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Chapter 305 – All-Heaven Festival Contest Final Stage “Demon King Castle Bloody Field” (27) / Hero (Part 2)

305 – All-Heaven Festival Contest Final Stage “Demon King Castle Bloody Field” (27) / Hero (Part 2)

By losing our wings, we’ve lost the ability to fly freely in the sky we’ve had up until now.

From now on, we can only accelerate in a straight line forward.

No matter how strong Master is, there’s no way he isn’t dying.

The problem, however, was my own Magical Energy…

『Oh, you can do it.』

I take all of the “unfinished Black Sorcery” that I had spread out in all directions and had yet to come in contact with Master and gather it all inside my right arm.

My crimson Holy Fist is now wrapped in black shadows.

Then, I dispel all of my Horn Armor from my body except from my right arm. Or perhaps I should say that I gather all of it inside of my right arm as well.

I’m missing my right leg, which has already collapsed, but I don’t care. I’m in the air now.

Now that I’m looking at myself, I can see that my whole body is already disappearing.

It looks like the distorted images that would come out of old TVs.

I hear the buzzing sound produced by this blurred image of a body.

My Avatar is screaming, probably because it’s already at its limit.

『…A few more seconds left.』, says Dark, reaffirming my thoughts.

That’s how little time I have left.

I ready my fist.

「Today, right here, I’m gonna be the winner.」

「There are no winners other than me, ever.」

Master also concentrated all of his Magical Energy and Horn Armor into his right arm.

And he’s also enveloped by his own “Footsteps of the Demon God.”

It might be similar to that technique I saw in the battle between Aerial and Ex.

Should this state be called Horn Armor Extreme?

With such thoughts during these last few moments, the two figures remaining on the battlefield disappear.

Each of us continues to live just enough for the moment when they unleash their Magical Energy from their elbows to make their right fist connect with their enemy.

In a moment that seems to be no longer than the blink of an eye, our final collision takes place.

For some reason, among the shock and thundering roar which felt as if a star had exploded, Master’s face is the only thing I can see clear as day.

— Ah, what a happy face you have.

But I’m sure my own face is the same.

The feelings of wanting to fight forever and wanting to win are equally filling my heart.

Master, thanks to your teachings, I have been able to help many of my friends obtain victory.

Master, thanks to the power of the horn you gave me, I was able to defeat the opponent I really wanted to defeat.

And, Master…

Today, I —

Both of our “Footsteps of the Demon God” intertwine with each other, approach their caster’s opponent, and my vision goes black.

Both Master and I are wrapped in jet-black shadows.

「It was a good fight, “Hero” Lem.」

I couldn’t see what kind of face he had when he said those words.

But his voice sounded so soft…

I’m sure that that tone of voice isn’t something that was born from today’s fight —

— 『It had to be a long, hard-fought battle. Anything short of that, and no one would notice your worth.』

It seems to me that he’s referring to all of the fights I’ve had so far.

「–」

I want to say something too, but it looks like I’ve run out of time.

『– It’s time.』

The last thing I heard was my partner’s voice.

◇

「– Master!」

I wake up inside of my “cocoon”.

My mind had returned to my real body.

The “cocoon” takes way too long to open, and I step outside of it the moment I have a chance to.

I look around the room, find a small TV that’s displaying a live broadcast of the venue, and rush over to it.

There is no one left on the field.

Of course, I’m no longer there, and neither is Master.

In other words, that person… has left the stage.

Then–

「Who won?!」

I don’t think it was actually trying to answer my rushed voice, but the camera shifted its focus toward the huge screen set up in the venue.

It seems that the last moments of our fight will be replayed in slow motion in order to determine who won.

This isn’t just for today. It’s not unusual for the eyes of ordinary people to be unable to follow what’s going on during such high-speed battles, so it’s fairly common for posted videos and TV commentaries to be played in slow motion.

The video starts playing.

Both Master’s body and mine were touched by each others’ Esoteric Arts and became wrapped in shadows before rapidly heading towards death.

Then, after the shadows cleared up…

— Ah.

It seemed like it was a very brief moment. But in reality, it had been much shorter than what this replay shows.

Master disappeared earlier.

