Lara’s operation worked very effectively. The demon worshippers that were scattered across the continent had moved toward western Gorgon, with their numbers reaching from the thousands to the tens of thousands.
People were astonished by the fact that so many demon worshippers were living in hiding on the continent, they were relieved that they were gathering in one place away from human habitation. Everyone believed that His Imperial Majesty would beat them up.
It would take some time for the Emperor to come to Memoria all the way from Dandelion, but not many people expected this war to be prolonged anyway.
Lampion reached the mountain range just around that time. He stopped his horse at the defense line, deep inside the Gorgon Mountain Range. The defense line was a wooden barricade fence that was used two years ago when the Barbarians were guarding Gorgon. Now, it had been completely destroyed, and only traces remain.
“What? They must have been attacked. Did I come to the wrong place?”
Lampion murmured. It would have been nice if he had the means to get in touch with his comrades in Gorgon, but he needed to move fast. He could not even think of taking a rest in the city. All he could think of was taking Demian to Lara.
Because Demian was still not awake. If he were dying of injury or just had been sick, Lampion could have just treated him and been a little less anxious. But Demian’s condition was quite different from that.
He had had a strange shine, and the smoothness and whiteness of his skin resembled that of pottery. When color returned to his skin, warmth flowed out of his cheeks and moisture returned to his red lips. Every time Demian slowly breathed out, a sweet scent leaked out of his mouth. It smelled like a mixture of peach and mint, and smelling the scent could make one feel strange. This effect applied to both humans and animals. And as the animals that smelled the scent kept gathering, Lampion kept screaming like a madman, trying to chase them away.
There was another one, another change in Demian’s appearance. His short hair grew long overnight and had reached his waist. An air of noble mysticism hovered over his cold face, now looking like an angry man. He looked soft but sharp, warm but cold at the same time. A face that both had infinite benevolence and heartless cruelty.
“You and your ominousness.”
Demian’s changes pushed Lampion to the verge of going crazy.
“You son of a gun! Don’t let out such a wicked smell here!”
How humiliated he was in the village where he stopped by to change his horses after moving nonstop. Lampion had to run away without even properly getting his change because people misunderstood him as a pervert human trafficker after looking at Demian’s face.
It was not just that. Whenever he tried to sit down and eat properly, animals gathered after smelling the strange scent Demian gave off. He had to make a spectacle of himself to all kinds of people. Sometimes an unknown light flowed out of Demian’s body during camping.
“For crying out loud. You punk, when I think about all the hardships I’ve suffered from because of you… Damn it!”
Each time that happened, Lampion either ran away screaming or shuddered in the cold as he had to cover Demian’s body with his own blanket to prevent the flashing lights.
“You know, dude, If I ever fall in love with a girl later, I expect you to help your bro. If you don't, I'll chase you down to the ends of hell and haunt you.”
After taking a look around, Lampion got on his horse and took hold of the reins again. The Imperial Army seemed to have retreated down the mountain range, so he had to move there to find his comrades.
“Yo-ho… Huh?”
However, a terrible smell of blood flowed into Lampion’s nostrils as he was about to climb his horse. It was the peculiar smell of a demonic beast. A mixture of blood, oil, and ashes. Lampion squinted his eyes, he let go of the reins and took up his weapon. He thought that he was just unlucky to enter an area dominated by demonic beasts.
But that was not the end of it. The demonic beasts had lost their sense of reason because of the smell Demian gave out. As the demonic beasts gathered, the nearby demon worshippers also approached.
The blockade was getting tighter, the breathing of the demonic beasts was getting rougher, and the stench of blood was strong. Lampion clenched his weapon in one hand and bit his lips.
“You bastards, get out of my way before I kill you all!”
Lampion was a strong warrior, and was even considered especially strong among the Barbarians. Without Demian, he might have become the captain one day. But he could not defeat hundreds of demonic beasts and demon worshippers alone.
“Grrrrr!”
Drunk by the smell coming out of Demian’s body, the demonic beasts rushed in, dripping with clear saliva. They had one goal; To bite Demian’s flesh.
Lampion fought like a monster to protect Demian. Still, he could not defeat all the demonic beasts, so he pulled Demian down from the horse and carried him on his back.
“Aarrghhh!”
“Argh!”
