episode_0028

Arthur says there is a prayer that can weaken the Demon King.

Alice immediately realized that this was the key to conquering the Demon King, but she wasn’t particularly attracted to it because Arthur’s life was the price. Even if it was the life of a fake Arthur.

“Don’t worry, Arthur. My attacks did work on the Demon King, though. I think you just need to restrain him well.”

Yeah… I’m more than capable of doing it. Even the Demon King couldn’t free Arthur from his bonds, so if we just protect Arthur well, we might win easier than we think.

“Arthur? Could the Demon King possibly be freed from his bonds by his own power?”

“That.. It also has the effect of weakening the target of the bondage.. So I don’t think it’ll be released..”

Hmm… It certainly seemed like the Demon King couldn’t break free from his bonds, so he must have killed Arthur first.

Alice thought positively and decided to clear the game while keeping Arthur alive.

“Okay.. Then I’ll explain the operation first, Arthur.”

“First of all, the Demon King moves too fast, so if the restraint fails, we will definitely die. But don’t worry too much. At first, the Demon King will let his guard down, so you will definitely be able to buy enough time to pray.”

As Alice explained the entire operation one by one, Arthur nodded.

“You must remember! We absolutely must win early on.”

Arthur, who had made up his mind, answered with a solemn expression.

“Okay! Got it.”

“Well… Then let’s go, Arthur.”

Since there was no point in delaying any longer, Alice took Arthur’s hand and headed to the Demon King’s castle once again.

… … …

An unpleasant space where an ominous atmosphere is felt from all sides.

Once again, Alice entered the Demon King’s castle and bad thoughts kept popping into her head.

No… I’m sure it’ll be okay. We’ve come this far, so let’s not worry any more.

“Arthur, we’re going in now. When you go in, there’s a Demon King in the middle, so use restraints as soon as I give the signal.”

“Yeah..”

Arthur, very nervous, answered quietly.

-Suddenly.

As I opened the door and went in, I saw the Demon King sitting on a chair.

Up to here it’s the same.. Don’t be nervous..

“Is that you?”

The same question from the Demon King as last time.

“Yes, I am a warrior.”

Alice, in order to eliminate variables as much as possible, raised her momentum as before.

“Wait a minute, can we have a conversation?”

Okay, so far so good.

Alice immediately sent a signal to Arthur.

“Conversation? Tell me something.”

At Alice’s words, the Demon King began to open his mouth.

“..I’m curious…”

But before the Demon King could finish speaking, his face began to distort.

“You’re using that power in front of me.”

The enraged Demon King immediately raised his hand and fired two spears made of magic towards Arthur.

However, Alice, who had drawn the holy sword, stood in front to protect Arthur.

Thunder Dragon Nine-Type – Type 5 Eddy Current

In an instant, the electricity that had bloomed from the sword began to circle around Alice’s sword, and when she swung the sword towards the Magi’s Spear, it ‘bounced’ away before it could touch the sword.

-Clang!

As soon as Alice blocked the Demon King’s attack, golden chains began to bind the Demon King’s body.

But the Demon King’s expression was calm. As if it was nothing.

“Wow.. You’re using some amazing technology.”

Alice responded calmly to the Demon King’s words.

“Really? Then I’ll show you something more amazing.”

Thunder Dragon Nine Type – Type 1 Lightning

-Pook!

Moving at lightning speed, Alice plunged her sword straight into the Demon King’s heart, and immediately linked up with her next technique.

Thunder Dragon Nine Type – Type 3 Depth Charge

-Kwaaang!!

-Thud thud..

The Demon King, who was torn apart by Alice’s attack, ended up being reduced to a piece of meat with no trace of his original form.

“Ugh…”

Because of the scene being more grotesque than expected, Alice’s expression naturally frowned.

Still, I won more easily than I thought. It is definitely advantageous to fight knowing the future. It was almost impossible to win against this opponent.

“Arthur! We won!”

Alice approached Arthur with a thoughtful smile, but Arthur’s expression was stiff.

“Aris… Something’s strange. Look at that.”

Arthur, who had not moved from his seat, pointed with his hand to the place where the Demon King was bound.

“What the… why is that still there? You can take it off now, Arthur.”

When I looked where Arthur was pointing, I saw a chain wrapping around the air.

“That…That…The binding is a skill that is automatically released when the opponent dies…”

“!!!”

At Arthur’s words, Alice quickly checked the meat fragments that had been the Demon King, and saw them wriggling and gathering.

While Alice was talking to Arthur, the pieces of meat that had gathered together to form a certain shape began to leak magic.

Even though it turned out like that, it didn’t die? Could it have been killed in the first place?

Alice continued to attack to prevent the meat fragments from gathering, but Magi began to protect the meat fragments, and eventually she was unable to stop them all from gathering.

Not yet.. Now is the chance, while it hasn’t found its original form yet..!

“Arthur!! Hurry up and put the restraints back on there!!!”

Alice shouted urgently at Arthur, but Arthur’s expression was filled with bewilderment.

“Ah, Aris.. That technique can’t be used continuouslyㅡ”

But before Arthur could finish speaking, a voice that should not be heard was heard.

“This time it was a little dangerous.”

At the sound of the voice, Alice’s gaze naturally turned to the source, and she could see the Demon King standing there looking at her.

“If my magic wasn’t infinite, I might have died.”

The Demon King’s gaze moved to Arthur behind him.

“You disgusting bastard, I will make you suffer as much as possible.”

At the same time as he spoke, a huge amount of magical energy flowed out from the Demon King’s body, and before Alice could even step forward, hundreds of magical spears appeared in the air.

