"We must separate her from the host's flesh."
Were Leon's words, before the siege began.
"It's a spirit. Unlike normal demons, it relies on its host for physicality."
But if you can separate the host from the spirit, it's not impossible to save the host.
"Do you want to save your father, do you want to exact the right revenge?"
"...."
In response, Leon told her the best she could do, and warned her of the risks she would have to take.
"First, you must take the sword. You will become its new host."
"I will."
"...."
Leon stared at So-yeon, who immediately accepted the idea of giving her body over to the demon.
-Tap!
He tapped the crown of her head with his finger. It hurt a little, and moisture formed at the corners of her eyes.
"Take care of yourself a little."
"...neh."
It hurt, but she didn't feel bad about it since she knew it was out of kindness.
"Anyway, keep these earrings on."
"What is this?"
"It's a Stardust Earring that contains the power of dreams. I made them as a gift for the cadets."
It was Beatrice who revealed the earrings' identity. The Magician Queen and the High Priestess of Dreams and Death, explained that she had blessed them with her powers.
"They were originally meant to protect the cadets' mental barriers, as there are many demons that can interfere with their minds."
Beatrice had fought countless demons and repelled them so she knew demons that lead humans astray are particularly adept at mental seduction.
"It's designed to protect the mind and catch the enemy in a reverse trap. It has worked well against the demons of corruption in the past."
Beatrice didn't bother to mention how she'd dealt with a demon who'd taken over her mind, or what she could do with the power of dreams.
"Here's the plan. First, you show weakness, and then she takes over."
"And it just triggers at that moment?"
"It's not that easy. Even though she's weakened, she's an Archdemon. If I cast the spell from the front, she'll counter it."
So Leon fights the beast, drains it of its strength, and in its moment of exhaustion, she unexpectedly detonates the Stardust Earring, releasing its power once and for all.
"If you fail, you will become the host of a vicious creature, and then this king will have to cut you down."
"...I won't resent you if that happens."
Chun So-yeon hardened her resolve. She was willing to risk her life for true revenge.
"But this… I'm not throwing my life away. I believe in Your Majesty, and I know you'll win."
At that, Leon chuckled, then stroked So-Yeon's hair.
"Of course."
With his back to the child, the Lionheart King speaks.
"Trust in the greatness of the Lionheart King and follow him, for he will always bring you victory."
Looking at his back, Chun So-yeon was convinced that he was destined to win before the battle even started.
* * * * *
The battle was over.
With Demon Archduke Akasha defeated, the demons' resistance was futile.
Leon has decapitated many of the top demons.
[Quest Complete: You have defeated the Demon Archduke of Slaughter Akasha.]
The conditions for closing the Gate have been fulfilled. Before the gate closes, Hunters from both Japan and Korea begin to scour the castle, their eyes lit up.
"Take it all! Take everything that's worth anything!"
"Oh my God, how much is this! Take one more!"
The treasures and riches in Akasha castle were immense.
Treasures and gems from all over the world, priceless weapons and spellbooks, loot that would have set the world ablaze, but Beatrice and Yakt Spinner restrained them.
-Wishing to inspect all the loot.
"In case there are any dangerous items, His Majesty will purify them, so please cooperate."
Of course, among the many treasures, there are dangerous things.
Knowing of the existence of demonic swords that parasitize humans, the hunters obeyed the order.
"Your Majesty, what should we do with the captives?"
Ha Yuri of the Firebird Guild approached, smirking as she held up the 37 demon heads 'certified' by the Yakt Spinner.
"You've been quite active."
"Yes."
The castle square was filled with captive demons. Some of them were like the ones Ha Yuri presented to Leon and had their necks or upper bodies cut off, but surprisingly, many of them were still alive.
"I'll kill you, you humans!"
"You think you can invade the Demon Realm and get away with it!"
"All the legions will come for this place!"
The demons were fierce and some of them were still confident since they were immortal.
"We will be resurrected and lead you to your destruction──"
"Shut up, you demon!"
The demon, pierced from head to toe by Leon's spear, was skewered along with the innocent demons behind him. It was instant death.
-Ehhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
And something gurgled and screamed out of the mutilated demons.
