Chapter 97: As If Awakening a Destiny

Bargo saw it.

Kariel, gripping the sword.

‘Is he drawing it now?’

He had waited a long time.

But what was this situation?

Why…

Why was a boy, who seemed to have no connection at all, drawing the sword?

‘Grandeus.’

Is that your successor?

Then why is that sword emitting such a brilliant light?

Even without being touched by the light, the magical power throughout Bargo’s body was scattering.

The damage seemed even more severe for the massive kin; in an instant, the kin was burned by the light, right down to its rotten shell.

‘I cannot understand this.’

Could that actually be the Holy Sword?

Bargo had dealt with many who held the Holy Sword.

And for the most part, there were many who merely held it but could not wield it properly.

Hadn’t even Lueld taken a considerable amount of time to master the Holy Sword?

Some time ago, the Demon King of Wisdom—that Great One—had said this:

[The Holy Sword also tests humans.]

The Holy Sword is not some omnipotent being; how much could it possibly know about its user just by recognizing them?

[That is why the Holy Sword tests its master. While a Demonic Sword devours its master, their purposes are different.]

Therefore, a Demonic Sword is something to be subdued and tamed, like a Magic Beast.

But the Holy Sword…

[Its use begins only after one is permitted or accepted by it.]

The sword-spear held in Bargo’s own hand was also a proper Magic Beast.

Called a Magic Armor, it was something that could easily be called the armaments of a Demon King should he become one.

A Magic Beast and a Demon Human grow together.

However, if the Demon Human is insufficient, the Magic Beast devours even the Demon Human.

The opposite, of course, is also possible.

It seemed that was the case for Grandeus.

‘Did you devour the Holy Sword?’

How deep and vast must his darkness have been?

To the point where he could treat even the Holy Sword as a mere tool.

Now he understood.

Why Grandeus had said that any sword that wouldn’t break would suffice.

Grandeus.

To him, the Holy Sword meant…

…simply a sword that would absolutely not break.

A sword that could withstand his own power.

An armament that would not shatter even in countless battles.

‘Unexpected, but…’

Separate from the admiration leaking out, he was once again caught between duty and responsibility.

What should he do?

Could he kill him now?

It was possible.

It would be possible, but…

‘Those eyes.’

Eyes resembling gold were staring at him.

A precarious existence that looked as if it might crumble at any moment.

Why, how was he enduring?

‘That must surely be your successor.’

Then why give the sword into the hands of another?

Furthermore, Bargo had watched closely.

He hadn’t taken his eyes off for a single moment during the critical instant.

Therefore, he had witnessed it clearly—the scene where Kariel guided Leo’s hand to the hilt, as if handing over the sword or crossing their grip.

‘Is this correct?’

Or had Grandeus left something else behind for that boy, something they didn’t know about?

There was no time to delay.

The light grew more intense.

He had already repeatedly told his subordinates to flee, so they had all vanished from the area.

‘In that case, I certainly cannot leave him alive.’

A new Hero has been born?

It didn’t matter.

What was more terrifying was…

…Lueld’s Offspring.

The fact that this thing survived intact.

It was already difficult to handle as it was; if it grew further and truly became an existence like Grandeus…

Then they would have no way to deal with it on their own.

Even the Demon King of Wisdom.

Even that Great One, who was once called the eyes of the Great Demon King.

He had always respected the man who was the Great Demon King’s left arm.

But that respect was not out of loyalty or courtesy.

It must have been because of his skill and the power that defied common sense.

Grandeus. Those who had not glimpsed his true strength used to mock his path, underestimate him, sneer, and despise him.

And immediately after the invasion of the Middle Realm, those who expressed dissatisfaction with his actions—whether as individuals or leading armies—invaded the areas where he resided.

The result?

They were all slaughtered.

He was a being completely distant from mercy.

In the first place, does justice show mercy when subjugating evil?

Such a thing is impossible.

He handled things so thoroughly that there were no lingering consequences, ensuring that retaliation was impossible, always leading to catastrophic results.

If you become his enemy, you die.

You absolutely die.

He never attacked or exercised violence first.

But he…

Had never once forgiven or overlooked those who struck first.

The only exception was the Great Demon King.

Was that not why he had spent his entire life challenging the Great Demon King to kill him?

He was not normal.

One of the most abnormal beings even in the Demon Realm.

Madness reached its zenith.

…And the successor of such a Grandeus—there is no way he would forget his enemy. No way he would stand by. No way he would permit it.

‘I must.’

He must kill him.

And fortunately, an opening appeared.

The kin exposed to the Holy Sword’s beam, the Earth Wyrm, lay sprawled on the ground, struggling.

Even the countless Created Ones that burst forth from it melted away instantly, like snow before the sun.

It was an overwhelmingly oppressive sight, enough to evoke a lament.

As an evil being rooted in the Demon Realm, Bargo found it utterly unreasonable.

‘But I am grateful now.’

