Chapter 55. The First Hero (49)
RUMBLE!
The ground shook so violently that it seemed as though the earth itself were trembling.
But the knights stationed on the walls remained calm.
I'm not shaking.
The knights who had eaten Seongchan's Wild Pig Soup of Courage were free from the anxiety they would normally feel when facing demons.
Instead, they were filled with a fierce determination to destroy their enemies.
"Kyakakakaka!"
"Humans! We've come for you!"
The demons revealed themselves.
Despite their terrifying appearance and overwhelming numbers, the knights maintained their composure.
Confidence flowed through their bodies.
"Everyone, take your positions!"
At the command of Tern, the Knight Commander of the Terk Kingdom, the knights moved in perfect order.
They lined up along the top of the castle walls.
Starting from the main gate, they spread out in both directions at regular intervals and assumed their positions.
"Our enemies are demons!"
"Prepare horizontal strikes!"
Every knight on the walls adopted the stance for a horizontal sword strike.
Aura began pouring from their blades.
It flowed outward in thick streams.
To advance from soldier to knight, a person generally needed at least intermediate-level aura proficiency.
Most of the knights who had remained in the Terk Kingdom possessed advanced-level aura proficiency.
They were skilled enough to maintain aura in the shape of a sword when concentrating it around their weapons.
Yet the knights were deliberately producing Aura Swords at only the beginner level.
"We'll begin from the right! Prepare!"
At Tern's command, the knights prepared to swing from right to left with perfect precision.
Their movements were so synchronized that they seemed to share a single mind.
The unstable aura surrounding their blades began reacting.
BZZZZZZT!
The aura that had been pouring from their swords with wasteful intensity suddenly connected.
It formed a single continuous line.
Then that line expanded into the shape of an enormous sword.
The Giant Aura Sword was complete.
All preparations were finished.
"Kill all the humans!"
"Give us your food, you filthy humans!"
Winged demons flew overhead.
On the ground, demons rushed forward in such numbers that not even a single patch of green grass was visible.
The demons entered the knights' attack range.
"Kill them all! Cut them down before a single demon gets any closer!"
Tern gave the order to attack.
The knights began their horizontal strikes.
The Giant Aura Sword moved slowly but relentlessly toward the enemy.
SHHHHHHH!
Creating a Giant Aura Sword was far more difficult than producing an ordinary Aura Sword.
Thousands of knights needed to maintain it together, sharing the same intent and timing.
"Hey! You! Lower your aura a little!"
"Why don't you increase yours?!"
Discord began spreading among the knights.
"Do not lower your aura!"
Tern immediately corrected them.
"If you can't increase your output, switch places with another knight!"
The knights waiting in reserve stepped forward.
They replaced the exhausted knights who could no longer maintain their aura output.
That allowed the Giant Aura Sword to remain intact.
It swung from right to left.
Then from left to right.
Countless demons were swept away by its enormous horizontal strikes.
Flap! Flap!
But the winged demons flew above the attack as though mocking the Giant Aura Sword.
They crossed over the walls and entered the kingdom.
There were archers stationed along the defenses, but there weren't enough of them to shoot down every flying demon.
Lord Vantart was among those who slipped through.
Judging by his direction, he was heading toward Kosdal.
Tern could only watch.
The walls must not fall.
His duty was to defend the castle walls.
Together with the knights, Tern continued killing the demons attempting to climb over them.
Lord Vantart looked down.
The person he needed to kill was standing directly beneath him.
"I was worried you'd hide yourself away inside the castle."
Vantart grinned at Haiman.
"But how convenient. The man I came to kill has walked straight to me!"
"That's my line!"
Haiman glared up at him.
"An uninvited guest interrupts my meal and then starts spouting nonsense. You must've lost your mind!"
Haiman pulled his personal hammer from his highest-grade Rethion Subspace Pouch.
At the same time, he concentrated mana into his Leg Machine.
I've corrected all five defects.
Mana now flowed smoothly through the circuits.
Flames burst from the soles of the Leg Machine.
Haiman was ready to fly straight toward Lord Vantart.
He needed only to launch himself.
Then someone grabbed his shoulder.
Grab!
"Your Majesty Haiman, take my sister and get as far away from here as possible."
"What are you talking about, Sir Kosdal?!"
"Darling! Didn't you make the Leg Machine so you could escape?"
