Earlier—
Luke and Guinevere flew through the air over the capital, their flying swords eliminating any demons walking the streets.
"Ms. Guinevere, do you know what Ms. Freya and Brother Arnold have planned?" the young hero asked as they flew.
"My guess is that Freya wants to refine Ekterina's lifeforce and soul to refine her magic core. This is a high-level magical technique only All-Father Zephyros used to refine the souls of the demon gods he fought millions of years ago. This allowed him to become the strongest God. Due to the difficultly of this technique, you need a special absorption ability just to extract the true essence of the lifeforce and souls. Lilith also possess this ability so that's most likely why she had to be captured as well. Since she's the strongest succubus, her soul and lifeforce absorption ability is second to none. It took me a while to understand this as my memories were quite clouded."
"I-It's that kind of technique, huh… So, Ms. Freya will become just as strong as Ms. Guinevere then?"
"I wouldn't say I'm a measurement of strength you can use as we're different in many ways… But yes, she will become even stronger than a demon lord if she refines its soul and lifeforce. You humans may not know this but level 100 might be your limit but there are other ways to become stronger, like ascending your class through trials or by using ancient techniques like what Freya wants to use."
"Is the power permanent and how soon can Ms. Freya get it done?"
"The power is permanent. It likely won't be a quick process, though. Normally you can't refine a being's soul until the corruption goes away. But by that time, the soul is already away from the body, which is why Lilith is needed. This is a protection on all living beings set by the Timeline Gods. Only the Death God can refine souls right away. If the protection wasn't in place, every necromancer would be able to become God-like powerhouses simply by refining the souls of powerful enemies."
"So, we can't kill them yet even after we capture them and refine their life-force?"
"The process of removing their lifeforce will kill them but their souls will remain so long as Lilith is there."
The cathedral came into view. Luke could sense his family and Lauran down there.
"…Well, they'll die in a way so I guess it's fine even if I don't kill them."
"No, demon lords won't truly die. Upon reaching demigod level, every being is capable of rebirth. That's the right given to us for facing the trials of life and earning our power. Unfortunately, even demons are given this right."
"Dammit…"
"But don't worry. Reincarnation is a tricky mechanism in the machine of life. They might not revive for another thousand years and will be severely weakened. They might even reincarnate in different worlds so we won't have to worry about them too much—"
**
Luke recalled that conversation he had with Guinevere before they came to the cathedral.
Arnold is helping Freya ascend to a higher plane of power by sending Guinevere here to capture the demon lords. Since it's her, she'll most likely succeed unless there's any unexpected variables.
Guinevere was right about something that's been on his mind for a while now—
Past memories of warriors and gods who wielded this treasure flooded into his mind. Before Promethius, this was a treasure given to the youths that showed potential in the divine realm, before the humanity in the mortal realms even existed.
Even Promethius' master, the Sword God, wielded this sword. He was a man with long silver hair and red eyes, using the Water-based techniques to summon dragons and using lightning to manifest the ancestors of the dragon race, when dragons had their own gods millions of years ago.
Luke won't be able to handle those skills just yet. Not in the sense that he can't use them but that he can't control them.
If he ends up killing any of the demon lords, Arnold will get angry that his plans have been ruined. Since he's helping Freya, he's obviously on board with the plan to ascend her powers.
Luke won't get his recognition and trust.
Norn might not even be able to…
No, he'll do everything he can to stop Malzorath even without the skills. Even if he can't, he should at least wait until Guinevere can come help him.
Anyway, did Arthur not see these memories? He couldn't access Arthur's fighting experiences at all.
Every person that wielded the Holy Sword was blessed in some way but none had the blessings and "investment" that Luke and Arthur were entrusted with by the gods. As such, Luke assumed he would also be able to access the memories and skills of the sword.
Malzorath's sword tip was inches away from Luke's eyes just before he parried the blow.
It's funny. This man is a demon lord who's been alive for thousands of years and Luke, who only turned 15 this year, is able to keep up with him.
Of course, this isn't his own power but the investment of the gods.
He was thankful for all of it even if it wasn't his power alone. He couldn't be like Freya, Arnold, Guinevere or Lancelot, who worked for their power, but he still hoped that he could be the Hero that leads them with this borrowed power that outranked them all.
"Haaaaah!" Luke roared as he forced out a torrent of golden aura that pushed Malzorath back, granting him the opportunity to strike.
And that he did. His golden blade tore through the defensive ward, cutting the demon's forearm.
"Guh!" it was just a single scratch but the demon hurriedly cut off his own arm. In an instant, the arm was set ablaze by golden fire as it fell down.
His fingers tightened around his sword.
"I've been underestimating you just because you're a kid. But it seems that imposter caused a lot of trouble for us… I must abandon my pride if it means getting rid of the Hero."
"Stop pretending you don't know that demon lord! I'm not an idiot!" he let out more aura, drowning out the sea of red with a golden radiance.
He knew demons used deception to fool others. To them, words are just methods to let the goblins inside the farmer's barn.
'No, I shouldn't get angry. I'll lose concentration and become irrational.'
He promised himself to not become a hero Arnold would hate and want to kill so that means not acting rashly.
As if he received a transmission of some kind, Malzorath glanced somewhere instead of answering.
"Defensive Summon, trap the boy. I received my orders." He ordered before charging down to the open sewer below.
Before Luke could do or say anything, a hundred-layer barrier confined him.
