Crete's sword snapped.

Blood spurted from his mouth as he collapsed, brought to his knees by the Sword Saint's attack.

As foretold in the tales of their vendetta, the Sword Saint had defeated Crete.

"……Damn it."

I clenched my fists.

Five of the Seven Swords had fallen to me alone.

I had done everything I could on this battlefield.

Yet, Crete had lost his one-on-one battle against the Sword Saint.

But there was still a chance.

Not a chance to defeat the Sword Saint.

Of course, if I could expend more of the Gluttony Demon's essence, I might be able to help Crete defeat him.

But I had just felt it.

Using the Gluttony Demon's essence meant the destruction of my vessel.

The Demon God's power was too much for my body to contain.

My being already housed Divinity; conflicting powers ravaged my very core.

Holding two divine powers within an ordinary half-demon body was no different from suicide.

'...Crete.'

The only option left was for Crete to abandon the fight and flee.

That way, he could at least survive.

But I had a feeling.

Crete would not retreat from this battle.

Even if it meant burning himself to cinders, he would rise again to challenge the Sword Saint.

Revenge.

It was all he lived for.

'I have to stop him…'

My body refused to move.

While consuming the Gluttony Demon's essence didn't carry the same penalty as the Pride Demon's, the physical strain was immense.

I'd almost rather lose another sense as a side effect of Absolute Concealment.

As I fought to erase the despair from my eyes, I heard a voice.

"...Father."

Rene stood beside me, her eyes hollow as she watched Crete cough up blood.

How did she get here?

I specifically told Kyle to keep her away.

My intention wasn't simply to keep her out of harm's way.

It was a thinly veiled order for Kyle to prevent her from reaching this place.

Rene being here meant only one thing.

"Kyle, why is she here?"

I rounded on the approaching Kyle, my voice a low growl.

"...I'm sorry, I couldn't stop her."

Kyle bowed his head in apology.

He gently lifted my broken arm and began to set it.

I sighed inwardly as I pushed myself up.

I knew this wasn’t Kyle's fault.

It was just frustration boiling over, a refusal to accept this situation.

'Damn it.'

Seeing Crete fall would only strengthen Rene's resolve to fight.

She had followed Crete here with the sole purpose of avenging her mother.

If Crete were to die...

Rene would throw her life away just like him, trying to kill the Sword Saint.

As if to confirm my fears, Rene bolted toward the battle.

Towards Crete and the Sword Saint.

...I tried to grab her, but my battered body could only obey gravity's pull.

As I crashed back to the ground, I called out after her.

"Kyle, do you have any potions left?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Give me one."

Gently, Kyle poured the potion into my mouth.

I swallowed, feeling the liquid flow down my throat and spread through my body.

The agonizing pain in my organs began to recede, the bleeding slowly stopping.

The potency of the potion made me wonder what grade it was.

And how Kyle, with his lack of funds, had gotten his hands on it.

"Where did you get this potion?" I asked.

It had even eased the pain from the Sword Saint's attack.

This had to be a high-grade potion, maybe even higher.

Kyle hesitated before answering.

"...This is a high-grade potion I brought with me from the Human Realm. It's supposed to only work on humans, but it seems to work on half-demons too."

"...I see."

Disappointment welled up within me.

If it could be used on demons, I would have given it to Crete.

A potion for humans only meant it could be poison to a demon.

After all, the line between medicine and poison was thin.

What healed one could kill another.

'Well, at least I'm feeling better...'

"...Let's go."

I pushed myself up, my body still heavy as lead, and nodded towards Kyle.

His eyes widened in alarm.

"Are you serious? We're all going to die!"

"We're going to die whether we stay here or not. The Lord's death means the annihilation of the Demon Clan. If you think you can survive that, be my guest."

"Shit, fine, we'll go! You need to stop being so damn ominous."

"..."

I didn't bother responding.

Was I truly being ominous?

