Chapter 78

This is the final part of the assault.

The cursed monster that had taken over Father's body was gradually losing its strength. It was only a matter of time before it was defeated. Julius had somehow joined the battle, casting reinforcement spells just before binding or attacking the monster. His timing was impeccable, showing how well he observed his surroundings.

The monster, seemingly frustrated by the relentless attacks, suddenly lunged at the nearby humans. However, it tripped on Julius's binding spell. Kishatia's earth golem further pinned it down, and Mikaeris cut off one of its legs. The monster, now unbalanced, had its shoulder pierced by Duke Fortuna's axe.

"Ahh..."

My scream stuck in my throat. The monster let out a small groan and its massive body fell to the ground. It writhed a few times, trying to get up, but ultimately remained prone.

As the monster quieted, sighs of relief and cheers rose from all around.

Suddenly, the monster made a tremendous leap, landing right in front of me.

It happened in an instant.

Right behind the monster, Mikaeris, with a fierce expression I had never seen before, raised his sword. The monster was missing one leg, which had already been cut off, but it was too late. A second strike would not be possible. Even I, a layman, could tell.

Kishatia, with his arm extended to cast a spell, had his binding spell cut off midway. It must have been swatted away. Considering my position in a straight line, he couldn't use a powerful spell, as I would be caught in it.

Julius, usually so calm, had dropped his mask-like expression and was staring intently at me. He must have been thrown away from his original position, hit by the monster.

Duke Fortuna, covered in blood, clung to the monster's remaining leg.

Clifford, my uncle, shielded me, and Jibril tried to protect me.

It felt like slow motion, even though it was just a moment.

But I thought to myself, if I could go to the same place as Father, if I could receive the death Father gave, I could accept it calmly. I wouldn't regret it.

I smiled unconsciously as I looked at the monster's massive body. The headless, distorted form. The skin, whose temperature I couldn't discern. None of it matched the memory of my father.

A loud noise and a vibration, followed by screams, echoed.

I opened my eyes to find the monster in front of me, but it was crushing a black-clad human.

The monster, which I thought had no face, no mouth, no intelligence, or will, suddenly let out a scream. A distorted row of teeth emerged from where its neck should be, and it roared.

A sound that was neither human nor beast, a distorted, resonating volume, made everyone shrink back.

With its free hand, it shielded me and knocked down the humans who kept coming.

The black-clad humans, who resembled the ninjas I had seen in my past life, threw plain knives, swords, and small bombs, but the monster blocked them all with one hand and its massive body.

Duke Fortuna, who had been clinging to the monster's leg, looked up at it in a daze.

Jibril and Clifford, my uncle, also looked at the rampaging monster, which was protecting me, in a daze. The group of black-clad humans who had been targeting me had disappeared.

Some were crushed flat, others thrown and twisted in strange directions. Something was smeared on the floor as if it had been ground into it. The number of intact corpses was so few that it was a testament to the brutality.

The monster's rampage was the most intense it had ever been, as if it were in a rage.

"Is this your true heart... Grail?"

Duke Fortuna knelt and bowed his head. Even though it was free, the monster did not move. It gnashed its teeth as if on guard, staring at its surroundings with empty eyes.

The surrounding people, who were worried about me, could not hide their confusion at the monster's sudden change in behavior. The monster groaned and then fell again, this time lying on its side, still protecting me.

I immediately clung to its body. The empty body could not even circulate magic, let alone use it. Still, I tried to cover the large wounds, but only a steady stream of black liquid came out.

The monster, now completely drained of power, began to dissolve into a black, gooey substance. From within, the headless body of a man emerged.

The monster heavily relied on its host. When it was Cain, it had a strong obsession with killing me, driven by the remaining consciousness.

Then, what about the monster that used Father's body, with its head removed and only the body as the host?

It had always, always, until the very end, prioritized me above all else, even as a monster, until its magic and energy were completely drained.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh