༺ Malevolent Star (2) ༻
The proud captain of the Philion Academy’s security team, Herman, couldn’t believe his eyes at the sight unfolding before him.
He thought they had the warehouse surrounded without any gaps, but suddenly the warehouse building was torn away as if swept up by a typhoon, and a horde of specters, ghosts, and banshees filled the night sky.
The harmony of screams from the evil spirits shook the security team’s spirits, plunging them into despair and terror.
“Aaah! Ghosts!”“No! We’re going to die…!”
The guards covered their ears, but the death-filled screams could not be stopped by merely covering their ears.
Only Captain Herman, who had wartime experience and could use strong body techniques, managed to draw up mana to protect his hearing. However, he too felt the same urge as his subordinates to lose his grip on his sanity.
“Ah, the legion of evil spirits…!”
Such a large number of evil spirits could only be seen on battlefields where demon commanders wreaked havoc during the last great war.
The fact that they appeared in the middle of the city was a nightmare in itself, but the worst part was that none of the seven heroes of the continent were present this time.
Captain Herman wanted to run away as far as possible right away. However, what held him back was the fact that even if he fled, the outcome would not change significantly.Instructor Eon was down there. Whether Eon died or survived against the horde of ghosts, all that would remain for Herman was the disgrace of having fled from his post.
Furthermore, traitors would be exterminated along with their families, meaning his beloved wife and young daughter, the only happiness he had gained since the war, would be executed as traitors as well.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh… I can’t let that happen!”
If he died here, it would only be Captain Herman’s personal death, but if he ran away, it would be the massacre of his entire family. Herman could not afford to lose his family again after the war had ended.
Desperate to at least retrieve Eon’s corpse and escape, Herman rushed into the warehouse building with only its outer walls barely remaining.
Fortunately, the stairs leading down to the basement were still there, and he managed to descend into the basement with his trembling legs.
However, an unexpected sight awaited Herman as he went down to the basement.
Instead of being dead as he had assumed after being attacked by the evil spirits, Eon stood firmly and faced the legion of evil spirits.
Eon stabbed, slashed, and struck at specters, ghosts, and banshees. Each time, the horde of evil spirits was torn in half, pierced, and vanished in an instant. It was an unbelievable sight.
In the midst of the fierce battle, Eon’s hands held a long, thorn-like crimson spear, his expression unchanging.
Captain Herman knew the name of that spear. With a trembling voice of astonishment, he cried out.
“C-c-could it be… the Demonic Spear Ajetus?!”
There were ten items in the continent called “Divine Objects.”
No one knew if they were actually divine, but these ten objects possessed mysterious powers that were impossible for mortals to create without divine intervention.
As people often say,
Three great treasures. Three great relics. Four great calamities.
The Demonic Spear Ajetus belonged to the four great calamities and had the power to cut through intangible things. Moreover, it was rumored to bring its user to a tragic end.
However, the real reason the Demonic Spear Ajetus was famous was not because of its powerful abilities or the curse of misfortune, but because of its current owner.
Captain Herman had seen it only once. A spearman clad in black full-body armor, wielding the crimson spear, rampaging across the battlefield like a demon.
“Huff, huff, Malevolent Star…!”
Despite Captain Herman’s horrified cry calling out to him, Eon continued to swing his spear without looking back, only speaking.
“There are kidnapped people. Take them and evacuate.”
A shudder ran through them at that single word. Herman instinctively responded.
“Yes, yes…! Understood!”
On the battlefield, Malevolent Star’s orders were absolute. And this place was already a battlefield. Herman felt as if he had become a soldier of the Empire once more, following the hero’s orders to carry the collapsed, kidnapped people from the underground to the surface.
In the sky above, countless evil spirit legions still roamed, but Herman was not worried at all.
That’s because one of the seven heroes of the continent was here, right now.
Daisy did not even glance at the kidnapped people or Herman, her eyes trembling as she looked at Eon.
“Malevolent Star…? You’re the Malevolent Star?”
Daisy’s voice was filled with disbelief. No, it was closer to a feeling of not wanting to believe. It couldn’t be. How could a mere Imperial Captain, an academy instructor like Eon, be the Malevolent Star?
Daisy had never even imagined such an encounter with Malevolent Star. Therefore, Eon must not be the Malevolent Star.
“No, it’s not. The Malevolent Star hasn’t appeared for several years… I thought he might even be dead! There’s no way. Don’t deceive me with just a similar-looking spear!”
