Chapter 16

The Supreme God gazed at the heroes who had lost Hiaquin.

They looked dangerously close to breaking.

I can’t help but worry that they’ll collapse like this…….

And so, the Supreme God secretly continued watching over the heroes who had narrowly survived thanks to Hiaquin’s sacrifice.

Muteric, Ciel, Garret, and Pesar were precious children to him as well.

Consumed by rage, the heroes hurried to defeat the Demon King.

“We absolutely cannot let Hiaquin’s sacrifice be in vain……”

Muteric, Ciel, Garret, and Pesar repeated those words like madmen as they entered Eryl Castle.

<Skreeee!>

<Screech!>

As expected, Eryl Castle had been completely contaminated by demonic energy. Strange purple roots that seemed almost alive writhed across the floor, while Demonkin of every rank, from the lowest to the highest, had gathered from all directions to form a single army.

The Demonkin became extremely agitated when they caught the scent of blood spilled by the Four Dukes.

<Skreee! Skreeeeee!>

<Wipe them all out! Don’t let them take even a single step toward His Majesty the Demon King—GACK!>

“All you cannon fodder, get out of my way.”

Muteric unleashed sword aura as sharp as a blade, sweeping away every Demonkin in front of him regardless of rank.

BOOOOOOM!

<EEEK!>

Not a single surviving Demonkin remained along the path he had carved straight through the castle.

The lower- and mid-ranking Demonkin hesitated, intimidated by the terrifying sight.

Even the higher-ranking Demonkin were secretly horrified.

<Is this the strength that allowed them to defeat the Four Dukes……?!>

Yet they gathered all the demonic energy they possessed, along with the corrupted energy permeating the environment, pretending not to be intimidated at all.

This battle was a game of chicken in which someone was inevitably going to die.

If they wanted to survive against these seemingly deranged heroes, they had no choice but to put aside their pride and fight with everything they had.

They waited for an opportunity to eliminate the heroes.

<They’re still human! Now that they’ve lost the Saint who could purify demonic energy, they won’t last long!>

They knew very well what would happen if concentrated demonic energy—a deadly poison to humans—was released.

The victims’ bodies would rot from within or mutate into monsters so grotesque that they could no longer even speak.

Thus, the Demonkin were confident.

<They’ve already been exposed to the Four Dukes’ demonic energy once. Even if the Saint sacrificed his life to activate Sanctuary, there was no way he could completely erase their injuries!>

Unfortunately for them, they didn’t know that this generation’s Saint, Hiaquin, possessed divine power as pure and powerful as the First Saint’s.

Thanks to that, Muteric and the others had not only completely purged the poison from their bodies—they had actually become stronger than before.

And…… because the heroes had entered Eryl Castle without resting, the buff from Hiaquin’s Sanctuary was still active.

<Come! Release all the demonic energy you possess!>

<We’ll melt these arrogant human heroes who dare challenge His Majesty the Demon King’s authority in one blow!>

Under the higher-ranking Demonkin’s commands, the lower- and mid-ranking Demonkin squeezed every last drop of demonic energy from their bodies and released it like steam.

A thick, deep-purple haze spread throughout every corner of Eryl Castle. Its acrid yet strangely sweet and viscous scent was utterly nauseating.

Soon, the overlapping demonic energy liquefied and scattered through the air like rain.

Hissssss—

The castle walls could not withstand the poisonous energy and began melting in places.

The poison was so potent that even humans and animals who had already mutated into monsters from prolonged exposure clutched their throats in agony before dying instantly.

<At this level, they must certainly be dead!>

No human could possibly survive in this poison……

Slash.

The sound of something being cut rang through the air.

<……Huh?>

And then the world turned upside down.

Why is everything upside down……? No!

It wasn’t the world that had turned upside down.

It was the head of a higher-ranking Demonkin.

The Demonkin realized the pain only moments later and screamed until its ears nearly split.

<AAAH! AAAAAAH!>

“You’re noisy.”

CRUNCH.

Muteric crushed the Demonkin’s skull with a single kick, as though it had been pressed beneath a hydraulic crusher.

The heroes were still protected by Hiaquin’s Sanctuary.

Thanks to that, they easily avoided the poisonous demonic energy and cut down the higher-ranking Demonkin that had unleashed it.

The others, their expressions equally terrifying, began slaughtering the Demonkin who had released the poison one after another.

<How?! How can humans survive in this deadly poison—>

WHOOSH!

<SKREEEEEEEE!>

“Why do you need to know?”

Ciel coldly incinerated the Demonkin with magic as he muttered ominously,

“You’re going to die anyway.”

His silver eyes weren’t focused on reality.

Instead, they were reliving Hiaquin’s death over and over again.

Hiaquin…….

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. I’m sorry you had to sacrifice yourself for us.

So……

“We’re going to kill the Demon King before Hiaquin’s buff wears off.”

