Those Who Brought Ruin (3)
Have you ever seen lightning strike right before your eyes? A single flash that burns and shatters its target in an instant. The thunder that erupts as if to tear the eardrums apart and shakes heaven and earth. Its majesty is such that some claim this fleeting thunder is the judgment of the gods. When it strikes stone, it shatters it; when it strikes a great tree, it splits it in two. Before this blind force of destruction, even a thousand-year-old fortress means nothing.
Dozens, hundreds of bolts rained down without end.
“Put more into it!! If that magic orb breaks, those filthy Demanians will be slaughtered!! We have to protect them!!!”
Many residents of Hemonigent had yet to evacuate. If the massive mana barrier dividing the Demon Lord Castle were to fail, they would surely be massacred. That was why the Demon Lord could not afford to lose her grip on the orb.
The sage and the saintess poured every ounce of their strength into maintaining defensive spells and protective prayers, shielding their comrades from the ferocious thunder. Even the Hero’s companions found the task overwhelming. Enduring such a powerful magical assault with nothing but a mana barrier would have been difficult even for the Demon Lord, a figure of myth.
They could not hold out much longer.
The Demon Lord lifted her right hand from the orb and thrust it toward Kerdihak.
Kuuung!!
“Kgh!”
Strength drained from her left hand still gripping the orb. The Humian mage-soldiers continued their bombardment, trying to shatter the barrier even now. She had to end this quickly and redirect her focus to maintaining the wall.
While sustaining one massive mana barrier that allowed only Hemonigent’s citizens to pass through against the Humian army’s firepower, she was also holding back Kerdihak’s Infinite Lightning with another. Simply operating two barriers at once made her mana plummet at an alarming rate.
Yet in that crisis, the Demon Lord prepared a third spell.
She clenched her fist, then extended her index and little fingers toward her foe. A small magic circle flared between the outstretched digits.
8th Tier, Death Ray.
“Death Ray!!!”
“Kraaagh…!!!”
A pinpoint attack with extreme penetrating power, a beam of magic created solely for slaughter. The violet ray that materialized in an instant pierced straight through Kerdihak’s head, and his spell vanished at once.
But the Demon Lord’s assault did not end there. If she had to risk exposing herself, she would make certain he could never rise again. She could not keep enduring attacks forever; if she was going to counterattack, she would do so thoroughly. The fact that he still lived after being struck through the head proved he was a dragon. She had to crush him completely.
“Death Ray! Death Ray! Death Ray! Death Ray! Death Ray! Death Ray!”
“Krrgh…!! Kack!! Kraaaagh!!!”
“Death Ray!”
Chjeoreong!!
A girl with dark brown hair stepped in front of Kerdihak, whose body was now riddled with charred holes. It was the Hero, who had until now only watched the Demon Lord.
The holy sword the Hero had received from the God King easily cleaved apart the beam of magic. Before it, the tier of the spell meant nothing.
Kerdihak, still reeling from the barrage, collapsed and gasped for breath in ragged bursts. The Hero raised her holy sword warily and advanced slowly toward the Demon Lord.
The Demon Lord knew how futile it would be to face that holy sword while still clutching the orb.
“I am Berkadia belle Gertrude. Chosen by Odvolg, the God King who sits upon the highest of the twelve thrones of the gods, the God of Light and Justice, I have become the Hero.”
“Death Ray! Death Ray!”
Chjeong! Chjeong!
She fired spells in an attempt to slow the approaching steps, but every one was deflected by the Hero’s casual swings of the holy sword. Then there was the mana barrier the Hero had erected before her. Even the sturdy magical fortress that had withstood both the sage and the dragon’s attacks meant nothing before the Hero’s holy sword.
Kachang!!!
When the Hero thrust her sword in and twisted, the mana barrier shattered helplessly. She continued walking toward the Demon Lord. Only a short distance remained to the throne.
“This sword is Celestia. The holy sword forged by the God King. It carries the gods’ blessing that scatters the impure mana of beings like you—Luina.”
“Forged by the God King…? What a joke…”
The loathsome face of Odvolg flashed through her mind, and her body trembled with rage, but she forced the image away. There was no time to dwell on such things now. The distance between her and the Hero was shrinking with every moment.
Would a brief moment be enough? Could she stop the Hero in the short time it would take to release the orb and drop the mana barrier? She had to decide. Though she searched for a safer, better way, the answer was already clear.