Even if he could through this trap through force, it wouldn't matter as it would give Malzorath the time to carry out whatever he had planned.
Fortunately, he wasn't going to the cathedral but rather the destroyed street that revealed the sewer underneath the city.
It wasn't in the direction of where Guinevere went but rather a different street, so he's most likely going to escape.
'Should I use a skill?'
There were a lot of sealing skills but he wasn't sure if he should use them just yet. No one was in immediate danger and it's best not to pursue as it might be their goal for Luke to follow and trap him on the other side.
The only worry he has is that they won't get another chance to face Malzorath alone, which would make it easier to capture him so long as Luke has the sword.
"—Where do you think you're going, Malzorath?" Freya York blocked his route.
"Ms. Freya!" Luke quickly went to her side.
"I was about to handle the undead but his signature vanished above the clouds so let's quickly deal with Malzorath first. Lady Guinevere should be here soon."
"Okay."
"You have nowhere left to go, demon lord."
A golden barrier appeared over the sewer that was cast jointly by the priests. Judging by the magic circle in her hand, she strengthened the barrier so it wouldn't be easy for even the demon lord to break through it in time.
Realizing this, Malzorath frowned.
"Foolish little girl. You believe I can't force my way through—" a white light charged at Malzorath, then a fist emerged striking him on the cheek.
He crashed to the ground and an explosion of white energy crashed into him.
The light faded, revealing an exhausted Arthur.
Luke frown immediately seeing that he was back.
"Luke! Give me the sword! You're putting everyone else in danger by pretending to be worthy!"
What right does he have to say this? Instead of prioritizing the artifact, he found that his trophies were more important.
Instead of Luke saying this, Freya was the one that said it out loud as she cast a high-tier spell.
"I heard everything from Guinevere through telepathy. Had it not been for you, these demons wouldn't have been alerted." Freya said calmly. "She said that instead of destroying the artifact, you went into the demonic portal to claim a demon lord's head. You were foolish to think a demon lord is someone you can take care of easily just because you have the Holy Sword."
Arthur glared at her for siding against him. No rebuttal formed.
"The forces hiding in the sewers were waiting for a signal from Ekterina to alert the others so they had no idea what was going on outside the castle ruins. This was all done to avoid being detected by us. But the moment Lilith warned them through the transmitter they connected to the portals, it was too late to destroy the artifact. Even if we somehow manage to win this, countless tragedies could've been avoided had you simply thought of the empire instead of yourself."
Freya didn't show it but her voice was being magically amplified to the people in the cathedral and across the empire.
They had to know exactly what kind of "Hero" Arthur really was.
"The demons would've retreated if I cut off one of their lords' heads! They know the power of the hero's divine aura!"
"What victory does that give us, Arthur? Tens of thousands have been killed already. We don't even know how many people are hiding in their homes right now, too afraid to answer a knight's desperate call to save them, thinking the knight is a demon disguised as a human to kill them. The demons were manageable before because they were only the people that fell victim to the cult but now that the portals have opened, more have crawled out of the sewers. Any hope the citizens had left was crushed just like that. Do you know how hopeless that feels, Arthur?"
Imagine realizing that the only reason you were going through with this was because of the Hero who thought he could make the demons retreat.
"You saw what happened even if the artifact got destroyed." He reasoned, "I… I thought ahead and thought they must've had some kind of backup plan in case Ekterina sends back bad news."
"Luke would've been able to cleanse the atmosphere with the Holy Sword even if what you say is true."
"What? How!? He's just a kid who hasn't awakened yet! And you don't get to judge me for not knowing, Freya. You wanted us to figure out a plan as if that was going to help!"
"That was before I was certain there were demonic portals right under us," Freya replied, her cold voice cutting through Arthur's shouting. She raised her eyes toward the heavens as the air around them thinned, heavy with the reek of malice. "We could've ended this before the demonic energy rose to the atmosphere but it's far too late now. It wouldn't surprise me if portals opened up aboveground right now."
Before Arthur could utter another defense, the sky vibrated.
Rips in space appeared across the blood-crimson clouds, stretching open like wounds across the firmament.
Demonic creatures were spat out: large worm-like entities that were as large as a palace, flying horrors with disfigured faces, shrieking in unison as they descended in numbers so vast they blotted out the pale light above. Tens of thousands of dark beasts rained down, darkening the red moonlight.
Suddenly, a streak of gold severed the sky, parting the sea of descending monsters in a blinding explosion of holy light.
It was a Valkyrie wielding a sword of pure light, who killed thousands of demons in a single move.
Instead of her purple dress, Guinevere donned golden armor, though only covering her vital areas like her legs, chest and arms. Her midriff and thighs were left exposed, armor often seen among the Valkyrie race.
In the fairytales about this red-haired goddess, it was said that this armor was her [Tribal Armor], something she only wears when intending to go all-out and focus solely on killing while her armor protects her body. She hovered above the horde, her red hair fluttering wildly against the storm of dark energy, completely unfazed by the thousands of eyes locked onto her.
"—Apologies for being late. Now that Arnold's acquaintance took care of Ekterina and Lilith, I can move freely. The artifact will begin sealing the portals soon so get ready to use a skill to purify the empire, Luke. Until then—"
Guinevere made a hand sign of a rune, which made countless arrows of light appear around her, illuminating the sky until the darkness was utterly swallowed by divine radiance.
"I'm going to fulfil my duty as a demigod and massacre these demons."