Chapter 374: Subjugation of the Demon King (4)

She had felt it even before she arrived. Judith was getting stronger

It wasn't just her body, but her mind as well. Her aura sword that shone intensely seemed like it could melt space. Her heated body, blazing as if it was embracing a volcano. Realizations in swordsmanship which wouldn't have surfaced in the past, flowed in real time as hundreds of possibilities opened up in her mind.

Judith was transcending human limits in real time.

Even so, she felt anxious.

'I thought it was because of the rift space.'

A place that was neither the human world nor Devildom. It was something uncertain that was outside of the chaos that she couldn't pinpoint. The power of sorcery which suddenly came to her dizzied her mind.

But she realized it the moment she saw Bratt Lloyd just before crossing the river of death.

It is because of this. This was the time she had received to choose.

In order to save the life of her lover, she had to give up the surge of power that was flooding her body.

"...haha."

Her worries didn't last long.

The poisonous spirit, the jealousy, the envy and the fighting spirit she had since her childhood were discarded and shoved away for a while. She took a step back from trying to expand herself and focused on something that was more valuable to her.

Wheik!

A fire that burned for the sake of others.

As flames for her love rose, happiness and a feeling of promise for future passed through Bratt's mind. But at the same time, Judith felt something leaving her body.

"Ah..."

The sun of Ignet disappeared from her mind.

Ilya Lindsay's sky receded, Airn's fire element aura and something even higher than that... they all disappeared quickly.

But it was fine. She looked at her lover with a smile. She mumbled something as she felt the dreadful darkness that had tainted this place recede ever so slightly.

"I will not give up."

'I won't lose.'

She would do what she wanted with him. They would be lovers, friends and family in the future. They would do everything together.

She nodded and looked at her sword.

"...the sword too, I won't let it go either."

She would just have to build it again.

It was only there for a fleeting moment, but she had witnessed it. A realm above master. For a brief moment, she had a sword that had been capable of taking down every devil in here. As long as she didn't forget that feeling, she would be able to rise again. And she would be able to reach it.

And the one next to her... would always be this man.

With a gentle smile, Judith stroked her lover's hair for a long time.

** *

Ilya Lindsay picked her sword back up.

There was nowhere the waves didn't sweep through. Nothing could hinder Ilya nor her opponent. A dark sword with an darker aura that seemed as if it had been made from shadows had been pulled out.

Wooo

There was a stench of chaos coming from it. The air turned damp because of it.

Wooong!

A silver aura rose from Ilya's sword. It seemed like there was moonlight dancing on it. It looked holy and divine, like a new wind being born. Gradually, the darkness scattered.

The light shone brightly.

A new world opened up in the space. Having built her own sky, she moved ahead.

It was a gentle walk that resembled a breeze. It was paired with a delicate and soft sword movement like the wings of a butterfly flapping.

It was the basic Swordsmanship she had learned when she was still in Krono.

Whooo!

Whooo!

Whoooo!

Butterflies weren't always gentle. They turn violent if they wanted to with the help of their wings that were able to change the course of the wind. And it didn't take long for a storm to come. This butterfly had been reborn in steel after all.

There was a limit to it however.

It couldn't be denied that this was the Sky Sword, but it was also true that it was a basic swordsmanship that even a 13-year-old kid would be able to do. Overall, it was a very simple swordsmanship and had very few gaps. Ilya knew all about it.

Still, he couldn't overwhelm the basic swordsmanship.

Ching!

Kwakwakwakwang!

A dark aura erupted from the Demon's sword. It was an unrealistic sight that was so huge that it couldn't be compared to the previous one... it was as if it were wielding the arm of a giant. The ground which was rubbed by the sword turned into a mess. There was a large amount of despair and fear moving around.

But it didn't reach her.

It couldn't touch her.

The darkness that had bloomed for a while vanished in an instant as the wind blew it away. Ilya walked lightly on the cleared space.

With a bitter expression on her face, she recalled the past.

"...the swordsmanship that I just showed you was from when I was in Krono."

Kwaaang!

"The swordsmanship I will show you now is the one I learned while leaving for training shorty following the disappearance of my brother. The swordsmanship after that..."

Kwang!

Kwang!

Kwaaang!

"...is from the arena of the Land of Proof. It was here that I was able to bring out the Aura Sword for the first time. Of course, thinking about it now... I thought it was strong."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sword kept devastating the entire place. However, it was only the land that broke. Ilya Lindsay avoided the attacks that were aimed at her and blocked some.

