Ch.205IF Side Story – And the Two Lived Happily (59)

“Here, I…”

A trembling voice was heard.

I understood.

The scene before my eyes was enough to make one forget what to say.

The crimson-stained sky and the desolate plain.

A massive structure rising at its center.

“That’s the one that appeared in Seoul…”

In the place Kang Seona was looking at, giants of enormous size were wandering around.

They were smaller compared to the giants that appeared that day, but… the problem was their number.

Just within visible range, dozens of giants were roaming about.

“Those are all the giants that appeared a few days ago, right…?”

“Yeah, though they’re a bit smaller.”

The two of them surveyed their surroundings.

I understood their curiosity, but there was no time.

I moved toward the large entrance.

No.

I tried to move.

“■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■──!!”

“■■■■■■■■─!!”

Thunderous roars echoed through the air.

As if they were gatekeepers of this castle, the giants began walking toward us one by one.

It wasn’t just giants.

Bizarrely shaped monsters of all varieties were swarming toward us.

A spider using human arms as legs, a bird with a human head, a snake that looked like elongated human torsos stitched together…

The sight of these diverse monstrosities was enough to make me gasp involuntarily from visceral disgust.

“…It seems they won’t let us in peacefully.”

Kang Seona was right.

Their movements clearly indicated they intended to keep us out.

Breaking through wouldn’t be a problem, but… could we defeat the Demon King after expending energy here?

I was calculating the minimum losses I would have to accept when—

“We’ll handle this!”

The sound of a sword being drawn rang out.

When I turned my head, I saw Lee Segyeong with her sword drawn.

“We can buy you some time. …Probably!”

Her confidence was undermined by that “probably” she added at the end.

Looking closely, her limbs were trembling.

“So hurry and go rescue your sister—”

“Who said you get to decide that?”

Thump. A fist landed on Lee Segyeong’s head.

Kang Seona.

She slowly walked toward me.

“…Can you do it?”

I nodded.

“Good, go. With her and him here, we’ll manage these things somehow.”

“How convenient that you’re excluding yourself from the fight.”

“Shut up.”

After responding to Seongho’s comment with a brief expletive, Kang Seona folded her sunglasses and tucked them into her coat collar.

Her lime-green eyes looked at me.

“Bring her back.”

“Of course.”

I moved quickly.

Using the explosions behind me as a signal, I dashed toward the entrance.

Wait for me, Demon King.

***

And so, the battle began.

The Demon King, in Eila’s form, spread her wings and jumped backward to create distance.

She probably intended to keep her distance and bombard me with magic.

As if I’d let that happen.

I rushed forward quickly.

According to my plan, I needed to beat the Demon King into a weakened state before I could do anything else.

And at that moment.

—Swoosh!

The Demon King moved.

Not backward, but forward.

Closing the distance toward me.

Like teleportation, the Demon King suddenly disappeared from my sight, and when she reappeared, she was right below my chin.

“Kuk!”

I instinctively swung my sword downward, but the Demon King rotated her body, barely avoiding the blade.

Before my slashing blade could return, her heel struck my side.

A cracking sound.

Vibrations resonated through my ribs, and the breath I was holding was forced out by the impact.

I barely maintained my posture as I stepped back.

But.

“Ugh?!”

In an instant, the Demon King was right in front of me.

Fist clenched, in a striking stance.

A stance I knew well.

This is—

Master’s—

-KWANG!!!

“Grrk!”

I crossed my arms to block the strike point while jumping backward to reduce the impact.

Despite this, the intense shock that shook my body caused a cracking sound from my arms.

Fast.

No presence.

Her entire body was a weapon in itself.

A completely different combat pattern from the Demon King I’d faced before.

Yet, in some ways, it was a fighting style all too familiar.

“Star Strike, was it?”

The Demon King said, flexing her clenched fist.

“You bastard…!”

“How is it? My martial arts? Pretty useful, right?”

More than just useful.

It was a practical, threatening attack.

Considering the bloody taste rising in my throat with each breath, if I’d taken a direct hit, it might have been dangerous.

“You’re using… Eila’s techniques…”

So it wasn’t just taking over her body?

But that attack just now—I was caught off guard because I didn’t expect it.

