The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Leaving a Record (6)

Fwaaaaaah!

A gaping hole was pierced through the Adversary’s chest.

The force imbued in Julien’s sword surged through the wound and began to burn the Adversary’s body from within.

But the Adversary didn’t even flinch. Instead, darkness erupted in tendrils from his body, stabbing through various parts of Julien’s body.

“Guhk...”

Julien clenched his teeth and endured it. Under normal circumstances, that one counterattack would have killed him instantly.

But fortunately, Deneb’s divine power was pouring into Julien like a storm.

Fwaaaaaah!

The divine power continuously restored Julien’s body, which was being destroyed by the Adversary’s attack.

Particles of radiant light scattered from all over Julien’s body. In response, the Adversary’s darkness surged more fiercely than ever.

“Julien!”

Astion rushed in and extended his hand toward the Adversary from midair.

Kwooooom!

Blinding lightning struck the Adversary’s body multiple times.

Thanks to Astion’s precise mana control, the damage was focused solely on the Adversary.

The Adversary’s darkness wavered several times. However, he didn’t retreat and withstood it.

Before long, the dragons that had gathered unleashed overwhelming mana.

KWAOOOOOOOOH!

They couldn’t allow any harm to come to Julien or Deneb. Julien had to hold on, and the Adversary needed to be weakened.

The mana gathered from the dragons scorched the Adversary’s darkness and crushed his energy.

As it did, the Adversary’s body was consumed by the light at an even faster rate.

Soon, the Pope, the Cardinals, and the priests of the United Human Army, who had been providing support from the rear, arrived. Each of them unleashed divine power to aid Julien.

KWAOOOOOOH!

Even more radiant particles burst from Julien’s body.

The particles of light, like beautiful petals, filled the battlefield and fluttered around Julien and the Adversary.

Rumble rumble rumble...

Julien endured the pain of darkness digging into his body and continued to pour his energy into his sword.

Just a little more—if he could endure a bit longer, the light would burn away all the darkness.

The Adversary, withstanding the immense mana of Astion and the dragons, stared at Julien.

“...Julien.”

Julien couldn’t respond. Even the slightest lapse in concentration, and he felt like he would collapse instantly.

That was how unimaginably overwhelming the Adversary’s energy piercing into his body was.

Still, the Adversary continued to speak, gazing at Julien who remained silent.

“...Our god whispers to me. That this too is a fate already decided.”

“...”

“Only now do I understand. How to escape from this fate.”

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!

The Adversary’s body was now completely engulfed in radiant particles. His surging darkness was riddled with holes and was burning away into nothingness.

Yet, the Adversary paid no mind and continued speaking.

“...On the day the most noble light falls, our king shall appear.”

Julien’s eyebrow twitched.

Those were the very words once spoken by the Prophets. And it was that prophecy which had been fulfilled through the appearance of the Adversary.

But why was he bringing up that prophecy again now?

Suddenly, Julien was seized by a powerful force and dragged backward.

When he turned around, he found himself held in Astion’s arms.

“...Astion… why… the Adversary...”

Astion shook his head with a sorrowful smile.

“It’s enough now. That’s enough.”

Julien looked utterly devastated.

His hair had turned half-white without him noticing, and he was so emaciated that he resembled nothing more than a corpse made of bones.

He had been burning the Adversary’s body with even his own life force.

Julien struggled to push Astion away and turned his gaze forward.

The Adversary was ablaze, surrounded by radiant particles of light.

He no longer attacked. He didn’t even try to escape.

The Adversary slowly lifted his head and looked to the sky.

A majestic voice rang out from the heavens.

“It ends now, King of the Demonic Abyss.”

The Dragon Lord Arterion glared and spread his massive wings.

As he opened his mouth, a breath imbued with explosive power surged out.

That was the signal.

The dragons soaring high above the sky simultaneously unleashed their breaths at the Adversary.

