Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: 45-2. A Powerlessness from Eating People
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Demons always showed up at the worst moments in Kainel's life.
Like when his older brother, a former Imperial Knight, had died.
Or after he'd been chosen as the Light Hero.
He'd been ostracized by his village, and even failed to be honest with Ariel—all because of them.
He feared he might one day fall to corruption himself. Or that he'd die trying to slay a Demon King.
It was the same now.
This sudden calamity crashing in without warning. Because it was a Demon King.
'Still... not enough time...?'
He'd lost track of how much time had passed. Right after Licht and Pine had entered through the doors.
The strength drained from his entire body the moment that blue-haired Demon King had dragged them out.
Thus, Kainel and Ariel couldn't enter Tardun's temple.
Water filled his lungs, making every breath a ragged gasp of agony.
"...Kehuk."
His dark red blood splattered onto the floor. The metallic tang stung his throat, turning his stomach.
"Why... why do you keep resisting...? You should have fallen by now..."
A woman voiced her bewilderment from straight ahead.
The ground around them had caved in, pillars shattered into clouds of dust.
The Hero had taken the Demon King's attacks head-on, wrecking his insides.
"You... what the hell are you...? A Hero Cult Demon King...?"
Kainel glared at her with raw hostility.
He straightened his staggering body. The Light Holy Sword in his grip hummed with radiant light.
"That's right... I'm the Demon King of Powerlessness... Intinium."
Intinium muttered dispiritedly. Her fingers fidgeted anxiously.
A murderous tension hung between them, sharp as a blade prickling their skin.
"Magic Hat... spared my life on the condition that I let no one into the temple..."
Intinium's goal was to block Licht's group. But why?
"It said... you're all love's saboteurs..."
Kainel was dumbfounded. He knew she had an obsessive fixation on the helmeted Black Knight.
"...What bullshit."
It didn't make sense to go this far for such a reason. Ariel had nearly died once already.
"Kain...!! Get me out of here!!"
Behind Kainel, a red-haired mage pounded her fists against a transparent dome-like barrier.
His childhood friend Ariel screamed to be let out.
She probably wanted to fight alongside him. But Kainel couldn't grant that wish.
'All I can do is buy time, Kainel.'
He'd learned that the hard way after clashing with two Demon Kings already—Head and Magic Hat.
He had to hold out until Licht and Pine returned. He'd resisted countless times, but she overpowered him.
At his skill level, he couldn't even scratch her, let alone take her down.
Activating the holy sword to shield Ariel was his best effort. A little later, and he'd have been minced meat.
"C-Could you please just give up now...?"
Intinium averted her gaze downward, staring at the ground.
At the end of her line of sight rolled a red lump of flesh.
A grotesque cube mingled with clumps of gray fur.
"I already... dealt with Lycansloth... Now it's just you two left... You're so weak... Why do you keep getting up?"
Intinium had even taken out Lycansloth, the guardian of Tardun's temple.
"Mmm... Tasty..."
She scooped up the meat chunk and shoved it into her mouth on the sly. Her chewing sent chills down his spine.
"...You're just as repulsive as they come."
Kainel nearly retched at the sight. Compressing people into cubes like some grotesque butcher.
The Hero spat out the blood pooling in his mouth.
"There's one type I hate above all..."
He leveled his sword at the Demon King before him, seething with enmity.
Kainel's body had reached its limit.
Every joint was cracked—standing was a miracle. His organs were all twisted up.
Heavy wounds that resisted even healing magic.
His forehead split open, blood trickling down his cheek. One eye struggled to open, throwing off his depth perception.
"All talk, no substance..."
A hopeless situation.
Yet the Hero's blue eyes burned with hope, the polar opposite. Kainel steadied his trembling legs.
"...Pretending to be hot shit."
He unleashed Shine Advance. The Light Hero charged like a streak of light.
Boom! Air exploded around them, flames erupting from the floor.
"Y-You know that doesn't work..."
Intinium lifted a foot slightly at Kainel. A massive white pillar materialized behind her.
Up close, muscle texture clung to it. Not architecture—a giant god's leg.
"No matter how you struggle... Powerlessness claims all..."
Kainel's vision filled with the gleaming, porcelain-white form.
