After killing Yutaro, Diablo approached Rosa, lowered himself before her, and looked at her face.
A face full of despair and defeat. Fear and grief.
It was over now. She had lost the Hero, and now it was her people's turn.
Diablo laughed. "What an expression. Tell me... are you finished?"
Then, in a voice edged with anger:
"Come on... stand up and face me. Don't let his sacrifice be for nothing. You have to protect your people. Have you forgotten?"
Rosa didn't answer. She couldn't process any of it. She didn't even know Diablo was in front of her.
The taste of defeat was overwhelming. The air was poisoned by Diablo's suffocating aura. The sun no longer existed in his presence, and the earth cracked beneath his feet.
Diablo grabbed Rosa by the head and lifted her up, looking into her face. He found her expression was distant, as though her mind had wandered into another world. Bored, irritated, he tossed her aside like trash.
She fell face-first and said nothing, as though she were a corpse. Diablo watched her, expecting some sign of pain, but none showed on her face. So he abandoned the idea of fighting her. He thought of something better: he would torture her through her people. He would destroy the Elves and leave her alive to watch.
Diablo smiled and walked toward her. As he drew near, a pebble struck his hand. He looked to see who had thrown it, and found Miko.
She no longer had the strength to face him. Her energy had vanished, and she had returned to being a helpless child, powerless to do anything.
He stepped forward and reached his hand toward Rosa's face, but he felt a blow coming at him. When he turned toward it, he found Miko again.
A massive ball of fire hung above Diablo's head. Time slowed. His hand loomed enormous in front of Rosa's broken face.
Then, suddenly, a shield came spinning through the air and severed his right hand.
He looked up and saw that Yutaro was still alive.
Yutaro, whom everyone had thought dead... was back, and he'd come back with force.
Half of Yutaro's face and body were charred black, but the Jewel had chosen to protect him. Her light surrounded him, and twelve swords floated behind him.
He dropped to the ground, filling the area with dust, but he didn't stop. He charged Diablo with everything he had and drove the first sword into the middle of his stomach, shoving him away from Rosa. He poured enhancement magic into his right arm and hurled Diablo far across the field. Miko hurled the fireball at Diablo. His entire body exploded and burst into flames, unleashing a violent, raging wind from the blast.
Miko couldn't hold her footing in a blast like that and was thrown through the air. Yutaro ran to her and caught her.
Yutaro was certain Diablo wasn't dead. He took his shield, strapped it to his left arm, and charged into the dust. His shield slammed into Diablo's body. A little of the dust cleared, and Yutaro saw Diablo's face. He raised his sword and swung. But Diablo drove his right hand into Yutaro's left shoulder. Yutaro cut off Diablo's right arm and kicked him away.
Rosa was lost in the dark, but Miko slapped her across the face.
"Mother... wake up. Yutaro isn't dead yet."
Rosa began to stir, slowly regaining her senses.
While Miko was waking Rosa, Yutaro was fighting Diablo. Diablo gripped the sword of light and pulled it out of his stomach. The moment it was free, Yutaro drove another sword into the center of his chest, then punched Diablo in the face, ripped the sword out, and cut off his left arm.
Yutaro's strikes were so fast that Diablo couldn't keep up. Diablo regenerated his arms, but Yutaro was faster. He cut them off again, then cut Diablo in half through the middle. He kicked the upper half away from the lower.
Diablo flew through the air, on the edge of regenerating, but Yutaro hurled a sword that pinned him through the center of his throat. Yutaro reinforced his legs and fists and shot after him. Diablo tried to pull the sword out of his neck, but Yutaro struck the hilt and drove it deeper, grabbed Diablo by the head, and slammed him into the ground.
After he buried Diablo's head in the earth, Yutaro stepped back. He poured a little mana into the shield, and it grew enormous. He put it on and took another sword in the place of the shield.
Yutaro still stood, twelve swords hovering behind him, while Diablo lay buried in the ground, his lower half gone.
Yutaro yanked Diablo's head out of the earth. Diablo fired a beam from his horns. Yutaro tried to dodge, but couldn't. He pulled the twelve swords in front of him as a shield. The beam came out with a roar, crimson in color, striking toward Yutaro's head like a giant cannon.
He met it with the swords, but they weren't enough to protect him. The beam was so strong it forced him backward. The ground tried to help him hold his footing but couldn't.
Four of the swords were destroyed by the force of it. Then an idea struck Yutaro:
I'll put the shield in front of the swords, circle around the beam, and go straight for Diablo.
He carried out the idea. He swung around the swords and charged toward Diablo. But the truth was slowly coming to light, without any of them realizing it.
"They had been facing a copy of Diablo from the very beginning."
Only the sound of wind. No aura. No resistance.
And there, in the shadows, sat Diablo... alive.
Leaning back in a chair, drinking the blood of his own army, with Sebastian at his side.
Yutaro couldn't believe the sight. He stopped, unable to move.
Were we fighting his copy since the battle began?
He didn't move an inch. He was shocked, stunned. But he still had to face Diablo.
Diablo set the cup aside and spoke with an air of absolute majesty:
"Come on... keep the show going. The play isn't over yet."
Then he said to Sebastian:
"I want you to face Yutaro and bring me his head."
Sebastian knelt before him. "As you command... my lord."
Diablo smiled, and Sebastian lunged at Yutaro.
Yutaro came back to himself and pulled back to retrieve his shield, but Sebastian didn't give him a single second.
With his right hand alone... he raised it, and cut off Yutaro's left arm.
Yutaro's blood scattered across the battlefield. He fell, screaming in agony.
Sebastian caught the severed left arm and offered it to Diablo.
"Here you are. An appetizer, before the main course."
Diablo smiled, then released a small fraction of his aura.
The earth shook. The trees trembled. The clouds tore apart. The sun set. The Elf army collapsed to the ground.
He adjusted his seat and said:
"Who gave you permission to hand me his left arm?"
Diablo's aura bore down on Sebastian, who began bleeding profusely from his nose, mouth, eyes, and ears. Sebastian remained silent.
Diablo said to him:
"Bring me nothing but his head. I won't accept anything else. Do you understand?"
Sebastian nodded and threw the arm aside.
Diablo drew his aura back in and spoke, perfectly calm:
"Good. I'm glad you understand. I don't want these mistakes to happen again… or you may end up paying for the next one with your life."
Sebastian answered, still bleeding. "Y-yes... understood."
Sebastian rushed toward Yutaro.
Yutaro was trying to stop his bleeding. He crawled toward his shield. Sebastian was suddenly right in front of his eyes.
Yutaro got his shield back... but the price was his left arm.
The Jewel healed the wound and sealed it shut.
Sebastian raised his right hand slightly, then punched Yutaro in the face, shattering part of his skull. The force of the punch hurled Yutaro far away, and he landed beside Miko.
Miko looked at Yutaro. She found his left arm severed, his skull cracked.
Yutaro was struggling to breathe. He was hovering between life and death.
Miko hadn't suffered a single scratch. And Rosa, who had only just come back to her senses, found Yutaro in front of her, fighting to stay alive.
(End of Chapter 60)