Massive shockwaves rippled through the air, like rings skittering across a storm-dark lake.

Urgh!

Fear tightened in Eli’s chest like a clenched fist. He reached the doorway, and a magic-charged impact hammered him.

To shield those behind, he cast the strongest defense of his life and braced like a dam, turning himself into a wall of energy.

But he was only a mage; when his mana ran dry, the shock’s tail smashed him head-on, like a breaking wave.

He hit the ground and spat blood, red as crushed berries on snow.

Pain roared; tinnitus swarmed like iron bees. His mind drifted, lost in a grey fog.

He tried to shake it off, hungry for clarity; the motion only deepened the blur, like mud stirred in a river.

He gagged twice and lay trembling, a leaf in a winter wind.

The magic-laced aftershock kept circling inside him, a pack of knives wrecking his organs.

Far off, Edlyn had just come downstairs, Angela in her arms, ready to bolt like swallows before a storm.

The massive beast at the gate didn’t stir her much; as the former Demon King, she’d seen mountains with fangs and seas with eyes.

Compared to those, this one was pitifully small, a calf before thunder.

Then she spotted Eli nearby, face down, blood on his lips, eyes unfocused like a lost star.

Unease pressed first; she frowned, hesitated, then slapped her own cheeks to spark resolve.

Damn it—had she forgotten why she chose to run, why her heart beat like a drum in retreat?

But seeing the Hero like this, crushed and broken—should she...?

No, no! He’s just the Hero. Let him die; a grave is a clean ending.

Trouble knotted in her gut. She crouched, hugged her head, worry clouding her like low rain.

Living as human for years, she felt this first anomaly: two selves arguing like twin cymbals clashing.

You’re the Demon King—what’s a Hero to you? Let the river cut its own path.

Yet warmth rose; he’d looked after me and my sister for so long, a lantern in the dark.

Who knows what he’s after—sweet words hide blades.

But his awkward, earnest care kept replaying, like a stray song that won’t fade.

Edlyn clenched her teeth, still in that inner tug-of-war, a rope snapping strand by strand.

Besides my parents and the aunties next door, he’s been the kindest, right? If I never reveal I’m the Demon King... would he kill me?

Before thought could settle, beasts rushed into the city, slaughter spilling like muddy floodwater.

They noticed Eli on the ground. Bold scavengers edged closer, eyes like knives.

Instinct flared; her small hand lifted, and a jet of demonic miasma burst out, sweeping the lesser beasts like ash on the wind.

The beasts wailed once, then fell silent, like torches snuffed.

Edlyn staggered and dropped, breath ragged, watching it all; her strength was a thin thread.

So it was true—she was still too weak, a blade dulled by rust.

...No—why did she even step in? Regret bit cold as frost.

Edlyn ground her teeth and stomped. “Stupid Hero! I owe you. If I don’t leech off you and bankrupt your house, it would cheapen the life I just saved!”

She hurried forward, hoisted Eli onto her back, and ran like a shadow slipping down an alley.

Angela saw and shivered, but she stepped over beast corpses to help, a sparrow braving hail.

The giant beast sensed her earlier miasma. It lowered its head, searching for her like a hunter moon.

Ice slid into her gut—if it caught the wrong scent, one stomp and all three would be pulp.

“Sis...” Angela whispered, shrinking behind Edlyn as shadow poured over them like night tide.

Edlyn bit down and stared at the giant. She sighed, weight heavy as rain.

No way out. Truly none—paths closed like doors in a gale.

If it led the herd in here, she and her sister wouldn’t escape; doom would spread like wildfire.

Soon, as she feared, beasts ringed them, a shifting wall of fur and horn.

Most nearby folk lay unconscious from the rhino’s charge; it had stopped just short of the inn, leaving Edlyn’s pair oddly untouched.

Call it saving myself, she thought, bitter as tea left cold.

Edlyn rose. The Demon King’s soul unfurled, releasing a sovereign aura, dark as the Abyss.

“I am Lord of the Abyss, the apex that commands the Demon Race.”

Her voice sank, steps steady. She used that soul to crush her human body’s tremble and walked toward the giant rhino.

“Inferior soul, submit. I am the king who commands all demons. I order you to... withdraw...”

Sweat streamed; her body couldn’t bear the drain. The last words broke, and the pressure fell away.

Under that eerie soul-pressure, the giant rhino’s mind cleared, less rage, yet it didn’t retreat. It loomed over town, eyes fixed on the tiny walker.

Demon King... Demon King? Demon Race? The thoughts echoed in its simple mind like drums.