There were twelve dragons. These were the ones who had survived the battles against the lesser deities of the other world until the very end.

Now, as they all focused their breath attacks on a single target, the sheer magnitude of their power was beyond comprehension.

KWAOOOOOOOOOOOOH!

A magical storm of such overwhelming force erupted that it seemed capable of ending the world itself.

The Adversary no longer had the strength to stop it. Most of his energy had already been spent dealing with Julien and Deneb.

Within the storm of mana unleashed by the dragons, the Adversary’s body slowly began to dissipate.

As he faded away, he issued his final command.

“We have failed to protect the Sanctuary. Everyone, retreat from this place. Uphold the spirit of the Doctrine and prepare for the future. Though we have lost the Sanctuary and will wander for ages... the Church will be rebuilt. Etch my words into your soul and remember them.”

The moment those words ended, the Apostles and all the priests of the Salvation Church scattered and began to flee.

The way they responded without a moment's hesitation showed that it had all been prepared in advance.

But the Allied Forces were ready as well.

“Pursue them!”

The ranks of the Allied Forces quickly split apart.

Kyle, Marika, Lionel and Ereneth began the chase after the Apostles. The Transcendents and knights of the Allied Forces followed closely behind.

Four of the dragons who had been fighting the Adversary broke away to pursue the Apostles as well.

The priests of the Salvation Church, scattered in all directions, were also chased down by parts of the Allied Forces.

The United Human Army had one clear goal.

To completely eradicate the Salvation Church here. Especially the Apostles and high-ranking priests capable of rebuilding the Church—they had to be eliminated at all costs.

So, a contingency plan had already been thoroughly prepared in case the enemies attempted to flee. That was why the Allied Forces were able to respond immediately without panicking.

Now, with only faint traces of darkness left, the Adversary spoke amidst the flickering light.

“Hero Julien, Saintess Deneb. I now return to the lingering thought of the god. But do not forget...”

Soon, even the final wisp of remaining darkness vanished.

“...this is not the end.”

Fwaaaaaaaaaah...

The light spread out in all directions and slowly settled.

The storm of magical energy gradually subsided, leaving behind only its faint aftermath.

No trace remained of the place where the Adversary once stood.

[...It was a long war. So many sacrifices, so much pain. At last, we have eradicated the Adversary, and all that remains is to hunt down the remnants of the Salvation Church.]

[The power of united humanity was immense. But without Julien and Deneb, we would never have achieved victory in this war. The two of them were truly like a blessing from the goddesses to humankind.]

[And one more person... If not for Ghislain’s help, we would never have grown this strong so quickly. Though he claimed we could have won even without him... we would have paid a far greater and bloodier price.]

[What is our dear friend doing now? Is he reading this record in the future with a smile? Or perhaps, even now, you are—]

Letters of light flowed rapidly through the air beside Astion.

The light scattered like sand and flowed into the book in his arms, becoming a recorded memory.

Since becoming a 9th-Circle Mage, Astion had begun using this method of recording, allowing him to preserve everything he felt and thought on the battlefield in real time.

Thanks to this, Astion’s records were not only incredibly accurate but also captured the vivid breath and emotions of war.

“Sniff...”

Astion quietly wiped away tears that welled up for no reason. It was little-known but a widespread fact that one of his nicknames was “Crybaby.”

Aside from the pursuit units, the Allied Forces swept away the remaining Riftspawn. Strangely, no more Riftspawn emerged.

Only the ones that had spilled out earlier from the rift continued approaching, dying meaningless deaths one after another.

Before long, the battlefield echoed with a mighty cheer from the Allied Forces.

“Waaaaaaaah!”

“We did it! We won!”

“The war is finally over!”

The Allied Forces collapsed into each other’s arms.

The joy of ending the war, the relief of surviving, and the sorrow of losing comrades burst out in tears.

Not one among them held back their tears. They embraced one another, leaned on each other’s shoulders, and confirmed each other’s presence again and again.

