Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 257

257.

If Bellushi is known even to the Spirit King, he must be a formidable Demon King.

Even without that fact, the presence growing in the sky made me shudder.

‘He’s not losing out to the Spirit King at all. No, he seems to be even more than that.’

Demon King.

The being I had only heard about was revealing himself before my eyes.

“Your Highness, you must take cover.”

Olivia’s judgment was swift.

I agreed as well.

Bellushi’s descent was already unstoppable.

Staying here would mean getting caught in the aftermath of Bellushi’s descent and being torn to pieces.

I immediately deployed the Flow of Wind and Earth [a technique using elemental magic for rapid movement], and Olivia followed behind me.

Kooooooo-!

The sky continued to crack.

It was like watching the end of the world before my eyes.

I tried summoning the spirits, but after seeing their power being sucked into the distorted space, I stopped summoning them.

Olivia also didn’t use her aura sword and focused solely on running.

‘Are the knights safe?’

I shook my head.

Even the knights who had fled first likely couldn’t withstand that power.

Bellushi’s descent was drawing in everything around with tremendous force, as if to devour the entire world.

Olivia and I were gritting our teeth to avoid being sucked in, so I couldn’t expect the knights to withstand that force.

Besides, some of the retreating knights had already been sucked in.

“Your Highness, we must keep running.”

“Let’s head towards Grenian.”

Olivia nodded at my words.

“It’s important to get away as quickly as possible.”

The aftermath of Bellushi’s descent was growing stronger.

I ran at full speed.

How long had I been running?

Running at a terrifying speed, I felt the influence of Bellushi’s power gradually diminishing.

When we were completely out of range, Olivia and I stopped for a moment.

The cracked space was still visible far away in the sky.

It meant it was truly enormous.

“The Demon King has finally… descended.”

I replied bitterly to Olivia’s words.

“That’s right. I tried to stop it by destroying the altar, but it ended up happening as the High Priest intended.”

“Did he know he would become like that?”

The High Priest also couldn’t avoid Bellushi’s power.

He had become a material for the descent.

“He probably didn’t know. He was a person who truly believed in the Demon King as a god.”

The cracked space was slowly shrinking, but a strange brown cloud was gradually filling the sky.

“It seems like we should give up on the United Kingdom. It doesn’t seem like people are living there anymore.”

“Right. The people have all become undead… and that land will now be filled with mana [magical energy].”

For the first time in the continent’s history, a Demon King had descended.

And that Demon King likely possessed complete power.

How many humans did the High Priest sacrifice to bring about the Demon King’s descent?

The people living in the United Kingdom had become undead or sacrifices on the altar.

Land of Death!

This land, now called the Northeast Continent, would be called the Land of Death.

“We need to know how the Demon King will move immediately… Ha, it’s a difficult situation.”

The war with the pseudo-religious group, the Purifying Flame Order, had now become a war for the end of humanity.

Until the Demon King’s descent, we could have endured, but could the Empire really stop that power?

I suddenly became afraid.

I was afraid that all the rapid growth I had achieved so far would become futile.

Also, I was feeling love for my family for the first time, and I was afraid of losing them.

“Your Highness.”

At Olivia’s voice, I resolved.

“I won’t let the continent be destroyed by the Demon King. I have too much to protect.”

“Yes. Me too.”

“Let’s go. To Grenian. I think I need to discuss things with Ken and then go to the Imperial Palace.”

“Yes.”

Olivia and I hurried on our way.

Strangely, there wasn’t a single undead in sight.

And as feared, we couldn’t find any traces of the knights.

We had lost all the elite knights who had come with us due to the aftermath of Bellushi’s descent.

It was a painful blow.

We were able to carry out the mission well and return safely, but they died in vain.

My heart ached when I thought of them.

‘Not even able to leave behind their bodies.’

Hoo, I couldn’t help but sigh.

There was no way to revive those who had already died.

And more people would be sacrificed in the future.

Now that the Demon King had descended, it was impossible to stop him without a single sacrifice.

‘There’s no such thing as a war where no one dies. I’ll think of it as the final war and win. And make sure war never happens again.’

How long had I been running?

The border of the United Kingdom came into view.

“Your Highness, it’s the border.”

I nodded at Olivia’s words.

“It’s a meaningless border now, though.”

Now that the United Kingdom had fallen, the border had become meaningless.

“We’re almost there.”

Even here, traces of Bellushi’s descent were visible.

‘What is he doing?’

The Demon King, who was the wish of the Purifying Flame Order, had descended.

Funnily enough, I thought they might not even know that Bellushi had descended.

The High Priest had died, and this news wouldn’t have been conveyed to the Purifying Flame Order in the south and west.

‘Do they even know that the being they so desperately wanted is not a god but a Demon King, and that he is promoting the destruction of the continent?’

I pondered the strange beliefs of foolish humans.

I couldn’t change their minds.

They were the ones who had already defined me, my father, and the Empire as evil and invaded the Empire.

“Let’s rest for a bit and then return to Grenian.”

“Yes.”

I was very tired from running to the border without resting once.

We would be able to reach Grenian tonight, so there was no need to rush.

‘I ran away without even seeing Bellushi’s shadow… I don’t know how he will move.’

I had vaguely thought that Bellushi would destroy the continent as he descended, but I hadn’t even exchanged a single word with him.

‘Just being near him was enough to kill me… He won’t stay still.’

I braced myself to shake off the vague fear.

