I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 154. Growth Verification (1)

Turning back time a little.

Yuri and Theresia were rushing past a fork in the road.

Hearing that they were almost at the starting point of the quest, Yuri felt a sense of relief.

He hadn’t encountered the Demon King, which had been his greatest concern.

He felt reassured that if things continued like this, he could safely end the day.

But that was a premature judgment.

“…Huh?”

Yuri’s eyes widened as he ran.

“What?”

Far down the path he was running on.

As soon as he saw the red-haired, red-eyed man standing idly, as if waiting for someone, Yuri urgently came to a stop.

Schrrrrk-

‘That man?!’

Just from the general figure alone, he recognized him instantly.

Especially that blazing red hair—anyone could see it was undoubtedly the Demon King.

‘Damn it!’

He thought he had completely shaken him off, seeing no signs of pursuit.

‘But he got here before me?’

The implication was simple.

‘There must have been a shortcut.’

Yuri had been running in circles, unfamiliar with the terrain and unaware of where the quest starting point was, but it was clear that the Black Sword Corps member had taken a shortcut straight through.

This was the worst-case scenario Yuri had anticipated.

“Yuri?!”

Theresia, startled by Yuri’s sudden action, also came to an abrupt halt.

Schrrrrk-

The marks left on the ground as she slid to a stop were clearly visible.

At that moment, as Yuri was about to turn and run, he realized, ‘Oops, almost left her behind!’ He grabbed Theresia’s wrist and took off again.

They were retracing the path they had just run.

In this absurd situation, Theresia shouted in confusion.

“Wh-What’s going on?!”

“Demon King!”

“What?”

“I said, it’s the Demon King!”

Only then did Theresia glance behind them.

At that moment, she saw the red-haired man who had been standing in the distance now running towards them.

‘That guy… is the Demon King?’

He exuded an intense aura fitting of the role of a Demon King.

But why was such a Demon King here?

The thought flickered through her mind, but the answer was too obvious.

‘It’s because of Yuri!’

More precisely, it was because of the core of power Yuri was so carefully guarding.

She shouted angrily.

“If you were going to steal it, you should have done it without getting caught!”

“I didn’t get caught stealing it, I got caught after stealing it.”

“Same difference!”

Theresia perfectly understood why Yuri was fleeing so desperately.

‘It’s because of the Demon King.’

There was no way Yuri would run away in such a hurry over just a mere 49th-year cadet.

It had to be someone like the Demon King.

Theresia sighed, pulled her wrist from Yuri’s grasp, and readied herself to run properly again.

‘If that guy chasing us is really the Demon King…’

If they got caught now, the situation would become complicated.

They had to find a way to shake off the Demon King somehow.

So, she spoke in a cautious tone.

“Let’s head to the cadets.”

“Huh?”

“We can use the 49th cadets as a shield. Let’s buy some time and create an opening to escape.”

Yuri looked surprised by her suggestion.

‘Theresia suggested this?’

Theresia, who was now suggesting they sacrifice their fellow cadets.

That was something he would have thought of, not her.

And Yuri had already been running with the intention of doing just that, so Theresia’s suggestion was most welcome.

“Good idea!”

A broad smile spread across his face.

Thus, Yuri and Theresia brought the Demon King along with them.

Gooooo-

The Demon King, radiating a terrifying aura, stared at Yuri.

He neither moved forward nor attacked.

It was as if he was looking at prey he had already caught, wondering if it was done struggling.

Meanwhile, having already lost two members, it was only natural for the 49th cadets’ attention to shift from Yuri to him.

And unfortunately, the 49th cadets didn’t possess the insight to grasp the situation as quickly as Yulia did.

“What’s going on?”

“Who the hell is that Black Sword Corps member suddenly attacking?”

The confused 49th cadets began to retreat hesitantly from the red-haired, red-eyed man, unable to grasp the situation, until Yuri couldn’t hold back and shouted.

