Even barking dogs had their own ranks.
A fearful dog may bark, but won’t bite when danger cos. Instead, it will tuck its tail and run. Yet, so dogs, when confronted, bite like mad, disregarding any harm to themselves.
Hellfire.
The mont he appeared in her field of vision, Parnell instinctively cast ‘Flas of Hell,’ one of the most powerful single-target fire spells. Its destructive power was so imnse, it would be easier to list what it couldn’t burn.
The spell cut through the quiet stillness, becoming the only light in the darkness as it struck Grimudo.
Flas burst in all directions, followed by a massive explosion. Yet, the surrounding darkness remained untouched. From within the blast, a man with his hands clasped behind his back erged, as though he was taking a casual stroll in the sunlight.
The light burned brightly and the heat was intense.
But what did that have to do with him?
Grimudo didn’t even bother to raise a barrier.
It wasn’t worth the effort.
“The mana... what...”
Parnell’s frustration was evident. Her grip on the royal heirloom staff tightened. If it weren’t so well-made, it might have shattered.
Grimudo had done nothing. He didn’t deflect the spell or even raise a hand. His vast mana, like an invisible shield, effortlessly neutralized the attack as it approached him.
It was like trying to start a forest fire in a humid environnt.
What Parnell just attempted was like trying to light a fire underwater. No one had interfered, but success was still impossible.
Crackle!
Suddenly, the dark clouds overhead crackled with energy, charging with lightning that began pouring down towards Grimudo.
One bolt, then another, and finally a torrent of lightning rained down from the sky. Parnell abandoned any thought of conserving mana, activating all of her cores. Against Grimudo, holding back wasn’t an option.
A prolonged battle? That was impossible. The mont she tried to save mana, Grimudo would end her in an instant. There was no ti to think about what ca next. Her only chance was to focus entirely on this mont, throwing everything she had at him for even the slimst hope of victory.
Swish.
The attack caught the Demon King’s attention. Grimudo turned his head toward the downpour of lightning.
And that was all it took. As his gaze shifted, his mana effortlessly followed.
Rumble! Boom!
Crack!
From the surrounding darkness, countless shapes erged. Shadowy hands reached out, tearing apart the lightning bolts. Crocodile-like mouths ford from the darkness, biting down and swallowing lightning dragons whole.
Not a single bolt managed to reach Grimudo. Each one shattered helplessly before coming close.
This wasn’t mana reinforcent. It was sothing entirely different—a technique unknown in this world.
After all, no one in this era could utilize mana in such a way. The ancient thods of training mana as spiritual power had long since been forgotten.
“What on earth is that...?!”
Even Harmael trembled. Grimudo’s combat thods were utterly incomprehensible.
His approach to handling mana was unlike anything she had ever seen.
His gaze shifted to Parnell.
Was it her imagination? As cold sweat dripped down her face, Parnell thought she saw him smile.
“You have quite the spirit. You’re the best among your group.”
It sounded like praise, but it wasn’t. Parnell trembled from the humiliation it brought.
This being was the sworn enemy of her family, the fundantal target of her revenge. No matter how skilled the hero of the Cidatel Republic might have been, they couldn’t have destroyed the kingdom without Grimudo’s aid.
“However, I don’t see the face I’m looking for.”
The strongest magic passed down by the Cidatel royal family.
Elental punishnt was taking form and was calculated with precision. Yet, Grimudo paid no mind to the unfolding magic.
To be ignored was the worst kind of contempt, but Parnell didn’t react with anger or defiance.
An enemy, a sworn foe—yet she had no choice but to acknowledge his power.
That was the kind of being Grimudo was. Even as she launched her attack, there wasn’t a shred of confidence that it would succeed.
“Where is that priest? Is he already dead?”
The combined power of the five elents—fire, ice, wind, earth, and lightning—bore down upon the Ancient Demon King.
The earth quaked and surged, lightning rained endlessly from the heavens, destructive winds roared, blue flas danced, and an extre cold enveloped the battlefield. Nature itself seed to abhor Grimudo, seeking to tornt him—to tear him apart and burn him into nothingness.
Yet as the world collided with the Demon King, the outco was inevitable.
The world shattered.
Grimudo lifted his foot slightly and stepped down on the empty air.
He took a single step.
In that instant, a shockwave powerful enough to shatter mountain ranges erupted. It crushed Parnell’s magic with the ease of destroying a child’s sandcastle. The earth, scorched by the Immortal Phoenix, trembled violently as if struck by an earthquake, leaving the ground unstable for what seed like an eternity. The aftershocks continued to ripple outward.
Rumble!
Harl nearly lost her composure from the deafening noise and overwhelming impact. She had been watching as a re spectator, devoid of any fighting spirit.
For a fleeting mont, she felt an imnse relief that she was not in Parnell’s place. The power Grimudo unleashed was beyond anything she had ever imagined—utterly insane.
How... How was this possible? How could anyone defeat him?
It was a terror so profound that it made her hair stand on end.
She imdiately understood why Grimudo showed no interest in unifying the continent. Even if an empire managed to conquer all the lands and rise as a singular power, it would crumble effortlessly under his might, like an anthill crushed beneath an uncaring foot.
His power was on an entirely different level—a force that could not be challenged.
“Are those all the tricks you have to show?”
Grimudo finally displayed a hint of interest as he looked at Parnell, whose legs trembled after exhausting all her mana.
