novelraw Chapter 226
Chapter 226
Chapter 226
“Delusional talk! Are you trying to say that that person didn’t take me seriously...? What do you even underst—!”
“Stop. I never said I understood anything. I’m just someone passing by to capture you. Alright? So now, are you going to surrender and confess, or do I have to drag you back to the royal capital myself? Hiss... But I can quietly tip you off with a clear path forward—after all, you were deceived and haven’t caused any casualties yet. If you quietly tell me where there’s a new fish lake in the northern borderlands, I might consider slightly reducing your sentence... The Second Corps could use a new spot too... ah, ptooey! No, that won’t do! Treason is unforgivable! You think you can reduce your crime with sweet talk? Dream on!”
“……”
Murof didn’t seem to have planned to use sweet talk in the first place...?
His mind echoed with the witch’s declaration of his end.
The Demon Clan’s natural fear of the royal bloodline left cold sweat beading across his forehead.
He considered several times whether to crash through the wooden hut behind him and flee in search of a last shred of hope, but his instincts told him escape was impossible.
Wait...
Murof’s thoughts stalled suddenly, freezing mid-stream.
Escape?
Why did he need to escape...?
A voice, like a holy echo of a spring flowing through his mind, rang out with clarity.
It was the promise of a supreme existence once made to him.
【Fear not. Your power has already broken through. Even against five wings, with my divine authority empowering you, you may rival six.】
Rival six wings...?
Murof, calming down, emptied his mind and focused on sensing everything outside the hut.
Within a ten-li radius, there were no marching troops, no signs of any other powerful individuals.
Which meant... at this very moment, Princess Sheffy had come alone?
The “Princess of Calamity” was indeed powerful.
But based on the knowledge Murof had learned since youth, he believed that those who excelled in large-scale magic attacks didn’t necessarily have the upper hand in one-on-one combat.
Princess Sheffy was naturally gifted, but she was only twenty years old—still just a child by Demon Clan standards.
Such a six-winged opponent lacked combat experience, had traveled a long distance, and spent energy and magic to break through ten layers of sensory barriers to find this hiding place. Earlier on the battlefield, she even used 【Extreme Dark Nova】 to trigger an avalanche—an enormous drain on her magic.
At this moment, it was highly likely she was at the end of her strength, merely bluffing!
The evidence? She had just mentioned the fish lake as a bargaining chip—didn’t that clearly show hesitation on her part?
Murof was no longer the man he used to be. His current strength was enough to rival six wings.
He had rested and conserved energy, while Princess Sheffy had come worn and weary—their conditions were far from equal. He could defeat her.
He didn’t know how much of his plan Sheffy had uncovered, but as long as he killed her here... there would be no future complications, and everything would continue according to plan.
With that thought, the cold sweat on Murof’s forehead ceased.
He let out a low, chuckling hum as he expanded his sensing ability to the limit.
“Hahahahaha...! Princess Sheffy! So you’ve placed all your bets, huh?! Did you really think a few sweet words would fool me? Hm, you’re right—there’s no need for useless chatter. This is a life-and-death war to begin with. Come, then!”
“Ah...?”
He wasn’t about to surrender just because she asked?!
At the very moment Murof suddenly let out a shout, all five of his wings flared toward the sky—
—half the wooden hut vanished from existence around him.
A clean cross-section—everything in front had been blown away by magical pressure. Splinters of wood scattered and flew toward the heavens above the snowy mountains.
With Sheffy's toes as the dividing line, everything ahead was now an expanse of snow-covered land, while she stood unaffected, still within what remained of the now half-exposed hut that could no longer shelter from the wind.
Murof's heart sank.
Originally, he had reserved this move as a last resort—meant to deliver a killing blow to Princess Ailellek. But it seemed... he would have to use it early.
Murof turned into a streak of black light.
Time and falling snow seemed to freeze—not because all else was slow, but because his movements were far too fast.
His punch struck with speed beyond conscious reaction, coupled with force powerful enough to shatter a glacier. This—this was what it meant to be a one-man army. Confidence rooted in overwhelming power.
In Murof's eyes, time had halted. The Princess Sheffy standing before him looked like nothing more than a helpless, weak little lamb awaiting slaughter.
Ahh... this was the feeling.
This sense of omnipotence—doing as he pleased, as if he had reached the pinnacle of magic!
【Dark Meteor】
“Sheffy Harl—die!”
A massive roar, wrapped in howling wind and blizzard, surged toward that delicate, fragile body.
Just as Murof, whose speed had already exceeded all limits, had expected—
The power bestowed by that person truly made the world spin, allowing a vision-blurring, one-strike kill.
Unfortunately...
The one whose vision spun—was him.
And the one who had been one-shot—was also him.
“...?”
Murof felt his ability to speak had already suffered some damage.
Agonizing pain racked his entire body—several bones felt broken.
His head buzzed as he stared dazedly toward where Princess Sheffy stood.
The once petite princess—he now had to look up to see her.
Not because Sheffy had grown taller, but because he, somehow, had ended up lying flat on the snowy ground.
Blood stained the white snow red—Murof’s blood.
A circle of dark purple halos surrounded Sheffy, shaped like clenched fists.
Logically speaking, it must have been the blow from those concentrated purple magic fists that struck Murof’s face before his own attack could land.
And indeed, that was precisely what had happened.
