Obsession.

Clay's life could not be explained without that word.

Since he was young, he had an unusually high affinity for divine power. To what extent? Even the imperial family of the Holy Krata could not match his affinity.

Everyone showed interest, saying that the grace of a god had descended upon him. Thanks to that, despite being a commoner without parents, he was able to frequent the imperial palace of his own country, Ezer.

At first, it wasn't just fine. After all, before it was known that his body was extraordinary, his childhood had been quite miserable.

The fact that treatment changed based on the presence or absence of talent was not a very pleasant thing.

Nevertheless,

He was happy.

Because it was much better than the situation where he received no attention at all. Receiving unprecedented support, when the Demon King appeared, he was finally able to rise to the position of the Hero.

And while living as the Hero, he was able to form bonds with various people. Especially with his party members, with whom he did almost everything, and with his childhood friend Tia, who became the empress of Ezer, he became truly close.

It was good.

Even if it was a kind of obsession that imposed a certain duty on him, he wished that such feelings would last for a long time for everyone.

"You..."

But what if all of this was actually caused by one being?

"You will never be forgiven."

What if everyone's obsession was nothing more than someone's trickery?

"Let's end it here."

Clay swung his sword at Elhaen. Elhaen swung his sword of light in the same way.

Sword met sword.

A gale blew around them, and dust rose. Elhaen pushed Clay back, but every time Clay was attacked, he learned Elhaen's methods and immediately responded.

"Now!"

Lin also shouted, pouring magic at Elhaen.

"Everyone, help Clay!"

At that, the demons who were holding onto the castle walls to avoid being blown away by the wind also picked up their bows and began to fire at Elhaen.

The ancient god in Barungenia, Athanasia, also created a wave comparable to the gale and aimed it at Elhaen.

Of course, it was an attack insufficient to reach Elhaen. But even a moment's carelessness was fine.

If they could distract Elhaen's attention even for a moment, an opportunity would come for Clay.

With that single-mindedness, all the demons worked together to harass Elhaen, and a few opportunities came to Clay.

Each time, Clay was able to land several blows on Elhaen.

"That..."

But each time, Elhaen narrowly avoided a fatal blow. Moreover,

"He's healing?"

Lin was horrified to see Elhaen instantly healing his injured parts.

"If his healing speed is that fast..."

Even if Clay's attack led to a fatal blow, victory could not be guaranteed. Lin raised her head towards the sky.

'I have to turn the tables.'

Even if they were using the same power, Elhaen was a being no different from the origin of that power.

Even if it was a battle against time, if the battle continued as it was, it would inevitably be advantageous for Elhaen.

If so, there was only one most effective method she could think of right now. To end the eclipse.

To shatter the environment that Elhaen was forcibly maintaining.

Lin extended her hand towards the round darkness.

"Akshak!"

The magic circle engraved throughout Barungenia was activated.

Red hieroglyphs adorned the ground like a picture.

As if reflected on the surface of water, they began to be written in the sky as well.

"Merak!"

A magic circle was drawn on the shadow of the moon that was covering the sun.

Then, the shadow showed a slight movement.

"!"

Elhaen, who saw that scene, stomped on the ground, and a giant stream of light shot up from there.

And the stream of light directly hit the magic circle Lin had engraved on the shadow of the moon.

The shadow of the moon, which was about to leave the sun, stopped in its tracks.

"Keuk!"

Even though she had prepared a magic circle that used the mana spread throughout Barungenia in advance, Lin's body immediately staggered from the impact.

Clay rushed at Elhaen, who was trying to break Lin's magic. Even though he should have been flustered by what Lin had just done, Elhaen calmly received Clay's sword with his own.

"Did you think I wouldn't have anticipated this much?"

Elhaen sneered at Clay.

"It's obvious. The things you would have prepared."

"Is that so."

But it was the same for Clay, who was not flustered.

"Then did you also anticipate fighting against those obvious things until that body collapses?"

"Hmm?"

"If we just fight in this state, we will take the victory."

Inflicting a fatal wound on Elhaen was not something Clay was expecting right now.

What he wanted was to drag out the time like this, end Elhaen's descent, and send him back to where he came from.

"I already know well the reason why you want this world."

Even though Elhaen had come to this world before, he couldn't stay. That meant that Elhaen had been rejected by this world.

"You want the power of this world completely, don't you? Something that could even repel you."

"...Did you see it?"

"Who are you talking about?"

Clay asked back.

"Is there a being that makes you so impatient?"

"Clay."

Elhaen said softly.

"You are right."

He had created humans as a species to adapt and live in this world, and by making them his connection, he had gained a foothold to use the power of this world.

