Chapter 80
A deafening roar echoed. The entire village seemed to shake as a blow struck, and even with the holy sword’s magic firmly holding strong, the impact rippled through the air.
“Master!”
“Ah, thank you.”
I was so light it felt like I could fly away, but Lucius grabbed my shoulder from behind, stabilizing my body.
“Eeek!”
If he hadn’t, I would have likely collapsed awkwardly to the ground like everyone else.
That’s probably what would have happened.
Though I do leg workouts every day, there’s no way I could withstand an attack from a giant when the townspeople were falling to the ground.
“Are you… alright?”
Rosmas opened her eyes, struggling to stay upright, but seeing Lucius support me made her a bit dejected.
I felt dejected too.
Lucius should have been supporting Rosmas instead of me.
‘What’s wrong with rolling on the ground since I’m undead?’
I mean, my body can recover with mana anyway, but Lucius is way too overprotective.
I could say that I’m grateful for the help, but deep down, I wish the young man would care more about Rosmas than me.
And preferably add one more.
Look over there. That knight with jealousy practically radiating from under his helmet.
Thanks to his posture of kneeling with one knee on the ground and his sword planted, he managed to keep his stance intact. But seeing Lucius protect me shattered his composure.
Right now, the only ones standing firm here are Lucius, Rosmas, Black Lotus, and I.
Most of the villagers have collapsed to the ground.
Even Knight Rapid ended up falling on his behind.
“D-Demon King…!!”
It’s not just the wind pressure that threw everyone off balance, but the existence of me—the name Belphegor itself—that astonished them all.
Just the name of the demon lord Belphegor, recorded in history, genetics, and legends, instilled terror in humans.
Moreover, a legion of bugs that already inspired disgust merging into a colossal golem?
So, it upset the barrier set by the hero of the holy sword and even cracked it?
“…….”
Here, it wasn’t just the villagers who lost their composure.
The Water Hero, Liriez Cesarcross, stood below the steel golem with a shocked expression.
“No way… how could this happen?”
“The power of the holy sword is ultimately ‘power’. If they invested more resources, of course, we would be at a disadvantage.”
If we say Liriez invested 100 units of power into the holy sword’s barrier, that giant golem was around 110.
A difference of about 10, but clearly, its power surpassed now.
If Liriez hadn’t instinctively reinforced the holy sword’s barrier before it shattered, there surely would have been holes in it.
“Blocking it is enough. If the barrier broke, they would immediately release the bugs upon us.”
“How is that possible…? Master, is that feasible?”
“Yes. It’s like gears meshing together. They have a structure like dragon scales, yet each scale itself is alive.”
The colossal golem was created by merging with a bug golem at the center.
Aside from being mixed with steel, that was Beelzebub’s method.
When a large mass of beings can’t push through with sheer numbers, they combine their strength into one entity and dominate by quality.
The ability to turn a swarm into a single entity is also characteristic of Beelzebub.
Seeing something like that makes me wonder.
‘Has Beelzebub also arrived here?’
There’s a possibility he was summoned to the surface just like I was.
If the infamous Demon Lord Belphegor was summoned to the surface, how could I be sure that another Demon Lord wasn’t?
No, I’ve already discovered the traces of two demon kings.
Mammon and Beelzebub.
Thinking about them brings up two possibilities.
One resembles my own experience 500 years ago—summoned to the intermediate realm, maintaining their identity, even feeding on their summoner while keeping their demon lord persona.
And the other is like other demon races—like how I almost did with Zephar—being called by their true name, which binds them into a subservient contract.
Being under someone else’s control is a big blow to a demon lord’s pride, but that’s how ‘true name contracts’ work.
It’s akin to signing a legally binding document concerning the world’s laws.
If I swear to become someone’s slave through a true name contract, I must live as a slave until its effect ends.
That’s what a true name entails; true names shouldn’t be revealed carelessly.
My case is different, though.
“Master!!”
In the moment I was lost in thought, the steel golem raised its fist high.
It seemed ready to unleash an even stronger attack, with its appendages moving in perfect synchronization around its wrist.
That is—
“Drill!”
Crackle!!
A drill-like projectile, much like a cavalry spear, pierced through the gap in the shattered barrier.
Unlike a simple cavalry spear, the giant’s spear began to rotate slowly in a counterclockwise direction, piercing the barrier.
Bang!
“Wow. To think of using the armor of the bugs to shave off the barrier. Impressive.”
Now this guy knows what a romance is.
The very essence of breaking a barrier lies in overwhelming strength.
Shattering it with a fist is the first approach, managing to chip away at the barrier over time is the second, and the last is to blow the barrier to smithereens.
“Hero!!”
“Ugh…!!”
Liriez hurriedly tried to inject power into the holy sword, but she couldn’t restore the barrier.
