I Became a Swordsmanship Instructor in a Romance Novel

After relaying Zeke’s words to Soi about becoming the master of her emotions, Julie joined forces with her to fight Tullak.

Although they had inflicted a fatal wound in their earlier surprise attack, Tullak possessed a perverse constitution; the deeper the wound he received, the more he used that pain as nourishment to unleash even greater strength.

Julie swallowed nervously, her gaze fixed on Tullak.

His entire body was flushed crimson, blood coursing visibly beneath his skin.

His muscles had swelled, making him appear at least twice as large as before.

The already severed arm and pierced abdomen were now tightly constricted by thick muscles, staunching the flow of blood.

‘Yeong! Aim for Tullak’s ankles.’

As she issued the mental command to her skeletal soldier, a sword abruptly shot out from Tullak’s shadow, aiming for his ankles.

However, in order to strike, Yeong had to momentarily materialize.

Tullak feigned ignorance until the very last moment, just before his ankle was about to be severed.

The instant Yeong materialized, Tullak stomped down, crushing the skeleton’s skull.

Crack

“Tsk! Yeong, return and recover!”

Julie kept Tullak in check from a distance, and when she created an opening, Soi dashed in, thrusting her sword.

“Haaaaah!!!!”

However.

As if Soi’s attack was nothing more than a tickle, Tullak caught the incoming blade with his remaining hand.

Clank!

His kick then landed squarely on Soi’s stomach.

*Crash*—!

Soi was sent flying backward from the impact, crashing hard against a distant tree.

Her head slumped forward, and she appeared to have lost consciousness.

Julie bit her lip.

Tullak’s gaze fell upon her.

His eyes had turned crimson red, as if anger itself had taken physical form.

“Traitor. I will. Never. Forgive you.”

‘This is bad… Hero, I think we’re screwed… Aren’t you going to help?’

Just as Tullak was about to charge at Julie,

KABOOM—!!!!!

A tremendous roar echoed from the top of the mountain.

Startled, Tullak and Julie turned their gaze upward.

“Huh…?”

A storm of azure mana and black magic, visible even to the naked eye, was raging, tearing apart the mountain.

“…D-Demon King?”

“…H-Hero?”

Rumble!!!

Crash!

As the mountain crumbled, giant boulders rained down from the sky like meteors.

The valley’s waters erupted, carrying soil and trees in a devastating flood.

Overwhelmed by the apocalyptic scene that seemed straight out of a myth, Tullak and Julie could only stare blankly.

“R-Run!!!”

“Get as far away from the mountain as you can!!! Run away!!!!!”

“This, this is insane!!!!! Those monstrous bastards!!!!!”

The Eustia Knights came scrambling out of the forest, their faces contorted in terror.

Their expressions were a mixture of primal fear and a desperate will to survive.

“Wh-What… is… going… on…?”

Julie looked around.

The Yohaiden Knights, who had been finishing off the remaining Lost Hope members, were also fleeing to avoid the falling rocks.

The few remaining members of Lost Hope stared up at the spectacle in awe, only to be crushed by the falling debris.

‘Oh, no!!!! The Saintess of Bread!!!!!’

Watching the people fleeing in a daze, Julie’s eyes widened in realization as she remembered the fallen Soi.

A massive boulder was plummeting toward the spot where Soi lay.

Rumble—!!!!!!

Before Julie could react, the colossal rock slammed into Soi, burying her beneath its immense weight.

As a deep sense of despair, the thought of never tasting bread again, began to creep into Julie’s mind,

Crack—

Crackle—

Cracks spread across the giant boulder, and then,

Crash—!

It split in two.

Standing in the middle of the shattered rock was Soi, but she was different.

“Ha… So this is… what it means to be the master of my emotions, Instructor?”

She spoke with a strange expression on her face—a mixture of relief, sadness, and something unreadable.

Her eyes shimmered with a kaleidoscope of colors, constantly shifting and changing.

Her once ordinary brown hair now flowed like a rainbow, its color transparent yet ever-changing depending on how the light struck it.

Tullak’s gaze, which had been fixed on the top of the mountain, was drawn to Soi’s overwhelming presence.

““Wh-What… is… that…?””