Ciel’s eyes resembled those of a demon from hell.

He simultaneously unleashed multi-element offensive magic without hesitation, raining it down upon the Demonkin swarming around them like ants.

He continued killing them with a haggard expression, as though he couldn’t even hear their screams.

Garret fired arrows like a madman, killing Demonkin one after another.

When he ran out of arrows, he retrieved the ones he had fired into the corpses and aimed them at the enemies’ vital points again.

Even those who desperately fled had nowhere to go.

Pesar was waiting in their path with a massive axe.

“Got you, you bastards.”

With a single swing of his axe, several Demonkin’s heads fell to the ground like autumn leaves.

<You monsters are more vicious than Demonkin themselves……! Cough!>

“Go to hell.”

The heroes were drenched in Demonkin blood, yet remained perfectly unharmed.

They calculated how much time remained on the Sanctuary buff Hiaquin had left behind.

“……About thirty minutes.”

“Yeah.”

“Once those thirty minutes are over, we’ll be poisoned by the demonic energy in this castle and die like stray dogs.”

“So let’s go cut that Demon King’s head off before then.”

The heroes advanced forward with murderous eyes.

Further.

And further.

After opening countless doors layered one after another like the skins of an onion, they finally reached the end of the final passage.

And there, they met their target.

The Demon King of this generation.

He had skin of a dark complexion, ebony-black hair, and deep violet eyes that were nearly black.

His very presence was threatening.

<You are the heroes of this generation. You’ve reached me far sooner than I expected. First, I must commend your efforts—>

“This bastard talks too much too.”

Ciel combined lightning, water, and wind magic into several enormous storms and hurled them toward the Demon King.

The Demon King panicked, throwing aside the chair where the lord of the castle should have sat as he dodged the storms.

<Do heroes these days not even possess basic manners? Anyone who is speaking should not be interrupted, or so I was taught—>

THWACK THWACK THWACK!

Dozens of arrows coated in divine power and stained with Demonkin blood flew toward him at the speed of light.

It was Garret.

“We have absolutely no intention of fighting you for a long time, so skip the introductions and pointless chatter.”

Muteric and Pesar swung their sword and axe toward the Demon King’s neck.

Both missed.

“If possible, I’d appreciate it if you died quickly.”

“We’re already in a slightly…… no, very bad mood because of your shitty subordinates.”

The Saint isn’t here.

The Demon King rapidly assessed the situation.

The Saint was dead.

Sanctuary had been activated because of his death.

And the heroes were becoming increasingly desperate because they had a limited amount of time.

So they’ve lost their healer and priest, and that’s why they’re panicking.

How weak must he have been to die before the other Demonkin without even making it here?

A vein bulged on Pesar’s forehead.

<Since all I need to do is stall for time to win, perhaps I’ll have a little chat with you poor, pitiful heroes. Where should I begin……? Yes, that’ll do.>

The Demon King had somehow returned to the lord’s chair.

He sat there with a chilling smile.

<It’s such a shame. Among most Demon King-slaying parties, the Saint was usually the weakest and therefore had the highest mortality rate. But the reason was something else entirely. Saint meat was truly a delicacy.>

“……!!!”

<They say even his blood rivals the finest wine. I was looking forward to tasting it…… What a shame. If that Saint hadn’t been so pointlessly devoted to his companions, I might have gotten to eat him……>

The heroes could no longer tolerate insults against Hiaquin, who had departed after making the ultimate sacrifice.

Slash!

<Oh?>

With a single swing each from Muteric’s sword and Pesar’s axe, both of the Demon King’s arms were severed.

<This is mildly troublesome. Weapons coated in divine power slow my regeneration…… Ngh!>

A rain of arrows fell directly toward the Demon King’s heart.

At the same time, Ciel had already bound his legs with restraint magic, leaving him unable to dodge.

<Such cheap tricks……!>

The Demon King broke Ciel’s magic using only the strength in his legs and kicked him away.

He was about to tear Muteric and Pesar’s heads from their bodies when the heroes suddenly remembered something Hiaquin had said back when they were training together at the Holy See.

“Hmmm…… Demonkin regeneration is unrivaled among the other races, right?”

“That’s right. That’s why defeating the Demon King is so difficult.”

Hiaquin had pondered for a moment before suddenly clapping his hands.

“Then what if, after injuring a Demonkin, we apply divine power directly to the wounded surface?”

“That would…… dramatically slow down its regeneration, wouldn’t it?”

Hiaquin had smiled so brightly back then.

“There are five of us, so if the four of you sever the Demon King’s limbs and then I cauterize the wounds with divine power, we should be able to defeat him quickly. Right?”

“Hiaquin……”

Tears streamed down Muteric’s and Pesar’s faces.

Ciel, his body battered and bruised, struggled back onto his feet and shouted.

“[Gather! Sacred divine power! Infuse every bit of it into Muteric’s longsword and Pesar’s axe!]”