NOVEL NEXT Chapter 266
“Did I output too much?”
The area around me was devastated.
The power of Lucius Blaster, or the Hero’s Cannon aimed at the sky, was stronger than I had imagined.
‘Thanks to Asydia.’
No matter how much I gathered the Holy Swords, no matter how much the Spirits sent me their power, if my body couldn’t handle that output, it was all meaningless.
In that sense, Asydia’s physical form was nearly ‘perfect.’
Of course, the magic core formed like a ring around Asydia’s stopped heart, the magic cores of the Demon Kings certainly played a role.
Still, the strength of the output was definitely thanks to Asydia.
“Amazing.”
Even though she’s my daughter, her body was strong enough that it wouldn’t be strange if she became a ‘Goddess’ in this new world.
“What do you think?”
The surroundings were in ruins.
The recoil from firing the Hero’s Cannon hit the ground, and it was as if a meteor had fallen, leaving the area scorched.
The Inquisition members disappeared without a trace, and the air was filled with nothing but dust.
The Papal Office was gone.
At least a radius of 1 km was destroyed as if a magical bomb had exploded, and the only debris left was the ground I stood on and the front.
“…….”
In front of the intact statue of the Goddess, a blonde Lucifer stood still with her arms crossed in an X shape.
While magic exploded in all directions from the recoil of the Hero’s Cannon, Lucifer did not move, keeping her position.
“Impressive. You really want to protect the Moon Goddess that much?”
“…I was born from her. She is my mother and my goddess.”
Thud.
Lucifer knelt down on the ground.
“I was cast out of the Celestial Realm. I was forcibly banished by the Celestial Race. I had to absorb demon energy after falling into a trap, and because the demon energy seeped into my wings, I was called a Fallen Angel.”
“Is that why the Moon Goddess did not withdraw her divine power from you?”
“…….”
A trap.
I didn’t know the details, but considering Lucifer’s nature…
“Did you end up tainting yourself while trying to save your subordinates?”
“……!!”
“You were really a noble Archangel, weren’t you? What are your subordinates doing now?”
“……I don’t know.”
Lucifer looked up at the sky.
“The fallen angels that come to the Demon World are all those who have fallen by their own choosing. The ones I recruited were those who underwent the same experiences as I did. We wished for revenge on those who trapped us. Those who made us ‘fallen angels’… haha.”
Lucifer’s body started to crumble.
“Now that seems meaningless.”
The moment the Celestial Gate hanging in the sky was destroyed by the Hero’s Cannon, Lucifer’s body, linked to that gate, began to collapse.
“…Was it revenge I wanted, or did I simply want to meet her again? It’s been far too long. I don’t know.”
“I think I know.”
I approached Lucifer.
“Revenge on those who made a fool of you, and also meeting the ones you desire. Is there anything wrong with wanting both?”
“…You speak easily.”
“It’s only a matter of perspective.”
I reached out my hand toward Lucifer.
“I’ll carry out that revenge and that wish. If it were Archangel Luciel, I wouldn’t know, but as Demon King Lucifer, it’s a different story.”
I lightly punched her shoulder.
“After everything is over, let’s go do some blacksmithing together—me, you, and Satan.”
“…It’s awkward to hear that from that body of yours.”
“Is appearance really that important? Blacksmithing is what matters.”
“…At least in that moment, I was able to cast aside such agony and distress. That’s nice.”
Lucifer took my hand.
She tried to grab it.
If only her fingers wouldn’t shatter like sand at this moment.
“…With only the power of mana, which has no physical body, I won’t be able to hold on any longer. I held on for quite a while. The demon energy has been decreasing since the moment I was summoned.”
Even Demon King Lucifer would have experienced the same when summoned to the Intermediate Realm.
The loss of mana.
Just like all Demon Kings, she was likely on the verge of becoming Zephar’s slave due to losing her mana.
“Bel Pegor.”
With only her wrist remaining, Lucifer reached out to me.
“Take me to the Moon Goddess. If you can’t call her here—”
“I know.”
I knelt before Lucifer and buried her face in my chest.
“I will carry your will. It’s good that you caught the last train. Everyone… is waiting.”
“…Ah, so that was it.”
The moment Lucifer felt the magic cores contained in my heart, she shed tears and gave a bitter smile.
“You’ve thought everything through.”
“Of course. Everything is going according to plan… even now.”