"Otherwise, it kept trying to reject me. This world, I mean."

Elhaen explained that even now, he couldn't be in this world in his true form.

"It was fine at first, but as time passed, it became painful to be in this world. So I set up a countermeasure and left."

"So you're talking about humans, and me."

"Yes, that's right."

"This world rejects you, and I also reject you. Then isn't it the natural course of things to just go back?"

At Clay's question, Elhaen laughed.

"The natural course of things is what I create."

He looked straight at Clay.

"What you met was merely the incarnation of this world. What pushed me away was just the unconscious flow of this world's power. If I can just rule it, it's not something that will be particularly at odds with me."

"You look down on this world."

Even if the world itself had no ego, the egos that represented this world were now constantly rejecting him.

"You are just an invader who has invaded this world."

"You too are a product of that invader."

Elhaen answered Clay's words.

"Focus on your own original sin. If you want to escape it, you must either die or be with me."

"I refuse."

"You refuse?"

"You worry about that kind of thing."

Clay already had many things to worry about. His head was about to explode because of them.

"Because of you, I have to live in a hell I cannot escape."

"That's why I'm saying I'll let you escape."

"Stop with the word games, Elhaen."

Now, Elhaen's words were becoming incredibly unpleasant to Clay.

"If it was going to be like this, you should have killed my soul completely from the start."

Clay put all his strength into the hand holding the sword.

"You shouldn't have made me live, torn to shreds like this."

He had received a lot of attention. And he was betrayed by that attention. Clay's life was only that.

"At the very least, the act of realizing your greed, I will stop it with my own hands."

Clay swung his sword again and again. It was a swordsmanship without refinement. He had learned many things while living as a Hero, but he had never faced his life's greatest enemy.

Even the previous Demon King could not be called an enemy. He was an enemy of humanity, but at times, he felt like the closest being to Clay.

In the past, he didn't know what that meant. Because he was the Hero, and the Demon King was an evil to be eradicated.

But he found out only after time had passed.

Good and evil.

That was defined. Someone could be more good, and someone could be more evil. But there was no way a being itself could be good or evil.

Nevertheless, the Clay of that time thought it was natural. He cut down, cut down, and cut down again the ones who were driven to the position of evil without even knowing that history had turned everything upside down.

Even without that much of a grudge.

He swung his sword, representing only the grudges of other humans, without even knowing who started it first.

And yet, he was now occupying the position of the Demon King.

It was a truly ridiculous thing. To the point where he himself was at a loss for words.

And the one who created such a ridiculous situation was this being called an outer god right in front of him.

Elhaen.

The name didn't matter. What was important was that he had started the unending war that had occurred in this world, whatever it was.

Elhaen was the seed of war. Of course, even if he hadn't existed, they might have fought, antagonized, and swung their swords at each other, but at least they wouldn't have lived as someone's puppet.

It means that even sin could have been purely one's own.

"You! You took everything from us!"

Good and evil.

Duty and right, the weight of choice, the sins committed with one's own hands, and even the due consequences and punishment.

"You made it all come down to you!"

For what did this world exist?

What in the world was written in all the history and stories?

The Akashic Records. Even the absolute archive of this world had ended up being unable to record the original flow that this world should have flowed in.

"Was that wrong?"

But Elhaen's following words made the wailing Clay flinch.

"What did you say?"

"I'm asking if that was wrong."

Elhaen tilted his head.

"It is natural for a superior being to regulate the living grounds of an inferior being. There is a labor involved that the inferior being cannot fathom. Do you know what I receive as a reward for that?"

He held up one finger.

"Praise."

He said it was only to receive that.

"Is that so difficult to give?"

"Don't change the subject."

"I'm telling you to see it from a different dimension."

A strange light shone in Elhaen's eyes.

"An absolute god like me exists in a different hierarchy from you. It means that what we see is different. Perhaps that may feel unreasonable to you, but,"

He uttered one word.

"that is the truth."

Truth.

At that grandiose word, Clay let out a hollow laugh and gritted his teeth.

"So in the end, you're only saying one thing."

No matter what he prattled on about, in the end, what Elhaen was saying meant only one thing.

"Shut up and follow."

Don't pretend to know everything so arrogantly, and just submit quietly before power.

Because that is the one and only absolute principle that is eternally unchanging.

"That's what you're saying."

Clay instantly thrust his sword forward. Elhaen tried to block it, but Clay's sword had already pierced his chest.

『I understand.』

Elhaen's eyes looked down at Clay's sword, which was saying so.

Chapter(End of Chapter)