“Hey, heroes! When you see the Demon King, you should charge with everything you’ve got! Why are you cowering and backing away? Are you even heroes?!”

The princess, who had switched from cheering to harshly criticizing them.

But rather than calming things down, her scolding only caused more confusion.

‘That man is the Demon King?’

‘Not Yuri Holland?’

But why was the Demon King here?

He should be at the Demon King’s castle.

So, they scoffed.

“Nonsense!”

“Don’t mess with us!”

Faced with a chorus of distrustful responses, Yuri clicked his tongue.

“Tsk, why is the 49th cadets’ trust so lacking?”

“…Are you saying that for me to hear?”

“Come on, do something! You said you’d help as much as possible, didn’t you? At least do your share for the split!”

“……”

Watching Yuri blabber on, Theresia regretted her words.

‘I shouldn’t have offered to help….’

She had said it just to raise her own share, but now it was backfiring.

Eventually, she let out a deep sigh and stepped forward.

“That guy is…”

Theresia was about to explain about the Demon King when a voice rang out before hers.

“That man is the Demon King!”

The voice’s owner was none other than Yulia.

Her eyes were sparkling brightly.

‘Up until now, I didn’t really know what was happening.’

But now things were different.

Yulia had made up her mind.

She would now bring the situation, which had been out of control, under her command.

‘If I do that, it will seem like this whole situation was crafted by the variables I set up.’

Driven by a desire not to lose, she had even acted as if she had orchestrated the events before Fritz.

If Fritz truly believed the current situation, then she just needed to make it real.

‘Alright, this is perfect. Let’s catch the Demon King right here!’

Anyway, the goal was to capture the Demon King.

If so, there was no need to go all the way to the Demon King’s castle; they could finish the quest by dealing with the Demon King here.

That was why Yulia confirmed the Demon King’s presence before Theresia could speak.

And Yulia’s declaration carried a completely different weight than Yuri’s.

The atmosphere among the 49th cadets changed in an instant.

“He’s really the Demon King?”

“But why is someone who should be at the Demon King’s castle here?”

“Then Yuri Holland wasn’t the Demon King after all?”

“Jerry, damn him!”

As murmurs spread, Yulia’s firm voice followed.

“This is even better! Let’s catch the Demon King right here!”

“Catch the Demon King?”

“Yes! There’s no need to go all the way to the Demon King’s castle, right? Everyone, follow my lead!”

Yulia scanned the remaining members.

‘A total of 46. We’ve lost quite a few… but we still have a chance!’

But to turn that possibility into a real victory, they couldn’t afford to waste even a single soldier.

With resolute determination, Yulia spoke.

“Theresia, cover the center!”

At Yulia’s request, Theresia glanced at Yuri.

Yuri gave a small nod.

‘Anyway, if we want to create an opportunity to escape, it wouldn’t be good if the 49th cadets were immediately defeated.’

The 49th cadets at least needed to slow down the Demon King.

And to increase that possibility, the 49th cadets absolutely needed Theresia.

‘If things go south, I can always tell her to back off.’

With Yuri’s approval, Theresia lowered her spear and slowly walked forward.

Meanwhile, Yuri took a slight step back.

Then, the Demon King, who hadn’t paid any attention to the 49th cadets’ chatter, moved.

Matching Yuri’s movement.

And at that moment.

“Everyone, spread out and surround the Demon King!”

Yulia’s commanding voice rang out.

Simultaneously, the silver ring in her red eyes sparkled.

Flinch-

The moment he heard Yulia’s shout, Yuri felt his leg muscles twitch.

‘…What is this?’

He hadn’t planned to, but for some reason, upon hearing Yulia’s voice, he felt a strange urge to obey.

It was clearly an abnormal reaction.

And even the Demon King, who had been solely focused on Yuri, showed interest in something else for the first time.

“It’s the magical warfare technique of the Hyun family.”

The Silver Ring Hyun family, known for their achievements in numerous fields, was particularly renowned for their mercenary tactics.

