Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Holy Grail Transport
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Tap, tap, tap, tap!
The sound of Deia and Elenoa's footsteps echoed behind me. Even as the two women's steps gradually faded into the distance, the demons ahead of me didn't twitch in the slightest.
It wasn't that they were letting the two go.
It was just that they were acting leisurely out of confidence that no matter where they went, they'd still be in the palm of their hands.
"Hoo."
I thought it over calmly.
Even as Archdemons, they didn't possess an overwhelming strength like Magan's from moments ago.
Magan had grown dramatically stronger due to the banquet setting, and we'd only won by breaking that.
The Archdemons ahead of us probably didn't have power equal to or greater than Magan at the banquet.
'One step above or below Aria right now.'
There would be gaps in strength among Archdemons too, so that was a good way to gauge it.
"It's surprising that the banquet turned Magan into something like that."
"Haha, wasn't he just too fat to move?"
"......"
Still, there were three Archdemons.
Valkyria of Struggle and Payrun of Worship were chatting leisurely with each other.
But Dune, the Archdemon of Pride, stood right in front of me, staring down at me motionlessly.
His three black eyes fixed precisely on me, as if wondering what I was thinking.
"Human."
"......"
"Proud human who shakes the continent."
The moment his heavy words spilled out, the gazes of the two Archdemons—who had been chatting with Magan between us—locked onto me as well.
Their expressions hardened, recognizing the gravity of the situation. The relaxed atmosphere from before vanished, replaced by rising tension.
"Will you show me your conviction?"
A bizarre question.
Belica calmly explained the meaning behind it.
[He wants to fight one-on-one. Don't accept.]
"......"
[It's the same as Magan's banquet. The moment you acknowledge it as a duel staking pride, he'll grow several times stronger than now.]
I swallowed hard and took a deep breath.
I held my silence without answering the question that had already settled like a verdict.
Crunch!
In that gap, spider legs sprouted from my back once more.
Fewer and smaller than when I'd first fought Magan, but they stabbed into the ground swiftly, then leaped back greatly, putting distance between me and the demons.
"Hmm."
Dune, accepting my refusal, stroked his chin with a regretful expression.
The other Archdemons approached him, asking with ominous looks.
"It's just a human. Is he really strong enough for you to stake your pride on?"
"Aren't you setting the bar too low because it's been so long?"
"Get a grip, all of you."
Dune sharply rebuked the arrogant pair. His ram-like legs scraped the floor.
"This is the human who broke Magan's banquet. You're all too complacent because it's been ages since your last fight."
"Eut."
"Ah, you're serious."
Valkyria wore a look as if struck right in the gut, while Payrun shook his head, playing with one of his tails.
"He's just a guy whose strength is drained anyway. I heard he has a Saintess, but she's still too small a vessel."
Valkyria sneered at Payrun's words.
"You're saying that because you've never met the previous Saintess."
Just then, Tairn, Darius, and Lucia finished their battle against the secretary and the mind-controlled hero from another country.
Even in victory, the three were in terrible shape, showing just how hard they'd fought.
They approached me, catching their ragged breaths.
Tairn, leaning on his staff, asked me.
"Those guys Archdemons too?"
"Yeah, all three."
"Ha, so this is where Tairn meets his end."
Even as he said it, the flame of struggle for life still burned undimmed in Tairn's eyes.
"Deus... no, Kim Shin-woo."
Darius approached me from behind Tairn. He looked ragged too, but strength still gripped the hand holding his sword.
I wondered how to respond, but he suddenly embraced me.
"......!"
"The legs on your back make it hard to hug properly."
He made a trivial joke, pressing his cheek to mine as his large hand gently cradled the back of my head.
"When we get back, let's have a beer while watching Northsweden's night scenery, little brother."
Pat, pat.
Darius stroked my head before slowly pulling away. His reddened eyes held a smile full of affection.
I didn't reply.
I just nodded, imagining that future together.
"I'll do my best."
Saintess Lucia clasped her hands as if in prayer, steeling her resolve. The ultimate counter to demons, and the most effective weapon against them.
Remembering that, I emphasized to Tairn and Darius.
"You have to protect Lucia no matter what."
Lucia had been caught off guard and knocked out helplessly by Magan.
But with us as a wall, she could fully demonstrate her power.
* * *
"Ao, what the hell are these things!"
Pindenai spat curses as she buried her axe into the head of an oncoming Magic Beast, venting her frustration.
Just moments ago, they'd been dealing with Clock Republic soldiers blocking the path.
Now, the situation had shifted to smashing the heads of Magic Beasts crashing through the corridor windows.
Right after seeing the banquet hall collapsing. Pindenai, Aria, and Erika had rushed toward it desperately.
They'd wasted time on the Republic soldiers appearing intermittently.
Especially taking down the neck of one of the Republic's three superhumans had cost them quite a bit.
"This seems pretty serious."
Aria stuck her head out the window, clicking her tongue as she checked the building opposite where the banquet hall was.
