Chapter 23 - When Belief Becomes a Tool
Collapse.
The earthen wall crumbled, and the ground itself caved in.
Within it, Yuru's vision, buried under debris, was filled only with darkness.
"Cough."
A small cough escaped her lips.
It told her that she was still alive.
"Brother..."
She knew that atonement was impossible.
But just because it was impossible didn't mean she could give up here.
She had come too far for that.
Snap!
She snapped her fingers, activating a hidden spell.
"Umbra!"
CRUNCH! CRACKLE!
The darkness that had filled her vision began to writhe.
From within it, black human figures emerged.
Thump!
Black Demons, with only their outward form and no discernible features, rose to their feet, pushing away the debris.
"Indeed."
Beatrice, who had changed into her human form and landed on the ground, watching the scene from outside the debris, said.
"As expected of the greatest mage in history, you wield surprising tricks."
"..."
Yuru didn't answer and looked around.
In the meantime, Clay and Neville had disappeared.
"Where did you hide them?"
"Hide them?"
Beatrice shrugged.
"They walked away on their own."
"Beatrice."
Yuru glared at her, her blue eyes shining.
"You've always been quite annoying to me."
Beatrice, the Ruler of the Azure Sky, preferred to protect the Demon King's Army from the sky rather than directly confronting humans on the ground.
When she appeared, the sky would turn red as if sunset, and then fireballs would fall.
People called her a catastrophe.
Because she unleashed more widespread attacks than when the Demon King appeared, people's complaints about her were truly immense.
"I didn't like how you kept playing tricks from the sky, claiming to be the Ruler of the Azure Sky."
"Oh, really?"
Beatrice let out a hollow laugh.
"If you didn't like it, why didn't you try to catch me back then?"
"What?"
"You couldn't catch me then, do you think you can catch me now?"
Yuru, who had been trembling at her remark, suddenly calmed down.
"...I can catch you now."
"Huh?"
The moment Beatrice tilted her head, Yuru gestured in the air.
Instantly, a dozen or so Black Demons rushed straight towards Beatrice.
"You're attempting something foolish."
Beatrice slammed her foot hard onto the ground once.
"They're just ground-crawlers, after all."
ROOOOAR!
The ground crumbled, creating a lava path where molten rock flowed.
Several Black Demons fell beneath it.
However, using the other Black Demons struggling in the lava as stepping stones, the rest of them immediately swarmed Beatrice.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
The Black Demons grabbed Beatrice.
"You can't escape anymore!"
As Yuru lowered her hand, the Black Demons pressed down on Beatrice.
"!"
No, they tried to press her down.
"As I thought."
CRUUUUNCH!
The Black Demons were trying their best to crush Beatrice with all their might, but she didn't budge and said.
"This is the limit of the magi you can use."
"What...!"
"You've used too much magi."
For an Archmage, the amount of magi replenished per hour is incomparably greater than that of an ordinary mage.
However, if Grand Magic is used multiple times, the consumption of magi far exceeds the replenishment rate, inevitably requiring a long time to refill.
Just like refilling water from a dam.
"Yuru."
Beatrice's eyes glowed red.
"Die here."
BOOM!
The Black Demons were flung far away by the wave she emitted.
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
The Black Demons rose again, stomping their feet and madly rushing back at her, but it was useless.
Even in her human form, she could freely transform into her dragon form.
CLANG!
Dragon scales covered her body like armor.
The Black Demons threw punches, but they all bounced off.
"Is it my turn?"
CRACK!
Her outstretched arm pierced the abdomen of one of the Black Demons.
Wriggle, wriggle.
From the Black Demon that twitched while held in the air, her arm, or more precisely, the back of her hand, extended giant, white claws like a claw.
"If you thought I'd be laughable on the ground just because I dominate the sky, you're mistaken."
Shaking off the pierced Black Demon as if to discard it, Beatrice swiftly tore apart all the remaining Black Demons with both hands.
"You made a huge misjudgment, Yuru."
"...Beatrice!"
A shout almost like a roar.
Beatrice frowned slightly at the sound wave imbued with magi.
"Give me back my brother!"
At that moment, Yuru rushed towards Beatrice.
She, too, seemed intent on engaging in hand-to-hand combat.
'This...'
Beatrice held her breath, seeing Yuru's blue eyes glow even bluer.
'She's explosively replenishing magi.'
Talent.
The unrivaled genius that all members of the Hero's Party possessed, which others lacked.
That was once again granting Yuru a new awakening as she was pushed to her limit.
'It's unfair.'
Beatrice let out a hollow laugh.
'Humans are always unfair.'
Why was such absurd genius bestowed only upon humans?
Demons had to fall into corruption to grasp such power, but humans were naturally endowed with it.
'That's why I can't give him up even more.'
Clay, a human who was born with overwhelming talent even among such humans.
'He's ours now.'
WHOOSH!
Beatrice engulfed herself in flames.
