Ludin shouted as he saw his blades pierce him. Tom twisted his body to evade an oncoming sword of light and gripped its handle, causing Ludin's face to grow stiff.
"… You caught it?"
"If it can pierce physical objects, of course it can be held, but…"
Tom looked at his hand gripping the sword. It was being burnt, even though it was protected by Holy Power.
"My hand's going to end up being well-done."
Tom deflected the rest of the oncoming blades. It was short work with his own blade of light. When the blade in his hand shattered, he would grab another and fend off the assault. Quickly and efficiently, he blocked all of the blades shooting toward him.
Tom staggered and tried to remain calm, even as his breathing began to grow rough. He was sweating heavily as he released the sword in his hand. The blades surrounding him slowly began to disappear.
'…I-it's hard!'
This was Tom's honest thought. He hadn't truly exerted himself like this in a long time, in human form no less, but facing off against a Hero equipped with magic items was more than a little hard. The silver lining, however, was that his opponent was practically a child with limited combat experience. "The Hero" was a pampered house plant, fostered by the Holy Kingdom along his path, unlike himself. When he had still been Thoma, he had employed all manner of methods with the sole goal of assassinating the Demon Lord, without any special equipment or an army.
"… Devil."
Ludin was feeling something different than Tom; he was overcome with despair. He felt all of the effort he had put in to come this far being denied by a single opponent. Ludin's body was losing its strength as his morale sank.
Aris shouted at Ludin, and Lily at Tom. They each shouted the same thing at the same time.
"Run! Run!"
At their voices, Ludin and Tom looked toward the sky. Aris had summoned a massive fireball with her staff—over 5 meters in diameter. It had been summoned through extensive casting over the course of their duel.
Tom, who was at the center of the fireball's target, smirked.
"This… is a bit too much."
The ball of fire slammed onto the ground. Everything was swallowed up in flames. Ludin leaped back from the heat and covered his face with his arm. Tom could feel his flesh being burned away as he stood within the flames.
Ludin smiled despite the pain.
'Good! With this much firepower, even that bastard should die!'
Tom's body began to burn and break apart. His hood and armor began to burn and melt. As his flesh bubbled, a massive, pitch-black liquid enveloped the flames. The liquid spread across the ground and covered Tom's body, forming a set of armor—familiar to some of those present—around his body. His snake-headed tail looked around before turning and glaring at Ludin. Both Ludin and Aris froze, expressions of despair etched onto their faces. They were not the only ones with such reactions.
The Apostle Kuman trembled in fear while Ellin recalled the being she had seen in the Golden Fief, causing her eyes to grow wide. Karakul instinctively bowed toward Tom. The Demon Lord, Lily Golt, grew stiff. Both the Demon and Human soldiers retreated without hesitation.
Absolute power that embodied 'death'. The advent of Arrtark. The God of Creation had descended.
***
Ludin's body began to twitch. His face became one of laughter instead of despair. He began to laugh wholeheartedly as he wiped his forehead. He felt a strange sense of joy.
"Haha… Hahaha! Hahahaha!!"
Aris, surprised by his reaction, grabbed him by the shoulders and shouted.
"Ludin! We have to run! Run! This is too much! We can't win! How can we… against that monster…"
"Haha! Aris! What are you saying! Just what are you talking about!"
Ludin exploded in laughter, pushing her away. He looked toward Arrtark, now floating above the black lake.
"Haha! That's it. That was how it was! Holy Knight? Don't make me laugh! You were actually the Demon Lord! That's it! That's just it! Something like this can't happen otherwise!"
Ludin pointed toward Lily.
"She was just a puppet! A trick! You're the true Demon Lord! To fool even a Hero like me!"
Ludin believed Arrtark to be the Demon Lord. In some ways, it was the most reasonable explanation. An existence which exuded dignity and gravitas, and an incomparable, fiendish magic power…! It wasn't wrong for anyone to call such a being a 'Demon Lord'.
"I'll acknowledge you! How malicious your tricks are! You are the Demon Lord! I am the Hero Ludin! I'll cut you down! I'll cut you down with my life on the line in the name of God…!"
[Do you believe you can beat me?]
Ludin lost his voice and broke into cold sweat upon hearing those words. In reality, he was teetering on the edge of despair.
"Haha…! Of course…"
No… He would most likely fail.
