The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 176: The Battle of Norneau - Aftermath

Chapter 176: The Battle of Norneau - Aftermath

In the gap between two lives, Kir dreamed.

He dreamed of shaking hands with dead men. Men he knew he was about to kill.

And at the end of that line was Noir.

"Hey, Kir... I’m sorry, but this is goodbye..."

Kir shook his hand and it came away bloody.

Panicking, he backed away, and found himself hitting the rail before a window. A window from which he could see a massive, spherical structure, floating in space. And behind it was Earth. The structure began to light. Massive letters spelling out AEDAEB. Then he saw the darkness. A mass of darkness above the structure, curving even light itself... A black hole...

*

Kir gasped awake.

A bird was chirping nearby. It had landed on the edge of a pillar, which had been sheared through by the closing portal.

As soon as he tried to lift himself, he found himself embraced by...

"Kordia..." Kir murmured.

Then he remembered.

He tried to get up, but his body felt heavy. Looking at his arms, he saw veins of blue light. He turned about, searching until he saw the blood...

"Where’s Noir?" Kir asked.

"They... took him away," Kordia said, tears rising in her eyes. "Kir, I’m so, so sorry..."

For a long time, Kir simply held Kordia, embracing her as he stared at the pool of Noir’s blood. Amarena stood, cloaked and grim-faced. "He died a warrior’s death," she said.

Kir said nothing in reply. He didn’t have the heart to disillusion her. To tell her that Noir had died without expecting it... Without even having a chance to fight back...

Stella joined the hug a moment after Amarena had spoken.

For a long time, he wept silent tears.

The last rays of light were fading from the sky when Chancellor Lumin arrived.

"Good. You’re awake. My condolences for your loss," she said.

"What happens now?" Kir asked, his voice coming out roughly.

"That... depends on you, young man. You’ll notice it is only your friends who are present. That is because I sent the rest of the students off with the strong impression that you were on the verge of death... Your advanced state of mana-corruption made for a convincing argument, but I can recognize the sight of a mage in the process of reforging himself. I went through a similar process, half a life ago." She cleared her throat. "But, returning to your question... What do you want to happen?"

Kir didn’t know. He didn’t know how he’d landed safely, or anything about what happened after he went unconscious. He knew that he wanted to avenge Noir... to finally feel safe enough to do something about his weaknesses... to get to that point where he didn’t have to hold back...

He touched his chest. The place where the oathmark he’d shared with Noir had been. It was gone.

"I would like... to return to the Academy..." Kir said.

"Well, I can answer that right now," Lumin said, standing to her full height, which was just taller than Kir while he was sitting. "Kir Gale cannot attend the Academy, not after everyone gets wind that he is Maledict’s son. Half of the students were clambering for me to make sure you were dead. The other half... Well, at best they saw a martyr."

"Oh..." Kir said, crestfallen. "Perhaps that’s for the best then. Tell everyone I died..."

Kordia squeezed Kir’s arm reassuringly.

"Well, you certainly should have, stopping this chunk of rock from crashing the way you did... And casting away the core. No doubt the lake has grown deeper for it."

Kir tilted his head. "I didn’t... I didn’t do any of that."

"And nobody needs to know that," Lumin said without missing a beat. "For now, if you are willing to wait, I can arrange a stay for you at my home."

Kir nodded numbly.

"If Kir goes, I’m going too," Kordia said.

"Who said anything about Kir having to go? I just said he can’t attend the Academy. I have no intent on losing such talent, especially when he’s about to become a true mage..."

Kir had almost no idea what she was talking about, but it clearly involved his... fusion of self. Whatever that meant as far as his ranking in mage society... He could figure it out later. What mattered to him was getting strong enough to never lose another person he loved...

He needed to tell Sam about Noir...

Kir felt the stirring of mana in the air well before the air carriage arrived. Lumin stepped into it first, then Kir, Amarena, Stella, and Kordia.

"To the house, Terry," Lumin commanded as the door was shut.

As they flew over the city, Kir saw the results of the siege’s final day.

The lower city was a charred ruin. The middle ring was largely intact, but with gaps where buildings had burned down.

"The demon’s General challenged me," Lumin said. "It was a close fight, keeping him in check. Half the city burned because our mages were exhausted from the siege... but there are relatively few casualties aside from soldiers and mages. Many found their way into the city dungeon and were able to shelter there."

Kir just nodded numbly.

All this destruction, and he couldn’t say he blamed his father’s people for doing what they had to in order to survive.

The air carriage came to a stop in the middle of a secluded garden, and Kir departed from it with the rest before it took off to be parked somewhere else.

"Stay away from the central wing. There are injured there and some of the professors may recognize you," Lumin said as she walked Kir and his friends to a more secluded place, opening a door for him that led into a well-furnished room with a large bed. "Now, before Terry returns to remind me about my schedule, is there anything I can do for you young ones?"

Kir sat on the bed and cleared his throat. "There’s one person we’re missing... their name is Sam. They’re pregnant, and they should be at a magic shop in the lower city... West of the docks, in an alleyway..."

"I think I know whose shop you’re referring to," Lumin said. "Can’t say I like the owner, but I will send someone."

"I’m the owner," Kir said flatly. "The previous one... died."

Lumin raised an eyebrow but did not inquire further.

"Is there anything else?" she asked, looking around.

No one else said anything.

"I shall take my leave then," Lumin said. "The body will be preserved, shortly. I’ll handle any arrangements for his burial, within reason."

As soon as the door closed behind her, Kir collapsed onto his side, holding on as his feelings found him again.