Chapter 216 – Chapter 45: Demon King #3
Night was approaching. The cold darkness had come.
The Death Knight closed his eyes and welcomed the night. As he took a deep breath, cold air filled his lungs.
The connection with Arch Lich Shutenberg had been broken. The destruction of his older apostle gave the Death Knight a great deal of emptiness, but the Death Knight didn’t dwell on it. It was within the assumed range of possibilities. Even if Shutenberg died, it was enough if the black sun was activated properly.
The Death Knight took a breath again, consciously driving everything else out from his mind. He was aware of how foolish it was to have lingering attachments.
1,000 years had passed. The day in which everything had changed was too far in the past, so it was okay. The weight of time would protect him.
The Death Knight barely suppressed the old memories of loss and opened his eyes. The night view of the calm Demon King’s Palace was visible at a glance.
Death urged him on, while War laughed at the thought of the fight that would take place now.
The Death Knight raised his sword.
&
The blizzard didn’t stop. The snow which headed into the sky started to cover the ground again after the collapse of the magic circle.
Anastasia, who had closed her eyes tightly against the explosion, opened them again. She sighed with relief as the landscape in front of her hadn’t changed. As the tension in her legs relaxed, they lost strength, and Anastasia fell onto the snow. She stretched her shoulders several times and sighed with relief, using the last of her determination to not fall down.
The black sun hadn’t exploded, and the power of destruction didn’t cover the snow.
What had happened? It was hard to imagine the natural collapse of the magic. Arch Lich Shutenberg had used the last of his life to cast the spell. It was more sophisticated than the large magic circle he made, but it was hard to imagine him having made a mistake with the spell.
At that moment, Felicia stood up from her position a little bit ahead of Anastasia. She staggered like she had no strength in her legs, but her face was filled with joy.
“Shutra.”
Felicia mumbled and smiled like a fool. The despair she felt when she saw the black sun had been too great. Her heart pounded and her cheeks turned red. She didn’t know for sure what had happened, but she could grasp the situation.
In-gong had blocked the black sun. She didn’t know what he had used, but she was sure of it. It was Shutra, truly Shutra.
Her cheeks puffed up as her urge to see In-gong grew bigger. She couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Your Highness.”
“You will fall. Be careful.”
Delia and Carack approached and helped Felicia up. Delia couldn’t help smiling warmly and said in a small voice, “Isn’t it good?”
However, Felicia didn’t hear it.
As always, Carack was smiling. Felicia felt relieved just seeing that smile. She had never imagined that she would feel relief when looking at the face of an orc, but just like In-gong was In-gong, Carack was also Carack.
How had In-gong stopped the black sun? Her curiosity as a magician raised its head, but her urge to go and hug In-gong was stronger.
“Shutra is amazing.”
Felicia tried to imitate Caitlin. Delia raised her eyebrows at the unexpected words, but Felicia didn’t care. In-gong was truly amazing.
She took one step and then another one. Although the souls of the undead had been liberated, it was hard to accelerate because of the snow. In the end, Carack offered to help the frustrated Felicia. Despite her feelings for Carack, even Delia thought it was rude, but Felicia nodded readily. Her heart sped up even more as she saw Caitlin and Chris in front of him.
‘Embrace him tightly. Embrace him tightly. Bury my head in Shutra’s chest. And then…’
Felicia became shy as she imagined something. Despite the chill from beyond the limit line penetrating into her bones, her red face showed no signs of cooling down at all. When Felicia finally reached him, she jumped down from Carack’s back and barely held back her scream.
Delia followed the direction of Felicia’s gaze, and they froze in place.
“Shutra! Shutra!”
Warrior Locke appeared in their sights, and Zephyr was standing next to him. Chris stood by his side, while Caitlin was on the ground and shouting angrily. In-gong’s figure couldn’t be seen at all. No, In-gong’s always smiling figure couldn’t be found.
Felicia staggered forward. She almost fell over a few times, but she couldn’t stop. In-gong was collapsed in front of Caitlin. His face was pale like he was dead.
“Unni, Unni. Shutra!”
Caitlin cried out as she noticed Felicia approaching. She could barely speak properly. Felicia closed her eyes and breathed heavily as her heartbeat sped up even more. His face was white.
Carack rushed over to In-gong and touched his hands and arms. Felicia also touched him with trembling hands. His hands and feet were very cold. On the other hand, his chest was burning hot. In In-gong’s body, magic power was leaking out. His aura was no different. There seemed to be a big hole somewhere.
Felicia was stunned. She could see why Caitlin was crying with despair while holding onto In-gong’s arm. Caitlin was connected to In-gong through the Moonlight Core and Sunlight Core. Therefore, she knew it better than anyone else.
In-gong was dying. His life was leaking out like sand slipping through her fingers. It wasn’t just a simple trauma; his soul itself was damaged. Almost all the rings connecting his soul to his body were cut off.
Recovery magic was useless. Despite knowing this fact, Felicia still used a recovery spell. Nevertheless, there was no change. Caitlin cried even more after seeing Felicia use her magic.
“What is happening?”
Felicia muttered. There was no answer, and Felicia closed her eyes tightly. She screamed,
“What is going on?”
Felicia cried. She couldn’t hold back the tears.
“Green Wind! Green Wind! Do you know? Answer me! Green Wind!”
She shouted desperately, but there was no reply. There was no response from White Eagle which was lying next to In-gong. Felicia had always felt the power of Green Wind, but she couldn’t feel anything there anymore.
“Unni, what should we do?”
