Chapter 78: Ilyu Awakens!! The Demon King Descends—Mass Panic!?

“H-hiieee…”

A few minutes later.

The bandits who had attacked Anat were utterly annihilated, left in a pitiful state.

“O-o-orororororo…”

“Miss Sakura, pull yourself together! If you collapse, there’s no one else who can heal the wounded!”

As expected of a Hero’s party—it took them less than a few minutes to wipe the enemy out.

Karl alone was already more than enough, but with the addition of the Silent Blade, Rey, the bandits didn’t stand a chance.

To top it off, Maika’s brutal fighting style shattered their morale and forced them to surrender.

“…I’m questioning her humanity.”

“Big bro, calm down. Maika’s always like that.”

Their leader, Fuger, was twitching on the ground, eyes rolled back in his head. Beside him, Maika stood grinning devilishly, casually kicking the corpses.

Even he, who had once fought as a bandit himself, was utterly horrified by Maika’s methods.

“What’s with all the looks? Isn’t it more humane to crush their will to fight and make them surrender, rather than slaughtering them all?”

“It’s how you crushed their will that’s the problem!! Seriously, you need divine punishment.”

…And as Maika chuckled, her hand still gripped a hammer soaked in dark, wet blood.

---

“You crushed the boss’s testicles over a hundred times? While healing him each time?”

“It was a warning. With those kinds, if their leader surrenders, the rest tend to follow quietly.”

“…I felt bad for Sakura having to go along with it.”

The guards of Anat, who had come belatedly after hearing the explosions, arrived on the scene and began questioning the group.

Among them were the mother and child Ilyu had rescued. It seemed they were safe and sound.

“There’s no doubt about it. This is the wanted man, Fuger.”

“So he pretended to be a demon to pin the blame for the raids on them. What a bastard.”

“But why is he doing a double peace sign with his eyes rolled back?”

The bandits, including Fuger, were obediently taken into custody.

Realizing they stood no chance against Karl and his companions—and fully aware of the brutal punishment awaiting any resistance—they submitted without complaint.

All but one, their leader Fuger, was essentially broken beyond repair.

“Ilyu, what the hell are you doing here!?”

“…I-I thought if I spotted the bandits before anyone else, I’d be praised?”

“You idiot!! You almost got yourself killed!!”

And so, the Demon King—enemy of mankind—got scolded for worrying her companions.

If Karl’s group had arrived even a little later, Ilyu would have been killed. Well… she would’ve come back to life, but still.

“Please don’t make us worry like that again. You’re an important comrade to us too.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Ilyu had joined them to kill Karl when his guard was down.

And yet now, being worried over like this by her supposed enemies… it left her feeling incredibly awkward.

“But I… I just couldn’t ignore someone who was crying.”

“…Yeah, well, I get that.”

At Ilyu’s quiet excuse, Karl let out a sigh.

“Next time, call me. I’ll always come running.”

“…I can be someone’s support too, you know! Even if I’m not strong, I won’t let my heart be beaten!”

“Then, when you’re in danger—at least then, call me.”

Karl sighed again, then ruffled Ilyu’s hair, seeing that she wasn’t showing much remorse.

“If you ever reach out for help, I’ll be there. Every time.”

One day, they would have to fight. She knew that—he was the Hero, after all.

“…”

“It’s a promise.”

“…Okay.”

Ilyu bit her lip quietly at the warmth in Karl’s voice.

---

“What… should I do?”

That night, lying on the inn’s bed, Ilyu was torn.

“Karl is… an honest man. …Would it be so wrong to try trusting him?”

After spending some time traveling with Karl and the others, Ilyu had started to feel it.

They weren’t the arrogant, cruel, and savage “humans” she’d feared—Maika excluded.

“But… we’ve attacked humans so many times. To survive, to avoid annihilation… we invaded them.”

To Ilyu, humans were beings of terror.

