219
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 219
Caesar could feel Psychometry activating for an unknown reason.
Soon after, he had the illusion that he was holding a greatsword instead of Thunder in his hand.
No, it wasn't an illusion.
Through Psychometry, Caesar became completely connected with Gloria beyond the hill, seeing her inner thoughts through her eyes.
-I must become stronger...
-If I had been stronger, I wouldn't have been caught by Raum.
-I must protect Master.
-So Master won't suffer anymore...
-I'm still weak...
Gloria's hands were trembling so much she couldn't strike anymore.
But Gloria swung the greatsword desperately.
She thought she could only become stronger by swinging it.
More precisely, she thought she couldn't become stronger if she didn't swing it.
Gloria kept swinging until her hands bled and a sweet taste filled her mouth.
-I can become stronger.
-I can become strong.
Gloria looked at the shadowed land beyond the hill.
Countless puppets of Raum were there, emitting demonic energy and licking their lips to devour Gloria.
-I will overcome this.
Seeing those puppets made her heart waver, but she held onto her resolve.
-I'll become strong enough to defeat all of them.
Caesar finally couldn't hold back and shouted.
"Gloria!!!"
Caesar's cry didn't reach Gloria's ears.
Caesar deflected Flawless sword and rammed his shoulder into him.
Flawless stepped back from the impact.
Flawless charged at Caesar again.
"Your shouting won't reach Gloria!"
Caesar blocked Flawless's sword.
Blood gushed out and his head spun.
But he shouted again.
"Gloria!!!"
"It's useless!"
Flawless slashed his sword at Caesar's neck.
Caesar blocked Flawless's sword but fell to his knees from the impact.
Flawless thrust his sword at the kneeling Caesar.
Caesar barely managed to block the sword.
"Caesar! Stop being stubborn. You couldn't break me. No! You still don't believe in yourself."
Flawless drew out the questions and doubts hidden deep in Caesar's heart.
"What help can you possibly give to Gloria?"
Ki ki ki ki ki!
The sword drew closer to Caesar's neck.
"Are you really someone Gloria needs?"
Tang!
Flawless knocked away Caesar's Thunder and stepped on his shoulder.
Then Flawless put his sword to Caesar's neck.
"Can you save Gloria?!"
Caesar couldn't muster any strength.
His whole body was covered in wounds and burned as if scalded all over.
It was because rainwater and muddy water had seeped into his wounds.
"Someone who can't even properly answer this question cannot approach Gloria."
The rain-cooled blade slowly dug into Caesar's neck.
"Gloria can become strong on her own. She will prove that she won't succumb to nightmares by rising up herself! And...!"
Flawless gritted his teeth.
"I won't let her go like Tatiana."
Caesar could understand why Flawless was just watching as Gloria drove herself into pain.
It was because Flawless remembered everything about how Tatiana was controlled by Raum and lost her nobility.
"Yes. As you said, I could only watch blankly as Tatiana was controlled by Raum. When Tatiana was shaken by great shock, I didn't know what she truly wanted."
"Whether she truly thought it was okay to join hands with devils if she could just get her sister out of the Royder Order, or if it was okay to cut down the disciples she personally raised if she could just get revenge on the Royder Order and Dre Order who deceived her."
A warm droplet, not cold rain, fell on Caesar's forehead.
"Because I'm just a damn tool."
That droplet seeped into Caesar's wounds.
He felt as if the pain and wounds contained in that droplet had become part of him.
"So Gloria must become strong on her own. She must become someone who won't be shaken by any shocking truth by arming herself with a strong inner self."
Flawless raised his sword.
"So get lost, Caesar. You'll only harm Gloria."
Flawless's sword flew straight at Caesar.
Caesar tried to lift Thunder but couldn't move because Flawless was stepping on his shoulder.
Just as it seemed his neck would be cut...
Ding!
Agatha rushed in and stopped Flawless's sword.
Agatha had blocked Flawless's sword with a shield from who knows where.
"How...!"
"If this is a dream, it's my specialty? I can at least create a sturdy shield."
"Stop being annoying!"
Flawless pushed away Agatha's shield.
Agatha was pushed back by Flawless's strength.
Because of this, he momentarily lost his balance.
Caesar knew this was the perfect opportunity to turn the tide.
While Flawless was distracted by Agatha, he could deal a heavy blow by swinging Thunder.
However, he couldn't lift Thunder as strength wouldn't enter his body.
It wasn't because of the duel with Flawless or because of his wounds.
When the doubts hidden in Caesar's unconscious took complete form as questions through Flawless's mouth, he felt as if his entire body was bound by thick chains.
Can I really be of help to Gloria?
Am I really someone Gloria needs?
Can I really save Gloria?
Caesar couldn't properly answer any of these questions.
But...
"Caesar, fight!"
Agatha's head and face were a mess because of the mud, and her whole body was numbed from the shock of Flawless's sword strike.
She might lose consciousness the moment she collides with that sword again.
But she charged toward Flawless again.
Flawless swung his sword at Agatha as if swatting away a fly.
"Agh!"
The shield Agatha was holding shattered.
Blood flowed from her shoulder where she was scratched by sharp shield fragments.
However, Agatha barely stood up on her trembling legs and created a new shield.
It was a larger and thicker shield than before.
"Caesar, who else can save Gloria if not you?!"
Agatha crashed into Flawless with her whole body.
"You fly-like pest!"
Flawless thrust his sword toward Agatha.
Clang!
But this time Agatha didn't get pushed back.
She alone withstood a force that even Caesar could barely deflect with Thunder using all his strength.
Screech!
Agatha even started pushing Flawless back.
"Caesar, honestly, I felt really relieved when you said you were moving near me."
