Chapter 295: Blessing of the Miracle (1)

“Aaaah, no…!”

Kuarne screamed as if he were having a seizure.

The stars, the splendid sky adorned with humanity’s wishes, watched him as if he were an insect.

“Oh Sword God! Why did you renounce your divinity and choose to remain human?”

In the middle of the battlefield, his heart-wrenching cry echoed repeatedly. The more he did so, the more the demons’ morale plummeted.

It was no wonder; their leader, instead of guiding them, had massacred his allies and was now throwing a tantrum like a child.

“Second Corps Commander!”

An elderly vampire, unable to bear it any longer, shouted from the rear. His eyes blazed as he revealed his sharp fangs.

“You, who claim to lead the Demon King’s army! What the hell are you doing? At this point, we don’t even know if your goals align with ours. Speak clearly. If you’ve been deceiving all the demons, the vampire clan won’t stand idly by!”

The vampires gathered behind the elder like a plague of rats. They, too, showed their bloodshot eyes and unleashed all kinds of insults.

“Do you think being strong is enough to have everything, you damned incomplete angel?”

“Since I saw your face, not knowing if you were a man or a woman, you already gave me a bad feeling.”

“…Hey, didn’t you say yesterday that after the war you were going to confess your love to Lord Kuarne?”

“Shut up.”

“Ah, we miss you, eternal Lord of Gehenna, Lycan…”

The spark of war extinguished in an instant. Not only the vampires but also other demons who had lost the will to fight joined them.

It seemed like the end of a commander betrayed by his troops.

The demons’ voices grew louder. Most were direct criticisms of Kuarne.

“Lord Kuarne…”

His loyal follower, Herya, looked at him sadly. Kuarne was her creator.

And now, he had become an object of ridicule. She felt bitterness in her mouth.

Even so, she couldn’t approach him.

She only took false steps from the same spot.

‘I can understand why the demons are angry. Even if I don’t want to admit it…’

All the criticisms were valid. In fact, wasn’t it Kuarne who caused this disaster?

‘This time, Lord Kuarne was the one who provoked it.’

Herya nodded slightly. She had learned about emotions through that conversation with Kang Geom-Ma, and now she knew how to apply judgment to situations. She had learned to distinguish between right and wrong.

Her blind trust in her lord had begun to crack.

“…This is ridiculous.”

Changseong murmured as he rested the spear on his shoulder. He was panting heavily, and with each breath, his spear swayed rhythmically. He had many minor wounds, but none were fatal.

“How the hell is this going to end?”

From the look of things, it seemed a civil war was emerging among the demons.

Changseong let out a dry laugh. He had a bitter taste in his mouth, as if he had left a task unfinished. Even so, thanks to this unexpected pause, the heroes could take a brief rest.

Both sides were exhausted. All living beings, without exception, eventually deplete their energy. The fatigue caused by war affected both humans and demons.

The war had entered a phase of temporary stagnation.

‘And meanwhile, that idiot Kuarne keeps writhing on the ground.’

Changseong frowned and sharpened his gaze. Was that guy really the same one who had everyone trembling just a while ago? Even if he wasn’t, why was Kuarne acting like a possessed man?

Changseong looked up at the sky. Countless stars moved in formation, as if responding to someone’s will. In over seventy years, he had never seen a work of art that came close to that image.

‘Heavenly Sword… it’s you.’

Changseong smiled. And as if responding to his smile, a star twinkled. It was at that moment that everyone, including him, felt a chill run down their spines.

“Ah… I see.”

Kuarne suddenly changed his expression. The same one who moments ago was screaming in anger now showed an expressionless, almost inhuman face.

Kuarne looked around. His pupils shone like those of a snake. A chaotic and uncontrolled murderous energy struck both heroes and demons equally.

“It seems I was wrong. Not only this academy tried to stop that man. It was this entire world. It was because of insignificant creatures like you that he couldn’t detach himself from the earthly world.”

Kuarne began to speak in an exalted tone. Both heroes and demons, as if they had agreed on something beforehand, gripped their weapons tightly. Their bodies reacted before their minds.

‘A wild beast is approaching.’

Everyone thought the same. Both sides surrounded Kuarne, forming a concentric circle. Although he was surrounded by walls of humans and demons, Kuarne smiled with contempt. One blinded by love sees nothing else.

“…If I destroy everything, …if I eliminate any place he can return to, …then he will have no choice but to become the world’s master.”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

The leader of the dark elves, Rog, interrupted his words. He and the dark elves had naturally blended with the heroes’ forces. Except for the ears, their appearances were similar enough not to cause too much dissonance.

“Even if it’s you, facing all of us alone is impossible. We already knew you’d lost your mind, but now you don’t even understand the situation?”

“Are you the leader of the dark elves?”

Kuarne gave a soft smile. He cried and then laughed. His emotions were as changeable as the wind.

“It’s the second time we’ve met since the Nephilim Temple, right? You look well.”

“Do you remember what you told me then?”

“I’m sorry, I was a bit upset.”

“You swore you’d exterminate all dark elves if you saw us again!”

Kuarne stroked his sharp chin and replied.

