Chapter 366: Growth (3)

The Demon King had truly appeared.

Becoming a Demon King wasn’t just simply about being a strong demon. A Demon King had to be a creature with the ability and ambition to unite the demons below it. It had to be a creature that was capable enough to establish its kingdom in the human world, and further transform the human world into Devildom. Until now, only the Demon Dragon King had come close to the level of becoming a Demon King. Every other entity had remained stuck at the level of a great devil.

However, it was different this time.

Personal power?

It had killed Khun, one of the top three swordsmen on the continent. It was also vicious enough to corrupt Carl Lindsay, who was a genius among geniuses.

The ability of a king?

That was there too. The clown devil that was known to be on par with the Demon Dragon King in strength alone was under the creature’s command. The incident that had occurred in the Dark City, Godara, was shocking. It was unexpected for so many devils to gather in one place and listen to someone else’s orders.

Against such a creature…

Against such a Demon King…

Against the Heart Demon, all the continent had were four swordsmen.

Ilya Lindsay.

Bratt Lloyd.

Judith.

And Airn Pareira.

Of course, each one of them was a genius who was strong enough to leave their mark on history, but none of them had reached their full potential yet. Many people had expressed their concern about entrusting such an important role to children who hadn’t even reached 30 years old yet.

This was also the reason why everyone kept silent about the situation in the continent. They didn’t want to put greater pressure on the young heroes.

“This is a bad idea.”

That was what The Holy King had said.

Right. What the world needed right now was a complete hero. These people were young and inexperienced, so they wouldn’t be able to care for the world.

But would the Demon King do his business considering that the people he was facing were children?

No.

If concealing the truth lessened the burdens on the heroes, would it be fine?

No.

On the contrary, if they were individuals who couldn’t even handle that much, then they simply didn’t have the capacity to go against the Demon King. If they weren’t capable of helping Ignet, it would be better to give up on her and develop more power in the human world. They had to prepare for the impending war and pass the teachings of the seniors to the less powerful ones.

“Of course… this is the scenario if they weren’t complete heroes.”

Unlike the usual warm expression he constantly had, the Holy King looked at the four swordsmen in front of him with wide eyes.

It was difficult. Some of them seemed to be completely different, while the others did not. Rather, it was more like they had a blurred presence, and it was difficult to figure out what had caused it.

‘Maybe, they have become too powerful for me to judge.’

“Huhu”

Soon, the king smiled and nodded his head. He had really wished for something like this to happen. He hoped that their capabilities wouldn’t be immediately detected not only by the people here, but also by the eyes of those who would test them in the future.

He wished that the people of the continent would gain hope after seeing the four swordsmen. Thinking that, he got up.

“Then… I have already told you everything which has to be told, so let’s see.”

Four heroes and a couple of high-ranking priests followed the old man who was walking.

After a while.

When they arrived at the royal palace, they saw familiar faces.

In the past few days, the sword masters and magicians, and other people powerful enough to stand at the forefront in the war against the devils had all reached Avilus. Most of them had come back with the help of Anya’s sorcery portal.

However, the four didn’t concentrate on everyone. Their attention was drawn to a few people.

The ones standing in the center.

Julius Hul.

Ian.

Karakum.

Jia Runtel.

Watching the strongest men on the continent radiating a terrifying force, the high priests of the Holy Kingdom gulped.

And in that heavy atmosphere.

Step.

“…come on.”

The strongest paladin of the continent, Julius Hul, stepped forward and looked at Ilya Lindsay.

Wooong!

“…”

“…”

There was a heavy silence between them. It wasn’t that quiet at first, but now even the sound of breathing couldn’t be heard. All that reached their ears was the sound of aura rising. Despite being close to 90, the man was still very strong.

Step. Step. Step.

But Ilya Lindsay remained calm.

Though there were numerous gazes focused on her, she didn’t care about any of them, let alone Julius Hul. She took a step forward. The tension in the room heightened even more. One of the three greatest swordsmen of the continent, who had maintained that position for decades, was facing off against one of the four heroes who was about to lead the continent in the future.

The pressure intensified.

The air was heavy.

Everyone was looking forward to when Ilya would draw her sword, but then a strange sound came from above them.

––!

“Um!”

It was a deafening sound. It seemed to be the sounds of swords clashing against one another. A groan escaped Julius Hul’s mouth as he blocked the attack. There was a look of shock on his face.

He was sure that nothing had come out from Ilya’s hand.

The sky.

Seeing the sword move in an unexpected direction, everyone had a look of shock and admiration on their faces as they understood what it meant.

The Sky Sword!

It was as if the God of Wind was trying to destroy the darkness. After the clash, Ilya’s sky sword, which put some distance between them, moved freely in the air. Then it again flew towards Julius Hul.

Ching!

To prevent the sword that transcended its limits from harming him, he had to do his best!

An Aura Shield instantly appeared around him.

