The Demon King's First General
Chapter 164: Unknown Demon’s Arrival

Chapter 164: Unknown Demon’s Arrival

The smoke of dust rose onto the open ground; most buildings nearby were shrank into little pebbles scattered around the area. Deus, the grandmaster of the magic tower, was looking beneath him; his breathing was a little hoarse, and beads of sweat covered his entire forehead.

’Where? Where is she?’ He pondered as he moved his gaze away from the crater.

Despite his attack being successful, there was doubt present in his eyes.

"Did I really get her?" He thought, catching his breath during the process.

However, a sudden laughter made him gulp and widen his eyes in surprise.

"Is that all you’ve got?" Said a voice behind the smoke, mocking the old man.

Though the owner of the voice was hidden, its annoying and high-pitched sound was enough for Deus to shiver in fear. The grimoire on the right side of him flipped its page, then all of a sudden, a bright light enveloped around him. The barrier was a lot thicker than those he conjured before; however, in a split second, it was crushed and shattered into tiny fragments of energy as an umbrella plunged above with its tip.

Deus managed to evade by moving backward, but like a ghost that haunted him, Celestine appeared right before him with her left hand, grabbing his head and slamming it all the way down. The old man threw up a mouthful of blood; the back of his head was crashed from the impact, and a red sticky substance started to flow on the ground. He looked at the perpetrator standing in front of him. Dejection was somewhat present on her face, but it was overshadowed by the cold glare coming from her eyes.

’Is this the end?’ Deus spoke inside his thoughts.

He still had energy to move and a variety of spells under his arsenal, but his will was already shattered. Despite taking his most powerful attack head-on, his opponent remained unscathed. He lied on the cold ground without any intention to stand up.

"Are you giving up? Pathetic," Celestine snorted upon seeing the state of her opponent.

She made a step and walked over the old man’s body before sitting on his chest. She lifted her hand at the level of her face and looked at her fingernails before letting out a sigh.

"Crowned as the strongest mage yet only amounted to this much, how boring," Celestine stated, mocking the grandmaster of the magic tower.

But despite all of what she said, Deus kept his silence, just waiting for his incoming death. And upon seeing this, the Enchantress of Time clicked her tongue in disappointment. Afterward, she stood up and pointed the umbrella’s tip into the old man’s neck.

However, to her surprise, a magic circle large enough for a human to fit in materialized underneath them; this made her wary, causing her to thrust the weapon forward, but she was a second late. She struck nothing but ground; Deus disappeared, leaving only a pool of his blood.

"Damn space magic!" Celestine cussed, her irritated voice echoed inside the deep crater.

. . . . .

Ren took one last glance on the battlefield before moving away with the emperor. They must have taken down the black dragon, but Augustus was right; Kreigster needed the experience from the fight.

So, without wasting any more time, the two of them, along with the knights, headed on the opposite side of the empire.

’This is too much. I was away for a few moments and yet,’ Ren pondered while looking at the destruction around him.

Humans fleeing from explosions, buildings collapsing every second, and screams of fear echoing across the area. These scenes made the young man restless.

’What’s the use of being a hero if I couldn’t sa-’ Ren’s thoughts were interrupted as he felt a sudden tap on his shoulder.

He looked at his right and saw the emperor looking at him with eyes filled with hope and determination.

"We can overcome this," Augustus said; his words were enough to uplift the young man’s spirit.

Then, several minutes later, the screams and clacking sounds of cold weapons grew louder and stronger. Without wasting any more time, Ren sprinted into the war. Limbs were cut, heads fell down, and the ground was painted with blood. In every swing of his sword, demons lost their lives.

"Our savior is here! Repel the demons! Drive them away from our land! Charge!" One of the knights shouted upon seeing Ren wreak havoc in the frontline.

The hero’s arrival shifted the tides of the battle in humanity’s favor. The horde of demons clad in black suits continued to decrease. With Augustus leading the knights and Ren dealing the most damage, victory was already in their grasp, and so they thought.

In the midst of this chaos, several magic circles lit up in the open air. It caught the attention of all the people present, leaving them in awe. Each magic circle differed from one another, from their variety of colors up to their unique patterns.

However, despite this fact, only a single magic circle caught the hero’s attention. Its size was way bigger than the other, and it was located at the center of the battlefield.

