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Chapter 274: Side Story – Interlude (4) [Bonus Image]

The five Heroes who were challenging the castle of the Demon King of Incarceration had already killed Kamash and Sein and defeated Iris and Oberon many years ago.

However, there was a marked difference between the Four Heavenly Kings and the three subordinates of Incarceration. Little was known about the true strength of Incarceration\'s Shield and Staff, apart from the rumors that had circulated when they first emerged on the battlefield at the outset of the war. The five Heroes had never personally confronted either of them in battle.

Nevertheless, they had already confronted Gavid Lindman, the Blade of Incarceration, two times before. Through these encounters, they had gained knowledge of the immense strength that Incarceration\'s subordinates possessed and that it far exceeded that of the Children of Fury. With this understanding in mind, the five Heroes had made thorough preparations to face Incarceration’s subordinates once again.

“Keugh.” Hamel\'s head jerked up as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

He couldn\'t recall what had happened after he had gotten hit with a shield. It appeared he had been knocked out for a brief moment.

“Hamel! Are you okay!?” a shrieking cry came from somewhere in front of him and caught his attention.

Hamel saw Anise’s back as her brilliant wings emitted light. The blow Hamel had received had contained a massive force, easily sufficient to cause him to burst into bits and pieces. If it had not been for Anise’s divine magic, he knew he would have died on the spot.

‘…It shouldn’t have landed,’ Hamel thought, swallowing a mouthful of blood as he raised himself.

Urogos, the Shield of Incarceration, was a huge demon. Although not as tall as a giant, he was twice the size of Molon and covered in impenetrable armor. In his left hand, he wielded a shield that resembled a castle gate in terms of size, and held in his right hand was a monstrous spear that seemed capable of piercing the thickest dragon hide.

There were many spots for Hamel to target, though, since Urogos was so large. Even if his thick and impenetrable armor and shield were disregarded, Urogos himself was tough. But that just meant that Hamel had to attack him until he broke through.

So, what if the demon counterattacked? Urogos was definitely not slow, and in fact, he was incredibly fast despite his large size and the weight of his armor. However, he wasn’t fast enough to avoid Hamel’s detection, and it was easy for Hamel to predict Urogos’ movements due to his large stature.

Even so, Hamel had failed to avoid Urogos’ attack. Hamel had been prepared but had momentarily lost control of his body. So, he ended up taking the blow, resulting in his current state. Hamel chuckled while rubbing the blood off from around his mouth.

‘I’m still fine.’

The blow would have crushed all the bones in his body, but Anise’s divine power had glued his body back together. It… wasn’t completely healed, though. He could still feel his bones creaking and his organs aching.

Regardless, it couldn’t be helped since they were in the Castle of the Demon King of Incarceration. The Dark Power that weighed down on them was burdensome, and the Staff of Incarceration — the withered lich — was unfolding black magic from the castle gate, dampening the effects of divine magic.

Despite that, it wasn’t to the point of rendering Hamel immobile. So, he stumbled forward while looking ahead. The first thing he saw was Anise’s wings. Although her back was obscured by her robe, he could imagine that her back and the stigmata were completely soaked and drenched in blood.

Hamel then met Sienna’s gaze. She stood to his side, a little distance away. Sienna could only steal worried glances at Hamel as she couldn’t voice her concerns. It couldn’t be helped since she was currently devoting most of her attention to controlling her magic while verbalizing the incantations of her spells.

“I’m fine,” said Hamel with a grin, shaking his hands for her to see.

Then he strode forward. Beyond the swirling storm of divine power and magic, he could see Molon and Vermouth.

Molon was directly facing off against Urogos, who was twice his size. The moron had thrown away his weapons, and he was pushing against Urogos’ shield with both of his hands. The roar of the challenger and the defender resonated throughout the hall, and Urogos pushed forward with all his might. Each time, Molon’s feet were forced to drag backward while his muscles swelled and his veins burst. Even so, Molon managed to stand his ground somewhat.

