Pector, who suddenly snapped back to his senses, looked up at the sky.
A massive meteor was falling from above.
Koooooooom.
“This isn’t just magic. This is moving nature itself. Could it be… is he manipulating nature while using sword magic? Even so, there’s a chance of victory. After all, a meteor is meaningless if it doesn’t hit its target. There’s no way this man intends to die with me. He’ll likely let the meteor fall in a controlled manner and retreat at the right moment.”
But the mage made no attempt to retreat.
‘No way… Is he planning to die with me? Does he actually intend to take that hit too?’
If so, the calculations had to change.
Even if they were struck at the same time, Pector, with his immunity to magic, had a higher chance of survival.
‘I don’t know whether that thing is magic or physical, but surely my armored body will withstand it better than bare flesh.’
Furthermore, such magic couldn’t be used two or three times in succession.
‘If I block this, I can win.’
That was what he thought.
***
Just before the meteor was about to strike Pector and the man directly, it vanished without a trace.
‘He erased the meteor?’
The mage didn’t miss the moment of Pector’s astonishment.
“If you could figure out my sword magic, you should have seen this coming too.”
Thwack!
A sharp, heavy sensation of mana pierced between the gaps in his armor.
It was a fleeting moment.
While Pector was calculating the meteor’s trajectory, the mage struck.
Pain shot through his side.
Since becoming one of the Four Heavenly Kings, since becoming despair itself, Pector had never felt such pain.
At that moment, he instinctively knew he had been defeated.
The heaviness in his side strangely lightened his heart.
‘Was the meteor just a trick to distract me?’
“No, if you’d seen through my feint, I was ready to drop the meteor directly. It was a gamble, weighing whether your magic immunity or my shielded defenses would survive.”
That meant the mage didn’t have enough mana to teleport out of the meteor’s range.
This was proof that his mana reserves weren’t limitless either.
‘Of course, no matter how strong he is, managing teleportation, sword magic, and a meteor isn’t something anyone can do easily.
‘Besides, hadn’t he wiped out his own subordinates earlier?’
‘Judging by the silence around us, I’m the only demon left in this place.’
If Pector could endure just this one assault, he might still win.
That’s what he thought.
But the thought felt hollow and meaningless.
Fighting someone who gambles their life so recklessly—it was a perfect defeat.
“Think about it rationally. If I’d dropped the meteor, I’d die too, and this whole area would be scorched earth. What would be the point of coming to save you then?”
“Is that so? Hah… Hahaha. You’d put your own life on the line? What an amusing man. Let me ask you one thing. Why do you elevate the hero so much?”
“Because the sacred sword chose the hero.”
‘Was it really such a simple reason? I see. This descendant of the Godslayer has been in the Land of Ruin. There’s no way the sacred sword could have chosen him. How could it select a descendant of a Godslayer? Perhaps the sacred sword foresaw the day when that half-baked hero would meet this man in the future. Maybe it chose that hero to lead the world into chaos.’
“Perhaps the sacred sword of this era chose that half-baked hero to draw you out of the Land of Ruin.”
“Who knows. If I’d known what kind of hero he was, I wouldn’t have bothered coming out. But since I’m here now, I can’t just quit out of spite.”
A sense of unavoidable responsibility.
‘Not bad.’
Pector looked up at the sky.
The meteor that had been falling moments ago had completely vanished, leaving only the clear blue sky behind.
Even this kind of defeat wasn’t so bad.
“Fine. I am the loser. You’ve brought this Pector of Despair to his knees. My life is yours to take.”
The man seemed lost in thought for a moment, then shrugged and sheathed his sword.
“I could, but I’m not really interested.”
“What do you mean? Are you mocking me as the loser?”
Though he was a member of the Demon King’s army and one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Pector considered himself entitled to claim the rights of a defeated warrior.
Surely, the man before him wasn’t refusing to offer mercy as a victor, only to ridicule him instead.
Anger surged momentarily, but the mage’s gaze was calm.
He spoke carefully, as if pondering something.
“The Demon King has appeared countless times throughout history. The Four Heavenly Kings too. How did you become one of the Four Heavenly Kings?”
“I don’t know.”
He truly didn’t.
At some point, he became one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and at some point, he found himself serving the Demon King.
“Exactly. The Four Heavenly Kings don’t even know why they became the Four Heavenly Kings and the records of their defeats are vague at best. It’s suspicious.”
The man, who had been Pector’s enemy until just moments ago, explained his theory about the Four Heavenly Kings with great focus.
“What are you thinking about?”
“I’m wondering if killing you would make me the next Four Heavenly King. The Demon King, the Four Heavenly Kings, the heroes who fought them, and the lack of clear records about their battles—it’s like a dark age of history that was never recorded. Something about it feels off.”
“Does it now?”
It wasn’t an impossible logic.
Even Pector didn’t know how the Four Heavenly Kings were created.
