Ch.131The End (2)

# Protecting the Demon King

Before they could face the Demon King directly, they needed to break through those guarding the barrier protecting him. So those opposing the Demon King decided to first defeat his minions.

However, rushing in all at once wasn’t ideal. They were already sending only an elite few into enemy territory, and if they took too long, it would only benefit their enemies.

So despite the danger, they decided to split up to defeat the Demon King’s guard dogs protecting the barrier and face the Demon King as quickly as possible.

Still, Haeun, who had decided to take down the Chimera with Taeyang, thought it would be difficult to break through the people guarding this place with their limited numbers.

However, her ability to interfere with others’ minds was incredibly powerful, allowing her to easily subdue people just by making eye contact. Thanks to this, the two of them were making smooth progress.

“Taeyang, you’re not complaining about being scared today?”

“I probably hypnotized myself.”

“You can do that to yourself too?”

“I can if I have a mirror.”

“No wonder you’re being so well-behaved for once. What kind of hypnosis did you use?”

“Obviously, hypnosis to remove fear.”

Taeyang answered questions like an emotionless doll.

“But why do you keep avoiding my gaze?”

“Well… you might accidentally hypnotize me too.”

“That’s certainly a valid point.”

Normally, Taeyang would have said something like “I’m really being treated unfairly,” but now he only showed an indifferent reaction, as if he had truly erased his emotions through hypnosis.

‘Well, at least this version of him is much better than before.’

Haeun reassured herself that everything would be fine as she comfortably made her way toward where the Chimera was located.

Meanwhile, at the same time, another team was struggling just to enter.

“Agath, is there any chance you could secretly knock out that person over there?”

“If I could do something like that, I would have done it already. Besides, couldn’t you take them down with your arrows if you’re such a good shot?”

“My arrows are too loud. If I shoot, we’ll definitely be discovered.”

“Then we’ll just have to sneak past…”

“Intruders!”

The two hiding in an obscure spot were instantly discovered by an enemy patrolling nearby.

It’s not that they were bad at hiding. It’s just that this place was full of people who were professionally trained to find intruders.

“…I guess we’ll just have to take them all down as we go?”

“Seems like we have no choice.”

Lingering here could put them at a disadvantage in later battles, but they had an overwhelmingly favorable matchup against the dragon they would face later, so they wouldn’t lose unless they were completely battered.

In contrast, Haeun and Taeyang were expected to struggle greatly in their battle against the Chimera.

While the two were excellent at dealing with people, they were woefully inadequate at defeating monsters with limited consciousness, which was only natural.

So in the end, both teams would likely arrive before the Demon King in similar condition.

But unlike these teams with their advantages, there was another team with no advantages at all. No, they were actually at a disadvantage.

That was Parthia’s team.

Both their infiltration skills and ability to face powerful enemies were excellent. Besides Parthia’s black magic and supernatural powers, the strength of the two former hero party members was formidable.

However, their enemy was a vicious being who had once been both a hero and a Demon King.

Although he had been resurrected as an undead and was weaker than his original self, the various techniques engraved in his body could never be considered weak.

So when the three entered the former Demon King’s location with great tension, they found the former Demon King stabbing his own heart repeatedly with a sword while crying.

“…Father?”

The former Demon King muttered something continuously in a voice filled with guilt.

“It wasn’t… it wasn’t me…”

It would be right to kill an enemy when they’re weakened. But there were too many ties between the former Demon King and the three of them.

The relationship between parent and child that couldn’t be dismissed as mere strangers, and the friendship built through sharing life-and-death situations as comrades. So they attempted dialogue first.

“Father. Can you hear me?”

“Par…thia…?”

When Parthia called out to the former Demon King in a confused voice mixed with vengeance and sorrow, a sorrowful voice immediately responded.

“You look exactly the same as back then… You haven’t changed at all…”

As another guilt-ridden voice was heard, Parthia kicked the former Demon King and shouted, as if unleashing years of pent-up resentment.

“Why did you kill Mother back then?!”

The person she should have relied on for survival had become someone she needed to eliminate to survive.

The person who should have built memories with her since childhood had transformed into someone who inflicted terrible trauma.

The hatred that had accumulated was enough to overshadow the concept of parents. So Parthia removed one of her eye patches, preparing to use her supernatural power to kill the former Demon King at any moment.

