Ch.237236. Operation Yangdong

# 236. Operation Yangdong

The throbbing in my head and the convulsions in my arms and legs seemed to be screaming at me to stop. The metallic smell of blood filled my nostrils, and the magical energy surrounding me made it impossible to maintain my focus.

My increasingly ragged breathing and plummeting body temperature from magical depletion were disorienting both my body and mind.

I had managed to steal his [Heaven’s Blessing] at the very last moment, which is why I was only in this state—otherwise, I would have already arrived in hell.

“Haa… Haa…”

“Are you alright?”

She had been maintaining an appropriate distance while protecting both the Emperor and me.

Once again, I was receiving her holy power, which was gradually washing away my pain, if only a little.

“This is truly despicable…”

Bael’s situation wasn’t much different from mine. If anything, it was worse, not better.

His body was also covered in wounds, and that distinctive energy that had once overflowed from him was nowhere to be felt.

I taunted him, who had become just as unsightly as I was.

“Are you going to die like that?”

“Silence! Do you think I, the Emperor, would die to the likes of you? I have yet to achieve my purpose!”

“The same goes for me!!”

I somehow managed to swing my weapon while dragging my frail body that seemed ready to collapse at any moment.

My sword strike was too straightforward, and Bael easily avoided it before swinging his spear toward my head.

My body wasn’t responding properly anyway, so I couldn’t dodge.

-Swoosh!!-

Instead, I grabbed the spear firmly.

It was further abusing my already aching body, but there was no more certain method.

The spear cleanly sliced through my hand, and the pain grew increasingly intense.

Still, the relief of having blocked the attack outweighed the pain.

I smiled with that relief and swung my sword again.

“Tch… Damn it!!”

Bael reacted just as I had—catching the weapon with his bare hands and enduring the appalling pain.

Both of us had lost much of our strength compared to before, so it wasn’t completely unbearable, especially for me.

“Why don’t you… give up now…?”

My stamina was already at rock bottom, but now the situation was truly dangerous.

Even the life force that had miraculously recovered was now depleted…

Yet I couldn’t run away or avoid the current situation.

“You’re at your limit too…”

Someone in a situation as bad as mine, or even worse, was right in front of me, so I couldn’t give up despite facing the possibility of death.

Bael wasn’t originally this kind of person. Far from risking his life in battle like this, he would typically flee when fights dragged on or pass the burden to his subordinates.

But this time was drastically different.

“Aren’t you afraid…?”

He feared death more than anyone, which is why he always prioritized his own life.

Yet now, this same Bael was trying to kill me even while sustaining such massive injuries.

“Of course I’m afraid. That’s natural. It’s strange that you accept death so nonchalantly.”

“Then…”

“But… this fight comes first right now.”

Bael’s eyes were filled with rage as he spoke.

Those anger-filled eyes continued to stare at me intensely.

Bael shouted with uncharacteristic urgency.

“You who have broken my pride must receive a fitting punishment…!!”

“What a pathetic reason.”

Even as I thought this, I couldn’t help but laugh at how perfectly it matched Bael’s character.

I burst into laughter, and Bael looked at me with confusion.

“What’s so funny? It might be a pathetic reason to the likes of you, but to me, it’s of utmost importance.”

“I’m just… worried about your future where you can’t even fulfill such a modest wish.”

The moment those words left my mouth, a tremendous force entered the spear that my hands were barely blocking.

I immediately let go and blocked his spear with my sword.

-Clang!!-

Bael continued his attack, undeterred.

His spear moved mercilessly and relentlessly.

Despite wielding his spear so rapidly, he was still imbuing it with formidable power.

“Being difficult… till the end.”

“Finally acknowledging your end…!!?”

His spear, as excited as his attack, instantly pierced through even the magic spells materializing in the air and charged toward me.

If it were ordinary weapons, I could have simply consumed them with the abyss, but the situation was different this time.

‘I can sense life force from the weapon itself… but it’s not working.’

