2nd Rank Has Returned - Chapter 303



303 – What I sincerely hope for-6

The throne showed a glimpse of a man.

An entity that can still be distinguished as plural.

[This is such a trivial rebellion.]

As if the Demon King was not pleased with such a situation, he shouted to ‘Leo’ who had not yet become one. Although he hated to admit it, the Demon King underestimated the spirit of the returnee.

[Honestly, I was surprised that the initiative was taken away. It was a strength that made me respect you once again.]

An attempt that those who have possessed so far could never have imagined.

For a vessel to use the power of the Demon King, it was an unexpected resistance even for the Demon King.

As a result, a situation occurred in which the demonic beasts that had been positioned in advance were forced into a subspace called the Demon Castle.

[Why do you use that power only for humans? Have you ever received compensation for doing this?]

Leonardo did not show any reaction to the devil’s thoughts. It wasn’t that I didn’t respond because I couldn’t refute such a provocation.

At the moment, not reacting was the best resistance. Even if the initiative had been taken away, there was a difference in the mental battle between the military and the individual.

So Leo only revealed his resistance through silence.

[…Even if you acknowledge it and give it a chance, you are still arrogant. Is it because I take after my mother?]

When his mother was mentioned, Leonardo showed strange agitation. The behavior resembled Ren’s as a provocation.

Even before her return, her mind was thinking of her own son, and because of that, even after her return, her escape was ‘half’ a failure.

Now, the Demon King was forcing Leo to understand even those memories as thoughts.

The idea was to create a stir in order to create even a small gap in her mind.

＜…＞

But unlike Ren, Leo listened to what was being said and regained his composure.

While their existence was openly revealed, communication as a thought was still cut off.

By ignoring communication, the existence of the devil was also ignored.

Whoa whoa!!

[…Don’t be cocky just because you got a little recognition…! Do you think a warrior or a wise man can save you?!]

Displeased with that impure resistance, the Demon King self-harmed and damaged Leo’s body, which was a vessel.

Leo’s hand handled by the devil pierced his own heart.

“…Now I feel a little more in control.”

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The ‘Devil King’ sat on his throne and wiped the blood from his fingertips. It was a regenerating wound anyway, but the pain of breaking her heart was a pain that not even Aria could bear.

“Now… It looks like a guest has arrived.”

The Demon King, who had succeeded in controlling it, looked down at his throne.

Now that the hero had arrived, it was time to respond.

***

The main gate of the Demon King’s Castle had a functional defect that made it difficult to call it a ‘gate’. The gate, which was emitting a black light, was closed tightly, like the organ of a conscious creature.

[If you open it, the devil will start attacking in earnest.]

The wise man in the black stone was convinced of that as soon as he saw the door in front.

Even if Leo suppressed it, opening that door would be tantamount to stimulating and awakening the Demon King, the heart of the Demon Castle.

In other words, the opening of the gate was the opening of the war.

“Anyway, there is no benefit in delaying any longer.”

Ariaspil’s opinion was a correct opinion.

Leo has already reached his limit, and his situation will become disadvantageous even if he continues to have the Demon King.

It was a fight that could not be postponed any longer.

[Then let’s destroy it.]

In response, Aria replaced the black stone with a ring.

It wasn’t difficult to use dual swords, but regular swordsmanship was suitable for destroying a stationary target.

Aria pulled out the holy sword with her right hand engraved with gold.

“…I pray.”

He rested the holy sword he held in both hands against his head for a moment and recited a prayer.

The fundamental purpose was to draw out divine power, but for now, I wanted to believe by praying.

Rather than believing in God, I continued to pray to believe in myself and Leo, who had fought so far.

Kwaang!!!!!!!

A short and thick sound wave, no one was shocked by that sound wave.

It’s like seeing lightning that’s faster than lightning.

Quaagagagagagak…!!

The rays thrown by the holy sword flashed like hundreds of lightning bolts made of nova.

In fact, the surrounding spirits, including the lightning spirit, were adding strength.

“…I broke it….”

By the time the soldiers noticed, the castle gate had already collapsed.

When the Demon Castle appeared, the castle gate, which had not moved even once despite intensive fire before the number of demons increased, was breached.