They betrayed trust without hesitation, indulged their cruelty to satisfy desire, and showed no mercy to the weak.

She knew it firsthand. That’s why she hadn’t hesitated to kill them.

“But there are kind people, too. I’ve seen that myself.”

Even Ilyu knew not all humans were monsters. She had shared bonds with some.

“…But that’s only a few. Most humans lie, betray, and—”

Just as she tried to believe in Karl… something surfaced in her mind.

“…Hhk.”

The young nun trembled in fear, hugging her own body.

The scars of abuse, burned deep into her soul, reignited her hatred for mankind.

“Ah… please… save me, Karl…”

Her lips quivered uncontrollably, fear crawling up from deep within her.

The cruel, merciless eyes of humans floated in the dark, sneering and laughing at her.

“What should I do? Should I believe in humans? Or—”

Her whisper faded into the night.

“Is it still foolish to trust in humanity?”

…In the end, once again, Ilyu couldn’t bring herself to kill Karl that night.

---

“Huh, to the Grand Cathedral?”

The next morning.

Still sleep-deprived, Ilyu listened to Karl speak excitedly.

“Last night, for the first time in ages, the Goddess appeared to me in a dream!! This time’s summons had nothing to do with that bandit incident—she said it was for a ritual to strengthen the Hero’s power.”

“Strengthen your power?”

“Yeah. I don’t fully get it either, but apparently we need to go to the Grand Cathedral in Anat to perform the ritual.”

Summing up Karl’s story, this summons wasn’t a response to the recent attack but rather a straightforward power-up event for him.

It seemed that Goddess Sefa had foreseen the final battle against the Demon King would take place in the capital.

Which is why, to strengthen Karl as a Hero beforehand, she had summoned him to Anat, where her main sanctuary was located.

“There was a deadline because we need to be back in the capital in time afterward.”

“I see. So it wasn’t about demonfolk attacking Anat or anything like that.”

The Grand Cathedral of the Sefa Faith served as the religious heart of the City of Water, Anat.

Apparently, Anat was also the only city in the country known as a “religious city worshipping Goddess Sefa.”

“So even that minor goddess has her own Grand Cathedral, huh.”

“It’s a rare chance—why don’t you come too, Ilyu? If Anat’s not in danger of being attacked, maybe you could even settle down with a job there?”

“…That’s true.”

Karl’s suggestion made Ilyu hesitate.

If she went to the Grand Cathedral, her true identity would most likely be exposed.

After all, Ilyu and Goddess Sefa had met before. If Sefa were to descend to the mortal world, it would be the end.

She would be captured as the Demon King and sealed away immediately.

“…Then, may I come along?”

“Yeah! I’ll introduce you myself.”

Even knowing all that, she chose to go with Karl.

It was a bitter decision for Ilyu.

──If things could be resolved through dialogue.

──If the demonfolk could be spared any further suffering.

Right now, Ilyu had neither the strength nor a plan to defeat Karl.

While she was leisurely traveling in hopes of regaining her power, the Heroes continued to grow ever stronger.

And she didn’t have the resolve to kill Karl with a surprise attack, either.

In that case, the only path left was to seek resolution through discussion.

──And if that ended up putting me in danger…

“If you ever come to me asking for help, I’ll be there—no matter what.”

What would Karl, who had said something like that, actually do in such a moment?

Would he treat her differently once he knew she was the Demon King and cut her down on the spot?

Or—

“…If I sincerely ask him, would he at least hear me out?”

“Huh? You say something, Ilyu?”

“No, nothing.”

…Just a little, Ilyu found herself wanting to believe in Karl, the endlessly kind fool.

---

That afternoon.

Led by an unusually excited Karl, we headed to the Grand Cathedral of Goddess Sefa.

“Wow…”

It stood atop the most scenic hill in the City of Water.

A road paved with pristine white marble led up to a cathedral with a distinctive spherical architecture.

