I heard that Head Ake has a total of 2 phases. The first phase looks like this:
“..You’re nothing but a bug. Boy.”
A pattern that fires bullets. I used Ki to transform into droplets to evade.
“Red Wood, flowing red blood.”
A sinister red aura emanated from the blade of the sword he held. It sliced through the wind, splashing raindrops around.
“Lily Sword Technique, 2nd form, Red Wood.”
“How does the boy know that technique?!”
I aimed for his vitals to kill him, successfully inflicting a slight wound on Head’s neck.
“Could it be the White Lily’s..!!”
“Do you remember now?”
Bang, bang! He was repeatedly pulling the trigger towards my face, so I had no choice but to vanish and create distance.
“This can’t be. I trapped you deep in the endless monster forest, to prevent anyone from finding you!!”
The red revolver from which bullets were fired emitted a small puff of smoke, filling the air with the metallic scent of gunpowder and the tang of blood.
“When the Magic Hat attacked, I moved as if drawn to that place. It’s your karma, Head.”
“I wasn’t wrong..!!”
The Demon King, looking at me with resentment, covered his neck with one arm, trying to staunch the bleeding.
“..Let’s see if you can dodge this.”
With his other arm, he aimed the gun at his temple. That’s a different pattern. Using his ‘All Knowledge’ to calculate spatial coordinates of the opponent, it’s a technique that ‘unconditionally hits’..!!
Bang─!
“It’s already too late, boy!”
As he pulled the trigger, a giant bullet suddenly appeared, aiming sideways at me as I charged forward to intercept Head.
It was clearly shot at him, but Head showed no signs of being hurt. A pattern that completely disregards the laws of physics.
The tiny bullet from earlier had transformed into a massive weapon, rotating as if it was 2 meters long, trying to shred my body apart.
‘Damn it, even Ki won’t work.’
I already transformed into droplets to stop its tracking, but it seemed to continuously ‘exist’ right beside me, knowing where I was moving.
In the game, I relied on my equipment’s defense to strategize while taking hits, but is there really no way out?
“Lily Sword Technique, 4th form, Clear Flow!!”
I created waves to absorb the impact. Even trying to block it with White Mountain wouldn’t let me pass through unscathed.
Gah..!
My clothes ripped, and my body was covered in wounds. It felt similar to colliding with a high-speed car.
The intensity of the attack, which I couldn’t fully mitigate, could turn my body into rags if I took this hit multiple times. Is there really no way out?
“Hooh, you absorbed the shock with water, huh? It seems all my techniques have been seen through.”
“Are you finally having some fun..?”
“Indeed, in the end, it’s been proven that my omniscience was not wrong!”
Head smirked, looking at me disdainfully. He looked cold on the outside, but inside he was a truly ugly boss.
“..Then your bleeding has stopped.”
When Head removed his palm from the spot where I just attacked, no blood was flowing. Has he already healed?
“I think I’ll slowly roast you to death.”
With a twisted smile, he aimed the gun at his temple once again. I absolutely cannot keep taking hits like this….
“..Huh, why isn’t it firing?”
It was at that moment. A chain made of water shot up from under the old man, wrapping around his arms and legs.
“Dennis!! You bastard..!!”
He was bound from shooting the gun. Anyone could see he was the protagonist of [Night Heart].
‘Of course, it’s Dennis.’
It was drunkard Dennis’s magic. His promise to help during emergencies was true after all.
I took a deep breath. Trying to use the Corruption Route glitch was a reckless attempt, especially since I didn’t even have Kainel’s Holy Sword.
‘Most importantly, I don’t know the chant for the fake Holy Sword’s corruption.’
I need to know the opposing chant of the sword I’m holding, but I didn’t meet even the basic requirement.
In the first place, I would need to lose Pina to use it. I had already evacuated her.
“..It really doesn’t activate with ‘I don’t believe in love.’”
The reason it activated last time might mean that during the Magic Hat attack, I had completely given up on the ‘Nameless Saintess.’
Honestly, if it were someone else, wouldn’t they have run away from that spot? There was no reason to separate space to drop the Magic Hat.
I hadn’t even met the Saintess that time. I could have struggled to preserve my life in a more dignified way.
‘I must be quite the crazy person.’
Ultimately, because Pina wasn’t kidnapped, it prevented her from being shrouded in falsehood, losing her identity and name.
Losing a loved one. To save others, I sacrificed my personal desires.
“They say life is full of twists and turns.”
Therefore, it could be that the conditions aligned for true meaning. I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Reverie, Recollection.”
Crash- Something heavy fell from the sky with a loud sound. A pitch-black sword shaped like a lever.
It seemed akin to pulling out a sword stuck in a rock, as it bore a resemblance to lifting a stone along with it.
Honestly, since the first time I saw this Mind Sword, I felt it would have some use somewhere.
“W-What are you trying to do now?!”
“This sword carries the meaning of ‘recollection.’”
