ALL NOVEL Chapter 263
If the world’s end that the gods speak of actually exists, then this is it.
The battle where the Celestial Race and the Demon Race kill each other.
Angels to protect those who believe in the gods.
Demons to kill and plunder everything for themselves.
The place that was once the System, Leberced Arpe, has turned into a battlefield.
Blue and black point their spears at each other.
Only red blood scatters in every direction.
Angels continually soar, while demons are endlessly summoned through the wings of the Black Dragon.
In the process, those dying are neither Celestials nor Demons, but humans.
“Kihihihik!!”
The demons summoned from the Demon World began to hunt the weak humans in earnest.
“Run away, prey!”
“Help, please!!”
Not to eat them like Kimaria, but simply to kill humans for the sake of killing.
“O Moon Goddess! Please!!”
“Stop it, you filthy demon!”
And towards the angels that descended to save such humans, the demons threw spears made of magic power.
“Kihihihi, Celestials, get lost! This land is ours!”
“This is the Intermediate Realm! This is not a place you can interfere with!”
“Shut up! This place was ruled by Great Demon Lord Bel Phegor 500 years ago! It is essentially our territory!”
“Crazy talk! Where is that Great Demon Lord now?”
“Right here!”
The demons pounded their chests, gathering magic power to attack the angels.
“The will of the Great Demon Lord lives on in us, and in that Beel Zephar! Although the Great Demon Lord is not here, we will carry on his will!”
“What is the will of the Great Demon Lord?!”
“Conquest of the Intermediate Realm!”
Ka—bang.
All around, angels and demons faced off.
That standoff gradually spread beyond Abelfia, across the entire land of the System.
“Archangel! Have we arrived!? In the name of the Moon Goddess, we will erase those wicked demons from the Intermediate Realm!”
“Kraaah! I am none other than Astaroth, the new Right of the Seven Demon Lords! The Demon Lord that follows Asmodeus!”
Wings with multiple feathers began to arrive from the open sky, and an increasing number of demons flowed from the wings of the Black Dragon.
Naturally, more humans would die.
Angels who stepped forth to protect humans began to focus on fighting the demons, and the demons also unleashed their strength, no longer needing to hunt humans.
“Ugh!”
When attacking angels in a wide area, humans get hit.
Even when angels evade the demons’ attacks, humans get caught.
Even when blocking the demons’ attacks, those attacks ricochet and hit humans.
Only humans are dying.
Kwaduk!
Even the Blessing of the Moon Goddess held no meaning in the situation with Kimaria.
“Ah, ah…”
Humans fell into despair.
No hope remains.
The empire that protected this place has fallen, and the hero has left.
If there is even a glimmer of hope, it is that the hero might find his mentor, the witch, and come to realize the crisis here.
Even if he can’t find the witch, that’s fine.
If he just comes to save us, we would be grateful.
“Please, save me…!”
In the end, humanity had no choice but to beseech the hero once more.
No matter the situation of the hero, humanity had no way to overcome this crisis with their own power.
The people of Abelfia had already been burned once by Satan’s Demon King’s army.
They had once been saved.
They had once been rescued by the golden light descending from the sky.
That golden light, after all—
“Oh.”
In the distance.
Something golden is approaching from the sky.
The clear golden trajectory spanning across the night sky traced a graceful line.
“Ah, ah…!”
Could it be that the prayers toward the gods have reached them?
Or could it be that prayers directed at him have connected?
Or is it possible he knows the dangers of this land on his own?
If so, he might truly be the ‘Living God’ of this land.
“He comes…!”
All eyes on the battlefield turned towards the golden trajectory.
“Waaaah! It’s the hero!!”
“That golden light is definitely the hero’s light! It’s certain!!”
“Everyone, brace for impact! Here comes the Hero Cannon!!”
Some cheered.
“Ugh, as if the power of the Moon Goddess alone would have sufficed…!”
“To have to rely on a power that isn’t divine to defeat the demons…!”
“Tch, that heretic dares to obstruct us…!”
Some felt discomfort.
“That, that is…?! Could it be the ‘Golden Wind’ that I’ve only heard rumors about?!”
“That’s the Wind Hero they were talking about! The Holy Wind Sword that killed the Great Demon Lord 500 years ago!”
“Kraaah! Because of that sword, we suffered so much!! We could have come to this land way back 500 years ago if it weren’t for that!!”
Some felt hatred.
“Kill before the hero arrives!!”
And some attacked.
“Kill at least one more before the Holy Sword arrives! Shoot and stop it before the Holy Sword gets here!!”
Some demons began a large-scale offensive towards the Holy Sword.
“Intercept with concentrated bombardment!”
“Use the power of the Kimarias! We have the ability to deactivate the Holy Sword’s magic here!!”
The sinister-colored magic of the demons gathered, and bombardment towards the Holy Sword commenced.
From minor magic spheres to cannons shaped like rays and breaths aimed straight at the golden trajectory.
Kwaaaah——!!
The tremendous barrage of magic flying through the night sky was reminiscent of the world’s collapse, and humanity could hardly open their eyes.
With such overwhelming magical bombardment, would the hero fall—
Saeek——!!