It was a terrible guttural sound that sounded like pain, agony, and screams, until it was absorbed by the Holy Grail.
-Holy Law!
-Holy Knight!
The demons realized their fate through him, which is why, even in their captivity, they rose to their feet.
"Han Ha-ri."
"Yes…Your Majesty."
At Leon's command, Ha-ri snapped her fingers, and a massive wave of seawater poured out of thin air. It engulfed all the demons and locked them into a cube-shaped sea.
-Woof! Woof!
-Breathe…! Save me!
The demons' struggles were clear even in the sea water. But the next moment, Jae-hyuk raised his spear high.
-Thud! Quack!
The lightning of Ultima, the God of the Sky and Thunder, struck.
The demons were instantly electrocuted through the water. Some died instantly, some survived.
"Lord Spinner will take care of the rest."
The mechanical spider of steel shifted its legs, heading for the demons in the pile of corpses. The killing machine sliced every living demon to pieces with its wire.
None shall survive.
As the cries and screams of the demons echo, the blond youth inhales as if savoring it.
"What a sweet sound."
-...Scary.
-I admit it.
Of course, to the onlookers, it was a carnage. It's just that the opponent is a demon, so no one can argue.
"Your Majesty."
"Takeda, what is it?"
"Congratulations for your victory. Thanks to the Holy Knights, our losses were less than a thousand… no, less than fifty."
"Hmm, you Japanese elite have worked hard too so this king will reward you for your valor."
It was a clear display of superiority, but Takeda said nothing. Being a nominally equal Hunter commander was purely for domestic propaganda purposes.
"We'll have to return soon. This gate is part of the Demon Realm. It will not go away unless we close it from the other side."
And that meant there might be other demons watching and coming for them but Leon has no intention of taking on the Demon Realm with his current forces.
That was how the unprecedented event of the Demon Archduke Extermination, which had begun with the Wandering Demon Sword Landing, ended.
* * * *
Four years ago, in Ulsan, Chun Ji-ho took up the demon sword on behalf of his daughter.
He has no regrets about that choice and although he had killed her with his own hands, his wife would think the same.
But in the four years since he became its host, he has lived in terrible pain.
He's killed fellow Hunters who attacked him, and he's killed countless others as his killer instinct dictated.
At the end of it all, he almost saw his own daughter do the same to him.
His heartbreak was averted… by a dazzling golden saint that freed her from the terrible sword.
"Ah...."
And like this.
"So-yeon...."
"Daddy?"
He let him hold his daughter again.
"Daddy!"
In a hospital in Tokyo, Japan, in a single room with a bouquet of flowers, Chun Ji-ho held his daughter for the first time in four years.
"Daddy, Daddy…Daddy...."
The weight of the tight embrace was nothing like it was four years ago. He realized how much she had grown, and felt guilty that he hadn't been there for her all those years.
"It's…over…it's over, it's okay."
"Yes… it's over."
The father and daughter held each other for a while, feeling the afterglow for a long time.
"What are we going to do now?"
"I'll… find a way to apologize."
Chun Ji-ho remembered everything he had done while his body was under the demon's control.
He also remembered the anguished cries of all the demons before him....
"I'll go to the TTG Guild…and see if I can find a way to help him."
"Uh, that's not possible...."
"So-yeon?"
Ji-ho tilted his head at his daughter's answer, wondering if he had misheard her.
"I've already been chosen by the gods, and I'm allowed to use their power, so you should go back to the guild. Go and reclaim your place as the guild's heir."
"How can I....?"
"I'll be at the Ten Thousand Gods Guild so you go and get the support of the Divine Sword Guild for your successor."
He wasn't wrong.
Now that Chun Ji-so would become the guild leader, Chun So-yeon was the only one in his direct line, so she was the natural successor.
Chun Ji-so should have been the next in line but for some reason, his daughter's extremely logical argument felt selfish.
"Dad, you should go back and take succession lessons from Grandpa. I'm sure you'll do a great job."
"Well, okay, but… is that it?"
"That's all?"
Her voice was calm, but her pupils clearly fluttered.
'I'm back.'
What on earth was the point of separating from her dad after four years?
Chun Ji-ho had to swallow a bitter feeling.
