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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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The roar emanating from the Ashen Crossbow consumed everything in its path. When everything settled, only the remnants of the magic tower remained. It was physically destroyed, but the lingering black mana would taint Mystic Island unless purified by a sanctuary.
‘And…’
Ding.
Kaeran Heath. The author’s self-insert. The reason I, a stickler for lore, was here. He was gone, just like that. I’d given him a chance to deviate from the storyline, but he chose to remain a villain.
Well, with Yellody Latasia backing him, he probably felt invincible.
‘The list of targets never ends.’
Fortunately, I’d found a clue to capturing Yellody Latasia, an even greater threat than Kaeran, after defeating Nikolseta.
‘I’ll need Aria and Edwin’s help, though.’
I moved towards Edwin’s signal flare, opening Kaeran’s reward window.
Ding.
‘Hmm.’
No need to think twice. I chose [Massacre]. I recognized the description of [Hierarchy Usurpation].
In Reincarnation Hero, bad endings often involved the player or another character becoming a Demon Lord. ‘No thanks.’ It required defeating a Demon Lord, the final boss, so it wasn’t immediately useful.
Besides, my mission objective was to graduate from the academy. Choosing [Hierarchy Usurpation] would be like accepting Kaeran’s legacy and declaring myself a villain.
Ding!
The main reward, the guaranteed reward, popped up. I knew what it would be.
As expected. His signature trait, [Copy], was mine. I felt a twinge of unease. Perhaps… I’d become another Kaeran.
“No.”
I would never become a demon like him. I couldn’t.
As the status window warned, the demons of Pandemonium would be gunning for me. And I was destined to kill them.
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‘This should be far enough.’
Thanks to the Hermit trait, the monsters ignored me. I found a good vantage point in Death Valley. I used my Sniper trait to observe Edwin’s group. Yeriel fighting off the monsters. Edwin lying on the ground, Aria tending to his wounds. Violet, frozen in fear, facing Marcosias, possessing Abelline’s body. I used Demon Eye on Abelline.
Ding.
There was no time to waste. I aimed the Ashen Crossbow at Marcosias’s head. I was used to sniping, but this was Marcosias, one of the most powerful Great Demons, and he had [Power of Subjugation], an unavoidable skill.
One of us had to take the hit for the plan to work.
‘…Edwin needs to realize it.’
I prayed my strategy would work.
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A short while ago, with Edwin’s party…
‘This is it…!’
Forced back by the relentless assault, Edwin’s party was cornered on a large rock where Abelline lay. They were fighting for their lives in a space the size of a dorm room.
“Edwin! Undead have high endurance! I’ll enchant your sword for a prolonged fight!”
“Thanks!”
Whoosh!
A pale blue flame flickered on Edwin’s claymore, the one Sylvester had given him. Refined mana, combined with his divine power, enhanced the sword’s aura.
‘But…’
He didn’t know how much longer they could last. They were exhausted. He pulled out the magic tool that was emitting a signal.
Activate this if the fight gets too intense. He had no choice.
‘Sorry, Lev… I’m… useless.’
He sent the signal skyward, then turned back to the fight… when suddenly…
-KABOOM!!!
-!!!
A blinding white light and a deafening roar erupted from the cliff above.
‘Hmm?’
Something was wrong. The barrier was weakening rapidly, despite the magic tower having just been activated. He hadn’t even opened the portal to his 5th Legion yet.
“What… what’s happening?”
“Their numbers are decreasing…”
The monsters that had been threatening Edwin’s party moments ago were retreating, no longer a threat. Soon, even the monsters converging on the magic tower dispersed.
‘Damn it! I shouldn’t have trusted that creature…!’
Marcosias raged inwardly.
Shove!
Aria, having regained her senses, pushed him away.
“I know Lady Abelline has a high aptitude for paladinhood, but… this is strange.”
“…”
“She was rejecting divine power… Such a rapid recovery… unless you’re a demon…”
“Chuckle. Kukuku…”
“…And that tone of voice… Who are you?”
The word ‘demon’ set Marcosias off.
A clever girl, aren’t you?
His voice boomed, echoing around them. Everyone’s attention was on him.
-Swoosh.
He left Abelline’s body, which immediately collapsed.
