A black star fell like a shooting star from the red sky.
It was the moment when the five black stars were reduced to four.
In the demon realm, the fall of a black star was an extremely rare and chilling event.
Among the five Great Demon Kings, who are like gods in this demon realm, one of them had died.
The bloodline of Berzette inside the Blood Castle stared wide-eyed at the falling black star.
In the Blood Valley, the supreme defensive fortress where most of the direct and collateral descendants of the Bloodline had gathered.
This fortress was constructed using the bones of the ancient dragon that once protected the Berzette royal family.
And it was clearly visible that one of the black stars was falling within that fortress.
The eldest son of the Berzette family.
Zargos, with deep blue hair and golden eyes, slowly shook his head at the sight of a black star falling.
“…No way.”
It couldn’t possibly be his father. Surely, it was the Great Demon King Lilith who had died, whom his father had faced. Zargos and the family believed so.
At that moment, a demon rushed frantically toward the Blood Valley.
It was a man of the Marang tribe, known as the Lycanthrope of the demon realm. The man, with black fur fluttering, was Rohit, Berzette’s left-hand man and the Grand General of the Great Demon King’s family.
The eldest son Zargos quickly turned to Rohit, opening his mouth.
“Rohit, what happened with the black star that just fell? Did the Great Demon King Lilith die?”
A giant demon standing next to Zargos laughed lightly. The second son, Makhan, who had a face so similar to his father’s, with a toad-like face and build.
“Brother, of course not. Our father couldn’t possibly have passed away.”
Rohit couldn’t seem to loosen the frown on his brow.
“…The Great Demon King Berzette has passed away.”
Zargos’s mouth dropped open.
“What?”
Makhan’s two golden eyes shook violently.
“Did that Great Demon King Lilith and his army kill our father? No way… Could Lilith have allied with another Great Demon King? Once you step into the Blood Castle, it’s well-known that a single demon king can’t kill our father, and you know it too, Rohit!”
Makhan’s outburst was all too reasonable. Yet the death of Berzette, the [Master of All Blessings], was an undeniable truth. Rohit opened his parched lips again.
“It was a human.”
And he stated the fact.
Zargos and Makhan’s faces twisted in shock.
Makhan grabbed Rohit by the collar.
“What kind of nonsense is this! How could a human…!”
Rohit had no choice but to sigh at Makhan’s meaningless grip.
I couldn’t help but let out a sigh under the meaningless pressure.
“One human killed Lord Berzette all by himself.”
And I repeated the truth that the bloodline wouldn’t believe, no matter how I tried to explain it.
*
Duke Yuma moved forward. He walked back into the Blood Fortress where the countless demons were.
Lilith’s subordinates were engaged in battle with Berzette’s forces. Even though their leader, Berzette, had met a tragic end, they couldn’t just stand around and die too.
The blessings that the Berzette lineage could use were numerous and could even stack. The remaining Berzette forces clenched their teeth and fought Lilith’s army to survive.
Weapons clashed, and magic collided. The Blood Fortress was stained deep red with the blood of demons. Duke Yuma walked toward the area where Lilith’s forces were at a disadvantage.
The effect of the [Flash Inscription] he received from Selene was teleportation and blinking.
[Blink: Teleportation. Move through space at the speed of light. Can be used 20 times. Once all 20 uses are gone, there’s a 10-minute cooldown before you can recharge for another 20 uses.]
In a critical situation, a 10-minute cooldown might feel significant, but 20 uses isn’t a small number, so if he allocated them well, there shouldn’t be any problem using them.
Step—
Lilith’s army looked on in shock at Duke Yuma, who suddenly appeared beside them.
It wasn’t just Lilith’s subordinates who froze in surprise for a moment. The soldiers who had served the deceased Berzette were all horrified to see Yuma as well.
“Is that──!”
Breaking through the silence, a thunderous shout rang out, along with a streak of blue sword light rushing toward him.
A cry fueled by rage.
It was a demon swordsman with a fierce loyalty to Berzette.
[Lv.281] Geltain
Duke Yuma’s movements showed no hesitation.
Clang!
He deflected Balmung’s sword light. The blue blade traced a crescent arc and reversed direction, decapitating Geltain and the demons beside him in one go.
The Blood Fortress’s army had completely abandoned any thought of confronting Yuma. After all, anyone who dared to approach or attack Yuma was instantly slain. The demons that charged at him became nothing more than bloody messes flying into the distance.
The battlefield was filled with screams and blood.
Lilith, the [Master of All Fiends], scattered hellfire in all directions. The pillars of the Blood Fortress began to blaze red.
Buildings started to tilt.
“Uaaaaaaaah!!!”
