Chapter 288: Declaration (1)
Chapter 288: Declaration (1)
Translation: Godtl
The clash between Frondier and Belphegor.
That scene was witnessed by everyone at the Barrier through Wizerview, just as Quinier had planned.
The same went for the Roah Knights.
After eliminating most of the Manggot forces that had lost their Shepherd, they raised their eyes to the hologram.
Belphegor's question and Frondier's answer.
Every silver-armored knight heard those voices.
Grandmaster Silvain.
After the Wizerview turned off, he let out a heavy sigh.
"Did you all hear that?"
A brief question directed at all the knights.
"Yes."
Their voices sounded as if they carried a heavy weight within.
"Did you see who we must protect?"
"Yes."
This time, their voices grew slightly louder.
They understood what Silvain's question implied. With renewed resolve, they answered.
Silvain nodded. His shoulders felt just as heavy as the knights watching him.
"There must be no falling behind."
The Roah Knights.
They exist to protect the Roah family and its domain.
And they had just witnessed the second son of the Roah family unleashing his might.
"If we falter even for a moment, we won't even see his back."
"Yes."
The Roah Knights.
The knights hailed as the Empire's finest sharpened the swords in their hearts even further, each preparing to protect their lord who strode ahead.
Frondier's Sword Essence struck Belphegor square in the chest.
Belphegor plummeted to the ground.
The demon crashed with tremendous force, creating a massive crater and sending up a thick cloud of dust.
"Haaah, haaah..."
Frondier gasped for breath as he released his Fabrication—or rather, he no longer had the strength to maintain it.
He then looked at his left hand.
'The flames are gone.'
The blue flames Belphegor had conjured, the ones that had been devouring Frondier's left hand, had vanished. His left hand, now horribly damaged, barely retained its shape and trembled faintly.
'If I had been even a second slower...'
A chill ran down Frondier's spine. Without both hands intact, he wouldn't have even been able to attempt his Sword Essence technique, "Jeong." Moreover, the pain had been so excruciating that he nearly dropped the hammer.
'Speaking of which, this Mjolnir...'
Frondier lifted the Mjolnir he was gripping.
'Did it fly all the way here from the Imperial Palace?'
Right before his battle with Belphegor, Frondier had sensed Mjolnir's presence. Or rather, it felt as though Mjolnir had called out to him.
But he wasn't entirely sure. He had wanted to resolve things within his own means if possible. He had hoped that wielding the Mjolnir he'd replicated through Fabrication—bluffing with Excalibur—would be enough.
Yet, as expected, it wasn't sufficient, and Belphegor saw through his plan. If not for this Mjolnir, it would have been Frondier himself crashing into the ground by now.
'I heard no one but Thor could control Mjolnir.'
Throwing Mjolnir and having it return to his will—that was something only Thor could do. At least, according to the game's lore and records.
Frondier's control over the Mjolnir he'd fabricated was strictly limited to within Menosorpo. In other words, he had only manipulated it like any other weapon.
But this time was different. From the Imperial Palace all the way here, Mjolnir had flown at high speed to reach his hand.
"...Thank you."
Whether Mjolnir truly possessed a will of its own or not, Frondier couldn't help but say those words.
As Belphegor crashed down, changes occurred not only for Frondier but on the ground as well.
"Wh-what?! Those things—!"
Someone's shout marked the beginning of what everyone soon witnessed.
The army of corpses was disappearing. No—they were collapsing where they stood, as if returning to their rightful state.
The blue flames that had been burning Frondier's left hand and the army of corpses had vanished.
The meaning was clear.
Sssk—
Frondier descended to the ground and approached the crater where Belphegor had crashed.
Thud. His steps were cautious.
'Is he really dead?'
Of course, he had struck with the intent to kill.
Excalibur, infused with all the Mana of Helheim from his mana crystal, and the real Mjolnir—if Belphegor had survived that combination, it would defy all reason.
"And even if this move hadn't worked, Frondier wouldn't have stood a chance against Belphegor in the first place."
"......"
As the smoke cleared, Belphegor's gruesome state was revealed.
A massive hole had been torn through his chest, and deep gashes crisscrossed his entire body, each one severe enough to bleed profusely. Had he been human, he would have died from excessive blood loss long before the hole in his chest.
......But he was a Devil.
One of the Seven Deadly Sins, so who knew—
"......Ah."
Belphegor made a sound.
Even with his chest pierced and his body covered in horrific wounds.
"You monstrous bastard."
Belphegor spat the insult, his weary gaze shifting to Frondier.
But it seemed he couldn't move any further.
Frondier spoke.
"I thought you'd get back up."
"Impossible. This body is about to die."
This body?
At the unpleasant choice of words, Frondier's brow furrowed.
"......So that's why you could exist in this world."
"Right. This is a borrowed body. I'll be returning to the Demon Realm. Though I've grown quite fond of this one."
Frondier clenched his fist.
He had fought a life-or-death battle, but his opponent hadn't even staked his life to begin with.
"Don't make that face. For me right now, death is preferable to returning to the Demon Realm."
"What do you mean?"
"It means I'm stepping down from the seat of Sloth."
At that, Frondier's eyes widened. Belphegor continued.
"Why so surprised? Your Empire does something similar. The 'Zodiacs,' aren't they? Always maintaining the number twelve. The Seven Deadly Sins are the same. A Devil whose authority has fallen steps down, and another takes the seat of 'Sloth.' It's how the Seven are maintained."
"Then what happens to you?"
"I'll fall to the bottom of the demon hierarchy and be imprisoned."
"......With your level of power, you could resist."
"That's not something you can resist. It's different from your human prisons. Just like you can't avoid falling into Hell just because you don't want to."
