Chapter 86 – There Is No Next Time (3)

What a ridiculous thing to say.

“How childish.”

“What?”

“If something like that could shake me, I would’ve never had the resolve to stand against the world in the first place.”

There wasn’t the slightest wavering in his eyes.

“No way…”

‘This lunatic is serious.’

Raging with so many emotions was one thing, but this injustice left me momentarily stunned.

“Your mind is sharp, but honing martial strength is an entirely different domain. What shaped you into this?”

“…….”

I was tired of explaining.

Still, 

“…….”

I didn’t give an inch.

And barely holding my ground was all I could do.

Grandeus’s techniques.

Whether it’s that he understands our swordsmanship and sword techniques or has experience with counters, I’m not sure.

…But he’s no pushover.

He controls angles and direction to turn my force against me, never letting his stance falter.

Even when our mana collided, it fizzled out like a dying spark, leaving only traces and residue.

I don’t know about his raw physical strength, but at the very least, he’s not lacking compared to me.

And, 

If the Demon King spoke of incompatibility, then there must be a gap between us that tricks or finesse alone can’t bridge.

I felt it the moment we clashed.

It wasn’t overwhelming strength.

So then?

“Grk!”

Before I even noticed the tip of the spear detach, it stabbed at my ankle.

I barely managed to yank my foot back in time to avoid it, but the spear still ripped through the ground toward me.

I slammed my sword down to block it.

It was [Betita] again, but this time, instead of raising both hands upward, I swung from the outer edge of my body to deflect it.

Because of my twisted wrist, the sword tilted naturally, scraping the ground as it narrowly diverted the spear’s path.

Had I been even a little slower, my entire leg, or at least my ankle, would have been sliced, severed, or pierced.

But that was just the beginning.

The spear swept in a wide arc, and then, as if inertia meant nothing, it lunged in like a dart.

I couldn’t track it with my eyes.

I was reacting purely through instinct, predictions, and trained reflexes.

But it wasn’t enough.

Sssk!

Before I realized I’d been cut, the bitter sting told me everything.

My robe was slashed, and even the skin and leather underneath were torn open, I only noticed after the fact.

The bleeding didn’t even start until the pain hit me.

Even while moving that violently, I didn’t realize I was wounded until moments later?

“Your body’s unbalanced. Your will and awareness move ahead, but your body lags at least a beat behind. That suggests you haven’t trained your body steadily over a long period.”

While I struggled to catch my breath, he glared with those gleaming white eyes, as if assessing me.

“None of this adds up.”

He pointed his obsidian spear with one hand and asked,

“What did you do to become like this? Did you make a deal with a demon or something?”

“…Ever hear of a gold nugget that looked down on demons?”

“…….”

Before I even noticed, I was staring at the sky.

“…?”

What the…?

I could feel the cold ground pressing against my back.

And that wasn’t all.

In front of me, the obsidian spear was aimed straight at my face.

That ominous black smoke swirling from it… there was nothing ordinary about this weapon.

In short, I’d been knocked down by him.

And I didn’t even realize it.

‘So this is what they meant by incompatible.’

No matter how talented I am.

If something crashes into me with a speed and power beyond what I can perceive or handle, 

…then I really am helpless.

Even in that dream, with the endless cavalry and relentless showers of arrows, at least I had the chance to prepare.

But this?

There’s no preparation, no strategy, it just overwhelms.

The difference in agility, mobility, and swiftness… was undeniable.

So much so that there was no hope of catching up, much less going toe-to-toe.

Devastatingly so.

“Any last words?”

“…….”

Life is just another hell.

Every breath felt like suffering.

Maybe it wasn’t always this way.

But now, having been submerged in flames for so long, I can’t remember anything else.

“…….”

So this is…

Is this my death?

Am I really supposed to just accept it?

“Say something.”

“…What do you expect me to say?”

“Not you. Shut up.”

“…….”

I don’t know why.

But the man known as the dull-witted commander, that pale man, Barugo Adedima, visibly flinched at the boy’s sharp reprimand.

“Is this where I’m destined to die?”

Looking up at the sky, at the void, I asked. 

To whom? To what?

“Why don’t you use that grand wisdom of yours to predict it for me? Just like the idiot who didn’t even know Grandeus’s sword was a damn [Holy Sword]. Go on, run your mouth with confidence again.”

“…….”

Is he seeing something I can’t?

Something invisible to us?

‘That sword of Grandeus… that Elbart is a [Holy Sword]?’

First I’ve heard of it.

Sure, he’s used that sword to massacre countless demons across the Demon Realm.

But who would’ve guessed it was a holy sword?

The weapon he holds is shrouded in a darkness deeper than black.

Even the tiniest ray of light, if it touched it, would be swallowed rather than reflected.

That sword, so dark, so heavy with despair, is a holy sword, our mortal enemy?

“…….”

That thing?

That sword, stuck in the ground, cracked, rusted, caked in layers of sand and dust, looking like it could fall apart any moment, like a worthless rag, that thing?

