Kyleen, who entered the foggy wall, ran following the screams and the smell of blood coming from the passage.
She scanned the entirety of Area A with her insight. A strange magic circle covered the entire Demonic Light.
The place where Kyleen’s steps stopped was a massacre site, littered indiscriminately with the corpses of humans, demons, and monsters.
Drawing her sword, she looked up at the Demon King who reigned over this hellscape.
“Oh, it’s Kyleen.”
The second-ranked in the Demon Realm hierarchy, Drak.
As she expected, Drak had grown immensely over time through the mana stones of the Demonic Light, appearing much larger than before.
“You’ve arrived at the perfect time, Kyleen. I was just about to crush this little brat.”
In front of Drak, the young Demon King she had met earlier in the capital square was trembling.
But the Death Knight, Kan, who always stood by her side, was nowhere to be seen.
Kyleen withdrew her gaze from Rupia and spoke coldly to Drak.
“It seems you’ve spent quite some time working on the Demonic Light.”
“Kuhuhu. Yes. And above all, Kyleen, it was to capture and kill you.”
As she said, the magic circle that covered more than half of Area A in the Demonic Light was impossible to create without meticulous planning and preparation.
In other words, there was someone within the Empire who had free access to the Demonic Light and was colluding with the Demon King.
“The coward who wasn’t even ranked has grown bold, Drak.”
Kyleen assumed her stance. Drak simply smirked without any attempt to defend himself.
“Do you think you can win? The Grand Demon King assured me, Kyleen, that you are no match for me.”
“…I think I’ve heard something similar before.”
Recalling the words of Chancellor Alvesto in the royal library, Kyleen nodded.
“Drak, if someone is to cut off your head, it will be me.”
Her sword flew towards Drak. In response, Drak threw his fist forward.
Kyleen had anticipated the power Drak wielded through his authority.
Drak could exert power equal to his own within this domain.
However, an unexpected variable occurred.
At the moment when the sword and fist collided, Kyleen’s sword was pushed back with shocking ease.
“…!”
Kyleen’s eyes widened as she stared at her trembling fingertips in shock.
At the same time, she realized the true nature of the magic circle covering the entire Demonic Light.
“No way, the effect of the magic circle is…”
“Kuhuhu. You only noticed now? Your senses have dulled compared to before, Kyleen.”
Drak was not the only one using authority.
The sealing authority governing the entire Demonic Light was suppressing Kyleen’s power.
Without giving her a chance to recover, Drak swung his fist again.
Using her sword as a shield, Kyleen barely blocked the attack but staggered once more.
“That’s a fine sword you have there.”
Drak hurled his massive body like a cannonball and let out a mocking laugh.
“No matter how strong the weapon is, it’s useless if its wielder is weak.”
Kyleen grit her teeth. Blocking his attacks with her sword any longer was impossible.
She focused all her attention on dodging Drak’s relentless attacks. His movements were slow, but each blow was lethal.
When Drak created an opening by swinging his massive fist, Kyleen did not miss the chance.
She swiftly twisted her body, slipped into his side, and struck his waist with all her strength.
However, the sensation that reached her fingertips was heavy. It felt like trying to cut stone with paper.
“Kuhuhu. Who would have thought a Swordmaster’s strike could feel so light!”
Drak ignored the shallow wound caused by her sword and charged forward.
Amidst the countless fists raining down on her, Kyleen’s sword lost its direction.
In an instant, a fist she couldn’t avoid struck her side.
“…!”
Kyleen staggered and fell to one knee from the impact.
Before she could catch her breath, Drak’s enormous shadow loomed over her menacingly.
“I find this moment the most enjoyable.”
Looking down at the Empire’s Swordmaster, Drak wore a cruel smile.
He began to systematically break Kyleen’s body, deliberately avoiding fatal blows.
With every strike, the sound of breaking bones echoed, and Kyleen’s groans filled the air.
Drak laughed savagely, his eyes filled with madness.
“I won’t kill you right away.”
He muttered cruelly, tilting his head.
“As long as Aishi’s mana lasts, time is endless. Let’s enjoy this slowly.”
After breaking Kyleen as he desired, Drak turned his attention to the next targets.
His gaze shifted to Rupia, Lauro, and Roshi.
“Kyleen, I’ll show you the torture you’ll endure in advance. Watch closely from there.”
Drak’s cruel words rang out like a death sentence.
Barely able to breathe, her body shattered, Kyleen lay on the ground and looked up at Drak.
In her eyes, long-forgotten fear shimmered.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. It’s your turn now, weakling Demon King.”
As Drak slowly walked towards Rupia, Rain stepped in front of him, sword drawn.
At that moment, Drak’s eyebrow twitched slightly. Remembering what had happened on the Sky Island, his face twisted with irritation.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Drak swung his massive fist like a hammer.
Rain tried to counterattack but was helplessly slammed into the ground by Drak’s overwhelming strength.
“Keugh…!”
Rain struggled, coughing up blood, but her resolve did not waver.
Staggering to her feet, she gripped her sword once more and charged at Drak.
“You’re becoming a nuisance. Truly.”
Drak muttered irritably as he swung both arms wide.
His attacks carried far more murderous intent than before.
Rain tried to block them with all her strength, but she was helpless against Drak’s relentless barrage of punches.
Like a leaf lost in a storm, she was struck and thrown back to the ground again.
But Drak did not stop.
As if he wished for Rain to be completely shattered, he continued to rain down his fists without pause.
The dull sounds of impact reverberated endlessly, accompanied by the sound of breaking bones.
Yet, even so, Rain rose once again.
Her broken body wavered like a candle flame in the wind, but her eyes still faintly burned with resolve.
