168 – Great Demon (4)
From noble mtl dot com
With a sound similar to cracking an eggshell, the cracked black dome collapsed in an instant without giving birth to new life.
When the black dome completely disappeared from the world without raising a single speck of dust, our eyes focused on the vacant lot where the dome was just a moment ago.
The dome is broken, which means either the devil’s power has weakened to the point where it cannot maintain the territory, or either way, there has been a winner.
Even though the land was empty with not a single weed left, it was so far away that no one could tell who won.
No, to be exact, it was close to something that could not be confirmed.
Thinking about the unknown future, no one, including me, was willing to come forward and check it out.
“…… “I will check.”
“Oh, no!! “If that devil wins, His Majesty will be targeted next!!”
When I gathered up my courage and decided to check, Nana stopped me and said that she would go and check on her own.
The devil is sensitive to the presence of others. If it is spying using magic, it reacts more sensitively.
If the last person standing there is not Ian but the devil, then I will definitely be next.
But even so, this is what I have to do.
Ian risked his life for me, so if I were to spend my life looking for someone like that, not only would it make no sense, but I wouldn’t have the decency to see Ian in the future.
“It’s okay, Ian will definitely be safe….”
Believing in him, I activated my primitive magic and set out to find Ian in the land that had turned into a wide open space.
The more I looked down at the empty lot, projecting my vision into the sky, the more nervous I felt, not only my hands but my whole body would be covered in cold sweat.
‘Please…’ !! Please stay alive. Ian… !!’
For the first time in my life, I wondered if God had granted my wish. When I was halfway through the empty lot, I found a body that appeared to be that of a devil and Ian with a puzzled expression around it.
The area around Ian and the devil was stained with black liquid, presumed to be the devil’s blood. Looking at the extent to which the devil’s body was damaged and the amount of blood, it was easy to guess how fierce the fight must have been.
“I found Ian!! “You’re safe!!”
Following those words, the dean also used magic to look at the empty lot, then nodded and moved to where Ian was using transfer magic.
“Ian!!”
When Ian saw us, he still had a grumpy expression on his face, but he looked at the sword with the devil’s blood on it and scratched his head.
“…… Ian?”
“Huh? No, that… You woke up? “I was worried what would happen if I didn’t wake up.”
“Uh, huh. But is Ian really okay? I fought that very strong demon….”
I was so embarrassed that I didn’t notice it at first, but all the blood on Ian’s body was from the devil, and he didn’t have any injuries except for a small scratch on his face.
I knew Ian was strong, but was his strength enough to defeat the devil?
As if I wasn’t the only one who thought this was strange, Nana and the Dean also seemed to think something was strange and asked Ian.
“It is presumed that he is a major evil to the point where he possesses territory, but how can he not get even a scratch…?” .”
“…… “Did something happen?”
Ian, who was watching us, continued to scratch his head and muttered that he didn’t know how to say this.
Hornhuld, the demon who controls the struggle that was dormant within me, was clearly a warrior who had reached a level several levels higher than Ian.
The way Ian won against such a demon was somewhat, no, quite absurd, and in fact, it was no different from the demon’s self-destruction.
“The power of Hornhuld, the demon of struggle, was to seal any means used in struggle. “He used that power to seal my magic.”
“Sealing the technology? How on earth….”
“The power to seal concepts is such a vicious ability…. So what did you do?”
“What can I do? “I just fought with my sword in both hands, thinking I would at least struggle.”
However, perhaps it was a reaction to the use of such a skill, but the demon was not able to use much power after being sealed with the sword attack.
The fight went one-sided, but while the fight continued, the devil was unable to land a single effective hit on Ian and was torn to pieces as seen, leading to a miserable end.
“It was his fault for underestimating the power of Baldojutsu and hastily sealing it, but he used too much power to seal it, which weakened him.”
“No, that’s…” .”
“What is that?”
Nana looked like she wanted to say something, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She thought about it for a while and then swallowed it without saying anything.
“It’s nothing. “If I hadn’t done that, I would have held on a little longer like you said.”
“Right? “If he hadn’t sealed the Baldojutsu, he might have won.”
“…… “That’s true.”
“Ha…. “I was so worried that I thought the devil had taken over my body because I was so fine.”
“The devil said he was sorry and kicked me!!”
Ian, who was laughing and talking happily, suddenly vomited blood and fell forward.
Ian’s face, which was vomiting blood, was very pale, as if all the blood had been drained from his body.
