Chapter 108

〈 Chapter 109 〉 The Third Trial (4)

*

A team hastily assembled from a few warriors who barely survived Hailen’s collapse.

Sure, they were better than being alone, but the fact remained that this was a makeshift team.

“Is there an archer among you?”

They exchanged glances, shaking their heads.

Well, it couldn’t be helped. Regardless of who took on the archer role, having one was preferable.

Someone needed to step back slightly to assess the situation and keep the opponent in check; it was definitely more efficient that way.

“Then I’ll take the archer role.”

They accepted my words without suspicion.

“Were you an archer? You don’t seem like you’d have the physique to take down a Demon King in close combat.”

“Yeah, it makes sense if you’re an archer.”

The only regret was that no magician could fill the gap.

“I wish Yusera were here.”

She could at least partially substitute for a magician’s role.

In fact, in some ways, she could perform tasks that a magician couldn’t manage at all.

But regrets aside, I needed to formulate a strategy given our lack of a magician.

“Depends on who the opponent is.”

Thus, we began focusing on searching for the remaining Demon Kings.

Fortunately, I had some talent in searching as an archer.

Though I couldn’t pinpoint a location just from the aura like Libero could, I could sufficiently read presences based on sound and sight.

Hours passed as we continued our search.

Just as those following me began to harbor suspicions about me, I finally pinpointed a Demon King.

It was deep within a relatively intact building.

‘This has to be a Demon King.’

As I got closer, I started to sense the unique aura of a Demon King.

Cases like Libero were quite rare. He had very little power as a Demon King due to his embryonic state, and his only strength was swordsmanship, which made it hard to distinguish him from humans.

The 71st Demon King also had relatively low power due to his parasitic abilities.

‘But this aura…

It’s undeniably a Demon King’s aura.

And it’s alarmingly familiar.

The problem is, I haven’t encountered many Demon Kings.’

Going by the 71st, Libero, and Gineus, the total included the 54th Demon King Laus, whom I briefly met on a cart heading to Sakh, and the 31st Demon King from the entrance exam.

However, the somewhat shocking fact was that four of them were already dead.

‘But this doesn’t feel like Laus’s aura…’

This feeling brought a clear sense of unease.

Of course, there could be other Demon Kings with similar auras.

To confirm his identity, I had no choice but to get closer.

“Let’s keep moving.”

Finally, as we infiltrated the building and I confirmed his identity, I found myself frozen in place.

Because he was someone who shouldn’t be here.

“Gineus?”

With long, pitch-black hair, broken horns, and tattered wings, it was undeniably Gineus.

But she was a being that should not exist here.

Because I had already killed that Demon King.

‘I couldn’t have been mistaken.’

I’d received the message that I had killed her, and the SP I got from that had unlocked the third inheritance stigma.

So why was she here?

As I hesitated for a moment, mulling over the question…

“This is our chance! Attack!”

Those following me surged ahead, bypassing me with their charge.

As an archer, I naturally planned to stay back.

And I somewhat understood why they rushed forward.

‘Is Gineus injured?’

She was leaning against the wall, deeply wounded in her chest.

So they were trying to take her down before she could recover. But…

“Everyone, cover your ears!”

Her combat ability doesn’t rely on physical strength.

In that moment, she, who had appeared lifeless, smiled.

And whispered something softly.

‘….’

I could fully block the sound using Wind’s Power, but I could read her lips to see what she was saying.

‘Now, start killing each other.’

Her mind control is powerful.

Even among Demon Kings, she could exert control over conversations for ‘persuasion.’

If she used that on humans…

‘Damn it.’

Just a whisper was enough to dominate several humans.

The very reason she could run a company and dominate the economy back in Sakh was due to this.

And now, it had ultimately led to chaos.

“Wha, what’s going on! Why am I suddenly…!”

Fortunately, a few covered their ears per my instructions.

But those who even slightly doubted my order fell under her mind control.

In an instant, a former comrade turned against me.

“It’s mind control! To break it, we must kill the main body of the Demon King!”

Yet, it seemed my words could no longer reach them.

Suddenly attacked, they unsheathed their swords against their former allies.

Looking back, it was somewhat vague to refer to them as allies. They had only joined since following me an hour ago.

“Die!”

“Shit, I’m perfectly sane!”

In a situation where I could no longer discern who had been possessed and who hadn’t.

A lack of bonds and trust among allies created this result.

In this situation, there was only one thing I could do.

‘I have to aim for the main body.’

Fortunately, I was positioned a bit further away, so I hadn’t been caught up in the brawl.

It was most prudent to eliminate Gineus’ main body as quickly as possible to minimize casualties.

Upon that judgment, I drew Night’s Shadow and began to approach her.

At that moment, I noticed a change in the movements of those who had been under mind control.

As I neared her, they must have received orders to intercept me.

But I wasn’t drawing Night’s Shadow to deceive Gineus; it was to break from the attacking warriors’ line of view.

‘Wind’s Power.’

Unless it had to do with optical modulation from Elsie, there’s no way a Demon King could be fooled by something like Night’s Shadow.

That had been proven during the fight with the 71st Demon King.

Because of that, I charged forward using Wind’s Power, not thinking to hide my approach from Gineus.

‘Though I lack Gravitas…’

I had a relic I picked up from that one who had just collapsed.

