Chapter 238

Chapter 238: The Very End

Chapter 238. The Very End

The King of Heinkel died seated upon his throne.
It appeared the holy relics of the Order had been embedded and purified with divinity.
Ferda knew divinity held no meaning.
Because he had already seen Ureas survive even after touching the power of a holy relic.
Given that he died like that, not only the kings should have survived, but also their soldiers.
Yet not a single person survived.
When Ferda arrived, four kings remained, and they were killing one another.
And finally, only one was left.
— “Ha, haha… Everyone… is dead.”
Madness lingered in his eyes.
Blood flowed freely, sweat soaked him like rain, yet a smile crept onto his lips.
That joy was brief; the moment he spotted Ferda, his expression twisted instantly.
— “You, you!!”
He glared at Ferda with eyes full of hatred.
He raised his dagger again.
The madness began once more.
— “Do not dare covet what is mine!!”
He lunged at Ferda.
He attempted to plunge the dagger into Ferda’s heart, but there was no way it would reach him.
Ferda was a mage, and they were mere humans, no different from commoners once their crowns were removed.
And he already knew what happened when someone bled and grew overexcited.
He collapsed, exhausted and staggering, before he could even reach Ferda.
Even while his pupils lost focus, the words he spat out were something to behold.
— “It is mine… Everything… is mine.”
And so, the last remaining king drew his final breath.
Ferda looked at him in silence.
He could read the emotion in those eyes.
It was a distinctive shape, clear enough that even the blind could see it clearly.
“Greed.”
What controlled them was the greed welling up from their own hearts.
It was uncontrollable enough to render their final moments meaningless.
What had driven them to this state?
Ferda shifted his gaze.
At that moment, something caught Ferda’s attention.
He sensed it instinctively.
“That is the cause.”
That black book.
The moment he saw that book of swords, an image was driven into Ferda’s mind as though trauma itself were casting magic.
Valdrova’s figure appeared.
She wore a happy expression and reached out her hand.
It might seem trivial to others, but not to Ferda.
Ferda could tell what the kings had seen.
If only they desired it, garments of silk would fill their wardrobes,
Mountains of delicacies would pile high,
Heroes would bow their heads, and beauties would fill their chambers.
That book.
If only they possessed that book, everything would become reality.
And only one person could possess the book.
Because of that, in the final moment, they could not overcome their own greed and slaughtered one another.
Even in that instant, Valdrova’s form tempted Ferda.
Yet Ferda was no fool.
The dark ring inside him spun rapidly.
It spoke to Ferda thus:
“You will regret it if you use that magic.”
At that moment, the throbbing that felt as though his heart were being squeezed gradually subsided.
Valdrova’s form vanished, and the shape of the book lay sprawled upon the floor once more.
Retrieve it.
If I retrieve it, everything ends.
The moment Ferda reached a decision,
— “It seems temptations such as those do not work on you.”
Someone approached nonchalantly and picked up the book.
It was the King of Heinkel, who had been dead with holy relics embedded in him.
At some point, he had risen from his seat and picked up the book.
“As expected…”
Ferda entered a state of high alert.
Although so many humans had perished, his magical power still surpassed Ferda’s.
He bought time and spoke to him.
— “Your citizens have died. And even at this very moment, they are dying.”
— “I know. Even now… I can feel it.”
— “Was your revenge worth their lives?”
He pondered for a moment, then replied.
— “I am not yet sure. King Hudret is still alive, is he not?”
Thinking about it, Hudret was nowhere in sight.
I thought he would be the first to rush in to seize this book.
— “He is a meticulous man. Even at this moment, he is slaughtering the humans inside the castle to further diminish my power.”
— “You merely watch their deaths?”
— “It cannot be helped. I made a promise.”
— “What promise?”
The King of Heinkel’s eyes turned toward Ferda.
Ferda could not tell what color his eyes originally were.
At the very least, it would not have been this ominous green.
— “I requested that you, at least, be killed. Even if the revenge does not end cleanly…”
— “The one who made that request… was it Gokma?”
— “Yes.”
He had thought the demons came with the ambition to rule the world.
Was that the sole reason he aided the King of Heinkel?
What reason would he have to go through so much trouble just to kill a single human?
“Demon King.”
That word kept flashing in Ferda’s mind.
It is as if my ominous premonition told me it is no longer groundless.
Avoiding a fight like this is the best option right now.
— “You will not be able to avoid it.”
The King of Heinkel saw through Ferda’s thoughts.
He had already resolved to kill Ferda, and that resolve led to thorough preparation.
The black book in his hand opened on its own, emitting an ominous light that concentrated into the King of Heinkel’s hand.
— “Arise.”
Simultaneously, the bodies of the dead knights resounded as they rose from their positions.
The number of corpses exceeded a hundred; all were elite soldiers, knights, and mages.
An undead’s abilities follow its base foundation.
— “Bring death to the Regent.”
