Chapter 324 : The Prince's Return

The bottom of the demon realm.

A place where the abyss lurks.

KWAAAAA*

A storm was raging there.

Viola was holding her brother, Bjoern, tightly, struggling not to get caught up in it.

And Sirila was looking at the eye of the storm with trembling eyes.

Her big brother, who had returned from the dead, connected by a bond thicker than blood, was floating in the air, unconscious.

His hair and clothes were fluttering wildly.

An unreadable light was flowing from his wide-open eyes...

It was a brilliant red, then it spewed out a jet-black darkness, then it was tinged with white, then it was tinged with blue, and it repeated shining with a silver light.

Although she didn't know for sure, she could tell that he was fighting a fierce battle in his own way.

She didn't know who he was fighting, but Sirila prayed in her heart.

'Don't lose, Big Brother!'

Then, suddenly, the light that had been flowing out lost its light.

KWAAAAA!

The demonic energy of the abyss, which had been raging like a storm, became even more rampant.

A gaze that had lost its light.

From his mouth, not his voice, but the strange voice of someone else flowed out.

[My victory, you coward.]

"...!"

In that moment.

Hwaaaaaak!

The storm of demonic energy, which had been raging fiercely, rushed in as if to swallow him whole.

As if it had been waiting for this moment.

"No!"

The moment the startled Siri was about to hurriedly chant a prayer.

Paaaaaaat!!

A dazzling light burst from Ashuban.

"Ah!"

"Kuk!"

Not only Viola, but even Sirila, the saint of light, had to close her eyes because the light was so dazzling.

When she opened her eyes again, the storm of demonic energy, which had been raging fiercely, had become quiet as if it had been a lie.

Gooooo—

And in the center, a man engulfed in a red energy was standing in the air.

He looked down at the abyss with his red-hot eyes.

And the abyss, which had been going crazy just a moment ago, bowed its head quietly as if to worship its master.

An eerie, blood-red energy rose from his whole body.

It was an atmosphere where if you made eye contact, you would be torn into thousands, tens of thousands of pieces and die.

Sirila held her hands together and looked up at him.

"...Big Brother?"

The blood-red eyes turned to her.

The moment the worried white and black eyes and the eyes that were burning with an ominously eerie light met.

Ashuban smiled.

At the same time, the ominous energy that had been rising from his body disappeared without a trace.

And the red flame that had been burning in his eyes cooled down.

Ashuban said with a gentle smile.

"Uh, it's me."

And then he walked down the air as if he were coming down the stairs and slowly approached them.

Viola looked at Ashuban, who was walking on air, with her mouth wide open.

Soon, Ashuban, who had come down from the air and stood in front of them, asked.

"Did you wait long?"

Viola, who had been hugging Bjoern, answered with a dazed voice.

"Uh... not that long..."

"Big Brother!"

Sirila rushed to Ashuban and hugged him tightly.

She said in a tearful voice.

"I was so worried that something had gone wrong."

"Haha, sorry. It just happened."

Ashuban, who had comforted her by patting her, put Siri on his back, and then picked up the purple sword that had fallen on the ground and said.

"Let's go. We have no more business here."

Viola, who had been staring at Ashuban, suddenly made a strange sound.

"Uh...?"

"Why?"

"Ah... it's nothing."

Viola answered, blinking her eyes.

"I think I saw something wrong."

"Really? Anyway, let's go. Take good care of your brother."

"Okay..."

Viola tilted her head as she watched Ashuban's back as he walked away, carrying Siri.

"What was that...?"

She was sure she had seen something like an illusion of a red moon floating above his head...

* * *

Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble...!!

The demon realm trembled.

A huge wave that echoed from the deepest place.

It was as if the demon realm was screaming.

It was a tremor on a different level from the trembling just a moment ago.

To the point where the entire capital of the Kingdom of Sorrow, which had grown haphazardly like a shantytown, was shaking.

Some of the houses that had been built too carelessly even collapsed from the vibration.

At the unprecedented situation, all the residents of the Kingdom of Sorrow gathered at the demon realm.

