Chapter 1421: Victory And Trauma


    ?


    CLASH!


    "Hahh... Hahh... Hahh..."


    An felt his heart beating faster and faster.


    His breath was unstable, his eyes were growing mad in both wrath and fear.


    CLASH! CLASH!


    The sound of his de shing against an even stronger one echoed across a dark, empty castle.


    He felt his blood boiling, his body covered on wounds, cursed wounds.


    An was bleeding and slowly dying, his wounds were not regenerating no matter how hard he tried to heal them.


    "Hahh... Hahhh...!"


    He was gasping for air heavier and heavier, as the giant in front of him relentlessly swung their massive sword.


    "Is this everything the humans have to offer?"


    His voice reverberated and thundered across the castle.


    An froze, sweating all over, bleeding, dying.


    His eyes opened wide.


    "Pathetic."


    A single swing of his ck sword was enough, as a massive shing wave of pure darkness engulfed An.


    "Uaaggh!"


    An panicked, putting his divine de in front, trying to protect himself.


    "An! Evade!"


    "You can''t take that on!"


    The screams of Faylen and Shade echoed behind him.


    But it was toote.


    SLAAASH!


    "A-Ah...!"


    And then, the sh reached him.


    His chest was split apart, his armor shattered into pieces.


    His enchantments and barriers? All gone.


    His entire body was split apart.


    He died.


    BOOOM!


    An explosion of ck mes engulfed him, as he fell into the ground, torn to shreds. "An!"


    Faylen''s scream echoed, crying in horror.


    Yet.


    FLUOSH!


    A glistening divine light epassed An''s dead body, recovering it to full.


    Divine Protection, the ability to revive from near death experiences.


    Only once per day.


    It would often trigger protecting the blessed one.


    But when an attack was so fast, it would activate after the death of the hero.


    "Hahhh... Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"


    He kept screaming to himself as he was on his knees.


    The armored titan d in ck made his way towards him.


    His crimson eyes, glowing beneath his helmet looked down on him like a cockroach.


    "Just like the other two bugs... it takes two blows to actually kill you, huh?"


    An''s breathing suddenly came to a halt.


    His blood started boiling.


    mes covered his entire body.


    The spirits he had contracted over the years epassed him.


    His being evolved, reaching a new height after his death.


    "The other... two bugs, you say?"


    He red at the man; his face full of wrath!


    The bodies of two of his friends lithered over the floor of this dark castle.


    A handsome man with brown hair, d in golden armor, which was now shattered,id dead.


    He died with a kind smile; his body split apart.


    Arafunn was by his side, crying, unable to do anything after his death.


    "Isaac... Isaac... Please don''t leave me... Isaac... Please wake up..."


    He froze and fell into despair, everyone was trying to protect him as they fought the armored


    man.


    To the other side of the room, another figureid dead, her chest and stomach pierced by ck spears.


    She looked much younger than the rest, and she was the sunshine and life of the party.


    A young man with silver hair stood in front of her.


    He wasn''t crying, but his eyes...


    They were devoid of life, of light, of everything.


    "Elise..."


    An couldn''t take this anymore.


    Two of them were already dead!


    "They died so quickly, despite having the ability to revive once... Oh, puppets of the gods. I shall give you a swift death. Your suffering ends now. And the resurgence of the demons


    begins afterwards."


    This intimidating being this monster...


    This entity beyond Tier 10.


    He was...


    "DEMON KING!!!"


    An''s eyes opened, as he gasped for air.


    He found himself resting over a bed inside of Ifrit''s reconstructed castle.


    "Finally awake, you bastard?"


    Ifrit greeted An, as he nced at his eyes.


    "Ifrit?"


    "You had that dream again, huh?"


    "That dream? What are you talking about?"


    "I know damn well what I''m talking about, An."


    "I..."


    An nced at the king of all fire spirits, swallowing saliva.


    Yes.


    He knew what he was talking about.


    That traumatic dream he sometimes has.


    About that moment, when all his strength was never enough against that monster.


    The Demon King.


    "One of the reasons why I''ve been growing stronger without stop was because of the trauma


    he left on me; I''ve achieved such level of power now. I wish... I could fight him again now, to


    show him, that humans aren''t weak."


    "Hmm, he''s dead An, move on already."


    Ifrit was direct and to the point.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    An couldn''t help but smile bitterly at him.


    Yes.


    Indeed.


    He was dead.


    "But three of us died... And their deaths, I can''t forget them." An said. "No, I must not


    forget them. They gave away their lives, everything, just so we could win... I have to live for


    them."


    "If that was the case you wouldn''t be here, An. You made another promise, to someone else... No, well, not someone else. Him."


    An knew who Ifrit was talking about, but he didn''t want to admit it.


    Although he killed three of them, he was also a victim of this entire war, of this entire scheme


    of the gods.


    "Despite all the hate you have against him, you also feel sorry for him, don''t you? you''re soft


    like that, master."


    Ifrit was right.


    An could still remember hisst words, after everyone ganged on him, losing their lives, losing their divine protections, and despairing.


    As his helmet broke apart, revealing an old and tired demon man...


    "Please... If you are... truly heroes... Protect them... Please protect my people..."


    He had grabbed An''s hand tightly.


    All the wrath and anger he felt disappeared.


    As An realized, that the old, crying man in front of him just wanted to protect his family.


    "If you are truly a hero, then you will protect my people, or something like that?" Ifrit smiled


    back at An.


    "Yeah... I promised that, and I shall," An said. "Hence why I must be even stronger. The Gods will not stop until every demon is dead... therefore, I will go against the gods. Ifrit, give me two spirits, strong ones, for that child... She''s half a demon, I must help her."


    "I heard ya the first time, you damn bastard," Ifritughed, waving his hand.


    And then, two entities emerged from Ifrit''s palms.


    One resembled a slime made of liquid metal. The other was a fiery me in the shape of a genie.


    "Take these, they''re perfect for someone like her."


    "Thank you... Ah right! My daughter gave me these... You can have them."


    An handled arge piece of Fire Spirit Stones, which Ifrit red at with intensity.


    "Why didn''t you offer these to me beforehand, idiot?!"


    "A-Ah, I kind of forgot... Hahaha!"