Chapter 199: Faith

Regis’s blood-red eyes remained glaring at Marzak’s back.

Everything seemed to be in slow motion as he gathered his thoughts.

’Am I really okay with this?’

’Of course not.’

’Then what am I waiting for?’

’Would I wait for everyone to die before making my move again?’

’Would I let myself make the same mistake all over again?’

Alaric’s kind visage appeared amidst his thoughts.

’Of course not!’

The scene in his mind switched to when the priest died while standing.

’I don’t care how they see me afterward—I’ll think about it then.’

And finally, the thought that they were not even able to give him a proper burial arose in his mind.

’I’ll never make the same mistake...’

He desperately never wanted such an event to repeat itself.

’I refuse to make the same mistake again...!’

It did not take long before Regis made up his mind, followed by a chant leaving his lips.

[Demonize]

***

As the black sharp claws neared towards him, Larkson inadvertently closed his eyes.

Before long, the sound of claws penetrating through flesh was heard.

’Huh? Why doesn’t it hurt? Am I dead already?’

"W-What?" Marzak stuttered, his eyes widening as he looked down at his chest.

Hearing his voice, Larkson partly opened his eyes, before they widened in the next second.

Not only he, but even Eldrin had a look of horror as they witnessed the sight before them.

At that moment, a black claw pierced through Marzak’s chest from the back, emerging from the front, with his beating heart gripped tightly in its grasp.

The shock hit Larkson harder as he stared at the heart, now only a few inches away from him.

On the side, Eldrin’s face froze at what he was witnessing.

Even Marzak’s whole body trembled.

The reason for the three’s reactions was all the same: the presence that had revealed itself before them.

Overbearing pressure crashed down on their very souls as they felt a sinister being before them.

A creature reviled by every being alongside the world itself — a demon.

"I-I d-don’t understand... H-How c-can y-you have s-such p-pure demonic p-power.."

Marzak coughed out blood as he asked out loud.

"M-My c-contract w-with H-His Excellen- cy- i-is... i-impossi—"

He could feel the demonic power coming from the contract he had with the demon lord being consumed by another, overly corrupted demonic power.

Even so, Marzak laughed in the next second, "Haha! Unfortunately, this is not enough!"

Tendrils of darkness once again attempted to take his heart away from the black claw’s grasp.

"Really?"

For the first time, the demonic being behind him spoke.

"Then how about this?"

The black claw that was grasping the heart started to emit a peculiar golden energy.

Unlike the sinister and corrupted black energy around the claw, the golden energy seemed to be pure— as if it was an embodiment of holiness.

"Impossible!! A demon wielding the power of the gods!?"

Without replying, the demonized Regis started exerting force in his black claws laden with divine power.

For the first time, Marzak started struggling frantically, "No!! I won’t die here!!! I’m destined for greatness!!! His Excellency will surely save me!!!"

As if reacting to his words, a black piece of paper suddenly manifested above him.

"Y-Your Excellency!! I know you won’t forsake m—"

But before he could finish his words, pure demonic power suddenly started leaving his body as the characteristics of demonification started to fade.

It turned into a stream of demonic power that converged towards the black piece of paper.

In this instance, another chant resounded from behind Marzak.

[Indiscriminate Absorption]

Whopping—-

The stream of demonic power suddenly made a turn and was absorbed in Regis’s other hand.

"No!!!"

Marzak started exerting his tainted aura in an attempt to fight off the divine power that was attempting to crush his heart.

Seeing that the divine power seemed minuscule, he laughed, "Haha! It seems like the world is still on my side!! You don’t have enough divine power to kill me!!!"

Regis gritted his teeth, feeling that he was at a dead end.

Ever since gaining divine power, he had pondered countless times how to cultivate it.

For aura, he had to train his body and nurture his life force to stimulate it.

For mana, he needed to meditate and absorb the mana in the surroundings.

For demonic power, he could just absorb anything and he would obtain a certain amount of it.

As for divine power, he did not know how to nurture it at all.

Of course, like the first two, he could absorb the corpse of certain individuals who practiced their respective powers.

However, he could not always do that.

Regis had not really taken it seriously, thinking that he had plenty of time to figure it out.

Faced with the crisis before him, he was driven to grasp at every possible method to strengthen his divine power right this instant.

