Chapter 223
Luca knew what the authority of the Devil of Life was.
It was the authority to summon devils by using human bodies as vessels.
'However, the devils summoned like that are somewhat lacking compared to the original.'
After all, since they manifested in a human body rather than their own, they were weaker than the original devil.
Even so, a devil was still a devil.
They were terrifyingly strong.
'And according to what was revealed in the original, they could only truly display the devil's power if the body used was at least at the Grandmaster level.'
The only saving grace was that Grandmaster-level individuals were extremely rare.
Near the end of the original story, there was a point where the authority of God was manifested to mass-produce Grandmasters, but at present, that's not possible.
In other words, even the Devil of Life couldn't revive many devils.
'At this point, at most four or five. Of course, that's not insignificant, but it's still manageable.'
Two 10th-tier mages had already disappeared.
Considering the timeline, two or three others were probably already captured as well.
'First, I need to reassess our current fighting strength.'
Thinking this, Luca went to find Herote.
As soon as she saw him, Herote spoke with a grave expression.
"Lux's king has fallen. He was a Grandmaster-level swordsman, and even though he was under the Order's protection, he was defeated."
"I expected as much."
Despite her grave words, Luca's face was indifferent.
Seeing this, Herote pouted a bit.
"Shouldn't you be more cautious? We never know when it might happen to us too."
"I am cautious. But simply being cautious won't solve the problem, will it?"
"I suppose... you're right."
Watching him be much calmer than she expected, Herote made a disconcerted face.
Luca spoke flatly.
"First, we need to consider our fighting strength. To face the Devil of Life, we'll need much more power than when dealing with the Devil of Wisdom or the Devil of Power."
"... That'll be difficult."
Even if they gathered everyone who fought before, their conditions weren't good.
"Unfortunately, I can't fight right now. Either the Golden Heart needs to recover its power, or I'll need to use another divine energy."
Willow was in no condition to fight.
The Golden Heart had used too much power battling the Devil of Power.
"Luca. I can fight at any time if it's to protect you."
"... Still, elder brother, I think it'd be better for you to rest."
Wylde, too, was badly wounded from fending off the Devil of Power's demonic power burst.
He said he was fine, but he really wasn't in any condition to fight.
"Hehe, regrettably, I can't fight at the moment either."
"Same here. Just a graze, but to be so injured... Time is unforgiving."
Eltima, of course, couldn't fight, and Zeritz's condition wasn't good either.
"I'm all right, Luca. I can fight anytime."
Fortunately, Kryphi was still in fighting shape.
"I dislike leaving the young lady for other matters, but given the situation, there's no helping it."
Now that the imperial power struggle had stabilized, even Isella could join the fray.
"I'm... sorry, but I don't think I can be of help. Angel...."
"It goes without saying, but I'm not any help either."
Ravinia had spent too much of her vitality fighting Agreas, and Herote was unable to use magic.
"All things considered, that leaves me, master, and Isella, I suppose."
"Luca boy, why are you leaving me out?"
"... Ah."
And there was Ben Dwight as well.
"You mean, we have to defeat the Devil of Life with these members?"
The outlook was rather grim.
Objectively, their strength wasn't weak, but against the Devil of Life, it was simply insufficient.
'Well, I do have a bit more strength than before.'
Of course, Luca was well aware how short-handed he was.
That's why he had already spoken with Maya in preparation.
― As time passes, fighting the Devil of Life will only get harder. The only way is to finish it quickly in the short term.
― But as you defeated the Devil of Wisdom and the Devil of Power, Mr. Reader, you also lost a lot of fighting power.
― Yeah. Like in the original, I can't even use the storage authority to absorb weakened devils and fight back.
In the original, the main character fought the fully awakened Devil of Life by absorbing nearby devils as power.
But in that process, he suffered fatal wounds, and as he was about to die at the Devil of Life's hands, the heroine sacrificed herself to save him.
― It's tricky, but the only choice is to use a bit of the power the original main character was meant to have.
― Are you going to use the Three Divine Relics?
― No. Even if I use them, there won't be any significant power difference. Those shone only when the protagonist used them.
Without the authority of storage, using the protagonist's Three Divine Relics wouldn't create significant power.
The relics themselves really only efficiently used the protagonist's storage authority.
― We'll have to rely on the Order's help.
― There's no other option.
The Order, which would have become the protagonist's ally in the original.
They had no choice but to borrow their strength.
Anyway, the holy power they used was one of the few effective forces against devils.
― But I don't think that alone will be enough.
― I know even with the help of the saint, our strength is lacking. So, right now......
Luca twisted his lips.
"I have to call on the help of the bonds I've made."
* * *
"You need my help?"
"Yes. I have to form a continental alliance army, and I need your help."
Pasmo, whom he hadn't seen in a while at a tea house near the dormitory.
She wore a sullen expression.
"Is that all you have to say to me?"
"... I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for?"
A suffocating line.
Luca fell silent briefly, then bowed his head.
"For everything."
"......"
Watching him, Pasmo wore a strange expression.
She looked angry, and also happy, and also sad.
She spoke in a slow tone.
"You're going off to do something dangerous again, aren't you?"
"......"
Luca simply nodded slowly.
Pasmo sighed.
"The girl likes a big thrill, yes, but you not waking up from injury is not a thrill. I couldn't even sleep properly for the month you were unconscious."
"... Sorry."
"'Sorry' isn't what I need. What I need is..."
Pasmo met his gaze.
Then, with her usual bright eyes, she said,
"This time, promise me you'll come back safe and sound."
"......"
Truthfully, it was a promise he couldn't make.
He was working hard to close the gap in strength, but a gap still remained.
Their enemy was the Devil of Life.
