roccoschili Chapter 171 : Disposition (2)
Chapter 171 : Disposition (2)
Disposition (2)
― KWAAAAAANG!!!
With a tremendous roar, the ceiling of the cave collapsed.
Massive rocks and piles of earth poured down like a waterfall, threatening to engulf the entire cave.
"Cough, haah!"
"Uaaargh!"
The demonic humans recoiled in terror at the sudden collapse.
Dust billowed thick in the air.
Through the hole in the fallen ceiling, a shaft of moonlight poured down like a spotlight.
And in the midst of that moonlight—
― Swish.
A man in a black robe.
Ian Greysel emerged from the swirling dust.
"W-Who are you!!"
Malus urgently shouted, thrusting his staff at the intruder.
― Shring!
Ian answered not with words, but by unsheathing the Thunder Emperor Sword, Astrape, and swinging it immediately.
― BZZZ!
― KWARURURUNG!!
A golden flash of lightning whipped around like a lash.
"GUAAAGH!"
"Gahk!"
Short screams.
The demonic humans nearby instantly became charred husks, collapsing to the floor.
"What......!"
With a single strike, all the elite demonic humans were eliminated.
Not only was Malus stunned, but even the villagers on the execution platform stood frozen, unable to close their mouths.
"......."
Ian turned his gaze to Isabel, who was cowering on the ground.
"Ah, aaah......!"
She looked up at Ian in terror, trembling all over.
The pale skin revealed through her torn garment looked pitiful.
― Swish.
Ian took out a thick spare robe from his subspace and tossed it to her.
"Put this on."
"Ah......!"
Isabel caught the robe, bewildered.
Soon regaining her senses, she staggered to her feet and tried to run to Zakar.
"L-Lord Zakar!"
"No."
Ian raised his hand, stopping her.
"It's dangerous. Don't go near him."
"But......!"
Isabel looked at Zakar.
Zakar was groaning, exhaling black-and-red demonic energy from his entire body.
His eyes had rolled back, showing only the whites, and animalistic growls and sticky drool poured from his mouth.
"Grrrrrr......!"
Nearly having lost his sanity, Zakar thrashed as if he would break his chains.
― Clang! Clatter!
― Crack! Creak!
The chains restraining him—and even the Stake of Fury—were beginning to crack.
Malus, seeing this, let out a sinister sneer.
"Kuhuhu...... It's too late. You're already too late!"
Malus glared at Ian with maddened eyes.
"I don't know who you are, but the descent has already begun! Unless you're a saint, there's no saving that guy now! That body now belongs to His Grace, the Grand Duke of Wrath!"
Malus pointed his staff at Ian.
"For daring to interfere with the sacred ritual! I'll offer you as the first sacrifice to His Grace the Grand Duke!"
― WUOOOOONG!
The instant Malus started to chant the powerful curse of binding—
― PAANG!
Ian's figure vanished.
"...... Huh?"
Malus didn't even have time to react.
― THUD!!
Ian's fist smashed straight into the center of Malus's face.
"Gu, urk!?"
Malus's eye socket caved in instantly, and one eyeball popped loose under the pressure, dangling hideously.
"GUAAAAAGH!!"
Clutching his half-ruined face, Malus collapsed to the floor.
Blinding pain. And in that moment, a primal intuition flashed through his mind.
'Th-This speed... Monstrous strength...!'
Even with my bodily vision enhanced by supreme demonic energy, I couldn't react at all—and the punch shattered the multi-layered defensive magic I'd built up as if it were nothing.
'Th-That's him! He's here for me!'
The unidentified monster who had been tearing through the cult's bases one after another and even capturing Cult Leaders.
'I c-can't... I can't win...!'
He was sure, instinctively, after taking even a single blow.
He couldn't win. He needed to escape.
Just as Malus began to tremble and retreat—
― FLASH!
Ian moved again.
― Slice!
"GUAAAGH!!"
Malus's legs were severed as cleanly as if chopped like radishes.
