Whispers spread through the crowd.
"The Knight agrees..."
"This human—Nolan—might really be strong..."
"Maybe strong enough to save us..."
Then voices rose louder.
"Yes! I’ll follow!"
"I’ll follow!"
"I’ll follow!"
Then among the dwarfs, we all gathered together. Suddenly, twenty of them began transforming—growing larger, bodies warping and twisting.
They were demons.
"Well... I thought you guys weren’t going to reveal yourselves," Nolan said calmly. "I sensed you a long ti ago."
"A human," one of the demons spat. "A human shouldn’t forget her place. But I can tell—you’re no ordinary human. And I can also feel it. My kind... we are being killed, reduced drastically. And it’s all because of you."
"Blah, blah, blah, blah..." Nolan waved his hand lazily. "Big things like you aren’t ant to speak before . And I didn’t say you should."
He landed lightly on the ground—boom.
Nolan stretched out his hand forward.
"I’m not on your knee, you peasant."
He pointed toward them.
The dwarfs began screaming. The lady and her children were already running, creating distance. So of the male dwarfs moved aside, pressing against the walls.
One demon turned, about to attack the fleeing children...
But it froze.
It couldn’t move.
Only its mouth worked.
"K–Kneel before , you peasant," Nolan commanded.
WHOOOM.
Gravity crashed down on them. All the demons were forced to their knees, trembling violently as the pressure increased.
"Wh-who is this human?!" one demon choked. "Why... why is he this strong?"
"You weaklings," Nolan said. "Your lord is in that castle. I’m going to take him out."
One demon struggled to raise his head even slightly, face pressing against the stone.
"H–ha... ha... You will never beat our master," he said. "Our lord... Jabut. A third high-ranking demon. We are nothing—just commoners. So of us barely elite. Five-rank. But you defeated all of us... yet still... you are no match for him."
"So your master isn’t even the Demon Lord," Nolan said. "Just a third-ranking demon? I’m actually ashad."
He lowered his hand.
"So now... you can all die while bowing down to ."
BOOM.
Gravity multiplied instantly.
Their heads slamd into the ground—CRACK.
Black blood burst across the stone streets.
Silence.
Then so of the male dwarfs began clapping. The females clapped. The children clapped.
A small dwarf kid tugged Nolan’s trouser.
Nolan bent slightly. "What is it?"
"Are you the one who’s going to save us?" the dwarf kid asked.
Nolan smiled and rubbed his head.
"Yes. I am."
Suddenly—WHOOSH.
Lyra and Damian descended from the sky and landed.
"Master, we are back," Damian said, kneeling. "We have exterminated every demon in this entire area. I think it’s ti we march to the castle, Master Nolan."
"Yes, Master. It’s ti," Lyra added.
"Celia and Linda handled their part too," Lyra continued. "They’re both fine."
"That’s good," Nolan said. "Every dwarf here—prepare yourselves."
He stepped forward.
"We march straight into the castle. He hasn’t run. He won’t run. We break the barrier—and we finish this."
The dwarfs raised their hands high.
"YEAH!!"
"That sounds more like it," Nolan said calmly, turning toward his group. His eyes sharpened.
"You guys should get ready. Damian, Lyra—go back and check if there’s anything left. Check around this village. If there’s anything red or any spirits. Because I can see clearly... there are demonic spirits moving around. Monitoring this very place. And I know you can also see that."
He pointed back.
"Take them out. And anything else that might interfere."
"Yes, Master," Damian and Lyra said together.
WHOOSH!
Both of them shot into the sky instantly. The dwarves gasped.
"Wow!! They can also... wow!! Humans flying!" a dwarf shouted.
Other dwarves stared, jaws dropping, watching Damian and Lyra disappear into the distance.
"Follow ," Nolan said.
The dwarves imdiately ford a line behind him.
All the females stayed behind to protect the children. Only the males—hundreds of them—followed Nolan as they marched toward the castle.
As they walked, moving closer and closer to the massive fortress, the atmosphere grew heavier.
A black, suffocating aura rolled out from the castle like a storm.
Suddenly—
"Ugh—!"
So dwarves dropped to their knees.
Others clutched their chests, trembling.
"I... I feel weird..."
"My body... I can’t..."
"This pressure..."
The demonic aura from the castle was crushing them.
Nolan sighed lightly and stepped forward.
He stretched his hand toward them.
"Oh... Divine Protection."
A golden light spread out, washing over the dwarves like a calm wave. Their bodies stopped shaking. Their breathing steady.
The demonic pressure vanished from inside them.
They got back up.
