Chapter 170
As soon as Mikael was dealt with, Nahema withdrew his magic. He then tore through space with his powerful magic.
『 Līmen 』
The passage opened by Nahema vanished, and the swirling magic disappeared along with him. Thanks to that, Gremony was able to relax slightly.
However, it was only for a moment. Once again, powerful magic began to be felt, this time from a distance. Gremony swallowed nervously as he looked toward the location where the immense magic was swirling.
“Is he really planning to end all wars with his own hands?”
The direction where Nahema’s magic was felt was where Seere was located. The master of the powerful magic had descended between Seere, who had retreated due to inability to use magic, and the spirit kings who were trying to hold them back.
The swirling magic enveloped the area. It was a barrier that made it impossible for anyone to dare approach. Both allies and enemies were equally blocked from any access.
“…Teacher?”
Seere called out to him, but Nahema did not even glance in his direction. His gaze was solely focused on the enemies of the demon world.
Noah and Minerva, facing Nahema, sensed the irony of attempting to survive. They couldn’t even think of a way to escape him.
Without saying a word, Nahema raised his sword. As soon as Noah saw this, he turned to Minerva and shouted.
“Minerva! You have to run!!”
“What? Then you…!”
“You can escape!”
Minerva, the wind spirit king, was incredibly agile. It was believed that she could manage to run away.
“…Ah, understood!”
However, Nahema was not the type to let things go easily.
『 Carcĕr 』
Nahema cast some magic. Then…
Boom!!!
“What, what is this!?”
Minerva found herself unable to escape, blocked by some unseen force. She bumped her forehead against it, and she was not the only one.
“I can’t get out…”
“Something is blocking our way!!”
All of the celestial army, including Noah, could not move beyond a certain distance. Noah swallowed dryly as he looked at the great demon who had blocked everyone’s escape route.
“Is there no mercy…?”
“Mercy?”
Nahema narrowed his eyes.
“Should mercy be shown to intruders?”
“…Yes, that was a foolish question.”
Noah knew it was futile to spur his magical energy, but he couldn’t simply fall powerless either, even though he understood that it would be to no avail against the great demon before him.
But Noah did not realize.
That the feeling of helplessness was a different dimension from simply thinking about it. As Noah raised his magical energy, Nahema swung his sword, utterly unfazed, without casting any additional magic.
Swish!!!
And then it was severed. Noah’s magical energy couldn’t withstand the attack, and his hurried movements to evade were completely disrupted.
“Gah…!”
Noah did not avoid it leisurely. No one acts casually in front of a powerful demon. It was simply that Nahema’s movements were far too fast.
Noah’s body was cut in half with a single slash, and as he collapsed forward, Minerva screamed, her face twisted in anguish.
“Noah!! Damn…!!”
「 Tempest 」
The powerful magical energy of the wind spirit king turned into a storm.
“Ahh!!”
“M-Minerva! If you do that, we’ll also…!”
A storm strong enough to catch even nearby allies arose, but Nahema appeared completely unfazed.
No wonder, for Minerva’s powerful storm could not pierce through Nahema’s swirling magic. With a nonchalant expression, Nahema walked past the fallen Noah towards Minerva.
“Such a monstrous…!”
Minerva looked around but found no way to fight back. Her agility was rendered useless with the limited space to maneuver, and the firepower from her strong wind was suppressed by an even greater force.
“Get away!! Just get away from me…!!”
Minerva summoned all her remaining strength to resist, but how could a mere spirit king do anything against a great demon who had even defeated Mikael?
Nahema raised his sword. The calmness disappeared from Minerva’s face. She even began to whimper, desperately unleashing a barrage of wind blades, but…
Minerva’s power could not pierce through Nahema’s thick magic. It did not even cause the slightest disturbance in his sword-swinging action.
Swish───!!
Without interruption, the magic sword swung and split Minerva’s torso.
“M-Minerva!!”
“The king…!”
With the two high-ranking spirit kings dead in an instant, the celestial army found themselves at a loss. Seeing the panic-stricken celestial army, Nahema released the magic that had trapped them.
Suddenly freed, the celestial soldiers looked at Nahema with confusion. However, Nahema’s expression was too stoic to read.
At that moment, Nahema called forth the name of a certain massu.
“Behemoth.”
As soon as Behemoth heard its name while bowing its head, it sprang to life, brandishing its four sharp fangs, and charged at the surviving celestial army.
“Ugh…, Aaaah!!”
“Run away!!”
“Where to!?”
Just as they said, there was nowhere to escape. The front was occupied by a great demon, and the back by the impending massu. The celestial army was engulfed by feelings of despair and was swept away by Behemoth’s fangs.
#
With the massive threat of Mikael disappearing, Klifirot’s trees restored the golden seal of ■■■. This happened immediately after dealing with the two spirit kings.
