Fragment 5-3

One of the challengers died, but the battle didn't end there.

The remaining challenger was a hero candidate of his own. No matter how slim, hope was still alive. The boy who had once given up on his Blessing prayed. And the Goddess answered his prayers.

With his Blessing returned to him, he pushed back against the Demon Lord. His winds struck the Demon Lord repeatedly, and he cried out in pain.

But despite that, the Demon Lord remained confident. 

At the end of the day, the hero candidate was only a human. And no matter how powerful he was, his endurance had its limits. The longer the battle continued, the more advantageous it became for the Demon Lord. 

What's more, the human lacked the means to finish the fight quickly. Despite his strength, when it came to pure firepower, the challenger was on the weaker side compared to other hero candidates. He could deal the Demon Lord wounds and slowly bleed him, but the fight would never reach its ending before the human ran out of strength.

Or so, the Demon Lord thought.

Finally, the hero candidate made an error. He was trapped in a dark spell, unable to move. And then, the Demon Lord cast his most powerful attack.

The human couldn't dodge, but neither did he have enough firepower to cancel out the Demon Lord's attack. And so, the powerful spell reached the hero candidate.

But the hero candidate didn't fall. In his hands, he held a shining sword. Surrounded by brilliant radiance, the Hero spoke:

"Let me introduce myself once again. My name is Aurelius, the Radiant Hero. And I have once saved the world."

Yes, the challenger hid a single secret. He was none other than the reincarnation of a legendary Hero, Aurelius. And so, he wielded two Blessings—one for each of his lives.

As the radiance filled the throne room, the Hero, uttered a single word.

"Radiance!"

The Hero's blade extended, turning into a pillar of light. It pierced the ceiling of the stronghold, and even the heavens themselves as it cleaved everything in its way. Demon Lord was swallowed by the pillar of light.

And so, the Demon Lord perished. Shortly thereafter, the Hero also died, consumed by the Sacred Seal.

No one but a single soul remained.