Chapter 99 - Operation Rescue Hillen Cargill

Hillen Cargill had always been confident.

When he first awakened as a hero, he considered himself special. There were thousands of heroes, but those thousands had been selected with the utmost care from the countless living beings on the continent. And Hillen Cargill was one of the rare few blessed with multiple talents.

An affinity for mana. An understanding of magic. And an understanding of aura, along with physical talent and keen senses.

He had learned lightning magic and aura together, becoming one of the few spellswords.

For all his blessed talents, he had not risen to prominence overnight, but he quickly established himself as a hero. After killing the Demon King of Lust and becoming one of the few survivors, his reputation, previously confined to Hilderan, began spreading across the entire continent.

From then on, his path was smooth.

He had suffered a failure he preferred not to remember upon meeting the Demon King of Hellfire, but in the end, it had proved a blessing in disguise. He amassed countless achievements and killed the Beast Demon King. He became an Argan of the Heroes' Guild and the first to save a princess just before she was abducted.

It was time not merely to walk his path, but to sprout wings and soar. The affair in the snowfields should have made that happen.

'I... I...'

Hillen Cargill breathed heavily. His feet sank deep into the snow with every step. The fierce blizzard obscured his vision. He shook the snow from his head, but before long it was white again.

He ducked at the sight of a hazy shape in the distance, then crawled slowly closer. Through the blizzard, he caught the monster's scent.

'A yeti.'

One of the most common monsters in the snowfields. They did not live in packs, so there probably weren't any others nearby. But the moment he killed it, other monsters would smell the blood and swarm toward him. Most would likely be servants of the Demon King of Bitter Cold searching for him.

'I have to avoid it.'

He needed to steer clear of combat. Fortunately, the yeti hadn't spotted him. Suppressing his presence as much as possible, Hillen crawled in a wide arc around it.

'Am I even going the right way?'

It had already been a week since the monsters started chasing him. To escape, he had to head south. But his pursuers—demons, demonic creatures, and monsters alike—were relentless, and he had no leisure to think about directions as he fled.

He still had plenty of food in his storage dimension, and reserves of stamina and mana, but the tension and cold wore him down day by day.

'How did it come to this?'

Everything had been perfect right up until they reached the tower. Then its unopened doors swung open on their own, and hell began.

Two high-ranking demons attacked Hillen Cargill. When he handled them without trouble, three came at him. When he held out against those as well, four charged him.

By the time he barely escaped their pressure, the battle was already over. The Red Hawk had scattered, their survival uncertain, and Gillian Aint had lost an arm. Supporting their wounded leader, the White Eagles broke through the encirclement.

Cursing, Hillen Cargill fled with Granada, who had at least stayed by his side. Perhaps because of the White Eagles' fierce resistance, the encirclement had loosened considerably. The two barely escaped, but the vast horde of monsters pursuing them inevitably forced them apart.

'I wish they'd all go after that elf instead.'

The Demon King would be furious, but surely he valued Hillen more than the elf anyway.

Yet the exact opposite happened. So many monsters and demonic creatures chased Hillen rather than Granada that he could only wonder why.

After that, he barely remembered how he had made it this far. He had simply fled, fought, and fled again. They swarmed him without giving him a moment to breathe, and he painted a red trail across the white snow with their blood and his own.

Whether it was a blessing or a curse, without the blizzard fierce enough to blot out his vision, he would not even have gained this brief respite.

'What should I do?'

If he'd known it would come to this, he never would have listened to Gillian Aint. No, he should have listened when the Demon King tried to stop him.

'He must have known the Demon King of Bitter Cold had this many servants, and that most of the snowfields were her territory, right?'

They were both Demon Kings, so surely he had. That must have been why he tried to stop him.

'Damn it...!'

Perhaps the Demon King had known he would fail. Perhaps he had been laughing at him inwardly.

'I will make it back alive.'

He wanted too much to give everything up like this. He had yet to become the greatest hero.

It happened then.

RUMBLE

The snowflakes trembled. Hillen stopped moving. Holding even his breath, he slowly surveyed his surroundings. The blizzard limited his vision, but as he waited calmly, shadows appeared in the distance.

GRRR

Ice drakes and ice trolls.

Groups of monsters normally bitter enemies were slowly approaching in a broad formation. That impossible sight meant they were the Demon King's servants.

Hillen estimated their course. It crossed his position. Could he get away without being spotted?

Impossible. If he stood up and ran, they would see him, and crawling was too slow.

What if he fought?

He was confident. Exhausted as he was, he could kill a mere few dozen monsters and escape. The problem was the time combat would cost him, and the other hordes their cries and blood would draw.

'Shit...!'