The swirling magic vanished as if it had never existed, and behind Nahem, who had unfolded twelve wings, only a single pair remained.
“Guh…!”
Having lost strength once again, Nahem could not help but spit out blood. His bones weren’t broken, but the wounds were indeed deep. Until a moment ago, he had been suppressing the injuries with his powerful magic, but that was no longer the case.
Losing his restraint, blood gushed forth. As Nahem collapsed forward, Seere rushed toward him.
“T-Teacher!”
“…Gah, cough….”
“R-Rin!! Prepare for treatment quickly!!! Hurry!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Rin hurried off to fetch the medics. Seere tore a piece from his robe and pressed it against Nahem’s nape. Soon, Nahem’s blood soaked the cloth and turned it red.
“T-Teacher, just a bit… just hold on a little. The medics will be here soon.”
“Cough…, hack….”
He seemed to be forcibly holding back the blood. Behemoth, who had returned from sweeping away the celestial army, moved around restlessly, unsure of what to do.
Seere infused magic into the cloth that was staunching the bleeding. The magic forcibly sealed the wound, and the rushing blood began to subside slightly.
However, this method had one drawback: it was only a temporary measure. If treatment wasn’t done soon, like the time Nahema’s wound had spurted blood, it would continue to pool inside.
Seere cautiously cradled the coughing Nahem and said.
“I… should have been stronger. I should have helped you, Teacher…”
As Seere gazed at the increasingly difficult bleeding, her blue eyes trembled.
What if the teacher were to leave like this? I haven’t been able to do anything yet. If he really leaves like this, what should I do…
Such thoughts filled Seere’s mind. A fog clouded her vision as if she could not see one step ahead.
‘Ugh…’
It was not an illusion. The cloudiness in her vision was not merely from her thoughts being jumbled. Tears began to drop from her eyes, which were brimming with emotion.
“T-Teacher, T-Teacher…”
Her voice trembled, unable to form words. Seere tightly grasped Nahem’s powerless hand and prayed earnestly.
“You can’t die… please… don’t leave my side…”
Not like my father.
You can’t leave me.
Seere began to sob, shedding tears. She then hugged Nahem tightly as if to say not to leave her side.
In that moment, Rin urgently called out.
“Your Majesty! Bring Nahem over here!”
“!”
Seere, who seemed to have lost sight of everything else, hurriedly lifted Nahem and rushed to Rin. The medics Rin had brought began to swiftly unpack their supplies and commenced emergency treatment.
“Ugh, waah… ugh…”
“…Your Majesty.”
“Ugh…, ugh…”
“Your Majesty!”
After the emergency treatment began, Rin shouted at Seere, who continued to cry. Seere turned to look at Rin with wide eyes.
“You must stabilize the situation. Help the army of Citri, and finish the war. You can’t let this golden opportunity, created at the cost of Nahem’s injuries, go to waste.”
Rin narrowed his eyes.
“I will monitor Nahem’s condition. Your Majesty, you must lead the remaining forces to assist Citri and end this war.”
“……”
Seere sniffled. She longed to stay by Nahem’s side, but Rin’s words were undeniable, and her cold reason understood it instantly.
“Quickly…”
“Yes.”
“I’ll handle it and come back.”
“You will be able to do it, Your Majesty.”
Rin returned the sword that Seere had carelessly dropped in her haste.
“Come back after putting a period on our victory in this war.”
“Understood. If anything happens to Teacher…”
“I will report immediately.”
“Okay… I trust you, Daejeong.”
Seere wiped her tear-stained face with her arm and mounted her Bicon. She then commanded her soldiers.
“Support the Second Reserve Army! All troops except the Fourth Legion, follow me!”
“Yes!!!”
“Honor!”
As Seere led her legion to support Citri, Rin approached Nahem, who was receiving treatment from the medics.
He then knelt on one knee.
Though her appearance had changed so much that he didn’t recognize her, he could finally tell. It was Rin, who had served the late Seir, so he recognized her.
“I never expected that you would truly come to grant the wishes of His Majesty Seir. It may sound like an excuse, but you have changed so much that I couldn’t even recognize you.”
Rin knelt on her other knee as well. Bowing her head on the ground, she offered her respects to the lying Nahem.
“O great one. Thank you for protecting our young lord. And please forgive my rudeness.”
Nahem exhaled laboriously as he regarded the bowing Rin. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again, managing to speak with great difficulty.
“It’s… fine…”
“Please rest easy. Your precious disciple will conclude this war.”
As Rin ordered to take care of Nahem’s condition while settling the scene, Nahem exhaled with great effort, a slight smile creeping up the corners of his mouth.
‘I did it…’
The greatest obstacle standing in Seere’s way.
He had succeeded in ending the Great Demon War with his own hands. That fact was immensely gratifying.
Even in his current state, Nahem could not help but smile with satisfaction.