"Follow ," Nolan repeated.
And they obeyed.
ARRIVING AT THE CASTLE GATE
They reached the massive black castle. Two dwarves tried stepping forward—
ZZZZT!!
They were blasted back by a barrier and thrown onto the ground.
"Ah!"
Nolan walked up to the glowing barrier.
He placed his palm on it.
"Dispel."
CRACK—SHATTER!!
The entire barrier broke like fragile glass.
The dwarves stared wide-eyed as Nolan stepped through the ruined gate.
He raised his leg—
BOOOOM!!
The gate exploded open.
Inside were about twenty demons, dwarf-shaped but twisted, with sharp black horns and swords in their hands.
They roared and charged at Nolan.
He didn’t even blink.
He stretched out his hand.
GRAVITY.
BOOM!!
All twenty demons had their heads smashed into the ground instantly—dead where they landed.
But then—
From deeper inside the castle...
Screech!!
ROOOOAR!!
Dozens more demons started storming out.
Ten... twenty... forty...
Almost fifty demons now filled the hallway, surrounding Nolan and the dwarves.
The dwarves panicked.
But Nolan...
He just snapped his fingers.
SNAP.
Ti froze.
Every demon stopped mid-step.
Their bodies frozen in the air.
Swords trapped mid-swing.
Nolan moved.
His speed was so fast the dwarves couldn’t even see him—only a faint blur slicing through the frozen demons.
SLASH. SLASH. SLASH. SLASH.
Hundreds of cuts.
Dozens of clean strikes.
He returned to where he stood originally.
Ti resud.
The demons took one more step—
And then their bodies split apart and fell to the ground.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
The dwarves were stunned.
"H-h-how?!"
"He didn’t even move!"
"He took out all the strong demons like they were nothing!"
"He’s... he’s the one who’s going to save us..."
Nolan continued walking forward, not stopping for a mont.
THE DARK KNIGHT DEMON – IRON KING
They reached the main throne hall.
A massive armored figure stood there.
A Dark Knight Demon—covered in black iron armor, horns jutting from his helt, holding a gigantic sword.
He looked like a walking nightmare.
"So..." the Iron King demon spoke, his voice heavy like thunder. "How are you able to take out my demons... you human?"
His red eyes glowed behind the helt.
He stepped forward, raising his sword.
"You dare enter my castle? You dare kill my subjects? Tell , human—what gives you the courage?"
Nolan stepped forward, staring up at the towering iron-armored demon.
"Now tell ," Nolan said, his voice dropping, sharp and cold.
"I’m the one who should be asking questions here. Why did you co into the dwarf kingdom? And what exactly are you? What’s your na? Speak, you low-life form."
The demon froze.
"...Low... life... form?" the Dark Knight Demon repeated slowly, his red eyes glowing through the helt.
"You dare—"
His voice rose, shaking the entire throne hall.
"HOW DARE A RE MAN CALL A DEMON... A LOW-LIFE FORM!"
His aura burst outward like a shockwave, shaking the walls.
"I am the Dark Knight Demon personally guarding the Demon Lord’s castle!" the demon roared.
"I am not only that—I am known... as the Demon Iron King! THE IRON KING!"
His armor clanged as he leaned forward, gripping his massive blade.
The dwarves behind Nolan trembled.
Nolan only raised an eyebrow.
"Well, well, well," Nolan said calmly.
"I can see it. A strong aura... and you’re strong. But not only that... you’re going to put up a fight."
He smirked.
"This might actually be fun."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
What do I do now? Nolan thought.
Do I just move swiftly and kill him? Or should I see how things go?
The Iron King growled, energy crackling beneath his armor.
"ENOUGH TALK!" the demon roared, raising his arm.
Iron plates shifted, revealing a glowing core inside his gauntlet.
Nolan’s eyes widened slightly.
"That’s a big beam."
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
A gigantic beam of demonic energy shot out of the Iron King’s arm, tearing through the throne room and blasting toward Nolan with devastating speed—
The Iron King’s massive demonic beam tore through the air, roaring straight toward Nolan.
But just before it could slam into him—
—it suddenly curved sharply, aiming at the dwarves behind Nolan.
"AHHH!!"
The dwarves scread in terror.
The Iron King demon grinned, showing two sharp fangs.
Nolan didn’t even turn around.
He simply raised his hand—
and snapped his finger without sound.
BOOM—SHUUUUUUM!
A golden shield instantly expanded behind him, wrapping around all the dwarves.
The massive beam hamred against the shield, pushing it back with monstrous force, shaking the ground—
—but it couldn’t break it.
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