The Sponsored Heroines Are Coming for Me-Chapter 283

Earth.

The earth embraces all.

All things begin from the ground, and even if they leave it, they ultimately return to it.

Two spheres emerged from the earth.

One was black.

The other was red.

Each sphere pulsed with magic and life force.

“…Before I knew it.”

The Blood Demon muttered briefly. His voice carried a hint of surprise—an accurate assessment. In the moments he had shown an opening, I had been moving in a wide arc, pressing my feet firmly against the ground. To the untrained eye, it may have seemed like I was merely walking, but in reality, I had been scattering my mana into the ground.

Casting magic with my feet.

It was a technique I discovered while fighting Evan, the Fifth Disciple of the Bloodstone Cult. A realization gained at the cost of losing my hand, now being used so effectively. The old saying was right—what you learn will always be useful someday.

The mana I had spread in advance surged from the earth, taking shape. It looked as though two suns were rising from beneath the ground.

They were larger than any Infinite Cataclysm I had ever created. Each sphere had a diameter as tall as a grown adult. Perhaps it was because I had poured everything into this spell, but I felt completely drained afterward.

Maybe that’s why—

They were enormous, and they were beautiful.

These two spheres were both a symbol of my growth and a manifestation of everything I had left to give.

The result of my progress.

The spheres shot toward the Blood Demon, merging as they moved.

— Tzzzzzt!

The Blood Demon hastily unleashed his aura.

Of course, it was pointless.

The two spheres had already begun merging, pulsating in harmony.

Was this what it looked like when two giant water droplets fused together?

The waves of energy intertwined at their center. It was like an artist mixing colors with their brush—shining red, then tinged with green, then shifting to blue, then a deep violet.

Both poles had been absorbed.

Thus, in their fusion, all things were born.

Radiating brilliant light, the merged spheres turned into a single black sphere.

A single, unified sphere.

Then—

Silence.

…

…

…

A sudden stillness heavier than anything else.

The sphere began to contract under the weight of its own gravity.

— Tzzzzzt!

The smaller it became, the more terrifying its presence grew.

A whirlwind blew, and sparks crackled in the air.

Yet, neither I nor the Blood Demon moved from our spots.

Because we both knew—no matter how fast we ran, nothing would change in this moment.

— Flash!

A jet-black light burst forth from the center of the sphere.

One strand, then another—countless beams extended outward.

They stretched horizontally, aligning to form a plane of light.

The beams, once sprawling like the rings of Saturn, extended further, slicing the sky into black halves.

“…Ah.”

A gasp—whose was it?

My mouth was open, as was the Blood Demon’s.

Perhaps we had both breathed out in admiration at the same time.

“The sky… has been split.”

The words came from the Blood Demon’s lips.

It should have sounded ridiculous, but somehow, it didn’t.

Perhaps because we had just engaged in a battle of skill, I had built some resistance to secondhand embarrassment.

Both of us were prepared to discuss this technique seriously.

The Blood Demon spoke again.

“What do you call it?”

“Infinite Cataclysm.”

“…So it means merging both poles to create something infinite.”

I nodded silently.

By now, the Infinite Cataclysm had shrunk to the size of a basketball.

The black plane that had swallowed the sky was growing darker, its density increasing.

The Blood Demon simply gazed upward.

He and I were fundamentally different.

He still saw this world as a game and thought of himself as a player.

In that sense, we stood at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Yet—

The sky we saw was the same.

Though our methods, our timing, and even our thought processes differed, in the end, we had arrived at the same place, looking at the same sky.

“…I have experienced your Infinite Cataclysm before.”

“I never used it in front of you.”

“You unleashed it at the sanctuary of the cult.”

“Oh. When I shattered the barrier?”

“Yes. I can see most things happening within the barrier as clearly as if they were in the palm of my hand.”

“So, if sound reaches you, you can perceive everything happening within it?”

“Haha.”

The Blood Demon looked at me and laughed.

“You’re a sharp one.”

“I have to be, if I want to stand against someone like you.”

“You even know how to flatter.”

“I think that’s enough compliments. After all, this is the final boss battle—it’d be strange to smile smugly now.”

“…Your smirk is already there.”

Damn it.

The Blood Demon really was a formidable opponent.

Since the mood had shifted, I decided to ask something I’d been curious about.

“I have a question.”

“Go on. We seem to have a little time before that explodes.”

“…Why did you leave me alone even after I shattered the cult’s barrier?”

“I pretended not to notice.”

“Why?”