A Cyclops. He'd thought it a fairy tale monster from children's books. It was real.
A colossal shadow loomed over Kainel. Death approached slowly.
His legs buckled. His speed dropped. His body slowed to a snail's pace.
Normally, the Light Holy Sword's speed would let him dodge. Not now.
'A power contrary to her name as Demon King...'
Words from a Demon King with traits like the Black Knight. Kainel recalled advice from Licht long ago.
'...She steals the opponent's strength.'
Kainel ground his teeth.
Intinium's giant god attacks were manageable at first.
He could parry with Shine Strike or the holy sword. But with each exchange,
strength ebbed from his body. Countering her giant god grew impossible.
That's why he'd been pummeled senseless. Trampled, kicked—no spot left unscathed.
"See...? It's no use..."
With a screech, Kainel's movements slowed to a crawl. Intinium began mocking his pathetic flailing.
"Still... don't let your guard down."
Unlike before, Kainel didn't resort to tricks.
True to Licht's advice, he didn't dart around wildly. He charged straight with a pure sword path.
A vertical downward slash.
"Who's letting their guard down...? No one falls for such a slow swing."
The Demon King sighed at the sluggish strike, as if time had frozen.
"It's not a sword."
In that instant, the light aura vanished from Kainel's holy sword.
The Demon King could only interfere with raw power.
She couldn't touch the holy sword's activation timing. That left one opening.
A technique his friend had taught him before.
"...A combined move laced with magic."
The barrier around Ariel briefly dissolved. A condensed red circular magic circle hurtled forward.
Slash. Kainel cleaved through the small magic circle with a triumphant grin.
"I told you not to get cocky, Demon King."
Their perfectly synced combo engulfed Intinium in an explosion.
By the time I emerged from the temple trial, the area was a total wreck.
"Cough, hack! Pine, you okay over there?"
"Yeah... Licht."
The acrid stench of burning assaulted my nose. The temple reeked like something had exploded, thick smoke billowing everywhere.
Had someone fought here? Ariel wouldn't use fire magic unless she had to.
The status window floating before my eyes had stopped dropping. Which meant... they were nearby.
"Kainel!!"
I called out the golden-haired Hero's name as I ran. A black figure in the distance.
"You're late... Licht..."
One arm torn off, body covered in burns—that was Kainel.
"Licht!! Pine!! Save Kain, please...!!"
Ariel appeared behind him. Traces of him fighting while protecting her.
The fallen Hero and the mage under the holy sword's protection. Who the hell had they fought to end up like this?
"...Pine, I'll heal him. Lend me a hand."
Kainel's injuries were severe by any measure. I prepared to activate Savior Sword immediately.
Why was a Hero who could dodge at light speed or snipe from afar with Shine Strike reduced to this?
That was when it happened. My whole body went limp, our clasped hands slipping apart.
"...?!"
Thud. We collapsed like magnets yanked to the earth.
A crushing weight bore down. Blood couldn't reach my brain. Vision blurred.
At my feet lay a blue-haired woman, half her body charred. Normally, guts would spill and blood spray.
But as if some foreign entity wore human skin inside out, her innards were hollow.
"M-My... appearance... The form Magic Hat gave me..."
"Sob... I miss Finn, oppa..."
I'd heard the name Finn before.
The Demon King of Powerlessness. The one who killed Kainel's brother and torched Ariel's home.
The Demon King I'd seen in the Library of Truth.
I tried pushing up with my arms. Strength fled again. Half-rising was all I could manage.
"L-Licht... What's...?"
Pine thrashed weakly, powerless too. Even the Emperor's daughter couldn't muster her strength.
This confirmed it. Connected to the Nameless Saintess—that bastard.
"Th-That Demon King... steals the opponent's power... Licht."
Kainel wheezed it out. His flickering life rang alarm bells.
"Perception, Yearning."
⟨ Savior Sword ⟩
Sparks flew from my solar plexus as a white sword drew forth.
"How...? Time's up... I've stolen all your power by now..."
The blue-haired woman covered her mouth, staring at me rising against the oppressive weight.
"Beats me. I'm just pissed off."
If it's power theft, I have a counter.
This holy sword equalizes stats with the opponent.