[Adilun's POV]
Under the Ice Wall, the demon king engaged in a fierce battle with Physis, while monsters slowly climbed over the Ice Wall.
To fight against the demon king alone. What on earth was he thinking? I was furious at Physis' recklessness.
Even to my eyes, the current demon king was an abnormally powerful being.
Even if I completed Star Of Hope, I was not sure if I could handle him. It was a situation where I couldn't guarantee anything, yet he faced such an opponent alone.
My mind kept getting distracted by surging worries, but I forced myself to gather my thoughts. Now was not the time to worry about Physis alone.
Because the soldiers fighting on the Ice Wall were on the verge of a direct threat.
I pushed my magical abilities to the maximum. I chanted the Star Of Hope and followed it up with another offensive spell using the intentionally reserved power. While it might be a relatively simple spell, it should be enough to repel those climbing the wall.
A fierce blast of flames swept through the monsters, their horrible cries reverberating around the wall. However, I averted my gaze from the spectacle and continued to complete the Star Of Hope.
In an instant, a loud noise erupted from below. Physis and the demon king stared at each other for a moment in a temporary ceasefire.
Now, I felt I could offer him some help, so I cast an auxiliary spell to enhance his physical abilities.
Perhaps due to the effect of the auxiliary spell, when they clashed again, it was evident that Physis had the upper hand. Feeling relieved, I continued my incantations for the Star Of Hope, and a line began to form in the air.
I gathered scattered mana around me and gradually extended the line in the air. The line started to form a magical circle in the air. However, it still required a lot of time. It was a large-scale magic that I was implementing for the first time, so I had to be extremely cautious.
Amidst all this, I didn't forget to deal with the monsters flying over the wall. Despite that, the screams of the soldiers kept disturbing my ears.
There were just too many of them. Even with a regular army of 20,000 and 10,000 mercenaries, an unimaginable number of monsters overwhelmed us.
I gritted my teeth, refusing to be swayed by useless thoughts, and desperately chanted spells to protect the surviving people.
Originally, even the simplest magic that didn't require casting should have been usable. But while casting the Star Of Hope, I had no choice but to keep using casting spells because I couldn't use non-casting magic. And the speed at which the monsters were accumulating was increasing.
But then...
At that moment...
With a sudden loud noise, a sound of something being torn was heard.
Instantly, I felt ominous and looked down under the Ice Wall. The demon king's ax was lodged in Physis' right shoulder.
A scream rose to my throat, but I couldn't utter it. Breaking my concentration would stop the incantation of the Star Of Hope.
If the implementation of this magic stopped, we wouldn't be able to withstand the monsters' deluge. The soldiers and knights in front of me began desperately defending against the monsters pouring in.
I forced myself to calm down. Physis told me to believe in him, so I had to trust him. What I needed to do now was to eradicate the monsters with the Star of Hope. So, I continued the incantation.
- Kwaang!
At that moment, the wall shook continuously and began to break apart due to the attacks of the top-tier monsters directly hitting it. No matter how solid the wall was, it couldn't withstand the constant impact.
However, I didn't take my eyes off the spell casting, even amidst the shaking wall, and I kept chanting the incantation. I had no room to use any other magic. The lines kept forming, and the line eventually formed a grand magic circle.
Even after a grand magic circle was formed, the lines did not stop. The line that continued to be drawn began to create smaller magic circles sequentially under the large magic circle.
Eventually, a complex magic circle consisting of multiple layers was completed in the sky.
Hoping that he would not die... hoping for this battle to end quickly, I began the final process of the Star of Hope.
The Star of Hope, literally, embodies my hopes and materializes them.
I weaved my current wishes into mana and put them into the small magic circle in front of me.
- Hooong—
Amidst the inappropriate sound of the gap, the shape emerged from the small magic circle and spread in the sky from the large magic circle.
Now, all I had to do was wait. My hope started to swell as it passed through the magic circle.
My desired hope was purification.
Monsters were born from humans' negative emotions, and their power amplified with it.
Even now, I could feel the monsters gradually getting stronger as they swallowed the fear of the soldiers.
So, I would eliminate the source of their power. I would purify their negative emotions and cleanse them completely.
As the mana carrying my hope passed through the final magic circle formed in the sky, just before landing in the midst of the monsters, I unintentionally looked below the Ice Wall to check on Physis' safety.
