The Approaching Darkness (2)
The mad bitch... The moment she saw me, she unleashed every attack she had. Even in death, is she still tormenting me?
"The Judge of Annihilation must die before my plan can truly begin..."
The Demon King sat upon his throne, lost in thought. He recalled the moment he had first died.
His Four Heavenly Kings had desperately tried to stop her, but every last one of them had been slaughtered by her holy magic. That insane woman had been even stronger than the Saintess when it came to holy attack spells. The hero's party had been wiped out before they could even do anything, all thanks to that lunatic named Raphael.
And the instant she laid eyes on him, before he could even speak, she had blasted him with the highest-tier holy magic. He still remembered how the hero's party had stood there stunned at the sight.
Just what sin had he committed to deserve death at the hands of a crazy woman stronger than the hero? The hero who had supposedly killed him had simply stabbed his unconscious body with a sword.
He could still hear the words she had spoken as she ended him.
His sanity had snapped at those words. He had burned every ounce of his life force to cast a curse that killed her... only for her to laugh in his face even as she died.
How resentful. How utterly resentful. To think he had died at the hands of a woman with such a broken mind.
If not for the clone he had secretly prepared in the basement of his Demon King's castle just in case, he truly would have perished. But a clone could only manifest one percent of his original power. He needed to quickly reconstruct his true body.
"The Dragon's Heart possessed by the Empire... My physical resurrection shall begin with that."
"And since that woman no longer exists, nothing can stop me now."
Deep within his Demon King's castle, the Demon King waited for his complete revival.
But did he know? That the Dragon's Heart he sought had already been NTR'd by a student at the Hero Academy...
Ian had run all the way from the imperial palace to the academy plaza. He arrived around evening.
The moment he reached the plaza, he headed straight for the statue. Believers of the Goddess Church had gathered around the angel statue, offering prayers. Ian joined them, pretending to pray as he spoke to Raphael.
"Master, I think I'm screwed."
Raphael: Ian, what are you saying the moment you get here?
Ian explained everything that had happened at the imperial palace.
Raphael: ...So to summarize, the Empire is covering up the murder you committed, I get to stay here, and you told the Emperor everything about the statue and me. Is that it?
"Yes!"
Raphael: Hahaha. Ian. Do you have a death wish?
Raphael: First of all, why did you use your wish on me? I had my own methods. Sigh...
Raphael: And the Emperor... That man has at least a hundred snakes writhing inside him.
Raphael: The moment he saw me, he tried to make me the Empire's Grand Marshal...
"What do you mean?"
Raphael: The Emperor possesses a special ability. More precisely, it's an inherited one.
Raphael: Just the ones I know about already exceed a hundred. If I had to pick the truly broken ones... Insight Eye, Discernment Eye, and Holy Descent, I'd say.
Raphael:Insight Eye lets him intuitively understand an opponent's strength as a numerical value. In short, it measures power with numbers.
Raphael:Discernment Eye allows him to detect lies directed at him and discern anything that can be discerned. Like detecting poison in tea, for example.
Raphael: And finally, Holy Descent... Honestly, I think this ability alone could instantly kill the Demon King.
Raphael: It materializes six blades of holy power behind his back and automatically identifies any demon race or evil-tainted beings within about twenty kilometers, then 'erases' them.
Raphael: Ian. Isn't it funny? The blood of the Empire nullifies all supernatural abilities, yet he can use them himself. It's so contradictory.
Raphael: If it weren't for the law that 'only the hero's Holy Sword can kill the Demon King,' the Demon King would have died long ago.
Raphael: I created the Paecheon Sword specifically to break that law... but I never got to use it in the end.
Raphael: Sigh... I suppose it couldn't be helped that the Emperor found out.
"Master, I'm sorry..."
Ian apologized with genuine remorse. Seeing his sincere regret, Raphael's heart softened and she decided to forgive him.
Raphael: Hmph. Get up already. If you're sorry, then get that much stronger.
Raphael: Also, did you know they've built a training ground in the plaza?
Raphael: Train there from now on. I'll guide you personally.
"Huh? But how will you guide me?"
Raphael: Hey. I can now manifest in a very faint form, you know?
Raphael: So if you see a small girl in a white dress, that's me.
Raphael: Just so you know, I train like it's real combat. Hehe~
"Master, aren't you underestimating me too much? What if I end up be-a-ting you?"
Raphael: You little brat. I'll fix that rotten attitude of yours right now.
The materialized Raphael and Ian fought for about three hours. When the sparring ended, Ian was covered in bruises across his entire body and both eyes. Even though Raphael had only used pure physical techniques, the victor was clearly her.
Raphael: Hurry up and use recovery magic. Looking at you makes me want to hit you more.
