Chapter 272 — The Game Difficulty Is Insane
Six hours had passed since the battle with the Demon King, and the western wall of Obenue Fortress had collapsed.
After that news, no more messenger ravens came from Obenue.
“The messenger we sent to Obenue has still not returned.
However, from this moment onward, we will proceed under the assumption that Obenue Fortress has fallen to the Demon King.”
Tris made the decision firmly.
But Romina saw the agitation hidden behind her stiff expression.
After sending away the retainers and being left alone with Romina, Tris no longer tried to hide her emotions.
“Lord Javer… won't run away, will he?”
There was no chance that he was still alive.
Even if it cost him his life, he would try to protect Obenue until the very end.
He had always been such an inflexible man, even from the time he taught Tris.
“Please… Romina……”
Tris looked at Romina while desperately holding back her tears.
Blood ran down her chin from the lips she had bitten in frustration.
“Help me. Please……”
“……Don't worry, Young Lady.”
Romina comforted Tris with the same words and then left the mansion with a hardened expression.
Now she had one more reason to kill the Demon King Lupellos.
After Obenue Fortress fell, the remaining Wordsworth forces planned to gather at Deventer, about a day's journey from Obenue, and establish a camp to confront the Demon King.
But—
Taht-!
Romina planned to pass through Deventer and head straight for Obenue Fortress.
She intended to intercept the Demon King alone, while he was still not fully recovered from the previous battle.
The regular army had to gather at Deventer and reorganize their forces first.
But Romina was different.
She was the only one who could face the Demon King alone.
‘Please…….’
She hoped she would not be too late.
She hoped their paths would not miss each other.
She hoped the Demon King would not run away.
Romina kept muttering these wishes as she traveled west.
Only after passing Deventer and traveling for another half a day did she sense the demonic energy of the Demon King approaching from the east.
“Found you.”
Romina sharpened her amber eyes and released her demonic energy right there.
The released mist of demonic energy grew colder.
Its black color gradually changed into blue as it transformed into an icy chill.
Saaaaaaa—
The Demon King's location was several kilometers away from her.
But that enormous distance was no restriction for Romina.
“Finally…… I finally found you……”
Joy and hatred.
As these opposite emotions crossed through her heart, Romina focused her mind.
She used her father's secret technique, Call of the Extreme Cold, and summoned ice spikes.
“My father's enemy……”
“My father's enemy……”
Saaaaaa—
Fragments of ice densely filled the sky.
Hundreds of transparent blades fell toward the ground like a torrential downpour.
Chajajajajak-!
They tore apart everything in their path, whether it was rocks, trees, or the ground itself.
“Kugh?!”
There was no blind spot in the rain of ice fragments.
Lupellos, standing beneath it, hurriedly released his demonic energy and spread a barrier.
Boom!
A deafening roar erupted above his head as the ice fragments struck the barrier and shattered.
‘This is… demonic energy…?!’
A strange light appeared in Lupellos's eyes.
It was hard to believe, but the ice fragments that struck his barrier were definitely made from demonic energy.
Demonic energy as cold as a sheet of ice.
Unless one used the power of spirits, there was no demon capable of doing something like this.
“Wait, could it be……?!”
There was only one person.
Apart from the previous Demon King Diaro, whom Lupellos had killed with his own hands ten years ago.
‘But that bastard definitely…….’
He had personally ended Diaro's life.
Besides, the ice fragments striking his barrier were nowhere near as powerful as Diaro's.
Saaaaaaa—
At the same time as the cold descended again, Lupellos felt something strange beneath his feet.
Kajajak-!
“You fucking……!”
Ice spikes formed from the ground once again and rushed toward Lupellos.
The spike grazed Lupellos's waist as he barely managed to twist his body and rose into the air.
But that excessive movement was enough to shake his already exhausted mind.
That soon led to his barrier weakening, allowing the rain of ice fragments to break through.
Jjaeaang-!
With the sound of huge glass shattering, ice fragments rained down upon the Demon King.
The falling fragments tore apart the area where the Demon King stood, raising a cloud of dust.
Only after the dust created by the ice fragments settled could the injured Demon King be seen through it.
Transparent ice fragments were embedded throughout Lupellos's body, stained red by his blood.
“Fucking… bastard……!”
Lupellos looked around.
A savage glow like that of a wild beast swirled in his bloodshot eyes.
But aside from the cold covering the surroundings, he could see nothing.
“Where are you…… where are you, you fucking bastard?!
Get your ass out here right now!”
Kwaaang-!
Roaring angrily, he threw demonic energy from his hands in every direction.
But all he accomplished was cutting down the surrounding forest.
Saaaaaa— Kwajajak!
And what came back was another rain of ice fragments and spikes rising from the ground.
Individually, none of them were deadly spells.
But Lupellos could tell that their constant attacks were gradually accumulating damage on him.
If this continued, he would die without even seeing the face of the person who attacked him, let alone getting a chance to fight Glenn Wordsworth.
For the Demon King, who stood at the top of all demons, nothing could be more humiliating than being killed by some unknown demon that had crawled out of nowhere.
Crack—
Grinding his molars, Lupellos slowly raised his lowered head.
Goooooooo—
Thick demonic energy began to rise.
At the same time, the rain of ice fragments and spikes attacked Lupellos from every direction.
“!”
Right then.
A red light exploded in his eyes, causing the demonic energy he had released to run wild.
Kuwaaaaaaang—!
Pitch-black demonic energy exploded in every direction, swallowing everything in its path.
The ice fragments and spikes rushing toward him disappeared instantly.
Even the dark-blue chill covering the area vanished.
Then came silence.
A huge crater had formed, as if a massive meteor had crashed down.
At its center, the Demon King stood calmly.
“……”
Lupellos grabbed his torn and tattered shirt and ripped it off.
He then threw the demonic sword at his waist onto the ground.
He loosened his clenched fist, raised his claws, and bent his previously straight back.
Lupellos's posture resembled that of a high-ranking monster—a werewolf.
One of his golden eyes, which shone like a wolf's, was filled with a red, murderous energy.
Golden Demonic Art.
It was the strongest skill remaining to him after losing Nox's demonic energy.
However, he had avoided using it because the one who had given him this power was his enemy, the Undertaker.
“Ha……”
His sigh contained anger.
He never imagined that he would have to use this power, which he had not even used during the previous battle.
“This feels… fucking awful……”
If Nox had simply not taken his power back, this was a power he would have never used for the rest of his life.
But Lupellos soon pushed those thoughts aside and decided to focus on the battle.
If he could win this annoying, shitty battle and take revenge on Glenn, whom he now hated as much as the Undertaker, he was prepared to do anything.
Even if it meant using power given to him by someone he hated.
The power the Undertaker named Golden Demonic Art greatly enhanced all of his physical and mental senses beyond comparison with before.
It did not directly increase his strength.
But simply making his two senses more sensitive allowed him to become stronger than before.
For example, he could control his demonic energy more freely or detect his opponent's movements more accurately.
Saaaaaaa—