In a one-on-one fight with Eila, I wouldn’t lose.

My actual record might show complete defeat, but that’s because I deliberately held back.

“It’s quite a nice body. It would be foolish to waste it.”

Step.

Step.

The Demon King walked toward me.

“I won’t give you a moment to breathe.”

Swiftly, the Demon King charged at me again.

But if I know the opponent is coming, I can handle it adequately.

I hate being dragged along at someone else’s pace, so this time I moved first.

As the Demon King’s fist aimed at me, I turned my body to deflect the punch.

Using that rotation, I swung my sword horizontally.

Slash.

I felt the blade connect.

But it wasn’t satisfying.

“…Impressive.”

The Demon King muttered, looking at the long wound running down her right arm.

“Too shallow.”

“I didn’t expect you to attack this body without hesitation.”

“What else could I do?”

I shook my sword.

Droplets of blood fell to the floor, drawing a line.

The amount of blood wasn’t much.

Probably because I’d only shallowly skinned the surface.

“First I need to half-kill you to wake up the sleeping Eila, don’t I?”

I pointed my sword.

The bleeding wound had already healed as if nothing had happened.

Healing through magic.

Why didn’t she use the holy magic that Eila frequently uses?

For simple healing, that would be overwhelmingly more efficient.

There’s only one reason.

Could it be that the Demon King can’t use all of Eila’s techniques?

At the very least, she can’t use holy magic.

That means she probably can’t use [Heal] or [Regeneration], or other enhancements either.

That’s somewhat good news, but…

“Good. Now things are getting interesting.”

I steadied my breathing.

“Let’s kill each other.”

With those words, the Demon King charged again.

I can’t let the Demon King create distance.

If there’s distance, she’ll bombard me with magic from afar.

But staying close means engaging in close combat.

“……”

I steeled myself.

Better to fight up close, trading blows and cuts, than to be toyed with by magic from a distance I can’t reach.

As the Demon King charged at me again, I deliberately showed an opening.

I slightly, loosely relaxed the strength in my right hand.

As the strength left, the sword rested on my hand, swaying slightly.

A feint that neither Master nor Eila would fall for…

But how about the Demon King?

The Demon King silently raised the corner of her mouth.

Her gaze fixed on my hand, on the sword hilt.

She took the bait.

“Now!”

I flicked my left hand up quickly.

Due to the principle of leverage, the sword with my right hand as the fulcrum moved rapidly.

I brought the sword down with just a snap of my wrist, without moving my arm.

It put a lot of strain on my right wrist, but—

“Kuk…!”

The Demon King quickly retreated.

Her shirt tore at the chest, and blood spread.

Perhaps surprised by the attack from an unexpected angle, her center of gravity had shifted backward.

Only a fool would miss this opportunity.

I lunged forward.

I won’t give her time to create distance.

I promised myself that earlier.

“Tch!”

The Demon King clicked her tongue and extended her hand.

The magical energy was moving so violently that it tickled my skin.

Simultaneously, a magic circle formed, and a flaming sword plunged down.

I swung my sword to disperse the flames.

But in that interval, the Demon King had jumped further back, creating more distance.

“The game is over.”

Magic circles filled the sky.

So she changed strategies to long-range since close combat wasn’t working.

“Where did all that earlier momentum go? Are you just running away now?”

This is better for me.

I just need to dodge and cut through all the attacks while advancing forward.

Flaming spears, ice walls, a rain of steel needles.

I block, dodge, and cut through all of them as I advance.

“Wake up—! Eila!!”

I shouted while deflecting a horizontally flying steel pillar upward.

“…Huh?”

“How long are you going to sleep?!”

“…How pathetic.”

There was a fluttering sound.

Black-stained wings spread wide, and the Demon King took flight.

“I wondered what method you brought, but all you’re doing is shouting at the top of your lungs.”

The wings unfurled.

One.

Two.

Three…

Crimson light from the hole in the ceiling shone down on the Demon King.

That appearance was almost like… Eila might scold me for this thought, but.

“I’ve lost interest.”

Backlit, shadows formed.

Black feathers fluttered down.

Walls and floors hissed and smoked where the feathers touched.

“Just die.”

Like a god.

The Demon King pronounced judgment.