Demon Lord, the carriage is ready.
Demon Lord, what are you doing, Demon Lord?
In the end, the Demon Lord staggered a few steps and collapsed onto the deserted street, the inexplicable sound of the “Flower of Hope” ringing out—so don’t stop now.
At this moment, the Demon Lord’s castle was in utter chaos, a complete mess. What had been painstakingly built was now reduced to ruins by the clash between two. Sigg, battered and broken among the shattered walls, lay face down, motionless. His black suit was stained crimson with blood, his back punctured with several large holes that spurted blood like fountains. A white flag was stuck in his rear, and a single finger stretched forward, bleeding, as he kept muttering, “So don’t stop now, don’t stop.”
Echoing in his ears were the lofty words filled with disdain and contempt.
“Never thought you’d still be alive, Demon Lord Hakimi. But you’ve become pitifully weak—what a bore. It was a huge mistake not recognizing you earlier.”
The person who slowly descended from midair beside Sigg was naturally Gerard. Amidst his madness, there was a trace of rationality. His figure was clean and sharp; his sword still keen, untouched by any wounds despite the battle.
At this moment, he was dignified and imposing, stern and unsmiling, his eyes fixed solely on Emilia. Nothing else mattered. His previous despair and pleas were just fleeting memories, not worth mentioning anymore.
The reason he stopped instead of pressing the attack was because the despicable methods Sigg used were still fresh in his mind, lodged like a fishbone in his throat. Not only did Sigg exploit Emilia’s love for him, but he had also manipulated her through some secret art.
She no longer loves me—that has to be Sigg’s doing.
Raising his hand, he began to reprimand him. With victory in hand, he allowed himself some leisure, venting his anger verbally before finishing things off.
Though he hadn’t yet pinpointed Emilia’s location, she couldn’t escape. He promised that. Catching up might take some effort, but it was nothing more than a game of passion.
He had indeed planned to find her first, barely able to contain his urgency. But the Demon Lord blocked him, and after a few words, he lost his temper—his face flushing with rage, compounded by old grudges and new wounds.
He intended to offer his very life as a gift to Emilia.
Hopefully, she’d like it—this was his sincere heart.
After a long silence, the fallen Sigg finally responded, slow and deliberate, his throat hoarse, probably recovering from the recent crushing blow. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have resorted to such a pitiful response.
“I was wrong, Lord Gerard. I was blind. Please spare me. I swear I won’t dare do it again—really.”
Weakly rolling over, he looked up at the bright blue sky, gasping for breath. His trembling hand reached inside his pants and fished out a mysterious object.
He explained with sharp, eager eyes, afraid of missing anything, his gaze as determined as if joining a party.
“This is an item to summon Emilia. Just blow hard on it, and she’ll appear before you. I promise.”
“Oh? Interesting. If it’s true, I might consider sparing you, Demon Lord Hakimi.”
Without suspicion—after all, everyone wants to live—Gerard took it and blew into it forcefully, exhaling with the hope of proving his sincerity over this time.
But, as expected, the girl didn’t appear. Instead, the balloon grew bigger and revealed Sigg’s figure. At that moment, Gerard’s mouth was clamped over that indescribable area of the balloon as he kept blowing.
Sigg lay on the ground grinning mischievously.
“Brother, brother, do I taste good? If you like it, suck a little longer. No need to comment—I’m shy, you know. Don’t worry, I don’t discriminate against Nantong.”
With that, he recovered enough to stand again and quickly retreated, putting distance between them. His bones cracked ominously; his whole body looked terrible, organs and bones tangled in a chaotic stew.
He felt like he was about to die and silently cursed.
But he’d lasted ten minutes, far better than expected.
Giving up… that word wasn’t in his dictionary. Running away, yes.
“You’ve successfully angered me, Hakimi. You really won’t take the path to heaven when it’s open, and you break into hell with no way out.”
Humiliated by Gerard’s words, his fury flared anew. The urge to kill surged forth as he lost all patience for games. His chest heaved, face flushed, and with a fierce motion, he shook off the balloon perfectly mimicking Sigg’s figure.
He stomped on it, shattering it with a blast of air.
“I was going to spare you, but it seems unnecessary now. I’ll finish you within a minute, then find Emilia who’s been waiting for me. I’ll bring her back to the Empire, where we’ll live in love forever, have children. She must’ve said those things to me because you threatened her. She’s always had me in her heart, for me…”
Muttering to himself, he hypnotized his mind to boost his confidence, convinced that everything was within reach and that the world revolved around him.
Sigg couldn’t help but scoff. Young people’s fantasies were normal, but Gerard was drifting far from reality. He shook his head gently, a mocking smile forming as he tapped his temple.