“Ha…”
Drak caught his breath and spoke in a voice mixed with faint admiration and mockery.
“Your squeezed-out courage has surpassed fear. For a cowardly wolf, where does such will even come from?”
Rain, unable to hold her sword with her broken arm, bared her sharp fangs and glared at him.
The tooth she had broken during her spar with the golem was still visible.
“That knight was right… Cowards can always recognize each other…”
She growled with a trembling voice.
Rain denied both the illusion Drak had created with his authority and the seal of Aishi.
“You can’t even believe in your own strength, hoping only that your opponent is weak. You are nothing…!”
The blood drained from Drak’s face at those words.
In a flash, his fist, filled with raw power, shot toward Rain.
But blocking its path was Rupia.
“N-Nooo!”
The punch struck Rupia squarely, and she was sent flying into the distant wall.
From behind a rock, the black cat, who had been hiding, cried out in shock.
“R-Rupia!”
Rupia looked as though she might die at any moment, but she clutched her body and slowly stood up.
Drak nodded at her with a mocking gaze.
“Little scrap Demon King, when you think about it, this is all your fault. If you’d just bowed your head quietly on the airship and the floating island, none of this would have happened.”
Wiping her bloody nose with her small hand, Rupia spoke in a trembling voice.
“I-I’ll never bow… General wanted me to become a proper Demon King…!”
Drak firmly denied her words.
“No one will ever acknowledge a weakling like you as a Demon King.”
“I-I’m not weak, you… cowardly gorilla!”
The moment Rupia’s defiant cry ended, Drak’s reason snapped.
He roughly threw Rain aside and began stomping Rupia mercilessly.
Like with Kyleen, his goal was not to kill her but to make her suffer.
“Beg for your life! Now! Cry and plead for me to spare you!”
Rupia clenched her teeth and endured, curling up tightly against the attacks.
When Drak’s kicks finally paused, her fingers twitched faintly.
Tzzzz.
Using the last of her remaining mana, Rupia summoned a tiny, crackling spark of lightning.
That was her answer.
“….”
Without a word, Drak picked up Rupia and slammed her into the stone floor once more.
Her small body bounced off the ground several times before coming to rest weakly at the edge of the foggy wall.
There was no longer even anger left in Drak’s expression.
“The opportunity has ended. I’ll finish this now.”
At that moment, a skeleton emerged from within the fog wall.
Drak froze in place.
Lauro, Roshi, the black cat, Rain, and even Aishi all turned to look at the Death Knight, Kan.
Kan slightly opened his mouth and stared at the battered Rupia before gently picking her up.
Rupia seemed moments away from death.
Kan did not apologize for being late.
This time, he was truly too late, and his master could no longer hear his apology.
“If we had followed Lord Beal’s plan… I should’ve spent more time fighting the other Demon Kings, but it seems I arrived far too soon.”
Aishi adjusted her glasses and spoke softly.
Her voice was calm, but the eyes behind her glasses couldn’t hide their tension.
Drak extended his magic toward the B-Sector passage that Kan had come through.
The sound of battle cries could clearly be heard from there.
Drak quickly assessed the situation and nodded.
“You’re sharp. You left the soldiers behind and came alone, didn’t you? But you’re already too late.”
Kan carefully laid down Rupia after confirming her faint breaths.
Without a word, he walked toward Drak.
Drak didn’t avoid him.
He was already certain after utterly overwhelming Kyleen earlier.
He was the strongest here, and his opponent was the weakest.
Even if that opponent was Kan, nothing would change.
“I’ve been waiting for this day, skeleton. Every time I thought of you, I couldn’t control the rage boiling inside me.”
“…”
“I tried to relieve my anger by killing these weaklings, but it seems only you can truly satisfy me.”
Drak let out an obvious laugh filled with mockery.
“Oh! I almost forgot. Here, you’re just another weakling too! Hah! Struggle all you want. Your sword is nothing more than paper here!”
Kan turned his skull slightly, observing the surroundings.
Shapeless, twisted corpses.
Shredded flesh and debris scattered without dignity.
It was like someone’s cruel joke.
That joke included Rain, Lauro, and even Kyleen, whom Kan had acknowledged as an exceptional swordsman.
“…Is it fun?”
Drak slightly frowned at the deep, echoing voice that seemed to rise from the depths of hell.
“What did you say?”
“Is tormenting the weak… fun?”
At Kan’s flat, resonant question, Drak snorted with laughter.
“You miserable wretch. Did you seriously just ask me that? Look at those pathetic monsters. That so-called Swordmaster is trembling like a frightened dog, tail tucked between her legs!”
Lauro and Roshi lay sprawled on the ground, unable even to breathe properly.
Rain was horribly shattered.
Kyleen, who once had piercing eyes of righteousness, now looked clouded and lost in fear under overwhelming violence.
“This will soon be your fate as well. Feel the endless helplessness of being bound by time and space, undead!”
His condescending gaze swept over them all before finally settling back on Kan.
“…I see.”
Kan slowly nodded.
He drew his sword and thought of Rupia.
The fragile girl who had always been running away, who had stood before Drak with her life on the line at the single request to uphold the dignity of a Demon King.
“You’ll wish… that I was strong enough to kill you in a single blow.”
Kan bowed his head and murmured as if sobbing.
But as a skeleton, he could not shed tears.
Life is not necessarily better than death.
No one understood that better than Kan, who had failed to die on the battlefield and was instead resurrected as an immortal undead.
“The countless eons of my weak existence… will now become your suffering.”
Declaring what Drak was about to learn, Kan gripped his sword tightly and charged at him.