While the source of the power to form the barrier comes from the holy sword, its maintenance relies on the concentration of the holy sword user.
Considering she can’t create a perfect hemispherical barrier like I do, Liriez must lean more towards an offensive style with her holy sword.
‘She’s not the Hero of the Holy Sword of Earth, and there’s no need to focus solely on defense.’
Each holy sword has its own specialties.
The Water Hero’s holy sword primarily wields water, as seen before, to sweep things away.
Of course, frequent usage typically enhances one’s adaptability with the holy sword, but it seems Liriez hasn’t been using it often.
‘She was likely able to use it sufficiently with just the basic techniques.’
Until now.
But if the Demon King’s Army, Asydia, employs strategies from me and Belphegor while also utilizing powers from other demon lords?
It’s not going to work as it is.
The heroes need new tactical strategies.
Just like right now.
“Lucius. Pay close attention from now on.”
“Yeah?”
“I wasn’t planning to go this far, but since it’s come to this, I’ll go all out.”
To eliminate that giant, I had no choice.
Specifically, I had to use as little of my mana as possible.
“Master, by ‘all out’, you’re not implying…?”
“Going all out in not using it.”
“…Does that even exist?”
“I’m saying I’m about to show you now.”
I patted Lucius on the shoulder and gestured toward myself.
Lucius naturally leaned in slightly toward my shoulder.
Yes, of course, he should come this way.
But next time, I hope he leans in a little more.
“…Don’t you want to see the true power of a hero?”
“……!”
In a whisper, I had to stand on my toes, but I could only convey this to Lucius quietly.
“So people will protect you. Got it?”
“…Can I really trust you?”
“Of course. You can trust me.”
I patted Lucius on the shoulder again and headed toward Liriez, who was engaged in a power struggle to maintain the barrier.
“Push the barrier hard into the back there.”
“Eh?”
“Let’s not let them out of the barrier. It’ll be a hassle if they get dragged into it.”
“…Understood.”
“Rather than just recalling it, now!”
Swoosh—
Without a word, Liriez recalled the barrier.
Boom!!
The giant, who was about to plunge its drill into the barrier, suddenly swung at the vanished barrier.
As a result, its massive body nearly toppled, but its arm fell off and a new one sprouted to brace itself on the ground.
Snap!
An arm ejected from the joint flew toward us.
The newly formed barrier created by Liriez swept the people in the plaza away like an ice wall, and I stood beside her, hands on my hips.
“!!”
Liriez flinched in shock, but I drew power from her through the hand resting on her waist.
“In the name of ‘Changyeon.'”
The water holy sword, which tried to reject me like a flamberge, recognized who I was and lent me its power.
“No way this is….”
“This isn’t awakening. I’m merely attempting to unlock the power you currently possess that you haven’t realized yet.”
“No, Witch, my head…?”
“The mana is being tinted.”
Since I was harnessing some of the power embedded within the water’s holy sword that belongs to Liriez, my hair turned a color akin to the blue sea—a reflection of the water.
While it looked a bit odd because it resembled Liriez’s color, it wasn’t strange.
Just like how the Fire Hero Bearnes had a red hue, Liriez also echoed a blue tone.
…In the case of the Wind Hero Lucius, his golden color was somewhat different, while the other heroes conformed to the color of their holy swords.
The mana embedded in my hair.
In other words, the mana now flowing within me is that of the holy sword.
“I’m going to keep my explanation short, but your response needs to be clear. What’s your reason for wanting powerful strength?”
“…For me.”
“Be brief.”
Bang!!
A giant hand attempting to clasp us gripped the barrier completely.
The bugs were gnawing at the icy wall in real-time, while the steel golem stretched its arm to reattach it to its original body.
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
If we remain still, the bugs will devour the barrier entirely.
Even if I unfolded the barrier here, if Liriez’s mana becomes severed from the outside, it would be dangerous for them.
“Lucius can’t exert as much power as you can. But I also can’t carelessly give you my strength. So what will you do now? If it comes to that, I might escape only with Lucius and the party.”
“What about the villagers?”
“Hey. How many do you think died 500 years ago? Not everyone can survive.”
A firm proposition.
A serious voice.
“Sometimes, one must cut away boldly. That’s how the Demon King’s army and the Demon Lords can be defeated.”
“…I refuse.”
Liriez bit her lower lip, glaring at me.
“If it’s possible, I will save everyone. That is—”
“That’s the thing, Liriez.”
Pat, pat.
I lightly patted her behind while relaxing my expression.
“You passed the test. However, awakening you to a stronger state is on hold. That will be after trust builds between us.”
“Then…?”
“I will unlock the power that you have yet to realize in this awakened state. It will be something very special.”
In the now perfectly vanished history.
I had to eliminate the movement of the Demon Lord Belphegor.
“Spirit Device.”
Come on.
“Come, Celcius.”