Julien fell to his knees.

Prostrating himself as if in prayer, he remained there for a long time without the slightest movement.

Astion gazed at Julien with eyes filled with emotion.

‘You must have struggled so much.’

Hero Julien.

Julien had always been the one to face the Adversary. No—he was the only one who could.

Even amidst that burden, he constantly had to stake his life to protect the hope of humanity, Saintess Deneb.

The hopes of all humankind rested upon his shoulders.

Julien had carried that immense weight into every battle. No one could possibly imagine the burden he bore.

Astion slowly turned his head.

Deneb was still praying, her figure reverent and devout.

Though the light pouring down from the heavens was beginning to fade, the radiance emanating from her body continued to spread widely.

Saintess Deneb.

Because of her, humanity had never lost hope.

Without her, there would have been no way to stand against such overwhelming darkness.

Julien slowly rose to his feet. His gaze turned toward Deneb.

Deneb, too, finished her prayer and stood up. Her eyes met Julien’s.

The two smiled at each other.

No words were necessary. Between them was a bond that transcended speech.

Humanity had fought as one. Everyone had staked their lives on this battle.

But it was also true that without Julien and Deneb, victory would have been impossible.

The Hero and the Saintess—those two were the true light that saved humanity from despair.

Everyone knew this.

Before long, the dragons, now transformed into human form, approached the two.

The dragons all knelt on one knee, bowing their heads in reverence and gratitude.

“On behalf of all dragons, I, Dragon Lord Arterion, speak these words. Hero and Saintess who pierced through the world’s darkness and reclaimed the light—along with your comrades—your names shall forever be etched into the heavens. At the end of despair faced by humanity, you became the light, and today we kneel before that light in worship.”

Ilaniel and the elves, Grondal and the dwarves, the Pope and Cardinals of the Holy Empire, Marquis Nodehill who was now Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, and representatives of countless kingdoms—

All of them offered their praise and reverence to the party of the Hero, united in one heart.

Soon, the entire Allied Forces burst into jubilant cheers.

“Waaaaaaaaaah!”

“The Hero’s party saved the world!”

“Peace has finally returned!”

Amid the cheers of the crowd, Julien and Deneb took each other's hands. Even so, they were checking to see if the other was truly all right.

Astion, sniffling again, watched them with tear-filled eyes.

'Ghislain, just like you said... we really saved the world.'

A dream that once felt so distant. A dream no one believed in—except for Astion, who had been a Possessed.

But thanks to Ghislain’s unwavering conviction and guidance, they were ultimately able to save the world.

As Astion was lost in that emotional moment, Lionel approached him.

“Why did you tell me to fall back?”

Lionel looked genuinely confused. He had pulled out of the pursuit after suddenly hearing Astion’s voice during the chase.

As a result, only a few Transcendents and dragons had gone after one of the Apostles.

They were confident they could capture the target, but it would’ve been easier if Lionel had gone with them.

Astion glanced around and then spoke.

“I just thought... we could leave one Apostle to the others. You stay and protect Deneb.”

“Protect her? The war’s over, isn’t it?”

“There’s still the sealing ritual left. It’s said the strongest lingering thought of the Demon God remains at the heart of the Demonic Abyss. Just trying to be cautious in case something happens.”

At those words, Lionel nodded.

After all, every plan up to this point had been devised by Astion. That’s why the Hero’s party followed his strategies without doubt.

The Allied Forces immediately set up camp and rested.

The eight dragons remaining here entered the core of the Demonic Abyss ahead of the others to begin constructing the sealing barrier.

The Demonic Abyss was still saturated with the energy of darkness. However, with Deneb occasionally spreading her divine power and many priests present, even those who weren’t Transcendents could endure it.

About a week after the barrier construction began, Arterion approached Deneb and spoke.

“The preparations are complete. We will now begin the sealing of the Demonic Abyss.”

He smiled gently, as if looking upon someone truly precious.

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