"The mana is churning and getting murky—looks like more Archdemons have shown up... Probably not just one."
"More Archdemons?"
Erika, handling butterfly-shaped spirits while clutching the box with the Holy Grail, was dealing with the most Magic Beasts.
Her magic shone as the brightest light in the dark fortress interior, illuminating the surroundings.
'This many means three have come? What the hell is going on with the Clock Republic.'
Even Aria was as confused as the others, with secrets unknown from the first playthrough popping up nonstop.
The President being an Archdemon was shocking enough, but she hadn't imagined other Archdemons joining in.
'Archdemons cooperating with each other?'
Demons lived by ways of thinking different from humans. Driven by their unique desires, they favored humans.
Humans were precious resources that satisfied most of their cravings.
'The Clock Republic wasn't just Magan's dinner table.'
Realizing the Archdemons were fulfilling their desires through the Republic for various reasons, Aria gripped her greatsword tighter.
Though she'd discarded the name, her true nature was inherently suited to bearing the title of hero—pure good.
She couldn't just overlook their depravity of using the Republic as a fence and humans as livestock.
"No choice."
The pouring Magic Beasts felt like they were grabbing at her ankles, so Aria gripped her greatsword with both hands and looked up.
"I'll clear the path...!"
The moment Aria's fierce mana swept the floor like a gale and wrapped around the greatsword.
"Pindenaiiiii!"
Bang! Bang!
A woman's shout and gunfire echoed from the opposite building beyond the window.
"Deia!"
Pindenai instantly recognized the voice calling her and urgently craned her neck out the window.
She saw Deia firing her gun through the window of the opposite building and Elenoa wielding magic.
"Damn it!"
Seeing the two struggling against the onslaught of Magic Beasts, Pindenai grew frantic as if fire burned at her feet—but there was no way to cross over.
The path through the corridor was still blocked by Magic Beasts. Jumping across windows was too far, and flying Magic Beasts swarmed.
"You got the box?!"
Even in her dire situation, Deia checked with Pindenai if she had the box containing the Holy Grail.
Erika raised the box she held to show her.
"Throw it over here!"
The Holy Grail would be the greatest weapon against Deus fighting the Archdemons.
If Saintess Lucia held it, it would surely show tremendous efficacy.
Deia had understood the true intent behind Deus's instruction to find the others and slipped out of the banquet hall to retrieve the Holy Grail.
"That girl's got some nerve! How do you expect me to throw it?!"
"Figure it out!"
"It's a royal command!"
Pindenai snapped irritably, but the other side was desperate too—Deia and Elenoa started making unreasonable demands together.
"You think a royal command fixes everything?!"
Pindenai bellowed in anger but racked her brain for a way. Then, the solution came from Aria beside her.
"I'll clear the path for you."
Aria readjusted her greatsword and aimed it at the wall toward the building where Deia and Elenoa were.
They both already knew she wasn't an ordinary girl.
Erika cast protective magic centered on the three. The incoming Magic Beasts clung to it, making it look ready to shatter any moment.
But it bought the brief gap needed for Aria to swing her sword at full power.
"If I can just clear the Magic Beasts in between, I can launch you there with magic."
Erika handed the Holy Grail box to Pindenai and immediately prepared her spell.
Pindenai, suddenly set to fly over there on magic, wore a dumbfounded look but slung her axe at her waist and took the box.
"If I fall and die, I'll go straight to my master and bite him!"
Grumbling, she positioned herself right behind Aria.
As Erika's protective magic nearly faded, Aria's greatsword—lowered deeply—swept forward in a massive arc.
Kwaaang!
The overwhelming mass and mana-infused sword strike mercilessly shattered the wall and sliced through the flying Magic Beasts.
"Princess!"
"Kyaaak!"
So powerful that the sword strike smashed into the outer wall of Deia and Elenoa's building.
It could've been dangerous, but a path had opened anyway.
Enveloped in golden mana, Pindenai entrusted her body to it.
The mana swirled around her feet like a tickle, then with a whoosh, lifted her up.
"Ooooh!"
Pindenai's whoop of joy—her first time flying—echoed across the Republic's sky.
"Huh! Huh! Hey!"
Halfway there, but Erika's mana depleted from the grueling fight caused her speed to slow, and she began to gently plummet.
Panicking, Pindenai flailed her legs in the air while clutching the box tightly with both hands.
"It's fine."
Erika's words reached her ear amid her gasping breaths. At that moment, a massive golden butterfly appeared beneath Pindenai's feet and carried her straight to the other side.
"Whew, damn."
Pindenai, having barely survived, sighed in relief but immediately set the box down and drew her axe.
Magic Beasts began pouring into the spot Aria's sword strike had cleared horizontally.
"Grab the box! I'll clear the way to the banquet hall!"
With her shout, Pindenai charged forward recklessly.
She threw herself at such a massive swarm that wounds appeared here and there.
Elenoa followed right behind, supporting her with magic.
Deia clutched the box and dashed after them.