<Episode 230 Hope (4)>
Eastern Alfheim.
A fierce battle was unfolding in the place where Balrog and Lucifer were held captive.
“Hey. Why are you stopping me?”
Unknown, who had grown even more than he did in modern times, asked the child, clashing his claws with his sword.
“You don’t want to help Kang Seo-yool?”
The growth of the child who was engaging in a fierce battle with such an unknown person was also outstanding.
“When the elves die, the demon becomes weaker. You must have seen it with your own eyes.”
Of course, Unknown is watching. Unknown's target is only Adele and Queen Illina, and the elves hiding nearby.
I have absolutely no intention of harming Ai, Geumho, or Baekho.
That's why Unknown is intentionally weakening its power.
“If you really care about Kang Seo-yool, don’t interfere.”
“······.”
The child chewed his lip.
Unknown's words were correct.
After seeing for myself the scene where Teddy's death was directly connected to the weakening of the machine, I couldn't refute it even if I wanted to.
'Just a moment ago, when the bunker where the elves were hiding was destroyed during the fight, the power of the machine was noticeably reduced.'
It is certain that the deaths of the elves are related to the weakness of the machine.
When you think about it calmly, it's also clear that not interfering with Unknown is for Kang Seo-yool's sake.
“I don’t understand. I’m going to take on the tough work for you and Kang Seo-yool. Why are you interfering?”
However.
“Isn’t that what I want?”
Even so, I can't give these two up easily.
'Since Mr. Seo Yul asked me to do this, I can't back down.'
I understand that what Unknown says is a reasonable judgment.
I also understood that staying still now was for Kang Seo-yool's sake.
But what stands above such rational judgment is Kang Seo-yool's request.
Since Kang Seo-yool asked for these two, there must be a reason to keep them alive.
That's why the kid was disturbing Unknown now.
“I see. Is that blind faith in Kang Seo-yool?”
Unknown's eyes lit up as if he found it amusing.
“It’s better than those fools who are so obsessed with their emotions that they turn a blind eye to reality······.”
But that gaze disappeared in an instant, returning to a menacing red glow.
“It’s not that much of an irrational thing to leave everything to others.”
“Seoyul is not a stranger to me.”
Family. Friends. Lovers.
A relationship that cannot be exchanged for anything.
To the child, Kang Seo-yool was life itself.
“He asked me to do this. I said okay. What else do you need?”
The child's skin quivered with energy, as if sensing the master's strong will and trying to carry it out.
“So, you two, don’t think about anything. Come to your senses.”
The child spoke to Adel and Ilina, who were being escorted by Geumho and Baekho, while keeping his gaze fixed on Unknown.
It was a stinging word scolding the two elves for not being able to focus properly on the battle since Teddy died.
"but······."
Adele spoke in a weak voice. Like the child said, she seemed completely unable to concentrate on the battle.
It was the same with Ilina.
“If our deaths······ lead to peace in this world, then I······.”
Illina has a mission to protect Alfheim, but that is ultimately a minor task compared to saving the world.
If Alfheim's sacrifice leads to world peace, I am willing to give up my life.
That's why I haven't been able to concentrate on the battle for a while now.
Because I can't find a reason to live.
“Those two elves on your side are quick to grasp the situation.”
Unknown smiled with satisfaction.
“Don’t be too sad. The deaths of you two will be remembered forever as an event that saved this world. The same goes for the country of Alfheim.”
He speaks to the two of them in a whisper, his voice sweet and sweet.
“What a wonderful and glorious death this is.”
Unknown clapped his hands with a rather moved expression.
“······Don’t be a jerk.”
The child interrupted Unknown's words, muttering harsh words.
“Death is just death. And······.”
The child glanced up at the sky.
“If we were losing, then what? Is there any need to sacrifice in a situation where we are being overwhelmed like this? That would be like a dog’s death.”
Another reason why the child decided to protect Adele and Ilina is because the current battle situation is overwhelmingly advantageous.
If the situation had been one where he was pushed by Masin, the child would have given up on Adele and Ilina without hesitation.
If Kang Seo-yool's life was at stake, I would have definitely done so.
“Well, how long will that momentum last?”
Unknown looked up at the sky with a smirk.
“What does that mean?”
“Do you know why I decided to kill the elves when it was advantageous to me?”
Unknown continued speaking, twirling the dagger he had created with his own magic.
