Shards of demonic energy raining down like ash across the sky. This was one of Lawrence’s skills, [Infinite Regeneration Field]. A healing field that literally granted endless regeneration to allies within its range. It was a healing technique that went one step further than Garuel’s technique, [Space of Regeneration].

The demon named Lawrence was a higher-grade version of Garuel Monzasi, who was considered a solid Tier 1 in ‘Hero of Knights’.

His unexpected appearance proved to be a deadly variable. Lawrence was the one who made the elusive Ashvka defeat impossible. Nevertheless, Cadel ignored Lawrence and focused on defeating Ashvka. This was despite the fact that he should have taken out the healer first.

The reason was simple. On the stage he had tackled, Lawrence couldn’t die. It wasn’t that he was invincible. In the game, Lawrence appeared alongside other High Demons, not Ashvka. Once Lawrence had lost a certain amount of HP, he would leave, leaving behind a profound statement that sounded like a bunch of lip service.

After that, Lawrence was never seen again in the stage. At the time, Cadel was annoyed that he didn’t kill Lawrence outright, so he looked up information and found out that Lawrence’s final demise occurred within a story cutscene.

In other words, if he could just drive Lawrence off this battlefield, he’d be dead anyway.

‘To take out Lawrence, we need to take out Ashvka.’

In order to do that, first, they’d have to kill him before he could regenerate, and second, since Lawrence had made Ashvka immortal, they would need to use healing to replenish their allies’ power.

And who had the healing power to match Lawrence’s. The only one on the human side with such power was his own knight, Garuel Monzasi.

“Lawrence is enough of a deterrent, Garuel, trust me and deploy your area healing to help our allies deal with Ashvka.”

Cadel asked Garuel, who rushed over, to abandon Lawrence and fulfill his role as healer. It was a difficult request for Garuel to understand. As a capable commander, he should know what should be prioritized in warfare, and his orders would be ill-advised. But Garuel nodded without argument.

“I’ll do that, but maybe the commander of the Guardian Knight Order over there will recognize that my healing isn’t black magic.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be sprinkling in my dark mana as well, so if Sir Ector gets suspicious, we can just pretend he got it mixed up with Lawrence’s demonic energy. It’s no big deal.

Except for Ector, no one in this chaos had the presence of mind to distinguish whether the power to heal oneself was demonic energy or black magic. All they had to do was to be thankful and go back into combat. Garuel complied, drawing in demonic energy as Cadel spoke.

In the meantime, Cadel approached Ector, who was busy again fending off the tidal wave of insects. As he cleared the swarm around him with a heavy blast of heat, Ector, wielding his greatsword, looked back at Cadel.

“Let’s aim for Ashvka’s heart, Sir Ector.”

“Very well. If we don’t kill him quickly, we’ll be trapped among these disgusting insects for the rest of our lives.”

Ector’s reply was cool as if he’d come to the same conclusion as Cadel, and he spoke softly, his sword energy flying toward the bloodsuckers targeting his subordinates.

“My plan is this: while the Guardian Knight Order binds Ashvka’s limbs, restricting his movement, the Empire’s elite knights cut his throat in one fell swoop.”

“I agree.”

“I’ve always wished the Empire had an elite Knight Order. We’ll cover your backs, and your knights can take up their swords.”

The man had seen many battlefields over the years, leading the Empire’s most prominent Knight Order, and yet there was no compulsion for him to be the star of the show, no arrogance that his forces should be the only ones in charge.

His paintings depicted every single knight. The seasoning of years of experience and the determination to override it all in an instant, a talent coveted in a commander of his caliber.

“Only one of my subordinates is capable of killing Ashvka. The other one will deploy area healing, and the Guardian Knight Order will help keep Lawrence in check.”

“I think I just heard a horribly envious remark, but I’ll ignore it, so as soon as you start the healing…….”

Without another word, Ector sent a blast of sword energy at Cadel’s back. Turning his head reflexively, he saw.

“I wondered where you ran off to, but here you are.”

Shaking off the humans holding him down, Lawrence took flight, leaving everything aside to find Garuel.

* * *

Born with a curse-like stigma, he was immune to most attacks that would kill him. That was why Garuel tried to ignore all of Lawrence’s attacks as he basked in the dark mana that Cadel had spread like a shroud.

His job was to keep everyone on the battlefield alive, not to fight Lawrence in the name of evil. He had to follow Cadel’s instructions with the same dedication to righteousness that had kept him walking.

How many humans do you think will survive Ashvka’s power? You’re wasting your energy. Why don’t you spend it attacking me like your lowly friends say you should, that would be much more interesting.”

