Betrayed, I Met The Demon Lord

Chapter 80 - The Seed

He walked across the reddened, open field, dragging his world sword along the ground, stepping between fallen angels and crushing their wings beneath his boots. The field was awash in crimson, stained with angelic blood. Each step he took splattered more of it across the already-drenched earth.

His path led him to one particular body.

Dauz's.

|I won't... ever give up... I'll stop you...| Dauz's voice echoed through the blood-soaked air, loud enough for Evelyn to hear from the heavens above. Knight approached, looking down at his carved and punctured form.

Evelyn clasped her hand over her mouth, gasping, her eyes turning away from the scene.

|I'll do whatever it takes to bring you back to your senses... We're friends! And I'll make you remember it, one day for sure!| Dauz called, his voice resolute, defiance still burning in his eyes.

Knight stared back silently, meeting his gaze.

"Dauz..."

Evelyn's voice trembled in a mixture of awe and sorrow, drawing Knight's attention upward. For a fleeting moment, he caught the expression in her glowing eyes—sorrowful, yet full of admiration for the fallen angel. Something dark stirred within him, and he turned back to Dauz, gripping his sword tighter.

[It matters not how many times I end your life,] Knight began, his voice hollow as he raised the world sword, its edge aimed at Dauz's mouth.

[...I relish each moment I pierce your flesh, seeing the light leave your eyes every single time.] His voice reverberated inside Dauz's mind, a red spark faintly flaring within the depths of Knight's helmet.

[I will find that boy,] he continued, slowly driving the blade into Dauz's open mouth.

Dauz's eyes widened, a choked gasp escaping him as the sword inched further, deeper.

[And I will end your souls. Permanently.] Knight finished, his words hanging coldly in the air as the world sword pierced through flesh, the sickening sound echoing through the crimson field. Dauz's life drained away in agony, swallowed by the darkness.

Evelyn turned her face away, tears shimmering in her eyes.

[You... Bastard...!!] The goddess cursed as she looked at the scene; as Knight vanished into dark flames. ... Making his way toward the capital.

[No... If he reaches that boy... My plan...!]

"My Goddess..." Evelyn murmured, sensing her distress. "Why must Knight be kept from Van Hellix? He's unprotected, isn't he?"

[Evelyn,] the Goddess replied with a sigh, her golden eyes glinting coldly. [What affects a skill's potency?]

"...The user's mental state," Evelyn responded.

[Correct. A stable mind wields greater power. Magus Veil's passive works just as strongly on children as it does on adults.]

Evelyn's eyes widened. "So... even as children, his offspring would have developed feelings for him?"

[Precisely. For years, Magus Veil's brokenness weakened his influence. But as he raised his daughters, his strength returned, and only then his passives took effect—until he foolishly tried to end his life.]

The Goddess clicked her tongue in irritation.

[Hellix is no different; thus I plan to break him utterly. His strength has become a threat to me and all of Arataxia. He is immortal only because of his passive, Dark Soul. If his mind, his... Soul, shatters beyond repair and he dies in that state, he will not revive.]