Against the Demon Lord 3

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

And then, the Hero swung his sword. Radiance filled the throne room. The Hero's sword turned into a pillar of light and pierced the heavens themselves. On its way to the Demon Lord, the light broke through the stronghold's ceiling and revealed beautiful starry skies.

At last, the story was approaching its ending. Or rather, it was approaching its ending once again. Perfectly, the image mirrored the past. Golden Sword in the Hero's hands, Aurelius's introduction, and the attack that pierced the skies. Some details differed here and there, but none of it made for a truly important difference.

Except for one crucial thing.

The Demon Lord didn't perish.

When the dust from the attack settled, the Demon Lord's silhouette appeared before Zephyrus. The Demon Lord was still alive, if battered, and a purple, nebula-colored transparent layer of energy stood before him.

Zephyrus was frozen in shock.

"That's a.... barrier...? It can withstand Radiance...?"

Confusion and panic covered Zephyrus's face. Meanwhile, the Demon Lord laughed.

"Oh? This spell? Well, I'm glad you asked. After all, I created specifically to survive the Radiance after my defeat three hundred years ago. It's called Nebulous Barrier. It absorbs and disperses light attacks and protects against heat. Its activation takes a lot of time and energy so I prepared this long in advance."

The Demon Lord said and pointed to the underside of his left hand. There, a magical seal was engraved.

"Using this, I was able to seal the spell away and then activate it at the right time. Still, just a second later, and I would have been evaporated..."

While the Demon Lord continued talking about the spell he created, Zephyrus's expression was frozen in disbelief.

"Just... how...? How—"

For the first time since the battle began, fear appeared in his eyes. Fear of something completely incomprehensible. Something that broke the logic of the world itself.

"—How in the world did you know that I was going to use Radiance?"

Yes, the Demon Lord possessed a powerful barrier. He had devised specifically to counter Aurelius's Radiance after his defeat. He could believe that. But why did he have a seal with the spell ready at a moment's notice?  

Whenever the Demon Lord was sealed, he always returned. But the Demon Lord's body was always completely different. Zephyrus knew that because he had defeated the Demon Lord once before.

That's why it didn't make any sense for him to have an engraving like that. What's more, he was ready to activate it immediately. Almost as if he knew that Zephyrus would use Radiance in that exact moment.

The Demon Lord smiled. It was the smile of someone who was excited to show a surprise he had been preparing for a long time.

Need I remind you, that Zephyrus Meyer had a secret. He was the reincarnation of the legendary Radiant Hero, Aurelius. At the same time, that was the only secret he had. And if so, then a single question remained. If Zephyrus didn't have the power to reset the world... then who did? Who was it that confined this world in a never ending loop?

As he watched Zephyrus's shocked and panicked expression, the Demon Lord spoke.

"Well, well. Why would you ask that? After all, you have destroyed me with Radiance in this exact moment the previous time."

"The... previous time...? What... what the hell do you mean by that...?"

"But of course, I'm talking about one of the countless loops that we've spent together."

The hero candidate was too stunned to even reply. The Demon Lord one-sidedly continued his story.

"You see, Zephyrus. This world is trapped in the cycle of endless repetitions. These twelve years of war have repeated time and time again. Frankly, I'm not even sure how many times it has happened at this point."

Zephyrus reeled backwards. The information he was told was too sudden to ever wrap his head around.

"W-what...? It doesn't make any sense... What do you mean this world has been repeating...? What kind of ridiculous lie is that?!"

"A lie?" The Demon Lord asked in amazement. "And why would I lie to you? Regardless if you believe me or not, the truth will remain the same. Neither the outcome of this fight, nor the conclusion for this world will change."

But Zephyrus couldn't simply accept that. For if it was true, then how did they even end up in this situation? What did the Demon King want?

"If so... then why did you even let us infiltrate the stronghold...? With the knowledge of the future, you could prevent us from ever reaching you in the first place....?"

The Demon Lord spread his hands wide open.

"It's quite simple. I've told you before, haven't I? My job is to bring the world to its end, but there is someone who doesn't quite agree with my view. And so, in addition to my primary duty as the avatar of destruction, I also take challenges from the most worthy of humans."

Then, he explained his reasoning.

"I want to fight the aspiring Heroes and measure their worth directly. Can they lead this world into a better future? Do they have enough resolve to see it through? And most importantly, do they have the strength to carry out their vision?"

Only then, would he consider them worthy. And only then, would they deserve to be called true Heroes.

"Demonkind tries to stop the hero candidates early of their own volition. Because they are afraid that they have the power to seal me. I don't stop my followers from those actions, but neither do I go out of my way to assist them. Never in a single loop, did I try to prevent challengers from appearing at my doorstep. In fact, I welcome them with open arms! As long as they make it here with their own strength that is."

The Demon Lord gazed at the Hero with eyes full of curiosity.

"So do you understand the futility of your actions? No matter what you do I'll remember it next time. Your struggle is worthless. What will you do, oh former Hero?"

He taunted Zephyrus, eliciting a response from him. Futility was the thing that once crushed Zephyrus. Would he surrender once he realized the hopelessness of this world? Or would he continue onwards as befitting a true Hero?

For a few seconds, Zephyrus remained silent. He was trying to come to terms with all the overwhelming information he just learnt. Then, he took a deep breath and lifted his blade once again.

