Chapter 157

Chapter 157

I hadn’t moved far from the spot, so I could see Erin and Stella fighting the high-ranking demon.

To be precise, I saw them after slightly changing direction upon noticing a massive lightning bolt, imbued with immense magical power, striking down – clearly something dropped intentionally.

The outcome seemed to have been decided, so I was about to move on when I spotted the high-ranking demon, referred to as ‘Bea Something,’ stirring.

It was clear that Erin and Stella had no strength left to even lift a finger, so I offered a little help on my way.

Although she was a high-ranking demon before turning to charcoal, she was already in a wrecked state, so all it took was a light approach and a quick stab.

I would have liked to move the two of them to a safer location, but with urgent matters remaining, I had no choice but to leave them and move on.

There were no other presences felt nearby. Besides, given the sheer scale of the lightning that burned away all the dense demonic energy that had permeated the area, there wouldn’t be many audacious enough to approach this location. In fact, this spot was likely one of the safest in the vicinity.

Therefore, my steps were directed towards the direction Celian had come from. Towards where Yuri and Anne would be.

I hurried my steps, deliberately ignoring the screams echoing around me. Call me selfish, I don’t care. Everyone’s life is equal? Unfortunately, not to me. To me, the lives of my friends are far more precious than anyone else’s.

You can call me a hero who acts like that, I don’t care. Frankly, I myself question why I was chosen as a hero.

I arrived at a new battlefield in an instant.

Fortunately, Anne and Yuri were somehow holding their own against the demon.

Knowing Anne’s skills, I was actually surprised she hadn’t defeated the demon yet, but upon seeing the weapon in her hand, I understood.

Like her mother, the reason Anne carries that ridiculously large greatsword is not for any other reason.

There are few weapons that can fully withstand her power, the power of the blood of the Klain family that exterminates demons. That’s why Anne’s power is unleashed when fighting demons, and when she wields her unique weapon.

That was the reason Anne was able to resist the demons to the very end as humanity’s last line of defense.

On the other hand, I was a little surprised by Yuri’s performance. As the daughter of a Sword Master, Yuri’s swordsmanship had been negligible. In this life, after meeting Rinne, she had become incomparably stronger.

Although I already knew she had become stronger by contracting with Rinne, as I recalled memories from past lives, it was inevitable that I would compare her current self with her former frail appearance.

Yuri’s magic cannot pierce the opponent’s magic. Conversely, the demon’s magic also did not reach Yuri. Therefore, the fight became a battle of stamina and mana reserves, putting Yuri at a disadvantage in many ways.

However, I had already arrived.

Given that the battle had dragged on, and now that I had arrived, the outcome was practically decided.

Therefore, I first approached the demon who was casting strange magic at Yuri from behind.

Standing right behind him, yet completely unaware of my presence and still focused entirely on Yuri, I drew the holy sword and lightly pierced his heart.

The demon who had been confronting Yuri collapsed without even a scream, simply from that.

Even Yuri hadn’t noticed the demon’s fall and sent magic towards the demon, and towards me.

Of course, having dodged even Eden’s tentacles, there was no way Yuri’s magic would hit me.

Instead, I dodged the magic and headed towards Anne, who was still fighting right beside me.

I instantly severed the head of the female demon who was busy swinging her whip with a cackle.

Anne, who had been busy defending herself, unable to enter the whip’s range, immediately lunged forward as soon as she noticed the whip losing its power, but all she found there was the headless corpse of the demon.

Yuri, Rinne, and Anne all hesitated, only examining the demon’s corpse, unsure of what had caused the demon they were fighting to fall.

Knowing that even a farewell would be an act of shamelessness, I remained hidden in the shadows.

Based on the presences I could sense around, it seemed there were no intermediate or higher-ranking demons in the vicinity that could threaten the lives of the two.

Instead, from afar, I felt a powerful presence rapidly approaching. It was Craig, the Sword Master and Yuri’s father, his body stained with demon blood, as if he had just finished a battle.

With him, who had reached the level of Sword Master long ago, arriving, the lives of the two were guaranteed. Therefore, I too moved towards the next objective.

I moved to the place I had seen during the closing ceremony, wondering if it was still there.

It was the roof of the building where Presia had been sitting while watching the closing ceremony.

Her appearance, lying still as if asleep, without any injuries, was strikingly out of place amidst the surrounding battlefield.

Like Celian, who had exhausted all her energy, Presia had also collapsed after expending all her magic.

If she hadn’t blocked the meteor that fell on the city, the casualties would have increased tremendously.

Truly, she was the mage with the greatest talent on the continent.

However, as she had tried to block it in a hurry, the structure of her magic was bound to be less refined than usual, and it was presumed that she had fainted from exhaustion after pouring all her mana into it.

The fortunate thing was that no goblin, monster, or demon had approached the unconscious her.

It seemed they were hidden thanks to the bear and the bunny, who were extending their hands and casting an invisibility spell beside her.

Surprisingly, the bear and the bunny had abilities; the invisibility spell hiding Presia seemed difficult for anyone to detect unless they had exceptionally keen senses or were at least a high-ranking demon.

Of course, one might say, “What invisibility spell is that when I can see it clearly?” But as it stands, I am a skilled assassin and a Sword Master. It would be abnormal if I couldn’t find it.