“…Right. I was worried for no reason. I thought you were judging like a human being, having taken shelter in a human body, but it’s a relief… but.”
Lucifer smiled widely at me.
“I’m a little sorry.”
What should I say about that face?
“If I had known you had such a plan, I wouldn’t have gone this far.”
“What? Hey, what do you mean…?”
That expression was like…
As if, while doing blacksmithing in the Deep Dark Council, I had hung a heavy plate on a bar, attempting a chin-up, and then dropped it with a thud, shattering the ground.
“It was the best for me, but for you, it’s the worst.”
That was the kind of expression it had.
“…You opened the gates of heaven.”
“To another place? Where?”
“…I don’t know either.”
Lucifer hung her head with a weary expression.
“The opening of the gates was left to the humans in the Intermediate Realm.”
Hisss.
“Watch my back, Demon King.”
Lucifer vanished into mist.
What remained before me was only the yellow orb of Lucifer’s magic core.
“……Ha.”
I quickly gathered the magic core and plunged the Holy Sword of the Earth into the ground, placing my hand on the earth.
“Hey, no way….”
As I swept through the veins of the continent with the Holy Sword of the Earth, I simultaneously searched through memories from Lucifer’s magic core.
“…Damn.”
The gates coming down from heaven.
“Martyrdom….”
It wasn’t just one.
Now, they were increasing in real time.
*
Shuffle, shuffle.
A place once called Hero’s Village.
Now, in the desolate ruins where people’s footsteps had ceased, a priest knelt in the center, drawing a circle like a magic circle.
“To the Moon Goddess.”
Rustle.
The man removed the hood of his priestly robe.
His hair was a shimmering blue, and divine power scattered from his head.
“I was bald since birth. And I resented you.”
The man, the Cardinal, began to confess his faith.
“I was teased by other children since I was young and lived with my hat always pressed down. I wore another person’s hair on my head as if it were my own.”
The Cardinal wept.
“Ah, Moon Goddess. How much have you despised me all this time? How foolish I must have seemed to resent why God did not listen to my words, lacking faith?”
The Cardinal’s hair began to shine.
“Now, I believe in your existence. I believe in the miracle you gave me, the miracle you sent through Apostle Luciel.”
The hair that should have fallen began to rise as if blown by the wind, and the Cardinal spread his arms wide.
“I have lived selfishly. Even now, I live selfishly. I survive receiving your miracle, receiving hair for myself.”
The Cardinal shook his head firmly.
“Now it’s different. I will sacrifice this body to give this miracle to all… the poor people of this land!”
As the Cardinal extended his hand forward, a sword shining with divine power appeared in his grasp.
“More miracles to this land! More faith to this land!”
The face reflected in the blue light of the divine sword was not that of an old and ugly figure, but his appearance when he was the youngest.
“And to the children born from me.”
In that very instant.
“…To my children, who will be born without hair, grant them a prosperous and brilliant future.”
In the reflection of the blade, the face of a father was shown, not a believer.
“[Deus vult]!”
Since the Moon Goddess desires it.
“I dedicate this, Di Emery’s body!”
Phwoooosh!!
“To all those who are bald in this land, a warm light of warmth!!”
Phwaaaaargh!!
“And thus, in this land….”
The Cardinal stabbed his abdomen.
“May the glorious miracle of God fill….”
Crimson blood spurted from his tightly closed lips, and the Cardinal trembled, collapsing forward.
“To all… the light of the Moon Goddess….”
The dying words, akin to a will, scattered like ash in the wind.
Bammmmm!!
The Cardinal’s body transformed into blue light, scattering like ash, and his blood began to shimmer as it soaked into the sanctuary he unfolded.
And.
“…Let there be light.”
Bammmmm!!
A pillar of blue light shot up towards the sky.
That pillar was aimed at none other than the blue moon twinkling in the night sky.
Celestial Realm.
*
“Ha.”
The gates of heaven began to open across the world.
Simultaneously, and in a flurry, the gates opened.
There was only one way to stop them.
“…Strike the main base.”
No matter how much the Celestials aimed at the Intermediate Realm, they had a major weakness against Angels.
“…Huh.”
Though it’s according to plan.
If I were to use my last resort, then I’d no longer be in this land…
“What, it’ll work out somehow.”
Other humans honestly wouldn’t know well.
“Lucius will do well. For sure.”
Since he’s my disciple, I’ll leave everything to Lucius.
“…Even without me.”
Now, he has grown up to be a proper Hero.