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Chapter 305 – All-Heaven Festival Contest Final Stage “Demon King Castle Bloody Field” (27) / Hero (Part 1)

305 – All-Heaven Festival Contest Final Stage “Demon King Castle Bloody Field” (27) / Hero (Part 1)

Seeing the young man fighting my father right before my eyes, I’m finally convinced.

「I see… so it was you?」

Humans once thought they would never be able to fly.

They were absolutely certain that there was no way for them to do that.

After all, they weren’t birds.

However, while this thought – regarded as “common sense” – ruled the world, there were still some who thought “Even so, I want to fly”.

And everyone else would make fun of them for wanting to fly in the sky like birds.

“You can’t do that, you fool.”, and so on.

There was a time when those who looked down on the “fools” who still wanted to fly were the majority, and as such they were “right”.

However, those who challenged common sense worked hard.

They devised magic that would allow them to fly in the sky, just like birds, harpies, and dragons.

It’s always the unyielding challengers such as them who continue to make efforts despite being denied by the majority.

They don’t give up. Through trial and error and devoting their creativity, and at a pace that resembles that of a wild beast that has gone on all fours, they certainly keep going until they reach their goal.

Mr. Lem is exactly like that.

The difference between the Demon King Lucifer and everybody else is as large as the distance between heaven and earth.

That was a fact that I understood without needing to face him in battle.

But Mr. Lem is one of those people who would be fully aware of this and still think — “well, in that case, I’ll fly up there”.

「How impressive…」

No matter how you slice it, Mr. Lem is no genius. He is an ordinary human individual. He is no “Demon King”, and he is no “Hero”.

If there is anything in this world like a “chosen one”, he’s not it. He was born without wings.

And that’s precisely why he kept going.

That’s what makes him special.

His determination. Nothing but his determination.

This unyielding determination of his brought the young “Black Sorcerer”, who had been denied by the world, to what he is today.

The strength of his heart managed to move even my father’s heart.

— Such a thing was impossible for me.

I was proud of my father, and I really admired him, but that’s where it stopped for me.

After all, I never thought of wanting to defeat my father.

Now, seeing my father happily throwing punches, I finally notice.

He’s fighting a person who, even though the enemy standing before him is the strongest Demon King in the world, will continue to advance without hesitation in order to defeat him.

And… to make sure that such a person would come to be, no matter what…

Maybe that’s what my father wanted.

「Thank you, Mr. Lem.」

A person who follows his dreams and makes the impossible possible with their determination alone…

I already know what to call someone like you.

But I also know I’m not the one who’s supposed to say it.

At the very least, a lot of other people ought to throw that word at you before I do.

◇

After my Avatar was destroyed, my mind returned to my body, which had been contained in the “cocoon”.

As soon as I left the participant’s Link Room and entered the hallway, I encountered people who were thinking the same thing as me. Humans and Demi-Humans alike all hurried to the venue.

That’s because none of us wanted to see the end of this fight through the small TV set in the Link Room. We wanted to see it up close.

As we run up the stairs, I run into some familiar faces.

「Ah, so you guys are here.」

The world ranked 2nd — “Jet Black Hero” Ex and the “Wizard of Foresight” Merlin.

They notice me, but their eyes never leave the battlefield.

We also turn our eyes to the field where my friend is fighting.

My childhood friend, who has been with me since we were born, is fighting in a form I’ve never seen before.

Seeing that, Merlin starts to speak in a really cheerful tone.

「That’s just Lem for you. To reach the Esoteric Art deep inside his body… No, we’ve been blind to this. Just as there is no reason why people can’t use Black Sorcery, there is no reason why people can’t use Spirit Arts. After all, it was the humans of the past who gave it that name, and categorized it as something different. People say that Spirit Arts cannot be used without the help of a Spirit, but who’s to say that that will never change in the future? Thank you, Lem. Thanks to you, I will get closer to the Spirits.」

Even though she has already reached the highest peak of magic with each of the four major attributes, and is even able to use Heaven-Base Magic, she seems to have found further possibilities for growth after seeing Lem.

「Hahaha, I’m looking forward to seeing that! …Good grief, that guy never ceases to impress.」

Ex’s laughing voice is very soft.

Aerial, who’s standing beside him, starts talking next.

「Right now, the strongest man in the world is doing everything in his power to defeat a young man. I envy you, Lem. There’s so much I envy about you. And Lucifer… I get it. You’re really enjoying yourself, standing before him.」

The “Storm Hero” Aerial.

「Speaking of which, I’ve actually never fought Lem properly. A certain “phoenix” would get in the way all the time… When this is over, I’ve gotta ask him.」

The “Water Hero” Wraith.