“Maybe I’ll regret this decision someday.”

The tip of the spear slowly pressed against his neck.

“But I won’t repeat the same mistake as before…”

Just as the spear was about to pierce Cariel’s throat, he suddenly withdrew the shaft.

No, he swung it.

“Grk!”

As if struck by something, the figure was hurled away.

“You son of a bitch…”

It was Venus.

“I told you… he’s mine.”

“…Still as monstrously strong as ever.”

Even as he bled profusely, his fierce, explosive momentum hadn’t waned at all.

…To the point that it was awe-inspiring.

“So you’re planning to stand in my way? If you’re so eager to die, why not just jump off the edge there, or drive that sword through your own heart or throat?”

Aaaagh!

Somewhere, a scream rang out.

“And do you really think you’re in any position to face me? What do you believe brought me here?”

“Go on then, let’s hear it. I’ll listen.”

From among the spectators watching at a distance, shrieks of pain and regret erupted, cries of anguish.

They couldn’t be seen, but it felt like they too were under attack.

“I’ve come to leave an irrevocable mark on this place.”

The last of the scattered remnants.

The final Legion Commander, Barugo, declared his intent.

“To kill Luelde’s child, that is what it means.”

“…….”

“Didn’t you want to kill him too?”

“I’m here to bring him down. Killing comes after, you damned demon bastard.”

“Oh dear.”

He once again leveled the shaft of his spear at Cariel.

He considered getting up, but if Barugo truly intended to finish it, his body would’ve been run through the moment he moved. So Cariel didn’t struggle.

Not because it would’ve been pathetic, but because he had the sense that doing so wouldn’t have been the right choice.

“Surprising. You’d quietly accept such an unjust death without resistance?”

“Haa.”

He sure talks a lot.

Rambling on.

Rambling and rambling and rambling.

“It’s not that… I was just taking a quick nap.”

“…What?”

“How long was I out?”

The spear tip was withdrawn.

“…?”

How?

Barugo watched Cariel with baffled eyes.

From a distance, Cariel was just barely managing to rise to his feet.

“Khak!”

He got up as fast as he could, but it was still too slow.

Even though he’d narrowly escaped death, 

It felt like he had taken a massive blow internally, staggering, coughing up black blood.

“…….”

‘Feels like death.’

He finally understood, why the Demon King didn’t let him struggle any further in the dream.

His body had long since hit its limit.

It had been pushed to the brink already.

This body wasn’t in any state to be attempting anything at all.

And the Demon King had carefully balanced things so that he was just barely clinging to the edge of the abyss.

Now he understood why she told him to pour everything into rebuilding his body after acquiring [Elbart].

‘Was I already dying?’

And it wasn’t just one reason.

The resentment suffocating him was one reason.

Forcing his unstable body to move, another.

…And really, the reasons went on endlessly.

There would be those who hated him simply for being someone’s child.

Others might seek to eliminate him, afraid of a past he himself didn’t know…

“How strange.”

A person.

Could they really change so much in just a few seconds?

Barugo was confused.

That same man, fine just moments ago, was now vomiting blood and falling apart.

And yet somehow, 

His energy, his spirit, felt completely transformed from before.

‘Still.’

So what?

That’s enough sympathy.

As Barugo gripped his spear again, Venus sensed the shift and moved instantly.

But he was already gone.

Venus’s blade cut through empty space, and he immediately whipped his head around to Cariel.

‘Like hell!’

You’re seriously asking me to suffer this humiliation?!

That bastard! And this bastard too!

They’re all doing whatever they please!

Clang!

The impact rang out like an explosion.

At the same time, 

“Hm?!”

Barugo’s body was suddenly hurled back.

As if he’d been struck by a counterattack and barely managed to dodge.

“…Hah.”

It should’ve been Cariel who got hit.

But instead, he sighed in his place.

Even now, blood trickled from his nose, and his bloodshot eyes looked ready to burst.

‘What the hell did he do?’

Venus suddenly felt uneasy.

Could that bastard, like Venus, intentionally pull out physical power?

Or… did he perhaps learn it the moment they clashed?

‘Impossible.’

That was something he couldn’t accept.

Even if the heavens forgave it, he wouldn’t.

That absurdity. That unfairness.

…How dare he.

“Khak!”

But Cariel’s condition was clearly critical.

He kept coughing and spitting up blood.

“…Damn it.”

He’d lost a golden opportunity.

Perhaps his first and only chance.

That kind of moment, 

“Astounding.”

Venus saw it.

Black blood trickling from Barugo’s forearm.

In stark contrast to his pale skin, what flowed inside him was ink-like blood.

But that wasn’t the real issue.

What mattered was that the brat, who had been getting crushed this whole time, somehow landed a blow.

That alone was baffling.

What if Venus had been in that position?

He had options, of course, but he wasn’t in perfect shape either.

He’d taken some enhancers before the confrontation, but the effects weren’t immediate.

“You were so slow. And yet… somehow, you landed a counter. How?”

“…….”

He gasped for breath.

