Ch.315Chapter 315: Regression, Yet Dangerous

There was no reason to let her live.

After being hit by the divine backflow I had intentionally released, she had completely lost the divinity residing in her body.

With her unable to even steady herself from the aftermath, ending Desire’s life was the only option that existed in my mind from the start.

Having barely recovered from the aftereffects of her merciless beating, my actions were simply faithful to the principle of killing the demon god named Desire.

Woong-!!

The moment I picked up the sword after dropping it, it emitted a brilliant light, aligning with my will. I would pierce Desire’s heart with this dragon sword.

That was the only thought remaining in my mind as I faced this situation.

Though I had recovered from the aftereffects and even the wounds from her beating had completely healed as time passed,

Each step I took to close the distance with Desire, whom I had roughly thrown aside after her merciless beating, was taken in incomparable pain.

It hurts. With each step, pain torments me to the point where I want to question if I’ve ever felt such agony in my life.

When I take a step, a pain like sharp blades slicing into the soles of my feet overwhelms me.

And after enduring that pain to take another step, the agony spreads from my feet throughout my entire body.

Cold reason demanded that I stop momentarily to manage the minimal pain,

But if I listened to every thought in my head, the Desire I had just knocked down might rise again, so I deliberately ignored it and continued my heavy steps without pause.

My ultra-regeneration ability, which healed wounds before I could even register them, had the disadvantage of not eliminating the pain from those healed wounds, making this crucial moment uncomfortable once again.

But fulfilling my duty took precedence over dwelling on such discomfort, so I silently continued my steps.

“Adorator!! Adorator!!! Adoratooooor!!!!”

If Desire hadn’t desperately called for Adorator at that moment, I would have closed the gap between us much faster.

I hadn’t expected this proud demon god to swallow her pride and call for Adorator, so when she first did, I felt my vision darken.

Even the steps I was taking to close the distance were barely maintained while enduring the excruciating pain in my body.

Naturally, in this physical state, it would be impossible to properly face Adorator if he arrived here.

Therefore, I tried to hurry my steps with the intention of ending everything before that damned demigod arrived.

But despite my urgency, my body was in no condition to accommodate such haste, so there was little change in my pace beyond a slight increase in speed.

“…Tch.”

Unconsciously clicking my tongue in frustration, I tried to organize how to handle the situation that would unfold next.

But then my widely spread spiritual sense, unaffected by the pain, detected an anomaly occurring at the entrance of the demon realm, quite far from where I was.

“…He’s not coming?”

I found stability as I spoke those words meant to taunt Desire.

What did I sense that gave me such relief?

My spiritual sense detected that the powerful force presumed to be Adorator, who was rushing here to protect Desire,

Was now engaged with several human powerhouses who had gathered at the entrance of the demon realm.

Even a powerhouse like Adorator, who should be unstoppable within the demon realm that was the source of his power, was struggling to resolve the situation quickly against these gathered powerhouses.

Sensing this, it was only natural that I quickly regained my composure.

Leaving Desire with her contorted expression and closed eyes, bewildered by Adorator’s absence,

“Haa…”

I sighed softly and assessed the situation I sensed from afar.

I could easily recognize Adorator’s energy, having fought him countless times.

And I could even more easily recognize the energy of the powerhouses facing him.

They were the elite knights of Night Haven, including my sister, who had come here without hesitation to rescue me as soon as they learned I had been taken to this demon realm.

It was somewhat embarrassing that people who would never have come here if I hadn’t been dragged here were now making such an effort, but still.

My sister’s fighting spirit as she wielded her invisible formless sword with more presence than any famous blade,

Excel, who supported my sister from behind while unleashing the lightning contained in his thunder spear Keraunos with all his might,

And…

‘Siz…’

Even though she should not stand out in strength among those present after having her holy sword taken,

I felt a complexity in my heart when I sensed your presence, strongly emanating pure fighting spirit.

And how could I not?

I had prided myself on reflecting on my mistaken life before regression and trying not to be hated by you anymore.

Yet now I learned that you, who I was convinced would hate me, from the time before my regression, did not hate me at all.

Step- Step-

As I moved with heavy footsteps, I became numb even to the pain that naturally accompanied each step.

Until just a moment ago, I had met another Siz, different from the one rushing toward me now.

