542

Episode 542 Just for this moment. (2)

Helgenik's neck was completely torn off and he flew to the side.

And Giselle, who swung the sword.

"Ugh!"

Crunch! Crunch!

Something twisted and popped, and I fell backwards. I even lost my sword.

Even for that moment, he couldn't handle the strength and his body became abnormal.

"Giselle."

Julian quickly moved back and grabbed Giselle. Blood kept gushing out of Giselle's mouth.

"Did you catch it… … ."

Julian slowly put Giselle down and turned his head.

"Still… …alive."

Helgenik's body was shaking back and forth as it was engulfed in a wild energy. It was moving without a head, just like a Dullahan.

The body tried to find its own head. Helgenik's head, completely torn off and detached from the body, lay in the distance.

"Ugh… … These guys… … ."

Even though the head and body were already separated, it was still making sounds. It was an absurd situation, but Giselle and Julian were not surprised because they knew how such a thing was possible.

But is it because the body is separated and the source of magical power is cut off?

The swaying darkness that had always obscured Helgenik's face began to disappear.

"… … ."

The face that appeared was horrible. It was like a blubbering, corpse-like face, twisted here and there.

Even Giselle, Julian, and Jerome were speechless at the sight. Even though they already knew, seeing it with their own eyes was a miserable sight.

"That's why you don't die even if you get attacked like that."

Jiselle knew the secret hidden in Helgeniek's body through information she had obtained in her past life.

As a necromancer, he put his soul into a chimera he created through various experiments.

A body that was half corpse and half living. As such, magical power largely replaced blood and organs.

This was information that Parniel, who had fought Helgenik for a long time in his previous life, had found out.

Before fighting Helgenik, Giselle told her allies about this fact, using the excuse that she had heard it somewhere as usual.

Helgenick opened his mouth with that disgusting face.

"I… … I never thought I would end up like this… … ."

His head, which controlled his body, fell off. His soul was contained in his head, and the source of his magical power was contained in his heart.

Even if your neck is cut off, you can survive by just reattaching it, but they won't just let that happen.

"… … I guess I should get rid of it."

Julian grabbed Helgenik's struggling body and threw it far away.

Cheeeeeeek!

Helgenik's body, already pierced through the heart and covered in wounds, was running towards the end.

No matter how strong you are, a body without a head is nothing more than a simple piece of meat. When you lose your head to control and operate your magical power, your energy begins to run wild.

My body was exploding here and there, and the speed was getting faster and faster.

Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!

Every time my body burst, energy shot out into the air. And after a little more time passed.

Kwaaaaang!

Helgenik's body exploded and shattered into pieces, and all remaining energy was scattered into the air.

The explosion was quite powerful, but did little harm to those left behind.

Because Julian had thrown it far away, and a lot of energy had already left it.

Thud, thud.

Julian approached Helgenik's head.

Julian, too, was wounded and exhausted here and there, but he was the only one who could move now.

Helgenik rolled his black, rotten eyes and opened his mouth.

"You guys… … You guys… … me."

Having lost the source of his magical power, he was losing even the power to speak. With his remaining magical power, he could barely maintain consciousness.

Julian stared blankly at Helgenik's head with an expressionless face and slowly lifted his foot.

"… … ."

He didn't say anything. He just stomped hard on Helgenik's head.

Kwajik!

Helgenik's head crumbled into nothingness.

Having lost his magic, he now had no means of holding onto his soul, which was to be forcibly dragged by the laws of the world into the River of the Dead.

- Kkaaaaaaah!

For a moment, it seemed as if a desperate scream was heard from the air.

Helgenik, who had killed countless people and tormented their souls, met his end like this.

Jerome sat down and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight.

"Thank goodness… … He was a real monster."

He was a really annoying and difficult guy to deal with. Thinking about how many days I had to suffer because of him made me shiver.

Julian looked at the fallen Giselle and Jerome and asked.

"Are you okay?"

"Then, it's okay."

Jiselle smiled and raised her thumb. Jerome, who saw her, showed his teeth and did the same.

