Book 2: 359

Book 2: Chapter 359

“...!”

Lukas forcibly suppressed his heart which seemed to want to leap out of his throat.

Standing in the centre of the clearing was a white skeleton wrapped in a ragged black cloak which rippled like a shadow.

...Diablo.

“...I think he knows we are here.”

“That’s probably the case.”

“Hmm.”

Iris made a soft sound in her throat before stepping forward into the clearing without any hesitation. Lukas followed her.

[...]

As they expected, Diablo wasn’t surprised.

He just turned his flickering eyes towards them.

“Are you pretending to be the God of Death in the moonlight? Diablo.”

[I despise the word God. Honestly, I’d prefer if you called me the Guide of Death instead.”

“Hmph.”

Iris still had a smile on her face, but her displeasure was obvious.

“It’s been a long time since we were able to meet like this.”

[That’s right. Because I didn’t want to take part in your little tea party.]

“...I’ve been trying to understand just what’s going through your head, but I can’t. So this is your chance to tell me yourself. Why the hell are you doing this? Is it a pursuit of nihilism? A desire to see the end of all life?”

[Even if I explain it, you won’t understand... None of you will ever understand.]

“You didn’t even try to explain. That’s all your own assumption. Typical lunatic logic.”

It was at this moment that Lukas muttered in a soft voice.

“Be careful.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Diablo is a thorough man. There has to be a reason why he chose to appear so openly.”

“You talk as if you know him.”

“...”

“In any case, I know that already. But this time is different. Diablo has too much confidence in his own power. It is overconfidence.”

No. That wasn’t the case at all.

Lukas was well aware of how powerful Iris was.

Black magic, demon summoning, and authority over space. While none of them were special in their own right, her level of skill with them was by no means small.

However, when it came to black magic, Diablo was no less knowledgeable than Iris was.

Her demon summoning ability would also be of no use in this situation. To be a threat to Diablo, the demon would have to at least be on par with the Lords of the Demon World, but they couldn’t be summoned since they had all died during the war with the Demigods. Several high level demons would not be enough to threaten Diablo.

And finally, her authority of space could be considered the most powerful among the group, but 9 star Wizards had some level of resistance to it... but that wasn’t all.

Part of the reason was the strange feeling that Lukas was currently experiencing which he was almost reluctant to put into words.

“...Lucid?”

The colour quickly drained from her face.

Why the hell... was he like this?

As if oxygen stopped being supplied to her brain, Iris’ thoughts were completely paralysed.

This created a small, but nonetheless fatal, gap.

At the very least, the gap was enough for a Sword Master like Lucid to take his opponent’s life.

After that, everything happened in a blink of an eye.

Paak!

Iris felt someone push her, causing her to roll several times across the ground. Her hair, which had always been perfect, was messed up.

“Ugh...”

Staggering, Iris got to her feet.

“Were you hurt?”

She heard Lukas’ voice.

He had saved her. Her pride was bruised once again, but now was not the time to argue about that.

Iris answered with a cough.

“Yeah. Thanks. You saved my life.”

“...right.”

But at that moment, Iris felt something damp on her palm.

It was warm.

This...

‘Blood?’

Both of her palms were covered in bright red blood.

Of course, it wasn’t her blood.

Iris’ quickly raised her head.

She immediately caught sight of Lukas’ pale complexion which was no different from that of a corpse.

“...still.”

His bloodless lips trembled.

“You still dislike unexpected situations.”

“Ah...?”

His lips were stretched in a gentle, bloody smile.

The now bloodied Lukas Trowman looked into her eyes.

“...but... I’m glad you didn’t get hurt.”

And with those words, he collapsed to the ground.

(TL: Which death number is this? Anyone keeping track?)

(PS: 4 Chapters to go before you guys finally start getting the uncut chapters.)