chapter 3 - marionette that had lost all of its strings

Zion woke up from his pool of memories and nostalgia that the hero’s speech reinvigorated. He licked his lips in pity.

‘Well, I received quite a good gift on my way out.’

This was really his end. Zion carefully scanned the figures around him again. The young magician was glaring at him with contempt, the swordsman was on guard to protect the hero if an emergency arose, and the archer was also still on high alert with a cold-hearted face. The female saint was crying and praying for even a complete stranger like Zion. And finally, the hero was confidently holding his sword.

The hero’s sword slowly rose above Zion, and he would die the moment it fell. Zion knew that he couldn’t escape his end. He didn’t even think about struggling to survive.

‘But.’

He began to gather up the last remaining amount of power he had.

‘Since I am called the Demon Lord, I can’t just die.’

Like the other demon lords in storybooks, he cast a curse on the hero.

Among the magic tools that he had collected while traveling the world, there was an item that had a similar effect to that of a curse.

‘They definitely said it was called ‘The Key that Distorts Destiny’.’

It was the name of the small blade that he had inserted inside his index finger. It had been very troublesome for him to stick the thing inside his finger while not experiencing discomfort in his daily life. But thanks to that, he now had the opportunity to give the last blow to his annoying opponent—making the trouble worth it.

‘It won’t be enough to kill him.’

This item wasn’t for something like that, but for someone like Zion, who loved to **** his opponents over, it really fitted him.

‘It’s a small blade that can change the future of someone whose destiny has changed. I don’t know how his future will change though.’

But it didn’t matter. All the other demon lords were already dead. It wasn’t hard to imagine that Alen Zenard, who had finally killed the last Demon Lord, Zion, would be guaranteed a heroic future. Even if Alen’s future changed for the better, it just meant that his already heroic future would shine a bit brighter. But if his future changed for the worse…

‘Let’s take a test, hero. If you continue to walk a heroic path even if you get hit by this, it’s your win. But if the destiny you are about to face is full of darkness, it will be more miserable than anyone else’s.’

Zion really hoped for Alen to meet the latter. The only regrettable thing was that there was no way for him to see this happen.

“If you are born again, I hope that you will be someone who does good!”

Like a judge giving his final judgement, Alen yelled while swinging his sword down.

Zion, who had been lying down lifelessly suddenly got up.

“If I get the chance, I will!”

“But not now!”

Push!

Alen’s sword sliced across Zich’s body from his left shoulder.

Even as his body was getting sliced, Zion focused all of his attention onto his index finger. Then, a sharp, gold piece steadily popped out.

Alen looked surprised, and his companions moved in a hurry.

‘But I’m faster!’

Push!

It wasn’t a critical hit. Zion was in bad condition, and Alen’s magic barrier was too strong for him to land a critical hit.

But due to Alen’s carelessness, the tiny blade that he had poured all of his power into was able to slide through the barrier and leave a small scratch.

“You bastaaaaaard!”

Alen’s stone-like face crumpled.

‘Hahahahaha!’

In contrast to Alen, Zion wanted to burst into laughter. But like a marionette that had lost all of its strings, he couldn’t move his body and face.

Swing!

Alen’s body moved once again and sliced Zion’s neck off. Zich’s vision became dark. But before he completely lost consciousness, he thought he saw something shining.

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