At the command, the knights and mages surged toward Ferda.
Ferda had to fight against what the King of Heinkel had faced.
“It has been a while since I felt this sensation.”
It was like this when he was publicly branded and an army was dispatched to kill him.
Back then he was also of the 5th Circle, but a novice, clumsier and less sensitive to malice compared to now.
The pressure and desperation of being backed into a corner that he felt back then returned to Ferda.
Yet he did not despair.
The Ferda of back then and the Ferda of now are different.
“And the one who is in a hurry is not me, it is that bastard.”
The remnants in the outer castle would have already been cleared, and the numbers in the inner castle are also steadily decreasing.
King Hudret armed his knights for the purpose of a mass slaughter from the beginning.
If he is searching this castle like someone catching mice, the number of citizens fueling the King of Heinkel’s power will plummet in no time.
“I only need to endure until then.”
And Ferda held another decisive advantage.
— Ughhh…!
A Ghoul Knight swung his sword with a muffled voice.
As Ferda observed that scene, his entire body suddenly began to corrode.
It was a reaction requiring divine power.
Yet there was no way Ferda possessed divine power.
“But the knights do.”
Some knights had worn ceremonial armor for the undead, and the mages carried holy water.
Although they gave their all to confront the King of Heinkel, they still carried something with them for prayers to the gods.
Ferda touched the holy relics they possessed, brought them into contact with his body, and returned everything to the natural order.
There was a breakthrough, but by no means was it an advantageous fight.
Because even a single scratch would prove fatal to Ferda.
— “Shadows, huh? Barbatos’s magic?”
After about 30 corpses corroded and vanished, the King of Heinkel seemed to have unraveled the secret of Ferda’s combat.
That was fast for a battle between mages.
— “Those shadows are troublesome… I shall make it so you cannot use them.”
An undead mage took the holy oil from a priest’s body and wrapped it around his own.
Even while his entire body corroded, he set himself ablaze in that very instant.
— Ughhhlelele…!
The green flames instantly transformed into golden flames and began to burn.
“Shit.”
He realized that the holy oil flames prevented the shadows from moving.
Those flames were also fatal to the undead, but not as much as to Ferda.
— Ughhhlelele!
One lunged toward Ferda in haste.
The extended shadows naturally shrank and attempted to transfer onto Ferda’s body.
“If the holy oil flames touch me, it’s over.”
With that thought, Ferda’s movements became increasingly tangled.
The more tangled they became, the shorter the distance to the Ghoul Knight grew.
Yet just as Ferda’s stamina was depleting, the enemy’s was doing so as well.
As time passed, the speed of the Ghoul Knights and mages who had resisted corrosion increased noticeably.
It meant King Hudret’s army was finding groups of humans and continuously eliminating them.
— I cannot…… allow His wish…… to be ruined.
The King of Heinkel finally rose from his seat and joined the fray, cornering Ferda.
One attempted to buy time, the other attempted to eliminate him quickly.
The outcome was not long in coming.
A Ghoul Knight’s spear pierced Ferda’s body.
— Ugh……!
He gritted his teeth and did not lose focus.
Ferda touched the holy relic with his shadow hand, and the man scattered like the last knight.
That was Ferda’s last mana.
— Truly impressive.
The King of Heinkel admired him sincerely.
He knew how strong they were.
Although he had pretended to be dead, when he faced their true strength head-on, he thought he might die.
For a mere 5th Circle mage to confront them with full power and end up with only a single wound.
— You are an astonishing mage, Regent Ferda.
To that, Ferda scoffed.
— I do not wish to be acknowledged as a mage by you.
— Why?
— Because you are not a mage.
The King of Heinkel’s brow twitched.
Ferda provoked him once more.
— Don’t tell me you believe you are a mage?
— I am a mage.
— No, you do not know what a mage is.
Ferda spoke to him as if it were ridiculous.
— A mage’s battle is not like chess or tabula. It is not about doing your best with visible moves. In that regard, you have already lost.
Clang!
At the same time, the sound of a glass bottle shattering was heard.
While his attention was distracted, Ferda dropped the holy oil at the King of Heinkel’s feet.
— A mage conceals his means until the very end.
He ignited it, scattering sparks of light.
Golden flames instantly enveloped the King of Heinkel.
Yet his expression remained impassive.
— A shallow trick. No matter how sacred the flames are, they cannot bring me down.
The King of Heinkel was already protected by a barrier.
Not even flames made of holy oil could match the King of Heinkel’s power within his own domain.
— Did you think I wouldn’t know that?
said Ferda.
— Have you ever investigated the principle of how your barrier functions?
— ……?
— Your barrier appears to be reactive to attacks. It responds appropriately to the situation, which is why its efficiency is good and its performance matches it.
Ferda had faced many mages.
Those who tried to kill him were always several steps above him.
That was why Ferda immersed himself in research to counter them.
And he always found a breakthrough.