Both the demonic beasts and Lampion howled. The humans and the demonic beasts rushed in screaming while swinging their teeth and weapons at each other’s necks.
Hot red blood flowed from Lampion’s forearm. Despite him trying to go for the kill, the demonic beasts still kept targeting Demian's flesh, paying no heed to any risks of death. At the last moment, Lampion raised his arm to block the demonic beast's attack. As a result, the injuries he sustained rendered his arm useless.
“Don’t worry.”
Lampion held his weapon with his other hand and put Demian down behind him.
“Because I’m going to die before you. I can’t let the guy my father tried so hard to save die here.”
The Barbarians were always ready for death. ‘How lucky was I to still be a bachelor,' he thought. And how heartbreaking would it be if he had a woman he loved hear about the death of her lover from someone else? It was probably the same for Lara.
“So get up, asshole. The saintess is waiting.”
Lampion felt dizzy due to the immense loss of blood. He stumbled and fell to one knee after finishing another demonic beast. Then, he killed another demonic beast even while kneeling down. The demonic beasts and demon worshippers were now aiming for him.
‘This wonderful smell.’
‘What is this?’
They were completely instant. They wanted Demian. For them, he was a mixture of madness and joy, greed and obsession, admiration and adoration.
‘Do you want God?’
At last, Demian opened his eyes.
Time went by slowly as his cold blue eyes appeared through his black eyelashes. The shine in his eyes warded off the darkness that dominated the night like a blue moon. Demian opened his red lips and spoke softly.
“Impudent.”
With just that one word, a formless wind scorched their blood and flesh. Then, demonic beasts and demon worshippers that had surrounded Lampion turned into a mist before disappearing. The chaotic forest, having been filled with bloodthirstiness and madness, was then filled with complete silence.
Lampion murmured.
“You monster.”
Demian got up without a word. Then, he placed his palm on Lampion’s injured arm. After having been destroyed and without medical aid, his arm had returned to its original state in an instant.
“H, how?”
“I ate God.”
I see.
Lampion had decided not to curse Demian anymore.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Demian came down the mountain with Lampion and headed for human civilization. After completely leaving the mountain range and arriving at Memoria city, they could finally meet their comrades.
“Demian!”
Oscar and Domino came running with a gleeful look.
Unlike the quiet mountain range, the city was filled with voices. The military presence, the Imperial Army, the Barbarians, and even the knights from Hautean were staying in the city. Memoria has had the largest population ever since its founding.
And at dawn that day, the Emperor had arrived in the city, leading the knights of the Imperial Palace himself.
It was spectacular. Tens of thousands of the Emperor's troops passed through the gates of Memoria. The commander who came to meet the Emperor was about to shed tears. After seeing the Emperor still being as prosperous as ever, the citizens of Memoria believed that the demon worshippers would soon be overthrown.
“Long live the Emperor!”
“Hooray for Tarragon!”
The Emperor climbed on his horse in armor and inspected the city in person. He comforted the soldiers’ hard work and affirmed that the war would end in a victory for humans and the Empire. Everyone thought so.
“You must be Demian.”
The Emperor sat in his chair and looked at Demian. They were facing each other in the castle of the feudal lord of Memoria. Through Acerus' words, the Emperor had already known what kind of warrior Demian was and how many contributions he had made to the empire. Still, it was his first time seeing his face so close.
“You’re a lot more different…than what I heard. I thought you’d be more of a wild guy.”
The mighty warrior of the saintess. A war hero.
But that saintess has become the real demon lord. What will you do now?
The Emperor wondered about that. When Demian stood still and kept silent, the Emperor’s aides started to raise their heads to give him a word. But then, Demian asked the other way around.
“Don’t you want to live a longer life?”
“What?”
“I can do that for you. Healthier than others and longevity more than now. Forever and ever in the throne.”
“What are you talking about?”
“For I am the God you have been waiting for so long.”
“What nonsense!”
“And from now on, I will not be your God. But I will be the saintess' God, and only her God.”
Demian was sincere. Whether the world was destroyed or not, his only concern was Lara.
“So I will grant your last wish, at least, for Acerus’ sake. I will ask you again. Do you want to live long?”
The Emperor opened his eyes wide. Thick veins popped out of his hands clutching the chair handle.
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