I had been convinced that she would hate me greatly, believing her life had been ruined because of me.

When I first met her face to face, I had dismissed her as fake and ignored her.

I was certain that once we knew each other’s identities, she would inevitably pour out resentment toward me, to some degree.

But far from expressing any deserved resentment, she apologized to me.

Saying she was so happy, truly happy to see me again before disappearing,

Leaving me unable to properly apologize to her, which I had regretted not long ago.

Now, thinking of you rushing here from afar to save me, a corner of my heart aches.

I worry whether I’ll be able to face you properly.

You know, I just met you. A you who cared for and liked me as much as you do now…

Even as I muttered this, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly at how clumsy this monologue sounded.

But if all this ends safely, starting with words like these might be the right way to reveal to Siz everything that happened to me.

Muttering this seemingly nonsensical monologue helped clear a corner of my heavy heart.

“…Still hurts though.”

Despite regaining mental stability, the pain lingering in my body still tormented me.

[We need to end this.]

‘Yes, we do.’

Answering Fafnir’s calm call to end all this, I resumed my heavy footsteps.

It’s strange. Nothing about me had changed compared to moments ago.

Yet thinking of my comrades who would soon arrive here, I felt no pain at all as I continued walking.

“Everyone’s coming so quickly…”

All I felt was gratitude toward my sister and precious comrades who had traveled this far with incredible forced marches to save me, and were now engaging in fierce battle with Adorator without showing any signs of fatigue.

As I approached close enough to read Desire’s expression,

Krrrrrr-!!

I could clearly hear the roaring sound of Excel unleashing the lightning from Keraunos with all his might, and simultaneously,

“…”

I could see Desire, eyes tightly shut, saying nothing.

She looked as if her life had ended, so,

“She’s dead…”

Just as I was about to say she was dead,

[She’s not dead.]

Following Fafnir’s assertion that she was still alive, I observed more carefully.

I could confirm that her closed eyelids were trembling very slightly and that her breathing continued, albeit weakly.

“…No, she’s unconscious.”

I could conclude that she had merely fainted.

Of course, she shouldn’t die like that.

How much harm had she caused to this peaceful world trying to realize her twisted values?

It wouldn’t make sense for her to die in such a comfortable manner, resembling mere unconsciousness.

The only death fitting for her was one:

Death by a sword through her heart, unable even to utter a final cry.

Woong-!!

As my resolve intensified, the dragon sword in my hand responded by emitting a warm red light.

Gripping the radiant dragon sword in reverse,

Shunk-!!

I stabbed Desire’s heart without hesitation.

After countless failures through repeated time loops,

I had finally succeeded in eliminating the source of chaos and darkness in this land.

Crack-!!

If not for the strange rupturing sound that I thought had stopped completely, and,

“To think you would push me this far…”

The vengeful voice reminiscent of a ghost’s wail coming from Desire’s mouth—who should have died from being stabbed in the heart—I would have been certain that everything was over.

“…!!”

Sensing that something was wrong, I quickly pulled back my body.

I still utilized the remaining energy of the dragon sword to release a spirit blade toward the fallen Desire, but,

Desire’s body, intact despite being stabbed in the heart, slowly rose without showing any sense of crisis even as the spirit blade cut through the air.

“Hm…”

With a faint moan, she merely waved her arms limply.

It was a movement that revealed such powerlessness that even the term “limp” hardly captured it, yet,

The spirit blade, which had been flying with enough force to cut through anything it touched, was incomprehensibly dismantled by Desire’s limp gesture and disappeared without a trace.

“…”

Faced with this absurd sight, I remained silent, unable to find words, only to be greeted by,

“In that case, it seems I really must finish things with you.”

Desire, who had somehow recovered her strength and now declared with somewhat rational words that she would face me.

The contrast between the vitality in her voice and her divine body, which was cracking and crumbling as if at the end of its life, was striking.

Judging by appearances alone, it might have seemed like a bluff, burning the last flame of a life nearing its end.

But with each crumbling of Desire’s body,

Grip-!!

I couldn’t help but grip the dragon sword in my right hand more tightly.

Because I felt a growing energy emanating from Desire’s body that was completely different from divinity.

A dangerous, extremely dangerous energy, and one that I had recently experienced something subtly different yet similar to.