Hillen dug into the snow and slipped inside. Fortunately, the snowfields were buried deep, and more snow was falling even now. Quietly but swiftly, he burrowed downward. Fresh snow covered his tracks, erasing them in moments.

How far had he descended? He felt heavy, pounding vibrations. The monsters were passing directly overhead. He stilled his breathing even further. The vibrations rapidly faded, and only when he could no longer feel them at all did he sigh in relief.

"... Am I safe?"

"Do you think so?"

"...!"

Hillen's eyes widened at the chilling voice in his ear. He summoned mana and unleashed lightning. But no one was there.

"Come up."

He sensed someone overhead. Unconcealed demonic energy—and immensely powerful at that.

'A high-ranking demon.'

Why hadn't he noticed until the enemy was so close? There were plenty of excuses. He had focused solely on the monsters, or suppressed his own detection along with his presence. But none of them mattered.

Hillen climbed to the surface. The demon waited for him.

"I am Armand, a frost demon."

Frost demons looked little different from humans. Their snow-white skin merely seemed a little pale. But no human could possess such dense demonic energy.

"And you must be Hillen Cargill?"

Armand stroked his beard.

'Can I win?'

He was different again from the high-ranking demons Hillen had fought outside the tower. His body was slight, but the sheer presence and pressure he exuded were greater.

He was strong. Stronger than any demon Hillen had encountered, barring the Demon Kings.

Hillen slowly drew his sword. He activated his mana, ready to unleash lightning at any moment.

"Are you ready?"

"You're awfully relaxed. Plenty of people get themselves killed that way."

"Perhaps so."

Now that Hillen Cargill was no longer concealing his power, his senses detected countless presences.

"But not today."

Armand smiled. With a crack, an ice spear formed in his hand.

"I'm not alone."

"Would you consider simply letting me go?"

"I heard you were polite, but I didn't expect you to extend that courtesy to me."

"You haven't answered my question."

"Would you let someone who came to kill you simply walk away?"

"I had no intention of killing her."

"Surely you realize that makes it even more offensive? The audacity of a mere human."

"Did you come specifically to hunt me down?"

"My lady is abundantly merciful. Even to humans who invade her territory without knowing their place, she shows courtesy and bestows grace."

"You mean she'll spare me?"

"Quite a few humans will leave the snowfields safely. Except you."

"... Why me?"

'Could it be...?'

Had Demon King Berge decided to discard him?

'Impossible.'

He shook his head. Hillen Cargill was an officer of the Heroes' Guild, an Argan, and a hero who had defeated two Demon Kings. Discarding him like this would be no different from abandoning the conquest of the continent.

'That Demon King would never do that.'

He had faith in himself, and in the Demon King.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Why me?"

"Because you killed two Demon Kings."

"You mean to crush the seedling before it grows any further?"

"Consider it an honor. My lady personally ordered that your seedling be crushed."

"What a load of fucking bullshit."

"They say one's true nature emerges when cornered. You're no different."

"Then should I bow and thank you for your pathetic mercy?"

Even as he cursed, Hillen's mind raced. The monsters were drawing closer. This powerful demon was probably stalling to complete the encirclement and ensure his capture. Yet Hillen couldn't move rashly; he saw no openings.

Even so, he had to act.

'I won't die.'

To enjoy what he had achieved, to soar even higher...

He gripped his sword with both hands.

"A bow? The sight of a hero so celebrated by humans pressing his head to the ground before my lady and begging for mercy wouldn't be bad. Well? Would you care to try?"

"What a load of fucking bullshit."

Light flashes. A blue flare cleaves the air. A single line cuts toward Armand's neck.

An ice crystal appears from nowhere and blocks it.

CRAAASH

Shattered fragments scatter in every direction, turning into deadly weapons. In the rippling aftermath of the impact, white snow trembles and flies into the air.

Hillen Cargill let the recoil carry him. Launching himself into the air, he expelled his mana all at once to propel himself onward. A vast surge of mana. Blue lightning erupted toward the frost demon in a shower of fierce sparks.

He paid no attention to what followed. Steadying his ragged breathing and calming his surging mana, he turned and ran the other way.

He saw a horde of monsters. Yetis, trolls, drakes—and that was a demonic creature. Some were unfamiliar, others familiar. Some looked weak, others anything but easy to handle.

But this wasn't a question of whether he could do it.

If he wanted to live, he had to.

CRACKLE

He layered magic over his aura. The Demon Kings' power made his auspicious energy radiate all the more strongly.

He swung his sword. The slash shot outward, cleaving the blizzard and drawing blood.

ROOOAR

An ice drake exhales a breath of ice crystals. An unknown demonic creature brings down a gigantic fist.

He blocked, split, and cut. Their roars and screams made his ears ring. The metallic stench of blood numbed his nose. He swung his sword in a trance. No monster or demonic creature could stand in his way.

