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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The Tyrant and the King.
The presence of these two powerful figures in the same space was overwhelming.
Sharcal, in particular, filled Rin with dread, a fear stemming from their encounter during the fake Nirva incident in her past life.
‘Magic is useless against him.’
Sharcal, a mage who defied the conventions of magic, neutralizing other mages’ spells while unleashing his own devastating attacks.
It was unfair, but…
All three individuals present possessed power that defied the rules of the world.
None could judge the other.
Kurika calmly assessed the situation and addressed Sharcal.
“Sharcal, this girl is the Earliest Apocalypse, the one who will devour this continent.”
“Ah, the queen piece the gods use to play their game on this continent.”
Sharcal nodded in understanding and slammed his staff on the ground.
“This will be an interesting battle!”
“……Sharcal, this isn’t just a fight to prove your strength. This is about saving the continent…”
“Enough.”
Sharcal shook his head, his voice laced with irritation.
“Why do you insist on giving such trivial reasons for this fight? Saving the continent? Stopping the apocalypse created by the gods? How boring! How tedious, King!”
It was impossible to discern his expression beneath the skull mask, but his voice was filled with a crazed excitement.
“Don’t give me such banal excuses. Don’t fight for some grand cause. Wield your sword for yourself, and kill your enemy! That is the only way for a strong individual to live!”
“Sigh.”
Kurika, unusually, let out a sigh.
He had known Sharcal was like this, but seeing and hearing it firsthand was still a headache.
Sharcal slammed his staff on the ground again and addressed Rin.
“Weapon of the gods! Apocalypse that will ravage the continent! Make this Sharcal’s heart race once more!”
“You were next on my list after Kurika anyway.”
Sharcal roared with laughter, spreading his arms wide.
“Excellent! Claim me! Devour me! Let’s see if you can make this Sharcal, the heaviest on this continent, kneel!”
Sharcal’s unique mana surged, and an invisible, yet powerful, magical attack, bypassing Rin’s army, struck her directly.
“Just because it’s invisible doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
A dark barrier rose before Rin, absorbing Sharcal’s magic.
She had absorbed magic through her darkness countless times, but…
‘My hand is numb…’
Sharcal’s magic was heavy, the impact sending a jolt of pain through her hand.
Most mages would lose their fighting spirit if their carefully crafted spells were so effortlessly neutralized.
Their mana wasn’t infinite, and for a mage, whose power lay in their ability to turn the tide of battle with a single spell, seeing their magic disappear without effect was a devastating experience.
But Sharcal was different.
“You devour magic? Then devour as much as you like! I’ll make your stomach burst!”
His attacks intensified, targeting Rin directly.
He ignored the soldiers attacking him, but…
Boom!
Kurika stepped forward, his sword intercepting Sharcal’s magic.
He cut down Rin’s soldiers with each swing of his sword, as if declaring their power meaningless before him.
Sharcal roared in anger.
“What are you doing, Kurika?! How dare you interfere! Cooperation and harmony are for the weak! I only conquer, I only take, I only plunder!”
“Can’t you think rationally…”
The barrage of magic directed at Rin stopped. She had thought Sharcal was simply out of mana, but she was wrong.
He was now attacking Kurika.
‘I’ve heard stories…’
But he was truly obsessed with battle and strength.
For the first time since her return, Rin felt a flicker of amusement.
There had been nothing but pain and hardship, but this… this was almost comical.
“Sharcal!”
Kurika, struck by a spell, stumbled backward.
Sharcal, seeing the path cleared, nodded in satisfaction.
“You’re next, Kurika! Prepare yourself! Tonight, we decide who is the true master of this forest!”
“Have you lived in this forest for so long that you no longer care about the continent’s fate?”
“Don’t be absurd!”
Sharcal’s magic resumed.
Rin had hoped to simply deplete his mana and overwhelm him with her army, but it seemed things wouldn’t be that easy.
She extended her hand, and a sword emerged from the darkness.
The sword she had wielded as the Earliest Apocalypse in both iterations, a cursed blade bestowed by the Goddess of Death.
“Oh? You’re joining the fight yourself?”
Sharcal grinned, intensifying his magical assault.
The pain in Rin’s hand was almost unbearable, making it difficult to even grip her sword, but she gritted her teeth, ignoring the agony.
She slipped into the shadows of her army and advanced towards Sharcal.
‘I can win if I get close.’
But before she could reach him, another beast moved to intercept her.
“I won’t refuse if you come to me.”
Kurika, ignoring the Army of Death, charged towards Rin.
He was wounded, but his determination to kill her overshadowed his injuries.
“She’s mine!”
Sharcal roared, unleashing a wave of magic, aiming to eliminate both Rin and Kurika.
Despite the danger, Kurika pressed forward, ignoring the magical onslaught, his obsession with killing the apocalypse evident.
But Rin vanished into the shadows.
Boom!
“……!”
“Ugh!”
Kurika, struck by Sharcal’s magic, was sent flying.
He struggled to regain his footing, but he crashed to the ground, covered in dirt and debris.
Sharcal looked down at the cursed blade piercing his chest, his voice filled with disbelief.
“How?”
“……”
The Demon Realm Forest was always shrouded in darkness.
Sharcal hadn’t noticed the darkness emanating from Rin’s army creeping towards him.
Rin, realizing she could reach him through the shadows, had moved behind him and struck.
“Clever girl!”
Sharcal roared in anger.
He seemed dissatisfied with the anticlimactic end to their battle.
He dropped his staff.
“My death belongs only to…”
Just like in the previous iterations, he intended to self-destruct, but…
The darkness rising from the ground snatched the falling staff, wrapping around his hand, forcing him to grip it.
“Heh… heh…”
Sharcal chuckled, a hollow sound.
He had realized that even his death wasn’t his own.
He nodded in resignation.
“I lost, girl.”
“……Even in death, you will be feared, as you desired.”
Rin offered words of comfort, but Sharcal shook his head.
“That will not be me, but a weakling defeated by you. Exercise your right as the victor.”
The darkness emanating from the cursed blade consumed Sharcal. He accepted his death silently, and then…
A skull-masked mage, wielding a staff, emerged from the darkness.
This time, there were no emotions, no words.
Only a single-minded determination to crush his master’s enemies.
The Goddess of Death had said that conquering the continent would be easy if she could obtain either Daniel McLean or Kurika.
But the Daniel of this time was a powerless, cursed boy.
So Rin needed a replacement.
Sharcal.
Kurika, who had been struck by Sharcal’s magic, struggled to his feet.
He gripped his greatsword, his gaze fixed on Rin.
“Sharcal is mine. You have no chance of winning.”
The other magical beasts, killed by Kurika and Sharcal, were also regenerating.
Sharcal, now under Rin’s control, was gathering mana.
Even for Kurika, the battle was already lost, but…
“In all my years, I have never surrendered.”
He roared, charging forward, his sword raised.
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