“No way…”
Hills was momentarily flustered, then suddenly unleashed magic.
When the strong power tried to reach Zion across the dawn air, the magic disappeared in front of Zion.
Seeing this, Hills muttered.
“It’s real.”
Suddenly, an annoyed voice flowed from Zion’s mouth.
“We don’t have time for this.”
The last sight he saw was her, wrapped in chains. Although the illusion couldn’t be reality, he felt an instinctive sense of crisis.
She was in a dangerous situation.
“Where is she?”
“If my guess is correct, in the demon world.”
“The demon world?”
Zion’s face crumpled for a moment.
“Why is an angel in the demon world?”
“You still don’t know the heavens and the earth.”
Hills said with a mocking laugh in response to Zion’s question.
“Ironic, isn’t it? An angel in the demon world.”
“Tell me quickly.”
He thought he knew everything now, but he was anxious about the fact that there was still something he didn’t know about her.
“It’s all because of you.”
“…”
“You were not supposed to be born. Empress Meriden was originally destined to die. But then,”
Hills looked at Zion in front of him with cold eyes. A chilly aura flowed out.
“Arundel saved you. Your dying mother and you.”
Zion recalled the moment his mother gently kissed Arundel’s forehead.
“…How did she save us?”
“The forbidden seed, a treasure of the demon world. By obtaining it, Empress Meriden’s life could be extended. Eventually, the seed went to you.”
Zion slowly lowered his eyes. All the twisted situations made sense.
Despite having no magicians in his bloodline, he was born with exceptional magic. He thought it was a chance given to him. But as if it wasn’t his, the power grew stronger.
So he had a vague idea.
That this power is not ordinary, not natural. But he didn’t expect such a secret to be hidden.
Zion raised his gaze again and asked.
“So, what does Arundel being in the demon world and the forbidden seed have to do with each other?”
“The absence of the forbidden seed caused the collapse of the world, and the demon world demanded something to replace the seed.”
“So that’s Arundel.”
“No.”
But then Hills suddenly gritted his teeth.
“I thought so.”
“What?”
“It was all a lie.”
Hills’ eyes were dyed red.
“There’s no way Mannheim would lie…”
Zion didn’t know who Mannheim was, but he could tell that Hills’ anger was considerable now.
“The Demon King, Leviathan, lied. The collapse of the world was not originally due to the absence of the seed.”
“Why do you think so?”
“If Leviathan’s words are true, there should be no immediate situation where the demons are going crazy. Because Arundel is replacing the role of the seed. But as you know, the situation remains the same.”
His red eyes sparkled.
“I was deceived by that guy.”
Zion felt his brain boiling with anger, but he had to keep his cool. Now, rather than excitement, a cool judgment of the situation was needed.
“Do you know why he did that?”
Hills shook his head.
“No. There’s nothing to point to. But,”
Bang!
Hills hit a tree next to him with his hand. The thick pillar of the tree collapsed weakly.
“I know I have to beat that bastard.”
A deep magic flowed from Hills.
“But before that.”
Hills looked at Zion with a blank face.
“Your role is important.”
Zion looked back at Hills.
“Going to the demon world is like invading enemy territory. And I have to deal with the Demon King, Leviathan… It’s impossible with my power alone. So I need you, but,”
“…”
“If you can’t control your power properly like before, it’s better not to have it.”
Zion looked down at his hand.
What was it like before he lost his power? He felt anxious and restless like a raft floating on a tide that could hit at any time.
What about now?
When he closed his eyes, he felt the power stirring inside his body. It’s no different now. No, the power that is hitting fiercely seems to have grown bigger.
But he knows.
It’s meaningless to worry about whether he can handle this power well.
The only choice left for him is to control this power unconditionally.
That’s the only way to save her.
“Hills.”
His golden eyes filled with determination looked at Hills.
“Guide me.”
****
The gate to the demon world opened.
“If you go in here, it’s directly connected to the entrance of the demon world.”
Black energy was fluttering from the gate like ashes.
“Where are we going in the demon world?”
“We’re going to the entrance of the demon world first.”
“You don’t know where Arundel is.”
At Zion’s question, Hills clenched his jaw.
“I know where the forbidden seed was originally placed, but I don’t think Leviathan would have put Arundel there.”
“Why?”
“Because he knows I’m coming.”
Then he had to go and find Arundel. It seemed like it would take longer than he thought.
Zion, who had been quiet for a while, asked Hills another question.
“Is there another plan?”
“Plan?”
Seeing his thoughtless eyes, he soon realized that he had asked a pointless question.
“Just beat them all, what else.”
It would have been an opinion to be opposed to if it were usual, but the situation was different now.
He wanted to take a step forward with a brute force method as he said, as every second here was precious.
He was not showing it, but his anxious heart was heating his body.
“Are you ready?”
As Zion nodded, Hills stood in front of the gate as if to lead the way.
“Let’s go.”
But then,
“Wait a minute!”
