LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 420
Chapter 421
“…This is spine-chilling.”
Even Yuri was taken aback by the utterly incredible sight before them.
A gigantic crater, large enough to spell disaster if it had emerged in the city, unfolded right in front of their eyes.
“Gasp, gasp….”
Noel, the very culprit behind it, lay exhausted on the ground, breathing heavily.
If she could unleash such devastating power while just being exhausted, it might be a strategy worth considering.
[Well, unless something special happens, I doubt there will be another chance to use it again.]
Lunaria said that with a sweet smile. It was a pity. This kind of attack could surely be effective against other Demon Kings as well.
It was only common sense. After all, it wasn’t everyday you came across an artifact from Lunaria that could withstand the impact of Solaria’s holy sword.
It was a miraculous coincidence.
With Yeon-woo, favored by Lunaria, facing an especially troublesome Demon King, it was clear that Lunaria was feeling a bit whimsical watching the scene unfold.
The power that could only be utilized under such simultaneous conditions was, frankly speaking, meaningless.
It was a one-time special offer. One had to think of it as a stroke of luck.
However, that said, Yeon-woo still held on to his tension.
When facing monsters like a Demon King, witnessing life signs cease right before your eyes or being unable to personally finish a foe kept the tension alive until you could find a way out of that place.
Especially in times like this, where extra caution was of utmost importance.
The sheer power of the combined attack from Solaria and Lunaria was evident, but the excessive brilliance of their light was equally problematic.
‘What was I supposed to see?’
Before the abyss of endless darkness, Yeon-woo sighed.
In any case, he needed to keep his guard up until they could escape this place.
Unlike before, this time there was no guarantee that they had truly dealt with it.
If the Demon King were still alive, then the most dangerous one would be Noel. Yeon-woo maintained acute awareness as he walked towards Noel.
“Are you okay, sis?”
“Thanks for worrying, hack, cough, thank you…!!”
Noel, panting like a tired puppy out for a walk, looked a little too out of it to be called a hero who saved the world.
Shar and Tae-oh sat next to her with concerned looks, keeping a watchful eye.
If the Demon King had targeted Noel at that moment, it would have surely created a major problem. Thankfully, nothing had happened until Yeon-woo approached.
After that, the Demon King remained suspiciously quiet as if dead. Yeon-woo found himself questioning repeatedly whether it was really dead.
Still, he didn’t let his guard down. Being vigilant until they escaped this place was never a disadvantage, right?
Initially, both Noel and the children looked at him as if he was acting weird, but they eventually came to consider it nothing out of the ordinary.
It would be a lie to say it didn’t hurt his heart. Still, someone had to maintain skepticism until the very end.
With the children supporting her, Noel spoke to Yeon-woo, who was alert around them.
“So now that the war is over, will there be peace? Did I do it?”
Seeing Noel’s bright face, as if she only just grasped the situation, Yeon-woo shrugged.
“Well, the war won’t end right away, but it’s certain we’ve stopped the threat of the Demon species. With the Demon King’s Madness and powers gone, the dead demons can’t resurrect anymore.”
“I guess so. The war won’t end immediately, though…?”
It might be a misconception, but Noel wasn’t entirely clueless as a hero. After all, she was a lady from an esteemed noble family to begin with.
Perhaps she simply wanted to cling to that little hope. Of course, Yeon-woo had no hesitation in shattering that hope.
She wasn’t a child under ten, and he had no obligation to accommodate the mental state of someone his own age.
“Rather, we might start squabbling among ourselves now that the common enemy is gone, and some may even want to eliminate you out of fear of a hero’s power.”
“…Really?”
Hearing Noel’s noticeably downcast voice, Yeon-woo felt the intensity coming from her.
Well, he doubted there would be issues with the latter. For one, Noel wasn’t weak, and she had a remarkable guardian as well.
Who would dare to touch a hero under the protection of an ancient black mage? Unless they were a complete fool noble, of course.
There might be a few who would, but Yeon-woo expected nothing serious to come of it.
“Still, it’s nearly over. That much is certain. Now, we just need to tidy up. Especially with the demon species.”
“…That’s true.”
Saying so, Yeon-woo gazed at the stone figure of the demon species that appeared before him.
The identity of that figure was a non-majok, petrified and stiff as if in tension.
The future for the demon species could only be described as dark.
Not all of them had participated in the war or killed humans. Nonetheless, the gaze they received was inevitable due to their species.
Such discrimination would be particularly intolerable for Noel, who had traveled and aided demons.
Watching Noel repeat her solid determination with a weary expression, Yeon-woo smiled with a hint of relief.
In the end, she was a hero. No matter how weak, be it younger or older, she would still be a hero.
Unlike selfish beings like himself, she was a true hero who could embrace all living things.
“By the way, what should I say to the old man? I’m not sure if he would be glad to hear no corpses were left or be saddened by it.”
Yeon-woo’s mana flowed along his fingertips, enveloping the stone figure of the non-majok. Slowly, the stone fragments began to fall from above.
As the color returned to the skin of the non-majok, which had gradually transformed into stone, the first thing the wrinkled figure did upon seeing them was to run toward the others.
Yeon-woo wasn’t easing his tension. There was no way he would do something foolish like let his guard down.
Even so, he could not stop the actions of the non-majok, as the feelings displayed on its face weren’t of malice but longing.
At the same time, he probably couldn’t understand the Demon King’s obsession with that holy sword.
Whoosh, the sound of metal slicing flesh echoed.
What emerged wasn’t even a sword but a purple blade that had lost all its teeth.
The red flesh that covered the blade with its eerie hue had vanished. It had reverted to a fully inorganic form.
That cursed sword pierced through the body of the non-majok. Cough, blood splattered from the non-majok’s mouth.
The cursed sword aimed for Noel. Seeing this, the non-majok leaped in to protect her.
“G-Grandfather…?”
Cough, hack, the non-majok said, groaning as it bled while looking up at Noel with trembling eyes.
“Don’t worry, cough, it’s okay, hero…”
“No, how could you not worry? More importantly, we need to heal you right away…”
Noel stood up and caught the non-majok. Yeon-woo also hurried to the non-majok’s side.
While he had no expertise in healing, he could at least perform basic first aid.
But it was the non-majok who held him back. It was not too late, though. With the healing magic that took shape from Yeon-woo, it could survive.
“You have to finish it off securely, hero…”
“What are you saying!? Hurry, you need treatment! Why are you stopping me!?”
“I…I must properly finish this guy off. I can feel the Demon King’s Madness rising through my body…”
Even as blood flowed from his abdomen and mouth, the non-majok didn’t stop speaking. He wore an expression of relief.
He had despised the Demon King deeply. Just interfering with the schemes targeting Noel was enough for him to feel satisfied.
“I just want to see my daughter… my daughter… Don’t hesitate, don’t hesitate.”
His intentions were unmistakable. He was asking them to finish off the Demon King together. However, Noel’s hands were trembling.
She, who had always sacrificed herself to protect others. It wasn’t something she was accustomed to—being protected by someone else.
Even when Yeon-woo fought to save Noel, she had shown a similar reaction.
At that moment, the non-majok turned to Yeon-woo, flashing a bittersweet smile.
Yuri, standing silently by, drew her sword.
“I’ll at least send you off comfortably. Yeon-woo, take the cursed sword.”
“Th-thank you, thank you so much…”
Cough, cough, the old man laughed weakly while spilling blood. What made him so happy, he grabbed his eyes and began shouting at the cursed sword embedded in his abdomen.
“How’s it feel, huh!? How does it feel being trapped in the body of that trash you detested so much!? How does it feel to face death at the hands of a traitor!? Answer me, you can’t even gurgle now, can you!!”
Those were his last words.
Yuri, looking at the non-majok with pity, moved her hand.
Without a sound, the non-majok’s head fell.
Yuri caught the fallen head deftly.
In that meantime, Yeon-woo gathered the remaining mana to enhance his shadow arms. Tae-oh hurriedly encased the non-majok’s corpse in shadows.
The remaining energy of the Demon King was attempting to take him as a new host.
Gripping the hilt of the cursed sword, Yeon-woo pulled it up. As something writhed and attempted to invade, the shadow magic deceived even the Demon King’s energy.
Was it a curse? Or what? He didn’t know, but it was clear it couldn’t approach Tae-oh.
Thinking that, he touched Relin’s Warehouse with his empty left hand.
What emerged, slicing through space, was a radiant jewel—a brilliantly shining irregular polyhedron containing nothing inside.
Having once been Toyo’s shell, it was safe to assume it could easily contain the energy of another Demon King.
And Yeon-woo’s predictions were spot on. As he brought the shining irregular polyhedron close to the cursed sword, purple energy began to be sucked out as if a vacuum cleaner was working.
Moments later, the cursed sword fell completely silent. The once purple greatsword, reduced to a mere empty shell, was now stained with nothing but red blood.
Watching the lifeless form of the non-majok lying cold on the shadow, Noel began to tear up.
“…It seems you achieved what you wished for.”
Yeon-woo muttered while watching her. That alone served as a comfort to his heart.
(To be continued in the next part)