Chapter 257: To the Capital (9)

“Love and justice?”

Wolf couldn’t stop laughing at Evan’s words. It was because the guy reeking of a dirty demon was bringing up sentiments from ancient times, which he found truly laughable. He also found it pathetic how the guy tried to judge him by bringing up musty old tales that couldn’t even be discussed as mere nostalgia.

“Did you go around deceiving people with such old stories? You, the guardian of love and justice?”

Evan didn’t retort. Wolf interpreted Evan’s silence as he pleased.

“I am a hero. I climbed to this position by smashing demons like you. You dirty demon. Know your place and go back to where you came from!”

As soon as Wolf finished speaking, he swung his sword. A pure white sword energy flew towards Evan’s neck, and Evan dodged the blow by rolling. Milia, who had sidestepped, chanted a spell with both hands extended forward, and Taffy crawled out from the floor to grab Wolf’s ankle.

Wolf, twisting only his waist to avoid Milia’s magic, twisted his ankle to escape Taffy’s grasp. Just as Taffy lunged forward, trying to attack him, Evan burrowed into Wolf’s side and tackled him.

“Ugh!”

The sword, which had been aimed vertically at Taffy’s brow, veered off to the side. Taffy, blinking, realized he had almost died and swung his hand towards Wolf’s stumbling knee.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Wolf, moving as if about to fall, put strength into his legs and countered Taffy’s blow. His firmly planted knee and Taffy’s hand collided, but with a sound like metal hitting metal, Taffy was sent flying. Wolf, in that state, grabbed me by the collar and re-gripped his sword.

Pang!

A magic bullet grazed Wolf’s head just as he was about to swing his sword. Wolf scowled, threw Evan aside, and charged towards Milia. It seemed like he only took one step, but suddenly he was right in front of Milia.

Flustered, she deployed a barrier, and Wolf’s sword mercilessly tore through her magic barrier.

“Kyaaaak!”

As a reaction to the barrier exploding, Milia’s body flew off to the side. Taffy charged at Wolf again, who was trying to pursue Milia, unleashing dark energy.

“Don’t try to stop me with pathetic techniques like that!”

As Wolf shouted and swung his sword, pure white sword energy surged, neutralizing Taffy’s energy, and he charged as if to cut Taffy in two.

“No!”

Just barely, before the sword could touch Taffy’s body, I managed to pull her into my arms and escape in another direction. Where the sword energy passed, long scars remained, transforming the area into a horrific ruin.

“You have no chance against us.”

Milia got back up and chanted a spell. Wolf, panting after unleashing sword energy, gritted his teeth as he noticed the chains appearing around his body. Chains flew towards Wolf’s hands, Taffy prepared to charge, enveloped in strong energy, and Evan took the lead, rushing forward to throw a punch at the guy.

Wolf didn’t block Evan’s punch. Instead, he headbutted Evan, catching him off guard. Wolf’s forehead and Evan’s fist collided with a loud roar, and Evan flew backward, clutching his hand.

“Fuck!”

“Are you challenging me with such pathetic skills?! I am a hero! Hero Wolf, that is! Someone like you, a demonkin, cannot defeat me!”

As Wolf exerted force with his hands, the chains binding his body snapped instantly. As a consequence of the magically linked chains breaking, Milia hunched over with a bewildered expression, and Taffy, who had been charging at Wolf, looked perplexed.

“One down first!”

Wolf shouted and turned his body. Taffy and Wolf faced each other head-on, and blood was flowing down Wolf’s forehead. Wolf steadied his mind, which had momentarily reeled from the previous impact, and swung his sword mightily towards Taffy’s head. The hand that should have been reaching for Wolf’s heart remained behind, and Wolf’s sword came within inches, as if to split Taffy in half.

Evan shook his head and shouted.

Milia hastily fired a magic bullet even as she sank to the floor. However, the speed at which the sword was coming down made her action seem like a futile struggle. The sword glinted, reflecting in Taffy’s anxious eyes. Evan got up and charged at Wolf. Wolf smirked, thinking it was too late.

And then, a white trajectory pierced through the center of the four people.

Bang!

The sword aimed at splitting Taffy’s head flew into the air, and Wolf’s body slammed into the ground. Wolf’s armor, known for its sturdiness, crumpled, and arrow fragments flew in all directions. Like a plow digging into the asphalt floor, Wolf was dragged backward, leaving a trail, and could only look around with a bewildered expression.

“What the hell! What is it! Who is it!”

But Wolf couldn’t pinpoint the sniper’s location. Evan also couldn’t find Petunia Titi’s location. Because she was aiming and firing arrows from between the narrow gaps they couldn’t find.

“Th-these guys…!”

Before Wolf could open his mouth further, Milia’s magic struck again. As a concentration of pure magic hit Wolf’s abdomen, his body was pushed against the wall and slammed into it. The wall buckled, revealing an empty space behind it, and as Wolf fell to the ground, Taffy’s hands grabbed his head and slammed it onto the floor.

Thump!

With a heavy thud, Wolf’s head crushed the floor. Even as Wolf saw illusions of the world splitting into dozens of pieces, he instinctively grabbed Taffy’s hands and got up. Just as Taffy, unable to overpower Wolf with brute strength, was dragged along and about to be thrown aside like a sack of grain, Evan’s fist landed squarely in Wolf’s empty stomach.

“Gack!”

