Chapter 528 The Silent Fall

A strange feeling welled up in Jaca’s chest.

He had run into this young girl unexpectedly while hunting the Sword Saint and his disciples.

At first, he’d paid her no mind, planning to kill her without a second thought—but the moment before he struck, his body froze on instinct……

As a being far above ordinary High-Rank Demons, even in the Demon Realm, Jaca was no trivial presence.

Over endless ages, he had survived countless storms and crises.

In time, beings like him had developed an almost primal danger sense.

This human girl before him……

By every measure, her power should be beneath his own.

And yet……

Why?

This uneasy, prickling sensation—

where was it coming from?

“Who…… are you exactly?”

After a long, silent standoff, Jaca could no longer hold back.

“……”

Her gaze remained calm and unwavering.

The girl answered quietly and plainly:

“Hulim Heyerar…… I have come to kill you.”

“You are my enemy.”

Whoosh~.

Her silver-gray hair drifted gently in the wastelands wind.

Her silver staff turned lightly and pointed straight at Jaca.

“Dare you……”

Enemy?

Jaca’s eyes bored into Hulim, growing colder by the second. His hesitation, twisted by irritation, hardened into icy indifference.

Of course…… Enemy!

“It seems all my subordinates have been killed by you.”

Jaca let out a sudden, low sigh.

“……”

“Indeed…… in this world, you and I are nothing but enemies!”

In that instant,

his rising frustration was forcibly suppressed.

All life in this world was the enemy!

Whoever stood before him was destined to be erased by the demons!

If you are an enemy——

then you must be fought!

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How would she attack?

Was this strange aura a curse? Or some powerful magical artifact?

It no longer mattered!

Whatever tricks she held, he would end this before they could be used!!!

His cold eyes locked onto the girl like frozen steel.

“You’re wide open……”

Boom!!!

A terrifying aura exploded outward. In an instant, monstrous energy spheres condensed between Jaca’s hands.

“Die, enemy——!”

Whoosh——!!!

Before his attack could even fire,

a single red beam pierced straight through his body first.

“Ugh……”

Jaca’s body swayed.

He froze in place.

The attack gathering in his hands faded away slowly.

He looked down, staring in confusion and shock at the gaping hole spreading across his chest.

“This…… cannot be……”

Whoosh~!

A wind swept past.

Jaca’s body vanished without a trace.

Not even a single mark of battle remained on the ground.

The mightiest demon on the continent had disappeared silently in this forgotten corner.

No one knew. No one saw.

“……Strange man. His face kept twisting all over the place.”

Hulim slowly put away the Seven Luminaries and gave a quiet, brief comment.

“Still. He’s finally dealt with. Next……”

Hulim lifted her head and glanced toward the west.

Then she turned and flew east.

Her mission was complete.

It was time to find the presence she had sensed earlier.

……

At the same time that Hulim and Jaca faced off,

in a certain eastern valley.

Sword Saint Arant silently polished his beloved sword.

When he finished, he gently stroked the blade.

“……This will be the last time I polish you.”

“Old friend…… fight with me until the end.”

“Master……”

Armen watched, unsure what to say.

He looked around.

All his fellow disciples stood silent, giving their swords one final check.

The air was heavy and oppressive.

Shing!

Sword Saint Arant swung his sword through empty air.

He watched the sword aura fly into the sky, cutting through passing clouds, then nodded lightly.

“Perfect. I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been!”

“It seems I can give you a proper battle——huh?! What?!”

Shock and confusion flashed across Arant’s face.

“Wh-What is the meaning of this?!!!”

The Sword Saint’s disciples all stood up, staring at him in puzzlement.

“Master, what’s wrong now?” Armen asked quickly.

“Uh……” Arant wore a bizarre expression.

“I don’t know how to put this……

That life-or-death pressure, like the path ahead was completely cut off…… it just vanished.”

“Huh???”

Armen stared blankly.

“It’s gone?”

“Yes, just disappeared…… like it never existed at all. Strange. I’ve never felt anything like this before……”

Arant scratched his head, confused by his own senses.

But Armen’s eyes lit up at once.

The deadly pressure was gone.

That meant……

“We’re safe?!”

“Yeah…… we’re safe!”

“Master! That’s wonderful~! We’re alive!”

“Wonderful? Can’t you see my sword is trembling?!?”

“Come on, is now the time to care about that? We should be happy we survived!”

“You insolent brat!”

Arant shot him a glare.

“It seems I must teach you respect today! All of you—scram! I’m going to teach this whelp a lesson! Draw your sword, Armen——!”

“Eh…… Eh?!”

The other disciples scattered at once.

Before leaving, every one of them wore smiles of relief.

Only Armen let out a miserable wail.

“How did it come to this——!?”

……

……

A desolate wind, carrying sand and dust, swept over the once‑prosperous city.

Hulim walked alone through its broken streets.

All she saw were crumbled walls and ruins.

No other living souls.

No monsters.

Not even the faintest sign of life.

This was Bongisto now.

She paused briefly at a half-broken doorframe.

A shattered sign, half-buried in dirt, still faintly showed the familiar words: Golden Pavilion.

Too bad she would never taste the food inside again.

She walked on.

She passed the Shangus Inn, where she once stayed. She passed the main branch of the Adventurer’s Guild…… Everything familiar, just like the Golden Pavilion, had been reduced to ruins.

At last,

Hulim stopped before a massive crater.

No one could tell what had created it.

The small courtyard where she had once lived with Irus was gone—not even a trace of ruin remained.

“So this is……”

Hulim slowly lifted her head, staring at the distant, deep sky. Over this land shrouded in death, not even birds flew past.

“……the war we have lived through.”

Whoosh~!

A light whirlwind circled around her feet.

As her skirt swayed, Hulim’s body floated gently upward.

She rose high into the sky, among the clouds, before stopping.

“At the very least……”

The Seven Luminaries floated before her eyes, and she closed her hand gently around them.

“Allow me to send you off properly.”

Hum……

The Seven Luminaries burst into radiance.

She looked down, upon the former Bongisto in its entirety.

And then——

“Superior Diffusion: Purifying Light Domain.”