When the kin had been clinging to him with intent, there was no time to create an opening.

But now, it was possible.

Leaping into the air like a bolt of lightning traveling backward toward the sky, Bargo once again gripped the Jet-Black Spear.

“Haaaa—”

He refined his breathing and squeezed out his magical power.

If Lueld were to appear in this situation…

He would be slaughtered without being able to lift a finger.

No, it wasn’t just that.

The moment that man came into view, it was clear that regardless of how perfect his condition was, resistance would be meaningless.

Facing him was futile.

Nothing more than a useless struggle.

However, this was not his father.

“No matter how brilliant life may be, it cannot refuse death.”

Tua apport[1]ō.

Tua Apportō.

Red lightning embroidered the air like vivid flowers.

Stretching out in dozens, hundreds of branches, it was soon sucked into the black energy emanating from the Jet-Black Spear, discharging black currents and sparks in all directions.

As if a giant light, a bolt of lightning, were newly surging, appearing, and being born from the void.

Even the blue sky lost all its color, swept away by the aftermath.

The current, which had spread as if to fill the heavens and earth, then retracted like a blooming bud.

In an instant, all of it vanished, as if sucked into Bargo and the Jet-Black Spear he gripped.

What followed was silence and stillness.

But everyone who witnessed it sensed instinctively.

That this was not the end.

But the beginning.

Kariel, of course, sensed it too.

And truly, in the time it took to blink just once…

He was right there in front of him.

How…

—!!

Had he blocked it?

Before he could even realize that fact…

He blocked it with the sword.

What was certain was that immediately after…

In that moment…

Neither I nor the opponent existed.

For that moment, everything vanished.

——.

———.

Clang!

A sound was heard.

Listening closely, he realized it was similar to the sound of hammering.

He wasn’t sure if that was correct or not.

“In the beginning, let there be light.”

Someone spoke.

“Next, there shall be darkness.”

And after that.

“Only fire and water shall remain.”

——!

“Guh!”

Without even realizing he had been swept away, he found himself looking up at the sky.

He felt no strength in his entire body.

What had happened?

“——.”

His breath would not follow.

He tried to force the breathing his body was accustomed to, but it wouldn’t connect.

His whole body was stiff.

It felt as if his body did not belong to him.

-How long were you unconscious?

The Demon King was looking down at him as if lying across his vision.

The Golden Girl asked, looking down with bored eyes.

“…….”

He didn’t know.

He couldn’t feel it.

His thoughts wouldn’t connect.

Everything was merely faint.

The only certain thing was that death had arrived before his eyes.

That alone was vivid.

-As planned, the Holy Sword is passed on. Use that as the capacity to overcome the crisis. It was a decent option. As you and I expected, that fellow will target you until the end.

Only.

-You simply didn’t have the capacity to handle it.

“…….”

The world was faint.

No, he really felt like he was going to die.

Or was it? Had death already invaded the back of his throat?

“…….”

-Are you curious about what happened?

This is why it’s great to be able to understand intentions just by meeting eyes.

Or perhaps it was just a lucky guess.

As long as it works, isn’t that enough?

-The second round has begun.

Second round?

-The kin of the Demonic World Tree collapsed after being exposed to the Holy Sword. Since it was only a temporary measure in the Middle Realm, it actually lasted quite a while. Bargo? He didn’t even have time to confirm your end; he got hit a few times by the Holy Sword and barely managed to escape.

If everything had ended here…

…perhaps things really would have been resolved peacefully.

-But we know. That there are those who will not stand by once the sword is drawn.

That’s why we tried to pass it off to the Order of Relief Knights.

Asking Venus or Ases was, in the end, for that reason.

-The intention was successful. The only problem is…

…the new Hero who holds the Holy Sword.

And anyone from the Order of Relief Knights with powerful military force.

-They have faced an enemy who is very troublesome to deal with.

Suddenly, he felt as if the world had turned strangely white.

-You know your fiancée. The Princess.

“……?”

-Just think of it as an existence like her having arrived.

To be precise.

-The legacy of the Great Demon King. A child carrying that has arrived.

No, not arrived.

They were already here.

-In a way, the guess of that brat Leo, who thought the sword recognized the Demon King, was correct.

The Holy Sword simply didn’t recognize it.

That it was such a being.

……Suddenly.

Whether it was snow or a small hail crystal, something fell and landed on her face.

In that moment…

……The girl opened her eyes.

====

She couldn’t remember.

But the confusion was brief.

After thinking carefully, the girl remembered one thing clearly: that she had been hit by a carriage.

At that time, while being hit and trampled…

She must have been dying.

At that time, truly, faintly… the distant sensation of someone wailing and shaking their body was the only thing she could remember….

“Are you awake?”

“?!”

A voice she hated.

A voice she wished she would never hear again.

But she would not be able to avoid it.

If there was anyone who would reach out to them here…

It would only be him.

A pale face.