"Huk. Yes!"
Startled by the threat of more beatings, Ian immediately used recovery magic to heal all his wounds.
Raphael: Hmm... Ian.
Raphael: By tomorrow, obtain the chakra needed for the Transformation Sword and come back.
Raphael: It's no fun if you can't use the Transformation Sword. No fun at all. Tsk...
"...? Master, are you a demon? You're definitely a demon, not an angel..."
Hearing those words, Raphael took a deep breath and shouted loudly.
GAL!
Ian covered his ears in an instant, but blood still began flowing from them.
"Uwaaaaaaaaagh! My ears... My eaaaaars...!"
The people around them simply assumed Ian was having another one of his episodes and continued on their way. Ian's notoriety had already spread throughout the entire academy.
Ian rolled around on the plaza floor for two whole minutes before finally regaining his senses.
"Ughhh... That crazy master... That's a demon, not an angel no matter how you look at it..."
Raphael: Hehehe, our dear Ian. It seems you want to hear your crazy master's shout one more time, acting like this.
Raphael: Fine. If that's what you want, I'll do it one more time for you.
Hearing that, Ian immediately dropped into a dogeza while blood still poured from his ears.
"Ugh... Master, I'm sorry!! This unworthy disciple Ian spoke nonsense because his head was broken! Please forgive me!"
After maintaining the dogeza for a full minute, Raphael's anger finally subsided.
Raphael: Hmph. Heal yourself and come closer to the statue.
"Yes."
Raphael taught Ian an easy way to obtain chakra.
Raphael: Ian. I'll tell you an easy way to obtain chakra.
Raphael: It's by absorbing it. Remember when I told you that all things in existence contain chakra?
Raphael: Pure chakra possesses the power of annihilation, but it also has the power of absorption.
Raphael: In simple terms, it's easier to think of it as dyeing your chakra with another attribute.
Raphael: For example, if you imagine absorbing while using pure chakra in front of fire, you'll obtain fire-attribute chakra.
Raphael: So go absorb at least the four major elements plus light and darkness attributes.
Raphael: You can obtain both light and darkness at dawn. Dawn is the time when the sun rises and darkness slowly fades away, so do your best.
"Um... Master... You want me to absorb all six attributes by tomorrow? Just for your own amusement?"
Raphael: Ian. Do you want to hear the Lion's Roar again? Let's just take it easy.
"Yes..."
Raphael: Good. Now go on.
Someone was approaching the Hero Academy.
Step. Step.
"......"
"...It's been such a long time since I've been here..."
"I hope the child Raphael left behind is the real thing."
The man fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
"Rael..."
"I haven't forgotten you for even a single moment. Your rough way of speaking and the way your actions were completely opposite to it. It was truly adorable..."
"If that child has truly inherited your will, then I shall test him in your place."
Today was the day they would learn holy magic. Ian was excited about learning new spells.
"Husband! You look like you're in a good mood today?"
"Yeah. Ian. It feels like you've gotten stronger while we were gone?"
Eiron and Sein approached him together. Ian simply nodded without saying a word.
"Ugh... I'm happy we're learning new magic today, but I'm so tired..."
"Hm? Did you not sleep last night?"
"Yeah... That's why I'm so exhausted..."
Watching him, Sein took Ian's hand and began to pray. When the prayer ended, Ian realized his condition had improved.
"...! What the—Sein? Isn't that a holy spell? Don't tell me you've already learned holy magic?"
"Hehe... For my husband, I can do anything, you know?"
"Whoa... That's amazing..."
"...So cute..."
Ian was impressed by Sein's ability, and seeing his reaction, Sein fell even deeper for him.
Step. Step.
"Ahem. Hello everyone. I am Tallen, the new Holy Magic professor assigned to the Hero Academy this semester."
"I look forward to our first class together."
Clap clap clap— The students applauded in welcome.
"Since this is our first class, I will teach you a very useful holy magic."
"It's a technique called 'Restore.'"
"It's a spell that restores stamina when it's completely depleted. The downside is that it consumes quite a lot of mana."
"Everyone, focus. Imagine wrapping your entire body in holy power and absorbing it. Maintaining that state is all you need to do."
"Now try it, everyone!"
"Ughhh... I can't do it..."
"Hiyaaaa!!"
"Kyaaaaah!!"
The holy magic Professor Tallen taught was incredibly useful, but very few students actually succeeded. It was because they were all clumsy at handling holy power.
Yet Ian succeeded ridiculously easily. He even went beyond that and cast Restore on his friends around him.
Professor Tallen was utterly shocked at the sight.
"...How...?"
"That's an area-of-effect Restore... Only bishops or higher should be able to use that...?"