A ruined metropolis could be seen in the distance.
A diamond-shaped Black Crystal was rotating above the collapsed temple. It was a crystal that dispersed Demonic Power in all directions.
The thick, oozing Demonic Power polluted and corrupted the surrounding land, allowing the Demonkind to roam freely. Harpoons with humans hanging from them were scattered across the tainted ground.
There were humans walking around that area continuously. They were people who were not just terrified but completely consumed by fear. Watching them, the Demonkind laughed and enjoyed themselves.
“To think the Lotte Grand Temple has become like this…” Ropenheim let out a small sigh.
“What kind of place was it?”
“It was the most fertile place in the Kingdom. Since the Saintess resided there, it was a place filled with dreams and hope.”
“From the perspective of the Demonkind, it must have been like the enemy’s main base.”
It was a place where a God and the Saintess resided, and where the Divine Power was the strongest. For the Demonkind, it likely held more significance than the capital of the Kingdom.
Perhaps because of that, the energy felt from the Great Temple was unusual. Someone even stronger than the Demon Kin of the Demon King I had caught in the capital was deep inside that temple.
I turned my gaze to look at Artina. Judging by her expression, she was burning with rage and a desire for revenge as she looked at the temple ruled by the Demonkind.
Artina, her fists clenched tightly, turned her head and met my eyes. Her gaze seemed to be asking for a signal, so I nodded. Artina turned around and shouted toward the Subjugation Force.
“Until recently, we lived lives dominated by the Demonkind. We had to have our precious families taken away, and our pride as humans was trampled upon!”
Like Artina, those who were enraged by the actions of the Demonkind clenched their fists.
“But not anymore! We have the strength and courage to face the Demonkind! Isn’t that right?”
“That’s right!”
“Today! We will retake the Great Temple and save our families who are suffering at the hands of the Demonkind!”
“Waaaaaaaah!”
“All forces, charge!”
Artina pulled the horse’s reins and dashed forward at the very front. The knights followed behind her, and finally, the soldiers rushed forward in a swarm toward the Lotte Grand Temple.
“Under the protection of the divine, we shall not be defeated!”
A pure white light flowed out from the Goddess’s Cloud that Artina held, bestowing a blessing upon the knights and soldiers. It was the strength to face the Demonkind even in corrupted terrain.
The knights and soldiers who received that power swung their weapons at the Demonkind.
*Slash!*
*Slash!*
They quickly dispatched the Demonkind who were toying with the humans and rescued the people who were suffering like slaves.
*Boom!*
*Boom!*
Demonic Power erupted from the Black Crystal, pouring out black smoke. It was a signal that intruders had appeared. A massive amount of Demonic Power poured out from the inner parts of the Lotte Grand Temple in an instant.
“The enemies are coming! Everyone, get ready!”
At Artina’s command, the subjugation team took their positions.
‘It’s still sloppy.’
They were a group hastily assembled only one week ago, and most of the soldiers had no combat experience. They had the courage to step forward, but they still lacked skill.
If a war had truly broken out like this, they would have lost 100 times out of 100. The subjugation team led by Artina would have been defeated.
“I suppose I should step in this time.”
“Shall I go with you?”
“For them to become true soldiers, they need hardships, they need failure, and they need sacrifice.”
Ropenheim glanced at me.
“Just help enough so that this world can stand up on its own.”
“I understand what you mean.”
“Thank you. Well then, I’m off.”
Pulling the reins of his horse, Ropenheim dashed forward, quickly passing through the soldiers and pushing to the front lines.
“Do not be afraid, everyone! Follow Queen Artina!”
Bizarrely shaped Demonkind poured out from the Great Temple. Monstrous Demonic Power rushed in to swallow the humans, but Artina’s Divine Power protected the subjugation team from the Demonic Power.
“Hyaaaaaap!”
Ropenheim jumped off his horse and drew his sword in a long horizontal line toward the front. Powerful Mana was imbued within it. An Aura Blade was created at the line drawn by the sword, rushing toward the enemies in a half-moon shape.