“Whoa, amazing. It’s even bigger and older than the cathedral in Ressal.”

“There are so many impressive stone statues, I must say.”

At the entrance, statues of warriors stood as if to welcome us, each with a small bird perched on its shoulder.

The entryway, lined with water channels, featured a beautiful and ornate fountain.

“…Oh my.”

Maika noticed something when she read the names engraved on one of the cathedral’s statues.

“They’re Hero statues. Probably all past Heroes of the Sefa faith.”

“Hmm, then after Karl defeats the Demon King, he’ll get a statue here too?”

Apparently, these statues were of the Sefa faith’s legendary Heroes.

No wonder—they all had noble, heroic faces.

“…Huh?”

──And then I found myself staring at one particular statue—an incredibly muscular man.

“…What?”

The hulking, muscle-bound Hero was striking a dynamic pose with his fist thrust forward.

Amazing physique. But that wasn’t what caught my attention…

“Wait, isn’t this guy…”

“Sir Penny de Sefarl. He founded the current royal family, you know.”

“Yes, yes, he’s the founder of the present-day royal house, isn’t he!?”

I was shocked to realize the statue depicted the founder of the royal family.

Wait—does that mean the royal family originally came from the Goddess Sefa’s Heroes!?

“Now that you mention it, Lady Rita and Lord Garius both have the surname Sefarl. Did they get it from the Sefa faith?”

“So the royal family is basically in bed with the religion! Then why’s the Sefa faith so obscure now?”

“Apparently, the first king thought ‘religion and politics shouldn’t mix,’ so he never tried to spread the Sefa faith. Meanwhile, the popular Macro faith swooped in and won over the people.”

The revelation left me wide-eyed in disbelief.

This country’s royal family was practically founded by that goddess herself.

No wonder the Sefa faith had such deep roots. Maybe that goddess was a lot more impressive than I gave her credit for.

“That one’s Lightning Demon Emperor Igel, one of the earliest Heroes. He was the one who slew the Demon King in the First Demon War. Said to be the most powerful lightning mage in history—he could call down lightning anywhere in the world.”

“This one’s Yury, the Smiling Hero. I think she was from the Second or Third War… Didn’t have many great achievements in battle, but she was the kindest of all Heroes.”

“And that last one’s Falevero, the Earth Dragon Knight. He fought in the Fourth War, but went solo so there’s not much information about him. Still, he fought using armor made from earth, and had the highest defense of any Hero.”

“My, how informative!”

Listening to the two who had studied Hero legends in Yowin, we approached the cathedral’s massive gates.

Between the stone statues, there were several strange empty plots of land. Perhaps one of those would eventually be where Karl’s statue stood.

“O-oh man, I might get my own statue here. Kinda nerve-wracking.”

“If you manage to beat the Demon King, that is.”

Looking at the dignified and grand Hero statues, Karl was visibly pumped.

I get it—but calm down a bit.

“Well then, let’s go inside.”

“Yeah.”

With a nervous expression, Karl slowly opened the doors of the Grand Cathedral.

---

"Welcome, Hero Karl~"

When I opened the grand cathedral doors, just as I expected—she was there.

A slightly suspicious-looking, soft-spoken, and plump goddess.

"It’s quite alright, come closer~"

It seemed that the goddess had descended to the mortal realm once more.

All the clergy surrounding her looked blissful, kneeling in reverence around their divine patroness.

"Ah, it's been so long!! Goddess!"

"Yes, it truly has. ...It seems you've gained quite a bit of experience."

Seeing this, Karl hurriedly fell to his knees.

…To be honest, I still can’t bring myself to fully trust her, but I followed the others and bowed as well.

"You’ve come a long way. You've learned to wield your power as a Hero quite well~"

"Th-Thank you... That’s too kind of you..."

The smiling goddess looked almost amused.

...Karl found himself enchanted by that smile, completely stunned.

"Now, come this way, Karl. Just as we spoke in your dream—let’s begin the ceremony."

