Chapter 244


    “I wonder—who would have guessed that such a ce would be hidden just below the Imperial Pce?” Ghad stepped away from the two hundred fully-armored knights and looked around. “I’m really d I’m with you today, Joshua.”


    “I feel the same.”


    A satisfied smile came to Ghad’s lips.


    “ording to the Tower Master of the Magic Tower, this ce might be rted to the demons. They are different from any enemy we have ever faced before, so we have to be very careful.” Ghad gave Joshua a sidelong nce and continued. “However, His Majesty sends the Legendary Spearman with me, so I don’t think there’s any reason for me to be afraid of anything.”


    “This way!”


    They both turned around. The voice came from one of the knights that they had sent to scout up ahead. It seemed that the knight had been waiting for them.


    “That stone gate.” Ghad’s finger pointed at it.


    A snake? A wolf? A terrifying creature was emzoned on the gate, and its jaws gaped in a way that defied description.


    “That image seems quite simr to descriptions of ‘Amon’...”


    “Amon… the highest-level demon?” Joshua’s eyes widened slightly.


    Ghad nodded with a stiff look. “We all know the top fifty demon rankings, and they barely change as well. Amon has proudly maintained the 7th position for over a thousand years now. In terms of purebat power, Amon might be slightly stronger than the demons above him, ording to the Tower Master.”


    The two soon arrived in front of the stone gate.


    “Ah, isn’t this ce technically ripe for exploration? Who knows, maybe we’ll find Hell or the Demon Realm. And if anything goes wrong… It’s up to us to stop it.”


    Ghad produced a sinuous key reminiscent of a snake’s tail and nervously held it in his hand. “Are you ready?”


    “Yes.” Joshua nodded.


    “Then… I’ll open it now.” Ghad slowly inserted the key. It slipped in remarkably smoothly, even for a custom-made key, and when it was turned, the rumbling of unknown mechanical devices could be heard.


    However…


    “W-wait…!” Joshua urgently called out upon noticing something strange.


    The air had rapidly be heavier. Joshua’s highly tuned senses were telling him that something was amiss.


    <em>‘Something is wrong…’</em>


    Without hesitation, Joshua’s trembling hands grabbed Ghad, and they were quickly devoured by a crimson light afterward.


    ***


    “Get off me…”


    Joshua heard a barely-audible moan a moment before Ghad’s eyes slowly opened.


    “Are you out of your mind?! Where are we?” Ghad eximed.


    “We’re probably beyond that stone gate…”


    “We went inside the stone gate?” Ghad said nkly. He grabbed his throbbing head and asked, “Where are the others? What are these statues?”


    “It’s just the two of us here. And…” Joshua nced around.


    Numerous bizarre stone statues were strewn around the capacious cavern. They bore characteristically demonic features: protruding canines, a pair of horns protruding from their bare heads, and a pair of wings. If Joshua’s knowledge was urate, then they were…


    “Gargoyles.”


    Ghad flinched. “Gargoyles? The ones they call the watchmen of hell?”


    “That’s not all.” Joshua gestured with his chin. “There’s not a single exit in sight. The stone gate is also nowhere to be seen.”


    “...!” Ghad quickly looked around and eximed, “Is this real? Are we really trapped?”


    “Shh… It’d be nice if we only got trapped. Unfortunately, I think this ce is going to copse sooner orter.”


    Ghad’s eyes widened when he noticed the cracks in the ceiling. Ghad could already deduce from a single nce that…


    “...It’s going to copse from the slightest shock.” Ghad let out a heavy, pained groan. “Damn it!”


    “It looks like we need to get there first.”


    “There?” Ghad looked up and frowned. Joshua was pointing at a rectangr statue. “Are you kidding me?”


    “...”


    Ghad looked pale as he stared at the silent Joshua and continued. “It’s just a rock right now, but if it’s a gargoyle, it’ll wake up as soon as we’re in range. Do you know what that means?”


    ”The only way we can cut that hard thing is with aura, and that’s not really a problem. The issue is that we’ll definitely get buried alive once that monster wakes up and copses the ceiling above us!”


    Each gargoyle boasted a size of over five meters, and there were at least fifty of them here. With the cracks all over the cavern, the oue was obvious if the gargoyles were to wake up at once and started going rampant.


    “It’s not like there’s no way out.” Joshua swung his spear lightly. His eyes sparkled as he said, “There are exactly 53 gargoyles in a hundred-meter radius around us. We just have to destroy them all in one go.”


    “Are you crazy?” Ghad spat. “You want to gamble at a time like this? Are you sure you’ll be able to time it right? If you miss even one, we’re done for!”


    “Don’t worry about the timing.”


    “<em>Huh?</em>”


    “I’m not going to split them in half.”


