Battle Against the Demon Kings

The Church had dispatched a sizable force, but when all was said and done, they were meant strictly for defense.

Naturally, the Church wasn't stupid—they had brought along several relics, including the Mirror of Grudge, Explosive Glove, Sheath of Time, and Urn of Time used during our previous clash with a Demon King. But even with all of those factored in, utilizing them offensively remained a dicey proposition at best.

That particular relic combination unleashed a one-hit-kill strike that drained ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an enormous amount of holy power, yet it still wouldn't be enough to permanently put down a Demon King.

Of course, if things took a turn for the worse, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger... but if the situation truly deteriorated to such an extreme, I'd probably be better off just dying once and regressing.

Therefore, if we wanted to shatter the Demon Kings' scheme with minimal collateral damage, we had to launch an unexpected preemptive strike to keep them from ever setting foot inside the Duke's Castle.

...In a way, I had to count my blessings that both Demon Kings regarded mortals like playthings and fixated solely on me. If those bitches hadn't underestimated humanity and had instead moved with the serious intent of razing the Duke's Castle to the ground, this place might have been reduced to ashes already.

"Phew... Where did Weller go?"

The moment I stepped into the Duke's study alongside Perdio Hadim, the eyes of the retainers—who had been locked in heated debate—swiveled toward us in unison.

"She is overseeing the deployment of the Mana Wave Blockers," Duke Urtega answered.

"Ah, is that so? We must've crossed paths."

"Aside from that, she appeared to have business with you. Contact her and arrange a meeting."

"Weller wants to see me? Hmm... Well, perfect timing. I needed to move with her anyway..."

Our newly acquired trump card against Annus, the Grimoire of Blasphemy, was a relic strictly for mages, entirely fitting its grim name and appearance. Since I didn't have any other mage who was both supremely capable and entirely trustworthy, her role in this battle would be nothing short of vital.

I steered Hadim toward an empty chair and locked eyes with Urtega.

"I'll be checking over our battle readiness in my room. Most of the preparations are wrapped up, so the moment the Mana Wave Blockers are in place, we strike."

"And the role of the ducal forces?"

"Defend and buy time. Just handle those two tasks. Frankly, keeping our casualties to a minimum is already as good as a victory, so don't push yourselves recklessly. Oh, and keep the two Demon Kings separated. If you can manage just that, I'd appreciate ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it. Between you and Greenjack joining forces, it should be more than doable."

"...Will you truly be able to slay a Demon King on your own?"

"It's possible. And we'll make damn sure it happens."

"..."

Urtega didn't say a word, but a dissatisfied fire blazed fiercely in his eyes. It was a faint yet unmistakable surge of competitive pride and warrior bloodlust, coaxing a dry chuckle from my lips.

"Father. Do you want another crack at a Demon King?"

"..."

"Looks like your previous defeat is still weighing on your mind. Don't worry. You'll probably get to fight to your heart's content."

"Is that so."

Watching him stroke the pommel of his sword as he honed his fighting spirit, I shook my head. I had grown reasonably strong in my own right, but I had neither pride in my power nor an appetite for glory. That was likely the difference between strength forged through relentless grit and strength acquired through shortcuts.

"Well then, let's both make sure we walk away from this alive."

"..."

Leaving behind the duke, who gave a solemn nod, I exited the study.

I was back in my chambers, blanketing the whole of Terabaon with my authority and steeling my resolve for the fight, when Weller arrived. But she hadn't come alone. Flanked by mages with their hoods pulled down low, she had brought along an object levitating in the air—a human silhouette wrapped tightly from head to toe in cloth inscribed with dense magic circles.

"Weller. Finished setting up the Mana Wave Blockers?"

"Yeah. No issues. More importantly, Kang Han-gil. Come over here for a second."

"What is that thing?"

"An artificial vessel... that was originally meant to become Cambello's avatar."

"...What?"

As I tilted my head in confusion, she signaled with her hand, and the mages unwrapped the cloth.

"...Ha."

A serpentine visage, a single spiral horn, leathery membranous wings, a reptilian tail, and emerald-green hair and eyes. It was a high demon's corpse, an exact duplicate of Cambello whom we had encountered in the past.

