Unlucky!! -7-
A hum like woooooong!!! rose from the sword, radiating mana so vivid and immense it might surpass even Benefict Pendragon, one of humanity's mightiest swordsmen. The density was so thick it didn't just flow around the blade like a translucent aura—it enveloped it entirely, making it look like a lightsaber. Benefict could pull off something similar, but this was on another level entirely.
Whish!!!
Slash!!
"Kieeeek!?"
"What the—!?"
One swing of that blade cleaved through dozens of demons at once, their bodies split neatly in half from top to bottom by its overwhelming sharpness and the sheer power of its wielder. Even before the wounds could close, the mana clinging to the sword and the sword pressure slicing through the air killed them like insects—demons, who boasted durability far beyond ordinary humans.
And that was just the beginning.
"Hahaha! Take this too!!"
Crunch!!
Kabooom!!!
"Guh!?"
"Gaaaaah!!"
He swung the sword one-handed while scooping up a handful of dirt with the other and tossing it lightly. The grains flew like buckshot from a large-gauge shotgun, punching through several demons and turning their bodies into sieves.
Boom!!!
A simple punch downward with a bit of force cratered the ground like it had been hit by an howitzer, the shockwave alone ripping demons apart.
"I'll hold him off! Get behind me!!"
Thud!!!
"Gaaaaah!!"
One of the higher-rank demons from an Iron Golem origin—tougher and bulkier amid this rabble of lower-tier fodder—stepped up to block. But there was no need to swing the sword; brushing past it with his body alone turned it into scrap metal from the sheer impact.
In just three minutes—three minutes—nearly a third of the demon horde numbering close to a thousand lay dead. In modern warfare, losing a third of your troops meant total annihilation. In that short span, the demons had suffered catastrophic losses.
As his head cleared somewhat, a question arose in his now-calmer mind.
Two times? This is way beyond that!!
The potion buff was insanely overpowered.
"What is that guy…?"
"Am I really seeing this…?"
The knights watching were speechless at the sight—like a storm sweeping through the demons, obliterating everything. There were no grand, heroic clashes from legend here. It was pure, efficient slaughter, evoking the image of a butcher in an abattoir.
The Praetorian Knights felt chills creeping over their skin at skills they'd never witnessed before.
"W-what the hell is that…?"
"That's Haku…?"
"He's supposed to be from Earth like us… how can he just… kill without hesitation…?"
The students and teacher, lacking real battle experience, were overwhelmed by Seokgil's familiarity with carnage.
"Aaaah… Haku…"
Yukihime, unable to even speak to him after their last encounter, could only gaze with eyes full of longing and guilt.
"Hiiik… Oni… Oni… Daddy…"
Ikeda Shinji, the golden boy turned delinquent leader, clutched his head and crouched, PTSD flaring from some buried memory.
"As expected, not a chance!!!"
"D-did my potion really work that well?"
Erika's grim face brightened back to her usual cheer, while Kanami stared in awe at the massacre, wondering if her potion had truly been that effective.
The demons' numbers dwindled rapidly. Despite the devastating losses, they weren't human—they were demons. Normally, their morale would shatter, leading to backstabbing and flight. But this was the era of the Demon King's revival, their creator and absolute master. Demons and monsters obeyed his commands without question, and these had come on his direct orders. So they fought to the end.
"M-monster!!!"
"Who's calling who a monster?"
"Gaaaaah!!!"
The horde had thinned to the point where they'd lose even against the First Century and the Heroes. Yet they battled on bravely. And above all, they had something to believe in.
"Enough. Stop there."
Roooar!!!
Kabooom!!!
The flame demon hovering in the sky spoke in a voice laced with such overwhelming menace it raised goosebumps just to hear. He conjured a massive fireball in one hand and hurled it at Seokgil.
"Kieeeek!!!"
"Gaaaaah!!!"
The blast's scorching heat swept a wide area toward Seokgil, yet it incinerated nearly half the remaining demons—around two hundred—in an instant.
"Finally, he shows himself!!"
"Now we've got a shot!!"
The other demons didn't mind their kin being collateral; they cheered. This one, granted a rank above even Archfiends straight from the Demon King despite his youth, meant the monstrous human was done for. That's what they believed.
But Seokgil, the target, stood unscathed within his mana armor-like reinforcement of absurd durability. He didn't even bother dodging, just glared fiercely at the flame demon overhead.
"Finally deigned to show up, huh."
His body burned with the thrill of battle after so long. Memories and instincts from his mad-dog past life surged through his enhanced flesh, unleashing evolved techniques on his foes. Forgotten amid the boredom of daily life, his body thrilled anew. And that excitement focused on the only worthy opponent here.
"The Demon King's words were spot on. I don't care about the other Hero trash… but you… you're a clear threat."
Roooar!!!
The flame demon wrapped his hand in black flames unlike any seen before.
Ding!!
Instinct screamed those black flames were dangerous. His newly awakened mana sense read their nature: unquenchable will, heat that burned even mana itself. Bluntly, hard-to-extinguish flames that consumed magic.
"I am Flamma, Flame of Ruin, the Demon King's loyal servant. Human Hero, state your name."
With a touch of nobility, he introduced himself before the fight. Seokgil grinned ferociously and replied.
"Me? Park Seokgil, a dog."
"You call yourself a dog? Intriguing."
Roooar!!
With that, they prepared for combat.
Ten minutes left. Finish it inside that!!
Thud!!!