At the same time—
― KRAK!
Ian drove the Thunder Emperor Sword into Malus's solar plexus.
"Gu, guhk!?"
― BZZZZ!
― KWARURURUNG!
"KYYYYAAAAAAAGH!!"
Malus was charred black as if struck by lightning hundreds of times in an instant.
He wasn't killed.
His mana circuits were neatly burned out, leaving him incapacitated.
― Sizzle......
Malus collapsed in a cloud of black smoke.
Ian gazed at the sprawled Malus with apathy, then headed straight for Zakar.
"GRRRR! GRRAAAA!!"
As soon as Zakar saw Ian, he howled like a rabid dog.
― Clang! Clang!
The chains shook violently.
He was incapable of distinguishing friend from foe.
Behind him, a massive devil's shape flickered.
The Grand Duke of Wrath from the demon realm.
His evil aura was encroaching on Zakar's body.
"...... Hoo."
Ian calmly took a deep breath and drew Vladiark from his subspace.
― WUOOOOONG!
At the appearance of the massive black greatsword, isabel let out a scream.
"No, please! Don't kill him!"
Ian didn't turn around as he answered.
"I don't intend to kill him. I'm going to heal him."
"W-what......?"
"Zakar is going to scream a lot. But you must absolutely not interfere. That's your role. Understand?"
"Ah—Aah!"
Isabel nodded, tears in her eyes.
Checking Isabel's reaction out of the corner of his eye, Ian carefully rested Vladiark on Zakar's shoulder.
'This is a high-difficulty procedure.'
He had to extract only the evil demonic energy infesting Zakar's body with Vladiark.
If he slipped even a little, he might even suck out Zakar's innate true ki, putting his life at risk.
It required intense concentration.
― Thud.
Vladiark touched Zakar.
― SHUUAAAAAA!!
"Gu, gAAAAAAAGH!!"
Zakar screamed in agony.
The black-and-red demonic energy surging from his body whirled furiously and was sucked into the sword.
He sensed the parasite embedded in Zakar's heart thrashing and twisting his heart.
[.......]
The devilish form behind his back glared at Ian with a disgusted expression.
A sign that the Grand Duke's descent was being successfully disrupted.
However—
"Cough! KUHEHEK!"
Zakar suddenly began to cough up blood.
Ian's brow furrowed sharply.
'Grand Duke of Wrath... That son of a—!'
Now that the descent was blocked, the devil wanted to shatter the vessel itself.
The parasite was twisting Zakar's heart, trying to destroy it.
At this rate, Zakar would die before Ian could finish extracting the demonic energy.
'But no way. I prepared for this too.'
Heliodin.
― FWOOOSH!
A radiant holy sword of the sun materialized in Ian's left hand.
Ian pressed the holy sword against Zakar's chest.
― SIZZLE!!
Holy power flowed into Zakar, purifying the demonic energy and restoring his damaged organs in real time.
His right hand sucked away Demonic Energy with Vladiark.
His left hand healed with Heliodin.
A bizarre tug-of-war of restoration and destruction played out inside Zakar's body.
"Urgh......!"
Cold sweat streamed down Ian's forehead.
Even for Ian, wrestling with a half-god Grand Duke of the demon realm was not easy.
'Just get out... already...!'
Ian burst forth with aura.
The absorption of Vladiark and the purification of Heliodin reached their peak simultaneously.
― SHUAAAAAAA!!!
[......!!]
The devilish form behind Zakar writhed.
It narrowed its eyes at Ian, glared, then soon dissolved like mist and vanished.
It was Ian's victory.
― THUD!
"GUUUHHH......"
Demonic energy completely drained, Zakar lost consciousness and fell forward.
― Nod.
Ian nodded to Isabel, and she ran over at once.
"Lord Zakar!"
Isabel hurriedly embraced Zakar.
Relief swept over Ian, and he slumped down and panted for breath.
"Haa......."
"L-Lord Zakar! Please wake up! Zakar!"
Isabel, on the verge of tears, patted Zakar's cheek.
"Mm...... Ugh......"
Zakar barely opened his eyes.
If he'd been a normal person, he wouldn't have awakened for days.
As expected of Hisperion's blessed body.
"I......sabel......?"
"Ah, ah! Thank goodness! Thank goodness!"
Isabel buried Zakar in her chest, sobbing with relief.
Zakar looked around in a daze.
The collapsed ceiling, the scattered corpses, and Isabel holding him as she wept.
"What... what happened here...?"
Then, suddenly, he looked at his own hands.
His flesh was torn and soaked with blood.
Zakar's pupils shook.
"Don't tell me I......?"
Had he, in his madness, harmed the villagers?
Despair threatened to swallow him.
"No! No, Lord Zakar!"
Isabel shook her head fiercely.
"Everyone's safe! The villagers are safe, I'm safe! All of us made it!"
"...... What?"
"That man... The man over there saved everyone!"
Isabel pointed at Ian.
Only then did Zakar get a good look at Ian, catching his breath nearby.
The hood of his robe shadowed his face, but for some reason, Zakar felt he'd seen him somewhere before.
"Who... are you...?"
Zakar asked, but Ian didn't answer.
He only pulled the hood lower.
He had no intention of revealing his identity here.
If Zakar recognized him, there would be too much to explain.
"Hoo."
Having steadied his breathing, Ian rose to his feet.
"Zakar. It'd be best if you make new lodgings for the villagers. Unless you want to be attacked by the Demon Cult again."
Leaving the advice bluntly, Ian picked up the unconscious Archbishop Malus.
As Ian turned to leave, isabel hurriedly grabbed him.
"P-please wait! Hero!"
"......?"
"I must repay you! At least tell me your name! Please!"
Isabel pleaded, her eyes desperate.
But Ian shook his head.
"No need to repay me. Just live well."
He almost walked away—but glanced back at the villagers, Zakar, and Isabel.
"......."
On reflection, he realized Zakar had long traveled as a wandering mercenary after leaving his family.
He had no territory, no reliable faction, and had lost all his accumulated wealth to the Demon Cult.
Could he really settle all these people safely, avoid the cult's pursuit, and protect them in this harsh world?
'Almost impossible.'
If he just left them, the tragedy would likely repeat.
'If I'm going to end this, I need to end it properly.'
Ian dug into his pocket and pulled something out.
A splendid brooch inlaid with a crimson jewel.
The brooch of the Rubenstein family—he'd received it from Madam Marceline after saving Kargon recently.
A kind of wish token that allowed him to ask anything of the Rubenstein family.
― Toss.
Ian threw the brooch to Zakar.
It landed on Zakar's chest.
"Take that to Madam Marceline."
"...... What?"
Zakar and Madam Marceline were known to have a bad relationship.
They were said to be nearly estranged.
But—
"She'll help. If you show her this brooch."
With trembling hands, Zakar looked down at the brooch.
A crimson jewel engraved with the Rubenstein family crest.
He knew what this was.
A sacred and glorious item, awarded only to heroes by his mother's family.
"How... did you get this...?"
Zakar raised his head to ask.
"Are you... one of my mother's knights?"
Ian neither confirmed nor denied it.
He simply said—
"You're free now. Farewell."
Leaving those brief words, he turned and vanished.
― Flash!
"Ah......."
Zakar stretched out his hand, but Ian had already disappeared into the darkness.
"Damn... He's gone."
Zakar stared blankly at the brooch in his hand.
He didn't know who it was, but he now owed a debt beyond reason.
His life had been saved, his loved ones protected, and a path to survival opened.
'I must... repay this debt.'
His heart, once noisy with mania and rage, was now calm.
The voices of resentment and fury were gone, replaced by immense gratitude and a newfound resolve.
With Isabel's support, Zakar stood up.
There was no longer any madness in his eyes.
It was time to return to Hisperion.