Note: I couldn't find the goat's name, so I'll just call him Hero of the South....
----
Hero Of The South observed the Dawn City with curious eyes.
'According to my future sight, there should be no 8th Demon Sage Of Severence... and neither should there be a Dawn City.'
A human city ruled by a demon.
Such a major change had appeared, yet he didn't see it.
Which could only mean one thing.
Demon, Ryomen Sukuna, possessed a magic that could block his future sight.
'The future is no longer set in stone.....'
He looked displeased. Humanity's future, which he had been fighting hard to secure, seemed to have run into a roadblock out of nowhere.
He had seen Macht help build a city with his future vision, only to end up turning it to gold.
And he believed Ryomen Sukuna would be no different.
It was a demon's very nature; their physiology itself made them like this.
'Frieren had started her journey with Himmel and the hero party... in about a year I will face the Demon Sages and die after killing three of them, including Schlacht the Omniscient...'
For humanity to prosper, that future must happen.
The reason he arrived at Dawn City was to identify Ryomen Sukuna's strength.
And if it seemed within his means, then eliminate him.
Ending the uncertainty.
With future sight, although he couldn't see Sukuna, he could check the outcome of their battle.
He saw that if he were to challenge the 8th Demon Sage, then his future wouldn't be cut off.
Meaning he would still fight the seven Sages, including Schlacht, afterwards and die there.
Following the magic power equivalent to a Demon Sage which he had been sensing all this time, Hero Of The South arrived before the academic building.
The magic power could be felt coming from the 5th floor.
Unfortunately, he couldn't just enter the place as there were human guards at the gate.
Not to mention he saw several human mages along the way who were flying through the air.
Which was another anomaly, considering humans shouldn't be able to fly for at least 50 more years.
'Did the 8th Demon Sage teach them? But why?.....'
Hero Of The South thought in confusion before memorizing the entire layout of the place and then finding a place to stay.
He managed to find an inn especially designated for adventurers.
He rested in the clean and simple room, which was a luxury during these times, and waited until midnight.
Finally, when the night covered the city, he opened his room's window and quietly jumped from one roof to another with nimble movements, making no sound whatsoever.
Avoiding all guards, he stood on a building right adjacent to the academic building.
'Two mana sources, one belonging to a Demon Sage and the other one much smaller...'
Having identified his targets, Hero Of The South quietly pulled out his sword and relaxed his body.
This was the first time he was going into a fight with his future sight being of not much use except for showing him the outcome.
He would walk out of Dawn City alive.
Which could only mean the 8th Demon Sage, Ryomen Sukuna, would die here.
His eyes turned calm, the grip on his blade hardened as he strengthened his body with mana and—
Rushed forth like a beam of light, illuminating the darkness.
*Crackle*
The stone wall burst apart. His body moved without any delay, his sword reaching straight for the neck of the mana source he had identified.
But the only thing that filled his heart—
Was confusion.
'...Solitar?'
Why was it her?
The target he had identified was the Great Demon Solitar.
Who shouldn't have appeared here.
Even though he was filled with doubt, his sword moved without hesitation, ready to cleanly slice her neck as she was still holding her magic book, barely turning her eyes in reaction.
The next moment—
Her head would be sliced off.
But the outcome which seemed obvious—
Suddenly changed.
*Gush*
His sword pierced through a hand before stopping in place.
A new demon had appeared.
One whose mana he couldn't sense.
'Mana compression?... but why would a demon?.....'
Hero Of The South's expression hardened.
Two pairs of eyes stared at each other.
Sukuna grinned and said in an amused voice.
"An unexpected intruder has arrived."
If he had reacted a second slower—
Then Solitar would have been beheaded.
Solitar stared at the metal blade inches away from her neck and quickly raised her hand to cast a spell.
At the same time—
Hero Of The South moved.
Way faster than her.
He slashed down the blade Sukuna had caught with incredible strength, cutting through his palm.
At the same time, he jumped back through the hole, avoiding Solitar's mana burst.
Simultaneously, Sukuna's figure flashed and rushed after him.
Left behind, Demon Solitar stared at the broken wall before lightly touching her neck.
"I almost died..."
If Sukuna hadn't stepped inside, she would have most certainly died.
Death.
The only thing demons feared.
"A very powerful human."
Solitar turned to the stunned Lenie, who had yet to register what had just happened, and said:
"Let's go, chase after them."
----
Sukuna casually healed his hand and ran straight after the fast figure in front of him.
'What speed.'
He marvelled in his mind.
He had met a formidable opponent.
And seeing his iconic two swords along with his dress, only one name came to Sukuna's mind.