And at the foundation of that reputation was the Hyun family’s magical warfare technique.

It was a special hypnosis that distinguished between enemies and allies, causing mental interference to enemies while issuing immediate commands to allies.

Moreover, depending on the level of mastery, it was a terrifying skill that could treat the body of the hypnotized as mere puppets.

Of course, Yulia hadn’t reached such a level, so she could only give suggestions.

But in this situation, that was enough.

As if to prove it, all of the 49th cadets followed Yulia’s suggestion, scattering in all directions to surround the Demon King.

And Yulia’s next command followed.

“Jerry, Marlon, Michael, to the front!”

The three men leaped forward, charging towards the Demon King.

In response, the Demon King swung his sword with a disdainful expression.

Then, Yulia’s command continued.

“Theresia, move in!”

Taking advantage of the Demon King’s focus on the front, Theresia became a dagger and stabbed towards the Demon King.

But the Demon King didn’t let her off easily.

Rather, he knocked her away too easily.

Whoosh-

Theresia dodged the Demon King’s sword and withdrew.

And in an instant, those who had received Yulia’s command filled the gap, targeting the Demon King.

They continued this hit-and-run coordination.

With each attack, the Demon King’s expression grew more strained.

“…This is annoying.”

His face was filled with irritation and displeasure.

The attacks were annoying enough, but even more so was Yulia’s voice piercing his mind whenever she issued a command.

While it might sound differently to the 49th cadets, to the Demon King, Yulia’s suggestions were like nails on a chalkboard.

Moreover, that unsettling sound was disrupting his attack patterns.

‘These brats!’

Unable to endure any longer, the Demon King’s aura swelled even larger, surging like a tidal wave in all directions.

“W-Whoa!”

“Ugh!”

The 49th cadets hurriedly retreated.

But Yulia remained calm.

“The last five, fall back! Fill in the gap with the three next to them! Jerry, cover from behind! No matter what, don’t get hit! The opponent seems to specialize in strong strikes!”

She coolly assessed the situation, firing off commands like a rapid-fire cannon.

Following Yulia’s instructions, the 49th cadets, feeling their attacks connecting, gradually shed their resistance to Yulia’s suggestions.

The smoother their responses to Yulia’s commands became, the more effectively they adapted their formations.

Before long, the Demon King’s attacks, which had seemed ready to overwhelm them at any moment, continued to miss their mark.

Yuri watched the unfolding scene with amazement.

‘This is going better than expected… They’re fighting really well, aren’t they?’

The situation had exceeded Yuri’s expectations completely.

The 49th cadets were performing exceptionally.

That didn’t mean the Demon King was weak.

Judging by his movements, strength, and aura, he was undoubtedly a formidable opponent, recognized as at least a level 5 master.

The fact that they were managing this kind of situation against such an opponent was entirely due to Yulia’s exceptional abilities.

Yulia’s judgment, anticipating three to four moves ahead and positioning those with the necessary skills in the right places.

This was a mercenary tactic that would be hard to execute without intimate knowledge of the entire 49th cadet’s skills and abilities.

‘The fact that the movements of the 49th cadets, who likely never coordinated like this before, are aligning so smoothly is entirely thanks to Yulia.’

Without her, they would have been doomed long ago.

But conversely, the fact that the Demon King appeared to be struggling so much suggested Yulia was performing beyond belief.

In essence, this wasn’t a battle between the 49th cadets and the Demon King, but between Yulia and the Demon King.

‘Their coordination is getting tighter as time goes on.’

With their resistance to the suggestions decreasing, the teamwork was falling into place.

Meanwhile, the Demon King’s movements appeared increasingly restricted.

‘At this rate, are they really going to capture the Demon King?’

Yuri looked on in admiration.

But only for a moment.

‘Wait… capture the Demon King?’

The faint admiration vanished, replaced by a dawning sense of confusion.

Yuri muttered softly.

“…Wait a second? That’s not good.”