I could guarantee it.

Crete would die here today.

He would fly towards the Sword Saint like a moth drawn to a flame, seeking only to extinguish his enemy's light.

Do you know why moths chase after flames?

Because they have no sense of direction.

They mistake the light for a guiding star.

And so they hurl themselves into the inferno, oblivious to the searing heat.

Crete was no different in my eyes.

A fool with no direction, guided only by the compass of revenge.

And I knew how a fool's story ended.

I was under no obligation to save him, nor did I possess the ability to do so.

'It's common sense that I can't save him.'

Just because I wanted to didn't mean I could.

Crete had come here prepared to die.

He would gladly sacrifice his life if it meant killing the Sword Saint.

So I wouldn't try to stop him.

Instead, I would grant him the 'wish' he desired.

The one thing Crete had asked of me when I arrived at the Bares estate.

He had indulged me, turned a blind eye to my actions, even empowered me, all for this one request.

It was his way of repaying the kindness shown to the half-demon child abandoned by the Human Realm and taken in by the Demon Clan.

Crete's wish.

To fulfill it, I would offer my life today.

***

The tide of the battle had turned.

Crete’s defeat against the Sword Saint had sealed the Demon Clan’s fate.

“Kill the demons!”

“Their leader has fallen! They’re nothing but stray dogs now!”

The human soldiers surged forward like a raging tsunami, crashing against the faltering demon ranks.

Unable to mount a proper defense, the demon soldiers were cut down mercilessly.

“Lord Bares, please… ugh…”

“…Is this the end of the Bares Clan?”

Tears of blood streamed down their faces as they fought back with the last vestiges of their strength.

But their defiance was met with nothing but cold steel.

There was no righteousness, no noble purpose in the human soldiers’ eyes.

Just a primal urge to kill, reflected in the glint of their blades.

Leading the charge were the three remaining Sword Masters.

“…Ugh, they just keep coming. Like cockroaches. Disgusting.”

One of the Sword Masters shuddered, looking down at the piles of demon corpses at his feet.

His gaze was filled with disgust, as if he had just witnessed something truly foul.

“I can’t argue with that. I can still see that bastard's smug grin,” said a female voice.

“Ah, you mean the half-demon who ripped your arm off?”

“…Yes.”

The female knight nodded grimly, her face pale.

She had been defeated by that half-demon, a mere child in her eyes.

And utterly crushed at that.

“Well, we won the war, didn’t we? It’s all the same in the end,” said another knight, her youthful face split by a cheerful grin.

Her sword and armor were splattered with the blood of demons.

The contrast was chilling.

She looked barely old enough to be called a woman, yet she was already drenched in the blood of her enemies.

The first female knight swallowed, a bead of cold sweat trickling down her neck.

‘…This child unnerves me more and more each time I see her.’

This young girl, barely past her teenage years, was already one of the Nina Clan’s core members, a member of the Seven Swords.

While Shael, the knight, acknowledged the girl’s talent, she couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that clung to the girl like a shroud.

It was like… like that half-demon.

Yes, he had given off the same feeling.

A primal, instinctive bloodlust that triggered a primal fear within her.

But she wouldn’t say anything.

The girl was powerful, there was no denying that.

And she hadn’t caused any trouble within the Order.

She was young.

With time, Shayel believed she would mature into a true knight.

Lost in her thoughts, Shayel continued to cut down the fleeing demons.

Then, a tremor ran through the air, drawing her attention.

“…It’s about to begin.”

“What is?” the young knight asked.

“The Sword Saint is about to end this.”

“Wow!” The young girl gasped, turning to look.

In the distance, a colossal sword materialized in the sky, descending towards a lone demon.

Heaven-Splitting Sword.

Sky Sword—.

It hurtled towards the battered figure of Crete.

And standing before him…

“Who’s that? Is that… a little girl…?”

…was Rene, throwing herself in harm’s way to protect him.

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