The wind swept across the battlefield, carrying the acrid scent of burnt metal.
Cratered earth stretched everywhere. Demon corpses lay scattered among long trenches carved into the ground.
And yet, at the very center of that devastated land, the demon still stood.
Its body trembled slowly, as if adjusting its own structure.
Then—
The eyes along both of its arms opened all at once.
Not one by one.
But all of them.
Their gaze was not fixed on anyone in particular.
They looked… as if measuring the entire space.
The stitched mouth on its head twitched violently. The black threads stretched so tight they seemed ready to snap.
Behind its back, smaller mouths began to open.
There was no roar.
No screech.
Only ancient magical characters gradually forming in the air.
Those characters did not shine brightly.
They were dark.
Dense.
Heavy.
As if the sky itself had been carved into runes.
They rotated.
Overlapped.
And then—
A wave of demonic power spread outward.
Not loud.
But enough to crack the earth into long fractures.
Soldiers in the distance were blown away. Defensive barriers shattered like thin glass.
Renar dropped to one knee.
Not because he was injured.
But because of the pressure.
He could feel it clearly—
The being standing before them was no longer a single demon.
All lesser demons across the battlefield stopped at once.
The crawling hand-spiders along the walls.
The black bats circling in the sky.
The faceless shadows lurking in the ruins.
They turned.
And then rushed toward the main demon simultaneously.
They no longer attacked.
They merged.
One by one, they fused into that colossal body.
Flesh and bone blended together.
The sound of cracking echoed like a thousand joints being broken at once.
The mass of flesh swelled.
Then contracted.
Its structure shifted.
The spine elongated.
Two legs formed.
A gigantic humanoid shape slowly stood upright.
Nearly one hundred meters tall.
A demonic head crowned with sharp horns curving backward.
Long fangs exposed beneath the dim, clouded sky.
Its back was covered in dense bone spikes, sharp as spears.
Its eyes opened.
The space around it felt compressed.
The demon noble stepped forward.
His cloak flapped violently in the swirling demonic current.
He began chanting.
The magic circles on the ground started trembling.
They separated from the earth.
Rose into the air.
They did not disappear.
Instead, they carved themselves directly onto his skin.
Symbols burned across his chest, shoulders, neck, and back.
His flesh glowed red along every marking.
He laughed.
Then leapt onto the demon's head.
The moment his foot touched—
Their powers fused.
A deep sound resonated, like the heartbeat of a colossal creature awakening.
Now he and the demon were one.
Sivall did not hesitate.
He raised his sword high.
Dark clouds gathered unnaturally fast.
A massive bolt of lightning descended.
The sound tore through the sky.
Light engulfed the demon's head.
Then another bolt.
And another.
When the smoke cleared, its scalp was charred black.
But before everyone's eyes—
The flesh began to move.
The burn closed.
Perfectly.
Kael charged forward.
His enhanced sword blazed with light.
One slash at the demon's toe.
The enormous toe fell, shaking the ground upon impact.
Less than a few seconds—
Bone regrew.
Flesh wrapped around it.
Not a single trace remained.
Renar stood behind them.
He clenched his fists.
Only one thought filled his mind:
I can't do anything.
Suddenly—
From high above, a spear descended.
It pierced through the demon's arm, shredding flesh as hard as stone.
And continued toward the demon noble.
He reacted in time.
A barrier formed in his palm.
The collision created a massive shockwave.
The spear was knocked back.
It flew to its point of origin.
A man hovered in the sky.
Silver armor reflected the dim light.
Countless weapons floated around him.
Spears.
Swords.
Axes.
Shields.
Royma.
One of the Ten Saints of the Magic Council.
The demon noble narrowed his eyes.
"What wind has brought you here, Royma 'Ten Thousand Arms'?"
Royma looked down calmly.
"I have come to send you to the world beyond."
The space behind Royma opened.
Hundreds of spears appeared.
They fell like a meteor shower.
The demon noble exerted his power.
From the demon's skin, lumps of flesh bulged outward.
They split apart.
Transforming into countless lesser demons.
They rushed into the sky, using their bodies to block the spears.
Reducing the impact.
But not stopping all of them.
Several spears still pierced through the demon's massive frame.
The demon noble gritted his teeth.
Spikes grew across the demon's entire body.
They fired outward like a rain of arrows.
Royma glided aside.
The spikes changed direction midair, continuing their pursuit.
A thick shield appeared at his side, expanding instantly.
The spikes struck it.
Rebounded.
Fell like metallic rain.
Royma raised his hand.
A massive war hammer manifested beside the demon noble's head.
It came crashing down.
The impact rang like a colossal bell.
His head and upper torso were blasted apart.
Blood and flesh scattered through the air.
The battlefield fell silent for a brief moment.
Then—
The remaining body began to regenerate.
Bones reconnected.
Flesh regrew.
He laughed.
"Now I am one with this demon."
"Unless both of us are erased together, I cannot die."
"Vermin."
His laughter echoed.
Royma smiled faintly.
"Is that so?"
He lifted his head.
"Then let me show you something interesting."
"Look to the sky."
The demon noble followed his gaze.
And for the first time—
His expression changed.
His pupils widened.
With a body enhanced by fusion, he could see beyond the clouds.
Beyond the atmosphere, a colossal emblem of the Magic Council shone brightly.
It floated in space like an artificial star.
Light gathered at its center.
Pressure descended from above.
Even merged with the demon, he felt his heart skip a beat.
He laughed.
"To deal with me, you resort to that?"
Royma spoke softly.
"May the light guide humanity."
The light descended.
Not lightning.
Not personal magic.
But orbital magical artillery.
The pillar of light swallowed the demon whole.
It was so bright that everyone had to shield their eyes.
Sivall immediately grabbed Kael and retreated at extreme speed away from the epicenter.
Renar stood farther away, still staring.
The brightness intensified by the second.
The ground trembled.
The earth split.
The air itself was torn apart.
The radiance continued to rise.
Then reached its peak.
The demon's form was no longer visible.
Only white.
Absolute white.
A magical voice sounded in Royma's ear.
The Magic Council's emblem resonated.
"Sir, the magical cannon has fired."
"Target confirmed hit."
"Radar indicates: no remaining life signs."
Royma replied,
"Mm. Well done."
The pillar of light continued for several more seconds.
Then gradually faded.
When the radiance finally disappeared—
Where the demon once stood, only a colossal crater remained.
The stone had melted.
No demon noble.
No demon.
Only the wind blowing across scorched black earth.