The eyes of both the current and former members of Lost Hope widened in unison.

““The priestess…?””

Soi’s emotionless face turned toward Tullak.

“You seem very angry.”

Her voice, devoid of any inflection, almost made Tullak bow his head in submission.

He couldn’t comprehend why the vessel for the Demon King’s descent, the one he had yearned for, had been hiding within this girl all along.

But a profound sense of purpose now filled his heart.

His trembling lips parted, and a hearty laugh erupted from his throat.

He would present a most meaningful gift to the descended Demon King.

“Hahahahahahaha!!! The Priestess, concealed from view, has finally!! Finally revealed herself!!!”

Tullak ran his tongue over his lips, savoring the moment.

However, Soi’s expression remained unchanged.

She simply extended a hand towards Tullak.

“I will take your anger.”

“What…?”

In that instant, Tullak felt as if a fog had lifted from his mind.

His hatred vanished, replaced by an eerie serenity.

The sense of duty that had driven him to destroy the world dissipated like smoke.

His body, once flushed crimson with rage, shriveled like a deflated balloon.

“Wh-What is this…?”

Tullak stared at his own hands in bewilderment, his fingers trembling.

“And… wouldn’t you rather die?”

“…”

Tullak stared blankly at the Priestess.

Her question seemed utterly meaningless, yet it sparked a profound sense of doubt and despair within him.

‘Why… why am I still alive…? Madam, whom I respected, is dead. Julie, whom I secretly held dear, betrayed Lost Hope. Countless followers have perished. I even witnessed the descent of the Demon King… Why… why do I cling to life…? Is there any point…?’

No matter how hard he racked his brain, Tullak couldn’t find a single reason to keep living.

‘Wouldn’t it be better… to just die…?’

Slowly, he raised a hand.

Thud—!

He plunged it into his own chest, directly through his heart.

Thump.

Without a sound, without even a whimper, Tullak breathed his last.

Soi’s gaze then shifted to Julie.

Julie’s eyes widened in terror, her mind struggling to grasp the incomprehensible events that had just unfolded.

‘What… what just happened…? How… How could the Saintess…?’

“Hmm, you did… protect me once.”

Soi pondered Julie’s fate, her finger resting on her lips.

“Y-Yes! I already cut ties with Lost Hope!!”

Julie nodded vigorously.

“However… your obsession runs deep. And to say you’ve ‘cut ties’… you’re still far too tainted…”

Soi, who had just extended her hand towards Tullak, now reached for Julie.

In that instant, the thoughts of bread that had consumed Julie’s mind were completely wiped away.

“Huh…? What…”

Instead, her mind was flooded with remorse, sympathy, and guilt for all the people she had killed and tormented.

“Oh no… What… what have I done…?”

Julie’s hands trembled as she clawed at her own throat.

Her eyes welled up, and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

“Aaaagh—! I’m… I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Please! I-I was wrong! I was wrong!!!! Forgive me!!”

She curled up, begging for forgiveness from anyone who would listen.

Tears streamed endlessly from Julie’s emerald green eyes.

“I… I won’t kill you. After all, you did protect me once. Instead, you will spend the rest of your life atoning, helping others. That is the punishment I bestow upon you.”

“…Sob… Th-Thank you… Thank you…”

***

“Damn it.”

Zeke was utterly pissed.

Honestly, the Demon King wasn’t that tough to begin with.

In gaming terms, he was like the first boss you encounter in the final chapter.

From that point on, even regular monsters in the final chapter were either slightly stronger or on par with him.

Maybe it was different back in the Dave Continent.

But here and now, the Demon King’s body was far weaker, and the surrounding mana was thin.

The only reason Zeke had drawn his sword without hesitation was because of the 【Nemesis】 system, which had inflated the Demon King’s level.

The Final Boss.

He had expected at least some degree of tension, like his battle with that Bard of the Ancient.

But this showdown with the Demon King felt like taking a bite of perfectly good ramen only to find that the rest of it had turned soggy and bloated.

“Hey, you really want to die, don’t you?”

However, Zeke was unaware of a crucial fact.

By not wielding his sword, he had sealed away not only his madness but also his mana.

And the moment he drew his sword, the sealed mana of the Dave Continent came surging back.

