Ch.189The Demon King. (5)

Immediately after, the lightning bolt shot from Olivia’s fingertips accelerated Kiel’s body and crashed into Asmodeus.

Lightning as an attack spell and lightning as a support spell differ in their functions. The latter not only enhances speed but also pushes judgment and reflexes to their limits.

Of course, this assumes the recipient’s body is sturdy enough to withstand the lightning.

‘Most people can’t use it for that reason.’

Kiel was one of those rare exceptions among humans.

KAGAGAGAGAK!

After allowing herself to be hit briefly, Asmodeus began countering with magical energy flowing from her hands.

But her attacks were blocked by ice cubes that appeared before they could reach Kiel. As the shattered ice cubes struck Asmodeus’s eyes, Kiel, unaffected by magic thanks to Olivia’s precise support, charged forward again.

KWAJIJIK!

The muscles in the arm that met Kiel’s sword burst and bones shattered. The electric current flowing through Kiel’s sword remained in Asmodeus’s body rather than dispersing into the ground, disrupting her magical energy.

“…Have you changed your attack method?”

A complete vanguard and rearguard combination. Certainly, it was much more challenging than facing Olivia alone.

It was too impressive to be improvised. Olivia perfectly supported Kiel’s movements, not only blocking Asmodeus’s attack paths but also firing spells whenever an opening appeared, breaking her rhythm.

Indeed, it was troublesome. Before becoming a Demon Lord, she might not have been able to defeat this combination.

But now was different. Even in this seemingly perfect combination, there was a weakness.

“How long do you think you can hold out?” Asmodeus asked—not to Olivia, but to Kiel.

Instead of answering, Kiel continued his attacks while breathing heavily.

He couldn’t waste energy on replies. This battle was only possible thanks to Olivia’s support.

But the moment he faltered, this precarious balance would collapse.

Cut. Cut. Cut…!

Kiel’s sword moved more elegantly. Perfect selflessness.

Don’t worry about me and keep going! Olivia’s shout came from behind.

A dark aura surged. The blood vessels in his sword arm burst.

DUDUDUDUDU!

In the midst of the frenzied barrage, Kiel somehow maintained the confrontation by forcibly twisting his joints. His consciousness couldn’t keep up with his body’s movements. Without Olivia’s support, he would have collapsed long ago.

Even while coughing blood, Kiel didn’t let go of the hilt.

[Spatial Sword Style 5]

[Severance]

The blade that soared endlessly into the sky plunged straight down.

“This is a bit…”

Before Asmodeus could finish speaking.

KWAAAANG!

With a massive collision, Asmodeus’s body was split in two.

An overwhelming mass collision.

A strike so powerful it penetrated the crust and nearly reached the mantle.

JJEOJEOJEOJEOJEOK…!

Kiel, finally able to catch his breath, broke into a cold sweat. Even a Demon Lord with infinite regeneration couldn’t instantly recover after being severed from the world.

Olivia, who had approached from the side, handed him a potion.

“Drink it. We probably have about 10 seconds left.”

“What…?”

“Did you really think she’d die so easily? Get a grip. A Demon Lord isn’t something that can be eliminated so easily.”

Kiel clenched and unclenched his fist several times.

“Do you… know how to kill an immortal opponent?”

“Asmodeus isn’t immortal.”

“…?”

“She just revives endlessly, as much as she wants.”

Kiel finally realized that the sensation he felt during battle wasn’t false. That unique feeling of taking someone’s life—he had felt it several times while fighting Asmodeus.

He had thought it was an illusion.

“…Then what should we do?”

“We kill her. Over and over until she wants to disappear herself. That’s the only way to eliminate an immortal being.”

“The two of us won’t be enough. We should call the Saintess right away…”

“Don’t call her.”

Kiel turned his head with a shocked expression at Olivia’s cold voice.

“Didn’t you hear what Asmodeus just said? After her comes the Demon God. You and I are enough to drain her power.”

“…”

“If the two of us can’t defeat a Demon Lord, this world is already as good as finished.”

So that was why she hadn’t used spatial magic to call for reinforcements.

Speechless, Kiel looked at the blood writhing on the ground. Though he had left no trace before, it had already regenerated this much.

There was no need to guess how strong the Demon God would be.

Anyway, it would be incomparably stronger than a Demon Lord.

Having fully understood the situation, Kiel asked no more questions.

He simply took his stance, ready to counter any attack.

As the writhing blood swelled, it gradually took on a familiar form.

DEUDEUDEUDEUK!

Just as Kiel’s thighs swelled dramatically, preparing to cut down Asmodeus.