An ash-colored magic circle with several hands holding each other, forming a hexagram pattern. Imprinted in the middle of it was the shape of a human skull.

"W-What are those?" One of the knights voiced out, stuttering.

Meanwhile, Augustus gently shook his head and answered. "I don’t know."

Then he gulped a mouthful of saliva and spoke again.

"But one thing is certain: those spell danger," he added.

Afterward, all the magic circles lit up except the middle one. Instead, black embers of flame materialized at the upper and bottom edges before moving around it in a clockwise direction. And as soon as the two dots of flame connected with each other, the other magic circles shattered, and its broken fragments were sent to the skull’s now-opened mouth. Even the dead bodies scattered on the ground were not spared from the chaos, as a blue orb of light flew out from those corpses and were soon sucked up by the magic circle.

Upon seeing this, Ren tightened his grip on his sword, and without hesitation, he propelled himself upward; the blade of his weapon were glowing in an unusual golden energy. He was about to perform a heavy slash with the intention of destroying the magic circle; however, cracks appeared on the spell’s pattern, and it shattered as well, making him halt on his track.

"What?" Ren exclaimed, surprised by the scene that transpired before his eyes.

A deafening silence enveloped the whole area; the people were confused.

"Did the spell... fail?" Augustus murmured, seeking an answer.

The wind drifted, and the screams from the other places pulled Ren away from his thoughts. He began to look around, searching for whoever had cast the spell. However, fear enveloped him; all of his senses were now screaming danger, but he couldn’t feel where it was coming from.

He looked at the knights, and to Augustus, there was joy in their eyes, unaware of what was to come until a heavy pressure descended in the area. One after the other, the people fell on their knees; their breathing became rough and unstable.

Then the rolling thunders broke the silence, followed by a lightning strike that pulverized everything in its path. And as the smoke rose from the rubbles, a calm voice was heard.

"So there’s really a way to leave that boring place; too bad though, it has a duration," said a man while walking out of the curtain dust.

A white, loose robe clad his body, while his long hair was deep black in contrast. He halted his steps and turned his head in the direction of the man levitating midair, and his lips curled into a smile.

"Can you perhaps do me a favor? I just want to test something," he asked.

Upon hearing his request, Ren furrowed his brows. The next second, he went down and examined the man. From all the angles of his appearance, he looked like a human being; however, the presence and smell he was emanating were of a demon’s.

And there was this peculiar trait about him—his eyes. They were closed all this time.

"Favor? What do you mean?" Ren answered, returning the question with curiousity in his eyes.

"That sword isn’t for decoration, I guess. Just attack me with everything you’ve got, and if you manage to satisfy me, maybe I’ll spare your life," the man answered.

"What?" Ren exclaimed.

The man in the white clothing let out a soft chuckle and extended his hand on the side. Then he flicked his middle finger, and the force from it obliterated everything on its path all the way to the empire’s wall. This made Ren gulp in horror.

’A single flick could rival... a dragon’s breath,’ Ren stated inside his thoughts.

Then, he strengthened his grip on his sword, and the golden streak of energy around him got thicker and stronger; his eyes turned gold in color as well.

"I don’t know what your objectives are, but a demon like you must be eradicated," he stated before sprinting towards the man.

He leaped upward, and all of the golden particles of energy enveloped his weapon. Then he plunged downward and attacked the demon with a huge slash.

However, to his surprise, his sword was blocked by the man’s hand—by two of his fingers, to be exact.

"So there really is a penalty; my strength has decreased; I never imagined that I need to lift up my hand to handle this kind of petty attack," the demon commented, shaking his head.

"Well then, the time is ticking; I should let myself enjoy this temporary freedom," he added.

Afterward, he grabbed Ren’s sword and pulled him closer, then he spun around and hacked him on his nape.

"No-" Ren blurted out, but everything went dark as he fell to the ground with his consciousness drifting away from his body.

. . . . .

Meanwhile, several meters away, Augustus’ eyes widened, he couldn’t believe the scene before him: the hero who subdued the Demon King was defeated in a single strike.

’Is this the end of us?’ He couldn’t help but wonder how they would survive this catastrophe when their hope was shattered the moment Ren closed his eyes.

. . . . .