Cariel didn’t even try to hide his irritation, glaring like the praise was utter nonsense.

“Number 1,891.”

“…What?”

“The number of times you killed me in my dreams.”

Though really, it might’ve been more.

Or maybe less.

He didn’t know exactly.

He was just talking.

There could’ve been hundreds of discrepancies in the count, more or less.

“That’s why… it pisses me off.”

Reality is always like this.

It never goes the way I want.

“I don’t understand, but I’ll take that to mean it was your final act of resistance. In that case, I commend you. Knight.”

“…Shut up.”

Don’t go calling me a knight.

That bitter resentment tried to burst out, but all that emerged from his throat was blood and bile.

“Uegh―!”

“…Looks like he’ll die soon anyway. But that wouldn’t be an honorable end, so let me put you at ease by finishing it for you.”

“You damn…”

He couldn’t even hold his sword anymore.

So clearly unstable, 

Even those watching could tell.

“Don’t think about anything. Just close your eyes peacefully.”

It had already reached the moment just before.

Time crawled unbearably slow, as if the world had come to a halt.

It felt as if this moment would never end.

‘Is this…’

They said time slows down at the brink of death, that your past flashes before your eyes.

Ah, wasn’t it called a life reel?

Then why, 

…Why can’t I remember anything?

Not a single memory surfaces.

Within this stillness, this frozen world, I had been abandoned even by myself.

There was nothing left to reflect on, to repent, to regret.

Nothing came to mind anymore.

‘There was…’

Something.

I feel like… there was something.

…Is this really the end?

……

“Huff!”

My legs gave out beneath me.

I tried, reflexively, to stab my sword into the ground for support, but it missed, and I simply collapsed.

……

But, I didn’t die.

The dim sky remained unchanged, but perhaps the sun was rising.

Yet the shadow it cast was bizarrely distinct.

“If I’d been just a little late, we would’ve had a catastrophe, wouldn’t we?”

…Despite her delicate and lovely voice, the barrier it created felt utterly unbreakable.

“And you are?”

Barugo widened his pale eyes in confusion.

What was this now?

A human woman.

Blonde hair, blue eyes.

So delicate, her frail frame looked as if he could snap her apart with just a touch.

Among demons, even he was considered frail.

And yet this one before him didn’t seem so different.

Aside from being a woman.

There’s a stark difference in physical ability between men and women.

No matter how skilled one is in mana, their innate limits suppress their potential in the form of constraints.

And yet, 

What was this?

Why couldn’t he deal with her?

“Aschette. You crazy bitch…!”

From somewhere, someone shouted a name as if they recognized her.

“That’s right. Aschette. Asseratte, Ases. Whether you call me Endreig, Endragon, or Endragonne, say the surname however you like. Yes, I’m talking to you. You.”

She recited the names sweetly, almost like a song.

But the sword she gripped showed no hesitation, relentlessly pinning Barugo’s spear.

She stared directly at the pale man before her and murmured,

“Barugo Adedima. This is our first meeting, isn’t it? The last Legion Commander?”

“You…”

He had heard of her.

The Relief Knights.

Their second sword.

In their faction, they called her a Redeemer.

They called themselves the Relief Knights.

But the woman before him, she only used that identity as a convenient label, not something she clung to with affection or pride.

What made her infamous wasn’t her royal blood from distant lands.

No, 

It wasn’t because she came from royalty.

“The Demon of the Lake.”

“That nickname made it this far? I try not to mention it, it’s terribly embarrassing.”

She smiled softly, and pressed forward.

He was pushed back.

He couldn’t resist.

…What was this?

It felt like a fortress wall had come alive and was bearing down on him.

It reminded him of wrestling with the giantkin, an overpowering sense of helplessness.

“Pick one of two options. Will you surrender quietly, or will you hand over that neck of yours?”

“And you think you can do either? Human?”

“You just called me a demon.”

The moment he felt his body being pushed, 

“Hrm?!”

A storm of blades surged forth.

Barugo reacted swiftly, instinctively.

He blocked it.

But even so, the shock left his palms stinging.

“You exceed the rumors.”

Not just her speed, 

Each strike was heavy.

Had he not properly braced himself, the spear would’ve been forced back and his torso sliced.

She swung with that exact intent, and not just once, but over and over. A continuous flurry, like a storm made manifest by sword.

“And you’re still blocking. Truly impressive. My arm’s getting a bit sore, shall we rest a moment?”

Even as she said so, she unleashed another rapid combination.

Each swing flowed into a thrust, and one became two, two became three, then four, 

Like blooming petals, her blade fanned out in waves.

“And you’re still blocking. More than I expected…”

Clang!

Barugo countered.

The dozens of strikes he had unleashed, even the shadowy streaks that split into dozens of trails, she responded instantly, blocking even the final, most decisive strike.

“I said my arm hurts. Let’s rest a bit, shall we?”

Her expression remained unchanged.

But her eyes were smiling.

She looked like she might start humming with joy.

That smile, it was surely a madness born from battle.