* * *

「Congratulations! You have completed the main quest ‘Plague Spreader’!」

「Attribute points increased by 10.」

「Reputation increased by 20.」

「You have earned the new title [Demon Slayer].」

「You have obtained the advanced item [Immortal Heart].」

“All I can think of is swearing.”

When the quest completion window popped up, it was clear that the core had been completely destroyed. The monsterization of the villagers should have stopped, and he shouldn’t have to worry about another legion of monsters attacking.

Once the core, the cause of everything, was taken care of, all the worries and concerns that had been plaguing Cadel almost—

Melted away. If it weren’t for this new system window.

「The bond between body and soul is weakened. Recovery mode is activated.」

「Recovery progress : 0%」

「Time remaining until completion : ??hours ??minutes」

So far, so familiar. He had fallen unconscious, entered a void, and recovery mode had activated, telling him how much time he had before he woke up. What was new was what came next.

「The damage to the body is so severe that self-recovery is impossible. External intervention is required.」

「Time remaining until the bond between body and soul ends : 00 hours 59 minutes 49 seconds」

Just when he thought he was finally free of the countdown, something worse came along.

* * *

The Baskin Village had literally ‘disappeared’. Only a huge, deep pit stood in its place as if a god’s mace had fallen upon it.

Every breath Garuel took felt like his lungs were burning from the intense heat. Maybe he was actually burning. Maybe the demonic energy that leaked out of him was healing him steadily so he could still stand.

In that sense, it was a wonder that Cadel was still alive when he collapsed on the edge of the pit.

“Barely hanging on for dear life.”

Garuel scooped up the sagging Cadel and led his white horse, which was suffering from the heat, out of the village.

The temperature wouldn’t drop no matter how far they got away from the village, but Garuel found a place where they could breathe. As he laid Cadel down on the dirt floor, dripping with ash, he could see his misery.

“……This kind of tanned skin is not my cup of tea.”

His skin was charred and tanned. The blood and guts that spurted from the impact of the explosion were gruesome. His tightly closed eyelids seemed like they would never open, and indeed, his life was fading fast.

“You said you were afraid to die. Aren’t you dying a little too proudly?”

Garuel looked down at Cadel’s face for a moment, then slowly pulled the eye patch off.

“You acted like you knew something about me, but you definitely didn’t expect this, that a knight of the Holy Gods had the blood of a filthy demon…… Because even I didn’t expect it at all.”

The blackness inside the exposed reverse eye glistened. He ran his hand over Cadel’s messy, swollen abdomen, and a murky, purple-colored demonic energy oozed out.

“I had hoped I would never have to use it. Sir Cadel, in the short time I have known you, I have used so much demonic energy that I am beginning to wonder if you are my curse or not.”

Demonic energy swirled around the oozing entrails. The guts that touched the demonic energy were sucked into the wound, where new flesh grew and sealed the tear. Cadel was healing, little by little.

“Even so, I don’t want to let you die. I want to keep you alive, even if it means using this foul power.”

It wasn’t just Cadel. He always wanted to save people. He wanted to save humans, and give them peace and security. He wanted to give them normalcy.

In the name of God. In his halo.

“……So open your eyes.”

That was a lot of demonic energy, and he didn’t think he had ever drawn that much demonic energy in a single day.

It occurred to him that there might be side effects, but it didn’t matter. If it killed him, it was for the best. If the demonic energy ran amok and he became a demon, all the work he’d done to hide his power and foster successors would be for naught.

From the moment he realized he had demon blood, Garuel was the first to lay down his life.

He did not spare his demonic energy and raised his divine power to the limit. He refrained from using light mana in the first place because of the demonic energy. If he used more than a certain amount of mana, the demonic energy leaked out on its own.

In order to hide its identity, not using mana was an essential choice.

But right now, Garuel’s purpose was to revive Cadel. There was nothing to hide, nothing to distance himself from.

“Huu…….”

He gave it everything he had. Every open wound, every scrap of flesh. Everything was restored to its original form.

He had done everything he could. All that remained was to watch the progress. Garuel brushed his sweaty hair out of his eyes and pulled out his eye patch.

Then he turned his attention back to Cadel.

“Hu huh…….”

Cadel, whose eyes were wide open, woke up with a strange exclamation.

__________

T/N: Hello, it’s Eliza here! I finally finish moving the translation to another site. I thank you all for your patience and understanding. Here is a 10-chapter update as my thank and my apology for making you guys wait so long. Please enjoy reading the rest of this arc!!!