Chapter 153 'Laura'
My childhood friends lying down in the temple. As I step on them, Arnold ―― no, the demon king ―― approaches me.
When did Arnold's body get taken over by the demon king? I realized it was before we entered Ciello's tower, when we got separated in the forest. Maybe the demon king's goal was to take over someone's body from the start, and set up a trap to scatter us with magic.
But thinking about it now doesn't change anything.
The demon king gazed at the holy sword in his hand with its red eyes, narrowing them.
"Is this the holy sword?"
He muttered in satisfaction, and in that instant, the holy sword let out a loud "Zap!" and rejected the demon king's hand.
The demon king let go, and the holy sword fell to the ground.
"It's rejecting me... how annoying."
The demon king's gaze fell on the holy sword on the ground, and he turned away from us. In that moment, the water spirit in its beast form jumped out, baring its fangs.
"Grrr!"
"Get out of the way!"
――But the demon king simply swatted it away with its hand.
The water spirit's body crashed to the ground. I tried to rush over to the spirit, which let out a painful cry, but I managed to hold myself back.
Wentle-sama and the others stood in front of me, protecting me. But if the demon king could swat away the water spirit with its right hand, it wouldn't even be a temporary distraction. The crossbow bolts would probably be the same.
What should I do? What can I... and then I remembered.
(Maybe the prototype would work on the demon king)
The prototype that had successfully driven out the demon king from Elvira's body. Since it had shown its power against monsters, I always carried it with me in my bag, just in case.
If I could somehow get Arnold to drink the prototype, I might be able to expel the demon king from his body, just like before.
To do that――I need to get closer.
I'm holding the prototype hidden in my right hand, and I've taken off my backpack from my shoulder. It's better to be as light as possible.
The demon king is slowly approaching. This is my one chance. Should I take the initiative or wait?
I'm so scared that my teeth are chattering, but I grit them and glare at the demon king. I've made up my mind
I'm about to charge forward, and just as I'm about to stomp the ground――Lukas, who was supposed to be down, attacks the demon king from behind.
"Get away from Laura――!"
"Hero, is it!"
The demon king barely blocks Lukas's sword with magic. He's holding the holy sword that was supposed to be on the ground.
Next, Vake attacks the demon king. He doesn't hesitate at all, swinging his sword towards Arnold's body.
"Wake up, Arnold!"
Vake's powerful blow sends Arnold's body flying towards the big tree. But just before his body hits the tree, the demon king uses magic to regain his balance. The right arm that was attacked by Vake is now limp and powerless, hanging down due to gravity.
The painful sight takes my breath away.
――Arnold, Arnold. Please wake up soon.
"Arnold!"
I realize I'm calling out his name. Then, Arnold's shoulder starts shaking. He's trying to resist, and his heart is pounding strongly in his chest. He curls up his body.
――Maybe Arnold, who's been possessed by the demon king, is desperately trying to resist.
"Hey, young lady! Keep calling out to him!"
Vake shouts and charges forward again. I do as I'm told, repeating Arnold's name.
There's no hesitation in Vake's sword. He's definitely made up his mind. If worst comes to worst, he's prepared to take down Arnold and the demon king together.
――But, no way, I absolutely refuse. There's someone waiting for him to come back. He's someone who has to keep living, someone needed by many people. He can't meet his end like this, in a place like this!
"Don't get in the way――!"
The demon king shouts. Vake's body is slammed against the temple wall by magic. I glance over in a panic, but Vake seems to have lost consciousness.
I've got to get him to recover quickly. But with the demon king in front of me, I can't move.
The demon king's red eyes are fixed on Lukas. He must have planned this to take out the Hero and the holy sword in the temple. If that's the case, I have to stop that plan no matter what.
I turn to Lukas. His hand holding the holy sword is shaking. Of course it is. He's too kind, and he's hesitant to cut down his friends. Plus, he's injured from the first explosion.
I stand between the demon king and Lukas. Someone calls out my name from behind, but I don't turn around.
"Get out of the way, little girl."
The demon king sneers, baring his teeth. I shake my head and call out to Arnold in a trembling voice.
"Arnold! What about Elvira? She's been waiting for you to come back!"
The demon king's――Arnold's eyes flicker in response. For an instant, he freezes.
No mistake. Arnold is still fighting the demon king with all his might. His consciousness is still there.
His eyes, red like blood, are terrifying. My legs tremble with fear. But absolutely, Arnold is "there" deep in those eyes.
"What about the promise to take me to the elf village with Luka, and to repay my mentor, and... my dream of supporting the town's alchemist? Arnold was the one who encouraged me!"
I didn't even know what I was saying. But still, I kept calling out to Arnold in the demon king's body without stopping.
It can't end like this. What can I say to Elvira? "Your big brother died for this world? He had a noble death?" Those words would be no comfort at all!
Even Elvira, Mercedes, his mentor, Lukas, and our travel friends ―― even if we could save the world, if Arnold were to die, we'd be left with a huge, unfillable hole in our lives that we'd have to carry with us forever. ―――Yeah, me too.
"Are you going to kill someone you love with your own hands? Arnold!"