"Where did you get this?"

"Recovered it from Cambello's temporary workshop. Don't tell me you forgot?"

"...Ah, now that you mention it, I did pass you those coordinates a while back. Completely slipped my mind."

"Hah, honestly, you never change..."

Fixing me with a bleary-eyed glare, she sighed before channeling her mana, acting as if it didn't matter anyway.

"..."

At her surge of power, Cambello's corpse opened its eyes with awkward, stiff motions and slowly rose to its feet. Though it clearly moved, not a shred of vitality emanated from its form or motions, creating a far more unsettling, uncanny dissonance than I had expected.

"If Cambello hadn't been obliterated by Father's Mind Sword, his escaping soul would probably have possessed this thing."

"Most likely. Anyway, stand in front of this guy and lock eyes with him."

"What are you planning to do with it?"

"Create a decoy. The more bait you have, the better, right? It makes sowing chaos a whole lot easier."

"...?"

When I stared back blankly, completely missing her drift, she let out a heavy sigh.

"Just feed it some of your blood already."

"Blood? You want me to feed it blood?"

"Yes."

"Hmm... Well, fine. You must have a plan."

Though I had my doubts, I trusted her implicitly, so I held out my hand without further complaint.

Thwack!

Manifesting short claws with my authority, I clenched my fist tight, punching a sizable hole right through my palm.

"What the—hey! I didn't tell you to go that far, you idiot! Are you trying to drown it in a bucket of blood?!"

"Huh? Come on, this is nothing. Stings a bit, sure, but with my regeneration—"

"That's not the point, you moron!"

Snapping in outrage, Weller grabbed my arm in a frantic rush and turned toward Cecilia.

"Saintess!"

"Y-Yes!"

Before Weller could even utter another word, Cecilia channeled her holy arts. A soft, radiant luminescence enveloped me, knitting the wound shut in the blink of an eye.

"Phew... What kind of idiot injures himself right before marching into battle against Demon Kings? You utter fool."

"Did I really deserve to get cursed out like that...? Aren't you worrying a bit too much, Weller?"

"Who said anything about worrying?!"

Taking a half-step sideways, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she pinned her elbow to her ribs, shifted her weight, and drove a crisp hook straight into my flank. A heavy, dull thud reverberated like the strike of a war drum. It was executed with such tight, disciplined form—as if she had secretly taken boxing lessons—that it genuinely startled me.

"Oof...?!"

Truthfully, it didn't hurt much at all, but out of politeness I curled forward and feigned agonizing pain. She snorted in disdain and arched an eyebrow with a haughty flick of her head.

"Stop being such a drama queen. My knuckles hurt more than your ribs right now. Tsk..."

Shaking out her hand, she waved it through the air. The puddle of blood pooled on the floor floated upward, flowing straight into the mouth of Cambello's avatar.

"Good. Now then..."

Wuuuung!

Swiftly tracing a magic circle, she infused it with mana and directed it to sink into Cambello's vessel.

Crack! Crunch!

The transformation was immediate. With a gruesome splintering of bone, the avatar's frame seemed to contract, collapsing in on itself before rapidly remodeling faster than it crumbled.

Snap! Creak! Squish!

"...Oh-ho?"

And that new form was strikingly familiar. It had taken on none other than my very own appearance.

"Weller. What is this?"

"Another decoy. If the Demon Kings are targeting you, this should at least buy us some confusion."

"...Not a bad idea. Are you planning to have it move alongside Father?"

"Exactly."

"Do you have to pilot it manually the whole time?"

"No, it can act autonomously to an extent. I can program behavioral routines into it in advance."

"Sounds even more useful than I thought... What about combat power?"

"I wouldn't get your hopes up on that front. Since it's the vessel of a high demon, it's durable enough, but that's about all it's got."

"Hmm... So it's strictly decoy material." I nodded and met her gaze. "Well, that's plenty. In any case, Weller, your role in this Demon King raid is absolutely crucial."

"...Huh? Me?"

"Yeah. Frankly speaking, without you, I'd say our chances look pretty hopeless... Muriel."

