What in the world is going on?
It was a situation where no matter what I did, there seemed to be no answer, so with no other choice, I desperately prayed to the god I had so deeply distrusted for help.
Then I heard a voice, and I followed it.
And then the holy sword began to shine?
But I’m a demon?!
‘Why is this glowing…?’
I stared blankly at the glowing holy sword. My mind was blank.
The situation was so strange that I couldn’t think straight.
Could I be hallucinating? I slapped my cheek.
“Ouch.”
My cheek was burning hot.
‘What is this… what is this… why on earth? Why?? Huh?’
My head was filled with nothing but questions.
I couldn’t understand why the holy sword was reacting. So I just stood there with a dazed expression, not knowing what to do.
But that didn’t last long. I began to pull myself together.
‘No, this is not the time to be shocked.’
The most important thing right now is to wake Reina. And for that, I need a huge amount of energy to use magic.
So I prayed, and when I came to my senses, there was an enormous energy source right in front of me.
Did the god grant my wish, or is this some kind of trick?
No matter how much I think about it, I can’t figure out why this is happening, but the reason doesn’t matter right now.
What’s most important to me right now is:
‘Can I use it?’
That’s all.
I carefully tried to harness the energy emanating from the holy sword.
It felt like touching something unknown, so I was extremely cautious.
I absorbed just a tiny bit.
Fortunately, since I had almost exhausted my demonic energy, it was easy to accept it into my body.
And then I murmured.
“[Thunderbolt]”
Crackle!
At that moment, an electric current flowed from my fingertips.
When I saw it, I couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across my face.
There was no difference from when I used demonic energy.
Everything worked as it should. The only notable difference was:
Unlike the dark purple energy of demonic power, this energy was pure white.
But other than that, everything was the same as using demonic energy.
Which means:
‘With this!’
I can use magic strong enough to destroy that spell.
“[Thunderbolt]!”
I shouted confidently as I looked at the moon.
Crackle! I began to hear the sound of electricity sparking in front of me.
I checked the holy sword. It was still emitting divine power endlessly, like an inexhaustible spring.
Normally, this would look like a despairing situation, but not now.
It was hopeful.
I poured more energy into it, shaping the formless electricity into an arrow.
And then I murmured.
“[Amplify]”
Crackle!
The electric arrow began to grow even larger.
I imagined a giant bow capable of shooting down that moon.
The moment I visualized it, a glowing, massive bow appeared in front of the arrow, consuming a large amount of magical power.
Though I felt lightheaded for a moment due to the sudden drain, I leaned on the holy sword to keep myself from collapsing.
I clenched my teeth and absorbed more power from the sword to make up for the loss.
I imagined the giant bow pulling the arrow into place.
And my imagination became reality.
The arrow of electricity was drawn onto the bow of light.
All the preparations to cast the spell were complete.
Now, it was time to increase the firepower.
I absorbed more energy from the holy sword.
Like a starving beast ravenously devouring its prey, I greedily and relentlessly absorbed power.
The holy sword continued to provide.
The more I demanded, the more it gave.
I began channeling all the energy I absorbed into the arrow.
As I infused more energy into the arrow, it grew larger and longer.
The strain on my body also increased.
As the arrow grew in size, controlling it became excruciatingly painful, as though my head was burning from the inside.
But I continued.
If I couldn’t destroy the grand spell with this magic, everything would end.
That thought terrified me.
So I endured.
The holy sword’s power was endless, and as long as I held out, I could cast an even stronger and more powerful spell.
I pushed on with the goal of destroying the grand spell.
And the toll of that effort began to show in my body.
Blood dripped from my nose.
My vision turned red.
Something sticky trickled from my eyes.
My arm, which held the holy sword, trembled without rest.
My legs wobbled, barely holding me upright. If not for the holy sword acting as a support, I would have collapsed already.
My body was far from normal, pushed beyond its limits and whipped further.
But the thought of stopping never crossed my mind.
Whether it was greed or anxiety, I didn’t know.
I just felt I had to keep pouring in power.
And so, I let my guard down for a moment.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to say I lost hold of the mental focus I had been maintaining.
