Chapter 612: Kurono VS Lily (1)

“——Kurono!!”

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Emitting a glittering red brilliance, Lily lightly flew down from the top of the giant Ferris wheel, landing right before the main gate of the chalk-white castle where I had emerged.

The shock written across her face was proof that the decoy plan with Maximilian had succeeded perfectly. Come to think of it, this might be the first time I had ever managed to surprise Lily to this extent.

“That… attire…”

“I figured this was the most appropriate setup.”

Lily had mentioned that I didn’t need to arrange or prepare anything for this day… but if we were getting married, it was only right to dress the part. So at the very least, I wanted to wear something fitting for our reunion.

*Baphomet Embrace*. It was my very first set of protective gear, the armor I wore during our time spent together in Irzu Village. A nostalgic item of memories, it was a high-grade piece that was honestly far too extravagant for a novice adventurer back then.

But I’m a Rank 5 now, a moderately wealthy guy with a mansion in the noble district. In a massive city like Sparda, as long as you stack enough coin, securing a replica isn’t that difficult.

The sentimental reasoning was actually secondary. Since I had planned the decoy operation using Maximilian from the very beginning, I knew I would require alternative armor. Lacking the time to carefully examine which options offered superior performance, I simply purchased the trusted and proven *Baphomet Embrace*.

And so, clad in my second set of *Baphomet Embrace*, I confronted Lily in our first and final grand quarrel.

“Ah, I see… so that’s how it is… I was thoroughly tricked.”

Exactly. Without ever equipping Maximilian, I had simply been enveloped in this demonic robe from the start.

“I won’t say I’m sorry. Meeting Lily face-to-face required every bit of this strategy.”

“No, it’s fine. After all, Kurono came to see me like this.”

Seeing Lily’s rapturous smile, I felt a heavy pressure that I only truly recognized upon seeing her face. I realized it was an incredibly good thing that I prioritized the rescue of the hostages. The current Lily wouldn’t hesitate to use Fiona’s life as a shield if pushed into a corner.

The Lily I knew—or rather, the Lily I believed in—would never commit such an atrocious act. But that was nothing more than a convenient delusion. Her true nature possessed a cold heart that wouldn’t hesitate to choose any means to achieve her goals… Facing Lily now as she bared those raw emotions, I realized this truth for the very first time.

“I’m sorry. Honestly, I should have come to see you much sooner. Saying I couldn’t find you despite searching is nothing more than an excuse.”

“It’s fine, because I didn’t want to be found. If Kurono had held me back at that time and we stayed together… my heart surely would have broken.”

Staying by my side back then would have meant forcing Lily to endure the impossible. To remain alongside Sariel, and to stay near me after I had bonded with Fiona. Granted, that was the most ideal and effortless relationship I could have wished for.

At the same time, it would have been an arrangement that completely disregarded Lily’s devoted romantic feelings. It was a given that her heart would break.

I didn’t want that.

If so, was this chaotic situation the absolute best path I should have hoped for?

“Hey, Lily, even now I still don’t know what would have been the best thing to do back then, or how we could have ended this without anyone getting hurt.”

“There’s no need to agonizingly reflect on it. After all, that’s already in the past. Above all, I, Fiona, and even Sariel acted exactly as our hearts desired. No one intends to blame Kurono for the responsibility, and in the first place, nobody regrets it.”

Was that really true? Was I the only one regretting the current situation at this late stage?

Reflecting on it was meaningless. Just as Lily said, this had all passed.

“If everyone acted according to their hearts and holds no regrets, then let me believe that. Right now, I can’t afford to be distracted by doubts.”

I, too, had made up my mind to stand here. There was no turning back.

“Yes, and so… what is it that Kurono desires?”

“I won’t tell you to come back at this point.”

The hostages had been rescued. Kai, Falquius, Rudra, and Selis had all suffered a wretched defeat before Lily… but they were still breathing. Barely, by a razor-thin margin, they were alive.

Lily hadn’t killed anyone yet.