“Let’s go.”

Aria looked down at the direction of the Demon King’s Castle that had been breached without any hesitation.

The passage she formed was both the entrance for her group and the exit for the trapped demons to come out.

Most of the troops outside would be dealing with us, but we couldn’t delay any longer.

“Let’s get in.”

In accordance with her purpose, Ain spread her wings.

The safest way to head to the Demon King’s Castle now is to physically rush in.

Magic was an unwinnable gamble, and walking had its limits, even if it were Arya.

“I will not make any adjustments other than the direction angle.”

Ain transformed into a black dragon the same size as a wyvern.

Maybe it was the aftermath of being forcibly possessed by the Demon King, but compared to that, turning my whole body into a dragon felt like an easy task.

The entire Reinhardt family was on board, so there was no need for him to sit still.

“Don’t fall.”

With those words, Ain took flight.

The only people who have formed the corps now are the immediate Reinhardt family, including Ariasviel, and adult Lumine.

They had already dealt with the Demon King once and had a record of going in and out of the Demon King’s castle, so they were the most suitable personnel for now.

“…Magi…Kellok…Than when I first came…”

Rios looked at the Demon King Castle getting closer with narrowed eyes that were more frowning than usual.

The demonic beasts inside had not yet come out, and even with the bodies of the Reinhardt family, the demonic energy gushing out from there was too much.

“…The mana in the air is turning into demonic energy.”

Chris, who had scales growing around his cheeks and mouth, felt certain from the flow of air.

Even though it had not yet reached the inside of the Demon King’s Castle, a lethal amount of demonic energy was mixed into the air for an ordinary person.

‘…It’s exactly like what Leo said.’

When we trained together in Doron, I was able to understand it without difficulty thanks to the memories of Black Aria, one of the Demon King’s abilities that Leo mentioned.

[…I understand why I coveted it so much.]

Ariasviel had no choice but to bitterly agree with the wise man’s words.

Leonardo captured the concept of evil, the devil, better than any other vessel he had ever encountered.

If even the abilities that are currently manifesting are being suppressed due to resistance, then there is no way to delay any longer than this.

“…I think this is the limit for flying.”

As soon as he entered the devil’s castle, Ain had no choice but to fold his wings.

Before the structure of the Demon Castle became more twisted than a labyrinth, I had to focus my attention on the opponents in front of me.

“…If put together, it’s a waterway bigger than the Demon King’s Castle.”

The Demon King Castle operated on the same principle as a huge subspace pocket.

The inside was wider and larger than it looked from the outside, and the strange creatures within it were growing in number even now.

At the point when the counterattack began, demonic beasts would have begun to infest the outside of the Demon King’s Castle.

“…It’s not Leo.”

Ariasviel briefly reminded himself as he looked at the group of demonic beasts.

From Aria’s words, everyone was able to recognize that they could catch a glimpse of a man in that group of demonic beasts.

At the point where he said no, he also understood who that being was.

“…Demon King…!”

As soon as we entered the entrance of the Demon King’s Castle, the presence of the heart of this place directly revealed itself.

The overwhelming demonic energy I felt the moment it appeared, I felt deeply that it was not a joke like a hallucination.

“[Why are you making that expression?]”

The voice clearly belonged to Leo, but no one could say that ‘the being’ was Leonardo.

The sound and tone seemed to be Leo’s, but the underlying soul was so murky and disgusting that it felt like it was tearing the eardrums of my mind.

“[Do you think I will sit on the throne and wait leisurely for you guys to come to where I am?]”

It’s not that I couldn’t imagine this situation, but I couldn’t help but think it was too heterogeneous.

‘…I still feel Leo.’

Ariasviel could sense that Leo’s spirit still remained.

The Demon King did not completely eliminate or suppress Leo’s personality. Although his body itself was in full control, his mind was deliberately left with enough room to perceive the outside world.

“[Or was it that shocking that your beloved Leonardo was taken away?]”

Before the question could be resolved, the Demon King smiled at Leo’s face and stimulated his nerves.

Not only Aria, but everyone present had to suppress their hostility from turning into murderous intent.

