Noah Diaz put the last wing he had taken from Damon into his jacket pocket and began crossing the Wellus Ocean again.

‘It’s raining.’

He nearly fell into the sea several times due to the torrential downpour.

He landed in the Helmir Forest, exhausted.

To avoid the rain, he entered a cave beneath a cliff.

His hands were busy shaking off the rainwater that dripped from his hair onto his chin.

Thinking of awakening the power of the Demon King, his face and body were filled with exhilaration. His clothes were soaking wet, but he didn’t feel cold.

“Finally, I’ve gathered them all.”

He took out the last feather he had carefully placed in his inner pocket.

“Now, I finally have the power to kill Leopold Diaz.”

Hahahahaha-!

His eerie laughter echoed through the cave and spread throughout the forest. Birds that had been perched on the trees all flew into the sky at once.

Noah closed his eyes. He could strongly feel the magical power contained in the feather.

As he absorbed the magic, black smoke enveloped his body.

However, the awakening process was not smooth.

“Uaaaargh-!”

Noah Diaz began to writhe in agony.

This was because he was trying to possess the complete abilities of the Demon King in a human body.

Noah’s body twisted under the power the Demon King once possessed. His muscles contracted and relaxed in spasms. His joints bent in strange ways.

Occasionally, there were sounds of flesh tearing from his body.

‘Ah, ah… This is the limit of a human body.’

He would burst like a balloon if he continued at this rate.

Despite finding the last wing with great difficulty, he ultimately couldn’t fully unleash the Demon King’s abilities within his body.

This drove him into deep despair.

Pain and a sense of loss were reflected in his golden pupils.

Noah placed the last feather on the ground.

The feather still exuded a sinister aura, covered in black smoke.

“I must endure. To regain the power I had before turning back time, I must endure this pain.”

Noah Diaz muttered as he looked at the feather on the ground.

He picked up the feather again.

The gap between the power of the Demon King and a human body could not be bridged.

‘But this time, I won’t stop.’

Why have I suffered so much until now?

Driven by pure evil, he had turned the territory he had cared for so meticulously over the years into ruins and mercilessly killed its inhabitants.

He could never go back to the way things were.

Noah Diaz accepted the power contained in the feather into his body.

Black smoke swirled around him.

“Uaaaargh-!”

As he embraced the Demon King’s power within his flesh, he felt searing pain.

His flesh split, his bones twisted, and the power of darkness surged through his entire body in massive waves.

‘I feel like I’m going to die.’

The intense pain shattered his nerves, breaking his mind and body into pieces.

“Uaaaargh—!”

A scream of agony burst from Noah’s lips.

His face twisted in pain and despair, and tears mixed with sweat streamed down his cheeks.

Noah Diaz struggled to overcome the pain, clenching his fists so tightly that his palms were deeply indented by his nails.

‘At this rate, I really will die.’

He sensed immediate danger. If he continued, not only his body but also his soul might be completely annihilated.

Even if he was lucky enough to have the power settle in his body, the moment he used that power, his existence would vanish from this world.

Noah Diaz hesitated for a moment. Should he take the risk or compromise with reality?

His golden eyes gleamed with madness.

‘I just need to kill Leopold Diaz.’

No matter how much of a Swordmaster he is, he’s still just a human. There’s no need for all the Demon King’s abilities to kill a mere human.

First, I must survive. Only then can I kill him. So, I have no choice but to accept the power partially.

He decided not to absorb all the dark power contained in the last wing.

He controlled it so that his soul and body wouldn’t be destroyed, but the pain of his flesh tearing still tormented him.

“Uuuugh-!”

Noah Diaz absorbed the black smoke emanating from the feather into his entire body.

His pupils, dilated from the pain, turned black.

He stopped just short of the point of complete annihilation.

‘I see the end.’

How much time had passed? The pain that had been tearing at his flesh gradually subsided. Unprecedented strength and magical power sustained his body.

“Is it finally over?”

Noah Diaz’s lips curved into a smile. His eyes, now as black as the night sky, gazed outside the cave.