『…Haha. Oh, I apologize. As you can see from the video, the winner has been decided. Allow me to announce that the last participant to leave the field In this final stage of the All-Heaven Festival Contest’s Final Stage “Demon King Castle Bloody Field” was the “One-Horned Hero” Lem. So the winners are — the challengers!』

Fellow announces the results of the battle.

The venue falls into silence for a moment….

And immediately after that, there was an explosion of cheers.

「Ha… Haha.」

Despite myself, my body gives in and I fall to my knees.

『Partner! 』

Dark phases through a wall and enters the room.

She must have flown here from the field.

『You won! You won! Waahaha! You see that, you fools? My idol is the best in the world~~! How does it feel to see that the same “Black Sorcerer” you’ve been making fun of for so long has brought forth a new era~?! Hmph! I hope all of you at least have the decency to admit that you have tunnel vision!』

She flutters and dances in mid-air, looking like she’s having the time of her life.

But I can’t see her well.

My vision is blurred by the tears that are crawling up from the depths of my heart, which I desperately try to contain.

But even that fails in the end, and the tears end up overflowing from my black eyes.

Oh, but I shouldn’t cry…

Master has no need for such weaklings as his disciples.

But I couldn’t hold them any longer.

『…Are you crying, partner?』

As Dark approached me, I pulled her closer to me, and we pressed our cheeks together.

『~~~~』

「Yes, I’m crying. After all, there’s no disciple in this world who won’t be thrilled after being praised by their Master.」

Dark was taken aback for a bit, but before long, she awkwardly put her hands on my cheeks. This is what happens when someone as tiny as her tries to hug me back.

『Right. You worked really hard.』

「Thank you, Dark. Thank you for your help.」

And thanks to all the people who fought with us.

『That’s “Darkie” for you, isn’t it?』

「Haha…」

She hasn’t changed one bit, and I can’t help but laugh.

However, Dark’s next words come out in a very serious tone of voice.

『Lem. You are a normal human. But your heart longed for reaching the heavens, and you didn’t give up until you got there. Your unyielding efforts are your brilliance as an individual, and your very existence is proof of the infinite possibilities hidden within the small existence of a human being.』

As Dark says that, she rubs my cheeks, scooping up my tears with her small hands.

『Your unyielding spirit hasn’t only pushed you to great heights. It touched the hearts of the people around you. There are many people who have fallen in love with your way of life. You armed yourself with the power of those people, and today, you made the impossible possible. My precious Lem… Today, you were the greatest Hero in the world.』

「…Thank you, partner.」

『Please show me a fun way of life from now on, okay, partner?』

With that mischievous remark, she returns to her usual attitude.

「Yeah, I’ll do my best.」

『By the way, now that you’ve cried, won’t your Master put an end to your teacher-disciple relationship?』

This Spirit seems to have peeped into the memories I have about the time I started training under Master.

When I look at her with scornful eyes, she shrugs her shoulders and makes a face as if to say that she was just playing around.

I pull her apart.

『Ah~. Aww, the lovey-dovey moment is over…?! I-I hope it comes back soon…』

「Dark.」

『Uuhhh… What is it?』

「Will you keep the fact that I was crying a secret from Master?」

When I said this to her, who was faking to be crying, she was confused for a moment.

Then, the Spirit gave me a sympathetic smile.

『…Hahaha. Yes, of course. In the name of the Mysterious Spirit, I shall keep your tears as yet another one of the secrets of this world.』

On this day, the strength of this world’s most powerful people gathered together and succeeded in defeating the strongest Demon King in this world.

A victory that I would have never been able to achieve by myself.

Even if I was told to do it again, it would be impossible.

No one would think that I alone was stronger than Master.

And it was a close victory even closer than the fight with Fenix at the 10th Floor.

But none of that matters.

Because we were able to defeat that Master who would win against the world itself.

『Ah, at last, some long-awaited time alone with my idol…』

Right after Dark finishes saying that, the corridor gets noisy, the door connecting it with the Link Room is thrown open with great force, and the people who fought alongside me, such as Fenix and Milla, rush in.

After making sure that my cheeks are no longer wet, I smile at everyone.