Chapter 426
Chapter 133: Just a Little Nap
Uh-oh, this isn’t good…
If this keeps up, everyone’s going to realize that the Sword Demon is Roy!
In the haze of consciousness, Roy struggled to get up. The joy of victory was overshadowed by the fact that even the Shadow Illusion had been turned to ashes, making it hard for him to hide. He didn’t want to drag the Lionheart Kingdom into this; more importantly, he needed to keep his identity as the Sword Demon under wraps.
Sure, he could talk tough, but the thought of the Infernal Demon having it out for him was a bit of a headache.
Right now, the Infernal Demon only knew that the Sword Demon was the one who did him in and that it was the blood of the False King behind it all. What he didn’t know was that they were both tied to a noble young master named Roy.
If the word got out that Roy = Sword Demon, that would be a real mess.
Roy didn’t want to be tracked down in real life!
At the very least, he needed to find something to cover himself…
His strong desire to survive jolted him awake, and he opened his eyes to find a tear-streaked, sorrowful face.
He realized he was actually lying on Leanna’s lap.
For a moment, he didn’t rush to get up; he just melted into the softness and smoothness behind his head.
With Leanna taking care of him, there was no need to worry about his identity being exposed.
Still, he didn’t expect Leanna to show such an expression.
She looked helpless like a little girl, pitiful yet relieved from long-standing oppression.
“Senior… are you and your mother all right?”
Roy tried to shift her focus, only to have Leanna angrily retort through her tears, “Is it time to be worried about someone else?!”
After that, Leanna filled him in on what happened.
The Demon army had been wiped out in the recent Holy Rain, easily defeated by the mages and adventurers.
Now, the expeditionary force was sweeping through the battlefield, and Leanna’s trusted aides were in charge of the area, so there was no worry about outsiders seeing things they shouldn’t.
The Cassandra Family Mansion and the All Things Wither barrier had been flattened, making the final mop-up operations much easier.
By the end, Roy felt a bit embarrassed. “Sorry for wrecking your house…”
“That doesn’t matter at all. What about you…” Leanna’s gaze dropped, full of concern once more.
“Wow, Senior really does get scared sometimes,” Roy joked. “Being able to enjoy your lap pillow and your tears, I guess I can die without regrets.”
“Die…”
Roy spotted Leanna’s complexion turning pale, her eyes brimming with tears, and realizing he had misspoken, he quickly apologized.
“No, no, I was just joking! Please don’t cry…”
Normally so quick-witted, how could he not sense this? His injuries looked horrifying, but as a mid-tier Extraordinary Being, he should’ve known he wasn’t at death’s door!
Roy forced a smile, wanting to wipe Leanna’s tears, but realizing his hands were covered in blood, he thought better of it.
However, Leanna tightly grasped his hand, rubbing it against her cheek, as if she were a lost traveler feeling the warmth of a fire in the dark.
“Senior, it’s all over now.”
“Yeah.”
Only after confirming that Roy was not in immediate danger did Leanna let out a long sigh, a smile breaking through her earlier distress.
The rainbow after the rain was beautiful and dreamlike, leaving Roy momentarily entranced.
“But you’re injured really badly, you absolutely mustn’t move. I’ll have Kreya carry you back.”
“No, no, I’m fine. I can walk myself.”
“Behave!”
“Really, it’s not that bad, Senior, you’re overreacting. My injury isn’t as serious as it looks.”
After all the effort it took to defeat the Infernal Demon, it would be pretty lame to have to be carried back.
In front of a girl, Roy wanted to keep his cool till the end.
Of course, this wasn’t just bravado.
Thanks to Blood Regeneration, the wounds left by Diabolus were actually not fatal. It was just that he had used up too much Extraordinary Power and blood, leaving him utterly drained. A bit of grit and he could manage.
Unlike the times he had accepted the power of the Dragon King or the True Ancestor, where his insides turned to mush and he could barely wake up, the Sea Emperor’s power seemed much gentler, without any obvious side effects.
“Junior!”
Ignoring Leanna’s worried protests, Roy shakily stood up.
He showed off to the anxious Leanna, “See, I told you I’m fine…?”
Suddenly, the world started to spin.
It felt like being dunked in high-proof alcohol, and in an instant, Roy’s senses drowned.
Forget what I said.
The Sea Emperor’s power doesn’t seem so gentle after all; the side effects are just a bit delayed!
“Sorry, it seems there’s still something wrong…”
“Junior?”
An overwhelming sense of weakness washed over him, and with the last of his strength, Roy prevented himself from falling back, instead plopping into Leanna’s embrace.
Falling backward meant he was out of energy! Falling forward was just taking a well-deserved rest!
“I just need to nap for a bit…”
Under Leanna’s terrified gaze, Roy rolled his eyes back and collapsed into her soft chest, passing out.
——————————
News of the Purple Magic School’s destruction spread quickly to the Mage Association.
The heads of the major schools, who had been on edge for days, finally breathed a collective sigh of relief.
This victory had saved their last shred of dignity and minimized the disaster.
Of course, it didn’t change the fact that there was a traitor among them.
Especially since the enemy had even managed to project one of the Four Heavenly Kings; this was a serious threat to the Mage Association and the safety of the human world.
But overall, the coalition’s victory was a small blessing amidst a disaster.
After a brief respite, the Mage Association got back to work handling the aftermath of the event.
Meanwhile, underground in the Black Magic School, the head of Black Magic, Eik, was overjoyed about another detail.
“I was right!”
“Even if the Infernal Demon sent down a projection, it’s still no match for the Demonized Earthly Emperor!”
“Hmph, the Demon Race always thinks too highly of themselves, thinking they can control everything. But there’s no way I’m going to hand over such easily obtainable power!”
The head of Black Magic was practically bursting with excitement and immediately ordered, “Send someone to control Leanna first, then submit an application to the Association, stating that Leanna’s Demonization is an internal issue for our Black Magic School, and we’ll handle it ourselves!”
However, the Black Magician who came to report awkwardly said, “Sir, you misunderstood.”
“Uh-huh?”
“Miss Leanna, has not been Demonized.”
The air went still.
Eik was inevitably taken aback. “Then who defeated the Infernal Demon’s projection?”
A hidden master from the Mage Association?
The Sage Booker’s schemes at play?
Or had the Demon Race messed up on their end?
Yet, the head of Black Magic, who had remained patient for years, received an answer he never anticipated.
“It was an adventurer called the Sword Demon who defeated the Infernal Demon’s projection.”
