He had believed he would never be forgiven. That day, through a conversation that had meandered without direction, perhaps Modeleine had been able to ease some of the bitterness that had built up inside him. But that was all. As long as he didn’t know the true reason Garuel had left the Twilight Knight Order, Garuel thought there would never be genuine forgiveness from him.

Through the course of the war, more people than expected had discovered his secret. Even more must have harbored suspicions. And yet, Garuel had intended to deny it to the end. At the very least, he had planned to lie until the very end, at least to the Twilight Knight Order. If that proved impossible, he had even considered living the rest of his life in seclusion in the Mountains of Silence. But Garuel’s resolve had all become meaningless.

‘So he was already awake back then. But he acted like he didn’t notice and treated me the same as always. ……For my sake.’

He had thought Modeleine had lost consciousness entirely, collapsed with a hole through his chest. But Modeleine had recognized Garuel’s healing magic and had sensed the demonic energy flowing into his body. It must have been deeply unsettling, yet he hadn’t rejected Garuel’s magic. He hadn’t even shown signs of being surprised. He had simply and quietly accepted the healing from his former commander.

Suddenly, a conversation from the past with Modeleine came to mind.

“I respect you, Commander Garuel. One day, I’ll become a knight as amazing as you.”

“Like me? Then you’d better start by fixing that face. Are you okay with that?”

“……Let me revise that. I’ll learn from your skills, but I’ll try to improve your personality a little.”

“Haha, sounds like you’ve still got too much energy. Let’s do 50 laps around the training field. Go.”

“What? Training’s already over for today!”

“What are you waiting for? You planning to disobey an order? Run!”

Garuel had once looked at Modeleine, on the verge of tears as he ran off, and imagined his future. If Modeleine really became a knight as amazing as he was—someday far in the future—he had thought it wouldn’t be so bad to pass on the role of commander to him.

But look at him now. Modeleine had already become a far better knight than Garuel had ever been, and just as he said, he had perfectly refined his personality as well. He was a remarkable knight.

“……Is this what having a younger brother feels like?”

Garuel steadied his trembling lips and gripped his sword properly. His identity had already been thoroughly exposed. There was nothing left to be embarrassed about. Instead of responding to Modeleine, Garuel simply turned to show his broad back.

“I’ve come to my senses. If we want to run back to our Knight Commander, we have to defeat this clone first. Let’s give it our best.”

“Just make sure you do your part.”

“Cold as ever, Sir Van. Even in times like this, you never lose your charm. Impressive.”

Garuel responded to Van’s scornful glare with a smile and turned his gaze to the clone. While their attacks had faltered, the clone had been muttering something under her breath and was now setting up magic circles all around herself—on the ceiling, side walls, and rear. Having already placed four, and with her demonic energy still flaring, she seemed intent on adding one more to the front.

“Looks like she’s trying to deploy some kind of defensive magic. If we let her finish, our attacks will become much harder. If you two can face it head-on, I’ll try to disable the four magic circles.”

“We don’t have a magician to throw up a solid barrier for us. Charging in without knowing what kind of magic those are seems reckless. Let’s wait and see what she’s trying to complete first.”

“Oh dear, Sir Lumen. Don’t be scared. Even if we don’t have a dependable magician, we’ve got two top-tier healers with us.”

Unless their heads suddenly got separated from their bodies, there was little risk of instant death. Letting out a sigh-like chuckle at Garuel’s bold claim, Lumen murmured.

“Much as I hate to admit it, that is reassuring.”

Lumen and Van exchanged glances. They stared each other down, as if challenging one another, then sprang forward simultaneously without a word. Their target was the clone’s front. Van dashed in, replacing Lumen’s vanished form, aiming for the clone’s head. As his strike was blocked by a barrier of demonic energy, violet light began to seep from the magic circles surrounding the clone. A formidable force was stirring. Even so, Van didn’t flinch—he unleashed his aura.

‘This time, I’m not alone. I can do this.’

This wasn’t like the last time he faced a clone of the Demon King by himself. His defeat back then wasn’t due to carelessness or a simple lack of strength—it was due to the limits of his body. The demonic energy wielded by the Demon King was the most potent and pure across the entire Demon Realm. Van’s aura, when confronted by such overwhelming power, had grown feral, trying to seize control of his body. It devoured the blood he had stored and even turned on its master, attempting to consume his body to resist the demonic energy.

