominous aura wafted from her body, which had once radiated sacred purity.

“I… I don’t know either. When I got here, she was already…”

BAM! Grace slammed his fist into the ground as if cursing his own helplessness. Meanwhile, Yuria drew her holy sword and scrutinized Marika’s condition.

“Still… Maybe there’s something I can do about this.”

Divine energy gathered at the tip of the Hero’s holy sword. Her unique mana fused with divine power within the blade—a force only she could wield in this world.

Yuria lightly pierced Marika’s hand with her sword, and the Hero’s power purged the dark energy, restoring her skin to its original color. Still, the prominent black veins remained.

“Guess my power can’t fix things beyond this point.”

“Still, her complexion looks a bit better.”

“Riel… It’s too late to chase her now. Knight Commander, ask the nearby townsfolk for help. I’ll move the injured.”

“Understood. Also, Lady Leona is buried under that pile of rubble over there. You should help her.”

Yuria’s eyelid twitched as she followed Grace’s finger.

“That? Leona… you’re still alive, right?”

“Sorry, Yuria.”

Though injured herself, Leona had been tending to the wounded without rest. Her neatly styled brown hair was now disheveled, but she paid no mind.

Busily moving debris and carrying the injured, Yuria threw her a question between tasks.

“For what?”

“For letting Riel get away. After all this damage…”

Thud. Yuria stopped in her tracks.

“Why are you apologizing? Even with all of us working together, we failed.”

“But I’m part of the Hero’s party. And here I am, unharmed.”

Leona’s gaze dropped guiltily.

“So being tough is a crime now? I’m glad at least you’re okay. Otherwise, I’d have had to fight Riel alone.”

Despite her words, her party member’s expression remained dark. Yuria exhaled sharply through her nose and set down the load in her hands.

“Right, right. Taking care of the party is part of the Hero’s duty.”

She had forgotten, having let someone else handle it for so long. Walking over, she gave Leona’s back a firm pat.

“You did your best. No need to blame yourself. If anyone’s at fault, it’s that damn porter for not coordinating us properly from the start.”

“Still, if I were as strong as you, things would’ve been different…”

“Pfft, listen to you. If you were as strong as me, what’d I be the Hero for?”

Yuria’s comfort didn’t seem to land.

This is serious. Beyond what I can fix with my power.

“That porter… When’s he gonna show up? The so-called ‘leader’ pulling this crap…”

Grumbling under her breath loud enough for no one to hear, Yuria plopped down and gulped from her water bottle.

She glanced around. The city—once renowned for its beautiful architecture—was now a ruined wasteland, crumbling under clouds of dust.

As she wiped the sweat from her brow, a priest approached.

“Hero.”

“Ah, Priest. How are the others?”

“Not good. They’re both past the risk of death, but…”

When the priest trailed off, Leona jumped in urgently.

“How bad?”

“Lord Erwin can’t move anything below his neck. As for Lady Marika… it’s worse. There’s no sign of her regaining consciousness.”

“No chance of recovery?”

“If it were just injuries causing unconsciousness, maybe. But with this dark energy consuming her life force… the odds are slim. There’s no way to remove it.”

The priest added that Marika would’ve already died if not for Yuria driving out some of the dark energy and her own immense divine power.

“Where the hell did something like that even come from…? Then what about Riel, who used it? What happens to her?”

Thick fog shrouded the surroundings, obscuring even an inch ahead. The terrain was lined with steep cliffs—one wrong step, and down he’d go.

Though inconvenient for travel, it was the perfect place to shake off pursuers.

Somewhere near the borders of the Holy Nation—no. This place transcended the neatly divided territories on maps. It was simultaneously the Holy Nation, the Kingdom, and the Empire—which meant it was none of them, precisely.

“‘Where is this…?’”

Marin, who had never bothered with maps even back in his original world (outside of phone apps), had no clue. He’d simply wandered where his feet took him until he wound up here.

