Chapter 19
Elior POV
The moment my magical pressure erupted, every remaining bandit collapsed.
Some fell instantly.
Others managed to stay conscious for a few seconds before their bodies finally gave out.
Within moments, the entire hideout had become silent.
Everyone was unconscious.
Everyone except the leader.
He had managed to remain standing.
Barely.
His body trembled, and the arrogant expression from earlier had completely disappeared.
His face was now filled with panic.
"What did you do, bastard?!"
He shouted at me.
I didn't answer.
I simply stared at him.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then his breathing gradually stabilized.
His expression changed.
The panic didn't disappear completely, but his eyes became sharper.
Hmm.
Looks like he's an experienced fighter.
That was interesting.
Most people would have completely lost their composure after seeing everyone around them collapse from magical pressure.
This guy had managed to recover.
This might be a little tougher than I expected.
I raised my right hand.
Light gathered around it.
A sword materialized in my grip.
I looked at him carefully.
"Who…"
I paused.
"Or rather, what are you?"
His eyes narrowed.
"You aren't human."
I pointed my sword toward him.
"That's for sure."
For a moment, he remained silent.
Then he grinned.
"You figured that out?"
His voice became arrogant again.
"Impressive."
He spread his arms.
"Fine."
His body suddenly began changing.
"What better way to die than witnessing my true form?"
His muscles expanded.
His skin began turning a grotesque green.
Dark energy started pouring from his body.
Then something pushed through his back.
Wings.
Large, twisted wings emerged from his body.
His magical power began rising rapidly.
I narrowed my eyes.
So this is his real strength.
The magical energy surrounding him was enormous.
At least S-rank.
Possibly higher.
"Kekekeke…"
His voice became distorted.
"I am Rashkel!"
His transformation continued.
"Rejoice, for you are witnessing my true form before I crush you with my own hands—"
He didn't finish.
Because I attacked.
I'm not stupid enough to just stand around and let him transform.
The moment I sensed his magical power reaching S-rank levels, I knew I couldn't afford to give him time to prepare.
Light exploded from my body.
Whoosh!
I rushed toward him at full speed.
My sword came down toward his chest.
More specifically—
His core.
If demons had something equivalent to a heart, I intended to destroy it.
But Rashkel wasn't helpless.
At the last possible moment, his body shifted sideways.
My sword missed his core.
But it still connected.
Swoosh!
His entire left arm was severed from the shoulder.
It fell to the ground.
I landed behind him, holding the severed limb in my hand.
Rashkel stared at his missing arm.
For a second, he looked confused.
Then—
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"
His scream echoed throughout the forest.
"What is this vile energy?!"
He grabbed the stump of his arm.
"You little shit!"
He turned toward me.
"That's Light Magic!"
His eyes widened.
"Such powerful Light Magic!"
He looked at the severed arm.
"Why can't I regenerate?!"
I looked at him coldly.
By now, his transformation was complete.
His body had become much larger.
Green skin covered his entire body.
Large wings extended from his back.
Sharp claws covered his hands and feet.
And the magical energy surrounding him was dark and sinister.
A demon.
That explained everything.
I remembered that Light Magic was particularly effective against beings associated with darkness.
It didn't simply damage him.
It disrupted his magical structure.
His regenerative abilities were being suppressed by the Light Magic still lingering in the wound.
Rashkel roared in pain.
I tightened my grip on his severed arm.
"You will pay for your sins."
Light covered my hand.
I squeezed.
There was no explosion.
No dramatic burst of blood.
The arm simply began breaking apart.
It disintegrated into particles of light until nothing remained.
Rashkel stared in disbelief.
"You…"
I didn't give him time to recover.
I disappeared.
Whoosh!
I appeared directly beside him.
Slash!
He barely blocked.
KLANG!
His claws collided with my sword.
Dark energy erupted from his body.
I immediately retreated.
He attacked.
I dodged.
I counterattacked.
He blocked.
And then the battle truly began.
For the next fifteen minutes, the forest became our battlefield.
Trees were destroyed.
The ground cracked.
Rock formations were sliced apart.
Magical energy illuminated the surroundings.
Rashkel was incredibly fast for his size.
His strength was also immense.
More importantly, his combat instincts were sharp.
He had clearly fought many battles before.
I landed several attacks.
Small cuts began appearing across his body.
One slash opened his chest.
Another cut across his thigh.
Eventually, I managed to sever one of his legs.