    Ghad seemed dumbfounded as he tried to figure out what Joshua was trying to say.


    “Anyway, I can do it on my own,” added Joshua.


    “Pffft!” Ghad couldn’t help butugh. “<em>Hahaha!</em>”


    Joshua’s words sounded so absurd that it was hrious.


    There was a reason why gargoyles were known as the watchmen of hell.


    Unlike most demons, gargoyles weren’t shrouded in secrecy.


    It was true that they remained rtively unknown until recently when they were discovered in ancient ruins, old buildings, and even in the tombs of long-lost dynasties.


    However, they all had something inmon. A single gargoyle was extremely powerful. There was even a report of how a single gargoyle ripped two B-ss Knights into shreds.


    “I thought you won’t have to fear anything since you’re with the Legendary Spearman?” said Joshua with a smile.


    Ghad hesitated. “Well—”


    “This will be the first time I’m going to show you my true power. Funny, isn’t it?”


    “...!” The older knight just gaped at Joshua. It was a truly strange attitude. That posture made it look like he couldn’t even wield his spear; not that he looked weak, but he was practically dragging it along the ground.


    “I reached some kind of enlightenment recently. And this…” Joshua slowly—very slowly—rotated the spear.


    The spearheads were still being still dragged along the ground, but when the spear stopped moving, Ghad heard a faint crack echo inside the cave.


    However, before he could even react, an embroidery of fine crimson lines emitted a burst of crimson light within the cavern. Ghad’s eyes widened when he saw hundreds—no, thousands of crimson lines.


    There was no mistaking it. Joshua’s spear had carved those crimson lines.


    “This is the result of my enlightenment,” said Joshua.


    Ghad finally discovered the grim truth as he watched the gargoyles slowly crumble into dust. Joshua had faced numerous challenges throughout the years, but never, not even once, had he ever shown everyone his true power.


    ***


    The scenery changed once again.


    Joshua was kneeling in a dense forest as blood dripped down his lips. He was surrounded by four men and a woman.


    “Joshua,” Ghad opened, “do you remember the treasure we found in the ruins of Amon back then? Well, you said it was more of a cursed tool rather than a treasure, and it’s funny because you’re still going to die here.”


    “<em>Ptoooey!</em>” Ghad retreated as Joshua spat another mouthful of blood.


    Ghad was in a good mood. All of Joshua’s questions made sense to him now, and he was happy to say farewell to his friend. Ghad’s concerns were finally about to end.


    “I have always been afraid. The sight of that damned spear alone makes me feel like I’m going mad!”


    Ghad had to admit it. It didn’t really matter because it was the end of his source of fear.


    Now, it became clear that he respected Joshua not because of thetter’s Superhuman capabilities nor of his great achievements. It was all because he had always felt inferior and afraid in front of thetter.


    As an explosion engulfed Joshua, Ghad smiled brightly. It was probably the brightest smile that Ghad had ever revealed in his life.


    ***


    This stage was created for the debt of that fateful day.


    Joshua’s hollow eyesnded on Ghad.


    “Atst, the time hase…” Joshua started. “I will end you with the technique you feared so much.”


    <em>ng!</em>


    There was an audible ng as Lugia’s spearheads collided with the floor.


    Joshua stared at Ghad, seemingly disgusted as he said, “It’s a bit disappointing to know that you will meet your end today. I didn’t want to end things just like this, you know? Anyway…”


    Joshua transmitted his voice using mana into Ghad’s ear.


    Ghad trembled as if he had been struck by lightning.


    “H-How?!”


    “It’ll be quick, but I guess I’m more than satisfied to see that kind of look on your face.”


    “How do you know that?! Tell me!” Ghad screamed.


    Joshua smirked. Ghad’s expression was a mirror image of Joshua’s own at the end of his previous life.


    “Nope, I’m not telling you. Please, die curious for me,” said Joshua as he made his move.


    Joshua could sense Knight Commander Rod approaching him at breakneck speed, but it was already toote.


    Knight Commander Rod stretched his hand out and screamed. “No!”


    [When the battle is done, when blood and flesh are dust on the wind,


    Weep not for lives severed,


    Weep not for memories lost,


    Because of you, your shining example, thisnd will remain secure.


    Thy noble sacrifice, I will remember.


    In the deepest depths of the earth, sacred souls of the restless dead,


    Pour out thy resentment through this spear.


    Spear Art: Oblivion.


    - A tribute to the dead.]


    Finally, the spearheads of the crimson spear collided with the floor once more.


    Amidst the tapestry of crimson lines, Lugia’s enthralling performance finally ended as it pierced Ghad’s heart.<blockquote>


    Persephone''s Thoughts


    Unedited</blockquote>