“Should’ve listened to that nun and studied…”

Though he’d lived in this world for 20 years, he still knew little. He’d hated studying even in his past life, and this time around, he never needed to bother.

Blessed physical abilities and superhuman senses from birth. No god showed up to explain things, but he quickly awakened to what could only be called cheat-like powers.

As if repaying him for his miserable past life, Marin enjoyed an effortless, smooth-sailing existence.

But now, those fearsome talents were useless. His superhuman senses worked for him—they had no effect on saving others.

“Marin… Where… are we?”

“Arina, you’re awake?”

“Mmm… How’d we get here?”

Arina tried to sit up but suddenly lost strength, slumping back against Marin’s back with a soft thud.

“Don’t move yet.”

“I can’t… muster any strength.”

Shadows darkened Marin’s eyes as he looked at her. Though the dark energy that had once coursed visibly through her veins had quieted, Arina’s face was dangerously pale.

Her eyes, now a faded lavender, proved the dark energy hadn’t fully left her body.

As Arina tried to sense the mana within her for spellcasting, she immediately grasped her condition.

Despite the time that must have passed, her mana hadn’t recovered at all. Instead, an even vaster amount of dark energy had taken its place.

“Ah… So that’s it.”

The dark energy devoured every shred of mana her body produced, growing stronger all the while.

“Sorry… for earlier, Marin. I wasn’t in my right mind.”

“It’s fine. That was already a week ago. I’ve forgotten about it.”

She’d been unconscious that long?! Arina realized just how far from normal her body was. And just how much she owed Marin for looking after her.

“I know it’s not the best time to ask, but… what happened to Marika?”

“No idea. Regret it?”

“…You know what? I think I don’t care anymore.”

She buried her face against his back, struggling to keep her heavy eyelids open as she forced out her words.

“Thanks… for helping me this far. Even though I’ve never done anything for you.”

“Arina. Knock it off with the dying-last-words crap, okay? I don’t wanna be left alone…”

Marin forced a strained laugh, desperately keeping the conversation going. If she passed out again here, cliché dictated she’d never wake up.

Though she couldn’t see it, Arina knew. Marin was making a face like he was about to cry.

“Don’t worry. I’m not dying right now. But long-term…?”

It seemed hopeless. Just as she was about to say so—strength surged back into her body. The agony that had felt like her organs were being shredded vanished as if washed away.

Before she knew it, Arina was standing on her own feet.

But this wasn’t just recovery.

Everything was gone.

Marin, who had been carrying her. The irritating fog. The treacherous cliffs.

Only endless darkness stretched where she stood.

“[Riel Frost.]”

At the sound of her name, Arina turned.

Gray skin. Black eyes. Short, pointed elf-like ears.

Though his features were unusual, he resembled a human man—but Arina’s hostility flared instantly. His aura of malice was unmistakable.

After all, it was the same thing now swirling inside her.

“Demon King!”

“No need to bare your fangs. You can’t use magic here anyway, can you? Nor can I harm you. This is simply a space formed by mental resonance.”

Despite Arina’s murderous glare, the Demon King, Nias, remained utterly unshaken. His aristocratic demeanor never wavered.

“How… No, never mind. It’s because of the dark energy in my body, right? What do you want?”

“I came to apologize. Last time, I acted rashly upon discovering someone of your caliber. I was… discourteous.”

“Apologize? I’ve got no interest in making peace with the Demon King. All you want is for me to bear your child. I’m not playing along with your plans—not even a fingernail’s worth.”

“A misunderstanding. I would welcome it if you agreed willingly, but I no longer intend to force you.”

‘Does he think I’m stupid enough to fall for that?’ Arina kept her guard up, brow furrowing deeper.

“If not that, then what do you want with me?”

“I have no desire to fight you. …You don’t believe me, do you? Well, they say humans build trust by sharing information. There is… one thing I wished to tell you.”

The Demon King hesitated, as if weighing his words.

He tilted his head slightly, glancing at Arina before exhaling in resignation.

“[Riel Frost.] This world… is repeating itself.”