'Hero Of The South!'
Humanity's strongest!
In no time, the two of them passed through the city wall and appeared outside the barrier.
'Luring me away? To protect the humans in my city?'
The grin on Sukuna's face widened as he broke the wooden casing on his back, revealing a spear with dark magic patterns all over it.
Inverted Spear Of Heaven.
At the same time as he held the spear, the Hero Of The South in front of him suddenly turned around in an expert-like motion, completely changing the direction of his momentum and slashing at Sukuna with his two swords.
Sukuna raised the spear, blocking the attack. His body was pushed back some distance due to the powerful force before coming to a stop.
Looking at the Hero, he asked,
"What brings you here?"
"You know of me?" Hero Of The South asked in a calm tone.
"I do."
Sukuna replied as he put force into his hands.
The Hero of the South slid a step back after Sukuna forced him away.
His eyes calmly examined the strange spear.
It felt powerful.
Sukuna spun the spear once before resting it across his shoulder.
"The famous Hero of the South personally sneaks into my city in the middle of the night."
His grin widened.
"Came here to kill me?"
The Hero of the South did not react.
His gaze instead lingered on Sukuna's body.
No mana leakage.
Even now.
Despite standing right in front of him.
It was as if Sukuna didn't exist.
There could be only one reason.
"Mana compression."
The Hero spoke quietly.
Sukuna tilted his head.
Hero Of The South spoke in a flat tone.
"Demons never hide their mana, it's against their nature."
His swords slowly rose into a ready stance.
"For a demon to hide it..."
His eyes sharpened.
"...is unnatural."
Sukuna's grin grew sharper.
"And?"
Before another word could be spoken—
The Hero moved.
The ground shattered beneath his feet.
He vanished.
A moment later—
*CLANG*
Both swords struck Sukuna simultaneously from two different angles.
But Sukuna's spear moved like lightning.
Using the spear interception technique from the Heian era, he blocked both attacks in a sweeping motion.
The impact blasted a crater beneath their feet.
'Incredible strength.'
Sukuna marvelled.
The Hero of the South disappeared.
And reappeared behind Sukuna.
Two blades flashed downward.
Sukuna twisted his body and blocked again.
But the moment their weapons touched—
The Hero kicked forward.
Sukuna also moved his leg.
The kicks collided.
Dust exploded into the air.
Both of them fell back at the same time before spinning around and instantly getting back on their feet.
Sukuna cracked his neck and muttered in a small voice,
"This is fun...."
His hand flexed around the spear.
The Hero of the South narrowed his eyes.
He had already known the future.
He would walk out of here alive.
Which meant Sukuna would die.
But something still felt strange.
Sukuna disappeared.
*BOOM*
The ground shattered where he had stood.
The Hero instantly raised both swords.
*CLANG*
The spear collided against them with explosive force.
Shockwaves ripped across the field.
Sukuna pressed forward violently.
The spear thrust toward the Hero's heart.
But the Hero twisted his body with perfect timing.
The spear grazed past him.
His right sword slashed upward.
*SHING*
Blood sprayed into the air.
A long cut appeared across Sukuna's chest.
Sukuna looked down at the wound.
Then began laughing.
The wound rapidly healed.
"You're good."
The Hero of the South said nothing.
But his thoughts moved rapidly.
'His regeneration speed...'
It was crazy, unlike anything he had ever seen.
And his combat style...
Was chaotic.
As if forged through countless battles.
Sukuna suddenly lowered his spear.
"Let's see something interesting."
He raised his hand and said,
"Zoltraak."
A dark beam of mana rushed out at high speed, forcing the Hero Of The South to sidestep and dodge the attack.
At the same time, several new Zoltraak spells appeared around Sukuna and rushed straight at the Hero.
The ground under and around them cracked open like waves as countless spikes rushed out.
"Dodge this."
The beams shot out like a storm.
Zoltraak tore through the battlefield from every direction while the ground beneath the Hero Of The South erupted with violent force.
Stone spikes burst upward.
The earth split apart.
Entire slabs of rock rose like waves and crashed down.
Yet within that chaos—
The Hero remained calm.
His body twisted through the beams with beautiful movement.
One step forward.
A slight lean to his left.
A turn of his shoulder.
Every attack missed him by the smallest margin possible.
His swords flashed.
*SHING*
A spike of stone split cleanly in half.
Another erupted beneath his feet.
He stepped off it mid-air and landed on a rising slab of earth.
Then jumped again.
Closing the distance.
Sukuna watched with shining eyes.
"Good...."
He raised his hand slightly.