*Thud thud thud thud!*
The powerful force contained in the sword strikes blew apart the Demonkind that were rushing ahead. In an instant, the Demonkind evaporated.
The soldiers had surprised expressions at Ropenheim’s overwhelming military prowess, and the knights had respect in their eyes. Following that, Artina dropped a spear made of Divine Power from the sky.
*Kaboom!*
The spear that fell into the center of the enemy annihilated the Demonkind.
“We can do it! Believe in your comrades and move forward!”
“Waaaaaaaah!”
The soldiers, who had hesitated slightly, followed the knights and rushed toward the Demonkind. It was the start of a full-scale war.
Ropenheim, Artina, and the high-level knights focused on penetrating the enemy lines and dealing with the dangerous ones. The soldiers fought the common Demonkind swarming toward them.
“We can do it too!”
“Die! You Demon bastards!”
“We will definitely win today!”
It wasn’t that there were no casualties. The lack of skill and the clumsiness of the soldiers were clearly revealed. The moment people started getting injured…
“Ugh… Argh! Aaaaaah!”
“Kehek! Sa… Save me!”
“It’s… It’s been breached! Block them from here!”
“We can’t! We’re busy blocking things here too!”
The atmosphere became chaotic in an instant. As they moved to protect their injured comrades, many soldiers ended up showing their backs to the Demonkind. The Demonkind did not miss that gap. Moving quickly, they picked off the soldiers one by one.
‘Should I step in?’
If the soldiers were wiped out like this, morale would drop, and Artina’s Divine Power would decrease. However, there was also what Ropenheim had said to me.
‘…Hmm.’
I turned my gaze to check on Ropenheim, but he didn’t look back; he only dashed forward, clearing the path. He probably knew without even looking. If he set his mind to it, it wouldn’t be a problem for Ropenheim to sweep away those Demonkind.
I decided to watch the situation a bit longer and looked back at the soldiers.
“…Oh.”
I thought they might be wiped out at this rate, but at some point, individuals who stood out by sweeping away the Demonkind appeared.
“If we are pushed back here, our families in the capital will be in danger!”
“Never give up!”
“We have Queen Artina! Believe in her and give your lives!”
The tide of battle, which had been one-sidedly pushed back, changed to be more even. Those who stood out utilized Artina’s Divine Power to quickly clear out the Demonkind. At the same time, they spread what they had realized.
“Think of it as cladding yourself in armor using Divine Power! Then you can block an attack from the Demonkind at least once!”
“Think of it as imbuing your weapon with Divine Power!”
As pure white light slowly began to spread among the soldiers, the tide of the battle completely turned. The soldiers who had overcome their fear began to clear out the Demonkind.
*Plunge!*
*Thud!*
*Slash!*
As the small-scale subjugation team became one, they seized the victory against a greater number of Demonkind. The subjugation team cleared out the Demonkind and advanced all at once to where the Lotte Grand Temple was located.
Artina, who was running ahead, thrust her shield forward and shouted.
“Everyone, get back!”
*Crack!*
*Cr-cr-crack!*
The Black Crystal floating above the Great Temple cracked, and Demonic Power leaked out. And when the crystal completely shattered, the Demon Kin of the Demon King, who had been sleeping inside, opened its eyes. It was a Demon with four wings and two red horns.
**[Using Golden Dragon Eye]**
**[Roain (SS+)]**
– The fourth Demon Kin under the Demon King.
– Is finding this amusing.
– Total Stats: **[SS+]**
– Potential: **[SSS]**
– Held Items: **[Orb of Fear (SS)]**
– Skills: **[Child of the Devil (SSS)]**, **[Bloodline of Darkness (SS)]**, **[Heavenly Killing Star (SS)]**, **[Corruption Amplification (SS)]**, **[Holy Slayer (SS)]**.
It was an item that could make one stronger for a while by using the fear collected from humans—the Orb of Fear. Besides that, the skills it possessed were powerful.
‘He seems stronger than the third one.’
It appeared the order of the Demon Kin was not simply based on skill.