“Shut up. If you’re going to keep talking, give me some space. Or shall I go?”

Demonic energy, thicker and darker than usual, flowed through his body, sucking the ground beneath him. He needed to be ready if he was going to match Lawrence’s range of healing, and he had just a little more to go.

Garuel endured the irritating pain of being cut here and there by Lawrence’s playful longsword. The wounds regenerated quickly, but only because Lawrence wasn’t really attacking Garuel; he was provoking him as if to elicit something from him.

And soon, Garuel realized what Lawrence was trying to draw out of him.

“But why is there dark mana around you? It’s as if you’re trying to hide your true form. Don’t those inferior races know where you come from?”

“Shut up.”

“Protected by this superior power, yet unaware of its true nature? My poor nephew, my heart breaks for you. I must give you your first and last gift before your short life ends.”

“……You’d better cut the crap.”

Lawrence was trying to prevent the human from recovering by agitating him. No, that wasn’t all, he could have simply slit Garuel’s throat if that was his goal. Lawrence’s goal was not only Garuel’s death, but to sow the seeds of chaos among the humans.

If Lawrence revealed his true identity, things would be irrevocably screwed up. But to keep Lawrence quiet, he must cut off the flow of demonic energy he had been saving for healing.

“I’m taking this mana and revealing it to all. That your foolish race dares to defy the demons, but in the end, you are relying on this superior power to keep you alive.”

It was then that Garuel hesitated, torn between the worst of both worlds.

“Who are you to treat my subordinate as though he were your equal?”

[Fire Chains] appeared through the dark mana and wrapped around Lawrence’s legs in flight. Cadel appeared next, stepping between Lawrence and Garuel, his eyes glaring ferociously.

“No matter what you say, Garuel will never be an enemy of humans, so save your mockery for your bearded snout.”

“……So your name is Garuel.”

“Don’t you dare call me that. I wasn’t born with a pretty name to be called by you.”

“I refuse.”

The [Fire Chains] scorched Lawrence’s skin with intense heat, and though he looked unharmed, he was barely regenerating by the slimmest of margins, maintaining his supposed invincibility. Nevertheless, he remained relaxed.

“Garuel, don’t stop the healing. I’ll deal with your annoying relative.”

“……I understand.”

“What I’m saying is don’t be swayed by even a single word.”

Lawrence swept a leisurely glance at the two men. The newcomer was a magician he’d had his eye on since he’d first appeared. He was unusually skilled and seemed to have a knack for reading his opponents’ minds. As the magician had predicted, Garuel had already begun to be swayed by him.

“Did you say Garuel would never become an enemy of humans?”

“If I had known you didn’t already know his name, I would never have told you.”

“I sincerely hope so. He is a child born of love, and if the Demon Realm has rejected him, the Human Realm should accept him.

“What?”

Now, look. The half-blood’s shallow roots in his resentment were shaken by the sudden shock.

“……I told you to shut up.”

Beyond Cadel, Lawrence smirked, his eyes glittering with murderous intent and pulsing with demonic energy.

There was no way Garuel could think straight in this frenzied, breathless battlefield. So he pushed aside the story of his birth, the story he’d heard from his own uncle, Lawrence, and tried to focus on the battle.

It was impossible. If Garuel could keep his mind in check, he wouldn’t have the tiring task of regretting his pathetic past every night.

“Then you can pick anybody to blame, and live to blame.”

“I’ll live to prove it. You birthed me this way, but I lived right. I’ve saved countless lives with the same power that has driven countless humans to their deaths, so my life hasn’t gone wrong, and I’m glad I was born.”

He chose to live in resentment. He decided that since his parents had pushed him into the pit, he would live to avenge them. He accepted this curse-like power in exchange for hating his parents, whom he didn’t know if they were alive or dead.

However, the existence of his parents, whom he learned for the first time, was far from the object of resentment.

“What was your life like, born of my younger brother’s tearful paternal love and your humble mother’s sacrifice?”

They were simply, irresponsible. They knew plainly what their love would bring, but they did it anyway, and in the end, they couldn’t bear the consequences of their greed. They couldn’t handle it, and they died.

He could not blame them for their weakness, for that would be like blaming himself for embarking on an equally weak, reckless love.

The scaffolding of hate had shaken, but life had not yet lost its meaning.

“So follow me. I’ll prove to you that your life is not wrong, and we’ll walk the same path.”

It was okay to have Cadel. As long as there was a light to illuminate the dark path, he could somehow walk through life. Because he was the meaning of life. And…… that was the problem.

“Lewin said he loved your mother. He begged me to let him return to the Demon Realm with you, for you were the child she had sacrificed her life for.”