So what if he was being pushed back slightly? Molon wasn’t alone in his fight against Urogos. While he held Urogos in place, Vermouth dug into the openings in Urogos’ defense. He swung both the Holy Sword and the Moonlight Sword, causing a wave of light to crash over Urogos.

Rumblee!

Urogos was pushed back further than the ground he had covered. There were visible cracks on his solid armor, and black blood gushed from inside his helmet.

“Hamel!” shouted Vermouth. It was an uncharacteristically passionate cry.

Vermouth always shouted for Hamel on the battlefield. Hamel was the only one who could keep pace with him in close combat, and the two always worked in harmony. Once Vermouth landed a blow, Hamel would immediately follow up with an attack of his own, leading the way for Vermouth to take over again. The two had always fought the same way in the battles against the demonfolks and the Demon Kings.

Hamel’s lips curved up into a smile when he felt the worry contained in Vermouth’s cry.

While placing a hand on his left chest, Hamel whispered under his breath, “I told you that I’m fine.”

“Hey!” Sienna shouted once again while looking at him anxiously.

“It’s fine,” whispered Hamel once more as he grabbed at his heart and his Core.

Hamel was once again struck with a realization, and the same truth was yet again made clear to him. He could not use divine power like Anise, and he could not use magic like Sienna. All he could do was to charge forward and fight at the front.

Hamel was strong, but he wasn’t stronger than Vermouth. He could not wield the Moonlight Sword, let alone the Holy Sword. Moreover, he wasn’t proficient in everything like Vermouth.

Hamel was tough, but he wasn’t tougher than Molon. Unlike Hamel, who had been almost killed by a single blow from Urogos, Molon was still tanking Urogos’ attacks from the front.

—If someone has to die….

‘I will,’ Hamel resolved.

Even if Hamel died, Molon would persist and fight. Even if Hamel could no longer fight, Vermouth would fight in his place.

‘Ignition.’

The dying embers began to burn once more.

There was a brief moment before sunset when the world was filled with light. Fires always burned the brightest before they were completely snuffed out. Hamel used what little remained of his life and his body as fuel to rekindle his fire. He cared little about what he gave to it.

The flame swelled exponentially as it devoured Hamel’s offerings, and his shriveled Core emitted an incredibly dense burst of mana. Hamel bent his knees while taking a large gulp of air.

Boooom!

His first step was accompanied by an explosion of mana. Hamel used the torrent of mana to accelerate his body and took his place beside Vermouth in an instant. Vermouth flinched when he saw the huge aura of mana surrounding Hamel as well as the latter’s glistening eyes.

However, Vermouth held his tongue, and the battle resumed. It was completely one-sided. Hamel and Vermouth attacked together to break Urogos’ spear and armor. Molon robbed Urogos of his shield and swung it like a blunt weapon, driving Urogos against the wall. Urogos was also bombarded by a barrage of magic and divine power, which completely broke his armor and ripped him to shreds.

Then Vermouth took off Urogos’ head with the Moonlight Sword.

“Let’s go,” Hamel said.

Hamel was the first to jump step over Urogos’ body. He calmed his rampaging Core and rubbed off the dried blood from his chin.

“Are you out of your mind!?” shouted Sienna as she rushed forward without a care for her own injuries. She reached out and grabbed Hamel’s shoulder. “Go where!? Your body is—”

“Moving just fine,” responded Hamel with a faint smile.

It was the same as before, during the battle on the Red Plains. Even though he had used Ignition, he felt no rebound.

Hamel was well aware of why he wasn’t experiencing any aftereffects. A small spark remained in his Core, which was on the brink of collapsing completely. Once the fire was snuffed out, it would be impossible for him to fight anymore. No, in fact, his life would be extinguished along with the spark.

Nevertheless, as long as the spark remained, he could still move, and he could still fight. He had faced numerous obstacles and difficulties throughout his life, and his body was putting up one final fight, a last act of defiance. Hamel was determined not to back down and let his spirit fade away. He knew that if he could still move and fight, he would push forward with all his might and refuse to let his flame go out.

