Volume 1. Chapter 62

Lily sank to her knees behind the demon, her shoulders trembling with quiet sobs. Tears streamed down her cheeks, dripping onto the ground, and her hair, framing her face, concealed it from view. The demon stood a few steps away, towering over the forms of her parents and friends, who watched the scene in a trance, as if mesmerized.

“Ha-ha-ha!” The demon’s laughter boomed, his arms spread wide. His voice crashed like thunder, filling the air with malevolent energy. “Well? Where’s your cleverness now?! Did you think you could outsmart me? No one has ever succeeded — and you’re no exception!”

He stepped toward Ken’s motionless body, lying face down on the earth.

“I won!” the demon roared, his wings unfurling. “You were just as pathetic as the rest who tried to defy me!”

Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning on a clear day, Ken laughed. A soft chuckle at first, growing louder by the second. His body, seemingly lifeless, began to rise. The demon froze, his eyes wide with shock.

Ken stood tall, dusting off his knees, and looked straight at the demon with a smirk.

“What’re you so happy about, you scarecrow?” he said with mocking nonchalance, stretching as if waking from a nap. “We’re not done yet. I told you you’d regret this. Goodbye.”

The demon couldn’t speak. His face twisted in horror, but he couldn’t move.

At that moment, Lily — who had seemed shattered only moments before — sprang to her feet. Her eyes burned with determination, and in her hand gleamed the dagger. With lightning speed, she dashed toward the demon and plunged the blade into his heart. A monstrous, inhuman scream tore from the demon’s throat as his body began to unravel into a cloud of darkness.

Ken didn’t waste a second. Sprinting forward, he snatched the Alarayn flower from Kiki’s hands. It flared with brilliant red light, casting the entire world in a searing glow.

“It’s over,” Ken whispered, pressing the flower toward the disintegrating form of the demon.

The demon’s remains, like black smoke, were drawn into the flower. It pulsed brighter, absorbing all the magical energy. Then it flashed, as if devouring the illusion itself. The ground trembled. The world flickered, destabilizing and collapsing — an illusion unable to contain reality any longer.

Ken felt the ground vanish beneath him.

In the next instant — darkness.

Ken opened his eyes.

He stood upright in a sunlit forest, the soft glow of the setting sun casting golden rays through the trees. His breath was heavy, but he felt light, as if a crushing weight had been lifted. He looked around — and there was Lily.

She still lay asleep, her face peaceful. A red-glowing bracelet remained on her wrist — linked to his own. A moment later, her eyelashes fluttered, and she awoke.

“Lily,” Ken called gently.

She turned toward him, and a radiant, genuine smile lit her face. She leapt to her feet, joy flooding her expression, and threw her arms around him.

“Ken, we did it!” she cried, trembling with relief. “We actually did it — because of you!”

Ken smiled, resting his hands on her shoulders.

“Come on, Lily. If it weren’t for your acting and those artifacts, I’d have been lost…” he began, but Lily tugged playfully at his cheek with her fingers.

“There you go again…” she chided softly. “It is a miracle we escaped that illusion — but that miracle happened because of you.”

She pulled back slightly, meeting his eyes. Her voice quivered with emotion.

“Ken… you did so much. Thank you. You saved us.”

He wanted to argue, but the sincerity in her gaze silenced him. He nodded quietly.

“Anyway, we’re alive. I’m so glad,” Lily added, her voice full of relief.

“Yeah, that’s what matters most. I’m glad too,” Ken replied, his voice steady and warm.

They stood together, locked in an embrace, unwilling to let go. Their hearts still beat with the remnants of fear and adrenaline, but together, they knew they could face anything. This was their shared victory — a reminder that even in the darkest moments, light could be found… as long as they fought together.