When the hell was the ‘heavy blow’ going to be completed? Dozens of spear blades stretched out before his eyes. Lumen clicked his tongue briefly as he traced the dizzying movements of the afterimages.

“No matter how fast you are, if your opponent doesn’t have an opening, you can’t attack!”

With a clear laugh, Sandy rushed forward, following Lumen as she tried to close the distance, her attacks literally sucking the soul out of her opponent. It wasn’t just her spear skills that were dazzling; her massive wings constantly stirred up wind and kicked up dust, and the biting wind and stinging sand relentlessly obstructed his vision. At the slightest distraction, his body would be pierced with dozens of holes.

‘It’s even more annoying that I have to keep her distracted.’

If this were a full-scale battle, Lumen would be actively using tactics to deal with Sandy. But right now, his role was to bide his time until Van perfected his technique.

‘This kind of thing doesn’t suit my temper.’

It was Van’s job to charge forward and draw the enemy’s attention, and Lumen didn’t like it one bit. But what could he do, like it or not, Van Herdos was his ally.

“Of course, even my superior swordsmanship can’t hurt an invulnerable opponent, but that opponent is not you.”

“What do you mean…….”

Without another word, Lumen’s form abruptly disappeared. He was so fast that even Sandy couldn’t keep track of him, and before she could express her bewilderment, he was gone. He reappeared, right under her nose.

“You’re full of loopholes.”

A crooked grin dangled over his haggard face. Sandy’s expression reflected in his blue eyes, and she flinched subtly.

For a split second, her expression flashed with pure surprise. Part of it was simply the realization that Lumen’s speed was overwhelming beyond measure.

“You’re handsome! Even though you’re human!”

It was also because the human face that had burst in unannounced was shockingly handsome. She wondered how the features could be so well placed, how the eyes could be so emotionless, and how the unnecessary moisture in them could be so disorienting.

Sandy, suddenly remembering the appearance of her comrade Dyphorek, reflexively let out a sigh. And Lumen, for his part, returned Sandy’s admiration lightly.

“I know.”

It was a fairly brazen response, but one that didn’t even register as ridiculous. And with that, Sandy was left speechless. A sarcastic voice spoke in her place.

“I told you to fight her with your sword, and now you’re using your pretty face? This is why you’re a young master.”

Sandy turned her head reflexively. A greatsword more than twice her size swelled up around the killing intent and condensed aura, and as it flew toward her, it looked more like a giant mace than a sword.

As she ducked to the side to avoid Lumen, who blocked the opposite exit, a red aura narrowly grazed the tip of her nose. It didn’t quite touch, but the next moment, a long laceration cut across her nose and cheeks, causing blood to gush out.

“Aaargh!”

This was no ordinary cut. The pain was uncannily excruciating, and even as she drew upon her demonic energy, there was no sign of healing. The more she used her demonic energy, the deeper the wound grew.

Clutching her face, Sandy glared at the greatsword’s owner, who stood facing her with a sword nearly her height lying on the ground. The aura that covered his entire body was much darker in color than it had been at first, glowing crimson like old blood.

‘It’s an aura of a concentration I’ve never seen before.’

The melting aura flowing downward was constantly being absorbed by the greatsword. This was the first time she’d faced a Berserker in person, but it wasn’t the first time she’d seen them fight. She had thought that if she pushed them a little harder, they would self-destruct.

There was something strange about this human’s aura. It was sensitive to demonic energy, yet aggressive, as if it was trying to absorb demonic energy instead of being controlled by it.

The same went for the wound on her face. Whether it was affected by the aura or by her drawing up demonic energy for self-recovery, the remnants of the aura left in the wound began to dig into her body as if they were trying to devour the demonic energy inside her.

‘Dangerous. I’ve been wounded by something that clearly didn’t touch me, and if we get into melee, I’ll be mortally wounded beyond healing.’

