It was certain that he had faced the Demon King. He never expected that he would have made contact with her already. He had thought that because he was targeting her siblings, her actions would be slow and that he would have time to act. If he had known the confrontation would come so quickly, he would have moved a little faster.

Cadel weakly felt Sorin’s pulse and turned to Garuel.

“He’s still alive. Let’s wake him up and try to talk.”

“Unless we remove the demonic energy lodged in his solar plexus, healing magic will be useless. Let’s deal with this first.”

Garuel’s demonic energy coiled around Emilia’s, trying to slice it out. He applied as much force as he could, trying to extract the mass, but no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn’t budge. Watching impatiently, Cadel was about to lend his mana when……

“……Sir Sorin, are you awake? Do you know who I am?”

Sorin, who had been as still as the dead, finally opened his eyes. As his dry lips moved, thin streams of blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.

“Finally…… you’re here.”

“Please, don’t speak, Sir Sorin. The demonic energy still lodged in your body hasn’t been removed.”

Even with Garuel’s warning, Sorin slowly shook his head. His gaze was hazy, and his limp body showed no signs of strength. Despite his condition, the fact that this usually silent man was attempting to speak meant he had something important he needed to say.

Cadel gestured to Garuel to allow Sorin to speak. Then, with a strange, almost boiling sound, Sorin spoke again.

“It was just a small…… wound.”

“Did you mean on the Demon King’s body?”

“Yes. A very small wound, but…… the Demon King couldn’t heal it. I poured everything into it…… It will leave a deep scar.”

Had he fallen from the sky for leaving just a small scar? Cadel tried to hide his complex feelings. And before him, Sorin raised his arm, which barely moved. His calloused hand grabbed Cadel’s hand, which was resting on the ground.

Though the grip was weak, Cadel flinched and shifted his gaze. There was no other sensation from the touch as if Sorin wasn’t trying to pass anything along.

“I told you before. To protect the empire, the Lytos is necessary…… that’s what I believed.”

“Yes, you did.”

“Today, I believe that to protect the Human Realm, Cadel Lytos is necessary…… that’s what I think now.”

Still, the demonic energy lodged in his body remained unmoving, and Cadel could hear Garuel’s struggling breath nearby. He must be the one suffering the most. Despite this, Sorin’s unwavering gaze was fixed on Cadel.

“I’ve waited because I needed you. I’ve always waited. Because for peace, you were needed…… I’ve made daring, reckless, and sometimes cruel choices.”

“……Please stop talking. Your wound is deep.”

“Without ever helping you, I only wasted your strength…… You can resent me for that.”

“Sir Sorin, it’s alright. Please, stop.”

“Then, please, please, recover the Stone of Peace. Do what I couldn’t. Please, just this once…… I beg of you.”

Cadel felt the weak strength in his hand completely release. The face, twisted in pain and sorrow, relaxed, and a single tear slipped down his temple.

“……Knight Commander, I’m sorry.”

He couldn’t even respond to Garuel’s quiet apology. He had never felt any fondness for Sorin. In fact, he had always felt a certain distance. Even though Sorin was one of the few who knew his background. A stiff, dry personality, a man who lived solely for the empire—a truly knightly figure.

Had he died in the game as well? There hadn’t been a system response like with Hyron, so perhaps he had died according to the fate the system had set. Maybe his death was such a trivial event that the system didn’t even care about it. Both his death and survival couldn’t have had any impact on the system, so if that was why there was no response, it made sense.

“……I will do it. I will definitely do it. So, your death won’t be in vain.”

He would somehow break that arrogant system. He had to destroy the horrible monster that so easily discarded a person’s will and bring freedom to this world.

“Let’s move them to a corner.”

Cadel and Garuel dragged the unconscious bodies of Dreyfe and Sorin to the back of the castle. If Dreyfe woke up, he would have to see his comrade’s body as soon as he opened his eyes. But he couldn’t leave Sorin on the battlefield.

Looking down at the two men lying neatly, Cadel clenched his fist.

