I stared at the young man with eyes as blue as the deep sea.
I didn’t want to believe it.
How worried I had been.
And yet, I had believed.
That Hamel would be different from other humans.
Since I had personally written him with affection, I thought Hamel would possess the same righteousness that was different from the original work.
What was the truth?
Hamel, are you…?
“What is that, mute?”
A girl with passionate red hair asked me mockingly, bursting into laughter.
I knew who she was.
The heroine of my work, Luca, the youngest daughter of the Bale family, one of the six families.
A character who was usually bold and even reckless, but showed feminine softness in front of Hamel.
A character whose basic setting was tsundere.
Originally, she had a cruel and irritable personality.
However, she too was inspired by Hamel, learning what justice was and changing into a person who pursued good.
Personally, I gave her as much affection as the top five characters I had written.
But the momentum I felt from her now was different from what I had imagined.
“No answer? You’re making me want to kill you.”
It was as if she was swearing at a beast, no, something worse than that, not even considering me a living being.
…Actually, I knew it couldn’t be helped.
I am a half-demon, the most hated classification in both the demon and human realms.
More than that, how could these people from the Imperial Academy be here?
‘I think it might have something to do with Nana’s territory being invaded…’
The agony didn’t last long.
It wasn’t difficult to figure out where the content of the original work had changed.
‘… Killing the Sword Masters.’
In the original work, Crete died without inflicting any damage to the Nana family.
Therefore, there was no need for Hamel or Luca to come.
But because I changed something, they have come this far.
Clench-.
I made a fist.
It was the worst.
I didn’t want to meet Hamel in this way.
My heart felt torn to shreds by the look of contempt from the protagonist of my novel.
“….”
I looked up and stared at Hamel.
I could hear Luca chattering away in front of me, but it didn’t reach my ears.
I wanted to explain to Hamel.
At the same time, I wanted to ask.
Why we were here, and what the six families were hiding.
But I couldn’t.
From Hamel’s point of view, I was clearly an intruder and a murderer who had slaughtered the Sword Masters.
So I couldn’t open my mouth.
I, at least in this situation, did not want to meet Hamel.
When I had the ability to stand equal to Hamel someday, I had the justification to ignite Hamel’s justice.
… I wanted to stand proudly in front of him as the creator who loved Hamel the most.
Trying to control my contorted expression, I opened my mouth towards Hamel.
“Nice to meet you.”
Hamel frowned as if he thought my greeting was sudden.
I wanted to talk to Hamel as a creator, but I couldn’t.
So I took out the mask of Adel, my physical body.
At least for now, it was not the right situation to talk to Hamel.
I wonder why.
My heart ached.
My heart felt like it was going to explode.
I couldn’t open my mouth easily because of my rapid breathing.
Looking at me like that, Luca whispered to Hamel in a voice that seemed to say she didn’t understand.
“What’s wrong with him? He suddenly started radiating killing intent, and now he’s shaking all by himself.”
“….Hmm.”
Hamel and Luca seemed to be trying to figure out why I was acting like this as if they didn’t understand why.
The fact that they didn’t rush at me easily was probably because they were wary of the killing intent I had just released.
I barely opened my mouth.
“Hamel, do you know?”
“How do you know my name…?”
I heard Hamel’s bewildered voice.
He was surprised that I knew his name.
Hamel had not yet spread his fame throughout the continent.
So he had no choice but to be surprised.
A half-demon, who he was meeting for the first time in his life, knew his name.
I continued speaking, ignoring Hamel and Luca’s bewilderment.
“I’ve been looking forward to this day. And why is that? I can’t tell you that… but I can tell you for sure that we are enemies now.”
“What are you talking about?”
Luca snapped, clutching her staff at my words.
A staff made of World Tree branches was held in Luca’s hand.
A fearsome and powerful staff that only the daughter of the Duke Bale family could wield.
That alone would be enough to slaughter me before I consumed Crete’s body.
I gave them both the most brilliant talents.
It was so brilliant that it was blinding.
That’s why I wanted to ask Hamel.
“Are you blinded by your talent, deaf to the lies of humans, and turning a blind eye to the truth?”
“…What are you talking about?”
Hamel frowned.
He was still using the polite language he usually used, not looking down on me.
This was Hamel’s default.
Hamel didn’t use derogatory language to anyone.
Hamel was a person who humbled himself, proved his worth, and ultimately enforced justice.
That’s why I believed in Hamel.
And that belief…
‘Wasn’t wrong…’
I looked at Hamel’s reaction and was convinced.
Maybe I just wanted to believe it so badly.