He stomped again. Flamma thought he'd hold the edge against this powerhouse Hero. Simple reason: flight. Assuming equal rank, knights struggled against mages because of it. Aerial superiority created massive gaps. Honestly, a flying mage spamming spells usually won.
Thus, elite warriors in this world always carried flight scrolls, magic items, or support mages. But these demons hadn't planned for that. Their mages specialized in offensive artillery-like spells, not support. And in the empire's safest core—the Emperor's direct territory—high-tier flying demons or monsters rarely appeared. No anti-air prep, and Flamma knew it, confident in victory.
Kabooom!!!
"Foolish."
So he smirked as Seokgil leaped skyward with explosive leg power. No midair maneuvering in that state. Flamma pulled back on his wings, readying unquenchable black flames to engulf him.
But—
Thud!!!
Slash!!!
"!?!?!?"
Shockingly, Seokgil kicked the air a few times, adjusting his trajectory in a blink to dodge the black flames and sever Flamma's right arm. He'd aimed for the head; Flamma barely dodged, losing the arm instead.
"Gaaaaah!!!"
Flamma plummeted in pain and shock. Seokgil pursued for the kill.
Roooar!!!
Kabooooom!!!
But Flamma erupted black flames from his body, blasting Seokgil away.
"Damn it."
Roooar!!
No dodging that; flames ignited Seokgil's sword and mana armor. He distanced immediately. Flamma saw a mana barrier form at Seokgil's feet like a film.
A non-mage with that mana control!? Goddess-chosen Hero indeed.
But it was over. Even he couldn't handle black flames once touched.
Lost an arm, but victory's mine!!
Naive thinking, soon proven.
"Got it. How to counter these black flames."
His ominous voice echoed by Flamma's standards.
"Handle it like that White Phosphorous grenade from before."
Crack!!
The mana armor and sword coating split and shed. Like peeling an onion, fresh layers emerged beneath. In that instant, he'd devised and applied a perfect counter to the inextinguishable flames: layered structure for easy separation.
Monstrous combat sense and talent.
"No more tricks? Then you're dead."
"Don't get cocky over lopping off one arm in my carelessness!!!!"
Flamma powered up, as if holding back before.
"If you'll peel off black flames like that, then overwhelm with greater, sustained firepower and…"
Roooar!!!
Sizzle!!
Black flames engulfed him, melting nearby ground into sludge. A spear of ultra-compressed black flames formed in his hand. His severed arm regrew from black flames.
"Pierce that mana armor and touch your body directly!!!"
"Yeah, too easy an end would be boring."
Thud!!
They clashed again.
"Is this… reality?"
Renault Baluang, centurion of the Praetorian First Century, gaped at the spectacle.
Roooar!!
Thud!!!
Slash!!
Black flames and blue mana collided. The shockwaves shook the entire Forest of Beginnings—twice Maximilis's size, the world's second-largest city—like an earthquake, reshaping the vast terrain itself. A mythic battle from legends unfolded: spells and slashes vaporizing forests, crumbling mountains.
"How…"
Did such a being lack the true Hero class and end up near that despairing, trembling woman? The Knight Commander echoed the lament.
"Goddess… protect this hero…"
Dozens, hundreds of blows exchanged per second. Eight minutes and seconds later, victory tipped.
"Gaaaaah!! Persistence!!! How dare a mere human!!!!"
Flamma was losing badly. One eye gone, legs and a wing severed—replaced by black flames to keep fighting. Horns shattered, tail sliced. Purple demon blood stained his red skin amid multiple gut stabs. He'd be out for good post-fight.
"Ptoo!! Burns like hell."
Seokgil neared victory but wasn't unscathed. The compressed black flame spear pierced his mana armor effectively, forcing him to excise ignited flesh. His body was riddled with large and small craters, horribly scarred. He'd avoided vitals and penetration, but blood loss could kill. Anyone else would've died from shock first.
Can't drag this out. Potion's wearing off soon.
One finishing blow away.
"Die already."
"Block him!!!"
As he charged, Flamma commanded.
"Attack!!!"
"Kill him!!!"
Demons who'd hung back leaped out.
They'd trailed boldly.
Thud!!!
Seokgil stomped hard. Earth chunks flew up.
Snap!!
He flicked them like snapping fingers.
Snap snap snap!!
Dozens rocketed at bullet speed, smashing demon heads and bodies precisely.
Pop!!
Pop pop pop!!!
Them burst like balloons. Clearing them, he turned to Flamma—but
"I won't go alone!!! I'll kill you at least!!! Even if I die!!"
Flamma surged all mana in a suicidal rush.
"If you're dying, do it pretty and alone!!"
"Fool!! Out of reach!!"
True—his desperate dodge kept the sword an inch short.
But
"Release!!"
Snip! Snip! Snip!
The lightsaber-like mana unraveled into threads. A wuxia-inspired technique. Normally, Flamma's flame cloak would've melted him approaching, but his suicide burst had shed it.
Threads ensnared—
Slash!!!
Slash!!
"Long live… His Majesty the Demon King!!!"
Flamma's body shredded.
Too late. The black flame explosion was inevitable.
Wooooong!!!
Time slowed; Seokgil poured all mana into his armor, roaring
"Uoooooh!!"
Whish!!
Threads gathered Flamma's chunks into a shield.
His flame resistance helped. All countermeasures set—
Kaboooooooooom!!!
Sizzle…
Aftermath: a massive crater where the ground had melted through, empty void.