So, we could still turn back. Everything was entirely salvageable. Simply return to the way things were as a comrade of the *Element Masters*—uttering such words of persuasion would be easy. Because it was far too simple, it wouldn’t carry any meaning.

“I won’t blame Lily, nor do I intend to beg for forgiveness.”

At this stage, stacking words was meaningless. So, directly and plainly, I gave voice to my desire.

“Lily, I love you—that’s why I came to take you away. By force.”

I would subjugate her love and her will entirely to make her mine. Hearing such extreme male arrogance, what would Lily’s reaction be?

“Fufu, haha, ahahaha! Oh, to think I would hear words of love from Kurono’s mouth so soon!”

Lily’s laughter rang out high and clear. Then, with those glowing emerald eyes, she stared straight at me.

“But you see, I am incredibly jealous… if you don’t love me, and only me, I won’t accept it.”

“It seems I’m incredibly greedy. Lily, Fiona, Sariel—I’ll take them all. Every single one of you belongs to me.”

Exchanging our respective claims was more than enough.

“Look, it’s a simple story. I want you. You want me. As for who ends up belonging to whom—”

“We settle it in a match, is that it? Yes, that’s fine. It’s wonderfully simple.”

There was no grudge. There was no conflict of interest. We were fighting simply to grant our respective wishes. Fighting against the person we loved most.

Was it insane? No, that was wrong. This was my, our, shape of love.

“Now, come, Kurono.”

“Yeah, I’m coming, Lily—”

Victory goes to the one who strikes first.

Without a second thought, I swung my right arm forward. Nothing was grasped in that hand—no cursed hatchet, no gluttonous fangs, nothing.

It was a bare hand. What I needed right now was a single sharply thrust fingertip.

“—Guh!”

I gouged out my own left eye with my hand.

“!?”

Even the formidable Lily was shocked by this sudden self-harm.

I didn’t want to do it either. Honestly, I was pretty terrified, and damn, it hurt immensely… I was already on the verge of regretting my reckless strategy.

“Ugh, kuh… Haha… it’s a bit crushed. It doesn’t come out cleanly at all.”

Within my blood-stained palm, I stared at the gouged-out eyeball with its crimson iris using my single remaining dark eye.

“Ah, Kurono, what a horrific thing to do! Are you alright?! I’ll heal it for you right away!”

“Hey, hold on, Lily! Don’t throw away the match right at the start!!”

I stopped Lily as she looked ready to rush over in a panic.

It must have been a shocking sight. Lily wasn’t fighting out of hatred for me, so seeing me injured in an unexpected way caused her to panic. Even so, she was a bit too flustered… Lily, do you seriously intend to fight?

Half exasperated and half happy at her genuine concern, I raised a hand to signal her to stay back.

“But…”

“Calm down, this is my strategy. Lily, you should understand the meaning behind gouging out this left eye.”

Completely crushing the left eye in my palm, I threw the mangled remnants into the shadow.

“With this, the Eye of God is gone.”

“……You sealed the Divine Protection of the Demon King.”

Regaining her composure, Lily finally realized my true intent.

Exactly. By gouging out the Eye of God given to me by Mia, I threw away the six powers granted to me.

In reality, this left eye wasn’t the absolute key to activating the divine protection. If an enemy crushed my left eye during battle, the divine protection would likely activate without issue. The connection to God was a gate opening within the soul. Destroying the eye wouldn’t completely sever my connection to Mia.

Therefore, this was a type of sealing art performed by my own will. Destroying the left eye served as the key item and ritual for it. Since it was sealed solely by my feelings, it wouldn’t hold out for very long. But for the duration of this single battle, holding out was enough.

“I saw your fight with Fiona. Lily, you might actually be handling the divine protection better than I do.”

“That’s not true, Kurono is the best.”

Lily smiled, making it impossible to tell if she was flattering me or being serious. It threw off my rhythm. It felt too normal, almost causing me to forget that we were in the middle of a battle.

However, deliberately focusing on the dull pain emanating from my left socket, I regained my concentration.