Caitlin asked. Felicia couldn’t give Caitlin an answer. She just touched In-gong’s cool cheeks with trembling hands.
“Shutra, it’s Noona. Open your eyes, Shutra. Shutra!”
He had defeated Arch Lich Shutenberg, and he had blocked the black sun. In-gong had created a miracle as always, so she thought he would come back smiling like always.
‘Then why? Why?!’
Felicia’s body was seething with magic power. It was a result of her magic power’s reaction to her deep sadness and anxiety. If this continued, then Felicia could also be in danger. Locke and Chris, who maintained their calm, were about to speak, but Carack was one step ahead of them.
“Calm down. Calm down, Princess.”
Carack grabbed Felicia’s hand. Felicia gazed at Carack with eyes full of tears, while Carack smiled at her.
“Prince is still alive. He hasn’t died yet. He won’t die so easily. I can feel it. Can Princess feel it as well?”
“The King’s Knights.”
Felicia responded to it. She understood what Carack meant. Caitlin had a link between the Moonlight Core and Starlight Core, but Felicia was a member of the King’s Knights and Carack’s words were true. In-gong hadn’t died yet. He was still alive. He was persistently holding onto the string of life.
In-gong hadn’t given up. So, Felicia couldn’t give up either. Somehow, she had to find a way to revive In-gong.
Caitlin also tried to stop crying. Carack pulled out a handkerchief from somewhere and handed it to her. Chris, who wasn’t part of the King’s Knights, urgently asked if there was a way. Anastasia, who came late, almost stopped breathing after seeing In-gong, and Baikal closed his eyes tightly.
Felicia thought desperately. The first thing that came to mind were the two saintesses. They could create miracles using the power of the gods… Could that power save In-gong?
Felicia turned her head and looked at Zephyr. His face was a little darker and harder than usual. It was too much. Seeing this, Felicia was reminded of Zephyr’s personality.
‘No, maybe. Maybe.’
Would Zephyr use this opportunity to let In-gong die? Was he going to just watch?
It was a bad idea, so she didn’t want to believe it. She wanted to maintain a string of hope. Zephyr closed his eyes, while Felicia opened her mouth to try and appeal to his sympathies. Then at this moment…
“I know a way to save Prince.”
“Sword Duke!”
Silvan and Chris shouted at the same time. The sword duke was very tired after cutting the black sun. Therefore, the sword duke was in a much weaker state than usual. His mouth was red from the numerous times he had coughed up blood. As he caught his breath, he barely managed to speak.
“However, I’m not the one who can do it. Even the Dark Saintess can’t revive 9th Prince.”
The sword duke had witnessed everything. In-gong had controlled the black sun. It was a black sun which had been weakened by the sword duke, but it was still amazing.
However, as a result, In-gong’s soul was twisted. There was a large hole in his soul which was impossible to heal with simple recovery magic. Since In-gong’s origin was a gandharva god, it was difficult to heal him without the divinity of another god. This wasn’t simply treating a trauma… However, using a different divinity was likely to make the condition worse.
“I have a plan.”
The sword duke squeezed his sword. It was hard for him to take a step, let alone talk.
“Princess should already know.”
The explanation was lacking, but the two people connected to In-gong knew it instinctively. Both Felicia and Caitlin knew In-gong’s birth secret, and that’s why they were able to infer the correct answer.
“Go to the gandharva. Only they can save Prince.”
It was the gandharva who had originally planted the seed of divinity in In-gong. So, they must have a way to restore In-gong’s divinity. The moment the sword duke finished speaking, Zephyr suddenly reached out to In-gong. Locke and Chris both reacted, but fortunately, it wasn’t an attack magic.
Zephyr’s magic power enveloped In-gong’s body. Felicia looked up at Zephyr and asked hesitantly,
“Zephyr orabeoni?”
Zephyr frowned at Felicia’s uneasy voice and explained,
“It is a magic that stops time. It is just a temporary measure, but it should be able to buy him some time.”
A small smile appeared on Caitlin’s face. Felicia bit her lip and looked at Zephyr. She felt sorry that she had doubted him. No matter what, Zephyr was In-gong’s brother.
Chris was still suspicious, but Baikal was very relieved. He was the one who felt the greatest joy at Zephyr’s action.
However, Locke looked at Zephyr with a complicated expression. It was because he had read a small hesitation in Zephyr’s actions. There had been a small moment of distress in Zephyr’s eyes just before he activated the magic. Maybe the first thing he prepared hadn’t been time stopping magic but attack magic.
However, it was the time stopping magic that Zephyr eventually used. Therefore, Locke didn’t make any comments.
“Sword Duke, do you know where the gandharva are confined?”
Anastasia recovered after hearing there was a way to save In-gong and asked carefully. There was hardly anyone who knew the location of the gandharva after they were imprisoned by the sword duke.
“I know. We can’t go there the usual way, so I will guide…kuk.”
While the sword duke was replying, he coughed up blood. The sword duke had used up all his energy against the winter king and the black sun. Although it wasn’t as bad as In-gong’s state, the sword duke’s aura flow was also a mess.
The sword duke was in a precarious state, and he couldn’t afford to guide the party quickly. However, the sword duke was the only one who could guide the party to the gandharva. Therefore, Chris and Silvan couldn’t tell him to rest.
“No, there is one more person who knows the location of the gandharva.”
Carack said suddenly. Everyone looked back at Carack who pointed to the succubus rushing towards them. It was a familiar face to Felicia and Caitlin.
Nayatra…
It was her.