— That reactive type has a limit. When something continuously pesters the caster, it cannot block a powerful attack.
Ferda pulled out the object he had hidden in his hand.
It was a round, cylindrical canister.
The magazine of a magitech rifle, utilized simultaneously as ammunition for a magitech shotgun.
Ferda gripped that object tightly.
He already knew how it functioned.
— That is why you are not a mage, Heinkel.
A mage conceals his hand until the very end.
Ferda activated the spell formula in the canister.
The activation of the shotgun was instantaneous.
Kwaang!
The King of Heinkel’s face was blown away along with his barrier.
The moment the chunk of blue mana struck his face, the King of Heinkel’s consciousness seemed to shift elsewhere.
He was seated at a table, and a chessboard lay before him.
Instead of the 32 pieces that should have been there, four broken King pieces were visible before him.
The King of Heinkel realized instinctively.
That this was his death.
Yet, surprisingly, no thought arose.
Neither joy nor sorrow touched him.
The King of Heinkel stared at it blankly.
It was then.
Something took shape in front of the King of Heinkel.
Seeing it, the King of Heinkel let out:
— Father……
As his consciousness faded, the first person he sought was his father, with whom he had only ever been awkward.
He was looking at the chessboard with the sickly face he had seen for the last time.
That figure looked so disheveled.
— Father……
Warm tears fell from Sigmund Heinkel’s eyes.
— I realized…… your words too late.
Sigmund had always thought it was because his father had a belligerent personality.
Yet he only just realized.
That to become a good ruler, one must become a tyrant.
That to achieve peace, one must prepare for war.
Sigmund lived clinging to dreams until the end, and he was a fool.
That was why he met an end like this.
He wanted forgiveness.
He wanted to hear ‘You were my proud son’ from that mouth.
He wanted at least a little comfort in that manner.
Yet his father did not answer and simply dispersed.
The chessboard and the table drifted away into the distance.
It felt as if his consciousness were falling to the other side, into the abyss of the void.
— I……
Only then did Sigmund feel himself awakening.
— I do not want to die.
Regret igniting.
— I do not want to die.
And obsession.
Even knowing he had fallen into a swamp from which he could not escape, he screamed incessantly.
And to a desperate human,
— You have done something truly entertaining, Sigmund Heinkel.
A demon comes calling.
It was a massive figure made of bones and skeletons, cloaked in a dark purple robe.
— My name is Gamigin. I am the ruler of the Third Hell, the Lord of Immortality and Legions, and the author of that black magic book you hold.
Bones rattled, producing a peculiar percussion-like sound.
— You used the grimoire without making a contract with me, so the punishment of unyielding bones would not suffice. However,
Gamigin extended his index finger before him.
The thickness of his fingertip alone was far larger than Sigmund’s body.
— I shall give you an opportunity to redeem yourself.

A ringing in the ears accompanied the explosion.
Heavy eyelids attempted to send Ferda to that distant place, but Ferda resisted until the end.
He felt he would pass out if he lay down, so he forced his body up.
No sensation in his right hand.
When a breeze blew occasionally, it felt cool and sharp at the same time.
There was nothing where his right hand should have been.
Valdrova’s face reflexively came to mind.
“If she finds out about this, she will definitely faint……”
He didn’t even want to imagine it, so he shook his head wildly to clear it away.
“Will I be able to restore it?”
If I donate a massive sum to the Alte Order, it might be possible somehow, but then the fact that I am a dark mage would be revealed.
If the Alte Order discovers I am a dark mage, they will attempt to kill me regardless of the reason.
No, they won’t be able to kill me.
Still, I am the Red Dragon’s consort, after all.
They will probably covet the Far East assets they have been eyeing.
This was no time for such idle worries.
— Geureuk…… eureureuk……
The King of Heinkel’s body shuddered.
Persistent.
Mangled beyond recognition, yet he does not release his attachment and struggles.
Ferda approached him.
I need to cut off his breath.
Before that thing does something.
— Rest in peace now.
Resigned to mana exhaustion, he squeezed out his remaining mana and aimed at his head.
At that moment, something seized Ferda’s hand.
It was not merely agony; the strength felt distinct.
“Don’t tell me……?”
That is the demons’ grimoire.
As long as he holds the demons’ grimoire, a demon is watching him.
And they strike when humans are at their weakest.
The body that had been shuddering in agony was not merely writhing, but regaining vitality.
Shattered bone fragments gathered back onto the face, reconstructing the skull.
At the same time, all the charred flesh melted away like tar and revealed white bone.
Green flames flickered in the skeleton’s eye sockets, and the stench of sulfur pierced his nose.
— You, insolent thing, entering the King’s domain without permission.
The moment Ferda heard that voice, he knew.
The strong reveal their existence through voice alone.
This is not Heinkel.
It was Gamigin, one of the Seven Great Demons of Hell, the Demon of Immortality and Legions.
— What should I do with you?