"Why?"
The one who spoke was the Demon King of Incarceration, his face no longer smiling but instead filled with horror. He struggled to mobilize his inert body and staggered to his feet.
"How can this be...?" he said with incredulity.
What he was seeing was beyond belief. Colors were swirling chaotically before his eyes — it was a unique phenomenon that could only mean one thing.
But why? Why had the Demon King of Destruction appeared here? For three hundred years, the Demon King of Destruction had been sealed away in Ravesta with Vermouth.
This place was not Ravesta. There should be no reason for the Demon King of Destruction to appear here.
Yet, the Demon King of Incarceration couldn't deny that the chaotic colors spreading across the sky were a harbinger of the coming of the Demon King of Destruction. His chains were connected to the center of the swirl of colors. He felt even more appalled.
He always felt the trembling in the chains. Whenever any influence was exerted on the Demon King of Destruction or Vermouth, the Demon King of Incarceration would be the first to know through the chains. Thus, it was genuinely alarming that he had not sensed the advent of the Demon King of Destruction earlier.
Was it because he was focused on the battle at hand? Because he was weakened? No, it was not for such reasons. Regardless of his circumstances, the chains were unbroken.
‘He descended here before I could even feel the tremors,’ the Demon King of Incarceration thought.The Demon King of Destruction was an entity that was both omnipresent and also not present anywhere. Destruction was a phenomenon known as a Demon King, yet it was also a harbinger of destruction and disaster. Without the seal, it could appear anywhere at any time.
‘Has the seal been broken?’ the Demon King of Incarceration wondered in alarm.
This thought caused the Demon King of Incarceration to panic even more. There should have been some leeway left in the seal. At the very least, it should have held strong for a few more months.
But now, suddenly and without any signs, the seal was broken…. Wait, signs? The Demon King of Incarceration bit his lip. If the seal was purely his own doing, he wouldn’t have been forced into such an unexpected and abrupt confrontation.
‘Vermouth Lionheart,’ the Demon King of Incarceration thought with a sigh, no longer panicking.
Seated on the throne that was bound by chains was Vermouth. Though Vermouth’s limbs were shackled by the chains, the ultimate authority of the seal was, indeed, Vermouth himself. If the seal had failed and the Demon King of Destruction was descending, it meant only one thing — Vermouth had ultimately failed to endure and keep Destruction in his slumber.
"What now,” Eugene barely managed to speak.
Why the Demon King of Destruction appeared here was a secondary concern. They had to think of something else first. They couldn't fight right now. Not Eugene, not Sienna and Molon, and not even the Saints. They had just finished their battle against the Demon King of Incarceration and were completely spent.
After rampaging in the dream and facing backlash from using Ignition in reality, Eugene felt as though he could faint at any moment. He was somehow managing to hold on to his consciousness, but fighting against the Demon King of Destruction was out of the question. Eugene couldn’t even use his divine power at the moment.
The Demoneye of Fantasy had closed. Similar to Eugene, Sienna was nearly drained of her soul energy after having unleashed miracles and magic one after another. Although she could still use some magic, it was impossible for Sienna alone to hold back the Demon King of Destruction.
Molon had thrown himself into battle time and again. Each time, he managed to keep his life and heal his wounds, but in reality, Molon's body was as good as dead. He needed more time to be battle-ready.
And what of Kristina and Anise? In truth, the Saints were in the worst condition among their comrades. Throughout the fierce battle, they had poured out divine miracles to keep their allies alive, simultaneously bearing the tremendous burden of backlash along with Eugene from his reckless fighting style.
‘We cannot fight,’ Eugene reached this conclusion in an instant.
Fighting the Demon King of Destruction now was impossible. Even attempting it would end in their demise within mere seconds.
— All troops, follow me.
Memories of a distant past surfaced in Eugene’s mind — memories not of Eugene but that of Agaroth. When Destruction had suddenly descended, Agaroth had commanded the Divine Army to march. He ordered them to death, and Agaroth himself had prepared to meet his end.
But should he do the same now? Would that even mean anything? Even if he sent all of the Divine Army forward, they couldn't stop the Demon King of Destruction. The general staff was strong, but their power was futile before Destruction.
Eugene's eyes trembled. Even in his wildest dreams, he had not imagined encountering the Demon King of Destruction today, and he was utterly bewildered by this dreadful and desperate encounter.
A deep darkness pooled at the center of the intertwining colors, spreading out ever larger. That darkness, emanating from the center felt more ominous and malevolent than anything else in the world.
Ohhhhhh….
The very air quivered, and the ground undulated. Mana was sucked in and became part of the chaotic colors. The world screamed. The darkness spread increasingly wider at an alarming pace amid the chaotic colors. The sight was incomprehensible to the eye, and looking at it directly contaminated one’s mind with madness.