At present, they were only on the lower level of the castle, and they still had to face the other subordinates of Incarceration as well as the Demon King of Incarceration himself. Hamel was determined to keep his spark burning brightly, no matter what challenges lay ahead.

“We’re going up,” Vermouth said.

Although he couldn\'t help but second-guess Hamel’s judgment, Vermouth pushed those thoughts away. He did not want to think about it anymore. Vermouth had seen the… light in Hamel’s eyes, and he had been unable to ignore it. He wanted to believe in the light.

“Since we’ve already infiltrated the castle, we can’t afford to relax. We might have bought some time, but I’m not completely sure we’ll be able to dispel the curse and the dark power of the entire castle,” said Anise.

She desperately attempted to shake off her anxiety, but she couldn’t help but bite her lip worriedly when she looked back at the tightly shut gates.

The Demon King of Incarceration had no intention of allowing any intruders to retreat. As soon as they entered the castle, the gates had shut tight. In order to open the gates again, they would either have to kill the Demon King of Incarceration or negotiate with him.

However, who among the five of them would ever try to negotiate with the Demon King?

“The Demon King won’t let us rest,” commented Molon while tightening the grip of his trembling hands.

He strode up to Hamel and lifted his friend. Hamel became dumbfounded and attempted to escape Molon’s grasp, but Molon ignored him and placed Hamel on his shoulder.

He said, “Let’s go like this, Hamel. Try to rest as much as possible on my shoulder.”

“Well,” Hamel scoffed, but he did not jump off Molon’s shoulder.

Sienna couldn’t say anything as she anxiously tugged at her robe.

“I guess there’s no helping it.” She forced a smile onto her face while shaking off her uneasy thoughts. “Hamel, you stay back a little so that you don’t get caught up in the magic of Archwizard Sienna.”

It was a joke she often made. Sienna raised Akasha and tapped Hamel’s leg, which dropped to the side of Molon’s shoulder.

‘…It’ll be fine,’ Sienna thought to herself for the hundredth time.

Hamel looked fine even after using Ignition, and everyone was still in decent condition. It wasn’t as if they were strangers to the struggles that greeted them whenever they entered the castle of a Demon King.

The castle of the Demon King of Incarceration would be no different. The castles of the other Demon Kings had been impossible to escape as well. They had climbed up to the top floor and battled the castle’s master without taking any breaks. The five of them had always fought such unfavorable and seemingly hopeless battles.

‘It will be the same.’

Sienna imagined the scene that would come after the battle — after they had killed the Demon King of Incarceration and conquered the castle. Simply thinking such thoughts helped ease the anxiety in her heart slightly. Rather than being weighed down by the all-encompassing despair and letting it drive her insane, she filled her mind with hope. The unreachable was close.

‘Hope.’

Sienna pressed down on her hat while chewing on her lips.

***

Belial was the Staff of Incarceration — the lich and the master of Vladmir. The party of Heroes overcame numerous terrible traps that Belial had set, as well as repeated ambushes. After climbing to the middle floors of the castle, they finally encountered him.

The entire floor was Belial’s dungeon, and he summoned numerous familiars to greet the intruders. Belial wielded the power of the Demon King that he served, and his magic was dark and menacing. Despite this, Sienna and Vermouth\'s magic was not inferior. Moreover, Sienna had a deep-seated hatred for necromancers and their ability to raise an unending army of undead.

The form of the battle wasn’t important. Sienna tried her best. Everyone tried their best.

It was as if time had stopped. Everyone saw the same thing.

Belial’s life vessel had been smashed. Although liches were close to being immortal, their lives were tied together with their life vessels. Once it was destroyed, they would be vanquished as well.

While being swept away by the Moonlight Sword, Belial used his last resort — an attack containing the last bit of his power before death. This was quite an obvious attempt at an attack. It was aimed at Vermouth, but he was more than capable of dodging it. No one doubted him.

It should have been the same for Hamel. Hamel was the last one to ever doubt Vermouth. Hamel knew how Vermouth fought, and he knew how strong Vermouth was. Such an attack could never hope to kill Vermouth.

“Why?” uttered Sienna with utter shock.

