Evan D. Sherden, Into the Final Chapter (5)

Save looked at the man that stood in front of him and thought that he was the definition of an omen. He was a good-looking man who stared at them gently while endless miasma dispersed from his body. Immense dignity could be felt from him despite having no followers around him. Overwhelming pressure that would make everyone in front of him kneel right away exuded out. The aura of the absolute being. Even his status was tremendous. He lived up to the name of the Demon King; Save held his halberd tightly while nodding quietly.

―Why didn’t he come by himself? He used all his methods to find and kill me, yet…

But the Demon King, whose presence suppressed Save’s party members, mumbled as if he didn’t care about them.

―What trick is he planning? If this fails, then there is nothing left…no, but…

The mana that stretched out from him proved that he was no joke. It was a radar that searched through a large area for information while creating its own territory. It was certain that he was up to something, but just like stopping the flow of air that filled the world was impossible, the Demon King was also unstoppable.

“Ready to engage.”

―…Ah.

Louise prepared to activate her strings while she quietly gave an order. And the Demon King suddenly burst into laughter after understanding all circumstances at the right moment.

―Ahahahahahaha! That’s how it turned out! Did it!? The World’s curse still holds…! Everything is according to my plan!

“Hiya!”

Save rushed in and swung his halberd at the Demon King without a moment’s notice. And, at that moment, when the purple-light halberd was about to split his skull in half as it fell, a black mana barrier blocked the attack. Screeech! Beneath the ominous sound of the cracking barrier, the Demon King’s arrogant look locked onto Save. The fierce halberd was tearing apart the barrier, but it didn’t seem to break. Things would have turned out differently if Evan were here.

―Boy, did you just react to the word ‘World’s Curse’?

“So, all I need is to kill you, right?”

Save’s odd eyes were shaking. Since Save knew that Evan was cursed from the beginning of their encounter, it was his mission to crush the one who blighted him with the World’s Curse. Then how could he suppress his tension as he finally met with the culprit behind the curse? Moreover, at this moment…!

“The magic field over the area was done by you, too, bastard.”

―Did you notice it? Your eyes…hold a special power!

The Demon King’s miasma burst forth. As Enoch swiftly cast the holy barrier to protect them, Save stepped back from the Demon King unharmed, held his halberd, and charged in once again. Louise and the other frontline members joined him.

―But that turned out great. Offer yourselves as sacrifices for the magic field. If you want to blame someone…blame Zero for making me choose this extreme method. Die!

The miasma burst out. Save charged his holy power and faced it. Truly, the magic field was dangerous. The Demon King had to be killed in order to stop it from activating!

“I’ll execute you in his name!”

“Ground Burst!”

“Hiyaaa!”

As Renail finished casting her superior magic, all members commenced their attacks on the Demon King! The Demon King seemed slightly surprised at their attacks as they were stronger than what he expected…and yet, he had a vicious smile on his face. As expected from the final boss!

―Zero, you son of a bitch…

However, his smile was just a side effect of the evil smile training that lasted for thousands of years; it didn’t mean he was calm.

“Zero, what the hell did you do to nurture these monsters!?” As he quietly cursed, the Demon King concentrated his energy once again.

―This is the new power that the Devil has given me. The power appropriate for teaching bastards who don’t know their places!

A tattoo covered the Demon King’s body. He also had the Devil Rune, just like Evan expected.

―I’ll make sure your body remembers this. Know who you are fighting against!

“Dieeeeeee!”

Save shouted harsh words towards the Demon King, which was a very game protagonist thing to do, and charged in! The dark, vile miasma and the purple holy power clashed several times, creating enormous blasts. The altar and the stone chamber prepared for the Demon King’s resurrection were completely destroyed, and the entire infrastructure crumbled down.

“Attack! Hit him! I’ve got the holy barrier, so there’s nothing to be afraid of!”

“Woooooooah!”

Those inside the barrier bombarded the Demon King with all kinds of attacks, even when the cave was crumbling down. They knew their opponent would be equipped with the Devil Rune, so there was no need for any hesitation!

“Be the pillar for the temple!”

Enoch’s eyes rolled up in the excitement that he finally had the chance to spread the fame of the nameless god instead of fearing the power of the Demon King, and he started pouring down his holy magic.

“After killing the Demon King, I’ll have children with Master…!”