And then she rushed towards Yuru.
Yuru, seeing Beatrice shrouded in heat, instantly generated extreme cold.
BOOOOOOOOM!
It was the moment when blue and red directly collided and intertwined.
☆
"A-Are you alright?"
Clay was running somewhere.
Neville, who was carried on his back and leaving the battlefield, stammered a question.
"Don't mind it."
Clay answered him in a low voice.
Neville had many questions but couldn't easily open his mouth again.
'Somehow, he's not the person I knew...'
The Hero's demeanor had changed a lot.
The Hero Neville knew was originally bright and cheerful.
He was also a person who always tried to share good things with those around him.
Naturally, he wasn't a man of few words, to the point that people who heard the same things too often would sometimes flee from him.
But now, that same man exuded a heavy atmosphere, like someone with nothing to say.
'Yes, it would be strange if he were the same.'
He didn't know how he was alive after not dying, but it was abundantly clear that he had crossed the threshold of death and returned.
"Sir Hero."
Nevertheless, Neville had to ask Clay.
"Is it true that you came to save me?"
"I told you not to call me Hero."
At that cold voice, Neville flustered and opened his mouth again.
"Ah, I'm, I'm sorry."
"...It's alright. Just call me Clay."
He told him to call him by name, but he couldn't.
Clay was the person Neville respected the most.
Even if he had lost his original self after going through something big, he couldn't put him on the same level as himself.
"Lord Clay."
Neville, addressing him as a compromise, asked a question.
"You didn't come to save me, did you?"
A question that wasn't really a question.
"Then why did you..."
"Because I need you."
"Excuse me?"
"Because I need you."
Neville didn't immediately understand what that meant.
"I don't quite understand what you mean."
All he could do was express his concern to Clay.
"If you take me, Holy Kratia won't stay still."
"Do you trust that Emperor who is so harsh on you?"
"Of course not."
Neville said as if sighing.
"It won't be for my sake. But still, for the nation's prestige, they can't just stand by."
"That's all I'm hoping for."
"Yes?"
Clay explained to Neville, who wore a puzzled expression.
"Since they have prestige, they won't stand by and watch the Crown Prince of Kratia simply die. For a while, anyway."
Only then could Neville understand.
"You're going to take me hostage, aren't you?"
As long as Neville was the Crown Prince of Holy Kratia, no one could let him lose his life.
In other words, it meant Clay could control his range of movement by using Neville.
"The Emperor might just give me up."
"That could happen."
"Then..."
"But Holy Kratia cannot give you up now."
Clay knew Kratia's situation well.
The Emperor of Kratia had made Neville the Crown Prince but had no intention of handing over power.
However, that didn't mean Neville received no power at all.
The moment something happened to the Emperor, all authority would be transferred to him.
As such, the position of Crown Prince itself was nothing short of a seed of ultimate power.
"If you disappear, the Crown Prince's position becomes vacant."
And a new Crown Prince would be needed.
If the Crown Prince were kidnapped and died, Holy Kratia's prestige would first be broken, and using that opportunity, the collateral branches of Kratia's Emperor would begin to run wild.
"The Emperor of Kratia may seem to hold absolute power now, but everyone is just hiding their own strengths."
The Emperor of Kratia's obsession with absolute power was, ironically, because there was a considerable possibility of losing that power.
"You have a greater purpose to the Emperor of Kratia than you think."
Clay glanced at Neville.
"You don't know it because the Emperor tried to make it seem otherwise."
At those words, Neville swallowed dryly.
'Deception, then?'
It meant that while the Emperor acted as if he didn't care much for the Crown Prince, he had definitely taken steps to ensure Neville maintained that position.
For absolute power to be maintained, it would be helpful for someone who isn't greedy for power to stably occupy the position of Crown Prince.
'This can't be.'
Despite the Emperor's meticulous calculations, Neville had known nothing until now.
No, he hadn't wanted to know.
He hadn't wanted to do anything that would displease the Emperor.
"Then Lord Clay..."
"I want to use you."
Clay said honestly.
"To be frank, it's closer to asking for your help."
"My help?"
"Of course, it doesn't matter if you don't want to help. I'll manage on my own."
There was not a trace of hesitation in Clay as he declared this.
'Indeed, he's not the person I knew...'
What on earth had happened?
He, who had only lived by the title of Crown Prince, didn't fully know how Clay met his end.
"Neville, will you help me?"
Before his thoughts could organize, Clay spoke.
"I have no intention of letting those who killed me live on."
Neville didn't know how to answer.
He had changed.
Since he had changed, he was no longer the Hero.
Not being the Hero, he was a person who didn't need to be respected.
Nevertheless,
"...Can I be of help?"
Because Neville still believed in Clay.
"If I can be of help, I will join you."
He decided not to doubt the path Clay was taking.
It was also an act of atonement.
For himself, who had done nothing.
"Then I ask for your help."
However, for Clay, such belief was no longer something to be protected.