Even now, Belphegor couldn't resist mixing in a taunt.
Frondier shook his head.
"......Belphegor, I have a question."
"What is it?"
"If you were a Devil in your true form, not borrowing a human body—would you be stronger than you are now?"
Frondier had barely managed to defeat one of the Seven Deadly Sins. And their number wouldn't even decrease.
But if Belphegor was actually even stronger than this...
Considering the possibility that Frondier might one day face the Gods, the future looked bleak.
"......Hmm, it's hard to explain. A human body is stifling, but I could use all the techniques at my disposal. Especially since our fight came down to who landed the decisive blow first. A Devil's body is a bit more durable, but it wouldn't have withstood that Sword Essence you just unleashed."
Belphegor's words were somewhat reassuring to Frondier, but his narrowed eyes seemed to warn against complacency.
"Though the difference wouldn't be that big. This isn't my home ground, after all."
At that, Frondier fell silent.
Right. More important than the body was the fact that this wasn't the Demon Realm.
Frondier had thought he was fighting in the heart of enemy territory, Manggot.
But in truth, Belphegor—the Devil—had been in hostile territory too.
"Frondier."
"What?"
"If you've decided to save humanity, see it through to the end."
"......What?"
As Frondier tilted his head in confusion, Belphegor continued.
"That way, I won't have to come back later to devour more souls."
"......This bastard."
Frondier took a step toward Belphegor.
But Belphegor still spoke mockingly,
"So make sure you do."
Swish—
Mid-sentence, the focus in Belphegor's pupils vanished. His shoulders, which had been moving faintly, stilled, and his breathing stopped.
"......What the hell."
Belphegor was dead. More precisely, the body had died, and Belphegor's soul had returned to the Demon Realm.
"Annoying till the very end."
Frondier sighed and looked around.
The army of corpses had vanished, and there didn't seem to be any severely injured people.
Belphegor was gone, and Osprey had left to prevent the descent of the Gods.
He was worried about the Barrier, but with powerhouses like the Zodiacs and Angper, they should hold it. The Shepherds of Manggot and the instructors of Constelle would handle things well. And most of all, Aitze was there—worrying was a luxury.
"......Now."
Frondier's gaze turned upward.
Even amidst this, Frondier continued to think.
Was there something left undone, something overlooked? Were there still gaps he hadn't attended to?
"Ah."
Then it came to him.
"First, I should go to Aten."
Frondier moved.
To keep the nearest promise.
Osprey entered the interior of Manggot with Selena.
Though Selena didn't know every inch of the terrain, she had witnessed devotees reciting prayers here before leaving earlier.
By the time they arrived, the mana gathering from their faith had reached an uncontrollable level.
"Damn! We must hurry. Subdue them!"
Osprey said to Selena, and she sprang into action.
Selena had no desire to kill even those who hadn't participated in the war. During her long stay in Manggot, she had become familiar with some of the devotees here.
Thud! Wham!
"Ugh!"
"Agh!"
For Selena, who understood the human body well, knocking out unarmed devotees was child's play. Though, given the urgency, her methods were a bit rough.
Whoosh?
Meanwhile, Osprey visualized the divine body and approached the massive flow of mana concentrated at the center of the devotees.
His hands spread wide as mana surged forth.
There was no precise formula to prevent a god's descent fueled by faith, but what needed to be done now was simply to disperse the mana.
While stopping the divine descent was crucial, if the mana were to explode during dispersal—considering Manggot's cave-like structure—everyone inside would be buried alive.
"Hmm! That was far too close!"
Cold sweat trickled down Osprey's back.
Indeed, the divine descent had been imminent. Having traveled across many lands over the long years, he recognized a scent similar to that of a Sanctuary in this concentrated mana.
Even in a Sanctuary, one could meet a god, converse briefly, or receive aid—yet the mana gathered here was hundreds of times greater.
Moreover.
[Hmm.]
"......!"
Within that concentrated mana, something slowly began to take shape.
[This won't do.]
Osprey's eyes widened as he watched it. His hands, which had been steadily dismantling the mana, trembled slightly.
[The one before me—Osprey, is it?]
"......Yes."
The being recognized Osprey. But Osprey didn't know who had just appeared. The silhouette was barely visible amidst the blinding radiance.
Fortunately, the other introduced themselves first.
[My name is Prometheus. Do you know me, Osprey?]
"......Prometheus. I believed you were one who loved humanity."
Prometheus was revered in this continent for sheltering ancient humans and gifting them fire. This aligned with actual myths.
At Osprey's question, Prometheus nodded—though the silhouette made it unclear.
[Of course I love humanity. That is why I came to aid them.]
"You came to help?"
[Indeed.]
Prometheus's voice was calm.
[Did you not wish for humanity's demise?]
"......!"
[That expression—I see. So this, too, was a war. You do not desire humanity's destruction.]
Osprey's eyelids trembled.
Why would humans wish for their own demise?
Osprey naturally thought so, but Prometheus did not.
[Humanity will walk a difficult path once more.]
Prometheus's gaze seemed sorrowful. Osprey pressed further.
"What do you mean? How can you say humans desire their own destruction? Why is rejecting that considered a difficult path?!"
[It's too late for such questions.]
Prometheus's silhouette began to fade. The gathered mana started dispersing—not by Osprey's doing, but by Prometheus's own will.
[Too late, Archmage.]
And then.
[But first, let me offer my congratulations. This time, the victory is yours.]
Whoosh.
Prometheus vanished.
Not only that, but the massive clump of mana gathered by faith disappeared in an instant.
This was Prometheus's power. There would be no mana turbulence, no explosion.
Everything had gone exactly as Osprey wished, yet.
"......."
His anguish only deepened in that moment.