The Damned Demon
chapter-619

*BOOOOOM!!*

The world seemed to hold its breath as the demonic bomb detonated with a thunderous roar that tore through the air, unleashing a wave of dark red light that threatened to consume everything in its path. The intense, fiery glow spread rapidly, engulfing the immediate area in an ominous hue. But just as quickly, a radiant white light surged forth, emanating from the center of the explosion. It expanded with a forceful purity, colliding with the dark energy and containing it within a hundred-meter radius. Both lights clashed violently, their struggle culminating in an earth-shaking shockwave that radiated outward, shaking the very foundation of the city.

Amelia, Emiko, and Yui reacted instinctively, their hands raised as they summoned the strongest defensive barriers they could muster. Their faces were set in concentration, the strain visible as they worked to protect everyone from the residual force of the explosion. Asher and Rebecca took cover behind these barriers, since they didn't want to expose themselves nor did they feel it was necessary.

The shockwave blasted through the surrounding area, obliterating buildings and tearing up the roads, but it crashed harmlessly against the combined strength of their magical defenses. The barriers held firm, mirroring their power and the desperation behind their creation.

"He...He did it..." Amelia whispered, her voice a mixture of disbelief and awe as she lowered her arms, her eyes scanning the environment. Around them, the city stood largely intact, the destruction contained to the immediate vicinity of the bomb.

Emiko and Yui let out simultaneous sighs of relief, their bodies sagging slightly as the adrenaline began to ebb, "I-I thought we were going to die here…" Yui murmured, her voice shaky, her eyes tearing up as she hugged Emiko, burning her face into her chest.

Emiko hugged Yui's head as she patted her head as if to soothe her.

Rebecca blinked repeatedly, her expression one of bafflement mixed with shock.

How strong was that human brat, to stop such a powerful device after it exploded? Even she wouldn't dare linger around anywhere near such a thing just moments before it was going to explode.

But just as everyone was reeling in their relief and shock, Asher sprang to his feet and began sprinting towards the epicenter of the explosion, now a cratered wasteland. He looked at the shattered arrays where the hostages were kept, expecting to find nothing but their vaporized remains since they were too close to the blast.

However, to his surprise, as he neared the site, he saw nothing of such sort and only the distant cries and gasps reached his ears. Turning toward the sound, he saw groups of civilians, miraculously unharmed, huddled together a couple hundred meters away, "How did they...?" His voice trailed off, the question hanging in the air as he struggled to understand the miraculous survival of these hostages.

Arthur couldn't have moved or saved them when he was busy trying to stop the bomb.

But refocusing on the task at hand, Asher's gaze returned to the center of the destruction. There, amidst the charred and broken landscape, lay a bloodied figure. The golden armor was shattered, the white cape singed and tattered, a white staff lying discarded beside him,

"Arthur..Damn it!" Asher clicked his tongue in frustration as he rushed over.

He knew the reason he didn't do anything to get rid of Arthur despite knowing Derek sent him was because he was a new factor that had connections to that woman. Even if he was that woman's brother, he still could prove to be useful to him to find her. It would be a waste if he died like this. The air was thick with acrid smoke and the sharp scent of charred flesh as Asher approached Arthur's prone figure, strewn haphazardly on the ground amidst the rubble of the crater. The sight before him brought a tightness to Asher's chest, an unfamiliar and heavy sensation that clawed at his insides, making him forcibly dismiss this feeling.

He crouched beside Arthur as he turned him over.

The sight that greeted him was ghastly. Half of Arthur's body was a gruesome mess of exposed muscle and bone, charred skin hanging in ragged strips.

"You fool..." Asher murmured, the sight of Arthur's exposed heart unmoving, as if suspended in time, seared into his mind.

Amelia, Emiko, and Yui hurried over, their faces etched with horror and disbelief, "Oh no...Arthur!" Amelia gasped, her hands flying to her mouth as she took in the full extent of the devastation.

"He isn't breathing! Emiko, Yui, quickly try to heal him!" Amelia's voice cracked as she directed the others, panic threading through her every word.

Emiko and Yui raised their staffs without hesitation, casting streams of radiant green light that enveloped Arthur's body. Their radiant mana swirled around him, a desperate attempt to reverse the irreversible. Yet, their faces fell, a shadow of despair passing over their features as the healing spells made no difference, "I-It isn't working... There is no life force left in his body to heal..." Yui's voice trembled, heavy with the weight of their failure and sadness.

They hadn't known Arthur for long but they knew he was a kind and sincere Hunter who never hesitated to save people. They knew best how Hunters like him were very rare, and they didn't want their world to lose someone like him.

