Chapter 139
Bang!
Clyden slammed the door open with a heavy thud.
It was the door to the storage room piled high with dark magic items that Roselina and he had collected over the past ten years.
As soon as he stepped inside, he hurriedly pulled the heart from his chest.
Earlier, when the paladins had stabbed it, the magic within the heart had scattered, but now it seemed fully regenerated, returning to its original state. Naturally, no magic was leaking from it.
Without hesitation, Clyden plunged the dagger he held into the demon’s heart.
With a wet, tearing sound, magic began to seep out again from the wound.
By now, the demon was probably writhing in pain and cursing Clyden.
But Clyden’s gaze was fixed neither on the heart in his hands nor on the demon in the underground prison.
He carefully scanned the room, checking whether there were any other objects from which magic might leak, like the heart.
Earlier, when he saw that attacking the heart caused the demon’s magic to scatter, he had gained a clue.
“When the heart is attacked, the demon’s other parts suffer as well.”
Although physically separated, the two hearts of the demon and its main body were actually all connected.
That was why a faint trace of magic had leaked from the demon’s body when its heart had been attacked.
Up until now, he hadn’t thought of it because every time he confronted the demon, he had always been directly threatened.
He had always sought to make the demon surrender and save Rosy at all costs.
But today…
At the moment he had gone to plead for Rosy’s life, having given up everything, he realized that the demon was leaking magic even though it had not been attacked.
Attacking the demon’s heart caused the rest of its body to suffer and release magic.
Which meant—
“An object from which magic leaks… that’s what I need to find. That’s the heart.”
All the items were under powerful dark magic, so they couldn’t be detected with just intuition; he had to check each one visually.
Clyden examined each item in the storage room one by one, stabbing his dagger into the demon’s heart every time.
Just as he was scanning with a glimmer of hope, Roselina burst into the storage room.
“Sir Clyden!”
“Your Highness! Perfect timing… here—”
Clyden opened his mouth to ask for her help, but Roselina’s next words stopped him.
“Rosy… Rosy…!”
At the urgent mention of Rosy’s name, Clyden’s face immediately grew serious.
“What is it? Has something happened to her?”
Had it already been too late? He remembered that the demon could not revive someone who had already died.
Clyden’s pale face waited anxiously for Roselina’s next words.
“…No, not yet. But we should go check on her immediately. Something’s wrong with her.”
Clyden bit his lip.
Should he continue searching for the demon’s heart here, or stay by Rosy’s side and witness her final moments? He couldn’t decide.
“Hurry!”
Roselina grabbed Clyden’s sleeve and shouted, snapping him out of his hesitation.
She honestly thought that Clyden’s stubborn plan to save Rosy by finding the demon’s heart now was hopeless.
“If we wait, we could really miss Rosy’s final moments! Are you okay with that?”
At her shout, Clyden let go of her hand and said,
“…It’s not the end.”
He would save her. Right here, he would revive her.
Like a madman, Clyden turned his back to Roselina and began rifling through the corners of the storage room.
Broken daggers, jars, earrings, bracelets…
All kinds of dark magic objects split under his hands.
“…Please, just a little! Clyden!”
Roselina stomped her feet and shouted behind him, but Clyden ignored her.
Then his fingers caught a thin necklace.
“This—”
Clyden stared blankly at the necklace in his hand.
It was the necklace he had found most recently at the secret market on the luxurious cruise hosted by Baydos.
And it was there that he had reunited with Rosy.
‘The Wish Necklace, wasn’t it?’
Clyden gripped it tightly with his gaunt face. If this was the real thing, if it could grant his wish, how wonderful it would be…
‘Useless thought.’
He tried to shake off the distraction and focused on the necklace.
He could feel no magic emanating from it. He remembered that when he first found it, it was famous for granting wishes and should have had some powerful magic, but he had felt nothing and had been disappointed.
‘This isn’t it either.’
With a slightly resigned heart, Clyden bit his lip and plunged his dagger into the demon’s heart again.
He thought he heard a scream from the demon somewhere.
And just then—
“…My goodness, Clyden!”
Roselina’s loud voice broke through Clyden’s concentration.
“The necklace is acting strange!”
Clyden’s gaze slowly shifted to the necklace.
Just a moment ago, it had felt like an ordinary necklace with nothing unusual. But now, thin streams of magic were seeping from the Wish Necklace.
“…This is?”
Clyden’s eyes widened.
Could it really be—?
Seeking confirmation, he raised the dagger high and struck down at the Wish Necklace.
Crack-crash-crash…
Despite its delicate appearance, the necklace emitted a sound as if a wall were breaking, and black magic began to pour out of it.
He had found it.
“I’ve found the demon’s heart! I’ll destroy it immediately, so please evacuate outside, Your Highness!”
Clyden shouted to Roselina.
Seeing how much magic was spilling out from just this small crack, it was urgent to get her out first.
Roselina, who had seemed startled at first, quickly moved outside as Clyden instructed.
Clyden then layered his divine power onto the dagger.
Placing the seal and the necklace together—
Crack.
He plunged the dagger straight down.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
This time, the scream was no hallucination.
The thunderous cry echoed through every corner.
Then,
Fsssss…
The demon’s heart and the Wish Necklace in Clyden’s hand began to disperse like smoke, leaving no trace.
At the same time, the screaming that had shaken the world subsided.
“…Is… it over?”
Clyden muttered, staring at his now empty hands.
The demon’s screams had literally shaken the entire world.
The royal guest room, where the sleeping Rosy lay, was no exception.
“Could this… be?”
The Pope, hearing the agonizing sound, looked out the window.
At the same time, black smoke began rising from Rosy’s body as if her soul were escaping.
“Rosy!”
The Emperor shouted.
Even if he hadn’t known, seeing the ominous smoke rising from Rosy—who might have been Rosalin, lost ten years ago—made it hard to stay calm.
Soon, Rosy’s eyes, previously closed, slowly opened.
The Emperor hurriedly called out toward the outside.
“Are you waking up, Rosalin! Where’s your physician! Bring the physician!”
Rosy’s lips moved slightly, as if trying to say something, but no sound came out.
The Emperor grasped her hand tightly, his face pale.
Then, with a bang, the door opened.
Clyden and Roselina had arrived.
Though the Emperor could have scolded them for the disturbance, no one was paying attention to that now.
“Ahhh…!”
At that moment, black magic swirling around Rosy made dark red blood spurt from her mouth.
Clyden’s pale face rushed to her side, wiping the blood from her lips as he said,
“R-Rosy, don’t worry. I’ve defeated the demon. You’ll be able to get up soon.”
A mix of surprise and relief crossed the Pope’s and Emperor’s faces.
If what he said was true, it wouldn’t be impossible for Rosy to rise again.
But the next moment—
Thunk.
Rosy’s head, which had seemed ready to smile and say “well done,” went limp and tilted to the side.