Flawless's foot lifted off of Caesar.
Tears flowed from Agatha's eyes.
"Because I thought you would be the first to run and help me if I were in danger. Though of course, you came because you needed my help."
Tears that ran down Agatha's chin fell on Caesar's chest.
Agatha lowered her head and met Caesar's eyes.
"Just as you felt relieved having me by your side, I felt relieved having you by mine."
Agatha forced a smile.
"So Gloria will surely want that too. She'll want someone by her side rather than being alone. And that someone will be you."
Agatha gritted her teeth and pushed Flawless back.
"So hurry and go. Gloria will need you."
"You annoying pest!"
Flawless dodged to the side when Agatha crashed into him head-on.
Agatha lost her balance for a moment and fell.
Taking advantage of this opening, Flawless rushed at Caesar.
"Stop dragging this out and disappear!"
Crunch!
Caesar clenched his teeth hard before opening his mouth.
"URIYAAAAAA!"
He didn't know if Berserker would work in this dream.
But Caesar shouted.
Steam erupted from his entire body as his wounds opened further.
His whole body trembled from the teeth-grinding pain, but that pain vividly reminded Caesar that he was still alive.
Caesar received Flawless's attack while lying down.
Surprisingly, Flawless's sword, swung with all his might, was deflected.
Caesar regained his posture and swung Thunder again at the surprised Flawless.
Clang!
Flawless was overwhelmed trying to block Thunder as Caesar mercilessly rained down blows.
Caesar shouted as he struck down at Flawless.
"Yes. Agatha is right."
One of Flawless's knees buckled.
"Gloria needs me."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Thunder screamed as it spewed lightning in all directions.
The current made both Caesar and Flawless feel as if their entire bodies were becoming paralyzed.
But Caesar didn't stop Thunder.
"Gloria wants me by her side."
Flawless blocked Caesar's axe by deflecting it to the side.
Then he swung his sword upward.
Caesar deflected that sword to the side.
Swoosh!
Unable to bear each other's strength, Flawless and Caesar slid backward.
But Caesar and Flawless swiftly swung their weapons at each other again.
"When I wake up after fainting, if Gloria is beside me, she'll want me to be beside her too, like she would be relieved!"
"Yes! Gloria might need you! But if that happens, Gloria will become weak! She'll depend on you and crumble when you're not around!"
As weapons clashed, the ground broke and split.
The flat lawn was torn up and deep holes were carved.
"Gloria found a way to become strong on her own without you! Just like how you became strong training alone, Gloria is also training her inner self alone!"
"That's not training! That's just fucking nonsense!"
Caesar and Flawless exchanged attacks without rest.
Every time steel clashed, raindrops scattered in all directions instead of falling to the ground.
Sharp winds scattered and clawed and tore at Caesar and Flawless's bodies.
Agatha could only watch blankly at the exchange that she dared not approach.
"Can you handle it? If something goes wrong and Gloria breaks down, can you handle it!"
"Then she'll find something else to rely on besides me!"
Crack!
Flawless's sword began to crack.
"Of course it'll be hard if I disappear. Just like how everything went white before my eyes when Gloria was kidnapped by Raum, Gloria will have a hard time!"
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Caesar struck down mercilessly with his sword.
"But how can anyone live alone! If I disappear, she'll somehow live on by relying on someone and getting help."
Finally, Caesar's Thunder shattered Flawless's sword.
Sharp sword fragments scattered.
Caesar kicked Flawless's back leg and knocked him down.
"I'm going to teach that! Not how to stand alone, but how to overcome together."
Caesar brought Thunder down towards Flawless's head.
Flawless had no way to block the Thunder rushing towards him.
Thud!
Muddy water scattered everywhere as the ground split.
Flawless saw Thunder deeply embedded next to his head.
Caesar's bloody water dripped onto Flawless's face.
"Because that's what a teacher should do."
Caesar staggered to his feet.
The intense battle had created a deep crater in the ground.
The crater was steep and slippery, making it difficult to escape.
But Caesar began to climb out by deeply planting Thunder in the ground.
Flawless blankly stared at the sky and muttered softly.
"What if you're wrong?"
Water began pooling and rising in the crater.
"If something goes wrong and Gloria breaks, will you take responsibility?"
"You think I'm not scared?"
Thud! Thud!
Caesar kept climbing, planting Thunder to support his constantly slipping body.
"You think I won't suffer if Gloria can't overcome her nightmares and suffers for life? I'm scared too."
"And still you'll approach Gloria?"
"Yes."
Caesar's hands and feet trembled and his breath was so ragged he felt like dying.
But he was almost there.
Just one more reach is needed.
"Who else can help Gloria if not me? That's why I'm going."
Slip!
Caesar lost his grip on Thunder as his strength gave out.
Then, someone reached out and grabbed Caesar.
It was Agatha.
"Damn...! Why are you so heavy!"
Caesar strongly pulled on Agatha's hand while stepping on Thunder stuck in the wall to climb up onto the ground.
"Haa... Haa..."
Caesar looked at the dream world that was ruined with deep craters.
The hill where Gloria was remained safe, but the surrounding chaos made it difficult to cross.
The huge valley in front of the hill was particularly problematic.
While wondering how to handle this, Agatha waved her hand.
"I'll make a bridge. Hurry and go."
"What about you?"
"I better stay here."
Agatha created a swaying wooden bridge.
"Go save Gloria and come back."
Caesar gave a small nod.
"Thanks, Agatha."
Caesar pushed forward on trembling legs towards Gloria.
Because this level of pain was nothing compared to what Gloria had endured.
Flawless blankly watched Caesar crossing the creaking wooden bridge.
And he prayed.
"Please let your choice be right."
Flawless's body was submerged in the falling rain.