Green light burst from Daisy’s eyes, and following her will, a legion of evil spirits poured out like a waterfall towards Eon.
Eon’s response was simple. He took a deep breath, planted his feet firmly on the ground, and thrust, sliced, and continued to strike with his spear.
Eon’s spearplay sped up. With each swing, the crimson spear cut through the wind and tore through the air, making a sonic boom. Soon, the spear whirled so quickly that his arm was barely visible. Eon created a curtain of crimson spears, grinding all the pouring evil spirits to dust.
The evil spirits, once dominating the human army with fear, were being torn to shreds and annihilated without inflicting any harm on Eon.
Daisy watched the scene with a blank expression.
“Is it really the Malevolent Star…? Did you really kill the ‘Immortal King’ with that spear?”
The elven commander who drove the Ionia Kingdom to ruin lost his life to a single hero.
Daisy had been happy, devastated, and angry upon hearing the news.
Her resentment towards the ‘Immortal King,’ who drove the kingdom, its people, and her family to death, was lost because Malevolent Star had avenged her. In the end, Daisy’s anger was directed at the elves of the great forest and the elf princess who advocated for human-elf harmony.
Daisy believed her revenge was justified. The blood spilled by the elves had to be repaid with elf blood. That’s why she didn’t stop her quest for vengeance, and those who could have stopped her had long left this world.
But there was one person.
If there was someone who could say her revenge was wrong, it would undoubtedly be the Malevolent Star, Daisy had thought for a long time.
“…If you really are the Malevolent Star.”
Daisy withdrew the pouring evil spirits. If it were truly the Demonic Spear Ajetus, a mere evil spirit would not be able to harm him. Unnecessary consumption had to be avoided.
“If you’re really the Malevolent Star, you can easily block something like this.”
Instead, Daisy spread her arms wide and called forth another being. It was a power not meant for humans, but the ancient power mixed with the bloodline of Ionia made it possible.
Daisy’s soul opened a passage to another world, creating a connection with a mighty being, and that being revealed itself through Daisy’s soul on this land.
-Grrrrrrr….
The sky tore open as a massive skull pushed its face through. Red eyes gazing down at the earth from high above, it was the dread lord, a fearsome ruler who dwelled in the dark realm and controlled countless evil spirits, the highest-ranking entity among them.
However, Eon did not know what this being was, nor was he curious.
He merely thought the skull was disgustingly large.
Eon gripped his spear tightly, straightened his waist, and looked up at Daisy.
“Anything more would be dangerous.”
As Eon had said, thick bloody tears were already flowing from Daisy’s eyes. Her blood vessels had burst, and the whites of her eyes were completely stained red, making it apparent at a glance that she was overexerting herself.
He was right. In order to summon that being, Daisy had consumed a considerable amount of her lifespan, and even that was not enough, as she had to pledge a portion of her soul to the dread lord. Daisy was no longer able to find respite in death.
“Ha, ha, the Demonic Spear Ajetus? Malevolent Star? Don’t make me laugh! If it’s real, prove it! Show me the weight that name carries!”
–Grrrrrrr…
Above the sky, a massive skull gradually appeared, breaking through the dark clouds. Daisy and Eon’s gazes met abruptly.
At this moment, if Daisy was not stopped, an immense catastrophe would befall the realm due to that skull. There was no room for retreat.
“Whew…”
Eon made up his mind.
If she wanted proof,
“…Alright.”
There was no other way but to prove it.
“I will show you.”
Eon grasped the blade of the Demonic Spear Ajetus in reverse. Then, he aimed the spear at his own heart.
“What- Are you insane?!”
It was nothing more or less than a suicide attempt from the outside. Daisy screamed in horror.
But Eon’s arm was faster.
Eon pierced his heart deeply.
A scream filled with pain erupted.
“Ahhhhhhhh―!!!”
As he pulled the spear out, a dark mana exploded from his shattered heart.
The power wrapped around Eon’s entire body, creating a shiny black armor. Dark flames flickered and danced between the armor plates.
His shattered heart regenerated in an instant, pulsating roughly as it spewed mana. The enormous power surged through his veins like an explosion.
Soon, where the storm of mana had subsided, there stood a man in armor, wreathed in black flames, brandishing a red spear, and exuding a golden aura.
An ominous and overwhelming sense of oppression, as if everything would be swallowed up, weighed down heavily on the surrounding air with Eon at its center.
Daisy admitted that any further denial was futile.
The man before her now,
Known as the Black Devil of the battlefield,
“The Malevolent Star…!”
Was that very being.
