Chapter 88

Duel (2)

The pain continued.

His nasal bone was completely crushed. The bright red blood flowing from his nose splattered in every direction. Then came a kick that slammed his head into the nearby wall. Cracks like a spiderweb spread across the spot where he hit.

‘He's toying with me…!’

The prince gritted his teeth as that thought crossed his mind.

If Aiden Kellermain had truly intended to bring him down, he could have done so long ago.

That was how overwhelming the gap was.

This wasn’t even a fight to begin with.

The opponent was just crushing him like an insect!

“St-stop…!”

Another blow.

The newly regenerated teeth shattered again before they could even settle in place, scattering in all directions.

And then, another strike.

A punch to the abdomen made a mass of blood surge up from his esophagus.

He kept getting hit like that.

Beaten so relentlessly that pools of blood were forming all over the floor. Beaten, and beaten, and beaten again.

“-”

At last, a powerful hook to the temple completely flipped the prince over.

While the prince vomited yet another glob of blood—he'd lost count by now—Aiden looked down at him with a face full of disgust.

Even after being beaten this badly.

The prince's eyes still held light. Even in a situation where no one would believe he had a chance, those eyes showed a will to carry through with what he had done to the end.

"…You're one hell of a stubborn bastard. Do you really want to blow up the Capital with your own hands that badly?"

"Because it's the right thing to do."

"What?"

Aiden stared at him, then at the rocket inside the spire, looking back and forth in disbelief.

"I’ve been told I have good eyes for a long time. Do you know what that me—"

The prince's head was slammed into the ground mid-sentence. Aiden had stomped on him mercilessly.

“If you have something to say, keep it within five lines.”

“……”

“You’re getting beat like a dog right now, you know that? Who the hell do you think you’re lecturing? Just get to the point.”

“……”

…It was hard to say whether this guy had a nasty personality or a good one for at least being willing to listen.

The prince coughed up blood and opened his mouth.

“There’s something I realized from the moment I first encountered them.”

He had good eyes. A keen sense for flow.

In time, the prince had become someone who could grasp both the ‘essence’ of a situation and its ‘foreseeable future.’

And what he realized the moment he first encountered the demonkind—

“…Their power has no end, Mr. Aiden.”

Humanity would fall.

Cruelly, helplessly, without even the chance to strike back.

Silently, the power the demons had accumulated over long ages was beyond imagination.

Especially those considered ‘officers’—every one of them possessed overwhelming, refined power.

“I was promised. That if I cooperated with them, the ‘Empire’ at least would be safe from the catastrophe they would one day bring.”

“……”

“I’m trying to protect the Empire. In my own way.”

So.

Everything he had done would ultimately lead back to protecting the Empire.

“…That’s why.”

He pulled a vial from within his coat. It was something the masked female demon—the Magician—had left behind previously.

The moment he saw it, Aiden’s face twisted instantly. As if he immediately understood just how dangerous that item was.

‘A demonification potion…!’

He’d vaguely suspected something like that might exist.

If there was a Beastification Potion created by that Puppeteer freak, then it made sense that a potion capable of turning a human into something akin to a demon might also exist within the game.

“Wait, that thing—!”

“I,”

With those words—

“No matter what anyone says, will protect the Empire.”

Before Aiden could react—

The prince shoved the vial into his mouth.

And at that moment—

-...........

-...................!!!!!!!!!!!!

A black wave of demonic energy exploded from the prince’s entire body like a detonation.

▣

“…I think it’s time I returned the favor, Mr. Aiden.”

The prince, now cloaked in black demonic energy as if dressed in a suit, spoke as he slowly rose to his feet.

A massive amount of demonic energy surged through his body.

Just the act of letting it pour out was enough that a weaker being might be crushed by the pressure alone—it was an overwhelming force.

“Looks like the tables have turned. You won’t be keeping that smug attitude like before—”

The prince’s triumphant sentence was abruptly cut short.

Probably because he’d just seen the look on Aiden’s face.

“……”

Aiden’s expression didn’t move a single muscle.

…And something about that was eerie.

That was unmistakably—

The exact same look Aiden had worn earlier when he'd said the prince's specs were weaker than expected.

“…Seriously? I thought you’d gain some kind of special ability or something.”

And the next sentence confirmed it.

“You just got a little stronger physically, and your supernatural abilities improved a bit, didn’t they?”

“…And what’s your point? With this level of enhancement, someone like you should be easily—”

Ignoring the prince’s words, Aiden opened his system window.

If this was just a potion that simply boosted ‘stats’—

Aiden had one too.

One strong enough to bypass even the Lionhearted’s drug resistance, and long-lasting to boot. A true power-up potion.

-System Message

▶ You have purchased 3 ‘Supernatural Ability Enhancement Potion Sets’ from the Point Shop.

▶ All remaining points have been spent!

As soon as that system message flashed across his vision—

A whole set of a dozen potions suddenly appeared in Aiden’s arms. Without hesitation, he popped the lids off every single one and downed them all in one go.

And immediately after—

The output of Aiden’s supernatural power surged drastically.

Even at a glance, it was clear that he had become several times stronger than the state he was in just moments ago when fighting the prince.

It even looked like he had surpassed the amplification granted by the demonification potion the prince had taken—one that had cost him his human dignity.

“……”

“……”

A strange silence lingered between the prince and Aiden.

How should one put it?

The prince had made a grand display of resolve, risking everything to uphold his convictions… only to see the opponent casually catch up without a care in the world. It was only natural that even Aiden might show a reaction in a situation like that…

“…Aren’t we about even now?”

“……”

“You risked your life to drink that, didn’t you—”

“Y-you bastard—!”