Serina sounded desperate.
"Last time, you insisted that you couldn't run away because you were the King. You stayed to fight, and look what happened!"
Haiman was normally a rational and composed man.
But there were situations in which he lost his composure.
Whenever the Terk Kingdom was in danger, his emotions tended to overwhelm his judgment.
"But still!"
"Darling!"
Haiman tightened his grip on his hammer.
Then he looked down at his legs.
Clack. Clack.
The Leg Machine was ready to launch at any moment.
It was because of this personality of mine that Cha Hyeonwoo had to save me.
After Haiman lost his legs, Lord Vantart had immediately aimed his sword at his neck.
Cha Hyeonwoo had intercepted the attack.
Before his death, Cha Hyeonwoo had asked Haiman not to hate the heroes and not to withdraw support from the Rice Ball Guild.
Haiman had honored that request by continuing to support the guild.
"Serina."
Serina stepped into Haiman's arms.
"I leave this to you."
Haiman looked toward Nir.
"Sir Nir, assist Sir Kosdal."
"I am Lady Serina's personal guard."
"Nir, obeying the King's orders is a knight's duty."
"I am Lady Serina's personal guard."
Nir rejected both Kosdal's and Haiman's attempts to persuade him.
"Sir Nir."
Serina looked directly at him.
"If you don't help Sir Kosdal defeat Vantart, I'll stay right here."
"Then I will fight to protect Lady Serina and fulfill my master's wishes."
Only after Serina spoke did Nir finally agree.
Vantart had listened to the entire conversation.
He drew his sword.
His face was filled with rage.
Vantart stood more than three meters tall.
His sword alone was approximately two meters long.
Purple aura gathered around the blade as he prepared to cut down his enemies.
"How dare you act so casually in front of me? Have you all gone mad?!"
BANG-BANG!
Aura and demonic energy collided.
"You talk far too much for a Lord who doesn't even have three horns!"
"Do you have any idea how difficult it is to reach the level of three horns? Even the Demon King has only three!"
"That's because the Demon King is the strongest of the Lords! You truly are an idiot!"
Kosdal's sword intercepted Vantart's.
Shock waves of aura and demonic energy spread in every direction.
People caught in the waves were thrown off their feet.
More shock waves followed.
Kosdal and Vantart continued exchanging attacks while arguing over which of them understood demons better.
"Let's go while they're distracted."
Haiman held Serina close.
"Thornjer said they were after the Black Flame Egg. We need to make sure the demons can't reach it."
"If things become dangerous, you have to run away immediately."
Haiman fell silent at Serina's words.
Seeing his expression, Serina rubbed her face against his chest.
"You're impossible."
BZZZT! BANG!
Haiman released mana through the Leg Machine.
Carrying Serina, he flew toward the underground chamber beneath Terk Castle where the Black Flame Egg was stored.
I wonder if he's already flying this way.
Seongchan had used the tortilla wrap to help Haiman understand the problem with his Leg Machine.
After gaining that insight, Haiman should've corrected the defects.
Now he was probably flying toward this underground chamber at full speed.
If he hadn't fixed the Leg Machine, Terk Castle would've been as good as destroyed.
Seongchan knew what happened when Haiman fought Lord Vantart without completing the Leg Machine.
Vantart would take Serina hostage.
Haiman would lose one of his arms in the process of defeating the Demon Lord.
The shock of those events would leave him unable to properly govern the Terk Kingdom.
And an enraged Kosdal would slaughter the demons.
As the demon population rapidly decreased, the Flames of Destruction released by the Black Flame Egg would become even more powerful.
The egg would break through its glass case.
Its flames would engulf Terk Castle, turning the entire area into a blazing pit of destruction.
The Terk Kingdom would lose half its territory to the disaster.
That was the outcome Seongchan remembered from a regression in which Haiman had failed to complete the Leg Machine.
"I didn't think I'd need to use this method so soon, but it should be fine if I hold the ice this time."
While Seongchan recalled what had happened to Haiman in a previous regression, Thornjer came up with another idea.
Despite his panic at seeing the smoke, he pulled a fresh pair of Ice Dragon gloves from his highest-grade Rethion Subspace Pouch.
Watching the thoroughly prepared Thornjer, Seongchan shook his head inwardly.
There's no point getting your hopes up.
Thornjer believed his first gloves had burned simply because he'd touched the egg and allowed the flames to reach them.
