Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: The Demon Awakens
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My fingertips were burning.
Literally, not figuratively.
The skin covering the tips of my fingers peeled away all too easily, revealing the flesh beneath.
The holy power infused in the bullet was ferocious. Not satisfied with merely melting the outer layer, it seeped straight into the core, forming crimson droplets of blood at the end of my index finger.
It hurt.
Like crazy.
As if someone had poured salt directly onto the wound.
I'd only toyed with it out of curiosity, wondering how long its effects would last.
But I couldn't endure the intensifying pain any longer and finally shook my hand.
Yet perhaps I'd held onto it too long.
Even after the bullet left my hand, the skin at my fingertip continued to burn, eventually charring another segment of my index finger before finally stopping.
Now I understood.
Why heroes were growing scarcer in number yet acting with ever greater confidence.
This went far beyond simply being "effective against magic beasts."
To magic beasts, this was nothing short of poison.
A mere graze was a critical hit, and a direct impact left unavoidable aftereffects.
The bullet, crafted with the power Han U-sol had honed over three years, was the ultimate countermeasure and weapon against magic beasts.
Rena and Rockbell started bickering.
Their tones and mannerisms were vicious enough to spark a fistfight at any moment, but unfortunately, all they had were their voices.
It was now.
The boundary between late evening and midnight.
In some corner of the slums, untouched by any artificial electric light.
Only faint moonlight illuminated us.
Amid the nausea from their squabble, irritated by the lingering stinging pain in my fingertips, I glared at Han U-sol.
This was all because of Han U-sol.
Their head-spinning argument.
The blood beading on my index finger.
Even as he flinched under my gaze, Han U-sol foolishly worried about my injured hand.
"Anis, you okay? Your hand..."
"Anis!!"
As Han U-sol, forgetting his own pathetic plight, fretted over me, a voice calling my name came from across the way.
I followed the sound with my eyes.
A familiar face appeared.
Once, the one I'd relied on so heavily, my sole guiding light.
But as time passed, even that had dulled somewhat.
Yoon Na-rin.
Her initial reaction upon meeting my eyes was to freeze in silence.
Not because she had nothing to say, but because she had too much.
Despite it being our first meeting in ages, my utter lack of warmth left Yoon Na-rin visibly flustered.
She parted her lips slowly, only to close them again under my cold, unresponsive stare.
She seemed to be inwardly sorting through what to say first.
No.
No.
Be quiet.
No, stop.
Don't fight...
Both of you, just shut up.
And then, they all fell silent.
"Ah... ugh."
I sobbed and staggered.
Yoon Na-rin, who had been standing there choosing her words, gasped in surprise at my sudden wobble and rushed over to comfort me.
"Anis. It's okay now. I'm here. Reisi's here too, and Daniel as well."
Even as the heroes tried to restrain her, her feet didn't stop.
Her words, slow and gentle as she approached, were warm.
I stopped sobbing, reverted to my blank expression, and stared down at the ground.
"Anis, it's tough, right? But it's okay now. Hard to believe, I know, but there's a way. A way to purge your demonic energy. You might lose all your power, but you won't suffer hallucinations anymore."
But.
Something was off.
"It's okay. Even if you lose your power, Han U-sol and I are here. We'll protect you."
Why.
Why is she comforting me?
I haven't cried.
I'm fine.
Right now, I'm calmer and more rational than anyone.
I no longer harbor vain delusions from that warmth; I can face reality squarely.
"It's not too late... not too late, so even now..."
"Sheathe the sword, Anis."
Yoon Na-rin, now right in front of me, pulled me into a tight embrace and wrapped both hands around the one gripping my sword.
It's been concluded as too late long ago—what does "not too late" even mean?
Even if we return to peaceful daily life,
if I lose my power.
Even if there's a way to purge the demonic energy,
if I go back to humanity's side alone like this.
"...If I sheathe the sword."
"...Anis?"
I murmured.
If I sheathe the sword just like this.
"Who'll protect Betty and Han?"
Unlike me, no one believes in them, no one works for them.
Even if I demand they come with me as a condition for my return.
Will humanity forgive them?
Pretend not to see their crimes?
The crimes of killing countless humans and driving others to death?
Accept it?
The fact that I cherish the villains who cornered humanity?
No.
Of course not.
Even if Han U-sol and Yoon Na-rin forgive them, the overwhelming majority's opinion is surely...
They won't listen.
Even if they do, betrayal is certain.
Perhaps even Han U-sol and Yoon Na-rin.
"Anis...! Put down the sword...! Please..."
"No, Na-rin. That won't work."
Yoon Na-rin pleaded, hands on my shoulders, eyes locked with mine.
I forcibly removed her hands from my shoulders and took a step back.
A single tear streamed from her eyes, as if she'd intuited my answer.
"...Anis."
"........."
I masked my expression.
Then, looking down at Yoon Na-rin who had collapsed, strength drained from her, I declared the end.
"...I don't want to. I'm not going."
Absolutely not.
"........."
It was night.
The sky had crossed the boundary into midnight, dark and quiet.
The moonlight was pervasive.
The once faint moonlight surged in intensity the moment the sky passed from evening to night, bathing the entire slums in pale white light.
I took a step back and readjusted my grip on the sword.
Strength flowed into my sword hand, and every hero's gaze fixed on me.
"This is..."
Suddenly, Han U-sol's nose twitched, and his head snapped around.
Before his comrades could ask what was wrong.
BOOOOM―!
Suddenly, something exploded.
The deafening blast threatened to rupture eardrums, and the force utterly demolished the surrounding shanties, hurling them skyward. It was an explosion of condensed demonic energy.
"Ugh, what...!?"
A raging gale engulfed the heroes, and piles of wooden debris ignited, flying through the air.
The heroes braced themselves firmly to avoid being swept up in the blast.
The explosions continued briefly in several bursts.
Amid the onslaught of aftershocks, the heroes barely held their positions without being flung away.
At last, the explosions ceased, and silence fell.
The heroes simultaneously looked toward me at the epicenter.
And I was...
Sprawled pathetically on the cold cement ground, face smashed into it.
"........."
What the actual fuck.
What happened.
Suddenly an explosion right behind me sent me flying headfirst.
How did this happen.
There had only been slums behind me—nothing else. It was downright absurd.
"Well now... I finally got a good night's sleep, and look, we have guests."
As I lay there nose-first on the ground for a moment, a man's voice rang out.
Come to think of it, someone had been sleeping in one of those shanties.
The heroes' gazes shifted from me to the man.
"Th-that's...!"
The heroes quickly guessed the man's identity.
Emerging from the ruins of the shanties, the man's stride was confident.
Golden hair in the bright tones like Yeriel's, golden eyes steeped in arrogance.
His voice dripped with vile malice and amused intrigue.
It was the reawakening of the demon who had been asleep.
"Hmm. What a refreshing morning."
It was night.
A night bathed in pervasive moonlight.
Under the eerie moonlight shining equally on all, with burning timbers scattering like kindling through the sky, turning to ash.
The demon welcomed the heroes.