The Remnant of Pride
Creak.
"Come in."
Emilton opened the door to Dimerof's room and guided Do-ha inside.
They had passed any number of soldiers on the way, yet with her at his side they had reached this place without serious trouble. More importantly, the area around the emperor's chambers was laced with the traps and spells Emilton herself had laid. Anyone who entered without permission would have been reduced to dust long before the guards ever arrived.
There's enough magic here to stop at least ten noble-class demons, Do-ha thought.
Which meant it could also hold back thousands—tens of thousands—of ordinary soldiers.
Rustle.
"…Dimerof. I'm here."
Emilton drew back the heavy curtains that hid the vast bed, a faint smile on her lips.
Step. Step.
Without a word she turned and made space. Do-ha approached the man lying with his eyes closed.
Softly.
"…What the hell happened to you."
He laid a hand on Dimerof's shoulder—shoulders that looked ready to stop breathing at any moment—and let out a long, heavy sigh.
He could feel it.
Dimerof's life force was draining away, little by little.
Only Emilton's daily six-hour ritual of forcing dragon mana out of him with magic had kept him alive this long. Without her, he would have died long ago.
Thud.
A soft hiss of energy.
"I need to take a look."
Do-ha placed his hand on Dimerof's forehead and drew up his power.
Just what had Depnius done to leave Dimerof dying like this?
Under normal circumstances Dimerof should never have been unable to expel a dragon's energy. As a Grand Sword Master he was strong enough to defeat dragons themselves—the same realm as the Profound Realm of the Murim world.
And yet he could not push the dragon's power out?
Depnius must have done something.
Do-ha took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Whoosh—
A low crackle of force.
…Do-ha… Dimerof…
Emilton watched the two of them in silence, biting her lip.
Softly.
"Well? Can you push it out?"
The moment Do-ha lifted his hand from Dimerof's forehead she stepped closer.
"…"
"Do-ha?"
"Huh? What?"
He had been lost in grim thought; he blinked and looked at her.
"…Is something wrong?"
Her expression shifted to worry at the look on his face.
Was it that serious?
Or had they simply arrived too late?
"He's trapped."
"Who? Dimerof?"
"Yeah. Deep inside him… Dimerof's mind is being held captive."
That was why he could not expel the dragon's power and was simply dying, helpless. The mind was will itself; once it had been severed from the body, nothing remained.
"How is that even possible? How could anyone do that??"
She was a genius scholar who sat as master of a magic tower, yet she had never seen anything like this. And Dimerof? He was a Grand Sword Master—the so-called Sword that Cleaves the Heavens. For a will of that caliber to be seized…
Even if Depnius was a Gold Dragon, it should have been impossible.
"If Depnius had that kind of power…"
"No."
It was not Depnius. The dragon had only opened a path so something could invade the inner world. Whatever was binding Dimerof's will was something else entirely.
"Then what is it?"
"…"
Do-ha's fist clenched tight at her question.
He had cut that bastard's breath with his own sword. How was the thing still alive?
"Lucifer."
The power of Lucifer—the Demon King of Pride who had tormented Do-ha to the very end—was holding Dimerof's will captive deep inside him.
"…Lucifer?"
At the name she lowered her head. She knew Lucifer's power all too well. During the invasion of Belhart she had witnessed the Demon Kings' strength. They were beings for whom the word "strong" was inadequate—beings that could rightly be called gods. Only the Absolute Being, Baek Do-ha, had made it possible to hold them back at all.
"Why didn't I sense Lucifer's power…? I've been treating him this whole time."
"You couldn't have."
It had burrowed into the deepest reaches of the inner world, hidden beneath the dragon's energy. Even Do-ha had only found it because Lucifer's power had reacted to him.
The moment it felt my energy, the remnant that had been hiding stirred.
Without that reaction even he would have missed it. Why had Lucifer's power answered him? If it had simply stayed buried, no one would ever have found it. So why?
"Then… does that mean we can't save Dimerof?"
"No."
"We… we can save him?"
"If I hadn't found Lucifer's power, no. But now I know exactly where it is."
Thud.
Do-ha stretched out both arms and laid one hand over Dimerof's heart, the other on his forehead.
"When I give the signal, convert the Dragon Heart into pure mana. I have to push the dragon energy out before I can reach Dimerof's mind."
As long as the dragon's power kept interfering, knowing Lucifer's location would mean nothing; he still could not touch it.
"Understood."
Emilton moved at once. Decades of fighting side by side had made her reactions razor-sharp; there was not a wasted motion.
Hold on, Dimerof. I'm coming to get you out.
A low, rising hum.
A sharp crack of force.
Do-ha closed his eyes and drew up his power. Internal energy and mana surged together from his dantian and his magic circles.
"Now."
Whoooooosh—!
At his signal Emilton began chanting at once, converting the Dragon Heart into pure mana.
A soft descent.
Tap.
Deep inside Dimerof's inner world, Do-ha's consciousness settled gently.
It keeps writhing the moment it sees me.
Everything was darkness. Far away, a mass that looked like a clump of living flesh began to writhe and pulse.
Thump. Thump.
The closer he drew, the faster the mass convulsed—like a tumor.
"Show yourself."
A soft rush of air.
Myeol-hwang Sword Technique, Fourth Form: Cloud Breaking Moon.
