episode_0035

I wondered how Eligos was defeated in the original work.

It wasn’t a situation I had assumed, so I tried to recall. Rather than being flustered, I just felt angry. Someone must have been sacrificed for Eligos to resurrect…

It was because I had foolishly expected too much from Kahl. To tell the truth, I really dislike my own foolishness more than that guy.

A chilly night breeze blew in. The sky, clear even though it was night, gave the impression of no clouds obstructing the moonlight. And there was a man with wings spread out, looking down at me.

I really hate being looked down upon.

“Eligos.”

“…You know this body, huh, well, you’re quick with words. Hurry and offer me that sweet mana-”

Kwaaang!

Explosion.

The explosion around Eligos was so loud that the ground shook.

I was irritated due to my exhausted body and stress; I wanted to finish it quickly. So, I sent a strong blow without hesitation.

I wanted to at least knock him down to the ground so he couldn’t look down on me. If I could use magic, I would have driven it into the ground as if manipulating gravity, but I hadn’t recovered yet.

The lingering smoke from the powerful magic began to disperse. In the sky where Eligos had been, only the large moon remained. Even when I looked down, I couldn’t find Eligos. Where did he go?

“…Arrogant human.”

!

Startled by the damp, resonant voice coming from behind, I turned around. Instinctively, I backed away.

“This mana, and the helmet, even the eyes… Yes, I remember.”

“…”

“Green, the descendant of the traitor sorcerer.”

Eligos easily identified my true identity. Is it because he’s a demon from the era of the Great War after all?

“Heh heh. Hiss, ha….”

As the wind blowing behind me reached him, he made a sound, then deeply breathed in the air. He had smelled my scent.

“A pretty female. Green’s descendant.”

“…”

He is the king of the high-ranking demon, the incubus. He even discerned my gender through my scent. With a face filled with licentious desire, he smiled at me. It was an extremely repulsive smile.

It feels like bugs crawling all over my body. I felt physiological disgust from his blatant gaze. Eligos’s sinful aura, seeping through, penetrates through my armor. A sense of naked shame rose within me.

I raised my arms, wanting to rid him from my sight.

Shockwave.

A powerful wave spread forward.

It struck with a force incomparable to what I had struck with the sword. My flesh-filled determination…

But it was my misconception. The shockwave was blocked and vanished by the crimson magic circle created by Eligos. Perhaps because it was the last magic I could muster, it was noticeably weaker than usual?

I don’t know if it’s because of the Holy Sword or something else.

“Tsk.”

Frozen Blade.

As an alternative, I prepared for close combat and conjured sharp ice crystals. I pushed off from where I stood and darted forward. Eligos still concealed his desire behind a smile that bordered on mockery. Despite standing on the ground, he looked down on me due to our height difference. Unbearable impulses made my heart pound. This is clearly hot anger.

“What a disappointment. That the magic of a traitor’s descendant is only this much.”

Eligos spoke as if displeased.

His taunt momentarily dispelled my sluggishness. Anxiety and tension covered my body. Quickly, I must get rid of this guy. Otherwise, I feel like something terrible will happen.

Thud!

Eligos instantly grabbed my wrist. His strength felt as though it would shatter my wrist, despite having reinforced my body with mana.

“Ugh…! How can my mana be so weak that I can’t even reinforce myself…?”

I tried to endure the pain with my eyes wide open. It doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t hurt. I can bear this much.

Thud.

As the grip on the ice handle loosened, the frozen blade began to fall to the ground. Before the ice even touched the ground to make a sharp sound, Eligos knocked me down to the floor. So I heard the sound of my body hitting the ground first, making a “thud.”

“Kwuk!”

The suppressed scream was about to burst out. Eligos, who was looking down at me, climbed onto my fallen waist. His weight felt heavy. His center of gravity was fully loaded onto my upper body, not my legs. Unbearable discomfort rushed through me due to the pressure on my waist.

He still looked down at me. It was an ugly face. Not in appearance, but in the atmosphere it exuded. At least, that’s how I felt.

“The mana of your magic is delicious, but it’s irritating.”

“…!?”

