EP.98 28-4.Where Life is Certain, There is Love
As far as I knew, Head Eike had a total of two phases. The first phase was like this:
“…Just like a gnat. Boy.”
A pattern of firing bullets. I was able to avoid them by using Kiyu to turn into water droplets.
“By letting red blood flow, Red Tree.”
A ghastly red aura dwelled in the blade of the sword he was holding. It cut through the wind, causing the raindrops to splash.
“Magnolia Swordsmanship, Form 2, Red Tree.”
“How does the boy know that technique…!”
Aiming for vital points to kill the opponent, I succeeded in inflicting a slight wound on Head's neck.
“Surely not White Magnolia’s…!!”
“Do you remember now?”
Bang, bang. He was repeatedly pulling the trigger towards my face, so I had no choice but to disappear again and distance myself.
“This can’t be. I clearly locked it away in the endless forest of monsters, in its very source, making sure no one could find it with ignorance!!”
Smoke was coming from the red revolver that had fired the bullets, and the metallic smell of ammunition and the faint scent of blood filled the surroundings.
“During Magic Hat’s attack, I moved as if I was being led there. It’s your karma, Head.”
“I wasn’t wrong…!!”
The Demon Lord, looking at me with resentful eyes, began to staunch the bleeding by blocking his neck with one arm, where blood was flowing down.
“…Let’s see if you can avoid this too.”
With the other arm, he brought the gun to his temple. That was a different pattern. Using his ‘Omniscience’ as a medium, he calculated the opponent's spatial coordinates,
‘A sure-hit technique that always hits…!!’
Bang─.
“It’s already too late. Boy!”
As he pulled the trigger, a huge bullet instantly appeared on my flank as I was kicking off the ground to stop Head.
It was clear that he had shot himself, but Head showed no signs of injury. A pattern that completely ignored the laws of physics.
The bullet, which had been small a moment ago, had transformed into a huge weapon, almost 2 meters in size, and was spinning, trying to tear my body to shreds.
‘Damn it, even using Kiyu won’t work.’
I had already tried to transform into water droplets to prevent being tracked, but it continued to ‘exist’ next to me as if it could see where I was moving.
In the game, I just relied on the equipment's defense and took the hits while attacking, but was there no other way?
“Magnolia Swordsmanship. Form 4. Clear Stream!!”
I created waves to absorb the impact with the water current. Even if I tried to block it with White Mountain, it was impossible to get past this without taking a hit.
“Ugh…!”
My clothes were torn, and my whole body was covered in wounds. It was similar to being hit by a speeding car.
The intensity of the attack wasn't completely reduced, and if I took this multiple times, my body would be turned to rags. Was there really no solution?
“Oh, you absorbed the impact with water. It seems all my techniques have been seen through.”
“Are you having fun now…”
“That’s right, because it proves that my Omniscience wasn't wrong after all!”
Head scoffed at me. He seemed calm on the outside, but on the inside, he was a very ugly boss.
“…Well, the bleeding has stopped.”
When Head took his hand off the part of his neck that I had just attacked, no blood was flowing. Had he already recovered?
“I shall slowly dry you to death.”
With a twisted smile, he once again aimed the gun at his temple. I couldn’t keep taking these hits….
“…Huh, why isn’t it firing?”
It was then. Chains made of water rose like a fountain from the old gentleman’s feet, wrapping tightly around his arms and legs.
“Dennis! That damn bastard…!!”
It was restraining him from firing the gun. It was obviously the protagonist of <Knight Heart>.
‘As expected, it’s Dennis.’
It was the magic of the drunken Dennis. It was true that he would help in urgent situations.
I took a deep breath. Using the Fallen Route Glitch was a very reckless attempt, and I didn't even have Kainel’s Holy Sword.
‘Above all, I don’t know the corrupt incantation of the fake Holy Sword.’
I needed to know the opposite incantation of the sword I was currently holding, but I didn't even meet the basic requirements.
In the first place, I could only use it if I lost Phine. And I had already evacuated her.
“…As expected, it doesn't activate with ‘I don’t believe in love.’”
The reason it activated last time might be because I had completely given up on the ‘Nameless Saintess’ during the Magic Hat’s attack.
Honestly, anyone else might have run away from that spot. There was no reason to separate the space and drop Magic Hat off.
I hadn’t even met the Saintess back then. I might have struggled pathetically to stay alive a little longer.
‘I must’ve been crazy.’
As a result, Phine wasn't kidnapped, and her identity or name might not have disappeared under a veil of lies.
The loss of a loved one. To save and rescue others, I gave up my personal desires.
“As they say, life is full of ups and downs.”
Therefore, it might have been that the conditions were truly met. I let out a hollow laugh.
“Old Thought, Reminiscence.”
Thump-. Something heavy fell from the sky with a sound. A jet-black sword that looked like a lever.
It had a similar shape to someone who couldn't pull out a sword stuck in a rock, so they lifted the rock whole.
In fact, from the first time I saw this Heart Sword, I had a feeling that there would be somewhere to use it.
“Y-You, what are you trying to do…?!”
“This sword, you see. It also has the meaning of Reminiscence, you know?”
I stood in front of Head, who was struggling to escape from the chains while holding Reminiscence. I pierced the sharp end of the sword into the Demon Lord's heart,
“I wonder if you can withstand this too. It’s still a Holy Sword, even if it’s fake.”