Formless energy took shape in Do-ha's hand and began to carve the mass apart.
Crack—
Boom!
"…It was you after all."
"It's been a while, Baek Do-ha."
The mass split open. Inside, Dimerof hung bound, and the being that watched over him—Lucifer—raised a hand in casual greeting.
"…Baek Do-ha?"
Reduced to little more than bone, Dimerof saw him and his eyes trembled for the first time. Through every mockery and torture Lucifer had inflicted, those eyes had never once shaken. Now they did.
"Look at the state of you after all this time. Getting pushed around by a mere demon? Doesn't he even feed you? You're skin and bones."
"…You son of a… yeah. That's Baek Do-ha, all right."
A smile touched Dimerof's cracked lips—not because he suddenly believed he would live, but because seeing the friend he had thought dead was simply too good to bear.
"Hmm. Doing that right in front of me is a little insulting, don't you think?"
Softly.
Lucifer rose, hands clasped behind his back. In a way, wasn't this reunion possible only because of him?
"Shouldn't you be thanking me?"
"Thanking you… Anyone listening would think you stirred on purpose. You felt me and lost control—that's all."
"…"
Lucifer fell silent. It was true. He had planned to stay buried until Dimerof simply ceased to exist. Then, out of nowhere, he had felt Baek Do-ha's energy. Before he could stop himself he had writhed.
"You know, looking at you, Pride never really suited you. Greed and Envy fit a lot better."
How had a creature like this ever been called Pride? Everything he did reeked of greed, jealousy, and spite.
"Hahahaha! Still the same irritating mouth, Baek Do-ha."
"One question. How are you still alive?"
"Hmm~? Curious, are you? Am I even truly alive? Do I exist right now? Or am I nothing more than a residual thought?"
"A residual thought… You're not wrong. But this is a slightly different kind of residual thought."
"…"
"You didn't actually think I wouldn't notice, did you?"
What held Dimerof's mind was Lucifer's residual thought—or, more precisely, something closer to a fragment, a kind of clone of the original. Ordinary residual thoughts formed after death; this one felt almost like a living double.
"The main body is hiding somewhere."
"As expected of Baek Do-ha. Even after losing your power, those eyes of yours never change. Makes me want to pluck them out."
Lucifer lowered his head, a grotesque smile spreading across his face. Those sharp, glittering eyes—he had always wanted to tear them free and hang them around his neck.
"Funny. I feel the same way. I'd love to cut off that head of yours and put it on display."
A soft rush of power.
Do-ha stretched out his arm; blue energy gathered in his hand and took the shape of a sword.
"Pfft… Where did all that power that once blanketed the entire Demon Realm go? What's this pathetic little spark? Heh heh… almost cute."
Slash—!
Laughing, Lucifer flooded both hands with demonic energy and lunged.
Once, merely looking at him had sent chills down the spine. Now the sight was so pitiful it was almost sad.
Crash!
"Kh!"
"That sky-high power of yours is gone completely."
Boom!
"Guh!"
"You paid the proper price for standing against the Demon God."
Do-ha gritted his teeth and met each of Lucifer's strikes. The attacks looked almost casual, yet every time he blocked them he felt the bones throughout his body threatening to shatter.
"You can't even react to something this light!"
Whoosh—!
Slash!
"…"
Drip. Drip.
Do-ha twisted his head aside to avoid the demonic energy that erupted from the floor, but he was a fraction too slow. A clean line opened from his lower jaw all the way to his left ear.
This was only the inner world; his real body was unharmed. The damage to his spirit, however, was real.
"Tsk tsk tsk. How pitiful… A being who once stood in the heavens, fallen all the way to the dirt… You must be furious with yourself. Helpless. Powerless."
Lucifer shook his head with what looked like genuine pity—yet his mouth was smiling. Watching the once-invincible Baek Do-ha reduced to this was pure delight.
Softly.
"How does that despair feel?"
Do-ha's arms hung limp. Lucifer's smile curved even wider. That helplessness, that frustration—emotions the old Baek Do-ha had never been allowed to feel. How did they taste?
"You know something? The mind has no limits."
"What?"
"The reason humans can keep growing is because the mind itself has no ceiling."
The mind was will.
"Ahh, is that so~?"
Lucifer sneered. Lines like that were the kind weaklings spouted while thrashing around in desperation.
"Thank you. For being here."
"?"
Rumble—rumble—rumble—
The empty, lightless inner world began to shake violently.
"If you'd been in the real world I would already be dead. But this is the inner world."
Which meant that with a strong enough will, one could become as powerful as one wished.
Whoooosh—
"…The Absolute Being, Baek Do-ha."
Rainbow-hued energy erupted from Do-ha's body. Lucifer trembled, a smile spreading across his face.
Yes. That was the form. The Absolute who had once blanketed the entire Demon Realm. Beautiful, almost as if angelic wings had unfurled behind him.
"My mind has already seen the end once before."
ROAAAAAR—!
Just as when he had fought the Demon God, Do-ha's body became a single shaft of light.
And in that instant—
Whoooooosh—!
"Kyaa! Wh-what is that?!"
In the real world Emilton, who had been watching quietly, screamed at the storm of power that suddenly erupted around them.
Right now, in this very moment, Baek Do-ha was achieving enlightenment—and transcending his realm.