"Y-Yes!!"

But even then, I couldn’t shake this feeling that something was off about her smile.

...I had a bad feeling.

A very, very bad feeling.

"Now then, Karl. There's someone I'd like to introduce to you."

"...Introduce?"

"You too, come here—Noir~"

At her words, one of those who had been kneeling rose to his feet.

He stepped up onto what looked like an altar and stood beside Karl.

"...?"

...He looked to be around the same age as us. A sharp, refined-looking man.

"Nice to meet you. It’s an honor, Hero Karl. My name is Noir."

"Ah, y-yeah. N-Nice to meet you, Noir."

Karl, his face marked with a visible question mark, replied awkwardly.

Noir, as he had called himself, gave a bright, friendly smile and shook Karl’s hand without hesitation.

"Now then, Karl. Give me your hand~"

"Y-Yes. Goddess, what are you going to do?"

"Ah, just returning the power I lent you~"

The moment the goddess took Karl’s outstretched hand—

Something—something that had been enveloping Karl—vanished.

"...Huh?"

"You’ve done well until now, Karl. Thanks to you, the Hero's power has matured beautifully."

Karl seemed to notice it too.

That something very precious to him was suddenly gone.

"Uh, um... Goddess?"

"Karl, I have a request. Something that only you can do."

"Y-Yes."

...Ah, I see now. I finally get it.

Why this goddess seemed so suspicious all along.

It’s because—

"I want you to give everything of yourself to Noir."

"...What?"

—this goddess never cared about Karl in the first place.

"What… do you mean, Goddess?"

"Noir here is a man gifted in magic, deeply faithful to me, and willing to give his life for humanity."

"…U-Um."

"And Karl, you had a natural talent with the sword and a kindness unmatched by anyone."

Karl’s face began to pale, little by little.

Unable to comprehend what he was being told.

"If the two of you became one Hero, you would surely be formidable~"

The goddess declared it proudly, as if announcing something marvelous.

All of us were left speechless.

What the hell… is this goddess even talking about?

"Noir. Give me your hand."

"It’s an honor, Goddess."

Eventually, the man called Noir took the goddess's hand and received something from her.

It was undoubtedly what had once resided within Karl.

────Now, the man called Noir had inherited the power of the Hero.

"Karl, do you understand what I’m saying?"

"Uh, I…"

"Just now, Noir has received the power you nurtured. From this moment on, he is the true Hero. However..."

The goddess looked at Karl with a cold smile as she spoke.

"He has neither the experience nor the memories of a Hero."

"……"

"So Karl. Since we're at it, I’d like you to give Noir your memories and experience as well. Your mind and his will become one—he will become the complete Hero."

…Ah.

This woman is a wicked god. Just like Aldebaran said.

Goddess Sefa is a devil-like being pretending to be a friend to humanity────

"What will happen to me if I do that…?"

"Your body will become an empty husk. However, your existence will live on within Noir."

"B-But…"

"Please be reasonable, Karl. The Demon King is an overwhelmingly monstrous being. To be frank, your power alone isn’t enough."

Thump, thump.

My heart was pounding in my chest. That goddess… she's planning to kill Karl.

She wants to kill Karl, merge him with this guy Noir, and send that to fight the Demon King.

"Noir has already accepted it. He’s accepted that your existence will enter his mind and overwrite him into a separate personality."

"……"

"His body is full of magic and far stronger than the current you. If someone like you, with all your experience and skills as a Hero, resides in that body—it’ll be unstoppable."

"I-Is that… really true?"

"Yes, it truly is~"

Does that goddess even realize what that means?

Karl will vanish from this world. That kind, foolish, soft-hearted Karl will be gone────

"No. No way in hell, you damn goddess!!!"

Before I could explode, Maika screamed.

There was no way she could accept the idea that Karl would disappear.

"Exactly, Karl! What are you even thinking!? In the end, this is just a plan to rip out your mind and memories and leave you a vegetable!"