"Yes, Master."

When I reached out my hand, Muriel produced the Grimoire of Blasphemy as if she had anticipated the command and handed it over.

"What's this?" Taking the tome, Weller quickly flipped through its pages, and within seconds, her expression hardened like stone. "Hey. What the hell is this? This is... this is like some forbidden—"

"Shh. Don't say another word."

Though only completely trustworthy people were in my room, the concept of 'immortality' wasn't something to be spoken of lightly.

"...What do you expect me to do with this?"

"I want you to use that grimoire against Annus, the Demon King of Death. Right now, you're the only one in our party who can wield it properly."

"Use this on a Demon King? Why? Wouldn't that just backfire?"

"It's the quickest and easiest method to kill Annus. You trust me, don't you?"

"...Haaah, fine. I'll do as you say. Honestly, it leaves a foul taste in my mouth... but this isn't something I can just trigger as is, right?"

"Right. You have to feed it a piece of the target's flesh. The more vital the body part, the greater the potency. Don't worry, I'll secure one for you somehow."

"...Understood."

Offering her a smirk after she agreed, I turned to face the rest of the group.

"Well then... we don't have much time left before battle commences. Is everyone ready?"

"Yes. All preparations are complete."

"In peak condition! Ready to run wild whenever you give the word."

"I shall do my utmost, Lord Han-gil."

Watching them each state their resolve with such dependable conviction, I suddenly felt a small hand tugging firmly at my sleeve.

"...Vivian. What's wrong?"

"Orabeoni... C-Can't I come along too?"

"No. It's far too dangerous. You know that, Vivian."

"B-But..."

I gently stroked the head of the hesitating girl. "Besides, you're not the only one staying behind. Pashtra is staying too. Frankly, she won't be of much help in this one."

"Urk..."

At my brutally honest assessment, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Pashtra, who had been anxiously glancing our way, drooped her head in dejection.

"I'm sorry, Lord Han-gil... because I'm so weak..."

"It's fine. You can get stronger going forward. And you aren't weak, Pashtra. If knights across the Empire heard you saying that, they'd burst a blood vessel and accuse you of humblebragging."

Though Pashtra still hovered at Aura Top-tier, after consuming the Permanent Flesh and the World Tree's Fruit, her combat prowess was virtually on par with a Master. It was simply that the caliber of the battle awaiting us was ludicrously beyond standard scales.

"So just stay put here with Vivian and wait patiently. Got it?"

"...Yes."

"You too, Vivian."

"...Understood, Orabeoni."

As their subdued replies brought a heavy gloom over the room, Cacciola glanced between them and me, then raised her voice with a sly lilt.

"...Hey, Master-ya. I'm feeling a little tense, you know? Can't you do something to help me loosen up?"

"Out of nowhere?"

"Yeah. If you give me a nice, deep kiss, all this tension would just melt right away... You can do that much for me, right?"

"Uh..."

Flustered, I shifted my eyes, only to find the rest of my women gazing back with gleaming eyes at Cacciola's suggestion.

"A splendid proposal," Muriel murmured.

"Indeed, morale would skyrocket if you would grant us that much."

"Ahem! Hmph...!"

Staring dumbfoundedly at their predatory gazes as they crept forward step by step, I gave in with a resigned shrug.

"...Well, why the hell not?"

"I knew you'd understand, Master!"

The moment I smirked and opened my arms, Cacciola lunged without a second's hesitation, smashing her lips onto mine.

"Hah... Keep acting like a bunch of dogs in heat, why don't you."

Finding the sight of us locking lips in turn thoroughly revolting, Weller scowled fiercely and spat a colorful stream of profanities.

After sharing a round of passionate kisses, we were running through our final gear checks and loosening up when a mental transmission arrived from Rubias.

"...Alright. Everyone, combat stations. We strike Annus now. Weller, contact Father. Tell him it begins now."

"Got it."

Leaving Weller behind as she retrieved a communication artifact, I stepped out of the chamber and turned my gaze toward the distance, where an ominously ferocious demonic energy was already beginning to seep through the air.