But one thing was for sure,
If Hamel’s reaction wasn’t an act, he seemed to be unaware of the truth that the six families were hiding.
Even Terias, who had a relatively small role among the main characters, knew the truth, but Hamel didn’t.
It was an absurd story, but on the other hand, it made sense.
Anyone who knew Hamel’s personality would know how he would react to something that went against justice.
So I wanted to believe that no one around him had told him.
Swoosh-.
I pulled out the Fang of Darkness and the red dagger from my bosom.
The two daggers began to distort the space as killing intent condensed in them.
Two wyverns roared wildly, coiling around my wrists.
By consuming Crete’s flesh, I was able to freely use the manifestation of my mind.
But this wasn’t enough.
Because Hamel would have already transcended the wall and become an Absolute.
No, that’s not quite right.
It was true that Hamel possessed power similar to an Absolute.
Hamel’s power was enormous, and his swordsmanship had long since surpassed that of a Sword Saint.
But the current Hamel would not have reached the level of a Demigod.
And yet,
Hamel was stronger than those who had reached the level of a Demigod.
Because his swordsmanship contained the spirit of Godslaying.
I used one more thing.
I knew that using this would shatter my body, but I had a strong feeling that I wouldn’t be able to escape this place if I didn’t.
The Demon King’s strokes.
I consumed two of them.
The stroke bestowed by the Demon King of Gluttony.
The stroke bestowed by the Demon King of Pride.
Those two were erased from my wrist.
Rustle-.
I looked at my wrist, which now had only one stroke left, and opened my mouth.
“Step aside. It’s not time for you to talk to me yet.”
Kugugugugugu-.
At the same time, something beyond darkness began to emanate from my body.
[ Pitch Black ] [ Killing Intent ] [ Sword Lacquar ]….
Mana: [ 8672 ]
All stats had jumped a level, and my mana was close to 10,000.
Although I hadn’t reached 10,000 and therefore hadn’t reached the level of a Demigod, I could tell that I was stronger than I had ever been.
But I knew this wasn’t enough.
To face both Hamel and Luca, I needed to reach at least the level of a Demigod.
But that was impossible for me now.
So the best option I could choose was,
‘Break through Luca, who’s weaker than Hamel.’
It was true that Luca was also skilled, but she was inferior to Hamel.
She was about the same level as me after I consumed Crete’s body.
She was no match for me now.
‘Wyverns.’
I said to myself.
At the same time, the Gu Poison sleeping within me surged up.
The Gu Poison and the wyverns roared wildly and lunged at Luca.
At the same time, I also dashed towards Luca at high speed, swinging my sword filled with killing intent.
Crackle-!
“….!”
Luca’s eyes widened as the protective barrier surrounding her body rapidly shattered.
It was a look of disbelief at my sudden breakthrough and my movements that were close to divine.
Luca opened her mouth in a hurry.
“Mother Earth, Goddess of Nature, bring down the Red Priestess to the earth! When the fire demon dances, only ashes will remain of the enemy!”
Soon, a red light began to surge from Luca’s staff.
As she chanted, brilliant flames began to dance as if a Red Priestess had descended.
Flames of blue and red, with enough power to engulf the entire mountain, began to engulf me.
But I.
Movement-.
As if I had been waiting, I used Position Exchange to retreat.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Luca shot an even more intense flame at me.
I smirked as I watched it.
This was the brilliant talent I had bestowed upon Luca.
She was stronger than any mage I had ever seen.
I even wondered if she was stronger than Samuel or Diana, who had transcended levels.
Deep down, I knew that Luca wasn’t the only one I had to deal with.
Swoosh-.
While I was retreating using Position Exchange, I glanced at the spot where Hamel had been.
I had to deal with that guy too….
Suddenly, my thoughts stopped.
Hamel, who should have been there, was nowhere to be seen.
Don’t tell me.
The moment my eyes widened.
Slash-.
“Ah.”
A short groan escaped my lips.
Hamel, who had sprung from somewhere with the speed of light, had cut off my left arm.
Thud-.
The moment the red dagger and my left arm fell to the ground.
Hamel’s sword bent at an unnatural angle and struck my neck.
And then,
Clang-.
A strange sound rang out.
A sound I had heard before.
Access 5 advance chapters with the ‘Position Exchange I’ Tier ($10), or 10 advance chapters with ‘Eye of Arrogance’ Tier ($18), or 20 advance chapters with ‘Sword Lacquer’ Tier ($35), or 30 advance chapters with ‘Fighting Spirit’ Tier ($50)
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