Chapter 42 A Truth Too Painful to See

The air tore open—raw power, violent and bright, surged forward like a crack in the world itself. The light swallowed everything.

And then, gone. Aether Rend was canceled. The generals got teleported and in front of him stood her. The Demon Lord. She saved them at the last second.

She held the edge of his sword in one hand, blood dripping from a torn black glove, her skin pale, almost glowing against the dark steel.

Rein’s eyes went wide.

“You…”

She didn’t flinch. Didn’t move. Just held his blade like it weighed nothing.

“You… You finally showed up. Don’t you dare run this time. No more tricks. No more illusions. No more hiding behind your generals, your magic, your lies. Face me. Here and now. Come at me — all four of you, if that’s what it takes to keep you here. I don’t care. I’ll cut you all down. You took everything from me and I'm here to collect. This ends today.”

The world slowed for a heartbeat as the Demon Lord released Rein’s blade. Her obsidian glove was cracked, pieces falling away like broken glass.

Blood dripped from her palm — red against the black steel of a Hero blade — but the wound closed instantly with a faint green glow, her flesh knitting back together as healing magic pulsed from her fingers.

She looked at him — not with rage, not even with pain — but with sadness.

“I don’t want to fight you, Rein. There’s no point in this. You’ve been lied to. The King... Arthur… lied to all of us. What you see here—this corruption—it’s not some ancient race. It’s the result of magi stone poisoning. We were humans, once. Cast out. Changed. There are no demons. There is no Demon Lord. What we are… what you see here… it’s just corruption. Pollution. We were human once. Just like you, Rein.”

His eyes burned with increasing mana. His body sparked with energy, lightning flickering across his armor and up his arms.

“Enough, monster! I didn’t come to listen to your lies! The only thing I want coming from your mouth is the sound of your last breath! Accel Flash Step!” 

He vanished. A sonic crack ripped through the air. Rein streaked forward like a bolt of blue lightning — too fast for the eye to follow — and swung down with enough force to split mountains.

CLANG!

Her blade met his in a flash of silver, the collision exploding outward in a shockwave that peeled carpets of stone and earth from beneath their feet. The floor cracked and caved, a ringed crater forming in a split second.

Before the dust settled — Rein struck again. Then again. And again.

"Flash Edge—Hundred Slash Combo!"

His blade blurred — a storm of steel raining down, dozens, then hundreds of strikes in seconds. Sparks flew like fireworks, every parry from Demon Lord throwing light and heat through the air. Their swords screamed against each other, magic exploding in every movement — wind howled, stone shattered, pillars cracked under the sheer pressure of the battle.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM—

Every block unleashed aftershocks that ripped through the earth. Every parry carved slashing arcs into the walls and ground, trenches gouged deep behind her as though invisible blades were cutting alongside him. The sheer force of his assault carved lines through stone and shattered what was left of the courtyard.

Rein’s final swing cracked the Demon Lord’s guard — her boots dug trenches in the stone as she skidded back.

But she stood like nothing happened. Still looking at him with that same expression — sorrow, not hate. She lifted her hand.

“Rein… stop. Listen to me. I am Aura.”

“I'm done talking, monster! Aether Rend!”

Magic detonated from his core — a swirling spiral of raw mana forming along the edge of his blade. The air vibrated, ground pulsing as everything around him warped under the pressure.

She stepped forward.

“Radiant Pulse: Solar Nova.”

A sphere of molten light formed above her palm, expanding instantly, pulsing with enough energy to reduce a fortress to ash.

Electric blue fire exploded around him. The ground at his feet shattered like glass as he launched himself toward her. A streak of pure destruction.

The two spells met—And the world went white.

A sun was born inside the ruins, detonating in a flash of fire and energy that consumed everything. A column of flame, smoke, and shockwave shot into the sky, bursting above the clouds like a volcanic eruption.

Stone, metal, magic—all disintegrated.

The ground cracked and collapsed, folding in on itself, swallowing the entire ruin into a spiraling crater. The sound came a second later — a deafening boom that shattered what remained of the sky above.

A mushroom cloud of fire, stone, and smoke tore through the heavens, climbing above the clouds. The shockwave blew away the ruins. The whole battlefield was upturned. Demons and humans alike got blown away. The ground cracked and caved beneath their feet, a massive crater opening in the ruins as if the world itself had been punched by the moon.

The blast wave reached Liora’s position, flattening trees and tearing boulders from the earth. She raised a barrier just in time to shield everyone.

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Verron’s obsidian blade spun in lazy arcs, each movement elegant, yet deadly. Kaia’s short swords clashed against it, while Mari’s magic blasted in from the flank, beams of ice and fire colliding with his blade as if the man were swatting fly's.

“You two are coordinated. But… you lack harmony. A duet without teamwork.” Verron remarked with a smile, parrying Kaia’s thrust. 

Mari scowled, hurling another volley of fire. 

“And you talk too much, pretty boy! Don't think that because you're a handsome devil I won't burn your face off with my fireballs, though it would be a damn shame.”

Verron twirled his sword, sending her magic scattering into bursts of harmless sparks.

 “Ah, but I wanted to have a chat with such a lovely lady.”

Then, in a blur, he closed the gap. His blade passed Kaia’s cheek in a hum of steel, cutting a few strands of her hair before she could even see him move.

“Tch—he's toying with us, Mari! He's not even fighting seriously.” 

Elsewhere, Selene and Sareth tore across the field like twin comets.

Sareth’s spear blazed with violet flame, every thrust carving fiery shockwaves that split the earth. Selene answered in kind — blazing fire magic erupting from her spear in rapid succession with each thrust, detonating with concussive force.

“Not bad, but is that all you got?” 

 “You haven’t seen anything yet, demon!”

Selene's hand snapped, flames engulfing her whole body — she became a living inferno, a spear of pure flame launching herself forward.

BOOM! The two collided midair, spear against spear detonating in a shockwave that split the skies.

The fights raged — elegant destruction from Verron, raw violence from Sareth. 

Then —

Booooom!

A deafening blast shook the whole battlefield. A pillar of light erupted from the ruins where Rein and Demon Lord clashed, expanding outward in a wave that swallowed the whole sector of the Demon Plains.

Stone shattered. Walls collapsed. Dust and flame swept across friend and foe alike.

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The world came back in fragments.

First—pain. A dull throb behind Rein’s temples. Then—warmth. Something soft beneath his head, fingers brushing gently through his hair.

"…Aura?"

His eyelids fluttered. Blurry gold eyes gazed down at him, a small, familiar smile playing on lips he’d memorized years ago.

"Took you long enough," she whispered, "You always sleep like dead after overdoing it."

For a single, heart-stopping moment, he saw her—golden eyes crinkled with worry, lips parted in relief. Aura. Just as she’d looked the first time he’d pushed himself too hard in training, when he’d collapsed at her feet and woken to her scolding voice and the press of a cold cloth to his forehead. The tilt of her chin, the way her thumb brushed his forehead just so—

Then his vision cleared.

Red-black eyes. Pale skin tinged blue. The Demon Lord stared back at him.

Rein’s breath hitched. He wrenched himself away, scrambling back until his shoulders hit rubble. His hand flew to his hip—his sword was gone, buried somewhere in the wreckage, only the ghost of her touch remained.

"What the hell is this?! What is the meaning of this?! Are you mocking me?! Is this all a joke to you?!? How long—How long will you keep up this farce? How long will you pretend to be her?"

The Demon Lord didn’t move. Her hands hovered in the air where his head had been, fingers still curled as if to cradle him. Slowly, she lowered them.

“I could ask you the same, Rein. How long will you pretend you don’t see me?”