“The power of the Demon God that I personally confirmed by infiltrating. And all the battles so far. Furthermore, the orders and judgments that Kang Seo-yool has given so far. And all other information.”
A strange light flowed from Unknown's eyes.
“I took all that information and decided that was the only way to do it.”
Unknown grabbed the dagger he was swinging and his sharp eyes lit up.
“Listen, Shirakawa Ai. If my thoughts are correct, this world will soon be over in an instant.”
The expression on the face of the demon looking up at the sky was quite serious.
“······So I’m asking why you decided that way.”
“There is no time to explain.”
“······.”
Unknown took a couple of steps forward, swinging his dagger upward.
“I can assure you. The tide will turn soon. Then everything will be too late. There will be no way to stop the demon.”
"······boss?"
The child looked a little surprised. This was because he sensed the emotion of 'fear' from Unknown's expression.
That unknown person feels fear.
“What on earth did you see from Masin······.”
What on earth did he see in the demon that made the unknown feel so scared?
“Even if I tell you, you won’t understand. The only person who can share my feelings… is Kang Seo-yool.”
Unknown glared at the child with shining blue eyes.
“So don’t interfere. If you miss this opportunity, it’s all over.”
The child's body trembled at the serious voice of Unknown, which he heard for the first time in his life. He could feel emotion in Unknown's words, which had always been like an empty cart.
"······boss."
It was when the child was looking at that unknown thing with strange eyes filled with mixed emotions.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
An ear-splitting roar echoed through the sky. It was a loud explosion of a magnitude incomparable to anything heard before.
At the center of the explosion, a huge magical energy can be felt slowly diminishing.
"······end?"
The magic of the demon god is rapidly disappearing. The demon god is dying.
“Did you······ win?”
"really······."
Adele and Ilina's expressions show both shock and joy.
Both of them felt that they were dying after drinking.
But Unknown's expression was different from those three.
“This is······.”
With dilated pupils, he stares at the center of the explosion with his eyes wide open.
[SYSTEM LIST]
[NAME Masin]
I burst into laughter as I looked at the demon's system that had clearly emerged in the center of the drinking frenzy.
“I see. That’s what it was. This is the essence of the······. The information I had confirmed piecemeal······.”
I don't know why I was suddenly able to check Masin's system.
There are rare instances where you can see the Mashin's system that you normally can't see, but this is the first time it's been so clearly visible.
“Did Kang Seo-yool anticipate all of this······. It wasn’t that he made an irrational choice because he was driven by emotions······. It was because he knew it was meaningless······.”
Unknown's eyes, which were quickly reading the system, gradually became filled with despair.
Like someone who saw something they shouldn't have seen.
"boss······?"
The child sensed something was wrong with Unknown's expression and cautiously called out to Unknown.
But Unknown didn't respond at all.
“I can’t accept this. This is······!”
He kicked the ground hard.
"paper······!"
The child who was trying to dissuade Unknown from going somewhere suddenly froze in that position.
“That’s ridiculous······.”
The immense magical energy felt above my head caused my limbs, body, head, and even vocal cords to stop moving.
The magic is so thick that you can't even feel the energy of heaven.
Just being exposed to magic makes me feel like I'm going to stop breathing.
“Did you drink it?”
This magic belongs to the demon.
The demon's magic energy, which was on the verge of disappearing, suddenly grew as if it was exploding.
“What the heck······.”
The expressions of Adel, Ilina, and the children hardened at the incomprehensible phenomenon.
* * *
“······So this is what happens.”
I clicked my tongue as I looked at the demon who had suddenly regained his original power.
“As expected?”
“What does that mean?”
Ini and Cheonshin asked me urgent questions as I muttered.
Two pairs of eyes, a perfect mixture of confusion and shock, pierce my eyes.
“······I had expected that Masin would become stronger in times of crisis.”
It was a natural thing.
Lucifer, with the alternate death of Balrog, also knows how absurd the laws of preservation of history in this era are.
I also knew that the source of the demon's power was the power of destiny.
It wasn't that difficult to anticipate this situation.
however.
'······No matter what, this is really too much of a scam.'
I think this is really too much.
'The demon will not be defeated. That is the predetermined fate of this world.'
In the past, present or future, Masin knows no defeat.
That is the future and destiny of this world.
That is, the fact that Mashin is defeated is itself a twist of fate.