The key to spearmanship was to keep your opponent at a distance and coordinate your moves, but when your opponent was wielding a weapon that you didn’t know what to do with, it became difficult to both get close and stay away.

‘Should I pass it to Dyphorek? Or use the monsters as shields to take down the center…….’

She realized she was no match for Van. Coming to a quick conclusion, Sandy began to think of ways to get rid of Van. But.

“Where are you running to?”

Van shot at her without giving Sandy time to think. It was a light gesture, unexpected for a weapon the size of a man. Sandy’s expression hardened as she scrambled to dodge the swirling greatsword.

‘I didn’t touch it, I didn’t touch it!’

It was close, but there was clearly a distance between her and the greatsword, and yet her body was constantly being cut. An energy so intense that her skin tingled at the slightest proximity. It was much more dangerous than she had thought.

‘……This energy can’t be maintained for long. If I drain him, he’ll self-destruct.’

It was fun to face a more powerful enemy. Ordinarily, she’d have lunged at him headlong, but the moment she’d been wounded beyond healing, Sandy remembered.

She, and the demons, could not be defeated anymore. She couldn’t let her guard down like a fool, excited by the first fresh air she’d smelled in a long time. She needed to be careful.

‘Dodge first.’

The opponent was a close-range warrior, a human without wings. If she took to the air, she’d be impossible to catch. Sandy tried to leap, but a sharp pain shot through her wingbone, followed by a dry voice.

“There is no need for gratitude.”

She couldn’t fly. Realizing this, Sandy slowly turned her head. Behind her stood Lumen, his sword half-sheathed. His cold gaze swept over her, then back to Van beyond.

“You were only able to slash her because I tied her up, yet you’re so boastful.”

“You can’t expect manners from someone who never learned to say thank you.”

“Get the hell out of here.”

The snide remarks fell on deaf ears. The only thing that caught Sandy’s attention was a single black wing, splayed out wide, on the ground. Who did this belong to? She saw beautiful feathers. The neatly cut wingbone glimmered in the bright light. The drooping feathers no longer flowed with demonic energy, losing their luster and drying up.

“Ah, ahh…….”

Sandy stumbled to her feet and clutched her fallen wing. Purple blood oozed from its severed back. The sight of her clutching the black wing was quite pitiful, but it did little to tug at Van’s heartstrings.

“I’m in a hurry, and I don’t have time to let you gather yourself.”

The raised greatsword cast a shadow over Sandy, and she no longer felt any wariness.

Without wings, she could simply walk. Perhaps she could regrow them with her nasty regenerative powers. Van had no sympathy for Sandy’s sudden loss of composure, but he didn’t miss the opening she’d given him.

The heavy greatsword, coiled with aura, slammed down over Sandy’s head without a hitch. But just before the blade split her skull.

“Get a grip, you guys! Are you planning on messing things up?!”

A black shadow leaped out of nowhere and snatched Sandy away. It was a demonic beast. Taking the form of a wolf, the demonic beast scooped Sandy up in its mouth and ran in the opposite direction. On the wolf’s back was another limp demon.

Van, who had lost the enemy in front of him, and Lumen, who had left his side, looked in the same direction. Not the demonic beast that had taken the enemy away, but the magician who controlled it.

“The enemy’s destruction is at hand! We can’t just fall like this!”

Dyphorek cursed as he pulled his two battered comrades away from the Scarlet Scales Knight Order. The humans had been reliably pummeling them for some time now; they were growing weary of the endless summoning of monsters, and even some of the humans who had been unusually combative were gradually losing their edge. It was all according to plan. At this rate, even if the human magicians swarmed in and tampered with the magic circle, there would be no turning back.

At some point, the tide of the battle had turned. He couldn’t let this happen.

“Wake up, Sandy! Edward! This is not our grave!”

With a frantic cry, he began to summon a massive surge of demonic energy, but it didn’t work. As he froze, a playful voice came from above him.

“Hmph, why don’t you stop talking and die already? I want to go see Cadel.”