“No, Gerard, after all these years as a hero, your brain still doesn’t work right? Has your muscle crushed it? Do you even know what you’ve done? How much harm you’ve caused her? But I don’t see a shred of remorse in you. From start to finish, it’s like you thought, ‘I love her,’ but you don’t care about Emilia’s feelings or thoughts. You only care about yourself. You treat her like your personal property—call her when you want, toss her aside when you don’t. You crave her only when it suits you.”
He paused before delivering the fatal blow with a raised brow.
“To me, you’re just a selfish guy who thinks everything revolves around him. You want something, you take it; can’t have it, you throw a tantrum. I don’t know if you really love Emilia—I only know you hurt and feel miserable after losing her, only then remembering her. That’s not love, just dependency. If you truly love Emilia and want her happiness, you should let her go. Stop chasing her. Your obsession only disgusts her. Do you understand that?”
“It’s okay if you don’t understand. In one word: you’re just a spoiled child who runs to his mother when things go wrong. If she’s not around, you hide like a turtle. But the worst part? You’re born a hero… This world really isn’t fair.”
Gerard, unable to bear it, snapped, yelling as if hit at a sore spot. Drawing his sword, he slashed down with such force the space seemed to tear.
“Shut up, you opportunistic bastard! You know nothing, so don’t speak nonsense. Emilia and I have been together for so many years, childhood sweethearts, destined for each other. These hardships are just our little quirks. You jealous fool, go to hell.”
Sigg was rendered speechless. Talking to him was like mixing facts with guesses, reason with friendship, the present with the past—a tangled mess that left no room for words.
But it served to buy time, which was the point. Emilia should be far from here by now, though it still wasn’t enough.
…More drastic measures were needed.
Dodging skillfully to avoid fatal damage—he knew he couldn’t beat Gerard in a straight fight—Sigg didn’t claim some heroic comeback for love or money.
As expected, a few minutes later he was defeated again, battered and broken, leaning weakly against the wall, half his face crushed. Still, he pretended to be at ease, standing without showing weakness—anything less was out of character.
The ground was littered with resurrection totems, evidence of what had just transpired. These totems were as precious as relics from the Kingdom of Lu.
Fishing through his pockets, he deliberately dropped a button.
Gerard, highly alert and in relentless pursuit, noticed immediately. Just as he was about to crush it to prevent any surprises, Sigg’s sudden shout by his ear stopped him.
Gerard had activated his True Eye, eyes glowing with divine light, piercing and unyielding—no one could deceive him anymore.
“Don’t touch that, stop, Gerard.”
“Oh? You seem anxious, scared even. You’re not pretending—could this be about Emilia?”
Using the True Eye, Gerard scrutinized Sigg closely, confirming the information he sought. Without hesitation, he pressed the button.
“Just as I thought, it’s related to Emilia. Excellent.”
With those words, the button’s effect triggered, and the Demon Lord’s castle was instantly sealed off, trapping the two inside and excluding everyone else.
This airtight, powerful barrier shattered the hero’s seal, darkening the surroundings, suffocating the space. It was the culmination of the efforts of over a dozen Demon Lords, naturally overpowering the hero.
Sigg shrugged indifferently, as if returning home. He hadn’t finished speaking before, deliberately pausing to bait Gerard.
He knew Gerard’s True Eye saw through all illusions and used that impatience against him.
“You pressed it. Next life, we’re stuck here forever.”
As for why it involved Emilia? She was his woman. Protecting her from your torment—that was a man’s responsibility.
Strangely, he wondered if he had forgiven her after all. Such thoughts came near death. His eyes held a complex mix of emotions, unknown even to himself.
Still, he felt some guilt toward the demon tribe, those bastards… but the answer came from within—he’d done it all for his brother.
Despite all that happened—hate, blame, curses—he’d always had her in his heart, always thought of her.
Now, it was for his brother and her, to the very end, unwavering.
Thinking this, he scolded himself silently. What a damn fool. Just a man deluding himself—Sigg was nothing but that.
The inner turmoil eased considerably.
“So don’t waste my goodwill, Emilia. You must be happy, even if it’s not with me. I’m tired anyway.”
Love talk isn’t for me.
I’d rather fight—fight to the end. But…
His eyes dropped, a faint, bitter smile forming. He strangely didn’t want to die, really…
But there was no other way. This sealed any chance of escape. Death was all that awaited him.
With his thoughts done, he assumed a stance and beckoned to the shocked Gerard with a motionless face—no intention of giving up.
After all, a trapped beast fights harder.
Let the thousand-year grudge between Demon Lord and Hero end here.