Yanas covered her face and shouted, “Not bad, not bad, amazing! I never thought that you, a hero, could bring me this much pleasure! This kind of pain—that’s the proof of being alive!”
Her cheeks flushed, a look of intoxication spreading across her face. Her inner thighs couldn’t help but rub against each other, and the breath she exhaled seemed to carry the sweet scent shining in her eyes.
“It’s so thrilling! Without you, wouldn’t this world be too boring?”
Yanas cupped one side of her face, slightly lifting her chin, revealing a smile that made Serena’s heart pound in terror. “I really need you! Serena, you’re absolutely amazing!”
“…Crazy woman…”
Serena muttered softly.
But Yanas took great pleasure in being called that.
Serena had no idea about Yanas’s past. She had always been surrounded by the aura of a genius. Not only was she unmatched among her peers, but even within the Church, there was no one who could contend with her.
Like standing atop a mountain peak, looking out and seeing no one else around.
This loneliness twisted and drove her mind mad! To seek opponents worthy of battle, she was willing to do anything!
She was unfaithful to her sister, unfaithful to the Church, loyal only to her own desires!
Loyal to that one burning heart that craved battle.
“Farewell, cute little kitty. Next time, let me enjoy you properly again…”
With that, Yanas walked to the edge of the Great Cathedral. Leaning back with a manic laugh, she actually jumped directly from beneath the cathedral!
Serena was shocked—the Central Cathedral of the Holy Capital was built atop the Sacred Mountain! The height…
She trembled as she walked to where Yanas had just been and looked out, but no longer saw her figure.
For some inexplicable reason, she let out a deep sigh of relief, collapsing weakly to her knees. Then, gritting her teeth, she drew her sword, took out a healing potion, and gulped it down while pouring it onto her wounds.
Whether it was because her profession was hero or because the potion was exceptionally effective, the wounds on her body visibly began to heal at an astonishing speed.
“…This woman really is insane.”
Having been spared twice now, Serena had a clear understanding of the gap between their abilities. The next time they met, would she be stronger?
If she disappointed Yanas, this woman would undoubtedly kill her without hesitation!
No, she had to become stronger. She couldn’t count on being spared a third time!!
*****
Outside the Holy Capital, the battlefield had entered a bloody, brutal grinder.
The Imperial Legion, relying on tight formations and superior equipment, had barely held their ground after suffering massive casualties, locked in a fierce tug-of-war with the “Abyssal Blades” flanking both wings.
The Wyvern Cavalry’s air support played a crucial role, continuously diving to drop alchemical bombs or picking off threatening demon knights with their heavy crossbows. But they also suffered heavy losses, with several riders shot down by ground forces wielding heavy crossbows and strange dark magic.
The Restoration Knights, under Roswither’s command, formed multiple small light magic arrays. The radiance of Holy Light constantly flared, healing wounded soldiers or purifying the dark miasma that crept too close.
Roswither herself was like a beacon on the battlefield. Her staff continuously cast wide-area [Purifying Light] and [Sacred Barrier], greatly weakening the demon knights’ strength and protecting their lines.
However, the number of demon knights seemed endless, and their individual strength was overwhelming.
Each assault shook the allied front lines to the brink of collapse.
Blood stained the earth, limbs and body parts lay everywhere, and the wails of the injured mingled with the warriors’ roars to form a hellish dirge.
At this deadlock, as the allied forces bore enormous pressure—
A roar, far more furious and filled with primal destructive desire than the Abyssal Knights, rang out like a death knell from the deepest abyss, suddenly exploding and drowning out all the noise on the battlefield!
The sky darkened abruptly!
A colossal shadow, so vast it froze souls, tore through the burning clouds above the Holy Capital. Wrapped in a storm of destruction, it slammed down at the very heart of the Imperial Legion, directly in front of Roswither’s high ground position!
The earth trembled and cracked like a drum struck by a massive hammer! The terrifying shockwave ripped dozens of elite soldiers apart like ragdolls, throwing them into the air!
Heinrich! But he had completely abandoned his human form!
He had swollen to six meters tall, his entire body covered in thick, dark red armor-like skin etched with magma-like patterns and jagged bony spikes.
His broken, twisted giant horns stabbed into the filthy sky, and his huge bat-like wings stirred up a stinking gale with every flap.
Most horrifying of all was his head—his signature false face had vanished entirely, replaced by a gaping abyssal maw that constantly opened and closed, spewing thick black smoke and sulfurous flames!
His giant claws, burning with hellfire, brought a rain of blood and carnage with every strike!
“Lowly maggots! Repent your foolishness in the eternal fires of the Abyss!”
The demonized Heinrich unleashed an inhuman roar, a mixture of grinding metal and boiling lava.
The abyssal maw suddenly expanded to its limit, releasing a viscous, blazing torrent of black flame filled with a stench that could burn souls and an aura of despair. Like a broken dam, the infernal river surged forth with the power to incinerate all it touched, roaring toward the chaotic, morale-shattered Imperial center!
“No—!”
“Fire! Black fire! It’s coming!”
“Ahhhh—help—”
Screams were instantly drowned by the sizzling sound as the black flames consumed everything.
Soldiers caught in the sticky infernal blaze were carbonized and shattered in an instant, armor and all, turning into drifting black ash!
A scorched death mark dozens of meters wide, reeking of burning flesh and foul stench, was branded onto the battlefield like a scar from hell.
Dozens of the Empire’s finest warriors were utterly wiped out without so much as a chance to resist!
Fear exploded like a deadly plague! The center line completely collapsed! Soldiers abandoned their helmets and armor, crying and fleeing in panic, trampling over each other!
“Reve! Roswither! Aileen!” Helga’s shout cracked with a tearing sound.
At this moment, she stood in front of Aileen, the crystal atop her staff flashing wildly as she instantly conjured several layers of rotating elemental shields—frost forming, rocks rising, and whirlwinds circling!
Barely blocking the incoming infernal stones and shockwave, the shield flickered violently, its light unstable.
“We can’t let this continue!” Reve’s night-dark eyes burned with icy battle intent and the shame of their last defeat.
She quickly assessed that this fully realized abyssal demon was no match for any single person!
“Lady Roswither! Aileen! Lilisa! Coordinate with me! Helga, magic support!”
“Understood! [Holy Shackles·Imprison]!”