The people of the Berzette Demon Lord Family screamed as they ran outside.
Lilith watched from afar as Duke Yuma annihilated Berzette’s demon army.
I looked over.
As if it were a game of whack-a-mole, Duke Yuma was popping up here and there, crushing the enemies left and right.
Whaaaarrrr—
Lilith was also turning countless foes to ashes with her own fire, but she gulped as she watched Yuma in action.
Yuma’s tactic, since the enemies weren’t targeting him, was simple.
He blinked towards the enemies who were currently attacking.
Yuma lightly set his foot down.
And with both eyes, he quickly scanned the battlefield. The situation he was seeking was clear: the forces of Berzette were lunging against Lilith’s troops.
Skwak!
In the chaos, the blue demon of Berzette swung his sword at Lilith’s vampire warriors. But something flashed beside the hasty retreating vampire, appearing like a light. It was Yuma, teleporting with his blink skill.
ZZZZZAAAAM!!!
As the golden circular impact spread, the blue demon’s sword was sent flying into the air.
Blink and then parry.
[Absolute Counter]
SHHWOOSHHHH!
From Balmung, a blade of light stretched out like a sickle, slashing diagonally across the blue demon. A chunk of blue meat went rolling.
Yuma was jumping into the fray, repeatedly parrying attacks targeted at his allies.
After taking down the blue demon, Yuma immediately selected his next target and used [Blink].
WHHAAAAAAM!
Suddenly appearing with a distortion in the air, Yuma gripped Balmung tighter. Then he swung it.
KAAAAANG!
He brought it down towards three arrows arcing through the air.
KA-CHAAAANG!
Three golden waves, and then three rewinded arrows.
Of course, the power of the returning arrows was nothing like arrows infused with magic.
Whirlwind.
The three arrows absorbed all the air around them, turning into a tempest.
Three disasters swept away Berzette’s forces.
KWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA────!!!
The whirlwind mercilessly ravaged the blood count’s structures. Those impenetrable constructs stood no chance; they crumbled like cookie crumbs.
It wasn’t just the structures that crumbled. Berzette’s troops, despite deploying all their blessings and defensive gear, were utterly helpless.
The whirlwind crushed the demons’ armor, leather, and bones. Red blood and chunks of flesh littered the ground.
Yuma’s gaze quickly searched for another place to jump into.
Yuma blinked once more.
SWISH!
“Get out of the way.”
As the air rippled and Yuma’s low voice suddenly emerged from the side, the demon troops under Lilith hurriedly leapt back.
On Yuma’s right, a blinding flash of crimson magic appeared. To his left, a massive axe wielded by the Berzette troops charged in horizontally. The axe was thick with white magic, oozing with power.
He swung Balmung at the straight line of magical light.
And there, the axe was brutally coming down from the left.
In Yuma’s left hand was a buckler, a one-handed shield.
He skillfully swung his left hand and parried the axe with the buckler.
The magical flash ricocheted off the Balmung in his right hand.
Whoooosh!!!!
Kaboooom!!!!
Yuma parried with both hands simultaneously.
Two parries.
Two [Absolute Counter] strikes—it was only natural.
Explosive white light burst forth from both sides, devouring the Demon kin in its path. Those demons touched by the light were roasted away, their remains reduced to ash that floated into the air.
Sizzle—sizzle…
The ground was charred, leaving only remnants of the flames in sight.
Radiating out diagonally from where Yuma stood, the white light spread forth.
Only the demons on the Berzette side directly in front of Yuma remained unscathed, all of them stepping back with faces filled with terror.
The number of demons from Berzette that fell to the two blasts of white light was uncountable. If one counted those inside the shattered holy ground, it was vague but could be guessed to be easily over a thousand.
Yuma glanced to his side.
“What are you doing?”
Lilith’s subordinates gaped at Yuma, their mouths agape.
“What?”
“Attack, kill the ones left in front.”
Only then did the demons snap out of it and charge forward, systematically wiping out the Berzette demons. Originally, Lilith’s forces were at a numerical disadvantage, but thanks to Yuma’s recent intervention, the tides had turned.
While Yuma stood still, someone approached him. It was the Great Demon King, the [Master of All Fiery Demons], Lilith.
“…I thought the cleanup was solely my daughter’s responsibility.”
Yuma nodded slowly.
“That’s right.”
Why was he doing all this?
He couldn’t find a clear answer to that. One thing was certain, though: a resolution was needed.
A resolution regarding Selene’s death.
“Lilith, we’ve discovered a fortress where the direct and collateral bloodlines of the Berzette family congregate.”
Lilith nodded.
“Understood. Let’s go.”
And Yuma followed in her footsteps.
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