As a result.

Wham—

“Powers or!”

*Wham*—

“Swordsmanship or!”

Wham—

“`
“Anything!”

Wham—

“Except tentacles!”

Wham—

“Bring out everything you’ve got hidden!!! You bastard!!!!!”

A nightmare.

The nightmare was repeating itself.

It was happening all over again.

Zeke had deliberately blunted his sword and enveloped it in a thick layer of mana, shaping it into a blunt instrument perfect for beating.

And he was laying into the Demon King like a dog tearing into a chew toy.

[ Cough! Gasp! Thud! ]

The Demon King was getting pummeled to a pulp.

Even though he currently existed as a disembodied spirit, impervious to physical blows,

Zeke swung his sword with relentless abandon as if such trivial matters were of no consequence.

He could have easily finished off the Demon King in his current state, but something held him back.

He needed more.

At least a desperate counterattack, a hidden ace up the sleeve—anything to justify the oath he had broken, the price he had to pay.

Unable to quench the rising frustration within him, Zeke resorted to pummeling his enemy.

On the other hand,

The Demon King was bewildered.

‘What… what the hell is wrong with this lunatic?! Cough!!’

The pain felt as if his very soul was being shattered.

Every time he tried to launch a counterattack, Zeke’s sword ki was already waiting, intercepting his every move.

Whether he summoned tentacles, unleashed magic, or invoked his powers, it made no difference.

It was as if Zeke could predict his every attack before it even materialized.

‘This… this is impossible…! Powers don’t work that way…! Gasp!!’

The 【Nemesis】 effect should have granted them equal strength—no, he should have had the edge, given the additional power it bestowed upon him.

Yet, in this moment,

The Demon King felt a profound sense of injustice.

Ten thousand years of nurturing his resentment, honing his skills for revenge—all for nothing.

This monstrous being stood before him, an insurmountable wall far higher than he could have ever imagined.

‘What in the world did he do to attain such power!!!!!’

Even as he was being battered by the sword, the Demon King couldn’t help but glare at Zeke with resentment.

“Huh? What are you looking at, you bastard? You really want to die, don’t you?”

Zeke’s eyebrows furrowed at the Demon King’s defiant gaze, his annoyance growing.

“What was that you said earlier? ‘Effort’?”

Wham—!

“How much ‘effort’ do you think you put in? To even dare utter the word ‘effort’?”

Wham—!

“What? Ten thousand years??”

Wham—!

“You should be grateful you even lasted that long! If you had just done a single gratitude punch every day for ten thousand years!”

Wham—!

“You wouldn’t be getting your ass handed to you like this!”

Wham—!

“Even a slime in the next town over could conquer the world in ten thousand years!”

Wham—!

“And you call that ‘effort’?”

Wham—!

“The more I think about it, the more pissed off I get!”

Shing—!

“Hey, hey, don’t you dare dodge. You try to dodge again, I’ll chop off your limbs like last time.”

Zeke’s relentless assault continued.

Twitch.

Twitch.

[ Groan… ]

The Demon King’s form, once mighty and fearsome, was now nothing more than a tattered rag, battered and bruised beyond recognition.

“Ha… Damn it, if it’s not coming out after all this, then I guess he really doesn’t have anything else… Shit, I shouldn’t have drawn my sword…”

A sigh heavy with regret escaped Zeke’s lips.

His eyes reflected a deep sense of despair and frustration.

He had no idea how to satisfy this insatiable hunger that gnawed at him.

A primal thirst for blood pulsed through his veins, demanding more.

His appetite had been whetted, and now his very being craved its next meal.

‘Damn… If I stay here, I might lose control and kill Duke Yohaiden or Soi… Maybe I should go bury myself in some remote mountain valley…’

Would there be anyone else in this world who could quench his thirst?

Ten thousand years had passed, and mana was scarce.

Would there be anyone left who could challenge him?

If not, what would become of him?

Just then, a faint voice escaped the Demon King’s lips.

[Prie… Prie… stess.]

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Zeke’s eyebrows twitched in annoyance.

“Just die already. This time, I’ll make sure you’re gone for good, not even dust will remain.”

Zeke’s sword tip crackled with blue energy.