"… … ."

Julian, who had been watching the scene for a while, smiled faintly without realizing it.

"Huh? Are you laughing just now?"

When Giselle asked in surprise, Julian said with a blank expression as if he had never smiled before.

"I didn't laugh."

"I think you laughed?"

"That has never happened."

Julian did not answer any further and reached out his hand to the fallen Giselle. Giselle took his hand and stood up.

Julian, who was supporting Giselle, also reached out to Jerome and helped him up.

The two people, completely exhausted, had no choice but to rely on Julian's support.

Giselle, who was walking with Julian's support, said with a giggle.

"It's good to smile. Why do you always have so many worries?"

"… … ."

Jerome chimed in next to him.

"Of course! You have to live with a smile. When I was in the rooftop, the elders in the neighborhood always said that… … ."

"This guy looks like a magic Claude. No, maybe a combination of Claude and Alfoy? Well, he's not as strong as Claude, but if that guy were to show up stronger, it would be a global disaster."

Jerome is curious and talkative, like a wizard, but he is not as shameless as Claude.

Jerome tilted his head at Giselle's words.

"What is that?"

"There is something like that. By the way, this is our first meeting… … But how about we speak comfortably?"

"Oh, is that okay? After all, you are the Duke."

"I'll treat you according to your abilities. It's easier to be friends. Let's get along."

"Then… shall we do that?"

Jerome laughed. He liked being comfortable too. He didn't like things that were tight and uncomfortable.

In fact, Jiselle had asked to be friends in order to make things easier for herself(?), but even the greatest wizard could not know her true intentions.

Giselle also spoke to Julian.

"How is it? Are you okay? You don't have many friends. Let's all get along well."

Jerome chimed in again.

"Then shall I be your friend? I've been doing fine without friends until now, but it wouldn't be bad to have one… … ."

"… … Do whatever you want."

Julian just ignored him. The newcomer seemed a little out of his mind.

Still… … something small changed in his heart.

'… … Not bad.'

Julian had not been able to make friends with anyone since he was young.

It was the same after they came into the world. Everyone was having a hard time with themselves.

Of course, that wasn't a bad thing. Everyone was relying on him and being loyal to him. They were all working together as one to save the people.

Everyone was doing their part very well, so there was no room for complaints.

But he had no one to fight for. No one to confide in.

He was always alone, even though he was with someone.

So I was lonely and alone. I also felt burdened by having to carry all the burdens by myself.

But now… … .

"My lord!"

"master!"

Gillian and Belinda ran over. The mobile force that had been fighting the corpses was all approaching Giselle.

They swept away all those corpses with their strong fighting power.

Belinda snatched Giselle from Julian's hands and supported her, saying:

"Are you okay? So why are you pushing yourself so hard? If you miss, you can just catch it later!"

"We caught him in the end. If we won, it's done. I told you that it would be enough if you went with this guy, didn't I?"

"Lord Parniel and that wizard got involved in the middle too."

"That's just a change of strategy."

"Oh my, really. Wouldn't it be nice if you couldn't speak?"

Everyone laughed at Belinda's blunder.

They did not think that Giselle would be defeated. After all, their lord's plans always succeeded.

Gillian shouted loudly.

"We won!"

"Wow!"

"Ah, why isn't the Auror Blade coming out!"

"Oppa! I want to go back! I'm a princess! Princess!"

"Whaaahhh! Destruction Princess! Destruction Princess!"

The people's shouts and all sorts of words mixed together and it quickly became noisy. It was no different from a market street.

This free atmosphere was the defining characteristic of the Fenris Mobile Force.

Julian stared at the sight. Jerome poked him in the ribs and said,

"The atmosphere is nice, isn't it? I like this free atmosphere. Everyone seems like friends. The Duke of Fenris seems really easygoing."

"… … ."

Jerome was so happy to come into the world and meet such wonderful friends.

There were plenty of strong people on par with him. And the idea of eradicating the Salvation Church and saving people was right. So, it was impossible not to be happy.