I stood in front of Head, who was struggling to break free from the chains, pressing the sharp tip of the sword against the Demon King’s heart.
“Can you endure this? Even if it’s a fake, it still is a Holy Sword.”
I pulled the lever. Used on the ground, it changes the surrounding terrain much like selecting a map.
Graaah!!
If used on a human body, it would surely twist their insides. This time, the scenery around us grew eerily quiet, almost suffocating.
“Garggh.. Why does a mere fake have two Holy Swords..!! A Hero is supposed to only have one!!”
“Well, I’ve told you many times; I’m not a hero, Head.”
Blood flowed from Head’s eyes and mouth. The Demon King writhing in pain. The sins he accumulated were profound.
“I.. I am the Demon King of All Knowledge. There’s no way I wouldn’t know this!”
“Are you unaware of the price you’ve built up?”
You made the Celestial Demon forgotten in people’s memories, used tricks to abduct the innocent Schartines, and now you’re even attacking the Academy to hurt our Pina.
“You’ve killed way too many people.”
The Heroes you brought were all vicious. Didn’t they try to attack weakened students the moment the Apostle of Gluttony cast his abilities?
Just looking at the white-robed crowd sprawled out around us confirmed it.
Some were threatening to take lives by holding weapons to necks. No matter how noble your goals seemed,
“Ends don’t justify means, Head.”
Without me, Dennis wouldn’t have been around, resulting in casualties among the Academy students.
“Do you think I haven’t explained the situation to anyone..?!!”
The bottom part where ‘Stage Select’ was written had already completely pulled the trigger. It must have hurt terribly, yet the Demon King continued to hold his tongue.
“Fine. If you want to die that much, I’ll give you my all!!”
That was his line to enter phase 2.
As soon as he shouted that, the bindings holding Head were released. Normally, I would have tried to chip away at his health and he would have attempted a gun suicide.
“..I need to use the Life and Death Book.”
This time, it wouldn’t flow so easily; my instincts told me. Life and Death Book, is he trying to mess with my save file?
“Black Knight Licht.”
He appeared fully healed, damage and all. I sensed a chilling feeling and quickly dodged backward.
“He was betrayed by his comrades in a party that went to hunt down the Demon King and fell into a trap, dying.”
What? That item shouldn’t have worked like that?
I suddenly noticed a sinister presence behind me. The ‘Life and Death Book’ originally wrote down lifespans and fates seen through omniscience.
‘He shouldn’t have such an ability..!’
I turned back, seeing red apparitions that resembled Kainel and Ariel. They were unleashing sword energy and magic from behind me. Right beneath my feet, an endless pit had formed.
‘Falling….’
I tried to kick off the ground and escape, but failed. How is this even possible? Is it because it’s a prequel?
As my body fell, I desperately tried to transform into droplets again, but it failed.
Right as I was about to be pierced by the snarling spikes at the bottom, I thought I would bleed out and painfully die.
Then, something transparent appeared behind me. Two pairs of glass wings shimmering as they reflected light.
‘..Pina.’
How did Mardol, no, Pina Grancia grasp this situation? She used glass magic on my back to barely shield me from injury.
With those fluttering white wings, I began to ascend. I wasn’t even using the Decision of Icarus, yet here I was flying.
“What a cheat character.”
I felt a slight sense of envy. If she hadn’t become the Nameless Saintess, how strong would she have been?
“Thank you, Pina.”
Thinking back, Pina Grancia had always been the one saving me when I was at my wits’ end.
She comforted me when I was the Nameless Saintess and had just rushed in to rescue me from the trauma of a fire just moments ago.
It was something irrelevant to her, yet what a good person she was.
Some might say it reflects my past unrequited love, but she always remained the same. Even though I was only a mere Black Knight, why was I distorting my view of her?
“A mirror simply reflects things as they are.”
Could her bright light ever be overshadowed? It was always faint, warm, and gentle.
“..Now that I think about it, it’s true. I really was utterly oblivious.”
Even when I mistook her for Rufus, or when I realized she was a girl, her demeanor never changed. She liked cute and sweet things.
“Pina was always Pina.”
Besides, I was resolved from the start not to turn her into the Nameless Saintess. The sudden appearance of someone complemented by first love,
“I was a person who once liked you in the future. That’s not pure love.”
It’s totally fine if we aren’t connected. I just want to see her smile brightly, devoid of all shadows someday.
That’s just an ordinary wish. I’ve only done things that would drop my favorability.
“Even now, I’m quite enamored with Pina Grancia… There’s more than enough reason.”
A strong and kind girl, who never hesitates to reach out to those in need around her.
“You’re the complete opposite of me.”
Scared of people and pushing emotions away, I was weak, running away in fear.
“..Thanks to you, I lived. Pina Grancia.”
After safely escaping the trap set by Head, I gave a thumbs up toward the sky.
Because Pina might be watching from somewhere again.
