Chapter 40

Seeing the death of all the enemies, Hisashi exhales in relief and dispels his active spells. He calms himself down to disperse his intense bloodlust. Then, he felt a hug from his back and sees Koyori's small hands embracing him tight.

"Why are you here? Why did you come out of the dungeon? What about your mother and father?" Hisashi asks, realizing that he forgot about it. After all, they're the safest in there.

"Someone went to the dungeon! At first, I mistakenly thought that it was you and opened the door! I'm sorry!" Koyori said as Hisashi embraces her in his chest. There, he felt some wetness indicating that she was crying her eyes out. However, it wasn't the time for this as he knows that it was not yet done.

"Who was it, Koyori? And where are they? Answer me, QUICK!" Hisashi said as he adjust Koyori to his shoulder length and focuses his senses to their utmost limit. However, even with his proficiency in Ki, he has detected no other person. Feeling that something is amiss, he concentrates his yoryoku and spread it all over the place, reaching even farther than his Ki's sensing range.

But even then, he felt nothing. Deducing every possibility, he where the attacker possibly was and it was above.

"It was that guy that bad guy in the dungeon!" Hisashi quickly looks up. However, he saw nothing. But what he hears next sends chills down his spine.

"Too late." With Koyori and Hisashi's bodies facing the same area, they didn't manage to see him. The only thing Hisashi was able to process was his brother's and Ryuya's panicking faces as they launched from the ground to run.

Then, he feels something stabbing him in his chest. Looking down, he saw a long, pure white sword protruding out of it.

"Never did I expect the devil's greatest weakness to be their loved ones. How ironic. Can you even feel the love?" Hisashi recognizes the voice to be Usuma's. He now also detected his Ki and it felt similar to Ichika. But… it indeed was too late as the sword disintegrates in the air.

As his body falls down, he sees that he's not the only one that was hit. On the ground, he saw Usuma's demonic face and Koyori's fallen body.

"I want you to feel the pain of losing your loved ones longer. But I won't give you your chance. I know my priorities." Usuma then held out his hand a burst of wind blew away everything in the direction. Still able to use his Ki, he felt Sukehiro and Ryuya's bodies flying meters back. Then, he saw Usuma look at him again.

"Your soul has yet to be destroyed, huh? I expect nothing more than that. But you living after this is inevitable. After all, this power is a gift from God. A divine judgment if you will."

Hisashi heard him but he didn't dare look at him. Instead, he looks at Koyori whose lips were moving. Nothing came out of her mouth but a tear drips out of her eyes. Even without any voice, Hisashi know what she said.

'I'm sorry… I love you.' Finally saying her last words, Koyori's body stopped moving. There was no blood coming out of her mouth nor is there a wound in her chest. But Hisashi knew that Koyori, his childhood lover and future wife, his annoying little fan, and his very first friend has departed her life.

His vision then changed. He saw visions of their very first meeting. He thought at first of it was annoying but now, his heart is happy and in pain at the same time. Then, he saw their times in the dungeon practicing magic, reading books, playing with the artifacts, and doing all sorts of things. Last, but not the least, he saw his memory of himself making Koyori go away… for her safety.

'Am I really the devil? Do I really bring bad luck to people around me? Then why do I bother living? If destruction and doom are all I bring, is there a purpose to giving birth to me? Letting me live?'

Hisashi thought to himself. 'Is this my life flashing before my eyes just like in the sayings? Probably not. I didn't see mother and father, Ichika and Brother, and many others. Maybe it's just bullshit.'

As he thought about fucked up his existence, he didn't notice his consciousness fading away until… blank. There was nothing.

…

On the sky, observing everything. A man in the robe continued floating. Seeing two kids' souls be broken by a white sword made his mouth smile.

"Finally, the vision of the Tree of Qliphoth is back. It seems like everything will now be back to plan. Don't you think so, Astaroth?" The man said as he receive a reply in his mind.

'You better watch out. My powers aren't omnipotent. If such anomaly existed once, another one isn't an impossibility.' Astaroth said in the man's mind.

"Then just like this, I'll extinguish it no matter how many times I have to." The man replies as he turns around.

"Since everything is done, I don't have to waste any more time here." The man said as he disappeared rather quickly from the dark, night sky.

…

Jeime is running as fast as she can. Seeing how slow she was, she regretted not taking her flying artifact she obtained from a foreign land. Although she has seen it, she knows in her mind that something bad is happening right now.

Finally reaching the town, she moved quickly and navigates to look everywhere. There, she saw countless dead bodies either mutilated, slit in the throat, or stabbed in the heart. She wanted to check on them but the more she saw the dead bodies, the faster she looked for Hisashi.

Suddenly, she heard a commotion and a blowing wind near her. She quickly ran towards its direction and when she reached it, her heart stopped.

Not only is Hisashi laying there on the floor along with a young girl which she assumed was Koyori, an entity that is presumably a demon is standing over them. Without any cue, she summons her scroll and gathers her yoryoku. Suddenly, one hundred thousand balls of light appeared above the sky.

[Light Sorcery: Megami no Hjiri Yari] (Goddess' Holy Spear)

It then gathers above Usuma as it forms a large spear made of light. It then came down fast in Usuma's direction and it produced an intense blinding light.