NOVEL NEXT Ch. 125
Chapter 125
Know-It-All (Lv 4) recognized it at a glance! That’s Majesty of the Mountain! One of the Nature Five!
“Martin, lend me one.”
The Star Child extended his hand.
I didn’t know what he meant.
What could he possibly borrow from me?
Then I realized there was one thing.
With effort, I raised my hand, took the Rosary of Grace from my neck, and placed it in his hand.
The Star Child, receiving the rosary, immediately put it around his neck.
“Just wait a moment.”
The Star Child turned to face Brahmus.
“I’ll be right back.”
Brahmus charged with unprecedented urgency and ferocity, stomping heavily.
It was like a mountain rushing toward us, chilling my heart.
“To catch me now… you’d need two full-powered demon lords!”
The Peacemaker vanished.
A blink.
Reappearing before Brahmus, the Star Child fired his dual pistols.
[Aaagh!]
Brahmus swung his beastly hand, but the Star Child stepped on it, pushing it down, then used the recoil to leap over Brahmus' head.
He fired at the back of Brahmus' head.
[Aaagh!]
“Ha! You don’t stutter when you scream, do you?”
The Star Child spun, firing countless bullets.
Brahmus' entire back exploded under the barrage.
His tough scales and steel-like hide tore like paper.
The scene before me was a mythic battle.
A fight of a Diamond Knight, a rarity even among Platinum Knights, with almost no precedent in history.
I trembled with awe at the overwhelming power toying with the demon lord who had ravaged the Academy.
It was so astounding that even the vaunted Platinum Knights stopped and stared at the Star Child in a daze.
In less than a minute, Brahmus' body was in tatters, unable to move.
Brahmus gnashed his teeth.
[I… will return…! I swear! I swear! I swear I’ll catch you, eat you! Drink your blood! Chew your flesh! Crush your bones! Dissolve you in Brahmus' acid! I’ll curse you to eternal pain, never dying, living forever!]
“Sure.”
Bang! The final shot rang out.
Brahmus' head exploded.
Yet the massive maw occupying his upper body still moved.
[My soul… returns to hell… I’ll bring… an army…!]
The beast’s body collapsed.
The Star Child, standing atop the Academy’s clock tower, gazed down impassively.
“…See you later, gluttonous beast.”
The Star Child turned to look at me.
The red barrier covering the Academy shattered.
In the crumbling red world… sunlight poured over the Star Child atop the tallest building.
The sun was rising in the distance.
Dawn.
After the darkest night, the sun heralded morning.
‘It’s… over.’
You’ve dramatically overcome the terror of Demon Lords Keltu and Brahmus! Everything you built has blossomed one by one. The precious seconds you earned allowed you to hold out until the Star Child arrived.
Adela will remember today’s events. The Desert Hierophant is now hers.
Luri has shattered her fate and earned the right to stand by your side.
Savo has realized the sword of protection. This is the foundation for him to surpass the demon sword.
The entire continent has realized it. They will never forget. Even children will know. This continent is still threatened by the demons who ruled the dark age.
You’ve earned 30,000 achievement points.
‘The points aren’t what matter!’
I moved my body.
I forced my tattered body to move.
Matthew has been consumed by trauma from today’s events.
There was somewhere I had to go.
The Star Child looked at me as if to say, where are you going in that state?
The protagonist’s party has realized their true enemy.
Adela and Luri called out to me from afar.
Nerjin trembles in fear. He, too, saw the Star Child of the Peacemaker.
The people at the coffee wagon, countless heroes, and the weak who had been hiding looked at me with admiration.
And rejoice.
I approached one girl.
She ran toward me, clutching the hem of her frilly maid dress.
“Master!”
Lilac is safe.
“Lilac…”
She threw herself into my arms.
I fell backward, too weak to hold, but it was fine.
Lilac, clinging to me and looking at me, was so wonderful that I felt no sensation.
But I forced my arm up to stroke Lilac’s cheek.
“Master… Master, Master…!”
“Why…”
Lilac held my hand, tears streaming endlessly.
I wondered if I’d done something wrong.
“You’re so badly hurt…!”
I guess I worried her again, as usual.
Yeah, even I could see it was pretty bad today.
The Black Knight’s armor was so wrecked it couldn’t revert to a bracelet, and I barely looked human.
“Master, oh, Master Martin, oh…”
“But…”
I wanted to tell her.
My mouth itched.
Because it was Lilac.
To Lilac, at least.
“…Hic…”
“I tried hard.”
“….”
“It was really tough.”
“….”
“Thinking of you… I did my best.”
“….”
I wanted to brag.
I wanted praise.
I wanted comfort.
“You did well. You did so well.”
“Thank you for coming back alive.”
“Lilac, Lilac is so happy to see you again like this…”
Lilac’s violet eyes shimmered with tears.
No, they’ll swell…
Oh… sleep is coming…
“Master…? Master! Stay with me! Keep your eyes open! Master!”
Lilac shook my body.
My consciousness flickered…
“Hey, maid girl. Sorry to interrupt your romance, but can I step in? Otherwise, it’s really dangerous.”
***
[The disaster at the Grand Festival’s Academy.]