“Deus Ensis!”
Kuuuung!!
If she died, there would be no one left to protect Hemonigent’s people. Even if releasing the barrier meant more casualties, she had to fight now.
The Demon Lord invoked Dimensional Storage, drew forth her ultimate weapon, Deus Ensis, and swung it.
Deus Ensis. A colossal greatsword so large and broad it could serve as a tower shield. Unlike the other weapons slumbering in the Demon Lord’s treasury, this blade had been forged at Neromeltia’s own command, made solely for her. It measured nearly 260 mentols in length, with a 200-mentol blade and a 50-mentol width. Its frame was crafted from Stardust, which excelled at storing and releasing mana, then clad in Adamantium, the hardest metal in history. Being a solid mass of Adamantium, it required no Mana Sword to protect it from breaking, and the sheer weight alone could destroy anything it struck.
Kuuuung!!!
“Krrgh…!!!”
Kuguguguguk!
The Hero caught the sudden swing of Deus Ensis by gripping both the hilt and the tip of Celestia. She paid no mind to the risk of injuring her palms. Instinct told her she could not block this like an ordinary attack. Her prediction proved correct. The impact produced a deafening roar that shook the half-ruined throne room, a sound far too heavy to be mere steel on steel.
Her right hand, clutching the tip, could not withstand the absolute pressure with grip strength alone. The holy sword’s keen edge tore into her palm, and blood burst forth. Her body was driven downward, shattering the floor as she was hurled backward.
Though she possessed a body blessed with the God King’s power, she was still being overpowered in a contest of pure strength. Her sturdy legs sank into the Demon Lord Castle’s reinforced stone floor, carving two long furrows like sand on a beach as she was pushed back.
“Oh? You blocked it.”
“Yes. Still, I never want to do that again.”
The Hero swung her nearly bisected, bleeding right hand once, flinging off the blood. The palm, torn open by the holy sword’s edge, began to knit together and healed completely in moments. Though a Humian’s body lacked exceptional defensive capabilities, the God King’s power dwelling within her granted miraculous regenerative abilities. Unless struck with a fatal blow, the Hero would never die.
She prepared for the next clash, channeling Divana—the mana of the divine race, also called divine power—to its fullest, reinforcing both her physical strength and her Mana Sword to their limits.
“Haaaaa!!”
“Sorry, but I don’t have much time. Forgive me for rushing.”
Kaaang!!
She had already released the orb that maintained the mana barrier to focus on fighting the Hero. The longer this dragged on, the more viciously the Humian army would pursue the fleeing Demanians. Every second counted, so the Demon Lord pressed her attack. Yet the Hero, empowered by Divana, was no longer easily driven back. Even gripping the holy sword with both hands, she could now withstand the Demon Lord’s ferocious onslaught.
The Demon Lord’s storm-like barrage continued, each swing accompanied by a sound that threatened to rupture eardrums. The Hero, who had been maintaining a defensive stance against the surprise assault, flashed her eyes and counterattacked.
Seueueu
Her movement was calm, almost serene, yet faster than any ordinary person could react to. With that quiet, lightning-like motion, the Hero slipped past Deus Ensis and closed in on the Demon Lord.
Caught off guard by the near-invisible speed, the Demon Lord showed a flicker of surprise before gritting her teeth.
Kusuk!!
A single sword pierced the Demon Lord’s mighty body like a storm. Celestia, stained crimson with gushing blood, had run her through the abdomen. Black smoke billowed violently from the wound as the Demon Lord’s Luina was mercilessly destroyed by the holy sword’s power.
The Hero began to lift the blade, intending to cleave the Demon Lord in two. Though the Demon Lord’s face was twisted with excruciating pain, she was also smiling. A confident, bloodstained smile at the corner of her lips. That gaze made the Hero realize in that instant—the Demon Lord had deliberately chosen not to dodge.
Kuuuung!!
The Demon Lord released Deus Ensis. The massive sword struck the floor and shattered the stone beneath its weight. With both hands now free, she wrapped her arms around the Hero in a crushing embrace. The Hero struggled desperately to break free, but the Demon Lord’s arms had already locked around her waist.
Ududududuk!!!
“Kaaaaaaaaaagh!!!”
“Give up, Hero. Otherwise, you die.”