episode_0113

I swung my blade with a stronger resonance than ever before. I had to do that because the enemy in front of me was here. It was the ultimate enemy against which I could not guarantee victory even if I threw everything I had at it.

The King of the Phantoms eventually extended his arm and blocked my attack, but his expression was distorted as if he was shocked.

“Ullim! You have overcome death! How wonderful! Yes! Then you will be a warrior recognized by me! You too must do your best to subdue this evil king!”

“… Let me tell you one thing.”

I grabbed both of his arms and sealed his movements.

“I am a sociable person who moves with friends.”

“What…?”

At that moment, a flaming greatsword flew from the sky, aiming for the king’s crown.

But the King of the Phantoms noticed even that and grabbed it with his other pair of arms, so although his hands were burned, he easily blocked both of our attacks.

“The flames have arrived. All the heroes of the empire have gathered. I am grateful for this blessing that will never come again as a warrior, and I will treat death with this bow with my utmost respect.”

Whatever he said didn’t matter to me.

He shook my hand away, then glared at me from a distance.

Then something warm enveloped my body.

“Raul…”

Camilla suddenly ran up to me and hugged me tightly. She was the type of person who would rarely look away during a battle, but she was doing this in front of the King of Ghosts. I was a little surprised.

“This idiot…!”

“… You surprised me. You and me. It seems like we’re showing each other things we shouldn’t see today.”

“How much… how much…!”

It felt like something hot was soaking my clothes.

“Camilla.”

“What…”

“I got the courage. It’s too late now, but… I got the courage to answer your heart instead of avoiding the answer.”

I will no longer avoid anyone and hurt their pure heart.

Because I just learned how painful it is.

I’ll tell Leila later. Unlike you, I was a man who could face love properly.

“Is that really…?”

“You know very well that I am not the type of person to lie.”

“To be exact, you’re an idiot who doesn’t know how to do that.”

“I guess you don’t like it.”

“No. It’s just one more reason why I shouldn’t die?”

Camilla smiled happily and grabbed the spear, and I, too, raised the corners of my lips without realizing it and ran towards the King of the Phantoms.

His Majesty, who landed after retrieving the greatsword, and Her Highness the Empress, who was taking a moment to catch her breath, both seemed to be smiling, but that wasn’t what was important right now.

The most important thing now is to subdue this thug, the king of ghosts.

I quickly closed the distance between us and grabbed one of his arms again.

“As you said, I did not die. Just as death is what happens to those who wish to live, I, who wished to die while looking at the face of my beloved, suffered the exact opposite.”

I struck his bow with my staff, which carried a strong resonance, and broke it.

“I survived again. So there is no way to appease this resentment, King of Ghosts.”

“… Are you trying to provoke me?”

The King of the Ghosts punched me in the stomach with one of his bows broken and his hand empty.

As expected of someone skilled in archery, her fists were fierce… but compared to the Queen of Dragons, they were nothing.

Her fighting spirit surpassed even mine. Even using my echo, I couldn’t even deflect half of the blow, so that says it all.

Compared to that, the King of Ghosts’ martial arts were of a high level, but they were bearable. Of course, if the shock continued to build up, it would be dangerous.

“Why do you want to complain about surviving in front of me? Don’t you know that the life you lament is a treasure that someone desperately wanted but was trampled upon…!”

“You trampled on everything that made me look forward to tomorrow.”

My father’s honor, Leila’s, and a healthy body to live tomorrow.

Everything was taken away by the demons.

Still, if they tried to preach to me about the beauty of life, I might get a little angry.

“My people, whom you trampled, had to close their eyes miserably, even though they desired it! And yet you discuss the misery of life before me! That is a deception beyond compare!”

“I have a question.”

I’m not really the type of person who likes to argue.

The belief that conflicts can be resolved through dialogue and such has disappeared overnight. Or perhaps it has disappeared recently.

But since I’m not the type of person to hold back on my curiosity, I had no choice but to ask that question.

“I want to ask why you are called king.”

“What…?”

“Raoul! Don’t ask!”

Her Highness the Empress tried to stop me, but I couldn’t overcome my curiosity.

“I haven’t seen you often, but I’ve never seen the people you rule. I think a king is a concept that can only be established when there are people… But why are you called a king when you have no people? That’s what I want to know.”