Tricks. Her grand, powerful magic—reduced to re tricks before his eyes. Was that truly all it amounted to for him?
Parnell trembled, overwheld by a profound sense of powerlessness. Grimudo’s curious gaze lingered on her as he spoke again.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t you charge at this boldly last ti too? Or have you already lost your nerve?”
“Who says I’ve lost my nerve... I’ve just run out of mana.”
The only difference now was Kyle’s absence—the one who had restored her mana in their previous encounter, but against Grimudo, that difference felt aningless.
It only determined whether she could hold out a little longer, nothing more.
“If I had any mana left, I’d throw a fireball or sothing...”
“It’s been a while for you two as well. Aren’t you going to attack?”
The Hero and the Demon Hunter remained silent but an unfamiliar voice interrupted the stillness.
The saint, Aridel, her pale complexion now composed, began singing a hymn to steady herself. Her voice carried resolve as a radiant halo illuminated her figure. She opened her eyes wide, staring directly at the Ancient Demon King.
“I, as the saint chosen by the goddess, will stand against your atrocities. Mother, grant strength! Endow with the power to face this great evil!”
“I’m sorry, but...”
Grimudo’s response was simple, almost dismissive.
“I have no interest in you.”
With a re wave of his hand, the space behind Aridel tore open. An infinite, dark abyss erged, carved into the void itself.
Magic was a gift bestowed by dragons upon the mortal races—a favor freely given, an act of charity without cost, a form of divine benevolence.
Transcendent Magic. Horizon of Destruction.
But Grimudo was different. He didn’t simply receive the dragons’ gift. He traded his own profound knowledge for their magic, compelling the dragons to reveal far more of their secrets than they ever intended.
His mastery of magic rivaled that of the dragons themselves, the very source of all magic. What only dragons were said to wield—transcendent magic—was now in his hands, defying all reason. It manifested here, creating an endless abyss behind Aridel.
A line of pure darkness, swallowing light itself. It cut through Aridel’s radiant halo and consud it entirely.
It wasn’t just an attack. It was judgnt, an unyielding verdict.
“Th-The Archbishop! At least the Archbishop...”
“It’s too late. All we can hope for is to escape from within.”
Whoosh!
The massive line of darkness, vast as the horizon, consud Aridel and Renheim completely.
Inside that abyss, where everything was typically crushed instantly, beings as powerful as Renheim and Aridel wouldn’t perish imdiately, but by the ti they escaped, it would already be too late. Their strength would be utterly spent.
“Saintess...!”
Yurinel reached out toward the saintess, her expression frozen in shock, but her outstretched hand only grasped empty air. The abyss had claid Aridel, leaving nothing behind. Only the Demon King’s voice lingered, mocking her.
“Yurinel Lakponcia.”
Yurinel froze. The Ancient Demon King had spoken her na—a na she never imagined he would rember, let alone speak aloud.
“Didn’t you once say you wanted revenge on ?”
The Demon King smiled. He hadn’t forgotten the uninvited guests who had dared to challenge him.
One of the few pleasures in Grimudo’s long existence was the arrival of challengers. Before the Hero’s Party, there had been others—Geher, the hermit, and the quiet Rayman. Even before them, various visitors had co sporadically.
“Or have you decided to abandon your revenge after failing once? It doesn’t matter to either way.”
“Grimudo! What are you saying to the hero!”
Harmael interjected from far away, trying to give him advice.
“That one is the enemy of us demons! Just kill her already. Isn’t that well within your power?”
Haha.
Grimudo rely laughed. The mont that laughter reached her ears, an excruciating pain pierced her skull. She instinctively tried to resist, but it was futile. The attack couldn’t be dodged or blocked.
A grim, oppressive force entered her through her senses, manifesting as dark, intangible hands that squeezed her brain. Her vision flickered and she couldn’t see anything. No thoughts ca to mind. She couldn’t even think of simple things like where she was or who she was. There was no ntal capacity to think.
Thud!
No longer able to keep herself aloft, Harmael plumted to the ground, landing headfirst with a sickening sound.
Even as she writhed in agony, there was no blood—no external damage at all. Yet her mind scread as if it were being torn apart. It was an incomprehensible, terrible sensation.
Her thoughts were a jumbled haze, her mind reduced to chaos.
It felt as if an army of dwarves were hacking at her brain with rciless hamrs.
Harmael clutched her head, releasing a scream.
What is this? What on earth happened to ? What kind of technique is this? Even such obvious questions didn’t co to mind.
“It’s a ntal attack.”
Yurinel and Lucia gasped audibly, stunned by his revelation.
“It’s an ancient technique. You know how to wield mana, but you lack the knowledge of ntal arts—thods for attacking and defending the mind.”
“A ntal.. attack?”
Lucia, the veteran demon hunter, had never seen such an attack before.
Monsters and ethereal beings sotis targeted the mind, but Grimudo’s assault was far beyond anything she’d ever encountered. Just one strike had left Harmael writhing helplessly on the ground.
‘Does this guy still have cards like this up his sleeve?’ Lucia asked, her voice trembling without realizing it.
“Why... Why didn’t you use this last ti? Were we so weak that you could afford to hide such a technique?”
“It’s not that I didn’t use it. You blocked it before. Or rather, that priest did.”
That was the main reason he ca here.
“So, where is that priest now?”
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