“So, what's the plan?”

The one who started up the conversation was Iliya.

It was the question she couldn’t help but ask Dowd every time things like this happened. Everyone who hung around him to some extent would be able to relate to this due to his personality.

But, this time, he didn’t really have a decent plan for the situation.

The best thing that he could do was think of something close to common sense or basic principle.

“Defeat them all and advance.”

“...What a nice and easy plan to understand.”

Iliya said while glaring in the direction in front of her.

“Teach.”

“Hm?”

“Those Devils… Are they originally that brutal…?”

“...”

Dowd let out a bitter smile as he stared in the direction she was looking at.

Aside from the column of fire that burned the surroundings and the heat it produced, there was one other thing that stood out.

Influenced by the red flame, ‘Black Souls’ emerged one by one from the ground.

Those things weren’t the life forms that came out of the Dimension Gates. They were only ‘byproducts’ of the Red Devil’s Demonic Aura.

However…

The Spirit Forms were beings that were powerful enough to leave a mark on the Material World even after their deaths. So, the fact that such beings were showing their ‘true form’ just because of the Demonic Aura just showed the degree of the threat the Aura possessed.

To put it in other words…

The Devils’ status was high enough to cause such a phenomenon just by the sign of their ‘awakening’.

Just by seeing dozens to hundreds of those Spirit Forms coming out already made people feel nauseous, since even one of those could cause a whole catastrophe if it was released in a populated area.

“...This is just the beginning of phase one. Still bearable…”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

As she saw him muttering something puzzling while seeing the scene, Iliya let out a sigh internally.

This person could not be more calm even in this situation.

Actually, she wondered if she could call it as him being calm. Because nowadays, it felt like he had lost any human-like emotions.

“...You said to defeat them all and advance, right?”

Iliya muttered, looking nervous.

The Spirit Forms that were growing in number glared at them with hostility. Seeing how their eyes were bright red, it was safe to assume that they had gone crazy due to the Demonic Aura.

Which meant that those beings would be hostile towards them even if they didn’t provoke them.

“I don’t think we can achieve that with any ordinary means. There are not many ways for a living human to cause damage on Spirit Forms—”

“Give it to me.”

Dowd said while pointing at the Holy Sword that Iliya was holding in her hands.

“I can’t do this a lot of times, so watch carefully.”

“...Huh? What does that—”

Before she could finish her question.

Dowd snatched the Holy Sword from her hands.

In that instant, Iliya started freaking out.

“W-Wha—! T-Teach! H-Have you gone nuts—!”

Her words were cut off as she let out a ‘Heup’.

The fact that his body didn’t ‘explode’ right away shocked her.

He is…okay…?

Does that mean he is the master of the Holy Sword?

“...”

Wait.

No.

Just like her a while back, the bright light that was supposed to come out when the Hero held the Holy Sword was nowhere to be seen.

Besides, he wasn’t even okay in the first place.

The great power that came out from the Holy Sword actually tried to travel around his body, but it was ‘blocked’ by something in the way.

On his chest, the seal that was engraved there was shining darkly.

It was a strange explanation, but there weren’t many ways to express such a scene.

Like a sticky black soot that stuck on the bottom of a dark abyss. Like the darkness of rotten things that melted together as they were clumped up together.

Such an insidious aura was flowing out of his chest.

The aura of the Holy Sword and the aura that came out of the seal collided with each other in the arm that he used to hold the handle of the sword. As if it was under the stress of holding such power, his arm turned black from necrosis.

“Normal humans would explode as soon as they hold this thing, but as long as you know the ‘principle’ behind it, you’d be able to deal with it to some extent.”

Even though his body began to rot before he could tighten his grip on it with his left hand, he kept on explaining it in a peaceful voice.

“The aura of the Holy Sword came out from its core. By extension, its ‘purifying’ properties that could cut off all kinds of special powers also come from there.”

After that…

-!

-!!

Towards the Spirit Forms that were rushing towards them with ear-splitting screams…

“Even without the bright light of the chosen one, it’s still possible to ‘utilize’ that property.”

He swung the Holy Sword.

After that…

-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The area.

Was compeletly ‘purified’...

The aura that came out from its core, which was embedded in the center of the sword, emitted a light that brightened everything nearby.

This was the bright light that could only be emitted by the one who was acknowledged as the Hero. That same light was scattered around them..

And that was enough to make all the Spirit Forms surrounding them disappear completely.

Without leaving a single trace.

…Oh my goodness.

Iliya watched the scene with her mouth wide open.

The Holy Sword of the First Hero, mankind's most powerful weapon among the things that a human being could touch…

She was well aware of the sword’s reputation, but she did not expect it to be this powerful.

The bright light of the Holy Sword was an ‘always-on effect’.

What Dowd did was only a crude imitation of it.

Yet, such a crude imitation held this much strength.

It allowed him to easily draw the power that was only possessed by the humans who were called Saints.

“...”

Yet, the most ridiculous thing about this whole thing was…

The existence of this man, who had arbitrarily created such a phenomenon.

Iliya looked at Dowd while gulping dryly.

Those who were not qualified would die once they touched the Holy Sword due to its transcendental power that was bestowed by the Seraphim.

This was almost like a law. To only ‘partially’ suffer damage and even ‘utilize’ its properties like this was almost miraculous.

