In the fading consciousness, Lumen heard the voice of a man. It was not the voice of anyone he knew. Like a gentle breeze brushing his ear, it was a faint and heavy tone.

Even as all his senses seemed to fade, the words spoken by that voice remained clearly etched in his mind.

[Did you see the future of victory?]

Even the figure of the clone in front of him seemed blurred. It wouldn’t have been surprising if he had lost consciousness right then and been thrown out the door. Yet, when asked if he had seen the future of victory in such a state……

“I…… am…… certain……”

He had seen it. The future of himself standing next to Cadel, having safely escaped this field. Holding Kelligan’s sword, facing the Demon King together with him.

“I am certain…… that I can kill her…… and protect Cadel……”

As Lumen answered, the voice swept through his mind once again.

[Sacrifice your life for victory. There shall be light beyond death.]

Light over death. The last words swirled around his tongue like a chant. And as the phrase, like an undeniable stimulus, repeated itself, he finally spoke it aloud.

“How did you draw the sword? How?!”

His consciousness, on the brink of snapping, became clearer, and energy surged through his body as though a new soul had entered him. Lumen, startled by his suddenly sharp vision, instinctively looked at the sword.

Kelligan’s sword. The sword of the old guardian, which he had believed to be the cursed sword, now gleamed brilliantly in his hand.

“This is……”

He couldn’t even understand how he had drawn it. He had fought while desperately gripping the scabbard, hearing hallucinations, his soul half-dead. And now, when he regained his senses, this was the result.

‘The sword is drawn. Is this real? Is this really Kelligan’s sword?’

The sword had been drawn, but why did his body suddenly feel so full of vitality? His body, which had been broken and shattered more times than the stones on the road, now felt as vigorous as if it were newly born.

Lumen, bewildered by his own transformation, still didn’t let go of the sword. He gripped the handle tightly and assumed the stance he had practiced thousands, if not tens of thousands, of times. The basic stance of the sword drawing technique.

Without hesitation, Lumen sheathed the sword, which may or may not be drawn again, and fastened the scabbard to his waist. He bent his right leg and extended his left leg out. He took a stance as if about to spring forward at any moment, his eyes scanning the front.

There stood the clone. The soul of the Demon King, astonished by the human who had drawn Kelligan’s sword, trying to seize the released sword.

“There will never be another time when the blood of demons stains that sword. I’ll kill you and take that sword, staining it with human blood.”

The clone raised the demonic energy sword once more and muttered menacingly. Above her, dense demonic energy began to surge, and an ominous bloodlust unlike anything before radiated from her.

However, Lumen paid no attention to her energy or mental shift. He relentlessly focused on the clone’s heart. He had no interest in anything else. As though someone had forcibly locked his focus, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her only weak point.

‘It feels like time is flowing slowly.’

It wasn’t because he was moving quickly. He was simply holding his position, ready to spring at any moment. Yet, Lumen felt like the space around him was strangely warping. The clone’s actions, the wind in the field, even his own breath—everything stretched out like a broken spring.

He felt like he had to shatter this distorted time and space. It seemed as though he could cut through the sluggish flow of air. It was a different sensation from when he first succeeded with [Annihilation’s Origin]. [Annihilation’s Origin] was a technique that sliced through space faster than light, creating a tiny rift in the fabric of time and space, into which the enemy’s body would be thrust by the wind of the blade. In other words, it borrowed the ‘destructive power’ of the distorted space.

But now, Lumen was attempting to overpower the time and space that confined him.

‘I can do this.’

A strong conviction of victory. And higher than that, the existence of Cadel. His face, smiling under the midday sun. His smile, never forgotten in any moment, was the reason Lumen could only grow stronger with each passing minute, each passing second.

“……I will return.”

With those few whispered words, Lumen’s form vanished.

* * *

He stood precariously at the edge of the cliff, with no place to escape, facing the clone alone.

Despite this, Yozen did not give up fighting. He couldn’t die in a place like this. First, he tried to move behind the clone to escape the threat of falling. However, the ground shot up without warning, easily breaking his balance, and Yozen fell beneath the cliff.