Wolf gagged and floated up, the arm that had held Taffy’s hands falling limply. Taffy regained his posture in mid-air and slapped Wolf’s face, causing Wolf’s body to bend backward as if about to collapse.

“Ugh…”

Just as Evan grabbed Wolf’s dropped sword from the floor and lifted it to slice through his waist, Wolf’s collapsing body suddenly straightened up, putting strength into his thighs. Evan, holding the sword high, and Wolf, who had sprung up, made eye contact. Evan flinched in surprise for a moment, and Wolf’s fist smashed into Evan’s head.

Bang!

Evan’s body fell to the floor, and his sword spun wildly in the air. Wolf reached out to grab the sword, and Taffy, having landed on the ground, charged towards Wolf’s back. Sharp claws extended long and pierced Wolf’s abdomen.

“Gack…!”

Wolf coughed up blood and waved his sword in the air. The gathering sword energy scattered like fleeing insects, and his clothes became stained red. Chains emerging from Milia’s hands bound Wolf’s entire body, and Wolf, trying desperately to bring his sword down, couldn’t move an inch while bound.

“Guh…! Grrr…!”

Evan got up and punched Wolf’s face again. With a sound like bursting air, Wolf’s head snapped back, and his whole body trembled from the powerful impact. The sword he held tightly dropped to the floor once more, and a cheerful sound of strings being plucked echoed from somewhere.

“Huh…?”

Wolf knew the source of this sound. Because it was a sound he had heard so often during his adventures, echoing clearly. A roar like a storm cutting through the air, and a white trajectory. Wolf knew an elf who possessed all of these things.

“Pe, Petunia…?”

The moment Wolf called her name, an arrow struck Wolf’s side, causing an explosion.

Boom!

A white blast and dust erupted, sending Wolf’s body flying far away like a doll. With his side torn open, Wolf’s body could no longer continue fighting. His sword, discarded on the ground, was on the verge of shattering, and one broken arm was bent at an unnatural angle.

“Ah…! Ahhh…!”

Evan collapsed onto the floor, catching his breath. Milia and Taffy also stared at the fallen Wolf with expressions that suggested they had barely made it. He looked completely smashed, seemingly unable to move anymore. Taffy sank to the floor, and Milia reached out to restrain Wolf.

Purple chains began to bind his body again from all directions, and Wolf stared at Evan with bloodshot eyes. Evan nodded at him and said.

“What are you looking at, you son of a bitch? Haven’t you ever seen a hero before?”

“Ah…! Ugh…! Ugh-ah-ah-ah-ah!”

At Evan’s words, Wolf shook his head back and forth, going berserk like a madman. He thrashed about as if possessed by someone else, and then, drawing on some unknown strength, he broke Milia’s chains and sprang up, grabbing his sword. Evan, who had been sitting on the floor, scrambled to get up in surprise, and Taffy reached out, but Wolf raised his sword faster.

White sword energy gathered, and Milia collapsed onto the floor as a reaction to the chains breaking. Wolf shouted.

“Dieeeee!”

A brilliant light, visible even from the capital’s walls, condensed onto the sword, blazing fiercely as if to cleave Evan in two. Wolf swung his sword with the intent to kill Evan no matter what. Even as Taffy’s blow from the side struck a vital point, and even as Milia, getting up late, fired magic bullets wildly at Wolf’s head, he never stopped, even as he became tattered.

Was it his will to destroy evil at all costs that gave him superhuman strength?

“Sh-shit…!”

It was at that moment, as an intense light erupted that Evan couldn’t even react to.

“No!”

Someone blocked Evan’s path, spreading their arms. A determined expression and orange hair. Aloof eyes and slender limbs. Wolf’s face contorted as he tried to bring his sword down. Evan also looked back at the elf protecting him with a bewildered expression.

The elf stood proudly between Wolf and Evan, face flushed with resolute determination.

“Ugh…! Ugh…! Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah! Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!”

Wolf’s roar turned into a wail. His face contorted miserably, and tears streamed down his face.

Wolf’s sword energy cut through the air. In the final moment, Wolf forced his body to twist, changing the direction of his sword energy. Wolf’s tears reflected the brilliant light of the sword energy, sparkling.

The sword energy, which had sliced through the audience chamber’s ceiling, cut diagonally through the royal palace’s ramparts and flew towards the sky. The ramparts, boasting a smooth cross-section, crumbled to the ground along with dust. The blinding light that had momentarily engulfed everything faded, leaving only beast-like howls rising like the wind.

“Ah…! Ahhh…! Ugh-ah-ah…!”

Wolf lay on the ground, howling. His face was filled with betrayal and sorrow. Beside the hero, who had loved and cared only for his comrades and family his entire life, dedicating everything to revenge, no one remained. Evan, who had nearly died, Taffy, who had mangled Wolf’s body, and Milia, slumped on the floor, were all looking at Wolf.

“Pe, Petunia…! Why…!”

Evan tried to say something. As he opened his mouth, as if to speak for Evan, the sound of clapping echoed from somewhere.

Clap, clap, clap

Both Evan and Wolf knew that steady rhythm well. A demon descended as if stepping on invisible stairs in the air, smiling at the two of them.

“You worked hard, Evan.”

She had purple skin, and her eyes shone like rubies. Her large breasts were brazenly exposed by a single piece of revealing underwear, and her flowing hair shimmered with various colors reflecting the light.

“It’s really been a while.”

And the demon spoke to Evan.