First, we have to protect Arthur! We have to buy time until Arthur can use the restraints again.

Alice, who made a quick decision, raised her sword in front of Arthur again.

… … …

“What do you think?”

“Fuck it.”

Alice, whose limbs were pierced by the spears of magic, was kneeling before the Demon King.

“Huhhh…Huhh …

Behind him, Arthur was crying as his limbs slowly rotted away due to the erosion of his magic. Even after being subdued, Arthur continued to recite prayers, and the Demon King had his tongue ripped out.

The situation was the worst. Arthur could no longer use his full power, and he had used up all his mana and stamina protecting Arthur, and his physical condition was a mess.

I should have just given up quickly and stabbed myself in the heart!

Alice continued to regret it, but the situation was already irreversible.

“Then I guess I should start sealing.”

“Please let me go, and I will cooperate.”

“That bastard will suffer the pain of rotting flesh in a body that cannot die for the rest of his life. And since there is no possibility of my seal being released, there is no need for cooperation.”

“…”

Eventually, with no other way out, Alice tried to commit suicide, but failed due to the Demon King’s interference.

After that, Alice was sealed by the Demon King and her mind became dizzy, but after a while, familiar scenery and writing began to come into view.

[Lives Left: 1]

“Aris..? Are you okay?”

There was only one chance left, and Alice’s mental strength was already at rock bottom.

“…”

“Arthur, listen carefully to what I say. Do you have a prayer that greatly weakens the demon tribe?”

Arthur’s eyes began to widen at Alice’s words.

“Uh..yeah, right…”

“I think I should use that prayer.”

“Ha, but..”

Arthur showed that he didn’t want to use it, but Alice, whose patience was running out, pressed Arthur.

“I know. But I have to use it. Becauseㅡ”

So Alice told Arthur that she had fought the Demon King many times with her warrior’s power, but had been defeated every time.

“Don’t worry, Arthur. You still haven’t given me the Book of the Invited Hero, right? I read it, and it even tells you how to bring yourself back to life if you kill the Demon King.”

Alice began to deceive Arthur in order to catch the Demon King.

“Oh..I see.”

“Yeah, so will you trust me?”

Arthur couldn’t help but believe it when he saw Alice smiling brightly and holding his hand.

“I’ll believe you, I love you, Aris.”

Arthur hugged Alice along with the horse, and she felt Arthur’s body trembling. It was probably a trembling caused by the fear of death.

Although Alice had been controlling her expressions in order to deceive Arthur, she felt a pain as if someone was ripping out her heart because of the guilt of deceiving Arthur, even though it was fake.

The rest was simple. The plan was the same as before, and Arthur had only to weaken the Demon King with prayer at the end.

“Okay, I’ll go in.”

“…”

Arthur just nodded without answering.

After checking Arthur’s condition, Alice opened the door and went in, looking at where the Demon King was.

After that, the conversation with the Demon King went according to Alice’s plan, and she was able to successfully bind the Demon King once again.

“Arthur, now use that prayer.”

Arthur nodded and began to recite the prayer without hesitation, and the Demon King’s face began to turn dark.

“Hey..stop it!!”

“Arthur, ignore it and continue.”

As Arthur’s prayer ended, a large circle emitting golden light appeared on the floor where the Demon King was bound, and a tremendous amount of light radiated out and covered the Demon King.

“Kaaah!!”

Alice also felt the Demon King’s aura weakening in real time, and turned around to face Arthur.

“Arthur?”

“Yeah..”

“Thank you. For trusting me.”

“No.. You have to win and save me again?”

Arthur’s complexion suddenly worsened, but he did not stop talking.

“There are many things I want to do if I come back to life.. Traveling with you, eating delicious food, and…”

But the words did not end, and Arthur closed his eyes.

I’m sorry, Arthur… It’s all a lie. There’s no way there could be a way. In fact, you knew that too, right? You’re so smart, you couldn’t not know… You didn’t even ask how to save him…

Yeah… Let’s forget it, it’s all fake anyway. There’s a real Arthur in reality…

Alice, who had barely regained consciousness, turned her sight towards the Demon King.

“This…this guy!! What did you do!!”

All Alice could see was a pitiful demon king.

‘Status window.’

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

name: ???

[Ability]

Stamina -45

Strength-45

Agility-45

Magi-0

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

“This is really pathetic..”

Even Alice herself couldn’t tell whether he was talking to the Demon King or to herself.

“I’m sick of this now.. Let’s never meet again.”

Alice slowly raised her sword and swung it at the Demon King, and the weakened Demon King was cut down without even being able to react properly.

-Crunch!

Eventually, the Demon King’s head was cut off by Alice’s attack, and his torso fell powerlessly to the ground.

He tried to roast them all with his remaining magic power in case they could be resurrected, but the Demon King’s corpse turned into black smoke and disappeared.

“…”

-Thump thump.

Alice looked inside to find the elixir, and was able to find a small box.

When I opened the box, I could see a single potion decorated with gorgeous jewels.

“I guess this is an elixir..”

As soon as I spoke, words appeared before my eyes.

[Congratulations on clearing the trial.]

As the text appeared, Aris felt her body gradually becoming blurry, and she remembered what the instructor had said before entering the trial.

It’s not wrong to say that trials aren’t about testing your strength. This trial was clearly about testing whether I could give up what I valued most. Of course, I don’t know what that has to do with potential.

“If only I had been stronger, Arthur wouldn’t have died…”

With a muttering, Alice’s body disappeared.