What I had hoped for didn't happen.
My attack didn't hit Elrodan.
Instead, it hit Rena.
My hand pierced her body. Her blood dripped profusely.
Her eyes trembled, but she still looked at me with conviction.
"Ughh... hurry... get out of here," Rena mumbled to Roger.
Roger gritted his teeth. But he knew this was Rena's decision.
Without another word, he reached for a magic scroll under his robes.
I recognized that scroll.
A Long-Distance Teleportation Scroll.
With one spell, they could disappear from this place.
"No, what about you, Rena?" Elrodan exclaimed, his voice trembling.
I prepared to pull my hand away from her—but
Click!
Rena gripped my hand tightly.
Her body began to glow faintly with the power of the moon that enveloped her muscles.
[SUPER GRIP]
Her body gripped me as if unwilling to let go.
I couldn't move—not even to retreat.
"If I must die, then I will die holding you," Rena whispered hoarsely.
A magic circle appeared beneath Roger and Elrodan's feet.
The light of teleportation began to envelop their bodies.
The elven knights watched—none of them flinched.
Their faces were steadfast, their eyes determined.
They knew this might be the end for them. But if it was for the king, they wouldn't back down.
I looked at Rena, who was still gripping me tightly.
Her body was trembling, her breathing heavy, but her grip didn't loosen one bit.
"You're a remarkable woman, Rena," I said softly.
And I could only watch,
as the light engulfed Elrodan and Roger.
They vanished.
Five minutes passed.
Rena's body was on the verge of collapse. Blood soaked her robes and the ground around her. Her breathing was ragged, but her grip hadn't completely weakened.
I took a deep breath and unleashed the full force of my dark energy.
CRACK.
The grip finally broke—her bones and muscles couldn't withstand the explosion of power any longer.
I pulled my hand out of her body. Blood gushed out, warm against my skin.
Rena's body fell slowly to the ground.
Her once-sharp eyes began to lose their brilliance.
The moonlight faded from her eyes, and all that remained was silence.
I stood still, staring at her emotionlessly.
"Zereth," I said softly.
From the rubble, Zereth emerged, stumbling.
Hid body was in tatters, one arm missing, and his face smeared with blood.
"Yes, my lord," Zereth said, bowing respectfully, even as he nearly collapsed.
"Exterminate all the remaining elves," I said coldly. "Don't let a single one escape."
"Orders received."
Zereth turned, then stumbled and immediately transformed into a slaughtering machine for the remaining elven knights. Their morale was already shattered, and that made it even easier.
I glanced at the corpses around me before turning my gaze to Rena's lifeless body.
With a single movement of my hand, my magic enveloped her body—lifting her off the ground like a broken doll.
I walked slowly toward the large house in the center of the village—the now empty and ruined house of the chieftain.
Upon arrival, I snapped my fingers.
TRUCK!
A spiked throne rose from the ground, made of stone and bone fused together by dark magic.
I sat down slowly, Rena's body still hovering beside me like a trophy.
"Noa," I said softly.
"Yes, my lord," the voice answered from within the black gauntlet encasing my hand.
"Tell me about your origins."
"With pleasure, my lord," it replied. "A thousand years ago, I was a dragon. In those days, there were no such things as 'Heros,' and the world stood in balance. There was no war between the races."
"There was no war?" My eyebrows raised.
"That's right. In those days, the strongest race was the Demon. A demon's body possessed a special characteristic: the older they were, the stronger they became. And the strongest of all was Amon."
"Amon?" I narrowed my eyes. "I've never heard of that demon."
"That's understandable," Noa said, his tone darker. "Because his name has been erased from all historical records—by the Gods."
"Did the gods intervene?" I asked.
"That's right. They were afraid. Afraid of Amon's power, which was slowly approaching their own. So, the gods created something. Something that could rival Amon."
"They created… the Heroes?"
"Yes. Five Heroes were born with the direct blessing of the gods. They led the massacre of the demon race. Chaos was inevitable. But Amon didn't stand idly by. He gathered the strongest demons under his leadership and attacked the heroes."
I clenched my fists. "So, what did the gods do?"
"They brought new elements into this world—the holy elements that were the demons' greatest weakness. Light, holy, and the moon—all created to destroy us."
I nodded slowly. "So, how did Amon fight it all?"
"Noa, I—this weapon—am the answer."
The gauntlet's eyes glinted softly.
"Amon sacrificed the souls of the strongest demons under him to create me. With my power, he managed to kill the five Heroes. But his body had already passed its limit. With the last of his strength, Amon separated the Demon and Mortal worlds, creating a boundary between the two realms."
I stared at the gauntlet silently.
"...And now," Noa continued quietly, "you hold Amon's final legacy."
My fists clenched. A throb of emotion heated up in my chest.
So all this time I was just a pawn—a pawn in the gods' game.
A dark aura erupted with my anger, forming a vortex around my body.
"But when I was a Hero, I never once communicated with the gods," I said quietly, but sharply.
"Because you are not the Original Hero, my lord," Noa replied calmly.
I narrowed my eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, from the beginning, you were not created by the gods. You are the Hero of the Demons, an anomaly that even Amon himself had predicted."
My blood ran cold for a moment. "Prophesied by Amon? Explain."
Noa paused for a moment, then continued in a deeper voice.
"One night thousands of years ago, I saw it. Amon performed forbidden magic—sacrificing part of his soul to penetrate the veil of time."
I was stunned.
"In that vision, Amon saw the future. He saw a child who would be born a Hero, but who would not bow to the light. That child would reject the destiny of the gods and one day rise to become the most powerful Demon King in history, uniting the world under one will."
I took a deep breath. My chest tightened with reality.
"And that child is me."
"That's right, My Lord," Noa replied, calmly but deeply.
I closed my eyes. In that darkness, I accepted the reality—that my life, my struggles, everything was just part of the gods' game.
A damn game.
When I opened my eyes again, a fire of determination burned in my pupils. My goal was no longer simply to slaughter heroes.
Now, I would kill the gods. One by one. Without mercy.
My gaze fell on Rena's lifeless body.
"You'll be useless if you die, Rena," I said quietly, but with intensity.
I raised my hand. The last of my dark aura began to gather, spreading throughout the village.
The air tensed. The demons around me trembled, not from fear of the enemy—but from my own power.
I dived into the spiritual vortex in search of her soul and found it.
But it wasn't free. It was imprisoned in the hands of a god.
"Heh," I smiled sarcastically. "So you hid her soul, huh? So she wouldn't belong to me, you bastard god."
Without hesitation, I extended my will and forcibly pulled Rena's soul out.
The sky darkened.
A thunderous voice echoed from above:
"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH THE SOUL I'VE TAKEN. TAKE BACK YOUR HAND, MORTAL!!!"
"HAHAHAHAHA!" My laughter ripped through the night. "If you can, put me down now!"
Lightning struck hard, shaking the village. The ground trembled. But I didn't care.
With the last of my strength, I managed to pull Rena's soul away, even as the voice of the god's anger shook the heavens.
Divine aura and darkness clashed above her. Her body trembled, glowed, then fell silent.
I reunited her body and soul. But not as her former self.
With forbidden magic, I modified her memories and loyalties. Erasing everything about the hero. Erasing her identity as an elf.
All that remained was one thing—eternal loyalty to the Demon King.
I raised my hand, chanting the forbidden magic from Amon's era.
[ARISE]
A dark light exploded. Rena's body slowly rose again. Her eyes opened.
No longer gentle. But sharp, submissive and devoted.