The Demon King, Aktir, who had been watching the pit of the abyss silently with his arms crossed, could not hide his surprise.

"What in the world is..."

The Hero of Light from the Holy Hilka Empire, Lasol Grace, who was standing next to him, had already been muttering an incomprehensible prayer with her hands together for a long time.

"Almighty Hope. Protect me with your light..."

Since she seemed to know what was going on, Aktir nudged her shoulder with his elbow.

"Do you know what's happening?"

Then Lasol raised her head and then muttered quickly, with her eyes shining like a mad person.

"Ah... The time of the prophecy has finally come. The Judge of the Red Eyes has finally broken out of the egg and come into the world. Almighty Father of Light, Hope. I am watching. I am watching with my own two eyes the moment of the prophecy arrive...! Oh, the dawn is breaking!"

She was now shedding tears of holy light from her two eyes.

"..."

Aktir gave up on asking further.

If he went in, it was obvious that Lasol would scold him as before, saying he should never interfere, and since he had no other way, he could only watch quietly.

In the end, he sealed his itching arms by crossing them, and then, after watching the roaring demon realm with a worried expression for a while.

The vibration gradually weakened, and then, in an instant, it became as quiet as a mouse.

"Huh? Hey, angel. It suddenly got quiet. What's wrong?"

Then Lasol suddenly raised her index finger with a very serious face.

"Shh!"

And then she stared at the inside of the demon realm.

At her serious appearance, Aktir shut his mouth, and the murmuring demon race also gradually became quiet.

A strange tension of the calm before the storm flowed near the demon realm.

At the premonition that something was about to happen at any moment, the demon race each held their weapons tightly. With the momentum to swing them at any moment.

The moment the quiet but sharp silence deepened.

Lasol shouted.

"They're coming!"

And at the same time, something shot up from the demon realm.

Was it a bird?

Was it a magical beast with the ability to fly?

It was neither.

It was a person. Flying in the sky.

"...!"

"He's flying!"

"He's floating in the air!"

"What in the world...?!"

On the other hand, Ashuban, who had shot up vertically from the bottom of the abyss, looked around once and blinked his eyes.

"What's going on?"

And then he found the Demon King, who was staring with wide eyes on one side, and then he kicked off the air with light steps and went towards him.

"H-he's walking on air...!"

"What is that black smoke-like thing? It scatters like mist every time he takes a step."

"A deep darkness like the night sky... it's the power of Ketel!"

"It's an apostle sent by Ketel!"

"It's the apostle of the night!"

"To think that the princess's companion is an apostle of Ketel...!"

Soon, those who saw him approaching narrowed their eyes.

"Who are the ones being carried?"

"It's the princess! They said she went down to the demon realm with her companions early in the morning, and she's come back with them."

"Who's next to her?"

"Ah, I saw her the day before. She's the saint of the Hope Cult."

"What? I heard she was the saint of the night."

Just then, someone said.

"Huh? There's one more person."

"That can't be. There were only two guests who came to see the princess."

"Look over there. The princess and the saint are on his back, and he's running, carrying a man."

"Who is it?"

"Uh, that sword... it looks somehow familiar."

Soon, their eyes widened.

"Wow, it's the prince!"

"Bjoern! The lonely guardian of the abyss!"

"It's the prince's purple sword, Purple! No wonder it looked familiar!"

The faces of those who had gathered around the demon realm and were watching were filled with shock.

"He rescued the prince who had been eaten by the abyss? He completely drove out the darkness of the abyss?"

"N-no way!"

"How...!"

Murmur, murmur.

The commotion spread.

"The prince is back!"

"The apostle of the night rescued the prince!"

"Waaaaah!"

"Is this a dream?"

The scene, which had instantly become a crucible of enthusiasm.

Ashuban reached Aktir with a bewildered expression.

"What's going on, really? Why is everyone gathered here and making a fuss?"

But Aktir was not in a state to answer properly.

He looked at his son, who was being held by Ashuban, with a completely dazed expression.