I pulled the lever. When used on the ground, it only changes the surrounding terrain as if selecting a map.
“Kuaaaaack!!”
Using it on a person’s body would twist their internal organs. This time, on the contrary, the surrounding scenery was so still that it felt desolate.
“Kuh, kuh-heok… You, why do you have two Holy Swords…!! A hero should only be able to possess one…!”
“Well, I’ve been saying since earlier that I’m not a hero, Head.”
Blood was flowing from Head’s eyes and mouth. The Demon Lord writhed in pain. The list of his crimes was deep.
“I… I am… the Demon Lord of Omniscience. There’s no way I wouldn’t have known this…!”
“Don’t you even know the price of the sins you’ve committed?”
He made the Heavenly Demon be forgotten from people’s memories, used tricks to kidnap the innocent Charitines, and now he even attacked the academy to harm our Phine.
“You’ve killed too many people.”
The Hero Cult members he brought were all vicious. Just now, as soon as the Apostle of Gluttony used his ability, they tried to attack the helpless students.
I could tell just by looking at the crowd of white-clad people sprawled around.
There were also those who threatened their lives by holding weapons to their necks. No matter how good the purpose was.
“The end doesn’t justify the means, Head.”
If I hadn't been here, and if Dennis hadn't been here, there might have been casualties among the academy students.
“Do you think… I haven’t tried to explain myself to those around me…?!”
The latch was completely turned at the bottom where it said «Stage Select». It must be incredibly painful, but the Demon Lord was still talking non-stop.
“Good. If you want to die that much, I’ll do my best too!!”
The line to enter the second phase.
As soon as he shouted that, the restraints that had been holding Head were released. Originally, if I reduced his health after this, he would attempt to commit suicide with a gun.
“…I’ll have to use the Book of Life and Death.”
I had a sense that things wouldn't go that easily this time. The Book of Life and Death, was he trying to mess with my save file?
“Dark Knight Licht.”
He had completely recovered from all the damage I had inflicted earlier. I felt something eerie and dodged backward.
“He was betrayed by his companions in the party that went to defeat the Demon Lord and died in a trap.”
What? That wasn’t what that item was supposed to do?
I turned around at the sudden presence I felt. Head’s Book of Life and Death originally recorded the lifespan and cause of death seen through Omniscience.
‘This ability wasn’t there…!’
Red phantoms that looked like Kainel and Ariel caught my eye from behind. The two of them were firing sword energy and magic from behind me. Immediately below my feet, a bottomless pit appeared.
‘Fell into….’
I tried to kick off the ground and escape, but failed. How was something like this even possible? Was it because this was a prequel?
My body fell to the bottom. I struggled and tried to transform my form with Kiyu, but it didn’t work.
“It’s over. How does it feel to be betrayed by others as a hero?”
Head muttered to himself as I fell. At the end of the bottom was an incredibly long thorn, and if I crashed into that, my life wouldn’t be guaranteed.
‘Is this the end? Even summoning Old Thought isn't working.’
I was just about to reach the menacing thorn trap. Even if I tried to prevent the fall by embedding the sword in the wall, I failed.
Was I just going to have my whole body pierced through with a crunch, bleeding profusely and dying in agony?
It was then. Something transparent appeared behind my back. Two pairs of glass wings that sparkled by reflecting light.
‘…Phine.’
How did Mardol, no, Phine Gransia, see and judge this situation? She used glass magic on my back, barely allowing me to avoid getting hurt.
Fluttering silver wings. Using that as propulsion, my body began to fly. I wasn’t even using Decision of Icarus, but I was flying in the air.
“What a cheat character.”
I felt a little envious. If she didn't become the Nameless Saintess, she was this strong.
“Thank you, Phine.”
Come to think of it, Phine Gransia had always been the one to save my life whenever I was in a desperate crisis.
When she was the Nameless Saintess, she comforted and saved me, and just a moment ago, she jumped into the trauma and came to rescue me from the fire.
It was something that had nothing to do with her, but how kind could a person be?
Someone might overlap her with a past unrequited love, but she was always the same. Even if I, a mere Dark Knight, distorted her.
“A mirror is an object that shows things as they are.”
Could her bright light ever be hidden? She was always gentle, warm, and kind.
“…Looking at it this way, it’s true that I was really clueless.”
Even when I mistook her for Lupus, even when I found out she was a woman, her appearance was consistent. She liked cute things and sweets,
“Phine was always Phine.”
Besides, I was originally prepared not to make her the Nameless Saintess. A character who suddenly appeared and fell in love at first sight, or,
“Saying ‘I was someone who loved you in the future’ isn’t pure love.”
It didn't have to be me she ended up with. Even if she wasn't the Saintess I remembered anymore.
Someday, I wanted to remove all the darkness covering her and see her smiling brightly.
It was just this ordinary wish. I had only done things that would lower her affection.
“The current Phine Gransia is lovely enough for me to fall in love with again… There’s enough reason.”
A strong and kind girl who doesn’t hesitate to reach out to those in need around her.
“It’s the complete opposite. Completely.”
She was the complete opposite of the weak me, who was afraid of people approaching, pushed away emotions, and was afraid in advance and avoided things.
“…Thanks to you, I lived, Phine Gransia.”
After safely escaping Head's trap, I raised my thumb toward the sky.
Because Phine might be watching from somewhere again.