〈 Chapter 61 〉 End of Swordsmanship
*
“What’s holding you back? Stab me.”
Libero said, puffing out his chest.
But of course, I couldn’t stab him in the chest.
“What do you mean? I still need you.”
“I’m sorry about that. I can’t be of any more help.”
I couldn’t understand.
“Then you can help me!”
There were still many things he could do.
“You need to teach me more swordsmanship. That was the wish you agreed to, right?”
“I told you, impossible wishes can’t be granted.”
He wore a bitter expression.
“It’s impossible for me now. I’m done here.”
“Done here…?”
“I turned my back on both the Demon King and the Hero sides. It’s impossible to survive no matter where I run now.”
He wasn’t wrong.
No matter how strong he was, he was alone.
Whether it was the Demon King side or the Hero side, if they came at him in numbers, there’d be no way he could survive.
Still, I didn’t like it.
“Are you just going to give up like this…?!”
When he broke free from Gineus’ mind control, I thought he finally found enlightenment.
I, too, vaguely remembered the content of the trial through his words, just like during the trial.
“The end of swordsmanship exists for the purpose of the master! Didn’t you realize your purpose?!”
I didn’t know what his exact purpose was.
I didn’t know his past.
But after observing him for quite some time, I had a rough guess.
“Weren’t you trying to become a hero to protect something?”
“You know well.”
“Then the end of swordsmanship lies there! Why are you giving up without even trying…?!”
“I’m not giving up.”
He placed his hand on my head.
“I just saw potential in you.”
He asked.
“Allen, where does the end of your swordsmanship lie?”
The end of my swordsmanship.
That represented the purpose of wielding my sword.
“To become a hero.”
“Is that really all?”
“Is that all…?”
“I’m asking if there’s no reason for you to become a hero.”
A reason to become a hero.
Of course, there was.
‘That was the goal set for the character Allen Pleuk.’
However, that was just the initial reason.
If you asked if that was the only reason since then, that wasn’t the case.
I kept changing.
And now I know the truth.
I wasn’t just some character named Allen Pleuk.
I am Allen Pleuk, and I am me.
Now, there was a clear reason for me to become a hero.
“To protect my precious people.”
Chaos Beasts, Demon Kings, war.
This world is too dangerous.
To protect my precious connections in such a world, I need the power represented by a hero.
And if I go further than that, I want to prevent the destruction of this world.
According to the game’s story, the complete destruction of the world due to chaos is fast approaching.
The reason most characters finish their training is due to that.
From a player’s perspective, it would be easy to overlook it as just a game device, but now I couldn’t dismiss it that easily.
I didn’t think it was something I could do alone.
But to even contribute a little, to save those connections that might lend me strength…
I needed power.
“Indeed… what I felt was affinity.”
Libero smiled, as if satisfied.
“Allen, the Demon Kings are plotting something in the Leim Kingdom. It’s still in the preparation stage, but if successful, it could lead to the destruction of the Leim Kingdom.”
I knew that.
I had the player’s knowledge in my head.
The problem was…
“Is your power enough to stop that?”
Yeah, that was the problem.
No matter how much I raised swordsmanship to an A+, it was still insufficient to stop that.
However, if I could prevent the destruction of the Leim Kingdom, I wanted to do it.
‘Its destruction would be directly linked to the death of Princess Ershiarah.’
But as I just said, with my current strength, I couldn’t stop the destruction of the Leim Kingdom.
That was a scale of magnitude completely different from the invasion of the 71st Demon King.
Of course, it wasn’t that there was no way at all.
“My power is lacking. But if you help me…”
“I’d love to help, but I can’t. As I said earlier, my chances of survival are slim.”
He pointed at his chest.
“Stab me. I know that heroes with divine seats earn rewards by killing Demon Kings.”
The reward he was referring to was SP.
Indeed, earning 200 SP wasn’t something you could do easily. If I killed him and then Gineus, I might just reach the conditions for the third Stigma inheritance.
But if that meant killing Libero… it felt too insignificant.
“Think coldly. Time is short.”
He turned his gaze outside the building.
“The heroes dispatched from the Church just arrived in Sakh. It seems like there’s even a Saint-level Hero among them. It won’t be long before they arrive.”
Thinking coldly, it was indeed logical to stab him.
Even if he and I combined our powers, defeating the dispatched team, including the Saint-level, was nearly impossible.
Yet, my arms didn’t want to move.
The memories from the trial were now hazy like a dream.
Just like Libero’s memories.
However, just as Libero clung to his past memories, I could not easily forget the hundreds of years I spent with him.
It was then.
“What the hell are you hesitating for?!”
Libero raised his voice.
“I said I’d leave the end of my swordsmanship in your hands. Does it look that ridiculous?!”
