Chapter 81
Ssshhhhh!
Even though his fur was burning, Ulken endured the pain and acted carefully.
Instead of throwing Geru aside, he gently set the melting zombie down on the ground.
“Father!”
Cecile rushed over.
Twitch!
Geru reacted faintly, as if his consciousness had returned.
“Wait! Don’t touch him yet!”
Richmond blocked her and quickly cast a spell.
Swooosh!
A sphere of water appeared in the air and poured down, washing Geru clean.
It was a modified version of the spell Richmond once used to wake Ludwig from his deep sleep.
The stomach acid clinging to his skin was washed away, and at last, the damage to his outer body stopped.
The thick smoke disappeared, and the sizzling sound went silent.
To preserve his dignity, Richmond wrapped Geru’s body in a thick cloth.
Only then could Cecile approach her father.
“Can you hear me? Are you okay? You must be in so much pain.”
On her knees, Cecile looked at him with teary eyes. Geru slowly reached out, and she clasped his hand.
Hours ago, when he came to her doorstep, she hadn’t taken that hand.
His lips moved with difficulty.
“I… already… dead. No… hurt!”
“That’s a lie! How could this not hurt? Look at you, you’re all torn apart!”
While she tried to soothe him, a terrible roar shook the battlefield.
“Kiiiyaaaargh!”
The Dead Eater was thrashing in rage.
A giant monster with a hole torn in its neck and its belly ripped open.
It wasn’t intelligent, but it knew something had attacked it.
“Stubborn beast!”
Its survival instinct pushed it to strike back.
It searched around, ready to crush anything it found.
Rumble…!
And then—
it was as if another sun had risen into the sky.
“Huh?”
“Well now… impressive.”
Even Ariella and Richmond stared in shock.
The surroundings grew brighter than before.
Above Ludwig’s head, a massive ball of fire was blazing, burning fiercely.
Unlike the warm sun that lit the Demon King’s Domain, this flame carried a hostile, searing heat.
Its presence was overwhelming.
Richmond muttered in awe.
“He’s definitely stronger than a few months ago… is this the power of the contract?”
A contract allowed the Demon King and his contractor to grow together, breaking their limits.
Ariella was seeing that power with her own eyes.
“Kiiiyaaahhh!”
The monster’s instincts screamed in warning.
Rumble!
The Dead Eater charged.
Ludwig leapt in the opposite direction from his allies and soldiers, drawing the beast away.
Boom!
The place he had just stood was smashed apart, the monster’s long body striking like a whip.
Over and over it attacked, but Ludwig kept dodging, luring it farther away.
The earth crumbled and stones flew with each movement of the giant creature, waves of soil surging like a stormy sea.
Still, Ludwig zig-zagged through the same area, pulling it along.
“Richmond!”
He shouted to his retainer.
Richmond responded at once with magic.
“Demon Force! Dark Bolt!”
Black energy and lightning struck the Dead Eater.
The monster’s focus shifted.
“Kiiieeek!”
It turned its head toward Richmond, momentarily forgetting Ludwig.
And it still hadn’t realized what Ludwig was really doing.
Whoooosh!
The second sun he had conjured was shrinking.
It wasn’t vanishing—it was being absorbed into the blade in Ludwig’s hand.
The steel that once gleamed coldly now burned with a condensed flame.
The energy of a sun was being focused into one sword.
“Kiiiiik!”
But the monster hadn’t noticed yet.
It prepared to charge at Richmond and the soldiers standing nearby.
Right before it moved—
“Haaap!”
With a sharp shout, Ludwig leapt high into the air, empowered by magic.
In his hand burned a sword of fire.
He arced through the sky straight toward the monster’s head.
“Kiiiik!”
The beast finally looked back—
but it was too late.
Sshhhraaak!
A line of fire cut across the world, like heaven itself was split.
Those on the ground couldn’t see clearly—
because at the instant Ludwig swung, a blinding flash erupted.
Slash! Slash!
He struck several more times, each blow ripping through space with blazing light.
Thud!
He landed gracefully after his final swing.
A moment later, enormous chunks rained down from the sky.
Boom! Boom! BOOM!
The Dead Eater’s body, torn into pieces, crashed to the ground.
“……!”
Its head and nearly a third of its body were gone.
Even with its monstrous vitality, it could no longer survive.
“Look—it’s falling over!”
Someone shouted as the massive creature tilted and collapsed.
The red pillar of flesh toppled with a crash.
“Brace for impact!”
Ludwig gave the warning.
KWA-BOOOOM!
The ground shook harder than ever before as the Dead Eater fell, leaving a huge crater where it landed.
The monster never moved again.
Ludwig spoke calmly, like a judge giving his verdict.
“It’s dead.”
The Dead Eater was slain.
The soldiers who had been protecting the villagers rushed forward to secure the area.
Everyone—soldiers and villagers alike—had seen the Demon King and his companions defeat the giant beast.
Terror gave way to relief, and then to awe.
“Did you see that? The magic the Demon King used at the end!”
“Was that really magic? Looked like swordsmanship to me!”
“Either way, the flames stretched straight out from his sword!”
“No, no—the sword was pulling fire down from the sky!”
“Whatever it was, I was shocked. I’ve lived a long time, but I’ve never seen magic like that!”
“Exactly… it was like he swung with the sun itself inside his blade.”
“I used to serve in the Demon King’s army until last year. I saw him fight many times. He was strong even then, but he didn’t have that skill before.”
“Then he really has grown stronger?”
Their whispers settled on one conclusion: the Demon King had advanced.
“Well, our Demon King’s Domain has grown, hasn’t it?”
“True—I’ve noticed. Empty huts are filling up again.”
“And it’s already been months since the Contractor arrived…”
“Contract? What’s that got to do with his magic?”
“You don’t know? The Demon King’s contract means—”
Before long, tales of today’s battle would spread through the Demon Realm, greatly exaggerated.
As Ludwig sheathed his sword, he met Ariella’s eyes.
She gave him a thumbs-up.
“That was amazing. Especially the last part.”
Ludwig snorted.
“Hmph. That was nothing.”
“I’ve never seen that move before. Did you practice?”
“Practice? Ha! I could do that with my eyes closed!”
“Really? Then what about the rumors? Soldiers said you’ve been dancing with fire near the camp for weeks. Were you practicing?”
“…Tch. You hear too much for your own good.”
Arms crossed, Ludwig grumbled.
Meanwhile, Ulken helped Geru stand.
“Lean on me.”
Geru looked at his burned arm and whispered,
“S… sorry. Because of me…!”
“It’s fine. For the pack, this much is nothing.”
Wolves live in packs.
As a Lycanthrope, Ulken carried that instinct for community and sacrifice.
“Did you forget? I’m a Lycanthrope. Give me a few days and I’ll heal!”
As the situation calmed, Cecile hesitated, then walked closer.
“C-Cecile!” Geru’s face lit up.
“What was it you wanted to tell me before?”
When she first visited the Atelier, she had snapped at him about the letter. Geru had tried to explain something, but she hadn’t listened. She thought it was just excuses.
But after all that had happened, her mind had changed.
Her mother and father had both left her one after the other. For the past year, she believed she was completely alone.
But she wasn’t.
Now, the thought of losing her father again was unbearable.
She didn’t want to let that chance slip away. She wanted to hear him out.
The zombie father looked silently at his daughter, and at last, he spoke.
