Cold Fury
Death is the great unknown.
It is the terminal station no living creature can truly comprehend, the frayed edge where fear and imagination dissolve into nothingness. Even a Demon King was no exception to this absolute truth. Gifted with the Authority of Death from the moment of her creation, Annus had spent every waking breath trembling in terror. Despite possessing the overwhelming might of an archdemon—no, precisely because she was one—she had lived her entire existence in frantic, desperate flight from its grasp.
It was a life defined by horror, cursed with the very power and intellect required to run away from it.
For that reason, she could never understand the countless other souls who drifted through their days in tranquil bliss. How could they live so carelessly? Death was right beside them, tucked into every shadow, scattered thick across the surface of the entire world. She envied their peace. She coveted their happiness so deeply it burned.
So she had tried to become one of them. She shifted her form, masquerading as a human, an elf, a beastman—mimicking their smiles, slipping into their bustling streets in a pathetic bid to blend in. Yet every single attempt had crumbled into catastrophe. Whenever she sought their perspective, those ignorant fools offered the same empty platitudes.
"Everyone knows that all life ends in death. But isn't that why we have to live all the harder?"
"I don't really get all that death stuff, but isn't living in the moment the best we can do? Focus on the now, and maybe that anxiety of yours will fade a bit."
"What a useless thing to lose sleep over. Fretting about something that might happen is just plain stupid."
She could not agree with them in the slightest. She could not comprehend their words even by a grain of millet. How on earth was anyone supposed to 'live hard' when death lurked right at their elbow? Life was already an exhausting, suffocating scramble just to keep it at bay. Focus on the present? Death was an immutable law governing the past, present, and future alike. Even at this very second, its chill was wrapping around her throat. A low probability? That was the most absurd delusion of all. Death was the singular, inescapable certainty waiting at the end of every life. No one evaded it.
Before long, she realized she could never be like them. She, who already knew everything—who felt the icy breath of death far more vividly than anyone else—would never taste the quiet, blissful life they took for granted. For all eternity, bound to an ageless, immortal flesh, she was condemned to shudder before the reaper's shadow every single instant.
The moment that realization settled into her bones, the sheer terror drove her mad. There was no escape. And yet, she wanted to live. She had to live.
From the depths of that frantic, desperate thrashing, she finally found the only way to preserve her sanity.
She would drag them down. She would pull those peaceful, joyful wretches into the exact same muck where she suffocated. She would force those enviably ignorant creatures to realize that their precious lives were every bit as wretched, hopeless, and miserable as hers.
And so, she gifted them tragedy. She taught them that existence was a living hell. She made them realize that death would have been a mercy.
Tasting their despair was the only thing that granted her a fleeting reprieve, the singular engine keeping her alive. It was her most shameful secret, the dark vulnerability she had never shared with a living soul. Yet it had just been violently dragged into the daylight. The ugly core of her being, a truth likely hidden even from the Evil God, had been stripped bare and paraded before the world without her consent.
In that instant, her reason snapped.
The second I caught sight of death slithering out into the open, pure animal instinct shook the slumbering beast within my marrow.
"Grrrrrr—!!"
A low, guttural growl scraped past my throat before I could stop it, and I flinched, recoiling half a step in shock at my own reaction.
"...She looks properly pissed off."
Cold sweat beaded down the back of my neck as I watched Annus exude tendrils of black, mist-like authority. Every single particulate floating in that fog was pure 'death.' Without the means to resist it, a single brush of that mist meant literal, instantaneous expiration. An absolute, unconditional force.
"Wonder how long my authority can hold out..."
I layered Kubel's shimmering authority over my flesh. A thick pelt of black fur rippled across my skin, and elongated, razor-sharp claws extended from my fingertips.
"Whew... Haah..."
Channelling mana to ignite my Shamanic Ritual Tattoos next, a blistering heat flared through my veins, flooding my limbs with violent vigor. I flicked a glance sideways and saw my companions pressing the unnamed high demons into a corner, firmly holding the upper hand. Aside from our numerical advantage, seizing the initiative with the Absolute Ring Set while backed by Cecilia and Arpe's buffs had tipped the battlefield overwhelmingly in our favor.
—...Cecilia. Arpe. Can you throw some support my way too?
—Ah! Yes! Right away!
—I can give you one, Sir Han-gil. Do you need Forced Awakening?
—Save it. It's a bit too early to blow our best card.
If Annus were our only adversary, I wouldn't have hesitated to ask for it. But, regrettably, there was another Demon King currently trying to breach Terabaon. Even now, through the Domain of the Beast cast over the entire city, my instincts were screaming in frantic agitation.