The ground beneath the Hero suddenly collapsed inward.
A pit opened instantly, trying to swallow him whole.
But the Hero had already moved.
He kicked off a falling rock and burst forward like a bullet.
Straight toward Sukuna.
Their weapons collided again.
*CLANG*
The impact shook the entire field.
The Hero's two blades struck with terrifying precision, forcing Sukuna to raise the Inverted Spear Of Heaven to block.
Sukuna slid backward several meters as the ground beneath him cracked.
As he was retreating...
He suddenly frowned.
Because something else caught his eye.
Far behind the Hero—
Two figures had quietly arrived.
High in the air.
The Great Demon Solitar hovered there.
Beside her, Lenie silently observed the Hero Of The South and Sukuna with her magic.
Suddenly—
Solitar raised her hand.
"Now."
Tens of compressed mana blasts escaped her hand and rushed down.
It was a sneak attack.
To kill the human who had almost taken her life.
But the Hero of the South—
Simply stepped sideways.
All the mana bursts.
Every single one of them—
Conveniently missed him.
He simply stood on a spot.
That one spot where the attack didn't land.
Solitar's eyes widened.
"…Impossible."
He was completely unharmed.
The Hero hadn't even looked behind him.
His gaze never left Sukuna.
Lenie's glowing eyes suddenly dimmed.
This fighting style—
Her magic couldn't copy it.
Sukuna thought calmly in his mind.
'Future sight? Then why isn't he using it when fighting me? Or... he can't see my future?'
Similar to Schlacht the Omniscient?
Sukuna raised his hand.
The entire battlefield trembled.
Miles of earth began shifting violently.
Cracks spread across the land like spiderwebs.
Even Solitar paused in the sky.
"…That much?"
Sukuna said to the Hero.
"Round two."
He slammed his hand downward.
A colossal wave of stone surged forward like a tsunami.
The Hero observed his surroundings.
Then he stepped onto the rising earth just as it surged forward.
Running across it.
Each step landed at the exact moment the terrain shifted.
He moved across Sukuna's attack as if the chaotic landscape had been designed specifically for him.
At the same time—
Several Zoltraak fell from the sky.
Solitar used the spell with a calm look on her face.
The attacks landed.
Yet not a single one managed to hit him.
Sukuna smiled, and his suppressed mana suddenly burst forth like a tidal wave.
Hero Of The South's pupils widened unconsciously.
Sukuna raised his hand, making a knife-like gesture.
He slashed down, sending an attack invisible to the naked eye.
But before it could land—
The Hero moved his sword, cutting the slash with his blade.
"You can see my attack!"
Sukuna declared in a loud tone, then raised his hand to attack when—
Hero Of The South suddenly stepped on an upcoming rock, turned his body, and rushed into the sky like a beam of light.
And his target?
Great Demon Solitar.
His blade broke through her hexagonal shield and rushed toward her heart.
Solitar, seeing the familiar scene, grabbed Lenie and pushed her in front of her.
Lenie: ???
The young demon barely managed to conjure a shield, which the Hero easily cut through before piercing her heart.
Hero Of The South remained calm, as if he already knew it would happen.
Using Lenie's face as a foothold, he jumped into the distance, dodging the invisible slash from behind.
Sukuna's figure appeared right after he disappeared, grabbing Lenie as she was falling.
'Running away?' Sukuna thought, seeing his rapidly disappearing figure.
And he had just been thinking of using his domain...
"Aren't we going to pursue him?" Solitar asked, floating beside him.
Completely ignoring the dying young demon.
*Guh*
The poor Lenie let out a mouthful of blood, silently staring at Sukuna.
"Help please....."
She said in a small tone as her body started disappearing.
Sukuna used his reverse magic technique and quickly healed the hole in her chest, saving her life.
Lenie, resting in Sukuna's arms, gave Solitar a silent look.
"Pursue him?..."
Sukuna thought, then shook his head.
He wanted the Hero Of The South to kill Schlacht the Omniscient.
It was better for the two seers to just die.
----
Some distance away.
Hero of the South stopped and looked back.
"He's not pursuing me..."
It was a gamble.
When he attacked them back at the academy building, Sukuna had saved Soliar even while injuring his hand.
No demon would ever do such a thing since they didn't have anything like comradeship.
That is why he pierced the young demon, thinking of delaying Sukuna while retreating from the battlefield.
He didn't mind dying.
But a meaningless death? That didn't sit right with him.
"So this is why I will walk out of the battle alive..."
Hero Of The South shook his head with a small smile, remembering Sukuna's powerful mana and that unnatural attack.