Everyone who fought with him, everyone who came to see this match.

Everyone, including the audience, had been denying him until just now.

None of us is able to take our eyes from the field. We all want to witness the end of his battle against this world’s strongest.

I don’t think there’s anyone here who can pretend to know how it will end.

「Lem… Ever since the first time we met, you’ve been my–」

I understand very well what Miss Milla wants to say as she puts her hands together as if in prayer.

When I was young, I was afraid of many things, and even though I wanted to say something, I couldn’t find the words, so I wasn’t able to get into any circle of friends, and yet he became my friend.

Nothing has changed about him, ever since the time when the bullies in the village banded together to attack us, every time he would be beaten down, he would stand right back up.

Ever since then, you’ve been sticking to that as the way you chose to live your life.

You declared that that’s the kind of person that you wanted to be.

But, haven’t you noticed?

From the beginning, you’ve always been–

「– A Hero.」

I don’t know who said that just now.

However, it’s not just that person who would say that.

Many people, including myself and Miss Milla, find ourselves letting that word out of our mouths just by looking at him.

Just by looking at the “Black Sorcerer”, the human, the man who for some reason has a Majin’s horn coming out of his head.

There are a lot of people in the venue who have been deeply moved by him.

He is my hero.

He is the hero of Miss Milla.

And —

「Lem, the hero who saves heroes… You will defeat the Demon King today and become the hero who saves Demon Kings.」

Just like Ex says.

He is a hero who saves heroes.

And he will become a hero who saves Demon Kings.

「Lem. Let me say again the words that I once sealed after losing to you.」

I say this to my best friend, who is exchanging blows with the “Red-Horned Demon King”:

「Our battle will not end in defeat– right?」

So please win.

◇

My Holy Fist, covered in my crimson Horn Armor, clashes with Master’s own crimson fist.

Our fists make a dull, heavy sound while sending sparks that can burn the eyes flying.

Since both of us get our propulsive force from our wings, we’re evenly matched in this struggle to remain airborne.

But that balance would not last long.

「Uh, woooooh…!」

Raising my voice as if squeezing from the bottom of my soul, I do my best to take a full swing with my fist.

At that moment…

Since I shifted my position in order to make sure that I would be able to dodge Master’s punch upwards, my own fist was the only one that managed to hit its mark.

The Holy Fist hits Master’s chest without fail, scraping off the Horn Armor that covers it as if being melted through by a hot iron, digging into the scar of the slash that was definitely engraved on his chest — and piercing through it.

My Holy Fist has definitely punched a hole through Master’s chest.

And Master’s attack came down as well.

「Huh…!?」

A shock that shatters my entire whole body hits my back.

Just as I wondered what on earth had happened, the answer became clear.

I hadn’t dodged Master’s attack just now.

Master… must have dared to take my attack head-on.

Then, he moved his hands away, put them together the moment I attacked, and swung them down like a hammer.

To think that the strongest Demon King would choose to let himself get hit like that only to make sure he would be able to hit me harder…

No — under these circumstances, it was the best thing he could do.

I should see this as an indicator of just how close I’m getting to my strongest enemy yet.

His attacks could split the entire continent with a single blow, but I’m still alive.

Out of my four wings, I had folded the top two in order to protect my back from anything that could happen to it.

Those were shattered by Master’s attack, but I still have two wings left.

I jet out Magical Energy from them.

I fly through this magic space with my fist still stuck inside Master’s chest.

As we move, my “unfinished Black Sorcery” comes in contact with Master’s entire body and chips away at his Magical Energy.

Before long, Master’s wings crumble and fall apart, probably due to him not having enough Magical Energy to sustain them.

But he isn’t the only one to lose his wings.

A hole the size of a fist has been made in his chest, his entire body has been exposed to the threat of my “Footsteps of the Demon God”, and yet Master still manages to rip my remaining wings off.

This makes me lose control of our flight, and we jostle in mid-air until we eventually drift away from each other.

I can no longer regenerate my wings.

However, ejecting Magical Energy as a means of propulsion is something that is technically possible from any part of the Horn Armor.

You can control your posture in mid-air by jetting out Magical Energy from our elbows, feet, hands, and so on.

「What’s the matter? I’m not dead yet. Are you going to call yourself a hero without having killed a single Demon King?」

Back in the final match of the Tag Tournament, I was surprised to see that Furcus managed to keep moving for a while even after having her heart pierced, but Master is beyond even that.

Even though I can see the other side of the field through the hole in his chest, he’s still talking as if nothing had happened.

What an amazing creature.

However, this feels strangely suitable.

I can’t imagine Master just dying in a normal way.

In that case, I have no choice but to prepare an attack that will blast his whole body away.