Even if it was an unpredictable attack, it wouldn’t be a problem if he could block it!

Crouching like a tortoise, the eyes of the old knight flashed, clearly trying to figure out his opponent’s weakness.

It was then.

Srng!

Chik!

“…!”

Ilya Lindsay, who had been standing still until then, moved for the first time. Her sword, which was at her waist, was pulled out.

The sword that had been flying in the sky was added to it. The aura which had been developed now merged into one single entity and gave out a blinding brilliance.

Julius Hul clenched his teeth. As a result, he compressed the widely spread Aura Shield like a bead and then rotated it like a cone.

However, nothing could stop that sword.

Ian and Karakum intervened quickly to offset the shock.

Kwaaaaang!

“Kuak!”

“Ack…!”

It wasn’t the end, but the impact was too strong. The high priests and the strong men who had been watching, staggered at the aura that spread wide. Kuvar, who was watching the match, almost got hit by a stone that had bounced off. Fortunately, it was blocked by his brother.

He thanked him immediately.

“T-thank you”

But he didn’t respond. There was no time to.

Ilya stood there with a calm face, her flying sword swirling around her in front of the huge crater she had created.

“Useless worry…”

“Hmm…”

“Um.”

Khalifa and Tarakan nodded in agreement.

Right. There was no need to worry. The young heroes were already burdened about the future of the continent. And they weren’t simply strong; Ilya’s Sky Sword had shown them that.

As proof of that, Julius Hul no longer pointed his sword at her.

“The verification of Ilya Lindsay is done.”

There was a slight crack in his holy sword, and the old knight stared at the woman of the Lindsay family.

He couldn’t believe it. But he didn’t hate this feeling either.

He simply hoped that the other three young people had achieved this too.

He nodded and stepped back. Ian and Karakum, who were there, also found their spots.

They knew that it wasn’t over. This was just the start. They could feel the huge force building up in the atmosphere.

Jia Runtel stepped ahead.

“Come, Airn Pareira.”

Wheik

Jik…

A thick flame and lighting left traces on the ground as she walked forward. Due to the high heat, the floor beneath her was melting, and it turned the hall hotter.

But it didn’t end there.

As Jia Runtel swung her long staff, magic popped out from it. It was creating flames and lightning as if it had been molded together.

“Let’s see. How strong you’ve become.”

The magical dragon flew upwards.

It floated high in the sky and looked at Airn with red and blue eyes. It was the gaze of the Queen of magicians, and it was different from how Julius Hul had looked at Ilya.

It was different from the past.

His form that he had shown at the festival was commendable, but that wasn’t his sword now. As a magician, she couldn’t understand why she felt nothing from Airn. She could only feel the flow of the 5 energies from him. After hearing the explanations for becoming a spiritualist from the orcs, she wanted to comprehend the huge tree that represented their beliefs.

But now something unexpected happened.

Nothing could be felt.

Of course, his presence as a Master was still there, but that was all. Even though she was so powerful, she couldn’t feel the air he had around him in the past when he had the conviction to help the world. That was the reason she chose to test Airn now. Jia Runtel focused more on her magic to suppress the growing anxiety within her.

Kiiin!

Grrrr….

The dragon’s sharp gaze scanned him.

Feeling the momentum of Jia Runtel on the ground, the powerful people there felt strange as well. No one looked at Airn. They had forgotten why they were even in the training room. They just felt crushed by the overwhelming force that was on them, and they simply looked at the dragon and the Queen.

There was nothing different about Airn. He looked at Jia Runtel, who was floating above the ground, and looked at the dragon which was soaring above her.

There was one thing that felt different.

As he looked at the magic, what he felt wasn’t fear but sadness.

After a while.

With his eyes closed, unparalleled energy rose from his body.

“…”

Killing people only by the pressure you exerted on them.

Many people would think it was impossible, but it was actually possible. If one was a top-level expert, it was possible to use aura to pressure their opponent. Even without the expert using a sword, an ordinary person would be close to death in such a situation.

And such an expert could be pushed into a corner by a Master. In order to be able to do that with force alone against another Master, one had to go beyond the level of Master. Or they had to be infinitely close to it.

However, it didn’t take long for everyone to realize the situation.

Woong!

Inashio Karahan drew his sword.

It wasn’t over.

Devan Kennedy and Ralph Penn were all holding their swords. And they resisted the force that pressed upon them.

They all did.

They couldn’t help but do it.

The strong… each and every one of them felt a psychological threat and used whatever they could to protect themselves – aura, magic, sorcery, spirit, and holy power. They protected themselves from the waves of energy coming at them.

And what broke the series of events…

It was Bratt Lloyd who went to Airn’s side.

“Enough.”

“…”

“This much should be enough. So… stop.”

“…”

“Am I wrong, Queen of Runtel?”

Keeping his hand on Airn’s shoulder, Bratt looked at the woman.

There was a drop of sweat running down her forehead.