It had been an unexpected and sudden act, which made it even more unbelievable. For a reason unknown to them, Hamel had jumped in front of Vermouth. Even before Vermouth could avoid the curse, Hamel had used himself as a shield against it.

“Why?” Sienna couldn’t understand the reason why.

Hamel wasn’t supposed to be there. There was not much for Hamel and Molon, the warriors, to do in a battle of magic against Belial. Their role in a battle like this was to protect Sienna and Anise.

They had carried out their roles with perfection this time as well. Despite his struggles, Hamel had fulfilled his duty anyway, and that was where it was supposed to have ended.

“Hamel.” Sienna staggered up to Hamel.

Vermouth stood dazedly, looking down at Hamel.

“Please,” uttered Sienna.

Molon screamed, “Hamel!”

He lifted Hamel’s body. It was light. Molon’s eyes quivered, and he looked around, not knowing what to do. He walked over to a wall nearby and sat Hamel down.

Molon said, “A-Anise. Come over here, quickly. Hamel… Hamel is….”

Anise’s legs gave out beneath her as she covered her mouth with both her hands.

Her role as a priestess was to ensure the safety of her comrades, but she couldn’t fulfill her role right now.

‘A curse.’

This was no ordinary curse. It was a curse conjured by Belial, the worst black wizard and lich in history, in exchange for his life. Even brushing against it would have caused a fatal curse to permeate one’s body.

“…Ha,” Hamel chuckled, tilting his head back, but black blood poured out as soon as he opened his mouth.

Tears fell from Anise’s eyes at the sight.

Anise knew what would follow. The curse, which utilized the dark power of the Demon King of Incarceration, would slowly destroy Hamel’s body from the inside out. Even though Anise was the Saintess and the Imitation Incarnation of Light, it was impossible for her to purify all of the dark power of a Demon King. In the end, Eugene’s body would completely break down, and he would perish.

Unfortunately, that would not be his end. A soul inflicted with the curse of the Demon King could not go to heaven or hell. At the moment of death, it would become the possession of the Demon King. This truth devastated Anise.

Hamel would not be able to go to heaven.

“Hamel…. Hamel, Hamel…!” Sienna howled.

She attempted to approach Hamel but stumbled over her steps, and her legs gave out beneath her. Sienna tried to get back on her feet, but she could give no strength to her legs. In the end, she was forced to crawl toward Hamel.

“What are you crying about?” said Hamel with a grin.

Why was he smiling? Sienna just couldn’t understand why Hamel was smiling. She shook her head as tears dripped down her cheeks. She gazed at the hazy figure of Hamel through her blurred vision.

Sienna could see a… hole in the center of his body, but she couldn’t see Hamel’s insides through the hole. The hole was filled with the curse, and only darkness was visible inside it. As the curse spread, it ate away at Hamel’s body.

“Anise…. W-What are you doing? Come quickly. The wound… the wound is getting bigger,” Sienna stuttered.

There wasn’t even any blood coming from the hole. Sienna tucked her trembling hand inside her robe.

Right, she still had the elixir. It was a precious remedy crafted with holy water and infused with divine power and magic. The concoction served as an all-purpose medicine for emergencies when magic or divine magic couldn\'t be employed. They had several doses left in reserve since Anise\'s presence meant they didn’t really need it.

“…It’s fine,” Sienna muttered to herself once more.

Everything was fine. It had to be. Sienna repeatedly muttered such words while pulling out a bottle.

She popped the cap of the elixir and poured the concoction over Hamel’s wound. Unfortunately, even though she finished pouring an entire bottle, the wound showed no signs of healing.

“It’s fine.”

There were more bottles, and Anise was here as well. Anise seemed to have collapsed from the shock, but she would quickly regain her senses and come running over. She would reprimand Hamel for being an idiot before healing him and making him whole again.

“It\'s fine,” Sienna murmured yet again.

She emptied several bottles. Hamel only coughed up blood in the meantime, and the light in his eyes dimmed every time he blinked.

“Get lost,” said Hamel.

His voice was weak; it was as if his life was slipping away.

