Cadel’s eyes darted back and forth, scanning the battlefield. The situation was far from favorable. Not only were there High Demons whose identities he couldn’t yet discern, but the number of regular demons and monsters was also significant. The enemies writhing beneath the magic circle, seemingly ready to burst forth at any moment, were far too many to even count.

Instinctively, his hand reached for the pendant. His desire to summon Kunra was overwhelming.

‘But if Kunra is to fully unleash his power in the Demon Realm, I have to hold back here.’

If Kunra intervened before entering the Demon Realm, the system would surely impose restrictions. He couldn’t afford for Kunra’s power to be restricted before they even began their proper exploration.

For now, he had to rely solely on human strength to find a solution.

‘To do that, I need to take out the High Demons first…’

Ever since the battle with Rodin began, Van had made sure to keep Cadel at a distance. Cadel, being as stubborn as ever, hadn’t insisted on staying close. He knew that with him nearby, Van’s range of movement would be restricted, making the situation worse.

And from that distance, Cadel had been watching Van’s battle unfold, and it was proving to be far more intense than he had anticipated.

‘What exactly is this Rodin fellow? Is she a tank-type enemy? But her power is too overwhelming to just be a tank, and she’s way too durable to be a damage dealer-tank combination.’

It was clear that Van was at a disadvantage. His blood reserves were likely full, and his injuries had been tended to, yet he still couldn’t seem to overpower Rodin. The reason for that was the shield Rodin wielded and her absurdly tough body.

“I love the feeling when an attack hits my body and bounces off! That ticklish sensation! It’s so great! So come on, hit me again. Make it even more fun for me!”

No matter how fiercely Van swung his greatsword, no matter how many times he unleashed his sharp aura, not even a scratch appeared on Rodin. She was similar to Garuel’s uncle, Lawrence Hywyl, but also completely different.

Lawrence seemed invincible because of his extreme regenerative abilities that allowed him to recover from any injury almost instantly. On the other hand, Rodin’s exterior was unnaturally tough, making it so that she didn’t even take any damage at all.

But that wasn’t all. Aside from her toughness, the shield that Rodin wielded also held immense power. Her shield charges were so powerful that just grazing him could tear off chunks of flesh.

‘But no matter how much of a boss-level enemy she may be, there’s no way she’s invincible. She must have a weakness.’

Not knowing the enemy’s strategy didn’t mean they couldn’t be defeated. Whether they were game characters or real living creatures, as long as they were alive, they would have weaknesses.

Right now, Cadel had the strongest knights by his side. There was no enemy they couldn’t defeat with their abilities. Cadel tightened his grip on the damp pendant in his hand and shifted his gaze.

‘Next is Arpa.’

Arpa was a High Demon with the absurd ability to absorb all energies he came into contact with. He seemed to be a magician at the core, but based on the fact that he had stolen Yozen’s dark energy, it seemed that he could use most of the energies he absorbed.

‘It seems like the best way to deal with him is to overpower him with pure physical strength……’

Currently, Arpa was engaged in a battle with Yozen. It seemed that Yozen was furious after Arpa had taken advantage of his own energy. Even from a distance, Yozen’s battle could be felt, it was so fierce.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch! The more you provoke me, the more people you’re going to hurt. I’ll just stay here and suck up the delicious energy. If you leave me alone, I’ll make sure you die a less painful death at the hands of the others…….”

“Shut up.”

“Ha. You’re not making any sense.”

With wings, Arpa soared into the air to avoid Yozen’s attack, but it was futile. Dark energy pools were forming indiscriminately on both the ground and in the air. Yozen used these pools like portals, moving freely without restriction.

He dropped from above Arpa’s head, aiming for Arpa’s head as he fell. Arpa quickly ducked, but Yozen, anticipating his move, threw a dagger and sliced off Arpa’s ear.

The wounds had already accumulated across Arpa’s body in this manner. Despite this, Arpa didn’t directly attack Yozen. Instead, he threw fireballs at the nearby humans, spreading flames.

‘By attacking others like that, he’s trying to distract Yozen…… Whether intentional or not, he’s figured out Yozen’s temperament well.’

Yozen was not the kind of person who could focus solely on battle while ignoring the lives of others. Every time the battle dragged on and his knights fell one by one, it was only a matter of time before his composure shattered.

