The NTR Hero Knelt Before the Demon King – Chapter 171

A world where everything has come to a standstill.

As I passed through it, I was increasingly overtaken by a chilling feeling.

All I could see were the frozen figures of those around me.

Nothing was moving at all.

Despite passing through a huge crowd, the sound of people’s breathing was completely absent in this world.

I couldn’t tell if this was what that Magic King had wanted when he executed Dreamland, but one fact was crystal clear: that woman who committed such an act was definitely not in her right mind.

‘What on earth is she thinking… I can’t be sure since there’s no detailed information in the original either…’

While I was drowning in thick confusion, I finally reached the altar.

Like everywhere else, the sight of people frozen in place greeted me there.

Seeing even the witches in the midst of the ceremony frozen, I began to lean towards the possibility that this situation was an unintended accident.

‘Could it be… even that Magic King is frozen like this? If so, we are in big trouble…’

If that was the case, and with my utter lack of knowledge in this area, I had no means to resolve this situation.

Wishing desperately not to encounter such a convoluted situation, I cautiously made my way deeper inside.

At that moment.

– “Hah…” –

“…Huh?”

In the next moment, a faint breathing sound began reaching my ears.

Despite the considerable distance, the surrounding silence made that small sound stand out incredibly clearly.

‘Could it be… the Magic King?’

I couldn’t be sure if the figure was indeed the Magic King, but the fact that I could hear the sound meant they could move differently from the others.

Feeling a deeper sense of caution because of this fact, I carefully climbed the stairs leading to the altar.

And shortly after,

A figure started coming into view before my eyes.

It was a little girl sitting at an angle on the altar.

Dressed in a black robe and holding an ornate staff.

In that moment, I instinctively recognized that she was no ordinary girl and cautiously approached her.

Just then…

“Are you the Magic King?”

“!”

The girl showed a slight look of surprise to my words.

Simultaneously, an unusual magic power began to surge from her, causing me to instantly readjust my great sword and prepare for an attack.

However,

Instead of getting ready to fight, the Magic King looked at me with a face full of intense curiosity and asked,

“Oh… I never expected there would be someone unaffected even in this situation. Moreover, that power… it doesn’t seem to be merely luck, does it?”

With a powerful aura surrounding her, she calmly unraveled her words even in such a situation.

Watching her, I realized the girl before me was the instigator of this chaos… the Magic King.

“Well, thinking about it, it is a bit disappointing to witness such a magnificent scene alone. I wouldn’t mind enjoying it with a handsome man, after all. That doesn’t sound too bad.”

With those words, the Magic King slowly stood up from her position.

Then, she twisted her staff in her hand, a deep smile spreading across her face as she spoke to me.

“Isn’t it wonderful? A Silent World where everything existing on this continent is made to stand still. A painting-like world devoid of bothersome noises and chaotic movements. This grand and exquisitely beautiful scene has shaped everything into an unchanging work of art.”

“…”

“I wanted to see this scene. The sight of an eternal beauty, where the nonsensical clamor of those noisy brats is silenced forever. The manifestation of existence itself becoming one single painting and sculpture.”

The Magic King’s voice trembled with thick excitement.

Hearing that, I recognized with certainty that she was indeed a lunatic who had completely lost her sanity, and I readied my sword.

“Sorry, but I’m not crazy enough to sympathize with such terrible taste. I’m here to kill you and put an end to all of this!”

With those words, I launched into an attacking stance filled with deadly intent.

After all, since a battle was already confirmed, there was no reason to waste time trading banter with someone who blabbered about art in this situation; the only correct choice was to end it swiftly.

In response to my words, the Magic King smiled wryly, filled with disappointment.

“…Is that so? How unfortunate. To think that a rare audience wouldn’t appreciate my art. Had our tastes aligned, we could have developed a more delightful relationship…”

As she spoke, she realized there was no escaping the fight and readied her staff.

Seeing her like this, a cold smile crept upon my face.

“I’m neither a lolicon nor single in the first place! For her sake, this twisted magic and you need to be obliterated right here!”

“How regrettable… But I cannot allow the artwork I painstakingly completed to be destroyed, so I’ll have no choice but to take the guest’s head.”

With those words, the Magic King unleashed a tremendous amount of magic power as she swung her staff.

From her staff, spherical blades that seemed to tear through space started launching towards me.

‘Should I block it? No… that seems too dangerous.’

The black spheres gave off an unsettling aura.

I moved swiftly to dodge, and the sphere barely grazed past me, colliding with the wall behind.

-Pot!

The space distorted, and that wall was sucked into somewhere else.

Watching this, I realized I had narrowly avoided a serious disaster by resisting the urge to defend clumsily, letting out a slight sigh of relief inwardly.

‘Is it like a black hole? No wonder she’s known as the strongest witch on the continent; she’s something else entirely!’

As those thoughts ran through my mind, I charged at the Magic King, who was preparing another spell while releasing magic power.

“Die!”

Once again, the Magic King swung her staff, unleashing another barrage of attacks.

The beams of various colors pouring down were beautiful yet frightening.

And seeing all those attacks coming straight at me, I concentrated the magic power within my great sword.

Then, I struck it down towards the Magic King.

“Hah!!”

In that moment,

-Pot!

The attack contained enough power to blow away over 200 soldiers.

The Magic King frowned slightly and discontinued her spell, hastily creating a barrier.

In an instant, a translucent Defensive Wall came into view.

It began to barely hold back the wave of destructive energy that surged from my sword.

‘It’s certainly not trivial. Not a single opponent ever left unharmed after taking my attack directly.’

The Magic King’s remarkable power, which managed to withstand an attack that even top-tier defensive warriors struggled against, was indeed the strongest I’d faced so far.

To compare, she was almost on par with the Demon King.

Though in our last duel, both the Demon King and I had controlled our powers to an extent, still, the Magic King’s strength was definitely nothing to underestimate.

However,

Regardless of the situation, a deep smile began to blossom on my face at this moment.

“Heh!”

“I got you!”

Just as she blocked my attack with the barrier, I successfully closed the distance to her in an instant.

Simultaneously, a look of surprise washed over the Magic King’s face, and I swung my great sword mercilessly at her.

-Bam!

“!!”

The deafening sound left a large crack in the Magic King’s barrier.

Then, I began to slice through the translucent wall surrounding her with incredible speed.

Even though her magic was fearsome, she was still merely a wizard.

In a physical contest, I—a hero—could easily surpass her, and my stamina was of a whole other grade.

This meant if I could drag it to close combat, victory would be an easy feat.

With that calculation in mind,

I burst through the barrier that couldn’t handle my assault and aimed my sword down at the Magic King.

At that moment.

-Crack!

“Huh?”

“Tsk…”

In the next instant, my great sword aimed at her was blocked by her staff.

Even though her hand trembled slightly at that moment, the fact she defended against my attack without much difficulty surprised me greatly.

And then.

“Hah!”

“!”

With surprising strength, the Magic King pushed me away.

Then, she firmly grasped her staff and started twisting it.

Suddenly…

“What’s that…?”

“…”

In the next moment, what appeared before my eyes was a blade that broke free from what I thought was just a staff.

It was a sword shaped like an eastern katana rather than a western sword.

Then, the Magic King looked at me with a chilling smile and began to speak.

“Let’s keep our etiquette as witches to this point.”

“!? W-What…?”

With those words, the Magic King began exuding a chilling yet eerie aura.

Holding the cerulean sword imbued with magic, she rushed toward me at a speed akin to a meteor, and in that instant, I understood she was not just any witch.

‘Could she be a sword mage?’