The sound of clashing weapons and the flow of magical mana resounded throughout the field that separated the demon world and the human world. Both sides threw weapons and offensive magic at each other. Victims continued to fall without end. And on the northwest side, the seven lights and the great demons fought fiercely. The clash between the mana of light and darkness created a bloody scene. Each received fatal wounds but was unable to heal because their opponent kept landing attacks.
It felt like seeing again the battle between gods that occurred a hundred years ago. Lucifer was very strong, yet there was Felix who was able to match magic without its incantation. The others were the same, their individual strength balanced with their opponents. It's just that, they had lost many soldiers. The meager amount of magical mana made stamina drain faster and caused death.
However, among all the battles, the confrontation between Lucifer and Felix looked more intense. Fighting Lucifer, the fallen angel who knew light magic very well, made Felix almost overwhelmed. Whether in the form of an archangel or a great demon, he was still Lucifer, unmatched. His beautiful appearance and incomparable cunning had never changed even though he had now become a demon.
"I didn't expect an angel like you to choose to dedicate yourself to the demon race." Felix said in between his successive magical attacks.
Lucifer's lips formed a laugh. "Being an angel is boring, you know. Every day you're haunted by the holy feelings of an angel. Then when you become a demon, these overflowing feelings are enjoyable. I feel happy to be free from those damned gods." He countered Felix's attack with his charming style.
Felix was knocked back by Lucifer's attack, and glared fiercely at the former angel. "Enjoyable, you say? Then accept this attack of mine." He created a large arrow of light from his magic as if it were heaven's punishment for Lucifer.
Lucifer casually put up a defensive spell immediately when he estimated it would be fatal if he took Felix's attack directly. "I accept it gladly." His body floated up smoothly.
Felix's eyes glanced to the side, seeing something glowing that signified something. Then, one hand up, and the other in front of his chest. Slowly his body began to rise, facing Lucifer on equal terms. The arrows behind him changed direction, sharpening sharply toward Lucifer. And—
—Boom!
Dozens of light arrows that were floating shot out quickly until they created white mist in the sky that made all attention turn upward. With every attention diverted, which was the result most desired by the light faction. The seven lights, already exhausted, now carved a faint smile, then collapsed happily.
"W-what is this...?"
Lucifer stood still in confusion. Not a single one of those arrows was aimed at him. Had Felix really released his magic? But then, where did it go? Because he was confused, he slowly descended. Dust around him flew about. The sound of war suddenly stopped. Every flow of mana vanished. It felt very strange, and his feeling was bad.
"Lu... ci... fer..."
Lucifer slowly turned toward the rear. One, two, three, and his eyes saw them all fallen. A thousand demon troops were dead. The great demons lay in a state on the brink of death. With this, Lucifer realized the attack just now was not meant for him, but for the great demons and the remaining demon troops.
The light faction used the ancient divine judgment magic with a large amount of mana. They did not die after using it because they combined their strength without Lucifer realizing. And also, Lucifer only now realized that the Elf leading them, Aethoniel, had not been felt since earlier.
"Lucifer!"
Lucifer immediately turned around. Dozens of light arrows hovered above him. Then not long after that, the god's judgment arrows pierced his shield until they stabbed into his heart. No matter how powerful Lucifer was, it was the god's judgment magic that once was able to kill him, a fallen angel who caused chaos in the realm of the gods until it nearly brought destruction.
"Da-mned... gods..!"
Felix approached, looking sorrowfully at Lucifer's helpless, collapsed form. "No matter when, light will surely defeat darkness." He raised the last arrow, then—
"Aghh!!" Lucifer screamed in pain when the last arrow pierced his heart for the second time and, died.
"Lucifer!!" Karya shouted. Only he alone was still alive after being hit by the god's judgment arrow.
Aethoniel. The Elf man who had been hiding earlier so that the spell of the god's judgment magic could be completed walked slowly, approaching Karya who lay weak. "If you are given a second life by God, then live as a good being."
Karya snorted in amusement. "Don't dream, you old Elf! My soul belongs to darkness, and it will always be so even if I am revived a thousand times by God."
"How miserable your life will be if that is your decision."
"I don't care! Just kill me!"
Aethoniel manifested another arrow of light, then stabbed it into Karya with his own hands. "What a pity, you who are so beautiful have to lose your life after defending darkness that doesn't even bring light to illuminate your path."
"Wow, captain! So you can compliment a woman for being beautiful, huh." Max approached with a limp.
"Do you want me to kill you again?" Aethoniel put on a fierce face, making Max retreat in fear. "Bring your leg here." He sat on a large rock.
Max obeyed. His leg instantly returned to its original function after Aethoniel used the Elf's characteristic healing magic on his wound. Those who were injured were also healed by Aethoniel with his magic. Seeing it like this, they became even more convinced that this Elf was the perfection of light.