‘Yozen can’t afford to be distracted. To face this opponent with pure brute force, I’ll need Lumen. But……’

Lumen had been severely injured while carrying Lydon. Right now, Garuel was focusing on healing them, but given the battlefield’s chaos, the limits of his abilities were clear.

‘And then there’s Garuel’s wounds. They’re still not healed.’

Using Kunra’s power, one of his pupils tightened, and through the narrow slit of his bleary eyes, Garuel could be seen beyond the dark mana. He was infusing demonic energy into the bodies of Lumen and Lydon, who were lying down. His expression was calm and composed, but his body was not. His body was pierced and wounded, and a considerable amount of fresh blood was flowing from it.

The wounds continuously released demonic energy, but there was no sign of healing. It was clear that the purity of the demonic energy was so high that even his regeneration could not heal it.

‘That red-haired one was targeting Garuel specifically.’

With an expression devoid of thought, it seemed like she had properly assessed the human side’s strengths. Grinding his teeth, Cadel lifted his gaze to the sky. A quick glance revealed a demon in the high heavens recovering her form.

‘Once that body is fully restored, the wide-area attacks will start again. But if I recklessly approach to stop it, I’ll end up like before, a complete mess.’

No matter how he thought about it, the top priority target was that red-haired demon. Eliminating her would reduce the damage to his allies.

‘It’s better to keep my distance and attack from long range, maintaining distance so it doesn’t turn into a one-on-one fight.’

For that, cooperation was necessary. Having made his decision, Cadel quickly squeezed through his allies’ gaps and shouted. 

“Sir Moritol!”

Cadel sent fireballs flying in all directions, knocking down the monsters that surged like a tidal wave. As if pushing through thick foliage, he advanced and found Moritol engaged in an urgent battle. Quickly assessing the enemy’s numbers, Cadel cast [Fire Chains] and wrapped the necks of the demons surrounding Moritol.

Moritol, who had only just noticed Cadel, wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a deep breath.

“……Sir Cadel.”

“The enemies are continuously pouring in. If we engage with them one by one, our allies will die faster.”

“We need to reactivate the Gate of Retribution.”

“Let’s deal with the High Demons first. We need to take out that most troublesome one first.”

Cadel pointed to the sky, and Moritol followed his gaze with a frown.

“Is that it? The demon who just made Sir Cadel fall from the sky?”

“Yes. Close combat is impossible. If we keep our distance and attack simultaneously, we won’t end up like I did. I need your help.”

Cadel glanced at the bow in Moritol’s hand. Among the commanders of the Knight Order, Moritol was rare in that he specialized in ranged attacks using a bow. If they gathered the magicians and launched an attack led by him and Cadel, they could eliminate the demons with minimal casualties.

On the battlefield, Moritol was quick to make decisions. He immediately accepted Cadel’s proposal.

“Understood. I’ll call in the magicians.”

“No. I’ll gather the magicians. You should deploy them appropriately and, once I send the signal, give the order to attack simultaneously.”

“Understood. Let’s hurry.”

Cadel immediately moved into the magic circle to find the magicians he needed. He was looking for the 4th Battalion of the Guardian Knight Order, and their captain, Jeriel Gratori.

In the midst of the chaos and flying blades, finding Jeriel wasn’t difficult. Cadel quickly relayed the plan to him, then provided cover for the magicians as they moved toward Moritol.

Once he confirmed that the magicians had safely met up with Moritol, Cadel moved to a distant position. Just a slight shift in position caused the enemies to converge, and with time, his stamina was quickly depleting.

‘At this rate, I’ll be drained before we even enter the Demon Realm.’

It was likely no different on the other side of the battlefield with their allied forces. The question lingered: was it the right decision to press forward with a broken force from the start? A brief worry surfaced, but it wasn’t something that could be answered by pondering it now.

Cadel, having settled into a suitable position, quickly dealt with the nearby enemies and checked the position of the red-haired demon. Her regeneration had been severely hampered, with only about half of her lower body still intact. Time was running out.

‘Rodin and Arpa’s subordinates are tied up. There shouldn’t be any interference for now.’

After taking care of the red-haired demon, Cadel needed to maintain momentum and target the remaining High Demons. He gathered his mana, suppressing the impatience that threatened to take over. As he scanned the battlefield, he spotted his allies steadily increasing the distance and preparing their attacks.

Cadel focused on Moritol. His weapon was a bow equipped with a special magical tool. A critical strike would take time to prepare.