Gone were the days when worrying about Cadel’s whereabouts and well-being distracted him from the battle. At the Scarlet Scales Knight Order’s side was the returned Cadel, whose mere presence energized and motivated the Knight Order.

‘Just a little…… just a little bit longer…….’

He left all the fighting to his subordinates. Cadel had faith in them and a determination to win. He focused solely on disarming the magic circle.

Although it had now entered a state of rampage, the burden of having to deal with the entire magic circle had been relieved thanks to the previous magicians having carried out the disarming process. However, the remaining work was still too much for him to do alone. He couldn’t even call for help from the reinforcements that would arrive later.

What he needed now was not an ally to help him disarm the magic circle. Mana. He needed more energy, and that was a problem that only time would solve.

“I’ll share some more of my power. To do that, I’ll have to tinker with the structure of the circle, which will take time. It won’t be long, so you’ll have to make do with what you have until then.”

Kunra couldn’t completely disengage and focus his power solely on Cadel, for fear of overreaching and upsetting the system, so he decided to give away an additional amount of power, using his own judgment.

‘If Kunra’s power increases, I can break the magic circle on my own.’

Once the magic circle was broken, he would leave it to his subordinates and the Blue Blood Knight Order to clean up the mess. He was worried about Mamil, who was still dealing with the rampage alone. Cadel didn’t think he’d crumble easily, but his personal problems had put too much pressure on him. If Mamil’s efforts were to go awry, he would never be able to shake the guilt of his actions.

So while Cadel waited for Kunra’s power and focused on the flow of mana. The allies were furiously pushing the enemy back, following the tide of the battlefield.

“Ahaha! What are you going to do with those heavy, slimy wings? You’re slow!”

Lydon, who had been in charge of his allies’ defense the entire time, went on the offensive as soon as Dyphorek showed any sign of trying to interfere with his comrade’s battle. Rather than helping his comrade, he was more interested in ending the battle as quickly as possible.

As Dyphorek fled from the attack, spear after spear of ice flew behind him. Heavy ice shattered the ground in his path, sending a chill through the air. Below him, Garuel, who was deploying his healing spells, grumbled.

“You shouldn’t be attacking us like this, Sir Lydon!”

“Hmph, what do you expect? I’m keeping the barrier up, you take care of the rest!”

Do you know how difficult it is to heal allies without being noticed in the dark mana that Cadel barely maintains? It would be wrong to expect understanding from Lydon in the first place.

Garuel carried the fallen knights out of Lydon’s range, hoping for some survivors. Every man, every power, was precious now.

Van and Lumen continued their assault to kill Sandy and Edward, who Dyphorek had allowed to escape. Yozen had been assigned as Cadel’s personal bodyguard, so it was up to Van and Lumen to end the lives of the two High Demons.

“Die! Die!”

Sandy, who had lost her wing and was losing her mind, regained her shallow sanity thanks to Dyphorek. She climbed onto the demonic beast’s back and hurled spears indiscriminately at the two humans chasing her.

Dirt exploded from the ground in all directions as Van and Lumen dodged the attacks. Even one hit was enough to kill them, but it didn’t change the momentum of the two men chasing the demons.

“I’ll take care of the demonic beast, you attack the demons.”

“Just throw your sword energy when I say so.”

“I’ve always wondered how you’ve managed to stay by Leader’s side with such a messed-up personality. I’ve always wondered.”

“You think I’m going to treat you and Commander the same? That’s sickening. Cut the crap and fight.”

Even as they continued their useless verbal duel, the two men’s movements seemed to be in sync, as if they had planned it out in advance. As Van, who had naturally slowed down, prepared to swing his greatsword, Lumen’s form disappeared. At the same time, Sandy’s spear was aimed squarely at Van’s head. A hit if he didn’t dodge. But instead of dodging, Van focused on steadying his stance.

“I will never forgive you! I will kill you in the most painful way possible, without any mercy!”