“It hasn’t been taken away yet. “In the first place, Leo is not a person who should be treated like a vessel.”

Aria Spiel pulled out a black stone with a long sword from his other hand.

The important thing now was not killing the Demon King, but saving Leo. The sage with the black-transformed longsword reminded me of that fact once again.

“[That’s true. Even now, I am persistently resisting. So much so that it’s not suitable as a ‘vessel’ for no reason.]”

Originally, the Demon King was victorious when he acquired this body.

By making his body, which was no different from a spiritual being, appear as a physical being, he could have released all his power and driven it to its end.

However, for now, he can only exert stronger power than usual, but he remains in a suppressed state that cannot even be expressed in words as being complete.

It was as if he had been defeated by the wise man’s wit when he first succeeded in ascending as the Demon King.

This time, he was being weakened by ‘Ruben’ in the same way.

Sereung…!

Two fast-flying slashes, one from Aria’s holy sword and the other from Leo’s black sword, spread out in a cross shape.

Even though it was an attack from the front, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was a surprise attack. Like a sneak attack from the rear, the sword traversed quickly and without unnecessary effort.

Wow!! Kwakagak!!

Different from the quiet beginning, a rough and sharp separation touches Leonardo’s body.

The attack was so fast that people who did not have physical abilities, such as Lumine or Rios, had to hear an explosion at the end to know that the sword had been swung.

“＜…＞”

Aria didn’t think she would have died from that slash. She was convinced that she would not have died even after seeing Maeng Cham, whom no one but Aria could dare.

Even though the untargeted demons died as their flesh and bones were severed by the wind pressure, the attack could not be considered a success.

“[…Do you know why I deliberately came to meet you like this?]”

The rising dust settled. Rather, it floated like a cloud, as if it had frozen.

“[This vessel prevents useless resistance]”

The Demon King walked slowly, cutting through the fixed dust. He didn’t have a single scratch on his body. Leo’s body was showing the best regeneration as a demon, so much so that it was thought that he had blocked it.

In the meantime, other people couldn’t even react. Like last time, it wasn’t just the body that stopped.

The time of the laws of physics was taken over by the devil, even if only for a moment.

“[Wouldn’t it be much more effective to directly eliminate the place to go even if you resist?]”

Even though Leonardo’s spirit rebelled, it was the devil who was currently manipulating his body.

The reason I awakened the spirit was to brand the soul with killing each and every one with my own hands, and to brutally subjugate the spirit so that there would be no savior or seeker beyond this.

“[First of all, it would be appropriate to deal with adults first, right? Ruben?]”

In the hands of the Demon King, demonic energy is spread out like blood vessels.

Killing Lumine was a foreshadowing that not only would he remove support measures, but he would also trample on his hopes as if strangling his breathing.

[Let’s enjoy this moment together slowly.]

Leo’s body had already memorized the fighting techniques, and the Demon King only had to decide on the direction in which the opponent would die.

The regime was flying, and the Magi, already stained black, could not even dream of defense, let alone evasion, with the divinity of Lumine alone.

Above all, the premise of recognition could not yet be established at this time.

Wow…!

{…You say a lot more nonsense than I thought, right? Are you running late?}

But for Angela, the angel, this stop was a matter of a different concept.

The proof is that it blocked the attack for a while with its wings.

“[Ho, have we already conquered this?]”

[You are truly amazed by Leo’s top plate.]

Following the wise man’s words, Aria was also agitated. The black and white twin swords recoil and push the demon king away.

“…I guess you didn’t die because you stopped like this?”

The gold in Ariaspil’s right hand shone with utmost brilliance. Just like when time stopped, his hair was also turning black.

“[There are so many differences between then and now. Fake hero.]”

The Demon King faced Aria in the form of Leonardo. Because that woman was an insult to herself, she deserved to be destroyed directly as this body.

“I came here because I wasn’t prepared to do anything to save Leo. “If it weren’t for Leo, he wouldn’t have been able to make the decision.”

“[Yes… Then there is meaning in destroying it…!!]”

A warrior, a wise man, a demon king, a saint.

The decisive battle from 300 years ago has begun again.