I tried releasing the abyss each time I clashed with the spear, but the abyss couldn’t devour it—it couldn’t even gradually erode it.

It was capable of being consumed, but I couldn’t do it.

It was frustrating.

If only this had worked, I wouldn’t have had to go through this ordeal…

Bael’s attacks were increasingly choking me, and I couldn’t hold out much longer.

At that moment… a thread of hope found me.

-Swoosh!!-

A sword flew from somewhere unknown, targeting Bael’s head.

Bael dodged the suddenly flying sword and instinctively looked in the direction it had come from.

“What… what is that…?”

It must have been an absurd situation.

And that situation was… an unparalleled opportunity for me.

Bael realized this belatedly and quickly turned back around.

But my sword was already too close for him to do anything about it.

-Squelch!!-

My sword penetrated his steel-like skin and this time truly pierced his heart. His expression contorted far more severely than before…

That expression was quite a sight to behold.

However, I couldn’t enjoy it for long because of those rushing behind Bael.

The white-haired old man who had rushed to protect the severely injured Bael swung his sword nimbly.

I pulled my sword out of his chest and stepped back.

“The main force shouldn’t have finished yet, right?”

They were the Executioners.

If the main force battle had ended normally, other monsters or Solomon’s side would have arrived first, not them.

But this time, only they had joined here, and their expressions looked quite urgent.

As if they knew he was in danger.

“Was there some special device?”

Even with Basago’s eyes, it wasn’t possible to see this far into the future, so there must have been some magical tool sharing the current status.

Though I’m not sure what it was…

“Your Majesty..! Are you alright..?!”

Basago used his remaining magical power to stop the bleeding.

Although his heart had been pierced, in that state, he wouldn’t die.

That hole would be filled with magical power, preventing his condition from worsening further. Of course, assuming magical power continues to be supplied…

“Do you think I’ll leave you alone?”

It was a bit ambiguous, admittedly.

Although they weren’t in great shape either, they weren’t as bad off as I was… But there was still a possibility.

The Executioners following Basago, and those children following behind the Executioners…

It was incredibly reckless, but in the current situation, it was an unavoidable hope.

‘Will it work…’

Although I had such doubts, I couldn’t give up.

How many people had been injured, killed, and suffered so far? Thinking about that, I had to end this at this good opportunity. Because I wasn’t confident about facing Bael in the Demon King’s Castle.

I gave a signal to those children, especially Reina, while holding the sword dripping with blood.

First, I needed to retrieve the sword that had just flown toward him, as it was Reina’s.

‘But… will she understand…?’

***

“What should we do now?”

“What else? We fight.”

Despite saying that, everyone was hesitant to initiate the battle.

As they cautiously approached the area, Reina, who had received his gaze, used [Stealth].

“Suddenly? Where are you going?”

“Wait here, until we start first.”

“But can’t they see you?”

“If they could, Albert wouldn’t have signaled me to come.”

Reina firmly believed in Albert’s command and moved forward without hesitation.

More precisely, she ran at full speed toward where her sword had fallen.

However…

“Did you think you wouldn’t be detected?!!”

Basago chased after Reina with frightening momentum, somehow aware of her presence.

But someone reached Reina faster than Basago.

He returned her sword and pointed his own at Basago.

“You’re a bit slow, aren’t you?”

While Basago could see a few seconds into the future and move one step ahead, he was indeed slower than Albert.

Albert muttered in a voice just loud enough for Reina behind him to hear.

“Honestly… I’m not in good shape. You all need to do well.”

“Oh…”

“And you just maintain distance while using [Stealth].”

“Huh…?”

“Just make it look like you’re going in.”

“Got it.”

At first, she wasn’t sure what he meant, but understanding the current situation made his intentions clear.

Among those Executioners, the only ones who posed a real threat were probably just Basago and Marvas.

“Amon can’t leave from over there anyway.”

Reina used [Stealth] again.

Then she moved in a direction different from both Albert and the children.

Normally, Basago would have followed Reina, but he couldn’t.

“You’re going to follow her, huh?”