[Breaking News! Outrageous demon-worshipping cult!]
[Imperium Academy terror, devastated.]
[What are demon lords? The dark age of the continent.]
[What is the Imperium Empire’s policy toward demon worshippers?]
[What was the empire doing?]
[What was the Humanity Preservation Agency doing?]
[What was the church doing?]
The attack by Demon Lord Brahmus shook the continent.
A terror attack in the empire’s capital during the Grand Festival, when all eyes were on it.
[Comprehensive report on the Academy terror]
[The terror by demon worshippers during the Imperium Academy Grand Festival closing ceremony… (omitted)… resulted in the deaths of 81 cadets, 21 teaching assistants, and 9 teachers, with many buildings heavily… (omitted)… Principal Archmage Lukfels was absent… (omitted)… The Vice Principal faces inevitable disciplinary action. Furthermore… (omitted)… Imperium Academy has decided to close for a week. An unprecedented event.
Imperium Magazine, reporter Carl Peyton.]
‘Hm, this guy writes a good summary.’
Writing (Lv 3) is impressed.
“Let’s see, any stories about a cool guy like me?”
“No, there aren’t.”
I folded the newspaper and handed it to the Star Child.
He read it with interest, then tossed it onto the table, losing enthusiasm.
“I don’t like newspapers either.”
“Ah, yes…”
This was the top-tier medical center run by the Elidore Marquisate.
Better than most hospitals… and above all, trustworthy.
“You’re something else, huh? Looking for newspapers the moment you wake up.”
“Information and public opinion are essential for a merchant.”
Like Nerjin, but especially Bianca, who’s great at gathering these things.
“Fair enough, coming from a kid who knows the locations of the Nature Five.”
The Star Child chuckled.
Such light banter was a clear sign my condition had greatly improved.
“How’s your body now? I purified all the demonic energy that was corrupting you.”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I’m much better.”
“Brahmus' demonic energy is special.”
“All seven demon lords on the thrones are special like that.”
That’s why all the injured from this terror were sent to the church.
They needed to purify the demonic energy.
It took a full day to purify and heal me.
The Star Child said that was quick, and without the rosary and chalice, I might’ve died.
“By the way, you’ve got a visitor.”
“Excuse me. May I come in?”
Knock, knock.
It was Lilac at the door.
“Come in.”
“Yes, Master.”
The hospital room door opened slowly, and Lilac entered in her maid dress.
“….”
Without a word, Lilac stood before me.
“Master.”
She lifted the ends of her skirt slightly to curtsy.
“Are you well?”
She stumbled over her words.
“Seeing you… r-recovering…”
Then.
“….”
Unable to continue, she began to cry, tears streaming down.
She tried to hold them back, but the falling tears were heart-wrenching.
And I felt like absolute trash because I thought her shimmering violet eyes looked like beautiful gems…
“Ahem, this old man will tactfully step out.”
The Star Child left through the door Lilac had entered, closing it behind him.
The moment the door shut.
Tap-tap-tap, the maid’s shoes quickly struck the floor.
Lilac rushed into my arms.
It wasn’t heavy.
Rather, she was so light I worried, sitting on the hospital bed.
“Master, Master…!”
Honestly, I don’t remember what we talked about after that.
Or was it even a conversation?
Lilac cried in my arms for a long time.
Like a five-year-old seeing a parent they thought was dead return.
And… she fell asleep in my arms.
I silently stroked Lilac’s hair.
Somehow… she smelled nice.
Her skin was so soft.
Her teary eyes were beautiful.
Her lips were so cute.
I wanted to… kiss her.
“…Quite the tender moment.”
The Star Child, who had been outside, came in and spoke.
Startled, I looked up without showing it.
“Oh, should I have come in ten seconds later?”
“It’s fine.”
The Star Child, grinning playfully, grew increasingly strange as he looked at Lilac.
“…But that girl.”
Could it be that a Diamond Knight, a Star Child of Cosmos who’s lived for centuries, saw something in Lilac?
“W-What? What’s wrong with Lilac?”
“Don’t panic, it’s not bad.”
He looked between me and Lilac.
“It’s just… a rare, true love.”
Caught off guard, my face flushed hot.
I was about to tell him not to tease when he continued with a serious expression.
“Maybe, just maybe, you could offer the Prayer of Love, a feat achieved only once in the Cosmos Empire.”
“Prayer of Love? What’s that?”
“The great cosmic order, Cosmos, is less a sentient deity and more a concept.”
Order.
“Do you know that when you desperately wish for something, the entire universe helps make it come true?”
I’d read it.
A line from a famous book on Earth.
“Well…”
“The universe is made of wishes.”
Wishes, meaning desires?
“It’s formed from thoughts and intentions.”
“The universe was born from nothing because a great wish arose to fill that void.”
It sounded like the religious doctrine of the Cosmos Church.
“Unlike other religions that believe in a sentient god, the belief in Cosmos' order itself becomes faith.”
“That’s why a powerful wish can ascend into strong faith.”
“One of the strongest human emotions is love.”
Love.
A beautiful resonance.
But is it really the greatest wish?
To a cynic like me…
“Martin, do you know an emotion greater than love?”