The Divine Army could sing no longer. Stricken with terror and shock, most had already collapsed, clutching their heads or screaming. Even the general staff, led by the Lionhearts, were frozen in place and unable to move.
"Uh...?"
It was Molon who managed to speak. His bright eyes saw a figure rising within the darkness. Soon, Eugene, Sienna, and the Saints also saw it. But unlike Molon, Eugene couldn't utter a word, so great was his astonishment.
What formed from within the darkness was something that, although distorted, took on a human form.
They had seen the Demon King of Destruction once from a great distance three hundred years ago. Back then, it had appeared as a mishmash of colors. It had not resembled a human or demon.
It was the same in Agaroth's memories. Even then, the Demon King of Destruction hadn't taken such a form. Even when Agaroth barely reached the heart of Destruction, it had not looked like this. But then, what was this thing?
Ohhhhhh….
The smoky figure moved further. It staggered forward, seeming about to collapse at any moment. But somehow, it remained upright while swaying.
The colors went mad. Intertwined and spreading, the colors seemed to erode the world. All those colors were connected to the strange being that had appeared at the center. The figure looked like a human cloaked in chaotic colors.
Slowly, very slowly, it moved further , though it was barely discernible due to the chaotic nature of the swirling colors. But everyone instinctively came to a realization. It was looking their way. It was pointing a finger toward them.
He knew, but Eugene couldn't move. Was it because of the recoil from the fight? No, it wasn't that. While it was true that he was bruised and battered from the fight, Eugene couldn’t move right now because his thoughts had frozen the moment he made eye contact with it .
"Hamel."
It was Molon who moved first out of sheer instinct. Although he was in no condition to move quickly, his body seemed to respond on its own. The killing intent hung in the air as clear as day. He was sure something terrible would happen if he didn’t move, and as always, Molon did not hesitate. He was thankful that he was already holding his comrades.
Molon’s thick arms wrapped even tighter around Eugene, Sienna, and Kristina. He gritted his teeth and swiftly turned around. Molon’s broad back served as a sufficient shield to protect those he held.
Boooooom!
A loud sound of explosion ensued. Molon was flung into the air while holding his comrades. He vomited blood, which was scattered in the air. Coming to his senses belatedly, Eugene looked up at Molon. His horribly twisted face and overturned eyes proved the pain he was enduring.
"Molon…!" Sienna screamed.
Kristina snapped out of her daze and, instead of screaming, began praying while embracing Molon’s back. Anise quickly added her miracles as well.
Although Kristina had reached out to his back, she could not feel any flesh or blood. What she felt instead on her fingertips was rough bone, and even that was gradually turning into ash.
"Molon!" Eugene also screamed in utter shock.
Fwoosh!
A flame he barely ignited enveloped them all. Sienna cast a spell to leap through space repeatedly. In this way, they all gained distance from it.
'He’s not dead yet,' Eugene consoled himself.
But even the resilient Molon was so critically struck that he hovered on the brink of death. Even in his unconscious state, Molon did not loosen his grip, forcing Eugene to pry his arms open to hold him.
"What is that…?!" Sienna shouted after stopping her leaps, gasping for air.
They had put what seemed like enough distance between them, but a chilling unease remained. The thing , wrapped in dizzying colors, slowly descended. The entity that had landed on the ground moved toward the Demon King of Incarceration standing before him.
The Demon King of Incarceration said nothing and instead just stared at it . However, it didn’t look back at the Demon King of Incarceration. Its gaze remained fixed only on Eugene. Sensing its gaze, the Demon King of Incarceration let out a long sigh, and it passed by the Demon King of Incarceration without causing any trouble.
"Molon, Molon…!" Eugene called out urgently.
He felt disbelief and anger receiving the gaze of that being. But right now, Eugene couldn't face its gaze directly. He first had to check Molon’s wounds, who had taken the direct hit while shielding everyone.
His back had been blown away. His bones remained but were gradually turning black. The same was happening to his organs. Molon's breathing was unbelievably faint. Eugene’s divine power was sealed, and he couldn't heal Molon, but the Saints were desperately attending to his wounds.
"What… what do we do?" Sienna asked falteringly.
They couldn’t fight now. Sienna had reached the same conclusion as Eugene. For now, they had to retreat. But could they retreat? For some unknown reason, the Demon King of Destruction had descended and was now approaching them.
[Aaaaaaaaaah!]
A scream echoed from the sky. Raimira, who had been flying high in the sky, charged forward.
Bang, bang, bang!
Maise’s Signature, Battleship, was still active around Raimira. Its cannons continuously fired during her charge, and Raimira also opened her mouth, gathering a massive amount of mana into one point before unleashing a Breath attack.
It reached out toward Raimira’s Breath, and the intertwining colors that covered the sky shot forward. The moment the color touched the magic and the Breath, everything was annihilated.
