Chapter 117: Encounter (17)
A woman with blonde hair and golden eyes.
The woman looked ordinary, dressed like a traveller passing by chance. It was an indescribably strange sight.
I gazed at the woman, feeling an inexplicable sacredness emanating from her.
【Level 99】
Even without Kargos’ murmur, I immediately realized her identity when I saw the level floating above her head.
Of course, it was inevitable.
There was only one existence at a level like that, excluding the Demon King.
The hero who defeated the Demon King and the officially strongest person in the RaSa universe – Eindel.
“This is unbelievable…”
The owner of the trembling and precarious voice I heard was Akasha.
Her complexion, which had been relaxed just moments before, turned pale to the point that her grayish skin couldn’t even cover it.
Mephiros also fixed his gaze on the hero’s figure with a shocked expression.
…Not just them, I was also the same.
This was a development that I couldn’t have expected at all.
How did the hero appear here?
The hero’s golden eyes swept through me, the three archdemons, and the rest of us in turn.
For a moment, there was a suffocating tension in the forest.
I withdrew the strength I was trying to use to get up and collapsed to the ground.
It was embarrassing, but at the same time, there was a sense of relief that I wouldn’t die.
Although I didn’t know how the hero found her way here, it was clear what she was going to do from now on.
“Mephiros, Akasha, Kargos.”
The hero who finally broke the silence listed the names of the archdemons one by one.
Akasha trembled in terror as her name was called.
“You’ve managed to keep those tough lives going.”
Kargos glared at the hero with anger and mixed emotions.
“You disgusting human!”
The war where the hero sealed the demon king.
Many demons died at the hands of the hero, and the same was true for the demons, including the ones in front of her, who barely survived the war or just emerged after the war.
That’s why they must have known very well.
The situation had completely reversed, and there was no way for them to survive and escape from here.
“How did you get here? Just a while ago, you were in Sondong.”
The hero didn’t answer Mephiros’ question.
He looked at Erica next to him with an anxious expression before exchanging glances with Kargos.
Rumble!
The empty space around Mephiros split like waves.
It was Mephiros’ ability to teleport through space, which he had shown several times.
At that moment, a golden line split the space that had opened vertically like a fortress. The open space disappeared without a trace.
The hero’s hand, which had nothing a moment ago, was now holding a brilliant golden sword that emitted a dazzling light.
“Excalibur!” I exclaimed with a sigh.
It was the holy sword that sealed the Demon King, Balrotia.
The divine power emanating from the sword overwhelmed and buried all the ominous energy that the demons had been emitting.
Flash!
Then, as the hero reached out her hand, a hemispherical barrier expanded rapidly around her.
Moreover, a golden aura enveloped Erica, who was in Mephiros’ arms.
Although Mephiros hastily tried to block it, it was useless. Erica, surrounded by the barrier, was pulled to the hero’s side like a magnet in the blink of an eye. Even her location was secured.
Is this the power of Excalibur?
The energy that the hero exerted was not a simple magical power or even a mystical power. It was a transcendent power of a much higher level than those. It was the power of Excalibur bestowed upon the hero by the god of light.
The hero gently laid Erica, who had lost consciousness, on the ground and examined her condition.
Even though the demons had been openly robbed of the demon’s seed, they dared not attack the hero.
“Indeed, it must have been the demon’s seed,” muttered the hero as she reached out her hand towards Erica.
Then, the golden energy flowing from the hero’s hand was absorbed into Erica, and her eyes opened immediately.
“Um…!”
Erica, who had regained her consciousness, blinked and suddenly stood up.
She discovered the hero standing right next to her and looked at her with a bewildered expression.
The hero stroked her hair and said, “Don’t worry, child. Just step back over there for a moment.”
The hero turned to where Jerel and Heron were.
Jerel, who had been staring at the hero in a daze, flinched when he received her gaze.
“Hey, hero…”
Erica stepped back as the hero instructed, and the hero turned her gaze to me.
I felt an indescribable feeling as I looked at the hero for a moment.
Then, when the hero waved her hand, a golden veil appeared around Erica and me and the other two. Was it a shield?
She looked back at the three archdemons, saying, “Your game stops here.”
At the hero’s verdict, Kargos growled and exploded with energy.
He gave up trying to flee and seemed to have no choice but to fight.
Szzz!
Kargos’s body began to sprout tendrils like lava veins, akin to blood vessels.
Fierce flames spewed from his body and the great sword he was holding, like it was being processed.
It was as if I was looking at a volcano just before it was about to erupt.
I knew that this was Kargos, the boss monster’s full-power state, because I had tried to attack it in the game before.
“Will this Kargos try to run away? Hero, I also know that your physical condition is not as good as your prime!”
Even the surrounding bushes began to catch fire from the heat he emitted.
The next moment, Kargos charged towards the hero at an unbelievable speed and swung his sword.
