Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: The Princess Escapes the Demon King's Castle to Rescue the Hero (6)
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Just a few meters remained until the swaying bridge, their goal.
Zzzzt-!
Yuri felt the hairs on his arms stand on end.
It was a warning from his instincts.
This very instinct had saved his life countless times before, so his body reacted immediately—and once again, it pulled him out of danger.
Whoosh-.
A harsh whooshing sound cut through the air as something dropped diagonally from above his head.
Boom-!
An enormous crash echoed as a massive cloud of dust billowed up right in front of him.
The wind soon blew the dust away in an instant, revealing the scene within. Yuri's face hardened.
"A sword?"
What had fallen right in front of him was none other than a single blade.
The very sword the Demon King had been leaning against his chair.
Tracing its trajectory back, Yuri could only stick out his tongue in disbelief.
"Wow, that's brute force..."
Atop the castle's spire.
The Demon King had hurled himself from there.
This ridiculously reckless Demon King had leaped down from that insane height barehanded just to catch him.
Sure, Yuri had jumped from the same spot...
'But I used my Cloud Step to cushion the impact as much as possible.'
He had his Cloud Step, and he'd even used the walls to descend carefully.
But this Demon King had just thrown himself down without any of that.
No matter how advanced his martial prowess, dropping from that height without any protection wouldn't have been a light impact.
'Well, if he's hurt from that, it works in my favor.'
If the Demon King had taken damage, it was nothing but good for Yuri.
But that was a hasty judgment.
Crunch-.
The Demon King's hand, flung out the window, dug into the castle wall.
Crack-.
The wall crumbled like a cookie around his arm, buried up to the elbow, gradually slowing his fall.
"......?!"
Yuri's eyes widened in shock.
But the surprises didn't end there.
With one hand embedded in the wall, the Demon King ripped chunks out with the other and hurled them at Yuri.
Whoosh-!
Boom-! Boom-!
He tore and threw pieces of the wall at speeds too fast for the eye to follow.
Each head-sized boulder that flew caused massive shockwaves around Yuri, kicking up dust.
'Crazy bastard?!'
Yuri, who had been about to sprint across the swaying bridge and escape, found his feet glued in place by the sudden boulder barrage.
As Yuri frantically dodged the incoming rocks.
Rumble-.
The Demon King, now halfway down the castle, came to a gradual halt.
He yanked his hand free from the wall and kicked off powerfully with both legs.
Then.
Craaaack-!
A massive circular fracture spiderwebbed out from where his feet hit.
Boom!
The wall exploded like an earthquake, launching the Demon King's body diagonally forward.
Fwoosh-.
Propelled at an unbelievable speed, the Demon King shot past Yuri's head.
Still hurtling along, he extended an arm and grabbed the hilt of the sword he'd thrown first—the one stuck in the ground.
Screeech-.
The embedded sword dragged a long furrow through the dirt as the flying Demon King twisted his body using it.
Soon, his feet hit the ground.
Sliding low on his belly with the sword, he gradually bled off his momentum.
In the process, the ground bore three deep gouges.
One from the sword, and two from his feet.
Those three trails stretched straight to the very front of the swaying bridge.
Crack-.
The Demon King rose to his feet right at the bridge's entrance. Seeing this, Yuri froze.
"Ha... this feels kinda like cheating..."
That athleticism and reflexes.
That sturdy body and aura.
Yuri could declare it with certainty.
The Demon King before him was at least a Rank 5 certified expert.
'Not quite Greta Wigen level, but he might even be Rank 6.'
He couldn't pinpoint the exact level, but one thing was clear: he couldn't beat this guy right now.
And that powerhouse was blocking the one and only escape route, the swaying bridge.
Yuri grumbled at him.
"Is it really okay for the Demon King to just abandon his castle like that?"
"...It is."
"Come on, don't you have some rules to follow?"
"You're the one who broke those rules."
Cold, emotionless eyes.
The Demon King raised his sword, pointing it at Yuri.
"Put the Power Crystal back where it belongs."
"Why?"
"It's the reward for this quest. Not something for you to touch."
"So why?"
"Did you not hear me?"
"That's why I'm asking. Does this quest have a rule saying the princess can't escape the Demon King's castle?"
"......"
"Or maybe a rule that the princess can't steal the Demon King's treasure and run?"
"......"
"It's a 'rescue the princess' quest, right? As long as the princess makes it home alive, that's what matters, isn't it? Does she really have to wait for the hero?"
"...Sophistry."
"Wow, this Demon King doesn't know much. People aren't all the same—some princesses are fragile, some are tough, and some are proactive enough to save themselves instead of waiting to be rescued."
"......"
"Of course, some princesses have sticky fingers too."
With that, Yuri clutched the Power Crystal tightly to his chest.
His argument was pure sophistry, no doubt.
But the Demon King couldn't flatly deny it because the quest truly had no such rules as Yuri described.
Twisted logic, but not entirely wrong in this situation.
So the Demon King had only one option.
"If you won't return it yourself... I'll take it."
He would force the broken rules back into place with raw power.
Roooar-.
