Transmigrated As The Final Villain of a Death Game-Chapter 136: The Harper Citadel Arc [ 18 ]

Kai remained motionless for a few seconds, and after he realized that I had found out about the demonic core, he pointed his glaive at me.

"Attack."

In an instant, the three Vermillions dashed toward me.

They were faster than before.

But they also looked like zombies.

They moved like zombies too.

I knew what I had to do.

At first, I tried to control my Clorafite Weapons, but it seemed like my heart rate was way too high for me to use Telekinesis.

So instead, I raised my katana, ready to cut them down.

But that was when Clementine stepped in, her expression one of sadness and pity.

"Let me deal with them."

I stared at her for a moment.

As it stood, my Gifts and fighting style were too chaotic to fight alongside her.

I would put her in danger.

So I nodded.

A faint smile appeared on her face as she stepped forward and back-heeled each of the Vermillions down to the bottom floors of the cathedral, then dashed after them.

Only Kai and I were left up here.

And time was ticking down.

Right as I was about to take a step forward, I saw six feathers burst out toward the six assassins and pierce their necks, killing them instantly.

For a moment, I thought he was going to turn them into demons.

But he didn’t.

Instead... he lowered the timer significantly.

[Time Limit: 3:12]

What am I even supposed to do now?

Kill him?

I can’t do that. I’m too weak.

Stop the timer?

...How?

At the moment, I felt like I was totally outplayed.

An opponent who was scheming against me before I even stepped foot onto the continent...

Ridiculous.

"Seems like you finally realized your place."

Kai crossed his arms, then leaned against the still-standing pedestal.

"Now that it’s come to this, don’t you think we should introduce ourselves?"

"..."

"Mikael—"

"Amon," he interjected.

Seeing my surprised look, he added:

"Yes, I deduced it was you from following you around. But I don’t understand one thing. If you’re Amon Everness, then you’re a catalyst for the demons just like me. Did you have a change of heart?"

Hearing that, my eyes widened.

He’s a catalyst?

I didn’t even consider that possibility...

I thought he was just some edgy Angel at first.

But him having the ability to turn humans into demons while being an Angel would be explained if he was a catalyst.

Or would it?

I still had no idea what a catalyst was...

"Hmm..."

Kai retracted his wings back into his body, then tilted his head.

"You’re not really Amon, are you?"

"What do you mean?" I replied without missing a beat.

"The Amon I heard so much about is a shy kid who doesn’t seek opportunities unless they are right in his face. He’s a terrible fighter and, in general, a total weakling."

He pointed at me.

"This is the report I received nearly half a year ago. And staring at you now, I’m certain that whoever you are, you’re definitely not Amon."

He was very deductive.

But that’s to be expected.

Since he’s an Angel, then he’s most likely at least several centuries old.

He’s wise, and lying to him when I’m this close wouldn’t work.

So instead, I chose to remain silent.

Kai smiled mischievously.

"I see..."

"I’ll give Amon a refresher then."

"We’re considered catalysts because our affinity with Demonic Energy is at the highest level, so the demons can eventually use our bodies as portals. Basically, the more attuned to the demons we are, the more valuable we become."

What’s he doing?

Does he think we’re friends now?

Although he was laying out the information, I already knew most of this, since the Demon Earl I killed back during the Assassin’s Guild assessment test already told me all about this.

But the next part... was what I had been looking for.

"The demons who recruited us act as our retainers, and as it so happens, it’ll soon be time for all of us to meet our retainers. We’ll show them how much progress we’ve made and..."

He let out a faint chuckle and looked me up and down, his gaze lingering on my crimson horns for a little while longer.

"Clearly, you made the most progress out of us all, even if you’re not really Amon." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

With that, Kai fell silent.

The timer continued to tick down, soon falling below the one-minute mark.

"Why did you tell me all of this?"

"Because we’ll all eventually be on the same side. I’m not usually this kind, but I don’t want you self-sabotaging yourself before the main descent."

What a silly reason.

And definitely not the main reason behind his motives.

But again, I knew too little about him, whereas he knew a lot about me.

I was heavily underprepared.

This mistake won’t repeat itself twice.

Though...

If the other catalysts are on the same level as a literal Angel, soon to be a Fallen Angel after consuming the Demonic Transformation Pill, do I even stand a chance?

How come I made it to the end of the game when such powerful people were alive?

Even Kai alone would be enough to act as an early end-game boss, and that’s before he even properly began using his Gift.

A Gift whose true nature I didn’t even know after having several exchanges with him.

But...

[Time Limit: 0:32]

We are not allies.

We will never be allies.

He is my enemy.

And he will forever be my enemy.

The moment the timer hit the 30-second mark, Kai’s crimson eyes began to glow, and a small black horn began to emerge from his forehead.

His wings came out forcefully and slowly turned pitch black.

The transformation had begun.

But after taking some time to think, I recalled something Clementine had told me back in the catacombs.

Wouldn’t it technically be possible for you to also drain energy if you combine lightning and Telekinesis?

Although I felt Telekinesis inside my body, I couldn’t control it outward.

But if I were to use it within my body, cover my whole heart in it, and create an imaginary pathway just as Clementine said...

It didn’t work.

Creating a pathway didn’t seem possible at the moment, but using my whole heart as a pathway seemed to work.

My energy was being drained rapidly, but at the same time, I was quickly absorbing the energy in the surroundings, replenishing mine.

So with that in mind, I glanced at the unsuspecting Kai, who thought that I had given up by now, and with every bit of energy I had, I increased the Energy Drain’s intensity and immediately began sucking up the energy in the surroundings.