"What? We... We can't let him die like this," Amelia said, her voice a whisper of disbelief.

"He is already gone, Amelia," Asher replied softly, his eyes not leaving Arthur's still form. He sighed deeply, a sound more of resignation than relief, "To stop the bomb and limit its radius of destruction, he used himself as a body shield to try and absorb the impact. But upon doing so, his body absorbed so much dark mana that it suppressed his own restorative abilities and made him end up like this. That's why Emiko and Yui can't heal him. Their radiant mana isn't strong enough to overcome the demonic mana permeating through his body."

Asher paused, the weight of the moment settling upon him. Was it regret he felt, for having doubted Arthur, for not seeing the sincerity of his heroic and genuine spirit until it was too late? Or was it because he can't use him anymore? But as expected, true heroes like him always end up dying while the real villains continue to lead the life of their dreams.

He couldn't help but see his past self in Arthur's lifeless figure. Was it why it was bothering him so much...reminding himself of his own foolishness and tragedy?

"T-There has to be a way. Even if his mana circuit might not be intact anymore, there are still 5 or 10 minutes left before it completely dies. We just need to jumpstart it and he might live," Amelia said, her fingers flying over her device, searching for any possible aid in their dire situation. There was no point in calling emergency care since they weren't equipped.

"Only very powerful healers can even do something like that... like another Evangelion. But even if two of them were here, it would take them more than 10 minutes to get rid of all the dark mana he absorbed into his body," Asher explained, shaking his head slowly, the reality of their situation dawning grimly upon them.

Rebecca couldn't help but smile inwardly. At least that dumb draconian pig managed to get rid of a powerful S Ranker. That was one less obstacle for Oberon to reach the peak once she could find a way to make him recover completely.

Amelia shook her head slowly, her expression etched with sorrow, "No... He can't go down like this... We can't lose people like him..." she murmured, her voice barely audible. Her thoughts wandered to the grim future that might unfold without heroes like Arthur, a future darkened by the deeds of hunters driven by agendas like Derek's.

First they took Cedric and almost all his good friends and family. And now...Arthur. Will they keep going until only evil was left?

From a distance, the masked woman with the black cap watched the scene unfold, her hands trembling, the pounding of her heart loud in the eerie silence that enveloped her. Asher sighed deeply upon hearing Amelia's words. For a fleeting moment, he wished for the powers he once wielded in his past life—then maybe…

Just as despair seemed to cement itself within the hearts of those gathered, the golden rays of the morning sun broke through the haze of smoke and debris. The light, soft yet assertive, cast a warm glow over the devastation, touching the broken and the unbroken alike. Asher lifted his gaze to the sun, feeling its warmth against his skin—a sensation that, despite being a demon, still felt warm to him.

"H-His heart!" The sudden gasp from Yui redirected everyone's attention back to Arthur. They turned just in time to see a miraculous sight—Arthur's heart, previously still and lifeless, began to beat, faintly at first, then with growing strength. His body emitted a subtle, radiant white glow, the wounds visibly healing as they watched in stunned silence.

A horrifying yet fascinating spectacle unfolded as scattered flesh and blood on the ground began to assemble itself back towards Arthur's body.

Drawn in like iron filings towards a magnet, his dispersed cells, tissues, and muscle fibers returned to their origins, piece by piece, reassembling and healing at an impossibly accelerated pace.

"H-How..." Amelia's voice trailed off into a whisper of disbelief, her eyes wide as she struggled to comprehend the impossible. But squinting her eyes against the rays of the sun, she felt a sense of dejavu and couldn't help but remember certain memories of the past.

However, seeing his restoration powers at work with a radiant white light made the three girls have their lips parted in awe, realizing the sheer healing power of an Evangelion.

Rebecca had her jaw drop, unable to comprehend what she was looking at. How was this human who had his heart stopped and his mana circuit practically dead come back to life like this?

Asher, too, stared in disbelief, his mind racing to find a logical explanation.

It didn't make sense for him to suddenly start healing when his own mana circuit was sabotaged by such powerful demonic mana. To dispel it would require an even stronger source of radiant mana…

His thoughts momentarily turned back to the sunlight bathing them—a connection forming hesitantly in his mind, though he dismissed it as improbable, 'No... That can't be... It might have applied to his past self, but how could it apply to Arthur?'

"Nnh…" Arthur's weak groan brought everyone sharply back to the moment. He stirred, his eyes fluttering open, confusion etched across his features as he took in the worried faces surrounding him, "What... What happened? Are the…people safe?"