“Of course, I have to consume it directly, leaving nothing behind, right?”

His astonishing words widened my eyes. To him, only the bright turquoise light shining from within the pitch-black helmet would be visible.

Eligos’ words meant that he was absorbing the mana contained in my magic to regain strength. This is the worst. Every action I take today, every decision I make, everything is the worst.

Thump.

His cruel hand covered my helmet. His palm was so large that it seemed like he could grip my face tightly with one hand. My field of vision was about to be completely covered by his hand.

“You want to see the face that will scream. Get rid of the cumbersome traitor’s helmet.”

“No, please…!”

In a spine-chilling sensation, I reflexively shouted. And then, I did something I shouldn’t have done.

Zing-

The power of the reflex always worked for me. Like when you hit below the kneecap and the lower leg jerks forward, just like the knee reflex.

I activated the power of the Hwangjok that had melted away due to the battle with Kal. It was a simple desire to blow away the demon perched on my waist. No, it was physiological fear. Unable to overcome that fear, I made the wrong choice once again.

“Screaaaam!!!”

Unbearable pain enveloped my body. It was a physical revolt against the unreasonable strength of the Hwangjok. The uncontrollable magic ravaged every corner of my body, bringing unbearable agony.

Struggling to hold onto my consciousness, I exerted all my strength to keep my eyes closed. Eligos withdrew his hand from the helmet and, instead, grasped the ground on either side of my head, leaning his upper body forward. His face came close to mine.

“That turquoise eye, the magic I just felt. A gift that has been dormant for a long time, for me. You’re truly the best, Neryn. Forever adorable…”

Drip.

Drip.

Saliva dripped from his open mouth.

Trying to somehow wipe away the saliva that fell onto the helmet, I shook my head. I hated the feeling of saliva entering my sunken eyes. Please, stop it.

But contrary to my wish, my body didn’t even move, let alone my head. The rising fear seemed to cloud my mind. At this rate, I felt I wouldn’t be able to think rationally.

No, stop.

Think.

Think.

A way to escape this crisis!

In the original, in the original…!

In the original, it was Cal Mayner who defeated Eligos, wasn’t it…?

Beatrice, not me….

I wanted to cry out of frustration. I messed everything up. I should have just let it flow as it was in the original.

My strong will began to be consumed by a weak heart.

*

The explosion brought Kal back to his senses. The sound of wind mixed in. He emerged onto a street devoid of clouds, illuminated by moonlight.

“You just died. Remember that.”

As if displeased, the voice of the Unknown, who turned around and spoke, seemed to be heard again.

Karl recalled the arrogant days. The days when he felt so confident that he could do anything. He also thought that even if he had possessed someone, nothing would change. He couldn’t escape from the timid and unresolved image of Kim Se-jin.

It felt like tears were flowing.

Since becoming a Meiner, he had never shed a tear.

He wanted to just let it all out. He wanted to go home. Not to the Meiner mansion, but to his studio apartment in Seoul. Back to the world where he used to live. At least there, his life wouldn’t be threatened.

But before that…

Karl remembered a slender beauty with a thin waist. A beautiful woman with long black hair and blue eyes. Beatrice.

Strangely, now he only thought of Beatrice, more than the Unknown who had made him feel like he might die for the first time after possessing someone, more than the Unknown who had made him feel like he might die for the first time after possessing someone.

He wanted to tell her. It’s because of you. Because you entered the student council earlier than in the original, because you called the saint to school earlier than in the original, this happened.

Even though he knew it had nothing to do with her. He needed someone to blame. Knowing it was a foolish thought, Karl felt nauseous. He wanted to hide in a mouse hole out of embarrassment.

“Ha….”

Karl sighed as he touched his forehead. If it had been the original Karl, he would never have blamed anyone else. It was an even more ridiculous forced imagination.

While lost in contemplation, he sensed the flow of mana in the distance. At the same time, the Holy Sword resonated. He was sure the Unknown was still there.

Thud-

Despite being defeated by the Unknown, despite being driven to the brink of death, he took a step.

He wanted to meet him again. No, he just felt like he had to go there. It felt like he just had to.

Before he regretted it.