The bombardment split apart.
The golden trajectory pierced through the barrage of magic aimed at it, not losing speed at all.
Flashing.
And then, a golden magic circle spread in the midst of the battlefield.
The circular magic circle that unfolded in an instant was a new form of magic circle that neither the Celestial nor Demon could see.
“Flee, flee!!”
The Black Dragon shouted urgently.
“Get away from the magic circle! The hero is about to fall!!”
Those who already knew hastily tried to escape the radius.
Angels gazed at the approaching golden trajectory as if in a trance, and the golden trajectory that pierced through all of the Demon King’s bombardments dropped right in the center of the magic circle.
Kwang——!!
The ground shook.
The earth trembled, and the entire battlefield quaked.
The golden figure that fell from the sky.
It was as if a knight made of gold, or a divine being draped in golden wind.
“Golden Mount…!”
Humanity had already seen it.
That golden figure wielding a golden great sword against the Demon God of the Great Demon King Satan.
“Lucius——!!”
Flutter.
The golden wind billowed like a cloak as the hero knelt on one knee, pressing his fist against the ground.
Clank.
Slowly, the hero rose to his feet.
Having fallen at the very heart of the battlefield and drawing everyone’s gaze, Hero Lucius simply opened his mouth calmly.
“I am.”
As the hero extended his hand to the side.
“I have come.”
A golden spear emerged from the hero’s hand.
“To end this war.”
The wind began to blow.
*
‘As expected of Lucius.’
He really is a hero who knows how to handle things without needing to say much.
I already knew he had the qualities of a hero, but he remains calm even in the midst of Celestials and Demons.
‘Please take care of it.’
I really hope he does well.
I wish for him to survive against all the enemies in the System until I arrive.
With his overflowing confidence, he might even end the battle in the System just like he subdued Liriez.
Though it’s my wish.
Since Lucius has already proven himself once, I believe he will certainly survive before I arrive.
Because.
I am currently moving to another place, not where Lucius is in the System.
‘The basics of combat are to cut off the enemy’s supply lines.’
All wars fundamentally involve supply fights.
Especially if the supply involves the ‘enemy’ itself, it’s absolutely essential to cut it off.
‘Asydia Phegore is summoning demons through the so-called Demon Lord Zephar.’
The ‘Demon Gate’ in the direction of the System is none other than Beel Zephar himself.
But the Celestials are different.
Those who are gathering in the System are only the angels who have already crossed via the Celestial Gate.
The angels have not yet made it halfway across.
If we divide them into eight ranks, only the lowest-ranking 8th or 7th angels have made it over; even the high-ranking archangels like ‘Michael’ or ‘Gabriel’ haven’t come through yet.
The gate of the Celestial Realm hasn’t fully opened yet.
Naturally, for the intermediate or higher angels to come down freely, the Celestial Gate needs to open a bit wider.
Therefore.
I will stop that.
To do so, I flew now to the southern continent where the gate of the Celestial Realm has opened, the center of the Order—the Papal Office.
Crash!
I drop-kicked the stained glass, landing lightly in the center of the shrine.
There was no one in the shrine.
Except for one person.
“So you really came.”
Underneath the open gate of the Celestial Realm, right above the Central Cathedral of the Order.
“I thought you would notice, but you actually came.”
A being in magnificent ceremonial robes, with golden long hair, was praying toward the goddess statue.
“Sending clones to the frontlines while the main body rests in the Demon King’s Castle. That was the last tactic I used during the fight with the Human Alliance.”
As I slowly folded my wings of magic and touched the ground.
“When we talked about that in the Deep Dark Council, you showed considerable interest. It felt as if you thought you’d definitely have to use it later.”
“You’re throwing me off, considering you’re the person at the center of the scheme. Who would have thought it would end up like this?”
“It’s strange to think you wouldn’t get caught, isn’t it? Lucifer?”
“…Huh.”
The blonde priest, Lucifer, turned toward me.
“That’s right.”
“…What? Why…?”
“Oh, this?”
Lucifer pointed at his face.
“I divided it.”
“Divided… what?”
“Myself as the Demon Lord and myself as an Angel. …I didn’t expect the division to be between male and female.”
In front of me stood a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, resembling my clone, and she smiled at me.
“The Holy Sword is not here. Only Demon Lord Lucifer exists.”
As Lucifer extended his hand, a red whip made of magic appeared in his hand.
“If you want to capture Archangel Luciel, or want to close off the Celestial Gate behind me, try to defeat me. Great Demon Lord.”
Pah!
“Us.”
In an instant, the walls of the Papal Office crumbled.
Beyond the veil of divine power scattering like fog, knights clad in full armor surrounded me, each wielding swords and spears.
There were at least hundreds.
No, thousands.
“I shall now purge heretics.”
“…Really? What a shame, then.”
I struck a grand pose, but I was here with ‘full force’.
“You said you’re a Demon Lord now, right? Then do you remember what I said back in the day?”
“…What are you talking about?”
“That Demon Lords must always be cautious. The suddenly appearing… Hero of the Holy Sword.”
I sincerely feel sorry.
“Right now, I have brought five Holy Swords with me.”