With a half-hysterical voice, the prince launched an attack.

This time, Aiden could understand the sense of deprivation, but that didn’t mean he was about to stand there and take it.

With a deep breath, he deflected the blow cleanly, then strode forward and knocked the prince’s jaw aside.

…It was exactly the same posture as just before, not a single detail different.

If you had to sum it up in one sentence, it would probably be this:

“Buddy.”

“……”

“Did you think turning into a demon meant you wouldn’t get beat?”

“……”

…Damn, life’s unfair as hell.

That was the phrase that instinctively popped into the prince’s head.

For someone who had always stood at the top and looked down as a genius, this was undoubtedly the first time he’d ever felt this kind of emotion…

“I still—”

But was it sheer stubbornness?

The prince staggered back up again. His entire body was wrecked, he was coughing up blood, he couldn’t even move a single finger—but still, he stood.

Watching that, Aiden clicked his tongue a few times inwardly.

‘So damn stubborn.’

He probably believed, in his own way, that this was truly the best path for the Empire—and that belief burned with superhuman will.

But when it came to the fact that he had already taken countless lives for that belief, right and wrong no longer mattered.

“…Arden Brimstone Lionel.”

Aiden quietly called the other man’s name.

Hearing that, the prince, panting, looked up—and flinched. He’d known Aiden Kellermain for quite a while now.

But never before had he been on the receiving end of such blatant contempt in his eyes.

“Stop trying to justify your actions like they’re noble when you’re just a coward.”

Frankly, it pissed him off.

Even just thinking about Teresa, who now slept inside his Soul Connector, was enough.

Even in death. Even unconscious.

There was someone who had poured everything of herself into protecting her country’s flag so that not even it would be damaged.

And yet this prince—seriously?

“…What could you possibly know about them—”

“Don’t care.”

Aiden growled as he cut him off.

“There’s nothing complicated about it. When people die, that’s bad. When they don’t, that’s good.”

“……”

“I don’t know what grand national vision you think you’re chasing by making deals with lunatics like them, but from where I’m standing? You don’t look any different from them.”

The world runs on a very simple principle.

Innocent people shouldn’t die. No matter the goal. No matter the circumstances.

“…Are you saying you’ll actually go up against them? Those monsters that aim to take over the entire continent…?”

“Obviously.”

The instant reply left the prince speechless.

“If people around me are going to get hurt if I don’t, then I will. Isn’t that obvious?”

How he’d do it—that, he didn’t know.

But still, in the end, he would always reach the same conclusion. The same reason he got involved in saving the world in the first place.

If something needs to be done, then he’ll do it.

He doesn’t know how. He doesn’t know what’ll happen. All he can do is focus on what’s in front of him, one step at a time.

But he believes it’s the right thing to do.

He believes it’s right to make sure that ordinary people—like his own family—can go on living ordinary lives.

So he doesn’t compromise.

No matter who the opponent is, or what threats they try to leverage.

That’s how Aiden lives.

“……”

The prince blankly looked up at him.

His lips pulled inward, as if he realized this wasn’t just some empty talk.

“If you get it, then just lie there. Don’t try anything else—”

Aiden said, glancing toward the rocket inside the spire.

Its engine was starting to light up. Looked like the launch prep had finished during their fight.

He turned his body in that direction.

Or rather, he tried to—that phrasing alone made it clear he couldn’t.

“…Ah, for real.”

That was exactly when it happened.

“I didn’t want to butt in, but…”

With the voice of a woman he didn’t recognize—everything froze.

▣

The masked woman—the Magician—ran her hand through her hair in annoyance.

‘Ah.’

Releasing a fragment of a Demon God inside the Capital to bring all the humans here under their control—this was like the first domino in a long chain of events yet to come.

‘Ahhh.’

After supporting things this far, if it looked like they couldn’t pull it off, then of course she would have to step in.

As her footsteps echoed crisply across the floor, everything else around her remained completely frozen.

‘Ahhhh.’

The magic she was using now—Time Stop—was one of the highest-tier spells among those that consumed mana.

Normally, it was a power that required invoking one’s true name. But now, she was casting it using a human form. That alone said everything.

If she were in her true name-released state, her mana would multiply and it wouldn’t be a problem. But in this current form, disguised as a human, just casting this spell would likely leave her debilitated for months.

‘Can’t even handle one simple task properly…’

It was all because of that useless fool.

With eyes full of disgust, she looked down at the prince lying sprawled on the ground.

“Tch.”

She let out a sigh and closed her eyes.

As she took a deep breath and focused her mind, the demonic energy swirling through her body began to pulse violently.

This was the crucial part.

Spatial segmentation.

Within the time-stopped spell she was casting, she isolated the ‘rocket’ inside the spire from its effects. Even while everything else remained frozen, that alone would continue functioning and launch as intended.

Anyway, as long as they launched that, everything else would be settled.

What was inside wasn’t just anything—it was a fragment of a god. Not just “powerful,” but something that, the moment it exerted influence, would instantly bring the situation to an end.

“……”

She ran her fingers through her hair and glanced toward Aiden.

‘…If something needs to be done, he’ll do it?’

Easier said than done. When real demons like her got involved, he wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing.

Sighing, she rested her chin on her hand. All she had to do now was wait.

Once the Demon God’s fragment was ignited here, that would be it. A guy like him would be swept up in the phenomenon and die.

A sneer crept across her lips.

If he just stood there like that and only realized what happened after it was all over, that would be funny in its own right—

“-?”

Funny.

It should have been.

Definitely.

“…?!”

While time was still frozen—

The Magician stiffened as she saw Aiden’s gaze locked directly onto her.