novelraw Chapter 205 : Army of Nature (2)
Chapter 205 : Army of Nature (2)
Chapter 205: Army of Nature (2)
Zelphinia had expended a considerable amount of power just now while destroying Raion’s ‘White Castle’.
‘I thought I had barely managed to finish him……!’
Even in perfect condition, the existence known as Raion would have been overwhelming.
Even now, Zelphinia could not understand the current situation.
A member of the Demon Race called a ruler of the Demon Realm. And at that, a marquis of the Demon Realm was being pushed back by a mere human…….
“This time, it’s my turn—!”
Just as Raion was about to swing his sword, Zelphinia stretched out her arm first.
At that moment, her slender arm transformed into the head of a gigantic snake and instantly lunged at Raion.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang—!
The ‘White Castle’ spread out around them disappeared completely.
Because of that, there was no longer any limit to how far Raion could be pushed back.
Chwaaaak—!
Starting from the snake’s long-stretched head, its elongated body was cut clean in half by white Aura.
“A person is talking, you know!”
“Die! No matter what, I will kill you here!”
Zelphinia, utterly agitated, caused the ground to surge violently and created a swarm of snakes about half the size of the one she had used earlier.
Haaaargh!
They all opened their enormous mouths wide, surrounding Raion.
‘When things turn against them, they always gang up.’
Malphas and Kamio had been the same.
Shwaaak!
The snakes charged at him at terrifying speed.
In the midst of them, Raion busily swung his sword.
Cha-chaeng! Chae-chae-chaeng! Shwa-wak!
The snakes cut by the sword scattered as they turned into ice, wind, and earth. It seemed Zelphinia had created the snakes by imbuing them with all the attributes she possessed.
Perhaps because of that, wherever the snakes’ sharp fangs touched turned to dust.
“I’ll see this through to the end, no matter what!”
Zelphinia’s venom-filled shout was chilling.
Even so, Raion did not take his eyes off her as he continued to cut down the snakes.
Shwaaak! Shwaaak!
The fierce sword slashes spread widely, imbued with the energy of the Aura Circle.
As the trajectory was drawn in a large arc, every snake surrounding him reverted to its elemental form and disappeared.
As the ice melted, the ground became damp and wet.
Walking across it, Raion came to a halt before Zelphinia, whose eyes had turned hollow.
“You are…… no longer human.”
“I don’t know either. What I am.”
Zelphinia’s full strength was enough to topple an entire nation and still have power to spare.
Yet Raion had overwhelmed such an existence.
Naturally, Raion had many questions. However, something more important stood before his eyes.
“So let’s end it.”
The energy of the Aura Circle concentrated into Raion’s sword.
A head-on confrontation (正面勝負).
In any case, even at full strength, the outcome had already been decided.
Shu-shuk—!
For an instant, Raion’s figure with the sword blurred, and then he appeared behind Zelphinia.
It seemed as if nothing had happened.
However, as if she understood what had occurred, Zelphinia raised her grotesquely transformed hands.
“…….”
Chwaaaaaaak!
Suddenly, from Zelphinia’s right collarbone down to her left armpit, her body split open, and black blood burst into the sky.
The blood continued to pour out. Steam rose from the blood soaking the ground as it rotted away.
“Ugh!”
Her body had been filled with intense poison.
“Why was I fine?”
If she had been harboring extreme poison (劇毒), then every attack should have carried it and caused poisoning.
As Raion fell into doubt once more, Zelphinia’s body collapsed onto the ground and melted away into the very blood she had spilled.
The pool of blood collected on the ground began to bubble violently.
“Does this land become unusable…….”
Raion’s brows furrowed in concern at that moment.
Grapheos, who had been flying in the sky, landed on the ground, and the Holy Emperor Francis Bachenan dismounted.
Beside him stood the Holy Knight Commander, Larsen Heights.
“The land has been contaminated by the poison of the Demon Realm. We must purify it.”
“Is that possible?”
“You should be able to do it as well. More importantly, we must respond quickly.”
Francis stepped toward the edge of the land that was rotting and spreading wider.
The bubbling poison crept ever closer to her feet.
“O sun and goddess of blessings, Zigasis, who embrace all the earth……. Please answer my prayer……. Under your doctrine…… I shall take the impure into my own embrace…….”
Francis clasped her hands together, and the sound of her murmured prayer echoed through the surroundings.
The movement of the poison, which seemed capable of melting anything, came to a halt.
Around Francis, those who had finished organizing the battlefield stepped closer and stood nearby.
Before long, a wondrous sight unfolded.
The pitch-black, boiling poison cooled and hardened.
Like lava cooling and solidifying, the hardened area began to spread widely.
“So this is what purification looks like?”
The poisonous smoke that had been rising into the sky dissipated.
In the midst of it all, beads of thick sweat rolled down Francis’s cheeks and chin, dripping from above her clasped hands as she prayed, as though the effort was considerable.
In the pitch-dark great hall of the Dior Empire, the Demon King Luseo Dicanderon spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Kuh—!”
“What is the matter, Demon King!”
At the sight, Duke Marbas, who had been standing guard nearby, shouted urgently.