It had fought as a demonic beast before. Her call stoked old blood, a red tide.

The order was incomplete. Accustomed to the Demon Race’s cruelty, it turned to indiscriminate attack.

The beasts prone under the Demon King’s awe suffered first, torn like grass in a storm.

Edlyn gave a bitter smile and sank to her knees, face pale as paper; the drain was too great.

Then light flared from Eli, a soft glow knitting his body, like warm dawn over frost.

Edlyn blinked, at a loss.

“That’s... a blessing? And this aura—he pre-planted a blessing on himself?”

It’s a lifeline—store borrowed life energy in your soul, so near-death triggers it, like a hidden talisman.

But it’s hardly practical. Except for blessings from true gods, most are jokes.

Peers can read it and, using the same energy source, detonate your blessing inside you—then your own lifeline turns into shrapnel.

Eli’s was a toy from his youth, light on power, but enough to ease today’s wreckage.

“What... happened?”

Clarity seeped back. Eli held his head and stared around, confused, like a traveler in fog.

“You...” Edlyn watched him, afraid he’d seen her secret beneath the mask.

“Huh? Edlyn, what’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.” From that look, he probably hadn’t seen anything; her relief fell like rain.

“Anyway, why are you two here? Get back and hide. It’s dangerous.” Eli’s voice carried urgency, taut as a bowstring.

Edlyn pointed at the beasts that were mostly ignoring her side. “Uh... as long as the big one stays away, it’s pretty safe.”

The lesser beasts balked at her strange aura, like wolves before a fire.

Eli took it for his own doing and let it pass.

“I’ll deal with that big one. You two hide, okay?”

“Mm.” With things as they were, she had no other choice. She exhaled, held Angela, and tucked into a corner.

Eli shook out his arms and rolled his neck. “Damn brute. If I hadn’t prepped, that hit would’ve wrecked me.”

Roar! The giant rhino’s bellow shook dust from the walls.

It understood this was the strongest human here; beat him, and the Demon Race would mark its merit like a brand.

So it hauled its bulk forward and charged, earth booming beneath its feet like drums.

Eli knew he couldn’t fight it inside the city; a battlefield wants open sky.

He planted both feet and readied to take off.

Too bad—no-fly magic was still active, a net over the sky.

So our Hero stepped on his own foot and ate dirt, a proud hawk face-first into the mud.

...Damn!

A hooded man of the New Era Sect watched the shattered gate guard with a cold grin, like a snake basking on stone.

No more annoying patrols cut the sky; it looked like the New Era Sect had won.

“Let this town die properly,” he said, smile twisted like barbed wire.

He hadn’t joined for some lofty creed. He was a native and didn’t care for doctrine.

He joined because they were vicious; with them, killing flowed smooth as oil.

Now, a massacre he’d conducted himself—he’d savor it for a long time, like bitter wine.

“Ah—looks like I can go rest for ages.” He smirked and slid his dagger back into his sleeve, a viper returning to its burrow.

As he turned to leave with his victory, a huge golden array rose in the town center, still growing, soon wider than the rhino’s head.

“That... that purity of magic!” He stared, shocked, eyes wide as moons. “Impossible! They said the archmage here was already assassinated! Who the hell is this?”

“Damn it!” He spat and sprinted toward the plaza, cloak snapping like a crow’s wing.

Eli drew in the air with both hands; golden runes flowed one by one into the array like fireflies.

Edlyn watched from afar, envy blooming like a pale flower.

When would she regain such strength again?

The golden array swelled to its limit and drew a crowd, faces upturned like sunflowers.

Power howled out of Eli, and the surrounding elements rallied to him like soldiers to a banner.

He eyed the roaring rhino and let a cold smile bloom, sharp as frost.

This kind needs one clean beating to learn.

Healers lifted the city lord on the side; a runner reported, and the lord’s face lit like dawn. “Good... good. We’re saved.”

“In the name of Ostor—one more step and I’ll send you to meet the Celestial God!” Eli stood on the ground and raised both arms, straining.

His arms had been up too long; they burned, a fire in the muscles.

This was meant for midair. On the ground, he looked like he was doing morning exercises, absurd under the storm.

Roar! The beast scraped the earth with its feet, grit showering like sleet.

Eli smirked and snapped his fingers.

The golden array condensed beam after beam, a rain of gilded spears driving for the rhino’s face.

This move took ages to charge and had limited range; before, he wasn’t sure he’d land it.

But now it didn’t run; it charged straight at him, a mountain choosing the blade.

Perfect. When a well-fed mage drops a full ultimate, if you rush it head-on without equal power, you’re signing your own deletion.