Yet he continued fighting.
Dark energy covered his body.
Every time he attacked, that energy extended from his claws and wings.
I could feel it.
Even if I allowed it to touch me, it could hurt me.
Not severely.
But enough to become a problem if I became careless.
Fortunately…
He couldn't actually hit me.
I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second.
My magical perception spread around me.
I wasn't seeing the future.
I wasn't reading his mind.
I was sensing the subtle changes in his body and magic.
The movement of his muscles.
The direction of his magical flow.
The shift in ethernano around his body.
The moment before an attack, his magical energy always changed.
That tiny change was enough.
I moved before his attack was completed.
His claws passed through my body.
My body became light at the point of impact.
His dark energy cut through empty space.
I reformed immediately afterward.
Slash!
Another cut appeared on his body.
Rashkel's expression became increasingly frustrated.
"How?!"
He swung his claws again.
I shifted.
The attack passed through me.
He attacked again.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
"How can it be?!"
His voice became desperate.
"How can my attacks have no effect on you?!"
I didn't answer.
He didn't understand.
To him, it probably looked like my body simply became intangible whenever he attacked.
But the truth was slightly different.
I wasn't relying solely on my elemental body.
My magical perception allowed me to determine where his attack was going.
Then I simply transformed that portion of my body into light.
The timing had to be incredibly precise.
But after years of training…
I could do it.
This reminds me of that old story about a mage who could reshape his body around attacks.
I smirked.
Except I'm actually turning into light.
Rashkel didn't know any of that.
And I intended to keep it that way.
He was becoming desperate.
His breathing grew heavier.
His movements became more reckless.
His magical power began fluctuating violently.
He's close to losing control.
That wasn't good.
A cornered enemy was dangerous.
Especially one who was already this strong.
I decided to finish it.
I let my sword fall.
The blade dissolved into countless motes of light.
Rashkel stared at me.
"What are you doing?"
I didn't answer.
I floated several feet above the ground.
Light began gathering around my right hand.
It condensed.
Compressed.
Focused.
A spear slowly took shape.
The weapon was made entirely from concentrated Light Magic.
I poured a significant portion of my magical power into it.
Around thirty percent.
The surrounding air seemed to become brighter.
The tip of the spear became especially intense.
Rashkel stared at it.
His expression twisted with hatred.
"You bastard…"
His voice trembled.
"I'll kill you."
Dark energy began gathering around his body.
"I'll kill you…"
His eyes became bloodshot.
"KILL YOU!"
The magical energy around him began converging toward his chest.
Toward his core.
He was gathering everything he had.
He's going to attack.
I could sense it.
His magical power was concentrating rapidly.
If he released it…
The entire area could be destroyed.
I couldn't allow that.
I tightened my grip around the spear.
My expression became solemn.
"Perish."
I looked directly at him.
"And repent in hell."
Rashkel's eyes widened.
I focused my will.
For an instant, my magical pressure exploded outward.
The same strange phenomenon from earlier occurred again.
A burst of overwhelming magical pressure struck Rashkel.
His body flinched.
Just for an instant.
But that instant was enough.
His movement stopped.
His attack was interrupted.
His body couldn't react in time.
I threw the spear.
"HOLY JUDGMENT!"
The spear of light crossed the distance between us instantly.
Rashkel's eyes widened.
"No—!"
Boom!
The spear pierced directly through his chest.
Light spread through his body.
His dark magical energy began collapsing.
Cracks appeared across his skin.
He looked down at his chest.
Then back at me.
His body slowly began disintegrating.
"No…"
He tried to move.
Nothing happened.
His body continued breaking apart into countless particles of light.
I floated toward him.
There was no triumph on my face.
Only exhaustion.
Rashkel looked at me with hatred until the very end.
I stopped in front of him.
"Be a good person in your next life…"
I paused.
"…if there is one."
His body completely disappeared.
Silence returned to the forest.
I remained floating there for several seconds.
Then I slowly descended.
My feet touched the ground.
I looked at the place where Rashkel had disappeared.
I had killed someone.
For the first time in either of my lives…
I had deliberately taken a life.
I waited for regret.
Fear.
Guilt.
Something.
But all I felt was exhaustion.
I closed my eyes.
Was this the right choice?
I didn't know.
Maybe it wasn't something I could answer immediately.
But I did know one thing.
Those women were still waiting for me.
And I had promised to bring them home.
I turned toward the hideout.
"Let's finish this."