“We have to hurry. I didn’t get a detailed explanation from Sir Sorin, but he said that even Lydon didn’t help him when he fell. This is clearly a serious situation.”

“I hope the others are safe.”

The ice steps that Lydon made were still intact. They had to quickly head to the upper floors of the castle while the stairs were still in good condition. A group of humans had already been brought into the castle, so the enemy’s focus wasn’t on the stairs.

Fortunately, there were only two of them here, and they could create a smoke screen with dark mana. Cadel, who habitually gripped his pendant, began to move.

* * *

“You’re the only human left. I’ll give you one last chance. Bring Cadel Lytos.”

There was no longer any way to resist. As soon as Mamil stepped out of the room, he immediately collapsed and caught his breath. If the battle had lasted any longer, his limbs would have been torn apart, and he would have died right there. It was as if the Demon King had saved him from death, despite almost being killed by her.

“He’ll come on his own without needing to be brought. The Stone of Peace you have is his target. He’ll have to take it from you, even if he has to kill you.”

“……Is that so? I thought that child was only obsessed with killing my siblings. After doing that, he dares to think he can show up in front of me?”

“Siblings?”

Siblings? By now, Cadel should have been preparing the magic to defeat the Demon King alongside the Scarlet Dragon. Despite his confusion, Mamil carefully moved his hand to touch the body behind him. It was Modeleine.

“Cadel is killing your siblings?”

“He’s already killed them. All of them.”

“Why?”

“I’m the one who wants to ask. What does he gain from killing Demon King’s siblings, other than inciting my wrath? If you’re right, then waiting here should bring us an answer.”

“Are you planning to kill us all while waiting?”

“Well, I don’t necessarily have to kill you. You’re already unconscious. If Cadel Lytos arrives, you’ll be a fine obstacle for him. Is there really a need to kill you?”

Making a ruckus would immediately alert the Demon King. Mamil conjured a small flame with the fingertips that touched Modeleine. He needed to wake Modeleine up. He didn’t have the strength to heal someone and wake them up, so he would have to use a rough method to restore the consciousness of the only paladin.

“We’re missing two. One seems to be fighting a clone. Where’s the other?”

“Haha. Look here.”

Emilia, sneering, pulled down the collar of her clothes to reveal her collarbone. A deep scar appeared on her pale skin. It was a small wound, about the size of a finger.

“He made a wound on my body. That’s quite a difficult thing to do, you know. So as a reward, I gave him death.”

“……”

“I threw him outside the castle. I figured just looking at his body would make me feel disgusted.”

Sorin Salamo seemed to be dead already.

‘He must have received the same proposal as me. Looks like he gave the answer the Demon King didn’t want.’

It was unfortunate that such a knight had met his end. The fact that his desperate strike only left a wound as small as the width of a finger was hopeless.

“I have no strength left to fight. I’ll be a good obstacle for you, so can you just let me rest like this?”

“What are you trying to pull? Humans are weak. The weaker they are, the more deceitful and vile their actions become.”

“All my allies are down, and my strength is entirely drained. What tricks could I pull? Right now, the only thing I can imagine is waiting for my disciple to come and save me.”

“Disciple…… Cadel Lytos is your disciple?”

“Yes.”

“Is he special to you?”

“Not particularly special, but we’re not strangers either.”

At his honest answer, Emilia burst out laughing. She swept her disheveled hair behind her ear and sat on a chair she had conjured from demonic energy. Her slender body swayed with the floating chair.

“Well, then your usefulness will come in handy. I’ll keep you awake. In the meantime, watch your comrades struggling inside there. That one has a knack for riling people up with words, so I plan to torment him quite a bit.”

Following Emilia, Mamil looked into the room where Lumen was. He then set fire to Modeleine’s arm. It would be quite painful, but he couldn’t think of any other way to wake up an unconscious human.

“Just don’t kill him. I’ve gotten older, and it’s hard for me to look at corpses.”

“Haha, what does age have to do with it? I’m not going to do you that favor.”

Before Cadel arrived, he needed to wake up at least one more person. Mamil burned Modeleine’s arm with a desperate resolve.