The advice from the Alebians was wrong.
The kingdom thrived on sorcery, and its last king, Damian, was an outstanding sorcerer.
Though Alebians said that his physical power was inconsequential because he was a sorcerer, her advice was indeed mistaken.
Damian was the type to just take hits from sharp weapons like a spear.
However, blunt weapons like the morning star represented a different story.
So Damian was skillfully dodging the morning star flying from Scarlet and Alex’s hammer.
“Why aren’t you two affected by my sorcery?”
“Do you think I’m going to tell you?!”
Despite Alex’s answer, Damian showed no sign of being flustered.
In fact, it was Alex who seemed to be the one in a panic.
If Alebians were right, Damian’s physical power should be nearly non-existent.
A sorcerer specialized in magic—one who reached the peak of sorcery and finally became a demon in human form.
But now, even with Scarlet and Alex attacking him at the same time, Damian was not flustered at all; rather, he was pressing them hard.
Surely a monarch would not lack martial arts in their studies of kingship.
Damian had evenly learned and acquired various weapons and even hand-to-hand combat techniques.
A genius sorcerer so exceptional that the term “prodigy” hardly sufficed, Damian was also a king skilled in physical prowess.
“Two warriors can’t handle just one of me—truly a shameful affair.”
With every movement he made, his deep navy blue coat fluttered.
Each movement was incredibly graceful, and his dignified actions and composed motions left Alex in awe.
‘Alebians…!’
Grinding his teeth in frustration was all he could do.
With ease, he batted away Alex’s hammer aimed at his side, diverting its trajectory.
Then, as he deflected Scarlet’s morning star aimed at his left upper side, he placed a palm on his now empty abdomen, causing Scarlet to take a few steps back with a thud.
That was how it continued.
Even while facing Alex and Scarlet, Damian appeared to be leisurely, occasionally glancing back at what the black giant was doing, without a hint of impatience in his movements.
“Still, you two are better than that so-called hero. Thanks to that guy getting eaten, my minions seem to be quite pleased. However—”
Damian’s gaze turned toward the black giant.
Vigrind’s golden veil held firm against the black giant’s attacks, protecting those gathered beneath it from the very giant that even Vervaria could not defeat.
“You’re starting to tire now. I’ve been unable to contain my desire to taste the blood of that saint, and her flesh, since a while ago.”
“What the—!”
Alex’s words couldn’t finish as a bang erupted from Damian, and he barely managed to block the black storm with his shield. However, the force was too much for both Alex and Scarlet, who were pushed back several steps.
As the figure of the black giant vanished, so did Damian’s form.
In his place stood a black beast, boasting a size twice that of Alex.
Short legs.
Long, thick arms that were twice the length of those legs.
With its two legs planted firmly on the ground and colossal fists braced on them, it was a true beast.
Wings covered in a dark sheen.
Thick horns sprawling from its head.
It was the very embodiment of a demon.
“The joke’s over. Having lived this long, I too want to see the end.”
Damian, now transformed into a black beast, spoke with his mouth flapping. Each word made black smoke swirl from his jaws.
-Flap… flap—
With a rough flapping sound, Damian shot up into the sky.
The moment his figure soared high, Alex and Scarlet felt the air around them being sucked towards him.
Yona dashed between Alex and Scarlet.
“Vigrind—!! Full throttle on the barrier—!!”
Yona unleashed her magic and created a barrier.
The crimson energy erupted from Yona, enveloping both Alex and Scarlet, while Vigrind’s golden barrier shone even brighter at that moment.
Damian’s chest swelled up high in the sky.
It felt like time itself had stopped in that moment—
Damian’s mouth gaped wide open, unleashing a crimson flame that engulfed the area.
A choking smell filled the air.
Sounds like everything was burning reached their ears, and Vigrind barely opened her eyes due to the tickling smell at her nose.
She felt like her entire body was tearing apart.
The golden glow that had been protecting her and the others had vanished, and when Vigrind finally regained her senses and stood up, the surroundings were in complete chaos.
And at the center of it all stood the demon—Damian.
The black beast named Damian stood proudly, surveying his surroundings.
