DKFTI 108

At Sibel’s voice, Aizen’s sword stopped just before Kael’s heart. Aizen barely having avoided killing and breathed heavily. He had prepared himself many times, but when it came to harming a life that wasn’t a demon’s by his own hand, it didn’t feel real.

Then Kael pushed Aizen’s sword away with the back of his armored arm. When Aizen stepped back, Kael retreated too with eyes full of fear.

“You’re insane. You’re insane, you’re doing something insane!”

Kael trembled at Aizen’s betrayal. It was worse because it was Aizen. He had always been reckless and ignored the temple’s words, but he was a man who hated demons more than anyone. Kael had thought that even if the world turned upside down, Aizen’s hatred for demons would never change.

Even when he had once defended a demon, Kael had believed that when Aizen returned to the Holy Kingdom, everything would return to order.

Aizen was supposed to be that kind of person. Wasn’t he a man the people of the Empire worshiped?

“You won’t be forgiven.”

“…Forgiven.”

Aizen struggled to suppress the heat of the battle. He laughed at Kael’s words. Who could punish whom? Because he stopped Sibel, who had never harmed anyone, from being killed by the Holy Kingdom just because he was a Demon King?

Aizen, who had known and followed the doctrine better than anyone, had thrown away all the faith he built throughout his life because of Sibel. No scripture could define Sibel.

He had asked himself countless times in the past three years why he gave his heart to him. The answer was always ambiguous.

To Aizen, destiny had always been like that. When he lost his family and the will to live, the current Holy King reached out to him, and he thought that was heaven’s will. Then when he lost the will to live again and chose death, Sibel had made him want to live. How could that not also be destiny?

So for Aizen, God’s will, the Apostle’s mission, and protecting Sibel all stood on the same line.

But the path ahead was different. The former had brought admiration from everyone, and the latter would bring condemnation from everyone.

“Aizen.”

He heard Sibel’s voice. Fighting his former comrades to the death was madness, but the worry in that voice weighed heavier on his heart than the battle. But he had already come too far to turn back. He had walked a long, complicated road of anguish inside himself.

“This force won’t be all of them. Stop making trouble and fall back.”

Aizen, who could throw away honor or life but not his temper, warned him. His eyes scanned the surrounding. Reinforcements were approaching. That meant they wouldn’t stop the assault until the fight ended completely.

“Don’t think about anything else while I’m in front of you!”

Then Kael rushed at Aizen. He was full of rage, he could do anything now that he had reached the power he desired, but he couldn’t forgive Aizen for being charmed by a mere demon.

“It should’ve been me who was chosen, not you!”

All the filthy feelings he had killed and buried inside exploded all at once. He didn’t like it. He even hated that Aizen had stopped at the moment he could have killed him. The fact that his fate hung in Aizen’s hands drove him even more mad.

“Die, traitor!”

Kael had no hesitation. Destroy evil. Protecting evil was also evil. It was simple logic. Kael rushed again at Aizen. Their swords clashed once more.

Clang, clang, clang.

Their swords clashed again and sparks flew. This time, a bit of resolve was needed. There was no more reason to hesitate. To survive, he had to kill the other. Aizen’s blade slid quickly into Kael’s shoulder.

“Ugh!”

Kael’s shoulder was pierced, and his eyes turned red. Feeling the burning pain in his shoulder, Kael kicked Aizen’s abdomen. Aizen’s body staggered back, and just as he did.

Boom–!

A comet-like light fell from the sky.

“Ugh!”

“Get down!”

A huge beam of light struck the ground where Aizen had been, carving a deep trench. Aizen rolled quickly to avoid it, but he took damage too.

“……”

Aizen slowly looked at the figure who appeared before him.

“It’s been a long time.”

A firm voice came through. Aizen straightened his disordered posture. The man standing before him was a familiar figure.

“Calypse.”

Apostle Commander Calypse. He was someone Sibel also knew.

‘That Apostle…’

Sibel recognized him too. When he saw that face, his body shrank on its own. It felt like the trauma of almost dying once by that very hand was resurfacing

“Aizen, from this moment, if you raise your sword, I’ll consider you an enemy.”

Aizen thought it was a good thing.

Until the very last moment, the reason Aizen couldn’t let go wasn’t due to some shallow loyalty or affection for the Holy Kingdom. It was only because of the impact his choice would have on those who saw or heard it.

“You think you can face all of us alone?”

At Calypse’s words, Aizen’s eyes wavered. Even for him, that would be… difficult.

“I’ll go as far as I can. If my worth ends there, then so be it.”

His defiant words against the temple sounded like a solemn voice reciting scripture. Calypse nodded.

“If that’s your will.”

“This is my fight!”

But Calypse’s interference infuriated Kael. His shoulder was already pierced and bleeding heavily but his eyes still burned with passion.

Calypse looked briefly at Kael’s condition and shook his head.

“Tend your wound.”

“I’ll finish it! Even if I die, I’ll do it!”

A chill ran down Calypse’s expressionless face as he heard Kael’s scream.

“If you could kill me, you’d probably sell your soul to a demon.”

When Aizen mocked him, Kael adjusted his sword with his still-usable hand. But Calypse raised his hand to stop him. Calypse then spread his lifted hand wide.

Aizen quickly gathered divine power and formed a shield. A large barrier spread out from his body and covered Sibel’s group.

Sibel was puzzled by his sudden action, but he soon realized why Aizen had urgently spread the shield.

It was the moment Calypse clenched the hand he had opened.

Bang, boom!

Kael, about to leap out, froze in place. An airstrike rained down on the very spot he was about to rush to. It was the most ferocious and indiscriminate bombing he had ever witnessed in his life.

“This, this is…”

It was an attack determined not to spare even a single demon, no, not even a single demon, but nothing.

Bang! Bang!

The bombardment glowing with divine radiance kept falling. Just feeling the shockwaves made Kael’s nerves shrink. No one could endure that.

He was sure Aizen’s group, caught in the center of the attack, had been blown away without even dust left. Kael swallowed dryly and looked at Calypse.

‘Why go this far…’

The Apostles of the Holy Kingdom usually executed enemies with swords. Many weapons had been used in this campaign, but never such a relentless assault. It was as if there was personal hatred involved.

While the bombardment rained down, Calypse kept his calm expression and didn’t take his eyes off the spot where Aizen and the demons had been.

He didn’t even blink, waiting to confirm that they had stopped breathing.

“Commander…?”

The moment Kael called Calypse, the bombardment stopped, and a gust of wind blew.

Whooo–.

Dust-filled wind surged like waves over the two men and the holy knights.

“Cough, kh, kh.”

“Cough, cough.”

Coughs came from all around, but Calypse kept his gaze fixed ahead. Kael was certain they were dead. They must have vanished without even leaving corpses.

As the wind subsided, Kael barely lifted his eyelids and looked ahead.

“Th-that…”

Kael was shocked.

“That was blocked by divine power…?”

Even if he was a monster beyond human level, how could anyone survive that kind of attack?

His clothes were in tatters, and burn marks covered his body, but Aizen was alive. Moreover, golden divine power still flowed from his hand. Kael thought it didn’t suit a traitor at all.

Fssh–.

The golden divine power from Aizen’s hand began to fade away.