Ein knew that the hero king had bestowed enough power upon him to turn the tide against the World Tree. He also knew that there was a chance he could carve out his desired future with it as well. The prince was silently thrilled to have been given this opportunity, but the situation had quickly spiraled out of control. The world was crumbling around him, and the edge he’d gained from Jayle had been dulled. As though to prove Ein’s doubts, his enemy gazed at him for the first time with murderous intent.
“As the Demon Lord of the World Tree, I declare that I shall swallow your husk whole.”
The Demon Lord’s hair grew down to his waist, and his bewitching face contained a hint of charm, but he was unable to hide the pure fury and wrath that flickered in his eyes. He smiled calmly and fearlessly as the dark winds around him roared like never before. Then all of a sudden, he vanished.
“It brings me great pride to see your valiance, but...” he started. Even Ein couldn’t keep up with such speed as the Demon Lord appeared behind him.
“What?!” Ein gasped.
“I would’ve loved to see you grovel for your life.”
Suddenly, the crown prince felt as if his back were on fire. He grunted in pain, but he wasn’t burned—the heat came from the blade that vertically sliced into him. The searing pain caused his face to contort in agony, but the prince bit his lip to stifle his voice. He twisted his body and swung Ishtar upward, but to no avail.
Despite the powerful silver winds that enveloped Ein’s being, the Demon Lord decided to take the potentially deadly blast head-on. The hand that gripped the blade’s hilt was charred, and fresh, black blood spurted into the air. And yet, the Demon Lord smiled.
“Not bad at all,” he said. He smiled down at Ein as the boy fought through the agonizing pain. Metaphysically, the crown prince was just a little shorter than the Demon Lord. “I yearn for more. Paint your face with despair.”
Ein twisted his body around and nimbly leaped to the side as he raised his sword once more.
“It makes me so happy,” the Demon Lord said. “You’re but a shell of myself, and yet you show me your own splendor.”
I’m up against a Demon Lord, and one stronger than Arshay, the Nightmare of Envy, at that. This man was right on the cusp of becoming a deity within the spiritual world.
“Gah... Ah...” Ein grunted as the Demon Lord blocked his attack.
All the Demon Lord did was swing his blade to the side, but his raw power and speed was unmatched. Ein couldn’t even defend himself as he was brought to his knees. The silver flames that enveloped Ishtar were now hardly effective against the Demon Lord, and as the world continued to collapse, its light was reduced to a feeble flicker.
“I’m shocked,” the Demon Lord said as he placed a hand over his own cheek. Feeling a searing warmth upon touching his face once more, he could feel his black blood gushing from the wound. “Where in the world is that power of yours coming from?”
“Huff... Huff...” Ein panted.
“Take a look. There’s almost nothing left in this world. What remains is only a mere fraction of what it was when you first arrived.”
“So what?”
“While my power grows, yours continues to leave you... And yet, how in the world are you able to harm me? The hero king’s power can indeed kill me, but a feeble man like you can only dream of wielding such might.”
As he stood now, Ein’s stamina couldn’t hold a candle to his gusto as a young child. In fact, he was even weaker than he had been during his encounter with the Sea Dragons.
“How are you still standing?” the Demon Lord asked. “You’ve lost all your skills, and you’ve regressed into a normal boy. You’re just Ein, a piddly human who managed to borrow the hero king’s power after losing your Demon Lord abilities. You’ve been reduced to such a pitiful state, and I can’t seem to understand what propels you to press on.”
“Even so...” Ein muttered.
“Hmm?”
“Even so, I can’t give up here!”
The silver wind that the crown prince brought forth was frail and weak. He could barely grip Ishtar, and even his legs were wobbly and unstable. He just managed to take a step forward, and yet his spirit and determination hadn’t waned.
“You’re starting to wow me, Ein,” the Demon Lord said.
If Ein relaxed now, he was worried that he’d fall. Not to mention that the Demon Lord before him still had his guard up. He was ready to counter Ein’s attacks with a thrust of the black blade at any time. The crown prince allowed the Demon Lord to come close, only to brush past him.
“This is where it ends,” Ein said.
The Demon Lord had meant to skewer Ein’s throat, but he could hardly believe what he saw. “You...dodged my attack?!”
“Make no mistake, you were born from me!”
Ein dodged the attack at the last second and plunged Ishtar into his foe. The feeble crown prince couldn’t ram the sword through the Demon Lord’s heart, but he’d managed to cut away his armor. With the Demon Lord now exposed, the silver wind had regained its effectiveness.
The Demon Lord hastily swung his sword and pushed Ein away. For the first time, the man had been brought to his knees.
“Gah...” the Demon Lord grunted.
Oddly enough, the two men were facing each on one knee—their posture may have been similar, but their expression couldn’t have been more different.
“I told you to make no mistake,” Ein said boldly as he gritted his teeth against the pain and stood up. Never had he looked this confident and brave. “I made you. Aside from the fact that you’re the Demon Lord, our powers are the same.”
“So what? It still makes no sense that you were able to hurt me,” the Demon Lord spat.
“Hah, you still don’t get it, do you?”
Their swordplay might have been equal, and Ein was only weaker because he clearly neared death. But that didn’t mean that he was completely helpless. He stood up before the Demon Lord could and gripped Ishtar.
“You truly are...” the Demon Lord started.
“Yep, I just need to get stronger as we fight,” Ein replied. “If we were on equal footing up until this point, this would’ve been more than enough.” His magical energy and stamina had sapped away, but his ingrained skills couldn’t be pried away from his still-warm hands. “I told the first king that I would surpass you.”
This was the oath that he’d sworn to Jayle.
“If I lost to you, it’d make me a liar,” Ein said.
“Heh. Ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha!” the Demon Lord guffawed. “Is that so? So in this battle, you surpassed yourself and became stronger, eh? I see!”
The Demon Lord finally rose to his feet. His wounds had healed, and Ein sighed—he’d seen this coming.
“I’ll retract my statement of calling you a husk,” the Demon Lord said. “Even if you’ve had everything stripped from you, the valor that wells up in your heart is beautiful.”
Those words reminded Ein of his childhood days, when he was thought of as his household’s inferior older brother. Thanks to his Gift of Training and copious use of Toxin Decomposition EX, he had been able to gain more power. However, when all of his skills were stripped from him, he was left with very little.
Yet, even so, Ein took a step forward. He moved ahead to defeat the Demon Lord.
“Everything I’ve worked towards hasn’t been for nothing,” Ein said.
Another furious clash of swords ensued. He dodged the Dullahan’s powers and Upaskamuy’s ice, avoiding a fatal blow in the process.
“All of my skills might be gone, and I might just be a regular kid now, but I’m still Ein... And I’m not going anywhere.”
As he thought back on everything, Ein realized that he’d lived a life filled with excitement. He crossed the sea, became a royal, was lauded as a hero after defeating the Sea Dragon, scoured the continent in search of the truth, and met people from all walks of life along the way. More than anything else, these memories had become irreplaceable treasures to him.
“I won’t let you take everything away from me... Not anymore,” Ein said. “And to prevent that, I won’t lose to you.”