Chapter 149: The Hero and the Demon King’s Army – 2

Chapter 149: The Hero and the Demon King’s Army – 2

*’……Success. Those incredibly tenacious vampires are actually dying.’*

“I know, right? I knew I could copy abilities and make them into potions, but… I didn’t expect them to be this effective.”

It was a close call.

If I hadn’t been able to copy the Lord’s technique of hiding in the blood mist, or the crimson sanctuary, into a potion, I might have lost right then and there.

No, putting all that aside… if it weren’t for that alien divine power that the Holy Sword suddenly started using, I would have struggled much more with the vampires’ regeneration.

“By the way, what exactly is that divine power?”

*’This, you mean? Divine power is originally a power bestowed by God… but since we are opposing God, we couldn’t use that power as it was.

So, in the sanctuary, I briefly worked with the Prophet to change the nature of divine power.’*

…The words, ‘Is that really something that can be done so easily?’ were at the tip of my tongue, but there seemed to be no time for it.

The Demon King, seeing the vampires annihilated like this, would probably send the next monsters, not tuck her tail between her legs.

Ultimately, to meet the Demon King, it meant I had to deal with all, or most, of the monsters bound by the Demon King’s Army.

……Huh, isn’t this exactly what a Hero would do? Advancing to the Demon King’s castle and single-handedly sweeping away the Demon King’s Army?

*Notification

-> The Holy Sword has awakened a new method of divine power operation! You can now wield divine power according to that method!

=> ‘Opposing Divine Power’ trait has been added. This is an alien divine power, different from existing divine power, which does not bestow healing and blessings, but rather blocks them.

-> You have successfully defeated the Demon King’s Army Commander, the Vampire Lord! Rewards are given!

=> ‘Opposing Divine Power – Vampirism’ has been added as a skill. This skill temporarily changes the nature of the ‘Opposing Divine Power’ trait you possess.

+> While using ‘Opposing Divine Power – Vampirism’, a certain portion of the enemy’s health, mana, and other powers are stolen in proportion to all damage dealt!

=> You have successfully converted one of the Vampire Lord’s skills into a potion! Accordingly, ‘Sanctuary Potion’ is given!

+> When using ‘Sanctuary Potion’, the stats of those designated as allies within the sanctuary are temporarily slightly enhanced, and even if they receive fatal damage, they do not die but survive in a near-death state!

+> However, maintaining the sanctuary created by ‘Sanctuary Potion’ continuously consumes a lot of mana, and mana consumption increases sharply each time an ally’s death is prevented. Use it carefully!

*

It was the system’s notification window that shattered such miscellaneous thoughts.

It seemed that in addition to the Holy Sword’s self-acquired enlightenment, or change, regarding divine power, rewards were given for defeating the Vampire Lord.

……The degraded Meteor Potion already consumed an enormous amount of mana, so for the system to explicitly warn me, it was almost scary how much mana it would cost.

Of course, even so, it could save the life of someone I designated as an ally once, so it had its value… but it really was a situation where I had to use it carefully, as the system said.

“……They’re coming again.”

*’Indeed. They’ll probably try to fight this time too, won’t they?’*

“There’s nowhere left to retreat, is there? I annihilated one of the Demon King’s legions, so she wouldn’t listen even if I asked to talk.”

*’Yes. That’s right. So if you want to talk to the Demon King… you’ll have to break through all of them and reach her throne.’*

***

“……Is that the Hero?”

“…Impressive. Even if there are some low-quality vampires among them, it would be difficult to deal with them so easily.”

When the battle first began, and the Hero quickly dealt with a few low-ranking vampires, that was the extent of the impression.

Amazing. But nothing more.

Vampires aren’t particularly strong, but they’re a race specialized in long battles due to their unique tenacious regenerative power.

Especially, the moment their Lord personally entered the battlefield and unfolded their palace, they became half-immortal, so I didn’t think the Hero would win.

“…Divine power? It feels a bit strange, doesn’t it?”

“It seems its properties are opposite. It’s divine power that doesn’t give healing and blessings, but rather shatters them.”

“Huh? Is it okay for a Hero to use divine power like that? Shouldn’t it be pure and holy?”

“According to the literature, yes, but…… with time having passed, couldn’t it be different?”

The alien divine power the Hero used was a bit unexpected.