As I lightly landed beside Presia, the gazes of the bunny and the bear, who were casting the invisibility spell, turned towards me.

Despite having no other abilities besides invisibility, the bear and the bunny, wanting to protect Presia, immediately squeezed between her and me, blocking me with their small bodies.

However, upon seeing my face, the bear and the bunny seemed relieved and quickly approached, tugging at my clothes and pointing at Presia.

Even without their urging, I gently picked up Presia, who was lying there as if asleep.

The tiny girl in my arms.

Holding her, I moved my steps. Towards the Magic Building, which the professors had reinforced with all sorts of magic, making it still maintain its form.

There was no need to use the main entrance; I easily climbed the wall to the 7th floor and opened the window.

Pushing aside the dark curtains, I entered Room 707 of the Magic Building, where Presia resided.

As I carefully laid her on the sofa she usually used for sleeping, the bear and the bunny, who had been riding on my shoulder, also scurried down and peered up at her from under the sofa.

The Magic Building, which was like a fortress, and especially Presia’s research lab, secured with all sorts of magic, would surely be safe.

I lightly stroked Presia’s head with my hand. What am I doing to a young girl who can’t even resist while unconscious? No, come to think of it, Presia and I are the same age. If I treat her as a young child, then I also become a child.

Of course, if that’s the case, then what does that make Anne, who is older than me but acts like a childish younger sibling?

“Thank you for everything. And I’m sorry, Boss.”

Feeling a strange emotion, I took advantage of her unconscious state to secretly offer my apologies.

However, even in her sleep, Presia, as if pleased, slowly nudged her face into my hand as I stroked her head, rubbing against it and smiling faintly.

I thought she might have woken up, so I checked again, but she was still asleep.

Seeing her innocent expression made it even harder to bear, so I slowly turned and headed for the door.

Creak

However, just before opening the door to leave, I felt something grab my ankle.

Glancing back, I saw the bunny holding onto my pants.

Then, the bear, who had been checking on Presia’s well-being, waddled over and grabbed my other ankle.

Making eye contact with me, the bear and the bunny shook their heads, still holding my ankles.

It wasn’t just a simple plea to stay by Presia’s side out of concern for her.

The bear and the bunny seemed to have sensed something from my farewell to Presia.

As I stood there silently, they whined and pulled at the hem of my pants with all their might, trying to drag me towards the room, but how much could they pull with their limited strength?

Despite my immobility, they were desperately trying to prevent me from leaving and to drag me back to Presia.

I felt truly sorry for them, not just for Presia.

I lifted the bear and the bunny, who were holding onto my ankles, and gave them a light hug.

Then, I gently placed them beside Presia, after forcibly separating them from my clothes, which they were clinging to in my embrace.

The bear and the bunny hopped off the sofa and quickly ran back to grab me again, but they couldn’t find me, as I had already concealed myself. They rushed out into the hallway and looked around.

Now it was time to deal with the remaining demons.

But before returning to the city streets, I made a brief stop elsewhere.

The place I arrived at was the dormitory where my friends and I used to live.

The dormitory building was in disarray due to the aftermath, but fortunately, it still maintained its form.

The reason I came here was not to retrieve something I had left in my room. Quite the opposite.

I carefully stroked the ring on my finger with my other hand and slowly took it off.

This ring was a symbol of the friendship I shared with my friends. I had no right to wear this ring, having betrayed my friends.

Even though I had resolved to be firm, perhaps due to lingering attachment, I hesitated even to place the ring on the desk.

However, I eventually placed the ring down and immediately leaped out the window to return to the battlefield.

It didn’t matter whether they were high-ranking or intermediate demons.

I took the lives of the demons who were reveling in slaughter, those who were toying with the academy students, and those who were locked in a close fight, one by one, by striking from behind.

It wasn’t difficult to exploit the opening, as the demons were preoccupied elsewhere.

With the loss of Eden, a strong unifying force, and the emergence of me as a variable, it was only natural that the demons would be defeated.

However, it was a victory stained with many casualties and wounds for us as well.

After surveying the surroundings again and confirming that all the demons had fallen, I slowly headed out of the city.

Now that I was much stronger than before, if we were to form a Demon King party again, we would likely reach the Demon King much more easily.

However, having already killed them with my own hands, how could I possibly drag them into such a dangerous path again?

Even if the risk was minimal, it could still threaten their lives.

Therefore, I would bear all those risks alone.

Of course, my strength alone is insignificant compared to everyone’s combined power.

However, as I am also an assassin, even if in a different way, it is possible for me to become stronger when I am alone.

The risk would be higher than before, but that would be equivalent to me shouldering all the risks that my friends would face when embarking on an adventure together.

Yes. This is my only atonement for them, and my revenge for the murder of my family.

If I am fortunate enough to succeed in assassinating the Demon King, that would be even better.

However, it doesn’t matter even if my sword fails to reach the Demon King and I fall.

I am the last remaining assassin, meticulously nurtured by Black Moon.

My death, too, would be my final revenge for Black Moon, which has already been annihilated and no longer exists in this world.

I left the academy, leaving everyone behind, and set off alone on the path to defeat the Demon King.

And then, three years passed.