But the new Ice Dragon gloves immediately began smoking too.
The ice melted.
The Black Flames grew stronger.
And they continued intensifying until they were completely uncontrollable.
[Huh?!]
[He disappeared!]
Count Thornjer was no longer there.
The Black Flame Egg fell to the ground.
It began melting the floor while Black Flames poured into the surrounding area.
[Should I spray water on it?]
There's no need for your water, Ella.
[It's fire, so should I try to control it?]
If you want to experience the taste of Black Flames... No, the taste of the Flames of Destruction, go ahead.
If received an image from Seongchan.
In it, the Flames of Destruction spread across the spirit's entire body.
If struggled in agony before being forced to return to the Spirit Realm.
[That's so mean!]
A few flaming tears trickled from If's eyes.
Just as one of those tears reached the floor, a voice sounded behind them.
"Hero Kim Seongchan! What happened here?!"
"Darling, you're getting too excited. I'm sure there's an explanation."
Serina tried to calm him.
"Isn't that right, Hero Seongchan?"
Haiman was gripping his hammer.
He looked ready to charge down the stairs and attack at any moment.
Serina was using her entire body to hold him back.
Count Thornjer, who had been holding the Black Flame Egg, was nowhere to be seen.
He had vanished without a trace.
And now Seongchan was being treated as the thief.
He's watching us.
Seongchan knew Thornjer was observing the situation from somewhere nearby.
Thornjer possessed certain skills.
He'd remained calm even when the water had risen around him precisely because he had those abilities.
He's using the A-rank skill Shadow Concealment and the S-rank skill Shadow Movement.
There were shadows throughout the underground chamber.
If Thornjer wanted to, he could've used Shadow Movement to travel along the walls and escape upstairs.
But Seongchan was certain that he hadn't left.
What happens next depends on how I respond.
If Seongchan mentioned Thornjer to Haiman, Thornjer would immediately regard him as an enemy.
He would then inform the Highs Merchant Company that Seongchan had spread false information.
All three pairs of eyes were fixed on Seongchan.
"I happened to be walking around when I found my way into the underground chamber."
"Do you seriously expect me to believe that?!"
"And when I happened to arrive here, I found the Black Flame Egg melting the floor."
"What are you planning to do about this?!"
Haiman's anger intensified.
"I spent an entire year researching and creating the mana circuits needed to contain that egg! It took another year to manufacture the special glass case!"
"That's exactly why."
"What did you say?"
"That's exactly why I happened to come down to this underground chamber."
Haiman's expression froze.
Clack. Clack.
The Leg Machine made its distinctive mechanical sounds as Haiman descended the stairs.
He stopped directly in front of Seongchan.
Serina stood beside him.
She gave Seongchan an awkward smile, clearly hoping Haiman would calm down.
I was the reason Kosdal came here in the first place, and I helped Haiman complete the Leg Machine.
Seongchan understood Serina's position.
He understood Haiman's position too.
As King of the Terk Kingdom, Haiman wasn't someone who would overlook an act that threatened his kingdom.
It was only natural for him to tighten his grip on his hammer and study Seongchan with sharp eyes while deciding whether he was an ally or an enemy.
[Isn't this going too far?!]
[This makes me feel even worse than imagining myself being defeated by the Black Flames and sent back to the Spirit Realm!]
Ella's reaction was understandable.
If, on the other hand, still seemed trapped in its feelings of inadequacy after imagining itself being consumed by a fire it couldn't overcome.
Normally, it would already have asked whether it should produce flames to stop Haiman.
"Jokes will not work on me."
Haiman's voice was stern.
"You have accomplished a great deal, but that doesn't mean I can overlook what has happened here."
His judgment was reasonable.
The Black Flame Egg possessed enough power to burn Terk Castle to the ground.
Unfortunately, he was accusing the wrong person.
The real culprit was probably watching from somewhere in the shadows.
"Watch and judge for yourself."
Seongchan walked forward with light footsteps.
They were accusing him of theft because they didn't understand what had happened.
He simply needed to resolve the problem.
Even with Black Flames pouring from the egg, Seongchan reached toward it.
This was the moment he'd been waiting for.
Let's begin again, Rena.
Black mana, refined through the Chaos Dragon's Mana Cultivation Technique, flowed from Seongchan's hand into the Black Flame Egg.