“End of swordsmanship in my hands?”
“If the end of swordsmanship lies in the purpose, then it doesn’t matter who wields the sword.”
He was sincere.
Making my worries feel foolish.
“Stab me. That’s my end of swordsmanship.”
“Understood.”
The moment I made my decision, I didn’t hesitate.
I firmly grasped the sword and thrust it forward.
What I needed was certainty.
I rotated my upper body to align with the sword.
I thrust the sword deep.
The blade penetrated his ribcage, piercing his heart perfectly.
“That’s it, Allen.”
He was smiling.
“Now there’s nothing more to teach. You’ve fulfilled your promise.”
I pulled the sword out.
As soon as I did, his body crumpled without strength.
And a cold message indicating his death appeared in the corner of my vision.
[You have defeated the second Demon King. Title [Demon King Slayer] is updated. /]
[You have received a bonus of 200 SP for the title [Demon King Slayer]. /]
Hot tears streamed down my cheeks.
My chest felt tight, and I could hardly breathe.
An obvious status abnormality; if it were the past, I would have used Absolute Obedience from the divine seat.
However, just as the chained god said, he no longer interfered with me.
It was also true that I no longer needed him.
There was still work to be done.
I swallowed my tears and pushed past Libero’s corpse.
I had to kill the root of this matter.
After all, it was all because of that guy.
“Demon King Gineus.”
I had no intention of letting him go easily.
‘Hey, divine seat, activate Absolute Obedience. Tell him to die.’
[The trait ‘Absolute Obedience’ is activated. /]
That way, mental domination would be useless.
“What, what’s going on! Is this mind control not working on a mere human?!”
Gineus was panicking.
But that wasn’t enough.
I plunged Gravitas into her growing leg.
“Ah!”
She looked human on the outside, but her internal structure was different, so the sword didn’t stick well.
But that didn’t matter.
‘Weight release.’
Then Gravitas severed Gineus’ leg with an immense weight.
“What are you doing?!”
She still didn’t seem to realize her mistake.
No, maybe that was just her nature.
So I too had no intention of letting her die without a reckoning.
Thud.
I cut off the other leg as well.
“Stop! I regret it! Just kill me at once! Just like Libero!”
Hearing her mention Libero’s name made my anger rise.
I took out a random 1-star dagger from my inventory and shoved it into her mouth.
Now she was starting to scream, but ironically, that was better.
“I’ll make sure to kill you as painfully as possible.”
I severed her defenseless arms in succession.
I plucked out her eyeballs, ripped open her belly, and scrambled her insides.
Yet even so, the Demon King’s life force seemed tenacious, as her breath still remained.
“Please… just kill me…”
Despite that, her tongue seemed to have regenerated.
I was already slow to end it.
Not according to my will.
‘Heroes are climbing up.’
They were calmly ascending the building.
Thanks to that, I had a little more time to torment Gineus.
I was grateful.
My hands, dripping with her blood.
The anger mixed with tears hadn’t settled yet.
But now it was time to end it.
“Go to hell.”
I stabbed my sword into the battered heart of Gineus and twisted it.
Then, a message popped up in the corner of my vision again.
[You have defeated the third Demon King. Title [Demon King Slayer] is updated. /]
[You have received a bonus of 200 SP for the title [Demon King Slayer]. /]
[You have reached a cumulative SP of 1000, and the third Stigma is inherited. /]
I had just killed two Demon Kings at once.
I gained 400 SP.
I also inherited the third Stigma.
But…
“Shit.”
I felt like shit.
*
“The 13th Demon King and the 67th Demon King have died.”
Her crystal ball, dyed red twice.
Demon King Violet spoke in a gloomy voice.
That day, more than half of the Demon Kings were gathered for the Demon King’s Meeting.
It was more than when the 71st Demon King died last time.
Especially the 1st and 5th Demon Kings both appearing at the meeting for the first time since its inception.
“I’m sorry, Libero. I couldn’t go save you…”
Violet’s hands trembled.
As the 16th Demon King and a communication officer for the Demon King’s Meeting, she had spent hundreds of years with Libero.
“I knew Gineus was up to something…”
Even knowing, she could do nothing.
Interference among Demon Kings was controlled by the Demon King’s Meeting.
To her, the 5th Demon King said.
“That guy was bound to break eventually. He just lasted longer than expected.”
His expression was calm.
The death of a Demon King wasn’t new to him.
But even in his eyes, a hint of sadness lingered.
“He was never suited to be a Demon King from the start.”
That was a fact everyone knew.
Libero’s demeanor was contradictory enough to make it seem he could crumble at any moment.
So they all lowered their heads.
“Let’s pray for his soul. For the last knight of the Leim Kingdom, Libero.”
*
