Ch. 16 - Uneasiness, Betrayal, and Battle (3)

"My master is a demon. You might have heard his name before. That's why I wanted to make sure whether you were a member of Serenity or not. My master has ties with them. If you are part of Serenity, I will not kill you. If you aren't, I will—unless you can give me a reason why I shouldn't."

Celinee didn't need much time to figure out which demon he meant.

She had never heard of that person taking on a disciple, but there was no other candidate she could think of. The only demon who might have taken a human as a student and had connections with Serenity was Primordial Demon Lukhiel. No one else—

"Sir Lukhiel!" Celinee suddenly stood up and grabbed the boy's arms. "We have to warn Sir Lukhiel that this is all a trap!"

Celinee had been powerless when Athrecia's magic forced her to kill her two comrades. She had been unable to do anything. But now, things were different. She was free from that magic's influence—she had the chance to correct a mistake that should never have happened.

Demon or not, Lukhiel was not an evil being—many humans were far more wicked than even the vilest creatures. Celinee had to warn him.

"Let's go. Explain everything while we head there."

Celinee didn't wait for another word. She nodded, released her grip on the boy's arms, and immediately dashed toward the battlefield where Lukhiel was fighting one of the Knights of the Round Table. She had initially thought of going to Birmithan, but they probably wouldn't make it in time. Heading straight to the battlefield was the better choice.

The boy is strong. He can help Lord Lukhiel if the situation there has already worsened. And then we can escape.

---ooOoo---

"...He isn't around here. We can't find any trace of him. It's likely that demon has returned to his lair, Lady Selena."

Selena didn't hide her frustration when she heard the results of the search conducted by Ferguso and the others. Caliburn in her hand even emitted a slight glow due to the emotions channeled through the sword. Not a single one of her subordinates dared to speak up— they all knew how angry Selena was.

How could they not? Taking Lukhiel's head was a requirement for her to become part of the Knights of the Round Table. And losing that demon's head had destroyed her chances of joining them. Worse, she would be forced to become a knight under her annoying cousin.

"Can't you teleport that demon here, Clarent?"

Selena's last hope now rested on Clarent—the only teleportation user among them.

And that hope was immediately shattered when the woman shook her head.

"It's impossible," Clarent explained. "I can teleport you all here because I'm used to it, and I'm familiar with your prana. But for Lukhiel, I can only teleport him if he's right next to me."

"I also can't teleport to his location," Clarent added before Selena could ask. "As you know, I can only teleport freely within a hundred-meter radius. To teleport farther, I have to have been there before."

Selena clicked her tongue in annoyance upon hearing the explanation. Now her hopes were truly gone. She would never be able to join the Knights of the Round Table. She would be forced to spend her career as Marry's personal guard. How annoying!

I can get out of this deal by having Marry fire me or even reject me, but knowing that girl... she would happily rub salt into the wound.

Letting out a long sigh, Selena sheathed her holy sword.

"Let's go. We'll return to Pendragon tomorrow morning."

---ooOoo---

Mariel didn't find a single word to say after hearing Celinee's detailed story. It was so hard to accept, but his mother had said that this world was corrupt. Celinee's story was very likely to be true, and Mariel didn't doubt the truth of the woman's words. Still, it was difficult to accept.

Serenity wasn't the organization Lukhiel had described. His master had been manipulated.

Rhemea… that middle-aged woman was truly dangerous. She was sly. Manipulative. Corrupt. Not only had she exploited his master, but she had also taken advantage of the children from the experiments who needed help and protection. Serenity organization truly had to be destroyed.

But Mari never expected that the bandaged sword was the "Sword of Salvation". He knew the sword wasn't ordinary; he thought it might be a holy sword, but he never imagined it would be a sword whose name wasn't even known.

"Mariel, we need to hurry!"

The ninja's call snapped Mariel's focus back from his thoughts. He nodded and quickened his pace. Both of them moved faster than before. He could go even faster with the wind armor, but Celinee might not be able to keep up. Therefore, Mariel didn't use it.

Furthermore, Lukhiel was his master. That demon was strong. No matter how strong Arthur IV Pendragon was or how dangerous Athrecia Le Fay was, there was no way they could easily overcome Lukhiel. Mariel had no doubt about that; a student always had great faith in their teacher.

---ooOoo---

Lukhiel had to say that he was not happy with the situation that had befallen him.

