Chapter 456
Chapter 456. The Light of That Day
I’m Zilbagias, feeling absolutely dreadful.
Nausea is overwhelming. My hands and feet are shaking uncontrollably.
“Get a move on with the teleportation spell! You’ll die at this rate!” Antende’s desperate voice cuts through my haze.
Without needing any more urging, I shoved the symptoms of poison onto a nearby knight who’s passed out.
It’s merely symptomatic relief, but it helps a little. The teleportation spell can transfer diseases and injuries, but toxins remain in your body… I have no choice but to endure until it’s expelled or broken down.
“Ugh… I should’ve teleported before taking out the Emperor…”
I ended up killing him without even a scratch on me. Oh well.
“If it was going to end like this, I should’ve just gone all out from the start and wiped them all out…”
Antende sighs.
…I really didn’t expect that kind of hidden card.
Excalibur, and this chain that’s still burning me.
—Even after Arthur’s death, the transformed [Chains of Restraint] remain coiled around me.
I tried to pull them off, but they wouldn’t budge. As a last resort, I cut off Arthur’s left arm and dragged it with the shield attached.
“…What a hassle.”
…Ugh. I can’t believe they even put poison in it.
Sure, I knew poison was a weakness against the teleportation spell, but I never thought they’d counter it this fast.
I briefly discussed the poison with Arthur and the others before they arrived. Where did Bishop Lexar learn about it? And how did he procure the poison?
Impressive, really. Truly remarkable…
So remarkable…
…Damn it.
“Ugh… bleh…”
After throwing up once more, I felt just a tad better. I wiped my mouth. If only I could use water magic like this… I thought fleetingly, realizing I was still barefaced.
The mask made from Arthur’s remains had been shattered and fallen. I wanted to retrieve it, but where could it be? For now, I separated part of the spear’s shaft and fashioned a makeshift mask.
I need to leave soon… I have to rest and recover my strength until the poison subsides, or maybe I’ll have to seek treatment at some Holy Church in a nearby town without raising any suspicion.
…Would that even be allowed for someone like me?
“Nothing is allowed! For now, we must move, or else—”
Suddenly, there’s a crunching sound behind me.
“Hey… wait, you—!!”
…I turned around.
“Ah, I told you not to!”
A mud-covered vampire hunter glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
He’s… the young one whose leg I blew off and from whom I transferred the left-arm injury. He’s regained consciousness and seems to have healed himself, but it appears he can’t use higher-level miracles, and his left arm is still missing. He’s tied a sword sheath to his leg to use as a makeshift limb.
“I won’t let you get away… Demon Lord’s Prince…! For everyone’s sake…!”
Wow… what guts… even though we’re both in tatters…
“Is this really the time to be impressed! Kill him!!”
I thrust my spear forward, trying to take down the young vampire hunter.
But to my shock, I have no strength at all. I feel like a newborn deer, wobbling unsteadily, naturally getting deflected by his sword. He’s using only one hand… and it’s a prosthetic.
Damn it… my head is starting to feel hazy. My vision is flickering.
I need to hurry back… to get Liliana to detox me…
“You fool! Liliana isn’t here anymore! Get it together!!”
Ah… that’s right.
Regardless, I need to return. Platy must be worried about me too…
“That’s why—!”
“Uoooooohhhh—!!”
With his wooden leg, he lunges at me fiercely. The young vampire hunter swings his holy sword down.
Feeling the killing intent, I felt more alert. I managed to deflect it with my spear. However, as soon as he struck again, I blocked it with a protective spell. Damn it, my whole body hurts from these chains… it hurts…
The chains are making it difficult to manipulate my magic. When I was energetic, it wasn’t that painful, but now it feels like I’m carrying a heavy weight on top of being utterly exhausted…
Whoosh! The sound of wind slicing through the air.
My protective spell shattered by an arrow.
“What…?”
I looked to see a pale-faced forest elf—vampire hunter Yesera, drenched in cold sweat, aiming her bow at me.
Oh yeah… she’s here too. She didn’t have much presence in the heat of battle, but she used a massive mythic spell at the beginning, so she might’ve been exhausted until now.
“【Mercy of the Earth, grant us strength!】”
Yesera strained her voice and magical energy. A halo of light radiated from her, causing the unconscious royal guards to groan and stir awake.
Wow… she’s quite the operator… reviving people at such a crucial moment…
“Is it really alright to be so carefree! Hurry and fortify your defenses!!”
Reestablishing the protective spell… ugh, it’s tough. It makes me feel sick, and I’m so sleepy…
Ah, crap, I wasn’t breathing… I have to… suck in some air…
…My head isn’t working.
“Ugh… bleh…”
Bitter…
“Everyone! The Demon Lord’s Prince is on the verge of death! Finish him off quickly!!”
Yesera shouted as she loosed an arrow. I barely managed to reestablish my protective spell, repelling the arrow along with the young vampire hunter’s holy sword, stumbling backward.
“What’s going on… where’s the Hero!?”
“Ahhh! His Majesty! His Majesty is down!!”
“Damn it, demon scum! I won’t let this slide!”