And rightly so, as all historical records stated that the Hero acted on behalf of the human God’s will, providing blessings and healing to allies and overcoming hardships together.

…That those hardships were us monsters was truly bitter, but that wasn’t particularly important in this situation.

“D-Demon King-nim? Was the Hero… originally that strong?”

“When I saw her then, she certainly wasn’t that… Is that the power of the Holy Sword?”

So, when the Hero dealt with even the high-ranking vampires with a torrent of sword strikes from the Holy Sword, the thought of ‘what if?’ slowly began to arise.

The Vampire Lord had already manifested the crimson palace, so those vampires wouldn’t die……

But if the Hero’s purpose was truly to purely converse with me, she might immediately rush to the Demon King’s castle in the regenerating vampires’ downtime.

However, the ensuing scene deviated greatly from my expectations.

“……Did the Hero just melt into the blood? Even though she’s not a vampire?”

“W-wait! Even I, who have studied magic and races for a long time, but something like that… is it possible? That’s… impossible, isn’t it?”

I wanted to say something about how useless it was… but I couldn’t, seeing the Archlich, genuinely half-lost in thought with an expression of ‘how is that possible?’, watching the battle.

He was a scholar, for all his faults, who didn’t usually show such confusion… if he was like that, it meant it was truly something close to impossible.

However, the Hero didn’t stop there…… she even began to unfold her own sanctuary.

At that sight, the Archlich began to let out a bitter laugh.

“Ha, haha, hahah. What kind of being is that? Even if God protects the sanctuary, her raw power is extraordinary, isn’t it?”

“Even if we deploy additional legions…… they’d just fight among themselves and not help the vampires.”

“Yes, even if we send other legions, the annihilation of the vampire legion seems inevitable.”

And so, one legion of the Demon King’s Army crumbled at the hands of a single human.

Even though they were a legion with clear strengths, despite their somewhat weak inherent power and reliance on endurance and regeneration for victory.

And now, with one legion shattered by the Hero, I had to make a decision.

Whether to kill the Hero through the Demon King’s Army, in accordance with the Demon God-nim’s words, who had been loudly shouting to crush the Hero since earlier, or at least listen to her story.

“……Archlich. No, First Legion Commander.”

“…Command me.”

It was a dilemma, but ultimately my choice was… to follow the will of my Creator, who had created me and breathed power into me.

Because the possibility of my choice being wrong was naturally higher than the possibility of God’s choice, who had sent me for the monsters, being wrong.

And so, I selected the next legion to advance to kill the Hero.

“Unleash the shackles of those arrogant lizards. Let them rampage to their heart’s content.”

“…Forgive my presumption, but with a Hero like that, perhaps it would be worth having a conversation… no, at least confronting her yourself……”

“The Demon God-nim has commanded. To kill that Hero. But, with forces excluding myself and your legion, which is the Demon King’s Army’s greatest strength.”

At those words, the Archlich was silent for a moment.

However… he too chose to obey the Demon God-nim’s will.

It was only natural. He could not betray the Demon God-nim’s will, who was contributing power to end the age of humans for the sake of monsters.

……But why, when I thought such thoughts and looked at the Hero, did my heart ache somewhere?

As if my belief was somehow wrong.

Was this also…… the Hero’s ability? The Hero’s scheme?

I couldn’t tell.

***

“……This time, it’s the dragon-lizards.”

*Be careful. Since you don’t have the ability to fly, it will be tricky. They are enemies floating in the air, so attacking them will also be difficult.*

“Really? If it’s hard to attack them because they’re flying……”

At the same time, I pulled out ‘Divine Punishment Potion (Degraded)’ and ‘Meteor Potion (Degraded)’ from the ‘Alchemist’s Treasury’.

My mind was momentarily dizzy from the mana rapidly draining away, but I still threw both potions with all my might.

Due to using potions that consumed an enormous amount of mana, and starting the battle again without proper rest, there was almost no mana left. But… it was fine.

Soon, after a brief clear sound, lightning and meteors fell from the sky with a roar, transforming the sky into hell.

Watching their kin being directly struck and shot down in that hell, and seeing the dragons hastily descending to the ground, I quietly enveloped the Holy Sword with divine power.

A divine power that gleamed crimson, looking greedy.