Chapter 241 - The Demon Lord's Guard
Edwill gave me a strange look.
"...Have you gone mad?" [Edwill]
"Mad? Am I?" [Solace]
That word felt so weird to me. On one hand, to call someone mad meant they were furious. On the other hand, it meant they were insane. Somehow, I felt that I was both.
"You stated that you're going to kill me. Another fellow human being. Is that not madness? I can sense another hero inside the audience chamber, are they fighting the demon lord?" [Edwill]
I observed Edwill, checking for his party.
"Where's the rest of your friends?" [Solace]
"...That is none of your concern. Be things as they may, do you not need to go help your hero?" [Edwill]
I felt shitty knowing that he was right.
"I'll work it out right after." [Solace]
Edwill raised a brow.
"After what?" [Edwill]
I thrust my hand at him, attempting to pierce his heart before he could react. However, he actually managed to catch my hand.
"...You caught it?" [Solace]
I was surprised to see someone who could barely handle me now capable of stopping my attacks.
"That demon gave me quite the amount of levels if I do say so myself." [Edwill]
As he said that, an unknown force blew me away, so far that I flew up the stairs and straight into the audience chamber.
("That bastard!") [Solace]
I flipped backwards and landed on my feet, eyes scanning for Edwill. Unfortunately, it appeared that he was nowhere to be seen.
("Did he put on that invisible cloak again?") [Solace]
"Alt?" [???]
I turned around, seeing my whole team in tatters. Their armor was broken, some were bleeding, and they were clearly exhausted. I could also see signs of battle in the chamber. Starting from the entrance, I can only assume the room had a red carpet laid straight out. It led to another small set of stairs, in which laid a throne. It was a massive room with eight white pillars that held it up. Except that it was now six pillars with a portion of the ceiling having fallen in. There was a huge chunk of debris next to the throne, so I assumed that much. Too bad they missed because the demon lord was sitting nice and comfortably on that throne.
"What happened to you guys? Is the demon lord that strong?" [Solace]
Raon let out a grunt of displeasure.
"We didn't make it that far." [Raon]
The chunk of debris shifted, parting as an arm stuck out of it.
"That wasn't too bad of an idea..." [???]
Rising from the rubble, I saw the demon lord's Feerae come out. It was easy to recognize him from his taller stature, blackened armor, and purple cape. Also, I've never heard his voice before. It was odd to hear it, but it was actually deeper than I imagined.
("That voice is somehow... a little familiar.") [Solace]
I pushed away random thoughts to focus and try to piece together the situation.
"...Did you guys drop the ceiling on him?" [Solace]
"Yup." [Raon]
"I can't say it worked though." [Wilharrow]
The Feerae brushed off any remaining dust on himself before descending the stairs.
"By the honor of my name, Zyrig, I will expel the invading heroes." [Feerae]
He then whipped out a giant black sword twice his size. It was almost as big as Leon's.
("Where did that even come from?") [Solace]
Maybe he had an |Item Box| too. Who knows?
"Get in formation! I'll take the front!" [Wilharrow]
We converged into some sort of arrowhead formation. Wilharrow in the middle, I was on the right, Raon on the left, Fina directly behind us, and Leon behind her.
"|Elemental Boost|! |Resistance Boost|!" [Fina]
A white magic circle expanded below our feet, filling us with strength.
"Ridiculous." [Zyrig]
His sword grew dark, encasing itself in shadow before lunging at us.
"Push!" [Wilharrow]
We all moved to intercept, with Wilharrow taking the brunt of the blow.
"|Divine Weapon Resonance|!" [Wilharrow]
His sword shone brightly, directly clashing with Zyrig's darkened blade.
"|Critical Stab|!" [Raon]
"|Explosion Arts|!" [Solace]
We flanked Zyrig, believing that at least one of us would land a clean hit since he was busy dealing with Wilharrow.
"Hmph." [Zyrig]
Taking one hand off his sword, he grabbed Raon's wrist and lowered his head to avoid my fist. He then spun quickly, throwing Raon into me and using the rotational force to swing his sword at Wilharrow again.
"|Spinning Slash|." [Zyrig]
It was a skill that sounded so basic that normally I wouldn't think anything of it. However, it was because it was so simple that it contained enough raw power to send Wilharrow into Fina's arms.
"Leon take over!" [Wilharrow]
Passing by Wilharrow, Leon went on the offensive. She threw a handful of knives at Zyrig before splitting into three copies.