The Blood Demon stared at me.

His expression was serious.

“Because I knew that, in the end, you and I would have to face each other like this.”

“So, you were hiding the fact that you knew about my ultimate technique?”

“That’s right.”

He affirmed it calmly. Too calmly.

It was downright underhanded. He knew about my ultimate technique and still chose to keep that knowledge hidden? That wasn’t something a final boss should do.

At the same time—

It meant that even while we were fighting, the Blood Demon had been constantly wary of Infinite Cataclysm.

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No wonder I kept feeling like he was checking the timing for something.

“…You knew, but pretended not to?”

“You pretended you didn’t have an ultimate technique either. We’re even.”

“…Fair point.”

This is how serious battles are.

No matter the pride at stake, people always keep their ultimate techniques hidden.

I concealed mine, and the Blood Demon played along, pretending to be deceived—while sharpening his blade in secret.

This is what life-and-death battles are like.

When your life is on the line, things tend to get a bit childish.

Both sides always keep at least one hidden move to strike at an opening. Especially when facing an opponent of equal strength—or one with only a slight difference.

In the end, this also meant that the Blood Demon had acknowledged me.

Since when?

As if reading my thoughts, he answered.

“Walking the path of Blood Arts, I’ve grown accustomed to seeing through a person’s intelligence and potential. But you—were special. The Blood Witch found you first. Seeing her greed, I grew interested. And she was right. On top of that, your movements weren’t ordinary. I figured—you must be a player.”

So, he had seen through me from the start.

That explains why I always felt like I was being observed.

And why the Bloodstone Cult members had an odd fixation on me. With both the Blood Witch and the Blood Demon watching, it makes sense.

“Do you have any more questions?”

“No, I think that covers everything.”

“I see. Then—prepare yourself.”

The Blood Demon sat down, crossing his legs in a meditative posture.

I followed suit, sitting down across from him.

Now, our battle had become absurdly simple.

Above us, Limitless Polar Extremes hovered in the sky.

The one who survives it wins.

The one who dies loses.

The now pea-sized sphere spun furiously, while the black plane surrounding it expanded endlessly.

“So this is what it looks like to see the sky split in half…”

The Blood Demon murmured.

For a moment, I sensed a hint of longing in his words.

As if he, too, wanted to do something like this.

He quietly closed his eyes.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Like a heartbeat, red energy rippled around him. His body was already enveloped in a bright crimson barrier.

“Ian. Do you have any energy left?”

I nodded silently.

One of the greatest advantages of earth elemental affinity—

As long as I remain connected to the ground, I can recover mana relatively quickly.

And on top of that, I have extraction skills.

I gathered every last bit of my remaining energy.

My life force, my divine power, everything wrapped around me.

And I didn’t stop there.

I drew out all the usable elements from the earth—metals, non-metals, even rare minerals.

‘…Lunar?’

I even felt a familiar ore in the mix.

The resulting barrier was primal in form.

Now, both the Blood Demon and I could only focus on one thing:

Defending ourselves with everything we had.

The Infinite Cataclysm, now as small as a bean, was spinning at a terrifying speed.

“If one of us survives this…”

The Blood Demon, eyes still closed, spoke again.

“You should rename this technique. It seems to have evolved beyond Limitless Polar Extremes. Personally, I found the part where it split the sky rather striking.”

I nodded.

If I explained the situation to the Blood Witch, she’d probably come up with a good name for it.

“Any last words?”

The moment he asked, the faces of my companions flashed through my mind.

I clenched their mana crystals in my hand.

“No. I plan on surviving.”

“I like that confidence.”

“What about you? Any last words?”

As soon as I asked, I regretted it.

This man sees himself as a player.

Even if he had last words—who would he say them to?

But the Blood Demon responded calmly.

“I’m glad that you were my final opponent. It truly felt like I got to play one real game before the end.”

A player.

Maybe that was all he ever wanted.

Someone to play the game with.

Because playing alone—

Is never fun.

The Blood Demon—

No, the possessed soul behind him—smiled.

“That was fun.”

A pure statement.

Yet, considering everything he had done—

It was a smile that should never have been.

— Fwoosh!

The sphere, having reached its critical point, vanished from sight.

I looked down at my palm.

The mana crystals of my companions shone as if blessing me.

— Beeeep…

A ringing filled my ears.

Everything—fell silent.

A space of perfect stillness.

I closed my eyes.

It was peaceful.

— Flash!

A surge of brilliant white light—

And then, I lost consciousness.