The enemy in front of her wasn't her opponent.

It wasn't even a perfect match.

This was natural. It was a sword which had given up on itself for the sake of a greater power and one that had succumbed to the darkness. Having lost the world, Carl had no choice but to be defeated by Ignet too, and it would be the same with Ilya.

In fact, it was a bit absurd to have dragged the match this long.

But the battle continued for a long time. It was only because Ilya Lindsay wanted it to.

As said before, what she was seeing was evil being unleased. In response to that, she too had unleashed the dangerous swordsmanship she had been following when she had been in the Land of Proof.

The swordsmanship that was full of the feeling of wandering when she was travelling in Durkali was also revealed. As if telling someone she hadn't met for a long time, she showed everything about her in detail.

However, she didn't seem embarrassed about. After a long time, she smiled. Her swordsmanship had changed again by now. It was for this moment that she had done all this. It was to show what she had grown into after experiencing such an awkward growth.

"This is the Hero Sword that I learned from Ignet."

The sword that had the will of protection embroidered the sky. As a result, the sword's aura that had been previously running rampant like wild monster, stopped. It only moved back and forth after that moment.

"This is the swordsmanship I realized after getting advice from father... it is what I found after I decided to love myself."

Woong

Another cold wind swept through the place. It was probably from then that it had started. It was from there that she started being honest with her feelings and faithful to her emotions. She had decided to cherish herself more.

And that wasn't the end. It didn't work right away just because she had made up her mind. Even after that, Ilya had been wandering around and had experienced many ups and downs. The teachings of Dion Lindsay had helped her obtain the final stage of the Sky Sword. The reason she wielded the sword carefully wasn't because she was bragging. But it was because she genuinely cared about the struggle to move on for a better tomorrow.

"This is satisfying."

Kwakwakwang!

"Really, I am happy now. My heart is healing."

Kwakwakwang!

Ilya mumbled.

Tears were flowing from her eyes. Tears of regret were flowing down, and complicated emotions were rising within her.

She raised her sword as she looked at the demon destroying the surroundings.

Woong!

Wooong!

The two swords, the sword made from air and the other, her own, shone brightly. She had a sad smile on her face as she looked at the creature in front of her.

She had once loved this man as much as she loved Airn.

It was a being who had once cursed and resented Ignet. But that was exactly why she had to do this.

"Goodbye, brother."

"..."

"This is the last once. What I will show you now..."

A huge typhoon rose from Ilya Lindsay's body.

Crack!

Crash!

The ground split.

Even the chaos that had filled the rift had disappeared back in fear. The silver-haired swordman who had colored the place in silver floated up. Her second sword aimed from a higher position.

But the demon didn't run.

Despite taking a couple steps back, he stood firm. He raised his head and looked at the sky. And then he looked at the woman in front of him silently.

'Such a beautiful light.'

The light was so beautiful that he wanted to turn back all the mistakes he had made. Right now, he just wanted to put down his sword and walk over to her.

But he didn't.

He couldn't. Realizing that he could no longer be one with the sky, Carl decided to stay as a demon until the end. That was the only way for his younger sister to break away from him and move forward. And then, the darkness rose from his body once again.

And then.

In Carl's eyes, he saw something that shouldn't have existed.

** *

"..."

Ilya Lindsay, the silver-haired swordsman with two swords, looked down.

A wretched sight caught her eye. The upper half of the demon had been blown away and it looked like the demon wouldn't be able recover regardless of how much magi it tried to use.

This was the expected result. This was a sword she had used with all her might to overwhelm her Krono mates.

Ignoring the rift, she knew her opponent couldn't block the Sky Sword.

...at first, he didn't think of stopping it.

Recalling the sword of her opponent flying past her, Ilya looked back.

"Ku... uh... ack..."

There was darkness here as well.

Th demon gave out disgusting groans of pain which made her want to cover her ears. There was a thick dark liquid seeping down from the demon's mask. And its face that had been exposed due to the shattered mask was so ugly that one wouldn't be able to look at it. She lowered her gaze and looked at the clown's chest.

She saw a dark sword.

A weapon that had been created by ignoring the light in the world and even sacrificing the brilliant future that had laid ahead. Seeing the demon's sword made her frown.

And then...

The last sword that had been wielded by her brother Carl Lindsay, scattered in smoke.