Crash!
As the swords of Kargos and the warrior collided, the shockwave spread in all directions, causing the bushes to fly away.
However, the hero effortlessly blocked the blow in place.
“Kraaaa!”
Kargos roared again and swung his sword.
The flames, like lava, surrounding the sword blade, erupted and engulfed the forest in a dazzling light.
It was an unstoppable attack that was difficult to follow with the eyes.
The intense flashes of red and golden energy intertwined and blinded, exploding continuously.
It looked as if the entire forest was engulfed in flames, and the collision of the two massive forces colored the sky, making it seem like the end of the world.
Kargos’ ability was fire.
A flame that could instantly incinerate anything, leaving no trace and was like a raging inferno.
His ability was invincible, as no defensive equipment in the game could withstand it.
The floating veil barely blocked Ditrodemian’s spatial cut. It was uncertain whether it could block his flame.
However, his ability seemed to have no effect on the hero.
The hero swung his sword with the same expressionless face as before.
Even amidst Kargos’ fierce attacks, the hero’s holy power was not disturbed in the slightest.
As the battle continued, Kargos’ momentum gradually diminished.
Like burning the last flame in a massive tidal wave, Kargos’ attacks looked like a desperate struggle.
Paat!
Thorns burst out, splitting the surrounding space, and covered the warrior who was pressing against Kargos. It was Mephiros’ ability.
However, as soon as it touched the golden barrier surrounding the warrior’s body, it vanished without a trace.
Akasha wasn’t just standing still, either. If Kargos fell, they would be next.
Instead, she slowly approached the three, including Erica, as if targeting the children instead of the hero.
But before I could step forward, a sword beam shot out of the hero like a flash of light.
Ignoring Akasha’s illusions, the sword beam accurately pierced through the body that was sneaking up on the children.
“Kiaaah!”
The hero’s attack cut akasha’s body in half.
With a terrible scream, the golden flame engulfed Akasha, and she disappeared.
It was a useless action to rush to her death, even if it was her fate in the end.
Thud!
Mephiros, who was targeting the warrior’s weakness, followed Akasha’s footsteps in an instant. A thin line was carved on his neck.
As if he didn’t realize the attack was coming, Mephiros’ head flew through the air with the same stiff expression.
The two demons died simply and anticlimactically, leaving only Kargos.
“Kraaaaa!”
Kargos exerted his final strength, exploding with energy.
Still, being ranked third among the demons, he seemed to have held out for quite some time.
However, if the hero had decided to end it, Kargos would have lost his head a long time ago.
Even though there was only a 2-level difference between level 97 and 99, it was as big a difference as heaven and earth.
A flame sword beam shot up like a huge pillar from the great sword swung by Kargos.
The hero also swung his sword, facing the force that seemed to split the entire forest in one blow. It was a strike that didn’t seem much different from before.
There was no explosion caused by the collision. Kargos’ sword was buried in the warrior’s strike and shattered like dust.
Kargos’ sword was also split in half, and at the same time, his armor was also cut open and blood gushed out.
“Ugh…”
Kargos fell from the sky and writhed when he hit the ground.
Then, the holy sword scattered into golden light and disappeared from the hero’s hand as she landed on the ground.
The hero stood in front of Kargos without even breathing heavily.
Struggling to lift his head, Kargos looked up at her and let out a bitter laugh.
“In the end… you won’t be able to stop it. The miracle of that day will never happen again…”
It was his last words.
Whoosh!
The sudden flames rose from his body, but the voice that spoke calmly without any fear of death or anger towards the hero.
I wondered if he was trying to commit suicide, but the flames only engulfed Kargos’ body.
He burned himself to ashes and disappeared in an instant, leaving no trace of his body.
“…”
Silence descended on the surroundings.
Without even realizing it, I held my breath and looked at the hero standing there.
The power of the hero who easily dealt with three high-ranking demons was truly overwhelming.
The woman, who had been looking at the place where Kargos had burned and disappeared, turned her gaze towards Erica’s party.
The next words that came out of the hero’s mouth were unexpected.
“I knew your face looked familiar. You’re Sir Jerel.”
Upon hearing the hero’s words, Jerel was at a loss for words, but soon nodded with a touched expression on his face.
“Yes, yes! Hero, sir… It’s truly an honor that you remember me,” Jerel replied.
Come to think of it, Jerel was a radiant knight who had fought alongside the hero in the war.
I let out a sigh of relief as the tension eased from my body.
I thought I was really going to die this time, but I didn’t expect to be saved by the hero.
“Who are you?”
I lowered my head for a moment, then perked up at the hero’s voice.
She was looking at me.
I couldn’t find the right words to answer for a moment and stumbled over my words, but there was no point in hiding my identity since it was already revealed.
I willingly answered the warrior’s question.
“I am the Seventh Lord of Calderic.”
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