Her Eye of Truth made it possible for her to see through the principles behind all kinds of phenomenons, so she could analyze what exactly had happened just now.

…No way…

What she saw was…

This man in front of her contracted the Holy Sword’s power with the ‘other power’ planted inside his body.

With the ‘Devil's power’ that was accumulated inside the seal engraved on his chest.

He used the other Devil’s power that he had been gathering so far.

To put it in different words…

…How far has he gotten?

This person had already become something that was far from a ‘human’.

She gulped dryly as she looked at Dowd.

And from now on, how far is he going to get?

Greater, further, higher.

This man was constantly changing himself that way.

Someone who stored ‘several’ powers of the Devils inside his body. This was unheard of in history.

This alone could already explain why the higher-ups of the Holy Kingdom, Tribal Alliance and even the Empire expressed their big interest in each one of this man’s actions.

But...

Even so…

“...”

In truth…

She was afraid.

There was no way he could gather the powers of such transcendental beings inside his body without experiencing any side effects.

The viciousness of the aura that she saw just now was beyond imagination, and if he were to continuously keep such things inside his body…

She knew that was how he grew his strength.

But at one point…

The side of him that she ‘liked’ was gradually fading away.

His upright selflessness—how he used to do things in favor of people around him. To the point he looked like a fool.

The empty laughters he used to let out at times, his unique and awkward way of evading things whenever he was taken aback.

Those things that made her fall for this man…

The things that used to make her heart flutter as if she was choking up whenever she heard his voice…

The coziness and warmth she used to feel from the human called Dowd Campbell.

All of those were gradually becoming faint, fading away.

It felt as if he was changing into ‘something’ mechanical and purpose-driven.

“...Um, Teach.”

That was why, even after witnessing the miraculous exploit that had just unfolded before her eyes…

Her vocal chords produced words that were filled with anxiety.

Because she felt that at this rate…

She would become completely distant with this person.

That was what she felt.

“Let me ask you something, Iliya.”

Dowd said as if cutting off her words.

He tossed the Holy Sword in her direction to return it.

“Do you know why you didn't get ‘acknowledged’ by the Holy Sword?”

There was one obvious fact.

Dowd was not the master of the Holy Sword. She had just seen how the Holy Sword attempted to burst his entire body while rejecting his existence.

The master of this sword was Iliya. It was just that she had not been acknowledged by it yet.

While receiving the Holy Sword, she replied in reluctance.

“...Is it because I'm weak?”

“No.”

Dowd answered while letting out a sigh.

“It’s because you're dependent on me.”

“...”

Iliya's eyes shook greatly.

“Because everything that has happened so far, every crisis… You’ve only been solving it under my command.”

“...”

“But this time, it won’t be the case anymore.”

“...”

“You’ll have to finish it yourself.”

In that instant, Iliya choked on her breath.

Her shaking eyes were fixed right on Dowd.

Most of the things that happened so far had been solved by this man himself.

However, this time, he seemed to be drawing a clear line.

As if this time was an exception.

“It's okay. You can do it.”

“...”

Hearing that, Iliya looked down at the Holy Sword in her hands while biting her lips.

She definitely looked anxious.

●

[...She's feeling burdened. It’s obvious.]

Caliban said with a chuckle.

He was probably talking about Iliya.

“Not that she has any choice, though.”

I replied with a sigh.

“It’ll be over for me too if she can’t use it.”

If Iliya can’t wield the Holy Sword, then I wouldn’t be able to clear this chapter. Even if a miracle happened and I somehow cleared the chapter, it would be practically impossible to proceed afterwards.

At the end of the day, this was a necessary measure for the both of us.

[Are you okay?]

“...Do I look okay to you?”

My whole body felt as if it was crushed.

I wasn’t a stranger to pain, but holding the Holy Sword while my body was being eroded by the Demonic Aura was quite the experience, I gotta say.

The Iron Man Mastery couldn’t even block the intense pain, so it felt like my whole body was being chopped off.

[No, not that.]

“...?”

[I was asking about your mental state.]

“...”

[You also feel how your sense is different from usual, right?]

That…

I couldn’t refute that.

Because I knew best that my ‘emotions’ were gradually becoming faint.

“...I'm okay, for now.”

However, it was still bearable.

For now, at least.

It did feel as if I was barely holding on to the last of my ‘human nature’, though.

“Let’s just say that I believe in myself.”

[I believe in something too.]

“...Pardon?”

[Why do you think I brought all of the Devil’s Vessels although I knew you wouldn't like it?]

“...”

I didn't know what he was talking about.

As I tilted my head, Caliban replied with a smirk.

[Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon that you don’t need to do everything.]

“...What the hell are you even on about?”

I replied with a sigh.

The enormous column of fire was gradually growing larger.

“Let's go, Caliban.”

I used the torn clothes and wrapped it tightly around my arms as a bandage.

This wasn’t enough even as first aid, but it was better than nothing.

Because if I didn’t do this at least, I might not be able to hold on at all from now on.

“This is the real beginning.”

Phase 1, Column of Fire. Dimension Gates summoned. Spirit Forms summoned.

From this point onwards…

It would be the part that made all the players screaming towards the developers, asking if they were crazy.

This was the main reason why the Crimson Night Incident was repeatedly referred to as the Empire’s worst disaster.

…Phase 2.

The part where the ‘Devil's main body’ would be summoned.