Hyle, who joined Evan and Noah, began to wield his sword without any hesitation and started to capture the demonic beasts.

He leaped, landed, turned his body, which was filled with mana, and repeated the routine of sending out sword strikes.

The demonic beasts’ blue blood scattered into the air.

Hyle wiped the splattered blood off his face with his sleeve. The dirty and smelly blood of the demonic beasts. Feelings that never became familiar no matter how much he tried to get used to them.

But he started to strike the demonic beasts again. His body mechanically reacted towards the demonic beasts.

His swordsmanship was overwhelming.

The bodies of the demonic beasts began to pile up on the ground at a rapid pace due to his amazing skill, comparable to Leopold Diaz, the Emperor.

Noah and Evan were astonished by his skills and couldn’t fully focus on wielding their swords.

“What are you looking at? Can’t you see the endless stream of demonic beasts coming?”

At Hyle’s sharp remark, the two withdrew their gazes from Hyle and firmly grasped their swords again.

But Hyle’s attention and focus were still on Ariel and a priest.

To prevent them from being attacked by the demonic beasts, and to prevent Diaton from spreading evil energy towards them, he concentrated all his attention on the two.

How much time had passed like that?

Suddenly, something burst out of Liese’s body. A tremendously bright light poured down towards her from the sky.

But even that was brief.

The light quickly covered Liese and disappeared.

All of this happened in a fleeting moment, but Hyle saw it clearly. Where the source of holy power and light was.

Hyle tightly closed his eyes. The light was so bright that even with his eyes closed, the light seeped through his eyelids.

“Aaaah-!”

The demonic beasts began to howl all at once.

With a deafening noise as if their ears were about to burst, the three closed their eyes and covered their ears simultaneously.

Evan and Noah were bewildered as they couldn’t properly grasp the situation, but by closing their eyes, they couldn’t know what was happening.

Under the holy power’s bright light of, the demonic beasts were torn to shreds.

Their heavy bodies disintegrated and disappeared into the air.

Bill hid behind the demonic beasts, controlling them.

He realized that black magic was escaping from his body.

“What’s happening! Aaaah-!”

As the pure and true light permeated him, he writhed in pain.

The three simultaneously felt it. The disappearance of the demonic beasts. The shattering and annihilation of Bill’s physical and spiritual beings.

They could tell even without opening their eyes.

The battle had ended.

Evan and Noah fetched water and extinguished the fire.

Black ashes scattered everywhere as the wind blew.

Leopold ran straight to where Ariel was.

What was the identity of that white light? Diaton, who had been evenly matched with him, suddenly lost his magical power. If it weren’t for that light, the outcome might not have been decided until sunset today.

His mind became complicated with various thoughts. Even Ariel’s face, which had been hanging on a thread, came to mind.

‘I’m not ready to face her yet.’

Leopold walked unsteadily and pressed his forehead.

He was afraid to face the harsh reality. The heart-wrenching truth.

As he approached where Ariel lay, a lower-ranking priest from the Holy See was taking care of her.

Watching Ariel’s face from a few steps away, her once cold and firm skin now seemed pale and soft.

Leopold tried not to harbor futile hopes by convincing himself that it might be his misconception.

“How is Ariel?”

He moved closer to Ariel again. He lowered himself and sat on the ground.

“Her color has returned, and she has started breathing again, Your Majesty.”

“Is that true?”

Liese handed Ariel over to Leopold. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and leaned her body against his own.

The priest’s words were true.

Warm. Not cold, but warm. The fact that a person’s body is warm was such a heartwarming thing.

Leopold Diaz, the Emperor of the Atlan Empire. He, who possessed power that could have everything, trembled at just one simple feeling.

It wasn’t a misconception. She might have come back to life. It wasn’t a futile hope or a vain wish.

“Explain what happened.”

“What do you mean? She’s breathing again?”

At that moment, Hyle came running. Startled by Liese’s voice echoing from afar, he hurriedly approached.

“Her color has truly returned. Ariel was clearly in a dead state, how is this possible!”

Hyle restrained his desire to cheer, covering his mouth with both hands and fidgeting with his feet.

“I’ve been wondering about this already. Let’s go in together.”

“No, so you’re saying Ariel was dead?”

Evan, who was walking leisurely with Noah, raised his voice in surprise at the unexpected situation.

“Yes, she was dead. I don’t want to remember her face from back then, but… it was clear that she was dead.”

Hyle responded to Evan’s words.

“Is she really breathing now?”

“Yes, she is. I confirmed it myself, as did His Majesty.”

If Ariel was really dead… Evan clenched and unclenched his fist repeatedly, feeling a tightening in his chest.

If their words were true, he would never see his beloved sister again.

“Mother and Father must have collapsed upon hearing this news.”

Just imagining it was dreadful. Evan shook his head back and forth.

Then suddenly, his gaze fixed on something.

Liese Willington. Why is she here?

The road here was treacherous. How did she manage to come all the way here without a weapon, as a woman?

Evan looked at Liese with a worried expression. She met his gaze without hesitation.

She knew well what he was worried about. But it wouldn’t be a problem at all to personally share her story later.

Liese Willington stood up from her seat and cleared her throat. She looked around at the people surrounding her one by one.

“Since you all seem curious, I will explain. I personally owed a debt to Her Majesty, so I came to assist. However, when I arrived here, Her Majesty had already passed away. She had returned to the heavens, truly.”

“Yes, we are all aware of that. After that, when you were alone with Ariel, what exactly happened for a white light to strike this place?”

“Ah… Yes, Your Majesty. I cannot fully grasp the situation at that time, but one thing I can dare to say is that Lumiere bestowed holy power upon me. Through my hands, holy power flowed to Her Majesty and enveloped her in a warm light.”

Everyone present felt it. The warm energy emanating from the light. A bright and radiant light that dispelled all darkness.

“It seems like with that holy power, the curse of dark magic was lifted and her life was restored.”

Upon hearing Liese’s words, Leopold lowered Ariel’s face from his embrace. The shadow of death covering her disappeared.

Her complexion became rosy again, breathing evenly and steadily.

“She returned alive. Although she hasn’t regained consciousness yet, she will wake up soon.”

Leopold stood up with Ariel in his arms.

“Duke Noah Diaz. When I call for you to come to the palace, you must explain everything.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After the battle ended, Noah Diaz wore a consistently complex expression.

One of his followers caused such a tremendous event, almost causing harm to innocent people.

And clearly, Diaton and Bill vanished under Lumiere’s light. But how was it that he, who was once the Demon King, was now alive before his return?

Noah Diaz was curious about Lumiere’s intentions, but now there was no way to ask Him.

“I will explain everything.”

Leopold turned around with a stern gaze.

“I will go back first. Evan, handle the aftermath.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

As Evan opened a portal with a scroll, Leopold returned alone to the palace.