Ch.153Demon Lord’s Army First Corps Commander – 3

I had been curious about something ever since I unexpectedly found myself fighting alongside Durahan. Setting aside Elisierre at full power as an exception, I wondered just how strong Durahan would be when possessed by the demon sword.

I thought I’d never get to see it since he wouldn’t wield that sword while in his right mind.

—CLASH!

My spear blocked the demon sword that had been swung at a speed invisible to the eye. The collision of the two weapons created a massive shockwave, blasting away ground beneath our feet equivalent to the size of a noble’s mansion.

That wasn’t the end of it. Where the demon sword had cut through, space itself split open with a black fissure, slowly sucking in the nearby dimensions.

It wasn’t simply space being fragmented—something that shouldn’t exist was emerging through the gap, shattering everything it touched.

—Haaaa…

Golden light burst forth from my spear. The light clung to the blackened space like a spider’s web. The space beyond dimensions that shouldn’t have existed slowly began to close.

This entire sequence happened in the blink of an eye. Only then did we both stabilize our floating bodies and continue our attacks.

“…!!!”

A battle cry erupted from within his helmet. He charged at me wielding his regular sword rather than the demon blade. The tip of his sword, embodying his swordsmanship, traced a precise and cold trajectory.

Though much weaker than attacks using the demon sword, it conveyed his honor and sincerity in this clash.

His sword flashed as it struck without the slightest error. But my spear blocked its path one step ahead, and Durahan’s sword, having witnessed the sun at precisely the right moment, was deflected in the opposite direction.

“Kuh, nnngh…!”

His next attack was no longer under his control. A groan leaked through his helmet as the power in his left arm went berserk, causing the demon sword to swing in unpredictable trajectories at impossible speeds.

My spear whirled even faster in response. Dozens of exchanges flashed by before a single breath could be exhaled. The impact caused massive geological shifts in the surrounding area.

Craters the size of mansions formed and disappeared without pause. Something that was neither ravine nor plain was being created on the earth’s surface.

—CLAAAAAANG!

The demon sword and spear met with full force. A test of strength continued in that position. Light leaking from the spear enveloped the demon sword, while dark energy from the demon sword coiled around the spear.

Suddenly, the ground beneath us split left and right, beginning to divide the earth in two. It couldn’t withstand the force of our mutual repulsion.

“GRAAAAH…!”

The demon sword couldn’t withstand the force either. With Durahan’s scream, his body was thrown backward, rolling across the ground. A flash of light had cut diagonally across his armor.

He stood up on the instantly plowed soil. The area where my spear had cut through was burning with light. His judgment was quick. Durahan swung the demon sword and carved out his own chest.

The carved-out portion immediately fell to the ground and disappeared, engulfed in golden light. Durahan, having instantly regenerated with demonic power, shouted in a strained voice:

“What is that power…?! You’re not a hero… and that’s not a holy sword…! How can you wield divine power…?!”

“That’s right. I’m not a hero. And this thing would be a grave insult to holy swords if called one.”

He seemed to want to hear more of my explanation and tried to control his rampaging left arm by striking it down as he had before the duel, but this time he couldn’t. The pitch-black energy leaking from the demon sword burrowed into his armor.

With half his body consumed by the dark energy, Durahan charged at me. The earth in his path was crushed as easily as pudding. Everything his feet touched shattered into pieces and vanished.

Darkness stained the places where the demon sword had passed, while areas illuminated by my spear burned brightly. The light containing the sun shone upon a world gradually turning black.

“How should I put it? Let’s just say it’s something that glows quite a bit.”

“That’s impossible…! I clearly feel… the power of that detestable goddess…!”

“You’re right. That’s what they say. But what awakened this thing had nothing to do with gods.”

Given to me by the noblest and most devoted woman in the world, but awakened by the evil wishes of countless people who rushed at me begging me to die for their sake, manifested through my power.

That’s what this damned ball of light was.

If a god truly had a hand in creating such a thing, it would undoubtedly be a being worthy of being called an evil deity.

“…”

As I recalled the past, blood burst from my left eye. I felt the liquid trickling down my cheek.

I moved my arm to quietly wipe it away. I didn’t use healing magic. It wouldn’t work anyway. This wasn’t a physical ailment but a sickness of the heart.

“I see…”

Whatever Durahan sensed in my expression just now, he adjusted his stance and spoke in a strained voice.

“Then… clash with everything you have…”

Suddenly, an ominous energy began to swirl around his body.

Its mere appearance tore the nearby space and stained dimensions black. An abyss that even the sun couldn’t penetrate devoured concepts themselves as it revealed its form.

The world around the demon sword broke into pieces and was sucked into somewhere. Into something beyond the world’s principles, something whose nature one couldn’t even begin to guess.