Lukas shouted from behind me. He had tears in his eyes, and his voice was shaking with anger and sadness.
Arnold's body swayed unsteadily. Lukas's voice grew hoarse, and he shouted again.
"You'll regret this for the rest of your life! You were controlled by the demon king and betrayed us ―― and you killed someone precious! Even if the world calls you a hero, I'll never forgive you!"
Lukas was crying uncontrollably. As I felt the tears streaming down my cheeks, I realized I was crying too.
My childhood friend appeared before me. His hand, grasping the holy sword, was no longer shaking.
With Lukas's back protected, I somehow managed to regain my composure. I opened the container with the prototype inside, and glared at the demon king ―― and in that moment, Arnold's body swayed greatly.
And then,
"You've said quite a lot, haven't you?"
――I looked up.
My vision was blurry from tears, and I couldn't see clearly at first.
The demon king in front of me――Arnold curled up, clutching his chest, and turned his face towards me. The color of his eyes was black. Black Not red!
Lukas rushed to Arnold's side in a panic. I was so shocked and relieved that I fell to the ground, unable to get up right away.
"Arnold !Are you conscious――."
I think Lukas was about to ask if he had come back to his senses. But before he could finish, Arnold pushed him away, and his words were cut off mid-sentence.
"A, Arnold?"
Lukas's bewildered voice was met with a pained smile from Arnold. And then, a large magic circle appeared at his feet. ――What was he planning to do?
I finally managed to stand up and rushed to Lukas's side, who had been pushed away. And from outside the magic circle, I saw Arnold's struggling figure.
――I wanted to rush to him right away. But I knew I couldn't. Arnold was trying to do something, which was why he had pushed Lukas away.
'You brat, you...!'
The voice that echoed directly in my mind was the demon king's.
In an instant, black mist began to emanate from Arnold's body――and Arnold let out a loud groan, clutching his stomach as if in pain.
The black mist that escaped from Arnold's body in a frantic motion was all too familiar. It was the power of Rustu's people, used in Elvira's experiment. The demon king that dwelled within her had emerged as black mist.
――In other words, it was likely that the demon king had emerged from Arnold's body. If that was the case, I panicked and lost my words.
The black mist still clung to Arnold's body. Yet, Arnold was smiling faintly.
"His main body escaped... but."
Arnold clenched his fist tightly. Then, the magic circle flashed brightly once more.
――What was he trying to do? The black mist clinging to Arnold's body was the demon king's power. So why was he smiling?
Lukas let out a shocked cry, uttering Arnold's name. As soon as he did, Arnold turned to face us. His eyes were black. No mistake, the current Arnold wasn't the demon king, but the real Arnold.
"Demon king, his main body escaped... but a part of his power still remains within me."
Suddenly, Arnold collapsed to the ground. He curled up his body even tighter, as if to prevent "that" from escaping from his stomach.
――I finally understood what Arnold was trying to do.
(I'm going to seal the remaining power of the demon king that's possessing him)
I rushed to Arnold's side, but just as I was about to step into the magic circle, I was repelled with a loud "thud."
"Arnold!"
I knelt at the edge of the magic circle, calling out to Arnold, who was on the verge of losing consciousness. He slowly turned to face me, and his eyes seemed to notice the prototype I was holding.
Arnold shook his head weakly, indicating that he had no intention of drinking the prototype.
If I were to give the prototype to Arnold now, we might be able to expel the remaining power of the demon king from his body, just like with Elvira. But he didn't want that.
With a pained expression, Arnold smiled at me reassuringly, as if to calm me down.
"I won't die... I'll just sleep for a while, taking the demon king's power with me."
Arnold continued, his breathing strained.
"The demon king's main body that possessed me is already gone. But I'll try to erase its power, no matter how little..."
The black mist that had escaped first was probably the demon king's main body. Now that Arnold had sealed the black mist within his body, the demon king must have already escaped and returned to the dark clouds.
What remains within Arnold is only a part of the demon king's power. Arnold is fully aware of this and is trying to seal it within himself, along with his own consciousness, in order to weaken the demon king as much as possible.
Beside me, Lukas kneeled down in the same manner. He floated a tearful expression and gazed down at Arnold without saying a word.
When Arnold met my childhood friend's gaze, he smiled and said,
"Lukas, hurry up and defeat the demon king. Until then, I'll sleep..."
Arnold's eyelids began to droop further. The light emitted by the magic circle grew stronger.
――Wait!
I was about to say, but I covered my mouth with my hand. Arnold and Lukas had already made up their minds. I couldn't let my selfish emotions get in the way of their determination.
I wiped away my tears and looked at Arnold. Our black eyes and gazes intertwined.
I felt like I was being sucked in, and I thought that it would be a while before I could meet his gaze again. My chest ached with a sharp pain.
When Arnold saw my eyes, he narrowed his own. And then,
"Laura."
――He called out my name.
For an instant, my breath stopped. I was shocked and my eyes widened in surprise. Arnold laughed, exhaling slowly.
"I'm sorry, but I'll leave El to you... Thank you."
Leaving those words behind, Arnold fell into a long slumber.
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