I was worried about what I saw earlier. But thankfully, he was still pinning the demon king to the ground with all his might.
At the same time, the Star of Hope fell into the midst of the monsters.
There was no sound as it hit the ground.
Without any noise, an intense light erupted.
The core of the monsters was engulfed in light, and the source of their power, humans' negative emotions, began to be purified.
The light reached the Ice Wall. Both high-level and top-tier monsters were turned into ashes, scattered and blown away by the light.
The vast horde of monsters was obliterated, leaving only ashes. However, many still remained alive and moving. It was because the scale of the monsters was much larger compared to the range of the Star of Hope. There seemed to be more monsters than the soldiers stationed on the Ice Wall, so I didn't relax.
But the monsters started to retreat quietly.
The monsters that were not within the range of the Star of Hope behind them seemed to be consumed by instinctive fear as they watched the current situation. The number of monsters backing away increased as fear spread. There were no longer any who tried to charge forward.
Above all, the only superior entity left to command them was now the demon king, but he was currently pinned to the ground by Physis.
Without a commanding entity, the monsters began to move instinctively. Their choice was to flee.
Thankfully, they were retreating.
I slumped to the ground. Even though I had drawn mana from nature to use the magic, overwhelming exhaustion overwhelmed my entire body.
Of course, the soldiers around me were thrilled and delighted that they managed to repel the attack.
But just as we felt relieved.
"Kwaaargh!"
The roar of the demon king was heard.
* * *
[Physis' POV]
As the monsters turned into ashes and scattered in the powerful light, I realized that Adilun's magic had succeeded.
The demon king, who was stuck in the ground due to the aftermath, seemed to have suffered considerable injuries, as pieces resembling ashes started to fall from his damaged scales.
It was a sign that his body was collapsing.
However, he wouldn't die like this. My intuition told me so, and my eyes confirmed it.
He still had some power left and would make a final move. With a high-level monster like him, I had to be cautious even in their last moments; it was the same in my past life.
Ignoring the pain in my shoulders, I refused to release my hand grabbing his neck. With one hand holding him up, I swung my fist, containing mana, at him.
- Kwaang!
Again, a loud noise rang out, and his body was thrown far away. As he bounced away, he let out an angry roar at the fleeing monsters, abandoning himself.
The demon king, who had roared, regained his posture and stood up again. Pieces were falling from his steel-like skin, and fragments were also scattering from his arms and legs.
However, he didn't kneel. His whole body turned dark again, and the energy intensified as his disintegrated body surged.
Likewise, I surrounded my body with mana in response. Adilun's auxiliary magic was now dispersed, and the vitality that twisted my body was extinguished.
However... it felt even better.
The final moments of eliminating the enemy, it was solely mine.
Both the demon king and I struck the ground at the same time. Even though he didn't have an axe, when he saw my fistfight, he started imitating it.
Though one could say it was merely an imitation, his mimicry of my martial arts seemed to be quite refined. However, his martial arts could not match mine. After all, it was the martial arts I had created. Naturally, in terms of proficiency, I was far superior.
The disadvantage lay in physical abilities, and the advantage was in the mastery of martial arts.
Once again, the moment we face each other again came.
- Kwaang!
The sound of our fists and gauntlets colliding exploded. It wasn't just a simple clash of fists. As his fist was blocked, his right leg swung fiercely, aiming for my head.
With my head bowed, I penetrated inside the demon king again, letting go of his fist. Avoiding his raining fists, I advanced towards him little by little.
I realized that my surroundings were gradually slowing down, and the demon king's movements were slowing as well. But my movements remained the same. It was a sensation I had felt in my past life. The feeling that proved I had reached a higher level.
The danger I felt when his axe was stuck on my shoulder stimulated my desire for survival and finally allowed me to regain the sense of my past life.
I deftly avoided the slow-moving demon king's fist and fiercely spun the mana coated on my fist. I felt the rough and wild mana embed itself on my left fist, far beyond what I had felt earlier.
There was no need for hesitation.
I immediately swung my left fist toward the demon king's upper body.
- Kwaaang!
With a powerful explosion, the upper half of the demon king's body was blown away.
The demon king who had pushed Adilun and Rodenov to the brink and dealt an irreparable blow to the north in the novel finally fell into my hands.