'And the power of the demon, the power of destiny, is a power that grows stronger every time destiny is twisted.'
In short, when the Demon God is in danger of defeat, his fate increases significantly, and the Demon God's power grows stronger.
'The power to become stronger as you lose······.'
I'm not some monkey-tailed alien from somewhere.
What an absurd power this is.
“What’s next?”
Ini asked.
“If you expected that Masin would become that strong, doesn’t that mean you had a countermeasure in mind?”
“······I have something in mind.”
The demon god's magic power is growing stronger. If we assume that the demon god we fought a little while ago had 100% magic power, then the magic power we feel now is around 180%.
That means it has become 1.8 times stronger.
“Honestly, I don’t know if I can win.”
How effective will my spleen move be?
And how it will work on the drinker.
No, I wonder if this desperate measure will even work properly.
Everything is unknown.
Since nothing is certain, it is obviously impossible to predict the odds of winning.
“Then what should I do? Should I just run away?”
“······No. You can’t run away.”
Now that we know that the defeat of the Demon God leads to an increase in the Demon God's fighting power, there is no point in running away.
'There is no hope unless we can figure out a way to deal with the fate of the machine.'
No matter what, we have to fight.
Even if you can't win now, you just have to find one possibility that might allow you to win.
'Even if there's a tiny possibility, it's a victory for me if I can find even a slight possibility of defeating the demon.'
Even if you don't know it now, you can definitely win when you go back to the future.
“So you’re saying you’re going to fight anyway? Okay. Then, let’s use similar tactics as before······.”
"no."
I interrupted Ini and stepped forward. The surging magic energy was gradually stabilizing. The demon would soon begin to move.
“I’ll do it myself.”
"······what?"
Ini asked back, seemingly surprised.
“It’s reckless! Even if you’re Seo-Yul, facing the current demon alone······.”
I raised my index finger and covered the god's mouth.
“Trust me.”
"but······."
“Do I look like someone who will act without a plan?”
The angel closed his mouth.
He has a mysterious expression on his face, as if he wants to say something but can't.
I should say that it was a strange expression that was half worry and half anticipation.
Then I guess I have to give you some solid faith.
“Holy Magic. Do you remember?”
"yes yes······."
A new energy that combines the divine power of the Celestials and the magical energy of the Demons, which I was able to use by pure coincidence during my brief confrontation with the Demon God in the past.
Holy magic.
“Kang Seo-yool, you······. Have you recovered enough strength to use that power again?”
Ini asked with expectant eyes.
“No. That’s not it.”
"ah······."
"instead."
I put my hand into subspace.
“Similar things are now available for use.”
Then take out the Dragon Tribe artifact [Chronos],
“What are you trying to do······.”
I just hung it around my neck.
Pah, pah, pah, pah!
At that moment, I felt excruciating pain in my body.
“Ugh…uh!”
“Hey, Kang Seo-yool!?”
It hurts so much that my vision is blurry. Since I was using an artifact of the Celestial Tribe and now held an artifact of the Dragon Tribe, it was only natural that I would feel this kind of backlash.
But I endured the pain desperately.
'The stigmata that have grown to transcendent levels can be used in parallel!'
I muttered in a trembling voice, desperately trying to suppress the sparks that threatened to burn my body.
“Soul Acceleration.”
At that moment.
Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeing!
My soul is accelerating.
Flash!
The stigmata on my back began to glow.
As if influenced by that light, my eyes and other parts of my body began to change.
“You, you······.”
The mysterious eyes that prove that he is a seraph have a reptilian-specific slit pattern added to them, and they glow a yellow light like topaz.
“Seo, Seo Yul-ssi?”
The six pairs of wings on its back had black scales, characteristic of black dragons, sprouting out from between them.
I can't help but support it······.
Like water and oil becoming one.
Like two completely different species becoming one.
Along with such a strange phenomenon, the sparks that had been tormenting my body gradually stopped.
“······Phew.”
And then the spark stops completely.
I opened my eyes with the pain gone and my mind clear.
An overwhelming energy surges from my entire body. I know this even without having to check my appearance in the mirror.
“Mr. Seo Yul?”
“You. That appearance······.”
“I got a hint by seeing the strength of the two people and combined them.”
I met the eyes of the two people who were looking at me with their eyes wide open and smiled slightly.
“Cheonryong. This is my secret weapon to deal with the Demon God.”
<Episode 230 Hope (4)> End