He vaguely remembered a heavy impact on his head. After that, there was no memory, so it seemed he had lost consciousness. Judging by these thoughts, it seemed his awareness was starting to return. Yozen responded quickly to the sensations gradually returning to him.

“It seems you’re regaining your senses.”

A very tired voice came from nearby. It was Modeleine’s voice. As Yozen turned his head toward the source of the sound, something dropped from his chest, which had been radiating warmth. It seemed that Modeleine was performing a healing spell.

“I need to go wake the next one. So if possible, please get up and help Mr. Mamil.”

“Mamil……?”

“I don’t have the luxury of doing so. Please, Sir Yozen.”

Yozen felt the ground and immediately pushed himself up. This wasn’t a safe resting place. He quickly realized that he was still in the Demon King’s castle and gathered his remaining strength.

‘What stands before me are flames…… the energy of Cadel’s teacher. Beyond that……’

Mamil. And the true body of the Demon King. The tremendous waves of energy created by the clash of their forces were visible, but not a single trace of demonic energy could penetrate beyond the barrier.

‘He’s holding his ground against the true body of the Demon King like this?’

It was impossible. Yozen wasn’t underestimating Mamil’s abilities. His energy was extraordinary, and his talent, combined with his experience and wisdom, surpassed Yozen in many areas. But as he climbed this far, Mamil had to keep up both defense and offense. Compared to Lydon, who had awakened new powers and entered a temporary state of awakening, Mamil had only been expending energy. There was no way he had the strength left to face the Demon King’s true body.

Yozen felt the energy of Mamil standing tall beyond the barrier, extending his hand toward the flames. His fingertips, wrapped in dark energy, began to gently push against the mana and slip out.

As Yozen completely broke through the barrier, Mamil, standing with his back to him, revealed himself. Despite feeling Yozen’s presence, Mamil did not turn his head.

“……It seems they’re finally starting to wake up one by one.”

It was only when Yozen stood before Mamil that he realized how Mamil had been able to protect them from the Demon King all this time.

“Give this to Cadel.”

Without turning around, Mamil threw something to Yozen. As Yozen caught it, he felt the smooth texture of a bottle in his hand.

“I was originally going to give him the [Grass of Amplification], but…… well, I ended up using them all. Even a greedy teacher like me has no excuses, huh?”

Yozen didn’t fully understand what [Grass of Amplification] was, but he could clearly feel that Mamil’s power had grown tremendously after consuming it. He could also sense that Mamil’s mana vessel was rapidly being destroyed because it couldn’t handle the newfound energy.

He wouldn’t even be able to stand properly from the pain. Using magic in such a state would be more agonizing than being torn apart physically.

“……Stop. You’ll die.”

Despite Yozen’s worried warning, Mamil smiled faintly and pointed ahead.

“Can’t you feel it, even if you can’t see it? The power of that being.”

There, hovering in the air, was Emilia, her eyes closed and head tilted back. Just moments ago, she had been pressuring Mamil aggressively. But for some reason, she now maintained her distance, merely unleashing demonic energy.

Even that was enough to be threatening. Around her, a circular barrier had formed, and chunks of demonic energy spiraled around it. The irregularly fired orbs of demonic energy battered both Mamil and the barrier beyond, but the magic circles engraved in various places managed to defend against all of the attacks.

Whenever the continuous waves of demonic energy passed a certain point, the pre-installed magic circles would activate, and the serpentine jaws emerging from them would devour the demonic energy. But this didn’t last long. A single serpent could only swallow two chunks of demonic energy. Once it consumed two, its head would explode, and the magic circle would disappear.

Mamil continued to re-install the magic circles in the same spots and spoke.

“My disciple will be arriving soon. He said he’d appear like a hero, so he should be here shortly. Until then, you fight by Cadel’s side. I won’t fall before then.”

If Mamil were to die, Cadel would be deeply saddened. Perhaps he would even torment himself with guilt. So, he wanted to say: don’t die, leave this to him. However, Yozen knew that such words were pointless. Instead of stopping Mamil, Yozen drew a dagger and made his request.

“The Demon King has entered a defensive stance. Now’s our chance. I’ll go in close and look for an opening, so cover me.”