“Isn’t it unfair to wait like that?” Asmodeus whispered from beside him.

“…!”

Kiel’s reaction was swift. As he twisted his stepping foot, he fired a sword strike. Asmodeus’s body was cut down, spewing blood.

Since when had she been beside him?

Kiel’s mind became confused. Even now, Asmodeus didn’t seem to be taking the battle seriously.

‘…Why doesn’t she block?’

The sword strike is fired. Her body is cut, then regenerates again.

At some point, Kiel’s eyes began to tremble.

He clearly cut her, but before the blade could exit her body, the cut surfaces reattached. She could block, but didn’t. She could dodge, but didn’t.

This is…

“Is it over already?”

Even as her body was being cut apart, Asmodeus didn’t lose her smile. She moved her foot and kicked Kiel’s body.

KWANG!

Despite blocking with the flat of his sword, Kiel’s body was sent flying. It was fortunate that he stabbed his sword into the ground to reduce his speed; otherwise, he would have been thrown into the middle of the battlefield where monsters were rampaging.

“I think I’ve seen enough now.”

Asmodeus, who had jumped through space dozens of times to instantly approach Olivia, muttered.

“You should take a few hits too, for fairness.”

Asmodeus threw a punch.

A speed so fast that sound couldn’t keep up. But that wasn’t all. Space was distorting according to the movement of Asmodeus’s fist.

A sensation as if everything was being sucked into a single point. Olivia trembled as she sensed the enormous power hidden within.

‘…Insane.’

Olivia bit her lip until it nearly bled, calculating the best possible move.

Changing trajectory was impossible.

Nor could she deploy defensive magic strong enough to block such a monstrous attack.

Then.

Olivia operated her magical power at full force. In response, her eyes emitted a blue light.

Her heart pulsated, and her body, transformed into part of the world, began to go berserk. This was different from when she faced Aria. Back then, she couldn’t unleash her true power.

She had used her full power a few times before, but never with genuine killing intent.

A fierce cold whirled around Olivia. The wings on her shoulders also instantly increased in size.

The time it took for all this to happen was just a moment.

Going one step further, she split her consciousness to the extreme, walking alone through a world that continued in jerky segments like an old film camera.

[Fusion]

She transformed thousands, tens of thousands of lightning bolts into a massive sphere, giving it rotational force.

The magic she had used in the past to penetrate the Rebel’s kaleidoscope.

The ultimate lightning.

The first lightning derived from light at the beginning of time.

KWAAAANG!

The moment the two forces collided, light and darkness flashed in a mixture.

Both Olivia and Asmodeus were thrown back, crashing into the ground on opposite sides.

“Cough…!”

Olivia got up from her position, coughing up blood. She had tried to minimize the damage as much as possible, but this seemed to be the best she could do.

It felt like her entire head was shaking. As Olivia rolled in pain, she heard a familiar laugh.

“It’s only one hit so far, will you be alright?”

Asmodeus laughed, her body completely mangled. Clearly, her appearance was incomparably worse than Olivia’s. Her skin was burned beyond recognition, and her joints had torn through bone and protruded.

TTUDUDUK…!

But even so, she regenerated immediately.

She must have killed her dozens of times by now, yet Asmodeus regenerated effortlessly, making Olivia shudder.

“I told you. You cannot defeat me.”

Asmodeus approached Olivia with a gentle smile.

“Olivia!”

Kiel shouted. He glared and rushed toward Asmodeus.

As Asmodeus received the tremendous sword strike that cut through space, she said:

“How romantic.”

The next moment, Asmodeus spun in the air and swung her leg. With a sickening sound, Kiel was sent flying.

The blood Kiel spat scattered in the air.

“Now it’s just the two of us, Olivia. There’s no one left to help you.”

“…”

“It seems I’ve won our bet. May I choose the prize as I wish?”

Just as Asmodeus, certain of victory, was about to grab Olivia by the collar.

“…I suppose so.”

Hesitation.

Asmodeus unconsciously took half a step back. Something had changed.

‘Am I afraid? Me?’

Why? Confusion spread across Asmodeus’s face.

“Actually, I knew from the beginning. That defeating you with just one spell was nothing but my own stubbornness.”

Asmodeus’s eyes widened at the changed atmosphere.

“I guess I’ve grown too attached to them without realizing it. Those people.”

“You…!”

“…I’ve wondered for a long time if the answer I came to was right.”

She had lied to Kiel. The reason she didn’t call for support wasn’t to preserve the others’ strength.

‘I didn’t want them to see.’

Olivia’s wall eyes, which had been looking at the returners, slowly began to change color.

“Still, I think this is right now.”

To a complete, pitch black.