When he had gone down to the abyss and clashed swords with him, trying to talk to him somehow, he couldn't even see his face, engulfed in the darkness of the abyss, let alone have a conversation.

His face, which he could see now, was haggard, but he was sleeping peacefully.

Aktir looked at Ashuban with trembling eyes.

"...Is he dead?"

Ashuban looked at Bjoern, who he was holding in his two arms, once, and at the Demon King once, and then said.

"See for yourself."

Aktir slowly walked over, with his gaze fixed on his son's face, which he was seeing for the first time in a long time.

A silence spread from his carefully taken steps.

It was as fast as the commotion had spread.

The people of the Kingdom of Sorrow quietly watched their king walk slowly, step by step.

Soon, Aktir, who had reached him, brought his trembling hand to his son's face.

Sirila and Viola, who had gotten off Ashuban's back, watched quietly from behind.

Gulp—

A heavy silence where you could even hear someone swallowing dryly.

While one second felt like an hour, the Demon King's mouth finally opened.

"He's... breathing...!"

Cheers spread like wildfire.

"Waaaaah!!"

"Waaaaaaaaak!!"

"The prince is back!"

"He came back alive! He didn't come back as a corpse!"

"If this is a dream, break my head!"

"This is a miracle!"

It was truly a crucible of excitement.

"Ah... Bjoern... my son..."

The Demon King carefully stroked his son's face with his trembling hand.

Ashuban, who had been holding him in his two arms, handed Bjoern over to him, and the Demon King, on his knees, hugged his son, whom he had thought he would never see again, tightly.

"My son... my one and only son..."

Finally, the tears that the Demon King had been holding back flowed down.

"Hwaaaah-eeeeung-eeeeung."

Viola was already crying her eyes out, and Sirila was also sniffling next to her, constantly wiping her eyes.

The people of the Kingdom of Sorrow watched the reunion of their king and prince with red eyes.

Cheers and cries were mixed.

"..."

Ashuban, who had been watching that scene silently for a moment, found the platinum-blonde knight standing in the back.

"? What. Lasol, why are you here?"

The apostle of the sun god said, shedding tears of light.

"Ah, it is truly as it was in the prophecy. To be so radiant while receiving the grace of the night. How dazzling! To the point of tears...!"

"Stop talking nonsense. Aren't you the main enemy of the people here? How are you here?"

"I received the Demon King's permission. I asked him to let me witness the moment of the prophecy."

Come to think of it, the sword that should have been at her waist was not there.

"...So, you came into the middle of the enemy's camp alone, without a weapon, just to watch this scene?"

"That's about right. Ah, I have no regrets. Seeing your gallant appearance, having just broken out of the egg, and having witnessed the miracle you brought from the bottom of the abyss. It was truly worthwhile. I would have regretted it if I had missed it. I can't stand this."

"..."

A Hero of Light in the middle of the demon race, without a weapon.

Could there be a more incongruous sight?

'How absurd.'

And to think that the Demon King had readily allowed this, he was not in his right mind either.

Lasol wiped her tears and held out her hand.

"Congratulations, on breaking out of the egg."

Ashuban chuckled and took her hand.

"Don't mention it."

"You have finally qualified. Now that you have even held the purple sword... the day you will hold the sword of the god-slayer is not far off."

"Ah, speaking of which..."

The moment Ashuban was about to ask, the Demon King called him.

"Ashuban."

"Yes? Why?"

"This guy, he's strangely limp. Is he okay?"

"Ah, that. It's because his bones haven't hardened yet."

"...His bones haven't hardened?"

"Siri says his life is not in danger. He'll get hard soon if he rests."

Aktir blinked his tear-soaked eyes.

What in the world had he done to shatter the bones of a Quadra Horn?

Had he tied him up and beaten him?

"Ah, that..."

Even he couldn't say that he had held his son from behind and beaten him in front of his father.

Ashuban scratched his nose and explained roughly.

"It was to inject the holy spirit..."

"...Holy spirit?"

"Yes, the holy spirit. Have you ever heard of the Holy Spirit Punch?"

"...I think it's better if I don't."

(End of Chapter)