“I shall do the same…”

A world made of darkness descended, and the very concept of death lifted its veil.

Richard, as he was dying, wished to become an honorable knight while also desiring a lord worthy of his service.

That wish remained unchanged even after he was reborn as Durahan, formed from the grudges and desires of countless ghosts gathered in a beheaded body left abandoned, becoming the driving force that could keep his physical form bound indefinitely.

His long-cherished wish was finally fulfilled. He discovered a lord worthy of serving with everything that was once the knight Richard.

The Demon Lord of the era, Elisierre.

Unlike other foolish demon folk who had claimed to be Demon Lords before, Elisierre ruthlessly ravaged the entire demon realm with overwhelming power. He couldn’t have been a more fitting lord for Durahan, who was formed from grudges.

Therefore, Durahan offered all the loyalty he couldn’t fulfill in his previous life, and Elisierre used Durahan as his faithful sword.

Life as a sword, being wielded according to the commands of a cruel and wise lord, was extremely satisfying. Durahan’s loyalty only deepened with each passing day.

“I wish to show my swordsmanship to the Demon Lord.”

This is what Durahan said when Elisierre once asked him to name his desire after accomplishing a great feat.

“Why is that?”

Elisierre asked.

“To me, my lord, you are the heavens itself. For my sword to reach you means my blade reaches the heavens. I merely harbor a small wish to lead the vanguard when you conquer the skies someday.”

“A most excellent ambition. But there is one mistake.”

“I shall clean my ears and listen.”

“I am not a being who will stop at merely the heavens. I am one who looks beyond. So go ahead and spread your dreams freely. You shall be a sword wielded not just in the heavens, but in the world beyond.”

From then on, Durahan worked tirelessly day and night to hone the ultimate swordsmanship that would extend beyond the heavens. He poured every spare moment not spent serving the Demon Lord into training his swordsmanship.

And when he finally achieved what he had yearned for, there was no one left to wield his sword.

Or so he thought.

‘Mira Crate.’

Durahan recalled the name of the human before him. A name that had circulated among the generals for some time. Yet a name that remained untouched even as six generals fell.

If that person’s identity was a masked human, then serving the Demon Lord must have been a lie from the beginning.

But that made Durahan acknowledge Mira Crate as an honorable human all the more. Despite countless opportunities for betrayal, he remained a comrade in the journey to find the Demon Lord until the end.

Even if the beginning was a lie, the process was real. How could one disparage such a person as dishonorable?

It was an even more valuable judgment because no other demon had ever been recognized as a comrade by Durahan.

While their loyalty to the Demon Lord was genuine, the generals were constantly on guard against each other when not under the Demon Lord’s orders, making it impossible to truly trust one another.

A human had accomplished what fellow demons could not.

That’s why he believed this person could do it. He believed that this person could survive witnessing swordsmanship that transcends worlds in place of the Demon Lord, and in surviving, end this shameful and dishonorable life.

With faith in this human, Durahan raised his sword.

—Unbreaking, unbending, unyielding.

The swordsmanship perfected through loyal devotion prepared to surge from the blade’s tip. Death responded to it, and the demon god answered. It didn’t matter. He believed that this human would surely withstand it.

Swordsmanship meant for a single path, for cutting beyond the world, concentrated in the demon sword. The surrounding space slowly melted away. The sword’s tip pointed at Mira Crate.

—Its destination is only forward.

Death flew toward me. Everything in its path collapsed one after another. Even time and space were no exception, as past, present, and future were all contained in a single stroke of swordsmanship.

I instinctively sensed it. Avoiding that strike would be impossible. It seemed to be swordsmanship created to destroy its intended target and kill its opponent without fail.

Of course, I had no intention of dying.

“…”

I closed my eyes. Vision wasn’t necessary for what I was about to do.

Memories flowed in through the spear. Memories I had desperately wished to forget and erase, but now was the time to bring them out.

A familiar voice began to flow in.

—Why do I give so much? What a funny question. There’s no reason needed for giving, is there?

—One must take care of oneself first, you say. How true. If I collapse, it would only result in fewer people receiving care.

—However, in the scripture recording my god’s words, there is a saying.

Yes. There was such a saying. I murmured, following the words from my memory.

“You shall do this deed for me…”

The sky opened.

The red sky turned golden.

“I shall call what comes faith, and name what goes a miracle…”

Not just a symbol of the sun, but the sun itself dwelled in my spear. The concept that has sustained primordial light, belief, and faith in all cultures swirled around my spear.

“Behold, have I not placed the world beneath your feet…”

I raised my left hand holding the spear. The spear tip pointed downward, ready to touch the world.

“So fear not and move forward…”

The sun appeared.

—In the beginning, I was.

With the first light signifying miracles, everything it touched turned to light.