“……………………………… Now. You are now. You are now… in front of me… You, the blood of the imperial people, are now… my… my… this tyrant… with the mouth that swallowed the grain of the empire…”

“… Why? Was there something you didn’t understand in my question just now? If you want, you can explain the question again…”

“This stupid cheater!!!!”

He struck with great force, accompanied by a loud voice.

Even though I defended myself, I was hit a little bit and ended up spitting out blood, perhaps because my power was amplified by my anger.

“Raoul… Why are you provoking the enemy…?”

“I just asked a question.”

Then Her Majesty the Empress explained the whole truth.

The King of the Ghosts was actually the king of a small kingdom that was destroyed by the empire long ago. And the site of that kingdom is the hunting ground where we are standing now.

And he told me everything, from the cowardly way he destroyed that kingdom to how he had been suppressing that anger for hundreds of years.

“… Raoul. Jim is sometimes afraid of your talent.”

“… Raoul, your mouth seems to be a genius at provoking anger.”

“…… It’s okay. If he dies anyway, no one but us will know.”

I had to admit that I had made a slip of the tongue, although I never intended to say it that way.

“King of the Ghosts. Let me apologize for my recent remarks. I did not mean to insult you.”

I never enjoyed provoking my opponent with dirty words in a fight.

“And you will be the best king for your people.”

“………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..”

I could tell instinctively.

I said something I shouldn’t have said just now.

“How far will you go to insult this tyrant? This pain, this sorrow, this regret. How much more will you defile it? That’s all that’s left now. Why are you trying to insult the very meaning of this tyrant’s existence!!!”

Then the ivory arrows flew faster and more fiercely. They were clearly spinning furiously, as they hurt even without direct contact.

“Well done, Raoul. Jim has now confirmed once again that his choice not to appoint you as Minister of Foreign Affairs was not a mistake. ”

His Majesty clicked his tongue and stepped forward. Using his unique flames, he charged forward and swung his greatsword, but the King of the Phantoms simply blocked the attack with his bow.

After that, the King of the Ghosts quickly pulled a bone out of his body and created a second bow, which he tried to shoot with his other pair of arms.

And Her Highness the Empress and Camilla put a stop to it.

And… I took advantage of that opening and struck his stomach with the staff that was loaded with resonance.

“… Not bad.”

He tried to shoot me this time, but His Majesty and His Highness the Empress stopped him.

And Camilla struck him in the chest with her lightning-wrapped arm.

“… Ugh!”

This time he tried to shoot Camilla, but I struck him back with my bow, and Your Majesty cut off the arrow in his other hand and burned it.

And Her Highness the Empress drew her sword and cut off his thigh.

In an instant, his posture collapsed and His Majesty’s flames engulfed him again.

And when he tried to attack Her Highness the Empress again, Her Majesty and Camilla struck him down, and I struck him with a long blow that resonated strongly in the chest.

This time he tried to shoot Camilla instead of me who had attacked, but Her Highness the Empress and I knocked it back, and both Her Majesty and Camilla simultaneously attacked with fire and lightning.

I used a similar strategy to when I fought the Demon King, but he too was defeated and suffered.

“Empress. There is one word that came to my mind right now…”

“Don’t do it, Your Majesty.”

“This is why I’m just going to throw it away…”

“No.”

As they continued to gain the upper hand, the King of the Phantoms also seemed to have given up on resistance and did not counterattack.

Just as they were each preparing their weapons and preparing to strike him with their strongest blows to give him peace, a ghostly voice that seemed to be mumbling was heard.

“Is this what you were talking about, Demon King… No, Dark Sword… Yes… Now that I’m standing at the crossroads of death, I finally understand… The steps you spoke of… The place where I stand… And how to take a step…”

We all ended up feeling uneasy.

“The truth that everything is a state of mind…”

We had to kill him before he could do anything. We wanted to cut off his head without giving him a chance to protest.

“You…”

The moment our weapons were about to reach his neck,

“I’ll shoot you.”

Although we couldn’t see the shape, a faint, ivory-colored arrow pierced our bodies.

Your Majesty, the thigh, Your Highness, the shoulder, Camilla, the side, and I, the abdomen.

We were all knocked down by an unexpected attack.

“Ah… I think I can see it now.”

The energy he gave off had clearly changed.

We all sensed the new energy he was feeling.

This guy has now reached the Demon King’s territory.

“Precepts and justice… How futile they are in the end.”