DKFTI 107

If fire doesn’t work with oil, then water needs electricity.

Sibel’s attack landed. Kael quickly dodged the sudden surge of piercing impact and drew back from Sibel. His holy power shielded him, but it didn’t remove the stinging discomfort. He clenched and opened his numb hand and watched Sibel.

The chain broke and power that had suppressed his magic seemed gone, but the chain on his arm didn’t fall off completely. The nasty look of it reminded him of the Holy Kingdom.

At this point, he wanted to see the Holy King’s face once before he died. Why did he have to stir up demons who were living quietly and build this much hatred?

Boom! A loud crash came from outside the castle wall. Everyone, including Sibel, turned toward the source of the sound.

Shanti had broken his chain and was rampaging.

‘Of course, Shanti.’

With that dependable black dragon guarding the castle, Sibel only had to hold his own now. He strengthened his resolve.

“So, are you feeling relieved?”

Kael sneered as if he had read Sibel’s mind.

Even before, Sibel hadn’t liked this man.

“You fight with your mouth.”

Even the quiet words Sibel muttered were perfectly heard by Kael.

“Since the start of the grand purge, we have slain five demon kings.”

What? That many? At that rate, the whole community should’ve burned down, but there had only been a few dumb posts about it. He couldn’t believe it.

“One of them had a thousand years of magic power.”

You attack the elderly instead of respecting them?

“So, someone like you means nothing to us.”

Honestly, it was a little surprising that they had wiped out a demon king with a thousand years of magic power. Especially since Kael didn’t even seem that strong. It shocked him, but he thought he was still holding out well himself. Maybe they were stronger than they thought.

“Your thoughts show on your face.”

At Kael’s words, Sibel flinched. He quickly tried to make his face look solemn. Then noise rose again from outside the wall.

Thud, thud, thud!

From far away, white flags embroidered with gold began to appear. One, two, three… he tried to count, but their number kept increasing.

Why are there so many? Could it be that the earlier troops were only an advance unit?

Humans in blinding armor filled the field, closing in.

“You will die here today.”

The knights of the Holy Kingdom lined up in front of the Demon King’s castle, coming all the way up to the gate. Each time they moved, their ranks rippled like waves.

Gulp.

‘Should I have run earlier…?’

A weak thought passed through his mind. Ruru, who had witnessed everything beside him, clung to Sibel’s trouser leg.

“Should we run?”

Ruru caught on very quickly.

“This is insane…”

But once he had decided to fight, he wanted to try, no matter what happened.

“Kyahaha! Die! Die, you filthy humans!”

Seeing Raccoon fighting with all his strength far away only strengthened that feeling. Sibel Read onrecalled the spells he could use.

Tricks wouldn’t save him anymore. From now on, he had to harden his heart. He would end up hurting someone. They would get wounded or die. Could he excuse it by saying it was for self-defense?

There was no need to divide attacker and victim. They would call his side evil anyway, because they were demons.

“Die, filthy demon.”

Kael charged, at the same time, the army beyond the wall roared and surged into the castle.

“Waaah!”

“Exterminate every demon!”

“Kill them all!”

His neck stiffened again. Kael reached him in an instant. Kael raised his sword surrounded by aura.

He must not get hit by that. He must not! Sibel clenched his teeth. Four years of life as a demon, he couldn’t die this absurdly!

Boom!

But then, a strong gust blew between Sibel and Kael. His vision went dark. The explosion sent dirt flying everywhere.

‘What’s that?’

Sibel raised his arm to shield his eyes from the dust. It sounded like a shell had exploded right in front of him.

He opened his eyes carefully. Something blocked his sight. Sibel slowly lifted his head to see what stood in front of him.

“Aizen?”

As if he had fallen straight from the sky, Aizen stood before him, blocking Kael’s sword. Blinding light burst from their crossed blades.

“… what are you doing…”

Kael ground his teeth and spoke as he looked at Aizen, who had parried his strike. The two stood so close that they could see their reflections in each other’s eyes.

