“Demon King Ville?!”
The clerics on the scene recognized him at once—the Demon King who’d once ignited the war between demonkin and humans.
The king who’d supposedly fallen to a hero eighteen years ago, now reappearing before their eyes.
How could it not shock them to their cores?
“Am I dreaming?”
“The dead Demon King… in Kado City?”
“Is this part of Abyssal Eye’s scheme?!”
The Holy Land clerics buzzed with confusion.
“You…”
Zak’s eyes bulged.
He’d never anticipated the arrival of a true demonkin—let alone the demonkin king—in Kado City.
Every elite in Abyssal Eye was a demonized human. No demonkin among them.
The bishop hadn’t breathed a word of this before the operation. So seeing Ville, Zak shared the clerics’ stunned bewilderment.
“Don’t lump me in with half-baked amateurs like that.”
The Demon King’s gaze swept down from the clock tower.
Those below felt the weight of eyes from beneath the mask and instinctively stepped back.
After all, everyone had heard tales of the war eighteen years past—of the supremely wicked Demon King who’d commanded the demonkin horde in all his terror.
Not here?
That’s odd.
Via grumbled inwardly.
No one could guess that beneath this soul-chilling Demon King Armament lurked a soft-looking pink-haired girl.
After bidding Stella farewell, she’d slipped into a deserted spot, activated the armament, and set to work.
Her goal wasn’t some grand debut before the masses—this was just a side effect.
From her perch on high, she scanned for Sophie’s whereabouts.
By all logic, Sophie should be with Yuwen. Yet here he was in her sights, and no sign of her sister.
Where on earth had she gone?
“Half-baked? You talking about… me?”
Zak’s body shook, his pride stung by the Demon King’s words.
He’d forsaken his humanity, embraced the abyssal aura willingly—and this demonkin dismissed him like that?
“Yeah. Who else would I mean?” Via sneered. “Foolish humans, thinking a dabble in abyssal aura makes you one of the abyss? Frogs in a well—even if you lie to yourself forever, you’ll never be demonkin. You’re human today, human for life!”
Saying it aloud felt a bit like self-rebuke.
After all, in this life, she was human—had taken in abyssal aura, remade herself. By that metric, she counted as demonized.
But she was operating under the Demon King’s banner now. Playing the part came with the territory.
“Damn you—whoever you are! I serve only the Abyss God!!”
Enraged, Zak hefted his curved blade and unleashed a barrage of air-rending slashes at the Demon King.
Boom!
Dark purple energy blades slammed into the clock face. Empowered by abyssal aura, the strike’s force was immense—it obliterated the tower’s summit, sending debris crashing down and kicking up clouds of dust.
“Hah! What Demon King? Just a poser in a costume—still got taken out like the original!” Zak guffawed.
But from the billowing smoke shot a straight beam of light. It pierced the haze, zeroing in on Zak’s vitals.
“Crescent Moon Slash!”
Zak’s heart skipped. He tightened his grip on the blade, channeling abyssal aura to amplify his power.
The weapon traced an arc, birthing a dark purple crescent.
Yet the crescent couldn’t hold against the light’s onslaught.
The magic bullet twisted through, shattering the defense and slamming into Zak.
“Urgh… ah!”
Zak flew like a kicked mongrel, smashing into a wall in a heap of disgrace.
A coppery tang flooded his throat. Crimson liquid seeped from his clenched teeth, pattering to the ground.
“The Demon King… fighting a demonized?” The clerics gawked at the unfolding clash, utterly baffled.
Demonkin or demonized—their power both stemmed from the abyss.
“I’ve said it before: don’t equate me with trash like that. To me, demonized and you clerics alike? Just ants waiting to be crushed.”
Via still hadn’t spotted Sophie.
By rights, with all this commotion, a saintess candidate like her should’ve shown by now.
Since she wasn’t turning up anytime soon, another idea took root.
Kado City’s whole mess stemmed from these demonized.
Abyssal Eye had sealed the city, loosed the abyssal beast and corrupted hordes, spreading aura to infect humans—turning the place into their petri dish.
Sophie stuck here was in mortal peril.
Via wasn’t ready to let her die just yet.
So what needed doing?
Wipe out every last demonized here.
End the disaster at its source. Then it wouldn’t matter where Sophie holed up—she’d survive anywhere.
Sophie was a high-value piece on the board.
She couldn’t go yet!
That’s the call, the Demon King decided inwardly.
“Ants? Don’t get cocky. Once you’re in Abyssal Eye’s trap, you won’t leave alive.”
Zak forced himself up, knees buckling under him.
His eyes shifted—whites turning pitch black. Crimson patterns bloomed across his skin, spreading to every corner and glowing fiercely.
This Abyssal Eye elite’s abyssal aura thickened palpably.
He wasn’t alone; the other demonized converging on the scene tapped some secret rite, their auras surging in tandem.
Their faces twisted more feral, inching toward beastly visages.
“The Demon King’s invaded our human world! For the future, we can’t stand idle!”
The clerics weren’t mere spectators either. Those still able unleashed holy power, assuming battle stances.
In their eyes, the Demon King menaced humanity; the demonized betrayed it.
Both foes had to fall.
Thus, with the Demon King at the center, demonized and clerics arrayed on opposite sides—three forces locked in standoff.
…Hmph.
Via glanced around. The Demon King Armament’s energy reserves brimmed full.
Plenty to act on her whims.
“Foolish humans. Looks like I need to carve fear into your hearts anew!”
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