Beloved of the Demon King: A Healing Magician’s Life in the Demon King Castle - Chapter 37
Chapter 37: Alone in This World
The black sword disappeared in the blink of an eye, and Aquamancer’s eyes widened in surprise.
“I was surprised. I wasn’t sure if you’d really discard it or not,” he said, half in disbelief.
“…”
Nox remained silent, his gaze fixed solely on Aquamancer, surrounded by a aura of magic. Aquamancer glanced around and added, “Even the barrier, all of it?”
“Nox! You don’t have to do that!!”
Viola finally spoke out, her voice breaking. Tears streamed down her dry, parched lips.
“Stop it, Nox!”
The magical energy surrounding Nox dissipated with a sound, and Aquamancer nodded in satisfaction. With a vulnerable Nox in front of him, Aquamancer directed his hand. Golden light gradually radiated from his fingertips.
“Viola.”
“Please, stop!”
“Do you think I’d die from something like this?”
The tearful cries to stop were inarticulate. A sharp pain pierced the throat, and the taste of iron spread in the mouth.
—When you were stabbed right in front of me, when I bathed in your blood, what do you think I felt?
It was unbearable to watch. It was impossible to endure.
“Ignatz! Arnold!”
“…”
“You two are Nox’s close aides, right? You have to protect Nox! Abandon me and protect Nox!”
“It’s impossible.”
Viola shouted at Ignatz, who trembled. “Why?”
“We’ve been ordered by the Demon King.”
“No matter what happens, we’re commanded to protect you over His Majesty. Yes, that’s our order.”
“Nox!”
Nox chuckled lightly.
“Are you ready?”
“Leo—”
“That man’s top priority is always you.”
In the tear-blurred vision, Viola stared at Leon.
Gritting his teeth, Leon shook his head.
“No, stop!”
The luminous sphere at the tip of Aquamancer’s hand suddenly expanded and was unleashed. It flew straight, unerring, capturing Nox’s heart.
Viola felt like she heard a voice calling her name.
The body, blown away with a deafening roar, effortlessly crossed the railing. Long black hair spread out, swimming in the air.
Viola stared dumbfounded at the body of her beloved falling far below the railing.
Viola body suddenly jerked, and pain shot through her neck from being shaken
Aquamancer, who jumped onto the terrace’s edge and onto the railing, unhesitatingly launched a follow-up attack on the man below.
Nox lay on the ground, limbs thrown out motionless. His eyes remained closed, never to open again.
A flash of light approached Nox.
Nox hair swirled up, and with an unpleasant sound, it burned. It was about to pierce Nox.
Suddenly, the light dispersed.
“――!?”
A gasp, as if someone had swallowed their breath, echoed in Viola’s ears.
Vaguely covering Nox’s body was a barrier. However, the seven-colored glow unmistakably did not belong to Nox.
“That’s cowardly!”
Among the crowd gathered below the terrace, surrounding the castle, a man clad in a white robe shouted loudly.
“What a dirty way to do things!”
Aquamancer, who quickly turned his face, was about to release a luminous sphere toward that man. However, the tightly compressed sphere, pushed to the brink, dissipated without being released.
He realized. What would happen if he attacked the people here now, the horror of casting attack magic toward the ones he should protect.
“That’s right!!! And besides that!!!”
Viola returned her gaze to the barrier surrounding Nox. It was undoubtedly an array of various symbols, mixed attributes, definitely not something one person could create. Each piece might be weak, but when overlaid in dozens, even hundreds, it had enough strength to withstand Aquamancer’s attacks.
A man who raised both hands shouted with a loud voice.
“He’s a man risking his life to protect the woman he loves! There’s no way he’s a bad guy!!!”
Nox’s eyelids trembled.
Crimson eyes slowly looked up at Viola. When she saw the smile that appeared only at the corner of his lips, she couldn’t hold it back and burst into tears.
Nox’s eyes, gazing at Viola, narrowed, harboring a sincere and intense light.