“I think I did say something like that.”

“Because of those words, we were forced to hide among humans.”

“As good treacherous dark elves, it was a wise decision. If you had hidden in the Demon Realm, you wouldn’t be standing now.”

“Exactly. And thanks to that, you’ll die here. Also, from how you boast, you’re already finished, Kuarne. No, I don’t even want to call you that… Azazel.”

“Pure bluster…”

Kuarne let out a dry laugh.

“Even for me, facing all of you with just my power is impossible.”

He admitted it bluntly.

“…But, if ‘he’ is with me, I have more than enough.”

Kuarne’s eyes shone with a golden color. At that moment, everyone screamed in unison and lunged. Spears and swords attacked him furiously, while spells of all kinds of attributes rained down like a storm. Metal clashed, and the crashes rumbled.

Ting. Ttittitting.

Everything was blocked. Kuarne had created a barrier. Although the radius was small, he made it thick enough to defend himself.

But this was only temporary. Humans and demons cooperated better than expected. The barrier was just a momentary solution.

Crack—

As if an egg were breaking, the barrier was already beginning to crack. Some sharp blades and magical sparks slipped through the fissures.

‘Humans and demons originated from the same source.’

Kuarne knew well the process by which they separated. Not only did he know it, but he had also contributed to it as a divine emissary. He was one of those responsible for dividing them.

‘And there was another one.’

A malicious smile appeared on Kuarne’s lips. The combined effect of blessings and spells soon manifested. The barrier was finally destroyed.

“We broke it! Everyone, advance!”

Just as the sharp weapons were about to strike him, Kuarne completed a spell he had been secretly muttering.

Boom. Suddenly, a coffin fell from the sky. Dust surged violently. It crushed the demons at the point of impact completely. The sheer size of the coffin made it clear how heavy it was.

With a rusty creak, the lid tilted. Through a two-finger-wide gap, five fingers emerged, gripping the edge like eagle claws.

Wherever those fingers passed, the metal bent like aluminum. Then, the hand violently pushed the door to the side. The lid flew off and embedded itself into the bell tower of a nearby tower.

Ding, ding, ding. Three sacred chimes. A gust of wind swept away all the dust, and at last, the figure emerging from the coffin was revealed.

A man walked out. His eyes were covered in a white haze, his pupils unfocused. Every step he took made the ground tremble.

“You’ve come.”

Kuarne welcomed him with open arms. His hair fluttered like a peacock’s tail.

“Brother.”

The sacred-winged Metatron had arrived.

His mere presence tilted the balance of battle.

***

Leon van Reinhardt blinked. He had been left alone on the moon.

The moment the lightning flashed, Kang Geom-Ma had vanished.

It didn’t take long to realize something was wrong.

Leon looked at his abdomen. The blood that had once flowed like stagnant water had stopped. The inner voices were gone.

“The entities that resided in my body are leaving.”

Divinity was fading. His body and mind felt as light as a feather.

‘What the hell is going on…?’

His mind was a mess. Regret struck him late. The gods’ absence now filled him with remorse.

Being alone in the dark space only intensified the agony and loneliness.

“…What have I done?”

Leon’s knees gave way. He collapsed and began to cry. His sobs spread softly over the moon’s grey surface.

‘I have to fix this.’

He didn’t know how. Maybe killing himself right there was best. But he didn’t want to.

“The reason Kang Geom-Ma left me alive…”

It meant he had to accept punishment instead of death. Somehow, Leon understood Kang Geom-Ma’s intent without him ever saying it. Even though they had barely exchanged words.

“I’m a hypocrite.”

Leon confessed to the void of space. The echo repeated several times as if underlining his words.

“A traitor who abandoned humanity out of revenge.”

He continued confessing. Nausea churned in him. Every word felt more disgusting than vomit.

It was a necessary process. Humans learn right from wrong through judgment. No punishment means anything if you don’t grasp it yourself. One must dissect themselves completely. That is the true beginning.

“……!”

Leon felt a cold sweat run down his back. Even though the gods had abandoned him, his body still contained divinity. His perception surpassed that of any human.

“It’s my father.”

Leon murmured, looking toward Earth. A massive spiral cloud formation concentrated at one point—the Joaquin Academy. That’s where his father, Metatron, was.

He didn’t know why he had appeared now, but unease tensed his body.

‘I must return to Earth somehow.’

Leon used his staff like a cane to lift himself. His body wobbled. His legs didn’t respond, like a deflated balloon. It was only natural, having exhausted himself on a cosmic scale. His physical condition was a wreck.

He punched his thigh. Broken machines can be fixed with a hit, but the human body can’t. It only left a dark bruise.

“Please.”

Leon was desperate. Even if the universe was empty, if his voice could reach someone.

Step.

He felt a presence right beside him. He turned his head sharply. His blue eyes shrank like grains of rice.

Kang Geom-Ma gave him a light nudge on the shoulder. His aura was completely different. His eyes were as dark as the cosmos.

They didn’t hold a single universe—but many.

“Let’s go.”

Something that shouldn’t be happening.

“We’ll talk later, when we get back.”

The hero witnessed a miracle.