“This can’t... this isn’t possible... ugh—cough cough!! Cough!! I—I’m a six... six-winged...!”
As soon as he opened his mouth, another mouthful of blood came out. He had suffered a heavy, inexplicable injury. Murof had no idea what the point was of activating his 【Emerald Defense】 in advance.
Where...
...had it all gone wrong?
Was it that he couldn't fully control his own power?
Or had he failed to correctly wield the strength given to him by that person...?
If there was one thing he absolutely couldn’t make sense of, no matter how hard he tried—it was that something had already gone wrong...
...from the very beginning.
“So I’m saying... you got played.”
Sheffy dispersed the magical energy around her and shook her head with a sigh.
“Come on, use your brain. Someone tells you they’ve given you the power of six wings, and you just believe you can match a six-winger? Sigh... You probably don’t really understand what those things even are. If reaching that realm were really so simple, this world would’ve fallen into chaos a long time ago.”
Honestly, besides your parents, who really wants the best for you?
To be fair, that move Murof pulled earlier was pretty intimidating. His strength had indeed doubled. A normal five-winged would probably have gone weak in the knees just from the sheer pressure before even trading blows.
But that kind of thing doesn’t scare a true powerhouse.
If Murof had gone up against Princess Ailellek head-on, and Ailellek really got serious...
Sheffy was confident of one thing:
—Within just two exchanges, Murof wouldn’t even have a complete corpse left.
---
56. Troublesome Guy
Letting out a warm breath, Sheffy rubbed her chilled little hands, feeling rather sentimental.
The chasm between five wings and six wings... wasn’t something that could be bridged so easily.
Every race harbored its own heroes and fantasies. From the moment they were born, those ideals became the most innocent dreams they saw when gazing at the stars.
For instance, the humans aspired to reach the tenth rank, to become Heroes, to sing of epics and praise legends.
Likewise, the Demon Clan’s yearning for the six-winged was even more intense. Every little child attending magic academy would at some point leap up, puff up their chest, and boast to their teacher that they would one day become a six-winged. Which, of course, always drew a round of laughter from the other students.
But they didn’t fear the ridicule.
Because after scratching their head and laughing awkwardly, the fire in their eyes when they turned back—that defiant glare—was something only they themselves knew.
Dreaming exists precisely so one won’t be laughed at.
But since it’s a dream, you have to understand just how far it is from reality.
Five wings are the limit the Demon Clan can reach through sheer effort. Without an extraordinary stroke of fate—even one they themselves can’t fully comprehend—stepping into the realm of six wings is simply impossible.
In the minds of the Demon Clan, a five-winged individual stands atop the royal capital and gazes down on the world—a towering figure. But still... someone within reach.
Six wings, however, were something else entirely—vague, unreachable, almost divine. A form of belief, like a god atop the clouds.
Some demons living in remote areas even believed that the six-winged were just myths.
That was the difference between five and six wings. A gap defined by bloodline—an uncrossable chasm.
And so, sometimes, Sheffy couldn’t help but recall that scene etched in her mind that always made her chest tighten.
—That year, Belith had just broken through to five wings. She sat by the lake, her bare feet dangling and swaying in the cool water.
She blurred the moonlight, shattered the starlight.
That normally stern and serious little sister, beneath that night sky, had laughed and chattered, pouring out her joy to Sheffy about finally growing stronger.
Back then, Sheffy couldn’t quite remember what Belith had said about whether she still wanted to reach six wings in the future.
Or rather... she didn’t have the heart to remember clearly.
Her own strength had nothing to do with someone else’s.
Even Sheffy couldn’t force Belith to cross that uncrossable chasm.
Not to mention... there was the curse of 【Origin】 magic—like a shackle, it bound Belith’s potential.
So, if there really were a way to help her fulfill her dream and soar among the stars, Sheffy honestly might consider asking about it...
—Just kidding.
In the end, that was nothing but a crooked path.
Sheffy knew her little sister well. Even if she could break through by such means, Belith wouldn’t stoop to accept it.
After all, wasn’t Belith the most hardworking child in the entire world~?
With such thoughts flashing through her mind, Sheffy let out a bitter chuckle or two and turned her gaze back to the snowstorm of reality.
Murof had probably broken a few ribs. Sheffy hadn’t even hit him that hard—it was the recoil from his own move, 【Dark Meteor】, that had nearly wrecked him.
And now, this man—conscious faltering, still reeling from the blow—was gritting through the pain, forcing himself upright.
That distorted, mottled expression... those wide, bloodshot eyes... all of it radiated nothing but rage and defiance.
“It’s not over... It’s not over! I don’t believe it... that person said I could do it—they wouldn’t lie to me! It must be that I haven’t fully mastered it...! That’s right... that’s right! I still have this... I still have this...!”
Sheffy narrowed her eyes, and a golden gleam reflected in her vision.
On the back of Murof’s hand, the crescent-shaped sigil was glowing intensely, as if responding to the sheer desperation in his plea.
The Absolute Sealing Magic 【Firmament】—this was the greatest trump card bestowed upon Murof by that great being.
He had used this very move to seal Ailellek in the frontier city, after all!
Murof’s pained expression slowly twisted into something manic. He could see the hope of turning the tide again!
Yes... yes! Whether or not that person had lied to him didn’t matter—this spell had a proven record. It had sealed a six-winged before, for real!