“I don’t understand. I should have killed everyone related to the Gods, including the Gods themselves, without exception. Where did you pop out from?”
At Roain’s question while floating in the air, Artina raised her sword and shield. Pure white Divine Power enveloped Artina’s body.
“The God has not abandoned us.”
“Is it also your doing that Ba Hala Igra can’t be reached?”
“Yes. Today, you will end up like that too.”
“Ridiculous.”
Along with Roain’s wings spreading wide, an intense momentum weighed down on the subjugation team.
*Rumble!*
Demonic Power flowed out along with a thick murderous intent, covering Roain. Roain’s body gradually began to change. His limbs stretched out long, and the four pairs of wings on his back grew larger, revealing things that looked like eyes.
“Don’t get cocky just because you caught Ba Hala Igra. That fellow was the weakest among us.”
He raised his elongated hand above his head and swung it hard toward the subjugation team.
*Thud thud thud thud!*
A giant hand made of Demonic Power appeared and swept away everything it touched on the ground.
“Hah!”
Artina used her shield to block Roain’s attack. Ropenheim dashed forward and swung his sword.
*Slash!*
Roain’s arm was cut off.
*Shuck!*
However, an arm grew back from the severed area. The arm that had fallen to the ground wriggled and changed into the same form as Roain. It was a clone smaller than the original form.
Feeling that something was off, I used magic.
‘Absolute Barrier.’
The clone rushed toward the subjugation team and then exploded.
*Kaboom!*
The power was as if a powerful explosion spell had been used. However, no one was harmed by the explosion caused by the clone. The protective barrier I had created protected the soldiers.
If they stayed like this, they would only be a hindrance, so I used Teleport to go to where the soldiers were. Then, I used Mass Teleport to move all the soldiers and knights.
*Flash!*
The Lotte Grand Temple was visible, but it was a place quite some distance away.
“Huh! Where is this?”
“We suddenly moved. What happened?”
“Sage?”
I took out food for the surprised soldiers and knights.
“Fill your stomachs and rest for a bit. You’ll have to move immediately once the battle is over.”
After setting up a powerful barrier, I watched the battle between Roain, Artina, and Ropenheim.
*Thump!*
Strong impacts that could be felt even from a distance occurred repeatedly. Through the thick dust, Ropenheim’s and Artina’s swords aimed for Roain. The swords imbued with Divine Power crossed and slashed Roain.
The severed parts regenerated quickly, and the clones exploded as they targeted Ropenheim and Artina.
*Boom!*
*Boom!*
*Boom!*
“Sage, is this a fight that Lady Artina… no, that the Queen can win?”
“Believe in her. Artina will win.”
At first glance, Roain seemed like an undying immortal, but the reality was different. He was slowly becoming weaker. It was just that it wasn’t very noticeable.
‘The orb.’
The orb held in Roain’s hand. The concentrated human fear inside that orb was Roain’s source of power.
‘They collected it for a longer time than I thought.’
The fear the humans must have felt as they watched the Great Temple collapse. The fear that God had abandoned them. The fear that this world would now perish. Such emotions would be piled up in that orb very deeply and intensely.
‘…He’s pushing himself quite a bit.’
Perhaps because I had an Understanding of Demonic Power, I could feel the Demonic Power contained in the orb decreasing faster than expected. The reason he was using his power without holding back was probably because he believed he would definitely win if it became a long-drawn-out battle.
“…Aren’t they going to lose?”
“It’s impossible to catch that Demon.”
“He keeps regenerating. On the other hand, those two…”
They were slaves who had already been enslaved among the Demonkind and had produced fear. The soldiers and knights were becoming contaminated by them. The fear they were gradually creating began to fill Roain’s orb.
“We can win.”
“Those two are fighting like that. What are we supposed to do by giving up?”
“Right. Let’s at least cheer them on!”
“Let us pray to God so that those two can win.”
Those who had stood out among the soldiers changed the atmosphere once again. And their desires and prayers were transmitted to Artina.
*Flash!*
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