Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: A Girl Who Longed for Spring
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For a moment, Luke thought he had gone blind. The darkness that enveloped everything was so thick it was easy to make that mistake.
‘Blind…’
Perhaps it was the right word, in a way.
Luke hadn’t lost his sight, but it seemed as if the world had lost its light.
Gwooooooo…!
The moment the horrifying aura swept through, the surrounding darkness melted away like a candle.
Laughter echoed from all directions.
Twisted facial features appeared on the gray, giant trees like scars, and they all erupted in a chorus of mad laughter.
Then, the darkness that had enveloped the area melted and swirled, as if being sucked into the center of the forest.
The gathered darkness bubbled and boiled like lava before shooting up like a fountain.
Kwaaaaaa…
The darkness finally took form, and those still alive bore witness.
[…]
It was a being of staggering size.
Even the forest’s giant trees, dozens of meters tall, didn’t reach half its height.
It wore black cloth that flowed like a waterfall and a crown that seemed to be forged from white bone.
“Ah, ahhh…!”
Juan, bleeding profusely, cried out in ecstasy.
“Oh, Calamity God—!”
The Demon King slowly looked down.
It didn’t seem to be reacting to its name.
Zzzzzk, something emerged from the surface of the cloth, which billowed like darkness itself.
Luke realized the massive white thing was a finger.
Even a giant’s finger bone wouldn’t be that large.
[…]
The Demon King pointed its finger at Juan.
The gesture was like a death sentence.
“Ah, oh, Calamity God…! Your humble servant has—.”
Crunch…
His ecstatic expression frozen on his face, High Priest Juan collapsed into a pool of blood.
Luke stared, dumbfounded, at the bloody puddle that was once Juan.
The pool of blood had an ominous black tint, making it look like a black swamp at a glance.
‘The Nine Demon Kings of the Black Swamp…’
For the first time, he understood the Cult’s definition.
That wasn’t a Demon King.
That was a god.
An absolute being that one could only worship if faced with it, a presence so overwhelming that one wouldn’t even dare to beg for one’s life. It was a being that could not be measured by human standards.
Luke’s body trembled.
It was a fear he had never felt before.
The only reason his mind didn’t shatter in that instant was thanks to his usual ascetic self-discipline.
“Ugh, ah…”
The other survivor was different.
Inquisitor Junian.
Even that veteran warrior, hardened by fear and having fought demons dozens of times, was consumed by terror the moment he witnessed the Calamity God.
Junian collapsed to the ground, staring up at the Demon King, drool leaking from his agape mouth.
[…]
The Demon King’s finger pointed at Junian.
Crunch…
And Junian, too, turned into a pool of black blood.
“…”
Luke sensed his own end.
‘…The High Priest offered himself as a sacrifice.’
He had never imagined such a method was possible.
It must have been Juan’s last resort.
In return, the Demon King had manifested.
With a single purpose.
‘The death of every human here.’
The entire land wouldn’t be corroded by the evil instrument as originally planned, but there was no way for Luke to escape death.
He almost let out a hollow laugh.
He had known this would not be an easy mission.
A High Priest was involved, after all.
He had put his life on the line.
But… he never thought he would meet such a futile end.
So, was the Bednicker operation a success?
Because they had killed the High Priest and thwarted his plan?
Grind.
Luke gritted his teeth.
Of course not.
As a Bednicker,
As the Commander of the Iron-Blooded Knights,
And above all, as the brother of the Iron-Blooded Duke.
He could not die so meaninglessly.
“Haaaaaah—!”
Gritting his teeth, Luke let out a fierce cry.
A storm-like aura erupted from his entire body.
What could he do now?
Fight against the Calamity God?
That wasn’t it.
Luke’s gaze turned to Evan.
He had known about the existence of a Young Lord, but he never imagined this place was where his birth was planned.
‘At least the Young Lord.’
He had to take Evan Helvin with him.
Luke, cloaking his body in his full power, rushed toward Evan.
Crunch…
That was the last of Luke.
With dozens of steps still between him and Evan, or rather, after taking a mere five strides, Luke collapsed into a pool of black blood, just like the others he had witnessed.
Clang—.
The white sword Luke had been holding clattered to the ground.
* * *
Three people died in an instant.
High Priest Juan.
Inquisitor Junian.
Commander of the Iron-Blooded Knights, Luke Bednicker.
All of them were masters whose skills far surpassed my own.
Yet they had lost their lives without being able to put up any real resistance.
[…]
The Demon King’s gaze turned to me.
I felt fear as well, but not enough to paralyze me.
The problem was that I couldn’t think of any brilliant plan to overcome this situation.
‘What if I stick close to Evan?’
If Evan was truly the Young Lord, even the Demon King wouldn’t kill him carelessly.
I didn’t know how it attacked, but if surrounding objects were also affected…
Of course, it might not work, but if I was going to die anyway, I had to try something.
‘It doesn’t seem like the type to talk things out.’
The problem was that my body, wrecked from the recent fight, refused to move easily.
I had also lost a fair amount of blood, and I was on the verge of losing consciousness.
Still, just as I gritted my teeth and tried to take a single step…
The Demon King’s finger moved.
That was when the unexpected happened.
For the first time, the finger hesitated.
[…]
Beneath the white bone mask, an ominous glint stared directly at me.