When Julianne said nothing, Jerome continued with a slightly embarrassed expression.

"You seem a bit strong. Let's get along well from now on. We're friends now."

"… … ."

"… … I don't know what it is, but I'm sorry."

Jerome's new friend was very reserved.

Julian was lost in thought for a moment.

'Because we're friends.'

Did he have anyone he could call a friend?

Not even once. No one ever approached him, and he never approached me.

But here it was a little different.

Jiselle considers herself a friend. All of her subordinates approached her without hesitation, regardless of her status or personality.

And they were all strong. I could trust them and rely on them on the battlefield. I felt like I could let go of some of the burden when I was with them.

Fighting Helgenik was also a new experience. It was my first time fighting against such a strong enemy by joining forces with someone else.

Julian repeated to himself the words that Giselle and Jerome had said.

'friend....'

I've made a lot of new friends in the past few days. They're friends I made without my consent.

Julian continued to watch Giselle and the people talking. Jerome was just glancing at him from the side.

'… … .'

Any other time I would have just ignored it.

He was used to being alone and didn't want to give his affection to anyone.

Because the pain I felt as a child was enough.

But for this moment only.

"… … Okay, let's get along."

I wanted to say the same thing as them.

* * *

Everyone began to prepare to return, enjoying the joy of victory.

And Parniel, who was lying alone far away.

"Ugh… … These kids… … ."

He gritted his teeth and stood up with difficulty, using the huge mace as a walking stick.

In fact, if I had stopped it from a distance by myself, it wouldn't have taken so much force that I would have fainted.

But he had to stop them because the two guys were running behind him.

"The Duke of Fenris was a man like that, but… … ."

I understood that guy because you never know when or where he'll jump off to. But I didn't see that guy, Julian.

It seems like everything becomes weird when you hang out with the Duke of Fenris.

As expected, there is no one in this world you can trust. I don't need friends or colleagues.

The only people he could trust were himself and God.

She didn't know yet.

This is also a side effect of hanging out with Jiselle.

Anyway, today, Parniel fell into distrust of humanity and his faith deepened even more.

* * *

"It's done! It's a success!"

Gatoros made an expression of joy.

Currently, the Allied Forces were advancing towards the Kingdom of Arthrod.

But it would take time for all of them fighting across the continent to gather together.

In fact, it didn't matter if everyone came. They just had to have time to occupy the Kingdom of Grimwell.

In reality, it wasn't the Allied Forces he was afraid of.

"Is it true that the Duke of Fenris and his main force have moved?"

"Yes. The Mobile Forces have moved first to deal with Helgenich. They will not be able to come to the aid of the Kingdom of Grimwell in time."

The Rutanian army, especially the Duke of Fenris and his mobile forces, were the most feared enemies.

If they had fallen, it wouldn't have been difficult at all to take over the Kingdom of Grimwell.

"Hehe, they know that if they choose one, they have to give up the other."

The Allied Forces had no intention of fighting to save all countries and all people from the beginning. That was impossible.

For them, it was more dangerous to let Helgenik be installed, so they had no choice but to prioritize that.

Because these interests aligned, the Salvation Church was able to gain some time.

"Helgnik, I didn't know he would do this much."

It was really great. I had almost used up all the Orbs of Life that I had made, but I was still hesitant.

That's because the Duke of Fenris' mobile force in the Kingdom of Rutania was that powerful.

Anyway, since the mobile force was moving, we had to move quickly as well.

"Send out all prepared troops. The target is the Kingdom of Grimwell."

The revolutionary forces currently active throughout the continent had joined in. Rebel forces from nearby regions had also gathered.

The Duke of Leinster's army was as powerful as any other kingdom's army. Most of the priests of the Salvation Church were also gathered here.

If they all invade, the Kingdom of Grimwell will never be able to hold out.

"Just wait a little longer. If you want to obtain the relic and find our king… … ."

Gatros's eyes glowed eerily.

"Soon the world will have to face His wrath."