[Aaaaah!]
As the advancing colors drew closer to Raimira, Sienna quickly swung her staff. Her magic immediately transcended space and enveloped Raimira.
However, it failed to fully protect her. A glint of colors had merely brushed the tip of her wing, but the colors spread swiftly and completely engulfed Raimira’s wing in the blink of an eye.
“No!” Maise screamed from Raimira’s back.
With a whoosh, Maise’s magic blade narrowly severed Raimira’s wing.
[It hurts, it hurts!]
Having lost one wing, Raimira started to plummet downward. Maise’s magic barely managed to catch her in place.
“Wait…” Eugene said as he quickly stood up, but Tempest didn’t heed his words.
Stiffened by the presence of Destruction, Tempest whipped up the winds and screamed, [Back off!]
With a roar, Tempest charged forward.
Rumbleee!
It wasn’t just Tempest that surged forward. Having raised her hands high and cheered loudly before, now, Melkith also screamed shrilly. Although she had already exhausted all her strength, she intuitively felt that now was not the time to flee.
“Block it!” Melkith screamed, her nose bleeding and her eyes crying bloody tears.
She barely succeeded in summoning the Spirit Kings of Earth, Lightning, and Fire. The three Spirit Kings followed behind Tempest. The earth was overturned, and lightning struck down from the sky. Flames erupted from the overturned earth.
It raised its hand again. The colors spread anew. The lightning that had struck was returned to the sky. The torn earth mended. Flames were extinguished as if doused with water.
[Aaaaah!]
The storm abated. The Spirit Kings could no longer exist in this world. Those terrifying and nullifying colors sent all the Spirit Kings back to their world.
Still suspended in the sky, Raimira no longer screamed in pain. Instead, she fired another Breath attack. She knew such attacks were futile but did so anyway in an attempt to block its advance. But it wasn't just Raimira who was struggling desperately.
On her back were the priests who had been bringing miracles to the battlefield. All of them leaped down simultaneously. These were the priests of Graceful Radiance, those who had been implanted with holy relics and trained for the war against Helmuth. They jumped from the high skies, one after another, all unfolding wings of light as they flew toward the Demon King of Destruction.
"Wait..." Eugene stammered once again.
He had issued no commands. Not to Raimira, nor to Tempest, Melkith, or Graceful Radiance. He had not ordered them to advance or attack Destruction.
"My god!"
Some members of Graceful Radiance landed where Eugene was. They barely managed to help the staggering Eugene and his comrades to their feet. A few of them sliced their own wrists to pour blood on Molon's wounds, purifying the corruption of Destruction’s dark power.
"Please, please fall back...!" A priest of Graceful Radiance, whom Eugene had seen several times before, helped him stand and then cried out. But before Eugene could respond, the priest whirled around. He saw fellow priests who had charged at Destruction disappearing into the light, vanishing in vain.
"To martyrdom!" the priest bellowed before spreading his wings and flew off. Other priests followed in succession, crying out “for martyrdom” as they charged toward the colors stirred by Destruction.
"Hey..." Eugene called out weakly.
It took only a few minutes for hundreds of priests to be extinguished. But during those few minutes, it had stopped in its place.
Bang, bang, bang!
The thunderous explosions caused by Raimira’s breath did not cease. As if drawing all the mana from her Dragonheart, Raimira continued firing Breaths, and the wizards above her vomited blood as they supplied her with mana.
"Why are you doing this?" Eugene said helplessly.
It wasn’t just Raimira. As their captain, Raphael led the entire flying squadron in a charge towards the Demon King of Destruction. Martyrdom, martyrdom, martyrdom! Raphael's cries of zeal echoed thunderously through the roars of Raimira’s breaths.
The earth trembled. Eugene quickly turned his head to look back. He saw the fluttering banner of Lionheart. The entirety of the Divine Army had been singing a hymn of victory when Destruction descended. They had stiffened in fear at first but now were charging toward it.
The Divine Army charged, screaming, without even maintaining proper formation. They knew that against it , tactics or strategies were meaningless. Eugene could understand what they were thinking, what they were planning.
The goal of the Divine Army was not to fight and defeat the Demon King of Destruction. Their objective was to hold off Destruction long enough for Eugene and his comrades to escape. They had determined that this was the only way to victory in the current situation.
"Why?" Eugene asked in despair.
Eugene had not commanded such a thing. He had not yet ordered death to the Divine Army like Agaroth. But they had decided to die of their own accord to save Eugene and momentarily stop Destruction.
"Is that so?" Within the rapidly spreading death, the Demon King of Incarceration let out a long sigh and shook his head. Then he said, "Everyone is drawn to you, Hamel."
Clank.
The sound of chains echoed from the Demon King of Incarceration.
Openbookworm & DantheMan's Thoughts