His memories from before becoming one were faint at best.
“You said I have the rights of a victor, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
“Then show up occasionally and attack us. I need to train that half-baked brat a little. You can do that much, right?”
Pector was dumbfounded by the man’s words.
‘He wasn’t even the Demon King, yet he intended to boss him around?’
That made it all the more intriguing.
‘What would this man do if Pector decided not to keep his promise?’
“And if I don’t keep my promise?”
“Well, some say promises are meant to be broken, but you don’t seem like someone that petty.”
To say that much…
“Then can we fight again someday?”
“If the chance arises.”
“Good. I look forward to that day.”
Resolving to face the mage again, Pector withdrew.
Even after that, Pector kept his promise with the mage.
He fought the hero’s party multiple times.
Yes, and he longed for the day when they could have a proper battle again.
***
After the Demon King’s death, Pector hadn’t seen Noah even once.
He lamented.
“Are you truly dead? Did you break your promise and die? No, you couldn’t have. I don’t want to believe it. You can’t be dead.”
“Surely you wouldn’t leave me behind and die first.”
“I am about to break my promise with you and attack humanity.”
Though it wasn’t quite a promise, Pector had refrained from attacking humanity as an unspoken agreement.
In Berta, he had attacked the hero’s party, but that was only because he assumed Noah would be there.
Now, there were no other options left.
“This is, after all, my very reason for existence as one of the Four Heavenly Kings.”
Being part of the Demon King’s army, as one of its generals, it wouldn’t make sense to do nothing against humanity.
“Fine. Noah. How long do you intend to stay away?
Let’s see what happens.”
“So, come stop me.”
He had heard that the empire’s prince was traveling through the area.
If Pector captured him and declared war on the empire, there would be no ignoring it.
Bringing only a small force, Pector set his sights on the prince’s procession near Karchem.
***
[Hero’s Party]
The hero’s party had visited the capital, but it had been a fruitless effort.
At first, they thought they might receive help from the saintess.
Of course, Eugene had also been swayed by talk of the saintess’s beauty, but there was no saintess at the church.
Instead, they were greeted by armed nuns who seemed irritated by their presence.
“Why are you looking for the saintess here? Tsk.”
“The saintess isn’t here. Go see the old coot. We’ve got orcs to hunt.”
The revealing nun habits, it seemed, were just practical hunting outfits.
“The saintess accompanied the prince on his travels. She’s from Ashtar, so you might find information there.”
The church leader seemed unsteady and ill at ease.
For a group as renowned as the hero’s party, he hadn’t even risen to greet them.
He looked so frail that asking him for support felt cruel.
So, the hero’s party left the capital and began their journey toward the Ashtar estate.
“Do we really need to go this far to find the saintess? Why not just ask the church leader for help?”
“Do you think that half-dead man could help us?”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“Honestly, the imperial goddess church isn’t even properly recognized by the main church. So what’s the point of seeking help from someone like that?”
Syria sighed as if this much should have been obvious.
Her condescension stung, but it wasn’t wrong.
As a hero, Eugene couldn’t deny his shortcomings, especially since the women had become more dominant in the group after proving stronger than Noah.
“For now, let’s focus on finding the empire’s saintess.”
“Yeah. Noelle is right this time.”
As they approached Karchem, they noticed something.
“What’s that?”
In the distance, a woman was riding toward them on horseback.
“That’s the sacred sword! Wait, are you part of the hero’s party?”
The woman called out urgently.
“Who are you?”
She seemed to know them, so perhaps she admired the hero.
If so, she might help in their search for the saintess.
“Please, save His Highness the Prince! Prince Aslan has been captured by Pector!”
Eugene felt his head spin.
This woman had barged in, recognized them as the hero’s party, and immediately asked for help.
And the enemy was Pector.
The memory of their humiliating defeat against Pector flashed through Eugene’s mind.
Not only Eugene, but Syria and Ella, the elf, had been crushed as well.
The party’s defeat had damaged their kingdom’s reputation beyond repair.
‘And now they were being asked to fight that same foe to save a prince?’
Syria and Ella, already worn out from repeated defeats and battles, were reluctant to face one of the Four Heavenly Kings again.
They were considering ignoring the plea when the woman added, “You must help! Captured along with Prince Aslan is an elf named Sharial!”
“What? My sister?”
“The saintess! Prince Aslan has been officially recognized by the Holy See itself. You cannot leave him to his fate!”
“Ah.”
As much as they wanted to ignore the situation, hearing that an elf of noble blood and a figure recognized by the pope were involved made it impossible to walk away.
“He should’ve stayed home! What was he thinking, acting so recklessly?”
Even Eugene’s outburst, uncharacteristic of a hero, was met with unanimous agreement.
Yuria, the woman seeking their help, flinched at Eugene’s remark but couldn’t argue.
She had ignored Olivia’s advice and insisted on heading toward Karchem, which had led to this.