"|Devour|." [Leon]
The middlemost Leon latched onto Zyrig's blade, absorbing the dark aura surrounding it. Similarly to how Raon and I attacked, the other two Leons flanked him.
"|Thundering Palm|." [Leon2]
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"|Hardened Body Arts: Steady Mountain|." [Leon3]
Just as Zyrig was about to move, the first Leon stuck a hand out to his face.
"|Poison Creation|." [Leon]
A dark liquid shot out, making its way into his helmet.
"Ngh!" [Zyrig]
Startled by the sudden attack, the clones actually managed to land their skills. The |Thundering Palm| stunned him whereas the |Hardened Body Arts| landed a heavy blow to his side.
"Urgh!" [Zyrig]
As he staggered sideways, the flanking Leons grabbed his arms and pulled to make him unable to move. Then revealed a fourth Leon sitting on his shoulders with two knives in hand.
"|Cold Sting|." [Leon]
As she brought down the knives, Zyrig let out a battle cry that threw all the Leons away.
"Warning: A hostile entity has casted |War Declaration|. Entity's status has increased by twenty five percent. Entity has entered the |Enraged| state." [Spirit Guide]
Zyrig's eyes darted back and forth, as if he was a hunter picking a target.
"You." [Zyrig]
He charged at Raon, who was still collecting himself after getting thrown at me.
"|Slowness|! |Burden|!" [Fina]
Zyrig's sprint decreased, but it was still pretty damn fast.
"What are you doing Raon?! Get yourself together!" [Solace]
I quite literally threw him aside and rushed at Zyrig.
"|Heavy Edge|." [Zyrig]
"|Revolving Shell Arts|!" [Solace]
I attempted to deflect his attack, but the burden was too great. In the end, it was just me blocking him.
"Will you not draw out your spear?" [Zyrig]
"...What?" [Solace]
While I was puzzled about how he knew I used a spear, he kicked me in the gut.
"Ugh!" [Solace]
I withstood the pain and fired off a |Flame Cannon| from my mouth. Don't ask how I knew that would work, but I just did. Sadly, Zyrig face-tanked it without flinching.
("Oh right... demons are resistant to flame.") [Solace]
Was what I thought before getting pressed down onto one knee.
"I will cleave you in half before you can even think of laying a hand on the demon lord." [Zyrig]
The pressure increased, and my arms were getting tired.
"Is that a promise?" [Solace]
"It's a fact." [Zyrig]
"...Fact, you say?" [Solace]
I then grabbed his sword.
"The fact is, you keep repeating the same mistakes." [Solace]
As I held down his sword, Leon, Wilharrow, and Raon released a coordinated attack behind Zyrig.
"Really now..." [Zyrig]
To my surprise, Zyrig released his sword. He then summoned a large double sided hammer and swung with enough power to repel my allies.
"You have a second weapon?!" [Solace]
I dropped his sword as he spun the hammer in my direction. With a quick backstep, I managed to evade it.
"You still have a strange way with words. Have you not grown at all?" [Zyrig]
It was really weird how this guy spoke as if he knew me. At this point, my curiosity was getting the better of me.
"Quit beating around the bush. Who are you, really?" [Solace]
Zyrig took off his helmet, allowing realization to cross my face.
"Isn't that...?" [Raon]
"...You're that demon on the bridge!" [Solace]
It was that |Heavy Knight| demon that blocked our party from crossing that cursed river.
"It took you quite a while to figure it out." [Zyrig]
"...You can't blame me. You're wearing different armor, your face was practically covered, you used a mace and shield, you had a different name I think? And the most important part... you're much stronger now. Mind telling me how that is?" [Solace]
Zyrig crossed his arms.
"I seal my strength when I go out." [Zyrig]
As if that made me feel any better. I really thought I was strong when I first beat him.
"I will now request the same thing as I did then. Please leave Lithik and return from whence you came. I do not wish to kill younglings such as yourselves." [Zyrig]
There was an awkward pause as we all glanced at each other. In the end, we all looked to Wilharrow for his answer.
"We refuse." [Wilharrow]
Once hearing his answer, Zyrig picked up his sword and transformed it into a large shield. He then turned to face the demon lord.
"My lady?" [Zyrig]
The demon lord nodded.
"Understood." [Zyrig]
The room began to shake as an immense energy rose within Zyrig, encasing him in a dark aura.
"No longer will I be fighting to dissuade, nor to fend off intruders. From henceforth, my purpose is to eliminate." [Zyrig]