For a moment, I had the thought that the Demon King was hesitating, but it was fleeting.
The moment its bent finger straightened and pointed directly at me.
Whoooooosh—!
A fierce gale swept through the area.
Recognizing the familiar energy, I looked behind me.
‘Seren?’
The girl who had been slammed into a tree by the High Priest’s attack was now extending her hand, her blood-soaked silver hair whipping wildly in the wind.
Unlike before, her eyes weren’t rolled back.
Seren’s eyes were focused precisely forward.
Kwagagagagak—!
A storm of blades, far stronger than last time, shot toward the Demon King.
The Demon King was about to point its finger at the wind, but then.
[…]
Amidst the raging storm of blades, I witnessed it. The Demon King deliberately retracting its hand just before the attack hit.
Kwajijijijijijijik—!
And the storm of blades Seren had summoned tore the Demon King’s form to shreds.
“…Ah.”
The darkness that had filled the area brightened.
The terrifying and ominous aura vanished with the wind, and the laughing trees returned to their original state.
The night forest regained its serene silence as if nothing had ever happened.
“…Is it over.”
My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the ground.
Only the branches broken by the High Priest remained as they were, leaving the sky clearly visible.
I never knew the night sky could look so bright.
It had only been three days, but the night sky, studded with constellations, was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes.
Of course, it wasn’t time to get lost in sentiment.
I let out a sigh and said.
“Hey, Seren. You’re incredible. Defeating a Demon King, at this rate, even the Goodsprings will—.”
I stopped talking.
I could see Seren leaning against a tree.
“Even the Goodsprings will, what.”
Seren grinned at me.
“Think they’ll see me in a new light?”
“…”
Looking into Seren’s eyes, I asked.
“Are you dying?”
* * *
Seren let out a low laugh.
“I told you. The risk is high.”
“…”
“The High Priest?”
“He’s dead.”
“I see.”
I looked down at Seren and said.
“Did you use it knowing you would die?”
“You’d have to be an idiot not to.”
“Was there another way.”
“Maybe there was.”
Seren smirked.
“…But, I’m done now.”
Her voice was weary.
I calmly waited for her to continue.
But Seren only breathed heavily, not opening her mouth again.
I had no choice but to ask.
“What are you so tired of?”
“Who knows…”
I could see Seren’s unfocused eyes.
They were filled with a thick fog, devoid of their usual clarity and intelligence.
Even though she probably couldn’t distinguish anything clearly, it felt as if she was looking at something specific.
Was this what they call a life flashing before one’s eyes?
“Cough.”
The moment Seren coughed, a torrent of dark, dead blood poured out.
Seren didn’t even think to wipe away the blood flowing over her robe.
“Hey, you…”
I closed my mouth.
Are you okay, don’t give up, you can live.
In this situation, I didn’t want to say such irresponsible things.
“…A secret.”
Instead, what came out was something completely different for some reason.
“You said you’d tell me a secret.”
“…”
“Or was that just something you said?”
I deliberately used a teasing tone.
“If you fess up now… I’ll let it slide. You were just bluffing back then, just said it without thinking, right?”
Seren laughed silently, then struggled to speak.
“No.”
“Then tell me.”
“Should I?”
And Seren opened her mouth.
“You know. I actually know the future.”
“…”
“Among the Goodspring family’s heirlooms, there’s something called [Laplace’s Grimoire]. It contains events that will happen in the future. A kind of… prophecy book.”
“…”
“But… no one really believed it. It was written in an unknown script, so no one could read it.”
Seren paused for a moment.
“…Except for me.”
Silence again.
I looked at Seren and asked.
“Is that all?”
“What is.”
“The secret you mentioned, is that all there is to it?”
Seren had spoken, but for some reason, I wasn’t convinced.
What she had just said probably wasn’t a lie.
It must be the truth.
But…
I didn’t feel like the words she uttered just before her death were the secret this girl had been hiding all along.
I had no basis, no logic for it.
It might just be my imagination.
But—.
“…”
Seren’s gaze turned to me again.
Even though she probably couldn’t even see my face properly.
Was it my imagination that her gaze seemed to hold a hint of joy?
“…Heh heh.”
It wasn’t my imagination.
Seren was actually laughing, seemingly amused.
She coughed up blood shortly after, but right now, Seren looked somewhat happy, and more than that, relieved.
I couldn’t understand why this girl, who was always sullen and full of irritation, would show such an expression only on the verge of death.
“…My name, you know, it’s not actually Seren.”
I blinked.
For some reason, that sentence felt packed with a great deal of meaning.
Looking at Seren’s face, I asked slowly.
“Then what’s your real name?”
“…”
At my words, Seren paused for a moment.
Her hazy gaze seemed to be fumbling through a dusty bookshelf.
“My real name…”
For a while, Seren searched for her own name, tucked away on a shelf in her memory.
“Well…”
Finally, her lips parted.
“How do you pronounce it again…”
“…”
The chirping of insects grew clearer.
The waning moon emerged from behind dark clouds, faintly illuminating the forest.
Rustle.
I walked over to Seren and, with my one good hand, closed her unfocused eyes.
Then, after a moment’s hesitation, I took off my blood-soaked cape and draped it over her.
Seren Goodspring.
For the girl who longed for the warmth of spring, but who resembled a winter spent shivering her whole life, I hoped that in death, she would shiver no more.