* * *

Ken’s face, whom I met after a long time, hadn’t changed much.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Ken reported on the work he had done in Grenian during that time in the office.

There was nothing special.

I had left Lilian behind, worrying about many things, but I was glad that there weren’t any major incidents than I thought.

‘Could Lilian have saved the knights if she had gone with me?’

I shook my head.

“What’s wrong?”

“No. I couldn’t stop the Demon King’s descent.”

“It was unavoidable. I have reported it to the Imperial Palace.”

Knock-!

At the sound of the knock, I replied briefly.

“Come in.”

It was Lilian who opened the door and came in.

“Lilian!”

Lilian had changed.

I had learned about it from Ken’s report, but when I actually saw Lilian with my own eyes, it felt like I was seeing a being who had transcended humanity.

It was different from seeing a Sword Master or a 7-circle or 8-circle mage [powerful magic users].

“Bellushi descended, but you returned safely.”

I nodded absentmindedly.

“Fortunately.”

“The aspect of the war will change from now on. Bellushi is currently recovering from the aftermath of his descent.”

“How do you know that?”

“I can roughly sense it.”

I offered Lilian a seat.

“Sit down first.”

Ken and I also moved to the sofa.

“After learning about Bellushi, I looked for more records.”

I nodded at Lilian’s words.

“Because there is too little information about the Demon King right now.”

“The Reinhart family can be said to have been founded to prevent Bellushi’s descent. All information about Bellushi will be contained in their records.”

“Then let’s go to the Imperial Palace together. The Imperial Palace Library has not only the Reinhart family’s items but also records in the form of magic books or diaries.”

Lilian nodded.

“Is it impossible even for Lilian?”

Lilian immediately realized what my question was and smiled.

“The opponent is a Demon King. It’s impossible alone. At best, if Your Highness summons the Spirit King and Olivia and one of the two, His Majesty the Emperor, becomes a perfect Grand Sword Master [an extremely skilled swordsman], you might be able to destroy Bellushi.”

Lilian added.

“Of course, that’s just an expectation, it’s not certain. The Demon King’s power… is beyond even my ability to fathom.”

Currently, Lilian and I were at a similar level, but it could be said that Lilian was a bit stronger.

That’s because Lilian has a much higher understanding of magic than I do.

Lilian had been a magician for a long time and had studied magic.

On the other hand, I had grown stronger quickly in a short period of time. I can summon the Spirit King, but the depth of spiritism itself was not deep.

“Anyway, it’s important to maintain the Empire’s front line right now and listen to the Pope’s story.”

“The Pope?”

“Yes. They are real priests.”

I nodded.

After discussing the current issues with Ken and Lilian, we decided to leave only a minimum number of troops in Grenian.

We don’t know how Bellushi will move, but it’s a better decision to deploy these troops to the front line than to keep them here.

And tonight, Olivia, Lilian, and I decided to return to the Imperial Palace.

* * *

The Emperor’s office.

Many people gathered in the simple office.

My father was the first to speak about Lilian.

“Hope has been discovered in an unexpected place. It seems you have found the path that Duke Austin couldn’t catch in the end.”

Lilian’s tone didn’t change even when speaking to the Emperor.

“Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty.”

The expressions of the Shadows [elite imperial guards] twisted, but my father didn’t care.

“I also have some knowledge of magic, but it was hard to imagine a realm like yours.”

“Being able to use magic, spiritism, and swordsmanship to that extent is already in the realm of God. Moreover, His Majesty is trying to see the end of it with the sword.”

“Thank you. So, what kind of records are you thinking of finding in the Imperial Palace Library?”

I had sent a messenger in advance to inform them of the simple details, so my father also knew to some extent about the current issues.

“The Reinhart family’s records. Because we need to know about Bellushi.”

“Bellushi…”

My father was lost in thought for a moment and then said.

“Following Karen, even the Demon King. Dark clouds are gathering over the Empire’s future.”

“The Purifying Flame Order is not the problem. Bellushi is the problem. If we can’t stop him, the history of the continent will end that day.”

“I know. The High Priest is dead?”

I nodded.

“Yes, Father. In the process of Bellushi’s descent, the High Priest was sucked into his power and disappeared without a trace.”

“Then is it not a complete descent?”

Lilian agreed with my father’s words.

“There is a possibility. The High Priest spoke as if Bellushi was descending with complete power, but that is only the High Priest’s thought.”

My father suggested one possibility.

“There is a high possibility that Karen is a prepared sacrifice.”

Duke James, who had been silent, stepped forward.

“A prepared sacrifice…? Do you mean that the High Priest brought in Karen for Bellushi?”

“Not only Karen, but the Purifying Flame Order itself may be a sacrifice for Bellushi. The United Kingdom has become a ruin. All those humans have become sacrifices on the altar.”

My father continued.

“For now, everything is a possibility. Lilian, go to the Imperial Palace Library and read all the books. There are many Reinhart family records there that we have not been able to interpret.”

Lilian stood up.

“I’ll go to the library.”

As Lilian left her seat, Duke James spoke again.

“Your Majesty, then what about the southern front?”

“If Karen is a sacrifice for Bellushi, we must kill her first.”

I stepped forward.

“Then I will go down to the south with Olivia. I think it’s time to settle the score with Karen.”

My father agreed.

“Lilian and I will watch Bellushi. If an emergency situation occurs, the only people who can stop Bellushi are currently Lilian, myself, and Duke James.”

The outline of the war was gradually emerging.