Chapter 1178: Avenger's Unauthorized Revival

Persona had purified the ghosts of Sophiard, then evil energy overflowed from me on its own.

『Oi! Avenger, you again?!』

「Fuhahaha! My god! My priestess! Many thanks for allowing my participation again, I appreciate it!」

I never allowed this! The Evil God is doing the same thing as before!

『Fine! I won’t complain since this is an emergency, but you better stop coming out on your own! It’s super annoying and you’re becoming a nuisance!』

「Fuhahaha!」

『Don’t laugh me off!』

Well, Avenger was clearly enhanced by the power of the evil god. He’s powerful enough to help us.

『You wanna take on the South Conquest Duke, right?』

「Oh! As expected of my god’s keen insight!」

I can only tell because of our magical connection!

「He… is someone I cannot allow to go free.」

The generally cheerful Avenger glared at the duke with a stare befitting an undead. Black, vicious curses poured out from his rotten eyes.

This might be his true nature.

『Fine, but listen to Maleficent, okay?』

「Oh! To think I would fight once again under the prince’s command! This must be fate! Fuhahaha!」

Avenger was a poison-focused undead enhanced by the Evil God, so anything less than divine poison will have no effect on him. He seems pretty suited for supporting Maleficent.

『We can revive you again as long as you don’t disappear completely. Don’t overdo it.』

「Fuhahaha! To receive such a kind voice from my god! I am deeply moved!」

『Ugh! Just go!』

「As you command!」

After suddenly appearing next to us, Avenger dashed across the ground and jumped on the South Conquest Duke.

He had to pass through a vortex of flames, but there was no hesitation in his movements.

「Fuhahaha! Take this, pig!」

Avenger ignored the flames incinerating his body as he slammed his fist into South Conquest Duke. Judging by his insults for the duke, he must be consumed by anger.

Even the South Conquest Duke seemed bewildered by the sudden appearance of a ghoul cloaked in evil energy.

「W-Who are you!? Dammit!」

「You ordered my creation, and you already forgot?!」

「It can’t be…!? The Genocide Ghoul that Onslaught lost?!」

「Fuhahaha! Precisely!」

「Why are you doing this…?!」

「Because my god said so!」

Avenger shouted as he clung to the South Conquest Duke, enduring explosions and lightning strikes. Likely due to borrowing power from the evil god, his body regenerated instantly even when half of it was blown away.

「Our arch-nemesis! This is where you meet your end!」

「Gah! Back off!」

Avenger dug his long claws into the duke. A barrage of various attacks rained down on him from the relics embedded all over the duke’s body.

But Avenger was terrifyingly tenacious. Even with his whole body in tatters, he refused to let go.

「Futile! You can’t shake off our grudges with such a pitiful attack!」

「You rotting fleshbag!」

「Fuhahaha! Have you looked in a mirror lately, rotting fleshbag!」

「I chose to take this body of my own will! To settle the score! Now I must destroy you with my own hands as an apology to the king!」

「This pig seems to enjoy squealing! Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with pig speak! Oink oink!」

「Gnnngh!」

Avenger’s desperate attempt to pin the duke down should have made him look like a tragic hero. However, it turned into something more like a comedy due to Avenger’s usual behavior.

That said, his resolve was genuine.

「Prince! Take him down even if it kills me!」

Avenger shouted with the face of a proud warrior, and Maleficent understood his resolve. He readied his weapon to ensure that Avenger’s resolve wouldn’t end in vain.

「I appreciate your determination, here I come.」

Maleficent swung down the stone blade, though it seems like he didn’t activate Divine Sword Release.

That’s a relief. If he had unleashed Hell’s power here, the entire Kranzel army would easily get wiped out.

Still, that didn’t mean his attack was weak.

「Get off me! Damn, where is this ridiculous strength coming from?!」

「Fuhahaha! Thanks to my god, my power has increased several times over! You will never escape my grasp!」

「You dead need to stay dead!」

「Fuhahaha! You are just as dead as me! Let us enter the afterlife together!」

「BWOOOOH!」

「Perish!」

Maleficent’s blade cut through both Avenger and the duke’s massive body, as his death throes echoed across the camp.

Swung straight down from above, the divine sword Hell had cleaved both of their bodies in half.

The severed area turned black, corroding even further due to the Hell’s power of annihilation. The bodies of the two began crumbling apart.

And at the end, Avenger and the South Conquest Duke fully vanished.

「…!」

「We’ve won.」

Persona, who had been watching after recovering from unconsciousness, began shedding tears. Maleficent also seemed somewhat melancholic. They must be mourning for Avenger.

Uh, sorry! You see, Avenger actually just kinda came back inside me. It seems the Evil God Fragment collected him just before he completely vanished. He felt a lot weaker than before, but he’ll probably recover and do his signature annoying laugh soon enough.