With her ability to negate the very existence of her opponent at the cost of becoming younger, she could easily annihilate an enemy in such a state.

Thus, Parthia prepared herself to kill the enemy at any moment and waited for an answer.

“It was fine at first. But as time passed, someone corrupted my soul, and eventually… I lost control of my body completely.”

Lies can be told easily through mere words, making it impossible to distinguish truth. But by directly peering into memories, one can clearly determine the truth.

So Parthia instructed Selene to verify the truthfulness of those words by using her ability to glimpse memories.

“Selene, check if those words are true.”

“Yes.”

After a brief moment, eyes that had been filled with anger from betrayal began to waver slightly, and soon a greatly trembling voice was heard.

“Those memories… they really exist.”

The eyes of the three that had been filled with hatred and anger began to fill with bewilderment and compassion.

“…Who took over your body, Father?”

“I don’t know… But suddenly, that vengeful spirit possessed me right after we defeated the Demon King last time…”

The former Demon King sobbed loudly as he tore at his heart again with his sword.

“If only… if only I had killed myself right then…”

But no matter how much he stabbed himself, he couldn’t die. Being an undead, it was only natural that mere blades would bring nothing but pain, something he himself knew best.

And Parthia, looking at the former Demon King with pitying eyes, asked her father with a voice tinged with expectation.

“Father, what happened to that vengeful spirit?”

“I don’t know… But if that vengeful spirit still remains in this world… it probably possessed whoever became the Demon King this time…”

Having received a satisfactory answer, Parthia smiled kindly at her father one last time and activated her supernatural power.

“Don’t worry. We’ll take care of everything now.”

As she delivered the peace her father had so desperately wanted, a voice mixed with guilt and gratitude echoed softly.

“I’m sorry, everyone… And thank you…”

And Patrice, stroking his daughter’s head like a caring father, delivered his final farewell.

“Patrice. I’m glad you’re safe, and I hope you’ll be happy for a long time…”

But before his farewell could be completed, Patrice departed from this world to find peace.

After such a brief reunion, they immediately began moving to do what they had to do.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

The being that had corrupted their comrade, their father, still remained here. So they would completely annihilate that being from this world to avenge their precious person.

The three shifted their target of hatred and headed toward where the Demon King was to unleash all their accumulated emotions.

And just before this incident occurred, the new hero was heading to where the former hero was to fight him.

Getting there was easy. With enhanced physical abilities and the power to slow down or stop time, it couldn’t have been anything but easy.

But the real problem started now. Of course, it was natural that defeating the former hero would be difficult because of his strength.

However, having to defeat someone precious to his lover was quite a burdensome issue.

Although it was a bit irritating that she cherished someone of the opposite sex other than himself, he could overlook it as her private life. Thinking this way, he arrived at the former hero’s location, but…

“…No one’s here.”

For some reason, there was no one there.

He wondered, ‘Could he have run away?’ but given that person’s character, that was absolutely impossible.

In the future they had seen, the former hero seemed to welcome death rather than fear it.

“Where did he go… Could he be planning to take Lite hostage or pick off the weaker ones first?”

Ju-an felt uneasy for a moment, but soon let out a hollow laugh and contradicted himself.

“No, if he was planning to take hostages, he would have done so already. And he doesn’t know Lite’s location, so he definitely can’t find her.”

No one knows where Lite is now except himself and Phylax. And given that person’s disposition, he would never resort to picking off individuals one by one.

“Then what is he doing now? No, that’s not what’s important right now.”

Ju-an tightened his grip on his sword and quietly steeled his resolve as he destroyed the barrier protecting the Demon King’s location.

“Now I just need to focus on winning the fight.”

He had done his part and was planning to wait for the others, but suddenly a path opened into the barrier.

And beyond it, a mysterious man who had just become the Demon King was suddenly going berserk. The barrier probably broke because of that.

Still, it would be too much to handle alone. He should wait for others to arrive. As he was thinking this, his instincts screamed that this was his chance.

The Demon King would be feeling secure because the barrier hadn’t completely disappeared yet. So if he attacked while the Demon King was off guard, it would certainly catch him by surprise.

Additionally, having just transformed into the Demon King, he wouldn’t be familiar with using his powers. So this was a good opportunity to inflict some damage.

With these thoughts, Ju-an entered through the sudden gap in the barrier.