‘What is happening…’
Alongside Yona’s shout, Vigrind unleashed her divinity to create a barrier.
While resisting the immense pressure that crashed down on her barrier, she ultimately lost consciousness.
I had lost it all.
And when I opened my eyes, this was my state.
In the distance, I could see Yona.
There she lay on the ground like a single black rose.
Her white hair and the rising and falling of her chest with each breath were signs that she was still alive, but that was all. Beside her lay two fallen knights—Alex and Scarlet.
Vigrind slowly raised himself with his arms for support.
With every movement, excruciating pain pressed down on him, but he couldn’t just stay like this.
Looking around, the situation wasn’t much different.
The horrible groans of the injured.
Those who might be dead, lying motionless.
Among them, Vigrind was barely managing to lift his body.
“Haah. But still, a saint is a saint.”
A heavy, low voice.
The black beast—Damian slowly approached Vigrind.
“—Am I your target?”
Vigrind’s voice carried a hint of resignation.
He could barely hold himself together, but his gaze was resolute.
“Indeed. Saint, I shall claim your blood and flesh to finally attain death.”
“—Then why inflict such dreadful pain on them…”
“Isn’t the death that comes after suffering true salvation? I have given them salvation. You too are the one who will grant me death. A saint who will bestow upon me the end of endless suffering.”
“You’re insane. Truly insane.”
Insane.
Absolutely insane.
At Vigrind’s words, Damian chuckled softly with a click of his tongue.
“Could one who has lived so long not be insane? Now, there’s no time to waste. Beautiful saint, grant me death. At the end of this pain that burns my body, give me eternal rest. Death, grant it to me.”
The black beast slowly approached Vigrind.
Death, grant me death.
But that death would undoubtedly include Vigrind’s death as well.
‘—Oh, divine deity.’
Vigrind’s last resort.
But since the deity had never shown itself until now, there was no telling whether it would respond to this plea.
“—Your most beautiful daughter calls for you in this place. Please respond from the holy mountain. Hear the voice of this daughter who calls out your name, and alleviate the tribulations that come upon me.”
“Please relieve us from the incoming troubles.”
The prayer rolled off Priest Vigrind’s lips.
Drawing the ornamental silver dagger from his veil, Vigrind hesitated for just a moment—
then pierced it deep into his left wrist.
In an instant, blood gushed forth.
The dagger didn’t stop there; it carved a long, deep wound towards the inside of his elbow.
Blood flowed.
The saint’s blood drenched her holy robe and, finding it insufficient, trickled down to the ground.
Overwhelmed by unbearable pain, Vigrind bit her lip to stifle her screams,
unaware that her lip was bursting while the dagger continued to slice through her flesh, spilling blood.
It is the saint’s life, the source, and also the symbol.
After flowing and flowing, that red blood burst into a brilliant golden hue.
It was dazzling.
The saint’s final chant, a sacrifice of her very life.
That was the Holy Place Incantation.
Golden feathers shimmered and fluttered from the sky like snowflakes.
Every time those feathers touched the ground, traces of magic faded away, and Damian, who was watching in shock, looked around in confusion.
As the feathers danced, the black veil that had shrouded the sky began to lift.
Like sunlight scorching through darkness, that radiance started to cover the ground, causing Damian to revert back to his human form, unable to maintain his beastly appearance.
– Flop…
The hero, Ludvik, who had been absorbed by the black giant.
As soon as Damian turned back into his human form, it was as if he was released again, and somehow he lay unconscious on the ground.
A golden brilliance shining so bright it seemed from another world.
The golden glow burning through the darkness stretched across the entirely black sky.
Slowly revealing itself, the blue sky emerged.
In that sky, a colossal gate took shape.
Without any adornments, a pair of massive stone doors formed an arch.
Enormous stone pillars stood steadfast beside the gate, while the archway slowly descended toward the ground.
“Ahh, ahh…”
Dark, dead blood spilled out from Vigrind’s lips.
The last resort she could muster now.
With all her might, she had barely managed to summon it,
and even then, she could not be sure of its success—
the “Heavenly Gate” had revealed itself to the earth.
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