“Please,” Sienna begged while crying.

She had a headache, there was a terrible taste in her mouth, and her heart was pounding. She was cold, hot, and trembling.

“That’s…. That’s why I told you to go back. Why did you have to be so stubborn and—” Sienna said without meaning to.

Feeling disgusted at herself, she quickly clasped her hand over her mouth.

“Sienna. Put that away first.” Hamel gave a weak smile while staring at Sienna. He could see her figure as his vision dimmed.

“The elixirs are precious. Why are you trying to use such precious things here? Don’t waste them,” said Hamel.

“But—!” Sienna shook her head with tears streaming down her face.

How could the elixirs be considered precious when they were unable to heal Hamel\'s wounds in the most dire of times?

At this moment, Anise joined Sienna. She sat down and held her rosary as she recited a prayer. Tears flowed down Anise’s cheeks as she summoned a glowing light at the tip of her fingers and directed it toward Hamel\'s wound.

However, the Light failed to illuminate the darkness.

“That’s enough. I know my body best. I can’t survive. I’m about to die,” Hamel stated calmly while vomiting blood.

Sienna did not want to hear such words. She didn’t want to accept them either. She lowered her head, taking ragged breaths.

“I could have avoided it,” muttered Vermouth, stumbling toward Hamel. “There was no need for you to do this.”

Belial’s curse had been directed at Vermouth, but Hamel had intercepted it at will. Sienna could not bring herself to look at Vermouth’s face.

“Get out of here,” Hamel said with a laugh.

“You should have known….” Vermouth grabbed his pale face. “There’s no need for you to die like this.”

Sienna sobbed silently. She did not want to accept it, and she did not want to believe it. However, in the end, she had no choice but to face reality. The warmth of Hamel’s hand was fading away, and the light in his eyes was dimming.

“This is enough to be an honorable death,” Hamel said.

Why did that matter? Sienna raised Hamel’s hand and placed it on her cheek. The tears that streamed down her face were so hot. She wanted to add warmth to his hand.

“It was obvious that I would only be a burden if we continued, and I didn’t want to go back either,” explained Hamel.

In the end, Hamel proved himself to be a stubborn fool.

Sienna had known that his physical condition had been abnormal. In fact, she knew that she had been fooling herself by her own consolations that Hamel was fine. She had seen Hamel’s body become slow as they battled their way up the castle, and he had not stood at the center of the battles.

If he accompanied them further, he would only get in their way. Yet, now that he was here, he could no longer return.

“You’re supposed to be so fucking cool, so I shouldn’t need to console you,” Hamel’s voice was slowly dying.

Sienna repeatedly muttered to herself that it was fine as she clasped his hands.

“…I’m getting sleepy, so go,” Hamel murmured.

He said nothing more after that, and the light disappeared from his eyes.

Vermouth lowered his head and knelt down, muttering in a small voice, “Thank you.”

This was the end. Hamel spoke no more, and he did not open his eyes again. The hand that Sienna held went limp in her grasp.

Sienna hated how Hamel had acted. It pained her, and she resented him for leaving nothing behind. She had hoped for something more, even if it turned out to be a lifelong curse for everyone who survived.

She had been hoping for something cliché, something like Make sure you kill the Demon Kings, Save the world, or Be happy. But Hamel, that bastard, had left no such wishes. Was it because he had trusted his comrades? Perhaps. Even so….

“I…. I need it,” Sienna muttered.

Sienna had never imagined a future without Hamel, and even though it was happening in front of her eyes, she could not believe it. Hamel had always been there in the future that Sienna painted.

“I need… it,” Sienna repeated.

Even if his will turned into a curse, she needed a reason to continue. If Hamel had asked her to kill the Demon Kings and save the world, Sienna would have lived her life to fulfill his wishes. If Hamel had asked them to be happy, then…

“Please…,” Sienna begged.

The curse would have caused her to be unhappy for the rest of her life, but she would have forced herself to be happy for the sake of Hamel.

“God of Light, Almighty, please…. Please protect and watch over this stupid lamb. The rough journey he will experience… after… rest… Sniff…. With love and mercy…,” Anise failed to see her prayer through to the end.