No monster or demonic creature.

"Ha..."

Having broken through the encirclement, Hillen gave a hollow laugh.

"Didn't I tell you?"

Armand's voice came from behind him.

"I didn't come alone."

"Did you bring every demon in the tower?"

"Not every one. But enough to deal with you."

"You've overestimated me."

"Better than underestimating you and letting you escape, wouldn't you say?"

Damn it.

Hillen bit his lip. Ahead were dozens of demons. Behind was a high-ranking demon he couldn't be certain of defeating quickly. Whichever way he ran, the other side would attack his back.

'I can't die.'

He absolutely could not die. Not like this. Never.

He had survived even being captured by a Demon King. The orb hadn't been shoved into his head just so he could meet such a futile end.

He chanted a spell. His engravings and mana heart. His aura and aura core. He activated them all.

Aura and mana. The two different powers raced through his veins. His blood grew hot. With a ragged breath, he stepped forward.

RUMBLE

His lightning-laden sword called forth thunder. The snow churned. Brilliant blue lightning vaporized the blizzard. The demons released their demonic energy. Black and red energies roared.

BOOOM

The world shook.

The demons were flung back. Hillen retreated one step, then advanced two.

A snow-white ice spear aimed for his back.

CRACKLE

The lightning enveloping his body weakened the cold. Just before the sharp spearhead pierced his back, a slash struck against it.

CLANG

The deflected spear curved back like a snake, relentlessly probing without releasing the prey it had caught. His charge stopped, and the demons joined the attack.

"Somewhere else, I might have lost."

But this was the snowfields, in bitter cold and a raging blizzard. The cold ate away at Hillen while lending strength to the frost demon.

SLASH

Ice grazed Hillen's shoulder. Red droplets scattered. His blood mingled with the demons'. He hurled aside the severed head of an unknown demon. Around him lay a tangled heap of demon and monster corpses.

"Only one scratch so far? Think you can kill me like this?"

"It seems killing two Demon Kings truly wasn't mere luck."

But, you see...

"Forcing out every last bit of strength and putting on a calm face won't fool me."

Armand manipulated his demonic energy. Frozen fragments split into hundreds of pieces and mingled with the blizzard. Blades slashed all over Hillen's body. He resisted, but his wounds multiplied. Demons and monsters charged again.

Blood sprayed like a storm.

"Guh...!"

He coughed up blood. At first, he had tried to escape. But Armand held him relentlessly, and the demons' surprise attacks prevented him from conserving his stamina efficiently.

Now, he no longer had the strength to break through those damned bastards and flee. He could still fight, but that was all.

It was hopeless. He didn't have the strength to twitch a finger.

'Is this the end...?'

That was when something stirred inside his head.

"...!"

It wasn't a pleasant feeling. If anything, it was revolting. But it rekindled the dying flame.

'Could it be?'

They charged again. Hillen wrung out every last ounce of strength. He scorched a monster with lightning and cut off a demonic creature's head. Giving a demon attacking his blind spot a chance to strike his side, he bit into its neck.

BOOM

A tremendous impact sent him tumbling across the snow. He spat out the chunk of demon flesh in his mouth and shook off the snow.

"You're tenacious."

"I will never die here."

"That isn't for you to decide."

"It isn't for you, either."

"Nonse—?!"

Armand turned his head. Every demon, demonic creature, and monster trembled. The corners of Hillen Cargill's mouth lifted.

The world brightened. Heat washed over them.

It was flame. Crimson flame, so hot and pure that the blizzard pouring down like a storm dared not approach it.

"... When did you get here?"

Armand was aghast. Not so much at the existence of flames of that caliber, but that someone wielding a power diametrically opposed to his own had deceived his senses and reached this place.

This was Reina Sordein's territory, and Armand was her servant. How could he have failed to notice an intruder's power, especially one so opposed to his own?

A chill ran down his back. Overcome with foreboding, Armand shouted.

"Everyone—!"

At that moment...

WHOOSH

The flames traced a long arc, melting the heavy snow that dared not approach them, vaporizing it, dyeing the billowing mist vermilion as they descended.

BOOOOM

It was like a meteor. A calamity falling from space.

For a moment, Armand imagined he saw a pair of wings above the calamity. Before he could even shout for them to flee, an immense explosion swallowed everything. It annihilated the white ground and overturned the hard earth.

The demonic energy the demons hastily drew forth burst into flame. Demonic creatures screamed. Monsters rolled in the snow to extinguish the fire clinging to their bodies.

And there, amid the crackling remnants of the blaze...

"You're right."

Vermilion eyes flashed.

"I'm the one who decides whether this bastard lives or dies."

HUFF

Berge let out a heated breath.