He did not care at all about Arthur IV's ramblings, who had ambitions to kill Nessthanovla. Lukhiel was not upset because he was afraid to duel. Excalibur was indeed dangerous, and Arthur himself was not a weak human. But that wasn't the reason that made him unhappy and worried.

What Lukhiel was worried about was the presence of Athrecia. Even though Arthur IV had said that Athrecia would not interfere, Lukhiel was not sure he could trust him. The witch would surely intervene if Arthur was about to lose. Or perhaps, that woman had done something to ensure Arthur would definitely win.

"So, what do you think, do you think I can defeat Nessthanovla, something that even Emperor Gilgamesh couldn't achieve?"

Lukhiel sighed deeply and created two wind swords in both of his hands. "I can't give an answer before I try your power myself," he said firmly—prana emanating from his body, causing waves of wind to hit in all directions. "Attack me whenever you're ready."

Arthur laughed loudly. Then, he turned to the witch and firmly said, "Make sure you don't interfere, Athrecia."

After that, the king lunged forward with his body engulfed in flames.

The entire Western Continent knew that Arthur IV Pendragon was one of the best fire element users on the continent—if not the best. So, Lukhiel wasn't surprised when the king suddenly spewed fire with such massive intensity from his mouth.

Lukhiel didn't let the fire get close. He immediately released high-pressure wind from his mouth. The wind split the king's fire into two parts, and both parts of the fire smoothly shot to the left and right of the demon. However, Arthur had disappeared from view. The wind blast never hit the king.

The demon didn't need to ask about the king's whereabouts. He had felt the threat from behind. Arthur had used his fire to deceive Lukhiel's sight to slip behind him without being seen. The king launched a threatening slash.

However, Lukhiel, a high-level demon with vast experience, was not caught off guard. He had adopted a dual sword fighting technique after decades of facing sword masters. Therefore, Arthur's attack didn't surprise him. He quickly executed a spinning slash and successfully blocked the king's powerful sword swing.

"Golden‒"

The sword that Lukhiel blocked immediately glowed.

"‒Radiance!"

Golden-colored energy instantly erupted from the sword, destroying anything in its path.

Fortunately, Lukhiel managed to avoid it by propelling himself into the air. If not, the energy, which had even partially destroyed the barrier (which Athrecia immediately repaired), would have completely shattered his body. From the air, Lukhiel could clearly see the destruction caused by the energy slash.

Arthur IV did not let Lukhiel land.

The king, with flames shooting out from both his legs, soared quickly upwards while swinging his sword fiercely.

Lukhiel could anticipate the incoming attack, and his wind sword once again blocked Excalibur. However, unlike before, Lukhiel's wind sword broke. But the demon managed to avoid the slash by propelling Arthur away with a wave of wind.

Lukhiel did not stop there. He sharply dived, pursuing the king. This time, he began using his Devil Curse.

Lukhiel could raise the temperature of anything he touched. However, since it was troublesome to touch his enemies to utilize the Devil Curse, Lukhiel combined the Devil Curse with the wind element. That was how Lukhiel could expel wind so hot it could melt steel and other metals.

The hot wind Lukhiel released forced Arthur IV to use his spirit power. Before the hot wind could touch and scorch the king's body, a rapid wave of energy pushed everything away from him. Lukhiel, who had been aiming to slash Arthur's neck, was also blown back, but he quickly regained his footing.

"I won't hold back, and we shouldn't waste time. Burn in eternal heat, Flame King Erestheral!"

In an instant, a blue flame wave, like a tsunami, surged in all directions, attempting to fill the barrier. The heat from the flames melted the ground, and in an instant, the earth turned red and became glowing lava. The blue flames filled the entire barrier; there was no gap it left untouched.

The only reason why Lukhiel was still fine was because he had stopped holding back himself.

He used the Devil Curse on his own body. His body became so hot, hotter than the blue flames filling the barrier. The wind swords in his hands turned white and glowed brightly. Lukhiel's body had become so hot that anything—except for his clothes, which were just as hot as his body—he touched turned to ash.

The blue flames slowly faded, revealing Arthur, who was wrapped in a cloak of blue flames. His hair had even caught fire, like paper being burned. He was not standing on the lava but floating, just like Lukhiel. And like Lukhiel, Arthur's body also emitted a tremendous amount of heat.

"Come on, Primordial Demon Lukhiel. Show me your power as one of the eight strongest demons!"