Alone in that space, losing control would’ve spelled disaster. That’s why Van had retracted his aura and lost with little resistance. But now—now he had Garuel and Modeleine to restore his twisted body, and Lumen to subdue him if he lost control.

‘This time, I’ll face her properly.’

As the clone’s demonic energy clashed with him head-on, Van’s aura began to expand rapidly. He didn’t restrain it. Channeling all that power into his heavy greatsword, he unleashed it in a crushing strike. The clone, sensing the steadily growing power, shifted her gaze toward Van. The demonic energy surrounding her body sharpened like a blade, turning toward him, and at that moment.

“Having someone to draw her attention definitely makes things easier.”

Lumen reappeared at last, his blue-glowing eyes flashing fiercely.

* * *

「You have consumed the Forbidden Item [Depollo’s Blood].」

「Due to the manifestation of forbidden power, mana of all elements is now unlocked.」

「Warning! Your body cannot withstand the excessive amplification of power. Buff duration applied.」

「[Depollo’s Wrath] Duration: 00:14:59」

Only 15 minutes. Though he knew full well that he had to squeeze every second and every bit of strength from the drug’s power, Cadel still found himself dazed.

‘[Depollo’s Blood], this is……’

He wasn’t one of the early players of 「Hero of Knights」. He only started once the game had gained some fame and piqued his interest. Because of that, he wasn’t familiar with all the incidents and glitches that had occurred in the early days of release. But this—this one, he remembered clearly.

‘A hidden item you get by giving 9,999 units of demon bone dust to Mamil Kipa. There was some lunatic who actually collected that ridiculous amount and sold them all at once.’

The developers had supposedly added the achievement reward as a kind of Easter egg, never expecting anyone to actually go through with it. But someone had. And that madman, after unlocking the hidden achievement and obtaining [Depollo’s Blood], had used it without a moment’s hesitation. Simply because he was curious about the effect.

It was an item never meant to be used, so forgotten that even the developers had lost track of it. But that user discovered an incredible truth: using [Depollo’s Blood] unlocked all elemental attributes for the protagonist, Cadel Lytos, and maxed them out regardless of available stat points.

When the user posted proof and a strategy guide, the game forums exploded. The devs, realizing the item’s bug-like effect, patched it with a buff duration limit. They also rewarded the player with a unique compensation.

‘After they added a time limit, it became garbage. No sane player would spend time collecting 9,999 bone dusts for just a few minutes of power.’

Yeohwan, who had read that legendary post in the past, had merely chuckled and moved on, thinking, ‘There really are all kinds of weirdos out there.’ Even after transmigrated into Cadel Lytos’ body, he’d never once thought about it again.

And now, here he was—with that legendary item, [Depollo’s Blood], coursing through his own veins.

But he couldn’t simply be amazed by it. Cadel bit down on his lip, trying to hold back the tears welling in his eyes.

‘I barely gave him a handful of bone dusts. And even that was full of lies and rip-offs. I don’t…… deserve this.’

To the pathetic disciple who had done nothing but exploit his knowledge and abilities, Mamil had entrusted his most treasured possession. That fact filled Cadel with guilt so crushing it made him want to die—and yet, it was also what gave him strength.

Across from Cadel, who stood clutching the empty vial, eyes wide open, Emilia let out a smirk as demonic energy bloomed around her like fire.

“What’s with the tears? Scared now that the fight’s about to begin?”

She was clearly convinced of her victory. Her eyes held not a warrior’s resolve, but a burning desire to toy with her opponent. Seeing that desire, Cadel exhaled softly and tossed the empty vial aside.

Now, he had about 14 minutes left. Under normal circumstances, he would have thought the time absurdly short, especially since he had to face the Demon King alone, without any subordinates. But—

“No. It’s the opposite. Just thinking about the look of panic on your face excites me.”

“……What kind of confidence is that? You’re just a human.”

Cadel opened his status window for the first time in a while and checked his mana attributes, a faint smile forming on his lips. Just as the guide post had said, after consuming [Depollo’s Blood], Cadel Lytos’s mana in all attributes had reached MAX. He was at his strongest. With all potential pushed to the limit, there was no way he would fail to defeat the Demon King.

‘I’m still the same slow, pathetic disciple. But this time, I’ll honor your final wish properly, Teacher.’

For everything he wished to protect, it was finally time to begin the final battle.