Slowly drawing the bowstring, Moritol’s body emitted an ethereal energy. A soft golden glow spread from his body, and the arrow nocked on the bow began to shimmer faintly.

When that arrow shone the brightest, that would be the signal. Cadel, keeping his eyes on Moritol, began to combine the mana of fire and wind, preparing to unleash his magic.

He planned to strike the demons with his own magic first, and while the demons reacted to his attack, his allies would rain down their attacks from all directions.

‘……Now’s the time.’

As Moritol’s arrow blazed with light, the tip of the arrow was aimed directly at the demon. Cadel, sensing that Moritol was ready, launched a fireball into the air. Just as he was about to unfold the prepared magic, he heard someone call out his name.

“Mori…!”

Something flew at lightning speed, striking Moritol with a force that caused his body to fold in half. The sudden impact sent his arrow, which had been carefully aimed, spiraling off course to an unintended location.

Meanwhile, the attack from Jeriel’s side began, unaware of the change in Moritol’s situation. The plan had gone awry, but Cadel knew he had to cast his spell before Jeriel was overwhelmed by the counterattack. However, he was unable to react immediately.

The reason for his hesitation was the presence of the ‘something’ that had struck Moritol. It was neither a rock nor a punch nor a spell—no, it was something far more familiar. It was the body of a subordinate he knew all too well.

“Van!”

His urgent shout was drowned out by the following screams. Instinctively, Cadel turned to check on Van’s condition, only to notice the cascade of demonic energy descending from Jeriel’s direction.

Panicking, he quickly unleashed his prepared magic, but it merely struck the remnants of the demons scattered by the demonic energy, hitting nothing of substance.

‘Why……?!’

A surge of curses rose from within him, his anxiety and fear beginning to cloud his thoughts. He couldn’t control the situation. Nothing on this battlefield was going according to his plan.

He didn’t know the way to defeat his enemies. The reason he had been successful up until now was because he was able to quickly discern the weaknesses of his opponents and formulate strategies. But faced with these unknown enemies, he now felt helpless and pathetic.

“Van, Van, Van……”

Unable to think of a solution, Cadel muttered Van’s name repeatedly, desperately trying to focus on stopping the incoming attacks from Jeriel’s side. The magical shields created by the magicians were stacked in layers, but they wouldn’t be enough to completely mitigate the shock.

‘Even though this is such a dangerous situation, I can’t even make an effective counterattack. What am I supposed to do?’

It wasn’t just Arpa who was protecting the red-headed demon. As soon as Cadel attempted to target her, demons who had been watching attentively from all sides immediately launched interference. The demons were fully aware of how crucial the red-headed demon was to the outcome of this battle.

‘Should I deal with the other enemies first to avoid interference? But there are too many of them. If I’m not careful, I’ll end up achieving nothing.’

The same applied to his ability to protect his allies. If he couldn’t block the red-head’s attacks, at least he needed to stop the other demons from attacking, but keeping up the magical shields wasn’t even enough to protect the magicians properly.

The prepared armor and magical tools were in a similar state. The first to be hit had been the Guardian Knight Order, and the damage to their armor was significant.

‘Whether I aim for the red-head or protect my allies, or even try to reactivate the Gate of Retribution…… more magicians are needed.’

He had lost too many of his forces in the initial assault. Reinforcements were urgently needed. But where could he find more troops to bolster his ranks?

For a moment, despair and helplessness overwhelmed his mind. And then, the next moment…

“Cadel!”

With Yozen’s shout echoing from somewhere, a hot, heavy sensation pierced through Cadel’s entire body.

‘What……’

Before he could even comprehend what had happened, a burning, clotted liquid filled his mouth. His strength drained away, and something trickled from his loosely parted lips, a rancid smell stinging his nose.

It was blood. As he recognized it, a feverish, horrible pain shot through his body as if he were on fire. Into his blurry vision, he saw the dark energy that had pierced his body. As it slithered away, chunks of flesh and wet blood dripped from the surface of the dark energy.

Cadel instinctively realized that he had been struck by the same attack as Lumen. The cries of his subordinates echoed from afar, but he could offer no response. His strength drained rapidly, and his vision began to blur.

‘No……’

He couldn’t fall here. Not before even stepping into the Demon Realm. He couldn’t kneel so easily. Cadel tried desperately to hold on, attempting to call out for Garuel to heal him.

But all that escaped his parted lips was the hot flow of blood. As his eyelids fluttered weakly, the last image he saw was the face of his despairing comrade.