'Can I beat you? Do you think that makes any sense? I couldn't even beat that form of a heretical Holy Knight a moment ago, but facing off against this monster? What a joke. Truly a funny one. It's why I feel like laughing. Hahaha! But I can't fall back! If I fall back now… I'll be punished by the Holy Kingdom!'
Ludin gritted his teeth, which began to creak and crack, sending blood trickling from his gums. The night had passed at some point and the sun could be seen peeking out from above the mountain range, beginning the new day. Its bright light illuminated the battlefield which had been blanketed in darkness.
"Do you think a Hero will lose to a sinister demon like you?! Arrtark shall bestow God's blessing upon me! A miracle to slay a bastard like you! It is my life's mission to kill the Demon Lord! To slay a being of pure evil with God's blessing will be the miracle God grants me…!!"
[God's blessing? Miracle? Ah, do you mean…]
The sun's light fell upon the black lake. In that instant, the lake was purified into crystal clear water. It had become filled with Holy Water. In response, Arrtark's pitch black armor turned pure white.
[… Do you mean something like this?]
Arrtark's hand struck the lake. Water exploded and formed into a waterspout which shot into the air, where droplets of water collided with and sparkled in the morning light. The water scattered in every direction, showering the battlefield. The raging flames were doused and the withered grass was revitalized, turning green and full of life. The Blood soaking the earth turned clear and not only the Orcs, but the Humans as well, were all healed.
Ludin was filled with such shock that he dropped the Holy Sword in his hand. Demon and Human soldiers alike gazed at Arrtark with slack jaws. The formless cape fluttering behind his pure white armor looked like white wings, while the Holy Power overflowing from his entire body was enough to deify him.
"An…gel?"
"…Angel!"
The Devil-turned-Angel which had everyone frozen in fear just moments ago looked like an Angel clad in armor. The soldiers could feel it. They were dying moments ago, yet somehow their wounds had vanished. They watched as souls, turned to light, poured out of the dead and floated into the air, where they were purified.
"… Lord A-angel?"
"Did you say… Angel?"
"…Ah."
The Holy Knights dropped the weapons in their hands, having given up any thoughts of fighting. They didn't know what to do before such a holy presence.
Karakul reamined kneeled, holding Arrtark in his sight. Orcs and Ogres watched their Apostle kneel and followed suit, lowering their heads obediently. Following the demons, the Human Soldiers also kneeled, as if out of compulsion.
"… T-this is a lie! It's all deceit! Don't succumb! That bastard is the Devil! Do not succumb to the Devil!"
Ludin began to shout like a madman. Arrtark, watching him rave, spoke.
[Is this not the miracle you were hoping to see?]
Ludin shut his mouth. This was an overwhelming amount of holy energy that no sinister devil could hope to produce. It was as though an 'Angel' had actually appeared before him, but if that was true, why? Why was it protecting the demons? Why did it appear here? And why was it standing in his way?
'… Were we the evil ones?'
Ludin began to think what shouldn't be thought. Such thoughts meant that he would be abandoning everything he had believed so far. The faith that he had cultivated for dozens of years was being overturned by the sight before his eyes. Ludin, unable to stand such overwhelming doubt, raised his Holy Sword once more.
'No! We are blameless! This is an illusion! It's magic meant to fool us!'
"I'll kill you. I shall!"
He rushed forward, swinging his Holy Sword toward Arrtark. However, every single thrust and slash was deflected by Arrtark's tail.
"The Demon Lord! You are the Demon Lord! A devil that seduces humans…!"
Suddenly, a sharp pain struck Ludin's body. Arrtark's right hand, clad in a gauntlet of pure white, was holding the Hero's heart. Arrtark embraced Ludin's body and whispered into the Hero's ear.
[You're right. I might be the devil.]
"… Aaagghh!"
[Rest comfortably, dear Hero.]
With those final words, Arrtark ripped Ludin's still beating heart from his chest. His snake tail then opened its maw and swallowed the beating heart whole. Arratrk dropped Ludin's body, which crumpled pathetically as it landed on the ground. Ludin still clung to life, faint as his hold was, and coughed up an endless stream of blood. Aris, spurned by the sight of her lover's demise, ran to him.
"L-Ludin! Ludin-!"
Ludin said nothing and his eyes slowly closed. As death approached the Hero, Ariss' face twisted in grief.
[It is your defeat.]
The Hero's Allied Forces had been completely defeated in this war.
— Ω —