I Became the Youngest Disciple of the Martial God-Chapter 190

Evan Helvin’s favorite hero was David, the protagonist of a heroic tale he’d read in his childhood. This small but clever young hero had a habit of asking questions in crises, always following a specific format.

Question: How will I cross the hill? David had asked when he found a mean giant named Goliath taking a nap that blocked the hillside path.

At the time, David needed to go to the pharmacist in the neighboring village as quickly as possible to treat his sick younger sister.

After much thinking, David finally came up with an answer. On a day when thick clouds filled the sky, just as the sun was setting, when the sky burned red... he shouted into Goliath’s ear.

“Fire!”

Startled, Goliath jumped awake and stomped down the hill. Goliath mistook the dyed-red sky for a wildfire.

That was why David was Evan’s favorite hero. David was small, frail, and lacked any special powers. But...

He knew how to be courageous for the people important to him.

And so, ever since Evan had been young, he had believed that courage was the most important quality for a hero.

Question: Am I brave?

To that, Evan Helvin’s answer was always the same.

Of course!

He thought he had courage.

Even as a child, he had never known fear. If he discovered an interesting insect, he wouldn’t hesitate to climb trees over 10 meters tall, and he’d always been the first to cross the stone bridge over the creek.

At seven years old, he’d been the one to suggest to his friends that they visit the neighboring village for the first time.

Evan liked that about himself. He believed that not fearing challenges, not fearing the unknown, was proof of one’s courage.

He’d carried that belief even during the most turbulent time of his life, at the training camp. Even when the arrogant Charon—the same Charon who currently looked like a corpse—had mocked him.

But what about now?

Am I still brave?

...

Vice-Cult Leader Evan often asked himself that, but he could no longer answer so quickly.

He knew his own cowardice better than anyone else.

Why am I not fighting?

This, he could answer. He didn’t want to reveal his demonic energy.

Then am I just going to die like this?

In some ways, that really did seem better.

Evan was confused. If only his personality had been completely consumed by the memories of evil, if only his identity as Evan, the young hero, had been entirely swallowed up by the darkness, he wouldn’t have to go through this confusion.

He nervously turned to his surroundings.

What reaction will these people have if they find out that that I’m a vice-cult leader?

Charon Woodjack, who looked to be on the brink of death, was said to have mellowed out recently, but Evan knew that wouldn’t apply with cultists.

Sellen Goodspring was no different. He had seen unexpected sides of her here on the Veiled Side, but even so, the more noble and prestigious a family, the stronger their hostility and hatred toward the cult. That hostility was deeply ingrained from birth, after all.

Even Princess Ferith, the cause of all this, was not a cultist. Her only crime was being incredibly naive and foolish.

And there was no need to even talk about Alderson Maveur, headmaster and archmage. The Archmages of Seven Colors, representing The Empire, would never tolerate cultists, let alone the existence of a vice-cult leader.

“...”

Evan imagined all of them glaring at him with faces filled with abhorrence.

—...You’re a vice-cult leader?

—Ha, you truly are the son of the Knight of Total Defeat.

—Maybe all of House Helvin is evil?

Their reactions were immediately succeeded by the image of his father. With a face more wrinkled, and lacking its usual smile, his father, who had taken a sudden interest in cooking after putting down his sword, looked at Evan and spoke...

—You are my shame.

It was a nightmare. A nightmare with a high chance of becoming reality.

Evan Helvin... he probably had the most energy left of everyone here. Because he’d been knocked out by Deathberry, he’d been able to save his strength... and he hadn’t used his power as a vice-cult leader at all.

But still, he did not step forward.

He couldn’t.

He acted as though he had nothing left, as if there was nothing he could do, and he thought that was enough.

Because compared to the possibility that the nightmares within his mind might become real, dying seemed like the better option.

But then...

“...Wait, isn’t that...?”

“Th-that’s demonic energy...”

“...”

The voices of Sellen and Princess Ferith brushed past him like fleeting whispers from a dream.

Evan stared blankly at Luan Bednicker.

Why?

A single question, filled with countless meanings.

Why was he still able to fight?

Why was he able to use demonic energy?

