Ch.233232. I Hope Something Good Comes Up at the End?

# 232. I Hope Something Good Comes Up at the End?

Tragedy.

The scene was truly tragedy itself.

When had it begun?

A heart and torso pierced by his spear, a person spitting blood.

That person looked at Bael standing before him, the one who had killed him, and the faint figure of the Emperor behind him.

At that moment, the two rings worn on that person’s hand—now useless objects—fell to the floor.

-Thud!!-

Broken rings.

From one of them, a precious ring made of daisies, an unidentifiable energy escaped and was soon absorbed into that person.

Yet no one witnessed this movement.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t see it.

It was clearly visible like magic power or the abyss.

But none of those present saw it or its movement.

They only witnessed… the death of a person.

Lilith looked at the scene and muttered:

“How… did it come to this?”

***

Albert struggled desperately to widen the distance between the woman behind him and Bael in front of him.

It was difficult, exhausting, and painful.

Yet Albert somehow continued the effort.

“Just a bit further back…!”

Following Albert’s instructions, she moved even further than the distance she had been maintaining.

Albert, too, moved nimbly to avoid his spear.

The spear of death approached Albert instantly, and while evading it, he grabbed it with his bare hand.

“Ugh…!”

Blood flowed freely from his hand.

But he didn’t shy away from the pain.

“Doesn’t that hurt?!”

“Fucking hurts like hell…”

It was merely grazing the surface of the spear.

Yet it was as painful as if he were being impaled by it.

Albert endured the pain and swung his sword.

-Clang!!-

The sword strike definitely hit Bael’s body, it definitely connected.

But the sword seemed to be blocked by something, becoming rigid.

It was as if his body was surrounded by something that prevented entry.

‘What is this…?’

Of course, Bael didn’t give him time to think.

He immediately withdrew his spear and swung it at Albert again.

Bael moved relentlessly in all directions, threatening him without pause.

Albert was keeping up with those attacks while breathing heavily.

“Haa… haa…”

It had seemed quite manageable until Bael picked up that spear.

But now the balance of power was significantly broken.

Lilith couldn’t use any special powers either, and Albert could only block attacks, dodge them… or get stabbed and slashed.

This time, the spear grazed his head, specifically his cheek.

With his stamina and vitality gradually depleting from such attacks, Albert looked at his opponent who remained perfectly fine, unlike himself.

‘If I could just touch his body… things might get better…’

Albert had been trying to make contact with Bael’s body for a while now.

He deliberately created distance to bait his attacks, and occasionally used his hands instead of his sword when attacking.

Of course, the battle didn’t flow according to Albert’s intentions.

Albert’s hands and sword kept getting blocked by that something, while there was no protective barrier to block Bael’s attacks.

‘Even the power is still the same…’

Despite being strong enough to break through her magic, the power of the attacks remained consistent.

That ridiculously powerful spear split the air and this time accurately pierced through his body.

“Argh…!!”

His scream filled the battlefield.

He staggered, unable to maintain his balance, just like the Emperor had back then.

It wasn’t his heart, but his body had been pierced.

“Al… Albert…! Are you okay…?! Because of me—”

“If that’s all you’re going to say, just run away.”

To be honest, she was a hindrance.

Of course, he wouldn’t think that way, but most people would.

And Bael was included among those people.

“Yes, why don’t you run away? Shouldn’t you live a little longer? You’ll meet in hell anyway, so what difference does delaying it a day or two make?”

Bael, having regained his composure, looked incredibly annoying.

Bael asked Albert, who was showing relatively normal movements despite his injuries:

“You seem to be doing better now?”

Albert frowned at the message that appeared before his eyes.

“Why don’t you shut up?”

From his perspective, far from being better, one of the cards he had been saving was now gone.

Yet Bael was still perfectly fine.

He moved his body as if flaunting his intact limbs.

He chased Albert, who was desperately fleeing, to the end.

“Where are you running to?”

The spear grazed Albert’s body, cut him, and pierced him.

The effect of [Life in Death] should have made it painless.

However…

“It hurts like hell…”

The spear pierced his leg. He collapsed to the ground.

Then he began to laugh like a madman.

“Haha…! Hahahahaha…!!!”

“You can laugh in this situation?”

He looked at Lilith, who had become as wounded as himself.

Seeing that sight, he thought:

‘At this rate… we’re really going to die.’

It was a different situation from before.

Back then, there was at least some hope.

But now…

‘Even if that old man comes back, can we win against this?’

Even for him, who always thought positively, the opponent was strong enough to generate such negative thoughts.

It was questionable whether they could win even if Solomon joined their side.

“Really… heaven has abandoned us…”

Hearing that mumble, Bael spoke as if it were nonsense:

“Heaven was never on your side to begin with. Isn’t this spear proof of that?”

“…”

“This is Michael’s spear, the one you worship. You’re being destroyed by the god you believe in and serve!!”

Bael seemed excited, finally seeing the end after eons of suffering.

His appearance was both understandable and irritating.

‘Does he think he’s the only one who’s suffered…’

Bael couldn’t know about his suffering.

He didn’t need to know, and even if he did, it wouldn’t change Bael’s judgment.

Bael raised his spear.

A weapon too full of righteous energy for Bael, also known as the Demon King, to wield.

Yet ironically, that weapon was now in Bael’s hands.

Albert looked at that sight with powerless eyes.

‘I don’t want to die…’

After coming this far… he absolutely didn’t want to die.

But no matter what, his body wouldn’t move.

It wasn’t because his body wasn’t functioning.

It was the powerlessness that came from the grim certainty that nothing would change even if he moved or ran away.

Bael finally stood before him, who had given up.

“I’ll give you credit though. This is the first time I’ve gone this far. Not once have I fought while breaking my beliefs and pride to this extent.”

“So what…?”

“In a way, it might be because of you. After all, I first made this decision back then.”

Back then…

How would he know when “back then” was…? He was about to die…

Albert still had empty eyes.

Bael asked one last question to the young man before him, who somehow looked familiar:

“This is your last chance. Won’t you join me? I feel it would be a waste to kill a talent like you here.”

At that moment, he thought:

If he swallowed his pride here and asked for mercy for himself and her, could they survive?

But immediately after, he had that thought.

He voiced that thought aloud:

“What meaning would that have?”

“Huh?”

“What meaning would there be in living like that…!! I’d rather die here!”

Such a life would have no meaning.

Even if he could live with her that way, he didn’t want such a life.

‘It would be no different from back then…’

He stood up.

Then he pointed his sword at the spear Bael had raised.

The effect of [Transcendence] was about to wear off.

‘Right… it’s the end, so I should at least try something.’

The end.

Bael’s final attack, symbolizing that end, began to advance toward him.

As the spear moved forward, emitting vast energy befitting a final blow, Albert also gathered all the strength he could muster.

“Rather pathetic for a final stand!!”

At that moment, she suddenly jumped forward.

She spread her arms as if trying to take the spear in his place.

Bael mocked her decision.

“How touching!! You want to go together till the end?!!”

He was right.

It wasn’t an attack that could be blocked by her alone.

It was just a foolish action—instead of one death, there would be two.

Of course, Albert wouldn’t allow such behavior, and he wrapped his arms around her who had suddenly jumped out, pushing her behind him.

“I can’t allow that.”

How much effort had it taken to get this far…? He absolutely couldn’t let her die.

Just as she had done for him before, he tried to take the opponent’s attack head-on in her place.

A direct confrontation would obviously result in his defeat.

That’s why Albert deliberately twisted his body.

“Take at least one hit!!”

The spear lodged precisely in Albert’s heart.

The spear penetrated his heart.

And his sword also reached Bael.

Something formless was still protecting him.

That’s why he gripped his fading consciousness tightly and squeezed out all his remaining strength.

Then…

-Crash!!-

With that sound, the invisible shield was pierced.

Finally, his sword also reached Bael.

The sword pierced Bael’s body.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the heart, but it definitely pierced through.

“Hahaha!! It worked…?”

He firmly grabbed Bael’s body, which was bleeding profusely.

Then he uttered strange words:

“Please… I hope something good comes up at the end?”