She fell sobbing, and Molon broke out screaming. He rampaged like a madman, smashing the walls and the floor with his fists.

Boom! Boom!

While Anise and Sienna wept and Molon roared and screamed, Vermouth remained kneeling on the ground with his head bowed.

“N-No.” Sienna raised her hand after sobbing for some time.

The hand she held was becoming too light. The curse that penetrated Hamel’s body was eating away at his body, causing him to disappear. Sienna shook her head while desperately grabbing hold of his body.

“No, no, no…! D-Don’t go. Don’t… leave me behind!” Sienna howled while putting her cheek against Hamel’s face.

Anise stared at the two of them with bloodshot eyes.

“Please… tell me,” Sienna moaned tearfully.

She could no longer feel Hamel’s body in her embrace. His body was gone, vaporized by the Demon King’s curse.

“Anise. Please. Hamel…. Did Hamel go to heaven? Huh? Heaven…. He had to have gone there, right?” said Sienna while looking back at Anise.

More than anyone else in the world, the five of them deserved to be happy. It was a given. And if they could not be happy in this life… then at least they deserved to be happy after they died.

“He… could not…,” Anise said while sobbing.

Sienna screamed and took Anise by her collar.

“Why not!? Y-You always said that there is a god, that heaven is real…! You said… that everyone would go to heaven after we died! You said that!” howled Sienna.

“Hamel’s soul… naturally… he should have gone to heaven…. But right now, his soul is… in the hands of the Demon King of Incarceration. As long as the Demon King chooses not to let him go, Hamel….”

“Ahhhhh!!!” Sienna screamed as she didn’t want to hear anymore.

She fell down to the ground and screamed even more while banging her forehead against the floor.

Hamel wouldn’t be able to see the end of the war and live a happy life, and he wouldn’t even be able to go to heaven…? After spending sixteen years wandering the battlefield and doing nothing but fighting… he would have to spend an eternity in the hands of the Demon King?

“…Not yet,” Vermouth broke the silence.

He raised his head, and Sienna finally got a glimpse of his face. Vermouth’s face, which had always been calm and emotionless, was crumpled, and there were tear marks under his empty eyes.

“It’s not the end yet,” he stated.

“The end…?”

“We are still here,” Vermouth said, staggering to his feet.

Molon stopped short at his words, and Anise looked up at Vermouth with blank eyes.

“That’s… right,” muttered Sienna.

She saw her hands were bloody, but she couldn’t tell whether the blood was hers or Hamel’s. Sienna slowly spread her hands and saw the necklace Hamel had left behind.

“We just have to kill the Demon King of Incarceration,” said Vermouth.

The quivering in Sienna’s eyes subsided.

“We just have to rescue Hamel’s soul after killing the Demon King of Incarceration,” continued Vermouth.

Vermouth was right. It wasn’t over yet. They were still here. She was still here. Sienna took Akasha from the ground and tightened her grasp.

“One day,” Sienna murmured as she placed Hamel’s necklace against her cheek.

It almost felt as if Hamel’s warmth remained on the ornament. Her tears continued to flow without stopping, and the terrible taste in her mouth still lingered. Sienna chewed the inside of her mouth and tasted blood.

‘I’m… alive.’

She put on the necklace while coming to face the terrible reality.

“Someday… may we meet in the world you wished for,” she said.

Sienna took her own words as a lifelong curse. She glared at the ceiling with eyes completely devoid of any light.

Vermouth was the first to start walking, stumbling forward as if he could fall any moment. Molon followed behind him with drooping shoulders. Meanwhile, Anise opened the bottle in her hands. She tried to pour holy water — or rather, alcohol — into her mouth, but there wasn’t even a single drop remaining.

Sienna dragged her feet while holding Akasha, looking back several times along the way. She gazed at the wall where Hamel died. There was no body remaining, but she still saw Hamel leaning against the wall.

“Just wait, Hamel.” She tightly clasped her hand around the necklace. “I’ll come to save your soul.”