A fierce aura erupted from the Demon King's body, whipping his red hair in the churning air.
Yuri eyed the ominous energy warily, carefully gauging the distance.
But no matter how he crunched the numbers, he couldn't visualize breaking past this Demon King to reach the bridge.
At this rate, he might have to hand over the Power Crystal.
Even so, Yuri stayed calm.
"You know what?"
"......"
"Once something's in my hands, I don't let it go."
Grinning, Yuri broke into a run.
But in the weirdest direction.
"......?!"
Even the stone-faced Demon King couldn't help widening his eyes at Yuri's sudden move.
Tap-.
Yuri wasn't running toward the swaying bridge.
Nor backward to flee.
Not even back to the castle.
He was charging straight for the cliff.
Tadak-.
As he picked up speed, he leaned down slightly and scooped up a few scattered pebbles from the ground.
Then.
Flash-!
Thunder crackled around Yuri's accelerating form.
Bang!
With a sonic boom, he vanished.
He reappeared in midair—between the two cliffs, in empty void.
A heart-stopping moment where he'd plummet if he slipped.
That's when he tossed out one of the pebbles he'd grabbed.
Activating his Cloud Step to the max, he stepped onto it and shot forward.
Tap-.
The secret to Yuri shattering the record in the Mechanism Breakthrough Quest was revealed to the world.
'No need to cross the whole cliff.'
Just land on the swaying bridge midway.
Yuri stepped on the second pebble and surged ahead.
He covered about 10 meters in a blink.
But his face was grim.
'This is... a bit too close for comfort?'
His Cloud Step was at least as good as during the quest—probably better.
Yet the distance he leaped was shorter than in the Mechanism Breakthrough Quest.
The reason? The environment.
'The wind's too strong.'
The quest had been in still air, but howling gales battered this place.
The fierce winds rocked his body, shortening his jumps with resistance.
Whoosh-.
'Hope I don't run out of pebbles.'
Gritting his teeth, Yuri kept leaping.
Then something even more unnerving happened.
"Halt!"
The Demon King, who'd been watching, started crossing the swaying bridge after him.
Seeing this, Yuri broke into a cold sweat.
'It's a race now?'
With time running short, Yuri poured more power into his legs.
After using up both remaining pebbles.
'Oh no—out!'
He'd run dry.
'Damn, short by one!'
Just one more, and he'd make it. But he was one pebble short.
Then something shifted in his pocket.
'Huh, this?'
It was the key that had spilled from Goetz's pocket during his forward roll.
It looked important, so Yuri had pocketed it quick.
He'd planned to check it out later...
'Later my ass! Survive first!'
Yuri yanked out the key and flung it.
Tap-!
He stepped on it for his final leap.
The key, sacrificed for his escape...
Splash-.
Plummeted into the raging rapids below.
Meanwhile, Yuri, crossing the void on the key, landed safely on the swaying bridge.
From there, he unleashed Thunder Wings and zipped across in a flash, reaching the opposite cliff.
His first move? Slicing the bridge's ropes.
Slice-.
The ropes snapped clean. Without support, the bridge collapsed swiftly.
The Demon King, who'd crossed halfway, tumbled down with it.
Anyone watching would've shouted, "Got him!"
A normal person would've celebrated defeating the Demon King right there...
'I'm not some noob.'
That's how you get wrecked by the villain who comes back to life.
So Yuri immediately looked down.
And sure enough.
"Whoa, seriously still alive?"
The "fallen" Demon King was clinging to this side's cliff.
He must've leaped with everything he had just as the bridge snapped, barely grabbing on.
Give him time, and he'd climb up and chase.
So Yuri stripped off his shirt, wrapped the Power Crystal tight, and tied it securely to his torso.
Resolve burned in his eyes.
'My goal isn't catching the Demon King.'
It was clearing the quest and claiming the Power Crystal.
Fighting the Demon King here was harder than linking up with Theresia to finish it.
Decision made, he turned to run.
"Oh, right."
He stopped abruptly, as if remembering something, and scanned around.
Spotting some head-sized rocks, he picked a few up and...
"Eat this!"
Hurled them vigorously at the cliff base.
Petty revenge for earlier.
Crunch-.
Something burst below, but Yuri didn't check—he just turned and bolted.
To find his hero, Theresia.
* * *
The moment the Demon King leaped out the window.
The princesses clustered at it, watching every vivid detail outside.
Seeing the bridge snap and plunge into the water, one muttered in a daze.
"...If he cuts that, how do we get out?"
"M-maybe there's another bridge?"
"And if not?"
"Uh..."
As those watching from the window fretted over what came next.
One voiced a puzzled murmur.
"...Thunder Wings?"
Goetz Loetern whispered it softly, staring in shock at Yuri's vanishing figure in the distance.
* * *
Long after Yuri left.
With only fierce winds swirling in the empty space.
Thunk-.
A massive hand gripped the cliff edge.
Veins bulging, it trembled with effort, then a blood-smeared face rose above the rim.
"Grr..."
The Demon King groaned like a beast, blood streaming from his head.
"I'll... kill you."
Blue murderous intent flashed in his eyes.