"I have no way of telling apart the truths and lies in your words," Zephyrus said. "Quite possibly, you're just trying to trick so that I lose my will to fight. And yet, I cannot explain some of the things that happened otherwise..."

Zephyrus's features sharpened. He steeled his expression as if he was channeling all of his resolve.

"But regardless of what's true, there's only one thing I can do. I will defeat you and put a stop to this bloody war. And once I do, I will learn what the truth is."

"Hoh? Aren't you afraid that the world will only reset again?"

"Then I will just have to beat you down one more time."

The Demon Lord smiled.

"Very well, Zephyrs Meyer! Your resolve deserves respect. But no matter how much bravery you show, your life force is approaching its limits, isn't it?"

His words rang true. Zephyrus's energy was close to depleting. Having two Blessings was a powerful ace up his sleeve, but it wasn't as convenient as it seemed at first glance. Yes, he could use both of them at the same time if he wanted to, but in return, his life force also drained much quicker. And Radiance was a particularly powerful Blessing; the energy it demanded to be utilized in full force was on a completely different level than anything else.

Zephyrus's life force was much weaker than Aurelius's. Even though he had the same soul and the same Blessing, his body was completely different. When he challenged the Demon Lord in his previous life, he was in his late twenties. His former body not only had years of training over his current one, and was also adjusted to utilizing Radiance to its fullest potential. On top of that, from the moment that Zephyrus retrieved his Blessing, his energy reserves were already significantly depleted.

Zephyrus could no longer recklessly rely on his Blessing. He bet everything on his most powerful attack, and now, he was paying the consequences of his gamble.

Well I be damned, Zephyrus thought. How in the world would I predict that he knew about Radiance thanks to some knowledge from the future?

But regardless of how grim his situation was, there was no point in giving up. And maybe if he kept going, he could grasp the light of hope. In his eyes, that's what it meant to be a Hero. Just like Alan who inspired him to move forward. And just like Reyes that showed him the most beautiful resolve. He would not stop until his body and mind refused to work. And even then, he would force himself to move beyond any limits.

Because he was no longer powerless. He didn't know where his path would lead him, but he would at least take the plunge with his own strength than helplessly lie in wait.

And then, Zephyrus dashed forward.

He used just the slightest bit of his Blessing. Winds propelled him forward and then faded away immediately. But it was enough for the Demon Lord to lose him out of his sight. Zephyrus appeared behind him and swung his blade at the Demon Lord's neck.

*Clang!*

Sparks flew and the Demon Lord's armor chirped. He turned around, swinging his arm horizontally, and caused Zephyrus to back away.

"Damn it!" the knight cursed as he jumped backwards and then immediately jumped back in.

Zephyrus knew that he could never win this battle if he allowed the Demon Lord to maintain the distance. With his remaining energy, he would quickly fall to the endless barrage of spells. That's why, while he still had strength left, he wanted to strike at the Demon Lord's vital point and shift the tides then and there.

"Fog of Death!"

But Zephyrus's plans were cut short. The Demon Lord cast a powerful spell that summoned a dark, purplish fog around him. If Zephyrus were to touch it, he would die helplessly. As he ran from the fog, the Demon Lord spoke.

"What's wrong, Zephyrus Meyer? Your blows seemed to be weakened! As you are now, you cannot even break through my armor!"

As he spoke, he continued to cast spells and attacking Zephyrus.

"Dark Swarm!"

"Dark Burst!"

The barrage of spells wasn't as intense as before. It seemed that even the Demon Lord was slowly approaching his limits. But it was more than enough to keep a weakened Zephyrus at bay. As the Hero weaved between dark spheres and blasts of energy, he utilized the absolute minimum of his Blessing in order to dodge the spells.

But slowly, the spells inched closer and closer to reaching their target. They scraped by his skin, cut into his flesh, and eventually, reached their target.

"Agh!"

The explosion hit Zephyrus as his Blessing failed to activate. With his diminishing life force, the activation became more and more difficult. And in that moment, it finally happened.

Zephyrus was sent flying, and he flew through the air until he smashed into the ground.

"And that is the end. Farewell, Zephyrus Meyer!" The Demon Lord said as he cast an incantation. "Sphere of Destruction!"

A giant ball of death appeared over Zephyrus's head. It rapidly closed in on him. He could feel his body being sucked into the sphere.

This was one of the most powerful spells of the Demon Lord. It had incredible destruction power and just as other spells of darkness it could detect its targets life force and vitals. But unlike normal spells, it used that not to home in on the targets, but rather suck them into the destruction. Once you were close enough to it, the only way to escape it was to surpass its gravitational force.

"Damn it!" Zephyrus shouted and attempted to dash forward. He pushed his body to its limits and activated his Blessing. His ears bled and he began coughing out blood; the life force in his body was being drained dry.

But even those desperate attempts weren't enough. The power of the sphere could compete with full-powered Blessings head on. Zephyrus didn't have a chance considering the state he was in. The realization that this could be his last moments settled into his mind.

"Starlight Beam."

A beam of pure magical energy pierced the sphere of destruction. Destabilized, its gravitational pull disappeared and it exploded.

Zephyrus flew through the air, blown away by the force of the explosion. He smacked into the ground right before the caster of the spell from before. Once, he got to his feet and looked at the spellcaster, his eyes opened wide in surprise.

The Demon Lord also stopped in his tracks, shocked by the sudden development.

"Alan...Welker...?"

Because the person in front of him was someone who should have already been dead.