Fwhoooosh!
Far across the capital, on the opposite front, an immense power was encroaching and hammering upon my sensory boundaries.
"Tsk...!"
Sounds like Otiliv, the Demon King of Life, is throwing a full-blown tantrum. I felt a twinge of worry, but... they should manage. Urtega, Greenjack, and the Holy Church's heavy hitters were holding that side. Their combined strength might be slightly inferior to our frontline, but if their goal was merely to endure, they would find a way.
—Understood. Give it your all!
With Arpe's telepathic cheer, a radiant pillar of holy light sank into my chest, accompanied by a crystalline opera that instantly cleared the haze from my mind.
"Right. Let's do this."
I locked eyes with Annus, who stood as motionless as a tombstone, glaring daggers at me. Her smug, condescending smirk was completely gone. Pale as a specter, her lips twitched ceaselessly in a soundless, manic murmur.
"Aaaargh...?! My Lord...!"
Behind her, one of the desperately struggling high demons finally crumpled, its life extinguished. If we could just stall a little longer, we could wipe out the rest of the trash and dogpile the Demon King together...
"You look pretty rattled, Annus."
"......"
"I mean, I get it. Must be humiliating as hell. The great Demon King of Death, living the life of a pathetic loser running away from the very concept she wields. Envious and jealous of the living, spending all her time dragging folks into the mud... You can hardly call yourself a Demon King after that, can you?"
"......"
With every syllable I spat, her murderous intent blossomed like a noxious, malignant flower. The moment it reached full bloom—
FWOOOOSH!
"GRAAAAH!"
Without the slightest windup, a jet of black mist blasted straight toward me. Howling like a rabid beast, I slashed my claw of shimmering authority into its path. The black vapor wrrithed like a living serpent before shattering into wisps and dissolving into thin air.
"Khk...!"
Alright. Countering it was possible. Gritting my teeth against the searing shock, I rapidly regenerated the beastly claws that had frayed to ribbons from that split-second collision. A massive chunk of authority had been shaved away, but it wasn't an impossible match-up. As long as I could stomach the bone-deep agony, I could endure this for dozens of minutes.
...Assuming that wasn't just a casual swat, of course. And I, better than anyone, knew that couldn't possibly be her full output.
"I'll kill you. I will tear you to absolute pieces..."
"......"
SHRAAAAK!
As she muttered murderously under her breath, I experimentally hurled a crescent shockwave from my claws. It carved through the air with frightening momentum, only to be swallowed whole and snuffed out the microsecond it brushed against the black mist surrounding her.
"...Tsk."
Ranged attacks weren't out of the question, but my beastly authority was overwhelmingly optimized for brutal, close-quarters combat. If I couldn't even close the distance, my options narrowed to almost nothing.
—Sister Weller. Is the grimoire ready yet?
—I need a few more minutes.
A few minutes, huh... If I avoid trading blows head-on and kite her as much as possible, I might make it work.
"Aaaagh...!"
"Guhk...!"
Two more high demons collapsed in pools of black blood. Only two remained.
"Whew..."
The situation was tilting in our favor. Keeping my muscles coiled and my eyes trained on Annus, I suddenly noticed that her frantic whispering had cut off.
"......"
"......"
"Ah~"
All at once, a bright, radiant smile split her face. Her shoulders slumped in total relaxation, and her eyes sparkled with playful, cruel delight.
Shiver!
A foul chill raced up my spine. Instinctively, I flared my authority outward. The soft, shimmering haze around me bristled violently, hardening into sharp quills like an enraged porcupine.
"Oh dear~ I'm so sorry~ Did I get a little~ carried away~?"
"...Regained your senses already? Truly a Demon King... But don't worry. I understand."
"What~? Understand~? A mere human, understanding me~? Ahahahaha! Hilarious~ Positively delightful~ Is this why Rubias favors you so much~?"
Closing the distance with light, fluttering steps like a butterfly, her tone was unnervingly sweet, yet her eyes shone clear as glass beads—brimming with glacial, unadulterated hatred.
"...Oh, hell."
She hadn't regained her senses at all. Her rage had simply blasted right past the redline, tipping into a state of unnatural, freezing calm.
"I feel a tiny bit bad for Rubias, but~ yep~ you're going to die~ I'll kill you myself~ as agonizingly and horribly as possible~..."
FWOOOOOSH!
The mist of death, which had previously drifted like lazy plumes of smoke, exploded in every direction at the flick of her wrist.