Aizen didn’t answer Kael’s question. That silence made him even angrier, and he tightened his grip on his sword.

Sparks flew, metal scraped with a terrifying noise, and the two stepped back and faced each other again.

When the blades separated, Aizen rolled his wrist as if his hand tingled. But his calm attitude only twisted Kael’s mood further.

“Aizen.”

“I know my own name. Why are you calling it like it’s something new?”

“I’ve heard rumors about you.”

Kael straightened his posture and stared at Aizen with burning eyes.

“Well, of course, you’d have to be a little interested in me.”

In every group, there was always a system of rank. The apostles were no exception. Among them, Aizen was the one people either admired or envied.

“Are you planning to become a traitor?”

“You’re exaggerating again.”

Aizen gave a short laugh, and Kael’s eyes gleamed even more.

“Right. You’ve always done as you pleased.”

“See, I told you. You’re very interested in me.”

“I don’t understand. Why did God grant power to someone like you, who has no faith.”

Kael tightened his grip on his sword.

“Since you’ve become an apostate, I won’t spare you.”

“Who’s sparing who, exactly?”

Aizen let out a dry laugh before he realized it.

“Everyone knows you’re not what you used to be.”

Since Aizen had taken the antidote, the weight of power he bore had changed. The once overwhelming power breaking down his own body had become refined. For his condition, it was a good change, but for Aizen now, it was a disadvantage.

“No matter how weak I’ve become, you’re still not someone who can match me.”

“Let’s see how long you can keep looking down on me.”

“You sound like someone who’s been waiting for this moment. It would’ve been a shame if I hadn’t done that betrayal thing or whatever you call it.”

The moment Aizen finished speaking, Kael charged at him. His sword moved without hesitation to cut Aizen down. The strikes aimed precisely at vital points. But Aizen deflected each one easily, as if it were familiar.

Boom! The two blades clashed again. Sweat gathered on Kael’s forehead as he met Aizen’s strong resistance.

“Where’d that energy go? You’re dragging your feet now. Maybe your skill can’t keep up with your temper.”

“Aizen…”

Grinding his teeth, light surrounded Kael’s sword again. Crash, crash, crash! Sparks flew repeatedly from the colliding blades.

“I’ll end your arrogance today!”

A surge of divine power radiated from Kael’ s body. However, Aizen found dealing with th e apostle rather easy. He was already familiar with all of Kael’s movements.

Flashes of light swirled around, and the fight between the two continued.

“Ugh…!”

The standoff between the two people became prolonged.

“It’s the first time l’ve seen this since I was born. It’s amazing to see apostles fighting each other.”

“O know…”

“So are we supposed to cheer for the Hero?”

“Maybe…?”

Sibel and Ruru looked at the two in confusion.

“I thought he betrayed us, but I guess not.”

From the start, Sibel hadn’t believed Ruru’s words about betrayal. He had a baseless faith that Aizen wouldn’t turn on him. As expected, Aizen was fighting for the Demon King’s castle against the Holy Kingdom.

It made Sibel glad that Aizen was on his side, but it didn’t make him feel entirely comfortable. What did he plan to do after this? Was he really about to become an apostate, like Kael said? It didn’t take Sibel long to decide that if [stolen content]Aizen wanted to live as one of the Demon King’s people, he would accept him.

The holy knights of the Holy Kingdom were just as shaken as Sibel and Ruru. They were supposed to destroy demons, yet an apostle was standing in their way. And that apostle was Aizen.

They had never imagined attacking one of the temple’s apostles. Worse, apostles were beings they couldn’t possibly overcome with their own strength.

Because of Aizen’s arrival, the Holy Kingdom’s forces began to falter. Then something happened.

“Ugh!”

Kael, who had seemed to be fighting evenly with Aizen, was suddenly thrown far back by a heavy blow. His body rolled across the ground, and Aizen, driven by instinct as he had been when he slaughtered demons, thrust his sword toward the fallen Kael’s throat. The habit of finishing the enemy completely surfaced naturally.

“Aizen!”

In that instant, Sibel, startled, called out to Aizen urgently.