In contrast, black lips and dark eyes, colored entirely black without even whites.

He was not human.

A tailcoat made of high-quality material.

With the hat, his appearance looked at first glance like that of a high-ranking Great Noble.

If this were a ballroom or a social gathering, he would have instantly drawn attention.

“…Did you save me? What is the price? What do you want?”

“The price for saving you was paid by your younger brother.”

……What?

“Two years have already passed. I have allowed you to recover, but since I didn’t receive payment for waking you, I kept you frozen temporarily. The account must be settled. Even if it is you.”

“Where is that child now?”

“He is working hard at our establishment, in the workplace.”

“What work! What establishment! What are you talking about?!”

“I might need a price to tell you?”

“……You, until the very end!”

She resented him.

Father.

Because you sold me off…

I ended up entangled with this man.

And because I possessed what this man wanted…

It has now become impossible for me to even escape.

And now, my weakness is held in that man’s hand.

“If you cast aside your humanity, you could easily escape my interference. Why do you wish to live so primitively, clinging to such things?”

“What would a demon like you know?”

“A demon? I am a mere merchant. I value profit and prioritize transactions. In the Middle Realm, there is likely no one more special than us in this regard. Compliance with contracts is absolute for us.”

“…….”

She truly hated it.

Closing both eyes and even her ears, she wanted to throw everything away.

However, the fact that she could recover like this was likely possible because her younger brother had sacrificed himself.

And now, if she did not pay the price…

…that debt would snowball and press down on that child’s head, his shoulders.

Eventually, it would crush his entire body.

“What do you want?”

“It’s nothing much. Just, for the sake of our future, I ask you to do one thing.”

“One thing?”

What kind of condition was he going to bring up this time?

However, what he wanted was extremely simple.

Only.

“A certain sage told me that someone who would trouble us would be born in a certain village. But I don’t know who it is.”

So, I ask of you.

“Please kill the person we want. Then the contract will be fulfilled.”

For you, it would be a very easy task, wouldn’t it?

“…And if I refuse?”

“Someone else will pay the price in another way. How about it? Will you accept?”

“…….”

Why.

Why won’t they leave us alone?

They had already been miserable and in pain enough.

“…I just have to do that?”

“Of course.”

And so, the girl…

……Entered a village.

And at dawn, she froze the entire village solid.

There would have been no pain.

Yes.

There would have been absolutely… no pain.

But why…

“I did it! I did it, so why!”

“But look. The contract has not been fulfilled. This is not something we can control. You know that, don’t you?”

Absolute Compliance Contract.

As if proving the contract, a contract made of light unfolded in the air.

“It hasn’t been fulfilled, has it?”

“Then what about what I did?! What on earth was what I did?!”

“Calm down. We, of course, admit the mistake. We will provide sufficient mental compensation accordingly…”

“What about these people? What do these people become then?!”

“That is the biggest concern. Since we cannot give them compensation, I am seriously considering making a donation and investment into the Kingdom of Serph.”

The dead are beyond help, aren’t they?

“Or, perhaps the contract wasn’t fulfilled because you didn’t kill everyone. Then… whose fault is it for not complying with the contract?”

“…….”

“And as if predicting such a thing, our sage has delivered another message.”

If you wish to put this matter down.

“There is another way. The people here haven’t died yet, have they? Of course, I suspected as much, so I kept my eyes wide open in surveillance… as expected, the Divine Authority of the Great Demon King is truly mysterious. I am sorry to the people of Tedeo Village in many ways… but perhaps they can be released someday. Ah, is that problematic for now? To do that, the Divine Authority must be developed further… but that’s impossible alone, isn’t it?”

“…You could have just made a different proposal from the start! Why! Why do this after everything has already happened?!”

“Then how about killing the frozen villagers one by one now, just to check? One of them might be the one, right?”

“…….”

“You are the one making things difficult. Who is blaming whom? I’m speechless.”

She lost her words.

“Still, this task won’t be difficult.”

Because.

“You just have to sit and guard a sword that cannot be drawn.”

And if someone appears who can draw that sword?

“You just kill them.”

Then.

“Your future, and the future of your pitiful younger brother, will become a bit smoother.”

How about it?

“Will you accept my kind offer? If you accept and this matter is resolved, I will release all the restrictions placed upon you.”

Only then.

“You will become a free person! Now, be happy! Hurry!”

…….

…I am sorry.

Because I was incompetent, I don’t know what I’ve done.

Because I was selfish.

Because I wasn’t vicious enough.

Because I was neither one nor the other.

“Forget the past! Now! Be happy! Otherwise… how unfair would it be for those trapped there?”

What leaked from those black lips was surely the whisper of a demon.

Even knowing that…

I have been played by it once again.

If there is something I desire.

Even if I die. Even if I fall into hell.

Only that pitiful child….

I pray, and pray again, that that child alone may be saved.

Oh God.

If You exist.

…Please, grant at least that one wish.

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