A two-star relic, Sharp Cutter.

Its cutting power was enhanced by divine power, and it was a fairly light sword.

‘Wind’s Power.’

In an instant, I approached Gineus, channeling Wind’s Power into the sword.

And then I used a technique I hadn’t been able to use before.

‘Overload.’

The cutting power imbued within the sword began to radiate with ominous black energy.

The key here was speed.

Since the sword lacked heft, it was impossible to tear my opponent in one blow like Gravitas. Thus, I had to cram in as many strikes as possible in a short time.

‘With the current overload, the sword can withstand 8 strikes.’

I had to deliver 8 strikes in quick succession.

If Gineus received any chance to recover in between, my attacks would be in vain.

Of course, that wasn’t something easy to do. If I hadn’t supplemented Libero’s swordsmanship from Freira, I wouldn’t even have been able to consider attempting such an attack.

‘Acceleration is sufficient.’

Even Gineus at full strength could have been defeated by Libero.

If I inherited even a fragment of his swordsmanship, I should be able to handle Gineus in this state.

And as for how she returned, I might never know…

‘Each time I see her, it feels worse.’

I swung the sword.

Despite her injuries, Gineus retained her uncanny agility, and she narrowly dodged, losing her left arm instead.

That was fine. Eventually, I’d need to cut that part eventually.

‘Just changing the order will do.’

Moreover, from this point onward, even that competent Demon King couldn’t keep up.

The acceleration from Wind’s Power began to intensify, and my swordsmanship finally transcended the realm of time.

Though it was somewhat delayed because of who I was facing, time eventually halted.

At that point, I could no longer control myself.

Thanks to the training from the second trial, and the improvement of Libero’s swordsmanship through Freira, I was all in.

Swinging the sword, every strike flowed seamlessly into the next.

When it ended, the next blow followed immediately, and then the one after that.

As the eighth strike concluded, the sword, destroyed by the overload, shattered into particles.

“Ha…ha…”

The breath I had been holding burst out violently.

Gasping for breath, I checked Gineus’s state.

‘I did it.’

Not just the sword had shattered.

Demon King Gineus’s body was also in pieces beyond recovery.

I wasn’t entirely unscathed either.

‘This…’

I can’t use it often.

At least not against a Demon King.

That conviction lingered.

Wiping blood from my nose with my sleeve, I cleared my throat.

Even with Wind’s Power accelerating me, there was no way my body wouldn’t suffer consequences.

Libero, though an early Demon King, had a sturdier constitution and a decent regenerative ability, while I had only just been better than an ordinary person.

‘If I kept using it, my body would shatter.’

Still, the notification for Gineus’s death didn’t appear.

It wasn’t that Gineus hadn’t died.

With her body shattered like this, I could firmly assert she must’ve been dead. But the lack of a notification indicated…

‘This situation is definitely not normal.’

I turned my head to check the state of those who had followed me.

I briefly worried about whether any had transformed into Chaos Beasts amidst the earlier commotion, but it seemed the heroes were still heroes.

After Gineus’s defeat and the mind control fully released, they swiftly ended the lives of those comrades in chaos.

Suddenly, I was reminded of my first experience leaving the barrier with Gwen.

I had almost gone berserk then, and when I regained my senses, Gwen was holding her sword at my neck.

It turned out that was the basic procedure for heroes.

“Let’s head back.”

The two who managed to survive were also not in good condition.

There were support mages within the Trial Barrier, so we needed to return quickly for treatment.

As I took the lead, one of them spoke.

“You weren’t really an archer.”

“No, I’m sorry for misleading you.”

“No, I have no intention of blaming you. If it weren’t for you, we’d have been annihilated. I’m just grateful that you saved my life.”

With that said, we kept quiet as we carefully made our way back to the trial, hoping to avoid encountering the other two Demon Kings.

We had merely accompanied each other for a common goal of defeating a Demon King, and there was no real bond among us.

And I painfully felt the limits of that during this battle.

‘If it hadn’t been for the injured Gineus, we might not have even been able to attempt extermination.’

Certainly, our combination didn’t work well against Gineus.

But it was precisely because she was injured that I was able to defeat her; if it were some other stronger Demon King, we would have had to retreat without resistance.

Even without mind control, it was hard to believe they would have coordinated well.

‘But if Yusera or Elsie had come with me…’

In mock battles, they had followed my commands without hesitation.

I wasn’t sure if they’d obey that well even outside mock battles.

‘Those girls…’

I shook my head, lost in thought.

In any case, it was impossible for them left inside the trial to come out now.

Thinking about it was pointless.

‘After all, all that needed to be done is finished.’

I had already whittled down the number of Demon Kings, so all that remained was to wait in the Trial Barrier for any support that might come.

Just as I was thinking and taking a step forward…

The ground suddenly shook.

‘What the…?’

Finally steadying myself and looking up, I spotted a black figure rising from afar.

From the city, which had completely turned to ruin because of Stella’s magic, it was slowly towering larger.

And that figure was already familiar to me.

‘Why is it here again…!’

Another Demon King, widely known to have been defeated, had appeared following Gineus.

But the level of danger was on a different scale compared to Gineus.

“The 31st Demon King, huh?”

A Demon King known as the strongest enemy in human history was rising up.

*