“Ian!! Ian!!! Why all of a sudden… ?!!”
When she slapped her cheek and cried out Ian’s name to somehow bring her to her senses, Ian desperately opened his closed eyes and muttered softly.
“Ughhh… !! Too… “It was so ridiculous that I forgot about her side effects.”
With those last words, Ian closed his eyes comfortably, as if he were about to sleep forever.
Unable to accept the reality unfolding before my eyes, my body growing colder and my face as pale as a corpse, I closed my eyes as if following Ian.
“Ian!!! Majesty!!”
*****
“… ….”
Unlike when I first lost consciousness, my memories were very clear before I fainted.
When I opened my eyes, I slowly got up, like someone who had just woken up, without panicking or struggling like I did the first time.
The movements were so quiet that Nana, who was watching next to her, was unable to react right away and noticed that I had woken up a step later.
“Your Highness. “You’re awake.”
“… “Yeah, where am I?”
“This is Ian’s mansion. After His Majesty and Ian fainted, Ian was moved here for treatment. Now the priest and Dean Marina are treating….”
Without even listening to Nana’s words, she got out of bed and immediately left her room, slamming the door behind her.
As I left the room, what caught my eye was a light illuminating a dark hallway where the veil of night had not yet cleared, and two shadows wandering around the hallway.
One was her Miss Hori, for some reason both her cheeks were very swollen and she was standing leaning against the wall, stroking her cheeks.
The other one, Lady Jessica, was crouching in front of the door of the room where Ian was supposedly located, so her face was not visible.
However, even without looking at her face, he could tell that she had shed tears, as her body was slightly trembling and her sleeves were wet.
“Huh? Prince… No, that… princess? “Are you awake?”
Miss Hori, who found me, approached me with the same bright smile she always gave me.
It was the same smile as usual, but I was embarrassed by the smile that did not suit the current situation.
However, she came up to me and looked at my body carefully, her eyes sparkling with wonder, and she said.
“Well, are you really a woman? “Maybe it’s because I haven’t seen you being carried, but it feels somewhat refreshing.”
“Uh, okay…” . But what about Ian?”
“Oh, Ian is being treated in that room right now! “It’s been a while since the priest and the dean went in, so maybe they’ll come out soon?”
Looking at her bright smile, I guessed that Ian’s condition wasn’t that bad, and she let out a sigh of relief.
“How is Ian doing? I was constantly worried because she lost so much blood….”
“Well? But since I only gave you medicine that won’t kill you if you take it, wouldn’t it be okay?”
“… Huh?”
“I’ve had this happen before, but it got better after a few days of rest, so I’m sure it’ll be okay this time too!”
When I asked him what he meant, he just said his irresponsible and optimistic thoughts out loud.
Because it was okay before, it will be okay this time too?
The moment I heard her say that, I ended up yelling at her without realizing it, even though I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to say, which was one of the reasons why her behavior was like that.
“Well, if something goes wrong, why are you saying that?!”
“Uh…. Then I’ll just die, too.”
“… What?”
“There is no one who can use my medicine except Ian…. The fact that I died from a side effect is ultimately my fault, so I have to apologize with my life. But that doesn’t mean Ian will come back.”
“…… Ah.”
It was a time when I just opened my mouth, not knowing how to respond to those words that were far beyond my common sense.
The door that had been closed a moment ago opened and the priest and dean came out of the room.
“Dean!! Ian… ? Is he okay?!”
When Lady Jessica, who had been squatting in front of the door, asked that question, the priest next to her spoke on behalf of the dean with a kind smile.
“Yes, it’s okay. Because the body was so strong, it could withstand even minor internal injuries. “If you leave it like this for a few days, you will feel better again.”
Lady Jessica nodded repeatedly to the priest and hurriedly entered the room, almost pushing the two people away.
Then, I looked at Ian’s face on the bed with his eyes closed as if he was sound asleep, and sat down on the spot as if he was relaxed.
“… ….”
I wanted to go into that room and check on Ian’s condition, but for some reason, I thought that that room was just for those two, so I didn’t leave.
From noble mtl dot com
“Your Highness. “Aren’t you going in?”
“… I want to stop now. “Ian needs to rest, and I still have work to do.”
“What should I do?”
What needs to be done, to be exact, is to take care of it.
Now the time has come to take care of this body that cannot be transformed into a man, and to clear off the karma that I had to pay in the past.