The remains of the cathedral’s top floor crumbled under my heel as I used all the energy within my heart to close the distance between Kai and myself.

His eyes widened momentarily as he suddenly raised one finger.

A purple ball of energy appeared at the tip of his finger, distorting the air around it.

The amount of energy in that purple ball was insane, and I knew that if I were to get hit by it, my body would be torn to pieces.

Yet as I glanced down below, I saw the faint glow of a thin needle pierce through the floor under Kai’s foot.

His gaze left me for a brief moment, sensing the needle and moving his foot away.

But by then, I had already gathered a ton of energy directly into my throat and ultimately used Draconic Tongue.

"Freeze."

His whole body stiffened, and the purple ball dissipated.

Slowly turning his head toward me, Kai began emanating a deadly amount of energy, which was partially demonic.

In that instant, however, his energy was completely cut off as Clementine’s Soul Sewing Needle pierced through the pedestal and embedded itself straight into Kai’s spine.

For a brief moment, his eyes turned cloudy as all the energy he had gathered dissipated.

And that moment was all I needed to bring my blade down with all my strength and pierce through his shoulder, severing the whole left side of his body in two and cleaving straight through the barely formed Demonic Core just slightly to his left.

All the Demonic Energy flowed outward, but since I had my heart open, I sucked in the energy like a black hole.

I felt my body growing more powerful due to the Demonic Energy, but I knew that just having it in my body was going to do some serious damage once I turned off my Wrath transformation.

Even so, within just a few seconds, a blinding flash pushed me back as Kai’s entire body turned white.

But soon enough, half of his body suddenly turned black, as if absorbing the remaining demonic energy from the air and enhancing him.

It felt like even after I destroyed his Demonic Core, he found a loophole to gain power.

Yet more importantly, I felt like with every passing moment, his energy was becoming more and more unstable.

And only then did I realize that in just a few seconds’ worth of time, he was going to explode.

Reacting immediately, I caught sight of Vincent in the far corner, understanding the danger and quickly dashing away.

Then, I didn’t hesitate to blast down through several floors and arrive at the very bottom, where Clementine was.

She didn’t seem injured, but her movements were a little frantic.

And once I saw that the three Vermillions were alive, though dismembered... I quickly realized why.

"A-Ah Mik-kael... Y-You’re b-back..."

I stared at Maximillian, not sure if I had heard correctly.

"W-What’s with y-your expression-n...?"

I did.

Maximillian was speaking.

Yet his expression, looks... everything...

It was still that of a long-necked demon.

"I fixed them," Clementine announced.

She turned to me with trembling eyes.

"See? They’re fine. I-It’s all fine. I fixed their souls, and now they’re like they were before. We—"

"Clementine..."

"They’re gone."

"H-Huh? G-Gone? But w-we’re right h-here!" Maximillian screamed.

His voice was like an eerie shriek, which sent a shiver down my spine.

"You h-heard her! W-We’re fine!"

Seeing Clementine’s heartbroken expression, I knew that these people meant a lot more to her than they did to me.

Especially Cassie, her friend.

The person who was Clementine’s first-ever friend.

Sensing the energy from above growing even more dangerous, I put my hand on Clementine’s diamond cheek, rubbing it slightly.

"If we stay here, we’ll die, Clementine."

"And as much as I hate to do this... it’s either us or the Vermillions."

Her eyes widened as she stared at me with a pleading look.

But she soon accepted the reality of the situation.

Even if they could bring the Vermillions along, what would happen to them once they’re safe?

They are hideous, and the Holy Order would kill them on sight.

If anything... killing them now is a mercy.

And out of the three, Jake seemed to understand that best as he glanced at me and spoke in a clear voice:

"Kill us."

Cassie’s and Maximillian’s eyes widened.

"J-Jake?"

"W-What are you s-saying—"

"Okay."

I glanced at my bloodied katana, then approached them, with Clementine beside me, still trying to convince me everything was fine.

It wasn’t.

It wasn’t fine at all.

With a single slash, Jake’s head hit the floor.

With the second, Maximillian’s head fell to the floor, tears still in his eyes.

I was reminded of his marriage.

He seemed really happy when he talked about it then.

And because he was involved with us...

The grip on my katana tightened as my resolve slightly waned.

But seeing how Cassie was next, both Clementine and she understood what was about to happen.

Before I could swing my katana down, Clementine grabbed it out of my hands and placed the edge of the blade against Cassie’s neck.

"I’m sorry... I wish things could’ve been different."

Cassie looked up.

Surprisingly, there was a faint smile on her face.

"D-Don’t apologize..."

"But p-please..."

"Bring our b-bodies back to our f-family..."

The silence was deafening.

Yet Clementine’s slow nod was all it took to assure Cassie.

She closed her eyes.

Then, her head finally hit the floor.

"..."

"Hick..."

Clementine just stood there, sobbing silently as she clutched my blade.

I walked up and stored their bodies in her stead before grabbing her by the hand and blasting through the only remaining circular window in the cathedral, flying high into the sky, way past the dark clouds.

Yet the black and white glow from Kai still shone brightly, and then abruptly dimmed.

Just then, the clouds behind us began to disperse at a rapid rate, as though they were being pushed back.

Seeing that, I grabbed Clementine in a princess carry and pushed my body beyond its limits, expanding the red lightning Gift directly into Clementine’s body.

It was my first time, yet it felt so easy.

Before long, I felt like I had two bodies, and so I turned us both into red lightning, causing two tiny streaks of red to flash through the clouds, only for the clouds behind them to vanish.