And why... why was he not even trying to hide it?

You...

Evan had no answers. He couldn’t even begin to guess. Only one thing was clear.

Luan could wield demonic energy.

You’re... a Bednicker.

A house far beyond comparison to the fallen house of Helvin.

And its head? The Lord of Blood and Iron himself. The empire’s greatest demon hunter. A man who despised the Church of Darkness and demons more than anything in the world.

Even though Evan wasn’t directly involved, the mere thought sent chills down his spine.

Evan knew how ruthless that man was. He knew of the rare moments when the Lord of Blood and Iron revealed his emotions, which only happened when the Church or his bloodline were involved.

Evan couldn’t even begin to imagine what would happen when those two factors collided in the worst possible way.

What would the Lord of Blood and Iron do when he learned that a cultist had come from his own bloodline?

Is he not afraid? Or... does he think being exposed is better than dying?

No, Evan could tell just by looking at Luan’s face. That lunatic was smiling wide. He was facing the moon above, the madness that could break one’s mind, with a grin.

And he was wielding demonic energy without the slightest hesitation.

Beneath the blood-lit sky, purple flames swirled around his blade like the fires of hell.

The master of that very fire, Luan, looked less like a man and more like a demon in human skin.

At first glance, it looked like two great demons fighting each other, but to Evan Helvin...

“...”

...The boy who had once admired heroes saw something more noble than any hero from a tale, something he could never hope to imitate.

* * *

Sellen fixed the princess with a cold gaze. “Are you sure it’s demonic energy?”

The princess flinched at Sellen’s informal tone but gave a small nod. “Y-yeah... that’s definitely demonic energy...”

Confirmation, from a person who once communicated with a demon lord.

“...”

Princess Ferith might not have been a member of the Church, but she had been exposed to demonic energy long enough to have developed a sense for it.

To be honest, Sellen was confused.

Luan had always been shrouded in mystery, but this time, it felt like he had completely crossed the line.

He’s really a cultist?

It made no sense.

If it was true, then too many of Luan’s actions and behaviors, too much of his history didn’t add up.

Even now, just looking at him, that was clear. Why would a cultist fight a demon lord? One of the Church’s very Gods of Disaster?

“Damn it...”

She couldn’t figure it out.

None of this made sense.

...But one thing was certain.

I have to help.

For now, she had to help Luan. If she didn’t, they would all die.

She could still use the forgotten god’s power one last time.

So Sellen waited for the perfect moment. She needed to intervene at the exact right time to turn the situation around.

But then...

“Wha...”

The princess’s eyes widened in shock.

The moon was falling from the sky.

“What the fu—!”

A meteor crash? Right here? At us?

There was no time to calculate her move. Sellen’s entire body turned white like a snowflake.

The demon lord was pierced. The purple sword flame roared, and the blood-lit moon split in half.

CRACK.

The moon shattered, and countless fragments rained down.

* * * * *

* * * * *

“Cough...!”

Ferith gasped and choked as the thick dust in the air burned her eyes and irritated her throat. No matter how much she coughed, it wouldn’t go away.

How... am I still alive?

Unfortunately, the impact site wasn’t far from Building 6.

That meant she had been caught in the collision.

For a brief moment, she’d really thought she was dead.

The debris this time was on a whole different scale. These fragments were so much larger than last time, and there were even more of them. If the bombardment earlier had been a light drizzle, then this was a full-blown storm, strong enough to bring down entire buildings.

There was no way she should have escaped unscathed.

“Haa...” A sigh escaped her, and she saw her breath.

Her breath?

As Ferith looked up at the sky, she realized why she was still alive.

A towering wall of ice surrounded her. It wasn’t quite intact, though. Cracks ran through it, like windows hit by countless pebbles.

“Oh...”

She finally realized who had saved her.

A faint groan came from behind Ferith, making her spin around in surprise, and she saw Sellen trapped beneath a pile of rubble.

“S-Sellen...”

“Huuu...” Sellen let out a frustrated breath.

Once again, it was a matter of adeptness. Blessings were never easy to master, but the forgotten god’s blessing was even worse.