“We have to handle this ourselves!”
“Kiieeeeeeeaaahhh!!”
Countless footsteps approach—
Taking advantage of the fact that I’m weakened, these guys…!!
“Dieeeee!!”
The young vampire hunter aimed his holy sword at me—
“Here’s my chance—!”
Antende tries to leap out from inside me—
Right at that moment—
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh—!!”
A deafening roar.
From the sky, a massive pillar of light descends.
“Huh?”
The vampire hunter who was about to swing his holy sword looks up at the sky.
He gets engulfed in light, and with the sound of sizzling fat, he turns to a crisp in an instant.
Right in front of me, flopping down is what was once a vampire hunter, now a charcoal figure.
The true power of that [Extremely Hot and Bright Light] which I had seen twice before—he would come to know it personally…
Oh… I hear wings flapping.
A strong wind blows down from above, followed by a heavy bass sound that echoes behind me, and then a crunch as a carriage is crushed with its contents.
“Your Highness!”
A metallic voice.
When I finally turned around—against the crescent moon, a White Dragon raised its head, spreading its wings protectively over me.
…Leila.
You came to save me.
Because I’ve been so useless…
You came all this way to help me.
“Yes! This might just work!”
While Antende sighed in relief.
“That’s insane!? What the…”
“A White Dragon!?”
“Is that rumor actually true!?”
The knights, along with the infantry on the outer edge, were understandably shaken.
“Damn it… wind!!”
Yesera summoned a fierce gust, firing another powerful magic arrow at me. A tracking arrow, expertly honed by forest elves, guaranteed to hit its target—
But Leila swung her tail like a whip, easily knocking it out of the way.
“A wind user…!”
Leila growled in a low voice and squinted her eyes.
Her breath swelled, and then,
“【Water!!】”
At the same time Yesera conjured a membrane of water,
“GAAAHHHHHHHH—!!”
With a roar, a searing light erupted.
Using the water membrane as a barrier, she blocked the breath attack—Yesera made the right call.
…If it had been just a regular fire-breathing red dragon.
But Leila is a White Dragon. Her breath is a radiance.
An ordinary water membrane won’t hold up against it. In fact, it backfires.
In an instant, the water evaporated, the ruptured light slashed across the ground.
Including Yesera, the soldiers behind me—
“Kyaaaaahhhh!!!”
Yesera was boiled and vaporized by hot water and steam, crying out and collapsing to the ground. Her eyes wide in shock, her stark red skin burned, twitching. Given that she’s part High Elf, it seems she’s not dead, but… unlike Liliana, she can’t negate it entirely.
“GAHUAHHHHHHH!”
“IGYAAAAAAHHHH!!”
“AAAHHHH! UWAHHHHH!”
The breath attack that ran through the lines of soldiers inflicted catastrophic damage on hundreds. Even for those who were struck directly, their skin was burned and they rolled in agony, while others caught in the aftermath writhed in pain all around.
“GOGAAAAAHHH!!”
Roaring menacingly, Leila swept her tail.
Royal guards who hastily raised their shields were thrown like paper, limbs broken and flying.
“This monster—!”
“Get lost!!”
“Why is the White Dragon protecting the demon kin!?”
While they retaliated, fireballs and blades of water and lightning flew, but whatever looked like it was going to hit me, Leila shielded with her own body. Most deflected off her dragon scales, but some seemed to singe or at least cause Leila to grunt in discomfort.
Which means they still pose a threat—!
“GAAAAHHHH!”
Another attack of her breath. Knights were roasted along with their armor, screaming their last as they fell.
The knights, who had been eyeing their chance, completely collapsed in morale, throwing down their shields and swords, starting to flee.
“Haaah, haaah… Your Highness! Let’s go!”
Breathing heavily, Leila grasped me with her front paws. My body, bound by the [Chains of Restraint], burned her fingers, and she let out a grunt.
That’s right… Dragons are the enemies of mankind…
Leila spread her wings. I must not drop Adamas. I had to reshape the bone hilt and tie it to my arm. I didn’t even have the energy to resheathe it at my waist.
All I knew was… my whole body felt so heavy… like lead…
With a rustle, Leila took off.
“Burn the ground… for me…!”
In the fading haze of consciousness, I barely managed to push out those words.
“Burn the scent…!”
—On the battlefield, my body odor clung to everything.
Now that the Bishop Lexar and the others are here, Rujiakka should also be back. Since they’re non-combatants, they’re probably waiting in the town now, but if they came for an investigation, it’d be bad…!
“Understood…! GAAAAAHHHH! GAAAHHH!”
Leila desperately breathed out flames.
A shower of light burned the ground—
Engulfing the soldiers still unconscious and the immobile injured—
“…”
To me—though it was blindingly bright to creatures of darkness.
I witnessed it, my eyes wide, imprinting that scene in my mind.
I ordered her to do this myself.
Thus, we soared to the heights where humans looked like mere specks—
And then, engulfed by the night’s darkness.
My consciousness also faded away.
――――――――――
Here ends the Demon Lord’s Prince’s story arc for now, transitioning into days to come, aftermaths, and third-person perspectives with time.
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