"Outsiders, please be quiet~ The decision belongs to this man~"

"You think we can just stay quiet!?"

It wasn’t just me and Maika.

"…What kind of sick joke is this!?"

"…Give Karl back…!!"

Everyone in the party stood up, furious.

"I already told you—the decision belongs to him."

"Screw you!!"

It seemed Maika had reached her limit.

With a shout, she charged at the goddess—

"…A barrier!?"

"That’s right. I’ve now surrounded myself with a field that only those I’ve blessed as Heroes can pass through~"

Something slammed into her and sent her flying.

Looking closely, there was a faint magical barrier surrounding the altar.

“Damn it!! Let me in!”

“This is the ritual to transfer the Hero’s power. There’s no moment more vulnerable than this, so I’ve put up a barrier.”

“Karl!! Don’t just stand there like an idiot—get back here, now!!”

It was a kind of magic I’d never seen before.

I tried analyzing it as a mage, hoping I could dispel it somehow, but the spell structure was completely unfamiliar. I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

Was this divine magic…? The power of the goddess herself?

“Hey, Karl. Right now, you’re just a normal man—one who only carries the memories and experiences of the Hero.”

“……”

“Pretty useless, wouldn’t you say? You may know how to wield a Hero’s power, but the one who needs that knowledge now… is Noir.”

“…Goddess. May I ask you something?”

“What is it, Karl?”

Karl’s face had grown grim.

He must have never imagined that not only would his power be taken from him, but that he’d be left as an empty shell.

…And yet.

“Was I always meant to be just a placeholder Hero? Someone to pass the power on?”

“Indeed. You have a talent for the sword, but nothing remarkable in strength or magic. However, your soul, so willing to sacrifice itself for others—that made you the perfect choice.”

“I see. So that’s why someone like me was chosen.”

For some reason, Karl didn’t avert his gaze from the goddess.

His expression was heavy with sorrow…

…and acceptance. A quiet resignation.

“I always wondered why someone like me was chosen.”

“It was out of respect for your noble soul~ That’s why you were selected~”

Then—

Karl slowly knelt before the goddess.

“…You idiot—don’t tell me!! Do you even understand what you’re about to do!?”

“Everyone… thank you. For traveling with me. I couldn’t have made it this far without you.”

“Karl… You stupid… stupid idiot!!”

Eventually, Karl’s expression hardened with resolve.

It was painfully obvious what he was about to say.

“Karl, stop!! You can’t…!!”

“Lady Sefa. If someone like me can help bring peace to the world… please, use me as you see fit.”

“IDIOT! YOU DAMN FOOL!!”

──He said it.

Karl declared, without hesitation, that he was willing to die.

“Thank you. I knew you’d say that, Karl. After all…”

The demon goddess smiled, her lips curled in cruel satisfaction.

She narrowed her eyes and stroked Karl’s cheek gently.

“…I chose you to be the first Hero because I knew you would.”

And with that, she uttered those unforgivable, mocking words.

---

The barrier of the goddess separates Karl and me.

Our screams—closer to wails—cannot reach Karl.

"Karl-san. Why would you go this far?"

At that moment, only Ilyu spoke in a calm voice.

Unlike us, who were half-mad trying to stop Karl, she alone remained composed.

"Weren’t you supposed to come save me if I ever called for help?"

"Sorry, Ilyu. I can’t keep that promise."

"...I see. Humans really are liars, after all."

That’s right. We were desperate.

Because we knew Karl, the idiot, was seriously willing to die for humanity.

Because we knew if we let this moment slip, we’d never see him again.

That’s why... we were too late to notice.

"..."

Two men knelt in prayer before the goddess.

"Ah..."

On the altar, inside the barrier of the goddess Sefa—where no one should be able to interfere—

"Humans really are garbage."

—A nun stood, head lowered, unnoticed until that moment.

