Ein grabbed Laviola’s magic stone. Before he could tuck it away in his chest pocket, the words of his beloved echoed in his head.
“I know you tried to end this all by yourself, but I’m not going to let you do it alone. I never will, Ein. I don’t care if you’re upset with me for traveling to such a dangerous place. I’m going to stay right here, until you come back.”
Krone’s voice quivered with sorrow, stirring Ein’s heart. He tightly gripped Laviola’s stone, and stood back up. He placed the stone into his pocket and took deep breaths to steady himself.
“Sorry, World Tree of Gluttony, but I’ve gotta end this quickly now,” he said.
He was acutely aware that this was a race against time—the longer the battle drew out, the closer he neared defeat. Laviola’s stone began to glow brightly. Guided by the dazzling shimmer, he felt a power course through his veins.
Why? Ein wondered. I didn’t use Absorb. Ever since he was a child, he had tended to unconsciously absorb the stones of those around him. Had his old childhood habit run wild? Or was it a coincidence? It was by sheer luck that Krone had brought the stone to him, but it didn’t surprise him. Understanding his situation, Ein nodded along, but suddenly felt the stone violently pulsating in his hands.
What was that? He could recall that he’d unconsciously absorbed most of the stone’s power upon receiving it from the elven chief. However, he’d stopped himself midway. Much of Laviola’s magical energy remained with the stone—one that shone with a beautiful sapphire sheen. Luckily for the prince, it was this azure magic that had allowed him to move once more.
At the same time, Ein noticed Ishtar glistening in the corner of his eye. After all, this was the very same blade that Laviola’s husband had once wielded. Wait a second... The first king and his consort had finally been reunited, causing an ancient fairy tale to flash across the crown prince’s mind.
“I don’t believe it,” Ein muttered.
“Don’t believe what?” the World Tree asked, tilting his head to one side as he launched another flurry of attacks.
Accompanied by Upaskamuy’s frosty aura, a rain of endless roots and Phantom Hands descended upon the royal. However, the royal in question seemed rather dumbfounded as he easily cut down everything that came his way.
If I fail now, I might die here. What if I can’t even use it in the first place? No, now’s not the time to be second-guessing myself. A myriad of thoughts flooded Ein’s mind as he continued to cycle through a torrent of questions and answers. Finally, he lowered Ishtar.
“You’re finally giving up?” the World Tree asked as one of his eyes twitched. He extended one arm and stretched out his fingers as he spoke icily, “What a boring end to this farce.”
Disappointment. There was no other way to describe how he felt.
“I wanted to fuse with you, even though your acts of resistance have become a nuisance,” he said as another throng of Phantom Hands emerged from his back. They were headed straight for Ein, eager to end him. “But I’ve never thought you’d show me such a blatant display of resignation.”
But before the World Tree could fully voice his disappointment, his face twisted in shock.
“Show you what now?” Ein asked.
The Phantom Hands dissipated in the blink of an eye. Ein hadn’t even swung Ishtar; the tendrils had vanished before they could even reach him and turned into pale particles of light.
“You should’ve lost all of your powers again!” the World Tree shrieked. “How can you negate my attacks?!”
“You’re right,” came a reply. “I’m just the little ol’ powerless Ein you keep yammering on about. But you do know that I still have another skill up my sleeve, right?”
Ein’s Absorb ability had played into his Demon Lord transformation, but every ability he’d absorbed prior to that had been stolen by the World Tree. However, there was a peculiar skill he’d attained after his metamorphosis. The World Tree surely knew about it, but both parties had been convinced that the skill had no combat applications and shoved it aside.
“This little joke of yours isn’t funny at all!” the World Tree shouted.
Another volley of Phantom Hands shot out at the crown prince, but they quickly disintegrated. Ein took a deep breath as his thoughts wandered off to the corporeal world. Far off in the distance stood his beloved nation—a country with a deep love for silver in all its forms. This was enough for Ein to steel his resolve and face down his foe.
“Very well!” the World Tree yelled. “I’ll skewer you with the blade!”
He immediately activated every single skill at his disposal while running ahead with the black sword in hand. The world tree believed that he simply needed to smother his enemy with overwhelming power to walk out victorious.
Ein, on the other hand, was frighteningly calm despite the sword flying at him. History repeated because of me, and for that, I must take responsibility.
“I’m the man who shall ascend to Ishtarica’s silver throne! And as such, I’ll put an end to this feud!” Ein shouted.
As their blades clashed, clusters of jet-black particles and silver lights intermingled with each other. In this exchange, Ein had finally walked away as the victor. The light quickly overtook the darkness, dispelling the void that slowly enveloped the entire world. Shafts of sunlight peeked through the void, as though the sunrise had finally arrived.
“How can you use this much power?!” the World Tree shrieked.
Indeed, Ein hadn’t reacquired any of his lost skills nor had his speed or power improved a single iota. And despite it all, the power gap between the two of them had only grown smaller. In fact, Ein was starting to gain the upper hand.
“That speed...that agility...that accursed silver that burns my flesh! How?!” the World Tree shouted.
“You still don’t get it?” Ein replied.
“Heh heh... Not at all! I should have stripped you of all your power! Even with that king’s power, you can’t possibly stand as my equal!” He glared at Ishtar as it sliced through the air before bracing himself for impact with the black blade. “This time, I’ll take your attack, head-on! I’ll pulverize this so-called heroic power of yours!”
“There’s just this one thing I’ve wanted to tell you...” A silver light spiraled around Ein’s body as the black blade hurtled in his direction. “Don’t get it twisted; I’m no hero!”
And at that moment, the two blades clashed.
“I’m the Demon Lord, one who shall surpass the hero king!” Ein declared.