A familiar voice came from afar. Judging by the overlapping sound of footsteps, it seemed to be more than one person.
Soon, three figures filled the empty training ground.
“We’ll go with you.”
“Royden.”
Zion looked at Royden, who had run up to him, with a slightly surprised expression. Not only that, Bianca and Lucas were also there.
“You guys…”
“I don’t know. I can’t explain what happened. I just woke up and knew everything.”
Bianca answered, catching her breath. But Zion remembered what his mother had said.
[I’ll restore your friends’ memories. Get their help.]
Friends, that meant them.
It was a wrong term, but now was not the time to care about that.
“We’re going to the demon world.”
“Is she there?”
Lucas asked. His face looked more determined than ever.
“Yes.”
As Zion answered, Hills cut in.
“Well, you must have a lot of questions, but let’s talk about it later. For now, it seems like the gate is going to close.”
The gate, which had been emitting a black light, seemed to have become blurrier than before.
Zion looked around. Everyone nodded.
“Let’s go.”
At the end of Zion’s words, the five of them passed through the gate.
As soon as they passed through, Lucas squinted at the magic that rushed in. Seeing this, Hills stroked his chin and said.
“Zion and Bianca, who handle magic, will be familiar with magic, but Royden and Lucas will have a hard time.”
As Hills said, Lucas looked like he’s having the most difficult situation, followed by Royden. Fortunately, Zion and Bianca looked fine.
As he was pondering, a coarse voice came from afar.
“Hey! What are you guys!”
The demon that appeared with black skin and horns was the typical appearance of a demon seen in books.
The two demons approached threateningly at the sight of the intruders who suddenly popped out. However, contrary to the demons’ expectations, Hills greeted them with a grin.
“You came just in time.”
“Uh… Oh, you are…!”
As the demon confirmed Hills’ face up close, he slowly backed away.
“Where!”
Hills didn’t let them go like a nimble beast. He quickly approached and grabbed the back of the demons’ heads and lifted them into the air.
The dangling demons struggled.
“Let go!”
“You came just in time.”
“What?!”
“Can you give me your skin?”
Soon, a creepy word flowed out of Hills. Then the demons struggled again fiercely.
“Are you crazy! Why me!”
“Don’t like it? Then give me your heart.”
With a chuckle, Hills’ face looked extremely cruel. The demons soon gave up and reluctantly took off their skin.
Fortunately, the skin seemed to be a concept of clothes for the demons, so no horrible bones were visible when they took it off.
And when Hills gestured to Royden and Lucas, who were far away, they came up covering their faces. They seemed to have a hard time with the magic.
“Now, wrap this around your shoulders.”
Hills handed over the skin he got from the demons. Royden and Lucas took the skin and wrapped it around their shoulders.
Then their expressions became much more comfortable.
“I never thought the day would come when I would wear a demon’s skin.”
As Lucas spoke with a nervous expression, the demons reacted.
“Heeek! You’re a priest!”
It wasn’t hard to understand the flustered demons. A priest in the demon world. And that too, with humans hanging all over him.
But Hills, who seemed to not care about the flustered demons at all, asked.
“Oh, by the way. Let’s ask since we met.”
“What, what is it, you traitor!”
“Traitor?”
As Hills’ voice suddenly lowered, the demons covered their heads again with a heeek!
Then a sharp voice popped out of their mouths.
“The rumor has spread all over the demon world that you betrayed the Demon King and sided with the angels!”
Hills couldn’t speak for a moment because it was too true. Soon, a brazen word popped out.
“But?”
“But what! The demons are all ready to beat you up! Plus, that damned angel is trembling in terrible agony and losing her mind…”
The demon couldn’t finish his sentence.
Because an enormous energy was gushing out from around them. Looking to the side, everyone had fierce faces.
Especially, the golden eyes were dyed black. The demons, pressed by the angry eyes, soon realized that they had misspoken, but it was already too late.
Zion approached and grabbed the demon’s neck. A painful voice flowed out.
“Ker… Kuk.”
“Where is that damned angel you were talking about.”
But the demon whose neck was grabbed couldn’t spit out a word. Zion mercilessly broke his neck.
Watching that, Hills clicked his tongue.
The guy who seemed to be holding back all along was finally showing his impatience. And quite brutally at that.
Zion bent down to the remaining demon and brought his face close.
“Your friend is dead, so you have to answer instead.”
The demon was shaking.
It wasn’t just because he saw the scene of the neck being broken. The tremendous power emanating from Zion was pressing down on the demon.
“Answer.”
At Zion’s urging, the demon barely opened his mouth.
“As, as far as I know, in the, the Demon King’s cave…”
As soon as he finished speaking, the demon’s face fell flat. Black blood splattered on Zion’s face.
Zion turned his head and looked at the dark space of the demon world.
‘The Demon King’s cave.’
Even when he turned his head, only a bland landscape filled the surroundings. Then, suddenly, his dull gaze fixed somewhere.
He had a feeling that Arundel would be there.