He used his magic to lift himself into the air. As his feet floated gently, he flew out of the cave.

***

Ariel lost consciousness on Leopold’s back, burning with a fever.

Cruel scenes unfolded before her eyes. She couldn’t tell if it was a dream or reality.

The sight of the immense magical power created by Noah Diaz, imbued with dark energy, piercing through Leopold.

The sight of him vomiting dark red blood, his once bright red pupils dimming as he collapsed to the ground.

Unable to approach or touch him despite being close, Ariel could only watch in frustration and despair.

“No-! Leopold!”

I can’t believe it.

Leopold is dead.

No, it can’t be.

Shaking her head violently in denial, tears welled up in her eyes. Her ragged breaths escaped her lips several times.

Ariel ran towards him, but they moved further away as much as she ran.

Soon, Noah Diaz lifted Leopold’s corpse above his head. He smiled with great satisfaction, as if he had claimed the most noble trophy.

“Ugh, hic-! Leopold. Leopold…”

She shouted, hoping her voice would at least reach him.

But nothing changed.

Her jade-colored eyes lost their light. She collapsed to the ground, pounding the earth with her fists.

‘This anger won’t subside. How dare you. How could a wretch like you!’

She didn’t stop punching the ground until her skin tore and her white knuckles were crushed, spreading blood.

“Ariel, Ariel.”

At that moment, Leopold’s voice clearly pierced her ears.

Is it a dream?

Please let it be a dream…

Ariel collapsed onto the cold ground.

***

“Ariel seems to have taken a great shock.”

“…It’s the first time she’s seen innocent people die in person, so it’s no wonder she’s suffering like this.”

Evan, standing beside Leopold who was seated next to the bed, looked down at his sister with worried eyes.

The situation in White, as conveyed by Leopold, was easy to imagine without even seeing it.

‘It must have been very cruel and gruesome.’

Evan’s eyes trembled momentarily but soon regained their composure.

“Ah, the mages have found a way to seal the dark power.”

“That’s a relief.”

“But… They say the life of the one imbued with that power must be taken.”

Leopold nodded. He bit his lower lip with his white teeth.

He must kill him. Noah Diaz.

“Everyone who is not a Swordmaster or a mage is excluded from this mission.”

That meant Evan also had to be excluded from this mission.

Leopold continued speaking.

“I don’t want to rely on Ariel’s help, but in the current situation, her help is desperately needed. To defeat Noah Diaz, who has gained the Demon King’s power.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

The fate of the Atlan Empire hung in the balance.

The weight of that burden pressed down on both of them.

“Tell Hyle as well. We might need his help.”

Although he hoped they wouldn’t need Hyle’s help, who had regained his age after the curse of dark magic was lifted…

‘The situation is not that easy.’

Leopold looked at Ariel’s sleeping face.

I only wanted to bring you happiness.

Since confirming each other’s feelings, it has been very difficult to enjoy peaceful days.

‘He will probably come to the palace to kill me.’

Leopold, with a complicated expression, looked at Ariel’s face lying on the bed.

He brushed the hair tickling her pale face behind her ear.

“Mobilize the knights to ensure all personnel, including the servants, leave the palace. Have the mages set up a protective barrier in a secluded part of the palace. You, Liese Willington, Hyle, and the mages should wait there.”

“…Yes, I will prepare as you commanded.”

When Leopold mentioned Liese Willington’s name, Evan’s large eyes wavered like a river shaken by the wind.

‘Lumiere, please, let this pass peacefully.’

It was then. When Ariel’s pale face began to frown.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Though she hadn’t regained consciousness, she shivered in pain, her shoulders trembling.

“Ariel! Ariel!”

Startled, Leopold called her name.

“Uaaa… Aaa…”

Tears welled up under her eyes as she let out a suppressed sob.

Why is she suffering so much all of a sudden? Leopold was terrified. He climbed onto the bed, lifted her upper body, and leaned her against his chest.

“Ariel! Ariel! I’m, I’m here with you.”

At his desperate cry, Ariel trembled and soon shivered, opening her eyes.