“Abelline…?”
“Abelline! Are you…?”
-Whoosh!!!
A thick black fog engulfed the area.
“Everyone, huddle together!”
-Crackle!
Aria’s divine barrier activated just in time. As the fog cleared, they saw…
-!!!
…a hulking figure, over three meters tall, its body covered in grotesque demonic markings and muscles.
‘That presence…’
Edwin felt a primal fear grip him, his heart pounding in his chest. It was the same fear he’d felt when his father was murdered, when his village was slaughtered.
“…Yeriel.”
“Yes?”
“Hold them off for a moment. Alone.”
“?”
-Dash.
His face expressionless, Edwin charged, driven by instinct.
“Edwin?!”
-Swish!
Horizontal and vertical slashes.
-Swoosh!
Marcosias didn’t move, his body an illusion, impervious to Edwin’s attacks.
“You think you can touch me?”
“…Of course.”
-Hum!
Edwin’s sword glowed with divine power.
“Oh?”
Marcosias caught the downward strike with his bare hand.
‘…!’
A deafening clang, the clash of divine power and black mana. Edwin’s sword was stopped by a single finger.
“Are you asking to die?”
A cold sweat ran down Edwin’s back. He gritted his teeth. He’d used a lot of divine power fighting the monsters, but Marcosias was unarmed.
‘He’s this strong with his bare hands?’
He couldn’t win. This was different from the monsters they’d faced so far. He’d only been able to fight Boone, the Great Demon, because he was weakened near the sanctuary.
-Creep…
‘Just a touch, and…!’ T
he oppressive demonic presence, the overwhelming fear, almost consumed him. He pulled back, breaking contact.
-Whizz!
Violet’s arrows flew, aimed at Marcosias’s left forearm, the one he’d used to block Edwin’s sword.
-Thud!
“Now!”
-Crackle!
The sealing effect of the arrow activated.
-Fizzle!
“Keh… Is that all?”
“?!”
-Plop.
The sealing arrow lost its power and fell to the ground. Marcosias hadn’t even moved.
“Disappointing. Is Clarice nothing but a den of weaklings…?”
“!”
These children before him… were pathetic compared to the so-called war heroes.
“Ah, I understand now. This is why I get careless.”
He continued slowly, “I’m considering taking these two girls as my subordinates.”
He pointed at Yeriel and Aria, then sighed, looking at Violet and Edwin.
“You two are too weak, useless. In short… failures. Well, the girl might be edible for the goblins, at least…”
-Dash.
“You talk too much.”
Edwin charged, but…
-Whoosh! Clang!
“Impudent.”
Marcosias blocked him with his forearm and…
-Wham!
“Gah!”
…kicked him hard in the side.
“You dare defy me…?”
As Edwin tumbled towards the edge of the rock…
“Master Edwin…!”
Aria caught him.
-Crack, crack.
Marcosias stretched his neck and addressed Violet.
“I know your grandfather.”
“What?”
“He was skilled, for a human, but that’s all. He became a demon’s subordinate and shared your family’s secrets with them. That’s why your petty tricks don’t work on me…”
“Don’t you dare insult my grandfather with your lies!”
-Whizz!
Violet’s arrows flew. But…
-Thud! Thud! Thud!
-”!!!”
They hit Abelline, not Marcosias.
“Ah…”
“…”
Abelline’s expression didn’t change, as if she felt no pain.
-Drip.
Blood trickled from her mouth, confirming the hit.
“Cough. Gah.”
The blood turned black as she coughed.
‘…She’s… dying…’
“No… I… I didn’t…”
Violet trembled, the memory of the Scarlet Ash subjugation flooding back. The horror of witnessing death.
“Just like your grandfather. So easily broken…”
Marcosias yawned, watching Violet succumb to the demonic pressure.
“How utterly boring…”
-Crack!
Suddenly, a white flash, too fast to follow with the naked eye, like a falling star, pierced through the center of Marcosias’s face.
-!!!
When he regained his senses, it wasn’t just one flash of light.
“Wh… what is…?”
Countless points of light, like stars in the night sky, connected by streaks of wind, converged on him…
———!!!
…hurtling towards him, Marcosias, their origin.
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