Aethoniel reached into his leather bag, searching for something. "Drink this potion to restore your stamina and mana that you lost after helping me activate the ancient god's judgment magic." He gave them a bright yellow liquid that he had brought directly from the Elf village.
Cassius, who had recovered, said, "You are very great, Sir. How could you recite the spell to activate such a great magic without the enemy noticing?"
Aethoniel stopped cleaning his magic staff adorned with his beloved emerald. "I used the shadow magic of an assassin so that my presence seemed to not exist." Then, he stood up.
"No matter how many times I am amazed, it never stops even though I don't want it to."
"What are you even talking about?" Max asked with a confused face.
Aethoniel slammed his staff to the ground. "Enough. Even though the war lasted for three days without stopping, those demons did not get tired and their mana capacity did not run out. We might be able to get this victory because those demons had just been reborn and had not yet obtained their true strength. Remember how difficult it was for us when fighting them without the ancient god's judgment magic."
They fell silent. If they had failed to activate the ancient god's judgment magic, returning alive would have been impossible. The demons had a crazy fighting spirit because of their extreme living environment. Not to mention, the seven top-ranking demons. Fortunately, Aethoniel came with them and used his strongest god's judgment magic.
"What about this, Sir? I almost lost half my mana." Max had said a while ago, before the demons' death, sending telepathy.
"That's right, captain! If we leave it like this, defeat cannot be avoided." Felix added at the earlier time as well.
Aethoniel, who was at the front line and fending off low-rank demons so they would not enter the battle area of the seven lights and the seven great demons, retreated from his position. "Maybe that's really the only thing that can defeat them."
"That?" The seven lights replied.
"The ancient god's judgment magic."
"Wasn't the method to use that magic lost long ago since the end of the war between gods?" Cassius asked.
"I come from the Elf race, an ancient race that existed long before the war between gods took place."
"Ah, right. It's definitely not impossible for you."
"But..." Aethoniel trailed off. "This magic requires a very large amount of mana. My mana alone would not be enough to activate it."
Teo knocked Karya, his opponent at the time, back so he could speak seriously. "If that's the case, use our mana."
"This might be difficult because you would have to fight while dividing mana." Aethoniel's eyes closed, then he slammed his magic staff to the ground and began to recite a spell, "By the land that gives life, the sacred seed that grows, grant me the will to nurture life!"
The area around Aethoniel shone bright green. Trees grew around him and swayed gently. The wind carried every leaf falling, dancing in the air, surrounding him who was filled with tranquility. The tranquility brought fragments of life beneath his feet, stretching long roots that reached toward the seven lights to obtain life energy.
"Channel your mana into those roots."
"Understood!"
Then after that, Aethoniel recited a different spell. A spell from the ancient magic that had long been lost without a trace after the end of the war between gods a hundred years ago. Where, only some of the Elf race chosen by the light knew it.
"Lux sacra quae tenebras devorat, mundum luce sua illuminat, creaturas in frigore desprationis calefacit, da mihi valuntatem te regendi ut tenebrae evanescant et lux mundum luce sua calefaciat."
Dozens of magic circles floated in the air. Their color was bright yellow like sunlight that devoured the darkness of the night. From each magic circle inscribed with Runes, shining arrows emerged, ready to pierce anything that stood in the way of their light illuminating the world.
Aethoniel gave full control to Felix. It felt very difficult for Felix to control high-level magic with his still intermediate level. However, Felix did not think he would fail. He would surely succeed. Betting his life to win against the angel-demon. And as a result, they succeeded and the demons' defeat occurred.
"I thought I would die back then." Felix said in the present time.
"The demon I fought looked lazy, but his strength was enough to make me tremble to death." Victor chimed in, who fought Belphegor in the lion's just-woken-up mode.
"It seems your position was much better than mine. If you were in my position, facing a demon who was extraordinarily eccentric, you would be left gaping nonstop." Marcus interjected.
Leo. One of the seven lights approached with his pale face. "I was cursed out until my mentality was broken by a crazy demon who loves to speak rudely."
Max patted Leo's shoulder. "Your face is really ugly, it's only natural that demon cursed you." He got a scathing look from Leo.
"How is your physical condition?" Aethoniel asked.
"More than good." Max patted his raised arm muscles.
"Good then. Let's continue the journey to the underworld, where the demon world is located."
"Is it true that the Demon King exists?" Marcus asked innocently.
"We won't know until we get there and confirm it ourselves."
"What if there really is one?"
"With our strength and condition now, the ancient god's judgment magic can still be activated. The gold badges attached to your uniforms are not ordinary badges either. Those are magic tools that Kerthos gave so you can recover faster." Aethoniel explained.
Teo's face lit up, "Wow, really? No wonder I rarely got tired during training." He kept staring at the gold badge shaped like a sun devouring the moon on his left chest.
"That's right. And I will show you its true function when we fight the Demon King later."
"Understood!"
They then began to walk toward the demon world. The isolated world where dark creatures lived.