* * * *
Leon was waiting at the door of Chun Ji-ho's hospital room to enter.
There's nothing romantic about a father-daughter reunion after a long absence.
While waiting for the father-daughter reunion, an old man approached from the hallway.
"Your Majesty the Lionheart King."
"Is your son sick?"
"Yes, sir. He's been here for days."
It was Chun Jin-soo, the guild leader of the Divine Sword Guild. He is the father of Chun Ji-ho and the grandfather of Chun So-yeon.
"So, what brings your Majesty here?"
"I need to take care of some business."
Leon came to check on Chun Ji-ho, who had once been the host of the demon sword.
Within his body, the swordsmanship and souls of previous generations of demons were etched.
It's hard to call it a soul, it's more like a worn out spirit, but in this world, it would be difficult for anyone other than himself to purify it.
"Indeed, there are other souls of demon swordsmen."
"That is a task for the right priest, but unfortunately, there are few priests in this world who can guide souls."
"...."
Chun Jin-soo moved a little closer to Leon and slowly the stiff back, like an old tree, bowed.
"I am grateful. My son is blessed, my granddaughter is blessed. The entire family has seen your grace."
Guildmaster of the Divine Sword Guild and Korea's first swordsman, and strongest hunter Chun Jin-soo is a brute of a man, walking around with a stiff back from a lifetime of service.
But he doesn't mind bowing down to this young man in front of him.
"If there is anything I can do to help, I will."
"There is only one thing I ask of you."
Leon asked only one thing of this man, a man of, no chivalry and no nobility.
"Be alert to the stirrings of evil, and hate it. That will be the first step in protecting the world."
"That's… obvious."
"Countless worlds have perished because they failed to do the obvious. Do not take lightly the sweet lure of the demons."
"...."
Immediately after the killing spree ended, Chun Jin-soo learned everything about this man.
From the YouTube videos he'd never seen, from information compiled by government officials, and from his old friend Oh Kang-hyuk, the president of the Association.
What he learned about Leon was a history of endless war.
He was the only survivor left in his world and the last bastion against demons for centuries.
His unforgiving hands are a testament to how long he's been fighting.
Even as an otherworldly, medieval, fantasy, classist knight-king his power over evil deserves respect.
"Very well! I will serve you as my brother from now on!"
"What?"
Leon was taken aback by Chen Jin-soo's words, which he hadn't expected at all.
"In our world, there's a type of relationship called the Dao Yuan Resolve, in which a brotherhood is formed for the sake of a great cause! Your Majesty shall be the elder brother."
"Hehe...."
Leon found this brash old man's words to be ridiculous, but he didn't feel bad about it, as it was enough to make him laugh out loud.
"Your status is far too low to be a half-brother to this king."
"I'm the 37th generation of the Chun clan, and my family was a noble family in the Goryeo Dynasty and a great family in the Joseon Dynasty. I was a nobleman."
Chun Jin-soo argued that a prestigious family in the Joseon Dynasty would be noble by medieval standards.
"In the future, I will cooperate with you in anything related to the demons. If my brother and I join forces, the demons will not dare to invade this land!"
"Convert and embrace the faith. Anyone who has the faith of all gods is a brother or sister to this king no matter who they are."
"Isn't brother's range a bit wide?"
Chun Jin-soo said as he patted his chest mockingly.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure to convert every single member of our guild, and if I count our affiliates, it'll be quite a few!"
It was a bit unexpected to be promised Chun Jin-soo support, but it couldn't hurt. He might be old, but his strength was higher than a Kingdom Knight.
'If he can fulfill his quests well, he might be able to take a shot at becoming a Holy Knight.'
Of course, that would be if he realized the right faith.
Leon left the hospital to leave family's have some alone time for a while, looking forward to the faith he would have.
────!!
It was then that the aura of a holy object fluctuated in subspace but it was not a holy sword, a holy spear, or a holy grail.
Only one, a holy object with a ferocity that was quite unrestrained and brutal.
"Come."
A subspace opens, and a book falls from it.
It was a thick volume, well-tanned and of fine leather, showing signs of handcrafting.
The title, etched into the leather of its cover, is in an otherworldly language that only one person on this planet can read.
The title of the book reads.
"How to capture a giant with a serf."