"Khk?!"
"Look out!"
"Damn it! It's in the way...!"
Muriel, Rebecca, Nemeth, and Tsarkhella—who had been hammering the remaining two high demons and looking for the execution blow—scrambled back in haste to avoid the encroaching black cloud.
"Hah, hah! T-Thank you, Demon King...!"
"How pathetic~ Can you really call yourselves high demons when you're getting bullied by humans~?"
"We have no excuse..."
The two narrowly spared demons panted heavily, glaring murderously our way. Their condition was abysmal. Soaked in gore, missing limbs, and riddled with lacerations, they were practically on death's doorstep. One more solid push would finish them. But giving them even a brief respite meant...
Squirt! Crack! Squelch!
Just like that.
Gaping wounds sealed over, and severed limbs knitted back together at a visible, sickening speed.
"Tsk...!"
They wouldn't recover to their full strength that easily, but I clicked my tongue at the sudden stalemate.
"Are you ready~ human~? Now I'm going to play for keeps~"
"...You're picking an uphill battle, Annus."
"Hmm~? Can't read the room~? You know, slaughtering all of you by myself would be child's play~"
"Don't you have to battle death as well? A sore loser who can do nothing but run away, yet you can't ever stop running. Because you don't want to die." I smirked, openly scoffing in her face. "Said you'd kill me in the most horrific and agonizing way possible, didn't you? Are you really that jealous of us?"
"Heh, hehehehe~... Ah, I can't remember the last time I was this angry~! Hedos!"
"Yes! Demon King!"
"I'll handle things here~ Take the other one and carry out the original plan~ You can do that, right~?"
"...Of course. Even if it costs my life."
"Good~ I'm counting on you~"
"...GRAAAAGH!!"
The high demon called Hedos, alongside the remaining demon, wheeled around and bolted toward the Duke's Castle. My instincts screamed an ear-piercing alarm, and I frantically whipped out a claw slash.
"No~ you don't~! Not a chance~!"
Yet the shockwave was intercepted by the dense wall of black fog rolling outward. Contrary to its sluggish appearance, the mist moved with terrifying velocity, making it agonizingly difficult to anticipate.
—Wendy!
—Yes, Sir!
Positioned closest to the fleeing demons, Wendy unleashed her holy Aura Blade and lashed it forward like a whip.
"I told you, no~ Such futile squirming~"
"Khk...?!"
Even that holy strike was deflected by bundles of compressed, thread-like black mist, forcing Wendy to stumble back under the recoil.
BOOOOM!
Seizing the opening, both high demons kicked off the earth in unison, tearing across the terrain.
—Damn it! Don't let them get away! Block them! Cecilia! Divinity!
—Understood!
FWAST!
Channeling Cecilia's divine power beforehand to shield our barrage from the Demon King's interference, we unleashed everything at the escaping demons. Claw shockwaves, volleys of Aura Blades, and Tsarkhella's blinding lightning tore through the sky.
"I told you, it's useless~!"
KABOOOOM!
The black mist clashed violently with the divine aura, but swiftly overwhelmed it, devouring every incoming blast and enveloping the entire perimeter in suffocating darkness.
"Huuuup...! HAAAAAH!"
Yet a single projectile—Latifi's arrow, imbued with everything she had for single-point penetration—miraculously punched through the impenetrable fog. A ferocious shockwave rippled through the clearing.
"...The World Tree Bracelet...?!"
It was only for a split second, but I saw it clearly. The World Tree Bracelet was bound tightly around Latifi's arrow shaft. Even as I marveled at an application I hadn't dreamed of, my eyes tracked the arrow's flight.
"...Guh...?!"
Tracing an impossible arc like a serpent slithering across the earth, the arrow practically detonated the trailing demon's upper torso, punching clean through its heart and skull before driving relentlessly forward—burrowing straight into the chest of the crocodile-headed high demon, Hedos!
"Krrrk...!"
Yet lacking the punch for an instantaneous kill, Hedos clutched his pierced chest and kept charging headlong toward the Duke's Castle. Thick roots from the World Tree began visibly writhing out from his back, tearing through his flesh as he ran.
"Aaaah...!"
"Cecilia! Stop!"
I caught Cecilia as she bled from the nose from straining against the crushing pressure of the Demon King's authority, then glared back at Annus.
"Finally~ looking at me~? Fufufu..."
"Damn it..."
Gritting my teeth, I watched the high demon's silhouette rapidly shrink toward the Duke's Castle.