Fisherman's Gain
Nahen, who had been observing the situation from the moment Achiled fell, slowly rose from his seat.
“Seere, get ready.”
“Yes, Teacher!”
Seere sprang to her feet with eager energy, as though she had been waiting for the command. Her fingers toyed restlessly with the hilt of the sword at her waist. Nahen chuckled at the sight of her barely restraining the urge to draw it.
“Body feeling restless?”
“Yes. I didn’t expect a mere human to put up such a fight. I want to test myself against them.”
“Then Seere, I have a request for you.”
“Yes?”
Seere’s eyes widened. Nahen asking something of her meant he intended to rely on her. That he trusted her enough to depend on her—this was what she had always longed for. Overjoyed, she nodded so vigorously it looked as if her head might come off.
“Yes! What is it!?”
“Ah…? Ah, right. Take on the Hero for me.”
“The Hero?”
“It seems humans call those granted armaments by the Heavenly God ‘Heroes.’”
“Ah.”
Nahen had made the request because, aside from himself, Rin, Baruna, and Celestia, only Seere could stand against the Hero. Rin, Baruna, and Celestia had legions to command, and while he himself could fight…
‘If I intervene, the Heavenly God may notice an Archdemon’s involvement and respond unpredictably.’
With that concern in mind, he preferred to avoid direct confrontation with the Hero. He judged Seere capable of handling the task. Should she be pushed back, he would step in, but…
“Can you manage it?”
Nahen spoke as though she were free to refuse, yet Seere’s answer was already decided. She nodded firmly, then clenched her fist with all her strength, her entire body radiating unyielding resolve.
“Leave it to me, Teacher.”
This is a task Teacher entrusted to me. Finally, he’s relying on me. So…
“I’ll see it through!”
I must live up to his expectations.
#
At the Demon King’s command, the legions moved. The 4th Legion appeared alongside Seere, the 5th Legion from the north, the 6th from the west, and the 7th from the east, encircling the human army. Yet something felt off. The surrounding legions maintained their distance, feinting advances without committing. They preserved the encirclement while deliberately avoiding a head-on clash.
“Those bastards rush in the moment we try to avoid fighting, then run the second we push back!?”
“What… what are they plotting?”
The humans had no idea another legion existed. The 8th Legion, composed entirely of vampires and kept out of the encirclement, waited farther back. Unlike the others, they provided long-range support. Vampire blood magic was ideal for interception.
“Prepare the blood spears!”
【 Bloody Spear 】
Crimson spears materialized in the vampires’ hands. Alberon, their commander, gave the order.
“Throw!”
At his signal, tens of thousands of spears launched skyward at once. The sight of blood-forged spears blotting out the heavens was both chilling and overwhelming. The humans had reacted swiftly against Achiled’s forces, but problems began to surface here.
“Form defensive lines and block them!”
“Are you mad!? How do we stop that!? Scatter immediately!”
The Hero’s punitive force was a multinational coalition. Their command structure was fragmented, and officers from different nations often issued conflicting orders. With enemies pressing from every direction rather than a single front, confusion mounted rapidly.
“Hold your positions!”
Yet someone remained capable of rallying them. Ceres raised her bow high and drew the string toward the sky.
《 Diana 》
A moonlight arrow streaked upward. Upon reaching the heavens, the light spread wide, forming a dome above the human ranks. Soldiers gazed upward in awe at the descending moonlight.
“Beautiful…”
“Is this the power of the Heavenly God…!”
A single arrow had woven a barrier that seemed capable of shielding every soldier.
“Hmm. Looks rather sturdy.”
Until a Demon King intervened.
The red streaks in Seere’s snow-white hair faded, while the crimson gem set in her sword blazed with ominous light.
“Breaking Sword.”
『 Vástĭtas manus 』
Seere von Devata, mistress of the Blood Flow Sword, brought the glowing blade down in a single, decisive arc.
Crack—!
A fissure split the barrier everyone had believed unbreakable. Though small, the crack spread swiftly through the precisely wrought construct.
Crack crack crack!!!
The barrier shattered with one strike.
Ceres stared in disbelief.
“…How?”
The bow was a gift from the Heavenly God, imbued with power that should have repelled any mana. Yet the ominous sword had met no resistance whatsoever.
“It still broke, though.”