“But is that really alright? Doing something like this means Kurono can’t use the divine protection either.”

As the wielder, I knew the immense power of the Demon King’s divine protection better than anyone. That was precisely why having Lily utilize that ultimate weapon against me would be troublesome.

If that was the case, it was better to not have it at all. Comparing advantages and disadvantages in combat was secondary.

“The Divine Protection of the Demon King isn’t necessary for this battle. I didn’t come to challenge a final trial. I came here simply as a man to claim the woman I love.”

I just wanted to extinguish the red light shining on Lily’s chest, which this left eye perceived. I didn’t want to look at that annoying glow for another second, a glow resembling the persistent voice of a god demanding a testament. That was all.

Demon King Mia, I won’t let you interfere. This is a battle between just me and Lily.

“Ah, I can feel it, Kurono’s emotions. You love me, you truly love me—”

The red light of the Oracle Field flickered heavily. Fluttering her sinister butterfly wings, two points of phosphorescent light exploded in Lily’s hands.

Grasped faster than a blink were two handguns, one white and one black. Those were the ancient weapons *Meteor Striker* and *Star Destroyer*. The two barrels were already pointed directly at me.

“—But it’s not enough! It’s still not enough! Come, Kurono, give me more love. Love me more, more, more!!”

“Take this, *Goku-Akujiki*!”

Faced with two streams of flashing light, I drew *Goku-Akujiki*. The gluttonous fang that consumed magical energy served as an incredibly dependable shield against attack magic.

“—Guh, this is pretty rough.”

Even with this blade, blocking Lily’s light-magic beam head-on was demanding. What insane magical density. If it hit my bare body, the power would char me to a crisp in a single shot. I couldn’t allow her to fire repeatedly.

Blending into the rising dust, I retreated from the open space before the main gate of the castle. An area lined with large attractions offered plenty of cover, making it perfect for escaping Lily’s line of fire, which relied primarily on long-range light magic.

I possessed a decent amount of confidence in long-range combat with *Bullet Arts*, but facing Lily as she let loose like a bullet-hell shooting game boss, I didn’t want to trade shots out in the open. Clear terrain was disadvantageous for me.

“Ufufu, did you hide, Kurono? Don’t be shy, come out.”

Escaping Lily’s sight for the moment, I held my breath inside a building that appeared to be a roller coaster boarding platform.

Had Lily truly lost sight of me? Perhaps surveillance cameras were installed, making everything transparent no matter where I fled inside the Land… No, since the rescue of Fiona and the others succeeded, that probably wasn’t the case.

Even if she couldn’t see me, the overwhelming aura of magical energy radiating from her continued to exert pressure on me. This sensation indicated that the current Lily might possess magical energy on par with an Apostle.

“I came here full of courage, but this is proving to be harsher than imagined.”

I was the last one to fight Lily.

Fiona had drawn out her power to the limit during her death match against Lily, providing invaluable information.

The comrades of the *Blade Masters* fought Lily here, forcing her to expend resources.

The current Lily could no longer use the Divine Protection of the Demon King.

The threat of the fusion magic she referred to as *Regalia*—which utilized Fiona and the others to replicate their martial arts and magic—could no longer be used now that they were freed.

Since she was still freezing Maximilian, there wasn’t enough magical energy supply to utilize the ancient weapons, including Shangri-La’s secondary guns.

And the Knight Frame *Spriggan*, which must have been her trump card, was destroyed by Rudra putting his body on the line.

The information was gathered, and Lily had been forced to play her cards. As the final opponent, I was challenging her under the most favorable conditions.

Despite that, a clear vision of victory over Lily failed to surface.

“Even so, I—”

I would overcome this battle without fail. I would claim everything I desired. Mia, Lily, Fiona—none of their wills or intentions mattered. Simply to carry through my own desire.

“—I will definitely defeat Lily.”

The princess was already growing bored of hide-and-seek.

Steeling my resolve, it was time to make my move.

End of Chapter 612