Maybe it was because she already tasted the sweet reward once; Louise expressed her desire and then bravely charged in and thrust her short sword at the Demon King, who enveloped his body with miasma.

“Hiyaaaaa! I will kiss Jhin when I return!”

“Ki-kiss…”

Lan had the cutest and simplest wish, but her great sword was the heaviest weapon among all. As Lin constantly gave her support to Lan and the other members, she was blushing over the unforgettable image of Louise and Evan kissing.

“I can kill him. If it’s now, I can…”

Due to his first love getting crushed apart when it just began, Lucid released his dark aura and hid in the shadows, which even the Demon King with his Devil Rune didn’t notice.

“Just die already! Grand Earth Spear!”

Renail was the most reasonable person among all the members here, so she wanted to kill the Demon King more than anyone else.

“You shall never even touch Master…!”

And even Save was all fired up with a sense of duty that he needed to eliminate the source of all evil named the Demon King and restore Evan’s condition.

―Whew…

Despite the Devil Rune’s enhancement, the attacks from the members weren’t easily held off. Moreover, the new abilities strengthened by the Devil Rune didn’t work on them. It was because the holy barrier on the members was too strong. The Demon King saw through the source of that power.

―Zero…!

If he were still alive, annoying scumbags like these ones would appear from now on. Neither the Demon King nor any of the other existences from the Demon Realm shall enter this world. And that was unacceptable. For the Demon King, who intended to corrupt the world with the Devil’s will, the existence of a power that could easily suppress him is just unbearable.

That’s why.

‘At all cost. Even if I have to sacrifice myself.’

That’s right. A monster that couldn’t be defeated directly. For the Demon King, who was certain that nobody could kill him as long as he was in the eye of the Devil…he was the first person to make the Demon King feel the definition of extinction.

‘Zero, that man…’

He shouldn’t exist in this world.

Everyone shared the same thought for a long time now. And that was how that magic was completed. It was a measure that required too many sacrifices. The Demon King tried his best to avoid him till the very end, but things turned out this way.

‘Argh, damn that descendant.’

The moment he realized Zero existed in the current world…the very moment when he noticed that the curse which the Devil himself planted into the world long ago got activated, the Demon King ordered his subordinates to urgently lockdown Merdin. Why would he do that? He didn’t want to get summoned to a world where Zero existed. And he blocked the dungeon to make his resurrection impossible and prepared several measures in case the barrier broke.

With a total of three barriers on the dungeon, Merdin, and the Eternal Glacier, he tried to stop Zero. However, he instinctively knew that all of his tricks would fail. Zero couldn’t be stopped with these petty measures. It would just make him hesitate a bit. But he still had to do it. Yes, they were just last-ditch efforts.

“Hiyaaaaaaa!”

“Die, die!”

“Don’t let him spread his wings!”

“Stop him; pull him down!”

While denying the fact that Zero, whose entire body was cursed by the Devil, could never be resurrected. While enraging over why would such a disastrous annoyance come back and block his path once again. And trying to negotiate with other beings in the Demon realm since there were many others who could fight against Zero on his behalf…then kneeling down in despair and sorrow with the fact that Zero will summon and kill him, no matter what.

―Is that all you’ve got!? Go ahead and kill me!

Finally, he decided to accept his fate. That’s right; the Demon King accepted his imminent death. He swore to be the cornerstone for the Devil. With the faith that one day, the Demons would reign over the human realm!

―What’s the matter? Are you worn out already?

“Stop joking around!”

Save swung his halberd with a loud shout. In fact, his body was overflowing with power. The fact that he was moving for Evan’s sake was giving him more strength.

“I’ll kill you and break the chain that has been binding him!”

―Then you’ve found the wrong opponent.

The Demon King laughed. At that moment, Save’s halberd broke through Demon King’s defense and crushed his shoulder, but his smile still remained.

―You have underestimated me, the ruler of the Demon Realm and the chosen one of the supreme Devil, the Demon King.

The miasma flooded once again from his body. It was denser than the miasma he had been releasing up until now, like black tar. Lan wrapped her greatsword with holy power and burned it up, but she had to step back, startled by the endless miasma.

“You, is that your core…!? Are you planning to kill yourself!?”

Save shouted out of shock as he realized the identity of the miasma from the Demon King through his unique eyes. The Demon King was truly astonished. He was able to see through this, too.