There was no guarantee of absolute victory.
Still, he couldn't lie to her.
So all he could say was one thing.
"I'll do my best."
"... That's not the answer I was hoping for."
Pasmo gave a wry smile.
"I'll trust you, then."
All she could do was trust him.
* * *
The Lamata Empire had suffered the greatest losses from the Demonz.
So when Pasmo, speaking on behalf of the Thier ducal family, asked them for reinforcements, they immediately dispatched their strongest fighting force, the Grand Stieber Knight Order.
Every single order member was a master, and the knight commander was a Grandmaster—their very best.
Not only that, but like the 'Night' unit of the Hernan Empire, Lamata's secret weapon, 'Hades,' was joining as well.
"Looks like the Lamata Empire is serious,"
Milia said, admiring the forces Lamata sent.
Luca smirked at her.
"You put in quite a bit of effort yourself."
"Of course. I even met with the first prince I can't stand and those other dukes."
Matching that effort, all of the Hernan Empire's forces, except for their minimum defense, were mobilized.
All members of 'Night', except those guarding the emperor and the first prince.
On top of that, the empire's top forces, the Gray Mage Order and the Tade Knight Order, joined in.
"Other countries have contributed a lot of soldiers too. With the strength we have, if it were all one person, conquering the continent would be possible."
The scale of the reinforcements sent by every nation on the continent astonished Milia.
Luca still felt it could be stronger.
'Still, I've done everything I can.'
Thanks to Pasmo and Milia's help in convincing each empire, he'd managed to gather them all and secure the biggest possible allied force.
― It's something I shouldn't do, but... I'll use up your remaining tokens and Treasure Hunt attempts to mark the position of the Devil of Life on the Map. Honestly, even that's not enough. So I've also considered the tokens and rewards you'll get for killing the Devil of Life as already given, so whatever happens from here on, you'll have to handle it yourself. Are you ready for that?
― Yeah. Thank you.
-... Even if it's not a trade, I hope things go well. So that everyone gets the ending they want.
He'd finished negotiating with Maya, too.
He'd spent all his tokens and Treasure Hunt attempts, and even his reward for defeating the Devil of Life in advance, but no matter what, he couldn't expect information on the Devil for nothing.
Already, as the continent's forces assembled, a significant time had passed.
Thinking of how many devils the Devil of Life might have created in the meantime, there was no time left to hesitate.
Everything now depended solely on him.
"Luca."
At the sound of his name, Luca turned his head.
Ottbo, Wylde, Willow, and Bella stood there.
Worry was evident in their eyes.
To that, Luca spoke indifferently.
"You're looking at me as if I were going off to die."
"... It's not like you don't have a track record."
"Heh. I can't deny that."
Luca gave a slight chuckle, then crossed his arms.
"But don't worry this time. Whatever happens, I'll come back in one piece."
"... Really?"
"Yes."
Luca looked at them once more.
Then, with a much brighter smile than usual, he said,
"I really like living here. I'll definitely come back."
His life here had been short, but it was so enjoyable, he almost forgot about living as Myunghyun Lee.
It would probably remain so.
That's why he would never die.
"... Should I come with you?"
Willow, who'd been quiet until then, spoke up.
Since he could still enter Luca's body, he offered.
But Luca shook his head.
"You don't need to help me. You'd better stay with Bella instead."
"...tsk."
Willow simply clicked his tongue.
Bella by his side stepped forward to him.
Holding his hand, she spoke with concern.
"Master, as always, please take care."
"... I will."
Luca managed a faint smile,
then returned to his usual expression and began to walk.
He headed toward the saint of the Order leading the continental alliance army.
She looked at Luca with eyes shining like gold.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Then let's be off."
Wooooong!
At the same time, golden beams of light radiated outward, centered on her body.
In an instant, all the allied soldiers present were enveloped in golden light.
'As expected of the saint of the Order.'
Just as he thought that,
Flash!
A blinding flash erupted, so intense they couldn't keep their eyes open.
They found themselves inside a dark cavern.
"Oh my, that startled me."
Someone standing at the center of the cavern looked genuinely surprised as they arrived.
"... Devil of Life, Marbeth."
Luca looked at him and drew his sword.
Grasping the situation quickly, Marbeth smirked and raised both his hands.
"To prepare such a surprise. Impressive. I'm actually a bit surprised."
Guduk!
Gudeudeuk!
With that, the black, cocoon-like objects around him began to writhe.
"I was planning to hunt you down slowly. But since you've all gathered here, it's perfect for me."
Thwock!
Then, the cocoons burst.
Spewing forth jet-black liquid, they ruptured one after another.
Thwock-thwock-thwock!
Thwock-thwock-thwock-thwock!
From within, tremendous demonic power surged out.
"Th-Those are...."
"How could such a thing be...?"
The people were thrown into confusion.
What emerged from the cocoons were humans whose bodies had been seized by devils.
Twisted and corrupted by demonic power, their grotesque forms were enough to shatter morale on sight.
"Ahaha! Did you think an ambush would be enough to win? All you've done is hasten humanity's doom!"
Marbeth cackled amid the chaos.
Swish—
At that moment, a peach leaf brushed his cheek.
"?"
There was no wound, but it had definitely touched his face.
At that odd sensation, Marbeth cocked his head.
His pitch-black pupils began to brighten.
Then, what filled his vision was the blue sky.
And beneath it, wide-sprawled buildings.
― Different World
It was Hernan Academy.
Luca's mindscape had materialized.
Before he knew it, Luca was soaring slowly with celestial wings unfurled.
A lightning flash flickered in his eyes.
"The last of the Three Great Devils. You and all devils will meet your end here."
Once again, the fully-blossomed power of the sky was unleashed.