In response, the Demon King Luseo’s sharply opened eyes narrowed, his brow furrowing.
“Zelphinia and Kamio have been annihilated.”
Several Demon Race members standing nearby were startled upon hearing those words.
They knew well where the two had gone.
“How could that be…….”
“It seems their energies vanished simultaneously……. And…… I also sensed the presence of a messenger (使者).”
“Even the blessing of a goddess?”
To the Demon Race, a goddess’s blessing was fatal.
“It is of no use to me now.”
“That is fortunate. Still, to think even Zelphinia would be annihilated…….”
Kamio had always been overflowing with arrogance, and it had been thought that one day he would cause a major incident.
On the other hand, Zelphinia had always been cautious. No matter how weak the enemy was, she did not move until she was certain.
This time, she had moved together with Kamio, and she had her own calculations that it would surely succeed.
That calculation had gone completely awry.
“This is not an enemy we can take lightly. He will come this way now.”
“Here, you say?”
“He had Grapheos with him. From the beginning, it seemed he was already on his way here.”
The divine beast, Grapheos.
Originally, it should have long since become sustenance for the Demon King as a sacrifice of the Dark Temple.
That meant the being was together with none other than a messenger of blessing.
Marbas could not help but be shocked.
“I will go. I will cut off all four of that bastard’s limbs and offer them to you, Demon King. Please, send me!”
“Can you stop him?”
“I am confident! Just give the order!”
“…….”
The Demon King Luseo Dicanderon surveyed the great hall with a grave expression.
Originally, he had planned to send his subordinate Demon Race members to various parts of the continent.
The Mineta Kingdom had been one of those plans.
Decarsen Falkahn was supposed to lead a massive monster army, pushing up from the Mineta Kingdom all the way to the Bachenan Holy Kingdom.
It had been to wipe out the temples of those races that possessed Holy Power, the Demon Race’s weakness.
However, starting with the sacrifice of the Dark Temple, every plan he had laid out had turned to nothing.
“Marbas will guard this place. Instead, Gremory, Decarsen, Malphas.”
Those who were named immediately stepped out to the center of the great hall.
Seeing them, the Demon King stared for a moment with a chilling gaze before speaking.
“To us of the Demon Race, there is no retreat. Take as many troops as you like. Whether you kill them all or die yourselves, settle it there.”
“We will remember!”
“We will remember!”
“We will remember!”
The three answered and went outside.
Watching the situation, Marbas felt a doubt arise.
“Why did you send them? I alone would have been sufficient.”
The empire had already fallen into the Demon King’s hands, but not all of the nobles had yet.
To manage things in detail, several Demon Race members needed to move.
Marbas worried that such possessions of the Demon King might be damaged.
“Sufficient, you say……. Do you think Zelphinia was defeated so easily?”
Zelphinia was a marquis of the Demon Realm, just like Marbas.
Of course, even among marquises, differences in strength existed.
There was no way the Demon King did not know that.
“Messengers of blessing. Those who act on behalf of a goddess’s will……. They do nothing but interfere with creating the world we desire. That is why I waited. Planned.”
“…….”
“How many have already fallen. If they all die? Then it will be just you and me.”
“…….”
“While they draw the humans away, you will bring other humans as sacrifices. Before he arrives, I shall dye the empire in blood.”
At that decision of the Demon King, Marbas’s eyes widened slightly.
He could have voiced a question, but he did not.
Every decision would have its reason. And so, Marbas quietly went outside.
The situation in which poison had soaked the forests and grasslands had been largely brought under control.
The Holy Emperor Francis, utterly exhausted, was sitting on a chair prepared by the high priests.
“Phew……. It has finally settled down.”
A sigh of relief escaped naturally.
The same was true for Raion and the others.
If they had failed to deal with the poison, it was impossible to imagine how far it might have spread.
“The battlefield has also been completely wrapped up.”
Negis, who had been acting as the commander, approached while carrying her bow over her shoulder and reported.
“Among the forces of the Dior Empire and the Moratz Kingdom, we have bound all those who surrendered. Some escaped, but not many.”
“Well done.”
“And the lord of Neju from the Boluzan Kingdom wishes to see the Master.”
“Is that necessary?”
Not only had they survived a battlefield they had rushed into prepared to die, but they had also protected the castle.
From their perspective, Raion and his group were benefactors who had saved their lives.
“I did try to talk him out of it, but he is being unreasonable.”
At Negis’s reply, Raion slightly stuck his head out from behind her.
Perhaps because Jade and the personal guard were securing the area, the Count of Neju could not cross that line.
“Tell him to come.”
“I will do so.”
As the blocked path opened, the Count of Neju hurriedly ran up before Raion and knelt.
“Thanks to you, we survived! If not for you, we would all be dead! Thank you! Truly, thank you!”
True to a knight, his voice was far too booming.
Because of that, his repeated shouts of gratitude resounded loudly all around.
“That’s enough, that’s enough.”
“How could it be enough? How may we repay this debt? If you only say the word, I would like to inform our king so that a great reward may be bestowed.”
“A reward?”
For a moment, a strange thought crossed Raion’s mind.
It felt like some kind of misunderstanding.
“What do they think we are?”
“……Aren’t you mercenaries……?”