The moment she saw it, Viola realized her head was slowly clearing.
The situation where Viola was a hostage hadn’t changed, but there must be a solution.
Nox slowly raised his finger and wiped away the blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth. As if tinged with crimson, his lips were now wet with a deep red hue.
Right, that’s it.
Viola closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Magical power flowed through her body as usual. From within, she began extracting a bit of Nox’s magic.
“Your body is still incomplete. Living without my magic is difficult.”
With those words, Nox’s magic was gradually, bit by bit, accumulating inside Viola.
“The lingering aura of the Demon King’s magic remains in your body.”
Nox’s magic apparently had a unique aura that Viola couldn’t understand.
If that’s the case, from the perspective of Aquamancer, who was currently completely focused on Nox,
“Release.”
Viola released the gathered magical power throughout her body in one go.
“What!?”
Nox’s magical power that suddenly rose nearby was supposed to be nothing more than a threat.
Swiftly realizing his mistake, Aquamancer kicked off the ground, distancing himself from Viola. By the time Aquamancer noticed, it was all over.
A tremendous explosion resounded, and the field of vision was instantly dyed in darkness. Viola’s body, weakened, was embraced by a cool warmth.
“Nox.”
Holding the trembling Viola, Nox whispered, “Sorry, I’m late.”
Clinging to Nox while crying, Viola asked, “Are you injured?”
“I’ve already healed that minor wound.”
“You always do reckless things.”
“If it’s to protect you, yeah.”
“I told you worry is the other side of love.”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you, Nox.”
A faint smile seemed to hover over his face. Tears welled up again in Viola’s eyes, which had just calmed down. Holding Viola, Nox slowly spoke.
“To those who saved me just now, I express my gratitude.”
In response to the freely spoken words, Nox smiled wryly. It was impossible to discern each individual word when hundreds of people shouted simultaneously.
Nevertheless, he could feel their warmth. Surely, it was very warm.
As Nox took a breath with a hiss, the collective voices fell silent.
“Reinforce the barrier, reestablish inviolability. The battle is over. Any objections?”
The entire country fell silent.
A hush spread over everything, as if both people and nature hesitated to make a sound. After a few seconds of silence, explosive cheers erupted.
The sky roared, and the ground shook. Hands raised to the sky, people celebrated the end of the long and arduous war.
Nox steadily walked towards the king.
As Nox waved his hand towards the king, seated and trembling while shielding himself with a small barrier, his body became immediately ensnared by what seemed to be a black, rope-like force.
The people who had gathered grabbed the wrist of the king who was sitting on the ground. The king screamed as he was about to be dragged away.
“Demon King!”
“What is it?”
“I won’t forgive you! I will make you kneel before me someday, for taking everything from me!”
Nox, with a slight narrowing of his eyes, soon wore a confident smile on his face. His red tongue peeked out, smoothly licking his lips.
“Sorry, but I will only kneel to one person in this world.”
Without bothering about the man being taken away, Nox turned around, letting his hair sway.
Slowly approaching Viola, Nox gracefully knelt.
“Viola… I love you. Please, stay by my side.”
His long black hair slid over his skin, and his crimson eyes gleamed. The man who bowed to no one, the king of all kings, knelt and begged for love from Viola.
Viola looked down at him, her eyes filled with a genuinely affectionate light, and her long hair flowing down her back blurred and swayed.
Tears streamed down, sliding over Nox’s black hair. Mixed with a desire to cry and laugh, Viola no longer knew what expression she was wearing.
She just looked down at Nox and whispered.
“Yes. With pleasure.”
Nox, who had risen, enclosed Viola in his arms. Pressed strongly against the railing to the point of feeling like she might fall, Viola tried to push Nox away while laughing and crying.
However, Nox was determined not to let go.
“Nox.”
She put a lot of pressure into her arms that were hugging Nox.
“I love you too.”
In the embrace of Nox’s arms, Viola smiled and closed her eyes.