As her anger reached a fever pitch, Sandy’s offense exploded. If he was hit head-on, it would be difficult for him to recover, even if Garuel came running at him. Despite his intuition, Van continued to advance in a straight line without fear.

As if the sight of him closing in on her displeased her, she wiped the smile from her face and threw her spear with a vengeance. But just before the spear left her hand.

“……!”

The body of the demonic beast carrying her tilted, and Sandy’s center of gravity collapsed as well. Then, the spear she missed came flying at Van with a tremendous amount of wind pressure. Naturally, the spear didn’t hit Van directly.

“Your timing is annoyingly good.”

The spear grazed the side of Van’s head, ruffling his hair. Red eyes flashed from beneath disheveled silver hair. Sandy and Edward rolled helplessly on the ground as the severed leg of the demonic beast dissolved into demonic energy and scattered. Sandy quickly scrambled to her feet and grabbed the unconscious Edward. But before she could get away.

“No……!”

A huge, straight shadow loomed above them. It was Van’s greatsword. The aura wrapped around the greatsword widened its range as it neared the ground, engulfing Sandy and Edward.

If she had wings, she could easily fly out of range. But now she only had one wing left, and she had a comrade to take care of. Her first thought was to abandon Edward and flee for her own safety, but by the time she decided, it was too late.

The greatsword slammed into the ground, a tearing scream echoing through the air as a storm of aura raged. The aura stretched out from the greatsword and engulfed their bodies. The heat tore through their thin skins and melted their muscles. It sucked every last drop of blood from their bodies. The high-quality blood made the aura thicker and darker.

Sandy, and even Edward, who regained consciousness in terrible pain. The strange, hideous sensation of vitality being drained from their bodies left them helpless. Realizing she was dying, Sandy screamed Dyphorek’s name in anguish. But Dyphorek could not save them; he could only stare at his dying comrades from high in the sky.

“It would have been better if you had just stayed underground from the beginning. Then you wouldn’t have had to die and I wouldn’t have had to be bothered. Right?”

“Cough, cough…….”

“You think I’m right? Ahaha, I know!”

Dyphorek’s shriveled wings and body rattled in the air. Piercing his body was a long arm covered in ice. Petal-like ice crystals bloomed from his gaping chest pockets. Lydon fell in close behind Dyphorek and wrapped his arms around his waist.

“Cadel wouldn’t be having such a hard time if it weren’t for you, and I hope you’ll go to hell and reflect on that.”

With a muffled murmur, the arm through Dyphorek’s chest twisted slowly, a rattling sound coming from the frozen body. The glow faded from Dyphorek’s eyes, frozen to the blood that flowed through them. Lydon tossed the corpse of the doomed High Demon haphazardly.

The pierced corpse fell, and the demonic beasts that had filled the vicinity were instantly silenced. The desperate Blue Blood Knight Order panicked as their numbers were halved in one fell swoop, but then they began to deal with the remaining monsters with more vigor. Garuel’s healing had restored their strength.

He had no interest in their battle. As Lydon’s gaze drifted away, a tiny dot on the battlefield came into focus. Lydon’s expression softened at the sight of him, and he prepared to take flight. Now that he’d taken care of the more troublesome enemies, he’d maintain a rough barrier around Cadel.

Lydon was about to descend toward Cadel when he stopped and paused. The ground was shaking. The ground cracked as the tremors intensified, and through the cracks, something fiery shone. A flame. A twitching flame that looked as if it could explode at any moment. Lydon’s eyes widened as he sensed the energy it contained.

And the next moment.

Kwaaah―

From Cadel’s crouching back, an enormous pair of wings sprang forth. They were the wings of a dragon wrapped in flame. They soared high into the sky, spreading wide, dazzling the flames that had pooled beneath the ground.

Reflexively closing his eyes, Lydon’s lips twitched into an amused smile. He realized that this long, tumultuous battle was over.