Every time she used it, it took a toll on her body, so she couldn’t afford to use it freely.

“Why are you the only one...?”

“...The headmaster’s safety comes first.”

“Oh...” Ferith shut her mouth.

Only now did she notice Headmaster Alderson, still immersed in casting his spell.

At this moment, the imperial princess felt awe.

Even in the face of disaster, Sellen never lost sight of victory. She was willing to weigh even herself on the scale in pursuit of the goal.

This... was the kind of person destined to become a hero.

And yet... I...

Without thinking, Ferith reached for the rock pinning Sellen down.

But it was impossible. Even a giant would struggle to lift it. Even if Ferith had half a dozen people helping her, it wouldn’t budge.

Sellen shot her a bewildered look. “What are you doing?”

“I’m getting you out...!”

“You can’t,” Sellen said.

She had lost the feeling in her right foot. Her ankle was probably shattered.

“But still...!”

“It’s fine. More importantly, why are you suddenly acting like this?”

“This isn’t sudden...”

It wasn’t sudden at all. Ferith couldn’t bring herself to say all the things on her mind. Some things were just too embarrassing to share. But one thing was definitely true.

She considered Sellen a friend.

The girl who had approached her first, when everyone else avoided her. Sellen seemed cold as winter, but Ferith knew now that she was really as warm as her surname suggested.

“...”

Meanwhile, Headmaster Alderson continued casting, fully aware of everything that was happening. Unlike the confused young heroes, the old mage did not waste time worrying about Luan.

Who cared if Luan was using demonic energy? What mattered was that Luan was doing as he’d said he would with everything he had.

If they had questions, they could ask later.

Right now, Alderson and Luan had their roles to play. They had to see this through.

Luan was buying time while Alderson prepared the final blow.

The demonic energy had yet to disappear, meaning the demon lord was still alive somewhere.

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What form would it take?

Would it even be possible to fight back?

...Could Luan hold out long enough?

“...”

Alderson drowned his rising anxiety in his spellcasting.

His mana was becoming more refined.

* * *

I couldn’t feel my body.

Layers of exhaustion and pain had piled up, and now my body was screaming that it could no longer move...

But I had to.

When I’d split the blood-lit moon in two, I’d realized: I had only cut the surface.

To be more exact, it felt more like I had sliced through a thick layer of armor protecting whatever was inside.

Of course, my opponent wasn’t even a living thing. This realization was based on instinct, so it was hard to explain with reason.

I just knew. Even as the shattered remains of the blood-lit moon rained down like a meteor shower...

My eyes never left the sky.

There, behind the moon, it finally revealed itself.

A sphere of pure black that devoured everything around it.

...But the energy coming off of it like haze was blood-red.

...

The moment I laid eyes on it, I knew. This was its true form.

I felt pain shoot through my skull, the same feeling I’d felt when I first faced Ahop and Tangtata.

Time felt compressed, stretched thin until every second dragged, and in that slow, suffocating moment, I remembered Sellen’s words.

—The type that splits and regenerates. They’re annoying, and there’s no effort put into it, no emotional payoff. There are so many points where I’d just quit.

I finally understood what she meant.

To quit. To jump off.

Literally, to leave a carriage.

Picture this: You are riding a carriage, looking out the window, and all you see is a frozen wasteland that stretches endlessly in all directions, leading straight to a bottomless cliff.

Anyone in their right mind would want to jump off before they reach the edge.

That was exactly how I felt right now.

“...I really wanna quit.”

But of course, that was just talk. Jumping out of a moving carriage was likely to end in death or serious injury.

So, if the only way out was forward, I might as well hold on and ride it out—go faster, push harder, and break through whatever lay ahead.

I calmed my breathing and threw my Dark Star Blade and the Sword of Seven Sins to the ground. The lighter I was, the better.

Standing firm on my two feet, I raised my fists and locked on to my target.

I tilted my head and asked the monster, “Ready for Round 2?”

[...]

It no longer hung in the sky. Now, it was just suspended midair, weightless.

It was featureless, silent as it simply watched. That was what I felt like it was doing, at least.

And obviously, it did not reply.