―Expressing my respect for your ability, I’ll show you the truth.

“Everyone…attack! He is about to activate the magic field!”

Save shouted in a hurry. The members, who believed in his words, poured all their attacks in, but they weren’t enough to stop the miasma that kept on flowing from the Demon King, which he had drawn from the Demon Realm. How would things turn out if Evan were here? No, it would still be impossible. The reason was…

―From the moment that he came to this world, our victory was guaranteed. No, since the moment he had received the World’s Curse from the Devil himself a long time ago! From the moment his existence was known four years ago…grgh!

A purple ice spear came out from nowhere and pierced the Demon King’s neck. Seemingly countless ice spears followed a moment later, piercing the body of the Demon King, and then a purple flame swallowed him up.

“Monstrous power…!”

The Demon King read the power in each spear and the flame, mumbling in surprise. From behind, Belois, Dragon Orb in hand, slowly appeared with an aura that made her unapproachable.

“I’ll kill you myself.”

―Argh, this power doesn’t belong in this world. But I told you it’s too late for that.

The black miasma that melted down without being able to maintain its form still remained. The reason why it wasn’t eliminated was simple.

―The magic field was already being activated. From the moment Zero broke the barrier!

“Sir Raihan!”

“I’m already on it. But…damn, it’s out of my target.”

Raihan drew out all the blessings he had to direct the magic field’s effects to himself, but it was useless. His blessings that even went against the laws of the world in order to protect someone became ineffective.

―I’m the designer of all things! If Zero is strong, I can just make use of his power. And by sacrificing thousands of Demons and myself, I am now capable of defeating him!

The tar chunks that were disgustingly sticky were absorbed into the ground. The magic field over the area started to shine. Belois used all her mana to reconstruct the magic field into a different nature. Still, she wasn’t able to complete it.

―Open your eyes, World. It’s time to exile the one that tormented you long ago!

“Ack!”

“Grgggggh!”

“It’s, it’s exploding!”

“Hang on it!”

“No, kill that one!”

“It doesn’t even have a form!”

And the world flashed. The completed magic field started to change the world. That’s right, the magic field in this area activated the World’s Curse, and it was possible to trigger it since the trace of the curse on Zero, which the Devil implanted, still remained. It was an ancient magic technique that coerced the world’s will, targeted Zero as its enemy, and completely eradicated him from this world!

‘I was worried if Zero would prepare for something else as I saw that damned high elf next to him, but there was no need for that…umm?’

The magic activated without any disruption, and the World’s attention was concentrated on Evan. As the Demon King felt his consciousness melting away within the magic, he was able to die with the satisfaction that he had fulfilled his purpose…then suddenly, a thought popped up.

‘It’s expected that other humans weren’t prepared for this…but what about that elf? Hasn’t she seen this before in the past?’

‘How?’

‘Why is it that she isn’t taking any actions?’

‘Wait, what if she intentionally brought Zero to this place?’

‘Did that she finally decided to kill her lover after thousands of years of waiting?’

That couldn’t be. The Demon King hadn’t seen anyone as determined as Mirole. So, she would never take any risk that would harm her lover. Then why?

‘…Why on earth did Zero come back to this world after getting exiled by the World’s Curse?’

―No way.

After coming up with a reasonable theory in his genius mind, the Demon King felt the chill run through his body, although he was being absorbed.

―Then, Zero doesn’t exist at this time…

‘What if the order of things changed?’

‘What if Zero wasn’t resurrected, but rather, reincarnated as a human in this era?’

‘And what if, for some reason, he appeared in the ancient times…?’

―Then, what I did…?

‘Was I was the one who sent that monster to that place…?’

―No…

‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.’

‘Outrageous.’

‘That just ignores the nature of space and time!’

‘The current exile magic was made possible because of the World’s Curse he received from the Devil, but if he were able to go there because of it, wouldn’t that change the order of time!?’

‘Outrageous incident! An event that twists the balance of the world! A mistake!’

‘That is…that truly is…’

―The very definition of Zero itself…!

‘I failed.’

‘I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed…!’

―No, no. Cancel this…!

With that as his last word, the Demon King’s consciousness completely vanished. The largest magic field that had ever existed started to show its color, with thousands of Demons frozen in time and the Demon King as its sacrifices.