"Huh? How... how did you get in here...?"

The goddess’s eyes widened at the intruder’s presence.

Ilyu had ascended the altar as if the divine wall erected by the goddess didn’t exist at all.

"...Ah, looks delicious."

There was no time to stop her.

No chance to interfere.

Ilyu calmly walked behind the Hero Noir—

"Glk!?"

—and from behind, twisted his neck off.

"Itadakimasu (Thanks for the food)."

Crunching, she began eating—bones and all.

"────!?!?"

The Hero’s blood dripped onto the cathedral floor.

The divine power bestowed by the goddess was now being devoured and digested by Ilyu.

"......"

No one spoke. It seemed no one could process what had just occurred.

Ilyu, the eccentric but gentle and cheerful nun...

Had just killed the Hero Noir by biting off his head whole.

"Wh—Wha—!?"

Even the goddess couldn’t hide her shock at the blood-soaked nun slurping on brains.

Only the sickeningly sticky squelches echoed through the sacred hall.

"Wh—what are you doing!?"

"......"

"Who... who are you!? A demon!? But I don’t feel any demonic presence!"

"Nfu? Ufufu. Now, what do you think?"

Eventually...

The goddess, finally managing to speak, glared sharply at Ilyu.

"You... you’re a demon. But how? How did a demon get past my barrier...?"

"Ahh... So you really didn’t notice me, did you, Goddess Sefa?"

At those words, the blood-soaked nun’s face twisted in disappointment.

No, it wasn’t mere disappointment—it was unmistakable despair toward humanity that filled her eyes.

"You should take more interest in your own Hero."

"E-eh?"

Still chewing on the Hero’s neck, crunch by crunch...

The nun stared expressionlessly at the goddess, blood dripping down her cheeks.

"Ah, how nostalgic."

"...?"

"How many years has it been since I was chosen by you to fight the forces of evil?"

"Huh? Wait... no way, you’re—"

Suddenly remembering something, the goddess gasped.

Ilyu and the goddess Sefa... they knew each other.

They had known each other for hundreds of years.

"That can’t be. B-but—no, it can’t be true!"

"What can’t?"

Hundreds of years ago, Ilyu met Sefa.

And Ilyu received power from her. In exchange, she vowed to sacrifice herself for the sake of all humanity.

Yes. In other words, Ilyu was not born a demon.

She was a human who had no choice but to fall.

"You... You’re the Hero. Hero Yury... aren’t you?"

Splutch. A wet sound rang out.

Apparently satisfied with her meal, Ilyu dropped the hollowed-out skull to the floor.

"Please... don’t call me by that name anymore."

The nun spoke with no emotion.

Then, against the goddess she once worshipped, she raised a cross cloaked in divine power—and slashed.

"From now on, call me the Demon Lord"

---

—Absolute Severance.

It was the ultimate authority granted to Karl by the gods.

A supernatural power that could cleave through anything that could be cut—the strongest ability belonging to the goddess Sefa herself.

And now, this power, meant to be bestowed upon the Hero of the current age—

"Aaaaaaaaahhh!?"

"Hehehe. As expected, even you can be cut when it's the power of the goddess."

—had fallen into the hands of the Demon King who had devoured the Hero.

As a result, the goddess Sefa was cleanly bisected through the torso by the very power she had once given away.

"My body—I'm—splitting!? Aaahhh!?"

"......"

"Why is this happening? N-no... I don't want to disappear..."

The dark deity, her voice trembling with panic,

struggled in agony with only her upper body remaining, reaching desperately toward Karl—

"Someone, please save—"

—and vanished into particles of light within the grand cathedral that had once enshrined her.

"The goddess has fallen—"

For the first time, even counting the great wars of the past—

"It's the Demon King. The real Demon King just killed Lady Sefa!!"

"Uwaaaaaah!! Lady Sefaaaaa!!"

It was the moment the Demon King directly killed a goddess.