Because I had been absorbing divine power, the seal I had placed to block the demonic energy within me cracked open slightly.
‘Damn!’
By the time I realized it, it was already too late.
The demonic energy I had been suppressing mixed into the magic.
It wasn’t much—just a small handful compared to the divine power.
But the effect of that demonic energy was anything but small.
Demonic energy and divine power share one fundamental trait:
They repel each other like the poles of a magnet.
The dark purple energy coiled around the pure white energy, climbing along it. And then the magic began to visibly destabilize.
“Argh!”
And the strain on my body started to increase as well.
It felt like my body was about to burst.
It felt like holding a bomb just before it exploded.
That wasn’t far from the truth.
If I lost focus for even a moment, the spell would collapse.
And then, this immense power with nowhere to go would explode like a bomb, obliterating everything in the vicinity.
So I clenched my teeth hard enough to feel they might crack. I strained to control the spell, my eyes wide open in focus.
Did my efforts pay off?
The purple and white energies, which had been repelling each other, began to merge. And as the two energies combined, the arrow they formed started to emit a black light.
‘What is this?’
The power of the spell had increased.
For a moment, I wondered how this had happened, but I had no time to dwell on it.
I didn’t know how, but somehow the energies stabilized, and the spell was no longer on the verge of collapse.
Now, I could release it.
I lifted the holy sword and pointed it at the moon. With great effort, I whispered:
“Go.”
The taut white bowstring released, and the black arrow shot toward the sky.
The black arrow vanished from sight.
Its dark color blended into the night, hiding its form.
For a brief moment, unease crept in. What if it failed?
But then—
Boom!
A thunderous roar filled the air.
Crack… crackle… crack.
Cracks began to spread across the surface of the moon.
From those cracks, light started to seep out. Like an egg hatching, the fissures continued to expand.
And when the crack that started at the top reached the very bottom—
The loudest sound I’d ever heard reverberated through the air.
The night broke apart.
And then—
Light greeted us.
The sky turned a faint reddish hue.
I gazed at the sky for a moment before turning my head in Reina’s direction.
Then, I began to walk.
The heavy holy sword was no longer needed, so I let it go.
A clattering sound echoed as it hit the ground.
Abandoning the most sacred relic on the ground would be blasphemous for a devout believer.
But I didn’t care.
I took a labored step forward.
My shoes dragged along the ground in an unsteady gait.
Still, I pushed forward with all my strength.
It was the best I could do, and I had to check on Reina as soon as possible.
But my body seemed to have reached its limit.
The ground seemed to rise toward me.
Thud.
My body collapsed.
My mind told me to move forward, but my body refused to obey. All I could do was reach out with my hand.
From a distance, I saw Bliss rushing toward me with a worried expression.
Normally, my gaze would have shifted to her as she approached.
But my narrowing vision didn’t focus on her.
My eyes were fixed on one spot.
Behind her, Reina opened her eyes.
Those red eyes she had kept hidden now glimmered in the world.
Her crimson gaze turned toward me. Then her eyes widened.
What emotion was reflected in her expression? Surprise? Confusion?
I couldn’t tell. But she too wore a desperate look as she began to run toward me.
She shook off Olivia’s hand, who was trying to stop her, and dashed toward me.
My vision of her grew blurrier. My eyelids grew heavier.
“Ruina!”
Reina’s voice echoed in the distance.
Hearing her voice, for some reason, all the tension drained from my body. A smile crept across my face.
I opened my eyes to take in her figure one last time.
But at that moment, a pure white light filled my vision.
A warm and intense light.
‘Is this your way of telling me to rest?’
I laughed weakly.
Laughing softly, I closed my eyes. I’d reached my limit. I couldn’t hold on any longer.
As I closed my eyes, a warm sensation enveloped my entire body.
It startled me at first, but soon I felt at ease.
Thinking of the faintly reddish sky from earlier, it wasn’t hard to guess what this was.
“This time… I protected them…”
I murmured weakly.
Though it was the muttering of someone on the brink of collapse, the meaning behind the words was anything but weak.
I smiled.
In the distance.
The long night had ended, and the sun was rising.