The barrier collapsed, and forty thousand blood-red spears rained down.
“Evade…!”
“Gah!”
“Block with your sword—! Khak…!”
Ceres and the elite western knights could protect themselves, but the majority of soldiers fell to the vampires’ devastating magic.
“Hero-nim! What happened!?”
A knight demanded answers, yet Ceres herself did not understand why her technique had been nullified so effortlessly.
With the human formation in ruins, Seere raised her sword and pointed forward.
“All legions, advance! Sweep them away!”
After softening the enemy with ranged bombardment, the legions exploited the broken formation for a frontal assault. It was textbook tactics, yet executed with overwhelming speed. The moment Seere gave the signal, every legion surged forward simultaneously. Already disoriented, the human army descended into panic at the sight of demon forces crashing in from all sides.
“On your feet! Counterattack! Reform the lines—!”
Experienced officers tried to restore order, but the breaches were too wide. Before they could be sealed, Baycon’s massive paws crushed through the gaps.
“Arrogant humans.”
A woman with flowing hair and feline ears regarded the fallen officer with cold disdain.
“Annihilate them.”
#
Ceres could not mask her shock as the Demon King’s legions closed in from every direction. The same forces that had encircled and begun slaughtering the punitive army. The Demon King who had shattered the Heavenly God’s barrier in an instant. And above it all, that embodiment of ‘evil’ still watching silently from the sky. Though an exceptional archer, Ceres had never fought demons within the Demon Realm itself. While she struggled to regain her composure, her opponent finished her preparations.
“Ash.”
『 Cĭnis 』
“Explosion.”
『 Explósĭo 』
Two ancient spells manifested in her hands. Seere pressed her palms together.
“Ash Explosion.”
『 Cĭnis Explósĭo 』
She glanced around, puzzled.
“The smell of burning…?”
Gray ash rose around her.
Boom boom boom───!
A tremendous explosion erupted. Seere had poured vast amounts of external and internal mana into fusing the two ancient spells. Its power was immense. Knights and soldiers clustered around Ceres were obliterated—blown apart or incinerated.
“What… what have you done!?”
Yet Ceres survived. Even a heavily armored knight beside her had perished, but she remained standing. Seere regarded her with genuine surprise.
“You’re quite durable.”
The Heavenly God’s gift was more than mere armaments. It included a blessing that abnormally enhanced all her abilities and shielded her body. A Hero’s physique was sturdier than conventional armor—a living biological suit. That was why Heroes could endure strikes fatal to ordinary humans. Even so, the ancient magic explosion had left her burned and wounded. Coughing up black blood, Ceres spoke.
“…I see. Now I understand.”
Her gaze locked onto Seere. Not the idle man in the sky, but the girl before her.
“You are my enemy.”
“Humans really are foolish… Teacher always speaks highly of them, but.”
Seere met her stare. Where Ceres saw an enemy, Seere’s eyes held only disgust and contempt—as though beholding something filthy and beneath her notice. Ceres felt that disdain in every fiber of her being and ground her teeth.
“You’ve always looked at people that way while hunting them!!”
Enraged, Ceres nocked an arrow and aimed at Seere. Her movements were swift and precise, worthy of an elven master archer.
《 Arjuna 》
Lightning crackled along the bowstring. The arrow screamed as it prepared to fly, then launched. It moved too fast for the eye to follow, and Seere failed to react.
“…What?”
“H-How…?”
Yet Seere stood completely unharmed. The Ancient Golden Bracelet on her wrist shone brilliantly—the artifact Nahen had given her after conquering the 68th floor. Just as the Blood Flow Sword granted explosive growth, the bracelet manifested its power as defense. Seere tilted her head.
“What did you just do?”
“Impossible… How could anyone withstand the Heavenly God’s bow with a mana-wrought body…!”
“Judging by your face, you tried something.”
Seere glanced at her glowing bracelet and smiled.
“Then it’s my turn.”
“Kh… I won’t allow it!”
Ceres drew her bow again—only to see a black-tinged blade already swinging toward her.
“…What?”
Her blessing-enhanced body and elven reflexes should have let her track any movement, yet she had read nothing of Seere’s strike. Mana surged through Seere’s circuits and into the Blood Flow Sword. The crimson gem flared with ominous light.
“Severing All Things.”
『 Univérsĭtas Segméntum 』
Slash──────!