’I figured out that only divine power could kill him—but just as I did, another problem revealed itself.’

Upon witnessing the scene before them, Larkson and Eldrin found themselves speechless, their knees hitting the ground as the last of their strength drained away.

"Argh, how long are you going to take? Just kill him already!!" The old mage shouted.

Larkson also followed soon after, "You can do it, Regis!!"

Regis, who was still in demonized form, felt his heart lighten at their voices.

He could not help but chuckle inwardly, ’It’s not really that eas—’

At this moment, something strange happened before he could even finish thinking.

His blood-red eyes widened as he faintly saw a translucent, sparkling thread of energy emerging from Eldrin and Larkson’s chests, drifting toward him.

In fact, it wasn’t just them.

The same phenomenon occurred with Killian, Pandora, and Aurelia, though the threads from their chests were noticeably thicker than the first two, with Killian and Pandora’s being the thickest.

As the thread of strange energy entered his chest, a memory was ingrained in Regis’s mind.

[Faith]

Along with other memories associated with it.

At this moment, Marzak was smiling, on the verge of reclaiming his heart with the help of the dark tendrils—until his smile suddenly froze.

"What!? How is your divine power getting stronger!?"

Larkson and Eldrin’s eyes also widened as, under everyone’s gaze, the pure golden energy on Regis’s black claws exponentially became brighter.

"I finally figured it out."

Regis smiled as he used all of his might.

"NOOOOOO!!!"

Marzak felt the overwhelming sense of his impending death.

WOOOOOONG—- KRSHH!!!

It did not take long before the pure golden energy became so bright that it blinded everyone for a moment, followed by the sound of something soft being crushed.

When Larkson and Eldrin’s sight returned, their eyes widened at the scene before them.

Marzak’s figure was nowhere to be found.

The only one who remained standing was the demonized Regis, whose face was filled with determination.

"Is it... finally... over?"

A mutter escaped from his lips as his knees gave out.

Fortunately, Eldrin immediately stepped forward and caught him before he fell.

"Yes, it’s over now..."

As if it served as the trigger, the demonic characteristics on Regis’s body faded as he smiled in relief.

And just as his eyes were about to close, he saw the bleeding Killian and Pandora in the distance.

"No...!"

Regis used his remaining strength to softly push the old mage away before staggering towards his unconscious companions.

"No!"

He shouted as he dipped his fingers in the puddle of blood that came from his friends.

"I’m sorry... I used up all the potions I could find, but..."

Hearing Eldrin’s voice, Regis stubbornly replied, "Not yet!"

Meanwhile, Larkson stood on the side and silently closed his eyes, unwilling to see Regis’s heartbroken expression at the death of his friends.

At this moment, Killian and Pandora’s skin was white as a ghost, as their blood continuously drained.

[Corruption Manipulation]

Regis did not hesitate to use an evil craft in front of Eldrin and Larkson as he removed the demonic power that prevented his friends’ wounds from healing.

Instantly, the hardened expressions of the unconscious Killian and Pandora softened.

"So demonic power can be used this way, too, huh?" The old mage muttered in amazement while the fortress commander remained speechless.

"It’s not enough..." Regis bit his already bleeding lips.

He then glanced at Eldrin, "Old man, is there any way you can let me talk to them?"

"Yes, but I don’t see how that can hel—"

"Please cast it now."

"Alright, but I can only cast it for a minute since I just recovered a little mana—"

"Hurry, please..."

Seeing the boy’s desperate expression, Eldrin sighed as he took his staff from the ground and waved it.

[High Rank Magic: Dream Link]

A mana thread suddenly manifested, connecting Regis’s forehead to Killian and Pandora’s.

Eldrin and Larkson kept silent as the remaining minute passed by in no time.

However, something suddenly happened that made their very souls filled with shock.

Regis, without letting out a groan of pain, suddenly staggered backwards.

His skin instantly became ghastly.

His eyes suddenly disappeared as it was replaced by two hideous wounds, with one much deeper than the other.

One of his arms suddenly disappeared, replaced by a grotesque wound, like it was forcefully pulled out.

Blood began dripping from the side of his mouth, making him cough it out.

As his mouth opened, Larkson and Eldrin saw that his mangled tongue appeared to have been torn to shreds.

The old mage looked horrified, "What the hell is happening!?"